"I would love to go to the town, how about the village square?" Keiran asked as he bandaged Sephy's hand with a handkerchief. Keiran smiled and took Sephy's burned hand in his, "Pick up the spoon." Keiran guided Sephy's hand and showed her how to stir the pot, "You have to hold the top of the spoon so you don't burn yourself and just go in small steady circles." Keiran let go of Sephy's hand and smiled while he watched her, "haha good! Sephy was adorable as she stirred the hot chocolate. Finally Keiran relieved Sephy of her torture with an agreement, "you're right I think it's done now." Keiran pulled the pastries out of the fire, wrapped them in another handkerchief and put them in the basket. It took keiran a while to find a mug and some cups but eventually he and Sephy had managed to get everything packed. "All right," Keiran took Sephy's burned hand in his. "I think we're ready for stop two." Glancing down at her hand Keiran slowly lifted it to his lips and brushed a soft kiss across Sephy's knuckles, "I'm sorry you burned yourself."

"The village square! That sounds amazing. Is it as beautiful as I image it to be?" she asked, excitement boiling up inside her like the milk boiling on the stove. When Keiran wrapped Sephy's burned hand in a handkerchief, she could not help but smiled. He was so romantic and sweet, and when he held her close and taught her how to stir the milk so that she would not hurt herself, Sephy had to bite her lip to resist turning around and kissing him. When she finally mastered it, Sephy almost let out a cry of joy, but realized quickly that she would probably alert someone to their presence and then their night would be ruined. "Wow. They look amazing!" Sephy gushed as Keiran pulled out his fresh pastries form the fire. He truly was talented.

Having her hand in his was so amazing. It was a perfect fit and all Sephy could think was that they were meant to be together. Her thought was cut short when Keiran lifter her hand to his mouth and kissed it gently. Sure enough, Sephy's knees buckled and she almost fell over. Regaining her composure, Sephy blushed and smiled but leaned forward and kissed Keiran's cheek. "Thank you for everything you have done for me and taught me. But mostly, thank you for being you! And don't worry about my hand, it really is my own fault and I never expected to get it right in one attempt. But it was amazing to learn how to do it, even though it was basic, I still felt like I had accomplished something good!" she blushed again and then leaned toward the other side of Keiran's face and kissed the opposite cheek.

Keiran was overjoyed that Sephy liked his idea, "The square is nice, It has a big fountain and some benches made of wood and the whole square is filled with stalls during market week. It's very entertaining." Keiran's heart warmed as Sephy praised his pastries. They did look good, Keiran had to admit, fluffly dough a light golden brown filled with raspberries and topped with a lemon icing. They were Keiran's favorite.

Keiran let out a small inaudible laugh when Sephy almost fell down but was awestruck when Sephy placed a delicate kiss on his cheek. Now it was Keiran's turn to nearly fall over but he had good footing and managed to stay on his feet, "Oh, Sephy you were wonderful with the hot chocolate don't dount it for a second! I should be the one thanking you for all the kindness you've shown me. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you Sephy." Keiran's face flamed as Sephy once more placed a gentle kiss upon his cheek. Keiran stood in place stunned. Slowly Keiran raised a hand, softly brushing it across Sephy's jawline before placing a small chaste kiss on her cheek. "Sephy, you are absolutely amazing," Keiran remarked before he placed an identical kiss on the other side of her face. "Come, I think it's time we move on."

Sephy placed her finger sweetly over Keiran's lips. "Don't thank me. It is the way I am, I hate the whole 'Servant' thing that my mother and father have. I've been against it ever since I understood it. And I hate people that are rude, like all the people in the dining room today. Not once did I see anyone look at you or say thank you or even acknowledge the hard work you were doing! It really upset me" she sighed and then blushed when Keiran kissed her. He really was the sweetest, kindest person she had ever met, plus; he treated her like a normal person. Sure, he was definately protective over her, but he actually treated her like a human being and not just a princess. "Keiran?" she whispered... And then decided to wait until they were in her room where they could not get caught.

"Come on!" she giggled and tangled her fingers with his and led the way to her bedroom. The corridors were quite and absolutely pitch black so nobody could have seen him following her. When they arrived at her room, Sephy pushed open the door and walked inside. She turned to face Keiran in the doorway and said "Welcome to my humble abode!" then giggled and held out her arm to the room as if to invite him in.

[[Sorry it took me so long to reply! I caught a virus from someone and have spent the last week lay in bed with a bucket by my side incase I need to vomit again! :( ]]

Keiran smiled as he was ushered into Sephy's bedroom. It was a lovely open room, decorated well to fit Sephy's personality. Keiran stepped into the room with a simple smile. Keiran looked around amired the room and stood at a loss as to where to go next, "errr . . ." Keiran looked quizzically at Sephy.

[[ It's Okay!!! :) ]]

Sephy smiled as she turned around to see Keiran looking awkward in her bedroom. She giggled and then blushed as she realized where they actually were. Her garments were strewn all across her floor as she refused to let the maids in to tidy up her mess. Sephy realized that Keiran was waiting for her to tell him what he could do. "Oh, you can sit on the bed if you want to. Or if you feel weird doing that then there is a chair in the dressing room over there" she pointed. "Feel free to make yourself at home. I'll be five minutes at the most!" she giggled and skipped off into her closet. Running her hand over all the soft fabrics of her thousands of dressed, Sephy decided what to wear. She pulled a beautiful dress of one of the hangers. It was the most simple thing she owned, though to anyone else it would look extravagant and over the top. Slipping it on, Sephy looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. She then skipped back out into the main bedroom and said "Okay, I'm ready. Shall we go?" and then smiled at Keiran.

Keiran sat down on the bed and admired the semi-organized mess that was Sephy's room. Keiran lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling while waiting for Sephy to return. An idea sparked in Keiran's mind and he filed it away for later, it would be a great surprise. The room was warm and Keiran blushed as he realized he was laying on Sephy's bed. Sitting up Keiran took a closer look at the beautiful four poster bed. The pillows were plump and propped up at the head of the bed and the blankets were skewed from Sephy rolling around in her sleep. Keiran loved it.

A soft smile broke on Keiran's face as Sephy re-entered the room in her new dress. It was a simple dress with blue-grey undertones and a peachy gauzey cover slip thing. It looked amazing. Keiran smiled and stood to pull his shirt back on, once clothed Keiran held out his arm to Sephy in a classic show of chivalry, " I believe we are ready to make our way into town." Keiran stayed quiet as he escorted Sephy through the silent halls of the castle. Once Keiran slipped on the stairs, freshly washed and still drying mind you, but he and Sephy made it to the front doors unscathed. The real trick would be getting out the gate, and getting back in.

As they left the castle, Sephy was hit by a breeze of warm evening air. It was wonderful, and the way that it moved through the soft, sheer fabric of her dress made her shiver. The promise of a beautiful evening lingered in the air and the clouds had left the sky to reveal the beautiful twinkling stars that lined the blue night. The atmosphere was beautiful and Sephy had to steady her breathing to calm herself, she was too excited about everything that she knew could come from tonight. "Come, Keiran. We shall take my horses. You can ride on the front of one and I will hide under a sheet of fabric. That is the only way I can think to get out of the grounds without being caught. You can just make it look like you are leading the horse's out into the village!" she giggled at how silly her idea sounded, but she could think of no other way. "Im open to ideas if you can think of something!" she smiled, allowing him the chance to give an opinion on the way in which they would 'escape' the castle grounds.

Keiran pondered Sephy's idea, "hmmm, I suppose it could work. I could say I was taking them to be fitted for new saddles, the old ones are quite worn down you know." Keiran nodden positively. He was sure it would work. Gently pulling Sephy with him Keiran headed for the stables. The stable for the royal horses was large and clean. It mas made of stone and mortar, the ground covered with fresh yellow hay. The straw crackled under their feet as Keiran and Sephy made their way through the horses. Suddenly a bright light felled the darkness and Keiran crouched in hiding, "someone's here!" he whispered, dragging Sephy down into a crouch as well.

Keiran put his finger to his lips in a show of silence and motioned for Sephy to stay put. Cautiosly Keiran made his way around the horses and through the sable. A loud buzz on the other side of the door made Keiran stop before he went in. Keiran hunched hidden in one of the horse stalls. As Keiran soon realized, the frightening buzz was just the stable master shoveling fresh hay into the stalls. Unfortunately Keiran had to discover this by experiance as a pile of hay landed on his head. Trying to muffle his cough in his elbow Keiran began to make his way back to Sephy.

Sephy smiled when Keiran agreed that her idea would work. She followed him silently through the grounds to the stables. When they arrived there, Sephy took in a deep breath of air and smiled; just the scent of the hay and horses made her feel at ease. They were mucked out at least twice a day, so there were never any foul odors, just the beautiful smell of the gorgeous creatures. As they walked in, Sephy could hear the fresh hay under her shoes; the sound was so soothing... Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light and she was pulled to the ground by Keiran.

He went off ahead of her and it took all of her will power not to follow him. If anyone was going to get into trouble for sneaking around, it would be her! Just as she began to make her way silently forward, she heard a bit of a scramble and then ever so quiet, muffled coughing. Keiran came back out of one of the paddocks covered in thousands of strands of hay and Sephy could not help but giggled. She did so very quietly so that the person who was feeding her beautiful horses would not hear her. "What happened?" she whispered when the sudden shock and humor had gone from the situation... Sephy felt bad for laughing at Keiran, he did not laugh at her when she fell into the fountain, but she could not help it. He did look incredibly cute with strands of hay in his hair.

Keiran fell backwards as he nearly ran headlong into Sephy. Keiran frowned and gave Sephy a mock glare. Keiran tightened his fist around a handful of hay and straw. With a devilish smile he flung the handful at Sephy while stating in a fierce whisper, "That, is exactly what happened." Sitting up straight Keiran cracked his back with a sigh then flopped down into the hay. After a minute Keiran realized he was laying at the bottom of a horse stall and he sat bolt upright. Casting a careful glance at Sephy to see how she was taking this, Keiran began to pick rocks, straw, and hay out of his hair, "Foul stuff this hay is. Clings for all it's worth and won't come away." With a smile Keiran threw another handful of hay at Sephy as he continuted to clean himself.

Sephy looked solemn when she saw how serious Keiran was being. She felt so horrible for laughing at him. But when he sat upright and threw straw at her, she could not help but giggle. "Hey, meanie!" she smiled and shuffled closer to Keiran and began to unravel strands of straw from his hair. His smile was divine!

Just as Sephy managed to untangle a stubborn piece of hay from within Keiran's now almost clean hair, he threw another handful of straw at her. Forgetting how hard she had just tried to get the straw out, she jumped up and pinned him to the ground and started to giggle cheekily. "Don't think your getting away with that Mr!" she whispered and threw a handful of straw at him.

Keiran smiled as Sephy giggled and called him a meanie. Taking on an important air Keiran said, "I wasn't being mean. . . I was merely giving you an example of what happened." Then Sephy shuffled over and began to help Keiran clean his hair. It was one of the most touching things anyone had ever done. Sephy was absolutely amazig to Keiran. She actually said "thank you" to him and she spoke to him like an equal, now she was helping him clean the straw out of his hair. Keiran didn't think he could ever ask for a more amazing companion. When Keiran threw his second handfull of hay at her, Keiran was surprised to find himself tackeld and pinned to the ground by Sephy. Keirans heart pounded in his chest. It beat so furiously he was sure there would be a bruise on his ribs in the morning. Quite gratefull Sephy couldn't hear the loud thumping, Keiran was stunned when Sephy threw a handfull of hay at him. Keiran shook his head and spit some hay out of his mouth. Then laughing he surrendered, "You win, you win. I surrender."

Sephy sighed when Keiran declared that she had won. She gave him a cute but smug smile and ran her hand through her straw filled hair to move it out of her face. Looking down at Keiran, Sephy had goosebumps. Her hands were shaking but she had rested them on the ground to stop it being so obvious. He was just too handsome. And to make it all so much better, he treated her like a normal girl. He didn't act differently around her and he certainly didnt regard her as higher than him just becuase she was a princess. All of those things combined and Sephy had somehow managed to find the perfect man for her.

"I'm sorry" she sighed and then giggled a little when Keiran spat a piece of hay from his mouth. "Here, let me help you" she smiled and began to pick pieces of straw from his hair and gently brush it off his face like she had before. Sephy hadn't realized that she was still leaning on him with most of her weight; and even though she was quite weak and not very heavy, she still managed to keep him lay down on the floor and comfy bed of straw. She wondered if he was there becuase he didn't want to push her off, or becuase he actually wanted to be there. Without thinking about it, Sephy started to nibble at the corner of her lip; something she did when she was concentrating.

Keiran's heart thumped hard in his chest as Sephy began to clear the hay off of his face and out of his hair. She rested on top of him and Keiran wondered whether she was simply tying to help him clean off or if she actually enjoyed being close to him. Laying back Keiran watched Sephy's face and she picked the hay out of his hair. Keiran's heart skipped a beat in his chest as he saw Sephy bite her lip. It was both adorable and frightening. Keiran was scared because most people bit their lip when they were uncomfortable and he didn't want to make Sephy feel weird. Reaching up a hand Keiran softly brushed his thumb across her mouth and chided, "You shouldn't bite your lip so much, I'd hate to see you accidently make yourself bleed. It is terribly cute though." Smiling Keiran brushed Sephy's hair out of her face and began to pick the hay from her hair. They sat there like that for a moment, just cleaning each others hair. Keiran was unbearably nervous as he waited for Sephy to say or do something. Keiran toyed with a lock of Sephy's hair for a moment, twirling it around his finger. Propping up on his elbows Keiran looked at Sephy unsure of what to do now. It was amazing just being with her. She was amazing. Keiran watched and waited to see what Sephy would do next.

A dazzling smile spread across Sephy's face when Keiran said her lip biting was adorable. She had never even noticed she had been doing it, but she stopped instantly becuase it seemed she had worried the handsome man. "I don't realize I'm doing it" she blushed. The feel of Keiran playing with her hair made Sephy's body tingle. The shivers started at the top of her neck and worked their way down to her lower back.

Looking down at Keiran, Sephy knew that this was her moment. She had the perfect opportunity to show him how she felt. There was just one thing standing in the way; Sephy had never been kissed. Not even a slight peck, so she had no idea what to do. After reading thousands of romantic novels and watching her other female family members kiss their husband's, Sephy thought she would know what to do in this situation. But just the idea of kissing Keiran's beautiful lips made her nervous.

A while passed and Sephy realized she had stopped picking straw from his hair and was just leaning on top of him for no reason other than closeness. Clearing her throat, Sephy decided to say something. "Keiran? I need to tell you something. I, erm, I really like you. And, well, I have to give you something" she took in a deep breath, steadied her nerves and closed her eyes. Slowly, Sephy leaned forward and ever so gently kissed Keiran's lips. Her hands were shaking and her mind was spinning, but suddenly it felt as though the whole word had evaporated and they were the only two people left in the universe. It took her breath away completely.

Keiran was surprised when Sephy told him she liked him. Keiran was eve n more stunned when Sephy kissed him. Socked at first it took Keiran a moment to realize what was happening and respond. Then he sat up straight and pulled Sephy over onto his lap so she could be comfortable. Gently brushing hair out of her face, Keiran looked at Sephy and said, "You know I ummm . . . I really like you too." Blushing bright red Keiran leaned in and kissed Sephy.

Keiran's mind exploded as he thought of what was happening. He Keiran the kitchen boy was in the stables with Princess Sephy. And instead of being reprimanded he was being kissed. Keiran couldn't believe this. Keiran felt amazingly lucky. The princess and been unimaginably nice and she liked him. Keiran enjoyed Sephy's company and adored the idea of spending more time with her. Keiran was amazed and hoped their relationship lasted.

Kissing Sephy one last time Keiran sat back and asked, "Shall we continue to the Square?"