This fic was honestly so much fun to write and this chapter in particular. Thank you to Heyna Blackstar, Le Faucon Bleu, PadrePedro and Queen Rebecca the Sweet for reviewing last time!

The Night – Aravis

As darkness fell on the first day, Aravis tried to settle down inside her shelter. It smelt strongly of palm trees and coconuts and she could hear the lap of waves on the beach outside.

Despite what she had told Cor, she wasn't sure how good either of their shelters were. His looked no better than hers and hers had its weaknesses. The palm leaf roof for example seemed like it was too thin, but it wasn't particularly windy on the island so hopefully it would hold. Aravis had used individual palm leaf strands to tie down the roof leaves just in case, but she didn't know if that would make a difference.

But that said, she didn't think Cor had secured his roof the same way so maybe his would fly off in the night and hers wouldn't and he'd end up coming to her shelter, cold and miserable, begging to be let in.

She would allow him to enter if he begged. And then he would see that crown prince though he may be, she was more than good enough for him.

She had given him so many opportunities to ask to court her. She could only assume he was holding out because he thought he was too good for her now that he was the future King of Archenland. It was an eventuality she'd feared for some time, but she'd thought maybe she was imagining it until Lord Arigan had come up in conversation back on the boat. The captain had complimented Arigan's archery skills, gently ribbing Cor for losing their shoot-out. And Cor had turned to Aravis and said quickly: "Yes, but he is only a Lord. I am a crown prince."

Ears ringing, Aravis had told him quite hotly that crown prince or not, he really wasn't all that.

And then they'd ended up in this mess, him insisting on competing with her to assuage his stupid ego.

Well, she would show him.

Sighing, Aravis pulled her knees up to her chin and tried to sleep. She needed to be well-rested since she didn't know what other types of competition might arise tomorrow and she wanted to be in peak condition.

But sleep did not come easily.

The sand was too grainy beneath the palm leaves she'd laid for her bed and the air temperature dropped faster and lower than she'd expected.

She'd forgotten how quickly the temperature could fall at night even this far South.

She tried to pull her clothes tighter around herself, covering herself in a palm leaf, but it wasn't much good at keeping in the heat.

She endured her chattering teeth and shivering limbs for as long as she could, but eventually she had to accept it was futile.

If she stayed here, she would not fall asleep all night.

It was too cold in this shelter by herself.

-O-

Aravis peeked her head out of her shelter and glanced along the beach to where Cor's shelter stood.

She took a steadying breath, teeth still chattering. She knew they had to sleep in the same shelter — it would be too cold for her otherwise.

But acknowledging that she needed anything from him felt like she was admitting she couldn't keep up.

What if he'd already managed to fall asleep? What if he could keep warm enough not to shudder and shake by himself? What if he didn't need her at all?

But needing his body warmth didn't mean anything. It was like the height thing, Aravis reasoned. If Cor's body could survive better at colder temperatures, that was no reflection on her.

She'd get back to showing him she was better him soon enough. She had more coconuts in her pile than he did. He'd added two more to his pile at some point during the day, but she'd added two more to her pile in response and as far as she knew, he hadn't noticed yet.

Comforting herself with the thought, she edged out of her shelter onto the cold sand.

The whole beach was silvery grey in the moonlight, the palm forest a dense, inky bluish black. Aravis tiptoed along the sand and it shifted softly under her feet, making very little sound.

If Cor was already asleep, perhaps she could just slide in next to him without the indignity of having to admit that she was cold and that she needed him.

His body heat, that was.

Not him.

She didn't need him.

She reached the entrance to Cor's shelter at the taller end of the frame and peered inside.

Cor's eyes were open and he was looking straight at her, his eyebrows raised gently like he'd heard her coming and had been preparing the perfect expression for this moment.

Without explaining what she was doing at the entrance to his shelter, Aravis shuffled in next to him in a crouch. Cor pushed himself up onto his elbows.

"Too cold," mumbled Aravis, before he could make some wise-crack remark or ask for an explanation.

"Ah," said Cor. His blonde hair was mussed, making him look slightly roguish though his stubble had not come in full enough yet to complete the look.

With a self-satisfied smile, he lay back down on his palm leaf bed, shifting over so there was enough space for them both.

"Well, come on then," he said, gesturing to the newly-created spot next to him.

Body fizzing, Aravis lowered herself backwards onto the palm leaves.

She and Cor lay shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm and Aravis realised they hadn't been this close for quite a while. The air was thick with Cor's scent – coconuts and salt and something else that was just Cor – and it made her feel light-headed.

And on edge.

It was a particular kind of torment to be attracted to the crown prince of Archenland when she was no more than a Calormene exile with no lands and no prospects.

Cor turned his face towards her, eyebrows raised and she matched his expression. She could feel his heat radiating into her where their arms touched and for a brief moment, she could almost forget that he was a future King.

"You comfortable?" he asked.

Aravis made a non-committal humph sound. Though she was much more comfortable than she had been in her own shelter.

"This doesn't mean you're better than me," she said. "Or that you've bested me at anything."

"Okay," said Cor.

He opened his mouth like he was going to say something more, but then he just looked up at the roof of the shelter and said: "Goodnight Aravis."

"Goodnight fisher's boy."

I will post the next chapter in about a month again. For the most up to date information on all my story update plans, you can check my profile. I update it fairly regularly.