Evening, close to dark.

The trip back to the camping spot was the quietest that either Ashe or Vaan had been through in quite some time. Vaan had spoken little, trying to get Ashe to speak after what had happened between them at the bath. This wasn't anything new to Vaan, but for some reason there was something different about the last encounter.

Ashe had tried to hurt him when he accidentally stumbled upon her at the bath, but when he stopped her and, after seeing who was right in front of him he suddenly found himself somewhere else. What had been in front of him had been simply more than a naked woman; it had been someone who had appeared vulnerable because he was there, like he was peering into her heart. That was definitely something you weren't supposed to see unless she let him.

This whole thing troubled Vaan, but he tried to keep that to himself for Ashe's sake. He was looking after her, and that was what he was going to do no matter what happened otherwise.

Getting back to the fallen airship tower, Vaan remained outside to think while Ashe, without saying a word, went on inside.

The princess hadn't said a word to Vaan, and for good reason. That reason was not because she was upset or angry with him; it was the lack of negative feeling she had towards him that made Ashe avoid him. Ashe went into a corner of the small room, her eyes looking towards the window entrance where Vaan more than likely stood on the other side.

'This boy...he paused when he looked at me,' Ashe thought as she began to move and make her bed. She was using the same blankets she had used the night before. The princess had not tried to think about what was going on with Vaan, but it was bothering her that she couldn't come to a decent conclusion as to what it was.

Surely it wasn't because of attraction? Ashe would have laughed it off had it happened days before, but she was silent now. Vaan had seen her fully exposed, and that must have caused him to lose his breath. That was a logical conclusion, and for now Ashe was willing to let it be that. For now.

With Ashe getting ready for sleep inside, Vaan remained outside and decided to watch the moon slowly starting to glow in the sky above him. The stars were starting to dot the darkening sky, and Vaan sat against the concrete tower. "Well, better start thinking of returning to the others soon, now that the weather has improved and the Marlboros more than likely returned to their nests. Ashe would like that too, he thought, his mind drifting back to the princess.

'Ashe...she is a princess and all, fighting for her kingdom with fierce determination but for a moment I thought I saw something that made her appear...heavenly...' Vaan stopped. Ashe? Heavenly? Those two words didn't go well with a woman who would bite your head off should you get on her bad side. Well, in Vaan's case he had been smacked in the face to the point his cheek was almost numb, but still...they say the ones who are more aggressive are especially emotional on the inside. For Ashe, she had the whole world in the palm of her hand and in the span of a week it had been taken from her. Vaan wasn't stupid, a bit dense, but not stupid. He knew about Ashe's marriage to Rasler, the war that followed, and the end result Rasler being killed in Nalbina. After that she lost her father and her kingdom all in one night.

She had lost everything in a short amount of time, and while most would take the pity and not do anything about it, Ashe would not. She fought on, and she was fighting now.

Maybe in that time she blocked out all other emotions. Other than hatred and anger towards Arcadia, maybe she locked the rest of her heart away?

Vaan believed this was the case. However, he didn't know if he could do anything that would be able to help her. He didn't understand how a heart really worked, but keeping all the feelings inside couldn't be a good thing...

A night breeze came through and Vaan shivered, it was cooler out than he had expected. "Better get inside and try to warm." He stood up and climbed on inside the tower. In the faint moonlight he was able to see that Ashe was under the blankets, already asleep from the looks of it. There wasn't much blanket left, but Vaan was able to get enough to at least partially cover himself. He was inches from Ashe, her back covered only by a thin white shirt she wore. She had her back to him like the other night, but this time she wasn't as cold.

As Vaan closed his eyes and tried to sleep, he heard Ashe shift position. Opening his eyes again he saw that she had done a 180, her front was now towards him. Her facial expression wasn't peaceful but appeared troubled and in distress, like she was having a bad dream. She began to shiver, but Vaan had this nagging suspicion that it had nothing to do with the cool prairie air.

"Rasler..."

Vaan heard the princess say the late prince's name and he now knew that what he suspected earlier was now proven true. She was hiding her feelings, and it seems that they only came out when she slept.

The young thief, without trying to wake up the princess, moved in closer to her, putting an arm around her, trying to shield her as best he could from all that was causing her pain.

A/N: Well, there's another chapter done folks! What will happen next? Find out when the next chapter is released on September 20th!