Y/N's POV

Ashton's interesting. He has been here for around a week now. I've got to speak to him a lot this week. He's a nice guy and the children like him. 

I feel like we have become friends. Now that I know he isn't a threat, I have begun to trust him. His leg has healed so he can walk now. He's leaving today and to be honest I'll be sad to see him go.

I walk into the med hut, carrying his breakfast, which was a bowl of porridge.

"You're awake" I smile as I see him leaning over his bed, putting his few belongings into his bag that Calum had recovered for him.

He smiles at me.

"I brought you breakfast" I smile at him as I hand him the bowl.

"Thank you. I'll eat this then I'll be out of your hair" he says. He smiles but I couldn't help but notice the small look of disappointment in his eyes.

He sits down and brings a spoonful of porridge to his lips.

"Where will you go?" I ask as I sit down on the bed next to him.

"Honestly, I don't know." he sighs.

"You know you're welcome to stay" I say, nudging his shoulder. His head turns to look at me.

"Seriously?" he asks.

"Yeah, of course, everyone likes you. Obviously now that you're healed you would have to pull your own weight around here, but we would like to have you around" I say, giving him a genuine smile.

"I'd like that" he smiles.

Suddenly I feel his arms wrap around me, pulling me to his chest in a tight embrace.

I was surprised by his sudden action. I pat his back gently before pulling away.

"There's a spare bed in my cabin if you want, or you could stay in the med hut, it's up to you." I say as I stand up.

Ashton quickly finishes the last mouthful of his porridge before setting his bowl down the small table.

"I don't want to impose" he says sheepishly.

"You're not imposing. I know this hut isn't the most cheerful place and to be honest it would be nice to have some company" I shrug.

"Okay, as long as you don't mind" Ashton smiles.

I notice he had a really nice smile. I smile back at him.

"Come on, I'll give you the tour" I say as I stand up and nod my head towards the door. He stands up and follows me out.

Ashton's POV

This is the first time I had fully looked around the village. It was small, no more than fifteen houses that all join the central trodden down path.

I follow Y/N down the path, we reach a small wooden house that borders the forest. We walk inside.

It was a plain little home, there was a counter in the corner and a small table. There were two beds in the far corner, separated by another small table.

"You can take that one" she smiles at me as she gestures to the bed that wasn't covered in clothes.

I put my bag down on the bed before sitting down and testing the mattress. It was comfier than the one in the med hut. It was nothing compared to my mattress at the castle but I didn't mind.

"Ready for the grand tour?" she announces grandly.

I chuckle as I stand up from my bed and follow her out.

She shows me around the whole village, pointing out each building and what it is used for, most is housing that they had put extra beds in but they had buildings for cooking, washing, farming and they used the butcher's house to cut up all the meat.

"So do you have any idea what you want to do around here?" Y/N smiles at me as she feeds one of the horses that roamed the open field we were stood in.

I shrug. The problem with growing up in a castle is that I had people to do these tasks for me.

I have no idea how to wash clothes, or harvest crops or prepare a meal.

"Well you look like quite a strong guy, my first instinct would be to help the carpenters but as you said you 'don't have a passion for wood' maybe not" she pondered, tapping the side of her cheek as she thought.

I chuckled, she had remembered the complete lie I had told her. Even though the story I had told her was a lie, it warmed my heart to know she was paying enough attention to me to remember what I said.

I found that back at the castle, people would talk to me all the time, but no one really listened, unless I was giving them an order.

"Have you ever hunted before?" she questions. 

I smile, that was something I actually knew how to do. I nod in response.

"I used to go with my best friend all the time" I add. That was true. Michael and I would always go hunting. He was easily one of my most skilled guards and my best friend.

"Okay so you could do that, the hunting party should be leaving soon. You could tag along, see if that's what you'd like to do" she offers with a smile.

Her smile never failed to amaze me. How could someone have been through so much but still have the brightest smile. She's so caring and everyone in the village loves her.

I could see why. She's a leader, but she doesn't act like it. She doesn't force anyone, doesn't make anyone do anything for her. Everyone knows that she's in charge, but she doesn't see herself as above anyone else, and somehow that made her more beautiful.

Calum walks out of the farm hut, which I learnt was also where they kept the hunting gear. He was carrying some bows and three quivers of arrows over his broad shoulder.

"Calum" Y/N shouts, grabbing his attention. He turns and walks into the field towards us.

"Ashton is going to join your hunting party today" she smiles at him.

Calum had a stern look on his face, his expression unreadable, which for some reason intimidated me.

"As long as that's alright with you" I add quietly. This was obviously the area Calum was in charge of and I didn't want to impose on him.

Calum's face lightened as he chuckled, he patted me on the shoulder.

"I'm just messing with you, course it's alright, the more the merrier" Calum smiles at me.

"Brilliant" Y/N claps her hands together.

"I'm off to sort out the chickens, have fun" she smiles at us before turning and walking back into the village, towards the chicken coop.

I watched as she walked away, the sunlight making her look like a glowing angel.

-

I'm surrounded by woodland. It felt amazing after limping around the village all week. The hunting party had split up so it was only Calum and I.

Josh, the sixteen year old hunter, had taken Lily and Jake with him to the lake to teach them to hunt fish.

I learnt their dynamics. Calum was a master of land hunting. Josh was best at water hunting. Since we started, I've shot a couple of squirrels.

My aim is a bit rusty, as I haven't been hunting in a while, but Calum seemed impressed.

"I'm glad you decided to stick around" Calum smiled as we sat down to take a break.

"Really?" I asked in surprise. I hadn't spoken to Calum as much as I had Y/N. I wasn't even sure that he really liked me.

"Yeah, it's nice to have a guy my own age around" he smiles.

"Don't get me wrong, I love everyone in this village, but it's nice to talk to someone my own age, it makes this whole situation feel more normal I guess" he shrugs.

I know how he feels. Everyone at the castle is significantly older or younger than me. The only true friend I have is Michael.

All the other guards expect me to follow after my father, as they served him for many years. Michael is relatively new, he treats me like a friend, not like a Prince.

"Isn't Y/N the same age as you?" I ask.

"Yeah, but she's like a sister to me. She's a mother to this whole village but I'll always see her as my little sister, even if there's only a month between us" he shrugs again.

"Speaking of Y/N, when are you going to tell her about your crush on her?" he smirks at me.

"What?" I say in shock, not believing what he just said.

"You heard me, and don't try and deny it, I know that look" he says with a smirk as he shoves my shoulder gently, he was playful but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"What look?"

"The look of curiosity and awe in your eyes at everything she does. She could be saying the most boring sentence in the world but you would hang off her every word" he says as he looks off into the distance.

I could tell by the glazed over look in his eye that his mind was elsewhere, there was still that small hint of sadness.

I decided not to ask. If Calum wanted to tell me, he would. It was obvious, whatever it was, was personal and I didn't expect him to blurt it out to some guy he barely knew. Calum scrunches up his nose as he sniffs the air, snapping himself out of his trance.

"For all means go for it, she must like you. She's wary of all outsiders but she seems to trust you." he said.

"She deserves some happiness" he mutters as he stood up, gathering his things ready to get moving again. I stand up and pick up my bow.

"But if you hurt her, I will kill you" he says sternly, looking into my eyes. I knew he was deadly serious.

We continue our hunt until around lunchtime, we meet up with the others and go back to the village.

Y/N is playing a hoop tossing game with some of the younger children when we walk back. She smiled and greeted us as we walked towards her.

"How did it go?" she asked me, her familiar smile gracing her lips.

"I'm a bit rusty, but it was nice, I think I want to be a hunter" I say, smiling at her.

"Great" she smiles back.

I spend the rest of the day following Y/N around. I helped her tend to the animals and play with the younger children.

Seeing her playing with them was amazing, she looked like a mother playing with her children.

It was beautiful. She's beautiful.

The sun sets and we go back to Y/N's cabin. Well, I guess it's ours now.

We say our goodnights and crawl into our beds. I lie so that I'm facing her, she closes her eyes.

I don't sleep immediately, instead I watch her as she drifts off.

She's so beautiful, she looks so natural. I've never met anyone like her before and I don't want to leave.

Maybe I could stay here forever, I didn't even know this village existed, I not even sure where in the kingdom  it is as I came here unconscious.

I know that if I don't go back when my month is up, mother will send the guards to look for me. But would they find me here?

I push my thoughts to the back of my mind and drift off to sleep.

-

I awake to the sound of footsteps walking towards my bed. I open my eyes slowly to see Calum walking towards Y/N. The room is still dark, it must be early in the morning. 

I close my eyes so it seems like I'm sleeping, but I watch through squinted eyes, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"Y/N" Calum says softly. I could tell by the sound of his voice, that he had been crying. He shakes her shoulder gently, awakening her from her peaceful slumber.

"Calum?" she says, her voice heavy with sleep. She seems to wake up a little, "What's wrong?" she asks as she looks up at him, the fatigue was completely gone from her voice, replaced with only concern.

"I had another dream" he whispers sadly. I couldn't see his face, but his voice was pained.

Y/N sits up and shuffles to one side so that Calum can sit down next to her. She opens her arms wide. He cuddles into her side, holding her tightly as he rests his head on her shoulder. She rubs his back soothingly.

"I just miss her so much" he chokes out through quiet sobs.

"I know" Y/N responds in her gentle voice.

"They should have taken me instead" he sobbed.

"I know" she repeats gently. "Cal, you tried your hardest, there was nothing else you could do" she said calmly as she tried to soothe him.

I had no idea who they were talking about, but it was obvious she was important to Calum, whoever she was. 

I felt for him. Whenever I've seen him this week he seemed so strong, intimidating even, but here he was reduced to tears. I felt for him, he seemed strong, but he was clearly broken on the inside.