"Do you not feel the cold go through your bones?" Gareth let his head fall back his neck resting on the rim of the deep tub, he saw her hovering outside the door glancing around his room, he could still see she wanted to know more but she wouldn't ask. She finally stood near the door, "If you like, you can come in... I don't mind." he said with a smile, "Besides, aren't you supposed to be taking care of me, perhaps I need a cold cloth for my forehead." He played along with her idea of him being sick. although he wondered if this cold water would make him sick.

"I was sick with fever, it didn't matter really." She said. She listened to him, as her face got warmer. "I am taking care of you." She entered the washroom, keeping her eyes off the tub. She stood, awkwardly when she figured out she had no idea where the cloths were kept. "Where could I find a cloth for you head?" She asked, her back turned from him. She struggled to keep herself from blushing. She turned around, her eyes going wide. She swallowed, keeping her eyes on his face. She knew she had already lost this battle. She moved closer, smiling.

It took Gareth a second to remember where the cloths were himself, his head lay back with his eyes closed, "Mmm.. you don't see them anywhere in plain sight?" he said not knowing if she was truly turned around or not, once he heard rustling and no response he opened his eyes to find her coming his way smiling trying her best to keep her eyes on his face, he wrenched his neck around leaning forward, "Oh." he said noticing they were literally right beside the bath, he picked one up and held it out for her, "Sorry." he said innocently.

She took the cloth and and turned around getting it soaked with cold water. She moved over to him, keeping her eyes straight ahead. She gently placed it on his forehead and turned around to leave the room. She sat on his bed and glanced at the washroom doorway.

"How could he have won?! I have to think of something else before he realizes he had won this time..." She tapped her knee with her fingers. There had to be something. "Are you going to tell me who is who now?" She asked.

Gareth let out a sigh of relief when she placed the nice cool cloth on his head, even though eh wasn't necessarily sick the weather was so hot outside that it made him feel really nice. It made him snicker in his head at how cautious she was of looking at him, and how hard she tried. He liked having the upper hand it seemed to suit him well.

Tatiana now sat outside the door questioning him once again, "I don't think you've done anything to convince me why I should tell you yet." this statement was true, she hadn't put him in a position where he should tell her. He decided his body couldn't take anymore of the cold water and stood up and got out of the bath, he reached for a towel and dried himself off slowly. Once he was partially dry he retrieved his bath robe and slung it over his bare shoulders and tightened it around his face.

As he walked out of the bathroom he shook his hair releasing excess water, he looked to her wondering what else she had planned for him.

"Because I am taking care of you and if don't I will leave all alone to suffer." She said, crossing her arms. She nearly jump up when he came out of the washroom. She swallowed the feeling away and stood. She moved over to him and gently placed her hand on his forehead.

"Maybe you have already told me, after all I believe the fever had made you delirious." She said. She wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling up at him. She couldn't stand being so close and him wearing so little. She pulled him closer and grinned. "Tell me."

Gareth loved how she reacted to him right now, as bold has she had been in the past she was very modest about not only her bodies but his as well. She now wrapped her arms about his neck, which sent shivers down his spine. He could play this game too, he leaned even closer than she did, while biting his lip, "Never." he said simply with a big grin on his face.

She moved her body closer to his and returned the grin. "Please..." She purred softly,moving him closer until she could feel his body heat near her. She couldn't take it anymore. It was now or never. She stood as tall as she could and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Tell me." She whined.

Gareth couldn't stand it anymore as she stood so close to him, her warmth moved right through to his cold body, and he needed more of it. Before she could whine anymore he pulled her closer and tighter towards him so their lips collided, he didn't care about this anymore he just wanted the tension to be cut and released.

She yelped in surprise as he kissed her. She had never had anyone do so before and it was a rather strange feeling. She pulled back with wide eyes. "Now that is how you'll become king." She mumbled, out of breath and still stunned by his act. Yet she had enjoyed it and even wanted more. Her body felt hot like had lit a match inside her and it now spread throughout her body.

Gareth was taken back by the yelp and he pulled away stunned, he pulled his hand through his wet hair. Normally he was good at detecting things like this, she was the one that got so damn close to him in the first place, was she just teasing him? He turned a little pissed off that he'd let her get the better of him, he stood at the dresser and let his hands rest on either end. He would throw it away there was no way this marriage would ever be real, not if she ran away from him touching her.

And he was so close, for a moment today he thought he felt the kingdom was going to be his, because he started to become vulnerable to her. Now he would close up once again and it would be harder to let go as he did. "I will need to lay down," his head was slightly turned so she knew it was directed at her, but he didn't look her in the eye.

Tatiana watched him confused by his reaction. "Did...I...Do something wrong?" She asked. She nodded, getting the hint he needed space. She quickly let herself out of the room, feeling like she had ruined everything. She sulked down the hallway until she got to her room. She glanced at the door, not wanting to hid away all day. She entered her room and changed into a ridding dress.

She slipped out of the castle through the secret door and walked over to the stables. She stood in front of the steed she had ridden before. She pulled herself up onto the door and sat on it, while reaching back to pet the horse. "He's confusing. That was...my first kiss. How was I suppose t act?" She touched her lips and sighed.

"I want another one...Is that weird?" She glanced back at the horse and smiled, shaking her head. "Not like a horse would know." She rolled her eyes and stared at the ceiling.

Gareth sighed when she left the room. It was hard for him to let people into his life like that, and it was the first time he felt anything for a woman beyond lust, yet that's what drove him several moments ago. But it was different with her, and the way she looked after he kissed her, and the noise she made made him feel like she didn't like it at all, she didn't like him at all.

After sometime to cool off he felt that he needed to call a truce and apologize it was the least he could do for acting so foolish, he shouldn't have kissed her in the first place, maybe she just wasn't ready, or at least he hoped that was the case.

Gareth reached her quarters and knocked on the door, after a few moments he heard no movement he decided to open the door to find nothing but the dress she was wearing earlier on the bed. He let his head fall to the doorway, he really did it now, she could have ran away, or worse she could be really upset at him.

It then struck him that she could have went out for air, or at least it was his hopes, he remembered how he showed Tatiana the special entrance earlier, she must have used that. He sped off down the stairs in simple clothes, nothing princely at all, and he didn't care, he just wanted to make amends.

Once he was out he gazed around the property and couldn't see a sign of her anywhere, it then dawned on him, she might have gone back to the stables, since she had liked them so much. He arrived there shortly and he walked through looking for her but there was no sign, in a hurry he had passed over her easily without even noticing.

Thinking that she had run off he ran his hand through his hair once again, this meant he would have no chance of being king, or possibly happy for the rest of his life. He let his body hit the stable door, and he let his body sink down onto the hay, what had he done.

((I'm sorry I just realized I probably read your statement wrong up there, so he took it the wrong way, but I guess we can work with it haha))

(That's ok! I can work it out.)

Tatiana gasped, almost falling backwards when she heard a rustling noise nearby. She slowly jumped down off the door and inched her way into the opening. She grabbed a whip and walked over to hay pile. She dropped the whip upon seeing Gareth. "I thought you said you needed to lay down?" She asked, picking up the whip from the ground and hanging it back up.

She couldn't believe it. Did he need some alone time? Or could it be he was tired of her? She ignored the thoughts and placed her hands on her hips and sat down next to him. She stared down at her gloved hands and sighed. She felt too nervous to even look him in the eye.

"That dress looks really nice on you," he mumbled, now feeling stupid that she was actually there and he had reacted so drastically. "I'm sorry," he said turning to her, "I thought I made you angry and you decided to run away..." Gareth now looked down to the ground, she was still here, but probably didn't care to see him any longer, and surely would never want to be romantic with him. He really blew his only chance at gaining the kingdom.

"Oh, you caught me on my way out." She snorted and shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere." She blushed and covered her cheeks. She really didn't want to say it but he seemed so upset. "That was...just my first kiss." She mumbled quickly. She stood brushing off some hay from her dress.

She turned to face him. "What would make you think I would leave because of one simple kiss? If that was a reason to leave then I wouldn't be getting married to you." She said, leaning against the wall and reached up to tangle the end of the whip around her fingers.

Gareth couldn't help but notice she was holding a riding whip, and as much as he tried to ignore his male mind it only made him more interested, but he must suppress it. He shook his head, "You acted as if you didn't want it..." he said quietly, this was unusual for him to talk about this subject with anyone. "I'm sorry I ruined your first experience."

Now he felt even worse, not only had he screwed up their first kiss, it was Tatiana's first real kiss in her life, and it wasn't romantic or lovely in the slightest. To top that off, he had gotten frustrated and asked her to leave. He would make a horrible husband.

She chuckled softly. "It's fine, really. I was just worried about you. You seemed upset. I just wanted to give you space." She explained. She moved her hand from the whip and smiled. "I'm not upset." She said. She bent down, brushing off dust from her boots. She couldn't look him in the eye. He drove her crazy. She looked up at him through her bangs and couldn't help but want to run over and give him a hug. He still gave her the strange feelings she couldn't ignore.

Gareth now felt even more guilty, "I'm sorry for putting you through this, I guess I'm a little stressed over our circumstances, I shouldn't have approached you like that it wasn't respectful." he now looked up to her with sad eyes, he did feel like he was in the wrong. He brushed her bangs away so he could see her eyes properly so she could see that he was truly sorry for the way he acted.

His soft touch made her smile. "It's fine. Truly. I'm your future wife after all. Your allowed to do things as such." She said, grabbing his hand. She leaned over and kissed him gently. It was her duty to kiss him, she was his wife after all. She pulled away and winked. She wasn't about to let their first fight ruin everything. Gareth needed to be in a good mood if he was going to become his father's choice for king. His mind needed to cleared of all troubles.

Gareth was so happy she came to understand what this was all about, and for the first time he actually felt confident that they would get this kingdom, and rule it well. Her kiss was sweet on his lips, and he took it in for as long as he could have before she pulled away, which made him sad. He wanted to pull her in and kiss her roughly as it was what his body demanded, but he couldn't scare her away not now.

"I will miss chasing you..." he said quietly as he absently played with the bottom of her dress, the reason he had started to fall for her was the excitement they held between each other, and the overwhelming tension.

"Who says I still won't be running?" She grinned and wondered out of the stables, leaving him alone. She strolled around the court for a while before getting tired and heading back inside. She entered her champers and removed the dress, changing back into the one she had worn before. She entered her washroom and splashed cold water on to her face, trying to get her thoughts straight.

She let her hair free of the braid and wondered into the hallway, unsure what to do. She figured that Gareth might need some time alone after the misunderstanding. She decided that it was the perfect time to explore the west wing.

Before he could chase her Tatiana had left him in the dust. Instead of heading back quickly he went to pour some water on himself, his body heat had risen and it was the only thing he could do to stop him from wanting to go get her right now. He leaned against the wall breathing letting the water fall off of him freely.

After he was semi dry Gareth walked slowly back to his own quarters, and this time he really decided he could lay down. He hoped that Tatiana would be alright on her own. He now undressed and crawled underneath the covers and fell asleep slightly feverish from all the excitement of the afternoon.

Tatiana had wondered into a library and was sitting near a window, a large book in her lap. If she had known there so many books she would have come there much sooner. She flipped a page and smiled down at the worn pages. The book was filled with her favorite childhood stories.

She had sat there for an hour before she noticed how long she had been there. She stood and placed the book back where she had found it just in case she wasn't meant to be in there. She sneaked into the hallway and stood, wondering if she should do until diner.

Gavin had been having a rough day, his experience with his chosen partner had been harder than he thought, and part of him couldn't stand her. At the moment he was trying to get away from her, so he walked the passages unsure of where to go next. Suddenly he bumped into something familiar.

"Tatiana." he said with a sly grin, ever since the day she arrived Gavin had been thinking about her and her outburst at dinner.