The Princess in the Red Cape

Chapter Six

Red opened her eyes the next morning and was greeted with the sight of Hunter's face. She was so startled that she punched him, in the same spot as last night. She sat up and her blanket fell from her shoulders.

 "Why'd you punch me?" Hunter said in a groggy voice, thick with sleep.

 "What are you still doing here?" Red hissed at him.

 "What do you mean?" he asked. "You said I could read your writing, so I am."

 Red sighed and shook her head.

 "Why are your eyes closed?" she asked, hoping he'd make the connection.

 "Because it's bright." he said, not understanding.

 "Which means...?"

"Holy shit it's morning!" he said, shooting into a sitting position.

"Obviously!"

"But how..? The last thing I remember is setting your notebook aside for a second to pull the blanket up around you! I wasn't asleep then!"

Red chose to ignore that statement.

"What time is it?" she grumbled looking at the clock. "Hunter! You were supposed to be on duty hours ago!"

"Wait! What day is it?" Hunter asked.

"The... third day."

"Then I'm good. Did you have anywhere you needed to be today?"

"No, I'm good too." she replied, sitting back down next to him. "We're both good then." she sighed, the adrenaline rush wearing off.

"Was my writing really so boring that it put you to sleep?" she asked after a moment.

"No, I actually really like it. I especially like the one about the dragon people, the main character is my favorite." he said.

She blushed and looked down at her hands. She didn't trust herself to speak without stuttering, because what Hunter didn't know was that that particular character was based off of her.

The door opened and in stepped Kat.

"Good morning R-Oh my gosh what is the bear still doing here?" Kat asked in shock.

"You know my name, I know you do, why do you refuse to say it?" Hunter asked. "First it was Red's friend who I'm mad at and now it's the bear."

"Because if I say your name, it means I'll be acknowledging who you are. As long as I don't, I don't know for sure, so when someone comes to question me I won't be lying when I save your ass which we all know, that since your friends with Red, it's going to happen sometime. Now," she said, turning to Red. "Explain yourself. I leave for one night and you have a boy sleepover."

"Holy shit, you think something happened!" Hunter said, and then he let out a laugh.

"Obviously!" Kat replied.

"Look, no offence to her, but of all the people in the palace Ms. Princess over here is the least attractive. Nothing happened." he said.

That kind of stung. Just a little bit.

"Damn straight nothing happened! Kat, let's be honest, you know how I feel about Hunter and the feelings aren't all lovey dovey. You really think I would get it on with an egotistical hitman? That's more your thing." Red said, glancing at Hunter. She knew it was petty, but she wanted her words to have some effect on him, like his words had on her. But unfortunately, there was nothing.

Red could tell that though Kat still had her doubts, she was pretty much sold on the fact that nothing happened.

"Then what is he still doing here?" she asked Red.