Elena jumped out of bed and ran to the window. She pulled the curtain aside gently, peering out to the gate and along the fencing for any sign of him. It had been near impossible to escape Jason over the last week—everywhere she went, he was there, like he was stalking her. She had grown uncomfortable even venturing onto her own farm, and she hadn’t gone back to the oak tree since the last time she’d seen him there.

“Why can’t he find someone else to bother?” she asked herself as she craned her neck to see.

When she saw no one around, she grabbed her overalls, hopped into them, and dashed out into the hallway. She skidded to a stop when she heard voices. She slinked against the wall as she crept closer to the kitchen where the sounds were coming from. When she was close enough, she pressed her face against the wall and poked her head slowly around the corner. Her heart did a somersault when she saw Jason sitting at the table, sipping a cup of what she assumed to be tea and chatting with her parents like he was an old friend.

She felt the rage swell in her, and her cheeks got heated. “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked angrily as she stomped into view.

“Elena!” her mother shouted at her. “Watch your mouth.”

Jason didn’t respond, but she could see the laughter in his eyes over the rim of the cup he held at his lips. She folded her arms and waited for him to answer. He simply gulped and rested the cup on the table.

“Prince Jason decided he wanted to come over for breakfast. I told him we would be happy to host,” her father replied calmly.

“I’ve had breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea, supper, drinks, and almost anything you can think of at every other house but here. I think I was due a visit.”

“Well, we don’t want you here,” she muttered under her breath loud enough for her mother to hear.

“Yes, we do,” her mother interjected. “Don’t mind her, Prince Jason. I don’t know what has gotten into her this morning,” her mother said through gritted teeth. “Now, go and wash up and join us for breakfast.”

Elena clenched her fists at her sides and stormed off to the bathroom. The cold water almost turned to mist when she splashed it onto her face, so heated were her cheeks. She pressed down on the edges of the basin, staring at herself in the mirror until her eyes got foggy. She didn’t know what he was doing or why he was at her house. He had met enough women by now to have chosen one for his wife. Why was he still in the village? She could only hope her father would keep his promise should he actually decide he wanted to marry her.

When she returned to the kitchen, the table was set with rolls, boiled eggs, sausages, fruits, butter, cheese, and the fine cutlery they only used at Christmas. He was getting the royal treatment, and she didn’t think, prince or not, he deserved it. This was the same prince who hadn’t cared to visit them at all before he was forced to. What gave him the right to sit at her table and eat her food?

She deliberately scraped the chair out as she prepared to sit. She glowered at him, but he didn’t look at her. He merely smirked over the cup that seemed fastened to his lip.

“Well,” her mother said, smoothing her dress in her lap. “It is very nice to have you here with us this morning, Prince Jason. I hope you like the food.”

Elena jabbed the egg on her plate, stuffing it into her mouth as she made sloppy sounds while chewing. Her parents reddened with embarrassment, but Nathan found it too funny. He giggled and tried to do the same before his mother caught his arm and stopped him.

“No fair,” he wailed. “How come Elena gets to do it?” She stuck her tongue out at him, and he started giggling again.

There was no common ground between the family and the prince, and the conversation that ensued was forced and almost painful.

“So,” Jason finally managed to say in between bites. “Nice farm.”

“It is,” her father answered. “I’ve had it a long time. It is the pride of the family.”

“And one day I will take it over,” Elena added.

“Oh?” Jason asked and looked at her. “I understand it’s the family farm, but wouldn’t you want to do something else? Most of the other women and girls I’ve met want to go to Hollywood, or be in a Broadway musical, or travel the world visiting exotic places—places I’ve often visited.”

“The farm is my life,” Elena defended. “No one is stopping me from doing any of those things. But I want a simple life—the farm, a family, a son or two. I don’t need to travel the world to find what I already have here.”

Jason smiled, seeming almost impressed with her answer. “Still, don’t tell me you wouldn’t want to see the Eiffel Tower.”

“What’s an Ivey Tower?” Nathan asked as he mispronounced the word.

Jason chuckled and touched his hand. “Eiffel Tower,” he corrected him. “It isn’t much. Just one of the most awesome towers you could ever imagine. And at night”—he gawked dramatically— “when the lights come on, it’s the most beautiful thing ever. People come from all over the world to see it.”

Nathan’s eyes widened with wonder. Elena’s slanted with disgust. “I’m sure it isn’t at all like you say,” she said, more to make herself feel better than anything else.

“Maybe. But it sure is better than a lantern.” He grinned at their inside joke.

She jabbed her fork into the meat and stuffed it into her mouth. Her parents looked at each other, evidently wondering what he was talking about and knowing Elena understood.

“What’s that about a lantern?” her mother asked.

“Oh, nothing really,” Jason answered before she could. “It wasn’t an offense.”

“May I be excused?” Elena asked as she wiped the napkin across her mouth. “I think I’m full.”

“Uh, sure,” her father replied with a quizzical look. He knew she was stubborn and hard-headed and that it would do no good to argue with her.

Elena scraped her chair back, and when she stood, she curtsied and held her arm out. “It was a pleasure, Your Grace,” she mocked and stalked through the kitchen, letting the door slam on her way out.

She was hyperventilating by the time she got outside, and she welcomed the morning air and the familiar smells of dirt, hay, and fresh grass. She hurried to the shed and got her bucket, stuffed some oats inside, and went to the barn to check on the horses. Four of them were housed inside the barn, and they got excited when they saw her. They nickered and stomped their feet, and one whinnied and lifted itself onto its hind legs.

“Oh, girl.” Elena laughed. “You are frisky this morning, aren’t you?” The animal thudded its hooves down and came to the front of the stall. The majestic brown horse held her head over the stall door and lowered it in anticipation of Elena’s morning ritual. She smiled as she rubbed the animal’s face and scratched behind her ear.

“Have you been a good girl?” she asked. The horse breathed heavily, snorting into Elena’s palms. “I see. Well, maybe we can go out to the corral today, get those legs stretched.”

It seemed like she understood, for her head came up instantly and she backed away from the stall as her feet came crashing down into the door. She nickered and turned about in the stall, stomping in anticipation.

“Soon,” Elena said as she reached into the feeding trough for the oats. She scooped out a handful and held it out for the animal. It came forward and ate from her hand, and the feeling warmed her entire body and made her forget about the horrible breakfast guest she had left behind.

She finished with the brushing and feeding of the other horses and was about to leave the barn when she almost ran into Jason, no doubt deliberately in search of her.

“What the—” she yelled.

“Whoa!” he cried and held his arms out.

She sucked in a lungful of air. “What is it this time, Jason? Or should I say, Prince Jason?”

“I want to understand what you love about the farm,” he explained and stepped aside so she could pass.

She rolled her eyes at him. “How could you possibly understand? You live in a castle, with maids and butlers and servants taking care of your every need. You wouldn’t have the slightest clue what it’s like to be in a place like this. And why are you still here?”

A puzzled look crossed his face. “Why are you so angry?”

“I’m not angry,” she shot back.

“Hmm, okay. And I’m not a prince.”

She heaved an exasperated sigh and sauntered to the well at the back of the house. She ignored him as she pulled water and prepared to take it to the horses.

“Would you like some help?” he offered.

She almost passed out. He was offering to help her? She started to laugh at the thought.

“What?” he asked as he raised his brows.

“Do you even know how to lift a bucket?” she asked with amusement.

“Hmm,” Jason hummed in pretense. “The last time I tried,” he said as he hunched over the bucket, “I believe this was called the ‘snarfblat.’” He grinned.

“The what?” she asked.

“Come on, don’t tell me you haven’t watched The Little Mermaid,” he teased.

“The Little…” Elena couldn’t help but laugh. “Imagine that. The sophisticated Prince Jason watches children’s movies and wants to help a poor farm girl carry her bucket…snarfblat.”

He laughed again, and she couldn’t help but become enthralled with the sweet sound of it. He was getting to her, and she could feel it. Suddenly, she was afraid.

“I gotta go,” she said and hurried off to the barn.

He was right behind her when she got there. “You really need to learn to walk slower so the people who chase you won’t have such a hard time.”

Elena stopped walking and turned around. “Is everything a joke to you?”

“No. Just the funny stuff,” he replied and leaned against the inside of the doorjamb.

Elena went about her business of watering the horses, her shoulders sagging and her heart quickening when she had to pass him again. She stopped within a few feet of him and spread her arms.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m not royalty material. I might be getting ahead of myself, but you coming around all the time means you’re either interested in me—for whatever reason—or you’re mocking me. Which is it, Jason? Are you mocking me?”

He had an alarmed look on his face now. “Mocking you? Why on earth would I do that?”

“Because…look at me! I’m almost always covered in dirt, or hay, or animal dung. Doesn’t this bother you?”

“I think you look just fine considering what you do. I would be rolling on the floor if I came over and saw you in a pretty dress, satin ribbons in your hair, and stilettos as you fed the horses and the pigs.” He pushed himself off the doorjamb and walked to her. He stopped when he was in front of her and could no doubt see the rise and fall of her chest, her brown eyes unsure what to do next, and the panic making its way into them slowly. “I’ve seen many women since I’ve been here, Elena but none with a character like yours.” He walked away again and stopped when he was at the door. He turned his head, but not all the way around. Just enough that he could see her out the corner of his eyes. “Or maybe it was the smile.”

Elena stood in the same spot long after he had gone, compelling her mind to stop racing and her heart to settle back into its regular rhythm. She had been that close to Jason only on two occasions—just now, and the second night he had interrupted her at the oak tree. Her cheeks had flushed with embarrassment, or maybe it was something else. He wasn’t the same person she had envisioned before he came to the village. In fact, he seemed almost human. The way he had interacted with her brother and how poised he had remained even when she was rude… he didn’t once lash out or discriminate against her. He acted like her being in those worn and oversized clothes was normal, something he was accustomed to seeing.

She couldn’t understand him. Nor did she want to. She merely wished he would find his bride and go back to his castle.

He didn’t reappear. She didn’t see him for the rest of the day, and she was afraid to go back to the tree for fear of running into him again. Which meant she was forced to remain in her room, listening to the raucous sounds of her unseemly neighbors who didn’t understand the value of a night, who didn’t walk under the stars and realize how insignificant they all were in comparison. She fell asleep, half angry and half paralyzed with fear that Jason might have her in his sights.

She woke up the following morning feeling the same. She tossed the sheets angrily from her and, in case Jason was waiting for her in the kitchen again, she stole outside through the back and slinked to the wooden bench at the back of the barn. She sat for a long time, absorbing the cool morning air and clearing her mind of yesterday’s troubles.

“Elena!” she eventually heard her father calling.

“Don’t let it be the prince,” she groaned and stood. “Yes, Dad?”

“One minute please.”

She got up to meet him halfway to the house. “Yes? Is he back?”

“No, he isn’t.” Her father sighed and so did she. “You’re worried, aren’t you?”

“A little,” she sighed. “But you promised me I wouldn’t have to marry him.”

“Not if you don’t want to,” he added, and his eyes creased at the corners as he smiled at her.

“I don’t want to!” she answered immediately. “I don’t know what he is doing, but it would be better if he chose Emma, or Candace, or any of the other girls who keep chasing after him. I don’t even look like a girl.”

Her father laughed. “You do to me.”

“Apparently to Jason too.”

“Sometimes being different is what makes you stand out,” he told her and slid her hair behind her ear. “If he chooses you, I will fight it if you want me to.”

“He won’t choose me,” she said as she battled with herself. “He can’t.”

“Don’t let it worry you,” he advised. “Come on, I need you to do me a favor.”

That favor meant going into town to get supplies for the animals. He was old, and though still quite capable of working around the farm, she had insisted he give that part of the labor to her. But going into town meant she might run into Jason, and she wasn’t mentally prepared for it. He saw the look of concern on her face after he asked.

“I could go if you like.”

“No, it’s okay,” she responded sharply.

“Gregory!” Olivia’s panicked voice shouted from the kitchen. “Come quick!”

Elena and her father shared a frightened look and dashed to the house.

“Olivia!” Gregory called the closer he got to the kitchen. “What is it?”

They reached the kitchen at the same time as a man they didn’t know stepped around the side of the house. He took off his hat and nodded at Gregory.

“Are you the owner of this farm?” he asked.

Gregory looked confused. “Yes, I am.”

The man nodded, stepped back, and hailed someone at the front of the house. “It’s the right one. Bring them on in.”

“Wait a minute,” Gregory said as he walked over to the man. “What is this?”

“We’re dropping off some supplies, sir,” the man told Gregory without looking at him. “Prince’s orders.”

Elena’s blood began to boil. “What? We didn’t ask for anything. Send it back.”

“Now hold on a minute,” Her father interjected. “This is a good thing. You know how many things were running low.”

Her eyes narrowed at her father. “Did you ask him to do this?”

“No!” he replied. “I mean, I may have said something at breakfast about supplies running low, but I didn’t ask.”

“Ugh!” Elena groaned. “Why did you do that?”

“Because he is the prince, and if he’s here in the village, he might as well help us.” His logic was undeniable, but she hated thinking she owed Jason anything.

“Over there,” Gregory instructed the men as they dumped hay, oats, pigs’ feed, cleaning supplies, lumber, and all sorts of farming supplies and tools—most of which Gregory hadn’t mentioned.

Elena watched grudgingly from the sidelines. She knew it was a nice thing to do, but she thought she would go into town to seek him out and set things straight. He ought to know she couldn’t be bought with farming tools, as pretty and shiny as they were.

“Dad, I’ll be back,” she said and hurried off.

She wasn’t sure if he’d heard her, but she left anyway. The morning was already hot as she charged into town in search of the prince. She found him, as usual, among a swarm of people. She stood away from them and waited for him to acknowledge her. He did, and the crowd parted as he moved away from them to her. Angry eyes flashed at her, and rude words were whispered.

Jason locked his hands behind him and stood before her, like he was waiting for a thank you.

“Why did you do it?” she asked pointedly.

“Do what? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he teased yet again.

“You know. I didn’t ask for your help.”

“Good, because I didn’t do it for you. I did it for your father,” he said and leaned forward so his lips were very close to her ear. “Sometimes, people are merely nice.” He smiled at her, winked, and returned to his groupies.

For the first time since they’d met, she was dumbstruck. She had nothing to say because she was no longer sure of herself. She watched as the women virtually hurled themselves at him, and heard his laugh as they touched him and led him away. For a brief moment, she felt a tinge of jealousy and a bucketful of betrayal as her heart fluttered beyond control, refusing to submit to her will and be still.