The knocking on Ānníng’s door was frantic and loud. He continued fastening his sword belt as he rushed to open it.

 “General!” called out Qīn'ài as soon as he appeared.

 “Năinai?” he replied in wonder.

 “It’s Princess Mĕilì,” she answered quickly. “She isn’t in her room and we can’t find her.”

 He pushed past her and ran all the way to Mĕilì’s room. The morning sun had just begun to push away the night sky.

 As he reached her door, guards from the manor rushed up to meet him.

 “We’ve looked all around, General,” one of them reported. “No one has seen her.”

 He clenched his fists and tried to calm his rapid breathing as he entered her room. Had her father somehow managed to get people inside his manor to abduct her? He looked around, worried that when she was found, it would be too late.

 When his eyes probed her bed for clues to what happened, he noticed her blanket and pillow were missing. He tilted his head a bit and saw the corner of the blanket beneath the bed. He took a deep breath, shaking with the fear he began to feel, and stooped down on his ankles to get a better look.

 He couldn’t help but smile a little when he saw her. She was sound asleep wrapped up within the blanket and holding the tiger against her face. He stood and quietly ushered the guards and servants out of her room.

 “She’s under the bed,” he told them. “The new room probably frightened her last night. Thank you all for your concern and hard work. You may leave.”

 Everyone but Qīn'ài and Niăo left as ordered. The two maidservants stayed outside for further instructions.

 “Have breakfast brought, please, Năinai,” he told her and she nodded and hurried to do as asked. “Niăo, stay here while I see to my wife. I’ll call you when you’re needed.”

 “Yes, General,” the young maidservant replied with a bow.

 She stood off to the side while he reentered and shut the door behind him.

 Ānníng went to the bed and removed his sword. He set it on top and sat on the floor to look beneath it again. She was beginning to move around as she awoke. He smiled as she stretched and then curled up again holding the tiger close.

 “Mĕilì,” he called out, but she didn’t move. “Mĕilì,” he said a bit louder.

 This time, she took a deep breath and mumbled something.

 “It’s time to wake up, angel,” he told her softly.

 Mĕilì squeezed her eyes shut as she listened to her husband’s voice calling to her. He didn’t sound angry like she worried he would be if he discovered she had slept beneath the bed. She had every intention of waking up and lying on top of the bed before anyone came to her room. She was so exhausted from nightmares, she didn’t hear anyone enter.

 “Are you angry?” she asked softly.

 He barely heard her as she had covered her face. “Why would I be angry?”

 She pulled away the blanket and looked at him through the hole she had crawled through. He was smiling at her and motioning for her to come out. She took a deep breath for encouragement and pushed herself across the floor until she reached the opening.

 Ānníng pulled her through the space in the bedframe. He didn’t stop pulling her until she was in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, still a little unnerved from believing she had been taken, and caressed her arm.

 “Why were you under there, angel?” he asked patiently.

 “I’m not used to this big place,” she answered softly and rested her head on his chest.

 He watched her play with the ears of the tiger and patted her arm.

 “Are you angry?” she asked again without looking up. “I didn’t ruin my new clothes. I promise.”

 “I’m not angry,” he replied. “If your new clothes get ruined, I’ll buy you more. I want you to try sleeping in your bed tonight, though. You can’t get used to it if you continue to hide.” He lifted her chin so she could look up at him. “Understand?”

 She nodded when he smiled at her so kindly.

 “I like these clothes,” she said. “Can I have another set like it for my birthday?”

 He smiled as she slid her hand across the soft silk of her lavender bed tunic. He had bought her the most expensive bed set at the clothes shop, along with the new silk underclothes and the robes she would wear that day.

 “You can have as many as you want, and you don’t have to wait for your birthday,” he replied. “If you like this color, tell me. I’m buying more clothes for you today when I go into town.”

 She stared up at him and shook her head. “I don’t need anymore right now. I have this.”

 He sighed heavily. “Mĕilì, you’re not living with your father. You’re my wife now, and that means you get anything you need and want when you need and want it. Understand, angel?”

 No, she didn’t understand. She still couldn’t get used to the concept of being in a safe home under the protection of a caring man who didn’t expect anything in return.

 He gave her a gentle squeeze when he saw she was about to cry and teased, “If you don’t tell me your favorite color, I’m going to get you a bright yellow robe with red chickens and purple fish and orange flowers and…”

 He started tickling her as she giggled at the outrageous description. She laughed loudly and tried to curl up tighter into a ball so he couldn’t get to her stomach and her sides.

 He kissed the top of her head and held her close.

 “Breakfast will be here soon, angel,” he said. “Niăo is waiting outside to help you dress. Do you want me to call her in?”

 She quickly shook her head. “I can do it.”

 He knew she was embarrassed about the scars on her body. He wanted her to get past feeling like it was something for her to be ashamed of rather than her despicable father. She needed time, so he wouldn’t press the issue.

 “All right, angel,” he replied.

 He helped her stand and handed her the new clothes still folded on a stool beside the bed. There was a knock on the door and Qīn'ài called out from the other side.

 “Breakfast is here, General,” she announced.

 “I’ll bring in the food while you dress,” he told Mĕilì as he led her to the bathing room.

 She nodded and he walked over to let in the maidservant. Qīn'ài and Niăo both entered and helped set out the food and tea.

 “Does her highness need any help?” Niăo asked as she looked toward the other room.

 “She’s shy,” Ānníng answered. “She wanted to dress herself this morning. Give her time to adjust.”

 “Yes, General,” Niăo answered with a small nod.

 “Will there be anything else, General?” asked Qīn'ài when the table was set.

 “Not for now,” he replied. “I’ll be leaving soon. I want you to stay around her until I return. She’s allowed anywhere she wants to go, but don’t let her curiosity get her into any accidents.”

 He grinned to himself when he remembered the sword.

 “Yes, General,” Qīn'ài nodded.

 Mĕilì stepped out from around the privacy screen of the bathing room and only took a few steps before she stopped. She saw the older maid and the younger one assigned to her, and her face grew hot with a spreading blush.

 Ānníng paid little attention to her reaction to the maidservants. He was amazed at the difference clothes made in her appearance.

 He had chosen a soft pink set of silk robes because she loved the maidservant’s uniform he gave her the day before. There were blue songbirds and white flowers embroidered on it and the edges of the sleeves. Underneath a pink belt was a white robe wrapped over pale blue silk underclothes. Her feet were still bare, and he grinned and lightly shook his head at her cute toes peeking out.

 She held the tiger closer to her chest as the maidservants smiled and bowed to her.

 “One step at a time,” he reminded himself. She would learn to let go of her fearful inner child in due time.

 “Good morning, your highness,” Qīn'ài told her with a kindhearted smile.

 “You look beautiful this morning, Princess Mĕilì,” Niăo added as she, too, smiled broadly at her mistress.

 Mĕilì’s blush spread farther to her neck and she quickly looked up at Ānníng. She struggled to swallow at the way he stared at her. There was tenderness in his eyes she had never seen from another man, not even from maidservant Shàn when treating her wounds.

 “Thank you,” she said softly toward the maidservants with her gaze at the floor.

 Ānníng could see the praise was making her uncomfortable.

 “I’ll call you when you’re needed,” he told the maidservants in dismissal.

 They bowed and hurried from the room as he guided his wife to the table.

 He guided her to sit on the floor in front of a bowl already prepared for her. Then he disappeared into the bathing room. She watched and waited until he stepped back out carrying her socks and shoes.

 He knelt before her and pulled one of her feet closer.

 “You shouldn’t walk around with bare feet,” he told her. “You could get sick or step on something painful.”

 “I’m sorry,” she said as he pulled them on. “They’re so pretty. I didn’t want to make them dirty.”

 He gave a soft smile as he brushed his hand over her cheek. “They’re meant to get dirty. No more worries about ruining or dirtying your clothes. As I said, I’ll replace whatever needs replacing.”

 He bent over as he stood to give the top of her head a kiss, and then went to his seat on the other side of the table.

 “Remember, I want you to eat a little this morning,” he reminded her.

 She nodded and watched as he placed a few vegetables in her bowl of noodles. She inhaled deeply and picked up the chopsticks. He ate and watched as she gingerly wrapped a few noodles around the eating utensils and lifted them to her mouth.

 She placed them inside on her tongue and closed her lips, shutting her eyes to the odd flavors the new food contained. She slowly removed the chopsticks and chewed carefully, worried that anything she took in would find its way back out moments later.

 “Only two more bites and I won’t ask you to eat anymore,” he told her.

 She nodded as she kept her eyes closed and chewed as well as she could. Larger chunks would hurt worse coming back up. She swallowed and quickly lifted a few more noodles to put in her mouth. She breathed deeply as she felt the previous bite hit the pit of her empty stomach.

 “Slow down,” he told her. “If you eat too much too fast, you won’t be able to digest it.”

 She nodded a little and cleared her throat of the sickness she could already feel stirring. She set the noodles back in her bowl and looked up at him with teary eyes.

 “Please, don’t make me eat anymore,” she whispered.

 His heart hurt as her lip quivered. He wondered how many years she went with a single bowl of rice as her daily sustenance.

 “It’s all right, angel,” he said softly. “You did well. You can try two bites tomorrow morning.”

 She nodded eagerly when he agreed and quickly wiped away the tears beginning to fall.

 There was a sudden knock on the door that made her jump.

 “Enter,” he called out, and she quickly moved across the floor to sit beside him.

 Chéng walked in and smiled when he saw the general sitting beside the young princess. “Good morning!”

 Ānníng couldn’t help but chuckle when Mĕilì’s face suddenly lit up at the lieutenant’s appearance. He was relieved she could bring herself to trust someone else besides him. There was no better choice for that trust than Chéng, the one person he relied on to protect her when he wasn’t around.

 Chéng smiled at her in return and sat down on the other side of the table.

 “I’m sorry for interrupting,” he told Ānníng. “I went to your room first to see if you were ready to leave. A guard told me you were here.”

 He looked at Mĕilì and smiled as he reached into his robe pocket. He laughed as she giggled and he handed her two candies.

 “May I save these for later?” she asked.

 “Of course,” he replied. “You should eat breakfast first, anyway.”

 He plucked a turnip from a bowl of fresh vegetables and bit into it.

 “She’s done eating,” Ānníng replied. “We can leave whenever you’re ready.”

 Mĕilì grabbed a hold of Ānníng’s sleeve and looked up at him in concern.

 “You’re leaving?” she asked in a small, fearful voice.

 He patted her hand and held it.

 “I need to visit the families of the three soldiers who were killed,” he explained. “They’re in mourning now and I have to pay my respects.”

 She looked him over and realized why he and Chéng wore white robes. Chéng’s had red hems and red dragons with a brown leather sword belt.

 Ānníng’s had black hems down the front and around long sleeves. On the shoulders were large black outlines of white tigers. Around his waist was a wide, black leather belt with a belt for his tiger sword. Underneath was a dark teal robe that shown at the collar.

 “I’ll be alone,” she whimpered quietly, gripping his hand tighter.

 He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. “You’ll be safe. No one will bother you, I promise. You can stay here or in my room or you can walk around the manor. Qīn'ài and Niăo will be with you, and you’ll have at least one guard wherever you go.”

 Chéng stopped chewing as he watched her cry against Ānníng. She held onto the toy tiger he remembered the general buying for her the day before. She was terrified and he felt sorry for her.

 “I can stay,” Chéng blurted. When they looked at him, he continued. “You should go because you were their general, but I can stay here and keep her company.”

 Mĕilì was grateful for the offer but she held her husband tighter. It was him she wanted with her.

 Ānníng patted her back and replied to Chéng, “I appreciate that but it would be best if you were there. They’ll have questions about the ambush, and you were the commanding officer at the attack.”

 Chéng sighed as he watched Mĕilì move even closer. He watched, as well, when Ānníng held her and caressed her to put her mind at ease. He knew his friend had a soft spot for women in distress, but he had never seen him so … Dare he use the term “loving”?

 “I won’t be gone long, angel,” Ānníng told her.

 He kissed the top of her head and gently pulled away. He stood and she quickly stood with him. They all three walked together to the door and she hugged him one last time.

 “Remember, you don’t have to stay in your room,” he told her. “This is your home. You should look around.”

 She shook her head and tried to put on a brave smile. “It’s all right. I’m used to being alone in my room for days. I would rather just wait for you here.”

 Chéng almost broke down and was about to pull her with them.

 “Zhàn…” he started to say.

 Ānníng gave him a silencing glare and hugged Mĕilì close. “I’ll return as soon as I can.”

 He kissed the top of her head and motioned for Chéng to follow.

 Chéng patted her on the back and tried to give her an encouraging smile, then followed the general down the corridor.

 “I don’t like seeing her like this,” he told Ānníng.

 “Neither do I,” Ānníng answered. “She has to get used it. There’s no telling what sort of retaliation her father and Shāngrén Yán will wage for losing her. We may get called away again, and she needs to learn how to be on her own here without me.”

 Chéng finally understood and nodded in agreement. “Let’s return quickly.”

 Ānníng walked faster and mounted his horse as soon as they were through the gate. Leaving her alone was much more difficult than he would admit.