Chapter 1: Just A Girl

When they first met at the Mourningwood Fort, he did indeed believe she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes upon. Even though she was wearing men's clothing and they were obviously meant for a mercenary and were covered in dirt and swamp water didn't stop every single man there from seeing how utterly stunning she was.

She was tall for a woman, long brown locks that were pulled back tightly into a ponytail. Her features were perfect on her heart shaped face and her eyes were blue like the ocean. He had never seen such eyes before and he doubt he would find others that came close.

It was until Walter said that she was the princess that he stopped all inappropriate thoughts in their tracks and spoke to her properly. He didn't bother flirting with her, well not as much as he would any other woman simply because she was completely out of his league and therefore what was the point in chasing something you could never have?

But that didn't mean he couldn't admire her in secret. When the Hollow men attacked she stayed calm and blasted them with the mortar as if she'd been doing it her whole life! He knew she had Hero blood running through her veins but he was still surprised when she jumped down and started firing fireballs and gunshots at the same time when they breached the fort's walls.

Truly she was an amazing fighter like it was second nature to her, and Ben Finn knew a lot about fighting and she put him to shame in her natural talent. If both Walter and Swift hadn't confirmed she was indeed the princess then he would never have guessed.

Some time after Simmons came back from the dead, he passed out and when he opened his eyes he was astounded to see the princess standing over his shattered bones panting slightly and smiling to herself as the survivors congratulated her, before heading off to Bowerstone.

It was then that he stopped seeing her as a woman, a person and only saw her as a weapon to overthrow her brother the tyrant king of Albion, Logan.

After that, Ben was thoroughly pleased when Swift announced that they too would be making their way to Bowerstone. When they entered the resistance headquarters and saw Page, he knew he might have a chance at wooing her but that turned out to be a big failure too. Page didn't like soldiers which pretty much ended that pursuit quickly. Still it was fun to try.

When he next saw the princess she was wearing what could only be described as a practical princess outfit and it was clearly tailored to fit her perfectly, because it well did just that. Again he was taken to her overwhelming beauty but when he remembered what she had done back at the fort all thoughts disappeared entirely.

He didn't like hanging around waiting for the action to start, but the princess had to prove herself worthy to Page by gathering the support of the people which she did do with ease. Everything was going according to plan, even with the little run in with Reaver.

But it wasn't until Swift was executed, no murdered before the public did Ben realise that the princess showed him compassion and perhaps understanding in her ocean eyes? But he was too grief stricken to care about her feelings, so long as she had Logan killed as soon as she took the crown. He admired her determination to go to Aurora and see if there was help in that dead nation. Naturally he went with Walter and the princess and it was then when he woke up on the shore after being pulled from the docks did he really start to realise the importance of the princess, not just to Albion but too himself.

A/N: Please let me know what you think. This chapter just sets the scene for the story.