The Thirteenth Princess

The Warrior of the Night

Her hair was dark brown, and fell to just below her shoulders. Her flawless skin was a shade of pale ivory, almost completely white. I suppose it was just a trick if the light, but her eyes sparkled with shadows of her past, tears still running down her perfectly chiseled face. She leaned against the wall, and crumpled into a mumbling heap on the floor. I sat beside her and gently put my arm around her shoulder. She retracted from my touch, dragging herself away from me. After that, I just let her be. It must have been an hour of sitting in silence before either one of us said something, or even moved for that matter. I could barely feel my feet after sitting cross legged for ages.

"I- I'm sorry." She lifted her head and wiped her eyes with her dainty little fingers.

"What woud you be sorry for? You haven't done anything wrong." I tried to sound soothing, but I probably sounded annoyed, because she flinched at my words. She lowered her head again, though at least this time her face wasn't buried in her hands, which were not soaked with tears.

"Hey, it'll be okay. It'll get better." I turned to sit in front of her, I put my hand under her chin, and tilted her head so I could see into her magnificent eyes. My palm lingered on her face for a moment too long, so I changed my position and rested my hand on her shoulder. I held her gaze, and for a moment her eyes twitched, her focus changing to glance at the floor. Or perhaps she was checking if I still had my sword held next to my chest. I was about to remove my palm from her shoulder, when she leapt towards me. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I patted her on the head, unsure of what to do. She squeezed me tight, like I was the last thing tethering her to the earth. My heart was racing, and I could feel my face going red. She buried her face in my chest, and I could feel her sobbing and mumbling inaudible sentences as she wept. I pulled her closer to me, and as I looked behond her quivering shoulders, I noticed the sky was becoming dull and black. Her shaking slowed, and her breathing steadied. She had stopped crying as much, but I could still feel the patch of moisture on my skin growing. My eyelids began to grow heavy, and my arms were weak, but I continued to hold the mysterious girl close.