The Eight Scars
She was awake for a while, but unwilling to move. Cassandra just didn't want to come to the moment when they would have to face last night's issue again. She was still at a loss about the Prince's violent reaction. Why was he so against it? He hadn't given any reason for his sudden anger from the previous night. Cassandra was afraid it would be the same all over again that morning, and didn't dare to say a word.
"How's your arm?"
His deep, low voice surprised her. Cassandra looked up, finally meeting the Prince's eyes. The black irises seemed free from all anger, making her feel a bit better.
"I'm fine."
"You have bruises."
How did he know? Cassandra was still covered by the fur cloak, and held against him. Had he peeked while she was still asleep? And if so, how long had he been awake?
Cassandra shook her head slowly, and leaned a bit closer to his chest.
"It's nothing. I'm fine."
She meant it. Cassandra had experienced injuries that were much worse than bruises, and she couldn't even feel them at the moment. She knew it probably looked worse than it really was because of her pale skin.
Yet, Kairen seemed unhappy. He sat up and left the bed without a word, apparently just to get himself something to drink. Cassandra sat up as well, covering her chest with the fur blanket, concerned. She observed him for a while, but the Prince stayed silent, avoiding her gaze until she couldn't take it anymore.
"My Lord, can we talk?"
"What?"
"About last night. Please."
Kairen sighed, suddenly putting his cup down.
"I didn't mean to."
"What?" asked Cassandra, confused.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. It wasn't my intention."
She stared at him, completely caught off guard. Is that why he was so silent? Sometimes the Prince had such a strange way of thinking, she just couldn't guess what was going on. His silence wasn't from anger, but guilt? But it was just an accident! She had fallen as a result of him being a bit too rough, but... She didn't think he was responsible for that. Plus, she was still a slave, and him a Prince! Even if he had slapped her, any other Prince wouldn't have felt anything about that.
"I know. I'm not upset about that," she said in a soft voice.
"Aren't you afraid of me?"
"No! Sometimes you scare me a little, that's true, but not now, not when we are talking calmly like this."
She watched him release a sigh, and felt her heart warm up a little. Is that what he was truly concerned about? That she would be really scared of him? Cassandra felt her heart melting a bit more for her strange War God, who could act like a normal man at times.
Kairen slowly walked back to the bed, sitting next to her, and Cassandra made the first move by giving him a little kiss. He grabbed her hair very gently and kissed her some more. For a while, it seemed like all the frustration and uneasiness from their dispute was washed away in that instant, with that long kiss.
They parted slowly, still sitting close to each other. Cassandra hesitated a while, but she wanted to ask him while things were still calm between them.
