??? P.O.V.

You could say I found this amusing. She found me more threatening than the royal family. "So, why would you go to sleep in your day clothes?" I asked her as I pulled a blanket out of my saddle bag.

"I was staying at a friends house. You're not gonna hurt her, are you?" the girl asked worriedly.

"You're the one I'm after, princess," I say as I spread the blanket over her body.

"I should probably tell you, I'm not royalty," she says, her voice quiet.

"I know. Doesn't mean I can't give you a nickname," I tell her, walking back to my log.

"Why do I need a nickname?" she asks.

"Because," I grunt as I sit, "unlike all the people in the village, I don't know your name. I heard them speaking to you but I couldn't quite pick up what they called you." She does nothing but nod slowly. "I was hinting by the way," I add.

"I know," she says simply.

"You're not gonna tell me your name, are you?" I chuckle before she visibly stiffens. "Is there a reason you fear me more than the royals?" I ask.

"How do you know that?" she asks.

"Saw you hanging out with Prince Hayden today. You seemed completely unattracted and unthreatened by him. Yet now, you stiffen at the smallest whisper of my voice," I say.

"How long have you been following me, may I ask?"

"Not very long, princess," I tell her as I leaned back with a small stretch.

"Please stop calling me that," she whispers after a pause.

"Why? It suits you," I say.

"How so?"

"Well, you kinda look like a princess," I say and she looks herself up and down.

"This morning my mother took my cloak because it was covered in deer blood," she says blankly.

"I know some princesses that hunt," I laugh, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Who?" she questions.

"Well, let's see. There's Princess Merida, of Dunbroch. I've hunted with her a few times. I gave Princess Anna of Arendelle a few lessons with a bow and arrow. Princess Rapunzel accompanied her husband and I, and I could that as hunting. Uh-" she cut me off my list.

"Who the heck are you?!" she asks.

"Let's just say...I'm known," I tell her with a chuckle.

"By all surrounding kingdoms?!" she says in exasperation.

"And some not. You cut me off before I could finish," I say with a small shrug.

"I don't want you to finish," she grumbles.

"I was just answering your question," I tell her simply.

"Well next time just say 'I know more than you, peasant'," she says and I smirked behind my mask.

"Why don't you get some sleep," I say, standing up to get some arrows to put in my quiver.

"Not with you around," she hissed under her breath.

"Relax. I'm keeping watch," I tell her.

"Is that supposed to settle my nerves?" she asks.

"Does it not?"

"I think you know it doesn't and you're trying to keep it up," she says.

"Trust me, princess. My intentions are nothing short of harmless," I say.

"What are your intentions?" she asks.

"I'll tell you when I achieve them," I say as I put my bow across my shoulders. I stir the fire before walking to the trees. "I'll be back by morning," I call over my shoulder.

"Take your time!" she called after me, making me roll my eyes.

Sunrise

I trekked back to the clearing with a deer on my shoulder. A single deer, I know. Bad night for hunting. I dropped the deer by the dead fire and look at the girl to see her fast asleep. I was about to cook the animal but paused as I noticed something. She was cuddling with the blanket. I smiled, at how cute the scene was, before skinning the deer. Once I have it on the new fire, I heard her grunt and looked in her direction to see her in the middle of a long stretch. She looked around with wide eyes before realization struts across her face when she sees me.

"Mornin'!" I chirp as she rubs her head. She stayed silent as she looked around, studying her surroundings.

"I think I should warn you," she says after a pause, "my brother has superb tracking skills. He plus my friends bloodhound could find you with ease and then my brother with undoubtedly end your life." I can't hold back a laugh at the confidence in her voice.

"I don't think I have to worry about that," I tell her.

"Why's that?" she asks.

"Lets just say, I left a note that would lead them in the opposite direction, no matter how they tracked. I expect stuff, princess. This is a classic Maces and Talons game," I say before a look runs across her face that I couldn't quite read. "Hungry?" I ask after a pause. She looked at the meat above the flames before her eyes shoot wide.

"Oh, crap-ariffic!" she groaned before her head fell back to the log.

"What? Vegetariane?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"I was supposed to pick up some meat from the butcher in town. Well, maybe Mother will send Aaron," she muttered the last part under her breath but I could still heard her. She tried to brush her hair behind her ear but when she curved her hand, she tried to stifle a hiss of pain, making me notice that it was wrapped in gauze.

"What happened to your hand?" I ask and she pauses before looking at it, as if just realizing it's state.

"Ticked off a friend," she said in a small voice before hiding it under her arm. I stood up and walked over to her, only to have her try to move away. Eventually, my horse moved to her other side to keep her stationary. I then crouched at her side and gently grabbed her wrist to inspect her hand. The wrap was a vibrant red where it went over her palm, and was needless to say pretty thick. I looked at her, to see her staring at me fearfully, before unwrapping her hand. "W-What are you doing?" she asks, her voice shaking.

"Seeing what your friend did," I reply casually as I continued to take the gauze away. When I finally got to her hand, I was shocked to see a line of stitches, stretching almost all the way across her palm in a diagonal manner. "They stabbed you?"

"No, it was a hunting accident," she says.

"You said you ticked them off," I counter.

"We were hunting, I said something that rubbed them the wrong way, they shot an arrow in spite and it ended up in my hand," she explained. I looked at her skeptically... It didn't seem like she was telling the truth. I turned my eyes back to her hand before gently stroking my finger along the stitches. She flinched and gasped in pain, shrinking back as far as I would allow her, what with me holding her wrist.

"When did this happen?" I asked as I continued to let my finger hover over the line.

"Ah. Yesterday," she sighs, pain lingering in her voice, "Please stop touching it; it hurts." I could tell she wasn't lying about that. Her fingers were stiff and curled, signalling how much they wanted to ball into a fist. I gently straightened her fingers, to stretch her hand the slightest bit, and make it easier to count the stitches. Counted about 20. I hummed in thought before going to my saddle bag and digging around. I pull out some herbs I kept with me and a pestle/mortar. I ground up a slightly crunchy leaf and break the stem before squeezing the juices into it. I add a few more herbs and ground everything up into a paste. Once it's ready, I walk back over to the girl and sit next to her before holding my hand out for hers. She hesitated, looking at me skeptically.

"What are you putting on it?" she asks.

"A poultice my mother taught me. It helps scratches and gashes heal quicker," I explain before ordering her hand.

"I can put it on myself," she says.

"No, you can't," I tell her.

"Why not?"

"It'll hurt so much you won't be able to put yourself through it. I tried once and gave up after the first tap. Ended up getting infected. Give me your hand," I order and she hesitated again so I took it by force. She hissed in pain at the movement but let me proceed. I scooped the mixture up with two fingers and slowly brought it to her hand. Before I applied it, I looked her in the eye. Her gaze was fearful and her eyes were glazed with agony as she tried to avoid my gaze.