It had been a long hour that Locke sat by himself in front of the inn's fire. In the kitchen, plates of food were being made and carried up the stairs and he eyed them unhappily while his empty stomach grumbled.

He was half starved from the long day without any rations, but the cynical unkind thoughts remarked that he could do with a bit of starving. Unfortunately, his parentage made it very difficult to slim down by any measure.

Locke sighed and contemplated getting down onto his knees and crawling back up to the second floor to apologize. He still needed her support if the kingdom of Beneš and its nobility was to accept him as their champion.

Lailoken was already a very hard man to root for.

It didn't matter, he would convince Fenice he was the most well-mannered knight in all of Anir, that their argument had been a mistake. He would swallow his pride and charm her the way he used to, until the princess genuinely thought she loved him.

And after their marriage it wouldn't matter what she thought of him.

It was a cold calculated thought, but Lailoken Vaugrenard would do anything to get out from under the thumb of his family. Nothing would sidetrack him from that, not even a soft hearted noble who made the biggest mistake of her life when she picked him for her champion.

The black knight picked himself up from the fire place chair and sighed as he walked back to their room on the second floor, mentally preparing the fake apology he had in mind to assuage the princess' temper.

It wasn't until he was in his room that Locke realized the delicious foods he had seen being taken out of the kitchen had all been piled up there where the princess stood, her hands behind her back with a meek smile on her lips.

"And what's all this?" Locke asked softly as the last of the kitchen staff left their room. He closed the door after them and took a step towards the princess and the mouthwatering feast literally splayed at his feet.

A hungry growl grumbled from underneath Locke's metal abdomen like a monster was living beneath it and he clenched his jaw tightly.

"It's for us... or rather you," Fen eyed the floor sheepishly. "You must be hungry after the journey and then climbing to Drahomíra... and then carrying me back down."

She winced.

Locke didn't know why his pride made him hesitate for as long as he did when he had intended to come up and grovel at the princess' feet anyway. He was getting more complicated with Fenice around.

"I'm sorry," Fen said at last although her face hardened for a second. "I'm not sorry for what I said of your treatment of the innkeeper." The frown lines around her mouth smoothed and the princess sighed. "But you've done a lot for me, and I owed you more than turning on you at the first chance that presented itself."

A small smile touched her brown lips and she stared up at Locke with those welcoming brown eyes, disarming him yet again.

"You're a good man, Lailoken Vaugrenard, I supposed I'll have to remind you of that." Her modest smile became a mischievous one as her left eyebrow arched. "But first- please sit and eat with me, you must be hungry."

Totally taken off guard, Locke could barely register the words she had just spoken or the gnawing hunger currently devouring his insides.

The princess smirked. "It's quite good."

Locke stared at her in surprise for a second before lowering himself to the floor a little clumsily and reaching for one of the many dishes.

"I have no doubt," he said with a shocked chuckle. "But how did you afford all this?"

The first spoonful of spiced yams hit his tongue and melted against it, it was all he could do to stop himself from crying in joy and ruining what was left of his reputation.

"It only took a couple rings and my medallion," Fen said, touching the place above her chest where the golden necklace had once sat.

Locke slowed his chewing and lowered the plate.

"You traded a medallion from your family for this?" he asked in surprise.

However this earned a very unhappy look from the princess and she glared off to the side, her mouth twisted into a curt frown.

"My father gave that to me a week ago to honour the moment when I would be taken away and placed in a tower for the purpose of a brutal, outdated test. I hardly want to keep it as a token of such an event." The princess reconsidered her words and nodded to the knight. "And I owed you. At least a thanks."

It also didn't hurt that's the medallion was worth more than all this food and that the rest would be a handsome bonus to the people who worked here.

"Well thank you. This isn't actually all that bad," he said between mouthfuls. He was lying of course, it was too good.

Fen ate, often only during the brief moments when Locke would look at her expectantly to see if she was hungry but true to her word, the meal really was just for her champion.

When Locke was full and then some, he groaned happily. Fen left with the empty plates, a cheery smile on her lips to see that her offer of thanks had gone over well.

"Now, how do you suppose we get you out of that armour with no squire?"

"What?" Locke's eyes snapped open as the princess came back through the door after having dropped off the plates with the kitchen staff.

"Who undoes your armour? Shall I fetch someone?" Fen asked.

"Myself....?" Locke's lip raised.

He was feeling very sore after carrying the princess all they way down the mountain in a wet suit of armour. He also knew that besides whatever embarrassment he felt at being near to naked in front of another person since he was a knight, there were certain inhuman characteristics that he definitely didn't want Fen to know about.

Locke subconsciously touched a hand to his head and felt the rough bumps hidden in his messy brown hair.

"Never mind, I'll just sleep in this."

"You can't be serious." Fen's mouth fell into a flat line, her arms crossed.

"Speaking candidly, wouldn't that be improper, princess? Perhaps if you had bartered one of those little hair pieces like the medallion I could have gotten you another room. Otherwise I wouldn't want to infringe on your virtue." Locke smoothed back his hair with one hand and smiled at the princess with a charming but sardonic look.

"These are my mothers! I would never sell them!" She was horrified by what he said. "And me and my virtue don't mind sharing a room with you... you and I are both cold and wet from the storm. The extra heat will make the night more tolerable." Her face flushed red. "Besides... as soon as we arrive in Anir we will be married. Unlike most other princesses, I at least have the benefit of seeing my intended before that day..."

Leander felt his face go even redder than the princess'.

No! She could not, would not see him, not until the marriage or else she might call the whole damn thing off.

"I prefer to leave it on," he replied smoothly despite the anxiety that was running rampant inside him. 

On the one hand he was half struck by those dark eyelashes she was batting at him, but on the other, his was incredibly aware countless of years had passed since he had last lain beside a woman, even without doing the usual sultry things that were common in his youth.

"Are you afraid I'll ravish you?" Fen smirked this time, enjoying the rise she got out of the infamous dark knight. 

His mouth dropped open. 

"Don't be ridiculous," she laughed. "You're in a full suit of armour, we've been trekking through wet snow. You'll be as stiff as a board by morning."

She was likely right.