I pray you can bear to make your home with a fool.
Dusk was beginning to close in around the carriage by the time the palace came into view. From Katrina's window, the scale was somewhat daunting.
Nestled amidst the foothills of the mountain range that had grown from the dense forest they had travelled through for the last number of days, the pale turrets and high walls of what would be her home glowed a soft blush in the fading light. It was a stark contrast to the dark evergreen woods that climbed the first slopes of the mountains, but perfectly in tone with the colouring of the buildings in the town settled on the plain below. Neutral, harmonising with the grand scale of the natural architecture surrounding the centre of the kingdom of Brooklynne.
Beautiful, but still daunting.
The roads of the town were cobbled, following the ambling bends of the river it had grown around, before they gently began to slope upwards. The smaller buildings dropped away to leave the single road to the castle as a lone landmark, snaking between hills and leading to whatever Katrina's future may hold.
She had hoped her arrival would be quiet. After almost a month of travel, it had been near impossible to accurately predict when they would arrive, but two days past a pair of scouts from the kingdom had met them on the road and travelled back to bring news of their impending arrival. It had meant the people where looking for a strange carriage on the road, and the fact that her transport was flanked by mounted guards was surely enough to betray her identity, but Katrina hadn't at all been expecting any excitement to be stirred by her arrival. Arranged marriages happened more often than she could estimate, amongst families of status and rank - and from her experience, the citizens of kingdoms rarely took note of it. Aside from members of the royal court who would care to gossip about such things, most people let these events pass without much thought.
Here though... She could hear them, through the thin pane of glass behind her curtain. A curious brush of her fingers held the fabric back, exposing a rolling image of people rushing to doorways and windows that faced onto the street as the carriage bumped through the town. She could hear children laughing behind them, following them up the street, murmurs and cries for others to come and look.
"They will be your people now." Natasha reminded her with a small smile - which grew as they passed a tavern which erruped with a bawdy cheer as the patrons spilled out onto the road. "You cannot blame them for wanting to catch a glimpse of their new Princess."
"I can only hope they're not disappointed." Katrina murmured, giving a small, shy wave as she caught sight of a group of teens running alongside her window, eager grins plastering their faces as they returned the gesture.
"They won't be, and neither will the prince."
Glancing up as Natasha managed once again to place her finger directly on the fear that danced at the forefront of her mind, Kat bit her lip, granting her friend a small nod as they rolled past the last of the buildings, the hooves of the horses pulling the carriage now set upon the road to the castle.
Anxiously, Katrina found her fingers wandering to touch the folded letter that rested in her lap, trying to draw some courage from those written words as they passed through the first set of gates in a high wall.
I hope I can be all that you wish me to be.
Her stomach turned sickeningly as she thought over that wish he had expressed, wondering if she would be enough. If her appearance would please him, if her temperament would suit him, if her conversation would be interesting... And if she wasn't enough, would he still be patient? Did she dare hope that he would even be kind? Or perhaps, if he found her dull and displeasing, the best she could hope for would be that he ignore her, let her play the role of his bride when eyes were upon them and leave her in peace when behind closed doors. The thoughts of any other alternatives were enough to make her throat tighten with fear.
You have a friend awaiting you.
She had to believe his words were earnest. That he wouldn't treat her cruelly, should their union not fulfill his hopes. No matter what happened once she stepped from this carriage in a few minutes time, she was bound to this agreement. Her fate lay solely within the hands of a stranger, and it would be his choice whether or not these walls formed the boundaries of her home or her prison.
Perhaps she had been right to steal her last moment of freedom that morning, wandering the woods. She hadn't breathed a word of it to Natasha, save for explaining the small scrapes on her palms with a small laugh and a line about tripping over a tree root. It wasn't a lie, not exactly, but it conveniently avoided the encounter with the bewildering, blue-eyed hunter that had caused her fall.
Those eyes and handsome features had danced through her thoughts throughout the remaining hours of their journey, but she had tried not to let herself dwell on them. Not on the infuriating quirk of his lips that had appeared when she had scolded him nor the heat that flickered beneath her skin when his eyes had dropped to trace the lines of her own lips. No, she knew better than to linger on those thoughts when every passing second carried her closer to the man she was to wed.
Those passing seconds continued to dwindle, as the carriage rolled over the smoother stone of a courtyard. Katrina was sure Natasha would be able to hear the frantic pounding of her heart now, the heady roar of blood in her ears that came as the carriage slowed, and it suddenly became difficult to breathe in the confined space.
Her friend's warm hand closed over where hers had come to grip the letter in her lap almost too tightly. Glancing away from the window, for the first time on their journey, Katrina saw a trace of nerves in the composed expression of her lady-in-waiting. An anxiety for her friend which she couldn't conceal in these final moments.
"Nat... I don't think-"
"You can." Her companion reassured her softly, her fingers squeezing hers comfortingly as the carriage drew to a halt. "You can do this, and no matter what, I will be here."
She didn't have time to voice the doubts that threated to spill from her lips in answer. Not when a soft knock sounded against the carriage door. Natasha quickly leaned closer to adjust the lay of her hair, and brush an imagined fleck of dust from the shoulder of her gown. "You're ready, my lady."
Nodding, as if the gesture would assist her in believing the words of her friend, she turned to where the door was being opened by her footman, a gloved hand extended to allow her to step down into the shadowed courtyard, bathed in the lilac light of the fading evening.
It was quiet, still. Before her, a sweeping flight of stone steps was flanked by dancing flames atop iron torches, illuminating her path to the large set of intricately carved wooden doors that marked the entryway to the palace from the courtyard. Those doors stood open, a pool of warm candlelight spilling from that portal onto the stone, coaxing her in from the cooling night air.
She didn't know what she had expected. Perhaps a clattering arrival to a sprawling welcome committee, where her first encounters with the royal family would occur before the eyes of every member of the court of Brooklynne, but she hadn't expected this moment of peace. A second to catch her breath as Natasha followed her from the carriage and took a moment to smooth the creases in her skirts for her, with only the eyes of the two sentinels at the door to mark their presence.
She needed that second, it seemed, to soothe the flare of panic that had threatened to engulf her moments ago. Glancing down at the letter still cluched in her fingers like a protective talisman, Katrina inhaled deeply and forced herself to remember who she was. Why she was here. She was the sole princess of her kingdom, here as a representative on a diplomatic mission to strengthen the bonds between two lands. She could play this role, she had done so many times before, but never on this scale. Never without the encouraging presence of her father. Never in a kingdom so much larger and grander than her own... But she had sworn to do this.
Or rather, others had sworn on her behalf.
Tucking the letter into the bodice of her gown, changed from the one she wore for travelling to something more fine, more suitable for a royal reception, she gathered her breath and her nerve, before setting her foot to the first step.
She didn't recall walking up the rest of the steps, nor did she fully hear her presence being announced, blinded as she was by the opulent entrance hall of the palace, all polished marble and guilded detail, illuminated by dazzling chandeliers and a roaring fire that blazed in the ornate hearth set into one wall.
She did however notice the chatter of the small welcome party that awaited her fade at her arrival - a woman and two men, one considerably younger than the other, who exchanged a few swift words with a uniformed footman, sending the upright member of the household staff hurrying through the set of doors at the end of the hallway, offering Katrina a momentary glimpse of a vast staircase in the space beyond, before the door was seamlessly sealed once more by another manservant who stood as still as a statue before them, leaving her with only the room she stood in to absorb.
Her eyes returned to the three people before her, her stomach thrashing against her tight grasp on her nerves in an attempt to make them waver, but she held fast as the older woman approached her, keeping her gaze focused on her host and resisting the urge to let it wander to the younger man who had now turned to face her.
"Queen Winnifred." Katrina dipped in a respectful curtsey, remembering the family tree she had been well schooled in as the Queen's glittering gown whispered over the polished floor before stilling before her.
"Darling Katrina." Soft hands reached to envelop her own in a gesture of instant familiarity and affection. "Look how you've grown, my dear girl." A powdered cheek was pressed to her own with a maternal kiss, almost startling out of one of her many attempts to force her memory into surrendering the image of when she had met this woman and her husband before. Once again, drawing upon an event that had occurred before she was even able to walk proved futile, but still she smiled as if she remembered it well, the expression made easier by the warmth of the greeting she received, and the earnest delight that shone in the woman's sapphire blue eyes as she looked her over, "Welcome to our home, allow me to reintroduce my husband."
"King George." Again, she dipped in a curtsey as the queen released her hands, allowing them to be clasped in the stronger grasp of the man who was to become her father by law. "Your Highness, you have been too kind with your invitation and welcome."
"Nonsense." The older man chuckled warmly, the lines of his face creasing in a way that implied that smiles had come naturally to him throughout his life, the peppered silver of his hair catching the glow of the chandelier above them as he looked down at her, his frame towering over her without any hint of intimidation. "You are most welcome my dear, I hope your journey wasn't as arduous as ours was the last time we travelled from your home?"
"Not at all." She brushed over the half-lie pleasantly, knowing that had Natasha asked her the same question she would have replied that she would be glad to never set foot in a carriage again, but that wasn't the type of agreeable thing one should say when trying to make a first impression.
Laughing broadly, the King squeezed her hands and shook his head, "Perhaps for younger bones it is an easier punishment to endure - and you must not thank me for the invitation, that came solely from the young man most eager to meet you."
"Prince James?" She guessed softly, her tongue almost tripping over the name as she dared glance past the king to the younger man stood a few steps from him. Too dazed by her welcome to take in any details of his appearance before, she now noted the fair crop of hair atop his head, the handsome, pleasant features set in a cleanly shaven face, contrasting the trimmed beard that ornamented his father's slightly more angular jaw. His hands clasped behind his back gave him an air of military discipline, but there was a softness to the blue eyes that dropped to meet hers, a slightly deeper hue than his mother's, she noted. Those eyes widened in confusion at her soft call of his name, his stance wavering momentarily as if he had been caught off-guard by her attention suddenly turning to him.
How strange, she mused momentarily, that the man destined to become her husband was unprepared to greet her. Perhaps he was just as nervous as she.
"Your Highness, forgive me." He breathed swiftly, stepping forward to respond to her address, "I have caused you some confusion-"
"It is our son that has caused the confusion, Steven." The King interrupted the young man's apology as Katrina looked between them in bewilderment. "Do not beg forgiveness for his mistake, let the prince make amends to his bride himself."
Glancing back over her shoulder to where Natasha dutifully stood, Kat couldn't see any of the answers she was searching for in her friend's expression, looking back just in time to see the young man she had addressed scrubbing one hand over his jaw and looking towards the doorway at his back with a faint air of exhasperation.
He wasn't here. That was the realisation that made Katrina's chest tighten with a feeling she couldn't quite put into words. He hadn't come to meet her.
"Our son seems to have lost track of time." The Queen's arm linked through hers companionably, though there was a note of strain in her voice that Kat thought she had heard before, in the words of wives and mothers forced to make excuses for the behaviour of the men in their lives. The sound did little to ease the roiling knot of emotion sinking into her stomach. "This young man is his dear friend, Steven."
"Though if he continues to embarrass me further with his lateness I may reconsider the friendship." Steven cast Katrina an easy smile as he reached to take her hand, bowing over it before returning to his upright stance. "It is an honour, your Highness."
Buoyed along by the instant warmth expressed within the palace walls, Katrina led the introductions of Natasha and the few guards and footmen they had travelled with, her voice holding firm despite the waver in her spirit. Somehow, despite never having laid eyes on the Prince, she already felt cast aside. Perhaps he had glimpsed her arrival from a window and decided she wasn't worth greeting, perhaps he simply valued his time above hers, and sought to show Katrina her place by making her wait for him.
It seemed the intention had been for Katrina to be greeted quietly, to let her find her bearings before being shown to the banquet hall where the rest of the royal court were already gathered. It seemed that despite the best intentions of the King and Queen, she was destined to meet her betrothed before a host of curious gazes. She could already imagine the stirrings of whispered gossip rippling through the crowds, their every move would be watched. Every glance, every reaction to each other's appearance. She must be careful to compose herself, no matter how the Prince reacted to her.
She repeated that thought as the small welcome party led her through the doors at the end of the room, passing the grand staircase on their route. At least it was only one meal, she assured herself. One meal and then she would be shown to her room, somewhere she could hide herself away and try to process that her life as she had known it had ended the second she stepped into this palace, and she had no idea where her path would lead next.
"Your Highness, your sword-"
"Peter, it doesn't matter, I'm already late-"
"Sir Steven insisted that I-"
"Fine- fine, she already thinks I'm an imbecile that cannot keep time, why shouldn't I also be a vain one?"
A clatter of feet at the summit of the sweeping staircase preceded the exasperated sound of voices. At her side, the Queen halted her steps, and Katrina didn't miss the theatrical roll of Steven's eyes at the statements echoing down from the upper landing.
"Sir, if you would let me-"
A younger voice was brushed aside by a further thundering of feet over the landing, drawing Katrina's eyes upwards as she realised that everyone in their party had paused at the foot of the stairs to listen to the conversation occuring out of view.
"It will serve, now let me pass-" A slightly more mature, yet somewhat more impatient tone overruled the younger, another few steps, "I'll look like a damn fool either way if she's already here..."
Those feet were set to the stairs, and as they did so, the Queen's hand tightened slightly around Katrina's arm, sending her pulse leaping as she realised that the man descending towards them was the one they had been waiting for.
"We should have hidden you," Steven leaned close to whisper in her ear, "It would serve him rightly for missing your arrival."
His quiet joke coaxed a small, nervous laugh from her lips, diverting her for just a second. Just long enough to look away from the stairs as the hurried footsteps abruptly slowed, and then stopped.
Katrina was sure her heart stopped in time with those steps, as she glanced back to the source of the sound. It had to have stopped, for it certainly refused to beat as she blinked once. Twice.
She felt her lips part, though no air passed them as a pair of sapphire eyes met hers.
A pair of eyes she knew.
Stood as though he had been frozen in place, his hands stilled in the midst of raking through his thick, dark hair. One foot hesitated, barely touching the step below the one he stood upon, his full lips parting as if he were mouthing a silent word as his eyes locked upon hers.
Muddied boots had been exchanged for polished ones, the unkempt shirt traded for a finely embroidered, dark dresscoat. The hunting bow replaced with the gleaming sword hanging from the baldric that crossed his broad chest.
Still, even dressed in the finery of a Prince, there was no mistaking the man from the woods.
And judging by the expression of wordless shock that painted his features, he had recognised her also.
"James?"
His mother's soft call of his name broke the spell that had kept their frames frozen in place and their eyes locked upon one another. Immediately, Katrina felt her features flush with warmth at the sudden reminder that she did not stand at the foot of the staircase alone.
Clearing his throat as the call shook him from his stupor, the Prince passed his hands once more over his slightly dishevelled hair, before descending the last few steps at a somewhat more controlled pace, his bright, intelligent eyes never once leaving Katrina's face as his mother stepped forward to greet him.
"James, darling boy, close your mouth." She chided him affectionately, her hands reaching to smooth his hair into place and adjust the rumpled collar of his coat with a small smile as she watched him clench his chiseled jaw pointedly. "Allow us to introduce..."
"Princess Katrina." James clasped the fussing hands of his mother in his own to still them without even having to look, as if it were a gesture they had shared throughout his entire life. His eyes had still not wandered from where Kat stood, so he undoubtedly caught the small catch in her breath that came as her name rolled off his tongue like a prayer. As though it were a sound he had practiced forming until it felt so comfortable and deeply intimate.
Two strides of his long legs carried him to stand before her, his stance cautious, as if he were half-afraid she would step back from him, or that she might suddenly betray the fact that they had already unwittingly met. She was sure his mother would not be swift to forgive him if it suddenly emerged that he had just missed shooting his betrothed in the leg that morning - equally, Natasha would not let her near-miss and encounter with a strange man slide easily. She just had to hope he wouldn't let their secret slip.
"I... It seems I must beg your forgiveness, your Highness." The Prince breathed, his left hand reaching out with more hesitance than he had displayed in the woods, aware as she was of their audience watching their every move. Carefully, he took her hand in his, his larger, calloused fingers curling tenderly over where he had noted her scraped palms earlier that day. Momentarily, his eyes dropped to her fingers, before lifting again to her face. "I... It seems I spent so long agonising over this moment that I almost missed it entirely." The small squeeze of his fingers as he dipped a small bow implied a deeper level of apology that he couldn't voice aloud, but it was one Katrina felt. "I hope I have not already tainted your view of our union."
His expression was so earnest, so regretful and pleading, that Katrina almost forgot the teasing flirtations that had come so easily to him in the woods, when he believed he was dealing with a common stranger.
She couldn't forget them, but neither could she refer to them whilst they weren't alone.
She did, however, have to say something. She had to speak what their observers believed would be her first words to him. First words which weren't laced with distrust and accusation.
"I cannot begrudge you a moment of agonising, your Highness." She breathed softly, taking a moment to find her words amidst the fog conjured by those enchanting blue eyes. "I have lost many minutes to the same feeling in recent days."
The small, breathless smile that broke across his lips at the sound of her voice seemed to draw her nearer, though her feet didn't move an inch. It was the softer than the smiles he had granted her earlier that day, yet no less endearing. "I... You are too kind, too patient with me already."
"Would you rather I scolded you, my Prince?"
The half-whispered words had slipped past her lips before she could stop them, though the note of innocence in the question would not betray its hidden meaning to any who overheard. No one would guess that she had already exchanged chastising words with him, and that he had already teased her for it.
He had caught her meaning, though, if the slight widening of his eyes and the tiny, choked sound that escaped his throat were any indication. Passing it off as a quiet laugh, he shook his head slightly. "I will simply have to spend my life making amends if you will threaten such things."
Katrina had a feeling that the amends he spoke of would be for more than simply being late to greet her.
"Bucky." The soft voice of the Prince's friend interrupted the wordless look that they had exchanged for longer than either realised, "I am delighted you have found someone to put you in your place, but if you wanted time to charm your bride before dining you should have planned accordingly."
Laughing at Steven's diversion, James nodded, glancing between Katrina and his parents apologetically. "Of course, I have kept you all waiting long enough, and I'm sure our guests are famished after their journey." Stepping back to let the King and Queen pass them to lead their party into the banquet hall, he offered Katrina his arm gallantly. "Would you accompany me, your Highness?"
"Of course." She smiled demurely, her hand coming to rest upon a firm bicep as he guided her close, noting that Steven had already moved to escort Natasha, remaining a respectful few paces behind the royals. Falling into step with the Prince as he turned to guide her towards the distant sounds of conversing courtiers, she felt her throat tighten with nerves once more at the prospect of more introductions.
"May I speak with you privately, after our meal?" The low whisper in her ear drew her thoughts away from their impending audience, her eyes rising to meet the gaze of her companion.
"Do we have something to speak of?"
"Little doe..." He chided her softly, casting a glance behind them to ensure they hadn't been overheard. "We have more than most new acquaintances to discuss."
The sweet endearment breathed in her ear almost had her shivering, her hand unconsciously gripping the sleeve of his coat tighter. "I have embarrassed myself enough for one day, please let me make it through this meal without further mortification." She uttered, passing off the tug in her gut as annoyance at him having brought up their meeting that afternoon.
"I won't let that happen." James promised earnestly, his steps slowing; "Our court is chosen carefully, no one is seeking to embarrass you. They want you to feel welcome."
"And you? How do you want me to feel?"
Casting her a small, reassuring smile at her question, he halted at the doorway to the hall, waiting for their presence to be announced. "I know it is too much to ask at this early hour, but I want you to feel that this is your home, and that I am your friend."
"That is perhaps too much to ask from someone you shot at earlier today."
Grinning at her nervous quip, he glanced down at his boots. "If it is any consolation, venison is absent from our table tonight."
Katrina didn't have the opportunity to comment on his joke, as their presence was announced within the hall. His name, followed by hers. The first time she had ever heard them spoken aloud together.
"How fine that sounds." James smiled down at her, reaching out with his free hand to adjust a curl of her hair, in the same way he had done in the woods earlier. "You look beautiful, little doe."
His whisper was almost lost as the doors were opened for them, his strong arm guiding her confidently into the bustle and noise beyond.
The heat of the banquet hall seemed to make the world slow. Her body laden with a heavy meal, syrupy wine and the thrum of anxious exhaustion, Katrina could feel the room closing in around her.
The presence at her side did little to alleviate the sense of claustrophobia. His silent glances had come to replace the quiet murmurs of concern that had arisen throughout the meal - was the food to her liking? Would she care for more? Was she comfortable? Tired?
In truth she didn't know. Overwhelmed was most likely the correct title for the sensation bubbling in her chest. She could hardly remember waking that morning, after so long a day. So much had changed, and she had barely been given time to make her peace with any of it.
She could feel the Prince looking at her now, as she twisted the stem of the goblet of wine on the table before her. It had never been allowed to grow empty, but she had stopped sipping some time ago. The conversation around her still hummed warmly, but like the wine, her attention to providing pleasant smiles and cheerful comments had slipped in recent moments. In fact, as she watched the light of the glimmering chandeliers catch on the burgundy surface of the liquid, she felt her eyelids growing as heavy as her body seemed to feel.
"Kat..." The pale hand that came to rest on her own drew her up from her weary thoughts. On her other side, Natasha sat, a veiled exhaustion also apparent in her usually bright green eyes. "My lady, would you like me to check if our rooms are ready?"
"I... Please, Natasha. Thank you." She nodded, offering her friend a grateful smile at how easily she had read that she needed an escape.
"You are tired?" The Prince's quiet question drew her eyes back to him as Natasha rose from her seat, a rapid blink forcing her to focus on his expression. "May I show you to your quarters?"
"I..." She bit back the instinctive urge to insist that she would find her own way, but then she recalled that she sat within a strange castle, in a strange kingdom, far from any paths she knew. "I don't want to take you away from the festivities..."
He had been enjoying himself, between trying to make her as comfortable as possible, she had watched him laugh with his parents, his friends. She had listened as members of his court approached to offer them congratulations and compliments, and he in turn offered gracious responses. They were fond of him, she could see that much. He was respected as their prince, and admired.
"The festivities are for you, my Princess." He murmured, the gentle endearment passing his lips as affectionately as it has been written in his letter to her. "If you wish to leave, to rest, then I have no use for any other company."
"Then... Then I would be grateful if you could show me the way." Katrina nodded shyly, the facade of confidence she had clung to during her arrival long since faded with her energy. She didn't know the protocol in this kingdom for a betrothed couple spending time alone, but she was relieved to see the Prince gesturing for his young squire to accompany them as he rose.
The boy, Peter, had been eager to introduce himself earlier in the evening, and even more eager to apologise for the Prince's lateness, seemingly insisting that it was his fault despite James reminding him that he had been the one who failed to accept his assistance hours earlier. Now, the young squire dutifully fell into step behind his Prince as James rose from the table, bending to kiss his mother's cheek before offering Katrina his hand.
The walk from the banquet hall was silent, punctuated only by Peter's hurried steps behind them.
"A little distance, Peter." The Prince called over his shoulder with a fond smile, "I can assure you that no harm will come to the Princess if you linger back a little."
"Yes, sir- of course, I only wanted to be sure."
"And I appreciate it beyond measure." He hummed playfully, glancing down at where Katrina was stifling a yawn at his side, her arm linked loosely through his. "I believe you have already stolen the heart of my squire, he is as eager to be by your side as I."
"You are?" Katrina murmured softly as they began to climb the grand staircase they had met before.
"Of course, little doe."
"Wouldn't you rather be at the side of strange women who wander the woods?" She asked, the questions she had held back before now released by her weariness and lack of will to conceal them. "Or any stranger for that matter?"
Frowning at her words, he halted at the top of the stairs - holding out one hand to indicate to their young escort that he should also hesitate. "Little doe..."
"I... Forgive me." She shook her head, forcing back those doubtful thoughts as she remembered who she was, and where she was. Sharp words had no place here, no matter how welcome he had made their sparring seem earlier in the evening. "I... I don't think I can speak with you tonight, I can't... My head cannot make sense of this day."
His jaw clenched slightly, as if he were biting back the urge to press for what she had meant by her questions. Though by the note of regret dancing in his darkened blue eyes, she guessed he had already reached a conclusion. "Of course." He whispered, gently guiding her to resume walking, "Tomorrow, I have been tasked with giving you a tour of the palace. We can talk in the morning."
Nodding, Katrina let her eyes fall to the polished corridor he led her down, making no note of the corners they turned, too exhausted to remember their route.
At a large door, he paused, swallowing thickly as he nodded to the portal. "I know you have no wish to speak of it, but I fear I cannot bid you goodnight without admitting that I have been a prize fool today." Untangling his arm from hers he took her hand gently, turning it over so that his free fingers could trace over the healing scrape on her palm. "I am deeply aware that I have mere weeks to make amends for that. I have no wish to begin our life together on poor terms." Sighing, he bent to brush a soft, reverential kiss over her palm. "But if it is already too late, I pray that you can bear to make your home with a fool."
Katrina's breath caught in her throat at the tender touch of his lips, her eyes blinking rapidly as she tried to fully comprehend his words, but she was interrupted by the door at her back opening.
The Prince straightened his posture, releasing her hand as he nodded a greeting to Natasha before glancing back to his betrothed. "Sleep well, my Princess." He whispered, stepping back and bowing once more, before turning to stride up the corridor, leaving Peter to hurry after him as Natasha drew Katrina into her chambers.
[A/N: As if they are going to let each other get away with that encounter in the woods - this is Buckat we're talking about after all! Thank you all so much for the love you showed the first chapter of 'Duty', I hope you've enjoyed this one just as much! X]