A/N: So glad you guys are enjoying this story! Would love to hear what you think of this chapter, too! Huge thank you lanamarymack for alpha/beta reading this chapter!
Well, that had definitely been a spectacularly bad idea.
Hermione had been so desperate for a bath that she hadn't thought about how the act itself was actually going to happen. Of course, she should have realized it would mean getting naked in front of Remus. What she hadn't been prepared for was the absolutely awkward thirty minutes they had spent avoiding looking at one another.
Oh, who was she kidding? Hermione had tried really hard, but she couldn't help herself from sneaking quick peeks at the object of her affections. Who knew if she would ever have a chance to see Remus like this ever again? The whole viking look really suited him, and she found her mind going absolutely blank when she came face to face with his broad chest. Merlin, she wasn't going to be able to get that out of her mind for a while.
Although she didn't regret the bath - she had felt absolutely disgusting without one - she knew that she was going to regret the whole thing. Being this close to Remus was a bit intoxicating. And she almost thought that his resolve might be weakening a bit, too. She'd seen his own gaze drifting where it shouldn't despite her teasing. But when they got dressed again and started back towards the city, it became clear that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with her.
As soon as they were back, he'd disappeared out of their shared room, mumbling some sort of excuse to put as much distance between them as possible. Hermione couldn't imagine where he could have gotten off too - they were stuck in this bloody book! - but she knew that once again she was left, trapped in this little room with nothing to fill her time. It was getting so annoying and it wasn't helping them to get out of it either.
Hermione had quickly realized that they were going to have to get through the plot in order to get out of the book, but if Remus didn't engage with her, they were just going to be left in this awful limbo. With a blush, she thought about all that entailed. Presumably, it meant that they were going to have to sleep with each other eventually, unless they could figure something out together.
Did Remus really think that sleeping with her was going to be so unbearable he'd rather be stuck here? It seemed so, because he was doing everything that he could to avoid her.
Still, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like. Maybe they would have mind blowing sex and then Remus would finally see how perfect they were for one another. They were so suited, in so many ways, and she just knew that they would be happy with one another if Remus only gave them a chance. All she would have to do was convince him to keep seeing her once they got out of the book.
Oh, this seemed absolutely hopeless.
She was certain to end up an old spinster, as Ron often warned, because she was too hung up on the werewolf who wouldn't even give her a second glance if she weren't the only witch around.
Before she could wallow in her own self-pity for much longer, there was a knock at her door. Opening it cautiously, Hermione was relieved to see that it was only Sirius. Well, book Sirius.
"I'm to bring you to dinner, Princess," he said with a genial grin. "The messenger is back."
Hermione was glad to see that some progress was at least being made in the plot of the book. She happily took Sirius's offered arm and walked down the stairs to the feasting hall with him. He deposited her in the seat on Remus's left hand, while he took the spot across from her. She tried to make eye contact with Remus, but he was doing everything to look anywhere but at her, avoiding her once again.
The feast in front of them looked delicious, but Hermione knew not to bother with it. It wasn't as if she was actually going to taste anything and she certainly wasn't hungry, despite spending several "days" in the book. She did take a horn of mead to occupy her hands, though.
"So, tell us, what has Queen Minnie offered us for her bonny daughter?" Sirius asked, turning his focus to the messenger, who was looking no worse for his journey.
"The Queen is prepared to offer 25,000 troy pounds for the safe return of her daughter, the Princess Hermione," he said. "If she remains unharmed. If she is harmed or spoiled in any way, the offer will drop to 15,000 troy pounds."
Hermione felt affronted to know that her chastity was valued at 10,000. Was that part of her really so important? Did they even want her if she wasn't still a virgin when she returned? She scoffed knowing that she wasn't even a virgin to begin with!
There were murmurs around the table from the assembled vikings. "25? That's nothing," one of them sneered. "When we killed that Archbishop we got 40 just to go away!"
"I say that we keep her for ourselves," suggested another man with greedy eyes. "I think 25 is a bargain for as fair a woman as the Princess."
Remus stood up, unwilling to hear any more of the discussion. "No one will touch her!" he ordered, his voice booming.
Hermione felt her heart pound harder in her chest at the way that he commanded the room. She had no idea that he could be quite so authoritative, but he was doing a wonderful job of leading these brutes.
"We will accept their offer of ransom," he said, after everyone had quieted down. "The Princess is more trouble than she is worth and I will be happy to have her off my hands, with an extra 25,000 troy pounds in my pocket for the trouble of babysitting her."
Babysitting? Oh, that was absolutely crushing to hear. She knew that Remus was probably just saying it to keep everyone away from her, but it still hurt to know how he thought of her. Hermione was up and out of her seat before she could help herself, nostrils flared in anger.
"Really, Remus?" she demanded, not bothering to hide the hurt that she felt. This whole time he'd been pushing her away when they should be working together.
Not bothering to stick around, Hermione pushed back from the table before stomping up the stairs back towards Remus's room, trying to ignore the bawdy jokes that the vikings were making about the Princess missing their valiant leader's cock when she returned to her mother.
"Hermione, wait!" Remus shouted after her retreating form, but he gave in too easily when Sirius grabbed his arm to hold him back.
"Is a taste of the Princess really worth 10,000 pounds?" Sirius asked, loud enough for Hermione to hear.
Annoyed, she gave a frustrated cry and slammed the door shut behind her. She couldn't believe that even now, Remus wouldn't come after her. None of the other people in this land were real except for her. Certainly he could see the benefit in comforting her, especially when she was obviously upset, right?
Only, he clearly did not because he was still downstairs, feasting with those shades! And she was left alone, crying into a bed of furs.
She whiled the rest of the evening away reading some of the star charts used for navigating on the seas - one of the only things that actually had substance in this whole room - and still, Remus did not reappear. Not even when the sounds from the feasting hall dwindled into nothing, everyone too drunk or too tired to continue.
That was odd.
Wondering where he could have gone, Hermione crept out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Immediately, she saw that he was still sitting at the table with Sirius, talking quietly. Not wanting to be spotted, Hermione ducked down, and crawled her way towards the top of the staircase so that she could spy on them. She knew it was wrong and that she would look absolutely ridiculous if she got caught, but she just couldn't help herself. She wanted to know what was going on in Remus's mind; what was so important that he would share with fake Sirius, but not her?
They were speaking quietly, but she could still make out their conversation.
"Anyone with eyes can see that there is some sort of connection between you and the Princess," Sirius said, slyly. "Even James remarked on it before he left and he is more oblivious than most."
"I don't know what you are talking about," Remus answered, though it didn't sound very convincing.
"I just mean that no one would look twice at you if you were to give up the 10,000 pounds for a night with her," Sirius said, not taking Remus's denial seriously. "I think the men would be surprised if you didn't."
Remus snorted. "It wouldn't be right for me to sleep with her," he said, sounding a bit defeated. "She's too good for me."
Hermione stilled at Remus's assertion. Was it possible that he wanted to sleep with her, but still believed himself unworthy of love? His self-esteem was always a bit colored by his lycanthropy, but surely he didn't think that she thought herself as too good for him, right?
"No one is too good for the great Remus Lupin," the fake Sirius said, trying to pump his friend up. "Even though the Princess is far more beautiful than I would have guessed. And, if you ask me, she can feel the pull as well."
"She is young, she doesn't know what she wants," Remus argued back. "And she is beautiful, smart, funny. She deserves to be with someone who can take care of her properly."
"I'm sure that you know how to take care of her properly," Sirius said, with a booming laugh that made Hermione jump.
"So, what, I just sleep with her one time? And then what?" the taller man asked. "I am sure it would be good - perfect even. Then she is under my skin, more than she already is? She goes off on her own and I'm left pining after her because I can't forget what it was like. Right now I am only cursed with my curiosity. To know what it would be like to have her is just too much. No, there must be another way."
Hermione's heart was pounding against her chest, she was almost certain that Remus would be able to hear it. When Sirius went silent for several beats, Hermione was worried that she might have been discovered eavesdropping. Merlin, she couldn't think of anything more embarrassing!
But to her relief, she wasn't.
Instead, it seemed that Sirius was carefully measuring his words. "It sounds to me like the Princess is already under your skin, Remus," he said finally. "Hells, it sounds like you are talking about forever."
She felt her breath leave her while she waited for his answer.
"Fuck, I don't know what I'm talking about," Remus said, finally, sounding painfully unsure of himself.
"Just...remember not to get too attached to her," Sirius cautioned. "You are going to have to give her back to her mother in the end."
"I know. That's the hard part," Remus said, defeated. She heard him stand up from his chair. "Well, that's enough delusion for one evening. I'm going to try and get some sleep."
Scrambling, Hermione knew that she had to get back into their room quickly so as not to be caught. She didn't think she could face Remus at the moment or her heart might just leap out of her chest! Luckily, she made it back into the comfortable bed with seconds to spare, before the door opened and Remus slipped inside. Closing her eyes tightly, she pretended to be asleep, her mind spinning with what she'd overheard and what this could mean.