Arwin sent him a scowl as the door closed behind them and further down the hallway he hissed: “Carsein, what were you doing?”

Carsein shrugged indifferent to the other man’s scorn and they descended the stairs to the ground floor, “nothing, just scaring her a little...”

“Don’t do that. I know you hate her, but she’s mine now – I paid for her. I hired you because I wanted someone I trust to watch over her but if you can’t contain yourself, I’ll send you packing immediately” Arwin growled.

Carsein suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and sighed, “fine… but what’s the harm?”

A sly smirk flashed across Arwin’s face momentarily before it returned to his usual fake, polite smile.

“We need to show her kindness, Carsein. A woman in love is the dumbest creature and she could regain her memories at any moment. I need her to trust me completely when she does, so you can’t go around scaring her like that. It would make things suspicious.”

As they turned the corner Arwin spotted a maid dusting of a vase, nestled on a table decorating the hallway. “Oh, could you send someone to make sure the Lady is properly dressed for breakfast?” he asked her in passing and the maid bowed politely in confirmation.

“Why is that so important?” Carsein asked when they got out of earshot, nearing the dining hall.

“We still don’t know if she’s learned any magic or combat skills that could pose a problem later on”

“Hmm… If she does, then what?”

Arwin smirked again, eyeing Carsein up and down. An expression that always gave him cold shivers.

“If so, you might just get to kill her after all”

Carsein suppressed the urge to grin. God, he hoped she had learned all sorts of skills that made her real dangerous.

He saw before him the vision of her as she’d sprung from the bed. Pure instinctual fear burning in those emerald green eyes, her auburn locks falling in cascades over her shoulders and her visage clad in a thin nightgown, hinting at the womanly figure underneath. He’d like to take her for a spin before killing her, though.

“What do you want her for, anyway?” he inquired further, curious and slightly envious at the recollection.

“Well… I’ve always liked her. She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Carsein nodded, “she rejected my marriage proposal, you know after what happened to your family, and since… I’ve just wanted her so badly…”

Carsein frowned at the mention of his former bond to the princess. That was a long time ago, they were only kids back then and he had yet to grasp what monsters the royal family really were.

“Now, now…” Arwin chuckled as he noticed his discontent expression, making the frown deepen.

Arwin was an insidious snake with obscure motives and sadistic tendencies. He was glad he wasn’t Carsein’s enemy. And though he’d rather see the princess dead with her head speared on the castle gates along with the king’s and all those other filthy nobles who supported his reign, he could at least comfort himself that the rest of her life would be miserable now that Arwin had dug his fangs into her.

He sighed.

“Swift justice is more my style, but you do as you like” he scoffed and Arwin’s grin widened, a satisfied hum sounding from him.

…

‘This girl’ Carsein thought to himself as he tried to mask his hateful expression, watching the princess stroll carefree around the garden smelling the flowers and enjoying the spring breeze.

It didn’t take long for Arwin to wrap her around his finger and now all she did was pine for him, whining about what he was doing, when he’d return, when she could see him. Irritating. She was so naïve, and he really hated seeing her running around all happy like this. He hoped Arwin would strike soon, otherwise he might not be able to contain himself.

“Princess, I think that’s quite enough!” he heard himself yell and the young woman spun on her heels, jolting slightly at the sight of his frown but then her face lit up in an innocent smile.

“Oh, just a little while longer. It’s been so long since I spent any time outside”

He scowled. The princess had spent the last week confined in the mansion to recover and to give Arwin time to finalize his deal with the new king. Though the snake had spun a tale for the princess about her being in danger if the king knew she was still alive, that was a complete lie. The king already knew and had handed her as a price to Arwin for masterfully orchestrating the rebellion. The snake himself might have become king, had he had such interests, but he preferred running things from the shadows and was more than content just gaining a pet and an elated title. Duke Arwin de Raugh. Carsein spat a little.

He hadn’t come here because he liked working for the man, but he had to see the princess for himself. He wanted to be there when Arwin broke her, see the last of the royal bloodline succumb to the fate they all deserved; One of death or misery.

But god was she annoying. His patience was honestly wearing thin. In a few hasty strides he closed the distance between them, grabbing a hold of her arm.

“I said that’s quite enough!” he growled, reveling in her shocked expression as she faced him.

Though it didn’t last long. In the blink of an eye the fear in her eyes vanished like morning dew and a soft smile spread on her full lips. For some reason she didn’t seem to fear him anymore like that first day when he’d surprised her. Not even when he failed to mask his expression. Irritating.

His grip around her tightened, garnering a slightly pained expression from her. That’s more like it.

“Ow, Carsein. That hurts!” she complained, trying to pull away, “fine, we’ll go inside.”

Her eyes rolled slightly during the resignation making Carsein suppress a discontent growl. Why was she like this?

“Carsein!” he spun his head at the sound and caught the sight of Arwin stepping out from a side door to the mansion, “what are you doing to a lady?”

The princess’ face lit up in a bright smile, so sweet it almost had Carsein shudder and he lost his grip around her arm as she sprung towards the blonde man.

“Arwin, you’re back!” she exclaimed happily, stopping just before she reached him in an eager bounce. She looked like a puppy happy to see its master. Carsein saw the content in Arwin’s smile as he probably thought the same, but the princess didn’t seem to notice. In fact she seemed completely oblivious to the devious nature hidden behind that that fake smile. Truly pitiful.

“What seems to be the matter, milady?” he asked, flashing Carsein a scorn.

“Please, Arwin, Carsein doesn’t seem to think I should be able to enjoy the weather” she pouted, “but it’s just so nice, can I stay a while longer?”

Arwin smiled at her, an expression she likely thought looked loving. “Oh, I suppose you could… Although I was just coming to fetch you for afternoon tea. I thought you might like to enjoy it with me in the salon?”

“Really?” her happy voice sounded, her wish to wander the yard now completely forgotten.

“Yes, but if you wanted to stay outside longer…”

“No, that’s okay! We can have tea together”

Carsein rolled his eyes. You could almost see her tail wagging and the contentment on Arwin’s face was sickening.

Truly pitiful.