Louis' pov:

When Louis woke up the next day, he had come to two conclusions. One, it was a beautiful and bright morning and he was going to make sure it went well. And secondly, Harry Styles was a total ratbag.

Louis hadn't met anyone more of a windy-wallet. He was easily one of the most boastful people he had ever talked to. The prince didn't deserve even an ounce of Louis' precious time. He only wanted to see if the prince was alright (no he just wanted to know what was going on) and what did he get for it? A door slammed in his face! No, he decided, Harry wasn't going to get an ounce of his time.

Louis groaned out as he stretched, finding one more reason to be exasperated at Harry. He just wouldn't stop! They were riding all day the day before and the prince just refused to get tired! It all added to his annoyance. Poor Louis, he thought to himself. He had to go through so much and at the end of the day, the prince didn't see it fit to even grace the table for their evening meal. And seemingly, Louis wasn't supposed to be curious about it. He was right when he said that the prince was a total ratbag.

Turning up his dainty nose, Louis quickly got dressed – or as quickly as a self-respectable man who takes great pride on his looks would – and exited his chambers. He was famished and desperately needed some food in his body. Just as he rounded the corner, his boots echoing in the empty corridor, he noticed the prince talking to a guard. He spun around without missing a heartbeat and marched back to his chambers, closing the door behind him.

Louis took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. He opened the door again and tip-toed back towards Harry's chambers. His eyes searched for any trace of him and only after finding none, he breathed out a sigh and continued on his way to the dining room. He sat down and the servants instantly served him some warm soup with what looked like boiled lettuce, carrots and some red beetroot. He swallowed some down, his stomach rumbling with hunger.

Soft footsteps walked towards him and he looked up to see the princess smiling at him. He got up and gave her a small bow which she returned. "Are you enjoying your soup, your highness?" She inquired, sitting down herself as a steaming bowl was kept in front of her.

"Absolutely delicious as always, princess." He replied. "Please tell me you didn't make it yourself or I fear I would have to marry you this instant." The princess giggled, her dimples flashing and Louis marveled at them. The two siblings seemed to have the same dimples and he instantly found them adorable.

A smile slipped out of him as she said, "Empty compliments are not as flattering as you think, my dearest Prince Charming. And no, I did not make the soup but I am pleased that you think I could make something this delicious." The Prince emitted out a pleasant laugh, charmed by the princess's witty words. "Also, please call me Gemma. It is quite taxing to call each other 'your highness' all the time, don't you think?"

"Oh so are we on casual terms already, Gemma?" Louis asked, tasting out the name on his tongue.

"Well, you have made a rather decent impression on me, Louis. May I have the privilege to call you by your name as well?" Louis only nodded to her question, thinking that if they were moving fast, it would only add to his pleasure. "Very well. You promised to accompany me for a walk so I could show you around the palace. We wouldn't want you getting lost now do we?"

"Of course not" Louis returned with a grin. As soon as they finished their breakfast of soup and some fresh fruit, the Prince and the Princess were off to wander their day away.

...

After the Princess had shown Louis around the palace, they entered the gardens to have a simple walk around. Gemma had her fingers wrapped around the loop of Louis' arm as they looked at the marvelous flowers bordering the grounds. He admired the colourful range of flowers, their petals standing proud under the afternoon sun. It reminded him of back home, of the time he used to watch the gardeners tend to the plants as he sat on a windowsill along with his mother. The memory was sharp in his mind despite the fact being that it was so long ago. He wished he could be young again, go back to the time when everything was easy and all he had to do was play in the gardens and learn his awful lessons. He would give anything to sit in front of his tutor now as he taught him philosophy and things he was never going to need. Maybe – he was interrupted on his thoughts and he realised that Gemma had asked him a question. "Louis? Would you like to spar with me?"

He looked at her in surprise. "Spar with you?" They had arrived at a ring like structure on the ground, clearly meant for practicing. There was a wooden stand with some swords and spears hanging upside down along with the protective gear.

She narrowed her eyes and Louis almost leaned back from the threatening look in her eyes. "Yes. Unless of course you are too afraid to?"

His lips twitched. "Give me a sword then."
...

"En garde" she said, her head held high. Louis counted to three seconds before he sped forward, his sword in front of him. He could see her speed towards him through the gap in his headgear. His wrist flicked and the sword touched hers before he sprang back, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He gave a devilish smile and hoped the princess won't be able to see. This was going to be interesting.

He sprung forward again, his sword ready. She brought her own up in a defending arc while he brought his down. The moment their swords connected, he pressed forward. Gemma held her back but jumped backwards, her sword slicing the air.

Louis' sword pressed forward, the point directly in front of the princess. She jumped backward and moved her sword down to parry him. He jumped back, the force of her blow surprising him. The air whipped around them as she jerked her sword forward. Louis' movements were quick as the wind as he brought his sword down. Their swords clanged against each other, the sound seeming to echo in the empty field. She pushed forward, pressing down on him.

Enough was enough, Louis thought. She was good but this had gone on for too long already. He sprang backward and brought up his sword in an arc. His right leg came forward and hooked behind hers. With one quick pull, the princess fell backward just as he wrapped a hand around her waist. Her sword clattered at the ground and his pointed straight at her throat. He took the headgear off and smiled before taking hers off too.

She gave him a begrudging smile. But before she could say anything, he pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her. "You are better at fencing than I thought, my lady." He said. "In fact –" A cough interrupted them.

Louis looked up and his face flushed. His grip on the princess instantly relaxed and he let her stand up before removing his arm. "Your highness" He nodded and at the same time the princess said, "brother"

The prince had an eyebrow raised as he walked upto them. Louis looked down and waited for the apology he well deserved after last night. When none came forward, he looked up, his brow furrowed, to find the prince already looking down on him. "No need to be embarrassed, your highness." Harry said. "I understand that you are here to court my sister and I wouldn't want to stop you from reaching your happiness."

Louis gaped. The prince was waiting for his apology. As if he hadn't banged a door in front of his face! How dare the prince expect an apology from him?! Nostrils flaring, Louis looked straight into Harry's eyes and said, "Would you like to spar, prince?" More like zounderkite prince. Truly, he was the stupidest Prince he had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

Green eyes widening in surprise, the prince returned, "Of course, why not? If you are sure then I see no problem." Yes he was very sure, thank you. He was going to defeat the Prince so bad, he wouldn't ever dare to disrespect Louis.

He grabbed the sword from the princess and threw it at her brother. The prince's hand whipped up to catch it, his muscles flexing. Louis swallowed.

"En garde" He said, blue eyes meeting green. Louis sprang forward, his sword slicing through the air. Harry moved just as fast, Louis' every blow parried in a quick motion. Harry's feet were planted square, only his arms doing the work while Louis moved back and forth, trying to find a chink in the Prince's defense. The wind whipped Harry's hair around, the long strands brushing against his arms. The red leather of his jacket was drawn taught, flexing with each blow.

Harry's mouth was drawn in a slight pout as his eyes fixed on Louis'. He bit his lips as Louis whipped his sword forward. Swallowing, he turned his eyes back to the prince's movements just as he pressed down on Louis. They were both breathing hard by this time and a soft sheen of sweat was coating Louis' arms. Harry's nose twitched as Louis' leg crept forward, trying to hook behind his. The prince, having caught him, moved his leg away in an instant.

Louis bit his lips in frustration. A piece of information crept up his mind. The prince was a commander. He commanded the entire kingdom's army. Maybe, Louis wasn't so sure after all.

Catching the fleeting moment of hesitation in Louis' eyes, the prince swept forward and striked. He had barely any time to block, the force sending him stumbling backwards. Harry had another blow ready. Before Louis could recover, he brought his sword down in a cutting arc, the strength of his sword causing Louis' to fall to the ground. Falling backwards on his arse, Louis gaped up at the Prince. Harry smiled without any hint of a smirk. His dimples flashed at Louis as he asked, "Your highness, why did you run away from me in the morning?" 

A/N: Do you guys like the chapter? How was the fight scene? I think I perticularly suck at those. How is Louis going to react to being called out? You'll find out in the next chapter!

The next one is where everything finally starts to happen. I'm super excited for you guys to read it. We'll be starting the middle part of the story, sort of. It's where...let's just say Harry starts to doubt things ;)

Anyway hope you enjoyed this one! The next chapter will be out of Sunday. Don't forget to check out my announcements for a peek! xx