When the car reached us, it pulled over onto the dirt behind us so that it was no longer on the road and anyone driving down the road wouldn't have any trouble getting past the black car or worse crash into it because they couldn't slow down fast enough. A few seconds later the driver's side door opened up and a man in a black suit stepped out of the car. He smoothed out his suit jacket and looked over at us as he shut the door. I heard the car lock as I looked over at Prince Carter. It was obvious by the look on the prince's face that he was not happy to see the man that was walking over to us.

If Emma were still here then she would probably know who this guy was, but unfortunately she wasn't so I had to wait and see if one of them was going to let me know who this man was. All I could figure out though, was that this was someone from Prince Carter's life since it was clear that Prince Carter knew who this guy was. My guess was that this was his bodyguard. The man certainly looked like a bodyguard with the suit and the sunglasses. And with how serious he seemed.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" Prince Carter asked as the man stopped before us. He didn't make a move to take off his sunglasses so I couldn't really see his entire face and tell what he actually looked like, but I could tell that he didn't look that happy. Maybe he didn't want to be chasing after the prince.

"You haven't been as careful as you thought," he replied.

"Who told you where to find me?" Prince Carter asked.

"No one you've talked to since you've been on the run," he said his head slightly turning towards me before turning his head back to Prince Carter. I saw the prince glance over at me for a second before he looked back at the man standing before us.

"I'm not going back," Prince Carter said sounding a bit worried. I'm sure that's what he thought was going to happen with this man showing up.

"I didn't expect you were going to come home easily, but it's dangerous for you to be out here on your own with protection. You have no idea what people are capable of," he responded.

I swear he was looking at me when he said that. It definitely felt like a dig towards me and probably my family as well. The man was right though. Prince Carter had no idea what people are capable of, but that didn't mean that everyone was going to hurt the prince. There were some people, like me and my family, who wanted to help him. I think though that Prince Carter's parents wanted him to believe that everyone outside of the palace wasn't going to have his best interests at heart.

They wanted him to believe that everyone who wasn't in their inner circle were people that couldn't be trusted and would end up hurting him. Instead of letting Prince Carter find out for himself who the good people were and who the bad people were, they were telling him that because they wanted to choose who their son interacted and hung with out for the rest of his life. And I knew I was not one of those people they wanted their son to be seen with. I wasn't in that inner circle of royalty and the rich.

"I can handle myself and I've found people who only want to help me," Prince Carter replied.

"That's because they have you fooled. You'll eventually see that you can't trust anyone beyond the city walls," the man said. I felt like he was still looking at me.

"I'll be the judge of that. My parents are just scared that someone is going to change my views of the world and that I'll rule differently than they have," Prince Carter said. He didn't seem to want to back down to this man. I wondered if they were actually friends or if Prince Carter wasn't fond of this guy whenever he was around.

"Sounds like your friend needs to learn that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Same thing applies to people. They are bad people out here, but there are some good ones. I have no intentions of holding the prince captive and demanding money from the king and queen. He wanted to see what was outside of the palace and that's what me and my family are doing. We're helping him, not hurting him. Get to know someone before you assume the worst of them," I said looking from the prince over to the man standing before us.

If the man wasn't looking at me before, he was definitely looking at me now. I stared back at him as he removed his sunglasses from his face and tucked them into a pocket that was in the inside of his suit jacket. Besides the dark brown hair, he had brown eyes and a serious look on his face. It was a look that was hard to tell exactly what he was thinking in that brain of his. I wasn't sure if he actually believed what the king and queen wanted their son to think. Or if he was just doing his job and relaying a message to the prince for them.

He could actually believe that there were good people outside of the city walls and that the king and queen were wrong, but I knew that he didn't dare say that aloud to them. But then again he could actually believe the king and queen so I felt the need to tell him that he shouldn't judge people that he didn't know.

"I'm sure he knows that he shouldn't judge someone, but he's been ordered by my parents to say what they want him to say and what they want me to hear," Prince Carter said as I looked over back at him to see that he was looking back at me.

"I know, but just in case he actually agrees with your parents, I thought I'd mention that," I replied giving him a smile. Prince Carter smiled back as the man said, "Your highness, I would like to speak to you in private if Miss Branson doesn't mind."

"I don't mind," I said looking over at the man. It didn't surprise me that he knew my name.

"I'll be right back," Prince Carter said touching my arm lightly before following the man a short distance away from me. Fortunately for me, I could still hear them.

The man had thought that he had walked away far enough from me, but since there was nothing around us to drown out his voice I could hear what they were saying. I turned away from them and pretended like I was busy watching something that wasn't actually there in front of me so that I could listen to their conversation without them actually knowing that I was listening to their conversation. It wasn't clear at first as to what the man, who I was still thinking was Prince Carter's bodyguard, wanted to talk to the prince about.

They seemed to be talking about something that they both knew what they were talking about but weren't elaborating so that I would be able to understand what they were talking about to each other. It definitely made me think that this man was someone who was around Prince Carter a lot since they appeared to be used to each other.

"What are you actually doing out here?" the man asked the prince

"I'm finding out what the world is like for myself without my parents' influence, that's what I'm doing out here. You know how unprepared I feel to become king," Prince Carter replied.

"That's not what I mean," the man said.

"Then I have no idea what you're asking me," the prince said.

"Yes you do. You know what I'm talking about, you're just avoiding the subject," he replied. I heard Prince Carter sigh and pause for a minute or two before he said, "There's nothing going on if that's what you're thinking. And nothing's ever going to happen. Don't worry about it."

"If you think there's nothing going on, then you're lying to yourself," the man responded as he scoffed. He obviously didn't believe Prince Carter.

"It doesn't matter. Nothing's going to happen. My parents would make sure it would never happen. Plus, she doesn't see me that way," Prince Carter said sighing and giving in instead of continue to deny what the man was trying to get him to admit.

Suddenly I knew what they were talking about. They were talking about me. From the way it sounded, it seemed like the man had noticed that there might be something between Prince Carter and me. If there was something between the prince and I, it was all on him and not on me. I didn't see him any other way but a friend. There was no way that I could fall for someone in a month. I barely knew the guy. Not to mention that I was dead set on not ever being a part of that lifestyle. It didn't bother me that I would only ever be friends with the prince. I was just fine with things staying that way.

But it seemed like Prince Carter could want more. He seemed to know that things were never going to happen between us. Not only because I didn't see him that way, but also because his parents would never let us happen. It was something that wasn't worth it because we would only be able to go so far with the relationship before it would have to end. I knew that friendship was the only relationship we were going to have because a romantic relationship was always going to be doomed from the start because of who he was.

"Things can change. She might not see you that way now, but a couple months from now her feelings for you can change. And I think they will change, but you're right your parents will make sure a relationship with you two will never happen. I'm sure they don't even want you to be friends with a girl like her. She's not fit to be queen," the man said. That definitely stung a little bit since it felt like he was saying that I was too beneath the prince to be with him.

"I actually think she'll be a good queen. She knows the people and what they want better than my own parents do. And she's been a good friend to me so far so I don't see why she can't be my friend," Prince Carter replied.

It was good to know that he was defending me instead of throwing me under the bus and agreeing with the man. I was glad to know that Prince Carter didn't think of me the way that his parents did. He actually felt like I was worthy enough to be his friend and that felt good. I didn't care what the man thought about me because everything he said wasn't true and that was because he had no idea who I was, but I was glad to know that Prince Carter wasn't going to be influenced by his parents or this man no matter how long he had known either of them.

He was starting to think for himself and realize that everything that his parents were telling wasn't true. Prince Carter was forming his own opinions and doing what he thought was right. Being out here and away from his parents' influence was definitely doing him some good and I think the longer he stayed out here, the better it would get for him as a person.

"You've only known this girl for a month. You don't know anything about her," the man replied.

"That's longer than you've known her. What you got on that paper you printed about her isn't the whole truth. Those are just basic facts. She's more than those facts," Prince Carter said.

"You better be careful before you get in so deep that you can't get out. Like you said, your parents would never let you be with her so you can bet marrying her is out of the question," the man said. Prince Carter didn't say anything after that, but that was most likely because a few seconds later a car door opened and then shut. It seemed like the man was leaving.

I turned around to see what was going just as the black car was started up and then pulled onto the road. It drove off and then eventually disappeared down the road after making a u-turn to go back the way it came. Prince Carter came over to me and kept on walking once he had reached me. I started walking and picked up my pace a little bit until I was walking along beside the prince. We didn't say anything for the longest time. I kind of figured that Prince Carter was lost in his own thoughts and when he was ready to talk he would.

It was probably better if he was the first one to speak anyways. I wasn't sure if he wanted me to know about the conversation with the man that he had so it was probably best not to mention that I had actually overheard what had been said between the two men until Prince Carter brought it up himself. However, I could ask who the man actually was since I was still guessing he was a bodyguard, but I wanted to know for sure. So, I waited for a few minutes just to give Prince Carter some time alone in his own thoughts before I asked him who the man was.

"My bodyguard. Apparently we don't have a great relationship like I thought we did. I thought that he was on the same page as me," Prince Carter said sighing. When I looked over at him I saw that he looked disappointed. I guess that Prince Carter had thought that he could trust his bodyguard and that his bodyguard was on his side, not his parents' side.

"Your parents are the ones who give him his paycheck so he's probably thinking about his job and not you," I replied looking over at him. He stopped so I did too.

"Yeah I guess so. Could you hear our conversation?" Prince Carter asked as he looked at me.

"Yeah, you guys didn't move far enough away from me," I replied knowing that he was probably going to bring up his feelings for me now since we were on the topic of the conversation that he had with his bodyguard. He sighed and looked away from me before saying, "It kind of sucks when you want something you know you can't have."

Prince Carter looked back at me after what he said. I wasn't quite sure what to say after that and I knew that he was waiting for me to say something, but I wasn't coming up with anything. And I couldn't figure out if that was because I actually didn't know what to say to him or if I was too afraid to say the wrong thing. I could have just told him that he was right, it sucks when you want something that you can't have, but you should go for it anyways. You should take a risk, but this was different.

We both already knew the outcome and we would both just end up getting our hearts broken because we could never actually be together. There were so many things that just wouldn't work out between us. I didn't want to live in his kind of lifestyle for the rest of my life. The spotlight that he was in was not for me. It was something that I had never wanted. Something that was never going to be my life because I never thought the opportunity would come knocking on my door.

"That does suck. It's probably for the best Carter. I love my life the way it is. I'm not meant to be in the spotlight. To be queen. I'm just an ordinary girl who wants to write for a living. There's someone else out there who's meant to be by your side and be the queen. She'll be able to handle it a whole lot better than I could. Plus, I don't feel that way about you. You're just my friend and I'm okay with that," I said sighing and trying to keep my voice from sounding too nervous because that's exactly how I felt. Something had changed in the past few minutes and I really hoped that it wasn't that I was starting to see him differently.

"It looks like I'm not the only one lying to myself," he said sighing and then looking down at the ground for a few seconds before looking back up at me. "I'm probably only ever going to get to do this once and I don't want to miss my chance if that's true."

At that statement I wasn't quite sure what he meant and now I was lost as to what he was talking about. That is until he leaned in and wrapped his arm around my waist to pull me close to him until my body was pressed up against his. His free hand went to my face and his lips met mine. The next thing I knew I was kissing the prince. And that kiss wasn't just a simple and quick kiss. It was full of longing like it was something that we both had been wanting to do, but I wasn't even sure it was something I wanted to do.

I'm sure it looked like it was something that I wanted to do because I didn't pull away, but I had a million thoughts running through my head when his lips meet mine. After a few seconds of kissing though, they went away and so did the want of not wanting him to just be my friend. All I could think about then was that he was a really good kisser and that I didn't want the kiss to end. It did though.

"Something for you to think about," he said after he had pulled away. I stood there as he started walking away from me unsure of what the hell had just happened. Did I really like him all this time since I had first met him and didn't realize it? Had I just told myself that I didn't like him because I knew nothing could ever happen between us even though deep down I did actually feel something for him?

Maybe what I thought I had wanted, a life as an ordinary girl, wasn't actually what I wanted. It just scared me to live a life different from what I had known. To take a chance with someone who I knew it was going to be a tough road with. Maybe I had just been like every other girl and women out there, but had only been realistic about the situation until the prince happened to actually been thrown into my life.

"Carter," I said before I even knew what I was going to do or say next. I looked over at him to see that he had stopped and turned around to face me. He had gotten pretty far since he had walked away from me. Taking a deep breath, I walked over to him as I said, "That's not the only time you're going to be able to kiss me."

And just like he had taken me by surprise, I took him by surprise when I reached him and pulled him in to kiss him again. It was hard to believe that I actually had the guts to do that, but I guess I wanted it more than I thought I had. I guess Emma was right. Maybe there had been something there when we had first met the prince. It was hard to believe that in just over a month things had changed so drastically.

I never thought I would have fallen so quickly for someone when I had told myself that it would be a long time before I would even date again. It hadn't even been a year since Chris Peterson had broken up with me, but I didn't care. Things might be moving a little fast, but when I probably didn't have that much time to be with Carter, I couldn't waste what time we did have left together.

"What does this mean?" Carter asked me after we pulled away.

"I don't know, but let's take it day by day, okay?" I said. He nodded his head and then smiled before saying, "You called me Carter. Just Carter. No prince in front of my name."

"Well, I can still add prince if you want me to," I said as his arms were still wrapped around my waist and my arms rested on his chest.

"No, I like hearing you call me just Carter," he replied smiling at me again. I smiled back and felt one arm drop from my waist. Carter kept the other one though and turned so we could continue walking as we talked.

"Your bodyguard is probably going to tell your parents about me, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, he probably is," Carter said still smiling.

"That doesn't mean that we're going to get a visit from your parents, does it?" I asked sounding worried. I definitely did not want to meet the king and queen. His smile went away just then.

"We might," he said sounding just as worried.

"I think we should head back to my house just in case," I replied. Carter nodded his head and then said, "Sounds good."

Carter let go of my waist, but before I could be too disappointed about that, he grabbed onto my hand and told me to let him know when we got closer to my house. I figured when that happened he was going to let go of my hand so no one would see that we had been holding hands as we walked together. It was probably a good idea for now, not letting anyone know that we had kissed and held hands. I'm sure it was probably a good idea not to hold hands at the moment or whenever we were out in public, but I couldn't bring myself to let go of his hand. And I don't think he could do the same.

Carter seemed reluctant to let go of my hand when I told him that we were close to my house, but he did. The family car was in the driveway, but thankfully there was no other cars in the driveway. We would be able to warn my family before the king and queen showed up at our house if they were actually going to show up at our house.

"If my parents are coming, we probably don't have too much time before they arrive," Carter said as we walked up onto the porch and over to the front door. I pulled my key out and then unlocked the door before walking inside with Carter following right behind me.

"There you two are!" Mom exclaimed. She sounded worried.

"Sorry, I thought we would be back before you guys got home. We had an unexpected visitor while we were walking so that stalled us from getting home," I said going over to hug Mom.

"Who was your visitor?" Dad asked us as he came out of the kitchen. He must have been near the doorway, listening our conversation.

"Why don't we go into the kitchen and sit down? We'll tell you about it then," I replied.

Dad nodded his head and then said he was going to get my siblings. About five minutes later we were all sitting at the kitchen table as Carter and I took turns telling them what had happened with his bodyguard, leaving out the parts about their conversation about me and the prince's feelings for me. That would just be between me and the prince for now. By the time we had finished, my parents looked worried at the thought that the king and queen could be on their way to our house right now.

But as time slowly went by and no car ever arrived, it seemed like Carter's bodyguard hadn't told the king and queen where their son was. Maybe, just maybe, he had decided to let Carter stay where he was and had told his parents that he hadn't found the prince.

"I don't know if I'm going to be able to breathe for the next couple days as we wonder if the king and queen are going to show up here," Mom said as she got up and went over to the fridge, most likely to start dinner. It was going to help calm her nerves.

"Carter, do you think your bodyguard could have decided not to tell your parents where you are and let you actually continue to stay here?" I asked looking over at him. He was sitting next to me while Zach was on my other side.

"I guess he could have. All we can do is wait and see if my parents show up," Carter replied as he shrugged his shoulders. That was true all we could do is wait. And so that's what we did.