Frida 2

To Frida, Rowan is not a commoner she met in the street. To her, Rowan is a star crossed sanctuary, a haven. A warm embrace after the cold indifference of the palace. And to Rowan, Frida is the world. She is beauty and joy and love. Her smile is a gift. Her laugh is a treasure. It does not matter to him that she is a princess, nor to her that he is a commoner. She sees the courage and the heart of a noble through his dirt, and he sees the compassion and warmth of a commoner through her pearls.
A haven, however, is not something one shares. A haven is secret, not for the eyes of the world. Frida keeps Rowan to herself, away from her stumbling brother. He has enough to worry about.
And although she holds onto some hope that Dorian will understand, she knows that it is beyond confession when she pulls Rowan to his feet and slips his ring onto her long, guilty fingers.