"You aren't supposed to be here!" Rose called through the door.
"I did not think you would be the one to answer," the man on the other side of the door defended himself. "Where are all your attendants?"
"I sent all of them away…" Rose answered, biting her lip.
"All of them? Even Lady Caitlyn?" The young man sounded more concerned than angry.
"She needed to get ready. The wedding is in an hour, and she wasn't dressed." The Princess felt silly having to explain herself.
Rose should have been surrounded by a company of women and artisans trying to make her look perfect up until the last possible moment.
"It didn't take as long for me to get ready as anticipated. I thought it was kind to let them look their best as well," Rose nodded even though her companion could not see.
It was supposed to be her wedding day, but making sure others were happy was one of Rose's priorities. It was a lot easier to celebrate when everyone was in a joyous mindset.
"So…you dismissed all your help and are completely alone. How very like you." The man's voice was amused. "May I come in?"
"It is bad luck for you to see me before the wedding." Rose wrung her hands.
The princess could swear she heard chuckling from the other side of the door. "I hate to tell you, but that ship has sailed. And you don't really believe in luck, do you?"
The princess hesitated. No, she did not believe in luck… usually. "People will talk!" Rose answered half-heartedly.
"What people? You sent everyone away. And I highly doubt Philip, Cole or any of the other valiant soldiers out here will breathe a word. But if you leave me out here singing at the top of my lungs, someone is bound to notice sooner or later…"
"He wouldn't dare…" Rose mumbled to herself.
"Me me me me me…" the sounds of vocal warm-ups wafted through the wood.
In a panic, Rose threw open the door and grabbed the man by the arm. Dragging him inside, she shut the door before any of the others could see her pained expression.
The frantic bride covered the grinning man's mouth. "Are you crazy!" She hissed. "How would it look for people to know the crown prince was caterwauling outside his betrothed's room on their wedding day?!"
Ethyn pulled the princess's hand from his mouth, kissed it, and placed it behind his neck. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist, making her feel even warmer than she already did.
"I think it would look like the prince was so in love that he would do anything to make his bride smile, even serenade her to prove his undying affection." Ethyn leaned forward, causing his hot breath to blow back the gentle wisps of hair framing Rose's face.
"You'd start all sorts of rumors," she persisted, but her resolve was clearly weakening. The man smirked.
"I don't care what others think," Ethyn's husky voice brought a blush to Rose's cheeks. "I only care what you think."
The princess brought her other hand to the man's neck. "I think you are incorrigible."
"Is that good or bad?" Ethyn tipped his chin as he wiggled his eyebrows.
"Both, I suppose," Rose laughed lightly.
With her encouragement, the prince pulled the slender woman against himself and kissed her deeply. His hands ran along the stays of her back while hers roamed through his thick red hair.
At last, Rose pulled away. "You are going to mess up my appearance if you keep up that nonsense." She tapped his arm lightly.
"Good. You look too much like an angel. You might fly away and then who would I marry?" Ethyn pouted.
"Hush." The princess looked at him from beneath her eyelashes, unable to hide her smile. "You know my faults as well as anyone. I'm not an angel."
"Good, I am counting on that." The prince winked.
"You did not come here to sneak in my room and have your way with me," Rose narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her former personal knight. He held up his hands in innocence. "So then why are you here?"
"I was actually looking for Silver. He was supposed to give me some wisdom about marriage." Ethyn stroked his chin.
"My brother giving marriage advice? Now I have truly heard everything," the princess's amused grin turned sad. "Sean is not here. He is not back from whatever secret mission he left on yesterday. I do hope everything is alright."
Ethyn furrowed his brow. "Do we need to postpone the wedding?"
"I do not think we can," the princess answered honestly. "Too many people are here. It would be wrong to make them wait an indefinite amount of time. Worst case, we can have a second ceremony with just him and a couple of others. That actually sounds very romantic."
"A secret wedding to match our secret proposal? My dearest princess, it is almost like you are trying to keep me married to you for life!" Ethyn feigned shock.
"Life and longer if the Maker will let me," Rose gave him a chaste kiss before ushering him towards the door. "Now go before someone sees you!"
"Maybe it is I who is trying to trap you," the prince teased. "Finding me alone with you, the king would force us to marry!"
"Shoo!" Rose brushed her hand in his direction. He caught it and lifted it high into the air, spinning the princess in a circle.
Her dress billowed and wrapped around her legs as she came to a sudden stop. Unable to stop the tightening of the twisting dress, Rose lost her balance and fell into Ethyn's waiting arms.
He dipped her deeply as if they had just finished a dance. "You look gorgeous," he said. "I wanted to feast my eyes one last time before I have to share you with the world."
"I love you." Rose's heart raced.
Ethyn's face was so close to hers. She felt her head begin to swim with indescribable emotion. If he stayed much longer, Rose thought she might lose control entirely.
The man seemed to sense it as well. A smile of satisfaction graced his face. "I love you too." Setting her upright, Ethyn tilted his bride's chin and kissed her lips one last time. "Consider that one 'practice'," he winked.
Then in a more serious tone, he added, "I will marry you any time, any place. Just say the word. Nothing else matters but that I can call you my wife."
Rose considered his words. "Such a generous offer. I'll marry you in an hour in the throne room. By this evening, I vow that you will be my husband."
"Save the vows for the altar," Ethyn clicked his tongue before smiling. "I will see you soon. I'll be the one dressed like this grinning like a fool at the front of the aisle."
"I'll be sure to look out for you," Rose promised. "See you there."
One last longing kiss--Ethyn wanted a tiny bit more practice-- and the prince disappeared from the bridal chamber.
This time when Rose was left alone with her thoughts, they were only happy. She was getting married to the man of he dreams.
With Ethyn by her side, Rose knew she could do anything.
'One hour,' she thought with a happy sigh, 'Just one.'