“Carsein… I can’t…” her voice behind him puffed. He turned around with an irritated look in his eyes. She was standing bent over, hands on her knees, panting and locks of red hair clung to her forehead. She had no strength, no stamina. She was dead weight.

He had no idea why he’d rescued her. It seemed to have been pure instincts guiding his feet. Now that they had made some distance from the mansion and his mind was clearer, he cursed himself. When Arwin told him about his involvement in the slave trade, he was a hairs breadth away from killing him, but he’d controlled himself. The snake could have been away inside for him, a channel for him to obtain information on his sister. If she was still alive.

But now Arwin was dead. All because Carsein couldn’t control his urges, and over some damn woman. He had fantasized about killing her, so why on earth did he suddenly feel compelled to save her?

He suppressed the growl forming in his throat and stepped towards the princess to get her on her feet.

“Get up, we don’t have time for this” he snarled, and puffing she looked at him with pleading expression. Pathetic.

Voicing his discontent with a throaty sound, he picked her up and slung her into his arms. She looked surprised for a moment and he thought she might protest, but then she snuggled her nose into his chest, seemingly content in his embrace. The gesture made his breath hitch and he felt a shiver run through him. An uncomfortable sensation that he quickly shrugged off.

They had been walking for hours and it had long since been daybreak. After he killed the dogs near the mansion there were no other pursuers, likely unable to follow the pace with which they moved. And with each step forward the likelihood of being caught decreased, the forest hiding their presence and the creaks and streams erasing their scent and footsteps. Had he been alone he would probably already be resting, fast as he was and confident in his skill to fend off any attackers if need be. But he was dragging the princess along this time and aside from being noisy, slow and clumsy, she also had no fighting skills – that he knew off – and therefor he would have to protect her as well as himself. She really was dead weight.

And yet he seemed unable to dispose himself of her. Even if he had lost his desire to kill her, he could just leave her here in the woods and let her own determination decide if she’d live or die. But his chest tightened at the thought and made it hard to breathe, so to ensure the continued health of his own body he had to bring her along. Where ever they were going…

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A few hours later his arms were finally too tired to carry her any further and he had to put her down. The dimming light in the forest told him it would soon be dusk, so it was well the same. He could hear a stream nearby and the ground seemed even enough to make camp here.

“Sit. I’m setting up camp”

She nodded listlessly and plopped down on the ground where she stood, the gesture witnessing her exhaustion. He could feel it too, but he was used to pushing his body to the limit and he couldn’t rest just yet. He still had things to do first. He didn’t have a tent or bedrolls, all he had was a blanket and his coat, so they’d need a fire to keep warm. They had barely eaten all day as well and the water skins had long been empty.

Rummaging around the undergrowth he managed to gather some dry firewood and by the nearby creek he filled his waterskins. He was grateful for his quick thinking to gather food from kitchen, since the forest harvest was yet sparse, and he didn’t have a bow with which to hunt.

Soon they were sitting side by side around the fire, the night closing around them as they ate quietly. Carsein had thought she would be full of questions, but she was just staring empty eyed into the fire gnawing on her dry lump of bread. He didn’t know if she was wary of him, still in shock or just tired, but it was all the same to him. He didn’t have much interest in chatting.

When they were done, he laid out the blanket next to the fire and gestured, “sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.

He was tired as well, so he spread out his coat for himself to rest on. Lying on his back he was surrounded by the sound of the crackling fire, the forest animals and rustling of trees. Staring up at the starry sky, obscured by heavy treetops he was waiting for something, although he didn’t know what for. He should be exhausted, more than ready to sleep.

Closing his eyes he listened, then slowly became aware of it: The chattering of teeth. He turned his head to look at the princess lying on the blanket facing her back to him, her shoulders shivering and sighed. He was never going to sleep like this.

Even though summer came closer with each passing day, the nights were still cold and there was only really one way to remedy it. So he rolled onto her blanket and yanked her into his arms, pressing her length against his.

“C-Carsein, what are you doing?” she struggled, trying to break loose from his embrace, but he just held her tighter.

“Shut up. I can’t sleep with your teeth chattering.” He shifted a little to grab his coat and pulled it over them. Slowly her shivers stopped, and he closed his eyes, finally asleep.