Again, Tum found himself sitting before the river, waiting for the princess. He worried that she would not come today. Since he last met her here and kissed her, they had not had the chance to talk to each other.

He felt that she was consciously staying away from him. He had no idea why. So, for the past three days, he would go through the labyrinth, and make his way to the stream, sit down with his feet dipping I of the river and wait. He felt she would come soon. Their stay in the palace was coming to an end whether they liked it or not. There was only so far a man's hospitality could go, even if the person was a king.

Two days and counting, yet there was no sign of the princess. Buckle had stopped disturbing everyone with his talks about leaving the palace immediately. He was now completely immersed in his pursuit of the captain of the king's guard, a foolhardy thing to do as the captain was mostly guarding the king.

As for Bonnie, she loved the wealth and abundance. Left for Bonnie, they would not leave the palace. She spent her time playing chess with the learned scribes at the library and exchanging ideas with them. That was probably where she belonged, where she found people interested in the same thing that she liked.

Tum's eyes went to the running water. The river was so clear that he could see the red pebbles lying on the floor of the bed. There were shells too of different colors. As the days of the sun slipped through the foliage covering the garden, it glinted off the water and the shells inside the river. The lights were dazzling. They drew his attention and held him spellbound.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The sound of a twig pulled him away from his preoccupation. He turned around quickly and found a familiar figure walking down the path towards him. She was dressed in a blue gown today and had red ribbons in her hair. She walked like one unsure when she saw him, yet her eyes would not let go of his.

She walked towards him, then sat by the side without saying a word to him. He stared at her for some time before he turned away from him and kept staring into the river.

"You still shine, like the sun, princess. The forest comes alive," Tum said.

"Garden, good sir. And it needed no light for here you were seated already."

Silence followed their passionate proclamation for one another before Tum turned back to Princess Meredith.

"I didn't know you were going to come," he said.

"I knew I was always going to come. I tried ignoring your note, but I could not."

"Why?"

"You are different, completely different from the rest."

"The rest?"

"The men that have come with the intention of wooing me."

That is because I am not royalty, Tum thought, but he did not say it, could not say it. It was because he was pretending to be royalty in the first place that he had access to her.

"Would you like to see the city?" Tum asked.

"My brother would never allow that. He fears for my safety."

"He does not have to know."

"But I would be recognized once I step foot outside the palace."

"That is why you have to dress like a peasant."

"Whoa, I have never…"

Tum leaned over and shut her up with a kiss. It was deep and arresting. The words she wanted to say settled back down and she gave herself up for the kiss, grabbing Tum's head and pulling him closer. Tum's hands went over her body. There was little to be added to the body. In fact, her body was perfect. Her tiny waist, slightly pronounced hips, succulent lips, beautiful eyes, everything held Tum spellbound as he sucked on her lips.

When he finally managed to pull away from her, he whispered, breathing heavily, "you will be fine. I will make sure of that."