Terribly sorry for the wait. It happens that I have a lot of work that needs to be done for school lately. I promise, I'll try to update more regularly if school permits it. Here a nice chapter for you all. Cheers!

Narcisse wondered what would have happened if he had come a few minutes later. Maybe it had been God's will, or simply a lucky happenstance, for all he knew, but he felt incredibly glad that he had arrived at exactly the right moment to save his young wife. Luckily, nothing had happened to the young prince, either. Now that would have been bad for him if had he been found with a bloodied sword and a dead heir to the throne in the same room. The child was now safely and soundly sleeping, wrapped in his blankets on Narcisse and Lola's bed, close to his mother's reassuring warmth. Lola's chest rose every few seconds with each breath she took. She looked more innocent and more fragile when she was asleep. Not that Narcisse had never noticed, after all he had spent hours on end observing his wife in her sleep, but it was more flagrant now that she had almost been raped by a brute, against whom she wouldn't have stood a single chance. Narcisse sighed softly and smiled, remembering the conversation they had had before those men had intruded the castle. He could have tried to find the others and kill them, too, but Lola had been more important than the safety of some petty royals who treated him as an inferior, although he was intellectually more apt to rule this country than they were. But that was another discussion entirely.

He looked at the rising sun and wondered if Lola would wake up in the morning as if nothing had happened, or if the shock of the previous' nights events would keep her unconscious for a few days. Narcisse had already witnessed such cases, where victims, even weeks after the traumatic experiences, would still act absent and ridiculously scared. But of course, people expected him to understand that those victims needed some time to recover, and that the others had to be strong for them until they found the courage to get on with their lives. Oh please! How many times could Narcisse have succumbed to his grief or trauma and hadn't done it, because he knew that not only his family, but a whole country counted on him? People were weak! And Narcisse hoped that Lola wouldn't be like one of them. He didn't have the time to look after a paranoid and terrified wife. He had a country to save from starvation. Yet somehow, he knew that Lola was not like all the others. Lola was a strong woman!

The child started whining in his sleep, waking up slowly. He certainly wouldn't grasp the importance and gravity of what had almost happened to his mother. As soon as the young prince started voicing his displeasure, Narcisse rose and scooped the small child in his arms. The babe's face was tear-streaked and puffy, however Narcisse managed to calm him a little by walking aimlessly through the bedroom. It reminded him of his own son, when he would cry in the middle of the night and his wife had been too exhausted to even hear. Edward had been plagued with nightmares at a very young age, but it had more often been his father who had gone to comfort him. And whenever his mother had gone to his bedroom to soothe her crying and screaming son, Edward would have requested his father instead. The thought made Narcisse smile, but he quickly stopped those memories from overwhelming him. His son's death was still a very sensitive subject. Edward had been killed, murdered by an impulsive queen who thought she was avenging her people. And Narcisse would never forgive Queen Mary for murdering his son, a son he had loved and treasured, his only child and heir. She would pay one day for her crimes… one day, she'd find herself alone.

"Is he hungry?", a whispery voice asked from the bed. Narcisse turned around and saw that Lola had been woken by her son's crying. Her hair was messy and she looked at him through half-closed lids, but Narcisse still thought she looked like the most beautiful woman in this castle.

"I believe he is…" John Philip was soon after relieving his hunger at his mother's breast, while Lola tried hard not to fall asleep. Narcisse took place next to her on the bed and started caressing her curly hair.

"How are you feeling?"

"I don't really know… my head hurts a little, that's all. Everything is still foggy in my mind. I just remember this huge man grabbing my …", Narcisse noticed the redness of Lola's cheeks, "… he grabbed by breast, that's all I seem to remember…" Narcisse shushed her softly.

"He didn't go further, Lola, he was dead before he had a chance to. Your son is as safe as he could be, not even a scratch. You fell unconscious right after I've killed him and I brought you to our room and went to get your son" Lola nodded her understanding and looked over her shoulder at her husband.

"Thank you for saving us. I thought this would be the end of me… but you appeared like a knight on his white horse… only without the horse" She laughed softly at her own joke, causing a small smile to creep on Narcisse's lips. He admired her ability to joke over such a serious experience. She had almost gone through a rape, and she didn't even seem shocked at all. But Narcisse knew, or at least he could imagine that she felt differently on the inside. She was not showing her feelings. She was trying to be strong, as usual.

"Lola, you don't need to hide your feelings from me, you know. I do understand that you must feel shocked after what happened last night…" Lola let out a humourless snickering.

"I don't have to hide my feelings from you, yet you're the one who's the most secretive. I would like you to open up to me, as well"

"Lola…"

"Don't! I know what you're going to say. I just hope that one day you'll find it in your heart to discuss your feelings with me. And then, I might even confess my own thoughts" She smiled warmly at him and made herself clear that this was the end of the discussion. She wouldn't tell him how she truly felt. Somehow, this made Narcisse feel sadder than he had expected.

Once John Philip was done with his feeding, Lola softly placed him on the small sofa close to the fire place and waited there until her son had again fallen asleep. Narcisse noticed Lola's hair turn auburn in the orange glim of the rising sun. She looked beautiful, absolutely incredible. And she was all his, and even starting to trust him. And after the conversation they had had at the party, Narcisse had felt hope rise in his chest, hope that this young woman could one day come to actually like him. And that he might come to like her, as well. Lola rose as soon as her son had fallen asleep and walked towards where her husband was standing. She placed a soft kiss on his lips, thanking him once again for saving their lives.

"I never thought our relationship would evolve in such a way, but… I can say now that you are not the man I thought you were, Stéphane" Hearing her call him by his first name made his heart beat faster in his chest. The only times she had actually done that had been during their love-making. Narcisse caressed her cheek with two fingers and kissed her once again, softly intruding her wet mouth with his skilled tongue. He heard Lola sigh softly as he slowly undid the lacings of her dress. He expected her to push him away and tell him that she was not ready to let a man touch her, but instead he heard her say:

"I do feel dirty after letting this man touch me. But I need to know that you still want me, although someone else has had his dirty hand on me…"

"Oh Lola…you have no idea how much I want you", he told her with a passionate kiss, "and I will gladly show you every day that you are mine and mine only!" He saw her smile devilishly at his possessive attitude. They kissed passionately while he undressed both of them. Her small moans made the blood rush to his already pulsing shaft. Narcisse wondered if he'd be able to hold back… Hurriedly, he pushed her onto the soft mattress and licked her nipples soothingly, almost lovingly. Her hand grabbed a fistful of his hair as he wandered lower and let his tongue worship her vulva tenderly. His fingers prepared her for what was to come, while his tongue lapped wantonly at the bundle of nerves hidden under a tuff of brown curly hair. Lola's moans became louder and louder, until all that could be heard was a loud scream when he stopped his worshipping momentarily.

"Please… please, more…", her sweet voice begged.

"Now hush, little one…", Narcisse reassured her before penetrating her body with his shaft. Her face relaxed immediately and she smiled when she felt him move inside of her. Her moans were more tempered and his name was on her lips all the time. He moved quickly, feeling her body tighten around his throbbing cock as drops of his sweat fell on her flat stomach.

"Stéphane…. More please… I love you…" This was the moment when both reached their climaxes. Narcisse wasn't sure if he had dreamt it, or if Lola had actually said that she loved him. She looked at him, seemingly as surprised at her words as he was.

"Lola…"

"Yes… I think I mean it", she said, answering his question as if she had read his thoughts. He couldn't hold back a small, enigmatic smile as he cuddled her close to his chest. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to say anything. He hoped she'd understand him nonetheless.