By the time Jacob and I were back at the manor it was mid day. We walked around to the back door that led into the kitchen. When we made out way inside, the kitchen looked like absolute chaos, Ms. Cope was madly running around the kitchen, checking pots and dicing various vegetables. As soon as she saw us in the door way she gave a relieved sigh.

"There you are children, what took you so long? Lady Victoria has been on a rampage," moaned Ms. Cope tiredly. She really did look tired; there were beads of sweat on her brow and her cheeks were flushed from working in the hot kitchen. I wondered what had set Lady Victoria off this time.

"So, what had the devil woman on the war path?" Asked Jacob his voice sounded truly irritated by the thought of Victoria. He had no respect for her and wasn't afraid to show it. Many of the household staff regarded him in high esteem because of it.

"The Lady received a message saying that Lord Newton and his son Michael wished to come over today for a visit." Ms. Cope told us while wiping her face.

I was not looking forward to this visit. Michael was besotted with me and he refused to believe that I was not interested in him courting me. He believed himself to be god's gift to women. This atrocious delusion was not helped by the fact that he was quite wealthy, so many mothers schemed to have their daughters marry him. Victoria was one of the many; she had high hopes that one of her lovely daughters would marry the prince of Verena, while the other married Michael. I felt sorry for the men that Lauren and Jessica married, because they definitely would be bleed dry, for all the money the girls wasted on useless items.

"Well I guess that is my cue to leave then, leave you to do women's work." Said Jacob cheekily, he gave me a wink before darting back out the door.

Ms. Cope and I spent the next half hour, creating a meal that would not offend the Newton's. Just as we finished the meal the Lord and his wretched son arrived, all the staff started to bring the plates that held the food up to the formal dining room. Once they were all gone Ms. Cope and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ms. Cope, would it be ok if I took a stroll?" I asked, I was trying to avoid any contact with Mike that I could.

"Sure sweetheart, just make sure you are back before sundown. I would hate to see you in trouble." Said Ms. Cope endearingly.

I made my way quickly out of the house, and out onto the dusty path that winded through the forest. It was so tranquil walking through the forest, there was no one telling me what to do and how to act, I could be myself without worry of repercussions. After a little while I sat down on a fallen tree, while I was just sitting there I heard the crackle of leaves, I looked around to see if anyone was there, but I could not see a living being.

A few minutes later I heard the loud booming laugh of a man, as the sound got closer I saw them. There were at 4 men, all of them looked like they hadn't see a bath in months. The one that was laughing looked like the leader of this small group of men. I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach that these men were bad news; I got up slowly and tried to back away, with out any of the men noticing me. I managed to make it a few steps before I fell over a fallen tree limb. There was a loud thud as I impacted with the leaf littered earth; my flailing body caught the attention of the men who all looked at me like a hungry dog looks at a big juicy steak.

"My, my, my, what do we have here?" sneered the leader. He was wearing brown breeches and a shirt that was yellowed from sweat and grime, he was unshaven and his face had a mocking grin on it. I quivered at the look in his eye.

"Hmm looks like a new play thing, can have her first?" jeered one of the men while he was rubbing his hand together with glee, this man was the shortest out of all of them, his face held no compassion.

I just curled myself into a ball and blocked them arguing about who would take me first. I contemplated running, but I knew that it would be pointless, they would catch up with me straight away and drag me back, and I knew fighting them would be pointless as well. I didn't have a weapon and it was four men against one, not odds that would be considered favorable. All hope was lost until I heard the galloping hooves of a horse.

"Help me! Please somebody help me!" I screamed praying that this horseman would come to my rescue.

"Shut up!" screamed the leader as he pulled me up roughly and slapped me across my face. I gasped in pain as the sting of the slap lingered across the left side of my cheek.

All of a sudden a golden horse galloped up beside me, startling the leader making him let go of me.

"Get on!" yelled the man on the horse, his arm extended out to me. I didn't think twice, I grabbed on to his hand and pulled myself on to his horse. The men started to yell in anger and approach the horse the shock of the previous events starting to wear off. But the man nudged his horse and the horse started to gallop. We road hard for at least 10 minutes, the angry yells of the men could no longer be heard when we finally slowed down and came to a stop. He dismounted the horse with such grace that I was astounded. He then helped me down as well.

"Thank you, thank you!" I exclaimed while embracing him. He hesitantly returned my hug. When we broke apart, I got the first proper look at his face.

"Your Majesty?!" I gasped; I quickly looked to the ground and bobbed a curtsy. I had just been saved by Prince Edward; oh no I just hugged Prince Edward. "I am so sorry Milord that was totally inappropriate, please have mercy on me, I didn't realize who you were." I said all this while looking at my feet.

I heard him chuckle "All I forgiven, considering the circumstance. But where is your escort? It is obviously dangerous to be out here alone." I looked up while he was saying this, he looked angry, and another emotion that I couldn't identify.

"I don't have an escort, normally I don't need one. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened to me. The forest is normally ok, if you stick to the path." I told him, he crossed his arms of this chest and gave me a look of disbelief. I realized in that moment how utterly handsome he was. He had stunning emerald green eyes and his hair was an uncommon reddish bronze colour. His body was perfect, not fat or thin just perfectly in the middle.

"I am glad this is not a common occurrence for you, because I wont always be around to save you." He said, breaking me out of my train of thoughts. This caused a blush to appear on my cheeks. He let a small smile when he saw it.

"I thank you again for saving me Milord; I would hate to think what would have happened to me if you didn't come to mu rescue." I said again sincerely, this time I said this looking into his emerald green eyes.

"You are very welcome." He replied while looking at me "I can't abide those sorts of men, they are the filth of this earth. They all deserved to be beheaded," he finished off angrily his hand clutching the beautiful sword attached to a belt around his hips. His eyes darken to a deeper green all the while. "I would have probably tried to kill them there if you were not there." He continued.

"I am glad that you didn't, I just wanted to get out there as quickly as possible." I said, the thought spending minute longer there made me shiver.

"I understand, But I must say, I am surprised how well you are taking this, not a single tear. I expected you to go into shock, no to hold a perfectly decent conversation. Most women would be a quivering mess." He said looking at me in wonder. His eyes had returned to their original colour.

"Well I guess I am not most women." I said back smiling. I looked at the sky and saw that the sun was about to set. "I am sorry Milord But I need to be getting home now." I said in a hurry, while starting to move in the direction of the manor. Edward had ridden in the direction of my home in our made dash away from those vile men. So I was only a short walk away.

"At least let me escort you home." He said. I shook my head furiously; I would get into so much trouble from Victoria if she knew of the day's events. I started to walk more quickly trying to convince him to let me go.

"There is no need my home is not far from here your majesty, I sure you have more important things to do." I persuaded, he just shook his head in good humor and gave me a smile.

"If you are sure," he said. I did a mental victory dance in my head when he said this. "But can I please know the name of the maiden I saved today?" he asked, his eyes glittering in mischief and his smile becoming more pronounce.

"Bella" I called before I started running back to the manor. I ignored his calls for my last name and didn't look back until I was home.