Kurt had sent her out to pick berries early next morning. It was one of her favourite tasks to do. She got to walk around on her own, taking in the beautiful surroundings, and the berries weren't heavy to carry. It was easy work.

She went down on one knee to pick some wild strawberries she spotted behind a bush. While she was down there, she heard the sound of a branch snapping in two. She looked through a hole in the bush and saw Roman walk by.

She knew she shouldn't. It wasn't fair to him but she couldn't help it. She wanted to know. She waited till he was far enough ahead for him not to hear her, left the basket on the ground and then slowly got up and started following him.

She kept a good distance between them and a couple of times she thought she lost sight of him which scared her since he was walking through areas she hadn't been before. She was starting to second guess her decision, afraid she might get lost, but she couldn't turn around since she had followed him for too long and wouldn't be able to find her way back. She needed him to get back.

Suddenly she walked into a clearing in the forest and just in time as she saw him disappear into a cave further ahead. That had to be his special place and it made sense. In a cave he could be alone with no one seeing him from the outside. She slowly moved towards the cave and peeked into the darkness. She swallowed hard before taking a step inside.

She kept her hand on the wall to feel her way through the darkness as she slowly and silently moved forward. After a while a faint light broke through along with some weird noises. Someone softly moaning and a weird slurping sound as if skin met skin somehow.

She walked around a corner and saw a candle burning. Further ahead Roman was standing with his back against her. His arm was moving and the moaning came from him. So he came there to masturbate. No wonder he didn't want her to come along. She was just about to turn around and go back outside to wait for him to be done when his voice made her stop.

"Brynn," he moaned softly.

She thought she had been caught but he was still standing with his back against her. She took a couple of steps forward, suddenly realizing why he was looking at the stone wall in front of him. He had drawn a big picture of her face in chalk on the wall. He wasn't just there to masturbate. He was masturbating to her.

"Brynn!" He moaned louder.

His arm stopped moving and all she heard was his heavy breathing. Before she could get out of sight, he suddenly turned around and looked at her. For the first time he seemed embarrassed and he quickly closed his pants.

"It's not what it looks like," he said.
"It's okay. I'm not mad. I'm just gonna go," she said.

She spun around but she never got to take a step. He sprinted towards her and wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her up against his chest and leaning down to take in the scent of her hair.

"I want you," he confessed. "Can I have you?"
"Roman, I don't think that's a good idea," she said.
"Don't worry about Kurt. He doesn't have to know. He doesn't know about this place," he said.
"It's not just him," she said. "Look, Roman, I lied, okay?"

He released her from his tight grip but instead spun her around to look at her.

"Lied about what?" He asked.
"I didn't exactly get out of the castle on my first day," she answered.
"What do you mean?" He stared at her intensely.
"You're so innocent," she reached up and touched his cheek. "You don't know how the world works and you don't need to worry about me."
"I worry about you no matter what," he said.
"Roman," the tears ran down her cheeks. "I was there for three months. I'm damaged, okay? King Hunter had his way with me more times than I care to admit."
"Did you want it?" He asked.
"Women don't get a choice in there. We either please the king or we get buried," she answered.
"But you escaped," he said.
"My escape was true. I don't even know if I killed him. I'm scared I might have done so," she said.
"I hope you did," he said.

He smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back. He grabbed both her hands and moved her towards the burning candle. He had made a little cozy corner with lamb skins and he sat down and pulled her down next to him. She was about to say something when her eyes fell on a little stack of books next to the candle.

"You read?" She asked surprised.
"Don't tell Kurt!" He begged.
"How is that possible?" She asked.
"I taught myself," he answered. "When I was young, I would sit on his lap and I remembered the words as he read them and slowly I started understanding."
"You're a brain child," she smiled widely. "I always knew you were smart."
"I still don't know how to act around people," he said. "How to act around you."
"You're doing good. A bit odd at times but I like it," she said.

Without warning he moved close and kissed her. Her first instinct was to pull back but when he wrapped his arms around her, she didn't want to get away. She allowed herself to be pulled up on his lap and she felt his erection grow against her crotch.

"Roman," she broke the kiss. "We can't."
"You're mine," he stated.
"You don't know how it is for a woman. It hurts," she said.
"I won't hurt you," he reached for a book and showed her an arousing picture. "See! I've read this book and other books. I know that there are men out there hurting women and king Hunter sure is one of them. I'm not. I know what to do. I just need you to let me do it."

With one swift move he had her on her back with himself between her legs.

"I want you to be my first," he said. "I want you to be my only one."
"Roman, please, we can't," she begged.
"Don't you want me?" He looked at her with lost eyes.
"It's not about that. Kurt's gonna send me away if we cross that line," she said.
"No one..." He growled as his eyes turned angry. "No one is taking you away from me!"

She should feel scared but she didn't. She knew his anger wasn't meant for her. She reached a hand up and placed it on his cheek, turning his angry eyes back to the soft ones she loved to look at.

"Roman, please," she whispered.
"Right," he nodded.

He sat back on his knees and pulled her up to sit.

"We should get back," he said.
"I left the basket in the forest. I need to pick berries," she said.
"I'll help you," he said.

He helped her up to stand but before he could pull her out of the cave, she turned and took a look at the picture of her on the wall.

"Did you draw that?" She asked.
"I did," he smiled proudly.
"It's really good. You're really talented," she said.
"I didn't get one feature of your face wrong," he said confidently. "I never could with your face constantly on my mind."