"I don't need them," she simmered and sulked with a defiant indignation. As much as she wanted to rip off the IV to prove her point she was unable to do so. The sling effectively immobilized her arm; she was too injured to be able to accomplish much movement when the limb was free and now that it was restrained it was nearly impossible to do anything more significant than wiggle her fingers. The needle providing her a steady dose of fluid and medication was carefully taped to the back of her right hand. Technically it was accessible to her left hand, despite the sling, but she wasn't able to angle and use sufficient force to pull out the instrument. Rhiane was so furious at the small tube she almost forgot about the event that led to her current predicament.

"I won't hurt myself more," she insisted though she did not fight against the gentle pressure he exercised to keep her laying down. Had she thought she had even a chance to resist she would have seized the opportunity. Even injured, however, Luke could handily overpower her with ease. Broadcast loved to portray him like a modern day Casanova, effortlessly oozing charm and sex appeal, but she knew that he was not as willowy as some of the models that graced advertisements with their dazzling smiles. The heir to the throne had been in the military of his own accord. Rhiane could have rumbled with a man who didn't exercise, was on an extreme diet, and had never been in a fight before, but there would have to be far more going in her favor before she could best Luke physically.

"You're worse than Sebastian," the princess elect mumbled under her breath. She fidgeted as her anger began to ebb and her memories began to replay the accident. As Luke's eyes drifted towards the window she recalled the weightless sensation of rolling in the SUV as her seat belt strained to hold her in place, the deathly quiet as the vehicle struck the fallen tree trunk and came to a rest, the sickening realization that she had indirectly harmed Luke, and how he grimaced with each breath. Emotions played against her features as she clearly felt paralyzing guilt towards the crown prince for the part she played in causing him to limp and need a brace to stabilize his torso.

Rhiane involuntarily flushed as the kiss was brought to the forefront of his mind. Obviously he had wanted her to take the sedative, possibly to make her quiet since all they did was argue, but she couldn't understand her fiance's motivations. He had gone from being wholly apathetic to her at the engagement ball to so concerned about her health he justified a kiss. What happened after she swallowed the pill was hazy. Faintly she thought they might have kissed longer than was strictly necessary or excusable, but everything immediately afterwards was a gaping void. She tried as hard as she could to conjure even an expression he had before she drifted up but her psyche did not answer her summons. Perhaps nothing more occurred, she reasoned, although she somehow knew that was not true. Questioning Luke would do her no good. Neither of them wanted to have a messy romantic entanglement so it seemed it was better to avoid the topic altogether.

"I can talk to the farmers alone," she said after clearing her throat. "I'm sure the last thing you want to do now is share more time together in the hot spring," she ventured. Rhiane's voice wavered slightly. He knew, even if he did not admit it himself, that the brunette asserting herself only a couple feet away liked him in some capacity. She covered her feelings well in public but the artificial distance she kept erecting between them made all that much more sense now- she was trying to keep things professional. The kingdom's bachelorettes envied her with an intensity that bordered on hatred, yet she refused him repeatedly, and was determined not to let a natural love be nurtured.

"I'm sure Tobias can go with me," Rhiane continued. "I'll come up with an excuse why you're not there. Assuming your mother even lets me make the appearance on our behalf once she discovers I was driving," she sighed. Luke had wanted her awake but this added the complication that she wouldn't cooperate with his plan to allege he was the daredevil manning the wheel. The princess elect wanted to be punished for her perceived crimes and was fixated on trying make this wish come to fruition. "Maybe it can be my penance for everything..." she whispered more to herself than to him.