Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from "Sons of Anarchy." They are the property of Kurt Sutter and Fox Network. No money is changing hands in the writing, reading or distribution of this story.

Three Princes

A sequel to "Intended"

Chapter 1

"Sam!" Joss's voice was stern, but she didn't yell…somehow…despite the fact that her horse was crab-walking his way across the arena, nose up in the air and reacting to everything around him as though it were out to devour him. But the tall, dapple gray thoroughbred was bluffing, she knew he was. Each day started the same with Sam…first he was belligerent and mean, but when Joss would correct him and demand that he respected her, continuing on with her intentions undiscouraged, then the former race horse would pretend he was afraid…afraid of everything, her, fences, the barn, saddles, Lauren's dogs, other horses…and he could be a convincing panicky mess, but the less attention Joss paid to it, the faster his faux fear disappeared. Then Sam burst into being a spoiled brat, unable to get his way in the toy store, who would throw himself down in the aisle, kicking and screaming until his mother gave in. But Joss never gave in, nor did she acknowledge Sam's tantrums, ignoring him and them until after awhile, he just got bored and gave up, and would actually begin to listen to her. He wasn't a malicious horse, not truly out to hurt her, but he surely did cost Joss a lot of patience…just like Tig. Today had been no different, and Joss and her handsome, dark, dapple gray were currently merging from the faux terror stage into the temper tantrum one.

It had taken three months to get Sam to the point of being able to climb up on him and actually ride, and this was only Joss's sixth time in the saddle on her own horse…but each ride was a bigger and more blood curdling adventure than the last…but they'd get through this…awkward stage, Joss was confident of that. She kept her weight in her heels and held her outside rein a bit higher than her inside one, not allowing Sam to put his head down and buck like she could feel him wanting to, squeezing with her calves and moved Sam forward onto the bridle he strained against. His black tail swished like an irritated cat's, and he gave an equine grunt of protest, but he kind of hopped and stepped forward, moving in the direction Joss was pushing him from the saddle. "Good boy," she told him as he began to walk along again, and she patted his neck, releasing the pressure of her legs, but keeping a lot of weight in her heels, and her seat bones…she just never knew with Sam what would be next…just like Tig.

"I think he's high on grain," Said Lauren, who watched on foot from outside the arena, and Joss laughed inwardly…Tig was never grain high, of course…but…yeah. "Really, there's probably more protein in his feed than he needs now that he's off the track, we might need to switch it out with a more generic kind of stuff; could calm him down a little."

"Yeah," Joss sighed, talking to Lauren, but her attention was on her horse, trying to get him to drop his head at a more comfortable angle for both of them, but at least his ears did flick back towards her every now and then, Sam was listening to her…well, at least he was acknowledging she was telling him to do something, anyway. "I'm afraid of making him colic, though. You know race horses, kinda have sensitive tummies."

Lauren shook her head. "We'll start to mix regular feed into his high powered stuff and get him off of it gradually, he'll be okay." She said then started to laugh a little. "Juice actually helped me feed everyone yesterday when he was here, and I told him not to go into the stall with Sam…but he did it anyway when he went to grain him…and Sam lunged at him with ears plastered back and an open mouth," Lauren still snickered. "Juice says your horse needs an exorcism!" Now Joss laughed as well, her thoughts turning towards her man again; everyone was afraid of Tig, and everyone was afraid of Sam too. Apparently Lauren had made that connection herself. "So, has Tig seen you up on him yet?"

"No," Joss replied, but smiled excitedly. She'd been so proud and so happy the first time she'd actually gotten on her horse and it had been all she'd talked about during dinner one night…and Tig, despite how he knew nothing about horses, and didn't really care, listened to it all. Joss's smile broadened. "But he actually does want to see me ride! So tomorrow maybe, if…" and her smile faded as Joss sighed. "If Gemma doesn't call me to go over more wedding shit…"

Lauren laughed. "It's your wedding, you know," she smiled. "You can't go calling the planning and preparation 'shit.'" And she laughed some more.

But Joss shook her head. "Is it my wedding?" She asked as if having to think for a moment. "It's so hard to tell anymore…Gemma has a very clear and detailed idea for what it should be like, and what should happen, who should be there, and what should be said. She took charge, and now when she asks me something like, 'what's your guest list look like?' and I answer, 'it's not much, I don't want anything real big,' she starts with, 'oh honey,' and then that goes into, 'no, you want to invite anyone who has ever heard of Tig; you want this to be as big a deal as it can be!' and all of a sudden, everyone wearing a cut in California that the club's on good terms with is getting an invitation!"

"How is she going to have that many people at her house?" Lauren asked. "I mean, she is still insisting that you get married in her back yard, right?"

Joss nodded, felt Sam trying to put his head up high again and she gathered a little more outside rein in her hand and sat a little deeper in the saddle; squeezing him forward with her legs…he was such a brat. "Oh yeah, she's making Clay build a damn gazebo!" Joss sighed; it was so rare anymore that she got to do anything that wasn't wedding centered, and there wasn't even a date set yet, other than "soon." "I don't want to sound ungrateful," she said, and looked over her shoulder at Lauren for a moment, "I really don't, I mean Gemma, and Clay, certainly didn't have to offer to pay for my wedding…and I guess because they are, it is sorta Gemma's wedding, and so I'm trying to be quiet and just go with what she wants…but it's not really what I want. I mean, we're Tig and Joss, not Prince William and Kate Middleton! Gemma's going all out and I'm actually dreading my own wedding day." But, Joss did understand the reason for all the pomp and circumstance…even if she hated it.

"How about Tig?" Lauren asked, like she was trying to think of an 'out' for Joss. "I can't imagine he's too impressed…particularly with a gazebo." She laughed.

Again Joss sighed. "Tig?" She asked; Tig's "other obligations" had always been there to get him out of all the wedding shit…it was so unfair! "I'm getting the impression that he's not as vital a piece of this shitty puzzle as is what kind of favors we're going to give to guests…and he couldn't be happier with that status; said to just let him know 'when' and 'where' and he'll show up in black…that's all the input anyone seems to need from him!" Joss huffed, and her mind began racing with how many hours she'd spent poring over those stupid bridal magazines at the dining room table with Gemma while Tig went out back to smoke with Clay. "It sucks," Joss said, and she could feel Sam trying to pull away from rail again and lateral his way into the center of the arena, and she pressed her inside leg against him even more, forcing him into a trot and turning him in a tight circle, making it harder for him to do what he wanted to do than it was to just do it her way. The big gray was smart enough to get that and was walking along the rail like she'd asked in no time. "Right now, Gemma's on me about choosing a dress…one that she likes, of course…and she's on some kick to have me sleeping over her house, in Jax's old room, so she and I can get 'an early' start on the great dress search, which always takes all damn day…I don't get to see Tig during the day because he's working, and then I end up over at Gemma's all night…I'm so busy with wedding shit that I hardly even get to see the man I'm marrying!" And that really really really sucked! It must have been the pre-wedding jitters…well, maybe not since "jitters" were supposed to lead to cold feet, and there was nothing "cold" about what she and Tig had going lately…they were all over each other at every available moment, and Joss just couldn't be with him enough or be close enough against him. Being around him, being near her man was the ultimate heaven lately…she just wanted to be close to him…and they didn't have to be doing anything at all. Fuck…was she getting clingy?

Lauren was nodding her sympathies and had been about to say something when about two hundred yards away, a deer burst through the open hay field, running full tilt, Sam's eyes picking up the erratic movement, his ears pricked forward at the buck, and Joss sat there on his back, realizing in a split second that her crazy horse was thinking of his next bluff, but before she could prepare, Sam jumped upwards, Joss leaned forwards in the saddle to counter balance, but Sam, feeling her move, threw his head back towards her, his front hooves leaving the ground with all his strength, and he reared up as a high as he could, striking out towards the far off running deer with his front feet defensively, Joss thrusting her hands and the reins as far forward as she could to avoid pulling Sam's head further back and causing him to flip over on top of her and crush her. Sam maintained his balance, but then ran off, tearing around the arena like wild dogs were after him, but Joss wasn't with him for the trip.

"Oh my God!" Lauren quickly climbed, and then jumped down from, the arena fence, running towards Joss, who struggled to get to up on her knees. "Don't move!"

"I'm okay!" Joss yelled to Lauren, and she was…she thought…more stunned, and dizzy than anything else. Nothing really hurt, but she couldn't get to her feet because of how the world was still spinning…and there was blood in her mouth…why was that? Still trying to make sense of things, Joss wiped at the blood, discovering that it wasn't from her lips, it was flowing from her nose…when Sam tossed his head back, he must have smacked her pretty hard in the face with the crest of his neck…and now the pain was awakening…well…no wonder her legs had turned to jelly and she'd gone sliding down his back when he reared up, it was the shock of being bashed in the face. Damn it! And damn her horse's creativity in pretending to be spooked…yeah, he was really scared by a deer that was an eighth of a mile away…uh-huh, sure Sam! Wow, he was better than Tig was with this freaking out shit! Oh, but they'd get through this…Joss hadn't expected it to be easy, and it surely hadn't been with Tig! "Really, I'm fine," she yelled to Lauren again, but Joss knew she couldn't quite get to her feet, not yet, but Sam was running like a mad man around the arena, and Joss's first thoughts were of his feet becoming tangled in the reins, she'd thrust her hands so near the bridle when he'd reared up and the reins could have gone over his head after she'd fallen and Sam took off like a maniac, she just didn't know. "Catch Sam, I need a few seconds."

Lauren quickly changed course and stopped running, turning towards the big gray Thoroughbred. "Alright," she said to him calmly as he stopped in the corner of the arena to suspiciously watch her approach, but both she and Joss knew that Sam would likely take off again. "You're really being a jackass today," Lauren was saying, in the kindest, most patient of voices, not wanting to further hype Sam up, but such hateful words in such a nurturing tone made Joss laugh as she struggled to get her bearings, watching Lauren getting closer and closer to Sam, who wasn't running…yet. "And you better get your act together," Lauren was saying to Sam, still talking like he was something so precious to her, and she was very nearly to him now. "Because Joss owns you, but Tig owns Joss, and Tig's not who you want coming after your dappled ass!" Joss again tried hard not to laugh as Lauren reached up and actually was able to grab Sam's reins as he stood there quietly and snorted a little bit at her…wow, maybe he understood what she told him?

"Thanks!" Joss called from where she sat in a heap on the crushed gravel, and took a deep breath, wiping at her bloody nose again and noticing there were drops of blood speckling her shirt and riding tights. "Shit!" She groaned as she looked down at it…fifteen or twenty bloody drops and smears all over and around the black decal of the M-16 with the scythe. "I had to be wearing the white SAMCRO tank today, too!"

"Yeah?" Lauren asked, leading Sam behind her over to where Joss still sat. The horse was so calm now, like nothing had ever happened…the big dope! "If I were you, I'd be more worried about what my face was going to look like at that photo shoot next week!"

"Oh fuck!" Joss groaned louder this time, so loud that it made Sam legitimately spook and back up with his head high in the air again, but Lauren soon had him calmed. "Sorry, Sam," Joss said softly, looking up at the big Thoroughbred, "but if you broke my nose, there's going to be a lot people unhappy with you!" This would be her second photo shoot, the first one being very 1940's nostalgic, just a few shots of her to create her portfolio and send out to whomever might be interested and want more…and to her surprise, there had been lots and lots of responses…somewhat dark responses…a company called "Violet Shroud" that specialized in some really cool gothic clothing and lingerie, which Joss was so excited about, and even an author of vampire fiction had requested her as the cover model for her latest novel. Gemma had taken charge of the modeling as well, but in a good way, she was an awesome manager who didn't take any shit from agents or photographers, and she'd even managed to work a deal with "Violet Shroud" that meant Joss got to keep every piece of clothing she modeled! But the shoot next week was for a designer who restored and recreated vintage clothing, but only the most formal and glamorous pieces that reminded Joss of Fay Wray, Vivien Leigh, Veronica Lake…Tig would be on set…as he had been the first time…that was the condition he'd made Joss agree to before allowing her to do any of the modeling, and despite how he routinely objected to…well, everything, Joss still loved every minute of it! Hopefully Sam hadn't wrecked her face!

Joss shook her head and noticed that she wasn't quite as dizzy any longer, then started another attempt at standing again, managing to get her right foot on the ground and starting to push up off of the crushed gravel when there was an explosion of pain between her right hip and ribs that throbbed and ached and didn't stop for what seemed like forever. "Whoa!" she moaned, and collapsed again, clutching her side, knowing there was no possible way an alien was shortly to pop out of her abdomen, but wondering if it might…this was a pain she'd never felt before, a vice grip inside of her, clamping down hard on something deep inside her, like some vital anatomical structure was being squeezed then released, squeezed then released...it took her breath away.

"Are you okay?" Lauren stood there looking a little pale. "Look, I'll throw Sam in a stall and call for help; you don't look so good all of a sudden!"

"No!" Joss quickly answered, and took another deep breath, discovering that whatever it was, it was beginning to lessen now, the throbbing subsiding into a dull ache that was so much more bearable. "It's good, I must have just bent funny when I came off of him, I think it just twisted a nerve a little bit, that's all."

"Anything else hurt?" Lauren asked, shaking her head and looking at Joss skeptically like she didn't believe everything was really okay. Fine, Joss would prove it to her, and ignored any lingering pain in her right side, and quickly got her feet under her and stood up, straight…which hurt like hell, but she hid it.

"Nope," Joss reported, reaching out to take the reins from Lauren. "I'm good…and I'm also getting back on! He doesn't get to dump me like that and then retire for the day thinking he won!"

"Normally, I'd agree with you on that, but, are you sure—" Lauren started, but Joss's foot was already in the stirrup, and her right side ached more and more when she bounced to swing up onto Sam again, but that only meant that it was likely a pulled muscle in her abdominal wall, and she ceased worrying about it, a few days and it would be fine.

Joss was nearly in the saddle again when her cellphone, strapped to her riding boot, began to ring. "Figures," she sighed and slid back to the ground, shaking her head and patting Sam's neck as she grabbed her phone from the Velcro strap that held it in place on her leg. She looked down at the screen; sighing heavily, and then looked back at Lauren…this was the last thing she needed. "Gemma!" Joss sighed heavily and despondently. "Hail wedding!"