"What was I thinking..?"
Kel trailed off, frozen like a tiny rabbit in front of a large wolf. The emperor must be furious that she got caught and blew her cover.
"Last night. Why didn't you come back? Why did you go with.. him?" The emperor spat the last word like it was a disgusting taste in his mouth.
"With Dash? Well it just sort of.. happened," Kel replied quietly. The emperor didn't respond, so she hurriedly added, "About the register-"
.
"You could have hidden somewhere else. Why did it have to be with him!" The emperor demanded.
"I'm sorry?" Kel hesitated. "He was there and we just.. Anyway, I know you're probably upset about the reg-"
"Why didn't you leave then?!" The man interrupted again, raising his voice.
"I did leave! Right after I took it!" Kel defended herself.
"That man's house! Why didn't you leave his house?" The emperor fired back.
"Are you kidding me? It was unthinkable to try to get through all those guards!" Kel found herself matching the man's temper.
"So you decided to hole up with a man for the night?!"
"It wasn't a man; it was Dash!"
"Haaaa," the emperor sighed heavily. "And you flounced back in here as if you hadn't spent the night colluding with your old countryman? Is this your way of asking me to lock him up?"
"Like I could possibly collude with a traitor!" Kel barked.
"How should I know that this isn't some elaborate scheme set up by your father himself?" the emperor responded, his eyes narrowing.
Kel looked away, letting out a sigh. That last remark hit a little too close to the truth. She needed to calm him down.
"Dash left anyway. I don't know where he went," she explained, trying to assuage the man's anger.
"...So you're saying he wasn't there?"
"That's right."
The emperor cleared his throat, regaining his usual composure. "Well I suppose you're probably tired."
Kel blinked in confusion as she watched him turn to leave. What was with the random personality change?
"Rest for today," the emperor added softly. "Come see me tomorrow."
Kel obediently spent the rest of the day in bed. Her body wasn't particularly tired, but her mind was exhausted.
At one point, Roland dropped by to check on her condition.
"How are you feeling, Princess?" the knight asked in an uncharacteristically gentle voice.
"Oh.. I'm fine," Kel responded, wondering why he felt the need to personally check on her.
Noticing her confusion, Roland continued, "I supposed you don't remember much from last night then."
Kel's heart dropped.
It was true that she had no recollection of how she got back to the palace, but Roland's tone made her nervous. Had something strange happened?
"I'm sorry. I don't remember," Kel confessed.
"No, no!" Roland exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him. "There's nothing to apologize for!"
Kel winced as she tried to recall what happened after she left Dash's house. She could remember feeling rushed, almost panicked about somethin-
"That's right!" she gasped. "A trap… I was trying to get away."
She grabbed at her chest as an unknown force squoze her heart. Her breaths became short and loud as fear seeped through her body.
"Princess!" Roland called, touching her shoulder. "It's ok. You're safe now."
"No.. What if… Dash.." Kel babbled unintelligibly.
She ducked her head into her arms, inadvertently shaking off Roland's hand.
Had Dash planned to sell her off again? Was it possible that he and the emperor were actually working together?
Seemingly out of nowhere, a pair of thin arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders.
"Princess! Princess!"
It was Lucy's voice.
"L-lucy?" Kel stuttered, her breathing steadying.
"It's me," the maid soothed, embracing Kel. "You're safe! Everything is ok!"
Kel's thoughts began to slow down. Lucy's lean yet strong arms caused her apprehension to fade. The maid was right. She was safe here.
"It was like this last night when I found her," Roland remarked to the maid as she held Kel's shivering frame.
"She was asleep when you brought her back," Lucy replied thoughtfully. "How did you get her to calm down?"
"Oh.. that…" Roland's voice suddenly took on a bashful tone. "I didn't really know what to do so I just.. put her to sleep?"
"Put her to sleep?" Lucy echoed. "How?"
"I just sorta.. jabbed her neck?" Roland admitted nervously.
"You jabbed the princess's precious neck, Sir Roland?" Kel could feel the maid's jaw tense up against her forehead.
"I didn't know what else to do!" The knight defended himself.
"No wonder she's upset at the mere sight of you!" Lucy squabbled. "Get out!"
"Ok." Roland sounded like a scolded puppy as he trudged out of the room.
"Don't forget to come back and apologize later!" The maid called after him.
Kel thought she heard a Thane-like whine as the door closed, followed by Roland's muffled voice.
"Hmmph!" Lucy huffed. "Those rude knights! Just what have you been through?!"
Kel couldn't help but smile as the maid stroked her face and grumbled about everything from the knights' rough behavior to the emperor's sending her out alone in the first place.
"I'm pretty sure what you said can be considered slander against His Majesty," Kel giggled, pulling away from the maid.
Lucy stood up and placed both hands on her hips. "Well then, why doesn't he just fire me! Or better yet, send me out to deal with those skanks at the Pantheon Masquerades!!"
As she spoke, the door creaked open, and Thane's wavy hair peeked in. Kel hadn't heard wrong after all.
"Princess? Are you ok?" he whimpered.
"You!!" Lucy exclaimed, stomping toward the door. "The princess is under my protection for now, and none of you overbearing pretentious cowards are coming in!"
"Miss Lucyyyyy," the knight sobbed as the maid shoved his head back through the opening and slammed the door.
"Ha! Now that the pests have been taken care of," Lucy snorted, clapping her hands, "why don't I bring you something sweet to munch on?"
"That sounds good," Kel nodded happily.
"Those men. Treating you like some kind of warrior," the maid muttered as she left the room.
But Lucy, Kel smiled to herself, I am a warrior.