The Lady Knight

Chapter XXI: Confusions and Congratulations

The Lady Knight

The sun shone down brightly in my eyes, jostling me awake. I yawned, and was about to lift my right hand to cover my mouth, when I sensed my movements being restricted.

My eyes flew open on instinct. I looked down at my hand, to find it being held in a stranger's large, callused ones.

I frowned. Who was this who had the audacity to hold me captive to my own bed thus?

My bed?

How did I end up here? Last I remembered, I was working on Lord Lucien's coded message in my study. Indeed, I did not recall walking to my bedchambers.

My eyes followed the path of the stranger's arms to put a face to this stranger.

Imagine my horror when I found the Prince fast asleep on the floor beside my bed, with his head leaning against the headboard and his hands tightly holding mine.

It was all I could do not to scream my head off there and then. What in the wide world was he doing here?

I ran my free hand through my unruly curls, flustered. What would everyone say if they were to find him in my bedchamber at this moment? It was highly inappropriate and would cause a scandal that would tarnish my reputation forever.

I looked about wildly, racking my brains on what to do, when my gaze fell on the empty pot of coffee and a few Marzipan crumbs on the tray kept atop my bed side table.

I tilted my head, frowning.

This was becoming stranger by the minute. Coffee? I hated coffee. I would never willingly drink it. Unless -

Oh. The memories of last night came flooding back at that moment.

How he had brought me Marzipan and coffee.

How I had blabbered all sorts of nonsense to him in my half-asleep state.

How he had carried me to bed.

And how, absurdly, might I add, I had asked him to stay with me, to keep the bad dreams away.

Truth be told, it had worked. For the first time in a long time, I had not been troubled by any nightmares.

Biting my lower lip, I looked down at him, my cheeks bright red. I was so mortified that I wanted to repeatedly bang my head against the wall, and yet, I knew it would not be enough.

Oh, why had he come into my study when I had specifically told him, and everyone else not to?

So busy was I drowning in my own embarrassment, that I had failed to notice much earlier that he was trembling badly due to the cold, and his slightly hollowed cheeks were deathly white.

He did not even have a coat on, the inane man. Was he not aware how cruelly low the temperatures could go down to at night during these winter months?

I sighed heavily. I did not have the heart to wake him up and throw him out of my chambers. The Lord knew how difficult it would have had been for him to fall asleep in such a position, and on my insistence too.

Slowly slipping my hand out from his, I jumped off my bed and crept towards the cupboard. Rummaging through its contents, I smiled in triumph when I found an extra blanket and a pillow hidden in the dark corners.

Grabbing them, I walked towards him and gently lifted his face to put the pillow under it, before tucking the blanket around him.

He awoke at once, scowling. "What the hell - "he started to shout angrily, before he realised that it was only me, "oh."