She wraps her arms around your neck, burying her face against your chest.

"You can be so horribly boneheaded. And you can be so romantic I feel like I might die."

You don't say anything. You don't want to ruin it with another pun. Sapphire sniffs, and rubs her eyes against your scales before choking out a laugh.

"I wasn't actually going to ban you from sex, you know. You didn't have to do this."

You shake your head, her position around your neck letting her feel the movement even if she can't see it.

"It wasn't about that. It wasn't a bribe to make you forgive me. It's been the plan for a while. You were always going to be one of my first floor bosses. And since that hero stole your sapphire it just seemed... right."

Sapphire hums, then pulls back from you so she can look you in the eyes. Hers are still bright with unshed tears.

"That did leave me feeling blue. You're a gem."

Silence.

Then you groan.

"At least mine was funny."

She pouts, and stamps a foot.

"Look, I've been thinking of that one since it appeared! I wanted to show you I forgave you. I thought it was good!"

You snigger.

"A good pun is spontaneous, young apprentice. You have much to learn. My humour is simply a cut above the rest."

She squints at you.

"Was that a pun? You said it like it was a pun."

"Cut? Like... the cut of a jewel?"

She sighs.

"You were doing so well sir."

It's your turn to pout as she laughs at you, a tinkling chuckle that fits her small stature perfectly. You wait for it to die down before asking

"Where's Feathers? Weren't you two together?"

Sapphire rolls her eyes.

"You dropped her into the mud in front of a tribe of goblins that she is meant to control, and also injured most of those goblins at the same time. She's stayed behind to organise things and bash any heads that need bashing."

You wince, but she waves you off.

"Don't worry, I was being nice to her. She can wait for any more satisfaction. I however, did not get my enjoyment before you interrupted us."

She quirks an eyebrow at you.

"What are you going to do about it?"

You grin, and swoop your neck down and around, between her legs, sweeping her off her feet and into your back. Her claws dig into your scales as she grabs onto you, laughing.

“I'm sure I can think of something.”

You carry her, still giggling, through the side door that leads to the still underdeveloped kobold village. There's caves here, and bridges, but little sign of civilisation. You'll need to fix that at some point, now your eyes have been opened as to how your goblins were living.

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With two jumps you ascend to the topmost layer of the artificial valley you carved from the rock, and stand at the entrance to Sapphire's cave. Not that she spends much time here, from what you understand. Looking at it, you can see why. It's a bare, teardrop shaped cave. It's only privacy is the fact that it's the only cave on the top level combined with the short tunnel that serves as an entrance make it difficult, but not impossible, to peak inside. There's not even a pile of furs. The only furniture is the wooden door set against the right wall, which you know leads down a sharp drop into the larder caves.

Sapphire seems to know what's on your mind, as you slow to a stop and look around and she slides off of you.

“It never mattered, sir. I was always with you, and then Feathers. We never fought anyone anywhere but the entrance hall. It was a promise of what could come, nothing more.”

You shake your head, your throat tight. This was meant to be her space. Somewhere where she could chose what to put up, how to shape it... it just never came up. And you never thought about it.

“How-” you have to pause and cough, as your voice is raw. “How would you want this place to be?”

She shakes her head again, laying a hand on your arm, but after a moment of looking at you she responds.

“More space would be nice. I'd like to be able to ride Hyena in here, now I'm a guardian of the key. Plenty of shadows, and stalactites I think, so Steve can hide. And a little room, off to one side, to just keep my own things. Some shelves. I don't plan on changing my sleeping habits any time soon, I hope you realise.”

She leans up and places a kiss against your shoulder.

“I got used to sleeping with someone warm, after so long sleeping in the cold. I don't want to change that.”

You nod, tearing your gaze away form the bare walls.

Have I ever even been in here before?

“Red Scale. Sir. It's fine. Really, and truly. I'm glad you want to make it better now, but it's never been a problem.”

You swallow and nod again, meeting her eyes. You hate feeling like you've failed her, but she seems honest, her gaze unfaltering as she looks up at you. After a moment, she sighs and sits down, crossing her legs and tapping the floor next to her. You curl around her, and she sighs again, contented this time, relaxing against your warmth.

“Even if I was spending every night here, I don't think you understand how bad it was, before I came to you. It takes a truly desperate woman to throw her lot in with a brand new boss, one room and no food to his name, you know? That rabbit was hard to catch and would have fed me for four days. I don't like talking about how it was, before I was Sapphire. Kobolds... we think ourselves so high and mighty in our city above the clouds. We use stone, and metal, and our own magic. Goblins are dirty forest dwellers who couldn't build a shack without using their own shit as cement. Those goblins, they're savages. They kill their young if they're weak. Not like kobolds.”

Her head thumps against your chest as she leans it back.

“Sometimes, I used to wish that wasn't true. Being a runt... there were times I thought about trying my luck again. Seeing what I'd respawn as. Where I'd be, even if I lost most of my memories... at least there'd still be a little bit that was me. I think, before, I lived by the sea? In a cliff, I think.”

She lifts her hand up and stares at it in silence for a few seconds, rotating her wrist to look at her palm.

“I was green, I think.”

You're silent.

Several seconds pass before she speaks again.

“I never did, obviously. The gods punish those that use death for their own ends. From mightiest hero to lowest kobold. But up above the clouds... it's so very cold at night. Sometimes, for a night by the fire or a scrap of burnt fat... I'd do what I had to to survive. Menial work, tidying a house. Or cooking. Or stealing. But if I couldn't find a way to pay... there were other options. And even if I did pay...”

The silence descends again. You curl around her tighter, letting your flames grow hot in your chest.

“If a lonely kobold came to visit me in the night I knew there was no way to say no. Not if I didn't want to be kicked out into the snow. And even when I was thinking about a new life... I never wanted to die.”

She lets out another sigh, long and low.

“It's all in the past, now. And... I won't say I liked it, or that I wouldn't change it if I could. But at least it led me here? And I can't change the past.”

She lets out a mirthless laugh.

“Hah! Now, not even death would let me forget.”

She's silent for a moment more.

“Sorry, that was uncalled for. I love you, and I love it here. But one day I will hold you to your promise.”

Your mind flashes back to the conversation you had with Mercy, your habit of promising the impossible.

“One day, we're climbing this mountain and burning that city to the ground.”

Sparks and smoke billow from your nostrils. Sapphire shakes her head, as if banishing the dark memories that have crawled around her like a veil.

“All I mean, sir, is even if I was spending every night here, rather than with you wrapped around me, or sharing a bed with Feathers, it would still be far better than what I had before.”

Her hand comes up to cup your chin.

“So thank you.”

She kisses you.