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Armand turned and read the name of the shop, committing it to memory. Then he untied Marcel and leaped into the saddle before riding back towards the palace. Once there, he quickly led his horse into the stables and sneaked back inside, attempting to make it to his room without being disturbed. He was still grinning; if he was caught now, he would never get away with sneaking out again, and that just heightened the excitement. Holding the apple core tightly in his hand, he moved as quickly and as quietly as he could towards his chambers.

"Of course I didn't," Armand replied. He grinned. "It was a close call, though. I saw Monsieur Dupont. I hid from him behind the counter in a shop. I thought he was going to catch me, but in the end he just shouted at the girl who worked there and left. It was very funny. I'm going to go back there tomorrow." He nodded his head at her and walked off, whistling slightly and not once considering asking her to come with him.

Armand woke up bright and early the next morning, and decided to skip breakfast entirely. He would get into trouble for it later, but he was going to go straight out. Saddling Marcel, he rode into the city and spent some time examining the stalls and watching the peasants at work. Growing quickly bored, he spurred Marcel into a gallop, travelled down to the city walls, and then found the track he had followed the previous day which led to the peasant girl's shop. Dismounting, he tied Marcel to the block and then pushed the door open, the little bell jangling above him.

Armand smiled. "You certainly know how to talk to a Prince," he said, his voice lightly sarcastic. "I'm surprised you're not some sort of public speaker." He began to browse through the shelves, picking things up and tossing them in the air like he had the apple, before catching and replacing them.

"Don't you get bored, stuck in this shop all day?" He looked at her, and his eyes lit up with adventure. "I know! Come with me. I'll take you riding. Have you ever ridden a horse before? Come on!"

Armand waved his hand as if the matter of her shop was of little importance when compared to his offer of taking her riding.

"Oh, come on. It won't be for very long. And I'll give you..." He rummaged in his pocket for a moment. "Seven francs. No ... ten francs. I had an extra three that I didn't even know about." He didn't realize how absurd that would seem to her - that he was able to forget that he had money. To the peasants, any money at all would be impossible to forget about. "So, what do you say?"

Armand gave her the coins and then led her outside. "You ever ridden before?" he asked, swinging himself easily into Marcel's saddle and waiting for her to lock up. He reached down a strong hand to pull her up behind him. Marcel was strong enough for them both and there was enough room.

"Where d'you want to go?" he asked, still with his hand stretched out towards her. The Sun above highlighted his blonde hair and made his blue eyes sparkle.

Armand spurred Marcel and continued down the track. There was a wood nearby with a brook running through it; they could ride there. Marcel moved with ease, and the day warmed as the Sun reached the centre of the midday sky.

They reached the crop of forest that Armand had been looking for, and the green shade of the canopy of leaves was a welcome relief. The noise of the stream could be clearly heard now, and Armand followed it for a while until it reached its widest point. Then he dismounted and tied Marcel loosely before reaching up to help Annette down after him.

"Yes. I've been here quite a few times. Escaping from my lessons." He gave her a grin and stepped towards the water. Annette moved in front of him, looking around, and suddenly she slipped on one of the wet stones. Armand tried to steady her, but it was too late for that. She fell right against him, on his chest, with a blush highlighting her cheeks. He felt their hearts beating against each other; hers was going furiously fast. She was clearly embarrassed.

Armand knew it was wrong. He knew that he was crossing a boundary; knew that he shouldn't have done it.

But there was something about her that fascinated him. He gave her a calculating look, as if trying to work out whether or not he liked her, and then he leaned forwards and kissed her.

Armand held her close to him, hands at her waist, continuing the kiss. It was better than he had thought it would be; she was a peasant, so he had not expected it to be particularly good. Something about her, though, appealed to him. He had no idea what it was: perhaps it was the intrigue. No matter: he was kissing her, and he shouldn't be, and yet he didn't want to stop.

Eventually, he broke away from her and gave her the same look. He was trying to work out whether she was worth it, but under that he was breathing heavily, blue eyes sparkling.

Armand looked at her for a long moment, and then decided to be entirely honest. "Because I wanted to see what it was like. And because you interest me. And because I like you." He shrugged. "We probably shouldn't have done that. But it's happened now, and there's not much we can do." He looked away, towards the water, thoughts of punishment dancing through his head. What would happen if anyone found out? He doubted that he would be treated as severely as she would.