Rena shivered and hugged her shoulders as she looked out the inn's window. The sky rumbled angrily and rain pattered so hard against the glass she feared it would break.
It was through sheer bad luck that the army had ended up stopping in a nearly-abandoned port town for the night; they would have been happy to simply set up camp somewhere, but then the storm started. At least the inn had four walls and a roof around it, though, she reasoned; it wouldn't do any good to complain when she knew it could be worse.
The thunder rumbled and she shivered again, this time catching the attention of the half-awake Julian.
"Are you all right? Should I tell Prince Marth to pack up and find somewhere else?" he asked. Rena shook her head.
"No, I don't want to be a bother," she said. "The storm is too bad to go anywhere right now, and besides, it's so late..." She sighed. "I just..."
He rose from his bed and sat down beside her.
"What is it?"
"I just have a bad feeling about this place," she confessed. "What if it's a trap set by the enemy? Is it even safe to sleep here? That innkeeper, something about him just-"
"Hey." Julian wrapped his arms tightly around her, and she instinctively clung to the fabric of his shirt. "Don't worry so much, okay?"
"I know Prince Marth did his best to make sure it was safe, but-"
"If it is, it is. If it's not..." He drew her closer as a crash of thunder and another torrent of rain rattled the windows. "I'll protect you. You know I will," he said. "Just like when we escaped from the Samsian Thieves. Remember?"
Rena lifted her gaze slightly and smiled at him.
"Thank you, Julian." She nestled her head against his chest for warmth and to muffle the sounds of the rain. "I...I don't know what I'd do without you, sometimes. You're much too kind."
When the thunder came again, she did not shiver.