“Don't think I'll look after you, though-the world would be better off with one less princess.""I'm not a princess," I huffed, beating my brain for some worthy retort."A queen then?""No! That's not what I meant-""Oh, an empress. I see. Pardon me, Your Majesty." He swooped into a crouched bow, and when his torso sprang back up,a smile floated at the edge of his lips."N-no, not an empress either. I-I'm just..." The more I stuttered, the more pompous his smile became. "You're exasperating," I finally groaned.”

“It was all for the best. I am an elf, and he is a human. Thomas is a Knight, and I am a Princess. His Knighthood meant nothing in this world. Though it did make me wonder what it meant in his. In his world, did Knights and Princesses fall in love? I doubted it.”

“Robin Goodfellow," I said, giving him a challenging smile, "don't tell me you're afraid."His green eyes flashed with a familiar defiance, and he stepped close taking my hand. "Not on your life princess," he returned, smirking. "Though don't think I don't know what you're doing. If we all end up as llamas, I'm going to spend the rest of my life following you around saying 'I told you so' in llama-ese.”

“Then you came and I started to feel again. I started to think there was a reason I survived, that you were my reason. But nothing's so simple, is it? I didn't protect you. Here you are hurting so bad, and I can't even help. I'm just here and I need you. That's all it comes to. I need you to be brave when I haven't been. I know how hard it is. Look at me. Look at what's happened to me. Jesus, I feel like I'll be crying for the next century." He bent his head, pressed his tear-wet cheek to her dry cold skin. "But I'm here. I'm not hiding anymore. Princess, I'm asking you. Come back to me. You're my life.”

“I have something I need to tell you," he says. I run my fingers along the tendons in his hands and look back at him. "I might be in love with you." He smiles a little. "I'm waiting until I'm sure to tell you, though.""That's sensible of you," I say, smiling too. "We should find some paper so you can make a list or a chart or something."I feel his laughter against my side, his nose sliding along my jaw, his lips pressing my ear."Maybe I'm already sure," he says, "and I just don't want to frighten you."I laugh a little. "Then you should know better.""Fine," he says. "Then I love you.”

“Then why was his tongue in your mouth? Was he conducting a clinical test of your gag reflex?" He smiled, but not nicely. "How is your gag reflex, Ms. Lane? Are you a hair trigger?"Barrons likes to use sexual innuendo to try to shut me up. I think he expects the well-raised southern belle in me will think eew and back off. Sometimes, I do think eew, but I don't back off. "I'm a spitter, if that's what you're asking." I flashed him a too-sweet smile."Didn't look that way to me. I think you're a swallower. His tongue was halfway to China and you were still taking it.""Jealous?”