Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews kids!

Chapter 3

(Edenia Castle – Kitana's Room)

The moon had just begun to shine mysteriously in the Edenian sky and it cast a tall, wide shouldered shadow into the princess' room. Sub-Zero had, with some difficulty, scaled the towering castle using his kori powers and somehow made it into Kitana's room safely while being unnoticed by any of Edenia's citizens. The cryomancer fell back against the wall and gripped his side in pain.

"That was harder than I thought." He sighed. 'She's not back yet huh?'

Just as Sub-Zero finished his thought Kitana burst through the door clutching her shoulder. The ninja heard her heavy breathing as she limped towards her bed. She straightened up when she spotted Sub-Zero leaning against the wall.

"Oh… you're back." The princess breathed and raised her eyebrow. 'There's… something different about him.'

He nodded gently.

"Are you alright?" Kitana questioned as she took a few steps towards him.

Sub-Zero grunted and straightened out. "I'm fine."

She pressed her hand against his stomach and he retracted against the wall. Kitana frowned and realized that ninja's still had their pride even though they went through extensive training to be emotionless. Even though he wasn't a native to Edenia, he was still a guest in her castle, and she had an obligation to take care of him… whether he liked it or not.

"You're not fine." She put his arm around her shoulder and half dragged him to her bed.

"Yes…" he swallowed. "…I am."

Sub-Zero was planted onto her bed and he leaned back to relieve the pain in his abs. He saw the room suddenly brighten as Kitana turned on a light and jumped slightly when he felt her yanking at his belt.

"W-what are you doing?" the ninja's eyes widened in surprise.

"I need to take off that silly thing you're wearing so I can get to you're wounds." Kitana explained.

"This silly thing is a Lin Kuei ninja garb." Sub-Zero growled.

"Lighten up. You're not even part of that clan anymore."

"I will not lighten up. I still consider the clan my family no matter if I'm a part of it or not." The cryomancer snarled. "Besides… you are not one to judge me. I didn't realize that princess and prostitute were synonymous in this realm." He eyed her menacingly.

Kitana closed her eyes and swallowed her retort. "Listen… because I am a princess… I have a responsibility to care for the people in this realm… and that includes you."

She immediately clutched a deep cut in his arm and quickly undid his belt and pulled off the top of his ninja garb while he was distracted by his sudden burst of pain. Sub-Zero's breathing became heavy and erratic. He could feel the sweat dripping down his head beneath his hood. His eyes darkened in a way that promised an intense amount of suffering to whoever had wronged him. Kitana merely smirked at his loss of composure.

She lowered her lips to his ear. "Now be a good boy or I'll have to call the guards and they can throw you in the dungeon."

The ninja let out a deep growl and glared dangerously at her. He didn't have much of a choice; after all, he was in no condition to fight off her or any number of guards that may be inside the castle. Sub-Zero allowed her to examine him; wincing when her fingers brushed against a heavy bruise or a damaged bone. When she finished her examination of him Kitana frowned in thought.

'I can't take him to a hospital or anything…' she sighed. 'I'll have to see what I can do…'

Sub-Zero watched her walk out of the room and disappear into the hallway. He blinked in confusion and stared at the door expectantly for her return. She came back with a rather large metal chest in her arms. He assumed it was some sort of first aid kit and his suspicions were confirmed as he watched her pull out rolls of bandages and bottles of antiseptics. The ninja felt a sudden surge of nervousness shoot through him as he watched the princess soak the bandages in a clear liquid that looked like it would burn his flesh. His jaw clenched as he felt a searing pain in his wounds and took note of the enjoyment that danced in Kitana's eyes. This procedure continued for the longest 45 minutes of the cryomancer's life. Afterwards, he watched the princess slowly being bandaged him up. His numerous cuts were treated, the bruises were numbed and his damaged bones were set in to heal.

"You won't be able to go out for a few days." Kitana informed him.

He was about to sit up and protest but was swiftly forced back into the bed by Kitana.

"You're not listening to me." She said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"You have no control over me." Sub-Zero said through gritted teeth.

"Actually…I do." The princess said triumphantly. "I'm faster than you and in your condition… I can overpower you pretty easily."

The ninja's hand glowed with an icy energy. "Well I can…"

"Can you?" she jabbed his ribs forcing him to clench his fist in pain and causing the energy disappear.

A familiar growl rose in Sub-Zero throat; a growl that Kitana was growing accustomed to. The cryomancer knew when he was defeated and decided to go along with the princess for now. He was starting to get comfortable on this bed anyway and after a deep breath he easily succumbed to his body's fatigue.

After a few hours of sleep Sub-Zero's wounds started to throb painfully. He gripped his side and turned over and to his surprise he found Kitana resting peacefully beside him. The ex-Lin Kuei warrior stared at her and forgetting his pain, he became lost in thought.

'There's… something about her.' He blinked. 'I've never met anyone like her; someone so kind and warm-hearted… but even with that… she has such a fiery personality.' A sigh escaped his lips as he continued his thoughts. 'Is she so special? I've spent all of my life within my clan… I didn't think that anyone with her kind of personality could survive in this world. Maybe all the time I've spent with killers has made my heart cold and made me blind to how good people can be.' The ninja allowed a small smile to play on his lips beneath his mask. 'Yeah… she's definitely something special… something… so… beau-'

Sub-Zero's eyes widened and a blush went through his cheeks. What was his thinking? An unfamiliar feeling began to surge through him; it was something that warmed his heart… he felt a sudden weight being lifted off of him.

'Is it… because of her?' He took an educated guess. 'She… certainly has a different effect on me than anyone else I've met. I've never had so much trouble concealing my emotions around someone. Perhaps she's…'

The sun rose high into the air and shined its rays into the princess' chamber; causing the ninja to stir from his sleep. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and noticed the princess was no longer next to him. The door opened slowly and Kitana walked in with a tray of food. Sub-Zero stared at her curiously.

"Sorry I couldn't get you more." Kitana smiled. "It would've looked a little suspicious if I was carrying a feast up to my room."

Sub-Zero avoided eye contact. "You… didn't need to do that…"

"Well it's not like you can go out and get food yourself. Besides I had something to take care of."

It was at that moment that Sub-Zero noticed bandages wrapped around her shoulder.

"What happened?" he questioned.

"I got it yesterday while I was out." She explained. "I was running… errands with my friend Jade."

"What kind of errands could cause an injury like that?"

"We were investigating some rumors about Outworld mutants in Edenia and it turns out they were true."

Sub-Zero raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize that that was part of a princess' duty."

"Well it is for this princess." Kitana smiled.

"Wait…" the ninja paused in thought. "You said that you took care of that this morning?"

"I didn't say that… but I did take care of it this morning."

"Last night… you… took care of me." He said quietly.

Kitana laughed softly. "Well you were worse off than I was. Don't worry so much; you're hair will turn grey."

He stared deeply into the food that she brought him. 'She… took care of me… before even tending to herself first?

"Are you not hungry?" Kitana interrupted his thoughts.

"Uh…no…no…" He absentmindedly took a bite of toast. "Thank you."

"It's not a problem. Well… make sure you stay in bed. I have some things to do so I'll be back to check on you in a couple of hours."

The cryomancer nodded and watched her walk out of the door. He didn't understand it… but he continued to stare at the door for a while longer before he realized what he was doing. A sigh escaped from his lips and the same thought ran through his head over and over again.

'What is this I'm feeling?'

(Edenia – Plains)

It had been about an hour since Kitana left Sub-Zero to his own devices and she had already found herself being dragged on another mutant hunt with Jade. Although she did feel it was important to track down the Tarkatan warriors, she didn't feel like repeating her last encounter with the beasts. She quickly grew tired of treading the hilly plains of Edenia and fell back onto the soft grass.

"Hey… what are you doing?" Jade called back to her. "We still have a lot of ground to cover!"

'I hope he's not doing anything stupid…' Kitana thought with worry. 'I guess it could just be in his nature to not sit around and do nothing. Heh… kind of like me I suppose…' The princess closed her eyes and sighed. 'There's something about him though… I wonder…'

"Kitana! Are you listening to me?" Jade half scolded her absent minded friend.

"What?" she responded distractedly.

"You've been off focus all day. What's going on with you?"

"Oh…uhh…" the princess started.

"You know…" Jade said slyly. "The last time I saw you like this you were thinking about some guy… what was his name?"

Kitana shot up. "This isn't the same thing! I'm thinking about…"

"Liu Kang right?" Jade teased. "That guy from Earthrealm. What was going on between you two anyway?"

"I lost the necklace my mother gave me." she gritted her teeth.

"You did? When?" Jade tilted her head questioningly.

"I don't know… I'll have to look for it later."

"Well… since we're taking a break… why don't you tell me about this new guy?" Jade smiled widely beneath her mask.

"There isn't a new guy." Kitana rolled her eyes.

"Uh huh..." Jade said knowingly. "I'm your best friend; I know you; the last time you were like this you had feelings for a guy…"

The princess stood up and walked past her friend. "Let's go… we have a lot of ground to cover."

Jade smirked. "We sure do."

Kitana walked quickly with clenched fists, narrowed eyes and a frown forming underneath her mask.

'I don't…like him… right?'

End of Chapter 3

Author's Note: Feedback is appreciated!