#but he can also be a good boiTM when the situation calls for it lol

[honorhearted]

In spite of himself, Ben felt his stiff posture softening. Glancing down into his untouched glass of whiskey, he pursed his mouth and hummed. "I...reluctantly confess that I would do much the same," he murmured. "At the beginning of this war, my hometown was taken hostage by redcoats, and my father was to be hanged. But rather than choosing to use my men for the greater good, I drew them off-course on a selfish rescue mission. Three men died that day -- not for the Cause we believe in, but for me...for my selfishness."

"Oi, I didn't exactly stop ya," Caleb pointed out. "I wanted to go home too, y'know."

Ben spared him a threadbare smile. "My father is alive," he concluded, "but at the cost of spilt blood. Arguably, the majority would say that my mission wasn't worth it...but Swan, he is all I have. So I chose myself." Ben exhaled, still idly swirling his whiskey. "In short, I am conceding that I don't blame you for wanting to leave and take vengeance -- in fact, I would encourage it, if that is what your heart truly desires -- but alas, I have also grown during my service, and I can no longer allow free-spirited lapses. We have to stick to this plan. It's what's safest and wisest for the army. I can't allow more men to die for unrestrained passions."

The same level?

Incredulous, Ben eyed Emma in disbelief. "But we aren't equals," he reminded her. "If everyone thought as you did, then the entire camp would be in disarray. We need order, and we need a sense of leadership. Otherwise, we're all doomed to do whatever we feel is necessary, and without the wisdom of teamwork." Sharing a glance with Caleb, he sighed before continuing, "I do not wish to tell you what to do -- I only ask that you listen. Not just for your sake, but for the men, women and children in this camp who've already lost and sacrificed far, far too much."

"I promise you I’m not that much of an idiot, but sometimes one must act like it."

Finally, Ben's smile was more genuine. "I know you're not an idiot, Swan -- that honor goes entirely to Brewster."

"Oi!" Caleb exclaimed, though he was grinning. "Goin' right for me nutsack, are ya? That's not very kind of you." To Emma, he added, "We don't think you're a fool, lass, and we're not tryin' a' undermine you neither. It's just a matter o' settin' up some ground rules right at the start. Those'll loosen up with time, you'll see."

"He's right," Ben agreed, sparing his friend a grateful glance. "Brewster can attest that certain rules are rather lax around here. He very much shares in your free-spirited nature."

With an exhale, he lifted his glass of whiskey, peered down into the amber liquid with reluctance, and then finally took an appeasing swallow. The drink burned with a pleasant warmth down his esophagus, and already, there was a slight loosening in his limbs. "We'll collaborate with you, Swan," he promised. "If we want to survive, the best option for us is compromise."

"I’m not…” she wasn’t displeased with their arrangments, it wasn’t even theirs to begin with, in a way, because she had made the decision to stay. She started pouring him a glass as well. Could she get into it now? She knew she may accidentally provoke him - this time really not meaning it - and doing so in front of his best friend was less than nice.

But God, there was something about him that was just asking to be defied in every possible way. The way he spoke to her was going to lead her to do something stupid, or worse fight with him, and she didn’t want that. No, she had to change things immediately, for better or worse, this direction could not do.

“Alright. Let’s start over. I am not displeased by anything your general wants from me, or about you as a bodyguard, or this tent. But I am sorry that you have to look after me, in the sense that I feel guilty. And I’m displeased by my overstaying because I want to go kill every single one of those monsters who came here looking for me, and I cannot do that, I will not do that,” she pointed out to remind herself of her own resolve, gripping her glass of whiskey.

“Forgive me, Caleb, this is not a happy first talk we are having, but I must say this so that you,” she turned to Benjamin, her tone softening, “Can start making peace with the idea, and I won’t get reckless because you are pushing buttons you don’t you are pushing. I told Washington I’d be staying for now, because I don’t want to add to his pile of worries. I told him I’ll write to my parents, hopefully the letter can be sent by tomorrow morning, so that soon he’ll be released from any responsibility. See, this is a self-containment, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be: nobody had to persuade me or explain, it was my choice and it will keep being my choice. But I am not going to be confined at camp the entire time nor pretend I’m a delicate flower, of course I’ll listen to what you have to say and I’ll try to be on my best behavior, but I will never take orders. Only advice. That is what you need to make peace with. My choices and my life are my responsibilities and will remain so, that is why I can’t act like a subordinate. So what I’ll tell to your general is that while I’m happy to have your help, you can’t be held responsible for what a silly princess does, you can only be thanked whenever you can hold her back. We are on the same level, no one is above the other. Which means sometimes I’ll leave camp, neither of us can be trapped. And when my parents answer to my letter I’m definitely going to hunt those people down.”

She didn’t want to add to George’s pile of worries nor to Benjamin’s pile of guilt, so hopefully he’d understand she wasn’t to be ordered around because she wasn’t to be considered under his protection. It wasn’t as if any other figure of power would actually state that they were on the same level, after all, but she meant it.

“Caleb, you can visit me whenever you please and it will be much more amusing than it is now, I’m sure. Major, the same goes for you, and you can check on me, but please, please, don’t talk to me like a prisoner nor an idiot, talk to me like I’m happily waiting, so that it can be easier for me to convince myself that I am.It’s killing me that I can’t go find them, they ripped innocent people’s hearts out, and that is exactly why you must allow me to handle this. I could leave, you forcing me to stay is what would actually cause a war, not my death, but I won’t go regardless, I don’t want anyone to get hurt except the people who deserve it. I promise you I’m not that much of an idiot, but sometimes one must act like it… Well,” she corrected immediately, “I also am an idiot, and you talking to me like I have no choice in any matter is awakening every fighting instinct I have, and I was in the middle of trying to put them to sleep, don’t forget I also just found out-” she lifted her injured hand this time, to show that she hadn’t exactly been taking the situation calmly. “If you wish to fight me, can we go back to how you were doing it yesterday, like I’m the most inappropriate woman you have ever met, and not a toddler? Reject my courtship again, that’s fine.” And maybe he’d stop giving her the impression that he was truly angry about being there but forced to choke it down by his orders, if he did that. Hell, maybe now he’d explode instead, but it was better than the little comments here and there that she didn’t know how to read yet. As long as he understood she was there by choice and would stay by choice. Of course she didn’t hear no often as a princess - and as a woman she’d still get to pick when to listen to it anyway.