The Red Death

chapter 2

By the end of Katreena's training session with Thomas, her hair was let loose from its makeshift bun, parts of her armor were no longer tied to her body, and she was covered in dirt and just a tiny bit of blood. She groaned as she trudged back into the castle, Thomas keeping himself about 10 paces in front of her.

After the little stunt she had pulled at the beginning of their training session Thomas started acting strange, trying to keep himself away from the princess but yet still close enough to fight. He wouldn't make direct eye contact either, he either had his eyes focused on something in the distance or his back was facing her as he spoke. It was odd, he had never been like this before.

Behind the princess her hand maiden followed, keeping her mouth shut as to not upset Katreena but still taking note of the behavior between her and the knight. Thomas stopped at Katreena's bedroom door, opening it and quickly stepping inside to make sure there were no strangers wandering about her quarters. He stood at the doorway as the princess and her hand maiden walked in, not saying anything to the knight as they passed him.

"Thank you, Sir Thomas. I will get my lady ready for breakfast and we will be in the hall shortly." The maiden, named Adriani said to Thomas as she ushered him out and closed the door behind him. Thomas watched the door close, not saying a word to the princess, his best friend, before marching off towards his own quarters to get himself ready for breakfast.

Adriani turned towards the princess, an eyebrow arched as she walked towards her to help her get the remaining pieces of her armor off. "Well, I don't think I've ever seen you and Thomas act so... distant." Her hands worked quickly to undo the protective pieces, placing them off to the side as she began to get the bathwater ready.

"He started it, he started acting strange after I beat his ass at the beginning of our session. It's not my fault he's so awkward." Katreena grumbled under her breathe, wincing slightly as she pulled her top off then her trousers, both now covered in dirt and in desperate need of cleaning.

"Katreena, as your friend and not your hand maiden, have you ever thought that maybe Thomas has feelings for you and he's just frustrated?" Adriani was done with the bath, having set all the needed soaps and serums on the table next to the porcelain tub.

The princess's head snapped in the direction faster than she had meant it to, letting out another wince at the sudden sharp pain that went through her nerves. She let out a dry laugh as she walked over to the tub, her body wrapped in a dry towel that had previously been laid out on her bed. "That's ridiculous, Thomas doesn't feel that way towards me, what makes you think he does? We've all known each other since we were children, that- that's just none sense." Katreena unwrapped herself from the towel and stepped into the hot water and sudsy bubbles, her body instantly relaxing as she laid herself against the tub.

Adriani shrugged as she handed the wash rag and body soap to her friend. "I'm pretty sure everyone in the castle can see it, the way he looks at you across the courtyard? The stares during meals, his hands brushing yours at any chance he gets? I feel like it's obvious." Katreena only rolls her eyes at the remark. Surely she's wrong. Thomas, their long time friend and protector doesn't have such intimate feelings for the princess? No, Adriani must be wrong.

The rest of the bath was silent, nothing else was spoken of or brought up. The princess got herself cleaned up nicely, she no longer smelled like dirt, blood and sweat at least. Getting out of the bathtub carefully, she re-wrapped herself in the towel from before, her body shivering as she left the warmth of the tub. Adriani brought over the changing wall to give her some privacy. It was awfully silent as Katreena got ready for the rest of the day, the thought of Thomas having such feelings for her made her head spin and her stomach fills with butterflies.