The Royalty gets a Bodyguard.

Taryn was a little bit surprised that Alice was surprised. "Did you think I was just doing this to do it?"they asked quietly, not sure exactly how they felt about Alice thinking that. They loosened their grip on Alice's hands slightly looking up into her face.

Alice shook her head. "Not- necessarily. I only- it's different, a bit, to- to hear it... articulated. I hadn't... really given much consideration to it." Lie. She'd given it plenty of consideration, but. Admitting to that felt like more than she was comfortable with.

Taryn nodded. "I have," they replied, fidgeting a little. They took Alice's hands to their lips and kissed them. They couldn't imagine how cheesy that looked, but didn't really care. They glanced down again as she dropped Alice's hands.

Alice rubbed the spot where they'd kissed her hand, a strange sort of softness around her eyes. "Oh." She tentatively leaned forward and kissed their cheek, quick and gentle. Then Alice sat back, a faint pink flush brushed across her cheekbones.

Taryn blushed when Alice kissed their cheek. "You're a lot more than some way to pass the time," they said. Taryn took a small apple from the basket to avoid having to look at Alice because they couldn't help but feel embarrassed, that they were telling too much. That they were breaking every rule that their family had ever set up, and even worse, this was with a woman.

Alice said nothing because that was a little difficult to believe, although she didn't doubt their sincerity in saying it. "As you say, Taryn." Alice said, thumbing the sharpened edge of her knife. She rubbed the pad of her index finger over the smooth steel, pressing just a little bit against the tip.

Taryn stared at the apple in their hand before sinking their teeth into it. They didn't know what to say to that, it felt awkward now, and they didn't want things to be awkward. "Do you believe me?" they asked quietly, after swallowing a rather large bit of apple.

Alice looked at them, really looked at them, for the first time since she'd tried to start talking about her feelings. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and said, sincere and honest for one of the few times in her life, "I want to."

Taryn looked at her. "Want to? But can't?" They asked, a little but confused, but not totally sure how they felt about that. Taryn set down the apple off to the side, not really in the mood for it at the moment. Taryn's hands wound back into the hem of their dress again.

Alice shrugged, looking down again. The guilt about maybe having upset them needled at her, like a colony of tiny pinpricks poking at the back of her neck. "I'm sorry. I..." She should probably stop talking. It never worked out particularly well for her. "It's not because I- I believe you mean it." Alice just wasn't sure they would mean it for longer than the physical intimacy between them lasted.

Taryn bit their lip, not sure what to say. "I just want you to be honest with me, you're sort of contradicting yourself," they said, a hand reaching up and touching Alice's cheek. Taryn returned to chewing on their lip a little, unsure what to say or what to do exactly.

Alice swallowed hard, turned her face into their hand as her eyes fluttered shut. Honesty wasn't a concept she dealt with too much in her line of work... in her life, really, even outside of work. "I believe you mean it. I believe you're good and very kind and- I believe you mean it." Alice tried to figure out a way to say what she was thinking, how to say 'I believe you think you mean it until you realize that you don't without being unnecessarily cruel. "I'm sorry." She said, quietly. It was the first time in years Alice'd said it and meant it.

Taryn's thumb rubbed her cheek slightly, closing their own eyes for a moment. "Okay," they said quietly. "You don't need to be sorry. I'm not expecting you to declare your undying love or something for me," they said, offering a small smile when their eyes reopened. "I mean, I wouldn't complain if you did, but it is in no way what I expect," Taryn said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Alice tentatively pressed a kiss to the hand cupping her cheek, looking at them from underneath long black lashes. She didn't say Given half the chance, I could love you and she didn't quite know how to convey the sentiment without words- wasn't even sure how to do it with words. "I do- feel affection for you. I- I do like you. A great deal." She confessed.

Taryn blushed deeply at the kiss and the confession. "I feel the same for you," they said quietly, moving a little bit closer to her. That was super romantic Taryn...good job...not. Their thumb still moved slightly along Alice's cheek, slightly attempting to distract from the sheer redness of their face.

Alice smiled faintly, because it was still- unlikely, unbelievable on some level, to her but. Hearing it was... pleasant. Knowing that if only in this very moment they were attracted to her as well... Alice would take that, if that was all she might ever get. "I'm- I'm glad to hear that..." She said, tilting her face a little closer to theirs, lips parted pink and damp.

Taryn nodded. Their blushing face broke into a small smile at Alice's smile, and their mind wandering to Alice's lips, eyes lingering there for a moment. They leaned in the rest of the way to her lips, kissing them, making sure there was little space between the two. While normally being outside and kissing someone other than their fiance would make them nervous, they had full confidence they were utterly alone.

Alice responded eagerly when they pressed their mouth to hers, sighing into the kiss and tentatively bracing a hand on their thigh to help her stay balanced. Her heart beat inside her chest at a fast pace; they were outside, exposed, and that felt a lot more risky than when they had both been in their bedroom alone. But it didn't feel risky enough for Alice to want to stop or pull away.

Taryn smiled into the kiss, for the first time in days enjoying themselves. They had kissed before now since their father had died, but this felt different. Perhaps it was because they finally had talked even a little bit about things, or maybe just a few days out was helping. They weren't really sure, and didn't really care. Thinking about that was distracting from the act.

Alice kissed them softly, careful to let them steer the pacing. She never wanted to push them into anything they didn't want, weren't ready for, or just didn't feel like. And their parents had just been murdered. Alice had no desire to take advantage of them and hoped dearly that she wasn't now.

Taryn kissed Alice for a long time before pulling away, a little out of breath having forgotten that breathing out of the nose was a thing. "If I come back with all this food people are going to be suspicious," they said, smiling, half joking, half serious. They liked kissing Alice a lot, but paranoia was beginning to take over a little.

Alice's breathing was a bit unsteady herself and she allowed herself a moment to catch it before replying. "You make a good point." Alice nodded, pulling back from them and tying her hair back up in a tight, high ponytail. She needed to get a bit of distance, get some perspective. It wasn't like her to get so close. It wasn't like her to forget herself like that. "We should probably eat a bit more of it."

Taryn nodded. "I like spending time with you, just being with you is nice," they said, taking some food to distract from the blush that was emerging again. Taryn nibbled on a sandwich, watching Alice out of the top of their eyes.

Alice bit her lip, smiling and blushing just the faintest bit. "I- feel the same. Your company is- is quite pleasant." She picked at a sandwich, pulling apart the crust and popping pieces of bread into her mouth as she pulled it apart.

Taryn blushed deeper at Alice's words, but continued to eat to try to distract from their embarrassment. They ate a little bit more, offering more to Alice. "When we're done we'll have to head back unfortunately," they said quietly.