As they got back to their room the princess was quiet. She sat on the bed, an empty expression in her tear-rimmed eyes. Carsein wished he could comfort her some way but didn’t know how.

He was surprised with how angry he’d been. How protective he’d become of her. He merely thought it was a whim to save her from the mansion, but this experience had sown doubt about his own motivations. He felt something for the princess, even if he wished not to. When he saw the man in the courtyard and the princess struggling beneath him, his vision became red. It was a miracle he’d mustered enough control to not kill the man, merely settling for instilling fear of death in his heart.

He wondered if the princess feared him now, having witnessed the violence he was capable of multiple times already.

He hovered in the doorway, glancing around the room. Earlier in the day he’d thought it was a good way to save money to only get one room, but now he regretted it a little. It only had one bed and no couch, and he was nervous about how the princess would feel being forced to sleep next to him. Maybe he should go ask the inn-keeper for another?

“Princess, do you want me leave you alone and sleep somewhere else for tonight?” he asked with a prickling sensation in his chest as he waited for her response. She shook her head and relief rippled through him, though he quickly numbed the feeling.

“Alright. Go to sleep then” he told her. He’d just have to sleep on the floor.

She nodded silently, sliding off her boots and slipping under the covers. She rolled on her side, her back turned towards him and he slipped down on the floor next to the bed, learning his back against the wall. The silence was thick, and he just sat there staring at her back and shivering shoulders.

Then she suddenly spoke: “Carsein. Are all men like that?”

He jerked at her sudden question, that for some reason stirred uncomfortable feelings in him.

“No, not all…but some” he told her truthfully. In most regions of the country people maintained a patriarchal society. There women were looked down on an unfortunately it wasn’t unheard of that men forced themselves on women and some of the mercenaries he’d traveled with had had a particularly rough way of handling females. He didn’t condone such behavior and stopped it if he ever witnessed it, but he knew such things happened anyway.

“You just have to be careful choosing your husband in the future.”

“I don’t want one…! I don’t want to ever be touched like that again!” she sobbed and her words and the torment in her voice sent a sharp pain through Carsein’s chest. He didn’t know how to respond, didn’t know how to comfort her. So he just sat there, his chest aching as he listened to her breathing, ragged from trying to control her tears.

“Carsein, I’m cold…” she finally whispered, her voice strained. A confusing statement, as the room was plenty warm, and she was lying fully dressed under the covers. Then it finally hit him that the last couple of nights he’d used his body to warm her when they slept outside. Did she want him to hold her again?

A warm feeling flooded him at the realization, and he got up from the floor, knocking off his shoes before slipping onto the bed. Hesitantly he put his arms around her and yanked her into his embrace, pressing her body against him. She shivered, then her fingers slowly wrapped around his arms as if she was hiding in his embrace. The gesture was innocent, but it overwhelmed him. He thought she might be afraid of him, or at least uncomfortable, but that she sought comfort from him meant she wasn’t scared. That she trusted him.

He couldn’t help burying his nose into her hair and inhaled her scent, a contented sigh escaping his lips. After a while her regular breathing told him that she was asleep and soon he felt drowsiness claim him as well.

Somewhere between consciousness and slumber he suddenly felt her lips brushing against his. A current of sparking warmth rushed through him. His vision cleared the fog around them, and he looked at her face. Her hair fell in lush, red locks around it, whipping against a bare shoulder. He gasped. She was naked. He felt his appendage rise at the sudden revelation, unable to withstand the sight of her beautiful, subtle curves. He felt his hand instinctively reach for a nude breast, cupping it in his hand. He had no control, his whole body compelling him to take advantage of this moment. He leaned forward, his mouth closing around a shimmering bud. She responded by arching her back and he grabbed her hips to pull her on top of him. He gasped as he felt his tip brush against her moist entrance. Had she unclothed him as well?

He shuddered as she lifted herself to take him in and groaned when her warm channel closed around him. Slowly she started moving, her face writhed in ecstasy. His hands fumbled all over her body, as if to memorize its shape. Then, faster than he’d liked, she pushed him over the edge, and he grabbed her hips as the orgasm flooded him. With the last shuddering remnants surging through him he looked up to meet her gaze but gasped as a drum sounded and she disappeared in a mist.

He jolted from the covers, his breathing ragged. His eyes darted the room to orient him of his surroundings. A sliver of light shone through the shudders telling him it was morning. He glanced down and found himself fully dressed and beside him the sleeping princess was equally so.

It was a dream.

He didn’t need to look to know that his underwear was stained, and he with his hands he covered his face as the shame flooded him. How could he have had such a dream about her? Her of all people. And even more so, on the same night someone had tried to force himself upon her?

There was a knock on the door. The sound seemed impatient like they had been knocking for a while and Carsein realized the drum in his dream must’ve been the same sound.

He jumped from the bed and quickly tucked his sword in his belt before he hurried to the door. He reached for the handle and it opened with a creak, revealing the person who’d disturbed his slumber.

It was a dark-haired man, around his late twenties or early thirties, and he was wearing some shabby armor with what looked like a uniform of some sort underneath. Law enforcement Carsein concluded.

He had an inkling to what this was about, so before the guard had time to open his mouth he stepped through the door, forcing the man to take a few steps back and closed it behind him. He didn’t want to disturb the princess. Carsein’s towering height had the soldier blinking a few moments, before he reclaimed his professionalism.

“I need you to come with me, sir” he proclaimed.

“Why?” Carsein spoke, his eyes narrowing.

“We had a disturbing report last night and witnesses have pointed me in your direction.”

Carsein repressed a growl and clenched a fist to keep himself calm.

“If it’s about the bastard I encountered last night, he should be grateful I only took his hand and not his head” he snarled, and the guard trembled almost unnoticeably. He glanced nervously at the sword hilted at Carsein’s side. “He attacked my wife.”

The guard swallowed but insisted. “I still need you to come with me. If it is as you say, I’ll need you both to explain the situation to the captain.”

Carsein was impressed by the guard’s tenacity despite his obvious fear. However he was more irritated than impressed. In a motion that seemed casual, but was undoubtedly threatening, he rested a hand on the hilt of his sword and took a step forward.

“If your captain wishes to speak with me, he can come here and address me himself.”

The guard’s eyes flickered nervously, and he seemed to consider his options, before nodding hesitantly.

“Very well. But I’ll need you to stay here in the meantime then” he spoke, clearly trying to retain a professional and calm demeanor. Carsein knew that the guard backing down now meant giving them an opportunity to escape. Then the poor man would either have to lie to his captain or admit he had been too afraid to apprehend the suspect. Both options would leave a dent in his pride, but faced with the hulking figure of Carsein, most would buckle under the pressure.

Carsein nodded and watched as the guard turned to leave and watching his back, he couldn’t help but smirk.