"It must have been a curse," Princess Fenice whispered, or Fen, as her friends called her.

After Locke had told her the events, the princess had been overcome with grief and shock. At first, she tried blatantly to deny it, going as far to laugh in her face, but Locke had no reason to lie, not about that at least, and soon the princess succumbed to grief.

They might have still been up on top of Drahomíra after nightfall had Locke not cut her sobs short and urged her to come with him.

Unfortunately, having just come from the palace, all the princess had was a pair of flimsy pink slippers to walk in and Locke had to carry her the way back down. Which he was none too happy with since he also had to carry himself and the armour which he hadn't even used.

The princess had remained quiet as Locke trumped through the snow, she did not wish to make him angry and she worried she might burst into tears again if she thought too hard about what happened.

But who would want to curse her? She was beloved by all!

The knight hadn't seemed to be listening to her and he grunted back.

"That would be the only explanation, but it doesn't make much sense why anyone would do this to me." Princess Fenice sighed morosely and tears threatened to well up in her eyes again.

"If it was a curse, whoever did it might have intended for you to be killed by a knight," Locke said in a very unsympathetic voice and the princess was left speechless as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Ever since they had met on the mountain, the knight had been acting very strangely. No one had ever spoken to her like that and although she did not like it, she certainly had no choice as Lailoken Vaugrenard was her only means of getting off the mountain.

He was also taller and much much more than the princess remembered. Although upon waking she had seen his light brown hair and unmistakable blue eyes, she hardly recognized him a few steps back. Everything had changed about the knight except for perhaps his eyes.

"At least it's broken, there's an upside," Locke muttered uncomfortably as if being kind caused him physical pain. "You changed back which means you won't have to worry about being a dragon... now all we have to do is make sure we don't die out here."

It sounded like he meant it to be a joke but the words left a surprisingly large hole in her chest. Still, Fen thanked the gods that he had started talking to her.

As much as she felt owed a little sympathy, she didn't want her champion to be silent with her. Even if he had nothing compassionate to say.

"There," Locke said gruffly, flicking his chin out to gesture in front of them. "We'll stay there."

Fen looked in that general direction and she could see some tavern lights glaring through the storm.

Locke released a sharp barking laugh and as they made their way to the door, a boar's head carved into the surface.

"Alright, I'm going to let you down now," he gave her a gentler warning.

Seeing the storm rage behind them made her truly grasp just how incredible it was that her champion carried them both so far down the mountainside.

"You've seen us to safety. You have my thanks, Lailoken of Vaugrenard," Fen opened up her arms and embraced the knight which was made awkward by the metal belly of his suit separating them. "You are a truly worthy champion."

She lingered a little longer with her hands wrapped around him, but the knight was either patient or too caught off guard to remove her immediately.

"You're welcome, Princess Fenice," was his quick reply before he anxiously separated from her, a muddled expression on his face that conveyed some surprise and perhaps embarrassment.

"You may call me Fen, if you like, since we shall have to get to know one another formally." She said with a hint of a smile and Locke balked.

He swung the door open which cracked with the storm winds and hesitated outside it as the knight held it open.

"After you," he said. Locke was still the son of a noble lady, although he may be a little inexperienced he could draw on from his lessons on etiquette.

"Thank you," Fen grinned nearly from ear to ear, earning herself another look from her knight.

Inside Locke had to stoop in order avoid the ceilings which were much too low for his height. He was very uncomfortable and annoyed with the size of the place, the black armour he wore clanking and rattling with all of his movements.

Fen was charmed by its cosiness. A warm fire crackled in front of a dining area that was currently empty and a section which looked to be a small tavern.

A few stragglers were still drinking at the bar counter, and on the other side an innkeeper was washing the place down.

He was thin and small with a pencil thin moustache and a modest set of clothes.

"I'll see to this," Locke said in a low voice before he lumbered toward the counter.

Before he even got there, the innkeeper's eyes went wide and he stepped back, his eyes finding the coat of arms proudly displayed on Locke's chest. He would know that house anywhere.

"I need one room. Now" Locke threw the rest of his coins on the bar counter as the innkeeper was wiping it down, a dishcloth that had seen too many spilt ails clutched firmly in his hands.

The innkeeper looked at what Locke had placed down which was not nearly enough for any room.

"Monsieur Vaugrenard," he said the name with tangible fear, "we- we just don't have the space this night" His face paled as Locke's eyes pierced him and the enormous knight eyed the innkeeper dangerously. "A lot of people were caught in the storm."

He clearly knew Locke, whether that was due to a previous stay or the infamy of the Vaugrenard family, the princess didn't know.

Fen was just about to intercede, she was an excellent arbiter and it wouldn't hurt for her to lose a ring or the medallion her father had gifted her the eve of her celebration. She didn't really need so much jewellery, it was just something expected of a princess to have a lot of. The only exception she ever really made was her mother's hair pins which Fen had been wearing every day since she was a child.

However, things with the innkeeper didn't progress any further because Locke suddenly leaned far over the bar counter and his piercing blue eyes cut straight through the innkeeper.

"The house of Vaugrenard would be very insulted by this if you dared turn it's heir away," Locke gritted his teeth and clenched his fist while the other tapped on the hilt of his enormous sword. "I'm sure you must just be forgetful and you're about to go check back upstairs and find a nice room for me and my guest."

The princess stared at Locke's large rolled shoulders in surprise as his posture wreaked of anger and violence.

This was certainly not the young man she remembered.

A cold unease wrapped its hand around her throat, suddenly questioning her decision. She hadn't even seen since he had left the service of the King's Knights, although there were plenty of rumours about him here and there. She had ignored them obstinately, but perhaps it hadn't been all lies.

"I-I just recalled we do have another room," the innkeeper stuttered fearfully, sinking low behind the counter, "it will be ready in just— just a few minutes."

He scurried around them with the fear of God in his eyes as he kept his head low and away from Lailoken Vaugrenard.

The knight swung around with the innkeeper's departure, a smug smirk on his lips as he leaned back against the wooden bar counter and it creaked.

He was still stooped low what with the ceilings being shorter than Locke was, but he grinned back at the princess, proud of himself. As if she should be swooning all over him for bullying the poor man who was just doing his job.

Instead, Fen's nose wrinkled and her eyes narrowed as she served Locke a very bitter look. His grin was wiped from his face and a look of shock replaced it, however, just then the innkeeper reentered, bowing several times. He took them to a very large room, probably the biggest the inn had and Fenice entered silently, although her cheeks were flaming.