“That’s right, your man.”
Kairen’s kiss was gentle, slow, and sweet. Cassandra couldn’t help but smile against his lips. Now that she was done with her letters, she wrapped her arms around his neck and let him pull her close, standing up and guiding her to their bed. Kairen’s hands on her skin were warm, so warm that her skin would get little goosebumps from that delicious warm sensation. She loved the familiar smell of the War God. Her heart sank when Cassandra realized that, in a few days, she would have to say goodbye and wouldn’t be able to enjoy this for a few weeks.
Hence, she was even thirstier for his kisses than usual, caressing his neck and brushing his hair. She suddenly stopped, though, looking at it.
“What is it?”
“Would you let me cut your hair?” she asked in a soft voice.
“My hair?”
“Yes...Do you mind?”
Kairen shook his head, and kissed her forehead. Of course, he didn’t care at all. The War God never really bothered about his hair. The lustrous black hair was usually pushed back on his shoulders, he never really cared to cut it. His mother would do it for him from time to time, but there was really no particular attachment from him. He didn’t care what Cassandra would do with it. Taking off the green cloth from his shoulders, Cassandra hung it next to hers, but as she did, Kairen frowned.
“Wait...I forgot about this,” he said.
He stood and walked to one of the bags they had taken back from the Palace, searching for something, and eventually pulled out a little dagger from it, handing it to her. The blade was wrapped in a thick leather cloth, but Cassandra took it out carefully.
“I’ve seen it before,” said Cassandra, observing the weapon with a frown.
“It was Phetra’s. I modified it to make it a better weapon, and lighter too. Keep it with you.”
Cassandra was surprised to receive the weapon of her enemy. Indeed, the dagger had changed a bit since Phetra had tried to harm her with it. She vaguely remembered Kairen working on it while she was making the decoction for Missandra’s injuries, but she hadn’t really paid much attention back then, and somehow forgot about it. Now, she could observe it a bit more carefully. The War God had removed all the unnecessary decorations, gems and gold for which neither of them cared, and sharpened it. Cassandra couldn’t yield one of Kairen’s swords, as they were way too heavy for her thin build, but this little dagger was indeed just the right weight in her hand. She could move it easily, though she hadn’t much knowledge about how to use a dagger. She slid her finger on the blade, but avoided the edge. It was obvious this had been sharpened with precision, and she didn’t want to cut herself.
“Can I cut your hair with this?”
“You can tame it this way.”
Cassandra chuckled. She actually liked the symbolism behind keeping this weapon. The young concubine insisted on washing his hair first. Then, Kairen sat on the floor next to her, as even on a stool he would have been too tall for her. Cassandra was a bit excited to cut her Prince’s hair, but she had to think about what she wanted to do first. Kairen’s hair had grown long, it fell below his shoulders. She knew that length wasn’t comfortable for him to fight with. She combed his hair with her fingers first, pushing it back, and trimmed the ends a bit. Then, she decided to shave the sides. She had seen some men with this haircut at the camp. She proceeded carefully. Indeed, the blade was very sharp... Cassandra had to proceed slowly, as she was agonizing over the idea of cutting him. It took longer than she had thought because of that, but once she was done, the shaved sides pleased her a lot. She carefully kept his freshly cut hair, too, putting it in a little napkin on the side. Then, she put the dagger down on its leather wrapping, and braided the hair left on top of his head, which was still plenty and long enough to fall between his shoulder blades. Then, she decided to tie it with some little gold rings she had in her chest, that she would probably never use. Once she was done, she stepped back a little and looked at the result, satisfied.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“Do my beard, too.”
Cassandra laughed. His heavy beard indeed felt a bit too much now that his sides were shaven. She grabbed the dagger again, observing it to think about what she should do.
“I need to think about it...”
“Just shave it.”
“I like your beard though.”
“Then just shave what you don’t like. It’s too long.”
Cassandra chuckled.
“Aren’t you a fussy customer, Prince Kairen?”
“I’ll pay you, then.”
“How much would you pay me?” asked Cassandra, as she started trimming his beard.
“A gold bar.”
She laughed.
“I would be the most overpaid barber in the Empire!”
