Drake dismounted his horse and tied the reins around a young pine tree. He stroked his mare's long neck to reassure her before beginning the trek uphill. After making it part way up the hill, he turned to his left and headed back down at an angle before going up again. He continued winding up and down the hill, stepping on patches of leaves and pin straw whenever he could to hide his footprints.
When he finally reached the top, the trees ended, and Drake stepped into a wide-open field. Rows of cotton covered the field and ended somewhere on the other side of the horizon, and it gave the appearance of a winter snow, something Drake had only seen once from a carriage as he passed through one of the northern kingdoms as a little boy.
He walked through the field, careful not to crush any of the cotton plants. Slowly, a cotton mill rose up on the other side of the horizon, sitting on a hill, and a wooden cottage appeared down below in the valley.
As Drake got closer to the mill, he saw a young woman in the field, and she was picking cotton alone. Drake stopped for a moment. The woman had not yet seen him, so he watched as she worked. Her raven hair fell down her back and in front of her face in waves, but he could still see enough of her face to tell she was focused as if every cotton ball she picked had to be perfect.
Once the area surrounding her was picked clean of cotton, she straightened and pushed her hair out of her face with the back of her hand. The sun gleamed off of the woman's olive skin and reflected off of the beads of sweat that had formed on her brow. Her loose-fitting cotton dress hung down off her shoulders, hiding her curves, but Drake knew that there wasn't a single princess or noblewoman who could boast of such a perfect figure as this cotton farmer.
Drake breathed deeply the smell of the sunbaked earth and let out a sigh. These were the moments worth living for. Not droll council meetings or endless inspections of the guards but the sun high in the blue sky above white and green hills with a beautiful woman waiting for him.
She turned toward him to begin picking another area, but she paused and held up her hand to block the sun. Drake saw under the shadow of her hand a smile slowly spread across her face, and he couldn't resist matching her expression. She at her basket down in the field and ran toward him.
Drake threw open his arms and wrapped her in his embrace. He could feel the warmth of her skin through his jacket, and he breathed in the sweet smell of lavender on her skin. Drake picked her up and spun her around, and he heard her giggle. He placed her feet back on the ground and leaned back from her just enough to kiss her lips. He felt her body loosen in his arms, but she resisted suddenly and pulled away from him.
"Not here," she whispered. "Someone could see us." She smiled up at him mischievously, and Drake stole another kiss.
She took him by the hand and led him back behind the cotton mill and into the forest. Drake didn't say a word as they both hurried through the trees until they reached the creek. He whisked her off her feet, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He carried her as he waded through the rushing water and sat her back down on the other side without a splash of water on her dress. They hurried past a few more trees and knelt down to pass under some thick growth. When they came up on the other side, a small clearing lay before them hidden in the trees. The perfect place for two people to remain unseen.
Drake leaned in for another kiss, and this time, she didn't resist. He kissed her long and deeply, taking in the sweet taste of honey that still lingered on her lips. They sank down into the grass together.
The woman pulled away so that she was mere inches from Drake's face. She smiled at him again, her dimples creasing her cheeks. But then it faded away as quickly as it had come.
"Where have you been?" she asked. "You were supposed to be here a week ago."
"You know it's hard for me to sneak away from the castle, Marian. I can't give anyone a reason to be suspicious of where I have been or how often I disappear." Drake smiled at her to try to reassure her, but he still couldn't convince himself that everything was all right.
"I was worried about you..." She looked straight at him with her soft, dark brown eyes. "What happened? I can see it on your face. Something is wrong."
Drake let out a sigh and pulled away from Marian. She reached her hand out to touch his face, but he pulled away from her.
"Drake..."
He stood up and ran his hand through his thick sandy hair. He walked a few steps away toward the exit and took a deep breath. "My father..." Drake clenched his fists and released them again. "For once in my life, I'd like my father to stay out of my life!" Drake shouted.
A pair of cardinals in the tree above him squawked at the sudden noise and flew away. Drake glared at them, loathing them. They were nothing more than birds, yet they had more freedom in life than he did.
"He spends my whole life pretending that...that brat is his only child, but as soon as the kingdom starts falling apart because he isn't man enough to take care of it, I am the one who has to lay down his life to fix it!" Drake punctuated his last words with a fist slammed into the nearest tree. His knuckles throbbed in agony, but he didn't care.
The light touch of slender fingers against his shoulder sent a warm tingling sensation down Drake's back. His tense body involuntarily loosened underneath the touch, and his breathing slowed down to a more normal rate.
"Tell me what happened this time," came Marian's voice like a gentle breeze on a hot summer's night.
"He's moved up the wedding date," Drake said. "My father has ordered me to marry Amelia in two weeks."
Drake turned around to face Marian, and she stood tall and strong as tears quietly fell down her face. Drake's anger morphed into heartbreak, and he pulled she in and held her tightly against his chest. He could feel Marian's body shake against his.
After a moment, Marian pushed Drake back and stood up straight. "I understand," she said, her voice cracking.
"That's it?" Drake scoffed. "You're going to give up on us just like that?"
"You know I would never if this could actually work!" Marian snapped. She looked down and wrapped her arms across her stomach, and when she looked back up, her face had softened. "I'm not giving up," she whispered. "But we knew that this end would come. Yes, I hoped for more time in this fantasy of ours, but whether two weeks or another season, it would end just the same."
"But I was never supposed to marry Amelia!" Drake fought back a yell of frustration and started pacing.
"You're the only prince and heir to the throne of this kingdom" Marian reminded him. "No matter how much your father may favor your cousin, you're still the only one who can make the peace treaty happen because the King Sabian wants the future king to marry his daughter, not a distant relation."
"You sound like my mother."
"You know it's true, Drake. I am no more than a cotton farmer, and even I know that the tension between our kingdom and King Sabian's is palpable. People talk about it in hushed voices in the markets every day."
Marian reached out for Drake's hand, and he stopped pacing and faced her. "Your people are afraid, Drake. King Sabian has waged war against us before, and we still haven't fully recovered. If he attacks again...if you don't go through with this, you could be condemning your people to death."
"If my father was half the man, king, and father he should be, he'd find a way to clean up his own mess without me," Drake spat. "But my opinion means nothing to him because he never stops long enough to listen."
Marian gently pulled back a stray piece of Drake's hair that had clung to his forehead during his monologue. "We knew this day would come the moment we decided that we didn't want to sacrifice what little time we did have because we didn't have a lifetime."
"And I promised that I would fight for you until the day I died." Drake took Marian's hands in his and gently kissed the top of both of them. "The wedding date doesn't change that."
"Yes, it does," Marian whispered so softly that Drake barely made out what she said. Marian pulled her hands free from Drake's hands and disappeared under the thicket.
"Marian!" Drake called. He followed her out of the clearing and back into the forest. He ran past her and stopped right in her path.
Marian's eyes filled with tears, but they did not run over. "You are going to marry Princess Amelia and seal the peace treaty with your vows to her."
"But I've already made my vows to you," said Drake.
"You know that means nothing to the rest of the world," said Marian. She reached up and touched Drake's face. "You have to let me go. For the good of the kingdom."
"You don't mean that," Drake said softly, shaking his head. "That's not what you really want."
"No, but the laws don't care about what we want. You are a prince, and you must marry a princess."
"There must be exceptions," Drake said.
"None of them would allow for a prince to marry a peasant like me." Marian dropped her hand back down to her side and looked down at her shoes. "I know you've been looking into it. You know there is no way around the laws."
A smile spread across Drake's face. "So, I'll make a new law then!"
"But you can't—"
"Because I'm not king," Drake finished for Marian. "If I was crowned king, I could change the laws."
"Drake, we've gone down this path before. You won't have the power to change the laws as long as your father lives. And even if you were king, laws like that have to be agreed upon by all the kings from all the kingdoms. How will you ever convince them to change a system that has worked for them for centuries?"
"I'll think of something."
Marian forced a small smile. "Your determination is one of your best qualities, but it's time you used that for the good of your kingdom, not us."
"If you don't want me to make you my princess and bride, tell me now, and I will never ask you again. You'll be free to live your life without the prejudice of others looking down upon you because of where you were born or who your parents are. But," Drake pulled Marian into his arms, "if you truly meant what you said, if you love me and want to marry me, I will do anything to make sure that happens."
Marian's cheeks reddened. "I meant what I said. If you can magically change the laws, I would gladly bear any amount of prejudice if it meant that I could be your wife."
Drake leaned down and kissed Marian. "I had hoped you'd say that."
**Now you know Drake's secret: Marian. But will he find a way out of marrying Amelia and a way to make Marian his queen?
What do you think about Marian's name? Does it fit her? I've struggled for a couple of years to find just the right name for her. Why do you or do you not like it? If you don't think it fits her, do you have any other suggestions?**