Chapter 24


    The Prince’s Arms


    As if it was too impossible to think, the men present didn’t even dare toment on Cassandra’s


    suggestion. How would a mere concubine borrow a Prince’s dragon anyway? Wasn’t she just a


    delusional woman? They all decided to just ignore it. That ve was already weird enough to willingly


    take care of all those sick or injured soldiers, so why wouldn’t she think she could actually use the


    Prince’s dragon. Maybe the Commander-in-Chief just had a thing for crazy ones.


    “Evin, could you tell me where I can find those ountants? I want to speak to them, and see if we can


    get some necessities.”


    “I don’t think that is a good idea, Madam. It is quitete already. His Highness might be looking for you.”


    Cassandra suddenly realized she had spent a considerable amount of time there. The Red Room didn’t


    have any windows, and was only lit up by candlelight, so there was no way to even know if it was day


    or night outside. She had been so caught up in her task and notes, she hadpletely lost track of


    time.


    “I’ll…I’ll go back. Is it veryte?” she asked, a bit worried.


    The Prince didn’t even know where she was! There was no way he would look for her all the way here,


    was there? She had to go back soon, or he might really be mad this time.


    “We’re a couple hours away from dinner, Madam.”


    Cassandra felt guilty. She still had some time, but she should definitely head back. She nodded and


    turned to the men, who assured her they would carry on without her, making good use of her notes. At


    least she could go feeling like she had done some good around here, but Cassandra still wanted to do


    more for the injured.


    She said goodbye to the men present, and left, escorted by Evin. Orwan had gone back to the forge


    earlier, and the trip back with the Imperial Servant was a bit awkward without the young man present.


    Cassandra could feel Evin was against her actions, but he didn’t voice it outloud, which made it worse


    somehow.


    Once outside again, she noticed the sun was going down already. The days were short here, which


    meant it was eventer than she thought. Cassandra walked quickly to try and make her way back to


    the Prince’s camp, but a sudden loud growl stopped her. The familiar sound had everyone around her


    freeze and look up. In the sky, therge silhouette of a dragon was throwing its shadow over them. Krai


    growled again, and suddenly flew down towards Cassandra. She knew she shouldn’t move, but it was


    hard to repress that urge to run when a giant, ck scaled beast was flying towards her. Many of the


    closest soldiers did run away in a fright, impressed by the dragon’s size and speed.


    However, Krainded a few steps away from Cassandra, its huge paws sttering the snow around.


    “Hi,” said Cassandra with a smile. “Were you looking for me?”


    The dragon emitted a long growl, and rubbed its huge snout against her. Cassandra scratched Krai’s


    favorite spot a bit before moving around the dragon’s head to climb up. Without the Prince’s help, it


    took her a few extra seconds until she sat up properly. She actually didn’t even know where to hold


    onto, so she grabbed what seemed to be Krai’s horns, hoping the dragon wouldn’t hate it. Actually, the


    dragon didn’t seem to mind at all, agitating its long reptilian tail around, splurging waves of snow on the


    closest men and tents. Krai kept moving his head around, as if trying to look at Cassandra, a bit


    annoyed.


    “Come on, let’s go see him,” said Cassandra.


    On the ground, Evin was still standing, as tall and quiet as before, but his face had turned a bit blue. He


    looked at the dragon taking off with the Prince’s concubine on its back, standing still as ever. Once the


    dragon was a few meters high though, he couldn’t hold it anymore. His legs gave way under him, and


    the poor man copsed.


    Meanwhile, Cassandra, who had no idea, was focusing hard on holding on and hoping Krai was indeed


    taking her to the Prince. She was flying on her own, and she was still very scared. She was a hundred


    and ten pound woman


    on a several-tons beast’s back! She didn’t even dare to look down, and only focused on holding on to


    both the dragon and her cloak.


    Thankfully, it was a very short flight, only a couple of minutes, until Krai started going down. She


    recognized therge area from the previous day, where the dinner had been served, except that the


    dragon wasnding on another end, in front of a veryrge tent. Cassandra waited until Krai was very


    still and stable, then slowly climbed down, her legs still a bit weak.


    The soldiers guarding the tent’s entrance were totally speechless, looking at the frail woman who had


    arrived using the Commander-in-Chief’s dragon. Cassandra was giving Krai some thank-you scratches


    as if it had been a well behaved dog. The men exchanged looks,pletely lost at what to say or do.


    But Cassandra just walked up to them, looking as frail and innocent as usual.


    “Is His Highness inside?”


    “Y…Yes, Madam,” stuttered one of them.


    “Thanks,” she said with her disarming smile.


    The soldier blushed to his ears, and they quickly stepped aside to let her in. The men stayed a bit red


    and lost for a few seconds, but Krai’s sudden stare had them go from red to white in seconds. (6


    Cassandra stepped inside the tent, a bit unsure. To her surprise, there were quite a few people inside.


    Eight men were lined up in front of Kairen, who was sitting on his throne with a bored expression. One


    of the older ones was giving him what was apparently a detailed report about theirtest weapons


    improvements. Staying quiet in the corner, Cassandra wondered if he was a superior of Orwan.


    After a few seconds, Kairen spotted her and held out his hand for Cassandra to join him. She couldn’t


    help but smile a bit, and sneaked to the side, to join him while the older man was still talking. Most of


    the lieutenants saw the young concubine walk in silence to the Prince, but they didn’t say a thing.


    Kairen pulled Cassandra to sit on hisp, wrapping an arm around her waist.


    “…with a higher precision, My Lord. That’s it for today’s report on my faction, Commander-in-Chief.”


    Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org.


    “You’re all dismissed,” said Kairen.


    One of the men hesitated, with a frown on his face.


    “But, My Lord, I still haven’t…”


    One re from Kairen made it clear there would be no more reporting today. The man gave an


    annoyed re towards Cassandra before stepping out. The rest of the men also left, leaving them


    alone.


    As soon as they were gone, the Prince turned to kiss her longingly.


    “Where have you been?” he asked, while taking the cloak off of her.


    “Just…exploring…the camp…”


    She had a hard time answering his questions, his kisses, and breathing at the same time. He pushed


    her hair behind her shoulder, and kissed the depth between her breasts, putting Cassandra in front of


    him, in that riding position that embarrassed her so much.


    “What parts?”


    “The Forge, and…the Red Room…”


    Kairen stopped. He frowned, and sat straight again, facing Cassandra with a confused expression.


    “What Red Room?”


    “The one where they take the injured or sick soldiers. At the back of the camp, in the South Mountain.”


    “What the fuck were you doing there?”


    She became white in an instant. She had no idea he would be so mad about it, and she didn’t even


    know how to respond. Kairen had never been furious at her before… She tried to step away, by mere


    instinct, but the Prince firmly held onto her wrist.


    “I just…I was curious about it…”


    “Why would you go there?!”


    She didn’t even understand why he was so furious! She breathed in, really insecure for the first time in


    a while, and shook her head.


    “I didn’t mean to…I just…wanted to see…”


    “I forbid you to go there again!”


    Kairen’s yelling made her shiver. She tried to step away again, but the Prince’s grasp on her wrist was


    too strong.


    “I only meant to help…the sick! I…please, you’re hurting me!”


    Her scream was like an electric shock to Kairen. He suddenly let go, and Cassandra, who had been


    struggling all this time, lost her bnce, stumbling backwards. Before he could do anything, she fell on


    her right side, brutally hitting the floor.


    “Cassandra!”


    He meant to help her, but Cassandra avoided his hands when he got close, getting away from him. She


    was shivering, holding her painful arm with teary eyes.


    “Don’t…please…”


    He had never seen her so wary of him before. She looked at him with uncertainty, like a cornered


    animal, as if she didn’t recognize him. But his anger was still subsiding, and he was breathing loudly,


    trying to contain it and not do something else that he might regret. He clenched both his fists, and


    addressed her with a cold voice.


    “To my tent. Now.”


    Cassandra obeyed in silence, grabbing her cloak to put back on, and exiting the tent. With Kairen right


    behind her, she didn’t even dare to look at Krai, who followed them, curious, unaware of the situation.


    She just walked as fast as she could to the Prince’s tent, ignoring the sharp pain in her wrist and elbow.


    It was an awkward but short walk back. Once she got there, she left the cloak on the bed, turning to


    Kairen, waiting to see if he was still as furious as before.


    Indeed, he was.


    “You are not going back there,” he hissed.


    “What? But I need to go back! I still have a lot to do, I…”


    “I said, no!”


    With that, he threw his armor across the tent, crashing into something behind her. Cassandra closed


    her eyes, trying to stay calm. She held her tears in, and looked at him.


    “Why not? Exin it to me, please.”


    Turning away from her, Kairen stayed silent. She could tell he was trying hard to contain his anger,


    from his shivering fists and the thumping vein on his temple.


    “My Lord, please, just…”


    “Enough.”


    He suddenly turned around, and walked over to kiss her. This time, Cassandra felt his strength and his


    anger in his kiss. It wasn’t blissful at all, it wasn’t like their usual kisses. She started trying to push him


    away, resisting his


    kiss.


    “No, no!”


    “Cassandra, enough!”


    But she kept resisting, and opposing his hands which were looking for her body. Kairen was obviously


    much stronger, but Cassandra kept opposing him, trying to elude his kisses and make him realize she


    didn’t want to do this.


    “Cassandra!”


    As he yelled her name again, she suddenly stopped resisting, and stoodpletely still, not moving


    anymore. Kairen waspletely at a loss. He tried to kiss her some more, but her body was so frigid,


    he had to stop. 3


    “What are you doing?”


    “You wanted me to stop resisting.”


    “Why are you doing that?”


    He didn’t even know how to be angry with her when she was acting like this.


    “I can force you, Cassandra.”


    “I know that. I’m not resisting you.”


    She wasn’t resisting, but Cassandra was still showing her opposition very strongly. She was inanimate


    as a doll, and that was it. Somehow, that made him even more furious. He suddenly punched the


    mattress right next to her, scaring her a little.


    en me


    “Fuck!”


    Right after that, he stormed out of the tent without another word. Cassandra let out a long sigh. She


    had been holding her breath for a while and felt dizzy. It was the first time she had seriously opposed


    him. She had never seen him so furious, either. Her legs were actually still shivering when she sat up,


    pulling her dress back down.


    No matter what, she was still a ve and a woman. She knew being alive and so well treated was all


    thanks to Kairen’s attachment to her. This could change anytime. He could kill her or rape her, and no


    one would say a word about it. That’s the kind of world she lived in.


    Cassandra stayed there for a long time, her arm wrapped around her knees, thinking long and hard on


    the edge of the bed. Her eyes were in a daze. She was tired, cold, and hungry, but she didn’t feel like


    moving a muscle.


    She felt sad about what had happened. She didn’t think that would happen. Cassandra kept thinking


    about the dispute, all of their conversation, reying it in her head, over and over. Seeing Kairen’s


    anger, again and again.


    “Madam.”


    Cassandra was surprised to see Evine in, carrying a tray of food.


    “Evin. How…?”


    “His Highness was quite angry, and is training with his men. Since I didn’t see you at the dinner, I


    figured you might be…hungry.”


    Cassandra felt a bitforted by the man’s kindness.


    “Thank you, Evin.”


    Indeed, she had been ignoring her growling stomach all this time. Before, she could go days without


    food. But since she had been with the Prince, her stomach got used to getting good and consistent


    meals. She sighed. She was hungry, but her head was too heavy to feel like eating either. It was a


    strange feeling.


    “You look tired, Madam. Have a good sleep.”


    Evin left the room without adding anything else, leaving her alone again. From how he calmly left the


    tent, she supposed Krai had left, too. She truly was on her own.


    Cassandra grabbed the fur cloak to cover her shoulders, and got up to eat a bit on the couch. She ate


    little bites, mindlessly, wondering when the Prince woulde back. But even after she was done


    eating, he still hadn’t returned. She thought about going to look for him, but their argument still lingered


    in her mind. He probably wasn’t calm enough to return yet.


    Sheid on the bed, realizing how cold the sheets were without Kairen there. She missed him, his


    warmth, and the way he held on to her when they slept together. Strange how the body catches onto


    new habits so easily. (3


    Muchter in the night, she woke up to someone’s presence in the bed with her. Worried for only a


    second, she quickly recognized Kairen’s familiar smell and warmth. Without a word, heid next to her,


    his back facing Cassandra. Was he still angry?


    She didn’t dare to move too much, and just turned around to his side after a while, the closest she


    could without touching him. It was heartbreaking not to see his face. She stayed like this for a long


    time, in the dark, conscious neither of them was sleeping. Cassandra wondered if she should say


    something, apologize or bid him good night, but the more she hesitated, the more awkward it became.


    She opened her mouth several times, but with no sounding out. 1


    Eventually, she slowly moved her arm, and, timidly, her fingers reached for his back. She was barely


    touching him, but she felt his reaction, his breathing halting for a second. It was a short moment, in


    which she wondered if he would say something. But even after a while, Kairen stayed silent.


    For the first time in a while, Cassandra really felt like crying. Was he really ignoring her? Was he still


    mad? Would this keep going on for a long time? Or was he going to get rid of her at dawn? She closed


    her eyes, trying to chase away all those dark thoughts, and not to cry.


    That’s when Kairen silently moved. Before she could react, the Prince turned around, his eyes still


    closed, and put his arm around her.


    Cassandra opened her eyes, confused, and felt a wave of warmth and relief. A single tear escaped her


    eye, and she finally fell asleep, snuggling against his chest.