RPOV

I woke up but hadn't opened my eyes yet. But I could already tell I wasn't in my room, back at the palace.

For one, it smelled different. I could smell pine, something musky and something smoky. Like the delicious smell of a bonfire made with fresh pine logs. I could only find one word to accurately summarize the smell. Manly.

The second thing I noticed was the sound of a fire burning in the corner. I had slept my entire life, or at least the life I remember, in one room, and it didn't have a fireplace. The only heat we were allowed to have had been the heat coming from Lissa's room. But now I could feel the flames' warmth on my face, I decided I would do anything in my power to acquire a room that had a fireplace. I wanted to wake up like this all the time.

The third thing I noticed was the bed. My bed in the room I shared with the handmaidens was flat, cold and prickly with straw. But this bed was soft and warm, and the furs that covered it were plush.

I decided even before I opened my eyes that I didn't care if I was being held by a maniac. They couldn't be that bad if they provided me with such comforts. Also, if they did end up doing horrible things to me, I would always have this memory of luxury and be grateful for it.

That was until I noticed a fourth thing. I was completely naked underneath the furs.

I finally opened my eyes and lifted the furs. Yeah, definitely naked. Usually, the only time I was naked was when I bathed. I lived with other handmaidens, and even amongst ourselves, we were expected to be proper. So I always slept in appropriate sleepwear, no matter how uncomfortable. Again, I preferred this version.

I was trying to determine how I got here, and where here was.

What is the last thing you remember, Rose? Come on, think!

I felt a ghost of pain radiating from my back as I remembered what Jesse had done to me and tried to touch my back over my shoulder. There was something covering my back, and I noticed it was no longer hurting.

I thought back to the moment just before I passed out. I had been stubbornly watching Jesse through my blurry vision, unwilling to let him win. People started screaming, and the sun was blocked by a large shadow. I'd turned towards the shadow and been met with brown eyes too large to be human. The scales around his eyes and the horns on his head led me to believe he was in fact not human, but Dragon.

I scanned the room but found no trace of my rescuer. I lifted the sheet below the furs from the bed and wrapped it around my body, seeing as I didn't see my clothes anywhere. I took a look around the alcove. There was the bed I had woken up in, which was massive. It filled half the space. Then there was the fire not far from the bed, keeping it nice and toasty. The room seemed awfully small for a Dragon, and I wondered if Dragons actually slept in beds.

I walked towards the next alcove and saw a comfy chair with books lining the wall. This seemed to be a library. It had many books, educational as well as fiction, and I scanned some titles. Some general recounts of wars fought in the past, some strategy books and even a few cookbooks. I also found an entire series of a writer I'd heard off. He had published several books across the years portraying a knight in search of justice. The stories were quite popular, and I saw this library seemed to contain all of the books released in the series. Here there was also a fire pit, but it wasn't lit. But it was nowhere near cold in here. The fires from the rest of the cave seemed to permeate this section as well.

I kept walking, coming into what I assumed was the living area, because I saw a table with food. And although I was very hungry, my eyes weren't glued to the food on the table, but on the man standing by the fireplace. I had expected a Dragon, but these quarters seemed too small to accommodate a creature of that size. So I shouldn't have been surprised to find they were occupied by a man.

And what a man he was. His back was turned to me, and he was watching the fire. The dancing shadows cast by the flames accentuated his muscular physique. He was tall, to say the least, and his shoulders were broad, but he was in no way bulky. His back was well defined and tapered into narrow hips that held up strong legs. He was shirtless, but did wear pants. However, the fabric left little to the imagination. He might as well have been wearing nothing. His brown, silky hair was shoulder length and was bound at the nape of his neck with a leather bind. I couldn't see his face, but I hoped it was as gorgeous as the rest of him.

He was mesmerized by the fire. His breathing seemed to be synchronized to the flames, and each time he exhaled the fire seemed to glow a little bit brighter. When I took a step closer to him, the flames strangely responded and I felt a similar draw to the blaze he seemed to be having.

I was still a few feet away when his voice echoed through the cave.

"I didn't think you would be up so soon. You were really out of it."

I stood next to him simply admiring the fire as I responded.

"How long have I been out?"

He shrugged.

"About a day."

And he thought that was soon?

He turned around to speak to me, but halfway through, his voice got stuck in his throat as he took in my appearance. He scanned me up and down, noticing I was naked bar the sheet. The sheet protected my most private assets. I was holding it over my chest with my hands, and with the way it was wrapped around me, my lower regions were protected. But I had wrapped the sheet fast and awkwardly, so one side was long whereas the other had my leg peeking out of it. The split was located at that same spot on my leg showing my whole leg right up to the hipbone. My hair must have been a mess, and I could only imagine what I looked like after being tortured.

He cleared his throat and tried again.

"Are you feeling better?"

I had a similar reaction upon seeing his face. It matched his body perfectly. His jaw was square, but not too stern, and his lips were full. His eyes still seemed to reflect the fire, but once I focused on them, I saw they were actually a light brown. They held concern in them and something I couldn't quite place. It took me a while before I was able to respond myself.

"I am, actually."

I looked around the cave again, wondering why I was here and who this man was. Where was the Dragon?

"Where is my rescuer? I would like to thank him."

He looked at me a bit funny but shook his head.

"He put you in my care. You will be safe here."

I had a smirk on my face. I tried to put my hands on my hips in a defiant gesture but remembered at the last minute I was using my hands to hold up the sheet.

"So your idea of taking care of me was leaving me naked in your bed, after doing God knows what to me?"

He seemed offended by my accusation. Good, it meant he wasn't the type of guy that would take advantage of a girl. Although I wouldn't mind being taken advantage of by him.

"I had my sister come in and treat your wounds. She undressed you and put you to bed. She had to take off your clothes to treat the wounds, and most of the clothes were ruined anyway."

He was getting very defensive. I suppose he doesn't like anybody questioning his honor. Maybe he was a knight, like in one of those books in his library.

My smirk turned into a genuine smile.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he grumbled.

"My name is Rose," I said, shuffling around the sheet to one hand so I could stretch out the other in greeting.

"Dimitri," he reciprocated.

My stomach growled, and he smiled a little as he lead me to the table.

"Eat whatever you like. I will see if we can find you some clothes that fit."

I looked at the selection on the table. Cooked meat, some bread, fruits and cheeses. I don't think I'd ever had so many choices for breakfast. I don't think I'd ever had most of them. I'd seen the exotic fruit on Lissa's plate, once, but I hadn't had a chance to taste them. Most of the time, my breakfast consisted of oatmeal or day old bread.

I didn't hesitate as I started to munch on the food. The bread was freshly baked, the fruit juicy and the meat succulent. I have to say, I don't think I ever wanted to leave this place. Mister tall, dark, and handsome had a new roommate. I finished my meal with some of the cheese, when Dimitri came back holding some clothing.

He held the garment up for my inspection, and I just stared at it. It was beautiful. Intricate lace was covering the bodice, and there was beadwork all over the dress. The material itself was silk. The dress must have cost a fortune, and I wondered how he came to own it.

"I wouldn't even know how to put that on. I am a simple handmaiden."

He chuckled and put the dress down.

"You might be a handmaiden, but you are not a 'simple' anything."

He walked away, coming back a minute later with a blouse, trousers and some binds for my chest.

"They will be a little big on you, but I really only have the one dress. I can ask my sister to bring something more appropriate when she comes over next."

I looked him over and saw he too had changed. He was now wearing a shirt with the colors and crest of what I assumed to be his home. I was seriously considering this knight thing.

I recognized the colors. It was actually not a kingdom but a state. They didn't have royals there like we did. The idea was that everyone was pitching in their skill-set to better the country, and they would be rewarded based on what they needed. Nobody was rich, and nobody was poor. The idea was compelling, but I heard the execution could use some work. I also remembered they referred to each other as comrades.

I pointed to the shirt.

"Are those the colors of your home, Comrade?"

He raised an eyebrow at the nickname. Oh, that was so going to stick.

"Actually, no. I just lifted this off some poor soul when I needed clothes."

Okay. Rethinking the knight idea.

He changed subjects, pointing at the table.

"All finished?"

I nodded.

"It was delicious, thank you."

He inclined his head slightly, taking the gratitude. He placed the clothes next to me on the bench at the table.

"I'll need to check the dressings on your back and change them before you put on the binds."

He sat down beside me as I turned my back towards him, and let the sheet drop to my hips, keeping the front of my chest covered with the sheet to stop me from flashing him. He peeled the leaves covered with goo from me one by one. I felt his fingers still for a moment in what seemed to be hesitation. I was about to ask him what was wrong, but he kept going, taking the leaves off. He cleaned my back with a warm, wet cloth.

"The wounds are healing well. You probably don't need the leaves anymore. So if you want, you can take a bath before you put the clothes on. There is still a bit off blood in your hair."

"You actually have a bathtub in here?"

I turned around in surprise that he would have a bath here. I saw him back up slightly, started by my sudden change in body position. He quickly grabbed a jug from the table and held it in front of his abdomen. After his blush for whatever reason had gone down, he started to smile.

"No, I have a hot spring."

I got up from the bench, noticing he was keeping the jug of water he grabbed from the table in front of him. He lead me through a small passage, and I saw he took a swig of water from the jug and discarded it along the way.

He took me to a small opening, and I saw he had to bend to fit through. I was a lot smaller, so didn't need to bend down. Once I was through the passage, I gasped.

We were in a large dome. The ceilings were so high, I think the Dragon could have fit in here three times over in height. There was an internal spring the size of a lake, and I could see a waterfall at the back obscuring the content of the cave from anyone else. Next to the lake was a large area of rock that looked hollowed out. It almost gave off a feel of being cozy.

He led me to the edge of the water, and I sat down on the rock separating the lake from the rest of the cave. I touched the water with my fingers and noticed it was indeed warm.

He cleared his throat, looking a little uncomfortable.

"I'll leave you to bathe, then. The middle is quite deep, so if you don't know how to swim, stay in the shallowsnear the edges. I'll get you a cloth to dry off with."

I placed the clothes I had brought from the breakfast table on a rock and started to put a foot into the water. Taking off the sheet, I heard him clear his throat again as he made his way back into the cave.

"Thank you." I practically shouted at the fast retreating form.

I think I heard him grumble a 'you're welcome', but he was gone too quickly for me to be sure.

I let my body sink into the warm water and sighed deeply. Did I mention I was never going to leave? He was stuck with me. It was strange that a cave was the most comfortable place I had ever been. I lived in a palace for God's sake, but the little room I shared with other girls, and the cold bath I also shared with them, just couldn't compare to this. Honestly, all that was missing was a bit of sunlight. I would love a nice sundeck or balcony.

I'd always loved the sun. No matter how bad things got, once I was in the sun soaking up its rays I knew I was going to be fine. It was like the sun was recharging me. The cave was in no way dark - it had enough torches burning that it was actually pretty light - but there was no substitute for direct sunlight.

I swam to the middle of the lake and he was right. It was deep. I couldn't feel the bottom anymore; I couldn't even see the bottom anymore, even though the water was crystal clear. Here the water was slightly cooler, making me believe the source of the warm water was closer to the edge where I was earlier.

But the middle of the lake had something the edge didn't; a beam of sunlight. There was a small hole in the roof of the cavern, and a small sliver of sun was worming its way through. It didn't do much in the way of illuminating the cave, but the beam was large enough to warm my face. I leisurely kept floating around in the beam. I felt all the weight of the world wash away from me. The events of the last few days, Jesse's advances, his unwanted attack and then his retaliation for me kicking him in the balls. The last part had been funny, the rest not so much. I knew if the Dragon hadn't saved me, he probably would have killed me.

I tried not to think about that too much. I was alive, and that was all that mattered for now. I was enjoying being in the moment for once. Because if I thought about what was coming next, I knew I would be horribly depressed. I knew I would have to go back to Lissa. It was my duty, but I wasn't looking forward to it. Hence me staying in the hot spring.

But eventually, I had to get out of the water. I was starting to get pruney.

I swam to the edge and was floating around in the warmer water a little longer before I hauled my ass out of it and dried myself off. I put the binds on around my chest, seeing as there didn't seem to be a bodice for support and put on the blouse and trousers. I noticed he hadn't provided any undergarments for the trousers either. I shrugged. I doubted the undergarment I would usually wear under my dress would fit in these pants.

They were a little big on me in terms of height. I had to roll up the legs a bit, otherwise I would trip. I had to do the same with the shirt. I tucked in the shirt in the pants and started to walk back into the living area in search of shoes.