He held her in his arms, the small fire cackling and dancing across their drenched figures. The wind howled from outside the cave as the storm raged on through the night. He gently brushed away a strand of her wet hair. It took all his willpower not to hold her face in his hands, feeling her soft skin under his calloused hands, hands that would do anything to protect this precious being.
She held herself tighter, trying to get as warm as possible in her soaked garments. His arms, already around her, wrapped themselves tighter. They both knew sitting in wet clothes wouldnāt get them warm as fast, but neither were going to strip bare in fear of embarrassment. A quick sneeze escaped her, then a sniffle.
āYouāre still cold?ā, he asked.
She gave him a nod. āIāll be fine, though. We have all night to dry offā.
āI will not have you suffer a cold before we get to our destinationā, he proclaimed, āI wonāt look, I swear!ā.
She shook her head. āNo! I do not trust you! Besides, a minor cold wonāt kill meā.
āYes, but an untreated cold will most certainly willā.
It didnāt seem he would give up as easily as she hoped. āFineā, she said, defeated. She stood and marched further into the cave. As she began lifting her upper garment, she turned her head to check if he kept his word. He did, his head facing the entrance of the cave watching the storm.
She removed all but her under garments and laid them out close to the fire. She then placed herself back in her spot, right between his legs facing the fire.
āIf you so much as blink at me, I will end your career as a father before it even beganā she said staring straight at the tiny inferno with a scowl.
āO-of courseā he said with fear in his voice.
The storm outside was heavy, but the tension in the cave between forgotten royalty and an orphan was much heavier.
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