"Falling"

Can I Trust You?

Another letter arrives, as always asking for more information. For the last three weeks, that's what all the letters from her father say. More information, more ways for him to harm King Josh and his Kingdom. Bella is at her breaking point and she knows it too.

She shakes her head at the paper in her hand, and decides that she needs to do something, and she needs to do it now. She knows her father is tired of hearing about her daily dealings in Court and the time she spends with the Queen-Mother and Princess Mackenzie. It's time she takes a risk and trusts someone.

Bella leaves her room and makes her way across the Castle and the gardens that surround it. There's only one person she hopes she can trust and who is in a position to really help her. She prays that, by the end of their conversation, she doesn't end up in the dungeons.

-"Your Highness. I hope you're not lost again." - Commander Jensen smiles brightly at her, as she walks through the entrance to the training grounds.

-"Actually, Commander, I was looking for you." - She smiles back, the smile not quite reaching her eyes. -"Do you have a moment? I wish to speak with you, in private if possible."

-"Of course. This way."

Jensen can see she is worried about something, as he leads her into his study. As they enter it, he offers her a chair, sitting down next to her, instead of across, wanting to be close to her.

-"How can I help, Your Highness?" - He sees her take a deep breath.

-"Can I trust you, Commander?"

-"Of course."

-"I... I suspect my father has sent me here for all the wrong reasons."

-"What do you mean?"

-"Before I left my father's Court, he told me to send him weekly letters about King Josh's dealings, as well as the rest of the Royal Family, to supposedly help him find a way to plan out a new alliance that doesn't rely on a marriage to be sealed. But I believe that that's not the real reason why he wants that information."

"I believe that my father wants that information so he can find a way to destroy the King. I have been writing to my father, but all I tell him is about my daily life here, about my time spent with the Queen-Mother and Princess Mackenzie, or the open Court meetings the King has with the Lords and envoys."

"I don't write about anything else, and I thought that that had been enough to appease him, but lately I have been receiving letters from him demanding more information, all in the name of the supposed alliance."

"I don't know what to do, or what else to write about that is innocent enough that won't compromise the King or the Kingdom. I worry what my father will do if he doesn't get the information he is seeking."

Bella is shaking by the time she finishes, a weight being lifted from her shoulders at finally being able to tell someone. She looks back at the Commander, seeing him silently going over what she has just told him. Eventually, his eyes meet hers.

-"Your father sent you to spy on us."

-"Yes. But unlike my father, I never blamed the King for what happened with my sister. And the last thing I want is for my father to hurt him or your Kingdom because of it."

Jensen stands up, a hand raking over his hair, starting to pace the room. He knows he should tell Josh immediately, but if he does that, the Princess will be sent to the dungeons and branded as a spy, his heart tightening at the thought.

However, he believes her when she says that she doesn't agree with her father and that she has been trying to avoid the inevitable. He now understands why she always had a look in her eyes of someone who carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Jensen stops pacing and takes a good look at her. She looks defeated and truly regretful of her father's actions, even if she has been trying to contain them. He walks back to his chair and sits down, holding her hand and taking her by surprise.

-"Why are you telling me this now?"

-"I was hoping you would help me send the wrong information back to my father. This way he would still get information but it would be the wrong one. Maybe by doing this, we can prevent both Kingdoms from going into war, and save my life in the process."

-"What do you mean with 'save your life'?"

-"If my father finds out that I lied, he will brand me as a traitor and execute me."

-"Your father would do that to his only daughter?"

-"He would, specially now that my stepmother is pregnant. I received the news this morning."

Jensen takes a deep breath. He already knew about Williams' wife being pregnant, the news had reached his desk the evening before, but he wasn't going to tell her that. He can tell that she is being honest with him, and he wants to help her, but they need to tell Josh.

-"We need to tell the King all you told me."

-"No, please, don't. If you tell him, he will have me executed." - The panic was clear in her voice as well as on her face.

-"I won't let that happen." - Jensen squeezes her hand, trying to reassure her. -"I will speak with the King privately and I'll make sure he knows you're on our side."

-"Do you believe the King will understand and spare me?"

-"I will do everything in my power to make sure he understands, but he will most likely want to talk to you."

-"I understand." - Bella's shoulders sag forward, the weight right back where it had been before.

-"It will be alright. I'm on your side, Princess." - He smiles gently at her.

-"Thank you."