A lonely sigh escaped Princess Gwendolyn’s pink lips as she sat before her open window, running a brush through her brown, loose curls. The cool night breeze blew through her window, lifting tresses of brown hair as she stared longingly across the pitch black lawn toward the area where she knew her beloved Gardener sat in the gardener’s cabin. A light in his window told her that Emerson was still awake, and vaguely she wondered if he was sitting at his window, thinking of her as well. It was too dark for her to be able to see which shadows passed before the window, but deep down, she pretended that he was sitting at the window, looking longingly toward her window.

“Oh, Emerson…” Gwendolyn sighed, placing her brush down. She hadn’t spoken to him since that night, that blissful night, when the pair had exchanged promises of love and of marriage. She had been so busy, entertaining Simon and attending to her duties in Court. Her mother had required more of her lately, while Simon was around; as if to show her off to Simon as though she were useful and important. Any other time, Gwendolyn was not encouraged to do much at all with the Court, and Gwendolyn was left to her own devices.

When her mind flitted over to thoughts of Simon, Gwendolyn’s blissful smile turned into a frown. There were so many more things she would rather do than marry Simon. She would rather cut off a finger than marry Simon. She would rather spend the rest of her life in a dungeon than marry Simon. She would rather spend the rest of her life in the Enchantress’ dungeon than marry Simon.

Well, perhaps not that far. But the passion behind her feelings remained. She did not want to marry Simon, and she would not marry Simon if he were the last man on earth! She would do whatever it took to convince either her mother or Simon out of marrying her if it was the last thing she ever did.

Thus far, any attempts had not worked. He was still around. In fact, he was sleeping on the other end of the corridor.

Gwendolyn reached out and closed her window and moved to go to her bed, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She just could not imagine Simon upon her arm. Simon, with his perfect blonde curls and his hazel eyes and his manly stature… ugh, just thinking about him made her ill. So ill, in fact, that she decided on the spot that she was going to do one last attempt to get rid of him before she went to bed. If she could convince him that she wasn’t the type of wife he wanted, perhaps he would decide to leave.

She pulled on a thin dressing gown on top of her nightgown, which was silky and clung to her body: something that any proper Princess would faint at the thought of any male seeing her in such. Tonight Gwendolyn did not care. She was not to be a proper Princess, not this hour. She paused in front of the glass, situating her loose curls upon her shoulder. She sighed. There was no way she could pull off any sort of ‘vixen’ attempt. The innocence in her eyes… she was too pure. But perhaps… perhaps Simon would be too distracted to notice that she was acting.

Spritzing a small amount of perfume (something Gwendolyn rarely wore) upon her chest, Gwendolyn made her way to her door and slipped outside. The night air within the corridor was chilly, and the guards outside her room jumped as she slipped out. It was a wonder they hadn’t run her through accidentally. She instructed them to stay where they were, that she was merely going down the corridor, and they kept a watchful eye upon her as she quickly scurried down the hall and stopped in front of Simon’s door. A faint line of light beneath the door told Gwen that he was still awake. She rapped lightly upon the door and after a startled moment, Simon answered, pulling it open. Gwendolyn stepped inside and as the guards who stood outside Simon’s room moved to follow, she turned and snapped, “Leave us.”

Unaccustomed to the Princess’ terse tone, the guards obeyed without question, and Gwendolyn closed the door behind her, leaving her alone with Prince Simon in his bedchambers.

He looked stunned at her presence and Gwendolyn took that moment to press a finger to his lips. The touch made Gwen shudder involuntarily and she hoped Simon did not notice. “Simon…” Gwendolyn breathed. She had not rehearsed what she was going to do or say, she only hoped she could frighten him off thoroughly before she had to go too far out of her comfort zone. The line between far and too far was very thin, and fast approaching.

“Tell me…” Gwendolyn said, her voice unnaturally husky. She touched his left shoulder lightly and sauntered around him, her hand trailing across his back. When she had reached the other shoulder, she sauntered away from him, over to a side table where a single rose plucked from the Royal Gardens sat in a vase of water. She pulled it from the vase and brought it to her nose to sniff lightly as she finished. “do you… find me... desirable?”

The smell of the rose reminded her of Emerson and suddenly he filled her mind once more. She could almost feel the touch of his lips against hers, the feel of his rough, carpenter hands, the smell of his chestnut locks… in that moment, her heart quickened, and she almost forgot whose room she was standing in, and what she had just said to him.

** I'm sorry, Shell, she was bugging me and I have so been wanting them to get together again. ; )

Simon was preparing for bed, and was about to turn in for the night when a light rapping was heard at his door. That in itself was puzzling, how many people called on him at this hour? Very few was the answer, the occasional servant who’d knock and then enter to ensure that he had everything he needed before he retired. It seemed, however, that the unknown visitor was no servant, and required Simon’s royal feet to proceed to the door to let them in. He did so, opening the door and looking in surprise at the sight of the Princess in her night gown at his door. For a moment, he stood staring and in that moment Gwendolyn took advantage of his puzzlement to step foot inside of his door, dismissing the guards and closing the door behind her.

“Are you out of your mind?” Simon asked her, as he finally came to his senses, staring at her as though she had committed some unholy Sin. In truth, she had. Crossing that boundary, dismissing the guards in her nightgown. It would lead the servants to think; it would lead them to talk. Her pure and wholesome reputation would be damaged and their wedding tarnished. They would have to marry. If she was that eager and desperate then he would propose in the morning but ... this? It was madness. “What sort of a question is that?!” he asked, unable to hide his stunned expression from his face over the way she was behaving and acting, the way her hands trailed over his back and the way she spoke. It was ... strange, and all too soon. They weren’t even engaged yet!

He shook himself “Of course I find you desirable, you’re a very attractive Princess but ...” as he tried to stop himself from staring at her too much as though an apothecar should be sent for “... this isn’t right, Gwendolyn, this is not how we’re supposed to do things” he explained, as he tried to stop himself from spluttering and stuttering like an idiot. “If you are that eager for marriage then I will propose in the morning, it was my intention to do so anyway ..” he continued shaking his head, sitting down on the edge of his bed and with his elbow resting on his knee leant his forehead on his hand, looking down at the floor. In her one bold, foolish move she could so easily, so very easily jeopardise the future of his own kingdom ... but he couldn’t tell her that, could he now? He couldn’t tell her how this was part of a grander scheme and he couldn’t tell her of the countless thousands of men, women and children who would have been slaughtered for his failings.

He looked up at her, letting his arm fall limply over his knee“Please, Gwendolyn, I must ask you that if you value your virtue and your pure reputation that you leave here now” he told her gently “There is more at stake in this bold move of yours than you could imagine. At least wait until tomorrow, when we are engaged, and then I would gladly speak of you on such matters ... but until then, I must ask that you leave and return to your own chambers” he implored her, trying not to sound too pleading of her to do his bidding.

“Are you out of your mind?”

Gwendolyn stopped dead in her tracks, her blue eyes wide and her face losing all color. As he continued to speak, she wished she had stayed in her room. She wished she had never come down there to try and scare him off. It obviously was not going to work. Obviously he thought she was so very eager to be married and take part in the benefits of marriage, that she just could not keep herself from him. She visibly shuddered at the very thought and instantly felt quite ill. That was not the impression she wished to have brought upon Simon. She should have stayed in her room.

“Yes…” Gwendolyn admitted, “I am out of my mind. You’re … you’re … you’re…” the princess swallowed, finding it quite hard to allow the next word to roll of her tongue. “Right.” She dropped the rose onto the floor, not even bothering to place it in the vase one more. It was tarnished by her foolishness. How stupid could she be?! In her desperation to run him off, she had driven him to believe she actually wanted to marry him!

“I’m sorry, I…” Gwendolyn began, wrapping her dressing gown tightly around her, so very embarrassed for her actions that night. She hastily made for the door, tears threatening to burst forth from her eyes. She paused, her hand on the doorknob, before realizing… no. She could not let him go on thinking it was he who she was enamored with. She turned. “I cannot marry you.” She confessed, and she even surprised herself. The shock of it all caused her to burst into tears, and she turned away from Prince Simon, wishing she could vanish on spot.

However, she needed to explain. “I love someone else. I cannot possibly marry you! There is nothing in the world worth giving up True Love!” Gwendolyn sniffled, wiping hastily at her eyes and trying desperately to compose herself. “I beg you… please… just tell my mother you cannot marry me and save me any further embarrassment…” Her blue eyes, shining with fresh tears just threatening to turn loose once more, turned imploringly upon Simon. Would he understand? Would he show her any sort of mercy, after what she had just pulled? Would he take compassion on one who was aching for the one whom she did love, while she was being forced to marry one whom she did not even remotely like?

What did she mean she couldn’t marry him?! What about this whole display, this whole seduction?! It was ... well it was plain madness! He looked at her watching as she burst into tears. Princesses. They always used tears. It was almost like their female defence mechanism went into over drive. He sighed and stood to his feet and walked over to his desk, his fingers lightly tracing over the edges of it.

“Then it seems we have ourselves a stalemate Gwendolyn ...” he began, picking his words slowly and carefully “... believe me, I do not want to marry you, if I could have married for true love then I would have chosen my first and only love. As it is ...” he sighed and looked over at her with a slightly sad smile “... we rarely get what we want. You and I, we are not allowed to marry for love, we have to marry for duty. Yes, I know that I give off the charade of the arrogant chauvinistic Prince, but I am as much trapped as you are. I don’t want to marry for the sake of marriage I want to marry for love ...” he sighed and leant back against the edge of the desk “... but I no longer have that choice, I cannot marry the woman I love, because if I do then I jeopardise my whole kingdom. I am the sole heir to my country. If I marry against my parents wishes then I will be stripped of the throne. Worse still, on the death of my father, the King, my country will pass to the Enchantress. My people ... my people will suffer. As it is, war is threatening them and I need to make a marriage, soon, to save my country, to save my people ...”

Simon looked up and over at the tear streaked Gwendolyn “... do you see why I can’t walk away from here Gwendolyn? Do you see why I cannot leave here without securing you as my bride?” he asked her, this time looking up at her in almost a pleading manner. “I’m sorry it has to be this way, neither of us asked for this life, neither of us asked for this way of life but that is what we are born into ...” Another sigh as he tried to piece things together “Perhaps we can work together Gwendolyn. You do not wish to marry me and I do not wish to marry you. We both have our reasons. Perhaps we can carry on with this charade for a while, fake an engagement until we have both figured out a way to rid ourselves of this predicament?” he asked her, looking at her with that same pleading expression.

Stunned once more, Gwendolyn ceased her crying and stared over at Simon as he spoke. For the first time since they met she looked at him not as an enemy, but as someone who understood completely. He was in the same boat as she was. They were both forced into this against their will, and Gwendolyn felt the hate that she had felt for him ebb away and something else take its place. Compassion. Understanding compassion. She wiped her eyes with the edge of her dressing gown and looked down at her satin slippered feet. What a fool she had made of herself, and she had not even thought of the possibility that Simon did not want this.

Simon, it seemed, had more at stake. His entire country was at stake! Gwendolyn, if she refused to marry Simon, doomed the people of Simon’s country to the worst ruler possible! Oh the guilt… the guilt began to settle in. How could Gwendolyn allow such a thing to happen? She had no choice! She was backed into a corner. By not marrying Simon, Gwendolyn would be choosing her own selfish desires over the lives and well-being of hundreds of other people! How could that be justified? How on earth would she live with herself, knowing full well that by choosing to send Simon off, she chose the destruction of an entire Kingdom?

“Of… of course, Simon…” Gwendolyn gasped, her eyes now opened at the reality of the situation. Her kind, compassionate heart reached out to Simon. She gazed across the room at him, leaning across his writing desk, his eyes pleading with her. How terribly she had treated him all week… and for him to be struggling with the same demons as she! “Simon, I am so, so sorry… I cannot tell you how absolutely embarrassed I am at my behaviour… I had no idea the severity of your – our – situation.”

Gwendolyn swallowed. “Yes… yes, we’ll just have to keep up a charade until a solution can be acquired.” She nodded and offered a weak smile toward him, “I should probably act less horrible… no reason to make it more miserable than it is, right?” She fell silent, feeling rather awkward. She had just accepted an unofficial proposal, it seemed. The Princess swallowed. “I suppose I’ve gotten us into a mess… being here… perhaps I should feign taking ill and we can come up with a story to tell the court physician…” She thought fast, trying to think up a scheme that might actually work to extinguish any rumors that might be flying from lip to lip.

Simon let out a sigh of relief, really, he had expected her to turn and run or say something or do something that would make his situation all the more impossible. But she didn’t. He could have wept with relief there, he really could have, in fact he could have forgotten all cause for his dignity and kissed her he was so very thankful. “Thank you” he breathed, and he was so very very thankful for that. “I wish I could have gotten by without telling you this, but it is my burden to bare and not yours and I will somehow find us an escape route out of this ... so we can, I hope, be happy for once” he told her with a slight smile.

A light laugh left his lips, despite the severity of the situation and despite the predicament they found themselves in there was still cause for amusement “Yes, you know how courts work ... the guards will be spreading vicious rumours before you can counteract them ...” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose “... I suspect that that is the way forwards, only ... only that still leaves us with the problem with what you were doing in my rooms in the first place” as he laughed softly again “We can hardly use that as an excuse ...” which really did present them with quite the problem.

There were a number of different options each as laughable as the next “Well ...” he began “... the longer we debate the more people will talk. So let me summon the guards ... and we can work out the finer details tomorrow ...” if he knew of the way his court worked, it wouldn’t be until the next day that they would be interrogated, and if he were lucky, if they were lucky they could at least think things through before the rest of the court had a chance to talk of the late night lovers rendezvous. “... or perhaps you could faint on the guard as you step outside?” he asked, trying to think over which would be the more believable scenario.

“I’m counting on you, then…” Gwendolyn said, returning the same soft smile to the one she was to become engaged to in a very short amount of time. It was quite curious… only moments ago it seemed she loathed the very name ‘Simon’, and now… now, she found herself feeling almost close to Simon. For reasons unknown to Gwendolyn, she began to blush. Perhaps it was the realization that she was in her nightgown. Yes, that was it. She blushed a bright red and crossed to retrieve a thin blanket from Simon’s bed to wrap around her immodest dress. “I really am sorry…” she apologized once more.

Gwendolyn only blushed harder as Simon struggled to find a reason for her to be in the room without it being anything to question her virtue. She certainly had not thought about the many consequences of barreling into his room at such an hour, in her nightgown. What the guards must have been whispering to each other. The only good thing about that was that they had not changed shifts as of yet. The same guards out there were the same guards when she had gotten there. Perhaps if she extinguished any rumors they had in their minds, she could stop it before it went any further.

A sigh came from her lips and Gwendolyn shook her head. “I’m no good at fainting… I’ve never done so before.” She bit down on her bottom lip and looked at the door as if it would give her an answer. She shook her head again. “I will just have to face the consequences.” she sighed again, “Perhaps if I say something to the guards outside the door I can stop the rumors before they reach my mother.”

She turned her eyes once more to Simon and smiled lightly. “I’ll take the fall for this, don’t worry. I have a way with my mother… well, sometimes.” Gwen cleared her throat. “So this proposal… in the morning?” Suddenly, Gwendolyn felt as if she would faint and she bit down on her lip once more. “Well, I suppose we should go ahead and get it over with. I know my Mother wants to announce it to the kingdom officially on my birthday…” She trailed off, and then realized just how rude she had sounded and she spoke quickly to apologize. “I’m sorry, Simon, I didn’t mean it like that… I just, well, you know…” She trailed off once more, not quite sure how she meant to end that sentence. “If it happened that we could not find a way out of this situation, I suppose being with you might not be so… you know…” Gwen blushed, “I should just stop there…”

A few steps and she was at the door. She almost had her hand on the knob before she remembered the blanket. That wouldn’t look good. She pulled it from herself and placed it back upon the bed, but before returning to the door, she walked over to Simon and did what she had never thought she would ever do: she kissed him gently upon the cheek. “I am glad we discussed this.” She said softly, before she went back to the door. “Good night, Simon… I suppose I will see you in the morning…”

Her stomach churned with the thought and she quickly pulled the door open. The guards outside jumped back as if they had their ears pressed against the door. Gwendolyn fixed them with a glare. “I’m sorry, were you eavesdropping?” She snapped. They fumbled around to make excuses, but Gwendolyn found it as too good an opportunity. “Truly if you have nothing better to do than to eavesdrop on two people discussing diplomatic issues and an impending wedding, you would not oppose spending a night in the stocks so you might mull over what you’ve heard?”

“Oh, no, Your Royal Highness! No ma’am, sorry ma’am…”

She fixed them with another glare. “If I hear a word about this whispered among the guard, you will find swift punishment. Do you understand?” They confirmed that they did and Gwendolyn, satisfied with herself, made her way down the corridor and snapped at the two guards in front of her door, “That goes for you, too.”

“Yes, ma’am, of course, ma’am!”

And thus Gwendolyn extinguished any rumors that would have let fly from the lips of the guards. She allowed herself back into her room and found it quite difficult to sleep once she had extinguished her lamps. Perhaps it was merely nerves… for in the morning she was to be engaged.