"Lady Samara is on her way to have a late lunch with you. Is there anything specific you would like the cook to prepare?" Florence asked.

Alana thought hard about what would be best suited for entertaining someone but couldn’t come up with a good answer. "You know best what she likes. Can I leave it in your hands? Also, can you prepare a list of what Samara enjoys and what Scarlet’s duties for running the estate are?"

"I would be happy to. I will tell the cook to get started on lunch now and write the lists. The gardeners are preparing to change the garden so nothing gets damaged during winter. You should take a walk there with your guests," Florence suggested.

Alana couldn’t be more happy that Scarlet left Florence here to help her. Looking after an estate required more work than she expected but Alana was not going to give up.

Alana watched as Florence hurried off to get lunch started and then turned to Dawson who was quiet since Scarlet left. "You are acting like a painting. Is there nothing you want to say?"

"No," Dawson replied.

"I see. Honestly, I do not understand you. Have I offended you in any way? We normally bicker but I find that to be enjoyable. I thought we were in a good place but now it feels like you are either angry with me or bothered by me. Which is it?" Alana asked only to be met by silence. "Dawson, I order you to answer me."

"You have not done anything wrong. Princess," Dawson added at the end.

Dawson properly addressed her but Alana did not like it. He didn’t say it to mock or tease her like he normally would.

"Something is wrong. I don’t understand what it could be since we were so well last night. Did it upset you that you had to escort me to the party only to return shortly? I thought you would have been happy to go home. You almost had to confront someone because of me," said Alana.

She smiled, thinking it would help to get Dawson back to normal. "Come on, Dawson. You are moody but it is not like you to be this moody."

"You have not done anything wrong-"

"I do not want to hear you repeat that because there is something wrong. You won’t even give me the respect to look at me while you speak. What have I done wrong to cause you to suddenly act like you do not want to be standing here? If you don’t want to be my guard, I can have Florence find a replacement," Alana said, her chest aching as the words left her mouth.

She didn’t want to replace Dawson since she loved being around him. He had his moments of bothering her but she could never replace him.

Dawson kept his gaze on the floor. He couldn’t reveal to her that it was what Ian said last night that was bothering him. To have someone point out the feelings he had for the princess left Ian’s words replaying in his head. Now he couldn’t look at her because it felt wrong to do as her guard.

Alana ran her fingers through her hair messing up the braid her maid took time to do. "Maybe when I am not the princess you would find it easier to speak to me."

"Why would you not be the princess?" Dawson asked, confused by what she meant. No one could take that title away from her.

"I am no longer in the palace and I would not like for Luke to be able to marry me off. It is not like there is anything for me to do as the princess. My only role is to be married off to who can help the crown. Dawson?" Alana called, taking a step back as he came toward her.

"Do not give up that title. You will forever be a princess of this kingdom. How many more times must you hear that you will not be married off? Scarlet will not allow it," Dawson said, wanting to grab her shoulders to shake her to wake her up.

Alana was lost for words at first by Dawson being so upset. It wasn’t like she planned to send word to the palace that she no longer wanted to be a princess. It was just something she thought of now because Dawson wouldn’t look at her. "And what about you? Would you allow it?"

Alana screamed inside, regretting what she asked. She wanted to find the largest rock and crawl under it.

Dawson just staring at her left her regretting the question even more. Alana looked away from him, trying to think of something to shift the conversation to.

"The paintings in here are quite pretty, aren’t they? I wonder where she got them from. Her mother is coming over now so I should prepare for her arrival. I should," Alana slowly turned to the right.

Would it be right for her to just walk away or did she need to wait for him to answer her?

"Please forget what I said. You already told me that as my guard you would not allow the king to take me while Scarlet is not here. I don’t know why I would ask you again. Maybe the pressure of looking after the estate-"

"Princess, breathe," Dawson said, holding her hand. He let go of her hand immediately as she looked startled by it. Dawson remembered that he was alone with a princess and stepped back. Her reputation shouldn’t be ruined because of him. "I won’t let you be taken."

"Is it because you are my guard or because you care for me? I mean, I would like to think that we have become friends. Or perhaps," Alana stopped wanting him to finish it.

"I am your guard."

"I am well aware of that. That is what you were introduced to me as and I have never once forgotten it. If I do not care about what you do for work, why must you keep mentioning it? I am the princess who doesn’t have the support of the king. You shouldn’t think of me better than you," said Alana.

"You are the princess. You don’t need the king’s support to make your title worth anything. Your parents alone make you out of reach for many of us. You’re doing a good job in Scarlet’s place so stop panicking. I will stand guard outside," Dawson said, walking away from Alana.

"Wait," Alana said, reaching out for him but then she heard someone speaking outside the room. She had to let him go for now.