Princess & Dee's Upon the Railway - ADeyawolf (2024)

Chapter 1: Halloween

Chapter Text

When Princess was a little girl, she used to lie, cheat and steal—even bully on an occasion or two. She had known no better and nor had she cared to know. She had been a greedy little thing and had wanted all the best bits.

The best bits of everything.

That was until her beloved lolo, her grandfather, had spoken his very last words to her. Forever marking her heart in their branding ink. On their last family summer holiday with him, in the Philippines, knowing his time was coming to an end, in his wheelchair lolo had steered Princess away into a private corner of the garden, and amongst the mango trees he had said in Tagalog,

"You are beautiful on the outside, but you are ugly on the inside."

He might have also spoken warmer words, such as,

"But I love you, Princess, and I will always be with you."

And then he might have pointed to her heart, to signify that in her heart was where he would always be. You know, how they do in the motion pictures. Howbeit, if he had, Princess had not held onto that memory. It had awfully paled in comparison to being told that she was an ugly person.

A bad person.

She never told anyone about it, it had been too embarrassing and painful to say aloud. And well, after lolo's funeral and oh, so many tears that came from a place of raw grief and cruel regret—a regret she could not wash her hands of—Princess had vowed to do everything in her power to be a better person.

A good person.

How had she done it?

Well, she had not.

Not in her eyes anyway. But she had tried—or at least tried to minimise any happenings that could have deemed her The bad guy. During her last year at primary school, in P7, she had ostracised herself. No bad friends to be influenced by nor none to influence. Except, maybe, Roodie, but he was of the furry canine companion type.

A harmless alliance.

One of the many hounds her godmother, Dee, kept at her old farmhouse. Consequently, at the age of fifteen, Princess became a victim of crippling anxiety, and had no social life apart from her conversations with her stationery and papers as she spent most of her days either studying, eating, sleeping or being forced to spend quality time with her family.

She became terrified of people.

Terrified she would unknowingly hurt them and live up to lolo's final words. And anytime the world would descend upon her and crush her lungs making her head spin and her insides her outsides, or all those times when she had felt compelled to drown everything out by plunging underwater in the bathtub till her chest seared and convulsed, she had believed it was what she had deserved. She could not see the agony be anything but God—or whatever it was, up there, out there—punishing her for being a horrible person. The torment, she believed, was deserved.

It was just.

Fair.

Karma.

After completing her Advanced Highers with stellar grades, Princess, naturally, followed her mother's greatest desire for her and went off to St. Andrews to read medicine. For the following seven years, everything and everyone became second to her studies.

Herself included.

She studied till it hurt and skipped out on pub socials and missed every romantic opportunity that came her way—entirelyoblivious to the fact that they had been coming her way. She graduated with a first, of course, and then reluctantly moved back into the family home and—much to her mother's dismay—she had then declared that she was going to take a year out.

A break.

A breather.

Well, as much as she could breathe in such a close proximity to her erratic and demanding Filipino mother.

"To travel, my daughter?" Her father had asked in Spanish.

"Naw." Princess had said, picking at the checkered tablecloth.

"For wok experience? Save money?" Her mother had asked in her crude English—although it had sounded more like statements rather than questions.

"Naw."

"What—den?" Her mother had demanded, with teething frustrations.

"Nothin'... Ah want tae do nothin'." Princess had replied.

Then, in a desperate plea the twenty-five-year-old had said,

"Please?"

Princess had also, with great struggle, then gone onto declare that she would have not been going on holiday to the Philippines for the summer. She had had to avoid her mother's glare of disapproval and disappointment all throughout that little sit-down. It was never easy going against her mother's wishes, although Princess would tell you, that in that instance, it had been worth it. The momentary sit-down of paralysing guilt that had had her on the very uncomfortable edge of the kitchen chair, and the battle with her figment demon on her left shoulder (convincing her to speak her truth and to do so without caring enough to feel guilty—withgreatinefficacy) had been worth it.

Even if it meant she was giving herself just a year of freedom before having to chain herself to a desk at a local medical practice and be bombarded with a never-ending appointment train of disgruntled patients. She had had the whole house to herself during the wet summer and she had done nothing, nothing but start working again at her godmother's café on platform one, Inverurie railway station. It was work she was familiar with as she had helped out during her last two years at secondary school, to save up for her driving licence and car. Dee had welcomed her back with open arms and, as always, a hearty laugh.

If there was a motherly look, Princess was convinced Dee had it. Dee was short, spout, but you did not want her hot tea to slip out—let alone pour out. Her embraces were always the best of the best and her bouncy blonde curly-bob and wide full-cheeked grins emphasised the fun in her—which had worsened with age. Princess was adamant Dee had grown from fun and hilarious to hilarious and outrageous over the span of Princess's shortish life. Dee was also the only one Princess could really confide in. Her father sometimes, but his allegiance had and would always be with her mother first, so it was not very often she was honest with him. And she never felt comfortable confiding in her older brothers.

Not since they left.

They were now working men in London and Edinburgh and probably had no time for her burdensome internal (and external) strifes.

Looking back now on all those painful chapters of mandatory institutional education, as Princess strode down Aberdeen's high street, she thought about just how much she had missed out on in her adolescent years. How the years had felt like staring out of a window. Just watching the world go by as everyone else around her held sleepovers.

Slept around.

Held house parties.

Fell in love.

Had their hearts broken.

Got sky-high.

Got bleeding drunk.

Went to music festivals.

And went off together for a girl's trip or inter-railing.

University had been the same, if not worse, as her peers had only made it starkly clear how behind and out of touch she was.

Princess sipped her dark hot chocolate as a film of misty rain began to fall. Streetlamps flicked on, one by one as five o'clock had drawn near and the sun had almost been wholly swallowed up by autumn's early nighttime.

It was then mid-thought, down a street in Old Aberdeen when Princess had seen it. It was there, the moment she had never asked for but had secretly always wantedhappened. There was this crazy dream she had had as a child. One she had shared with her friends at the time and had been ridiculed for in exchange. For art class one day, Miss Brown had asked everyone to draw their dream.

Any dream at all.

So, with broken crayons and dried-out, squeaky felt-tip pens, most either drew their future career choices, or unapologetically imaginative things like a house made entirely out of sweets and milk chocolate—not dark because dark chocolate had been disgusting—or a world made of fluffy clouds and fluffy clouds only. Princess had been amongst the many to illustrate her dream job.

And what had she drawn?

A café.

Sort of like her godmother's but abitbigger. Although this café had not been just a café, it had also been a flower shop, a bakery, and a bookshop. Miss Brown had said it was a lovely idea. Mackenzie and Shona, however, had said it was boring and silly and had giggled.

Profusely.

Now there had been a specific trait of Princess's seven-year-old hand-drawn café, a trait that over the years had never changed. Not once, as she had re-sketched the café repeatedly in the safety of the dark hours of the morning with her hearing drawn tight and ears twitching at any slight creak that would sound too much like a creak her mother or father would make.

The café was always,alwayson the corner of a street.

The name of the café changed with every new 'blueprint'. Sometimes there was a lamppost in the way, other times a tree, but it was always a café on the corner of a street. Much like the converted shop for sale that Princess was currently ogling at whilst getting thoroughly drenched and nursing a—no longer hot but—cold chocolate.

The low light of the evening could not have dimed the moment.

Not even if its sole purpose was to do just that.

It could not have hidden the building in the shadows or put a stop to the flashes of every sketch Princess had ever drawn of her dream café from appearing in her mind's eye. She took a few steps back into the cobbled road to get a better look at it all. The two made into one, converted townhouse was like every other, grey stoned, however, newspapers covered the inside windows and the prior owner's business name had been painted over and covered up. From what Princess could tell there were three floors and a lot of work that needed to be done.

It was beautiful.

It wasperfect.

Princess's imagination instantly painted the townhouse with the life she wished she could give it. The gentle bustle of customers on every floor. The bookshop on the ground floor, the flower shop on the first floor and the café and bakery on the top floor.

O' maybe the flower shop should be on the ground floor?

Maybe it has a wee garden?

There could be outdoor seating for the warmer mont—

—then the café should go on the ground floor instead.

Princess mentally planned everything out, her fantasy hungry and her desires almost agonising.

We wuid decorate the place tae celebrate every equinox!

We could fill the café wi' mix-matched second-hand chairs an' tables from antique stores—or charity shops.

Whit if—

Seconds went by.

Seconds turned into minutes.

Five minutes turned into ten.

Ten into thirty.

And before she knew it, Princess had been standing there, in the same spot, staring up at the building for almost an hour. With passing questioning glances from a gentleman in a long dark coat and a wide elegant umbrella, and odd looks from a hunch-backed elderly woman in a full head-to-toe rain-proof fit—as well as several other university student passersby. It took a great deal of strength for Princess to tear herself away from her childhood dream.

She did not want to.

It was right there standing before her, waiting for her to take it by storm and infuse it with new life.

Hair and jacket soaked cold, Princess finally checked the time on her mobile phone and, unfortunately for her, her imaginary café would have to wait because she was late for dinner and to meet her brother's new girlfriend. Bayani, her eldest by eight years, was back in town from London for Halloween and he had brought Emily with him to introduce to the family. Princess just hoped she would like this one, Rosie had been a hard---and even though Princess had not wanted to admit it—plasticpill to swallow. Plastic, in all ways possible. Her café could wait a little more.

It had survived this long...

"Ye maw told me auwar Bayani's back from doon South! An' wi' a new burd at 'at? Emma, is it?" Dee called from the kitchen, as Princess stocked the morning's pastries before rush hour.

"Emily!" Princess called back.

"Oh, an' whit dae we think of her?"

Princess had to blink excessively to ease the urge to scrunch up her hands and attack her eyes in a fit of bother as her contacts soaked up all the moisture. It was the 31st of October, which meant it was compulsory for everyone employed at Dee's Upon the Railway to dress up.

Everyone being the tall total of Princess, Dee and Angus.

With such a thin wardrobe, Princess had picked the easiest costume and worn all black along with red contacts. Today, she was a blood-thirsty vampire.

A blood-thirsty vampire with itchy eyeballs.

Dee came waddling from the kitchen with her sparkly witch's hat and a stuffed black cat, her familiar, pinned to her shoulder. She even wore striped tights and a velvet purple dress, which looked terribly comfortable.

"Ma eyes envy yer bonnie dress, Dee." Princess said, sliding the glass door closed to the pastry display.

"Whit? How?"

"They'd much rather be wearin' that than 'ese,torturouscontacts," she groaned.

Dee let out a huff.

"Ah didnae tell ye tae tortcha yeself! Ah jus' said dress-up!"

"Ye ken ah only dress-up tae go t' bed."

Dee rested her fists on her hips and tried not to smirk, but her lips gave way. Princess's head snapped around.

"No' like 'at! Ye ken whit a mean! Ma silk jammies ur the best things ah've got."

Dee snatched the silver oven tray from Princess's hands and shook her head.

"Prince ye need a jo, hen, or a burd—whiteverandwhicheverway ye swing."

Princess crossed her arms over her chest, watching Dee waddle back into the kitchen.

"Ah dinnaeswing." She called out. "An' ah dinnae need a lad! Ah need—"

Princess cut herself short as she stared hard, down at the Scottish tea cookies. Her recent visit to Old Aberdeen invaded her thoughts.

"Ah dinnae ken whit ah need..." She finally mumbled.

Dee poked her head around from the kitchen and watched as Princess tidied up the already tidy row of packaged shortbreads on the counter. The other baker, Angus, poked his head around too, from behind Dee. Angus was a lean—and much older than Dee—gentleman, who towered over her like the spent lamppost from The Old Street Lamp. Picking up the unusual silence coming from the kitchen, Princess turned around to find an audience. Angus quickly cleared his throat and pointed a bony wrinkly finger to the pastries on display, and with his characteristically croaky voice said,

"Eh pastries ur all oot."

To which Dee slowly turned her head round to him with a face saying, "Ur ye a pure goon?" Angus's eyes flitted from Dee to Princess to a crack in the wall.

"Anno," Princess said slowly. "Ah put them oot."

Angus nodded. And before vanishing back into the safety of the kitchen he muttered, "Reit, ah'll prep eh rest."

Princess blinked and turned to Dee.

"Where yees spyin' on me?" She asked.

"Whit wis Emma like?"

Princess raised an eyebrow.

"Emilywis fine. Any lass no' like Rosie is fine."

"Rosie?" Dee frowned.

"Aye, the Duck Princess?"

"Oh,aye.'At lass wis a pure Duck Princess. 'At's how ye're a prince.Maprince. Noo, Prince Dracula, open up, we're ready."

Princess returned Dee's smile—it was always hard not to—but as she walked over to unlock the front door and turn the 'Closed!' sign over to 'Open!', she could not help thinking,

Ah am naw princess or prince—or a king of a castle.

Ah'm the dirty rascal.

A peasant.

The morning was the usual drill.

There were no strikes, just a few tardy trains, but other than that all was smooth for the flat white order-ers and strong tea drinkers. Many complemented the Halloween decorations of carved pumpkins and oddly shaped squash lanterns. They loved the floating candlesticks (battery-powered of course) under the clouds of cotton wool stuck to the ceiling and mini wooden broomsticks with miniature witches flying them. A few commented upon Princess's unnervingly bright eyes, while a few more gave double-takes when they first saw her. But most complimented dear ol' Dee and her stuffed pet cat.

Dee was well known to regular travellers for going all out at every turn of the season and whenever there was something to be celebrated. Personally, Christmas was Princess's favourite time to be at Dee's, plus all she was required to wear was an elf's hat and Dee always supplied her with that.

Once the morning rush had come to a steady flow of customers, Princess had quickly given the milk steamers a clean-through and had planned to restock the pastries when Dee suddenly caught her by the arm, steered her back toward the counter front and inconspicuously muttered,

"Dinnae ye bother wi' 'at, ah'll dae it.Yeserve 'at customer."

Princess frowned lightly but did as she was told. Her next customer was already waiting for her. A handsome gentleman in a long brown coat with a fancy umbrella by his side.

He too did a double-take.

Princess ignored it as she smiled at the redhead and kindly asked,

"Double wi' a splash o' cream an' cinnamon on top?"

The customer did another double-take and ever so slightly blushed, however, Princess had not taken any notice as she was already prepping the order.

"Ye remember?" He asked, bashfully.

Princess nodded and smiled again, tilting her head back toward him briefly.

"Ah try tae remember all those who always order the same thing. 'At a yes, then?"

"Uh, aye, please—an' ah'll take one of these too."

The customer presented a wrapped gingerbread man and Princess instantly said,

"'At'll be £3.45."

Whilst also amusingly thinking,

Ha. A ginger lad purchasin' a gingerbread man.

She then simultaneously readied to take his payment as she made his order. By the time the gentleman had got out his car card, Princess had already finished making his double espresso with a dash of cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

"Haste ye back." She said with a final smile after he had finished paying.

Princess then turned back toward the kitchen, as Dee had never come back out with the new freshly baked goodies. Meanwhile, the gentleman with sparkling blue eyes, ginger curls and speckled cheekbones hesitated on the spot before he then decided better and made his way back out to the platform. Upon entering the kitchen Princess found both Dee and Angus staring at her.

Again.

Only this time Angus appeared baffled and Dee on the very precipice of passionate displeasure-otherwise known as anger. They all stared at each other. Then Dee exclaimed with a clap of her hands,

"'At's it! Ye're officially a numpty an' adim-witted eejit!"

Princess stared with her mouth gaping.

"Whit have ah done?!" She exclaimed. "Ah served the lad like normal! Maybe it was a bit gallus ta—"

Dee slapped her forehead and whipped around to poor ol' Angus and said with a wave of a hand,

"She's as slow as ye! An' 'at's sayin' somethin'!"

Angus shook his head, disagreeing. Then simply said, "Slower."

Princess could not decide on whether to frown or gasp, so she did both.

"Will someone please tell mewhitah've done wrong?"

Dee shook her head with enthusiastic disappointment.

"Ye blind yung bat! 'Atbonnielad'as bin comin' in here for the past month wantin' yer attention! Can a brain 'at studied medicine for a decade no' help ye decipher—calculate—microscopically diagnose—when a lad is starin' at ye like a wee laddie on Christmas mornin'?"

Princess whipped her head back to where the customer no longer was.

"Whit? Ah—Naw. Really? Naw...Really?"

Dee grabbed the tray of fresh pastries and waddled with sass back to restock the now measly presentation of baked goods, all the while mocking Princess and feigning gasps of shock.

"Naw."

Gasp.

"Really?Naw."

Gasp.

"Really?Really!Naw?!"

Princess was still staring after the absent customer as a train arrived and departed. Her mind was now micro-analysing every detail of every interaction she had ever had with him. The problem was, she could not remember even half of them, not if Dee was statistically correct when she had said that a month had already passed. All she could remember was his drink order and that he had bright beautiful ringlets, but that was not much to go on.

"'At bonnie lad 'as bin comin' in here for the past month wantin' yer attention!"

Princess's cheeks inflamed with rosiness as she suddenly became ever so self-conscious.Everso conscious.

Of her slightly work-ruffled hair.

Of her growing heart rate.

Of the number of atoms in her body.

And of how much space they were taking up—of herveryexistence in this galaxy we call the Milky Way. Naturally, she started feeling bad about mentally laughing at the bright-haired gentleman's choice of cookies. She felt that if he had known what she had been thinking it would have upset him. Princess wanted to shrink into a corner and rewind to five minutes ago, to when she had been utterly, uselessly, andpeacefullyclueless about this new fact she had just unwillingly learned. She attempted to shove down all thoughts and worries she was having about the bright-haired gentleman as she went about reordering the neatly stacked foil-wrapped chocolate bars.

"Ah'll see ye at Toad an' Willo's?" Dee asked Princess, as she waved goodbye to Angus and closed up the cafe.

Princess did not respond.

Dee peered over to her goddaughter and saw that Princess was just starting into space.

"Prince?" Dee snapped.

"Hm, whit—aye?" Princess said, slowly coming out of her haze.

Dee put her keys back into her oversized patchworked handbag and turned to stand before Princess with her fists resting on her hips.

"Ye're all in a tizzy becus ah told ye about 'at lad."

"Naw ah—"

Dee fixed her with a proper Scottish"Dinnae lie tae me lass!"look.

Princess sighed.

"Ah've never been good wi' men..." She admitted.

"Aye, 'at's as clear as th'mole on ma bahookie."

Dee then softened her face and gave Princess one of her bear hugs.

"Ugh," she said throatily. "Dinnae fash, Prince. When the time comes there'll be nae need for yer overthinkin'. It'll be easy as Angus's pies."

Dee winked at her goddaughter.

"Whit'll be easy?"

"Ha!" Dee bellowed. "Nooannoye're no' 'at much of an eejit."

Dee then waddled down the platform, and called back,

"Ah'll see ye at Toad an' Willo's!"

The Toad & The Willow.

It was Hew's, Dee's husband's, pub in the city of Aberdeen. Tonight, there would be celebrations for Halloween and as usual Princess and her family were invited. Princess tried not to exasperatedly sigh as she waved Dee goodbye.

After a few minutes lost in thought, she then decided she looked like a lost fool standing on the platform with no destination. Princess shuffled awkwardly before then walking to her car and heading home.

Two hours later Princess and her family were having their drinks poured and bellies filled at The Toad & The Willow. In the end, Princess had settled to keep her work clothes on but had decided against keeping the blasted contacts in. Her parents had dressed up as Morticia and Gomez from the Addams family, which she had thought was fitting. Bayani had decided on a poorly executed Frankenstein's monster look.

Poor, because he wore jeans and just carried the green-squared-headed mask around in his hand instead of on his face. His girlfriend, Emily, was an angel with a fluffy white halo, again, fitting, Princess had thought, since she was fair and dainty. Unfortunately, the twins, Dakila and Kidlat, three years Princess's prior, had made other plans in Edinburgh and had not been able to come up.

The modest pub was of the 16th century with irregular wooden beams, open fireplaces and Victorian-styled lamps dotted on the walls. The walls were covered with chipped olive paint that had paled over the years. There were all sorts of board games and well-used books with frayed edges, crammed in every nook and cranny.

Halloween bunting and lanterns, and ghosts made by Dee (with the help of kitchen roll and PVA glue) hung from the ceiling. It smelled of old wood, ale and baked butter, scents that were very much a part of Princess's childhood.

Stepping into The Toad & The Willow always felt like stepping into a world of pillowy warmth or one of Dee's hugs. However, this evening felt a bit more like beingtrappedin one of Dee's embraces as the pub was crammed full and the fireplaces roaring.

Dee had changed into a deep red wine devil's outfit with horns, a tail, and a wooden triton to match. She would use her handy triton on Hew whenever he misbehaved—which was all the time. In that regard, Hew resembled much of Toad from Wind in the Willows, always getting in trouble—hence the pub's name.

Hew was currently working behind the bar with his son Adie, both were wrapped in toilet paper as ancient Egyptian mummies. Though, come halfway through the evening's festivities they would begin to look more like two fellows who had lost a face-off.

A face-off with anexcessivelycommunicative toilet.

Adie was much older than Princess, and that was probably one of the main reasons Dee treated her like her own. Adie was an only child and Dee had always wanted another child.

A daughter.

"Prince! Ma goddaughter! How're we tonight hen?" Hew exclaimed, giving Princess a side hug.

Princess had slipped behind the bar to find a bit of refuge from the crowds. Hew was not her godfather, but seeing as his wife was her godmother, by extension Hew considered himself one. Princess smiled and pecked him on the cheek.

"A wee birdie," he began, but then leant in to shout-whisper. "Mor' like a turkey..."

He then leant back to resume at a normal speaking level.

"Told me ye've got an admirer?"

He wiggled his eyebrows and Princess went red. She internally groaned. Hew chuckled and comfortingly patted her on the back.

"Oh, dinnae fash—"

"Admirer? A boy? Princess? Who?"

The voice came through the crowd and Princess knew exactly who it was. She just had no idea how the woman had heard. Perlah wriggled past a trio of witches to the bar where Princess and Hew were standing. Princess mentally slapped her forehead and Hew noticed as she frowned before making it promptly melt away.

"Oh, Perlah, hen, nothin' like 'at—just a few admirers of Prince's red eyes today."

He said with a toothy grin that Princess recognised. She mentally thanked him.

"Yes. I died when she come down for breakfast."

Princess's mother said pointedly, in her slightly broken and heavily Filipino-accented English. Princess giggled, more from nerves—and maybe the whiskey—that her mother would find out about the bright-haired gentleman and make a fuss about it.

"Aye, ah was close tae tears—both from her jump scare an' ma bloody contacts." Princess said, laughing lightly.

"Hm, bloody. Yes." Perlah said narrowing her eyes at her daughter.

Perlah hated being scared for fun, even if it was by accident. Her children had learnt that the hard way when they were younger, playing hide and seek without Perlah's knowledge. She would be minding her business going about her daily chores and then shockingly stumble upon one of them in the most unexpected of places.

Say, the tumble dryer.

Or under hers and Fausto's bed.

Or in the bathroom cabinet where the towels were kept.

Perlah's slippers had had a bad habit of being able to fly in those days. And no, nothing like a magic carpet.

"Ah thought they were great!"

Adie offered as he leant over to serve a can of Irn-Bru and a crystal glass of Drambuie to a ghost and a mad hatter.

Princess smiled.

Adie had popped his head into the café in the afternoon to grab a few treats for tonight's celebration. He had been one of the very few who had loved her red-eye look.

"Thank you, Adie."

"Hew!" Dee suddenly called out from somewhere in the crowd.

"Oh-oh," said Hew. "Here comes the wee devil."

They all scanned the crowd in search of her. Finally, Dee popped out from behind a colleague of hers.

A demon.

They both eyed each other up and down.

The demon was much taller than Dee, nevertheless, Dee held her wooden triton up to the devil's—or rather her—spawn and, in a very serious, dramatic voice, said,

"Ahrule'is underworld an' dinnae ye forget it."

There was a tense second of silence between the two, before the demon then cackled and said, "Ye're pure deid brilliant Mrs MacGregor!"

Dee smiled smugly.

"Undefeatable, Scottie." She chuffed.

Chin up, Dee waddled to the bar and frowned when her eyes fell on her husband.

"Hew?" She repeated.

"Aye, ma sweet wife, ma treat tae ma trick-maChristmas cookie tae ma brandy!"

Dee's frown deepened.

And she planted her fists on her hips.

"Where ur the apples?" She asked, unimpressed.

"Bein' passed 'round ma cridhe," Hew replied.

"Naw, no' the toffee apples. Where ur the barrels o' water? The apples for apple bobbin'!It's Halloween ye ken!"

"Oh," Hew said, with an exaggerated inhale that Princess knew to be the introduction to a sarcastic comment.

She tried not to smile, but that just made her smirk—which was worse. Hew looked around his pub and scratched at his toilet-paper-covered chest.

"It's Halloween, is it? Ye ken, ah thought thir wis somethin' ah wis forgettin'..."

Dee held her triton up to her husband over the bar counter.

"Halloween is no' Halloween wi'oot toffee applesan'apple bobbin'. Noo get the lads tae prep the barrels, oryerinsides will be inside the haggis 'is year."

"Well, technically, ma cridhe, 'at would be next year." Hew said.

"Hew Quinn Paton MacGregor!"

Hew quickly bowed, mischievously, and exclaimed melodramatically,

"Reit away yer royal damned-ness! Lads! Thee devil 'as spoken! All hands on deck! Hoist the barrels an' apples! Adie? Ye man the bar."

Hew then turned to peck Princess on the forehead.

"'Scuse me ma Prince, whit yer godmother wants is whit yer godmother will have."

Princess chuckled and said it was quite alright. Hew gathered some of his staff and they disappeared into the kitchen to prepare the barrels for apple bobbing.

She then found herself comfortably alone in the corner behind the bar on a stool. Her mother had gone off looking for her Gomez and Adie was kept busy—but not too busy, otherwise Princess would have offered to help. She was pleasantly enjoying her view of the pub and her own company when her brother found her. They had not spoken much since his arrival, mostly because a moment of privacy had not yet revealed itself.

Until now.

Bayani had two toffee apples on sticks decorated with white chocolate skulls, like the poisoned apple from the fairytale. With a smile, he held one out to Princess. She thanked him with a smile and took it. They then fell into a natural silence as Bayani leaned against the wall and they both crunched into their apples. They were green apples, so the toffee and chocolate were not too sweet as they fought with the tartness of the white flesh.

"What do you think of Emily?" Bayani finally asked.

Princess looked up to her brother. Ever since he had moved to London, he had insisted on speaking 'proper' English for work-related reasons, but he still maintained a faint Scottish accent that softly glazed his words.

"How honest do ye want me tae be?" She asked.

It was a thing Princess did with people. Well, with people she could speak with comfortably—so, her family and Dee's family only. Whenever they asked for her opinion, for her safety, she would ask on a scale of one per cent to one hundred per cent how much of an honest response they wanted.

A hundred per cent beingcompletelyhonest.

It was to ensure that if feelings were hurt, she was then not to blame (although she always did blame herself regardless).

"Mm, how about 80%?" Bayani replied.

"Ok," Princess said.

Then paused.

"Well, ah dinnae ken her, ah only jus' met her, but ah can say she's a step up from Rosie."

Bayani laughed and Princess tried not to smile at her slight toward his ex.

It felt like gossiping.

They then bit into their apples a bit more before the conversation turned toward a direction Princess had not wanted to go down.

"So, I spoke with—" Bayani began.

"Naw." Princess immediately said.

She knew exactly who he had spoken to, and she did not want to hear it.

"We're celebratin' an' we're no' havin' 'is conversation." She said stubbornly.

Bayani laughed.

"Ok, I should have expected that response. Let me try again."

Princess snapped her head around and opened her mouth to retort, but Bayani held up his hand.

"I promise it's not what you think it is," he said.

Princess tried not to glare as she crossed her arms over her chest and hugged her knees on the stool.

She took a hard bite out of her apple.

"I know about the café, Princess."

Bayani had spoken softly, but his words had struck her across the face. Princess had never breathed a word of it to anyone after that day in art class eighteen years ago. Her blood rose to her cheeks, and it thrummed in her ears.

She quickly turned to her brother.

"How? Mam disnae—naw,does she? Who el—"

"No, no, don't worry mam doesn't know—nor paps."

Princess sighed with relief.

"Then how do ye ken?" She asked, feeling dreadfully embarrassed.

Bayani smiled.

"I saw the sketches," he said.

About three years ago, when Rosie was over for New Year's and everyone else was home too, Rosie had been on the sofa, doubled over in pain.

Terrible period cramps.

Apparently, they had run out of painkillers in the medicinal cabinet and their mother had suggested that Princess might have had some with her. So, Bayani had knocked on her bedroom door at around four o'clock in the morning to ask, but when he had opened the door he had found Princess deep asleep sprawled over her desk with the study lamp still on.

Bayani said that hewouldhave shut the door again and hewouldhave minded his own business if it was not for the fact that sleeping over a desk had looked quite uncomfortable and well, he had not wanted Princess to start the new year in such a bad shape.

So, he had gently picked her up and put her to bed. However, when he had gone back to switch off the lamp, Bayani had seen the papers and papers of drawings of a café that he had not recognised. Again, he professed that hewouldhave turned around and walked straight back out of the room without sticking his nose where it had not been invited but, alas, his curiosity had won him over.

He explained that he looked through all the sketches, from every year since the original one, and then he had gently stacked them all together and put them in the desk drawer. And never mentioned it to anyone.

Until this moment.

Princess laughed.

"Ha! Ah remember that Hogmanay. Ah awoke belivin' ah had got so rat-arsed becus ah couldn' remember how ah had got intae bed an' why ah had put ma sketches in the drawer."

Bayani grinned guiltily.

"You don't normally keep them in your desk drawer?" He asked.

Princess shook her head.

"Next time, ye'll wan' tae put them back in the envelope an' under the floorboard, under the carpet, under ma bed."

"I'll remember that for next time," Bayani said laughing.

Then his face turned serious.

Soft, but serious.

"The reason I'm admitting to this," he began. "Is because I think you should do it."

Princess stilled at his words.

She could hear her breathing, even over the ruckus of music and people.

"'At's easier said than done..." She said quietly.

Bayani shook his head.

"If you think about it, yes. If you factor in everyone else's opinion, yes. But, Princess, I've known you your whole life, you haven't exactly had the best first quarter of your life...and if you want the next quarter to be better then—dinnae listen tae yer heid lass, listen tae yer hart."

Princess laughed.

And almost cried.

She willed her self-control, and the pinch in the back of her eyes (the one that comes before the tears fall) disappeared. Bayani had always been good to her, the twins were not so attentive, but Bayani had always been respectful of her space and protective of it. He was always the mediator between her and their mother.

A buffer.

A bridge.

Hence why it had been so hard once he had left for London.

"But of course—heart-felt words aside—you do need the think about it a little bit, practically speaking. Draw up a business plan. Work out the finances. The loan."

Eyes glowing with all the lights in the room that flickered and shined in her dark eyes, Princess smiled softly up at her brother.

"Thank you," she said in Tagalog.

Bayani nudged his little sister gently with his elbow and he too spoke in their second tongue, saying,

"You can do it."

The heartfelt moment went on for a mere few seconds until the creator of it dismantled it.

"But I did speak to mam, and she is worried—as usual—but—waitlet me finish, I insisted that it was normal after so many years of studying that you wanted a break and that I had known of many other prospective doctors who had done the same."

Princess scanned her brother's face.

"Ye dinnae ken any doctors, do ye?"

"Just the one." He said. Then smiled. "But I'm not convinced aprospectivedoctor is what she is..."

Princess tried not to grin back.

Then Bayani added,

"But what matters is that she shouldn't badger you about it for the rest of the year."

Princess was grateful for this but had not had the time to thank Bayani properly before Dee came waddling over with Emily by her side. She hauled Princess and Bayani from behind the bar, insisting that they had to take part in the apple bobbing stand-off. Two teams had been made and the aim of the game was to catch as many apples as possible within five minutes, a person and an apple at a time. Of course, they obliged, not wanting to get on the wrong side of the devil tonight.

The game was fun.

And the evening and Halloween festivities, as a whole, had been pleasant. However, after Princess's conversation with Bayani there was only one thing she could think about. It occupied her mind so much so that it was the reason her team lost the game. Her lack of reaction time had cost an apple, an apple that would have put them in the lead. Had she reacted quicker and let her brother behind her fish one more out, they would have won.

But, alas, her mind had been elsewhere.

Princess ended up leaving early and driving back home with an urgency that, for the first time, did not stem from an anxiety or an insecurity that was at the expense of something or someone other than herself. It was an urgency that had her glued to her desk chair almost throughout the night, as she researched and bullet-pointed all the finer details of opening a business.

She only had a year to plan this.

And she was not about to take it for granted.

Chapter 2: Princess Charming

Chapter Text

"Gad, ye an absolute midden 'is mornin', Prince." Dee remarked.

"Aye," Princess replied, prepping the coffee machine.

Shewasa mess.

Her night-black locks were wrapped up in a messy bun, there were dark circles under her eyes, and she was wearing the same clothes she had worn yesterday. Thankfully, she had at least washed under her arms and used the bidet before jumping into the car to head for work this morning. The consequences of researching non-stop last night had caught up with her.

"Ah thought ye left early las' night... Whit have ye bin up tae?" Dee asked, stocking the fresh goods.

"Studyin'." Princess replied simply.

Dee frowned.

"Did ye no' graduate wi' a first?" She asked.

"Aye."

Princess's short, nonchalant responses were only stirring up Dee's suspicions. And when Princess said no more, Dee asked,

"An' whit were ye studyin'? 'How tae talk tae a lad?' or 'How tae ken when a lad likes ye?' or 'How tae look pass' ye nose?'"

Princess smiled and said,

"Naw. Naw. An' ah dinnae need tae study 'at. Ah can see jus' fine.Yeon the other hand ur as blind as an ol' bat. Ye need glasses, Dee."

Dee let out a bellow of laughter.

"HA! A midden an' ye're talkin' pure mince! Ah can seeperfectly, thank ye very much." Dee said.

"Mhm, De Nile is no' jus' a river in Eygpt..."

"Ugh, och awa' an' dinnae talk pish." Dee quipped.

"Say 'at next time ye put salt instead o' sugar in ye tea."

Dee ignored Princess, but Princess knew it was because Dee knew she was right. Her godmother was a tough cookie. She knew it would take tremendous effort to genuinely insult Dee and even then, Dee would probably just laugh in her face. So, Princess knew she need never walk on eggshells around her.

Dee finished placing the last Scottish macaroon out on display. There were now neat rows and columns of an assortment of neatly stacked and arranged pastries that would, sure enough, become a sparse land of crumbs come midday. Then placing the large oven tray on the counter, Dee rested a hand beside the tray and the other hand on her hip. She turned to Princess and said,

"Anno ye talkin' oot yer fanny flaps. Ye no' studyin'. Ah'll jus' wait until ye tell me the truth."

Princess smiled.

This.

Was why she could confide in Dee and why she was the only person Princess truly felt comfortable with. Though to be honest, Princess was not technically lying, shewas studying—of sorts—it was just not the kind of studying Dee thought she was doing.

They opened the café and went about as usual. Princess mostly manned the coffee machine whilst Dee took payments and served the pastries. Princess loved making the hot drinks during the morning rush. She had to be time-efficient and orderly. Most of the time she made two drinks at the same time, and sometimes three—if there were two orders of the same item.

She loved the drill.

The lack of time and mental space it gave her, during rush hours, to think about whatever else her brain wanted to overthink about was liberating. It was like taking a deep breath and going underwater and being forced into a state of control, less you panicked and breathed in and choked and—

Well, you get it.

At around ten thirty, when customers came in in calm sporadic waves, Dee checked the hanging clock on the wall and announced to Princess that she was going to take a quick break and make herself a hot drink. She then disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Princess alone behind the counter wiping away the spilt coffee grinds of the morning's aftermath.

The bell atop the entrance door rang and with her back to the counter, wringing the wet cloth in the small sink beside the coffee machine, she automatically called out,

"Good mornin', whit can a get for ye?"

"Ah wis wonderin' if this mornin' ye could recommend somethin' instead?"

Princess paused.

With last night's Halloween celebrations and the madness of pulling an all-nighterandthe busyness of the morning, she had forgotten all about him.

Briefly.

(Unfortunately.)

However, she recognised that baritone. Her brain had somehow logged and categorised it, at some point from yesterday to today, without her consent. She privately cursed at herself as she placed down the damp cloth and immediately wished she had not been able to recognise his voice.

Sheimmediately wished she were the one taking a break instead of Dee. Howbeit Princess was a big lass, so, somehow, she found the courage to turn around—withoutbeing awkward.

"Oh, good mornin' Mr MacDoubleEspressoWi'ADashO'CreamAn'ASprinkleO'Cinammon," She said.

Princess cringed.

On the inside.

She had no idea where this newfoundbravery came from, for such a teasing comment, but Princess would tell you that the confidence was counterfeit. Regardless she hoped it would not run away from her—screaming—for internally she was a trembling mess trying to behave in her mundane customer service way. She kept having to tell herself that he was just an ordinary man.

He's jus' a person.

A human bein'.

A hom*o sapien.

A living bein'.

Atoms.

Princess hoped Angus and Dee could not hear her, she did not want them to think she was flirting.

Horribly.

Princess could hear her breathing slowly start to race and her palms turn clammy. It gotsignificantlyworse when the café seemed to decrease in size and warm up excessively as he smiled.

The bastart has dimples.Princess thought.

She tried not to stare.

Task failed.

His brilliant, tousled curls glittered ever so slightly against the rays of sunshine peeking through the café windows. His pretty eyes were a contrast of colour against his hair and his smile crinkled the freckles near the corners of his lips. And his lips w—

Princess snapped out of her trance.

Whit am ah doin'?

Ye've seen him before, he looks nae different tae yesterday...

But he does. Somehow.

The bright-haired gentleman then said,

"Ah dinnae wish tae be 'at predictable, so ah thought ah'd be brave an' take yer recommendation. Whitever it may be."

Princess wished he would stop smiling.

It was making her feel funny.

And she willed herself to stop looking at him so hard. Because, damn her, she was discovering beauty in all his finer details. Without smiling—because her nerves were brewing to a boiling point—she said,

"Ah'm no' a coffee drinker, ah'm afraid."

He gently shook his head.

"Naw matter," he replied.

Princess tried not to react to his soft voice. There was a kindness to it that felt like the tip of a feather caressing the sensitive skin on the back of her hand. She then, feeling timid, asked,

"Do ye have any allergies?"

He shook his head and Princess nodded. Grateful for the excuse to set her back on him she then went about making the first thing her fuzzy brain could think of.

Princess grabbed a medium paper cup—not a large one in case he was not to be a fan of what she was about to brew—and placed it to the side. She then tipped in a spoonful of chai spices, already mixed with sugar, into a metal jug. She poured in a good quantity of whole milk—which she eyeballed—and flicked the milk steamer on and off to ready it for a proper steam.

Princess then placed the steamer nozzle into the jug. She flicked on the steamer and used the same frothing technique she would use to make a flat white. Once content with her work she flicked off the milk steamer and swirled the metal jug around, tapping it a few times on the counter before carefully pouring it into the cup.

She finished it off with a sprinkling of cinnamon.

"'At'll be £2.40," she said looking down as she placed the cup onto the counter.

She then typed in the sale into the monitor beside her. The customer paid with his card and Princess paid extra attention not to accidentally brush fingers with him.

"Enjoy," she said, still averting eye contact.

She had liked the momentary blur of making the drink, but now her nerves were back to rattling like cowbells and she just wanted this to be over. The customer picked up his mystery drink and asked,

"Whit is it?"

Princess did not think, as she automatically looked up and softly smiled with a corner of her lips.

"Ye'll see, ye can tell me next time whit ye think of it."

Princess did not mean to sound flirtatious.

Honestly, her primary reason was to get him out of the café so she need not witness his reaction as he drank his surprise beverage. Unfortunately, though, the bright-haired gentleman grinned.

She blamed herself for it.

He then tilted his cup as if to say, "Cheers!"

"Tomorro' then," he said.

Princess nodded, trying to smile non-nervously back. She then unintentionally watched him walk away.

All the way.

Thankfully, he did not look back.

The door tingled and closed behind him. Princess stood blank for a moment just staring. She then turned around and jumped. Dee and Angus were both standing behind her on either side.

"Jesus on two sticks.Yees scared me!" She exclaimed, catching her breath back.

"So," Dee began, nursing a mug of milky tea. "Yearestudyin' 'How tae talk tae a lad.'"

Princess's eyes scrutinised Dee because now she was getting an inkling that Dee's tea break and the customer's entrance had somehow not been a sheer dumb coincidence.

Dee just smirked in return.

"An' ye did all 'at lookin' like," Dee said, pointing at all of her. "Well, lookin' like 'at."

Then Princess remembered. Her hands shot to her hair and face.

"sh*t a brick!" She exclaimed.

Princess remembered what she looked like. A dishevelled and sleep-deprived mess of a lass. Dee burst into a hearty laugh and Angus joined in too, gently patting Princess on the shoulder.

Princess felt pitiful.

"Ah sure hope ye dinnae talk like 'at at home, or ye maw would skin me alive!"

Dee chuckled and took a sip of her tea. Her face scrunched up.

"Ugh!" She exclaimed with a throaty gargle. "Angus!"

Angus's face turned into one of shock.

"Whit did ye dae tae ma tea?" Dee said accusingly.

Angus threw up his hands and shook his head.

"Ah didnae touch it!" He croaked back.

Princess laughed.

"Serves. Ye.Reit." She said co*ckily. "Noo ah, maself, fancy a cup o' tea."

Dee frowned at her goddaughter. Princess sashayed to the kitchen entrance.

"Would yecarefor one, Dee? Apropercup wi' naesaltin it?"

Angus let out a chortle of laughter but quickly covered his mouth when Dee fixed her beady eyes on him.

"Ugh, haud yer wheesht an' make me one already," Dee said with a flat face as she poured her milky saline solution into the sink beside the coffee machine.

She glared at it in betrayal as she watched it disappear down the drain. Princess withdrew into the kitchen and grabbed one of the iced buns with a glacé cherry on top and took a big bite.

Happysomethingwent her way.

However, it was not to last, because then, just when Princess believed that Dee had no comebacks to strike her down with.

She did.

"Ye did well 'is time!" Dee yelled from the café counter. "For a schoolgurwl!"

"Ye're on level –1. Noo get tae ground 0 an' get his name next time!"

And with her teeth still sunk into the bun, Princess's face fell flat. And so too, did her bun flop and droop down.

After work, Princess had hurried back home with the plan to have a quick nap and then maybe start drawing up new sketches and calculations. However, she had remained knocked out till dinner was ready. Her father had had to shake her awake and check she was not under the weather.

Upset with herself Princess had vowed to head over to a pub after work tomorrow and hide in a corner pencilling and calculating to her heart's content. She had come to an agreement with herself that it was best to keep her plans hidden for now.

So, being at home was an absolute no-no.

When the time was right and she had every duck, hen, and goose in a row, she would tell her parents.

Hopefully.

Probably.

Maybe?

Hopefully.

The following morning, Princess packed a bag with all the essentials: a notepad, a newly acquired sketchpad, a pencil case, a calculator, her laptop, and her tablet. She yelled goodbye to her parents and left earlier than usual. So much so that it raised Perlah's suspicions. In the middle of her breakfast, she turned to her husband and said in a blend of English and Spanish,

"Hm, Princess is acting strange."

Fausto knew his wife was making both a statement and asking a question. So, peering over his mug of cereal and coffee milk, he calmly replied in his mother tongue,

"You know what she's like when she is...fixedon something."

Still glaring down the front door from the kitchen's doorway, Perlah said,

"Mhm, question iswhat?"

Over at Dee's Upon the Railway, rush hour had been busy. At one point Dee had briefly disappeared with no explanation. And Princess had mildly mentally cursed her for it.

Mildly.

However, unbeknownst to her, Dee had snuck over to the sweets section and jumbled them all up. Once she had been satisfied with her handy work—in that, it looked as if a toddler on a sugar high had whizzed through the place—she had then returned to Princess's side.

When the wave of customers had finally died down, and the gentler ebb and flow of hot drinkers had slowed even further down to the odd one or two popping in, Dee turned to Princess and asked her to go and clean up the disorder over in the sweets section.

"All reit," Princess said.

She dried her hands off and then went over to find a right shamble of things. Her mouth dropped open and gaped at the sight of it. Never had she had to clean after a customer who had unleashed such chaos upon the shelves before.

"Wha'crack headdid 'is?" She mumbled to herself in disbelief.

Overnight, Dee had promptly taken down all of the Halloween perishables and decorations. She had replaced them with Christmas sweets, chocolates, and Christmas decorations, along with a small corner stocked with kindling, wood logs, and fireworks for Guy Fawkes.

Princess would have helped with it, but changing decorations was something Dee always preferred doing on her own. Princess supposed it was because Dee wanted things done in a certain way—even though Princess was very familiar with her way.

This year, as always, Dee had put up a fat fir tree in the middle of the café, dressed in fairy lights and chocolate hanging ornaments they were selling. At the bottom, amongst Christmas-wrapped faux-presents, was a cherry-red steam locomotive, which chugged around on a never-ending railway track.

Hanging from the ceiling, under the cotton clouds were no longer witches but a miniature Father Christmas in his sleigh with his twelve rein-deers fastened and strapped in. And on every windowsill, there were festive garlands covered with fake snow.

And withal, currently, over in the sweets section, the hanging candy canes were half on the floor and half bombarding the hanging chocolate nutcrackers. Whereas some of the nutcrackers had invaded the packets of red, green, and white mint humbugs. There must have been a coup d'état because further down, other nutcrackers were now standing guard over the boxes of build-your-own-gingerbread-house.

Not to mention various hanging chocolate baubles had somehow rolled down to the bottom shelves like bombs that had failed to detonate. And in a corner, on top of a tin of Christmas biscuits, someone had set up a mini nativity scene using a mix-match of sweets and chocolates.

Princess did a Dee and planted her fists on her hips.

"Whiteverbampotdid this made a reit midden o' it!" Princess called over to Dee.

"Aye," Dee agreed. "Probably someone's wee bastart!"

Princess huffed, then got down on her knees and began reordering everything. She began with the invasive nutcrackers first. In the meantime, Dee served the one or two customers who came in. When Princess finally reached the confectionary chaos of the nativity scene the doorbell tingled. There was an unusual short silence that followed it, so out of habit, Princess said,

"Mornin' someone will—"

But when Princess glanced over to the café counter, she found it empty.

Dee was nowhere to be seen.

She would have called out for her, but one of the first rules of serving in hospitality was, "If no one else is around, and you know how to do it—do it." So, with an inward sigh, Princess swivelled around to apologise to the newly arrived customer for the wait. But instead, she turned around and found herself speechless.

"Mornin'," he said with a dimpled smile.

Princess suddenly felt very naked without the counter to partially hide behind. She needed the safe distance. She quickly recovered, whilst mentally scowling at her godmother.

"Oh, mornin', apologies ah thought Dee wis behind the counter—let me serve ye."

She hurried behind the counter—but not before knocking the doorstopper to the kitchen door askew so that it swung shut—and immediately felt a little better. On the other side of the kitchen door, Dee silently waved Angus over and they both went to press their ears against the door. However, Angus then leant away from the door and shook his head. He went over to the sink and fetched two glasses. They each placed one on the door and then rested their ears upon it. They heard Princess in a muffled voice, say,

"Mr MacAh'llHaveWhiteverYeSuggest whit can ah make ye this mornin'?"

Princess started for the coffee machine, but the customer chuckled and said,

"Whitever ye made me yesterday, but wi' an added shot o' espresso please—if that's no' too much tae ask?"

Princess felt heat rising up her neck, to her cheeks. Her hands fiddled with the bow of her short-waist apron.

"O' course, not... Ye liked it?"

"Ah loved it, whit wis it?"

"Chai latte—which by the way is nothin' like authentic chai—but it wis the best ah could do."

"Oh, so like chai tea?"

Princess smiled politely.

"Mm, more of a bastardised version—an' by the way, sayin' chai tea is the equivalent o' sayin' 'tea tea'; like sayin' gelato ice cream o' nan bread..."

Princess's speech had sped up, and conscious that it had, she quickly tried to slow it down.

"..ye're...jus' sayin'...the same word...twice..."

He laughed and Princess had to avert her gaze, less she started staring like a fool.

"Ah am afraid ah'm guilty on all three accounts. Ah thank ye for the education. Ah didnae ken ah had been makin' ah numpty of maself mawhole life."

"Dinnae fash, they're common mistakes," Princess said giggling softly.

She then cleared her throat.

"Whit size wuid ye like?"

"Oh, a large, thank ye."

Princess nodded and then got to work with the espresso shot first.

"These Christmas decorations are the bonniest ah've ever seen." He commented.

"Aye, it's one o' Dee's specialities—decorations. She always goes all oot."

"So ye've bin here a while, then?" He asked as the fresh coffee splashed and dripped into the paper cup.

Princess forced herself to momentarily face him, not to be rude. Even though she would have preferred not to, not because she did not want to, but because it made her feel silly with giddiness whenever she looked at him. And this newfound wooziness was a novelty for her and one she was unsure of navigating without feeling as if she were making a smiling, staring, and stuttering fool of herself.

"Aye, an' naw. Ah've helped oot over the years, but ah've known Dee ma whole life. She's ma godmother."

"Oh, ah see. 'At's lovely."

"Aye, she's greit—" Princess said, then leaned a little over to whisper.

Dee and Angus had to press their nosy ears even harder against their glasses.

"—even if she can be as stubborn as a mule an' a reit pain in the bahookie when she wants tae be."

They both laughed and behind the kitchen door, Dee enthusiastically shook poor ol' Angus by the shoulder, as if to say: "She's doing it! Can you hear?! She's actually doing it!"

Angus just trembled like a tree being hacked down.

Princess carried on making the bright-haired gentleman's order whilst they shared other pleasantries with a little small talk. The bright-haired gentleman was from Edinburgh originally and had just recently moved out to Aberdeen. Against his mother's wishes, he was a potter. He was commuting back and forth for classes he taught in Inverurie. Princess told him about her education in medicine, which he was quite impressed with. Of course, that had naturally led him to ask her what her next plans were, and Princess had hesitated before choosing to settle with, "Ah havnae figured it oot yet."

Once she finished his drink, she placed it on the counter.

"'At'll be £3—whit happened tae yer hand?"

Princess had only now taken notice of the bandage around his hand. She mentally kicked herself for such a latent observation. The customer looked down at his hand, as if he had to remind himself of the wound's existence. He then looked a tad embarrassed as he explained,

"Oh, aye, ah'm currently takin' glass blowing classes, an' ah broke one of the vases ah'd made..."

Then, unexpectedly, on the bright-haired gentleman's behalf, Princess removed his cup from the counter and with it disappeared as she went to grab a napkin. Not knowing what Princess was doing, he added in a hesitant voice,

"Dinnae fash, it's no' as bad as it looks."

Hidden behind a Christmas-tree shaped display of gingerbread men and women, Princess briefly popped her head out to ask,

"Did any glass get lodged intae the wound?"

"Thankfully, naw, it wis a clean cut an' nae too deep."

As Princess came back into view with his drink, she also held a pen and a couple of napkins in her hand.

"Keep the wound clean an' ah suggest ye purchase a first-aid antibiotic ointment tae keep the wound clean an' moist for better healin'."

Princess proceeded to jot down some scribbles—that Rodric could not see—on one of the napkins. She then wrapped the napkins around the cup and handed it to him.

"Careful, it's hot."

He took the cup in his hand and slowly looked up to Princess.

There was a moment's silence.

Princess then flushed pink when she realised what was happening. This time, she was not the one who was staring... Her eyes then flitted to the side and back and she gently cleared her throat again.

"'At'll be £3.50," she said almost too quietly.

The bright-haired gentleman snapped out of it.

"O' course, sorry."

Flustered he hurriedly and awkwardly fished for his card. He reached over the counter to pay, but because the card machine was misbehaving, he had to tap multiple times. When he went to tap again, and because she wanted to assist, Princess's hand reached out and their fingers brushed against each other. The unexpected warmth that emanated from him sent a zing up her arm and down her spine. Princess could not remember the last time she had touched (accidentally) a beautiful man.

She had not expected it.

At the same time, they both apologised to each other. Both had faint rosy cheeks—well, bright-haired gentleman more so, he was almost beetroot red.

Another customer then entered the café. And finally, the bright-haired gentleman's payment went through. Princess looked up and smiled at the next customer.

"Good mornin' Wynda, ah'll be wi' ye in jus' a moment."

Wynda, a little old lady wrapped up nice and tight in dark mustard hues, smiled back.

"Mornin' to ye too. Dinnae fash, hen."

Princess and the bright-haired gentleman then shared a moment's look at each other, as if both expecting something else to happen.

Princess quickly broke the silence.

"Princess," she said.

His eyebrows delicately rose in question.

"Princess?" He asked.

Princess had to try not to laugh at his reaction.

"Aye, 'at's ma name."

The bright-haired gentleman's eyes then twinkled as his dimples crinkled with his smile. He held out his empty hand over the counter and Princess looked down at it before reaching out with her own hand. As soon as his hand almost swallowed hers in a gentle grip, her body could not help thinking that it wasverywarm.

And strong.

And b—

"Nice tae meet ye, Princess. Ma name is Rodric." He said, charmingly.

Princess had to suppress a shiver. They shook hands.

"Lovely tae meet ye, Rodric." She said with a smile.

Their hands let go and Princess bid him a final farewell before he disappeared back out onto the platform. Princess did not have time to watch him leave, as Wynda walked up to the counter, grinning as if she knew a secret she was not supposed to.

"If ever! 'At's a braw lad!" She said with a wink.

In that moment Dee burst out from the kitchen cackling.

"Ye did it lass! Ah didnae think ye wuid but ye did!"

Princess was not surprised that Dee had been listening in on their interactions.

"Ah didnae," she replied with a smirk.

"Whit? Is yer bum oot the windae, Prince? The bonnie lad's name is Rodric—a braw, strongname at 'at too!"

"Ah did better," Princess said casually.

She and Dee shared a silent look. Then Dee broke out with a bellow of laughter.

She gasped. "Ye didnae."

Angus looked to a fro, from Princess to Dee. Completely at a loss.

"Didnae whit?" He croaked.

Dee slapped her thigh with a "Ha!"

"Ye gave him yer number!" She exclaimed.

Princess just grinned in response.

"Whit? When? Ah didnae hear 'at!" Angus rambled.

Dee just went on laughing, leaving Angus hanging. Princess shook her head smiling, turning to serve Wynda, only to find that Wynda was now more interested in the story than in her own order.

Dee whipped around with glee and explained everything to her, with Angus listening in just as intently. Princess shook her head again and decided to turn away from the gossiping trio to give the coffee machine a wipe down and quick rinse through.

All the while, further down the platform, Rodric had just taken the first sip of his hot drink, and as delightful as that sip was, he mentally noted to himself to ask for an extra shot of espresso next time.

His lips then formed a lopsided smile as he smiled at nothing but the replay of recent events in his head. He looked down at his cup and gently, without letting them escape his grip with the wind, unwrapped the napkins.

His eyes quickly scanned the first napkin.

Then his crooked smile broke into a full bright, delighted grin. Because underneath the three scribbled ointment recommendations, was an eleven-digit number, scrawled in black ink.

She could still not believe what she had done.

But she had done it.

In some bout of confidence that had swooped in and bit her hard Princess had sneakily given Rodric her number. She must have channelled her inner Dee because this was a first for her. She had never made the first move before (or even been aware of when moves were being made).

So, Princess tried hard, for the rest of the day, to keep away from her phone. The anxiety of not knowing when Rodric would message was not one she wanted to aggravate. She did not want to spend hours checking her phone repeatedly only to find that he had not messaged. To have her spirits lifted in the hopes of receiving his message, only then to just have them dropped once she found no new message from a new number.

Therefore, it was only—hours later—once she was sitting in the corner of a pub she rarely frequented in the city of Aberdeen, with her bag unpacked and all her things neatly placed out before her, did she finally take a deep breath and unlock her phone.

She had three unopened messages. The first two were from mother dearest:

Buy toilet paper on way home

And milk

The second was from a number not in her contacts, it read:

Hiya Princess, I'm afraid this is not Prince

Charming, but Rodric

Princess smiled.

But then she looked down at the time he had sent the text and suddenly felt ashamed of herself. Rodric had messaged her a little after he had left the café. She had ignored her phone all day whilst he had probably been anxiously awaiting her acknowledgement of his message in all that time. She quickly added his number to her contact list, under the name:

Not Prince Charming.

She then proceeded to write a response:

It's ok 😂 most people call me Prince anyway

so I can be your Prince Charming

Princess took a moment to reread her message.

Then adjusted it.

It's ok 😂 most people call me Prince anyway

so I can be Prince Charming

Content, she then pressed the send button and locked her phone. And set it on the table.

And stared at it.

Then unlocked it again to check it was not on silent. She set it back on the table.

And stared at it a bit more.

Princess reached out again and placed it screen-face down. She then searched her bag for her wallet and finally went to order a pot of tea from the bar.

Once settled in, in her cosy corner, with a steaming pot of tea, Princess opened her laptop and a new spreadsheet and turned on her scientific calculator. Finance first—no.

Rodric first.

Because he had just messaged.

Princess's phone pinged and vibrated and she picked it up, slowly. There were new messages from Not Prince Charming.

She opened them.

Perfect ❤️ You can be Prince Charming

and I can be Damsel in Distress 🤕

(seeing as I'm the clumsy one

breaking glass vases)

Princess laughed out loud, then quickly shut up. She looked around, no one had been paying attention to her. She then reacted to his message with a laughing emoji and wrote her response.

Deal. Let me just change your contact name from

Not Prince Charming to Damsel in Distress

She double-checked what she had typed and then adjusted as necessary.

Deal. Let me just change your contact name from

Not Prince Charming to Damsel in Distress 😂

Sent.

Princess changed his contact name accordingly and hesitated to put the phone back down onto the table.

She had a bit of a conundrum.

If they carried on like this, at this pace, she would never get any work done. But if she turned her phone off and ignored him again, that would be mean. Princess then started typing her next message. At the same time, Rodric reacted to her previous message with a heart emoji. She tried typing as quickly as she could before he could send another message.

!Just letting you know, I am not ignoring you

But I will be studying for the next few hours

She could see that Rodric had begun typing. Princess quickly re-read her message and fixed it before sending it off before he could send a new message.

!Just letting you know, I am not ignoring you

But I will be studying for the next few hours

talk later 😊

Finally happy, she set her phone back down, screen-side down and began the calculations for opening her café.

Her phone did not ping again.

Three hours and a teapot refill later, Princess had completed her spreadsheet and found the floor plans of the shop for sale online.

Itdidhave a garden.

So, the café would be on the ground floor. However, she could not confidently decide what would occupy the other two floors...but that could be decided later.

Along with the name.

Princess could still not affirmatively pick one. She was caught between naming it after herself or after her late lolo. When she finally stopped to rest, she collapsed back into her chair and felt the intense impulse to be productive leave her body. It left her wrought and exhausted after a long day of being on her feet and ending it with a small brain-power session. She yawned and thought it better to go shopping now and then head home.

A common smartphone ringtone began to sound.

Loudly. Vibrations and all.

Princess, who was trying to relax, looked around tepidly bothered. She wondered why the owner of the phone would not pick it up. That was until she realised thatshewas that very owner...

"sh*te," she cursed.

Princess grabbed for her phone and her fingers fumbled as she quickly answered the call without checking who the caller was.

"Hello?"

"Hiya," the voice said hesitantly. "Ah'm sorry are ye still studyin'? If so, ah can call l—"

It was Rodric.

Princess slapped her face. And this time an elderly couple across the way eyed her.

"Oh, Rodric! Ah'm sorry, ah picked up an' ah wis jus—ye know what?"

She paused and took a deep breath in.

"Let me start again... Damsel in Distress,oh hi, how are ye?"

Rodric let out a chuckle, which made Princess smile. She secretly wished she could see his face.

"Ah am quite all reit Prince Charmin', ah wis jus' callin' tae...well, ah wanted...ok, so give me a sec an' ah will be able tae speak coherently."

Princess laughed.

And Rodric took a short moment before he asked, "Ah am callin' tae ask ye if ye wanted tae go oot for a coffee?"

Princess's breathing stilled.

This was not what she had been expecting.

She had not even thought of the possibility that he would call instead of text her.Or that Rodric would ask her out. And, well, she had never been on a date before—or simply out for a coffee with a man who was not family. Let alone with a beautiful man...

She cursed herself.

She had completely neglected to prepare for this outcome.

Ye silly twig. Whit did ye think wuid happen after ye gave him yer number?

Well...ah didnae think.

Naw sh*t.

At her silence, Rodric quickly added, "O' tea? O' chai? Anno ye dinnae drink coff—oh, naw, wait—I jus' said tea twice—"

Princess could not help herself. She laughed.

"Naw, naw, it's ok." She said.

Then she bolted upright in her seat. And quickly added, "Ah mean, aye.Yes.Naw, naw, it's ok, but aye, ah wuid love tae go for a coffee o' a tea tea wi' ye."

Rodric chuckled.

"Greit, how about Jo—wait where do ye live? Ah mean, naw, dinnae tell me where ye live—well, not if ye want to, ah meant—"

Princess giggled.

"Ah live jus' on the outskirts o' Aberdeen city." She said.

She heard him give a sigh of relief on the other end of the line.

"Ok, perfect. How about we grab a drink an' then walk around Johnstone Gardens?"

Princess slowly smiled and nodded her head.

Then smacked her head.

"Sorry, ah jus' nodded ma head at ye..."

Rodric laughed.

"'At's ok. So, is that a yes?"

Princess nodded again, before quickly saying,

"Aye, Damsel in Distress 'at wuid be perfect. But, because the Gardens are a bit far from any coffee shops, why dinnae we go for a walk first then go in town for a hot drink after?"

"Ye're very reit, aye. It seems as though the Damsel in Distress needs saving from his own lack o' logic. Ah thank ye, Prince Charmin'."

Princess was grinning widely.

"Anytime," she said.

They then decided on a time and date, and both reluctantly ended the phone call. After the call ended Princess stared down at her phone in her hand.

Her grin had not lessened in width.

She was going on a date, with a handsome man who—as far as she knew—was not a prick.

Ah mean he might be.Princess thought.

sh*te, Princess. Ye're going on a date...

Princess proceeded to pack her things in a daze.

Thinking only of all the things that could go wrong. And frightfully, all the things that could go right. She had entertained the opposite sex in her much earlier days but then found the games and anxiety to be too much of a head spin.

She had decided that if her head was to be filled with never-ending trains of insecurities and her anxieties unnecessarily taunted, she would much rather have that all happen at the expense of her studies, or unwittingly, her family—more specifically her mother. Princess closed her bag and double-checked she had not left anything, before leaving the pub and the elderly couple who kept looking over at her.

Princess drove all the way back home, even if she would never admit it out loud, thinking about Rodric and the upcoming rendezvous. His smile kept showing up in her mind and his voice kept replaying in her ears. Once she got home, she opened the front door and dropped her bag onto the floor with a sigh of relief. She was taking her boots off when her mother poked her head from the kitchen.

"Did you go shopping?" She called out in Tagalog.

Then Princess remembered the earlier text from her mother that she had completely ignored and forgotten about.

She cursed under her breath.

Then winced as she replied in her mother's native tongue, "Uh, sorry mam, I completely forgot..."

"Ha?! Why?"She shouted in Spanish from the kitchen.

Princess cursed at herself again.

She should have known this would have happened. Her father poked his head into the hallway from the living room, where he had been engrossed in Stone Circles: A Brief World History. Fausto was a historian who worked as a professor for the Celtic & Anglo–Saxon Studies MA, at the University of Aberdeen.

"What's going on?" He asked in his native tongue, fixing his glasses.

"Ma ask—" Princess began, but then was cut off by her mother.

Who walked out into the hallway waving a ladle around, still dressed in her nurse uniform. Princess felt a cold wash of guilt overcome her as her mother had probably just come back home from a long day at the hospital and gone straight into the kitchen to start cooking dinner.

"I ask Princess to do one thing! One thing!" Perlah shouted at Fausto in English and Spanish.

She then turned to her daughter and continued in a mix of English and Tagalog. "You go all day—every day. I ask you one thing Princess. One thing! Toilet paper and milk!"

Fausto stepped out into the hallway.

"I'll go shopping." He said, lifting his hands up as if they could magically calm the situation down.

Princess shook her head and bit her tongue, so she would not lash out and later regret it.

"No dad, I'll go shopping." She said in Spanish.

"It's ok, my daughter, I can go," he said gently.

Princess shook her head again, putting her shoes back on. "If mam wants me tae go and get them, ah'll go and get them."

"Mh," Perlah nodded with pursed lips.

With the back of her eyes burning and tears threatening to spill over, Princess picked up her bag and rushed out of the house again.

Shehatedmoments like these.

Moments where she would forbid herself to lash out but be so inexplicably enraged that she would start crying. She hated the power her mother had over her.

Princess slammed her car door shut and drove off, furious, with hot tears streaming down her cheeks. It was times like these that would send her back to her adolescent years and make her feel trapped inside a girl's body.

Times like these where she felt so small and pathetic.

Times like these when every bad thought she had ever had of herself would start to rip a tornado through her subconscious and enter the forefront of her mind. No matter how hard she worked to get better at it, the walls were always penetrable. The shadows of her mind could always find a way to slip out to play their nasty games. Especially wherever and whenever her mother was concerned.

It was always a lost battle.

And, just when she was having such an exceptional day...

Chapter 3: Damsel in Distress

Chapter Text

Princess awoke with puffy eyes.

Her irises hidden behind a mere slit of a gap. After returning from her shopping trip last night, she had skipped dinner and gone to bed instead. Princess's appetite would always cease whenever her mother would upset her. And every time, in response, Perlah would just roll her eyes at Princess as if she were being unnecessarily melodramatic. Which only made Princess feel even more deplorably pathetic.

She had cried herself to sleep whilst her old friend and her demons had chanted in her head as if they had all been frolicking around a campfire, hand in hand, skipping in an eternal ring of dance.

Princess had slept, but it had not been peaceful.

And that is how she had woken up, looking like something a cat had dragged in.

Dead and swollen.

Princess had to grab a bag of frozen sweetcorn from the outside freezer and wrap it with a tea towel, before going back to bed and lying down with the homemade cold press against her eyes. After twenty minutes, her phone alarm went off. She checked her reflection in the mirror. Her eyelids were no longer attempting to swallow her eyeballs.

Progress.

Princess then grabbed her gua sha tools and a little almond oil and gently encouraged further lymphatic drainage as she massaged around her eyes and around her face. Once she was finished—after an added quick two-minute jumping session, just to be sure—she almost looked back to normal again.

Wanting to avoid her parents Princess slipped out of the house quietly, missing breakfast. She could never look them in the face after moments like last night. No matter how slight they were, they always felt like betrayals. And Princess had a hard time stomaching and looking at betrayers in the face.

She would eat at Dee's.

Her hunger had still not caught up with her anyway. She was tired more than anything else. She felt familiarly hollow and barren from last night's sleepless sleep, as if her eyes had been closed but her mind, wide awake the whole time.

Burning into overdrive.

Princess was sitting in her car with her bag resting in the passenger's seat. She had no intentions of returning home until she had no other excuse but to. She thought she would stay out for dinner too, so, before starting her car she wrote her father a text message saying she would not be home for dinner and turned her phone on silent.

Princess turned on the engine and started for work. She dearly hoped that that would be all the drama she would have to endure until the new year when her mother's patience would probably entirely run out.

It already seemed to be running...fast.

If there was one thing Princess detested most, it was drama. It made her feel uncomfortable and unwittingly a part of something she did not want to have anything to do with. Especially not when it would make her feel like the bad guy. Which was how she was feeling now, despite her anger.

When Princess arrived at Dee's, her godmother was surprised at her unexpected earliness, but quickly assumed why. Dee had spent much of Princess's adolescent years looking after her during her times of crude and unrelenting breakdowns.

"Whit happened, ma Prince?" She asked with concern.

Dee was unpacking this morning's delivered milk. Princess went into the back, bid Angus good morning, and hung her jacket up and put her apron on.

"Nothin' 'at has never happened before." Princess said shortly.

Carefully.

She then started helping Dee with the milk. Dee watched Princess, then gently said, "Ye mam called me las' night...tae ask me where ye were..."

Princess mentally rolled her eyes and thought:O' course, she did.

"Were ye wi—" Dee began.

"Naw." Princess said sharply.

Then she apologised for her sharpness and sighed, and said, "Naw, ah wis studyin'."

Dee nodded her head.

"Well, ah didnae tell her anythin' aboot him, but ah think shealsowants t' know whit ye studyin'..."

Princess sighed again.

"Ah dinnae want tae talk about it," she mumbled.

Princess was too tired to lie, defend herself or to even attempt arguing (even though she was spectacularly awful at it regardless).

A silence followed.

With just the sound of milk glass bottles clinking and being drawn across the wooden counter. Then, in a moment of vulnerability and weakened resistance, Princess just said,

"A café."

Dee paused what she was doing. And blinked. And slowly said, "Mh...aye...ye wuid be correct... Thisisa café."

Princess shook her head and laughed humourlessly. She then gripped the wooden counter edge with her hands, as if to brace herself, and bit out,

"A café. 'At's whit ah want."

Princess took a deep breath in and let go of the counter. Dee kept her silence. Angus put a new batch of buns, cakes, and cookies in the oven, then shuffled closer to the kitchen's open doorway to listen better.

"It's whit ah've been researchin'—nae studyin'. It's whit ah've always wanted, an' ah only jus' realised that recently... 'At's why ah didnae say anythin' tae anyone..."

Then Princess quietly added, "Mam's goin' taehate it."

A silence pursued.

Not even a rustle of movement was made. Then, both Princess and Angus jumped—Angus almost sky high—as Dee clapped her hands together and simultaneously exclaimed,

"HA!"

Princess found Dee grinning from ear to ear at her. She did not know how to react, so her face flitted rapidly through different expressions of worry, concern, pleasure, and then confusion—and then worry again. Poor ol' Angus, in the kitchen, was clutching at his heart, now looking as if he had already completed half a long day's work.

"Whit?" Princess finally asked.

Dee then slapped her across the arm in an overly aggressive familiar way. Princess shuddered from the impact.

"Ha!" Dee yelled again. "Ma Prince wants a café! No' even ma own son gives two monkeys abou' this café but ma goddaughter wants a café! Her very own café!"

Dee bellowed with laughter.

And to be honest with you, Princess thought, that if Father Christmas had existed it would have appeared that his wife was missing from the North Pole and working at Dee's Upon the Railway, because her laugh was almost identical to his.

"Come here!" Dee exclaimed, holding her arms out wide open.

Princess went in for the bear hug and Dee gently lulled her from side to side.

"Ah am so proud of ye. Ye finally found whit ye really want tae dae."

Princess could not contain them. Tears began dripping down. She sniffled.

"Really?" She said, in a voice that quivered.

"O' course ma Prince. If ah am upset, tis only because ye didnae ask for ma help."

"Will ye help me?" Princess cried and laughed at the same time.

Dee pulled back and held Princess's head in her hands. She grabbed the tea towel tucked in her apron and wiped away Princess's tears, smiling lovingly up at her goddaughter.

"O' course ah will, ye numpty," she chortled.

Angus then came out from the kitchen, clapping his hands.

"O' course, ye were listenin' ye ol' fart." Dee said, tutting at him.

"O' course!" Angus said, placing a hand over his chest. "Ye almost gave me a heart attack ye wis so loud!"

They all laughed together.

And after a few more tears from Princess and more wiping away the tears from Dee, they slowly began readying the café for the day. In between setting up, Princess managed to make herself a strong spicy chai latte and cram a slice of snow cake in her mouth.

Although she soon realised that she was hungry for more than just a measly piece of cake, and asked Dee if she could have something savoury. Angus warmed up a generous bacon bun for her in the oven, which was greatly appreciated and dearly savoured.

It was only near opening when out of the blue dear ol' Dee called out with enthusiasm, "Did he contact ye?!"

Princess's brain had needed a millisecond to register and process Dee's question to realise she was asking about Damsel in Distress.

"Oh, aye," she said flicking the milk steamers on and off.

Dee waited for Princess to say more. But she did not.

"And?" Dee asked.

"An' we're goin' tae Johnston Gardens tomorrow."

Dee slapped the café counter with her hand.

"Aha! Angus did ye hear 'at? Bonnie Rodric is takin' auwar lass tae the Gardens!"

Angus chuckled from the kitchen, and yelled back, "Ah heard!"

Princess shook her head and smiled as she finished preparing the coffee machine.

Later on in the morning, when it was around the usual time for Rodric's arrival, Angus and Dee were both hanging by the kitchen doorway. Dee looked up at the clock and said,

"Oh, the lad should be here in five minutes."

Princess turned around and looked at Dee looking at the clock, and then looked at the clock herself. It was almost ten thirty.

Then it dawned on her.

"Have ye bin purposely abandonin' me so ah wuidhave taeserve alone becus ye figured oot exactly when Rodric wuid arrive?"

Dee smiled mischievously behind her big mug of tea.

"Aye," she said. "After the poor lad spent a month tryin' tae get yer attention ah decided no' tae leave it up tae fate any longer... Honestly. Ah cannae see why fate thought it could trust ye..."

Princess frowned and then pointed accusingly at the—now—tidy sweets section on the other side of the café.

"Wereyethe bampot 'at made the reit midden of the sweets?!"

"Mm, ah dinnae recall..." Dee said with a not-so-innocent chortle.

Princess opened her mouth to retort, but Angus quickly croaked,

"He's comin'!"

They all stopped to stare at the gentle bob of ginger curls visible through the top windows that were making their way toward the café's entrance. Without looking away, Princess slowly leaned toward Dee and whispered,

"Ah hope there's salt in 'at."

Dee then took a noisy slurp from her cuppa and sighed contently with a click of her tongue.

"Ah, as sweet as me hen," she said grinning. "Reit, Angus, it's time for a wee break!"

Dee then shoved poor ol' Angus toward the kitchen. And at the same time she closed the kitchen door, the café entrance door opened with its usual tingle. Princess immediately decided to pretend to be busy with something. She began micro-ordering the gingerbread men and women stacked up as a Christmas tree.

"Good mornin', Prince Charmin'." Rodric said with his usual warm charm.

At the sound of his voice Princess felt a tingle of joy run through her. She tried to squash it like a bug, but this little firefly did not want to be dimmed. And secretly she was happy she could not, she liked the warmth of the rush.

It was a rare occurrence for her.

So rare, that in the far corners of her mind, Princess was worrying about the possibility that it—this, Rodric—would start like this.

And then end badly.

That it would be too good to be true.

As she greeted Rodric with a shy smile, she tried not to fret about the near future possibility that the zeal his appearance gave her would turn sour and go cold—actually, she privately hoped that ifthis was destined to rot and go bad, that he would decide never to return to Dee's so she would never have to see him again.

Maybe at 'at point ah won't be here anymore?Princess thought.

Or if ah still am, an' he continues to come here ah could swap wi' Dee an' hide in the kitchen wi' Ang—

"Chai latte wi' a shot o' espresso?" Princess asked, breaking through her thoughts.

"Make 'at two shots, please."

Princess smiled. "O' course. Large?"

"Indeed," he said going over to scrutinise the pastries on display.

"How's the hand doin'?" Princess asked.

"Oh, greit after the ointment ye recommended, thank you."

Rodric was still staring hard, down at the display. Princess followed his gaze. Then whilst preparing his drink of choice she quizzed him.

"Do ye fancy sweet o' savoury?"

Rodric looked up from the display, curious. Then took a moment to understand Princess's out-of-the-blue question, before replying with,

"Reit noo, ah'd say sweet."

"Ok. Jus' sweet, a wee sweet o' spiced sweet?"

"Hm, a wee sweet," he said. "O' maybe spiced sweet?"

Princess then finished off his drink and closed the lid to it. She placed the cup on the counter and looked down at the sweet and savoury pastries again.

"Well Damsel in Distress, ye drink is spicy, strong an' a wee sweet, so ah'd recommend either the millionaire shortbread, the square of fly cemetery or the ecclefechan tart."

Rodric nodded his head pensively.

"Mh, ok," he said.

Princess blinked.

"Ok?" She asked. "Which one?"

He grinned and her breath faltered.

"All three."

A soft laugh escaped from Princess's lips.

"All three?" She asked. "Ok, ye wish is ma command, Damsel."

She then proceeded to place a millionaire shortbread, a fly cemetery and an ecclefechan tart into a brown paper bag with 'Dee's Upon the Railway' stamped on it in red ink. She placed the bag on the counter with one hand whilst the other tapped the items into the monitor.

"£9.20," she said.

Rodric tapped his card and picked up his order.

"Ah thank ye, Prince Charmin'," he smiled.

Then with a softer, much warmer voice, he added,

"Ah'll see ye, tomorrow." And winked.

Between the voice, the wink and the smile, Princess could not do anything but slowly nod and slowly wave as she watched him walk away.

All the way.

When the ding of the door sounded, Princess snapped out of it and lightly smacked herself on the head. "Snap oot of it, ye fool." She whispered to herself. Then Dee and Angus came out from hiding.

Grinning likerightbuffoons Princess would tell you.

The rest of the day went smoothly, until around just after lunch hour. Dee had gone out to have lunch with Hew at his pub and Angus was in the back prepping his pastries that would be made rolled, filled or assembled and frozen, ready for baking on Monday.

Princess was sweeping the floor, cleaning up the sprinkles of coffee grains when a well-dressed lady she had never seen before, walked in with an older gentleman following her closely behind. They both wore perfectly pressed suits, but while the gentleman wore trousers, the lady wore a skirt that went till just after her knees. The gentleman's suit was black and the lady's was a beautiful deep purple.

Her heels clicked all the way to the counter.

As soon as Princess saw her tight blonde and white bun and pinched face, the alarm bells in the back of her head went off. A server always knew when they were about to serve a difficult customer.

Princess willed her anxiety to remain at bay and prayed this next order would go smoothly. She quickly hid the broom and made a mental note to bin the small hill of coffee grinds later.

"Good afternoon, whit can ah get ye?" Princess said with a smile.

The lady ignored her and scanned the board above Princess with all the different types of beverages they sold written in white chalk. Princess tried not to be awkward as she waited in silence till the lady made her choice.

The lady then sniffed and in perfect Queen's English said, "A cortado if you will, please. I like it strong and creamy, thank you."

She did not look Princess in the face, instead, she turned back to the gentleman who had entered the café with her, and asked, "Howard, would you like anything?"

"No. Thank you, ma'am."

The lady turned back around, but still would not look at Princess.

"And a mocha as well. Medium, please. Cocoa on top."

"Thank you, ma'am." Said the gentleman from behind.

Princess nodded, and with the pressure of it all, without thinking said, "Reit away, ma'am."

Princess turned to face the coffee machine and internally cringed as she eyed her reflection in the red metal paintwork. Then she began the order, trying as hard as possible not to make a muck of anything. She made the coffee and frothed the milk as if her life depended on it. Her day had started off on the wrong foot, then it had gotten heavenly better.

Now, she did not want it to go sideways.

Dee was not here to save her if it did.

Apart from Princess, only the steam locomotive could be heard, puffing away completely oblivious to the tense situation she was facing. Once finished, Princess gently placed the two cups onto the counter.

"Anything else, for ye?" She asked almost breathless.

The lady looked over at the display and sniffed. Then turned up her nose and said,

"That'll be all."

Princess nodded and wiped her clammy hands on her apron before readying the card reader.

"'At'll be £5.30."

The lady paid with her black card and then picked up her cup of coffee. Gently swirled it and took a sip.

Princess wanted to die.

But instead settled on holding her breath. The lady looked pensively at the cup in her hand, and Princess thought there was something awfully familiar about certain features on her face. The lady then sniffed and said, "Hm."

Picked up the other cup and walked away.

"Alright, Howard. Let us go and see what Rodric is up to."

Princess was still stunned when Dee came waddling back through the café doors. Her breathing had returned. But no other movement. Dee stopped humming as soon as she laid eyes on her goddaughter.

"Oh,nawlass. Whit happened noo?" She asked.

Princess blinked. Then blinked again. Dee came waddling over to the counter.

"Ah think," she began. Then swallowed. "Ah think, ah jus' served Rodric's mam..."

Dee raised her eyebrows.

"Whit wis she like?" She asked.

Like a nightmare—worse than ma own mam. Princess thought but did not share.

Instead, she turned to give Dee a look she would understand. Immediately, Dee's face fell and turned to face the café door where the stiff lady and the well-dressed gentleman had recently departed from.

"Oh..." She exhaled.

Princess followed her gaze back to the café door and Dee shook her head and softly said again, "Oh."

There was a short pause.

"Oh, naw..."

And Princess could not have agreed more.

Princess stared at herself in the standing mirror. She ran her fingers down her dress. She had decided on her knee-length plaid one, with mid-length sleeves and a stitched-in long necktie scarf which was sown to the side, around her neck. The scarf was the same colour as the trimmings around her waist and sleeve cuffs. Her hair lay free flowing with its natural waves.

She then walked over to the bathroom and rummaged through her make-up bag for her mascara. Only when she took it out, she stopped to stare at it. Then she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror.

And she put it back.

And walked out of the bathroom. She filled her outer and inner winter coat pockets with her keys, wallet and mobile phone and walked downstairs.

Thankfully her mother had a shift at the hospital today, so Princess need not worry about an intervention on where she was off to on a Saturday, in a pretty dress, when she had no friends—non her age anyway.

However, when she got to the bottom step of the stairs, her father came out of the kitchen with a steaming mug in his hand. He indeed took notice of Princess's dress and hair but said nothing of it, instead, he asked, "Off for a walk in the city, mi princesa?"

Princess smiled faintly and nodded her head. Fausto then walked to her and planted a kiss on her forehead and gently stroked her head.

"Enjoy yourself," he said softly in Spanish.

"I will, thank you dad." Princess replied.

Then added, "Ah made nilagang baka for tonight. Ah'll be back in time for dinner."

Fausto nodded and with one last smile, he then disappeared into the living room to carry on with his reading.

Princess slipped on her brown leather boots and grabbed an umbrella.

On her way to Johnston Gardens, Princess tried to still her tapping thumb upon the steering wheel and to squelch all thoughts of the sour lady from yesterday—who could quite possibly be Rodric's very own mother.

It was not important.

It could very well become important.She thought.

But wuid it?

There's a possibility...if yees become serious.

It's never happened before though.

There's always a first.

Princess grumbled at the lack of control she had over her thoughts. As a last resort, she turned on the radio and increased the volume so that she was forced to listen to the early Christmas songs.

Although, what was considered early when you worked at Dee's who had decorations up almost the very day after Halloween?

Half an hour later and Princess was parked in the car park opposite the gardens. She tapped her thumb on the steering wheel one last time and took a deep breath before stepping out of her car. She would rather wait for Rodric at the park entrance than in the car.

Before locking up she looked up to the sky debating on whether to take her brolly along with her too or not. The clouds were a dense grey, which meant it would rain, but they were still a bit too sparse for a proper downpour just yet. She left it in the car.

Not even three minutes of waiting by the green 'Johnston Gardens' park sign had passed when Rodric came driving around the bend in a car much flashier than Princess's.

Princess's car was not flashy at all actually.

Now, she did not care much for the car, but she did care about the fact that it confirmed that he came from moneyand that that lady with her snazzy black card and personal butler—or whomever he was—had looked decidedly as if she came from money too.

Old money.

Princess looked the other way and shuffled in her only pair of well-worn boots. Her middle finger began to tap against her thumb.This changes nothin'.Princess thought. And did not believe.

Her nerves tingled.

Princess decided that when Rodric was about to cross the road toward her, that that would be the perfect time to pretend to have seen him for the first time. Otherwise, she did not know what she would have done with herself, just standing there, watching him get out of his car, lock the doors and walk all the way towards her.

She smiled and half waved at him as he neared.

He was very nicely dressed.Verynicely dressed.

He wore his usual long brown winter coat and a burnt orange turtleneck jumper which made him look ever the more brilliant. When he paused before Princess, she caught a whiff of his spicy scent. It had the musky quality of a steamy weekend in a log cabin somewhere amid untouched, raw nature—Princess could not describe it any other way. Even if she had never spent a hot night in the woods, that was what she would have imagined it to smell like.

"Ye look," she began but hesitated.

Then when she could not come up with a lesser, appropriate alternative word she said,

"Quite dashin'."

Rodric broke into a smile which showed off his dimples, and Princess cursed herself for the compliment she had made.

For her stomach's sake.

Because it unnaturally flipped.

It was not supposed to function like that. Not in this—neither flight nor fight—moment.

"An' ye are as beautiful as always," he said in his warm voice.

"Oh," was the only response Princess had to that.

Her cheeks definitely felt warm. Her feet shuffled and her eyes flitted to anywhere but his face, let alone his stunning eyes. She then cleared her throat andtriedto look at him.

"Ah apologise, ah'm nae so good wi' compliments," she said.

Rodric's smile softened.

"We can take it slowly...an' ye needn't apologise." He said, still with that warmth.

Princess giggled nervously.

"Are ye Prince Charmin' or am ah?" She asked teasingly.

"Can we naw take it in turns?" He murmured.

Princess looked at him. His eyes glistened in a sky blue that Aberdeenshire was lucky to even get during the summer days. He looked like summer.No. Princess thought.

"Ye look like the afternoon sun." She said aloud.

This time it was Rodric's turn to blush. Princess laughed softly and said,

"Ah apologise, anno, anno, slowly—but ye didsay we could take it turns."

Princess could not help but smile at her random act of confidence. Rodric grinned with dimples and nodded his head.

"Anno, ah jus' hoped ah could be Prince Charmin' for a little longer, especially today..." he said.

"Ahh," Princess sighed co*ckily. "You've got tae practise a bit more then."

She then started for the park and turned to beckon Rodric forward.

"Come on Damsel," she said.

Princess and Rodric walked about the small gardens deep in conversation for about an hour. They walked past the autumnal leaves of the Japanese maples. Their pointed leaves were rouge on some trees and tangerine on others. They walked across the quaint azure bridge and spotted a few emerald-teal-headed mallard ducks and black-headed gulls amongst the flowerless irises and lush aquatic greenery.

There were also exotic-leafed rhododendrons missing their summery fuchsia blooms and rose and lavender-coloured heathers dotted around the grounds along with the apple-green ferns and other shrubbery. They ended up going round and round a few times, with arms brushing innocently against each other. Till they finally ended at the black stoned memorial, in a clearing by the white wooden bench.

Rodric had admitted that it was his first time in Johnston Gardens. There was still much he had yet not explored of Aberdeenshire. Princess explained to him that the memorial was for the sixteen lives that were lost in the Super Puma helicopter crash in the North Sea due to a catastrophic gearbox failure.

She had admitted that she vaguely remembered seeing it on the news, but had strongly recollected the sadness and fear she had imagined they had felt in their final moments after her father had explained the events to her.

"Speakin' o' memorials or more like stones, ah am curious tae visit a few stone circles aroun' Aberdeenshire." Rodric admitted.

Princess laughed.

"Ma paps wuid love ye," she said.

"Really?" He said with a wisp of a smile.

Princess realised just how close they were to each other and just how dangerous his smiles were at this distance—or lack thereof.

"Aye," she began. "Ma ol' man is a historian at the university."

Rodric raised an eyebrow.

"Impressive. Does he have a specific field o' interest?"

"Anythin' tae do wi' Celtic an' Anglo–Saxon studies."

"Oh, very nice. Does yer fath'r have such ancestry?"

"Oh, naw. Not at all." Princess chuckled. "It jus' fascinates him."

Princess then caught Rodric's hesitation. As if there was a question he wanted to ask but did not know how best to phrase it. Princess softly raised her eyebrow.

"Wuid ye like tae ask me whit ma ethnic background is?"

Rodric smiled with relief. "Aye," he said.

"Well, ma mam fae the Philippines an' ma pap's, Venezuela. He's o' native blood." Princess said. "They met here in Aberdeen when ma mam was tendin' tae his wounds in the hospital—she's a nurse. An' the reason as tae why ah studied medicine."

Rodric tilted his head slightly.

"When ye say she wis the reason, wis it becus ye admired her work or becus ye felt pressured tae please her?"

Princess gave Rodric a long look, before she finally said, "Becus ah felt pressured."

He just simply nodded in response and then glanced up to the sky. His hands slid into his coat pockets, and he took a deep breath in, momentarily closing his eyes.

"Ah love the smell o' autumn," he said to no one in particular.

He then dropped his head to the side and smiled crookedly with one cheeky dimple.

"Tea tea?" He asked.

Princess's smile turned into a grin.

"Aye," she said with a soft laugh. "Oh,which one did ye prefer?"

Rodric raised an eyebrow in confusion at Princess's random question. His eyes comically flitted around, as if searching for the train of Princess's thoughts in the air. Then he finally caught on.

"Ooh, ye mean the pastries from yesterday? Ah, have tae say..."

He paused and thought hard about it.

"The millionaire—nae—the fly cemetery—naw!" He paused. "The millionaire."

Princess giggled. "Are ye sure?"

"Aye?" Rodric said with a face that said, "Naw?"

Rodric then explained that he liked the fly cemetery, but it had not been as spiced as his drink so he had been unable to appreciate it as much as he would have liked to. So, he had decided on the millionaire as, even though the chocolate and the abundant caramel had been sweet and thick, it had been nice to wash it down with his chai-coffee latte.

They split up and met again at a little café in the city centre, which by that time it was pouring down with rain. They sought out their hot drinks, but as soon as they sat down and Rodric took a sip of his chai latte, he admitted it was far from Princess's.

"It's aweeless impressive than yers," he whispered.

Princess covered her mouth not wanting to giggle but giggling all the same. He took another sip. And clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth a few times.

"Ah take it back...it'sfantasticallyunimpressive."

His face made Princess snort, which made him chuckle. Princess hid herself behind her hands and tried to breathe properly. When she could finally get a word out, she said, "Ah didnae realise ye were quite the numpty."

"Oh,aye. An' ah get worse the more ye get tae know me. Ma moth'r wuid tell ye that..."

Princess's breathing then magically resolved itself.

She debated it in her head for a few milliseconds, before she announced, "Ah met ye mam."

Rodric, who had been taking another unimpressed sip from his chai, choked.

"Oh, sh*te.Ah didnae mean tae catch ye off guard." Princess said quickly.

She looked concerned as Rodric started coughing, awkwardly and profusely. Awkwardly, because he was trying to play it off but failing with a renewed fit of coughs. Princess then leaned forward and tried to lift his elbows up.

"Arms up. It'll open up yer airways." She said.

Rodric did as he was told and with a couple more coughs, he finally and successfully unblocked his airways. He signalled to his throat and with a raspy-wheezy croak said, "Wrong way."

He sounded so much like Angus that it made Princess laugh. Loudly. Rodric grinned shamefully.

"Ahreallyam the Damsel in Distress," he said hoarsely.

Princess laughed harder.

And Rodric lifted his finger up, as if to say, "One moment please." He then cleared his throat and took a safe sip of his drink. And cleared his throat a final time.

"Ahh, better," he sighed. "Fi-f*ckin'-nally."

"Are ye ok?" Princess asked with soft laughter.

"Aye," Rodric began. "But only becus ye saved me."

Princess's laughter then died down as she remembered what had sparked his coughing fit. Rodric picked up on the shift and carefully asked, "How did ye meet ma moth'r?"

"Well," Princess began. "Ah'm no' certain if it wis yer mam..."

She then went on to tell the tale of the lady and the gentleman in pressed suits. By the end of her recount, Princess's suspicions had been confirmed purely by the look on Rodric's face.

There was a pause.

Then Rodric admitted that his mother had unexpectedly turned up after his pottery class in Inverurie. He had had no idea that she would have been visiting from Edinburgh. He also clarified that Howard was her personal driver and that she insisted on all her staff addressing her as ma'am.

Princess frowned.

"If they drove tae see ye, why did they make a stop at Dee's?"

Rodric momentarily looked away as he smirked, shyly.

"Ah, might've," he admitted. "Might've mentioned—in passin'—tae ma moth'r that there wis a bloody good café at the station."

Princess shook her head smiling as if to say, "Ye numpty."

"So, ah suppose it was ma fault really...But ah promise ye, ah wuid no' have mentioned it tae her at all if ah had known she wuid have actually gone tae visit." He said. "Ah ken whit ma moth'r is like, 'at's why ah usually dinnae introduce her t—"

Rodric then caught himself as he saw the change of expression on Princess's face.

"—not that ah've introduced her many times bef—only once...which ended badly..."

Princess took a sip of her hot chocolate. She did not know what to say. She did not know at what point certain conversations were appropriate and at what point they were not.

She had never done this before.

Never been on a date. Never been in a relationship. And she did not know if Rodric needed to know that right now or later...

She cleared her throat.

"Can ah be 100% truthful wi' ye?" She asked.

Rodric gently nodded and leaned in ever so slightly. Princess looked down at her mug of hot chocolate and cream and said, "Ah've never done this before."

She then found the courage to look up at him. Should she say what specifically? Or should she explainwhyall of this was new to her? Or was that unnecessary? Or was this not the right time? Then Princess broke free from the multiplying questions in her head.

"None of it," she almost whispered.

Rodric nodded and with a soft smile said, "Like ah said, wi' can take it slowly. As slow as ye want."

There was an intimate silence and Princess had to slowly sit back in her chair to get a breather from the intensity of it all. Then a comfortable silence ensued, and they both sipped from their mugs as they watched the streetlights blink on along the wet grey-black high street. Rain streaked down the windows. Rodric tapped on a drop of rain on the window.

"Ah always thought they looked like tears." He said quietly. "Like the windows were cryin'."

A faint smile was on Princess's lips as she imagined a smaller version of Rodric, a young Rodric, who was sitting by a window as the rain rained down on it and who spoke words of comfort to it.

Unfortunately, the sweet imaginings of such a scene made Princess burst out with laughter. It made Rodric blink questioningly at her with a hesitant crooked smile.

"Ah promise ah'm naw laughin' at ye! It's jus' ah imagined a wee Rodric comfortin' a cryin' window an' the thought tickled me too much—oh no...maybe ah am laughin' at ye?"

Rodric grinned at Princess in a way that made her have to break eye contact.

"It's ok," Rodric assured Princess. "Ah laugh at maself too."

"Ah promise, it's naw wi' malicious intent." Princess clarified.

"Anno, Princess." He said with his warm voice.

Princess swallowed and looked out of the window again. A few moments passed before a thought entered her head. She smiled and frowned confused.

"Rodric?" She said.

"Aye, Prince Charmin'."

"Ye have a car."

"Correct."

"An' a very nice one o' 'at."

"Mhm."

"So," Princess began, sitting up and placing both her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her clasped hands. "Why dinnae ye drive tae work? Why do ye take the train?"

This made Rodric laugh and he looked away, before fixing his gaze back on Princess's intensely dark eyes. He cleared his throat and asked, "Do ye want tae ken the whole truth or half the truth?"

Princess smiled.

"All of it," she said.

"Well..." he began. "Becus on ma first day in, ah jus' felt like takin' the train instead of drivin'. Tae admire the landscapes like a silly romantic artist. Then ah got off at Inverurie an' fancied maself ah strong coffee. So, ah gladly walked intae Dee's Upon the Railway...an' ah saw ye..."

Rodric gave her a look that successfully stole her breath away, as he finished saying, "...an' after 'at—an' the deid wicked coffee ye made me—ah wanted tae gladly take the train every day instead of ma 'very nice' car."

Chapter 4: Guy Fawkes

Chapter Text

Princess was still smiling when she got home.

A smile that would break out into a grin or even laughter whenever she thought of Rodric'snumptymoments. Her soft laughter in the cold, wet air and the crunch of the gravel beneath her feet were her only companions as she walked up to the front door.

She stepped up to the front doorsteps and came face to face with the Filipino-styled stained-glass windows of the front door. Her smile faltered at the mix-matched coloured squares before her. She glanced over to the other cars parked in the driveway and her smile was completely extinguished. She took a moment to gather her thoughts and took in a deep breath.

Ah'll just tell her ah wis at The Toad & The Willow.She thought.

Princess picked her keys from her pocket, and they jangled as she went to unlock the door. No sooner had she placed a foot through the doorway did her mother then instantaneously appear in the hallway.

"You are late?" She said with a questioning eyebrow.

Princess paused slightly, before placing both feet under her mother's roof and closing the front door.

It clicked shut.

"Aye," she began. "Ah was at The Toad."

Princess began taking off her shoes, avoiding her mother's eyes. She then smiled and said, "Dee's already put up the nativity, an' the steam train that goes aroun' that snowy Aberdeen set up she always assembles."

Princess only knew this because Dee had told her about it, not because she had seen it with her very own eyes. She in fact had still not set foot in The Toad & The Willow since the Halloween festivities. Perlah nodded at her daughter whilst nursing her hot mug of calamansi tea.

"Yes, Dee's nativity always the best."

Princess wanted to be pleasant and ask her about her day at work, but she was too fearful it would remind her mother of medicine in general, which would then lead her to question Princess on her future life choices.

Ergo, instead, Princess asked, "Are we goin' tae Dee's for Guy Fawkes?"

Again, Perlah nodded her head.

"Ok, ah'll get the chestnuts," Princess said.

Perlah nodded and then said in English and Tagalog, "I heat up nilagang baka. Change and we'll eat."

"Ok," Princess replied.

She then made her way upstairs to her bedroom and quickly decided to take a three-minute shower before changing into her pyjamas.

Dinner turned out to be a non-anxiety-heightening affair, which was quite nice.

Glorious actually.

Nonetheless, it had made Princess question, if things carried on with Rodric, how and when she should break it to her parents.

It wis just the first date ye fool.She had thought.

Aye, an' then whit? Ah have tae be prepared.

If ye really want tae, ye can tell paps.

Then he wuid have tae tell mam, naw. Absolutely N.O.

Then dinnae say nothin' until a year in?

Until everyone else in Aberdeen knows but mam an' paps? Ha. That wuid secure us an early grave. An' on the tombstone mam wuid have somethin' like this engraved:

'Here lies our not-daughter.

In no loving memory.

Princess Moreno-dela Torre'

At that last thought Princess had shuddered and shaken her head fervently enough to catch both her parent's attention. She had shaken her head again and had quickly curated a lie, "Ah bit into the star anise."

Ultimately, Princess had then decided on nothing. She had no idea how to go about this, and so had decided on not going about it at all.

For now.

"Do ye trust me?"

Princess and Rodric were yet again alone in Dee's Upon the Railway, well, apart from Dee and Angus with their ears pressed against their glasses, on the other side of the kitchen door. Princess was leaning over the counter seemingly staring Rodric down.

"Nae, wait—do ye trust me wi' ye drink?" Princess rephrased.

Rodric gave her a suspiciously curious look.

"Aye?"

Princess then raised her finger to say, "One moment please". She whizzed around and made the preparations for the hot drink she was about to make. She grabbed a medium-sized cup and placed it on the metal grill under the coffee outlet. She pushed a button and after a little moan and long groan from the coffee machine, out dripped the liquid mahogany brew.

Princess then grabbed the chai spices and cocoa powder and added it to her coffee concoction. She poured in whole milk and a little heavy cream into a separate jug. Then frothed the milk till it transformed into a rich cream foam. She swirled the milk and tapped the jug upon the counter till satisfied.

Princess eyed the frothed milk as she poured it into the prepped cup, all whilst stirring it in with the spiced chocolate coffee so everything blended nicely together. The newly made hot drink was topped off with a dust of cinnamon.

Without placing the lid on, Princess gently slid the cup toward Rodric and nodded her head, to say, "Go on, take a sip." As Rodric picked up the cup, the top foam did not wobble one bit. He took a sip.

And his eyes lit up.

"Naww," he said grinning widely. "Jings, crivens, an' help mah boab!Why is it in a small cup?Naww—"

He quickly stole another sip.

Princess laughed and then explained, "Well, ye like spice an' ye need coffee an' ah thought ye'd like some complimentary cocoa, so ah made ye a spiced mocha with a shot o' ristretto..."

Princess then leaned in to whisper. "...but a shot o' Baileys wuid make it epic."

Rodric nodded whilst taking plenty more sips of his drink. He momentarily paused to say, "'At wuid send me through the roof!"

He then struggled as he would not let his lips part with his cup as his free hand searched for his card.

"Please," he began and then finally drew out his card. "Take ma money."

Princess could not stop laughing as Rodric drank and unsuccessfully tapped with his card many a time before his payment finally went through.

He then paused again, to ask, "Ah dinnae ken if anyone's asked ye this, but have ye ever thought o' havin' yer own café?"

At those muffled words through her glass, in the kitchen, Dee slapped poor ol' Angus on the arm, to say, "Did you hear that!"

Angus yelped in response and Dee shushed him.

On the other side of the door, Rodric had caught Princess by complete surprise. She stuttered not knowing how to respond.

"A-ah, well-it-a-ah-" She fumbled.

Rodric detached his lips from his cup.

"Should ah no' have asked 'at?" He asked cautiously.

Princess shook her head.

Then nodded her head.

Then shook her head again.

Then struggled to figure out if she should be saying yes or no to say, "No, it's ok you asked that." She then decided to use her mouth instead.

"It's ok, ah ju—it's jus' somethin'...ah've always wanted an' ye are the first tae ask me 'at."

"Oh,"Rodric said slowly. "Ah see."

Then he carefully asked, "Whit's stoppin' ye?"

Princess gave a small smile and said, "It's complicated."

Both then looked toward the kitchen door as a whole lot of shushing and shuffling could be heard. Princess raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"Do ye mind if Angus an' Dee come out? Ah feel bad for them hidin' every time."

Rodric raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, course no'! Ah didnae realise 'at's whit they were doin'—please."

Princess mouthed him a thank you, then called out to Angus and Dee.

"Yees can come on oot!"

There was more fussing. Then Dee's voice, "But ah'm on ma break!"

Princess smiled.

"Dinnae fash Dee, Rodric kens ye bite."

There was a short pause.

Then the kitchen door swung open, and poor ol' Angus almost came flying out. Thankfully Dee caught him by the scruff of his neck.

"Well, in 'at case..." Dee exclaimed, grinning like Lewis Carrol's Cheshire Cat.

She let go of Angus and waddled towards Rodric, holding out her hand.

"Ma pleasure, bonnie Rodric," she said.

Rodric blushed.

He shook her hand and gracefully greeted her back. Then did the same with Angus. Princess had already briefly mentioned to Angus and Dee, earlier this morning, that the date yesterday had been lovely. However, she had most definitely kept secret the part where he had confessed the reason as to why he did not drive to work.

She would never hear the end of it from Dee.

Rodric then checked his watch. "Oh, ah best be off." He said giving Princess an apologetic smile.

"Oh, Rodric," Dee interrupted.

Princess raised an eyebrow at her, but Dee ignored it.

"Would ye like tae come round for the fireworks tonight?"

"Naw." Princess said quickly.

She then quickly rephrased her response, noticing Rodric's reaction to her abruptness. She looked to him and gently explained, "Ah, meant, naw becus me parents will be there too."

She then turned to Dee and said sternly. "Ye ken."

Dee waved a hand at her in dismal and said, "Easy. Ye can'leave'early an' meet up wi' Rodric in the backfield. Ye can watch the fireworks from there!"

Princess gave her a blank stare.

Then began to explain that there were probably other firework displays Rodric could comfortably go and watch without hiding in the shadows like an unwanted ghost.

"There's nae nee—"

"Ok." Rodric said, intercepting Princess.

Then at the same time Princess said, "Ok?" Dee exclaimed with, "Perfect!"

Rodric grinned at Princess's godmother.

"We'll call it Operation: Hide an' No Seek," he said charmingly.

Dee clapped her hands.

"Ha! Ah like 'is one—" Dee then whipped out her hand again. "—welcome, t' the team double–0 eight."

"Ma pleasure, Chief Dee."

Princess looked between the two of them as they both shook hands enthusiastically.

"Ha! Anno ma Halloween costume for next year!" Dee clapped again.

Rodric grinned, then winked over at Princess.

"Ah'll see ye tonight."

Princess just nodded slowly.

Rodric walked away and left her speechless with an overly gleeful Dee, who then broke out with the plan specifics to be able to get Princess and Rodric together in secret.

"We might need walkie-talkies—nae, they're too hard tae hide.... We'll jus' have tae make do wi' our phones. Angus are ye comin' too? Good. Bring ye ol' lass wi' ye too, ah havnae seen Aggie in a while—Oh!Prince ye an' Rodric could go where that ol' log is, ye remember the one? 'At would be perfect, o' course ye won't have the campfire so ye'll have tae wrap up extra orfind other ways tae keep each other warrrrm... At reminds me hen, are ye still getting' the chestnuts? Good. That jus' leaves—"

By the end of the working day, Princess and Dee had their plan—more like Dee's plan—all set out. Princess was to go home and quickly get changed, then drive straight over to Dee's place so that when the time came to say goodbye to her parents, and everyone else, it would be more understandable that she was tired since she would have spent the whole day working and then gone straight to Dee's to help set up.

Princess would just say she was exhausted and hopefully that would not raise any suspicions. Then she would drive away, a little further down the road and up the hill and park next to the old fallen log, where she would meet up with Rodric.

So, when Princess got back home, she entered the house all in a flurry and a hurry, exclaiming to her parents that she needed to go to the MacGregor's to help set up because they were in need of extra help with the wood for the campfire and because she had wanted to get a head start on the chestnuts.

Her feet thumped going up the old wooden stairs and then thumped as she came back down. But then she had to patter back upstairs again because she had forgotten her gloves. Once double wrapped up she had then grabbed her already-bought bags of chestnuts and yelled goodbye before running back out to her car and driving off to the old farmhouse the MacGregor's called home.

By the time Princess was up the MacGregor's driveway, it was already pitch-black outside—aside from the lights from the farmhouse. No sooner had she parked the car when there was the sudden ascendance of the MacGregor's dozen canines. Completely harmless of course, they just adored making a heck of a lot of noise.

Admittedly, it had taken Princess a long while to get comfortable with them as a little girl. However, with time she had found that they helped calm her down, and so in the midst of her years of severe anxiety, she had come here every weekend her parents or one of her brothers could drop her off to spend time with them—to run around among them like a crazy child instead of a teen paralysed by fear.

Princess beamed as she opened the car door. Immediately, Roodie the crossbred Great Dane and Airedale Terrier had recognised her and pounced onto her, pushing her back onto the car seat.

"Roodie, ye greit lump!" Princess said laughing. "Hiya, anno anno ah havnae been round lately... How are ye, ye big boy! Oh! Ye're growin' a white beard Roodie ye ol' dog!"

Rabbie the sneaky Scottish Deerhound and Chrissie the goofy Bearded Collie both simultaneously tried squeezing into the car on either side of Roodie—who was now licking all over Princess's face.

"Ahh, ok ok ye ruddy lot lemme oot!"

With great effort, Princess wrenched herself momentarily free from their paws, long enough to get out of her car with her chestnuts in hand. Naturally, all the barking chaos attracted Mrs MacGregor.

Dee came waddling down from the main house, shouting, "AhhHAUD YER WHEESHT! Let the poor lass breathe!"

Dee was completely unsuccessful. Princess had more waggling tales ascend upon her, jumping onto her thighs. Dee then, shouted, "SHUT UP!"

And most of them quietened down. This only seemed to infuriate Dee.

"Ahh sooyees understand plain English do yees?Ye sassenachs!"

She insulted them even further in Gaelic and Princess had to smirk to stop herself from laughing. Roodie came and nudged her on her—now muddied—jeans amid Dee's colourful Gaelic monologue.

Princess rubbed his head.

"Awrite, ye braw one?" She half whispered to him.

"Prince!Stop encouragin' 'em! Come on hen, let's go inside, it's f*ckin' fresh tonight. Ah'm freezin' ma non-existent baws off!"

Reluctantly, Princess let Dee lead her into the all-encompassing warmth of her home. Watching the front door close on all the waggling tails and dopy tongues-out faces, Princess mentally promised Roodie and the others, that she would come to visit more often in the future.

"Prince is here!" Dee called out.

Instantaneously, both Hew and Adie called out greetings from somewhere in the house, and Princess called out back.

"Awrite Prince, let's get ye a hot drink. Then we'll get goin' wi' the chesnuts—dinnae fash hen, ye can also help wi' choppin' up the wood."

Dee knew that Princess loved doing all the things she had missed out on growing up because her parents only ever got her brothers to do them. Things like the DIY around the house, checking the car engine or replacing the car wheel on the side of the road, carrying heavy things, and chopping up wood for the fireplace. Now that all her older brothers had since flown from the nest, her father just insisted on doing all those things alone.

Dee made them both strong cups of milk tea—Princess's sans sugar. They took a few hot sips before then unpackaging the chestnuts. Then they got to cross etching them one by one with a kitchen knife.

"It's goin' tae be a cold one tonight, the sky's clear an' the stars are all oot. Ye can help yourself tae any of our things if ye need an extra jumper o' scarf." Dee said, as she sliced an 'X' into a chestnut.

Princess nodded, doing the same.

"Ah thank ye, but ah think ah'm awrite." She said.

Dee smirked.

"Ahh, ah see, ye've thought of other plans on how tae keep yeself warm wi' Rodric."

Princess snorted.

"Absolutely no',fairygodmother."

Dee chuckled.

"Jus' dinnae dae anythin' ah wouldn't," she said.

Princess looked up from her chestnut.

"There's nothin' ye wouldn't do."

"Exactly." Dee grinned.

Once finished with the chestnuts they left them to soak under warm water until the time came to roast them on the open fire. Dee then got started on the large pot of hot toddy and told Princess to go help with the chopping of the wood.

"Are ye sure ye dinnae need help wi' 'at?" Princess asked, feeling bad for abandoning Dee for the axe.

"Nae, go on—bolt," Dee assured her.

"Are ye sure ye won't slip in salt instead of sugar?"

"Ugh!Away an' bile yer heid lass!"

Princess narrowly escaped Dee's tea towel which had taken flight in her direction. Shaking her head, Dee listened to Princess laughing all the way down and out onto the field to join her husband and son who were gathering wood.

As soon as Princess left the house Roodie, Rabbie and Chrissie were onto her again. Princess bent her knees and slapped her thighs.

"C'mon yees scruffy lot!" She said as she ran with them to meet Hew and Adie.

"Oh, noo that'stidy.She's oot done herself!" Princess announced.

Her eyes had just laid upon Dee's Guy Fawkes.

This year he was on two sticks as usual, but he had a large carved squash for a head. The scarecrow Guy Fawkes wore a black capotain with a decorative buckle, a brown buttoned jacket, a short black cloak, and brown breeches.

It was a marvel Dee had time to make all these things as well as run a train station café. Apart from the gumption she had for standing up for herself and others, this was the other thing Princess admired her for, her efforts in celebrations because she knew it was when she could bring people together.

"Pure barry, our Dee is, isn't she?" Hew agreed.

"No one else quite like maw," Adie added.

There was a short pause as they all admired the Guy Fawkes.

Then Hew exclaimed, "An' thank Gad for 'at!Ma blood pressure cannae take more than one."

They all had a quick chuckle together, before Adie then passed the axe he was using onto Princess. Princess got cracking with the wood chopping whilst Hew went to plant the Guy Fawkes into the ground, midfield, and Adie followed with the already cut pieces of logs, broken crates and dismantled pallets.

Princess thoroughly enjoyed hacking the wood. It was always therapeutic and the only way she could be aggressive without hurting anyone, or herself.

Or the dogs.

A few times she had to stop to get Chrissie to sit well back, lest a wood chip would flick into her fluffy face or worse. Princess was so determined and engrossed in her work that she had not taken notice of the other guest's arrivals. It was only when she heard the shrill of her mother's voice that she knew her therapy session had come to an end.

"Princess! Be careful with that! It's not a toy, eh!" Perlah called out in Tagalog.

"I know, thank you, mother!" Princess called back.

Princess then let the axe come down hard on one last log, before she decided it was best to stop. Otherwise, she would have to endure her mother watching her like a hawk.

She then helped Adie with the last pieces of wood. Adie, Hew and Princess then stood around and admired their handy work.

It was perfect.

"Ah think we're 'bout ready, ah'd say." Hew said. "We'll jus' wait for everyone's arrival then get the fires goin'. An' then Princess ye can bring oot the chestnuts for roastin'."

Princess agreed and they all went back to the farmhouse to greet the newcomers. As well as her parents, Perlah and Fausto, Angus and his wife, Aggie, had arrived. Along with other friends of Hew and Dee, who were regulars at The Toad & The Willow—so they were not strangers to Princess. They were all complimenting dear ol' Dee on her Guy Fawkes. All in all, they were around sixteen in total.

Which reminded Princess of the one person who was missing.

She checked her phone and had five new messages. Three, from her brothers on the family group chat, wishing they were back at home for Dee's hot toddy, roasted chestnuts and Hew's banter. Princess replied, saying she wished they were here too. The other two messages were from Damsel in Distress:

Awrite Prince, I'll be heading your way at around 9.

I'll message when I'm on my way

Oh, and is there anything you'd like me to bring??

Princess reacted with a thumb's up emoji to his first message, then typed:

Nothing other than yourself

(minus casualties)

Happy with the message she then sent it off. Princess did not have time to slide her phone back into her pocket before Rodric had messaged her back with:

I will make no such promises

Princess laughed aloud.

Which caught her father's attention. She then acted as if nothing had happened and hid her smile behind her oversized scarf. She reacted to his message with a laughing face emoji and checked the time.

It was now seven thirty.

An hour and a half before she had to feign her exhaustion and complete Operation: Hide and No Seek mission. Princess laughed aloud at the memory of that conversation, which this time attracted Rabbie who came over to say hello and lick her hand.

Hew whistled.

"Prince!" He called out. "Fire time!"

Princess sent him a one-handed salute and then jogged back to the house with Rabbie and Roodie and a few of the little ones by her side. She withdrew the chestnuts from their bath and placed them in a large, holed pan. She then poured out three mugs of hot toddy for herself, Hew and Adie—who were the last standing without an odd mug from Dee's cupboard.

Princess then carefully made her way back to the others. Hew started by lighting the main fire. It started off small, with a few licks of young flames, until it reached a full flaming monstrosity that swallowed the Guy Fawkes whole.

Everyone clapped and cheered.

The light from the fire glazed the surrounding grass and faces, human and furry, with a liquid gold glow and toasty heat. Adie then went over to light the smaller fire for the chestnuts. Princess passed Hew and Adie each a steaming mug—of which they were grateful for—and placed the pan of chestnuts upon a metal stand that would then go on the fire.

"Oh, we need bags for the chestnuts!" Dee remembered.

"Ah'll go an' fetch them! Anno where they are!" Princess called out, already jogging back to the house again.

She then came back with a small army of dogs and two hands full of Dee's Upon the Railway paper bags. Once the chestnuts had beautifully split open, showcasing their sweet-nutty centre, Princess helped Adie bag them and pass them on until everyone either held their own or shared a crinkly hot bag of chestnuts.

Princess filled her own—to share with Rodric later—and decided to keep them warm till their meeting. So, she placed her cuppa on the grassy floor and protected it from her four-legged friends, whilst she unzipped her jacket and pressed the rolled-up bag against her jumper and tried zipping it back up.

And struggled.

And struggled some more.

Between the curious dogs, the one hand being scalded by the bag of freshly roasted chestnuts, and the other attempting to make the zip behave, nothing was going right.

"Princess? Wat you do?" Her mother called over, breaking open a chestnut.

"Savin' them for later! They're hard tae open when cold!"

Thankfully, her father came over to save her from multiple possible catastrophes. He chuckled as he took hold of her zip.

"Ai, mi hija..." he said amused.

"Ah just wanted tae keep them warm for after... Because ah'm thinking of leaving early."

She mumbled her English-Spanish words, half in embarrassment and half guiltily as she did not like fibbing to her father.

"What? Before the fireworks?" He asked in Spanish, surprised.

Princess looked down at her mug of hot toddy as an excuse not to look up at her father.

"Naw, Dasie!" She said to a smooth collie.

She then shrugged her shoulders and added, "Ah can always see them on New Years..."

Her father nodded his head pensively and finally got the zip all the way up without pinching Princess's hand which was holding the bag in place. Princess let out a grateful sigh and thanked her father.

Fausto then tapped her on her heated belly and before walking away, said, "Just make sure you are home before us."

Princess watched her father walk away.

Her head voice then had a quick debate on the matter:

He knows...

Impossible. He suspects...

So, he's helpin' us?

Ah love him.

For the rest of the time Princess played with the dogs, trying not to, but also appearing to, tire herself out for hergrandexit. At twenty-to-nine Rodric messaged her and shortly after so did Dee.

Damsel in Distress had messaged:

I'm on my way Prince Charming

To which Princess replied with:

Anno it's dark on the road, but if you see a car

coming towards you with bright headlights

do not follow the light 🚘🔦🦌💥

He then quickly responded with:

I'm not that much of a damsel in distress...

I was just going to stop and stare 🧍‍♂️

Princess had to hide her face again as she snorted into her scarf. She quickly reacted to his message with the slapped-face emoji, and went on to read Dee's messages:

TIME TO SKEDADDLE AFF HEN! 💗

We'll hold off the fireworks until ten past!

Princess sent a kissing face emoji to the first message Dee sent, and a thumbs up to the second one.

She then went to Dee and her family to say goodbye, wishing them a good night. She kissed Dee on the cheek, and Dee whispered, "Have fun hen. Grab a flask of hot toddy tae take wi' ye."

Dee winked at her, and Princess tried not to smile too much. She then went to tell her parents that she was going to head off, to which of course her mother was surprised about and tried to convince her to stay—to at least watch the fireworks first and then leave.

Thankfully, her father saved the day, by saying in Spanish, "Ah, it's ok Perlah, she can see the fireworks on New Year's Eve."

Fausto then smiled at her daughter, as if to say, "Remember what I said." To which Princess smiled back with, "I will."

She then said her goodbyes to Angus and Aggie and waved goodbye to everyone else. Of course, Roodie, Rabbie, Chrissie and a few more including Daisie and Maisie, followed her back to the house, where she helped herself to one of Dee's flasks and filled it with hot toddy.

The dogs then followed her to her car. She said goodbye to them there and carefully,carefullybacked up out of the driveway and onto the road. It took her eight minutes in total to get to her destination. Of course, after she had driven around the bend, she had turned off her headlights and driven the rest of the way up the hill in darkness.

Just as Princess planted her bum onto the log, she heard another car approaching. She quickly got up to check if it was Damsel in Distress, to which of course it was. Princess could not help but smile as she watched him park the car as quietly as he could and close the door behind him in silence. He jumped, however, when he automatically locked his car and it let out two sharp squeals and made unnecessarily bright flashes.

"Sho' off!" He whispered harshly to it.

It made Princess giggle.

As he reached her, she started saying, "Ye made it on time. Dee said she'd hold the sho' off until te—"

Words then made themselves scarce as she stared down at the large bouquet of flowers in Rodric's hands. Princess had not seen it in the dark, as Rodric had meticulously hidden it behind his back.

She peered down at it in awe.

"Is..." She began to slowly ask. "'At a cabbage?"

For in the centre of the bouquet was what appeared to be a large cabbage. Surrounding said leafy head were other flowers including heather—from what Princess could tell—and hydrangeas? Autumn joy? It was hard to tell in the dark lit only by the moon and stars.

Rodric chuckled and said, "Aye. An' ornamental cabbage. Ye dinnae eat it."

Princess nodded and then quietly said, still in awe, "'At's only somethin' ye wuid do..."

Rodric laughed again, but this time with an edge to it because this was not the reaction he had been expecting. So, he quickly went on to explain, "Ah have a pal who is a gardener an' florist—well he aspires tae be a florist—anyway, he recommended this arrangement from an online florist... If ye dinnae like it, ah comp—"

Rodric froze when he heard Princess sniffle.

"Oh,nae," He said.

He then immediately laid the flowers down to the floor and gently grabbed her hands.

"Prince this wis no' whit ah had wanted for ye... An' maybe ah can agree 'at Quinn's choice was more appropriate for an ogre but ah—"

Princess burst out with a sobbing laugh. And more sniffles. She wiped her eyes and tried to look up at Rodric.

"Ah'm no cryin' becus they're ugly, Rodric. Ah'm sobberin' like an eejit becus ah've never received somethin' as beautiful as this before."

Princess sniffled a bit more.

"Ah love it." She whispered.

Rodric sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank Jesus, becus ah wis about ready tae drive all the way tae Edinburgh tae boot Quinn taekingdom come."

Princess giggled and snorted at the same time.

"Naw, ah beg ye. Thank Quinn for me, becus—ah mean ah'm as blind as Dee in this darkness but—they're stunnin'... Ah think."

Rodric chuckled then let go of Princess's hands to pick up the bouquet.

"Ah will," he said.

Princess then carefully took the bouquet from Rodric, not wanting to squash any of the flowers.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Ma pleasure," he replied with a warm voice that made her want to shiver.

Princess then insisted on placing them in her car, for she feared she would sit down on the log and then forget about the bouquet's existence beside her and accidentally sit upon them.

"Ah have somethin' for ye too," Princess said when she got back.

She passed him Dee's flask and unzipped her jacket to produce the bag.

"Chestnuts?" She asked grinning.

Rodric laughed.

"Absolutely, ma Prince Charmin'."

They then took their place upon the fallen log. And from there, they could see almost everything. The moon, the stars, the bonfire down below, Princess's friends and family gathered around and the dogs running around.

"This is quite the bonnie view, Prince."

Princess nodded in agreement. She then noticed that Rodric had still not opened the flask or touched the chestnuts that were sitting between them in awkward silence.

"Open, the flask." She said.

He did as told and took a quick sniff.

"Oh, hot toddy? Fantastic. Wuid ye like some?"

He held out the flask toward Princess and she politely shook her head.

"Ah had plenty doon there, if ah have any more ah'll be seein' shootin' stars and the whole Milky Way."

Rodric chuckled, then held out the bag of chestnuts. To which Princess reached out for, but then hesitated when she remembered she had played with the dogs.

"Ahh, ah wuid, but ma hands have been thoroughly licked by ma furry pals..."

"Naw worries, we can fix 'at." Rodric said with a charming smile.

Princess then watched as he picked a chestnut from the bag and proceeded to peel off its shell. He then held it out midway between himself and Princess.

Princess looked at it.

Then at Rodric.

Then at the naked chestnut again.

When she leaned in a bit and parted her lips, Rodric brought the chestnut up to her lips. Princess then carefully and gently took it between her teeth, making sure not to bite or brush her lips against his fingers—she was not prepared to know what she would feel if she did.

She savoured the comforting, sweet warmth of the chestnut. It was one of her favourite flavours.

"Hm, thank you." She said with a small moan.

Rodric then went on to peel his own. And they went on like this in comfortable silence until the fireworks started.

There was no warning or heads-up. And at the time of the first red and green whizz-bang, Rodric had been feeding Princess another chestnut. She ended up accidentally brushing both lips against his thumb as she whirled around and yelped at the loud explosions.

"Ah'm sorry, ah didnae bite ye did ah?" She gushed.

"Naw-naw, dinnae fash." Rodric said smiling.

Then Princess made the mistake of looking Rodric in the eyes at the same time as an explosive triple-threat took for the night sky. The fireworks whizzed through the air in spirals and exploded in bedazzling glitter.

"Yer eyes..." Princess whispered before she could stop herself.

She saw the falling aftermath of the explosives shower down in glimmering light in Rodric's sparkling eyes—because his eyes were, quite literally, sparkling. Princess continued to admire the fireworks display through his eyes and was completely unaware that she, and he, had leaned in so close to each other that if she had leaned in a little further, they would have bumped noses.

"Princess?" Rodric said in a voice that reminded her of a low crackling fire.

She shivered at her name on his lips.

"Aye?" She whispered. Still distracted.

"Can a kiss ye? Please?"

Princess blinked.

Then blinked again.

She backed away just a little.

Then, against her will, admitted, "Ah've never—"

"Dinnae fash," he said gently. "Ah'll show ye. If ye'll allow me."

Princess's eyes automatically flitted down to his lips. Then back to his marvellous eyes. She slowly nodded her head. Rodric then smiled ever so enchantingly, and Princess found herself wishing he would smile like that every day.

Forever.

"Tell me if ye want me tae stop," he said, eyes caught on the sight of her lips.

Princess felt his warm breath through the cold air against her lips—which with anticipation were growing in sensitivity. When Rodric's eyes closed, so did Princess's. Then when another firework went off, Rodric's lips brushed against Princess's in an almost-there kiss.

Like petals colliding.

He kissed her again. Softly. Delicately. Princess inwardly moaned at his gentleness. Without thinking she pulled him closer to her and their kiss grew.

Keenly.

Eagerly.

Until Princess was convinced that Dee's bewitched hot toddy was the reason why Rodric's lips against hers felt so addictive. Her fingers found their way, embedded in his luscious curls. Rodric's grip around her waist grew tighter and tighter—to temper a hunger that simmered but had to behave.

They broke apart with heavy breaths.

"How wis 'at?" Princess asked catching her breath back.

With no words Rodric smiled lazily down at her, staring at her mouth again, before pressing his lips up against hers again and this time only pausing when they fell backwards, off the log. They hit the ground and the hot toddy and chestnuts spilled all over the dark grass. They laughed till Rodric rolled onto his side and pulled Princess down into another long, fervent kiss.

Beyond them, the stars blinked, and the fireworks exploded and sprinkled. The moon glowed cold down upon them, as their heat joined and entangled. Until Roodie, Rabbie and Chrissie discovered them and jumped on top of Rodric and lapped Princess with their own kisses.

Rodric and Princess's laughter echoed throughout the hilltop.

Chapter 5: Ice Bath

Chapter Text

That night, Princess dreamt of Rodric.

Of an otherworldly plain with colliding lights and colliding lips. It was a dream Princess had not wanted to wake up from.

But her morning alarm pulled her away from Rodric's arms. She opened her eyes to find her hands clasping at one of her pillows. She rolled over and grumbled into it. And for the first time, she did not want to go to work.

She wanted to see Rodric again.

So, in a spell of fluster and longing Princess abandoned all rationale as her hands grabbed her phone and her fingers tipped and tapped against her the screen as she messaged Rodric with:

My birthday is next Sunday and I want to spend it with you

Then without double-checking it, Princess pressed send. She rolled back over and sighed, rubbing her cheek against her pillow.

Content.

Until she realised what she had just done.

Princess whipped back around and grabbed her phone again, unlocked it in a panic and dropped it. The mobile smacked her in the face, to which she exclaimed,"Ow?" She picked it up off her face only to find her screen taken up by an incoming call.

She was too late.

She pursed her lips and with her breath trapped in her throat—along with her heartbeat—she slowly let her thumb hit the green phone icon.

"Hello..." she mumbled, cringing.

"Good mornin' ma Prince Charmin'. Are ye always this demandin' first thing?"

Princess wanted to die.

The timbre of his voice crackled and murmured through her ear. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes tight to contain herself.

"Only when ah'm bein' impulsive—which ah never am—ah wis just about tae message ye back an' apolo—"

Rodric laughed and something swooned and failed inside of her.

"Apology no' accepted." He crooned.

She could hear his teasing grin laced into his words.

"Ye no' apologisin' for tellin' me whit ye want, an' ye not takin' it back."

Princess remained dead silent, not wanting to miss a single syllable that caressed off the tip of his tongue. Not wanting him to ever stop talking.

Or laughing.

Or smiling.

Or sighing.

Or breathing.

"Ah like impulsive. It's when ye go after whit ye most desire. An' ye've jus' confessed that ye never are...so, if it's me ye want for yer birthday, Princess, ah will gladly deliver."

Princess groaned. And then grumbled, "For a damsel in distress, ye sure ken how tae be a prince charmin'."

Rodric chuckled lightly. "Oh, how the turns have tabled."

Princess laughed, then covered her mouth, not wanting her parents to hear. Then out of the blue, she blurted out, "Ah, dreamt of ye las' night."

"Ohaye?" Rodric murmured.

Something about the way he said it made Princess squirm and her cheeks flush with heat.

"An' whit,exactly,wis ah doin' in ye dream?"

His words made Princess laugh wickedly and lowly, and to her surprise, she murmured back, "Good mornin' Rodric, ah'll see ye soon."

Another husky laugh escaped her lips and she then closed the call before Rodric could say anything else. And she turned back onto her side, clutching at her chest and rolling up into a ball, for she did not know what had just come over her.

Another sinful laugh reverberated through her throat. Never, ever, had she been so calm and collected whilst acting completely and unapologetically out of character. Or was this a newfound character of hers? One Rodric had helped unlock? She was not sure, but she was sure of one thing.

Teasing wasdefinitelya cruelty she would allow herself to indulge in.

It took Princess a little longer than usual to get out of bed and into the shower. Then once she was in the shower, even longer, as her thoughts swam and lulled through the air like a romantic lullaby.

In the end, after they had been intercepted by Roodie, Rabbie and Chrissie theiroccupationshad changed. They had then sat, entertaining their furry friends till the end of the light display. As that was when Princess had had to involuntarily pull away as she had had to get away and be home before her parents made it back. They had picked up the fallen, cold chestnuts and Dee's empty thermal.

Then Princess had stolen a few more kisses, reluctant to part ways, before opening her car and seating herself upon her precious ogre bouquet. Instinctively she had exclaimed a frustrated, "f*ck a duck!"

To which Rodric had burst out with laughter.

No, literally.

He had been delirious. Laughing and rolling around and wheezing, "Never..."Wheeze."...have ah heard..." Gasp. "...such a..."Wheeze."...curse!"

Princess had had a hard time trying to shush him up as his laughter had echoed far and wide, and the fireworks had no longer been there for them to hide behind. She had taken it in turns to shush him and laugh along with him.

The commotion had revved up the dogs, and soon they had been a bunch of laughing and barking crackheads. Maisie and the other little ones had then joined them too.

Dee's hot toddy had definitely been to blame...

Princess laughed out loud with the billowing steam of the shower. The memory playing again and again in her intoxicated brain. Thankfully, after such a messy ending, she had managed to make it home before her parents.

Thankfully.

Her flowers were still in the car under the front seat. For such beautiful flowers and her first-ever bouquet, Princess felt horrible for her mistreatment of them. But she could not have possibly left it on the car seat, or her parents could have looked in through the window and spotted it.

And she could not have brought it in and placed it on her desk in her bedroom either. Not if she wanted to keep it hush-hush that a certain bright-haired gentleman had waltzed into her life.

Once ready, Princess had called out—a tad too gayful—in Tagalog-Spanish, "Goodbye! Good morning!"

And left for work without having breakfast, again. And again, in the kitchen, Fausto had been munching on his coffee-milk cereal and Perlah had been enjoying a small plate of silog.

Perlah stood up, but as soon as she reached the kitchen doorway, at the other end of the hallway where the front door was, Princess had already closed the door behind her. Perlah watched Princess's dark figure skip down the front steps through the stained-glass windows. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her small-slipper-ed foot against the tiled floor.

Fausto took notice of her stance and, as always, knowing his wife, decided to carry on eating. Perlah whipped her head to him. And with a curious frown, stated in her husband's native tongue, "She is happy."

She looked back at the front door. Still tapping her foot.

"Wat is make hersohappy?"

Fausto shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. Then mumbled into his mug in Spanish, "If it's something important, she will tell us when she's ready..."

Such a response had not satisfied Perlah, and she had continued to frown throughout her whole breakfast.

And then on her way to the hospital for work too.

"Yees were bleedin' loud las' night. A ruckus! As bad as the dogs! Yees made it Operation: HideBut-Dinnae-FashYe'll Heer Us! Ah had tae pretend we had new noisy neighbours!" Dee exclaimed as soon as Princess walked through the door.

Princess hid, the partially battered and bruised bouquet behind her back, as she guiltily but happily waltzed around the Christmas tree and up to the café counter.

Dee frowned at her.

"Why ar' ye walkin' like 'at? Didnae yer big lugs jus' heer wha—Whaat?"

Dee gasped as Princess held up the bouquet to her face.

"Oh, how bonnie!" Dee exclaimed.

Then she tilted her head back and yelled, "Angus! Angus! Com' an' see whit braw Rodric gave auwar Princess!"

Angus then came shuffling along from the kitchen wearing a pair of oversized oven gloves. Princess beamed as she showed off her bouquet. Until Dee elbowed Angus in the ribs and chortled, "A cabbage!"

Princess's face fell pan flat.

And Angus and Dee fell into a cackle and a chuckle. Dee then said, with great effort as her abdominal muscles were receiving an aerobic workout, "The laddie went lookin'...for a bouquet...fit for a princess...an' found one Princess Fiona woulda been deid jealous of!"

They both wheezed at the same time.

And fell into a harder fit of laughter, much likened to the one Princess and Rodric had shared last night. Princess supposed it was karma for being so careless about their secretive meeting. She almost allowed herself to smile at the memory.

Princess then tried defending her flowers, "It's anornamentalcabbage."

"Oriental?" Angus shouted over Dee's laughter, squinting. "Oh, fancy 'at!"

Dee hollered even harder.

And Princess palmed her face.

She quickly came to the conclusion that there was no use in defending her bulbous-headed bouquet. She then went into the kitchen to hang up her things whilst her colleagues continued on with their banter.

Princess searched for a vase for her flowers—and vegetable. In the end the best thing she could find was an old metal milk jug they no longer utilised. She filled it with water, undressed the bouquet from its wrapping paper and ended up placing it by the windowsill next to the coffee machine.

Princess admired it for a little while before she had to start working. In the daylight, the bouquet was a lot more impressive. In the darkness of last night, the shades of the petals had all either been blue or dark blue—or even darker blue.

In the light, however, the ornamental cabbage's inner head was a bright mauve magenta, whilst its outer leaves were kale green. And the bordering flowers were all other shades of pink and purple. It was a vibrant display of curly leaves and bold petals.

Outlandish, yet alluring.

At least in Princess's opinion. She doubted Angus and Dee would agree.

Princess went on about her day as usual. And as usual, Rodric popped in at around his usual time with the ten-thirty incoming train. Princess made him his, now usual, spiced mocha latte whilst Dee and Angus didnottake a break in the kitchen.

Out of Princess's control, they teased him for the flowers and Rodric laughed along with them, whilst also mildly blushing. Which Princess thought was endearing. He explained again, as he had with Princess last night, that the bouquet was picked by his gardener friend, Quinn, who was a want-to-be florist. And at that, Princess had paused and thought,

Ah need a florist for the café...

Why didnae ah think of this las' night?

Because ye were too bus—

Princess had then interrupted her inner dialogue and asked Rodric about Quinn. Rodric knew Quinn because he and his father, who was also a gardener, were the groundkeepers who worked on his mother's estate back in Edinburgh. However, even though Quinn had followed in his father's footsteps, what he really wanted to do was to own a flower shop of his own one day.

Princess had made a mental note, in the very back of her mind, to ask Rodric if he thought Quinn would take to the idea of being a florist in her café—once she had her plans all drawn up properly and seriously.

When Dee and Angus went into the kitchen to make themselves a cup of tea, leaving the kitchen door open, Rodric asked Princess for her assistance with a collection of treats she could not see from where she was standing on the other side of the counter.

Princess leaned over the counter as Rodric pointed further and further downwards as he said, "Those there, which one do ye suggest ah try?"

Princess then agreed it was of no use and she walked around to where he was and crouched down with him to see what he was pointing at.

"Rodric, ye damsel, those are Christmas deco—"

Rodric then swooped in and stole several silent kisses, leaving Princess breathless as he then randomly grabbed a knitted Christmas star and just as Dee walked out nursing her tea, he stood up saying, "Aye, ah cannae agree mor' Prince. Ma moth'r wuid love this one!"

He then bought and paid for it, pretending he had not just done what he had just done. Still mesmerised, Princess struggled to stand back up. She fell backwards, onto her bum, and Rodric had to secretly give her a hand up whilst Dee took his payment with his other hand.

Princess knew, without Rodric having to spell it out, that that had been payback for earlier that morning's abrupt end to their call.

Once Rodric had left, Princess had had to hide her face as she had grinned widely and helplessly into her hands.

Ah'm losing it.

Ah could have told ye that. Ye're hopeless.

It's going tae get worse...

And so, it did.

Rodric and Princess started making more secretive phone calls, either first thing in the morning or late at night before bed. Rodric had now made it a habit to stop by not only on his way to work but also on his way back, just before closing. Sometimes Dee would leave Princess the keys to lock up.

Then Princess would prepare two odd mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows, and they would turn off the main lights and sit and watch the gentle twinkling of the coloured Christmas lights and the puffing of the steam train. While they pecked and nibbled on left-over pastries and then pecked and nibbled on each other's lips. Nights like those were like walking on air in a Christmas dream that neither of them wanted to end.

Meanwhile, Perlah became ever more curious and insistent to know why Princess was returning home so late and missing dinner and disrupting family time. It was an almost daily—one-sided—discourse now, where Princess had to hold her tongue and allow her mother to rant at her.

It slowly became a constant cycle.

Working at Dee's, spending time with Rodric and being talked at by her increasingly volatile mother. It was both a wonderful—probably the most wonder Princess had ever experienced—and anxiety-inducing time.

No matter how much Perlah demanded, Princess never gave in, she was not ready to make Rodric known to her parents. Her mother's behaviour being one of the main reasons. She wanted him to herself without any family drama. And so had Rodric, that was why they had agreed not to formally add their families into the equation until they were both prepared and comfortable with it.

In the days leading up to her birthday, she and Rodric had not only spent stolen nights together in the radiance of Christmas lights—lights the sugarplum fairies would have been jealous of—they had also stolen each other away for the day. The weekend before her birthday, on Saturday, they had taken a trip to one of the circle stones Rodric had wanted to visit.

The Easter Aquhorthies.

Where they had strolled around, hand in hand, as Princess had explained the history behind them like a history guide her father would be proud of. Then on Sunday they had taken a windy stroll along Newburgh Beach and admired the seals from a good distance. The wind had made the long grass on the beach ebb and flow like the waves of the sea.

They had then gone and sought refuge from the gusty weather in The Toad & The Willow where Princess had introduced Rodric to Hew and Adie, and a few of the regulars who had attended Guy Fawkes at the MacGregor's.

The hardest, most angsty part came when Princess had to announce to her parents that this year, she did not want to celebrate her birthday with everyone at The Toad & The Willow, but instead, she wanted to take a trip to London, by herself.

Although of course she was not going to be by herself, and she was not going to London—actually, she had no idea where Rodric had planned on taking her...but she needed a cover story regardless, so her lone self and London it was. And as expected, her mother was not pleased to hear the news.

"What? I don't understand..." Perlah exclaimed in Tagalog.

Her parents were both seated in armchairs next to the fireplace. They had been enjoying their tea and T.V. when Princess had interrupted them.

Fausto gently placed his book and tea mug down beside him on the coffee table. "Bueno," he said.

Perlah whipped her head around to him. "Bueno? No—" She whipped her head back to Princess. "No bueno!"

Princess had to clench her fists together behind her back.

"You gone all the time!You gone all the time now!Gui Fawkes? Gone! Dinner? Gone! Nowbirthday? Why?"

Princess's knuckles whitened, but she managed to bite out in a just-about-audible murmur, "Ah don't have tae say why. It's ma birthday."

Perlah leaned in and cupped her ear. "Ah? Sorry, I no hear you?"

"Perlah, cariña, she doesn't need—" Fausto was interrupted by Perlah's raised hand toward him.

He sighed and Princess could not help but glare down at her mother. Which Perlah took full notice of. "Why no, Princess? Hm?"

"Becus ah'm no' a wee gurl anymore! Ah don't need tae tell you why ah don't want tae celebrate ma birthday wi' you!"

Princess immediately regretted her words.

She had meant to say, "Ah don't need tae tell yees why ah don't want tae celebrate ma birthday!" Perlah stood up fuming. She took a step toward Princess, and Princess flinched and took a step back.

A past, well-acquainted, vision of her mother dragging her by the hair like a ragdoll flashed before Princess's eyes. She had not done it again in years, but the breath-inhibiting and skin-pinching fear was still there.

No matter her age.

So, Princess held her breath and behind her back pinched the skin on her forearm.

Hard.

Perlah raised a finger at her daughter and spoke, spoke so quietly that it unnerved Princess. In Spanish, she said, "Listen here, Princess..."

Princess tried to stand her ground. But she was not good at this, she never had been.

"You live here." Perlah pointed to the floor. "You live under this roof." She pointed upwards. "You do asIsay." She pointed to herself.

Princess looked at her father, but he just looked back at her with pity in his eyes as if the matter was completely out of his hands. As if he were helpless. She looked back at her mother's furious face. And then did the only sensible thing she could think of.

She ran to her room.

Perlah yelled after her.

Screeching in a thwarted combination of her mother tongue, English and Spanish. As soon as Princess made it into her bedroom, she locked the door and dived into her bed under her covers with her tail between her legs.

Her face was already soaked with tears.

She clamped her hands over her ears as her mother continued on at her door as she fisted and pounded against the shuddering wood. Princess squeezed her eyes shut and immediately started to repeat to herself, "No' a bad person."

"Ah am no' a bad person."

"No' a bad person."

"Ah am no' a bad person."

"Ah am no' a bad person."

Princess's hands then balled up into fists and she raised one under the shelter of her covers. She sobbed and hesitated, but then her old friend was there. It whispered to her, smiling eagerly and seductively.

Go on.It said.

Princess curled into herself, screwing her eyes tightly shut. Trying to resist. Shetriedto fight against the incessant need to do it. The relentless pull toward it. The insatiable, implacable, and incurableneed for it. But, her friend knew her too well.

Every time.

Always.

Princess had often thought about how blessed and grateful she had been forloathingthe sensation and the kind of pain a blade against her skin made. Because if she had had the stomach for it, for every word her mother would call her, her friend would have coaxed her into a pile of tiny bloody pieces.

Then again, Princess had argued, that maybe that would have been a language her mother would have been able to understand. If instead of taking the burn of no air or the bruise from a fist, she had learnt to take the sting of a blade, she would have given her mother something she could unavoidablysee. And then, maybe, she would have finally understood.

It would have finally been spelled out and Perlah would have read and comprehended:

Enough.

With little restraint left, Princess let her fist collide with the side of her head. The first strike was mild. The next was harder. The following made her brain pound. And she did not stop, till both of her fists were then taking it in turns.

"No' a bad person."

Hit.

"Ah am no' a bad person."

Hit.

"No' a bad person."

Hit.

"Ah am no'..."Hit."...a bad person."

Hit.

"A...bad person."

Hit. Hit.

"A bad person."

Hit. Hit.

"Ahama bad person."

Hit. Hit.

"Ah am a bad person."

Hit. Hit.

"Ah am a bad person."

Hit. Hit.

And it carried on like this. Princess hitting her head with both her fists as she repeatedly told herself she was a bad person. At some point, Fausto was finally able to pull Perlah away from Princess's bedroom door and get her to calm down.

The obscene yelling and insults stopped.

But Princess did not.

Princess went on until after dark. Until her head ached, her brain pulsated, and her clenched fists were twitching and felt bruised. She then cried herself to exhaustion.

And her exhaustion finally, mercifully, put her to sleep.

Princess jerked awake.

Her breath was caught in her throat and her whole body was tensed. Realising that she was alive she then relaxed and melted back into her mattress.

She had had a bad dream.

Two, actually.

She had not had any of those for a very, very long time. Especially like the second one she had had last night. Of her mother, who had chased after her up the stairs and took hold of her hair before Princess could make it safely back to her bedroom.

Then Perlah had proceeded to slay her with all sorts of names she had called Princess throughout her childhood. Whilst at the same time her mother had bashed her head against the wall.

Bashed it till her skull had cracked.

And then she had woken up.

Princess stared up at the ceiling feeling barren. Dead. She clumsily felt around for her phone and picked it up to find messages and missed calls from Rodric. She ignored them and turned her phone off and turned to slide it into her desk drawer.

As expected, when she met her reflection in her standing mirror her eyelids were horribly bulging and swollen. A broken sigh shuddered through her lungs. She blinked and felt as if her eyelids were fine sandpaper grating against her sore eyes.

She had cried herself dry.

And with a sodden, acrid sadness Princess realised that she had not done that since she had left for university. When she had hoped that that time, would have been the very last time.

It was five o'clock in the morning and her parents were still asleep. Princess went downstairs and into the kitchen freezer to grab the only bag of ice they had left. She went back upstairs to the bathroom and locked herself in.

Opened the cold-water faucet.

Stripped.

And when the bathtub was full enough, ripped open the bag and tipped the ice in. It was a pathetic quantity of measly bobbing cubes, Princess thought, but it would have to do. Princess then gripped hard at the edge of the bathtub, as she attempted to dispel the memories of the bad dreams from her mind.

Alongside the dream of her mother, the other nightmare had been of the day her lolo had spoken his last words to her. She had seen and heard the words come out of his mouth first. Then her mother's. Then her father's. Then each one of her brothers. Then Dee's. And then from everyone else she held dear. Until finally Rodric spoke those same words too.

"Maganda ka sa labas, pero pangit ka sa loob."

The words, their words, were still resounding in the back of her mind. As if they were calling out to her from the fathomless abyss of a crepuscular cave where light could never dream of shining—and would neverwant to.

She wanted to drown out their voices, to bleach the visions of her head being brought back and forth against the wall, and to kill the nausea rolling in her stomach because of it. She felt void of energy and yet her demons were raging within with unsurmountable spirit.

Her hands let go of the edge and Princess climbed in. The cold bit into her flesh. Not as much as she would have wanted, however. She ignored her shivers as the voices were louder and the visions, brighter than the bitterness of the cold. The two were drowning everything out. All sensations. All coherent and lucid thoughts. Everything in its totality.

Until Princess leant backwards into water and ice.

The demons and voices and visions were only fully vanquished and silenced once she started convulsing. Once she was burning—searing—with the hard-wired will to live. When she could not take it any longer, Princess finally allowed herself to come up to breathe.

And then she did it again.

Again.

And again.

She carried on until she was completely numb. Numb in body, mind and heart. The bath was not as effective on her eyes as last time's cold press, but that had not been her aim.

This time it was her brain she had been trying to ice.

When Princess made it into work, with a face devoid of life, at the sight of her Dee at once said, "Ah dinnae ken whit's happened hen, but ye're no' workin' today."

Princess lightly staggered and trembled as she made her way through Dee's Upon the Railway. Then went limp when Dee sat her down and she collapsed onto the stool, behind the café counter, below Rodric's wilted brown bouquet.

"Prince, hen, ye're as pale as sno' when wis the last time ye ate?"

Princess half shook and nodded her head and then winced because it hurt her head—or brain—to do so. She then struggled to respond. Thinking was a strenuous and painful feat when her brain was foggy and spent. She then broke into fresh tears as she feebly moaned, "Ah cannae remember..."

"Ohh, ok-ok, hen it's alright—Gad did ye drive like this? Angus please, a fresh bun an' tea. Princess look at me—Princess. Ah havnae seen ye like this since ye were fifteen an' full o' drugs. Whit happened? Wis it someone? Rodric? No—ok-oksomeone else?"

Princess then faintly whispered, "Mam."

New tears streamed down her face. Princess knew that if she spoke aloud exactly what had happened yesterday, and why she was so upset, she would feel like a fool. A pathetic fool of a person who had got all wound up over nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

A stranger had not taken advantage of her. She had not been hit. She was not black or green or blue or purple. No one had laid a finger on her but herself. She had no reason to be so upset. No reason to turn up to work to lay this all upon her godmother and disrupt her day.

"Ah'm sorry." Princess said softly, sobbing.

"Naw,naw-naw, ma Prince, ye have nothin' tae be sorry for. Ok?Ok? Prince? Look at me, hen—ok?"

Princess nodded her head pitifully. Dee then kissed her forehead and Angus came along with a warm iced bun and big cup of milky tea.

"Here, ye ar' hen," he croaked gently, as he laid the plate and mug atop the counter.

Princess slowly and carefully tilted her head back and forth with a meek nod and faintly smiled at Angus. Then her lips quivered downwards, and she moaned like a little girl, "Ah dinnae feel good."

"Anno, hen. Ah ken. Please. Take a bite. One bite an' a sip o' tea." Dee almost cooed. "C'mon together."

Princess slowly and sluggishly did as Dee said as her godmother helped feed her. Half a cup of tea and a quarter of a sweet—and salty with tears—bun later, Princess had slightly begun to regain colour in her cheeks.

"Ye feelin' a little better hen?" Dee asked.

Princess nodded and smiled softly, then slowly murmured, "Ah dinnae ken why..."

"Prince, ma hen, 'is is whit they call a relapse. It's perfectly normal an' ye have nothin' tae feel bad or ashamed about."

Silent tears fell from Princess's eyes as she absorbed what Dee said. Then she shook her head painfully and put her face into her hands and sobbed, "Ah shouldn't have gone back home."

Dee gently rubbed Princess's back as she cried.

Then once Princess had finally dried her face and calmed down enough, Dee told her to take the day off, and if she wanted to, she could come and stay with her until she decided what she wanted to do next.

Princess nodded in response.

Dee then asked her if she wanted Hew or Adie to come and pick her up. Princess was too wrung out to think, so she let Dee choose. It was then decided that Hew would come and pick Princess up and drive her back to their farmhouse.

And so that's what happened.

Although, before departing, Princess mentioned that she had left her phone back at home. Dee told her not to worry and that she would call her parents herself and let them know of the arrangement and where she was going to be for the next few days.

As soon as Princess's head hit the pillow of the MacGregor's spare bedroom's bed she crashed. And she slept on till twilight.

Withoutanydreams.

Much later, when she arose from bed and went downstairs into the kitchen to check the time on the clock, it was quarter-past four. Meaning Dee would not be back for another three hours and Hew and Adie would not be back until pub closing time, which would be past ten at night.

Feeling much better than she had this morning, Princess made herself a strong cup of tea and sat in the living room under a hefty bundle of blankets, because she would have felt bad about using the MacGregor's wood to make a fire.

Then once she had gotten bored of that she had decided it was best for her to go out and play with the dogs—or more so sit whilst she watched them play.

And so did she, until Dee came back home.

"He came in, ye ken, yer Rodric. An' he asked after ye o' cour—dinnae fash hen, ah explained tae him that ye were havin' a bad day an' took the day off an' that ye had forgotten ye phone at hom—naw-naw ah didnae tell him anything like 'at. Ah said 'at was for him tae ask ye." Dee explained as Princess helped her prepare dinner.

Princess nodded, holding the kitchen knife mid-air above the chopping board as she listened to Dee. Then she could not help herself as she began saying, "Ah thank ye Dee—for everythin' an' ah'm sorry ah—"

"Ahh haud yer wheest, hen. Ah already told ye, ye havesh*te tae be sorry for an' ah'll have ye ken that ah'm ye godmoth'r an' a love ye an' ye family. Yees ar' family. Ah have nae right tae interfere with ye an' ye parents—ah hope ye understand—but ah will always be here for ye. So, no apologies ah beg!"

Princess laughed and embraced Dee in a side hug.

"Ah dinnae ken whit ah'd do wi'oot ye," Princess said, breaking out into tears for the umpteenth time.

"Ahhhen."

Dee abandoned her stew to give Princess one of her bear hugs. After a long while, of hugging and lulling side to side, Princess finally professed, "Ah feel bad for Rodric though, anno ah come first, but ah should have at least communicated wi' him abou—"

Dee whirled around and automatically handed Princess her phone without a word. Princess slowly took it, then smiled and thanked her godmother with a peck on the cheek.

Princess went upstairs to the spare bedroom and rang Rodric with Dee's phone. The phone rang for not even a second before Rodric picked up, frantic, "Dee? Is somethin' the matter? Is it Princess?"

"It's me," Princess said softly.

"Prin—Oh, thank Gad—are ye ok?"

There was a pause.

As Princess needed a few seconds before she slowly said, "Mhm...ah'm sorry ah ignored ye...it wis no' ma intention ta—"

"Princess ye sound slow an' broken? Are ye sure ye're ok?"

"Ah'm better now... Ah'm sorry rea—"

"Princess—ma Prince Charmin'—please dinnae apologise, ye did nothin' wrong."

Princess started crying again, silently. Trying to hide it she quietly murmured, "Ok, thank ye."

"Are ye cryin' babe?" He murmured gently. "Where are ye?"

Princess sniffed andtried not to worry Rodric further with more dramatic sobs, but the way his voice stroked the most fragile part of her—that not even Dee could reach—with a foreign kindness made her efforts futile. She took in a shuddering breath, and slowly said, "Ah'm at Dee's...ah'll be stayin' here until...ah..."

There was a pause of silence as her words wandered off into nihility. Then Rodric broke the quiet, "Can ah see ye?"

Princess blinked. Then sobbed. And Rodric quickly added, "Ye dinnae have tae say yes, ye can tell me n—"

"Aye." Sniff. "Please."

Rodric arrived at the MacGregor's farmhouse promptly after dinner. Princess would have run to him if she had had the strength to. Instead, she slowly went outside to meet him. And found him already being greeted by the horde of hounds.

There was no stopping the relief and her smile when Princess's eyes met with the sight of him and his dimpled grin as he said hello to Roodie and Maisie. And there was no stopping the tears and her sniffles when Rodric pulled her into his arms without a word.

She held him tight, crying into the crook of his neck. He rocked her back and forth, kissing her head and stroking his thumbs up and down against her arms.

They were just like this for a bit.

Until her Damsel then leant down to kiss her on the cheek and wiped away her tears, before gingerly murmuring, "We dinnae have tae talk about it...but we can if ye want tae."

Princess looked up to meet his tender gaze. And she had needed a moment to think about it. A longer moment than usual as her brain had been operating on a slower system since this morning. Rodric delicately caressed her face as she took her time to make her decision.

Finally, she nodded. And Rodric faintly smiled as he looked down to her lips, where he then placed a feathery soft kiss. He kissed her forehead too and then his hand found hers and he lifted it up to his lips. Hand and hand, they then slowly made their way out, across the field for a very long walk as Princess proceeded to explain everything.

In her own time.

Princess left no stone unturned—unless they were the jagged type her mind had decidedly chosen to blotch out from her memory—as she told Rodric about her history. Including, surprisingly, her grandfather's final words.

"It means..." Princess paused and stopped walking.

She beheld the moment for all that it was.

She drew up her courage to say it out loud. Then she held her breath and closed her eyes before continuing, "Ye're beautiful on the outside, but ye're ugly on the inside."

Rodric's head snapped up to Princess's as she opened her eyes again, his eyes slightly wide in alarm. He then frowned and softly said in disbelief, "Thatwis the last thing he said tae ye? Ye're own di? When ye wereten?"

Princess laughed.

There was nothing funny about it.

She then smiled sadly and gently nodded, murmuring, "Ma mam's said a lot worse, but that...that has haunted me ma whole life..."

Rodric then went to cradle Princess's face in his warm hands, and she let his stunning eyes study her. He looked from one eye to the other. It was several seconds before Rodric then said, very seriously but gingerly, "If a told ye different wuid ye believe me?"

Princess's breath hitched.

She placed her own hands over Rodric's and softly smiled through a tear as she whispered the bitter truth, "Not today."

Princess then watched as Rodric's frown deepened and became tense with anger she had never seen on his face before. And without words, Rodric leaned down and kissed her tear away before kissing Princess with a tender gentleness that made more tears slip past her cheeks. A gentleness that only Rodric possessed. One that made it so easy for her to tell him her darkest secrets.

When they broke apart again and carried on their stroll, Princess went on to explain her relationship with her mother. Her relationship with her father. Her days as a depressed teen and as an anxiously paranoid young woman. Her... pain-inducing tendencies of which were her coping mechanisms.

There would have been no use in only relaying to him last night's events, not without the whole history that had led her to have the reaction she had had that morning. And Rodric listened. Only when he needed to have something clarified did he interrupt Princess. It was close to midnight when she was at last finished her life story—at least the traumatic parts of it.

"So, ah have some broken parts tae me, parts that sometimes make me do things tae maself that someone should never have tae do tae themselves tae feel better... An'...it's ok...if that scares ye. Ah understand if that means ye want tae walk away. Ah understand if it's too much...too intense. There's still a lot of healin' ah have tae do. An' the process wuid be slow an' anythin' but easy..."

Rodric remained silent as Princess trailed off.

Then, only when he was sure she had nothing else to say, did Rodric gently pull her back into his arms to kiss her forehead again.

Then her left cheek.

Her right cheek.

Her left eyelid.

Her right eyelid.

And her lips.

It started off as a slow, tender peck. Innocent and sweet. But Princess had missed him. Missed this. And had been missing it her whole life. Missing it even when she had had no concept of it. She pulled him in closer and sweet became decadent. Innocent melted away and became heated and molten. When they finally came up for air Rodric leant down to nuzzle into Princess's neck as he mumbled,

"Ah'm no' goin' anywhere."

Chapter 6: Sleepless Sleeper

Chapter Text

The stairs groaned and creaked as Princess attentively trod down the stairs, foot by careful foot, with her travel bag, not wanting to scratch the walls—especially since she was back walking on eggshells.New scratches on the wall and her mother would probably boot her out of the house.

And her father would just watch.

Princess had still not looked her parents in the eye since her return. In the end, she had spent just a night at Dee's and went back to work with her the next morning, then drove back home at the end of the day. Since then, she had done her best to do all that was expected of her under her mother's roof.

Cook when she could.

Clean.

Sit down for meals.

And tell them if she was going to be late for dinner and why. It was like being fifteen all over again. Like having a hand slowly and gently squeezing on your carotid arteries and trachea.

Suffocating.

Princess set her bag down next to the hallway table with the landline phone on it and she wrote out a note. Neither of her parents were home, they would come back later to find that she had indeed gone ahead with her plans to go away for the weekend. And Princess would not be here to witness their reactions.

She had behaved all week, so she could do this. If, withal, upon her return, Perlah would decide to kick her out on a case built on the fact that Princess was now doing as she pleased against her wishes, then—well, Princess would cross that bridge when and if it was to come to that.

Ah could stay wi' Dee until ah found a place?

Ah could stay wi' Dee an' pay rent?

O' maybe—

Princess shook her head.

"We're no' goin' tae think about 'at right now." She told herself, sternly.

She then turned her full attention back onto the sticky notepad in front of her and wrote:

I've gone away for the weekend.

I'll be back Sunday evening.

Princess reread what she wrote.

And read it again. Debated for a bit. Then relented. And struggled as she added:

Love you, Princess.

She put down the pen and let out a heavy nasal sigh. At the same time, there was a knock on her door. She went to open it and found none other than Damsel in Distress looking as strapping as ever in his fine autumnal wear. His dimples intended when his eyes met hers, and so too did Princess, break out into a smile. She then took a step toward him and pulled him down for a kiss.

"Good mornin' Damsel," she spoke softly.

Rodric kissed her button nose.

"Good mornin' ma Prince. Ready?"

Princess nodded and grabbed her travel bag.

"Let me," Rodric said.

"It's ok, ah can do it."

"Anno ye can, Princess."

Princess looked into Rodric's sparkling eyes. Then she smiled as she said, "Ok, thank ye."

Rodric kissed her again. "Ma pleasure."

He took the bag to the trunk of his car, whilst Princess stood by the doorway, longer than was necessary. With one foot planted on the outdoor step and the other still in the house. She looked over to her note on the table and silently prayed she would not have to pay a hefty price for this.

They had a train to catch at nine forty–three tonight, but Rodric wanted to be there when boarding began, which was to be at nine o'clock.

That's all Princess knew.

All Rodric had allowed her to know.

Thus, to kill time, Rodric had planned for them to stay at his till it was time for the taxi to arrive and take them to the station. Rodric drove them into the city, all the way in till they reached Old Aberdeen.

"Ye live in the old part?"

"Mhm, jus' over there, on the other side."

Princess automatically sat up in her seat and looked around. Searching. She glanced over at where Rodric pointed but then her eyes caught sight of it.

The one for sale.

"'At's it..." she whispered.

Rodric slowed down. And peered around to where Princess was looking.

"Ye want tae move intae Old Aberdeen?"

Princess shook her head and before opening the door and stepping out of the car, said, "'At's where ah want ma café."

Princess looked left and right before walking across the road and up to the building for sale. She had not been back since before Halloween and was delighted to see that it had not been sold yet. Rodric then came up behind her.

"The two together? 'At'd make a pretty big café."

"Oh, nae. Ah dinnae want jus' a café...here, on the ground floor ah'd have the bookshop. Ma customers wuid walk in, browse for a good novel, or non-fiction, purchase it, an' then make their way up tae the florist—where they'd make a mental note of it. Then, up there...wuid be ma café where they could sit an' read their book wi' a hot mug o' somethin'...then...once they're done, they'd remember the florist shop jus' a floor below an' go tae have a wee browse around an' hopefully purchase somethin' pretty tae take home."

By the end of her explanation, on her tiptoes pointing to the second floor, Princess was grinning so much that Rodric could not, not smile with her.

"Ye've really thought about this."

"Aye—since ah wis this...high."

"This a childhood dream of yers?"

Princess nodded and smiled like a child with her chocolate egg on Easter Sunday. Rodric pulled her into his embrace and kissed her nose.

"Then ye'd better tell me all about it when we come back. We'll have a proper sit-down. Ah'll help ye see whit ye can do tae get 'is place."

Princess smiled warmly up at Rodric. His brilliant curls gently tousled in the soft autumn breeze. She adored his curls.

And his freckles.

And his dimples.

And his pretty eyes.

And those li—

"Ah, wuid love that." She said, cutting through her mini brain fog.

Rodric, having already caught her looks of admiration, leant down and did what she had not, but had wanted to. Their lips danced together till they broke apart with breaths heavy on each other's cheeks.

"Noo let me show ye ma place." He murmured warmly.

They got back into the car and carried on until they arrived close to Rodric's place. He parked the car and they walked up to an attached townhouse. Princess looked the building up, all the way to the rooftop.

"Well...ye must love cleanin', becus 'at's a lot of house tae look after..." She said.

Rodric chuckled. Then bashfully admitted, "Ah actually enjoy the process o' cleanin'. Ah suppose ye could call me a neat freak?"

Princess shook her head at him impressed. "That's kinda perfect an' also kinda ma worst nightmare."

Rodric unlocked the door and stepped aside to let his guest through first. Princess thanked him then entered and took her boots off. She peered around as Rodric closed the door behind them and slipped his shoes off.

The living room was first.

Princess softly gasped. For a house that had only fairly recently been moved into it was quite full. Howbeit, that was not the reason for her surprise. Her head whipped around as she eyed the space.

It was impeccable.

Everything was precisely stacked, colour coordinated or positioned in a way that made it interior-design-photoshoot ready. There was not a single item that looked as if it did not belong.

"Oh..." Princess said nervously taking a step back.

Rodric eyed her as she took further steps back, past him. Princess then smiled politely and clapped her hands together, and said, "Well Rodric...Aindrea MacNair..."

She kept eyeing the front door as she slowly moved toward it.

"It has bin an absolute pleasure—naw really—it wis lovely knowin' ye...but...um...noo ah think ah'll jus—"

Rodric reached out to catch her before she could reach the front door.

"Oh, nae ye dinnae, Prince." He said, pulling her back.

Princess's laugh bounced off the walls as Rodric securely trapped her in a tight embrace.

"Ah mean ah thought surgeons were bad—ah mean they have tae be—but ye? Whit kind o' artist are ye?" Princess said, laughing. "Wait—"

Princess whipped her head around to look back up at Rodric's softly amused face. She gasped.

"Are ye a Virgo?" She slapped her forehead. "Well, noo ah'mtrulyf*cked."

Princess felt the vibrations of Rodric's chuckle. Then he then leant down to her ear and with a warm voice that made Princess swallow her laughter, he murmured, "Nae. Ma birthday's in April."

"Oh," Princess mumbled. "Ye must have a lot o' Virgo placements then...in ye chart."

Rodric then traced the lobe of her ear with the tip of his nose. Her breath faltered.

So much for teasing the Damsel...

"An' as tae whit kind o' an artist ah am..." he murmured.

Rodric replaced his nose with his lips and trailed down to her neck.

"Ah am the type tae make anunrulymess..."

He planted a soft kiss on the tender slope behind her ear.

"An' tae then clean everythin' up. Leavin' it in a better state than it wis before."

Princess was a lost cause as her breathing went shallow and her pulse thrummed at his words. Then with a woosh of air, Rodric pulled away and tugged her up towards the stairs. Speechless, she followed. They reached the top, then made a right turn into a room that smelled of rich earth.

In the centre of the room was a pottery wheel. It was utterly spec-less. Not a crumb of clay on the glinting silver top. In the corner of the room was a kiln sat next to the furnace. On the other side of the room was a wooden table, with above it, shelves with an array of paints in colour order.

And on the opposite side of the room was a whole shelved wall with different works of pottery on display. Some seemingly of functional usage, like jugs, mugs, plates, and others of pure artistic shapes, hand painted, or decorated with shards of a mirror or shattered pieces of decorative china plates.

Princess let her eyes wander all around. Her lips parted in awe. She let go of Rodric's hand to take a closer look at his handy works.

Her eyes then came upon a tall glass vase. The ombre blue glass was full of tiny air pockets. However, that is not what had caught Princess's wandering eye. The vase had at some point been shattered to pieces and then put back together again. The tributaries of gold ran throughout the piece. It was a marvel. Rodric came up behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"That's the vase ah cut maself wi'," he murmured.

"Ah love it," Princess whispered. "It's ma favourite."

She then reached out and delicately traced her finger across the gold veins.

"Kintsukuroi. It's the Japanese practice of mendin' broken pottery wi' gold. Ah broke it by accident an' wanted tae try it on glass."

Princess smiled wistfully, and said, "It's harder to mend somethin' than it is tae break it. It wuid've taken ye a split moment tae break it. Then hours tae figure out how tae put it back together, wi'out cuttin' yourself again, repeatedly, an' whilst figurin' out which piece goes where...lest ye put it back together incorrectly an' have tae break it again tae start from the beginnin'."

"Hm," Rodric agreed. "'At's exactly how it went. Only it took me weeks tae finish it. The process wis borderline excruciatin'."

Ah ken.Princess thought dolefully.

An' now that it's been broken once, just a wee push an' it wuid break an' shatter into even smaller pieces. Pieces that could be lost amongst the wreckage.

Princess took a deep breath to expand her lungs which had started to close in on her.

"Ye ken whit ah've always wanted?" She said with a lighter voice.

"Mh?"

"Ah mug—ah mean a proper one. A nice, big, thick one. Maybe wi' a lid—oh, an' a tea candle thingy at the bottom tae keep it heated. 'At wuid be perfect."

"Mh, ah see." Rodric said pensively. "Ah'll see if Father Christmas can get ye a teapot."

Princess laughed.

And they then decided to move on to see the rest of the house. The tidiness and preciseness of everything was intimidating for Princess, to say the least. For the most part, unless there were hygienic reasons to maintain such a ship-shape place, Princess was a messy person.

Homely messy.

She would not in the name of aesthetics keep such a clean order to things.

Nah, uh.

A little bit of mess made her feel at home.

They relaxed in the living room armchairs, cradling cups of tea till it was time to depart for Aberdeen Railway Station to catch their nine forty–three.

They took a taxi to the station. And once they reached their platform, Princess stopped dead.

"The sleeper train? We're boardin' the sleeper train? Are we actually goin' tae London—naeah didnae look at the departures board. Ah promise."

Rodric chuckled. "It wis supposed tae be a surprise."

"Well, colour me surprised. Surprised, ah used London as an excuse tae ma parents, but 'at's actually where ah'm goin'. Dreams really do come true."

Princess then went on her tiptoes to kiss Rodric on the lips.

"Thank ye," she whispered against his lips.

"Dinnae thank me jus' yet, we havnae gotten back in once piece yet."

"Well," Princess mused. "Ah dinnae know about ye, butahhope we come back in two pieces—unless ye are a true artist an' a romantic numpty who believes in Plato's soulmate sob story—o' which ah wuid completely respect...publicly."

Rodric laughed and kissed her again.

"The more ye get tae know me the more o' a numpty ah become. The more a get tae know ye an' the sassier ye get lass."

"Oh, dinnae fash Damsel, ma tongue never gets as sharp as ma godmother's."

They boarded the sleek, cobalt Caledonian Sleeper train and found their way to their double ensuite room. Rodric took Princess's travel bag from her as she eyed the double bed. The only bed in the room. The one they would be sleeping in.

Together.

Tonight.

On top of it lay some complimentary gifts; a couple of sleeping kits, chocolate bars and toiletries. Princess forced her eyes to look elsewhere. She had purposely gotten a copper IUD the other week, for this, but that did not stop her as she suddenly found herself cursing that text message she had sent Rodric on impulse the day after Guy Fawkes.

The small room was full of white plastic curves, metal accents and faux-wood furnishings.

"Hm," she then said. "Ah like the aeroplane aesthetic, it's very...um, pleasin' to the eye... Oh, actually, nae, ah take it back, this is quite nostalgic. Reminds me o' ma internship at the hospital."

Rodric laughed as he stashed their travel bags away.

"A sassy snob? Well, whit do ye ken...?"

"Anno, some wuid say that makes me a reit princess. Ah disagree. Ah think that makes me more of a prince."

Truth be told, Princess's distaste for the interior design stemmed from the lack of wood in the room. And because she was trying to distract herself from the prospect of tonight's sleep. She could care less how much the furnishings cost or did not cost. The hospital-white walls and the aeroplane-like shower room made her feel detached from the natural world.

It was claustrophobic.

Princess's eyes then wandered back to the sterilised hotel-like bed, and she quickly cleared her throat.

"Do ye want tae have a shower now?" She asked as casually as she could. "Then ah'll go after ye? Ah'm guessin' we have tae leave early in the morning tomorrow..."

Rodric looked over at Princess. Her feet shuffled, and he recognised her nervousness. He then followed her gaze to the bed and with a small smile said, "Sure. Do ye want tae look around an' maybe see where dinner will be? In the Club Car?"

Princess nodded her head, grateful for an excuse to escape the confines of the small room and the only bed in it. And so, without glancing back at Rodric, she left their room and went out to explore.

As soon as Princess abandoned Rodric, she instantaneously felt bad. Her fingers fidgeted as she made her way through the carriage. She felt bad that she had wanted to leave him, and had done so, so quickly and so ill-mannered.

Even if her nerves were to blame, she felt guilty. This was all part of Rodric's birthday gift to her and her snobbish, distasteful remark on the room had made it come across as if she were ungrateful.

Spoilt.

A b—

Stop it, Princess.

Concentrate on lookin' for the Club Car.

Princess obediently sought out the Club Car, which she found, further down the train.

Upon entering it she at once felt a little better as the maroon carpeted floor and brown walls gave it a warmth their sleeping room sorely lacked. The car looked like a half-lounge, half-dining area. There were blue leather—or possibly pleather—sofas lined up on either side of the car, as well as dining tables paired with deep blue fabric seating.

Princess took a seat on one of the sofas and politely acknowledged fellow passengers who passed by. Unfortunately, though, sitting by herself in a foreign place with nothing to do meant having to occupy herself with her thoughts.

And that did not end well.

It never did.

And soon enough, Princess found herself walking back to her and Rodric's room armed with an apology. She entered to find Rodric still in the shower.

"Rodric?" She called out.

"Aye, Prince? Ah'm almost done—one sec!"

His voice was muffled by the shower door. Princess shook her head, "Dinnae fash, ah jus' wanted tae apologise! Ah didnae mean tae be rude an' ungrateful when ah joked about the room bein' an aerop—"

Rodric opened the shower door.

And ridiculously, he stepped out alongside tendrils of steam that caressed his naked arms and chest. Ridiculously, because Princess's eyes had never met such a gloriously delectable vision before. In real life. One that they would use in those absurd cologne adverts, where they did nothing but advertise the male model instead of the actual product.

All words and coherent thoughts failed her as she tried to restrain her visual view to the top half of Rodric and not the bottom towel-wrapped half of Rodric. His curls were richly dark and hung wet and dripping as he towel-dried them. He then began speaking, and for some reason, Princess could not hear him.

"Prince, babe, ye have nothin' tae apologise for. Ye're allowed tae be grateful about somethin' ye dinnae find aesthetically pleasin'. An' ah didnae design this room—thank Gad becus ah agree wi' ye—ye're not offendin' me. Trust me. Ah truly thought ye were funny. Ah wis no' slowly dyin' inside an' hidin' it wi' a laugh."

Princess slowly nodded her head at him, and swallowed as she said, "Ah hear ye... Ah do—truly."

She swallowed.

"An ah wis listenin' too, but ye lost me at 'Prince'..." She said. "Ye nakedness wis too loud."

As always, Princess made the mistake of making Rodric laugh. And now he looked terribly divine.

Rodric wet and smiling was otherworldly.

And Princess wanted to live in that world. She wanted to bask in all its glory, unconditionally and unapologetically. Sparkling beryl eyes, dark cardinal tresses, and speckled skin. She had never seen someone with so much art on their body. So many different wondrous colours.

With shallow breaths threatening to make her woozy, Princess added, almost whispering, "Ye have tae be the most beautiful man ah've ever seen, met or known."

Rodric's laugh died upon his lips.

And they both proceeded to just stand there. Looking intensely at each other. Him blushing and in awe, and Princess awe-struck and blushing.

Until Rodric held out his hand, palm facing upwards. Princess's eye flitted down to it. Then slowly, she raised her hand, and let it float palm down, above his. Rodric's fingertips daintily, with a whispering touch, languidly glided up Princess's inner wrist. She shivered. And Rodric's lips tugged up to the side.

"Shower, then dinner?" He murmured warmly.

Princess traced the scar in the palm of his hand. And gently whispered back, "Aye."

She slowly leant down to kiss the fine, white cicatrice. Then his forearm. Then his upper arm. Then his shoulder. When she went to kiss his collarbone, his wet curls rained upon her cheek as he lightly trembled. Princess kissed his neck. Then she stopped at his mouth.

Lips hovering over his, and brushing as she said, "There'd better be extra towels seein' as ye already took two, Damsel."

Princess then backed away, with a slight devilish smile, and entered the showroom. Leaving Rodric helplessly standing there.

Alone.

And more naked than he was before.

Dinner was sweet maple glazed Scottish pork belly with creamy dauphinoise potato. It was delightful. Although, the best part, for Princess, was the crackling. Rodric had ordered the same. And they had both paired it with a glass of red.

With other travellers and couples dining together, the air had been filled with the thrum of conversation and laughter, especially Princess's and Rodric's. When they finished their main, Princess asked Rodric if he wanted dessert.

"Hm," he murmured lowly, leaning in over the table.

Princess instantly knew she was going to regret having asked him that question. The thing with being with Rodric was that her confidence came and went in waves, much like Rodric's prince-charming moments. If one of them was blushing, the other was usually smirking. Usually.

"Ah dinnae really feel like dessert jus' yet. Maybe ah'll get room service later. Ye?"

Princess tried to fight against her blood flow, but of course, that was always a lost battle. She flushed pink and shyly shook her head. Until she realised that would mean going back to the intimate confines of their room, so she quickly nodded her head, not quite ready for such privacy just yet.

She ended up ordering a pot of mint tea. Rodric kept up most of the conversation as Princess sipped at her tea for as long as she could. Until it ran warm.

Then lukewarm.

Then tepid.

Then cold.

Then, she could no longer stand the inebriated couple behind them. So, they left.

Hand in hand, all the way back down the train, Princess had been hyperaware of every detail of Rodric's hand. She had even accidentally bumped into a couple of other passengers because of it. To whom she had apologised profusely.

The issue was that the heat from Rodric's hand had been terribly distracting. So was its potential strength she could feel emanating from it, which sounded foolish, but Princess could not word it in any other way. They were also slightly calloused but soft to the touch. Hands that were well used but also hands that were attentive.

Hands that know how an' when tae touch.

An' wi' how much pressure...

Princess had made herself blush scorching red. She had thought back to the display of his creations. The detail, the delicacy, the shapes. There was no denying it.

Rodric Aindrea MacNair was undeniablyverygood with his hands.

When they finally got back to their room, Rodric disappeared into the shower room, which gave Princess the opportunity to change into her pyjamas. She had been dying to get into them for the past couple of hours. All she wanted to do was feel the silk against her skin, and not the tightness or itchiness of her jeans and the jumper she was currently sporting.

Princess quickly dashed to her travel bag and fished out her long-sleeved, buttoned-up lilac pyjamas. She drew the curtains—to the only window they had—closed, and hurriedly discarded her jumper and bra and slipped on the top half of her pyjamas.

Success.

Then she unbuttoned her jeans and tried to smoothly slip out of them. Only she hopped out of them at the wrong time and tripped herself up.

"Prince? Everythin' ok?" Rodric called out.

Princess's pulse was hammering in her ears, and with a breathy voice she replied, "Aye. Perfect."

She then quickly finished off with the rest and finally got the bottoms on before the clicking of the shower door sounded and Rodric reappeared. He observed the mess of her clothes all over the floor, and with a pinch of both amusem*nt and curiosity, said, "Ye changed?"

"Aye, there's a point in every day where ah cannae stand this—" Princess indicated to said mess. "—sh*te anymore. Nae lass can."

Rodric chuckled.

"Fair enough," he said. "Do ye mind if ah change as well?"

Princess silently shook her head. And quickly picked up her garments off the floor. To distract herself she neatly—and uncharacteristically—folded them then put them away and went to wash her face and brush her teeth before bed. She did her best to ignore the fact that Rodric was undressing.

Once finished Princess climbed into bed and curled up towards the wall. As close as she could. Behind her, she heard Rodric hesitate. Then she heard the sounds of him taking his wristwatch off and when the lights went out, Princess let out a quiet breath she had not known she had been withholding.

"Is it ok if ah leave the window curtain drawn open?" He murmured.

"Sure."

Rodric drew open the curtain and Princess felt him climb into bed. It was distractingly clear that there were two bodies heating the bed. Princess felt as though she were about to sleep tonight with her eyes wide open.

She had never shared a bed before.

Not in her adult life. Let alone with a man she wanted to devour. Or better yet, be devoured by—

—nae, actually, both.

Princess swallowed hard. And a part of her thought,

Maybe ah should sleep on the floor?

The other part of her then thought,

THAT wuid be the stupidest thing ye ever did—an' ye've done plenty stupid.

They then began a heated debate.

Ah could slip out of bed when he's asleep an' go on the floor.

If we weren't the same person, ah wuid hit ye...

That wuid be new.

...

No' the time for that. Just turn around an' do whit ye want tae.

Ah cannae. Ah cannae move.

Stop thinkin' an' jus' do it.

Letting out another breath, Princess found the courage to shuffle around. It was awkward—or at least she felt awkward. Although, in retrospect, she much preferred this discomfort over Rodric jumping on her like a caveman or a rabid dog.

Rodric lay comfortable, glancing out of the window. With one hand on his torso covered by his white top, whilst he rested his head on the other. Princess involuntarily ignored his bulging bicep, because otherwise it would have not helped with her nerves, and she followed his gaze to the window.

The world beyond merged into a never-ending abstract painting, with smears of murky dark blue and green hues. Then before Princess could think herself out of it, she whispered his name, "Rodric?"

Instantly she felt his eyes upon her through the indigo darkness. She kept her eyes trained on the window. And regretted calling out for him. She momentarily squeezed her eyes shut.

"Wait...give me a second..." she whispered.

Rodric remained patiently quiet, but his eyes never left her. Princess tried to find the words to ask Rodric what she wanted most. But something seemed to have lodged itself in her throat and something else had a hold on her lips and tongue. She could not utilise any of them.

Rodric still waited. Soundlessly.

Their breathing and the train's pulls were the only sounds in the room. Then, finally, without thinking it through, Princess turned to meet his gaze, and murmured, "Can ye be Prince Charmin'?"

Princess searched his eyes, and she found them glinting back at her through the dark.

"For tonight...?"

There was another pause.

Rodric searched from twinkling dark eye to twinkling dark eye as he waited for Princess to take back what she had just said.

She did not.

Without a word, Rodric's eyes trailed down to her lips where they traced their heart shape. He then freed his hand from behind his head and it came down to caress her jaw. His thumb brushed down to her neck, where he placed his warm hand as he slowly leaned down.

He searched her eyes again.

Again, she said nothing.

Then, Rodric's lips went to delicately ensnare Princess's in a kiss that left her breathless. And left her wanting to remain breathless for the rest of the night.

So, she did.

So did they both.

Remain breathless for the rest of the night.

"Ready?"

Rodric held out his hand.

As soon as Princess took it, he raised it to his lips and planted a sweet kiss on the sensitive skin. It made her spine tingle. Tingle with memories of where those lips had been last night. Then, hand in hand, they left the confines of their room. Their room which had been ugly upon arrival, but that was now one of the most beautiful places Princess had ever stepped foot into.

That said, it must be duly noted, that even if Princess had wanted to gently awake—well, they had barely slept—from such a breathtakingly wondrous night with nothing but utter felicity, unfortunately, there were two un-delightful things that had ended up yankingher out of her bliss.

Rodric's blasted alarm.

And the undeniable, raw soreness and pain—no, no pleasure—between her legs.

It had been Princess's first time crossing into the realms of such heated nights and, well, hopefully in the future not just nights. So, the mix of last night's pleasure and unpleasurable pain had been understandable.

Howbeit, during their night together, at the point in which Princess had begun to question why she had been born a woman on Earth, she had had to pop two painkillers.

No one.

Not once.

Had ever mentioned to her that the first time would feel like having a hand blade thrust inside of her. Thank heavens, Princess had thought, that she had insisted on packing extra pads and a mini you-never-know-when-you-might-need-it medicine bag.

Though of course, after wearing off during the early hours of the morning she had awoken to the unmistakable pain, again. Rodric had felt bad and still did feel bad. He kept checking up on her and asking if she was comfortable or in pain. It was hard when he had been so terribly tender and attentive—at least at the beginning...

Yet even terribly tender and attentive had led to the sharp deep pinches—much likened to the tip of a blade's touch. Princess internally cringed and winced at the phantom twang of pain between her legs.

Blood flow restocked with pain inhibitors, Princess could contently and mundanely walk beside Rodric without looking as if she had something crammed up the wrong end—like she did when ice skating. Rodric led her out onto the platform and helped her down the steps.

He had insisted on carrying both their bags. Which in all honesty, Princess was grateful for. They walked, together, out of Euston Station's first platform and right into a black-and-bronze and flaxen-and-fair couple.

Princess stopped dead in her tracks.

"Bayani?"She gasped.

Princess whipped her head from her grinning brother to her grinning Rodric.

"Ye planned this?" She asked him.

He nodded, with dimples and all.

"Oh, ah lo-ye f*ckin' amazin' Rodric Aindrea MacNair."

Princess ignored her tongue's slip-up and kissed him. Then she ran and jumped into her brother's arms. Bayani spun her around like he used to when she was a little girl. Legs flying outwards.

It was not her birthday till tomorrow.

But it was already the best birthday Princess had ever had.

Chapter 7: Prince Charming

Chapter Text

The four of them wandered through the Christmas streets of London. The weather was bleak, but the lights were wonderous, and sometimes blinding.

Overwhelmingly blinding.

They made their way to a pub with a beach upon the River Thames, which Bayani had planned for them to have breakfast at. Along the way to the pub, Princess had walked alongside Bayani in conversation, then alongside Emily.

Princess had not spent much time with her, one to one, when Emily and Bayani had come up for Halloween. And as it turned out, Emily was actually a very sweet young woman. She worked in consultancy, like Bayani, and that had been how they had met.

Near the end of their walk, she had found herself back with her Rodric. He had pressed his lips against her temple and had quietly checked in on her pain situation.

The pub was a charming rickety old thing on stilts with a yellow-bricked face and a white painted back, with steps that led down to the beach. When they had arrived, they had still been too early for opening. Thus, they had then taken a very slow stroll across the short beach with murky water—that reminded Princess of Dee's extra-milky tea—that lapped at the grey and sandy pebbles.

It had been too early for tourist river cruises, but there had been a few taxi riverboats that had sped by. It was a bit chilly in London, but nothing compared to the chill they had left in Aberdeen. Princess would not have been surprised if snow came early this year.

Once opened, they were finally able to be invited into the warmth and darkness of Witherby's. The interior was made of dark wood and slabbed flooring. It had a smell about it that was sharper than that of The Toad & The Willow's. And it had not nearly as much charm as Hew's pub, but it was definitely better than plastic and faux wood.

Their round table by the windows was to be filled with cappuccinos, lattes, teas, buttermilk pancakes and sourdough toasted slices topped with either avocado and bacon, eggs benedict or eggs royale. They enjoyed their food at a leisurely pace, and Princess savoured as much as she could of her time away from home.

With her brother.

And her Rodric.

"Do yees ken whit ye're goin' tae do for Christmas yet?" Princess asked.

Bayani looked at Emily with a sly smile. A sly smile that Princess hoped would be the companion to good news.

"Well," Bayani began. "Since Emily, here, loved Aberdeen so much and her parents will be away at her sister's in Austral—"

"Yes!" Princess squealed, clapping her hands.

She could not wait for him to finish. Whenever it was family time, she loved having Bayani around. Not only because he kept her mother at bay, but also because he was her brother and she did not often get to see him, with him living in London.

"—we're planning on coming up." He finished, smiling at his beaming little sister.

"Emily ye're goin' tae love it! B, have ye told her about Hew's?"

Bayani shook his head.

And that made way for Princess's rave about how every year the Moreno-dela Torres and the MacGregors spent Christmas together. How Hew would close his pub early on the twenty–third so that the cooking for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day could commence. Every Christmas consisted of sleeping at home(although Princess always chose to stay at her godmother's) and eating at The Toad & The Willow.

During her babble, lost in her ardour, she looked to Rodric grinning but then realised that they had not spoken about their own upcoming winter holiday plans. And suddenly she felt very wrong about making plans that he was not involved in, in front of him.

Her smile faltered.

Even if Rodric was smiling back with no trace of neglect, that was when her waffling finally came to an end. Under the table she went to hold his hand, and, instinctively, gently squeezed it three times. And she gave him a quick side glance that read.

Sorry.

Rodric smiled and kissed her on her side temple.

It's ok.

"That sounds terrific," Emily beamed. "Quite magical actually! I can't wait."

"Do ye think Kid an' Kila will come up too?" Princess asked.

Bayani snorted.

"Those two rascals?" Bayani began."Aye. Especially because they weren't there for Halloween. If not, mam will surely drive all the way down to Edinburgh and drag them back up home by their ears."

Princess laughed, and so did the others. It was very easy to catch on that the twins, Kidlat and Dakila, were both little menaces. Well, big, now that they were of age, but childlike in menace, nonetheless.

Princess and Rodric stayed with Bayani and Emily until the early afternoon. Just talking, eating, and sipping on hot drinks. Until Rodric had checked his watch and found that one o'clock had come to pass, and he had then proceeded to announce that he and Princess were going to be late for the next item on their itinerary.

And so, with bittersweet goodbyes—on Princess's behalf—Princess and Rodric had parted ways with Bayani and Emily around Bank station. They waved them goodbye and watched as they disappeared into the underground.

"Are ye cold? Or do ye want tae walk—or are ye in pain?" Rodric asked.

Princess chuckled.

"Nae, ah'm no' in any painPrince Charming. Ah'll tell ye when ah am—dinnae fash. Ah'd like tae walk actually. Do ye want me tae carry—ok-ok, ye can keep it."

Princess held up her hands in defeat and laughed. Rodric pulled her in for a kiss by her scarf. When he pulled back, Princess looked into his eyes and then remembered her guilt from before and opened her mouth to apologise properly, but before she could, Rodric beat her to it.

"Nae." He said.

"Ye dinnae ken—"

"Nae."

"But—"

"Naww."

"Rodri—"

"Princess.Anno ye want tae apologise for discussin' yees Christmas plans in front of me, which ah appreciate, ah do—"

Rodric interrupted himself by planting a chaste kiss on Princess's lips.

"But ye no' apologisin' for family plans. Ah—"

Princess tried to interrupt him, but he kissed her again. Her own laughter was not helping her.

"Ah—ahken ye wanted tae involve me, an' feel bad ye could not."

Princess crossed her arms across her chest and forced herself to stop laughing. She waited until she was sure he would not interrupt her anymore. And she opened her mouth again, and Rodric immediately said, "Nae."

Princess's face fell pan flat and Rordic burst out laughing with cheeky dimples.

"Naw, ok. Go on ah'll stop bein' a bastart." He relented.

There was a pause, then Princess finally asked, "Whitwillye be doin' for Christmas?"

"Uhh," he began. "Probably nothin'. Ma sister will be away for work an' ah cannae spend Christmas wi' ma moth'r."

Princess frowned. "Why no'?"

Rodric did not think twice before he said, "Becus other than her obvious sharpness an' sourness—more so now since ma fath'r's passin'—all she does is wallow in bottles o' red twice ma age. An' ah'd rather spend ma Christmas alone, than depressed."

During one of their late nights at Dee's, under the safety of the Christmas tree lights, Rodric had spoken about his father's, Aindrea's, untimely death and his harrowing battle with bowel cancer and how it had torn his family apart. His sister, Robin, had become insular and a workaholic. Whilst his mother, Blythe, who had always had Aindrea to make her laugh and a little warmer, had become thecompleteopposite and much worse.

That had been Rodric's main reason for leaving Edinburgh. He had spent all his time looking after his mother, after his father's passing. Weathering her bouts of drunkenness and enduring lashes from her sharp, cruel tongue.

Rodric's eyes were filled with a sea of mixed emotions. Princess could see his sadness, grief, regret, but most of all his anger. And she could not help but say, "Ah'll spend Christmas wi' ye."

Rodric smiled wistfully and leaned down to kiss Princess on the head.

"Absolutely no'." He said shortly.

Rodric had witnessed Princess's absolute and all-encompassing joy of Christmas at The Toad & The Willow—and that had just been her talking about it. He would not be the one to take her away from that.

"Ah dinnae want ye spendin' Christmas alone... Maybe—" Princess began, insisting.

"Oh, remember, ma Prince?" Rodric interrupted her. "We said nae family until we're both comfortable?"

"But, ye jus' met Bayani?"

"Mhm, aye. Becus ye needed it after whit happened a week ago. An' ah dinnae count siblings as the family—in this context—parents are whit ah meant."

Princess sighed.

As much as she wanted to include Rodric in her Christmas plans, there would have been no way of doing it without him meeting her parents or her not spending it at The Toad & The Willow. And she knew for afacther mother would not let her survive the consequences of the latter.

"Ah'll be fine, Princess."

Princess was not convinced. She pulled him in by his coat and kissed him.

"Ok," he said with one last peck on the lips. "Come on, now we'rereallylate."

What they werereallylate for was a river cruise.

An afternoon tea river cruise upon the River Thames.

They managed, however, with burning throats and heaving lungs, to make their appointment on time. They boarded at Tower Millennium Pier, which was situated right in the city centre of London. London Bridge stood just a little up the way, strung up with florescent Christmas lights.

The cruise was short but sweet.

Princess and Rodric shared plates of cream tea, and finger sandwiches with cucumber, smoked salmon and coronation chicken. There were also a few additional finger foods such as devilled quail eggs and custard tarts. To drink they had a glass of bubbly and a pot of Earl Grey. All whilst watching the main London attractions go by. By the end of their little cruise, the sun was just beginning to glow warm, on the precipice of daylight.

After the cruise Princess followed Rodric through the main city Christmas streets to their next unknown destination. Princess was lost, admiring London's festive decorations, when Rodric stopped walking.

And she almost walked into him.

She turned to glance down the street he was looking at and softly gasped. Her eyes immediately went on the hunt for the street's name and found it on the brick wall of a designer shop.

OLD BOND STREET W1

Rodric smiled at Princess and tugged her closer to his side.

"This...is ma favourite part of London at Christmastime," he said.

Princess could see why. The decorations here were impeccable. Whilst Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, and all of the other notable areas of the city centre had impressive decorations and lights, Old Bond Street was different.

Enchanted.

And much quieter.

"Shall we?"

At a slow oh-stop-look-at-this pace they made their way down Old Bond. As expected, only the top and—mostly—oldest luxury brands had shops that could be found along the street. Some had warm glowing lights, instead of those cold blue ones on Oxford Street, whilst others were wrapped up in a building-sized red bow. Colossal peaco*ck feather lights hung mid-air down the centre of the road.

Why peaco*ck feathers?

Well, Princess supposed it had to do with, of course, luxury. Or a better word, elitism. Henry VIII himself, being the greedy English male specimen that he had been—if not The Greediest—had eaten peaco*ck.

Devouredit.

Peaco*ck stuffed with goose, stuffed with pheasant, stuffed with duck, stuffed with—well, it went on. Supposedly anyway. Rodric even mentioned the existence of some London school for the gifted that kept peaco*cks on their grounds.

So, maybe, the peaco*ck plumage lights were appropriate?

Still no' very Christmas-y though.Princess mentally argued.

Rodric himself had attended—not a gifted school but—boarding school. From the ages of three to thirteen somewhere in the Scottish Highlands, then the rest of his years in St. Andrews, until he moved back to Edinburgh and attended university there.

At last, to be home.

He had then spent the following years, after graduating in fine art, taking short courses and apprenticeships in metal work, wood carving, stone carving, and pottery. Once he had finished his public school education, he had tried his hardest to fully re-adopt his homeland's rich accent without shame.

Mostly because he had wanted to steer clear of his mother's accent—due to resentment, Rodric had admitted—and had wanted to feel closer to his father. Blythe had been the reason for the private education. And had it been whollyup to her, Rodric and his sister would have studied in England. However, Aindrea had been able to persuade her to keep both their children in their father's homeland.

Their homeland.

When it had come to Aindrea and Blythe, it had been a very opposite-attract situation—as Rodric had described it. So much so, that whenever he had gone back home for Christmas and summer, he had always found it to be so head-spinning having such distinctly disparate parents.

Aindrea had been warm.

Blythe, hot or cold.

Blythe had been dry and affectionate-less.

Aindrea had been hilarious and affectionate.

Aindrea had been laid-back and spontaneous.

Blythe had everything already planned and labelled and booked far in advance.

But Rodric had explained that between the two of them, their love had been different. His mother would warm up and cool down for his father. And she would accept and return his father's affections. However, for some reason, Blythe could not be like that with Rodric and Robin.

Rodric and Princess went up and down Old Bond Street a few times before they finally decided to move on to a warmer location. And that's when Rodric had taken her into a fancy spacious supermarket selling finer produce than your everyday supermarket.

There were stacks of Turkish delights and baklava, as well as other decadent treats, piled at the entrance. A completely enclosed section for la fromagerie. An extensive selection of wine that never ended, with sommeliers ready to assist you. Freshly pressed and colour-coordinated antioxidant juices for sale. King-sized Medjool dates wrapped up in small wooden crates. Princess even came across peculiar products like a jar of deep magenta flowering blooms for champagne in syrup.

Rodric stopped in between the fishmongers and butcher's sections. "Ok, so," he said turning to Princess.

Princess raised an eyebrow.

"The last thing we're goin' tae do in London, is, well, ah'm goin' tae cook dinner for us."

Rodric's dimples showed off as he grinned down at Princess like a proud child displaying his hard-earned spelling achievements. However, Princess could not help herself as she said, "Ah see," she began.

"An' are ye sure ye dinnae prefer me tae cook for us?"

Rodric's face dimmed, and he leant down to murmur, "Watch. Ah'm goin' to prince-charm this."

"Aye." Princess smirked. "An' are ye tae borrow the sugar-roastin' nut seller's stall tae sear the steaks? Itwissteaks ye were planin' on cookin' wis it no'?"

Rodric leant back mirroring her smirk.

"Maybe next time. Tonight, ma sister's in New York an' so we'll be restin' in her apartment until our next train."

"We have another train journey?"

"Aye," he began and then murmured lowly. "An' ah'll be Prince Charmin' tonight as well—oh, dinnae blushma Damsel. No' when ye were such aWicked Prince... Ye ken, ah do believe that will soon become yer new title... Ok, enough teasin' whit do ye fancy tae eat?—Nae. Dinnae try it—ah wisnawgoin' tae make steaks."

Princess giggled in a mess of flushed skin and failed smirks and teasing.

"Ah'm goin' tae leave it up tae ye." She said, amused. "Prince-charm me,Prince Charming."

Rodric teasingly narrowed his eyes at Princess. Then said, "Ok. Wander around an' ah'll meet ye at the entrance in..."

He checked his watch. "Half an' hour."

Princess nodded then reached out to take hold of their travel bags.

But Rodric protested.

"Ahh haud yer wheest." Princess said. "Ye're no' shoppin' for dinner wi' our bags on ye back. Ah dinnae fancy travel-bag-flattened sirloin steak."

"Ah am no' makin' stea—"

"Whitever ye say Prince Charmin'..."

Princess then whirled around with both travel bags over her shoulder and waved a lazy salute back at Rodric without looking at him.

Rodric watched her leave with parted lips.

That then morphed into a dark smirk with a promise for later. "Oh, ye goin' tae regret that, ma Princess." He whispered to himself.

Princess wandered about for the next half hour and decided on purchasing those flowering champagne flowerheads for Dee—as well as a few other things for other family members.

After her little Christmas shopping spree, she waited for Rodric by the supermarket entrance. He approached her with a look that made her swallow.

Hard.

He's goin' tae make ye eat yer words.

Haud yer wheest.

Rodric then took back the travel bags. And Princess insisted she carry the paper bags of food shopping instead, as trade. They then walked hand in hand toward Mayfair.

Rodric's sister's home was in the heart of Mayfair.

In a block of distinguishable, orange-bricked apartments. Each apartment had two floors, balconies, and sound-proof windows and walls. The porter waved them in with a small bow of his head and they took the lift to the top floor.

To Ms MacNair's penthouse.

After Rodric dealt with the security system and turned on the lights, Princess's bottom jaw utterly slackened at the sight before her.

"Yer sister liveshere...?" She said, mouth gaping. "Gad ye MacNair's really do adore yer tidiness an' order."

"Oh, nae." Rodric objected. "Robin is an absolute midden. She has a cleaner come in every few days...ma moth'r helped her acquire this place. In Mayfair—an' other places like this—ye're either from ol' money or ye're a foreigner. Ah'm pretty sure, in time, London city won't be owned by the English."

"So, yer family is from ol' money then?" Princess asked. Casually.

She wandered closer to the displayed artworks and ornaments, whilst Rodric got busy in the kitchen.

"On ma moth'r's side, aye, but ma fath'r wis the one wi' the title an' the estate. He jus' didnae have any more money tae maintain Daldark, so when they married, well, problem solved."

Princess paused in front of the harp and swivelled around to face Rodric.

"Title? Estate?" She asked.

"Aye, ma fath'r wis Duke MacNair." Rodric said whilst washing his hands.

Princess awkwardly cleared her throat. "So...Whit does that make ye?"

Rodric turned around, drying his hands with a tea towel, smiling.

"Not a prince, that's for sure." He said. "Dinnae fash ye're the only royalty here. Now, ma Princess, how hungry are ye?"

Princess went over toward the open kitchen and leant over the marble island.

"Oh, seafood?" She said smiling. "Ah'm famished then."

"Perfect."

Her eyes then caught the electric hob, a modern-day technology that Dee could neither stand nor comprehend—that, and the talking voice box with a woman's name.

"Where's the toilet?"

"Down there, to the right." Rodric explained with hand directions. "Dinnae be alarmed if the toilet seat's warm."

Princess nodded, and her eyes trailed back to the hob again. She turned to make her way down to the toilet and called back, "If ye switch off the hob, but forget which one ye turned off, an' place ye hand on it—scream for me!"

Rodric chuckled. "Wicked Prince." He mumbled to himself.

A little later on, after Princess sat watching—ogling rather—Rodric cook for the past hour from the sofa, admiring the subtle flexing of his forearms, as his jumper was rolled up to his elbows, it was time for dinner. Rodric had to snap Princess out of her fantasy spell as her mind had wandered to last night's events and had been busy curating future ones.

Rodric pulled out the chair for Princess and she took a seat.

"Thank you," Princess murmured.

Rodric placed a soft kiss on her lips and then went back to the kitchen to grab their first plates. Seared scallops on a bed of samphire and caviar in a white clam shell. Princess's eyes lit up at once. Rodric poured them each a glass of white and then took his own seat.

"Anno it's early, but happy birthday Princess," he said.

Princess smiled and said, "Thank you, Rodric. Ah have never had someone take this much care an' pay this much attention tae me, an' ah want ye tae know that come April, ah'm goin' tae beroyallyf*cked, becus ah will no' know how tae out-do this whole weekend. So, ah thank ye, an' ah hate ye. Truly."

Rodric laughed and Princess was happy he did. She smiled, watching the way his dimples indented and his eyes crinkled, and Princess hoped that she could make him laugh every day they were together.

"Ah wuid say somethin' jus' as impressive as ye did but ah'd much rather ye be eatin' instead o' cryin'—or the food will go cold." He motioned towards her plate. "Please."

Rodric waited for Princess to take the first bite.

Princess picked up her silver fork and carefully chose to spear a few small stems of samphire with a scallop and topped it off with an onyx cluster of caviar. She slowly rose the fork to her lips and took one clean bite.

It only took a couple of chews before she saw it.

The sea.

The Philippines.

Summer.

The home away from home.

Princess shot out of her seat and started pacing up and down, frowning. The sweet meat of the scallop melted in her mouth and the caviar's saltiness popped against her tongue.

"Princess?" Rodric asked, positively concerned.

His face was torn with worry. He started to rise from his seat, but Princess just waved a hand, motioning him to stay seated. So, he did.

But on the very edge.

Meanwhile, Princess went through every stage of grief.

Or pleasure.

It was not very clear to Rodric.

Maybe it was both as she interchangeably went from fanning her face to wiping away tears, to bracing herself against the kitchen counter. There was a lot of frantic hand waving and moans—and sobs as well. Finally, she returned to her seat and lifted a finger up, in a "Give me a moment" way.

She took a quick swig from her white wine glass, and finally exclaimed, "La Madre María, baby Jesús an' the cow 'at wis present!"

Princess had to take another sip of her wine. A couple of tears streamed down her cheeks. She wiped them away and added, "Rodric ah dinnae think ah've ever had such a food org*sm before."

Rodric did not know whether to laugh or not. He was still reeling from Princess's rollercoaster of emotions—which had left him moderately whiplashed.

"Where thef*ckdid ye learn tae cook like that?" She demanded.

In a hesitant voice, Rodric began saying, "Ah got bored durin' a sum—"

"Oh," Princess exclaimed."Ye got bored. Mm,aye. 'At makes sense."

She patted her eyes dry with her napkin.

"Suppose 'at serves me right... Gad..." She said. "Thank goodness these napkins are abnormally large becus wi' such a start ah dinnae think ah'll make it tae dessert wi'oot breakin' down again."

Rodric slowly started to relax, but just for good measure, he asked, "Are ye sure ye ok?"

"Absolutely no' Rodric." She said shaking her head. "Naw.Ye jus' f*cked ma brains out wi' shellfish. Please, prince-charm me every day an' night from noo on."

And that was when Rodric finally burst out with laughter.

Princess chuckled along with him. Her laughter bounced in and around her wine glass as she drank from it again. Rodric rose out of his seat and walked over to her. She put her glass down and he kissed her. Princess stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer.

"Hm," Rodric hummed, trying to break away.

He chuckled when Princess would not relent.

"O-ok dessert is supposed tae be later on tonight, no' here in ma sister's home..."

Princess regrettably pulled away and murmured against his lips, "Ye want tae get dessert on the train?"

Rodric softly rubbed his nose against Princess's and then went to plant a kiss on her neck.

"Ah wis thinkin' we could get room service again..." He murmured against her skin.

Princess chuckled.

Then Rodric quickly added, "If ye no' still in pain—"

Princess shook her head and kissed him a last time.

Rodric then checked the time on his watch and said they had to carry on with finishing dinner if they wanted to make it on time for their train—which would depart at ten–thirty from Euston Station.

When Rodric's second plate came out, sumptuously and lusciously spicy New Orlean-style seafood boil with lobsters, crabs, mussels, clams, potatoes and corn on the cob, Princess went through the same cycle of grief and pleasure again. And this time Rodric could not help but laugh till his abdominals and cheeks ached. At one point, Princess even got on her hands and knees and bowed up and down in prayer, eyelashes wet with tears.

It was safe to say, that Rodric was, indeed, a good cook.

After dinner, Princess helped Rodric wash and clean up. Rodric left the spices he had bought for his sister—though he was certain she would never touch them. They made sure that everything was in the same place as it had been upon their entering, and then left.

They strolled through the night streets of London, back to Euston Station. Even though Princess had started to miss Scotland, she absorbed as much as she could of the pretty Christmas lights and the merry chipper buzz of London in the winter.

Shehadonce asked Rodric what their next destination was, but again, he had kept it a secret and said she would find out once they got there.

"Prince, do ye want tae shower first?"

They were back on the Caledonian Sleeper, except of course on a different one with another room. Which looked exactly like the last. Unseemly.

And Princess knew that had to change.

So, instead of saying yes to Rodric, she walked up to him, a wicked smile on her lips, and slid her hand into his. She then pulled him toward the shower room. And pushed him in, saying, "The Damsel in Distress is in need o' her room service, Prince Charmin'."

Rodric raised an eyebrow, his own devilish smirk playing upon his dusky lips, and with a voice that made Princess hungry—starving—he murmured, "Are ye sure ye dinnae want tae be the Wicked Prince instead?"

Princess just smiled and walked into the shower room with him.

Locking the door behind them.

Click.

Chapter 8: Happy Birthday

Chapter Text

That. Blasted. f*ckin'. Alarm.

Princess groaned.

Rodric lightly chuckled and reached above him to where the charging sockets were. After a few random pat downs, he finally managed to grab his phone. He swiped and instantly the brash alarm was silenced. Princess slowly blinked her eyes open.

"We have an hour. Do ye want tae grab a tea before we have tae leave?" Rodric said in his rich morning voice.

Princess, still sleepy, just shook her head in response. He chuckled and lightly kissed her head before dropping his phone down to the floor beside the bed. He rolled over and slowly started bathing Princess with sweet kisses all over her face.

"Happy birthday, ma Princess." He mumbled against her cheek.

"Mhm." Was all Princess said.

Her hands found their way to Rodric's neck and then snaked up to his curls. She gently tugged on them as he kissed down to her neck. This morning she was achy, but there was no drastic pain or soreness, just an emptiness that was growing a burning desire to be empty no longer.

And as if her body had just reminded her brain, Princess'slovelydream from last night slowly started flickering through her mind's eye as she recalled it. She groaned. And her blunt fingernails grazed across Rodric's scalp as on her neck his lips against skin, became teeth and tongue against skin.

"An hour ye said?" She said, with a soft gasp.

Rodric nodded into her neck. Princess bit down on her lip, then pulled him on top of her and wrapped her legs around his waist.

She moaned and murmured, "Then whit are ye waitin' for Prince Charmin'?"

When the train pulled up to its stop, Rodric and Princess were already packed and ready to disembark. They made their way out onto the platform and Princess looked around.

"Are we—?" She began.

Her head snapped side to side.

"Are we in Edinburgh?"

Rodric smiled looking ahead.

"Aye, ma Prince." He said. "Ah thought we could visit Daldark?Naw, dinnae fash ma moth'r's away, ah checked wi' Quinn—then double-checked wi' Steaphan, his fath'r. But first...breakfast."

Since they had just arrived, Princess had not had the time to conjure the possibility. Thepossibilitythat Rodric was currently eyeing in the distance. Princess turned to look at where Rodric was staring and immediately, let out an incredulous laugh.

"Oh, ye have got tae be havin' a laugh." She grinned.

Further up the station, looking as if they had just rolled out of bed—or like they never had the chance to get into one in the first place—were Dakila and Kidlat.

Dakila rubbed his eyes and Kidlat yawned.

Princess called out, "Kid!"

Mid-yawn Kidlat's head whipped around, mouth hanging wide ajar. Dakila followed his brother's gaze.

Then Princess called out, "Kila!"

Both young men looked in the opposite direction, confused. Dakila then muttered to his brother. "Ah can hear her..."

"Well, she's no' exactly quiet." Kidlat quipped.

"Then where on God's green earth is she...?"

Kidlat yawned again and then groaned. "Oh, ah dinnae ken whit ah did tae deserve this torture...if we keep lookin' around like silly geese ma heads goin' tae start spinnin'."

Dakila frowned. "'At's becus ye're stillblootered ye bawbag. Noo help me find our sis—Princess!"

Kidlat winced.

Then caught sight of his little sister and waved along with Dakila, grinning through the pain. Princess ran up to her brothers and hugged them together.

"Happy birthday," they both chanted at the same time.

"Thank ye. Ye're still pished aren't yees?" She grinned.

Simultaneously, Kidlat said, "Aye." And Dakila said, "Nae."

Princess just laughed.

Rodric finally strolled over to them and Kidlat held out his hand.

"Ahh, it's good tae finally meet ma torturer in person..." Kidlat paused. "Well... Ye're no' a f*ckin' munter are ye...?"

Kidlat looked from Rodric to Princess. Then back at Rodric.

"Princess he's bonnier thanye." Kidlat added.

Frowning, Dakila went to slap his twin on the back of the head. Kidlat immediately winced as he cradled his head, groaning and moaning, "Ow...M-ma brain—it jus' somersaulted."

Princess and Rodric laughed.

At Rodric's grinning face, both Kidlat and Dakila instantaneously stopped and stared. In unison and in awe, they exclaimed, "Oh, f*ck me...he's got dimples too."

All three of them looked to Rodric and, naturally, he flushed rosy. Princess chuckled and motioned toward her brothers.

"Rodric, let me properly introduce ye tae dafty an' numpty. Also known as Kid an' Kila. How do ye tell which one's which? Well, ye jus' figure out which one's the worst...problem is they take it in turns."

Rodric cleared his throat and held out his hand to Dakila. "Pleasure tae meet ye, ah've heard a lot about yees." He said.

"Oh, aye, outrageous things we hope." Grinned Dakila, shaking his hand.

"Good things put people tae sleep." Whispered Kidlat, without whispering.

Kidlat then wrapped his arms around both Rodric and his brother. "Ok, this rat arse is in need of a pure greasy breakfast. Time we get goin' family." He said.

Rodric's blush deepened.

"Oh, we're goin' tae Arnauld's Den then." Dakila said. "But coffee first, becus he disnae open until ten."

Kidlat and Dakila then turned around and marched off to the sound of no marching band, leading the way. Princess went to hold Rodric's hand. She gently squeezed it thrice and smiled as she placed a kiss on his shoulder. Rodric placed one on her head.

They then followed the twins.

After tea and coffee—well, Princess was the only one who had tea—at a small diner, the only one open nearby, they went over to Arnauld's Den. By which time Princess's stomach was grumbling and complaining. She had had to resist ordering a filler—or some such—whilst at the diner. So, had Kidlat.

Arnauld's Den was a large pub up on the hill. Kidlat and Dakila insisted that they made the best full-Scottish breakfast, with a little something more too. Once seated and their orders taken, they were later served with enough dishes and plates to completely fill up their table. They had to cram their hot drinks amongst the ruckus of steaming hot and fried foods.

They had all ordered the full-Scottish breakfast with eggs (however you fancied them), bacon, lornes or link sausages or polony, slices of haggis, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, black pudding or fruit, mushrooms (deep fried or pan fried), tattie scones and toast or fried slices.

And if that was not enough, Kidlat had ordered side portions of truffle-parmesan fries. Just in case. They wasted no time in digging in. Kidlat was the most enthusiastic of them all... Princess lightly half frowned, and half smiled at the sight of him.

"Kid, ma beloved broth'r ye're an absoluteslitter." She said.

With swollen cheeks full of food, Kidlat looked up to his sister and muffled a, "Hm?"

He looked down at his jumper, and muffled another corresponding,"Mh."

Then grabbed his napkin and rubbed at the already grease-soaked wool. Unimpressed, Dakila frowned and tutted at his twin.

"Oh, ye're a pure wopper Kid..." He said. "This—ye eejit—is why ye dinnae have a burd."

Kidlat frowned back at his brother and swallowed his food. "Ah dinnae want a burd." He said.

"Hmph, 'at's no' whit ye were tellin' me las' night..."

Kidlat narrowed his eyes. "Whit wis ah tellin' ye las' night?"

"Ye dinnae want tae ken—ahdidnae want tae ken." Dakila said.

"Oh, commoan tell me!" Kidlat whined.

"Ugh!Eat ye food! Since ye ordered more than we canactuallyafford!" Dakila exclaimed. "Dobber."

The twins both frowned hard at each other.

Princess and Rodric had to contain their grinning, less they exploded into laughter and added more fire to the quarrel—although that would have probably made it even more entertaining.

"So," Dakila began. Cautiously eyeing his twin as he slowly turned toward Rodric. "Rod. Whit do ye think of the family?"

Rodric smiled. "Ye're a pretty amazin' family so far. Christmas at The Toad & The Willow must be one for the books every year."

Dakila laughed and took a sip of his latte. "Aye. 'At it is."

Kidlat raised an eyebrow, chuckling, "Amazin' ye say?All of us? Did mam no' eat ye up an' spit ye back out when ye first met her? Just tae check ye were Moreno-dela Torre material? Or mo' dela Torre material really..." Kidlat trailed off as he observed both Rodric and Princess.

"Ye havnae mam yet? Or paps?" Dakila asked.

Princess side-eyed Rodric.Let me take it from here.

She then cleared her throat. "Nae. We didnae want tae introduce the parents' jus' yet. Ye ken mam..."

"Has Dee met Rod?" Dakila asked.

Princess nodded and both Dakila and Kidlat winced. "Princess..." They chorused.

"Whit? We met at Dee's! That couldn't be helped!"

Dakila and Kidlat shared a glance.

"Ye remember last time ye made mam feel left out?" Kidlat said.

Princess internally groaned and mentally rolled her eyes. She did. She had had to walk on eggshellsandglass for three months after their argument, or more so Perlah's outburst at her.

"Ye ken she thinks ye prefer Dee over her..." Dakila said with care.

This irritated Princess.

Her mother's jealousy should not be her problem to solve or protect her mother from. It was not Princess who had become such good friends with Dee and made herher godmother. Without thinking she quickly said, "'At's becus—" but abruptly stopped herself.

'At's becus ah do.She thought.

It was true, however, Rodric and Princess had been doing exactly what she had wanted to avoid. Everyone was meeting Rodric before her parents. If Rodric had not asked Dee for her brother's numbers none of this would be happening. But, if Rodric had not, then this birthday would not have been nearly as special.

To be fair...wuid we have introduced Rodric to mam an' paps first? Before anyone else?

Probably not. But if mam meets him an' finds out she was one of the last tae...

Aye, but whit even are you an' Rodric? Official?

Well...we're here? Together? Travellin'? An' meeting my brothers? So...

Her internal debate was growing with heat and frustration. And before she could start to make herself angry, she said, "It's ma birthday an' a wuid like tae spend it wi'oot talkin' about mam—or paps.Please?"

Rodric noticed that as Princess smiled her slips were tight in the corners, and the smile did not reach her eyes. Feeling substantially culpable, instead of reaching out a hand toward her in comfort, he just kept himself to himself.

Dakila and Kidlat both threw their hands up in the air.

"Absolutely, but jus' thought we should warn ye..." Said Kidlat.

"Ye ken how we feel about family drama..." Added Dakila.

That was very true and the reason why they were the first to move out of the family home. Permanently. Together they had moved away for university and had decided to remain away. Well, apart from the holidays when they were expected to return home, at least for Christmas and a minimum of a week in the Philippines during the summer.

The subject was then changed.

Nonetheless, the need for Princess and Rodric to have a proper conversation about where they stood and how serious they were suddenly hung between the two. Like an invisible thread weaved between them. And with every passing moment, said thread would weave tighter and the need would grow greater.

All the same, they continued to enjoy Dakila's and Kidlat's company. The banter was hard and their laughter even harder. However, it was fine as their loudness just seamlessly melded in with the rest of the pub's Sunday atmosphere.

It went as so until they had to, again, reluctantly on Princess's behalf, part ways. But the twins assured her that they would be back home for the Christmas holidays. They would not dare have a Christmas not spent at The Toad & The Willow.

Princess and Rodric walked through the wet streets of Edinburgh with a low mist hanging upon the rooftops and a light rainfall sprinkling upon the ground. They walked side by side in silence. Arms brushing, they were both in their own thoughts, when finally, Princess could not take the loud silence any longer. She stopped short, just in front of a street sign that read:

PRINCES STREET

And turned toward Rodric.

"We need tae talk," she said.

"Aye," Rodric agreed. "But ah wis thinkin' we could do it once we got out of the rain."

Princess nodded her head and then Rodric ordered a taxi for the Daldark estate.

"Oh, Daldark Palace? Aye. In yees get." Said the taxi driver with a warm smile on his aged-worn face.

They rode the forty-five-minute journey in silence.

But then it was Rodric's turn to dislike the distance between them, so he had reached out for Princess's hand five minutes into the journey.

Grey cityscape blurred into rolling greenery, until it slowed, finally, before an intimidating black iron gate that rose almost to the height of the surrounding trees. Rodric paid the taxi driver and then he was off to seek his next riders.

Princess looked up to the top of the gate. "If 'at's jus' the gate ah cannae imagine whit thepalacemust look like."

Rodric smiled and laughed wistfully, "Too big."

Rodric laid his eyes upon the land he had once called home. In the far distance was the tiny outline of Daldark. He then slipped out his phone from his inner coat pocket and called Quinn. Princess could hear his friend's techno-metallic voice through the phone.

"Awrite Quinn?" Rodric said grinning.

"Ay Rod! Ye awrite?"

"Aye, look ah'm outside the gate wi' ma girlfriend, can ye come an' open up?"

Princess's breath stopped for a heartbeat.

She could feel warmth climbing up to her cheeks. Rodric's lips tugged up to the side as he noticed, and he quickly leaned down to place a kiss on her warm cheek. Princess's hand automatically sought out his and she squeezed a few times.

"Oh, Princess? Aye, o' course! Ah'll be there, give me five."

They both then said their quick goodbyes and ended the call.

Princess could not help but grin up and Rodric, and he smiled down at her, raising a teasing eyebrow.Whit?

Princess shrugged nonchalantly but without feeling nonchalant about it at all. "Ye've never called me 'at before..."

"Ahh," Rodric began, taking a step closer. "Should ah have no' said it?"

Princess shook her head.

Then nodded.

Then she quickly got frustrated as she became confused about whether she should be nodding or shaking her head. Rodric chuckled and kissed her forehead again. Then her nose.

"Well ah suppose 'at answers one o' the things ah wanted tae discuss." She whispered.

Rodric then mumbled against her lips, before kissing her, "Aye, but we'll talk about it once we're inside."

Quinn then arrived minutes later in a park-ranger type of four-by-four. He jumped out of the car and jogged over.

"Rod!Ahhan' Princess! Lovely tae meet ye."

Princess grinned. "Lovely tae meet ye as well, Quinn. Ye have exceptional taste in flower arrangements."

Quinn chuckled and, as he began unlocking the gate, said, "Oh, ah thank ye. It's kind o' a thing ah'd like tae do full-time..."

"So, ah heard, an' ah really think ye should pursue it."

Quinn smiled gratefully at Princess and then embraced Rodric in a hug. They both clapped each other on the back.

"Ah'll drive ye up?" Quinn asked.

"Please." Rodric replied.

And they entered Quinn's car. Rodric and Quinn at the front and Princess in the back. On the way up to Daldark Princess enjoyed listening to the two old friend's banter. It was her first time seeing Rodric so familiar and carefree with someone. Someone other than herself.

It was nice.

It did not take them long to arrive at the front doors of the grey-stoned palace—well, longer than getting to and from your usual front gates and home.

It loomed above them like a God.

Proud, defensive, and simply colossal in its totality. Princess could not imagine living here or ever wanting to live in such a place—althoughrunning through the vacant estate like a lost fairy tale princess in a billowing gown sounded enchanting.

Enchanting, but still lonely and undesirable for the long term. Princess's imagination then started running rampant as she imagined herself, in another life, being a real princess—or something as such—and growing up in a place like this. Only to ultimately try running away from her life in the palace.

That was when she had looked over to Rodric, as Quinn handed him over the keys, and she thought—she felt—she was beginning to truly, and undeniably understand what walking in Rodric's shoes felt like.

Quinn waved them goodbye from his fir green car and then drove off, leaving them alone before the stone God. Rodric turned around to Princess and held out his hand.

"Shall we, Prince?"

He then unlocked the heavy wooden doors, and it creaked as he pushed it wide open. The creak echoed and bounced from wall to wall, up the grand stairs and through the hallways as if Daldark were moaning at the disturbance. After all, its homeowner, Mrs MacNair was not scheduled to return today.

Rodric pulled Princess in and closed the door behind them. Again, it creaked and moaned shut. They dropped their travel bags there, on the marble floor.

It smelt like history. That was the only way Princess could describe it. Daldark was of the sixteenth century so countless lives had lived under this immensely vast roof.

And died.

Princess shuddered at the thought.

The things that must have occurred in these many walls... Imagine if the walls could recount all that they had witnessed? From birth to deadly illnesses. From heartbreak to scandals. From cruelty, to—

"Are ye cold?" Rodric asked, cutting through her thoughts.

He pulled her in closer to his side and she allowed the excuse to bask in his embrace. She nuzzled into his chest and then murmured, "Ah understand why ye wanted tae leave."

Rodric chuckled humourlessly then pulled her toward the stairs. "As bad as it is tae live in, it's still beautiful. Come on, ah'll show ye."

They made their way up the wide spiral staircase, past the old paintings of long-gone forefathers and up to the first floor. They walked through rooms that opened to other rooms, that opened to other rooms, and that opened to, yet, another room.

Every room had the same décor but the colours of the tapestries, the paintings on the walls and the fabrics upon the furniture changed. Whilst one room was duck-egg blue, the next was strawberry-ice-cream pink and lemon-sorbet yellow (the artificially coloured type).

That said, some things did not change. Like centuries-old leather-bound books with faded gold titles that could be found in almost every room.

The absence of light made the whole experience eery, especially when Rodric's and Princess's feet were the only ones to make the floorboards groan and sometimes screech as they made their way through Daldark. Princess kept looking behind her as her mind played tricks on her with fantasy conjurings of old stalking ghosts.

The closed shutters and peaking dull light from the open tops made her ghostly fantasies all the more credible, as each window cast a dust-speckled limelight upon the polished floors.

Although...the dust does kind o' remind me o' fairy dust, so ah suppose it's no' 'at scary.

Wait until the sun sets...

Nae. Thank you.

Princess clutched herself closer to Rodric and dearly hoped they would be long gone before nightfall. Or hoped that at some point a light bulb could be turned on.

But then a nightmarish vision of having a single light bulb on in the darkness of Daldark immediately made Princess agree that a prompt departure would be best. To distract herself Princess then said, "Ah feel bad walkin' around in ma outdoor shoes..."

Rodric's laugh echoed through the halls and frightened Princess as he spoke too loudly. "Why are ye whisperin'?"

Then Princess realised he had not been speaking loudly. He had spoken at his usual speaking volume. It was she who had gotten too wary and hypersensitive to the quietness.

Finally, they came to a room where Rodric stopped.

It was like the others, but the colours in here were polished dark wood and indigo. There was a four-poster bed up against the wall. Against another wall was an uber-fancy desk made of marble and wood with gold accents. If furniture could be described as decadent, then that desk was indeed decadent. If not, imagine an iced biscuit, in the shape of a desk, piped with ultra-fine details and decorated with an abundance of gold accents.

Rodric went to open up the shutters and to Princess's relief, all eeriness washed away.

The indigo blue made more of an effort to pop against the dreary winter light and the gold paint made an effort—though not entirely successful—to add warmth to the room. Rodric then turned around and announced, "This is ma room—wisma room...growin' up."

Princess's eyebrows slowly raised, taking it all in, but now through the perspective of a young boy. "Hm... Ah wuid have wanted tae go tae boardin' school too." She mused.

Even though she knew that boarding school had just been another kind of difficulty of its own, she was glad she got him to laugh. It seemed to soften the hard edges that had pinched his face since they had first stepped down from the taxi in front of the gates.

Rodric then walked up to Princess and behind her, leant his chin to rest upon her head, as his arms snaked around her and he murmured, "Do ye want tae talk babe?"

"Mh." Princess mumbled leaning back into his warm, inviting embrace.

"Well," he began. "If ye wanted tae know whether we were together together or jus' together, then ah can clarify an' confirm, 'at we are very muchtogether together."

Princess laughed.

Then quietly asked, "Do ye want tae meet ma parents?"

Above her head, Rodric smiled softly. "Only if ye are ready."

"Ok," Princess said.

"Ok, ye are ready? Or ok, ah'll think about whether ah'm ready or no'?"

Princess chuckled. "The last thing ye said."

There was a pause.

Then Princess murmured as if scared the next thing she was going to say would have unspoken consequences later on, "Are we movin' too fast?"

Another pause.

"Do ye feel like we are?" Rodric murmured back.

Pause.

Princess faintly smiled. "Nae," she said. "Do ye feel we are?"

"Naw," he said without missing a beat.

And Princess's lips slanted as a crooked smile grew. She thought back to Dee's words.

"When the time comes there'll be nae need for yer overthinkin'. It'll be easy as Angus's pies."

Princess then slowly spun around in Rodric's arms and looked into those breath-stealing eyes and whispered,"Kiss me."

He smiled with a side dimple, and murmured warmly, "Yer wish is ma command, ma Princess."

His lips came down on hers. Their breaths and tongues intertwined. For a little while. Princess did not want it to end, but then Rodric pulled back a little, just enough, to say, "Let me show ye somethin' else."

Princess wanted to groan. All she wanted to do right at this moment was to kiss him until she was deliriously high on his touch. But she did not. She held back her groan and smiled, because she could not, not smile back at Rodric.

Rodric went and closed the shutters and then led the way back through the few—what felt like—hundred countless rooms and down the stairs again. They passed by their travel bags, near the entrance, and walked down a spacious hallway where their feet echoed off the polished stone floors. They walked a little way until Rodric slowly paused in front of two beautifully carved, white, and gold-painted doors.

"There's somethin' ah've always wanted tae do... Will ye close yer eyes?"

Princess examined his smiling face, then softly nodded, smiling, and closed her eyes.

Everything went black.

She heard Rodric open the doors and he slowly guided her in, holding both her hands. They walked, with their feet echoing even more so in this new room, until they stopped, and Rodric said, "Wait for me, ah'll tell ye when ye can open yer eyes."

Princess nodded smiling, and Rodric planted a soft kiss on her lips before leaving her standing there, in the middle of her darkness.

Princess heard shutters being opened. Rodric's shoes echoed through what sounded like a very hollow and spacious room.

Then some silence.

Then she could not understand what she was hearing. And then Rodric's footsteps echoed back to her until she could feel him before her. She smiled and there were some movements, it sounded as if he were getting something from his coat pocket.

Then.

It started.

The music.

It began with the plucks of a harp. A ghostly romantic serenade that echoed through the space. Princess's lips parted at such a sound. The music then swirled and grew as slowly a whole orchestra was introduced to the song.

"Ok, now open yer eyes."

Princess did.

And she found herself standing with her Rodric in the centre of none other than a ballroom. She looked straight up and found an exquisite crystal chandelier. Even with no lights on in the room, it was still just so utterly splendid.

The ballroom was round with glass doors all around that led to the outside Italian gardens. Paintings of angels floating through clouds and fair maidens gliding through the air swirled across the ceiling. And of course, there were gold accents.

Everywhere.

If she had been that princess running around in that gown she had thought of before, she definitely would have run through here, and maybe, even with no live orchestra and weak dancing skills she would have—

"May ah have this dance?" Rodric asked, taking a step back and holding out his hand.

Princess looked down at it, then up at him again and spoke softly, mostly out of shyness, "Rodric, ma Damsel, ah cannae dance..."

She blushed pink, and Rodric shook his head. Then slid a hand around her waist and the other in her hand, holding it up higher. He intertwined their fingers and murmured over the singing violins, "Let me be Prince Charmin' then."

He took a step forward.

When Princess did not, he said, "Follow me, Princess."

She took a step back.

Then Rodric took a sidestep.

So did Princess.

He took a step back.

She took a step forward.

They took a step to the other side and then from the top again. Slowly, Princess realised they were going around in circles. She quickly memorised the steps.

Back.

Side.

Forward.

Other side.

Soon instead of looking at Rodric with a painfully concerned face, she relaxed and shared his smiles as they waltzed through the empty ballroom. And everything else faded away.

Daldark disappeared.

The ghosts vanished.

It was just Princess and Rodric.

Like it had been in her dream after Guy Fawkes night. Otherworldly. Colliding lights. Colliding lips. Although there were no lights on and their lips were not colliding. Yet... Princess's eye flitted down to Rodric's blush lips, then back to his eyes.

That could wait.

She just wanted to dance with her Rodric a little longer. They carried on until the music began to slow down. It then faded into silence. And another started. But Rodric had stopped and was now looking down at Princess's lips.

"Ah've always wanted tae do that..." he whispered.

Princess smiled. "Tae dance in the ballroom?"

"Tae dance wi' ye in the ballroom."

Princess frowned lightly. "Rodric, ye havnae always known me...?" Rodric shook his head softly and there was a shimmer in his eyes that made Princess's breath falter.

His eyes kept looking back and forth from her eyes and lips as he slowly inched closer and closer. Their lips brushed and touched, so tenderly that it made them both shiver. Rodric's hands left hers and went to cup her face. Whilst Princess's hands found their way under his coat as she wrapped herself around him closer, tighter.

Their kiss deepened and began to swelter. With swiftness, a ferocious heat began to feed and grow with every one of their touches. The orchestral ball music swelled as Princess's hands then sought his hot skin under his jumper and Rodric started to grip at her hair in tugs that made Princess groan into his mouth. And, well, it was not long after that, when they found themselves tugging at each other's coats.

Then jumpers.

Then jeans.

Then everything else.

They lay there, on top of their dishevelled clothes, covered only by their winter coats, staring up at the heavens. The angels stared back, unblinking. The sun was now setting and had found a way to peek through the clouds. Casting the gold paints alight and warming up the ballroom.

At least in colour.

Princess looked at Rodric and he too was alight. His blue beryl eyes sparkled like the crystal itself and his curls were on fire under the bronze rays.

Golden afternoon sun.Princess thought, mesmerised.

She let her fingers trace down his nose, to his lips, then from freckle to freckle over his cheekbones. They were like star constellations. A galaxy of their own. His stubble tickled her fingertips as she went back down to his lips again, and then pulled him down upon her and said softly, "Thank you for such a beautiful birthday. Ah think it's the best one ah'll ever have."

They kissed delicately and sweetly, as if in time with the music. Princess did not want it to end. She did not want the music to stop. She wanted this moment captured and bottled for her to take out again whenever she wanted to relive it.

She never wanted it to be tainted or stained.

She wanted to keep it close to her heart and never to part with it. She did not want Time's aging hands to get its invasive fingers upon it and make the memory crumble and disintegrate with every new day that would come to be.

Their kisses grew frantic once more, as they both scrambled to make the moment last for as long as they could.

A phone rang.

They carried on. Lips never wanting to part.

The phone stopped ringing.

Then there was the sound of an incoming text message. And another. And another. Until Rodric pulled back and Princess moaned. He laughed and tried to locate his mobile phone. He found it just as Princess pulled him back down to her lips. He laughed whilst simultaneously trying to unlock his phone, kissing her. That was until he saw the missed call and text messages from Quinn.

Rodric swore.

Princess immediately froze.

"Whit is it?" She asked.

"Ma moth'r's back."

No more words were needed. Both were up in seconds struggling to put their clothes back on as quickly as possible. They struggled not to accidentally trip up over the mess they had made with their clothes, whilst attempting to slip back into their jeans and socks and shoes.

By the time they were decent Rodric cut the music from his phone and the monitors around the ballroom clipped and fell dead quiet. Rodric and Princess were both breathing hard as they heard the front door open.

They stared at each other.

There was a pause.

And then someone's voice echoed through Daldark, "Rodric?"

Heels clicked and descended upon them. Princess hastily tried to fix her hair and then Rodric's. They both quickly checked each other's outfits. Making sure they looked decent and not dishevelled like a couple who had just spent a good amount of their time on the floor filling the ballroom with their own crude song.

"Ok?" Rodric murmured anxiously.

Princess could not help but laugh. "Nae." She whispered.

Then the ballroom doors were thrown open. And in entered Mrs MacNair. "Rodric?" Blythe's frown deepened. "Who's that? What are you doing in Edinburgh?"

Her voice carried through the ballroom and suddenly the golden sunset light outside dimmed cold and blue as nightfall crept upon them. Even from this distance, Princess could tell how displeased Rodric's mother was. Her face did not bother withholdinganything.

Rodric cleared his throat and slid his hand into Princess's, and they walked toward his mother who was standing by the entrance.

Rodric smiled. "Moth'r, this is ma girlfriend, Princess."

His mother did not smile. Instead, Blythe's eyes immediately shot to Princess.

Princess tried to smile as she was suddenly pinned with a very cold gaze. Blythe's eyes trailed up and down. And the look she gave Princess was one she had seen often on her own mother's face, but this—coming from a stranger—was worse.

"Princess? What kind of a name is Princess? Are you American, girl?" She asked, but then quickly shrilled. "Oh, good heavens Rodric! Do not tell me she's yet another lingerie model!"

Princess blinked. But she did not have the time to frown or respond nor react as Rodric was then suddenly there, protectively standing between her and Blythe's scornful glare.

"Princessis no' American. She was born an' raised in Aberdeen. An' it disnae matter whit she does, but nae, she is no' a model. Of any sort." He said defensively.

There was a pause and Princess held her breath. She could not see her from behind Rodric's broad shoulders, but she dearly hoped Blythe was calming down.

"Since when do you have a girlfriend?" Blythe asked unimpressed. "You've never mentioned aPrincessbefore."

"That's because it's happened recently."

"Hm." She hummed unconvinced. "What does she do if she's not a model then?"

Princess did not know whether to be offended or pleased with how much modelling and her name kept being brought up in the same sentences.

"That's none of yer concern." Rodric replied shortly.

Princess had never heard Rodric's voice so stern and seething before. On some other occasion, Princess might have actually enjoyed the sound of it, but in this moment all she was aching to do was disappear.

Her chest was tightening and the world around her was beginning to feel small. The instantaneous flip from oneinexplicablywonderous state of being to another, a frigid and shackling one, was breathtaking.

Literally.

"Let me speak with her." Mrs MacNair demanded. "She's not a child Rodric. Step aside."

Rodric did not move. Then Princess heard him say, "If ye upset her, ye will regret it.Moth'r."

Princess heard Mrs MacNair take a sharp breath in.

Not out of intimidation, but out of impatience. Rodric then slowly stepped aside, and Princess came face to face with Blythe again. Princess looked into her barren eyes and tried not to feel so small.

"What do you do...Princess?" Rodric's mother asked. She spoke her name as if it were uncomfortable to say.

Then, Princess realised. Blythe could not remember her. She had completely neglected to look Princess in the face when she had served her at Dee's.

Completely.

Princess shuffled on her feet.

"Ah work in a café...Mrs MacNair." She said softly. Mostly in an attempt to soften Blythe's hardness.

It softened nothing.

Princess watched as a switch went on in Mrs MacNair's head. Then, Princess did not know how it happened—because they were both around the same height—but suddenly Blythe went from looking at her to looking down at her. And as if she had just chewed on something sour and distasteful, Blythe turned to her son.

"Youare the Duke of Daldark," she began, voice quavering. "And you're fornicating with aserver?"

Princess instantly went to pinch herself under the privacy of her winter coat. As if it could smell blood in the water, her old friend was on the way. Eager.Hungry.

Tears were coming.

Tears were coming.

She pinched herself harder. The pain stung enough to keep them and her old friend at bay.

For now.

Rodric, however, completely lost his composure. "Ye're no' doin' this again! Ye ken perfectly well 'at ah rejected 'at title!Ah am no' fath'r. Ah never will be. Do ye want me tae completely cut ye out o' ma life!?"

"Ibegyour pardon." Blythe began. Horrified. "How dare you speak to me like that! I AM YOUR MOTHER!"

"An' ye dinnae get tae TALK TAE PRINCESS LIKE 'AT! Apologise!" Rodric demanded.

"I think absolutely NOT! Not in my own home." Blythe shrilled. "This Princess can leaveimmediately! I will not have a classless waitress anywhere near this estate—to the MacNair's money! I. Will. Not. Allow it! That—thatwould be PREPOSTEROUS! PREPOSTEROUS!"

Blythe's own words seemed to make her more hysterical the more she spoke. Her voice shrieked through the once beautiful ballroom and shredded down the wonderous memories with it.

Princess had been holding her breath in for so long that she was starting to tremble.

She needed to hide.

She needed to run.

She was not supposed to be here. She was never supposed to be here. She did not belong here. This was not her place. She was not good enough. She was not worthy of Rodric. It had been too good to be true. This was where it was to burn.

To sour.

To die.

She was not the one for Rodric.

She was...

She was...

With a shaky voice, Princess found the courage to tug on Rodric's coat, and say, "Ah'm goin' tae wait for ye outside."

"Princess, na—" He began.

Princess looked up to Rodric's breathtaking eyes one last time and with tears stinging to come out she brokenly whispered, "Please let me wait outside.Please."

Rodric stared at her.

His rage was apparent in every tight muscle on his face, although his eyes softened for her. He then slowly nodded, and Princess let go of him and walked away without glancing back. She tried not to run as tears began to stream down her face.

She felt like she had just been robbed. Like Rodric had stolen her heart and his mother had just discarded it. Behind her heard someone shut the ballroom doors, and the interlude ended as the screaming match started anew.

This is ma fault.

Ah'm a bad person.

Ah'm an ugly person.

Princess clamped a hand over her mouth to quieten herself. She convulsed with every inaudible sob and her tears rained down upon her cheeks and jumper.

Back at the entrance of the monstrous palace, she picked up her bag and went to open the door. It creaked sardonically at her. Laughing at her in echoes from everywhere.

Daldark was sneering at her. Just like Rodric's mother.

With one foot out and the other in, Princess looked back at Rodric's travel bag. She let go of her mouth and a sob ripped through her.

This was not the heavy price she thought she would have had to pay.

Chapter 9: White-Out

Chapter Text

Perlah and Fausto were in the living room enjoying their tea and leisure time when they heard keys rattling by the front door. There was lengthy scratching against the keyhole. Metal against metal. Perlah, who had been sipping her tea, put her mug down and gave her husband a look.

To which he responded in Spanish, "It's her birthday..."

It was his way of saying, "Please be gentle..."

However, Perlah did not acknowledge this. Her face did not soften as she rose from her armchair and put the T.V. on mute before walking out to confront her daughter. Fausto exasperatedly sighed and marked the page in his book, before setting it down and picking up his tea and taking a sip.

Princess felt hollow.

But her old friend, satiated.

Her head was pounding, and her eyes were sore. She had never cried so much without the privacy of her bedroom. On the train back to Aberdeen she had had to lock herself in the toilet to avoid sobbing and spluttering out in the open next to her fellow travellers. She had also made sure to turn her phone off as soon as she was sure she would not need it anymore.

She was far too sick with anger and upset to talk to anyone. Especially Rodric.

It took her longer than usual to open the door as she struggled with the keys. She was worn with fatigue and in need of numbing.

Severe numbing.

She was about to entertain the idea of drinking in excess tonight, but once her key finally slotted in, she turned it, and it clicked twice before unlocking the door and that thought quickly fleeted away. Because when she opened the door, she foundexactlythe last thing she wanted to find.

Standing before her, in the hallway, stern-faced and arms-crossed was her dear mother. Delirious, Princess almost laughed at Perlah's similarities to Blythe. But thankfully she did not even crack a smile, instead, with a hoarse voice she said in Spanish-Tagalog, "Mum if you're going to kick me out can you do it later? I don't have the energy for this right now."

Perlah raised an eyebrow and scoffed, before replying in her native tongue, "No. You can leave now. Go back to wherever you were all weekend."

Princess's jaw slackened and so did the travel bag strap on her shoulder. She let go of it and it hit the floor. She was not prepared nor armed for this conversation, but if her mother insisted on it then she had no other choice but to oblige.

"Ah left yees a note say—" she began.

Perlah laughed humourlessly and jammed her hand into her long skirt pocket and took out that exact note she had kept with her since she had first found it on returning home from work on Friday.

"¿Esto?" Perlah spat.

At that moment Fausto came over from the living room, and at the immediate sight of his distraught daughter he said in his mother tongue,"Perlah, our daughter does not look well, now is not the time for—"

Perlah cut him off, pointing a determined finger up at his face.

"No. I will spek now." She said sternly. "I am tired and fed up—this—thisends today!"

"Mam ah have done nothin' wrong," Princess said, with courage she did not have.

Fausto agreed with his daughter.

Which only stoked Perlah's internal combustion.

Her face contorted even further with a wrath Princess could not understand—had neverunderstood—but after a lifetime of it, it was now so familiar that even though it was incomprehensible it felt fathomable.

Like it was warranted.

Like it had to do with her.

Like it was her fault the rage even existed in the first place.

"No!" Perlah shouted. "I have sacrifice everything for family! Even me! I not allow this! No more!"

Perlah pointed a finger at her daughter and shouted, "You stop this! All this!"

Princess watched as Perlah waved her note around in the air and pointed at it as if it were the culprit and not the innocent bystander.

Princess could not understand what was going on. She felt as if she needed this moment aired on national TV as part of a reality show, so she could call on the general public to help her understandwhatwas going on.

What had she done wrong?

Why was her mother like this?

The words out of Perlah's mouth shot through the air aiming at her. A target that was presently half dumb with exhaustion and, in the very pits of the dark side of her heart, was half seething with a bitterly glacial fury. A heartsick fury that instead of burning ferociously with an unquenchable wildfire it viciously tempered a freezing ice land with hailstorm that slashed through skin and bone.

A hailstorm only Princess was privy to.

And so in the middle of this was she—a slave to her internal extreme tundra—that Princess did not think nor care if it would lead her mother to grab her by her hair and throw her against the wall as she looked her dead in the eye, opened her mouth and quietly spoke, "Why are ye such a horrible moth'r?"

There air seemed to still with time.

Princess lived the next silent milliseconds for hours before, simultaneously, Fausto and Perlah spoke her name. Fausto in a faint voice of shock and Perlah in trembling outrage.

"Princess?"

"Princess."

Princess began to hold her breath, already regretting her words. But, regardless, she had spent too long—years—thinking about what she would say to her mother if she ever grew the courage to. If the day ever came when she would, finally, care more for speaking her truth than protecting her mother from it. Of course, this was not even close to how she had imagined it.

Perlah then slammed down the note onto the small table in the hallway.

Princess flinched.

The landline buckled and trembled, and the phone fell to the floor, the batteries popping out and scattering as if wanting to escape. Princess allowed herself to breathe as she braced herself.

"You!" Perlah said, shaking. "You leave!NOW!" Her mother howled.

With fresh tears streaming down her face Princess did the one thing she had never done to someone before.

She took a step forward and closed her eyes as she screamed at her mother, "AH AM NO' A BAD PERSON!"

Princess let out an ugly, shuddering sob and screamed again, "AH AM NO' A BAD PERSON! WHY DO YE TREAT ME LIKE A BAD PERSON? WHY DO YE HAVE TAE HURT ME SO MUCH? CAN YE NO' SEE HOW MUCH YE HURT ME? ARE YE 'AT f*ckIN' BLIND? OR DO YE TRY TAE PRETEND YE CANNAE SEE IT?"

Princess stormed up to her mother's face. In a manic state, she frantically shouted whilst jabbing a finger into her mother's shoulder, "Ah have spent ma whole life tryin' tae be good! Tryin' tae make ye happy wi' me! It does no' matter how hard ah try an' how much ah hurt maself, ye can never be happy wi' me!

Ye havenawidea the things ah do tae maself because of ye! Nae idea of the thing's ahwant tae do tae maself! Ah curse the last day ah saw lolo! An' ah curse every day ah have tae live wi' ye bein' ma mother! AN' YE—

Princess snapped her head.

To her father.

She unleashed a furious look upon him and screamed, "WHY CANNAE YE PROTECT ME WHEN YE KEN WHIT SHE DOES AN' SAYS IS WRONG?YE f*ckIN'. USELESS. FATHER!AH CURSE THE DAY YE DECIDED TAE GET MARRIED AN' THE DAY AH WAS BORN INTAE THIS FAMILY!I HATE ALL OF YEES!"

Then Princess collapsed to her knees before her mother and father and screamed and screamed, sheer bloody cries that seared as they ripped through her throat.

"AH HATE THIS! AH HATE THIS! AH HATE THIS! AH HATE THIS!"

Her hands banged wildly against the floor until she was sure she had hurt herself. But by that point, she was already too far gone.

"AH DINNAE WANT TAE BE HERE ANYMORE!AH. HATE. THIS! AH WANT TA—"

Then Princess blinked.

And she was back at the front door.

Her mother had just told her to leave.

Her breath quivered as she thought of all the words she wanted to unleash upon her parents. How else were they going to understand? How else could she be understood?

Princess's nails bit into her palms so hard that the skin across her knuckles went ghostly white and tight. She looked from her mother's face to her father's face. Then back to her mothers. To the woman who had given birth to her. To the woman who had raised her with fear over love. To the woman who was now pointing to the door and telling her to leave.

So, Princess did the only thing she would allow herself to do.

She left.

Rodric came rushing out of Daldark.

Princess's bag was missing, and she was nowhere to be found. It was now dark, and they had missed their train back to Aberdeen. His mother was somewhere weeping and probably drinking.

He wiped at his eyes and for the hundredth time called out, "Princess!"

He had gone back upstairs to check in his old room, but she had not been there. He had then gone around Daldark, calling out for her whilst trying to call her on her phone.

She was not picking up.

It kept going to answerphone. Finally, when he was sure she was nowhere to be found in Daldark he called Quinn.

"Rod, are ye ok?"

"Nae. Have ye seen Princess? She's no' pickin' up her phone an' ah cannae find her anywhere."

"sh*te, nae, ah havnae seen her."

Rodric cursed. "Are ye sure naw one saw her leave?"

"It's a Sunday, there's nae staff here, but ah will ask ma lot if they've seen anyone around that looks like Princess." Quinn said.

"Ok, ah thank ye Quinn, please call me as soon as ye know somethin'."

They finished the call and then Rodric tried to think. What would Princess do? Would she run off and hide somewhere on the grounds?

Nae. It's dark an' cold an' Daldark is foreign to her, she wuid no' feel safe enough tae do that.

Safe.

Safe?

Whit if she went back tae the city tae Dakila an' Kidlat?

Rodric unlocked his phone again and scrolled through his contacts until he came across Dakila's number first.

He called it.

It rang.

And rang.

And rang.

Then went to voicemail.

Rodric cursed again and tried Kidlat's number. It went straight to voicemail. Rodric then tried both numbers once more, before being resigned to send them both a text message instead, asking if Princess was with them or if she had been in contact with them.

Maybe she's waitin' at the train station?

Rodric was just about to call Quinn again, when his phone began ringing. He quickly picked up,"Anythin'?"

"Afraid not it's too dark, nae one's seen a lass anywhere. Do ye think she climbed the gate? Or maybe even went through it? She could if she had wanted tae..." Quinn suggested.

Rodric nodded his head.

"Aye, ah'm beginnin' tae think she did. Look Quinn anno it's a Sunday, but ah'm in need of a ride tae the station coul—"

"O' course," Quinn said. "Ah'm comin' over right now."

Rodric sighed gratefully and thanked Quinn. They closed the call.

Should ah call Bayani?

Nae, whit's he goin' tae do from London? Unnecessarily worry?

Whit about Dee?

Naw, she will worry even more so.

Her parents?

For that ah'd have to contact Dee to get their numbers. Or Bayani. Since the twins are unresponsive.

Rodric had an internal battle as he debated on whether to obtain Princess's parent's numbers. He then checked his watch. It was almost two hours since Princess had left his sight from the ballroom. It takes over two hours to get to Aberdeen from Edinburgh.

Whit if she had gone straight tae the station after she left me?

That wuid mean she could be arrivin' in Aberdeen in about half an hour's to an hour's time.

Or she could be waitin' for me at the train station?

Nae. For more than an hour? Ah dinnae think so.

Finally, Quinn pulled up with his car. Rodric jumped in and they quickly made their way toward Edinburgh City. By the time they reached the outskirts of the city, Rodric received a call from Kidlat.

"Rod?" He said worried. "Whit's goin' on? Where's Princess?"

"She left me—naw, no' like 'at—well, maybe, ah dinnae ken..." Rodric went on to briefly explain what had happened.

Then, from what it sounded like, Dakila grabbed Kidlat's phone and said, "Ok. Well, she's no' respondin' tae her phone. Ah think it's off. Ah'm goin' tae call mam an' paps an' see if she's gotten hom—"

"Ah dinnae mean tae be rude," Rodric interrupted. "But could yees give me their number instead an' ah call them? Princess wis wi' me an' ah feel responsible for this. Please?"

There was a pause.

Then Dakila said, "Ok. We'll send ye their mobile numbers. But becus yer number wuid be unknown they might no' pick up, if 'at's the case, call us an' we'll try give them a ring instead."

Rodric nodded his head. "Ok. Ah'm comin' intae Edinburgh City now, ah'm goin' tae check the train station an' see if she's there—though ah doubt it."

They then ended the call and immediately after, Rodric received a text from Kidlat with two numbers. One was Fausto's mobile number, and the other was Perlah's. Rodric called Fausto's first.

No response.

Then Perlah's.

Again, no response.

Then Dakila texted him the landline number and Rodric tried it. Someone picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mrs Moreno-dela Torre?"

"Yes. Speaking?"

"Hello madam, ye don't know me, but ma name's Rodric an' ah'm Princess's boyfriend. Ah'm callin' tae know if she got home safely?"

There was a pause.

Then Rodric heard another voice in the distance. There were some scuffling noises and then muffled voices. As if Perlah had covered the phone speaker and was now having a conversation with someone else and she did not want Rodric to be privy to it.

"Yes. She is home." Perlah said shortly. "Thank you for call, now goodb—"

"Could ah speak wi' her please?" Rodric quickly asked.

There was another pause.

"She is not home now."

Rodric frowned. "Ah'm sorry, what do ye mean? Ye jus' told me she is home?"

"Yes. She is." Perlah said. "Ok, goodbye now."

The call was ended.

Rodric could not believe it. He looked down at his phone. Quinn looked over to Rodric's frustrated face which now had an anger that was slowly setting into each feature.

"Whit is it?" He asked.

"Ah dinnae ken..." Rodric said slowly.

Rodric then called back the twins.

"Rod? Anythin'?"

Rodric began explaining the odd phone call with Perlah. The twins then said they would call to find out exactly what was going on.

When Rodric and Quinn finally made it to the main station, they both jumped out of the car and headed in. They split up to search for Princess. Rodric's eyes scanned every single face with long dark hair that he could find.

But she was not anywhere to be found.

When Rodric and Quinn met up again, they both shook their heads at each other. That was when Dakila called back.

"Ok," Dakila began, there was an edge to his voice that made Rodric more nervous. "So, Princess did get back home...but there wis an argument an' Princess walked out. Wi'oot anythin'. Nae bag o' phone. Jus' the clothes she was wearin'."

Rodric frowned. "It must have been a big argument for Princess tae leave the house wi' nothin' when it's dark outside? Or does she usually do this?"

"Aye," Dakila agreed unhappily. "Ah have a feelin' there are things ma moth'r didnae mention, becus nae, Princess has never done this before."

This might be very bad.Rodric thought.

"Dakila ah'm goin' tae call Dee an' tell her whit's goin' on." He said. "Ah'll be back in Aberdeen in about an' hour. In the meantime, please keep me updated wi' any news on Princess."

They ended the call and Rodric turned to Quinn. He took a sharp breath in.

"Ah'm goin' tae need the chopper."

Dee was slapping her knee and cackling at something her husband had said when her phone started ringing. She put down her whiskey and went to pick it up. Her laughter died down instantly when she saw Rodric's contact flash on the screen.

She quickly picked it up with a frown on her face, and asked, "Whit's happened?"

Hew watched his wife's face drop more and more as she listened to the person on the other side of the line.

Hew stood up and mouthed, "Whit?"

Dee mouthed back, "Princess!"

Dee then put the phone on loudspeaker. And Rodric's voice rang out as he said, "...apparently, she got home. But there wis an argument an' ah've been told that Princess then walked out. Wi' nothin' in her possession. Dee, ah dinnae think she's ok. It's dark an' it's cold outside, an' ye ken how she is—more than anyone—when she's upset."

Dee looked at her husband, and swallowed and slowly said, "Aye..."

"Ah'll be back in about an' hour, but there's nothin' ah can do from here, that's why ah thought tae call ye an—"

"Nae, nae, ah'm grateful ye called Rodric." Dee said quickly. "Ma husband an' ah are goin' tae go over to Perlah'sright now. We'll tell ye as soon as we find her."

Rodric thanked her and then they closed the call. Hew immediately went to grab their jackets and his keys. Then their son, Adie, came jogging down the stairs grinning.

"Have yees seen outsi—whit is it?"

Adie looked at his parent's worried faces and the jackets in his father's arms.

"Where are yees goin'?" He asked.

Hew helped Dee put her jacket on as she said, "It's Princess. She's walked out an' she could be missin'. We're goin' over tae Perlah's now."

"Missin'?" Adie asked concerned. "Missin' how?"

"We dinnae know, maybe she went for a walk or some—whit?" Dee said, frowning harder. "Whit's wi' that face Adie?"

"Maw," he said gently. "It's jus' started snowin'..."

Dee's face paled and before she could tell her husband to get the dogs, Hew marched straight to the front door, yelling, "Ah'll get the dogs!"

It was dark.

And cloudy.

The cold was biting, and snow started to slowly drift down from the nebulous skies. Princess did not have a destination in mind, but she was ok. For was not alone, her old friend was with her.

Like a humble servant.

Irrevocably devoted.

The land ahead of Princess was too obscure to see where she was going. She did not know how long she had been walking for. And it was not important. All she knew was she was not stopping.

At first, Princess had run as fast as she could to create as much distance as she could between herself and the family house. She did not want to risk being stopped. Or for them to chase after her. Even though neither one of them had. They did not even so much as call out for her to stop as she had left.

She wanted to keep going till it hurt too much to carry on. Till the cold had seeped far into her skin, flesh and bone and numbed every part of her body, mind, and soul.

Princess did not want to feel anything.

She did not want to think of anything.

She just wanted peace and quiet.

She just wanted to be floating, untethered to thoughts, feelings and emotions. She wanted to be deaf, blind, and dumb. Like an astronaut gliding through space, detached from its ship with no way of getting back. Aimlessly drifting through eternal oblivion.

Like death.

Princess did nothing, as her mind and heart came to an agreement—how could she? How could she intervene when she, too, was in agreement with them?

Whenever she came across lights in the beyond, that would then gradually come together to form a house as she made her way towards it, Princess would steer clear and carry on, far away from any threat of possible outside intervention.

She kept her hands deep in her pockets and her eyes to the ground making sure not to suddenly step too hard and quickly into a small deformation in the ground that could twist her ankle. That would have been an inconvenience.

As time went by, the first snow slowly started to stick to the ground. Light dusting turned into a thin white sheet, until the thin white sheet thickened, and Princess's boot would crunch with every step. With more snow, came more light. And Princess turned to see her set of footprints in the snow.

The only ones.

If she could cry, she would have, she would have wept, but it was well past that point now. Now shewashollow. Empty. There was a gaping hole of nothingness in her chest. She could not feel her anger or her sadness or her pain.

It had all gotten to the point of nothing.

She was on the other end of the spectrum now. Likened to when you spin a colour wheel, full of vibrant shades, and it all starts to blur into a white-out because the colours being reflected are changing much too fast for your photoreceptors to communicate with your brain. So, all you see is white.

Just like right now, Princess's brain could not keep up with her heart. It had all merged into nought.

Into white.

Like the snow before her.

It was hours before Princess's body was finally getting too exhausted to carry on. Slowly her aching legs had started to burn and tremble. Her muscles spasmed with every step.

It was only when she came up to a stream, that her body decided to take a seat on the ground. With her old friend next to her. She would rest. Then carry on. The water had still not frozen over, so there was a gentle gush of water over the silence of the snow. Princess slowly went from sitting down to lying on the snow-covered ground.

She rested her head against a rock and watched the water flow by, wondering, how freeing it must feel to be nothing but an atom of water, with no control of where you are headed. No control of when you would evaporate, then condensate and then—Princess watched as a cluster of flakes drifted down together.

And she thought before her eyes drifted to a close,

It wuid be bonnie, wouldn't it? Tae be a snowflake.

Chapter 10: Heaven

Chapter Text

Sweet music melded with the gleaming lights that swirled with the whirling clouds of the heavens. There were faint glows of rosy blush, misty aqua and whispering peach. With every twirling step of a shoe, a puff of cloud would curl up into the air.

Princess never let her eyes stray away from the crystal blue she had come to fall in love with—although, maybe, for when a smile with dimples would make its appearance. And then it was near impossible to ignore those oh, so soft lips she had dreamed of kissing all night, every night—and day. Tiny droplets of golden light blew into those rich curls and Princess was suddenly looking into the burning sun at the day's end.

Her throat tightened as warm tears sparkled in the light and descended and splashed onto the cluster of clouds beneath their feet. Her grip on Rodric's hands tightened and she whispered, "Please dinnae go."

He just smiled and twirled her around. The clouds around them swirled and so did the music.

Princess began to weep, "Please dinnae leave me."

Even amongst all the excruciating beauty, she felt a cold, damp sadness overcome her. Her old friend whispered into her ear like a beckoning siren. Princess shook her head, not wanting to listen.

Leave me alone.She pleaded.

But the more she resisted the more the colours around them began to rot and decay into blustery shades of grey. Princess watched as Rodric's smile faded and disappeared.

Somewhere, far away, thunderstruck. And Princess began to panic. "Nae, nae, nae,naw!"

Thunder trembled through the air, confusing the beats of their hearts.

It was coming.

Closer and closer.

Each time with a deafening blow. Then tears began to fall from Rodric's precious eyes. And Princess gasped. "Rodric?"

He twirled her around again, but the sorrow on his face tore at her heartstrings and Princess began to beg for forgiveness as they danced to the thunderstorm. The bows against the violins slashed down on the strings with every lightning strike.

Princess wept and wept, and so did Rodric. Until he stopped dancing. And his hands went to cup her face as he spoke, with tears dripping down onto her cheeks, "Princess?"

Princess sobbed. "Aye?"

"Pleas—"

And then Rodric was gone.

It was all gone.

Chapter 11: Happy Holidays

Chapter Text

Princess whimpered. All she could see was endless oblivion. Her old friend clutched at her throat, and she moaned for it to release her.

"Princess?" Said a concerned voice.

She slowly peeled her eyes open. There was a sudden unkind collision of blue-white light. It was all too bright and blurry.

She winced.

And squeezed her eyes shut.

Then Princess heard a beeping sound. It blipped to a steady beat. Princess groaned and tried opening her eyes again. An unforeseen flood of aches washed over her.

All over.

It caught her by surprise and stole the moan from her lips. She clenched her jaws and her fingers latched onto fabric.

"Princess?" The voice said again, agitated this time.

Finally, Princess opened her eyes again and turned over to look into the very face she had seen in her dream. She opened her mouth to say his name, but nothing came out. Nothing but a sob that shook the bed she was lying in.

Rodric's anguish-stricken face leaned into her. His beautiful face was worn with worry and little sleep. He gingerly cupped her face with his hands and gently leaned in to kiss her forehead. He stayed there for a second or two, before releasing his lips and softly murmuring, "Hey, hey it's ok. It's ok. Ye're ok. It's over."

Strangely, Princess cried harder—clueless as to why.

Whit's over?She thought.

Whit hap—

Then came the downpour of tenebrous snowy memories. Princess gasped and choked on her tears.

She remembered.

She remembered what she had done and what she had hoped it would do. And here Rodric was, with her, after she had left him. Princess finally acknowledged the pulse oximeter that was clipped to the end of her ring finger.

She cried harder.

Especially once she realised she was lying in a hospital bed, in a hospital gown, in a hospital room with hospital lights and a hospital smell. Rodric's arms pulled her closer and he held her tight as he tried to console her.

That voice, though, that kind, warm voice that Princess had fallen in love with just made her wail and weep as Rodric's tender warmth went to war with the bitter arctic depths of her heart. And it took a while for him to win.

To momentarily subdue the ice age.

Rodric grabbed some tissues from a bag next to him and wiped away her tears. When he was sure that she had adequately calmed and recovered from her shock, he pulled his chair in closer to her bed and gently kissed her face as he caressed her damp cheeks. They sat and lay like that for a short time.

Then with a sniffle, Princess managed to croak, "Whit—" She swallowed, painfully, and tried to clear her throat. It helped nothing. "—happened?"

Rodric kissed her once more. Then bit by bit he began to detail the events of two nights ago. He had to go slow, because Princess's head hurt to think, and it took a lot of energy to keep up with what he was saying.

After Rodric had realised that she was missing and had looked for her everywhere, he had gotten in contact with the twins and been communicating with them up until it was confirmed that Princess was back in Aberdeen. Then once he was told that she was missing he had contacted Dee, and Dee, Hew and Adie and their most competent dogs had driven over to Princess's family home.

That's when the search began.

Rodric had only been able to take part in it an hour later when he had finally arrived by helicopter with his mother. Mrs MacNair had flown the helicopter as she was the only one who had the licence to—thankfullyby the time her assistance had been urgently required she had still yet to commence her drinking.

In the end, after almost two hours of searching, Roodie found Princess lying by the stream. He had stayed with her, trying to keep her warm and barking till Chrissie and Rabbie found them. The two hounds had then laid down with them, covering Princess. The three of them had barked till Blythe had been able to track them down with the helicopter flashlight.

From there Hew had come driving up with his off-roader and then cautiously heaved Princess into the car. At which point she had been well out cold.

In almost every way.

They had blitzed down the motorway, straight to the hospital with Princess wrapped up in blankets with Roodie and the other hounds by her sides.

Once she had arrived at the hospital, it was clear that Princess was in the later stages of hyperthermia, so she was put straight into intensive care and heavily monitored for the following twenty–four hours. She had only recently been moved out from intensive care after the medics had been decently content with the stats of her body temperature and steady heartbeat.

Once moved out, with the assurance that she was in the clear, Rodric's mother had flown back to Edinburgh. Her parents, Dee and Hew and Rodric had stayed with her in her hospital room. Perlah, Fausto, Dee and Hew were currently downstairs in the cafeteria getting coffee and something to eat.

Princess looked into Rodric's tired, but happy relieved eyes and she tried not to cry as she hoarsely whispered, "Ah'm sorry."

Rodric shook his head and softly said, "Ye have nothin' tae be sorry for Princess."

Then with a voice that scratched with sorrow, he said, "Ye didnae do it on purp—...tae harm an' worry us, ye did it becu—"

He choked on his words and Princess weakly reached out to touch his face.

"Ah'm sorry." She whispered again.

He placed his hand over hers and then turned to kiss it.

"Ah am sorry too, ma Princess."

He kissed her hand again then leaned in to kiss her on the head.

Rodric then sat back down and asked Princess if she wanted to see to her parents, to which she responded with a slow and feeble head shake.

She was not ready for that.

Not in her current mental and physical state. And she had nothing to say. Understanding, Rodric kissed her a quick goodbye before going to find a doctor and to notify her parents and Dee and Hew that she was awake.

The medic later entered, flanked by Rodric, her godmother and Hew. Her parents had stood outside. Out of sight. And although Princess had been able to see their shadows, she had ignored them. She had so many harsh feelings towards them. And she had not been in a forgiving mood.

She still was not.

When the day came for her to be discharged, Dee had come along with Hew to take her back home with them. Honestly, Princess had wanted to go and stay with Rodric and maybe she would in a few days' time, but for now she just wanted and needed to be alone for a little while with no one around her that would evoke strong emotions. She needed to recover and regain her strength to be able to have those conversations.

Dee had driven over to her parents ahead of time to collect a bag of her things and an excessive collection of foods that Perlah and spent all her time baking, cooking, and stewing.

Princess was grateful to be back at the farmhouse.

The snow had stuck, and it seemed like it was not going anywhere anytime soon. Hew helped Princess out of the car and immediately Roodie and the others came bounding over to greet her. She laughed weakly as Hew and Dee tried to fight them off. But Princess leaned down to give Roodie the biggest hug she could and whispered into his furry ear.

"Thank ye, Roodie. Ye saved ma life pal."

Princess then spent the next couple of days sleeping, eating, and sometimes sitting outside, bundled up with Roodie at her feet. She also had daily visits from a suicide prevention team, part of the NHS. Although they were quickly satisfied with her recovery and low risk that those visits were concluded by mid-week.

It took a while before Princess could start walking around for long periods. Let alone jog or run. After finding her legs again she slowly began to spend her days cooking dinners for Dee and the family, and going outside for walks with Roodie and Rabbie. Chrissie sometimes joined them too, along with Maisie and Daisie.

By the end of the first week, Princess had gently gone from feeling solemn with sorrowful smiles to feeling a little lighter without such sombre eyes. It was hard not to be in a house so full of warmth, laughter, and unapologetically, blatant love.

Love that did not hurt.

Dee's Christmas decorations were the cherry and cream on top of the cake. It was fairytale-like, sitting by the fireplace, with a hot chocolate in hand surrounded by the smell of crackling wood, pine, fir, orange, and spices. With lights that softly gleamed and winked at you. In those quiet, intimate moments alone Princess would let time slow down as she tried to live those hours forever.

Rodric sent her a daily message, to check in with her, but he never visited. Princess had asked him not to. And he had respected that. Rodric had helped find her, for which Princess would be eternally grateful. If he had not twisted—figuratively speaking, of course—his mother's arm to get her to fly the helicopter, it probably would have taken much longer to track her and the hounds down.

Too long.

Yet, Princess did not want Rodric tosaveher. She did not want to put that on his shoulders. It was not his burden to bear. She wanted to be the one to save herself.

First.

Her parents, however, had to communicate through Dee and Hew, because Princess did not want to talk to them at all. She did not want to know of their existence. She still had too many bitter words rattling around in her skull and she could not yet trust herselfnotto utter a single one of them out loud.

There was no way for her to face them and not say, "Yees almostkilled me. You. Ma own f*ckin' parents—the ones who were supposed tae teach me how tae love. Yees lovealmost killed me."

It would take Princess three weeks before she could see them again.

Her brothers, on the other hand, had been in contact to make sure she was recuperating. But again, Princess had tried to keep mobile interactions to a minimum, keeping her phone tucked away somewhere far away throughout the day.

She just wanted to be alone.

"Ye're doin' much better ma Prince," Dee said as she washed the dishes.

Princess stood beside her drying them off with a tea towel. She nodded.

"Aye," Princess said softly.

"Ah'll tell ye noo, then, becus ye have enough strength tae hear it..." Dee said, momentarily pausing her washing. "...ye f*ckin'scaredme tae death."

Princess's hands slowed their drying movements, and she placed the plate she had been wiping down to the side. She then, silently and slowly, went around Dee and hugged her from behind. She wrapped her arms around Dee's chubby soft shoulders and leaned her head against her shoulder.

Her godmother carried on washing the dishes again as she said, "Be no' mistaken, ah am no' blamin' ye an' ah wuid never, so, never blame yeself. Please. Ah jus' wanted ye tae ken 'at when we found ye...there... half-frozen t-tae...death...ma heart stopped beatin'."

Dee sniffled and Princess cried soundless tears.

"Ah wis so scared...so scared... An' ah want ye tae know, Princess, that ah love ye. An' a will until the day ah die. An' even then, ah will carry on lovin' ye in another life—so, dinnae think ye can get away from me 'at easily!"

Princess laughed with wet cheeks and so did Dee. Princess held onto Dee a little bit longer and then whispered, "Ah'm sorry...an' a love ye too."

Silence fell. With only the sound of water gushing from the tap filling the large, old kitchen.

Then Dee randomly let out a lovingly sassy, "Hmph." And said, "An' a can tell yewhit...Hew can be the one stuck in the kitchen in the next life instead o' me!"

Princess chuckled and dried her tears. Then resumed drying the dishes. After a little while she quietly announced, "Ah'm thinkin' of goin' tae talk wi' Rodric tomorrow...an' then...an' then mam an' paps the day after... Maybe."

Dee nodded. "Ye need no' rush anythin' Prince. Ye can take yer time."

Dee then paused her washing and looked up to Princess. "Ye can stay here as long as ye need..." Princess grabbed hard at the glass in her hand—so hard she imagined it shattering to pieces like Rodric's vase. "...an' ye know me well enough tae ken ah'm no' bein' polite when ah say 'at."

She immediately loosened her grip and chuckled as Dee chortled.

Typical Dee.She thought.

Then Princess looked down at the glass in her damp hands.

Rodric.

Ah miss ye.

Princess let out an inward sigh and made her final decision. Tomorrow she was going to go to Rodric's place after he finished work.

Careful of the ice and snow, Princess pulled up to the out-of-business shop on sale in Old Aberdeen. It was snowing again. Lightly. It looked like they were in for a white Christmas this year. She decided to remain in the car till the time came to go and wait for Rodric outside.

Princess had not messaged him about her desire to speak with him just in case she decided to change her mind. She did not want to toy with him—even if she was in no fit state for such games. She watched as university students walked from one department to another. Some entered the nearby coffee shops.

A pang of loss struck Princess in the chest as she thought of her father. It was a Wednesday, so he would not be at university today, but she was, well, not ashamed to admit it but sometimes—or a lot of the time, really—she wished it were easier to stay away from her parents and not to miss them.

Especiallyafter recent events.

Princess watched the snow drift down and tried not to think about that little stream. The steady inky current that had kept her company in the icy dark.

The frozen memory flashed before her eyes.

Her breath hitched and Princess climbed out of the car before her eyes could start tearing up. She sighed, deeply, through her nose. Only back when she was a teen had she cried so much so often.

Back then she would go through phases of daily weeping. Then experience a draught for a while.

Then go back to daily weeping.

In her bouts of dryness, she would still be in pain, but her pain tolerance would have increased. And it would have taken a deliriously painful breaking point to shatter her resistance. Then reconstruction of her walls would commence as the cycle started from the beginning. Again.

Princess eyed the pavement as she slowly made her way to Rodric's front door. She had not entirely settled on what she was going to say. In truth, it all depended on Rodric's response. She had various approaches in her head, but then again, evenshecould respond differently to the sight of seeing him again after the hospital.

It was all to be seen, Princess supposed.

So, she waited outside Rodric's front door with thumbs and fingers tapping against each other. Anxious for his arrival.

Rodric pulled up to his street.

He cut the ignition. Reached over for his brown leather satchel, sat in the passenger's seat, and went to open his door. However, as soon as he looked up he froze. His eyes caught the familiar sight of a young woman with jet-black hair.

The very same one he had been dreaming of all week.

The very same one he had restrained himself from going to visit because he had wanted to respect her wishes to have her space. Theverysame one he was afraid would randomly turn up at his house and tell him that it was not going to work out.

That it was over just as it had begun.

Rodric's eyes barely strayed from her as he hesitantly climbed out of his car, locked it and made his way to her.

Princess was deep in her strategic thoughts when she caught sight of brunt orange in her peripheral.

Her head snapped to it.

And there was a split second of hesitation. Rodric hesitated to walk up the stairs to her, standing before his front door. And Princess hesitated to open her mouth to speak, caught between speaking and walking down the steps toward Rodric.

Then they both sputtered, "P-Prin—" and "R-Rod—".

They paused.

Then they both took a step toward each other.

And another step.

And another step.

Till they were a step away from each other and Princess's lips were level with Rodric's. Her eyes flitted all over his face. From his eyes to his hair and freckles and lips. She then reached up to cradle his face.

She let out a soft laugh as a tear slipped, and said, "Ah dreamt of ye, ye ken?"

Another tear slipped and her eyes wandered back to his glittering eyes.

"Jus' before ah woke up. We were dancin' in the air surrounded by clouds. In auwar own wee heaven. An' then it started tae storm an'—"

Princess sobbed and Rodric's hands shot to her face. He caressed her cheeks as he wiped away her tears.

"Ah' wis so scared tae lose ye...'at's why ah woke up in tears...'at's why—"

She momentarily closed her eyes and took in a shuddering breath that shook her heart, before she continued. "Ah dinnae want tae lose ye, Rodric," she whispered.

Rodric's lips broke into a smile that caught her breath.

Princess let out a wet laugh. "Ah stop breathin' every time ye smile...an' time stops when ye laugh... Do ye ken how often ah've begged for time tae stand still?"

Rodric's face dropped at her words and his heart wheezed like an old man on his deathbed praying for the one who had gotten away.

"How do ye do 'at?" Rodric whispered.

His eyes searched hers as if hoping to find the answer locked somewhere in them far out of his reach.

"Do whit?" She murmured.

"Steal ma heart," he said simply. "Ma Prince Charmin'."

Princess could not help it. She laughed again. And this time Rodric captured it with his lips.

It was not gentle like Rodric, her Damsel in Distress, usually was. He came crashing down like the lightning in her dreams.

Once they made it into his house, he came cascading down upon her like the storm that had raged in that sweet heaven of her nightmare.

Unforgiving and bright—thunderous.

Only, when he cried tears, this time, they were not from a place of misery...

It would be well into the dark before Rodric's and Princess's breaths, tongues, lips, hands, and nether regions would finally disentangle. Finally letting the raging tempest calm. And in the morning, well, it would be the exact reason as to why Rodric had crowned his Princess as both, his Prince Charming and Wicked Prince.

It was already night when Princess pulled her car up to the darkly lit snow-covered driveway. The stars were twinkling in the sky as the clouds had disappeared and left the moon to watch over as snow turned into ice. Princess sighed and a silvery mist left her lips. It curled up toward the open heavens. Then she pushed the car door shut.

Hard enough so she knew it would be heard.

She locked it and slowly made her way up to the front door, but then she stared hard at the door keyhole. Deciding on whether, maybe, she should turn back around. If maybe it would be best.

Easier.

But it was too late, there was already a dark figure making its way from one coloured glass square to the next as their feet pattered their way toward her. Closely followed by another taller, dark figure.

Princess put her keys back into her coat pocket and waited as the front door was opened. She watched as her mother appeared before her. Looking nothing like she had last time Princess was here.

As soon as they locked eyes Perlah gasped and did something Princess had never seen her mother do. Something she never thought her mother would becapableof doing. Perlah crumbled to the floor on her hands and knees before her.

"M-my d-daughter..." she whimpered in her mother tongue.

Behind her stood Princess's father with silent tears rolling down his cheeks. Princess looked from one to the other. Her face betrayed nothing. Her mother reached out a hand toward her in hesitation.

Then she decided it was best not to and pulled back, whispering in Tagalog, "Please forgive me..."

Tears slipped past Princess's eyes. She could not help it.

Perlah sobbed down to the same floor Princess had envisioned screaming at. The same floor she had envisioned slamming her hands bloody on.

Then, slowly, carefully, Princess kneeled to meet her mother on the floor. Without a word, she leant her head against her mother's and they both remained there.

Eyes closed, tears running, no words.

Fausto let out a sob and staggered down to the floor to meet them. He kissed his daughter's head as he embraced them both. They all stayed there together. Till the backs of their legs went numb and the crisp nighttime air invaded the warmth of their family home.

Words were not spoken. There were too many to say. And none to say at all. None that would have been strong enough. Words did not matter anymore.

It was far past that.

There was nothing Princess could have been told that would have romantically, magically eradicated all that had already been said and done over the past decades and more. And there was no way Perlah could have comprehensively worded together the truth.

Let alone speak it. Aloud.

That was a courage she did not possess, not after a lifetime of avoiding her reflection and being so good at sweeping what was undesired under carpets. And Fausto, weeping, could not fathom—and did not want to fathom—what the alternate reality of this day could have been.

The one where Princess would not have been there to be welcomed back home. The one where he would have, most probably, lived the rest of his days regretting not having protected his daughter.

It was in moments like these, where the colour wheel would spin too fast.

Too much.

Too fast.

Chapter 12: Merry Christmas and Happy Hogmanay

Chapter Text

Fausto looked pensively up at the run-down building, envisioning its potential. Perlah narrowed her eyes at it with a crinkled nose, unimpressed and wondering what was so special about it. Princess had finally told her parents about the café she had always wanted and so, Perlah and Fausto had insisted on seeing the shop store that was on sale in Old Aberdeen.

Princess had not expected last night's events to have gone the way they had, not after so many years of envisioning the announcement as an absolute catastrophe. That said, it might have been partly her fault as instead of easing into it with a strategy...she had blurted it out.

During dinner.

Impulsively.

Loudly.

Fausto, Perlah and Princess had been sitting in the dining room. Which was now fully decorated for the Christmas holidays. Wreaths, tinsel, hanging snow angels on almost every lamp and all. They had been at the dining table enjoying Fausto's pabellón criollo's made with black beans, white rice, pulled beef, and fried plantains when Princess had randomly developed an itch.

It had been that kind of itch that did not itch, but instead took a bite at your resistance and loosened your tongue like some wicked truth serum. Princess had spent half of the mealtime—about fifteen minutes—being on the mental battlegrounds of her mind trying to defend her years-long secret until she had been ultimately defeated and had blurted out, "Ah want tae own ma own café!"

Silence had followed.

Perlah had blinked.

Fausto had swallowed his food down with an audible gulp.

Then they had both blinked at Princess.

Princess had cleared her throat and apologised, peach in the face, before calmly—and a few decibels lower—had said, "Ah would like tae open a café in Old Aberdeen. Ah have been drawing up the plans an' ah plan on taking out a loan for the downpayment..."

Then she had paused, before almost whispering, "It has been a dream of mine since ah was a girl."

Princess had then stared down at her half-devoured plate, forking a slice of fried plantain, when Perlah had said, "I want to see plans—and place in Old Aberdeen, then."

Princess's breathing had stopped abruptly and then restarted. She had looked up to her mother. "Are ye serious?"

Perlah had given a sharp nod of her head and then taken another bite of her food. Both Fausto and Princess had watched her eat and swallow. Perlah had then looked up to frown.

"What?" She had asked in Spanish.

Fausto had shaken his head then turned back to Princess asking, "Where in Old Aberdeen is it? Do you have any drawings? I mean sketches of the café?"

Princess had nodded and then said, "Ah can go and get them—excuse me a moment—"

She had then almost tripped, swivelling out and standing up from her chair before jogging up the stairs to free her research and plans from the floorboard under her bed.

Meanwhile, back downstairs, in the dining room, Fausto had been inconspicuously—or so he had believed—giving Perlah side-eye glances whilst they had continued eating. Until Perlah, not turning her head to face him, had asked in his native tongue, "Is there something on my face?"

Fausto had silently shaken his head.

And there had been another pause.

Then he had dropped his fork onto the table, which had clinked and clattered against his plate, and Perlah had turned to frown at him in question.

"Are you feeling well?" He had asked, firmly, in Spanish.

Perlah had then pursed her lips and sardonically asked, "Do Ilookunder weather?"

Fausto had narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know what I mean..." He had said.

Perlah had then given her husband a hard look, before sighing and turning to stare down at her plate. "I almost lost her... I will not make that mistake ever again."

Fausto had then smiled and reached out to comfort her, but Perlah's hand had shot up to block him and with a flat expression she had said in English,"Don't make big deal."

And had gone back to eating, before Princess had jogged back down the stairs again with her envelopes and folders in hand.

Now, Princess held Rodric's hand.

And held it tight.

He smiled at her and brought her hand up to his lips. He placed a kiss upon the back of Princess's glove-covered hand and she gave him a sweet, nervous smile.

Then together, at the same time, Fausto and Perlah—who were both still looking up at the shop for sale—said, in their native tongues, "It's ugly." "It's beautiful."

They turned to frown at each other, unimpressed with the other's comment. Princess laughed and translated what they had said to Rodric—to which he also chuckled.

"Ithaspotential," Fausto added.

He then turned back to look up at it and smiled at the dishevelled building.

"I can see it."

Perlah gave a sassy, "Hmph." Much like Dee would have and said, "It need wok.Muchwok."

Princess smiled.

"Ah can do it. Ah'll work part-time at Dee's and then come here tae work on it. It may take a long while tae get it done. But there's nothing else ah would rather do."

Perlah looked at her daughter and then nodded. "You are my daughter, of course you get it done." She said in half Spanish and English.

Fausto whipped his head around.

"Also, because you are my daughter,eh."

Perlah rolled her eyes and said, "She is your daughter because she wantthis."She pursed her lips and motioned them toward the depressing building. Then added, "But she my daughter so it will wok."

"I would like to disagree," Fausto said, hands on his hips.

"Argh," Perlah said waving a hand toward him. "Disagree with your students." She then turned away and started walking down the street, calling back, "I'm cold! Let's go get tea!"

Fausto sent an apologetic look toward Princess and Rodric, before chasing after his wife, still eager to make his point.

Princess and Rodric shared a chuckle. Then Rodric leaned in and placed a kiss on her head.

"That went well, ah'd say," he said into her hair.

Princess agreed with him and turned around to pull him in for a proper kiss. Then they hurried down the street, hand in hand, after Princess's parents.

Princess was as happy as ever that the news of the café she had always wanted had gone the way she had never expected it to go. Although, admittedly, she was also tryingnotto think about how if recent events had not taken place...

Today would have lookedentirelydifferent.

For the following days up to Christmas Princess worked at Dee's. Rodric continued to take his car to work as the snow had caused continued disruptions to the train lines. There were days in which Dee's would be full of passengers finding refuge from the snowy and freezing temperatures whilst waiting for the delayed trains to finally make their appearances—or not at.

It was great for Princess to be back to her normality.

Although there were still occasions when the snow would bring back flashes. More so when night fell and her eyes would stare down to the drifting clumps of snow. Then it would be hard not to drift back to that night where she had wished nothing more than to no longer be here.

As much as Rodric had dropped many hints to Princess about moving in with him, Princess, for the time being, resisted them. She would concede, in time, but she was still partially afraid that everything good in her life would disappear in a puff of smoke.

Never to return.

Most of it still felt unreal.

A mirage.

Princess wanted to ease into the currents of change that she found herself in. As one would when they wanted to test the ice on the frozen river before skating on it. Lest the snow cracked, and the black freezing waters would swallow them whole into oblivion.

And Princess, so dearly wanted to remain as far away as possible from that little stream. It still scared her to death. How easy it had been for her to lay her head down, on that stone, and close her eyes.

Happy to relinquish everything.

That said, she still did spend an awful lot of time at Rodric's. Instead of going down to the pub or to some café to complete her business plans, she would now sit comfortably on the floor of Rodric's art room. And whilst she would be there typing away, with all her spreadsheets, sketches and diagrams covering the floor around her, Rodric would be sitting at his pottery wheel moulding something new or painting at his desk.

Rodric had tried to get Princess into a more comfortable seating arrangement—more than once—but she had kissed him every time and insisted that this was the most comfortable way, for many reasons.

There were many moments when Princess would tire of her research and she would stretch the aching muscles in her back and then admire her Damsel as he created something beautiful. With his sleeves rolled up, those working arms would look so delectable. Straining and relaxing.

And straining again.

And those nimble fingers working attentively to paint with dainty strokes would make her think of all the many other ways he was attentive with them.

Hopelessly, Princess would then find herself helpless in the face of her sudden urges and would go to draw the window curtains closed and slowly make her way over to her Damsel and—wholeheartedly and unapologetically—distract him from his work. Although, of course, Princess would only distract in moments she knew she could distract him, not, say, in the middle of him working wet clay.

Even ifthosewere the moments where she would have to sit on her hands to restrain herself from going over to Rodric to ravage him amongst wet clay and all.

With Christmas fast approaching, there wasonething Princess was contemplating on doing. Especially now that Rodric had been invited to spend the festivities with them all at The Toad & The Willow. She had already discussed it with her mother and Dee and both parties were willingly open to the potential arrangement.

Princess had no idea, however, how Rodric might react seeing as said arrangement concerned Blythe...

And Christmas.

So, one evening when again her research and some replanning (due to Dee's input) had come to a boresome standstill Princess had decided to try her luck—or more specifically, her plan of action. She started with the usual. She began by casually stretching her arms up wide. Then she twisted side to side, working her lower back.

Then she eyed her target and went for it.

Rodric was momentarily using his golden mixture to glue back together a pot that had cracked apart in the kiln. Princess watched him carefully attend to a small shard of clay as he slowly slid it into place with the rest of the quarter-reconstructed pot. Before he could begin with another, Princess slyly walked up to where he was seated and slowly slid her hands around his shoulders until they came down to his chest.

His chuckle reverberated against her hands, and she could not help but smile. She leaned over and her black river of waves cascaded over his shoulder as she placed a coly innocent kiss just below his ear. She whispered, "Is this a good time?"

And of course, Rodric responded in an extra warm murmur, "For ye, ma Wicked Prince? It's always a good time."

Princess laughed, then added, "Mm, before 'at, however, there's somethin' ah wanted tae discuss..."

Rodric immediately abandoned his project and wrapped his arms around her pulling Princess onto his lap. All within a split second. Princess softly gasped before laughing as Rodric then went to nuzzle into her neck, murmuring, "Are we tae discuss ye comin' tae permanently sit on ma floor instead of a chair?"

Princess chuckled and shook her head. "No' jus' yet."

"Hmph," he muttered, muffled. "Do ah have tae convince ye? Becus ah can plead a very good case ma Prince."

Princess melted as Rodric used his warm honeyed voice with a baritone that made her breathing short. Then she snapped out of it remembering her mission and swivelled around in his lap to face him. "Nice try, but nae, ah wanted tae talk to ye about somethin' ah wis thinkin' of doin'..."

Rodric softly raised an eyebrow with piqued interest. And with a playful smirk said, "Ye wish is ma command, ma Prince Charmin'."

Princess softly giggled, then, more seriously, said, "Ah wanted tae write tae ye mother—naw, wait let me finish—ah want tae write tae her tae thank her for that night, for flying the helicop—aye, even if ye gave her nae other choice—an'—will ye stop tryin' tae interrupt me?Ah'll explain maself first an' then ye can discourage ma wish tae ye heart's content, ok?"

Rodric paused and closed his mouth.

With heated eyes, he pulled her in for a kiss, then abruptly pulled away to say gruffly, "Ok but be quick becus ah'm suddenly gettin' the very real urge tae continue wi' ma convincin'..."

Princess bit her inner cheek and tried hard not to think of what all that convincing would look like.

"Ok-ok, so, in short, ah wuid like tae thank ye moth'r an' invite her for Christmas." She quickly explained. "Whit do ye think?"

Rodric pulled back a little and blinked.

Then blinked again.

Then he slowly said, "Ah think nae genie in the world wuid grant ye 'at wish."

Princess frowned lightly, and Rodric added, "Naw, dinnae look at me like so Prince. Ma moth'r can be—well, ye ken how ma moth'r can b—"

"Mh aye, but ah doubt Dee an' mam wuid let her be like 'at."

Rodric raised both eyebrows and said, "Nae, ah suppose ye are very right there..."

Princess momentarily watched as Rodric pondered on the idea of having his alcoholic and less-than-warm mother over for Christmas. Then she added, quietly, "Ah think it wuid be good for her, especially after yer fath'r..."

Rodric thought about it a bit more.

Then sighed, relenting, "Well, if ye want tae thank her for flyin' me tae Abderdeen an' for helping wi' the search—even though ah had threatened tae cut maself off completely if she didnae—then ah support ye. An' if ye want tae do one more an add Ebenezer Scrooge tae the Christmas dinner table? By all means. Ah will no' stop ye. But ah will have yer permission tae run an' hide at any given moment."

Princess laughed.

And Rodric watched her with warm eyes and a tug on his lips. Then Princess's smile morphed into a smirk, "Permission denied."

Princess got up off Rodric's lap. He watched, with his lips slightly parted in bewilderment, as she strolled to the door.

"Ye're nae coward Rodric Aindrea MacNair. Ye will no' be runnin' an' hidin' if ye moth'r does decide tae join us for Christmas. Noo..." She leant against the door and her smile grew devious. "Howhardcan ye try tae convince me tae stay the night?"

Rodric shot up from his seat and Princess instantly tutted and said, motioning to his desk, "Ah-ah-ah,ye need tae cover yer mixture, or ye'll return tae find it hardened an' unusable."

Princess lightly chuckled as Rodric swore and quickly looked around for something to appropriately cover his mixture of gold with. Meanwhile, Princess walked out into the hallway, shedding one item of clothing at a time as she made her way through the house.

Rodric gave up his search for the cellophane and grabbed the first book he could find and placed it on top of the small bowl, before dashing out of the room and following the trail left behind by his Wicked Prince.

"Have ye written the letter yet? Although, ah must admit hen, a letter's a bit ol' fashioned!" Dee called out from the kitchen.

Princess topped up the model steam train with its steam oil in the little reservoir it had at the front of its engine.

"It's a Christmas card! Ah think it's more than appropriate!" Princess called back.

Princess had spent the past couple of days figuring out how to word her card to Mrs MacNair. She had wanted to be kind in her words, but then not too kind that it came across as if she were trying to kiss her boyfriend's mother's arse.

She did not want Blythe to think that she could get away with mistreating her in the future and that Princess would quietly lay down and roll away and let it slide. Like she had done. That was not a relationship she wanted with Rodric's mother.

If they were to have one.

Dee then came waddling out from the kitchen with her blonde kinky curls poking from under her Father Christmas hat and a hot tray in her oven-mittened hands.

"Well did ye write it then?" She asked again.

Princess finished up with the steam train and started it up, before getting her Christmas elf hat caught in the Christmas tree and having a momentary one-on-one with the pine needle branches. The hats were always compulsory from the first of the Christmas month.

Finally breaking free of her prickly capturer, she said with a slight breathiness, "Ah have, an' ah've already sent it too."

Dee raised a surprised eyebrow. "When did ye send it?"

"Earlier this mornin'."

And Princess had been trying not to think about it since. Otherwise, the suspense and anxiety of waiting to see how and when Blythe would respond would drive her up the walls like an unstoppable model steamtrain off its rails, zooming all over the place.

"An' how did ye word it?"

Princess shrugged her shoulders, as she remembered exactly every word she had written. Dee listened intently as she put the baked goods on display and Princess said casually, "Well, ah thanked her for helpin' in the search for me an' a wished her a Merry Christmas an' ah told her 'at if she were alone for Christmas this year, she was welcome tae spend it here, in Aberdeen wi' us... Mh, somethin' like 'at anyway."

Dee nodded. "'At sounds pretty sound tae me," she said.

Princess then helped Dee and Angus with the rest of the preparations before opening time.

The response from the Christmas card Princess had sent to Blythe arrived in Rodric's post exactly two days later. Princess had driven to his after work to find him smiling tightly as he held the door open for her to enter.

Princess softly narrowed her eyes at him, "Why are ye smilin' like Lucifer himself is holdin' ye by yer crown jewels wi' hisverypointy trident?"

Rodric's grin tightened even more.

"'At's becus his dear acquaintance's—ma moth'r's—response came through the post this mornin' an—"

"Where is it?"

There was a pause.

"Ah sent it back tae hell." He said. The he pointed toward the living room. "Ah threw it in the fire."

"Rodric?!"

"Naw, ah didnae." He said quickly. "Ah apologise—bad joke—ah wishah had, but ah knew ye wuid want tae see it wi' yer own eyes..."

Rodric then produced a small red envelope from his back pocket. Princess blinked, questioning the familiar colour of the paper. She slowly reached out for it and observed the front and the back.

The address was the precise one for Daldark and the back address was the same one for Rodric's, where she had included both their names at the top.

"She returned it?" Princess asked. "Wi'oot openen' it?"

Rodric smiled at her with pity.

"Ohnae, she opened it—ye can see from the rips at the back—but aye, she also had it sent back... Ah'm sorry Princess."

Princess frowned, and softly muttered an, "Oh..."

She then turned the envelope over again, and sure enough, there it was, the broken seal she had missed at first. She ripped it open and out slipped the small Christmas card she had asked Rodric to paint.

It was of a robin perched atop a snowy wooden gate.

She opened it and it read:

Dear Blythe,

I wanted to thank you for your assistance during the search and along with Rodric, I wanted to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hogmanay.

On behalf of my family and Rodric, I wanted to extend to you the invitation to spend the Christmas Holidays with us. You would be most welcome.

Let us know.

Warmest wishes,

Princess x Rodric

"Oh, nae—she did respond—look," Princess said holding the card for both of them to read.

Rodric peered over her shoulder as, on the opposite side of the card, they read:

Thank my son for my assistance. It was not of my initiative. You owe me no credit.

I will be spending Christmas in New York with my daughter.

Yours sincerely,

Blythe MacNair.

Princess then did something she had not expected from herself.

She laughed.

Then slapped a hand over her mouth in shock.

"Forgive me, ah dinnae ken why ah jus' did that... Ah thought a wuid cry but—but yer mam reallydid not want tae write that."

She tried to smother her giggle as she looked up at Rodric's already smiling face.

"Aye, ah can tell ye 'at wis painful for her tae do." He agreed.

Their snickers then broke out in a bundle of cheeky laughs as they both tried and failed at composing themselves. When Princess's laughing spasm finally started to calm, she repeated, "An' ah thought a wuid o' cried..."

She snorted. "Never mind."

"Well, ah can tell ye she's lyin' about New York." Rodric said. "Ma sister'll be in Singapore for Christmas. So, she'll probably be spendin' the holidays in Daldark, on her own."

Princess felt a faint pang of pity at the idea of Blythe spending the holidays all alone, in Daldark. But the feeling soon passed. Swiftly. And she turned to shut Rodric's front door as the freezing air had started to invade the warmth.

Rodric then wrapped her up in his embrace and kissed her head as he said, "Ah love ye for tryin', but ah've been tryin' ma whole life..."

Princess snuggled into his warmth.

Then she paused.

And frowned.

"Rod?"

"Mh?" He said, muffled.

Princess looked up at his innocent blue eyes. Without saying a word, she watched as they grew with shock at the same time as Princess's lips split into a wide grin.

She opened her mouth to say, "Ro—"

"Do ye fancy tea?" Rodric interrupted her. "Come on ah think it's time for some tea..."

Rodric then let go of her and rushed off to the kitchen.

Princess was about to follow him but stopped short when she realised she still had her snow-wet boots on. So, hopping and struggling, she tried to shimmy out of them as fast as she could, whilst simultaneously calling after Rodric.

"Rod? Rodric? Rodric Aindr—"

"Aye? Chai did ye say! Ok! One chai comin' right up!" He called back from the kitchen.

Princess called his name out again, but Rodric just kept acting as if Princess were answering random questions he had not asked. Or he would answer questions she had not asked.

"Nae sugar? Anno! Ye ken anno how ye like yer chai!"

"Aye, a white Christmas ah think it will be, ma Prince!"

"Whit wuid ah like for Christmas ye ask? Well, let me think noo..."

And it went on like this till Princess finally caved in and let the case rest.

For the time being.

And then, finally, Christmas day came around.

Princess had woken up earlier than the sun because, traditionally, so did Dee every 25th December. There were copious amounts of foods that needed to be further prepped or meats that needed to be put in the oven so that they could be slow-cooked and ready come lunchtime.

Princess quietly tip-toed out of the spare room in the farmhouse and slowly creaked down the stairs not wanting to rouse Hew or Adie from their slumbers. With every step she took, she would have flashes of every year before, when she had silently crept down the stairs early morning on Christmas day to go and help Dee in the kitchen.

It was a recent and reoccurring thing that would happen now. Princess would get flashes of memories, now and then, as if her heart wanted to remind her of all she would have missed out on, had she never risen again from her frosty sleep.

She followed the light spilling from the space under the kitchen door and went to open it. Dee had her back to her pulling the turkey she had left in brine for the past forty-eight hours out of the fridge. Princess closed the door behind her, and it clicked shut.

Dee co*cked her head around and broke out into a smile. The same smile she did every Christmas morning.

"Merry Christmas, Dee." Princess whispered with a bright smile.

"Merry Christmas, ma Prince."

Princess walked around the old kitchen island and straight into Dee's tight embrace. This year the hug was a little tighter. Dee held her several seconds longer as she rocked Princess gently, from side to side.

Then she let go and whispered-shouted, "Awrite, awrite let's no' start cryin' on the only day of the year whereye have tae laugh—even at bad jokes!"

Dee wiped away Princess's tears and wiped her own with her tea towel.

"Ok, tell me what an' where an' ah'll get to it." Princess said, with a quiet clap of her hands.

Princess and Dee then got to work as they prepared everything that remained to be driven over to The Toad & The Willow. The rest Hew and Adie would bring over later. Some of the things were already at the pub, leftover from Christmas Eve.

Once both their cars were packed, Princess quickly went to change out of her pyjamas so Dee and herself could drive together to the pub.

"Why didnae yees tell me yees were goin' to wake so early today?" Rodric asked, whilst staring with his mouth gaping at all the food crammed into the pub's kitchen.

"Noo ah feel bad." He added, grimly.

Princess smiled and went to kiss him on the cheek.

"It's fine ah wanted ye tae sleep in. Dee, mam, paps an' ah always wake up early tae do this on Christmas day—wakin' up early on a holiday is no' for everyone." Princess explained.

But it only made Rodric feel worse.

He had woken up at around ten o'clock to Princess's Christmas text wishes, which he had received around six o'clock earlier that morning. He had then proceeded to message back asking why she had been up before the crack of dawn.

"Well, noo it is for me too." He said simply. "From noo on ye no' lettin' me sleep in on Christmas mornin'. Right—"

Rodric hung up his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, walking over to Dee and grabbing an apron.

"Mrs Christmas ah am one o' yer elves today. Elf Rod at ye service, ye order is ma command." He said.

Both Perlah's and Dee's eyebrows rose.

Dee then looked to Princess and pointed to Rodric with her thumb and loudly whispered, "Put a ring on it before ah do."

Princess snorted and then quickly covered her mouth as heat rose to her cheeks. Fausto then frowned, placing his hands on his hips. "What about me?"

Simultaneously, both Dee and Perlah said, "Hmph."

Fausto took offence.

Dee then added with a wave of her hand, "Ye're already taken."

Perlah loudly muttered, "Unfortunately."

There was a pause because Fausto did not know how to respond.

And then they all burst out with laughter.

When they settled down again, Rodric said, "Nae, ah'm serious—order me about."

Dee's eyebrows then rose again, and smirking at Princess she said, "Say less laddie."

Princess could not help but laugh. Rodric then turned to give her a quick wink, before Mrs Christmas filed her orders and true to his word, he carried them out.

Slowly, in small groups, the others started making their way over. First Hew and Adie with the rest of the edible Christmas essentials. Then Adie went over to pick up Bayani and Emily. The twins, as expected, were the last to arrive—Perlah herself drove back home to drag them out of bed.

Whilst Dee, Perlah, Fausto, Princess and Rodric helped out in the kitchen, the others helped to put the tables together to make one big square one so they could all sit facing each other. Sweet Emily went around taking hot and cold drink orders from everyone—more so from the Christmas kitchen staff, she made sure they all always had a drink, as she felt guilty for not being able to help out.

As Bayani would tell you, respectfully—and Emily would agree—she had quite the poor culinary skills. Even the basic ones were troublesome for her to get the hang of. Later, amidst their Christmas lunch, when Princess would go on to recount Rodric's birthday meal for her, Bayani would follow the tale with his own unforgettable birthday dessert story.

Explosive apple pie.

Explosive, because Emily had forgotten that microwaves had an infamously tumultuous relationship with metallics as she had tried to heat up the apple pie still in its tin case. Why had she utilised the microwave instead of the oven?

Well, that was the same question Bayani had been asking himself too at the time when a flaming portal to hell had seemingly opened up in their small London kitchenette.

Aside from the explosive tale, there had also been an explosive moment. After they had all—more or less—devoured the bacon-wrapped turkey, crispy pata, salmon en croûte, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, caramelised brussels sprouts, carrots, and onions, pan de jamón and hallaca. They had all been cross-armed, each grabbing two crackers.

Dee had had to keep crisscrossing her arms to try and get the correct grip on the correct cracker. Then, they had all counted down to one from three...

Perlah and Emily had almost jumped out of their seats as the crackers had exploded with such force that Princess's ears had started ringing. Rodric had then checked the ends of the crackers to find that someone had filled all the crackers with extra strips of explosive cards.

Then the twins had fallen apart, howling with laughter they had failed to contain. Everyone had watched, with tearful laughter, as Perlah had then proceeded to chase her sons around the table with a silver serving spoon in her hand until she was thoroughly out of breath.

After, everyone helped clear away the half and partially-empty savoury dishes to make way for Dee's Christmas pudding and sticky toffee pudding trifle, Perlah's buko pandan salad and bibingka and Fausto's negro en camisa. Again, Emily went to work preparing everyone's drinks. Aand this time Bayani assisted her.

While everyone else was busy, Rodric pulled Princess to the side. He walked her over to the other side of the pub where the others could not see them, with only the lights from Dee's nativity to gently brighten the secretive dark corner.

Princess frowned softly with a raised brow. "Rodric? Whit's wro—"

Rodric then pulled her in and kissed her.

Princess laughed in surprise. She pulled away long enough to ask, "Whit are ye doin'?"

"Oh, ye dinnae ken?" He said breathily. "Let me show ye again then—"

He kissed her again and Princess had to break away when she started enjoying it too much. Breathlessly she said, "Ok, that's enough."

Rodric laughed. His dimples crinkled.

"Ok-ok, ye're right. Whit ah actually wanted tae do wis thank ye," he said.

Princess raised a brow. "Thank me? Thank me for what?"

"For yeself," he murmured. "An' for the best Christmas ah've ever had."

Princess softly smiled and cradled his face with her hands as she went to kiss him gently.

"Ma pleasure," she murmured back.

They stood there lost in each other's eyes until they heard Perlah curse at one of the twins and Rodric snapped out of the daze first.

"Ok," he began. "Noo, who's goin' tae pretend they went tae the toilet?"

Princess laughed, then grabbed Rodric by the arms and spun him around.

"Ye." She said, landing a light spank on his arse.

Rodric's head spun around with a smirk that made Princess take a step back and hold her hands up, as she said, "Naw. Turn back around—there's a good laddie. Keep goin'—mhm—that's it."

Rodric grinned back at her as he walked away to the men's. And watching him smile, Princess asked herself the same question she had been asking since the first day she had seen him smile.

How can a man be so beautiful?

One by one, Princess and Rodric both strategically returned to their seats. Their momentary disappearance and reappearance went undetected as Dee was now telling Hew off for something and everyone else was watching the spectacle with snickers and chuckles.

When they were all seated again, Bayani took a stand and he gentlytink-tink-ed his whiskey glass with his dessert fork. "I would like to propose a toast," he announced.

Everyone automatically swivelled around in their seats smiling, as they looked to Bayani. He then lightly cleared his throat and began, "I would like to begin by thanking all those who cooked and helped with the preparations, for this yet again, outstanding mea—"

"Head Boy ye're no' at school anymore! There's nae Headmasters bahookie tae kiss!" Kidlat yelled out.

There were shared chuckles and Dakila's snicker as Perlah swirled around tothwackKidlat behind the head.

"¡Cállate!" She scolded him.

"Aia," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

Bayani then continued. "I would also like to thank everyone for being here. Emily and Rodric, welcome to this manic family..."

Princess smiled from Bayani to Rodric as she rested her head on Rodric's shoulder and he kissed her head, as she intertwined her fingers with his and squeezed his hand thrice.

"...and I would also like to say an extra special thank you to everyone, including Roodie, Rabbie and Chrissie, for going out to—"

Bayani suddenly choked on his words and Princess slowly raised her head from Rodric's shoulder. Emily raised her hand to comfort Bayani with a rub on his back. Bayani quickly cleared his throat and wiped at his eyes. "For finding my sister and bringing her back home."

Princess smiled at her brother, with tears in her eyes. And so too did Dee, Perlah and Fausto, find themselves with clenched throats and tears threatening to spill. Dakila and Kidlat pretended to both have something stuck in their eyes.

"Princess, I cannot tell you how much it makes us happy that you're here with us this Chri—" Bayani choked again and sniffled.

Dakila then said, with a raspy voice that was on the brink of losing restraint, "Can ye f*ckin' hurry up ye makin' us all sob like wee spoiled bairns!"

Bayani burst out with a chuckle, and wiped at his eyes before raising his glass and finally saying, "We love ye Princess, an' ah love all o' yees. Merry Christmas. Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

Everyone raised their glasses and mugs up and cheered together, some crying and others grinning through tears. Kidlat leaned over and wiped his eyes with the back of his twin's Christmas jumper. After a kiss on the cheek from Rodric, Princess walked over to her brother and hugged him tightly, thanking him through tears.

Dee then clapped her hands and stood up to start serving dessert, "Ok—oh, no wait—wait..." She said reading the look on her friend's face.

Dee then sat back down as Perlah and Fausto stood up together hand in hand. Princess let go of Bayani and everyone turned to look toward Perlah and Fausto.

They both smiled over at Princess.

"Princess, papa and I want to give you Christmas gift..." Perlah said.

Princess frowned lightly and looked at her brothers, they all shrugged back.

"Ma—" she began.

Perlah held up her hand.

"Papa and I have tought, hard, a lot..." She said. "And we want to help you pay for café."

Princess brought her hands together and up to her lips as if in prayer. She instantly started to shake her head back and forth, whilst silently mouthing, "Naw, naw, naw." Perlah and Fausto smiled back at her.

"We want to lend you the money, instead of you taking out a loan. You can repay us whenever you're ready to. Accept it as our Christmas gift to you—and your late graduation gift." Fausto explained.

Princess was still shaking her head. "Ma—Paps, ah cannae accept—"

"Urgh, accept it, Princess." Dakila interrupted.

"Or we'll accept it for ye!" Kidlat added.

Princess laughed.

"But ah cannae—ah thank ye, truly," she looked to both her parents. "But that wuid be unfair."

Suddenly both Dakila and Kidlat stood up from their seats and went over to Princess. They each grabbed an arm and walked their sister towards their parents.

"Ok, so this is whit is supposed tae happen..." Dakila explained.

"Ye give them a big hug—nae, naw come on noo Princess—like this..." Kidlat said.

Both the twins wrapped Princess's arms around Perlah and Fausto. The three of them hugged and Princess held them tight as she conceded and thanked them. Then twins began clapping, along with everyone else.

"There ye go, 'at's how ye're supposed tae do it," Dakila said.

"Ye're no' the youngest an' most spoilt for nothin'." Kidlat chipped in.

Perlah, still hugging her daughter, whipped her head around to say, "Dee, please."

Kidlat then went over to Dee and graciously bent down. Dee did the honours and, lightly, slapped—or more so tapped—him on the head.

"Oh, ah thank ye Dee, that has tae be the nicest slap ah've ever received from a lass." Kidlat said.

And naturally, everyone fell apart with laughter.

Finally, once tears had been dried—for the millionth time—everyone sat down for dessert. The rest of the day went on just as enchantingly as the first half. Princess and Rodric had never passed such a memorable Christmas.

And Rodric had a feeling it would not be his last one.

Princess had then spent many stolen moments just watching her family around her as they laughed, joked and yes, told each other off a bit more—specifically Dee and Perlah to Hew and the twins.

Princess tried not to cry again, knowing that she had almost not made it to see this Christmas play out the way it currently was. She prayed to whatever it was up above her, out there, greater than her.

She prayed and thanked it for saving her.

Chapter 13: Burns Night

Chapter Text

One Year Later

Princess could hear the early morning drizzle of rain gently pat against the windowpanes. The sun had yet to rise.

So much had changed in the span of a year. With the help of her parents, to start her off, she was able to officially take that shop in Old Aberdeen off the market. It had then taken her the past eleven months to reshape the place.

Inside, the walls splitting the two once-upon-a-time houses apart had been torn down completely and polished wooden pillars had been built in their stead. On every floor. The roof extension had been enlarged so that there was now enough space for a bookshop.

The florist, who was none other than Rodric's longtime friend, Quinn, would live on the first floor. And the café was on the ground floor along with outdoor seating. Princess had alsofinallysettled on a name for her place. It was actually one of the first things she had decided on after securing the shop under her name, but she had kept it a secret till today.

It was Saturday and also Burns Night, so naturally, there would be celebrations at The Toad & The Willow with the traditional arrangements of haggis, tartans, bagpipes, and poem recitals of Rabbie's own notable works. Rabbie, being Robert Burns, the celebrated poet.

Bayani was arriving with Emily this morning, as having missed last year's Burns Night, this year he had insisted Emily experience the national Scottish festivities of the 25th of January. Emily had been only too happy to oblige. After having spent the past two Christmases with her, Princess was certain Emily would soon become a permanent member of the family. And Princess was more than pleased with that prospect.

The kettle whistled loudly and snapped Princess back into Rodric's kitchen.

She unfolded her arms and got up off the wall she had been leaning against. Having been waking up early to get to work at Dee's and then again on her days off, to sort out shipments, orders and building worksbefore heading over to the café-in-progress to work on what she could by herself—with Rodric's help on the weekends—Princess was now in the habit of waking up early every morning.

An alarm was unnecessary once you had trained your body clock. Which was mildly bothersome on such days when she had nothing to do this early on in the day. She half debated climbing back into bed with Rodric, but then realised she would just become restless and bored within minutes.

So, Princess made herself a mug of chai without milk and placed herself on the kitchen floor next to the large windowpanes—which were also the garden doors—and watched the sun come up as the rain came down.

Streaming like tears.

Princess smiled.

It had been soon after the first Christmas they had spent together when Princess had finally happily conceded to Rodric's wishes and moved in with him. It was such a relief to finally no longer be dependent upon the family home. Even though she loved her parents, truly—regardless of the scars she had and most probably will always have—she had found and tasted another sort of freedom not being around them so often.

More than when she had attended university.

It was like discovering that you could breathe with not just your nose but also your mouth. Everything suddenly started tasting different.

It was only once Princess had sipped her tea till the last drop—where now the ground spices swam in a cold shallow pool—that Rodric finally made it out of bed and down the stairs. He rubbed at his eyes as he swayed side to side, still coming out of his sleep, into the kitchen.

Princess softly chuckled. "Buenos días, mi amor." She murmured.

Rodric's hand waved lazily back in response and then he walked up to where Princess was sitting and motioned her to move up, so he could seat himself behind her. Princess shuffled forward and Rodric slipped behind her.

"Ye didnae have tae wake up so early," she said, resting her head back, against his shoulder.

She could feel him nod his head and then he nuzzled into her neck as he said, "Ah did. Ah woke up an' ye weren't there tae hold."

Princess softly laughed and placed her mug on the floor. It was the same mug she had been using religiously every day since the day Rodric had gifted it to her. It was the very one she had mentioned wanting that one time, the first time she had walked into this house.

Rodric had made it himself. He had moulded it to a thickness that kept the tea hot for longer and it also had a lid, like a teapot's, with a cutout for the mouth. There was a bottom bit that went with it too, that Princess usually used. The candle warmer stand.

You would light a tea candle and place it in the centre of the ceramic piece. You could rest the mug on top so that the candle would gently keep the tea heated. All around the stand were cutouts, for airflow, in the shapes of Roodie, a heart, two crowns, a water droplet, a teapot and an ornamental cabbage—which just looked like an ordinary cabbage.

They sat there in comfortable silence until the sunlight lit the garden as much as it could through the greyness of the clouds above. Then, with a muffled voice, into her neck, Rodric murmured, "Tell me one thing nae one else knows."

Princess smiled.

It was a thing of Rodric's she had learnt once moving in. He loved to ask the most random of questions at any given time. Sometimes questions she had no answers for, and other times questions she had never thought to ask herself or been asked before.

Princess took a moment to think and then quietly spoke, "When ah wis growin' up wi' three older brothers, ah wished for a wee sister."

Princess laughed at herself, before adding, "Ah used tae wish so hard 'at ah wuid pray tae a God ah didnae—an' ah dinnaebelieve in..."

Rodric smiled into her neck then raised his head and muttered, "Does 'at mean ye wuid want a daughter firs'? Then maybe a son, later?"

Princess's smile grew, but she did not reply. She could see Rodric's lazy smile from the reflection in the glass next to them.

Then she said, "Yer turn."

And without missing a beat, Rodric said, "Easy. Ah wish 'at in ma next life ah get tae be a cold-blooded warrior."

There was a pause.

Princess blinked.

Then she swivelled around in Rodric's arms to look up at him. She tried not to laugh as she said, "Whit?"

Rodric grinned with a dimple. "Ah dinnae want tae be good in ma next life. Ah want tae ken whit the other side feels like..."

Princess smiled and frowned at the same time.

"So, ye wuid kill innocent people?" She asked.

"Whit if ah had nae other choice but tae?"

"There's always a choice, Rod."

"Ok, but whit if ah wis...say...a ruthless King's war general? Maybe ah had been trained ma whole life from when ah wis an orphan tae fight an' ah knew nae better? Whit if ah wis given a choice of goin' intae battle, an' possibly killing innocent people, or have the people ah loved killed?"

"Rod—"

"Whit if one o' the people ah loved wis someone like ye?"

Princess frowned and raised an eyebrow. Trying not to think about all the war crimes that had been committed by said "cold-blooded warriors"in the past—back when the concept of war crimes did not exist. A vision of brutal Vikings conjured in her mind, and she had to suppress a shiver.

Then, slowly, carefully, she said, "It is too early in the mornin' for such a debate..."

Then Rodric laughed and agreed with her.

They kissed and Princess leaned back against him, asking, "Ye believe in reincarnation?"

Rodric shrugged his shoulders. "Dinnae ye?"

Princess frowned lightly as she thought about it, before confessing, "Ah believe we jus' die an' break down tae become fertiliser."

Rodric chuckled lightly and then shook his head. "Our bodies, aye. But ah dinnae think we then jus' disappear...that wuid be too easy."

Rodric then leaned back against the wall and looked up to the murky skies. "There are too many things in the world that dinnae make sense, an' are too complex an' incomprehensible. Ah think there's more after. Out there. Somehow. Somewhere."

Princess silently watched her beloved.

The grey-white of the clouds shone in his beryl eyes. When he said no more Princess leaned in and stole his gaze away from the hidden heavens as she kissed him again. Before they could get carried away, Princess pulled away and shot up off the floor. Rodric eyed her with a raised eyebrow, questioningly.

"Before ye have an existential crisis..." She began, smirking. "Tonight, we'll be celebratin' Burns at The Toad & The Willow, an' mam wants us over for lunch wi' Bayani an' Emily."

"Aye, anno." Rodric said smiling through a light frown.

"But there's somethin' we need tae do before that."

Rodric tilted his head up at Princess.

"Oh, aye?"He murmured in his morning warm tone. "Is there now?"

Princess laughed shortly, then said, "Nae, no' 'at. Somethin' 'at requires ye tae be fully clothed. Come on."

Princess held out her hand to Rodric and slowly helped him up. And because he would not stop smiling, she kissed him.

Again.

And again.

And some more.

And more.

An—

"Ah thought ah had tae be fully dressed?" He mumbled against her lips.

"Hm." She mumbled back. "Ah changed ma mind. Ye can get dressed later."

Princess tugged at Rodric's hand as she pulled him down the road. He raised an eyebrow and his car keys rattled and tingled as they flipped over in his hand, and he asked, "We're no' takin' the car?"

Princess just shook her head and continued to lead him further down the road. All the way until they stood in front of the café. Princess had still not put up the name sign as she was keeping it hidden, even from Rodric, for this very purpose. They marvelled for a little while, looking up at the shop's new face.

Princess had framed all the outside windows with carved polished wood, and when she unlocked the front door and opened it wide, the dark wooden pillars across the wide-open room stood out proud, even in the dim light. Odd mixed-matched tables and chairs stood scattered strategically around the café floor with the café bar in the corner.

A display of fresh coffee beans in mason jars lined the shelves above the gleaming red-hot coffee machines. Princess was not one for coffee but even she had grown to love the pungent scent of the various blends and light to dark roasted beans. Some blends included vanilla, others cinnamon, and some with hints of caramel or toffee.

Under the lines of coffee was the collection of tins containing different blends of loose-leaf tea. Jasmine, apple spice, three chamomiles, ginger and ginseng, rose and hibiscus... Across the walls were vintage mirrors with anything other than perfect glass. They were all odd sizes, and many were well-aged and had been stained over the years.

Amongst the reflective portals were beautiful lamps protruding from the walls all with different glass-coloured lampshades. When the lights were on at dusk the room looked terribly enchanting in a warm glow of yellow light and multi-stains of colours, much like Princess's dreams with Rodric in the clouds.

"This place gets bonnier every time ah come," Rodric spoke softly.

"It does," Princess replied. "But this is not whit ah wanted tae show ye..."

She then led them upstairs to the first floor, where Quinn had already set up his side of the room. There were metal buckets all in various shades of chipped pale green paints, stacked up in a corner. In the opposite corner was the desk, where he would take his payments and wrap up bouquets.

In the centre of Quinn's side of the room, the large wall space was covered with lines of wire racks. Wire racks shaped big enough so that the flower buckets could be slipped in, once filled with blooms, for display. Rodric admired Quinn's side of the room but then frowned lightly as his gaze shifted to the other side of the room.

"Have ye decided whit ye're puttin' there yet?" He asked.

Princess smiled to herself as she walked over to the empty space. It was empty of everything apart from a huge something that was covered with a dirty white paint-stained cloth, leaning against the wall. She stood before it and shuffled on her feet before meeting Rodric's gaze. Her hand reached inside of her coat pocket and her fingers fumbled about with a small velvet box.

"Rodric," she began. "Ma Damsel in Distress."

Rodric's lips played with a smile, and he stood quietly, patiently, waiting to discover what was making his Prince Charming so nervous. Princess took in a breath, and said, "Anno it's only been a wee more than a year...an' this may be sudden—"

Rodric tried not to react as Princess took out that little box from her pocket and held it out before them. His eyes trailed down to it. It was a green velvet box, smaller than Princess's palm as it sat in her hand staring back at him.

"—an' ye dinnae have tae say yes—nae, waitlet me finish, please... Anno this wuid be a big commitment, but ah love ye an' ah cannae imagine doin' this wi'oot ye..."

Rodric took a step closer to Princess.

His smile grew as Princess's gaze found it hard to maintain eye contact. Rodric's hand gently went to cup hers from underneath. His thumb brushed across her inner wrist and Princess's lips peeked up slightly in a lopsided smile. She looked back up into those ever-all-encompassing eyes.

"...Rodric Aindrea MacNair. Will ye..."

Princess motioned with her other hand toward the empty side of the room.

"—take this space an' become ma partner in crime? Jus' ye ken...wi'oot the crime? Take this space an' sell yer creations an' if ye want tae there's a room in the back for ye tae teach pottery classes..."

Rodric paused.

Princess laughed and slowly went to open the box in the palm of her hand that Rodric was cradling with her. The velvet green mouth opened to reveal a stainless-steel key sitting on its black satin tongue. Rodric's lips parted.

Princess smiled and said, "It's the key tae the front door o' the shop... If ye'll have me?"

Silence followed.

Then Rodric let out a laugh, half from shock and half from sheer delightful surprise. He pulled Princess in for a tight embrace, as he mumbled into her hair. "Athousandtimes, aye." He laughed. "Ye Wicked Prince."

Princess laughed into his coat and reached up to pull him down to her lips. Their clash of lips was soft and wanting. Warm teetering on heat that threatened to combust and swallow them whole. That was until Princess quickly broke away before it could, and she handed the box to Rodric. He took it, with a smile that would not leave his lips. And Princess tried not to marvel at him.

Impossible.

"An' since ye said, aye—becus o' course ah knew ye wuid—ah can show ye this..." She said. "Ah had it made for us." Princess went over to the dirty cloth and pulled its cloaked prisoner free. "It's the name of the café."

Princess had just unveiled a huge, white-painted metal framework of a gargantuan sign that read:

PRINCESS CHARMING & THE LADDIE IN DISTRESS

Princess grinned at Rodric's loss for words. He burst out with laughter. "That is—" he pointed down at it with a wide grin. "That is f*ckin'brilliant!"

Princess laughed.

And she watched as Rodric covered his face in disbelief and then jumped around like a child, whose wish for eternal Christmas had just been granted. Watching him, Princess vowed to spend the rest of her life seeking to make Rodric this happy. She tried not to imagine what his reaction would have been had sheactuallybeen holding a small glinting band in her hand instead of a key.

"Ah f*ckin' love ye—" Rodric exclaimed, pulling her in for another kiss. "Ye are the most amazin' beautiful woman anno an' 'at ah will everknow. Ye are ma beautiful Prince Charmin', Wicked Prince an' Princess. Beautifulinsideand out."

Rodric kissed her breathless. The kiss was hot and wet as tears ran down Princess's cheeks. She sobbed and laughed at the same time. Rodric cradled her face and pulled back as he leaned his forehead against hers. He wiped away her tears and murmured, "Ah am goin' tae marry ye one day, Princess."

Princess laughed and sniffled as she said, "Oh, aye?"

"Oh,aye." He echoed. "An' we'll have two wee bairns—a boy an' a girl—an' we'll work here, in Princess Charmin' & The Laddie in Distress until our final days. An' ah will spend everyday tellin' everyone an' anyone who will listen about the story behind the name of yer—"

"Our." Princess corrected him, smiling through tears.

Rodric grinned and kissed her again, before continuing, "Ofour café. Of our love story. An' when our final days come, if ye leave me first ah will follow ye. Ah will no' stay on this planet o' dirt an' salty water unless it is beside ye. Or ah will spend the rest o' ma days searchin' for ye. Searchin' for ye in every mug o' chai, in every cabbage, in every blinkin' firework—in everythin'—until ma broken heart will finally have mercy an' take me t' ye."

Princess sobbed and Rodric kissed her again.

It took a while for the two to finally make it back out of Princess Charming & The Laddie in Distress. As they walked out through the front door, Rodric was the one to use his key to lock it up. Princess smiled up at her Damsel in Distress and Rodric leant down to place a kiss on his Prince Charming's head.

She squeezed his hand thrice as she saw their future before them, clearer than she ever had. Princess thanked the day Rodric had first walked into Dee's Upon the Railway and thanked his decision to continue to for the following months. Just to see her.

Rodric squeezed her hand back.

First squeeze.I.

Second squeeze.Love.

Third squeeze.Ye.