"Where are you bringing me?" she asked as they crossed over another rocky hilltop.

"I told you, it's a surprise," he smiled back at her as his grip on her hand remained steady.  

They had been walking as such for what felt like most of the day, hiking over over trails and hillsides, wading across streams and plains.  Yet still he remained guarded about his true purpose, and she allowed her fate to remain within his hands.

It's wasn't every day the Captain of the guard had permission to take the Princess away on an extended journey without additional company, but as he was considered her personal guardian in such situations, it wasn't difficult for her to convince anyone otherwise. Not to mention, her father rarely denied her anything, and she was aware her Captain knew the same when he initially asked her to make the request.

This wasn't the first time they stole away together undetected under the guise of an innocent day out.  The Princess would often ask her father to allow her time away to enjoy the beauty of the nature surrounding their kingdom, and as always the Captain was assigned to maintain her protection.  Little did they know about the kisses they stole when no one else was around, or the gentle touches they dared when they knew no one was looking.  It was beginning to grow harder as time went on, and the Princess, like every other young woman her age, was discovering there was more to life than sweet smiles and bashful giggles.

She wanted more.

She wanted him.

She knew the feeling was mutual one day when he caught her staring at him, and did not turn away.

"Can I help you with something, Princess?" he asked in the formal manner of the palace guard.

She smiled sweetly in response, her eyes remaining on his.  "I would like to take a walk through the woods.  Would you join me?"

"And what of the horses, Princess?" he asked as he motioned to their animals tied to the nearby tree.

"They will be fine - this will only take a moment."

"Of course, Princess," he nodded and soon followed her into the overgrowth of the nearby forest.

At first she feigned a stumble into his arms, and then required his assistance by holding her hand so that she could cross a stream, and went so far as to faint to be held in his arms.  Finally, she dared to give him a kiss, and for a moment she believed he would return the favor, but he immediately returned her to ground and stared at her with steely grey eyes beneath a furrowed brow, as if his very stare emphasized his disappointment.

"Never again, Princess," he declared, and directed them to return to the castle.

At first, she believed he would inform her father of her misgivings, and she remembered sitting in her bedroom that night, dreading the sound of footsteps that would lead to her reprimand.  Instead, it was merely her handmaiden ready to assist her with the nightly routine, and nothing was ever mentioned by her father in regards to the occasion.

A week passed without incident, and again she dared to steal a moment alone with her Captain.  Surprisingly, he agreed to accompany her on a ride through the countryside without resistance - it was his sworn duty to protect her after all.  

She packed a small picnic lunch for two and decided to make an afternoon out of it.  It was purely an innocent invitation and nothing unusual, for she had done this many times before.

The day was beautiful as they drove their horses across the field, and as the sun reached its highest point, she asked to stop for refreshment.  Never one to deny the Princess anything, the Captain obliged and tied the horses to a nearby tree while the Princess worked on spreading the blanket and setting out their lunch.

They sat in silence through most of their meal, but it was peaceful and relaxed.  Finally, the Captain turned to her with his steely gaze.

"What do you want, Princess?"

The blush must have rose to her face immediately, for the Captain smiled as her sudden composure.  She glanced away, bashful of her reaction.

"What do you mean, Captain?"

His eyes turned from her to the soft grasses of the plains around them.  "You are a woman of age, and yet you hide behind your castle walls.  Is there nothing more you want in life?"

Glaring slightly, she turned her attention back to him.  "And you are a man grown who still lives as a bachelor.  Is there nothing more you want in life?"

"Oh, there is plenty I want, Princess, but we're not talking about me."  He smiled at her from over his shoulder, and again she diverted her eyes.

Biting her lip, she considered the question as it was posed to her.  What did she want out of life?  There were the obvious answers, but the more she thought about it, she realized there may not be just one.

"I want a castle in the fog," she admitted after a moment's hesitation.

He smiled again at her answer, but she couldn't tell if it was at her expense.

"You already have a castle, Princess," the Captain chided.  "Why does it have to be in the fog?"

"The castle I have belongs to my father, if you recall," she informed him pointedly.

"Aye, so the fog then?"

Shrugging her slender shoulders, her gaze soon ventured to the pristine calm of the countryside.

"It's difficult to see things for what they truly are while in a fog. One could easily get lost, or confused, and not know which way to go.  I would want my castle to be the beacon that guides them through, so that they know they wouldn't have to be alone forever."

The feeling of eyes upon made her shift her gaze, and she met the stare of the Captain as though he had held on to every word as she spoke it.

Swallowing slightly, his gaze held her attention, and she felt the heat in her cheeks increase tenfold.  

"One day, Princess, we shall find you that castle."

His lips her on hers before she could process the true meaning of his declaration.

Since that day, their journeys together increased both in quantity and length, but if any cared to notice, the Princess paid them no mind.  She was the Princess after all, and the only one who could question her motives was her father, and he had been very busy with his own agenda as of late.

And there they were, traipsing through the woods on another one of their elongated journeys.  This time, however, her father was away on a diplomatic mission, and the pair decided to take advantage of the opportunity to extend their private time together.  She had informed her handmaiden that she was traveling to the nearest province, and would have the Captain assist her along the way.  The maid insisted she come as well, as her venture would take her more than two days to return, but the Princess brushed her off and continued on with her plan.

Hand in hand, they reached the summit of yet another hillside, and the Princess was about to challenge the Captain  when he stopped and pulled her closer to him.

"I have a surprise for you, but I can only show you if you close your eyes." 

She couldn't help but smile, but still perked her brow skeptically.  "Hasn't this entire adventure been a surprise?"

"Yes, but there's a true reason behind it."

"And you're going to show me?"

"Only if you close your eyes," the Captain smiled.

Sighing playfully, she reluctantly closed her eyes as instructed, and he took her hand, again beginning to move.  He would warn her of a branch or a stone in her way, otherwise he led her through a cooler area, almost like a cavern.  The sun did not shine on her closed lids as it had a moment ago, and she felt the slight mist of moisture on her cheeks.

Soon he stopped, but did not immediately give her instruction.  Waiting patiently, she felt his gentle yet firm hands on her shoulders, and his voice was a warm comfort in her ear.

"Open them."

Doing as she was instructed, her eyes slowly opened, and her exclamation of surprise caught in her throat.

They must have entered a hidden alcove, for the walls of the caverns surrounding them reached towards the open sky above, covered in a beautiful flowering overgrowth.  In the middle, encircled by a bubbling stream was a castle- much smaller than the one she knew- surrounded by a mist from the stream.

No, not a mist-

"A castle in the fog," she observed, awe-struck.

"And it is yours," he purred into her ear as he stood behind her, the hands that were once around her shoulders now wrapped around her with loving arms.  "Do you like it?"

"Like it?" she asked as she turned to face him, the beginnings of tears glistening in the corners of her eyes.  "No, I do not."

A sudden stab of pain crossed the Captain's face, but the Princess was not done.

"I love it!" she exclaimed, wrapping her own arms around his neck and a kiss upon his lips.

The gasp behind them broke them apart immediately, and by instinct the Captain pulled the Princess protectively behind him as he brandished his sword.  

In the entryway of the alcove stood the Princess's spurned handmaiden, with eyes wide and jaw dropped.

They had been followed. 

"What are you doing her?" the Princess asked with an authoritative tone trying her hardest to mask her embarrassment.  "I told you I didn't need your services!"

The handmaiden said nothing as she started at the pair, and just as quickly as she arrived, she turned and ran from the alcove.

"Stop!" the Princess yelled, but it was no use.  The handmaiden was out of sight, most likely to return to her father's castle and inform him of the treachery she witnessed.  "We have to do something!" she urged the Captain as her panic swelled.

"Stay here," he instructed her as he had begun to leave himself. "Do not leave until I return."

With a nod, he disappeared through the fog.

*****

The Captain chased the fleeing handmaiden through the forest with never a pause for rest.  He was close, but she was constantly one step ahead.

"Stop, you must stop!" he again pleaded with her, knowing that there would be no end.

But this time, she did stop. Unexpectedly.  And not before the Captain could avoid fatally piercing her back with his sword.

In a panic, he looked for the cause of her sudden stop, and came face to face with the king himself, surrounded by his entourage of fellow guardsmen, returning from their journey away.

The Captain tried to run, but the king's guards were too fast and too man, and soon they were upon him like a swarm of bees.  He screamed and shouted, but it was no use - he would never escape, could never be free, for the punishment for murder is death.

*****

Day in and day out, the Princess waiting or her Captain to return to her.  

She didn't dare return to her father's castle - the scandal that would ensue once the handmaiden returned would ruin her.  Besides, her Captain had promised, and she was never going to betray his trust.  

She was his beacon in the night, and she just needed to remain where she was and he would find his way back to her.  

But the longer she waited, the more she realized that her efforts were in vain.  Her Captain did not return, and so the Princess condemned herself to live a life forever alone within her castle in the fog.