Lilliana subtly put her hand on Ambrose's arm while they talked in the front of the wagon. Dimitri gritted his teeth.

He couldn't stand the way this was going. He knew that in order to keep the young man from questioning their motives and all, they'd need to erase the tension and Lilliana was working on doing that, but... the prince hated how she had to play up to him so much. Every little touch, every little giggle or... or sexually-charged glance made him want to smack his head against the wooden rails of the wagon and not wake up.

Now that he thought more about it, Dimitri realized he couldn't stand her.

Those hints of wanton desire. That insufferable air-headed behavior. A suck-up nuisance. The way she wore that braided bun on the back of her white-blonde curls like it was some crown of innocence. The pale lime eyes, eyes like a green pair of crafty garden snakes as weaving their into some poor man's heart and sinking their teeth in.

This was the new noble appointed to oversee part of Faerghus? Small that part may be, it was another point against him. Cornelia decided on a young temptress without a care in her country; how fitting. He could understand finding someone that would toss away their dignity to bow and scrape to the Empire, but why in the world would they look for a girl with such two-faced tendencies she'd make a hydra jealous?

It was all the more reason to rip Edelgard's head from her shoulders as soon as possible. To allow this... usurper the opportunity to rule any portion of Faerghus would be nothing short of blasphemy against those who had long protected it, and those who had since then died for it.

Lilliana was leaning over now, that seductive posture accentuating the way her top rode up to expose her midriff, the skin of her toned stomach fairer than the blankets of snow in Faerghus winters. She planted a long, flirtatious kiss on Ambrose's cheek, then went back to sitting normally with a coy giggle. Ambrose's hand came up to touch the spot she kissed, a smile growing on his face as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

Goddess, how Dimitri wanted to kick the two of them off the wagon. Now that he thought about it, it probably wouldn't be that bad of an idea. Lilliana would have to run to catch up to the horse at the front, and while Faye might jump off to be with her sister, Dimitri would have the rest of the children. And, hopefully, the other soldiers would be on their way to the castle through a different means of transportation, so there wouldn't be much to hinder the plan.

Ambrose wrapped an arm around Lilliana's back and pulled her closer to him while Dimitri tried his best to stare at his feet. He knew what was happening, and what was going to happen, but he willed himself to ignore it. There was a pause in the rocking of the wagon as Lilliana and Ambrose presumably stole a kiss, and Dimitri's unfortunately competent hearing picked up a girlish gasp and a quiet chuckle after a small thump.

There was a sigh. Finally, the wagon started up again. Dimitri played with his fingers to keep himself occupied.

Lilliana climbed into the back of the wagon with the children. "Sorry it took me a second to get back here," she pulled a sniffling David into her lap. "I was talking a little."

Dimitri gave a sneer. "Yes, talking. And how was that?"

She clenched her jaw. "Wonderful. I wouldn't expect you to know what it feels like."

"At least I can hold a conversation without acting unchaste towards whatever poor soul I happen to be speaking with," the prince retorted in a whisper to make sure Ambrose didn't hear. "I don't think the children would mind if you stayed up there with him instead."

Lilliana snorted. "Shut up. You know another thing I hate about you?"

He didn't respond, only lifting his chin defiantly.

"You're completely obnoxious, and you don't help anything go smoothly if I'm involved." She let the rest of the children snuggle into her, glaring at Dimitri. "And, on top of that, you're completely unhinged for whatever reason. If you wanted to get me to this stupid castle so badly, you could at least try to act a little. You're hurting your own chances while I do all the work."

"I have more reason to be 'unhinged' than you'll ever know, Colette," He snapped. The wagon hit a bump in the road and everyone bounced for a few moments, further irritating the two pretending to be siblings. "And I didn't ask to be a part of this stupid plan. I argued against it, or have you forgotten already?"

"Yeah, you tried to kill me for it," Lilliana bristled. "I'm not gonna forget that quickly. But you didn't need to argue against it, you just want to argue against me. It's stupid, really."

"I'm the one arguing for the sake of arguing?" Dimitri bridled incredulously. "You've been doing the exact same thing this entire time! You must really be an imbecile if you consider yourself the victim in everything!"

"You almost killed my little sister!" Lilliana whisper-shouted, pulling Faye close. "Why wouldn't I abhor you? Or, maybe, you've just never experienced a relative being murdered or come close to being murdered, then."

Dimitri clenched his fists. "I've experienced far, far worse than you'll be able to comprehend, Miss von Elway, so don't try and grandstand about me simply threatening your little sister."

She threw up her hands. "Unless you're going to tell anyone what actually happened to poor blubbering you, then don't try and grandstand about what woeful event befell you! You're absolutely pathetic and if you wanted to deal with your oh-so-terrible past, then focus on fixing yourself, idiot!"

The prince muttered something distasteful under his breath but provided no further ammunition for her to latch onto.

A moment later, Lilliana was all smiles again, laughing and chatting along naively with the children.

"Hey, Colette, Alexandre!" Ambrose stopped the wagon and leaned backwards. "We're coming up on a checkpoint soon. There will be soldiers, so I need you two to listen close."

Begrudgingly, Dimitri turned his attention to the young man. Lilliana set down David and turned to see their driver.

"I want you to take that tarpaulin out of the chest and gather everyone underneath it," Ambrose began; Dimitri opened his mouth, confused, but Ambrose held up a hand. "Now, hold on, before you ask anything. Directly before we get to the checkpoint, I'm able to pick up whatever supplies I put in an order for. And, as you can see, there's a compartment behind me that I'm sure we can fit the youngest and smallest into. The guards know me for traveling alone, so I can't have either of you riding with me without them getting suspicious.

"So, before we go any further, we need to get everyone hidden so they don't suspect anything, all right? There's a couple of boxes you can each fit a child or two in, and they'll assume there's already something in there so they won't bother. The only problem is you two, but I'm sure you guys can figure that out. If I need to, I can bribe my way past the supplies merchants if they see someone, but that's all." Ambrose gave a knock on the compartment behind the wagon's front seat, to show that it was hollow. "Just send some kids in here and hide everyone else, and I'll take care of the rest."

Lilliana gave him a smile and nodded. "Sure thing. How many can fit in the compartment?"

He tilted his head from side to side thoughtfully. "Maybe... around six or seven? Maybe eight but it could get cramped. Unless there's someone very, very small that you're sure won't cause any trouble."

"Okay, well, I'll have..." she mused carefully. "David, Irene, El, Octavia, Posey, Lucas, and Lizzie will stay in the compartment. Octavia and El, make sure you're all quiet and well-behaved, okay?"

Octavia nodded fervently, hopping out of the wagon and walking around to the side, where Ambrose opened a little door to let them in. All the named children were quickly picked up or walked by themselves to their new hiding place, and El and Octavia made sure the commotion was kept to a healthy minimum.

Next, Cassie and Espen, under Lilliana's instruction, climbed into one of the crates together, along with a sachet of unknown herbs Dimitri couldn't see to keep them calm. Olivier, a master at hide-and-seek, was already out of sight, so they went on. Faye was slightly harder to hide. Since she wasn't hidden with the smaller children, they didn't know where to put her. After much hemming and hawing, they settled on keeping her near to Lilliana in a far corner of the wagon.

Thankfully, Ambrose assured them that the hay bales spread throughout the wagon would be used to cover the tarpaulin, and thus cover anyone underneath the tarpaulin as well. The only problem was air, but Ambrose was sure that it would go smoothly and quickly and there would be enough to keep the three of them alive. There was already a sizable hole in the side of Cassie and Espen's crate so there was no problem for them, and Faye could lift up a corner of the tarp every few seconds to keep air flow going underneath.

At last, everyone was settled into their places, and Ambrose began distributing the hay over the wagon's low platform. Dimitri shifted comfortably onto his stomach and crossed his arms underneath his head when he was done, keenly feeling every jolt of the horse's hooves as the wagon started forward once more. Lilliana made quiet jokes and giggled softly with Faye as the minutes wore on, and though he sorely wanted to, Dimitri couldn't find the energy to tell her to shut up.

It was bad enough he was laying only a foot or two away from her, but even worse now that he had to deal with her incessant chatting, almost like she was some gossipy, naive schoolgirl who couldn't control her own tongue.

Dimitri sighed faintly. It was too early to get riled up about it anyway, what with having yelled at her already during an argument.

They rode along for what seemed like hours, breathing in the stuffy, sweltering air beneath the tarp. In reality it had perhaps only been an hour and a half at most, and they could hear the hustle and bustle of townspeople outside, mixed in with the whinnies and hoof-stomping of other horses and donkeys shouldering still other wagons.

Lilliana tapped his shoulder. "How much longer do you think we'll be in here?"

"Why don't you hop out and go ask your sweet consort?" Dimitri grumbled. "I don't know."

She snorted. "Someone doesn't do well with heat, huh? You must be insufferable in bed. Oh, wait! You're insufferable when it's not hot too!"

"Just be quiet," he snapped. "If I'm still feeling generous in a few minutes, maybe I won't take the liberty of ripping off your head and tossing your sorry corpse into the street, so maybe you should try and help my mood by being less difficult."

Lilliana sucked in her breath in mock-fright. "Ooh, quite a big difference from when you said you wouldn't threaten me anymore. I'm simply terrified,"

He gave a sharp kick  to her shin and she yelped. "Keeping my word is devoid of its honor when you insist upon pushing my limits to see how far you can get before I snap."

She shrugged. "Whatever you say. I can understand losing your cool thanks to a not-so-cool temperature, but if you'd like to act like that then don't come back to me when you feel guilty about it later."

"I won't, you can count on that," Dimitri assured her sarcastically, turning his head to the opposite side and closing his eyes. "But don't come wailing back to me when your sheer impertinence gets you hurt by someone who doesn't give warnings."

"Oh, ho ho ho, that's quite rich, Highness," Lilliana spat. "Especially coming from someone who—"

She was cut off a split-second later as the wagon rolled to a halt and Ambrose could be heard speaking to what sounded like merchants confirming the resources he had ordered.

Dimitri felt something heavy drop onto his back and he suppressed a grunt. A bag of apples, or general food supplies maybe?

He noticed something similar was set down on Lilliana's feet a moment afterwards, and the tarpaulin became tighter as more objects were placed upon it. Soon enough, no more supplies were being slung onto the wagon.

And then he heard exactly what he had desperately hoped not to.

"Hey... you there! Come out!"

Dimitri's stomach tightened with fear. Did the merchant mean him? Were they caught?

...Was he going back to Imperial dungeons?

Then he heard a strangled gasp from Lilliana beside him, and realized he wasn't the one in danger.

Little Faye had mistakenly lifted the tarp corner once more to allow the adults more air. A brave move, to be sure, but an unfortunate one. The petite little girl was petrified, her heart-shaped face exposed to the soft morning light and evidently the merchant's gaze.

"Mister von Barlowe?" The merchant called. "Who is this?"

"Who?" Ambrose replied, and a thump along with several footsteps could be heard. "This little girl? Hm..."

There was a tense moment. Dimitri subtly pressed his hand to Lilliana's mouth to keep her from making a sound.

Suddenly Ambrose laughed. "Ah, so that's why I found her familiar! This is Faye Lozano, one of the children in my mother's orphanage," he explained, lifting Faye out of the wagon. "She's been asking to join me on a wagon ride for months now, if you believe it. Seems she took to stowing away."

"Oh, that makes sense," the merchant chuckled. "I'll tell the guards up ahead you've got a little companion with you, I'm sure they won't mind. But, Ambrose... we haven't forgotten your smuggling days. Make sure you're staying clean."

Ambrose adopted a breezy tone, lowering his voice to a more hushed volume. "I haven't forgotten 'em either, Hans. They paid me well and you even better, but what with the Empire employing the measures it has if I got caught doing that you can bet your convoy I wouldn't have any business here again. Besides, I've got a lady I have my eyes on, so it wouldn't be proper to get arrested while I'm courting her, would it? Dreadful manners by my standards."

Hans laughed. "Makes sense, Ambrose, makes sense. So who is the lucky girl, huh? She must be pretty amazing to have caught your eye."

"Oh, she is, Hans, she is," Ambrose's voice rose to a normal pitch again. "Her name's Colette. Pretty young thing, she is. I'm looking to get married and all, and she's quite the candidate. I'll bring her back to meet you sometime, I promise."

"Alright then, Mister von Barlowe, I look forward to meeting her." It sounded as though Hans stepped away from the wagon. "Anyway, you know the drill. Imperial checkpoint is just up ahead, they might rummage around your bags a little bit if you seem suspicious, they should let you pass without incident, as per our company's arrangement we'll be forced to disavow you and our goods should you be found to be carrying criminal supplies, blah blah blah, go ahead, kid."

Ambrose laughed again, said good-bye to the merchant, and hopped back into the front seat of the wagon, presumably with Faye in tow. In just a couple seconds, the wagon's old, rusted wheels creaked and started forward, jostling the bags on the platform. Whatever was on Dimitri tipped onto his side, freeing his back and allowing him to take a well-needed deep breath. Lilliana kicked off the bags resting on her ankles and stretched her legs, flipping onto her back.

No matter their previous irritation with one another, they were perfectly content in the moment that everything was safe and they were on their way to the castle at Airmid.

Unfortunately, though, the air beneath the tarp was growing hotter by the second, and Lilliana had to reach out her arm to lift the corner and freshen the atmosphere.

Each bump in the road seemed linked to Dimitri's growing nervousness in the pit of his stomach. He knew how carefully this plan was concocted, and it would probably turn out in his favor, but he couldn't help but let his mind wander, especially since it was more or less the only thing he could do.

Lilliana, glad that Faye was now in a safer place than before, was much more well-adjusted to the environment. If she had to be honest, she found this whole situation exhilarating in a sense. She hadn't had this much fun since she got to pit twins against each other to compete for her affections. And that had been quite the spectacle, as she would have said if she had the chance to tell the story recently.

But there was still the checkpoint, and they came closer to it with every minute that the wheels shrieked. Keeping her excitement in check would be of utmost value if they were to make it through without arousing the suspicion of any guards.

The horse at the front of the wagon came to an abrupt stop, neighing and pawing the ground.

Ambrose stepped off the front seat and handed the reins to a guard.

And, just as the search was about to begin, the headaches began as well.

Dimitri twitched. He could hear Lambert's voice from somewhere within the tarp, calling out to him angrily. He shook his head.

Lilliana eyed him cautiously. "Hey. Stop moving."

"Don't—" he paused. "...Sorry. I'm trying."

She gave him a strange look but kept quiet.

There was a hint of movement at the tip of the wagon's platform, where a soldier had begun to sift through supplies.

Dimitri swallowed with a mutter and scrunched his eyes, his head pounding. Shifting his arms, he clutched it, breathing heavily. Lilliana patted his shoulder, but he refused to answer.

"Go away," he growled. He didn't see her but he could hear her snort of frustration. She was tense, he knew, but he didn't care. He was keeping himself under control as best he could and she would just mess it up.

"Dimitri," she said warily, grabbing his sleeve more urgently now as the soldiers moved to the next bags. "Get over here!"

He gritted his teeth. "Absolutely not. They'll see me, you moron."

"You're not doing well," Lilliana insisted. "I can help. I don't want to be caught any less than you do."

"I don't care!" he snapped harshly, and with satisfaction he felt her recoil slightly. "I'm fine."

Another moment went by as the tension mounted. Now there was Glenn, mocking him in a sing-song tone about his dilly-dallying at the monastery. Dimitri shook his head again, more violently this time, and heard the hay shift slightly.

Lilliana wasn't taking no now. "You need to slide over to me. Now."

The soldiers were halfway up the wagon's platform now.

"I said, no. Stop making this harder than it has to be."

She pursed her lips adamantly. "You're being pigheaded. You're going to get us all caught, you know."

He sent a jab her way. "Shut up. Stop talking."

Lilliana bristled.

Suddenly, she pried him off the platform enough to slide her delicately-built frame underneath him. While he was frozen in shock, she straddled his legs with hers to keep them still.

Dimitri went red as a noa fruit with both anger and embarrassment as he felt her hands take gentle hold of his face and pull him towards her. "This is assault," he squeaked indignantly, matching her determined gaze with his furious one. "You are not to touch me in this way at all, do you understand me?!"

Lilliana stared him in the eye, shifting an arm around his neck and pulling him even closer. Loathe she was to admit it, she enjoyed the feeling of his body atop hers. It was comforting, in some way.

"I gave the children sachets of lavender," she explained, her voice restrained to the softest of whispers. "I didn't have any left for you. I know it helps you in some way when you get mad, right? I always make sure I have lavender perfume on me in case one of the children needs some calming down."

Dimitri found it hard to breathe. Now that they were practically sharing air, the atmosphere had gotten much, much steamier. "I don't want help," he managed, trying to subtly shake her hand off his cheek, "and especially not yours."

Lilliana shrugged imperceptibly. "Sorry then."

With that, she gave a last pull and kissed him hard, legs tightening around his thighs. Her arm secured itself around his neck while her other hand drifted to the back of his head.

And my, what a kiss it was.

Lilliana's lips were full, and though they pressed firmly against Dimitri's, they were softer than a down pillow. She ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his head, which had grown just past his chin, intersecting with the strong arm that wrapped around his neck in a protective manner. She crossed her ankles, stroking his hair, and made sure they were as low to the wooden planks as physically possible.

And though it felt like a dream, Dimitri hated it.

Everything he loathed, everything he despised about Lilliana was now being turned to him. Those half-closed, shamelessly coy green eyes stared directly into his. He wished so sorely to sit up and push her off the side of the cart. His parents had begun screaming at him ever since the kiss started, and he was sure the quickest way to take care of it was to kill the girl and slaughter his way into escaping.

And then, he caught the scent of the lavender, like a sweet sucker punch in the stomach. He felt it waft off her skin and into his nose, touching every nerve as it did so.

Lilliana broke the kiss. Surprisingly enough, Dimitri found himself leaning forward subconsciously to press his face to her shoulder in hopes of a stronger trail of lavender. He got it, and as a result the voices of his parents lessened. They weren't gone, but they had mostly quieted for the time being, and that was enough for him. The only thing left was to wait out the headache and the search of the wagon.

"You're doing very well," Lilliana purred into his ear, brushing her lips to the sensitive skin of his neck as her breath warmed it. "Just a little bit longer."

Dimitri felt his entire body heat up significantly, which was quite the feat for someone already practically sweating off their shirt. "Sh-shut up. I d-don't need you to... to tell me that," he hissed.

But he was finding it was harder to stay mad at her. She kissed at his jaw and his throat a few more times, and he had that feeling that all the while her tempting, coquettish eyes never left him. The lavender that continuously drifted from that pale porcelain neck didn't quite help him maintain any negative sentiment towards her either.

The heavy footsteps of the armored soldiers finally reached the bags closest to the two young adults locked in an embrace of what was decidedly not love. Dimitri's throat constricted as the guard at the front paused for what felt like an eternity.

Just as the tension heightened, the guard kicked one of the bags, rifled through it, and turned.

Sooner than either of them could realize, there were loud thuds to indicate the soldiers were done here and had jumped off the platform.

Ambrose's speaking was lulled into a buzz of unintelligible noise by the sheer humidity underneath the tarpaulin, and neither Dimitri nor Lilliana were confident enough in their safety to look anywhere other than the exact same spot they had been.

Whether it was because she was curious or still scared of whatever might rip off the tarp, Lilliana didn't know, but she locked lips with Dimitri one last time, almost as though to ensure they were truly safe.

This time, Dimitri didn't protest.

Instead, they stared into one another's eyes for an indefinite period, with neither hatred nor passion.

Ambrose had to call to them multiple times before either one realized that they had rounded the bend and were free to come out.

Quickly, Lilliana unwrapped her limbs from around Dimitri, who threw up the tarpaulin the moment he was free. After doing this, he sat up and stumbled backwards, while Lilliana pulled herself to the opposite side of the wagon and curled herself into a sweating, blushing ball.

While she stared back at the prince from behind her knees, she began to think.

The question "Is he really all that bad?" came to the forefront of her mind more than once no matter how many times she tried to dispel it.

He was, and she knew that for a fact.

He had threatened to murder her little sister on multiple occasions in horrifying scenarios.

He had been a cat's whisker away from killing her not even a day ago.

But...

What had Webbs told her again?

That he had been a valiant young man. A chivalrous, noble, respectable prince. One who unfortunately lost his way. He wasn't beyond saving, he just refused as such.

Aside from the moral questions Lilliana hated to trouble herself with, there was... another one that was most definitely brought to her attention.

She enjoyed the feeling of his body brushed up against hers. Through his shirt she had felt his muscles, hard as stone, and she'd be lying if she hadn't thought of him as handsome at one point or another.

He was obstinate and unreasonable and malevolent, yes, but... goddess, how the opportunity to kiss him thrilled her. Every nerve in her body tingled when he moved closer, when she touched his skin with her lips.

Lilliana closed her eyes and shook her head violently. She couldn't dwell on that right now. She had to focus on Ambrose. If he wasn't infatuated with her yet, which she knew he was close, there was always the chance he'd get suspicious. Once he was pliable, she had things under control.

Dimitri, on the other hand, knew the way his body caught fire the instant she murmured something in his ear was no accident. She was a witch, a seductress, who specialized in leading men astray. He was determined not to let her get to him, and though she came close, he was going to be much more careful from now on.

He would refuse all attempts to get to know her better. Enjoying her company was out of the question. Letting her get close would worsen the problem.

And, by the goddess, he was going to supply his own lavender. If she decided to use this peculiar behavior of hers to her advantage when his headaches came around, there would be no chance left for him.

Yes, that was it.

That was how he would keep himself from feeling any sort of attachment to this young woman.

Lilliana von Elway was not getting under Crown Prince Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd's skin any longer, and that was final.

"You will tell no one of this," Dimitri hissed, hoping against hope that the blush had faded from his cheeks. He wiped his mouth with his gauntlet, as though he could wipe away the impure act from existence.

Lilliana shook her head, breathing heavily. "Yes... yes," she panted. "No one... No one needs to know."