"What is funny? You’ve been trying not to laugh since I came here," Scarlet said, looking at the mirror’s reflection of Alana sitting on the bed.

"I was thinking about how sad Ian looked after I asked that you come here. He looked like his world was destroyed. It will be fine with me if you sneak out of here to join him in bed. I won’t be upset with you. Just envy you," Alana confessed.

"Do not envy it. That man cannot keep his hands to himself and my feet are sore because of him. Please find a man who can dance, Alana. Better yet, find one who isn’t interested in dancing. I didn’t think dancing would be on Ian’s mind but here we are," Scarlet said, moving away from the mirror to go to Alana’s bed.

"Why don’t you host a ball, Scarlet? I cannot think of the last time you opened the Collins gates for a ball or just a small party for women to have tea. Isn’t it about time that we do one?" Alana asked.

"I don’t have any time for it and there are always too many questions about what guests see inside the estate. Too much touching and there was the one time a guest tried to sneak off to steal. I don’t want anything broken or removed from the estate so I would rather not have a party," Scarlet replied.

"Does it not bother you that your life is not normal like it is for everyone else? I don’t see you going out with friends even if it is just for a walk. You are always working or just keeping to yourself," Alana said, finding them both to be pitiful.

"It cannot be helped that the people I enjoy being around are out of town. The friends I grew up with have either moved away to a more quiet place or they have families that keep them busy now. I can only see my friends should I travel and I don’t have time for it," Scarlet replied.

"You made time for travelling with Ian."

"Well, that is different. My friends understand that I am busy and I understand that they have much going on with their lives. With Ian, I don’t want to make the same mistakes that I made before. I want to work a little less and enjoy being with him. I don’t want to ruin this relationship," Scarlet confessed.

Going on a trip alone with Ian would help their relationship grow and Scarlet did need the break from her work. A break from Lockwood.

"Enough about me. What is happening between you and Dawson?" Scarlet asked, no longer patient to wait until the two addressed it. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Alana laid back on her bed. "I do not know what you mean. He is my guard. Sometimes a very annoying one."

"Right," Scarlet replied.

"I can hear it in your voice that you do not believe me. Honestly, it would be wrong of me to ever have feelings for any of your guards. I mean, what if the relationship were to go wrong and then you are faced with picking who to send away?"

Scarlet laid down beside Alana. "I thought you would have been adamant about not liking anyone. I didn’t know you thought so far ahead about what I would have to do. Even when I am not here, I know what goes on in my estate. When there isn’t anyone around, you two speak comfortably with each other."

Alana opened her mouth but words didn’t come out at first. "Well, I don’t feel like a princess here. I want everyone to speak to me normally. Maybe we should just go to bed."

"Dawson is good-looking. Since you don’t have any feelings for him, I should set him up with someone else-"

"Scarlet!" Alana exclaimed, sitting up to look at Scarlet. "What is so funny?"

"It is the first time I have heard you call my name like that. I wouldn’t judge you if you were to ever be with Dawson. Take it from me, Alana. Do what feels right. Marrying for the sake of anything other than love will come back to hurt you at some point. Don’t look at status when you are thinking of being with anyone," Scarlet said as titles meant nothing these days.

"I am the princess of the kingdom. I am expected to marry a man with similar, more or almost the same status as me. If I marry a guard, he will have to bear with jokes that I know will be cruel. The idea of us royals marrying for love is no longer a thing in the palace. Look at Luke and Madilyn," Alana said as the two were forced together.

"Those two love each other despite the fact they argue so much. You have the choice to marry who you want. The selection is long over. The only thing stopping you from picking a man of your choice is thinking of the town’s opinion. Look at my relationship," said Scarlet.

Alana didn’t see what Scarlet was trying to compare. "Your relationship is perfect. Do you not see it to be?"

"I am fine with my relationship. Ian did not become the next lord and many do not know of all the ways he has to make money. I do not know it all. One look at him and many think he is beneath me. If I thought about the town’s opinion, I would not have a relationship right now. Would you want me to leave Ian-"

"No!" Alana yelled and then covered her mouth.

"No one will hear you. It is a benefit of having a large estate with the rooms far away from each other. If you think about what the town wants instead of what you want, then you might never be happy. This doesn’t only apply to if you have feelings for Dawson. It is about whether or not you want to go back to your duties as the princess," Scarlet clarified.

Scarlet continued, "You wouldn’t be the first royal who gave up on their title and duties to go live a normal life. Though I wished Tyrion would have become king instead of his brother. Then I wouldn’t be dealing with Luke as king now."

"Tyrion had the support of his family to leave the palace. I do not have that," Alana said, her hopes low as Luke would not let her go so easily.

"He was to be the king and they let him leave. You mustn’t forget that he married Penelope Collins so he had the support of Collins. I was told my great-grandfather didn’t want his daughter in the palace so he helped Tyrion. Now, you have me to help you get out of the palace," Scarlet offered.

Alana had forgotten about the other side of the story. "Right, I forgot he had more than the Castros to help him. I will think about it. For all that you have done for me, I hope there is a day I can do something for you."

"You can do something starting from tomorrow. Take care of the estate in my absence," Scarlet answered.

"I can do that. I have never looked after anywhere myself so this shall be fun," Alana said, excited to play Scarlet’s role for a few days.