A small sliver of light shone from the curtains, directly into my eye. I groaned and rolled over, placing my hand on a pillow, realizing I had laid it in Henry's drool. I groaned out again and put my head underneath the pillow, trying to fall back asleep. Henry proceeded to twitch in his slumber and kick my leg, almost causing me to almost topple off the bed.

Angry and half-asleep, I kicked him back. The only response he made was a loud snore. I groaned out louder this time, finally wiping my wet hand on his shirt.

Falling back asleep is not an option.

With that, I called up a hot bath. Hazalen was sleeping soundlessly next to Henry, and I knew both weren't going to wake up any time soon.

The maid had lit up candles and placed lavender oils in the water and I immediately felt at ease. My mind started to wander as I soaked in the water.

Our Blackberry school break would be coming to an end, right after the Annual Targle event. Damien got away from his princely duties so we could see the cabin today. Yet Hazalen, Henry and I made sure to make every one of our days count-between my football practice and avoiding the King- our days were spent with laughter and spastic plans.

"Annalise, are you ready-"

I screamed, cradling my body to make sure nothing could be seen.

"What are you doing!" I yelled, my hands covering my breasts and my legs were attached to my chest.

"I just came to see if you were ready to go!" Damien panicked, his hands over his eyes.

"Did you not think I was taking a bath!"

"How was I supposed to know!"

"Well now you do-and you've seen me naked in the process!" I screeched.

"It's not like it's anything I haven't seen before!" He recoiled, turning his back to me.

"You haven't seen me completely naked before, Damien! So you're bringing up your sexual past with other girls now! Unbelievable." I huffed out, splashing water on his back.

He turned back around in response to my water attack, forgetting the circumstances and I screamed again.

"I'm sorry!" He panicked.

Did he just... apologize?

"What in gods name is going on in here!" Henry darted in the room, wiping the drool off his mouth.

What a morning.

"Is he trying to rape you?" Henry accused, pointing a finger at Damien.

"No, he's just comparing my body to other women he's been with." I playfully rolled my eyes, though I was annoyed.

"What kind of prince are you?" Henry asked, looking at Damien with disgust. Even from behind, I could see Damien's red ears, knowing his face was as red as a tomato. I wished we were in different circumstances so I could see the sight.

"No! I meant that one night when you were super drunk and took off your dress-"

"That doesn't count, Damien. Never hold a woman accountable for her actions when she is drunk. That is rule number one." Henry tisked at him, leading him out of the room.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Just stop talking, your digging your hole even deeper." Henry shut the door behind him, giving me a knowing look. We both immediately busted out into laughter, trying to cover it with our hands.

"I think we should give him a hard time more often. I've never seen him so flustered," He whispered, helping me out of the bath.

"I totally agree," I laughed,"How red was his face?"

"As red as Tiffany's hair."

"The redhead? Oh gods, it must've been really bad." I giggled, and Henry placed a towel around my body.

"Let me grab you a dress for your date, I'm thinking a soft pink?" He tapped his chin. I could almost see the clockwork in his brain, being the fashion icon he was.

"Nothing too extravagant, we might be riding today." I pitched in.

"Horseback?"

"Something like that... also, can you grab something from my bag?" I asked.

"What is it?"

"A key."

Damien carried a basket as we trudged through the Unio forest, filled with delights I had yet to discover. He wouldn't tell me what was in the basket until I forgave him for recent events.

"If you won't tell me what's in the basket, I won't show you the cabin." I stopped at the waterfall, wanting an answer. The snow around us had started to melt, Green season was coming upon us.

"Or maybe you are just luring me into thinking there is a cabin so I can tell you what's in the basket." He rebutted, giving me a charming wink.

"Oh, there's more than just a cabin." I smirked, taking the same path as before to reach the blackberry bush.

"What does that mean?" He paused in confusion, then proceeded to follow me.

I stopped at the bush, smiling as I noticed the footprints embedded in the snow, resembling one with hooves. The bush had already dried up, BlackBerry season was almost over.

"Fine, if I tell you what's in the basket will you forgive me and tell me what else is going on?" He huffed out, gray-blue eyes cloudy.

Damien never liked being left out of the equation; he hated not knowing what the future may bring or information that could involve him, it made him incredibly frustrated.

Sometimes I liked to think that many of his insecurities led back to the death of his mother: not knowing who assassinated her, loosing somebody dear unexpectedly, and not knowing what could suddenly happen in the future because of that. He thought he had to be prepared for any situation, so being left in the dark was not an option.

"Snow!" I called out,"I brought you a treat this time!" I snatched the basket from Damien, almost opening it, but his fast reflexes allowed him to take it back.

Bewilderedly, he stared,"Annalise, what has gotten into you? Is this all a trick to see what's in the basket?"

"It's gods-damn food Damien, I'm not stupid. I need to lure Snow." I stole it back from him, and he grabbed my shoulders.

"What is wrong with you?" He shook me.

Taken back, I took a deep breath and shrugged his hands off my shoulders,"Let me do as I wish for the next three minutes, and if my plan doesn't work, you can scream at me for being insane all you want."

He stared into my eyes for what seemed like an eternity. I turned my body completely toward him, showing him that I wanted him to trust me, not breaking the eye contact. He then nodded his head and stepped closer to me. Damien leaned down and kissed my forehead, showing me he trusted my actions from here on out.

I look completely insane and he still trusts me.

I searched through the basket until I found blackberries, noticing there weren't any left on the bush. "Snow, I have blackberries!" I hopelessly called out for a few minutes, my voice faltering from shouting so much.

"We should head back to the castle, I don't think 'Snow' wants to play today." He softly grabbed my hand, pulling me away. Disappointed, I agreed with him and followed his lead. I suddenly heard a huff behind me and spun around.

"Snow! I knew you would come back." I ran to Snow and hugged her around the neck, smiling as her pink mane brushed my arm.

"You weren't as drunk as I thought." Damien laughed and walked up to her, stroking her mane.

"What are you talking about?"

"At the BlackBerry ball, you mentioned meeting a unicorn. I've always known they weren't a myth from my private history lessons, but damn I've never seen one before," his smile was bright as he spoke, looking like a child on their birthday. Snow licked his hand and huffed out again, showing her affection.

"How come she likes you so much more than me?" I frowned, giving Snow a pointed look.

"I've got the charm and the looks, sweetheart. I'm completely irresistible, even to this lovely lady here." He winked at her while I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Snow, would you be willing to show us the cabin?" I asked cheerfully. She nodded her head, turning to the side so we had easy access to her back.

"Ladies first," Damien hunched down, ready to give me a boost. He helped me onto Snow, smirking as I made myself comfortable.

Damien skillfully hopped on, already being tall it wasn't much of a problem. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to his chest. I couldn't help the electric pull take over; his body pressed against mine sent tingles everywhere.

"You know, I've always wanted silk boxers. I thought it was a nice touch for today." He whispered in my ear.

What?

Damien purposefully propped me up so he could glance at my underwear.

I threw his arms off of me, turning around to face him,"You bastard!" He was only smirking from ear to ear, reveling in my anger,"First you creep on me in the bath-"

Snow took off, obviously having enough of my commotion. Her force caused Damien's arms to wrap back around my waist, and I grumpily complied.

After fifteen minutes we arrived at the cabin. The snow had melted, so I could finally see a full view of how small the cabin really was. Damien tried to help me off of Snow, but I took it upon myself to not need his assistance.

"Just grab my hand," he reached up. Snow was much larger than a horse, though I had no explanation for why.

"No, I don't need your help." As I tried to throw my leg around the other side of Snow, I fell backward. I was expecting to hit the ground but instead found tingles down my spine.

I looked up at his smirking face and rolled my eyes, trying to get out of his arms. He suddenly kissed me, catching me off guard. I melted into the kiss, my worries about the silk underwear and bath scenario leaving my mind as heat replaced it.

"I'm sorry about the bath and the underwear, Annalise. Sometimes I'm too comfortable around you that I take things too far. I'm used to doing things and people never getting mad about it, I want to do better for you and make you happy, not mad." He seriously looked down at me, his eyes blazing with emotion.

I giggled, bringing my hand across his forehead. I smoothed out his eyebrows, changing the seriousness of his appearance to a soft one. "I forgive you, Damien. I know you would never mean to make me feel uncomfortable. I think it's more of your childishness I get annoyed of." I joked around with him, reaching up to kiss his cheek.

"I know you love it when I make you mad. Though you would never admit it." He set me on my feet, linking his hand in mine as we walked to the cabin.

I smiled up at him,"I think you love it more. Whenever I don't follow your 'commands', you seem to get very flustered, Darius."

He tightened the grip on my hand, causing me to glance at him,"Don't patronize me, sweetheart. I wouldn't like to cause a scene in this cabin." His eyes were dilated as he glanced at me, eyebrows pointed. I quickly shut my mouth, not wanting to think about the possibilities.

"Snow, I'm going to show Damien the cabin. Is it alright if you wait out here?"

I know! I know!

This took forever.

I'll try to get better about updating, I'm back at work since the virus and I've been SO busy.