She shot him an angry glance. Despite what she had said back in the tent, he'd just made public whatever was between them. And now he was standing there really satisfied with himself.
Well... that grin will soon disappear from his face, once he hears what I intend to do...
All this time, while listening to the discussions in the tent, Lavena had wondered who was really in charge of the troops gathered in the camp. Could she assume herself to be the commander in chief? In the end she concluded that yes, she could. She was, after all, the King's daughter and the next in line for the throne. And if that wasn't argument enough, surely none of the generals could deny that the idea to end the war had come from her. If it hadn't been for the words she had spoken to Ansgar during the meeting in the throne room just a day earlier, many of the men would not have decided to come here.
Indeed, she was the one who had given Hagan the upper hand and allowed him to lead this meeting, but she lost patience soon enough. Lavena did not want to be only the observer anymore. She knew she had to show the generals the respect they deserved, but decided she would start acting like the commander in chief. In case someone objected, she would discuss the subject only then.
"First of all," she started loudly, "We have to remember that we will stand against Garlans! Protecting the ones on our side, but also the ones on the opposite side must be our priority."
"My Lady, but..." Greger tried interjecting, but Lavena hushed him by raising her hand.
"I'm not naive, Greger. I know we are still at war, but we will not walk towards peace on the corpses of Garlans!"
"What are you suggesting then, Lavena?" Hagan asked in a reconciliatory tone. "It seems that a fight is upon us."
"For sure this is what Enar thinks... I'm sure he will meet us with all his forces." She could see others agreed with her at least in that matter, as they were nodding deep in thought. "We need to confront them far away from the castle. We would then surround and disarm Enar's army. At the same time a small unit led by me will get to the castle and seize the King."
"Surround and disarm Enar's army?" Greger did not even try to hide his doubts. "Even if we get reinforcements we will not manage to surrender our opponent, and on top of that not shed a drop of blood in the process..."
"We will not be able to surround them, that's true," Lavena answered calmly, "but it will not be a problem for Prince Benen."
All eyes turned to Benen, who indeed was no longer smiling. Lavena knew very well how he felt about fighting the war with magic. She was of an opinion however that in the current circumstances the Prince's feelings were not a priority.
"You saw what he can do," she turned to Hagan, seeing him deep in thought. She knew that look; Hagan was already putting a plan together.
He did not answer. He just nodded.
"Prince Benen," upon seeing the surprised looks coming from the others, Lavena tried explaining, "Has an ability... hmmm how should I put it... to create a stone wall where there's normally none."
"We would disarm them one by one," Hagan said. "We could imprison the troops in a stone trap and then disarm... That bloodless rebellion of yours might just work..."
"Do I have any say in this?" Benen interjected, annoyed.
"I'm afraid, you don't," Hagan answered openly and Lavena just shook her head as a confirmation of the General's words.
"There is nothing else I dream of than to fight against Enar, and you..." Benen said.
"You will stay away from Enar, as far away as you can!" Lavena interrupted, determined.
"Excuse me?"
"This must be our next priority!" she added more softly, seeing the anger on Benen's face and in his stance. "I'm sorry, Prince, but if we want to have a chance at victory, we have to keep you safe. You cannot get captured." Lavena tried to make her voice sound dry, without emotions, but she wasn't sure she managed. She turned to the generals again. "It's the Prince's powers that my father wants. If Benen ends up in the dungeon once more, we can be sure that they will kill him at best... worst case scenario, they will use threats, blackmail and torture to get that power out of him and will use it against us, against Hillon, against anyone who stands in their way."
"Come on, Princess, you are exaggerating, surely!" Benen shook his head in disbelief.
"I'm afraid, Prince, that Lavena might be right. However bad that sounds, you are a weapon. We cannot let that weapon get in the wrong hands."
"You two ever disagree!?" Benen snapped, completely unnerved.
"Hagan, Princess," Greger interrupted annoyed, "will you enlighten us already about these great powers the Prince supposedly possesses? It seems not many have witnessed them, so it's hard to believe..." he stopped mid sentence as the earth trembled.
A wall, so well known to Lavena, just grew in front of Greger.
"We are done for today," Benen added, heading for the door. "You know where to find me." He moved his hand, as if waving goodbye, and the wall was gone.
Lavena squeezed Greger's arm. He looked shocked.
"It's late... We will continue this discussion tomorrow, first thing in the morning."
***
He left the tent furious. On one side, he could understand what drove Lavena; she wished to save her Kingdom and not kill it's people in the process. He sensed, however, some kind of ruthlessness in her, which made him think of her father.
"I see that the rule at all cost is passed down in your family from generation to generation...?!" Benen called out angrily when he noticed the Princess was following him.
"Don't forget that your father lives by a similar rule," Lavena answered calmly. "Only you seem to be forgetting about it. Instead you hide behind some foolish doubts."
Benen snorted condescendingly and went into his tent.
"I don't expect you to understand my reasons," he added, when Lavena followed him inside, "but that's not the only way to end this war..."
"This isn't something," she interrupted him harshly, "that is open up for discussion! I made my decision and the generals will concur. And since you, same as me, care about ending all of this," she pointed to the outside of the tent, "you will do what we expect of you!"
Benen turned with his back towards her and ran his fingers through his hair, absentmindedly.
"Yes, I will..." he answered a moment later and gave Lavena a resigned look.
They watched each other in silence. Lavena slowly walked over to Benen and gently touched his arm.
"I can see your hand is healing?" she whispered.
Benen raised his arm. He balled his fingers into a fist and stretched them out again. He then touched her face. With the other hand he pushed a strand of her hair to the side.
"Yes, it is..."
He pulled her close to him and, after hesitating for just a moment, he started kissing her. Lavena clinged to his body and deepened the kiss.
Benen wanted so badly to forget everything happening outside of the tent; arguments, discussions, magic, knights, generals and kings. He just wanted to be here with that stubborn Princess and for a moment push aside the memory of her tone and words from just moments ago.
Lavena pushed him towards the bed, at the same time unbuttoning her vest. Benen stopped the kiss.
"What are you doing?"
"I want to be with you," she whispered.
"When I said we should formalize whatever is there between us, this is not what I meant..." He smiled slightly embarrassed.
Lavena touched his forehead with hers and sighed.
"Today I realized that Enar will not give up without a fight. And even though I believe that with your help we will manage to disarm his troops without bloodshed, I feel I will be forced to fight Enar..." She continued unbuttoning her vest. "I don't want to die and not be with you. It would mean he would gain one more victory, this time just over you and me."
"You are not going to die." Benen touched her face.
"You don't know that..."
The vest that had been tightly hugging Lavena's buddy, now fell to the floor. Benen could see the outline of her breasts through the half-transparent material of the blouse. He could not think of more counter-arguments. He pulled out his hand, but hesitated. Lavena grabbed his hand and drew it to her breast.
They hugged and kissed once more. Benen lifted the Princess and she wrapped her legs around him. He laid her down on the bed.
"Everything is going to be alright," he whispered. He wasn't sure whether he was trying to ease her mind or his own.
The Prince slipped his hand slowly under her blouse and moved his fingers along her delicate skin. Lavena closed her eyes. When he reached her breasts and touched her nipples, she moaned quietly. Worried that the knights in the more and more crowded camp might hear them, the Prince closed Lavena's lips with his and stifled her sighes with a deep kiss.
The Prince then sat up straight and slowly started to lift Lavena's blouse. He watched her, unsure of whether he wasn't acting too quickly. The Princess however understood his intentions and took off the blouse herself.
Benen sucked in a breath. She lied there before him, half naked, delicate but strong at the same time.
Lavena laughed seeing the look on his face, then she started taking off the Prince's shirt. Benen, as if awoken by the touch of her fingers, had his clothes join Lavena's on the ground.
The touch of her breasts on his skin was like a balm. He already forgot everything that was happening outside of the tent's walls, the sounds of the world were no longer reaching his ears. All he could hear were their mixed breaths.
At some point Benen noticed Lavena watching him, as if unsure what to do next. He realized it must have been the first time she was with a man.
He lied down on his side, next to her, and slowly slipped his hand under the belt of her trousers. When his fingers reached between her legs, Lavena moaned loudly, arching her back. The Princess might have been unsure of what to do, but her body was definitely reacting the right way. This time Benen did not manage to stifle her moan with a kiss. He grinned.
"Be quiet, Princess," he whispered amused, "or Hagan will burge in here with his troops, worried that I'm hurting you."
Lavena gave him a hazy look.
"You talk too much, Prince..."
"Forgive me, my Lady. I will try to put my lips to better use," he concluded as if accepting a challenge. Benen lowered his lips to her right breast, covering Lavena's mouth with his hand just in case. That was the right move, because the moment his tongue touched her skin, the Princess moaned once more.
He continued the caress, at the same time watching Lavena's reaction. She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. A moment later he felt her muscles tense, her back arching. As she came, he covered her lips again with his. Still a quiet moan escaped her. Lavena opened her eyes and looked at him astonished and... happy.
She pushed him aside though and started taking off her pants.
"I want to feel you," she whispered, seeing his surprised look.
"Are you sure?"
Lavena just tilted her head to the side, sending him a cheeky smile. She threw away the rest of her clothes and again pulled the Prince to her.
"I want to feel you..." she repeated.
Benen needed no more encouragement. As he was losing himself in her a moment later, he thought this was what he'd wanted from the moment he saw Lavena walking downstairs towards him in the Fortress by Larna. This stubborn and brave Princess was with him, here and now, and she desired no one else, but him.