Isabella wiped her brow. "Hartha is a little ahead no?"

Aiden nodded, his sharp hazel eyes surveying the area as they rode. The sun was setting for the day and exhaustion invaded his body. He nodded, "Should not be very far. You tired?" He looked at her and noticed her slumped posture and tired eyes.

Isabella hurriedly looked away, "No, not at all, you?"

"No, no I am fine milady." They smiled tiredly at one another and continued to ride for a while longer. Isabella could no longer suppress her yawns. She noticed the dark path ahead of them covered by the foliage and sighed. Trotting along on Storm, she asked Aiden conversationally,

"So..." She glanced around, "you tired yet?"

Aiden smiled at her antics, "No milady, you?"

"No I am fine. Not in the least bit tired."

"Really? Because if I remember correctly, you seemed awfully tired with your yawning and all. Perhaps this journey is a little bit too trying for you.." He trailed off.

"Yawning? Me? You must be mistaken. although, I believe I saw you nodding off a little while back..." Aiden smiled guiltily and shrugged causing Isabella to stifle a laugh.

They were riding for a while longer into the thick of the forest when Aiden called out to the men to stop. "We camp here." He got off of his horse and the men followed suit. He noticed Isabella, still atop of her horse, sending her men hand signals and watched as they all saluted and went about setting camp up.

He sauntered over to her, "Couldn't you have just told them what you wanted?"

Isabella smirked and shrugged. "Old habits die hard. 'Tis a Gardian thing."

Aiden shook his head and raised his arms intending to help her down. Isabella shook her head, "I can climb down myself Aiden."

"Bella just let me help you."

Isabella looked confused, "Why?"

"Maybe for the sole purpose of making sure you don't fall, you are tired." Aiden said. And maybe I would like to hold you if only for one second. He shook the thought away just as Bella hooked her leg over and slid down close to his person. Aiden's mind screamed for him to step back, but something else was driving him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, hugging her close and just breathing her in. Isabella gasped and blushed whilst relaxing in his arms. "This is hardly appropriate Aiden." she whispered.

"What? Me helping you down from your horse?" He whispered against the back of her neck.

Isabella shivered, "You know what I am referring to..." She attempted to step away, from his body or her emotions, she no longer knew.

Aiden smiled, "Did you just shiver?" He tightened his arms briefly before releasing her. Isabella didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed by the lack of his body heat. She cleared her throat, turned, met his eyes, nodded, and jogged to her men giving orders, the sound of Aiden's laughter rang out from behind her.

The knights having seen the exchange between them smirked as they continued setting the camp up.

******

"We have to pick up some supplies here." Aiden nodded at the knight as they neared the gates of Hartha.

Inside the gates, Aiden noticed the busy activity and was slightly confused.

"Is it true!?" Isabella walking alongside Aiden through the crowds turned toward the voice.

"Yes!" They saw a man in the middle of the crowd scream. "The monarchy of Gardia were killed and the people of Gardia are free! Continue to spread the news!"

Isabella gasped at the few cheers, her entire face robbed of color.

"Who will take over?" The same woman cried out.

The man nodded, "A Sir Baldwin will take the throne soon. Trade with the Gardians will continue again without the taxes of William!" The Harthans cheered and began to disperse.

Aiden sighed, looked over Isabella and was worried by the look on her beautiful face. He told his men to ask around and find out what was going on, also ordering their crescents off for anonymity.

"Isabella." He said. She just stood there. "Bella." He snapped his fingers and still no response. He picked her up and took her away from the crowd into a more private place behind a trading booth. "Bella!"

Isabella snapped out of her daze and met Aiden's eyes, her eyes sharp and cold. "I will kill him."

Aiden took a moment and thanked God he was not Sir Baldwin. He was bought back by Isabella's chilling voice. "I will slaughter him. How dare he?!" Isabella was furious.

"Bella there could just be some confusion. It may not be true." Just as he finished that thought the knights approached and confirmed in more detail what the man was saying.

"Baldwin announced that you and your father were killed by the Jarians and the people were happy."

"What!?" Isabella yelled.

The knight winced but continued, "and Baldwin takes the throne in about two weeks or so time."

Isabella took this all in, nodded, and fainted.

Aiden angered and slightly confused became panicked when he caught Isabella before she could hit the ground. "Dammit!" He did not know what to do so instinctively he picked her up into his arms and ran based off of memory to where he hoped she could get help.

******

"Mother, please calm yourself." The woman cried more as her son sat the tea down. "Moth--" James was interrupted by a pounding at the door. Opening the door he called out to his mother, "Mother, I could use your help!"

"What is going on?" The elderly woman as she wiped her eyes, asked. Her eyes widen in shock at the sight of Aiden and Isabella.

Aiden cradled Isabella to his chest. "Princess Isabella, she has fainted. Help her!" Aiden yelled.

The lady sniffed, "Still yelling young one are we? How do we know 'tis the princess? 'Tis said that she has been killed."

Aiden groaned, "Isabella is not dead, neither is her father. They traveled to Jaria with us but were never attacked. Baldwin has lied." James showed him where to place Isabella and Aiden gently put her down, pushing her hair out of her face.

The woman noticed Aiden's gestures of affection and raised an eyebrow. She made up her mind. "Men out of the room." She held up her hand before Aiden could object and watched as he and James left the room. She then turned to Isabella and checked where she knew the back scar wound would be.

Aiden paced in front of the door. He heard a loud 'Oh Lord' before the door was opened and out ran the elderly woman. "Thank the Lord! Thank the Lord! She lives." She hugged him.

He was confused and pulled away, "What are you going on about? She fainted!"

"Son she is fine, a cool cloth is on her head, she should awaken in a little time." She motioned for him to follow her into the room. "You should be glad she is alive. Baldwin controlling a country... 'tis not a good idea, not a good idea at all."

"You know Baldwin too."

"I don't know him, I know of him. My mother told me all there is, she was a very close friend of Baldwin's grandfather."

"What do you mean?"

"Son, how much do you know about ancestries and monarchies?"

Aiden shrugged, "Apparently not enough, what do you know about this Baldwin chap?"

"Isabella's great great grandfather overthrew Michael's descendants' tyranny." Aiden nodded, for this was the information he was aware of. "And that commenced the era of family massacres." Aiden nodded again.

"People think that Michael's bloodline was wiped out, but little know that one escaped. The descendant fled, changed his name and lived. The story of their family's destruction was always retold through generations."

It all clicked. Aiden sighed, "Let me just take a guess. Baldwin is a descendant of the descendant from Michael's family?" The elderly woman nodded, "And he plans to bring the crown back into his family bloodline."

"Thus creating another era of tyranny." The woman finished. Aiden rubbed his aching head.

"This is happening again? An overthrow, betrayal, again?"

"They say history tends to repeat itself."The woman finished. Aiden frowned and studied Isabella's face.

"Hmmm you've finally realized that you care for her." She stated.

"What?!" Aiden asked startled.

The woman smiled, "Nothing." She walked out of the room followed by a pensive Aiden.

James passing the pair entered the room to find a stirring Isabella. "Where am I?"

"Why is it that we keeping meeting like this?" James asked.

Isabella's eyes popped open at the sound of the voice. "James."

James smiled, "Hello Princess, good to see you again." He leaned down and hugged her.

Isabella smiled and hugged him back just as Aiden walked in followed by the woman. Aiden glared slightly at the duo when the woman rushed forward.

"Ah you're awake young Princess." She hugged her, "Thank the Lord you are alive. James, we shall go to a booth and fetch new cloth and I will go get tea. Your men can take rest here for the night." She smiled inwardly and left.

Aiden stepped forward. "Are you alright?" When Isabella did not meet his eyes he tilted her head up toward him, "Bella are you alright?"

"I fainted." Isabella grumbled.

"Women faint in my presence all the time, I apologize for overwhelming you." Aiden joked.

Isabella rolled her eyes and smiled slightly, "What are we going to do? Everyone thinks I am dead, and everyone is happy about it. Seems as if Baldwin has won."

"Bella, do not think that way. Where is the warrior I've come to know and lov--" He paused. "Look, everything will be okay. He thinks you are dead, it will be easier to ambush and take him down." He had her scoot over, laid next to her and told her about Baldwin's identity.

"So Baldwin is Michael's descendant hellbent on taking the throne back?" Aiden nodded. "I will kill him!"

Aiden laughed, "Calm, calm Bella. We will handle it." He wrapped his arms around her. "Stop giving me these scares."

"Someone has to bring excitement into your dull life."

"That you do." He kissed her forehead, "Come on, let us go, you need air." Aiden stood up.

"Or I could just stay here and talk more with James..." Isabella smiled.

"The hell you will." He scooped Isabella up and carried her out of the house after writing a note to James.

******

"You really love water don't you?" Isabella said watching her reflection in the dance river.

"This place is calming, nature is calming." He tilted his head and studied the sky. "Actually I was relaxing here before someone so rudely decided to have a sword fight near."

Isabella smiled sheepishly, "I wonder what ever happened those two refugees. I like to finish what I've started."

"We may never know." Aiden shrugged and sat by the riverbank as their horses drank. The two relaxed and talked about nothing for awhile.

"I have a question." Isabella suddenly stated. Aiden motioned to her to ask. "Eric hinted to me about you when we had just met." Aiden raised an eyebrow. "He mentioned your distrust of women. I have also noticed how you cut yourself off if your mother comes up..."

Aiden knew where she was going and turned toward her fully. He looked into her eyes, studying them, looking for something he never thought he'd want to find.

He made a decision. He rose and turned away looking at the darkening sky. Isabella sighed looking down.

"My mother, she is everything a good woman should not be. She was a vagabond when my father met her. He fell instantly. They met after father left school. He was young, strong and handsome very eligible and out of all of the maidens he could've had, he chose her." He spat. "Father said she was not interested at first which attracted him because she was the first woman not interested or so he thought, so he pursued her. He won her over eventually, probably because the fool told her of his friendship with King Charles." Isabella sat stunned by the raw emotion in his voice.

"She wanted him to plan an overthrow for she knew of the history about Micah and the bloodline switch. When he refused she continued to take from him without giving any in return. She never returned his love. Bella, he gave his everything and just because he refused a crown, she left." Isabella went to speak but Aiden continued to reminisce. "Nor was she faithful. As a young lad when father traveled, men visited her. She called them friends and they stayed over, sometimes more than one. I never understood until I aged. The sad thing is," his voice broke. Isabella ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist as he'd done her that previous night. "Father knew, he just could not let himself leave her, he never shamed her in public. In the end, she left him, heartbroken. All the while, she never loved her son either. 'Twas always her and no one else. She had father for his title, nothing else. She would not stay for anything, including me."

"When did she leave?" Isabella asked softly.

"A little after my eleventh summer. Father was desperate, he tried to get her back. In the end he invested his all into being Head Knight. It was not until after my sixteenth summer that we found that she married a wealthy physician elsewhere, and I vowed never to allow a maiden break me as she broke my father."

Isabella felt wetness on her arms and walked around him to see his face wet from a few tears. "I was never loved by my own mother Bella, what woman will love me if my own mother would not? I will not be broken at the hands of another manipulative woman." Aiden composed himself and met her eyes.

Isabella leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed his tear stained cheeks softly. She kissed his nose and smiled at him. "You've opened up to me." She finished with a few kisses to his neck.

Aiden shuddered and wrapped his arms around her. "You've gotten past my armor." He kissed her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed herself to be lifted by him and backed against a tree. They kissed passionately all timidness gone. "Aiden, I lo--" Isabella started pulling back,

"Why is it that I keep finding you two like this?" A voice rang out.