Ever After (NCIS:LA Densi Fic)

Chapter 4

In the end of the chapter is a little surprise! Enjoy Chapter 4! SSD and MTD

He wasn't that bad.

Not nearly as cocky as he'd been on the field during their first acquaintance, or annoying for that matter. And under that initial obnoxious exterior, what do you know, he had a good heart.

Good enough to go against a direct order and take in a princess that was wanted for a large sum of money. Good enough to commit a crime punishable by years thrown in the castle's dungeon.

She sighed, watching as the water lapped at her toes. It was cooler wherever they were, maybe in a higher north region? The air had a chilly breeze, but the sun was still warm. The water, however, was not. It made goosebumps rise on her arms, spreading from her chest to her legs.

She considered running away. Thinking of his already lousy reputation he had in the kingdom, she quickly disregarded the idea when she thought of the aftermath it would have if Deeks returned empty handed.

Why did she even care about him? Some washed up, overconfident, sorry-excuse-for a warrior (maybe not sorry. She'd heard stories about his bravery. And, more importantly, his selflessness. But that was besides the point) who had the nerve to curse around her and treat her like common folk when she was exactly the opposite.

Maybe that was the reason she was attracted to him.

After all, she'd give her wealth and position in the kingdom up if it meant going back to living in her tiny cottage with her father even though she knew that was impossible. She'd rather be watching her dad assemble a bow and arrow than trying on dresses. She'd rather be drinking goat's milk and eating freshly laid eggs then feasting on extravagant arrangements of food that looked too pretty to eat. And she'd much rather be choosing her own husband at this age, somebody funny, talkative, but also sensitive, sporting a golden heart, and, of course, a little easy on the eyes. Somebody who didn't feel compelled to treat her like royalty, somebody who understood that she didn't want money or need special treatment. Somebody like...

"Deeks."

"Hey. I was just making sure you hadn't made a mad dash for the waves and doggy paddled away in the hopes of finding a private island that you could live on in the middle of the ocean."

"The thought occurred to me," she admitted with a small laugh, running her fingers through her hair which she had taken out of it's plait sometime between coming outside and realizing that had she had a choice, she would've looked for traits that Deeks had in a husband.

"So you promise you're sticking around?" Did he sound... hopeful?

"Guess so. Getting eaten by a shark doesn't hold much appeal to me at the time being."

"Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Something tells me that if I say no, you'll ask it anyway." He chuckled, sitting down in the sand next to her when she sunk to her bottom, pulling her knees to her chest. "So yeah, ask away."

"Is Prince Callen really related to you?"

She tried not to focus on the randomness of the question, shrugging instead. "Who, G? No. Well, not by blood. He's been with Hetty for awhile. I came after him."

"That explains why you two look nothing alike."

"Yeah." It struck her as strange that the constitutions of her kingdom didn't know the real story of the people that ruled them. What, did one day they thought that Hetty popped out a twelve year old boy and then a fifteen year old girl that she'd been stashing away for years? "Now it's my turn to ask a question- how do you think we're all related? Or were brought together or whatever?"