Part I

It was Isabella's favorite time of day. The duties she had as a princess had been fulfilled for the morning and now she was free to do whatever she wished. Within reason. She knew her father, King Charles of Forks, would most likely lock her in her rooms in he knew the things she did in her free time.

She was a skilled fighter, had been trained by a friend in the village. She had met him one day when she made a trip to the village in her plain commoner clothing, her hair pulled up under a cap to disguise her as a boy. There had been a group of young men in an open area on the edge of the woods, practicing their archery. Isabella stood and watched for the longest time before one of them turned to her and asked if she wanted to join. She told him she didn't know how and he offered to show her.

His name was Jacob and she met with him almost every day to be trained in archery. He was amazed by her natural ability to hit a target dead on. By the end of their sixth meeting she was better than he was. Isabella enjoyed training with him and asked to be taught how to wield a sword.

A month after their first meeting was when she revealed her true identity to him. His reaction surprised her. Jacob refused to meet with her again, afraid that he would be punished if the King found out what he had been teaching his daughter.

Isabella continued to train on her own, at night when the rest of the castle slept.

She was good with a bow and arrow and even better with a sword, but hand-to-hand combat was what she was best at. Jasper, a man about seven years older than her and captain of King Charles' guard, agreed to help her train at night as long as she stayed out of trouble. She had known him all of her life and he was constantly sent to find her when she wandered off.

She tried not to be too smug when, after a few weeks, she beat him in combat almost every time. He threatened her with bodily harm if she told anyone she beatt him and she laughed, for she knew he was only joking. But for the sake of his pride she never told a soul.

*

"I despise those clothes."

Isabella smiled to herself when she heard the disgust in Alice's voice.

Alice was her caretaker of sorts, but Isabella thought of her as more of a friend since they were the same age.

Isabella stood in front of her mirror in the commoner clothing she wore when she snuck out of the castle. A tunic and pair of pants in a neutral tan color.

"You look like a walking burlap sack." Alice added, making Isabella laugh.

"I'm sorry, Alice." She replied, tucking her long hair up under a cap. "I just like being able to walk around, be among regular people, and not be noticed."

Alice rolled her eyes. "I think you've gone mad."

Isabella shook her head and turned to face her friend. "Well, I'm off."

"Is there anything you'd like me to do while you're off gallivanting in the woods?" Alice asked formally.

"Yes," Isabella's smile widened at her teasing. "Go see Jasper. He always seems to brighten your mood."

Alice's eyes lit up at the idea and she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I think I may be able to do that."

Giggling quietly, Isabella snuck of out her room.

*

She breathed a sigh of relief when she made it outside without being caught. She took off in a run toward the woods and slowed to a walk once she was there. Turning to head west, she decided to check the stream she often went to, to sit and think. The last time she had been there, there had been tadpoles; she wanted to see how much they'd grown since then.

She reached the stream and began to go to its edge, but jumped back quickly behind two trees. There was a man there, his horse's reigns tied to a low tree branch. He hadn't spotted her, thankfully.

Narrowing her eyes, she peeked around the tree and inspected everything about him. He wore pants a bit darker than her own and a white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His bronze-tinted hair was disheveled but not in an unattractive way. She came to the conclusion that he was a traveler, taking a break from riding to eat, as she watched him break a few pieces from the bread in his hand and throw it into the water. The ducks on the other side of the stream scrambled into the water after it.

As she watched him finish his food she stepped to look around the other side of the tree. A twig snapped under her foot.

The man tensed and looked around. Isabella held her breath and silently willed him not to look her way. She moved around the tree accordingly as he turned slowly where he stood, surveying his surroundings.

She would've had to been blind not to notice how attractive he was when she finally saw his face. His nose was straight and his jaw was angular and strong. His eyes, though she couldn't tell their color from where she hid, were piercing and focused.

She noticed the fingers on his right hand twitch and when she looked down she saw him slide a dagger from his waistband. The way he twirled the dagger between his fingers once before taking hold of the hilt told her he wasn't afraid of a fight... and that he was also arrogantly confident in his ability to win said fight. Isabella smiled to herself. She could have fun fighting him; she could show him that he couldn't win every fight.

"Hello?"

Her eyes snapped back up. She had lost of her focus for only a moment as she thought about fighting this man and she could have easily been discovered. Thankfully when she looked up she saw that his back was to her.

"Anyone there?" He called out again.

Her ears perked at the smooth sound of his voice but she quickly refocused on what she planned to do.

"If you've followed me, Emmett," he said loudly as she began to creep up behind him, "I won't hesitate to stick you with this knife." There was a playfulness in his voice.

Isabella was acutely aware of everything around her, especially of any twigs underfoot that might announce her presence. She stopped behind him and was about to knock the dagger from his hand when his left arm came back and she received an elbow to her stomach. She recovered quickly and locked eyes with him for just a moment. He had been surprised.

No, I am not Emmett. She thought.

Using his surprised state against him, she knocked his feet out from under him with a swing of her leg along the ground. Once he was down, she kicked the dagger out of his hand and out of his reach. The focus was back in his eyes then and he jumped up, ready to fight.

"I don't know what you want," he said roughly as they circled each other, "but I'm in no mood to give any of my things to a thief today."

She smirked. She didn't want any of his things, she just wanted to play a little.

His eyes narrowed at her and she made the first move. She rushed at him and when he went to punch her in the stomach, she dodged to the side. She avoided the hit to her stomach but he had anticipated her move and quickly brought his other hand up and hit her in the side of her head.

She was momentarily stunned, less by the hit but more by the face that she hadn't seen that move coming. He smiled smugly and readied himself for anything she might do next. She gave a frustrated huff and ran at him again. This time she succeeded in faking him out and got behind him. She jumped onto his back, hooked one of his arms behind him and held his head back with her hand on his forehead. He struggled for a few moments before shaking her off. She kicked him in the back before he had the chance to turn around and sent him stumbling forward.

He turned to face her and she kicked high at him, aiming for his chest. He grabbed her ankle before her foot connected with him and pulled hard. She fell onto her back, her cap flying off of her head on the way down. He jumped on top of her and pinned her hands to the ground.

When he noticed her long hair, his eyes widened.

Brilliant green eyes.

"You're a woman?" He asked in shock.

Isabella brought her knee up quickly, hitting him square in the groin.

He grunted loudly, fell off of her and curled up on his side.

She scrambled up from the ground and ran. Stopping to hide behind a tree, she turned to watch him.

What do you care if he's okay? She asked herself but stayed where she was.

A minute later he crawled up onto his hands and knees. He stayed that way for a moment before getting up and limping over to the tree his horse was tied to.

Satisfied with the fact that she hadn't hurt him too badly, she turned away and took off in the direction of the castle.