“Marian, can you give this to Patrina and tell her it’s for buying new clothes for everyone?”
“F...For everyone? But…”
“Just ask her to handle it until I come back, all right?”
“Y...Yes…”
Marian held the gold bar with the tip of her fingers, as if she was afraid it would explode in her hands. Then, she ran off. Cassandra wasn’t only doing this because it was too much money just for her. She didn’t feel right being the only one to receive new clothes when she had noticed the other servants had some that were a bit too used, or in the case of Bina and Prunie, too short. She trusted Patrina would know how to allocate the money fairly.
Cassandra turned to Kairen, hoping he wouldn’t be mad at her for sharing the gold bar, but the Prince didn’t seem to care at all about the conversation. He had just finished dressing as he went to sit on one of the armchairs in front of the food.
“Aren’t you hungry?” he asked as she stood there.
“Ah, yes…”
She walked over and took the seat next to his so she could start eating. After a few minutes of silence between them, she suddenly remembered something she had been meaning to ask for a while.
“My Lord, how come you came back so soon? Nebora said you usually stay longer at the Military Camp.”
Kairen frowned a bit.
“It was boring. And Krai was annoying, too.”
“He came back before you did…”
“That stupid dragon flew back here on his own. He was too bored at the camp and kept looking for you.”
Cassandra couldn’t help but smile at that, thinking about how Krai had missed her. She bit her lip, hesitating slightly before asking.
“Did you miss me as well?”
Kairen suddenly stopped eating, and turned to her. His black eyes on her were making her blush. Oh, how he was scrutinizing her! Cassandra, too embarrassed to endure his gaze any longer, looked down. That’s when Kairen grabbed her wrist and brought her onto his knees, so abruptly she didn’t have time to resist. Her face was suddenly very close to his, and she blushed even more, unable to avoid his stare.
“Why do you think I’m taking you with me this time?” he suddenly whispered.
Grabbing her hair, he brought her closer and Cassandra, overwhelmed, put her arms around his neck, slowly kissing his lips.
“So, His Highness is taking you there? To the Camp?” asked Nebora.
She was helping Cassandra fold some clothes to pack for the journey. They had no idea how long she would be gone, so Nebora had decided to lend her some of her clothes again. Cassandra hesitated, looking at one of the dresses.
“Yes… Nebora, are you sure I can take these?”
“Yes! Patrina will get us new clothes in no time with all that gold you gave her, so don’t worry about it. It’s a pity we only have one red dress, though. Maybe you could try to preserve it?”
Cassandra shook her head.
“It’s fine either way. I’ll just get new ones when I get back.”
“True…Oh, what about jewelry? Do you want us to buy you some?”
“I’m going to the Military Camp, not a party!” sighed Cassandra.
What would jewelry be good for? She was already wearing the slavery collar anyway. Plus, it would only make things heavier and harder to carry. It would probably look weird too. A slave wearing jewelry, that would probably be a first!
Nebora pouted. “Oh, fine. We’ll dress you up once you’re back. Make sure you take some warm cloaks though, it’s freezing up there. You make sure not to get wet, and if it snows, stay inside, all right? And make sure to keep the wood dry. It’s a pain to light up otherwise.”
Cassandra listened to Nebora’s advice carefully, as she had never been so far north before. She was a bit excited at the prospect of seeing snowfall for the first time in her life, but a bit worried about the cold as well. She didn’t even know what a military camp was going to be like.