More confusion with feelings in this chapter! :D

Valek POV:

After I had escorted her to her room, I returned to my suite and laid down on the cold bed, staring at the ceiling for a long time. I couldn't sleep because every time I tried, I could picture her lying next to me. All I could think about was the fact that I had almost lost her to Star and her goons. I knew that she would not have told them anything, but my blood boiled when I thought about the fact that she could have been tortured for retaining information. And when I did save her, I had walked back to the castle with her. Alone. And down a moonlit path. At that time, I was almost happy about the fact that James had been overpowered by Star's goons.

I rolled over and picked up the butterfly statue I had carved from my bedside table. I had decided to keep it there so that I would have a little reminder of her every time I woke up and went to bed. I pondered about the fact that she would coming to live in my suite with me starting tomorrow. I should have probably given her a choice of whether or not she wanted to move, but I needed her to be with me. Besides, the Commander had told me to let her live with me, so nothing could harm his precious second. I felt a bit peevish. He never really showed that type of concern for his master assassin.

I'd probably ask Janco and Ari to help me take her things to my suite. Now I just had to decide which room to place her in. I sat up as an idea popped into my head. There was a room downstairs with minimal junk inside, so it would be easiest to clean out. Plus, I didn't want her to sleep upstairs where my room was. I didn't know what things I would do if there was that temptation...

I shook my head to clear it. Think about other things, Valek!, I thought fiercely to myself. Hmm...there was still the mystery of who had told Star Yelena would be in Castletown earlier this evening. I bet it was Rand, ...in fact, I was almost sure of it! I just needed to ask my informant in the kitchen if Rand had slipped away for a period of time, or if he had any unsual visitors, or if he had been seen writing and sending any mysterious messages. Would Yelena feel betrayed at the fact that Rand had brought harm onto her? I didn't know how good of a friend she considered him. Life was always like this for me. I laughed bitterly. Of course the woman I loved would be friends with the man I hated.

I squeezed my eyes shut and put down the butterfly. I was too tired right now. Yawning, I buried my face into the pillow. Oh no! I sat up again. What if I snored while I slept? Would she mind? Then I realised that she would be downstairs, so she wouldn't be able to hear me anyways. I sighed as I realised that it would be another long sleepless night for me.

The next morning...

I got to my office and she was there, waiting for me as usual. I've always wanted to be more punctual, but things always prevent me from getting where I want in the mornings, such as some of my corps asking me about what to do, my informants wanting to know what I need them to find out, etc.

Impatience glinted in her exquisite eyes. "If we're going to have to work together, maybe you could come earlier?" she suggested sarcastically.

I shrugged. "Since we'll be living in the same suite, you can just decide to leave when I do."

Her eyes widened with shock as if she forgot everything that I told her last night.

"My men will be moving your things today," I informed her. "You can choose to help them or if not, just stay out of their way."

She opened her mouth to argue, an enraged expression on her face.

I had to refrain from laughing. Why was she so stubborn? "The Commander has ordered that you will live in my suite," I explained. "Or else, I would have given you a choice." Would I though?

She sighed. "What are we going to be doing now that I'm your new second?"

"Well, you already know how to do the paperwork part of it, you will still be required to translate code and such things. I will also be training you in the arts of knives, poisons, espionage, evasion techniques, and everything that you will need in this job."

"So...I have to do paperwork and train?"

I nodded. "We're not starting with paperwork today, though. We're going to training first."

Without seeing if she was going to follow me, I headed down the hall towards the yards.

Yelena POV:

I ran after him to keep up. At this time of the day, the soldiers were still running laps around the castle complex, so the yard was basically empty except for the occasional speedy soldier. He then stopped so suddenly in the middle of the yard that I almost bumped into him.

"First, I'll need to get a sense of what skills you already possess so that I can just build on those during our training sessions as well as teaching you what skills you lack. What weapons do you know how to fight with?

I pondered the question, tapping my cheek with a finger. Mirela had taught me about a wide array of weapons, so it would take me some time to remember them all. "Well...there's the bow, knives, light swords, daggers, darts...and a machete?"

He frowned. "A machete? That's a weapon used mostly in Sitia, since it can deliver a hard blow or clean cut to an opponent as well as for its weed whacking abilities. Why would this Mirela teach you this?"

I shrugged. Mirela had told me that I would need as much as training as I possibly could if I wanted to be able to survive in this world. I hadn't questioned that, knowing that that was true from my own experiences with Brazell.

He sighed. "Alright then. Since I have already seen your fighting style with a bow, how about facing me in a knife fight?" His eyes gleamed in anticipation, as if he was very sure of the fact that he would win.

"I don't have a knife."

He looked at me with an exasperated expression and went to the armory and came back with a knife for me.

"Aren't you going to need a knife too?"

"Don't worry, I already have one." He didn't have a knife on his belt, but as I watched, he reached into his sleeve and brought a knife back out in one smooth quick motion. Impressive. He motioned for me to attack.

I crouched into my ready position and stabbed the knife towards him. He was very fast, and apparently very skilled, as he caught my wrist and made me drop my knife before placing his blade against my neck. I was suddenly aware of the fact that he had his arms around me, even if one of his hands was holding a knife to my throat. For a second, I just wanted to wrap myself in his embrace and forget all my problems. I relaxed slightly and leaned against his body.

For just a moment, I felt almost as if his arms were tightening around me before he suddenly backed away. Luckily, I was not leaning a lot of my weight against him, so I didn't fall backwards like a fool. My cheeks burned with humiliation. Of course he wouldn't wrap me in his arms. What was I thinking? Our relationship was purely business. Absolutely no feelings were involved whatsoever. None.

"I see that we'll have to work on knife practice," he remarked casually, as if he hadn't noticed anything abnormal.

Thankfully, the rest of the testing passed without any such incidents. I did better in swords, as it was a little similar to wielding a bow. My ability to throw darts equaled the average soldier's, he told me, but he wasn't able to rate my use of the machete, because Ixian soldiers rarely used it. He still beat me with an old one he found in the armory though. A lot of soldiers gathered around us to watch our matches, speaking to each other in low tones as they did. I didn't really take notice of anyone except Ari and Janco, who gave me thumbs up gestures and cheered. Oh yeah, Nix was also there, lurking in my peripheral vision. His glares nearly distracted me in most of the fights, but Valek forced me to concentrate like I never had before.

By the end, it was dusk, and many of the soldiers were leaving the yard. A chilly gust of wind blew into me, reminding me that the cold season was coming. Valek ended our session, sensing my discomfort and told me to go to bed, and to rest for tomorrow.

Nodding wearily, I trudged to my room, and opened the door, only to find it empty of all my things. I stared in confusion until I remebered that Valek had had his men move all my stuff to his suite. What was I supposed to do now? Go there and demand entrance? I knew that there were soldiers on guard all the time at the entrance of the hallway that contained the Commander's and Valek's suites. I didn't know if they would let me in. I just hope Valek told them that I would be moving in, because I was definitely not going to like waiting for him to get to his suite so I could get in too.

Like I expected, they didn't let me in. "Not unless you're with the Commander or Valek," the man on the right explained.

I sighed in frustration. My hands were itching to wrap themselves around Valek's neck. I pondered if I should do just that when I saw him.

Just then, he turned around the corner, strolling casually as if he hadn't a care in the world. I almost did it. Strangle him, that is. Luckily, I stopped myself in the nick of time.

"What are you doing, just standing around in the hallway?" he asked, looking bemused.

"Well, your two guards won't let me in!"

When Valek looked at them with that cold glare he possessed, they told him that they were not informed that I was to be permitted inside without any accompaniment.

"From on now, she is permitted to enter and exit this hallway and suite by herself if she wishes, whenever she wants. Everything that the Commander and I do here, she is also allowed to do, unless she breaks the law, or I say so."

They let us in, and I followed Valek to his suite door. When I looked back at the soldiers, I could have sworn that there was some sort of significant look that had passed between them. Shit, they probably thought that I was moving in with Valek because I was his...

Valek had also seen that look. "She's my second!" he called in a frustrated tone to them. They hung their heads and forced a humble expression on their faces until Valek turned to the lock on the door. They then exchanged a couple of winks and turned back to give me wide, suggestive grins. Could life get any worse for me?

Once we were inside the brightly lit room, I gawked at the mess, although I should really be used to it by now. After all, his office was also messy, though it wasn't this messy. At least it was brightly lit and a couch in the middle of the L-shaped living area was relatively free of books and statues or rocks.

Valek gestured to three doors on the left of the living room wall. "The one closest to the door is yours," he told me, before padding up the stairs. Cautiously, I opened the door, to find that the inside of the room was exactly the same as what it had been like in my old room. I guess his two men didn't have much imagination. Before I could fall onto the bed and start snoring, I heard a knock on my door.

I popped my head outside. Valek handed me a keychain with four keys on it.

"I forgot to give you these earlier. They're the keys to the suite."

"Thanks."

"I hope your room is to your liking?" He looked at me questioningly.

"Sure. It's exactly the way I left it." I gave him an experimental smile, but it felt fake.

I suddenly got that feeling again. It was the same feeling that I had felt when we were walking alone down the moonlit path towards the Castle after he had saved me. Warmth bloomed in my chest and it felt almost as if my heart was expanding. What was this? I had never felt like this before. Maybe there was a book on it in the library or something.

He seemed to feel awkward. I did too. "Well, we'll meet every morning at my office, and depending on whether the weather is nice, we'll either do some training or do office work. We'll also start your education on poisons soon too. The Commander doesn't have a mission for me yet, but once he does, you'll be coming with me to get some first hand experience."

I nodded and focused on a crack in the floor. He took the hint and left, going up the stairs again, this time going up the steps two at a time. I closed the door and leaned against it, taking in a deep breathe. Tomorrow, I thought, I would make sure to go to the library and see if there was a name for the feeling that I had felt. I considered asking Ari or Janco, then dismissed the idea. Ari was too obssessed with Dilana at the moment and Janco would just tease me.

Closing my eyes, my thoughts turned back to Valek. Sure, he was handsome, in a subtle way, but somehow way more attractive than Rand. I hadn't thought so when I had first arrived, but now...my perception was him was definitely different. My stomach distracted me by emitting a rumble. Dinnertime.

Review review review! :D

-YelenaZ