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Buffy stood up, clutching the end of her dress in her hands as she held onto the berries she had found. She and William had located the stream again and a small grassy area near by for their lunch. She was more than hungry as she walked back to the small fire that William had burning near the creek bank.



She smiled as she watched him tend to the rabbit as it cooked. She still couldn't believe how he managed to kill it. It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. She had heard tales of the hunters and how they trapped their prey, but to see William do it, she wondered where he had even learned such a skill.



The increasingly enamored feelings she felt towards him had only grew when he had stopped her and reached for a small dagger in his boot before whirling it through the air. She had thought him crazy until she heard a rustling in the bushes before he walked over and produced a rabbit, the dagger planted firmly in its side.



The smile on his face as he proudly held it up for her had caused a light laughter to come from her. She knew at that moment she was in trouble. Her feelings for him were growing and no matter how much she enjoyed the feel of it, she knew it could never be.



"Find anything?" William asked as Buffy walked to the water's edge and started washing the berries.



"Yeah, but I'm not sure if they're all eatable. Some of these I've never seen before."



William stood up and walked over to her, kneeling down beside of her before reaching out and grabbing a few of the berries. "Well, these are called heartsmath berries." He told her as he held up the large purple berry. "They're good, but I don't think the forest is the place you want to be after eating them." He said with a smile. "They kind of.go right through you, if you know what I mean?"



Buffy smiled as she looked up at him, realization of his meaning dawning on her. She watched as he pulled the large purple berries out and placed them to the side before grabbing the light yellow ones she had found. They were very small but had the most fragrant smell.



"These tiny things are probably the best you've managed to find." William told her with a smile as he popped a few into his mouth. "They're small but the taste of them makes up for their size."



Buffy smiled as he held a few out for her before taking them. She had never tasted anything like it. It was a little crunchy as she first bit into them, but once the hard skin was gone, the inside seemed to be nothing but juice. "Mmmm.these are delicious." She said, looking down to see that she had plenty more of them.



"That they are." William said smiling as he rinsed the good berries off and stood. "Rabbit's almost done." He told her as he stood and reached down, taking her hand and helping her up. "Hopefully the berries will offset the tasteless hare and make for a nice lunch."



Buffy walked back over to the fire, watching as William turned the rabbit again. Bland or not, it smelled heavenly, her empty stomach growling in response as she took in the scent. She settled down, pulling her torn dress down and covering her bare legs as she relaxed from their long morning walk. As much as she wished she were still in the comforts of the carriage, her adventure with William wasn't turning out to be that bad. He was actually nice to talk to, when he wasn't irritating her that is, and the constant butterflies she had been having were starting to settle more the longer they talked.



"There, I think it might be done." William said as he cut into the rabbit and looked at the meat. "Have to let it cool a bit." He added before looking over at Buffy. He smiled as she stared at the fire, her eyes unfocused. "Princess, you still here?" he asked, waving his hand infront of her.



Buffy looked up at him, her head leaning to the side slightly as she folded her hands in her lap. "What is Prince Edward like?"



William stared at her for a few seconds before removing the rabbit from the fire and placing it off to the side to cool before answering her. "Well, he's like any other Prince I suppose." He said, staring at the stream.



"How so?"



William turned his head back to her and smiled as he sat up straight. "Well, it's kind of hard to say. What do you want to know exactly?"



"Was he married before?" Buffy asked him, Angelus' remarks still in her mind.



"No, who told you that?" William asked her shocked and curious.



"Prince Angelus did."



"Well, that ponce would have told you anything." He said laughing.



"He said Prince Edward couldn't keep his last bride safe. If he were never married, then what was he referring to?"



William busied himself with the rabbit, cutting a few pieces of it off, hoping it would cool enough to handle it before glancing back over at Buffy. "Prince Edward was betrothed to the Princess of Bochkur when she was born. They were to be married three summers ago."



"Oh." Buffy said in complete shock. She had no idea Prince Edward had already been engaged. "What happened?"



"Well, Prince Edward and Prince Angelus were very good friends at one time, believe it or not, and well, Prince Angelus decided that he wanted her as well."



"Even though she was already betrothed to someone?"



"Yes, personally I think he enjoyed the challenge." William told her as he cut the rabbit apart. "Prince Angelus never wants for anything; that is unless someone else already has it."



"So he just wanted her because Prince Edward had her?"



"Pretty much so. I mean, she was beautiful, no denying that, but they always took to everything like it was a competition to be won and she was no exception."



"What happened?" Buffy asked as William handed her a still warm piece of the rabbit.



"Well, Prince Edward found them together." He said quietly, smiling at her slightly before turning back to the rabbit.



"Found them together?" she asked, her forehead scrunched slightly as she looked at him confused.



"Prince Angelus made sure that no one would want her, especially Prince Edward." He told her, "No future King wants a woman who's not pure."



Buffy looked away when she realized what he was saying. That thought had never crossed her mind. She had heard tales of women who did such things without a husband, but never a Princess. She could completely see why Prince Edward didn't marry her.



"So what happened after that? Was the wedding called off?"



William chuckled slightly before shaking his head. "No, not exactly." He told her, "There wasn't a need for it."



"Why?"



"You ask a bleedin' lot of questions. You know that?" he asked her smiling.



"Well, I might as well get to know him best I can." Buffy said smiling. "It's not like I'm going to get a chance to now."



"Sorry." William said smiling.



"It's not your fault."



"Well, actually it is."



"How so?" Buffy asked, not seeing how getting attacked was his fault.



"Well, if I had waited for the escort, we'd probably be half way to Alcala by now, not stuck out in the middle of no where."



"I see."



"But if it makes you feel any better, King Rupert will probably have me stoned to death the minute we show up." He said chuckling as he looked over at her. "So, your revenge for having to sleep in the dirt will be sweet."



"He wouldn't do that would he?" she asked, getting worried. Sure she had wanted him punished in the beginning, but not dead.



"I wouldn't be surprised." He said laughing harder. "King Rupert may look like a push over, but believe me, he's not."



"Well, since you've feed me so well," she started as she held up her food, "I'll personally see that you're cast into the darkest dungeon until you die of old age. How's that?" she said giggling quietly as she looked over at him.



William smiled and stared at her for a long minute, her light laughter causing his own to come forward. "That sounds like a fair deal pet." He said, looking away briefly before returning his attention back to her. "You'll come visit `eh, give an old man some company?"



Buffy laughed louder when William wiggled his eyebrows at her, smiling around the piece of rabbit he was chewing on. "Yeah, I'll come and visit you. I'll even bring you some heartsmath berries for your good behavior. Should make for a nice treat in your little cell."



William laughed heartily at that, Buffy's laughter mixing with his own. He shook his head at her, liking the smiling happy version of her opposed to the snarky biting one.





~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~



Prince Angelus rode as fast as his horse would carry him, a small group of ten men riding swiftly behind him. He had wasted precious time finding the perfect men for the job and getting the horses ready and storing enough food to last them in case they weren't able to catch up with William and Princess Elizabeth had taken a serious bite out of the daylight as the sun was already started to set.



Darting off the rode where the Royal carriage had overturned, Prince Angelus pushed his men through the forest in the same direction that William had taken Princess Elizabeth. Desire to make her his drove him to find her quickly and take her away from Prince Edward. The fact that her Kingdom was rich and her dowry would be enough to form an army unstoppable by any was his main goal, but the look on Edwards face when he realized he had once again beaten him would be better than all the riches in the world.



"Sire, up ahead, do you see that?" one of the men behind Angelus asked.



Angelus slowed his horse, the men behind him doing the same as they saw the horse William and Buffy had left on wandering around the forest. Coming to a stop beside of the animal, Angelus leaned his head to the side, taking in the arrow still protruding from his leg before a large smile graced his face.



"They're on foot." He announced, a gleeful laughter spilling from his chest. "This is going to be too easy." He said, giving his horse a little kick before moving once again. "Keep your eyes open and spread out." He called out over his shoulder.



The men all laughed as they followed Angelus deeper into the forest, their target now on foot. The search would still be hard, but seeing how their target was now slow moving, they would catch up to them quicker than they had originally thought.





~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~





Buffy was having a hard time seeing where she was going as the setting suns light was quickly leaving the forest. The thick canopy of trees that had provided shelter from the harsh suns rays earlier was now becoming a nuisance as their light source was dimming.



William was just ahead of her, his head turning from side to side in search of shelter as she fumbled around behind him. He would turn to look at her every so often, making sure she was alright before he would once again search for some place for her to sleep.



Buffy slowed her steps, breathing heavily as William stopped and looked around. She glanced around at their surroundings, the sound of the stream they had been following the only noise in the forest as the thick blanket of trees looked endless. She stopped just behind him, watching as he raised his hand, scrubbing at his face before he turned to look at her.



"Well Princess, looks like this is going to have to do." He said, pointing to a small grassy area. "No shelter if it rains, but it looks soft."



Buffy smiled, seeing the concern etched on his face. "It will be fine William." She told him as she looked around.



"Alright then." He said, smiling back at her. "I'll get us a fire going; the light'll be gone soon."



Buffy watched as he started clearing out a small spot to build the fire before grabbing a few rocks to contain it. She looked around, seeing a few pieces of wood before walking over and grabbing them.



William looked up as Buffy walked over; throwing the large pieces of wood down before he smiled up at her. "I can do that, no need to get your hands dirty."



Buffy shrugged her shoulder at him before turning and heading back over towards the trees. "It's not like I have anything better to do." She said, bending over and grabbing a few more twigs.



William watched her for a few minutes, smiling as she continued to search for firewood before turning his attention back to the fire. Arranging the kindling Buffy had thrown down, it didn't take him long to have a small fire going.



Buffy threw down the last pieces she had gathered up and was about to search for more when William grabbed her arm. "That's enough, you sit down, and I'll find the rest."



Buffy gave him a little smile before nodding her head at him and sitting down by the fire. The forest was almost black now; the only light to be seen was barely peeking over the tops of the trees. The sound of the fire crackling along with the running water from the stream was calming as she sighed heavily, her body finally relaxing from a day filled with walking.



Turning her head, she could barely make William's form out as he searched the forest for more wood through the darkness. Stretching out the kinks in her neck, Buffy brought a hand to her mouth as a yawn escaped her before she looked down at the ground, clearing away the small twigs that were there before she laid down, her head pillowed on her hands.



Staring into the fire, watching as the red flames danced, her eyes slowly fluttered shut, the weight of her eyelids making it hard for her to keep them open. Giving in to her exhausted body, sleep soon overcame her.



William laid the last bit of wood down, glancing at Buffy before settling down on the opposite side of the fire. He lay down, propping himself up on his elbow and watched the fire for a few minutes before looking over at Buffy. He smiled as he stared at her, her face looked angelic with the light from the fire dancing shadows around her. Sighing heavily, he laid down on his back, staring up at the sky as the light from above slowly faded into darkness. Sparring one last glance over at Buffy, he slowly closed his eyes, visions of her beauty dancing behind his closed eyelids.





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