"I don't understand why I need to wear a dress when I'm going to be riding a horse in the woods," I complained to Ross who was walking me out towards the stables. My maids had adamantly refused to make me even the fanciest of riding gear if it involved pants, so I was wearing a blue velvet riding dress adorned with doubled breasted gold buttons and a hat that rested on the hair that was piled onto of my head. With Ross' matching riding suit, you would think we had come from the Victorian era. 

"Because there will be photographers my dear," he laughed, placing his hand on the small of my back as we walked towards the stables. 

"Shouldn't I be wearing some kind of protection?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at him, "Like a helmet? Or elbow pads or something?" 

"I seem to remember you being quoted as saying 'having my eyebrows plucked is worse than being punched in the face,' and I imagine that wasn't an exaggeration," he laughed, "Either way, you will not be falling off any horse today Lady Atlas." He pushed open the stable doors and I was immediately hit with the stench of animal. 

A stable hand came to us immediately. "Who will it be today, your highness?" he asked, bowing. 

"I'll take Ace today, as long as he's feeling up to it," Ross said politely, "And my date here will take Acorn." 

"As long as she is feeling up to it. . ." I trailed nervously. The stables were dark, but I could just make out the hulking masses behind the doors and hear the snorts and stamps of the horses. I instinctively grabbed onto Ross' arm. It wasn't often that I was faced with something bigger than me that I couldn't at least fight off. 

"Is the great Atlas actually scared?" Prince Ross teased as he felt me jump at the loud clank of the wood barring one of the compartments. 

"No," I shot back, but then I saw the stable hand walking a giant animal towards us. It was a sleek, black stallion with muscles that moved taught under it's skin with every step. It's hooves were large and I thought of how easily it could break free of it's handler and run me down.

I took a step back, feeling panic rise in my throat. I looked around instinctively, ready to run for the closest accent. 

Prince Ross chuckled at my reaction. "Atlas, I grew up with Ace, he would not hurt a fly." He reached out a hand for me, but I didn't take it.

"I'm not going near that thing," I said, taking another step back and pressed myself up against the rough wood walls. 

"Would you please take Ace outside and wait for us there," Ross asked the stable hand more seriously, "I can get Acorn myself." 

"Of course, your majesty," he said, turning the horse around and walking out the doors on the other side of the barn. 

 "Come with me Atlas," Ross said, motioning me for him to follow him farther into the stable, "Acorn is my sister's horse, she's a lot less intimidating than Ace, but just as sweet." 

I watched him warily, but I had to remember that I trusted Ross. My feet shuffled across the straw strewn on the floor and I stood behind him as he unlocked the gate and grabbed onto the reins of the horse inside. 

Acorn was smaller than Ace, but still larger than I was. I had not expected these animals to be so big from what I had to seen in magazines and on TV. Prince Ross gently stroked the space between her eyes and then started leading her out of the stable towards me. 

"Come say hello Atlas," Ross said, taking my hand in his free one. 

Swallowing the fear I felt, I took a few experimental steps and reached out my finger tips towards the spot where Ross had pet. The hair was softer than I imagined in would be, and Acorn pushed her head into my hand, causing me to jump back. 

"She likes you," he said, smiling. 

I followed him out towards the handler and Ace, where a couple of photographers were setting up. I tried to stay apart from the horses, but the photographers made so many quick demands that I was forced to get comfortable with them. We started on the ground, near all the different plants in the garden and in a million different poses that were supposed to look casual. Ross nailed them all perfectly, his head tilted at all the right angles and shoulders slouched at the most casual angles. 

Then came the part about getting me on the horse. It took some coaxing from Ross and a little help from the handler who grabbed a small set of steps to help me reach the stirrup. Ross was luckily tall enough to keep a tight grip on my waist as I eventually swung my leg over the saddle. My legs barely fit around the horse, and I was once again reminded of just how big horses actually were. 

I felt terror grip me as the handler started moving acorn forward, and Ross was there with a hand on my leg as I jolted forward with the rocky movement of the animal. I was going slow enough that Ross was easily able to keep up with me, but I couldn't pay attention to him as I tried so desperately not slip off the side. 

After Ross gave me a crash course on how to handle the reigns, the stable man handed them to me and I was completely stranded on Acorn by myself. I watched as Ross smoothly swung his leg over the giant Ace as if he had done this a thousand times. I was enraptured with how comfortable and professional he seemed with all this, while I was gripping the leather reigns with white knuckles as my dress bunched up all around my legs and waist. 

Once we had trotted around the garden a few times with the photographers taking pictures of us, all of them were dismissed by Ross and we were joined by a few guards on horses that would be trailing us for our date. As far as I knew, we were just going on a ride through the walled in forest, but considering how dense it could get, I understood why we needed them around us. I was thankful there was someone that could go get help if/ when I incidentally hurt myself.  

"Are you ready my dear?" he asked as he pulled up his horse next to mine. 

"No, and stop calling me that," I snapped, readjusting my skirt for the thousandth time in frustration. 

"Not a chance," Ross laughed, and then flicked the reigns to start Ace into a fast trot. 

I was forced to follow him. "Just do what he's doing," I muttered to Acorn, who seemed to know to follow them anyway. 

The pace we were going at created a breeze that blew the stay strands of hair out of my face and made my skirt flutter out behind me. I was starting to get used to riding, and I managed to catch up with Ross and ride beside him. 

He looked over at me and broke out into a smile, and I realized that I was already smiling. I urged Acorn to go faster and let out a laugh I didn't realize I was holding in as we raced down the straight path through the forest. 

Ross let me have my fun, but Ace was much stronger than Acorn. He managed to get in front of me and forced us to slow down as we edged into a grassy clearing. The guards stopped at the edge of the clearing, giving us our privacy as we stopped on the other edge by a tall tree with branches that formed a canopy that shaded the ground underneath. 

Prince Ross swung off of Ace and pulled a blanket off of his saddle that I hadn't noticed before. I watched as he spread it out and looked at me for approval. 

"It's lovely Ross," I said, scratching the back of my neck, "but I don't exactly know how to get down. . ."

The prince startled. "Oh! Right, I am sorry," he apologized, coming to my side. He held out his arms, and I folded my knee up to try to swing my leg over, but the buttons on my boot caught on the side of the saddle and there was a split second where I tried to catch myself before I was slipping over the side of the saddle and crashing right onto of Ross. He wasn't prepared to catch my full weight and we both ended up in a heap of velvet dress and limbs. 

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry your majesty," I said, trying to detangle myself from him but only pressing my hand hard into his stomach and causing the breath to leave out in a gasp. 

I froze, not wanting to make this any worse. Our eyes met.

Suddenly we were both a mess of giggles as we finally parted from each other. We brushed ourselves off and stood up. 

"Sorry about that," I muttered, brushing the dirt off his shoulder. 

"Do not worry," Ross said, pulling a leaf out of my hair and then brushing stray hairs out of my face. 

 We looked at each other for a few moments as his hand paused behind my ear. His hand pressed against my cheek and drew me upwards as he bent down to kiss me. 

We both sighed as we pulled apart, but I felt a pang of regret in my stomach as he lead me over to the blanket. I couldn't pin point where it came from, because as I thought of Sjin I didn't feel as guilty as I had before. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and gave a sharp breath out. I made the decision to just enjoy the time out here with Ross away from all the other selected and the rest of his family. I just wouldn't kiss him anymore today. 

After we settled onto the blanket, we slipped into a peaceful silence. The only sounds came from the slightest breeze and the quiet stamping and breathing of the horses. I was just barely able to hear the occasional clicking of metal against metal from the guards, but I knew they typically turned away to give us privacy. 

"Did you ever want to come here?" Ross asked after a while. 

We were laying down next to each other, starring up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves. 

"What do you mean?" I asked, "Like when I was younger?"

"When the selection was announced, did you want to enter or did you do it because my father made it mandatory this year?" he asked, turning his head towards me. 

"Why do you ask such questions Ross?" I sighed, throwing my arm over my eyes, "wasn't my answer after the report good enough?" 

"You never did give me an answer," he mumbled. 

"Not an auditory one."

Prince Ross sat up. "I only ask because I do not  want to put all this effort into courting someone who is just going to leave when things get hard. I want to be with someone who wants to be with me just as much as I want to be with them," he said, looking down at me. 

I moved my arm so that it was across my forehead and I could look the prince in the eye. I didn't want to lie to him, but if I told him the truth I would be doing exactly what he didn't want me to do. I couldn't let go of Sjin right now, and I wasn't prepared to be a princess.

"Prince Ross this is all moving a bit fast. You still have 26 other girls to choose from. Can't we just enjoy our time together without having to think about the future yet?" 

"The future is all I can think about," Ross urged, "That is why we are both here right now." 

"I thought it was because you wanted to go horseback riding," I said sarcastically. 

"You know that is not what I meant," he scolded, "I am talking about the whole selection. The reason why we even met. It is meant to give me the chance to find a future bride and queen." 

This conversation was treading into dangerous territory that I didn't want to venture in to. I tried to change the subject. 

"Tell me something about your childhood," I said, turning my head the other way so I didn't have to look at him. 

"Atlas," Ross sighed, but then seemed to realize he wasn't willing to fight during what could still turn out to be a good date. He laid back down and thought for a moment. 

"When my brother and I were very small, the french royals would come to visit every summer for about two weeks. Our parents would be working very long days during that time, so that left the two princesses Adalene and Adalicia and us to our own devices," Ross smiled at the memory, "We used to be such menaces. We would release frogs into their guest rooms and they would replace our tooth paste with mayonnaise. And the pranks only got worse as we all grew older."

"And then what?" I asked, smiling at the idea of the young princes causing havoc in the castle. 

"And then Chris and Adalene got closer and they were too busy with each other to play with the rest of us. Besides, they were both the masterminds in our games, so it was not the same when they stopped. They rarely come to visit anymore anyway." 

"I'm sorry," I said for lack of anything better to say. 

"It is alright, we are so busy now running the country that we do not have much time for fun anymore." 

"I can't imagine how stressful that would be," I mumbled. 

"I has really taken it's toll on Alex," Ross said pensively, "I feel like we have not had any time together as brothers since we turned 21."

"Why on him most of all?" I asked, curious. 

Ross swallowed hard. "He is the first born. Everything tends to fall on him, even if Chris and I are there to help him. I know he has not treated you very well, but trust me when I say he is a very kind and generous person. He was always the one protecting Chris and I and then eventually Olivia growing up, and now he is trying to take on all the stress of the country so we do not have to. I do not think he has been genuinely happy since this whole selection process started." 

I felt guilty for all the trouble I've caused him. He doesn't have a right to hate me because of my caste, but I shouldn't be constantly fighting with him and giving him grief just because he was born a one. 

"I just wish one of the selected would get through to him, because he refuses to talk to either of us," Ross continued, "I think he would be more willing to open up to someone if he felt they were doing it out of love and not for political reasons."

I thought of the rest of the girls. None of them seemed to be the kind of person that Prince Alexandre would "open up to." I felt bad for him; he seemed so alone. He was pushing away his brothers and not letting any of the selected get close to him.

Ross sighed and looked over at me, giving me a small smile. "Anyway, it is your turn to tell me something about your childhood my dear."

I tried to think of something to tell Ross about, but my thoughts were consumed by Prince Alexandre.