Bachelor Moon (Princess of Darkness)

Little Princess

Jace countered that she was alright, but in the end, he gave her a choice. And so here she was, found herself sitting on a dock, desiring to return to her work.Her ability to infiltrate the minds and souls of the detrimental earned her the nickname "Princess of Darkness" from her colleagues.

    " You'll be more successful if you cast closer to the shore.."
     
Jace jumped at the voice coming from just behind her and turned to see a little girl with her long black hair poking out of her pigtails, dressed in overall shorts and a pink t-shirt. It was no brainer who the kid belonged; she looked just like her pretty mama.

     "Thanks, kid, but I'm doing fine." She turned back to stare out at the water, not wanting to encourage any further conversation.

   "But if you want to catch fish you should do like I tell you," she replied, sidled up next to her.  "Best fish in the world like to hide in those big cattails by the shore." the younger one added.

The last thing Jace wanted was fishing  lesson  given to her by a five-or six-year-old.

    "I'm doing just fine, thanks."

    "Suit yourself ," she replied. "But if you catch a big old catfish then Mommy can fry it up for supper, and there's nothing better than Mommy's fried catfish."

     "I'm not going to catch much of anything if you keep talking. You'll scare the fish away." Jace said.

      "Silly. Fish don't have ears and you sound a little crabby."

      "I am just a little crabby," Jace replied, hoping that would end the conversation and she'd go find somebody else to talk.

   "Well, you can just get happy in the same pants you got crabby in," the kid exclaimed.

An unexpected burst of laughter escaped from Jace, the sound of rusty from lack of use. The younger one grinned, pleased that she'd made Jace laugh.

   "I'm Ryleigh Amara Sage Carter," she continued. "And I'm a little princess. I'm making you an exemption, Miss Knighty. I bestow on you the authority to call me about anything you want. My Mommy is a big princess, and you don't have to be scared of monsters when we're around."

Monster.. more just like me

  "And why is that? Jace asked, despite her desire to be left alone.

  "Monsters don't have any power when there are princesses around."  the younger one replied.

    "Ryleigh Sage!" Scarlett's voice drifted to them from the back porch.

   "Uh-oh. I'm in big trouble now." The little girl released a deep sigh. "Here she comes and she's gonna yell ate me. I might even get a time-out."

Jace turned to see Scarlett coming down the walk. When she reached them she gave her daughter a stern look.

   "Ryleigh, go on and get to your room.You know you aren't supposed to bother the guests."

  "She wasn't bothering me,"Jace surprised herself by saying. "In fact, I was probably bothering her by asking so many questions about the fishing ."

Scarlett eyed her dubiousl, but Ryleigh gave her a beatific grin.
 
"And I was explaining to Miss Knighty about monsters and that you and I are princesses," Ryleigh added.

Scarlett's cheeks flushed with color, and once again Jace was struck a tiny flicker of heat in the pit of her stomach. God, this woman had a smile that could sizzle an egg in a cold skillet.

  "Yes, well, this little princess needs to get inside and clean her room," she said, and gave Ryleigh a pat on her bottom.

As Ryleigh ran towards the house Scarlett looked at Jace once again. "The princess thing— it started as a story to help with her nightmares of monsters." she looked decidedly uncomfortable.

  "So I guess that means you don't want me to call you Your Highness," Jace said  with a hint of a teasing tone.

  "Definitely not," she replied with a small laugh.

  "Still, it's nice to know you have the monster thing under your control." Jace replied.

  "Again, I apologized for my daughter. She can be a bit of a handful."

  "Nothing to apologize for," Jace assured her. "Besides, I'm sure she's the apple of her Daddy's eyes."

Scarlett eyes darkened. "I divorced my husband a year ago. Enjoy the rest of the morning and we will see you inside for lunch." She didn't wait for a reply but instead turned on her hell and hurried back toward the house.

Jace POV

Jace watched her until she disappeared into the house, she turned back and stared out at the pond. The whole bed-and-breakfast thing was pretty big operation for a single mother.

Of course, just because she wasn't married didn't mean she was all alone. A woman as beautiful as Scarlett probably had any number of men or women willing to step up and help her in whatever way she needed. I wouldn't mind helping her if she needed. She's beautiful and it had been way too long since had been with any woman.

No.. You're a monster, Jace..

You are your father's daughter and you are unworthy of anything wonderful in this world, not even love.

Not even Scarlett...

"Monsters. You didn't worry much about the monsters you encountered in your work, Jace.
Worry yourself, the monster that sleeps deep in your soul...
a monster that might awaken at any moment..."