Cassandra hesitated for a bit. The Prince’s concerns were probably far from her own. Seeing how he was frowning and waiting for her answer, she decided to be honest. Nebora had advised her to be a bit more selfish afterall.
“I wondered if it was possible to look for someone? If we go back to the Capital?”
“Who are you looking for?”
“My younger sister… I lost track of her many years ago.”
Kairen stayed silent for a while, and Cassandra wondered what he was thinking. Did he find this annoying? But she had that little glimmer of hope in her heart, and now, she knew it wouldn’t disappear anytime soon.
“Maybe,” he eventually said.
However, he didn’t add anything else to that enigmatic answer. Cassandra only nodded slowly. She wasn’t expecting much, but she felt a bit disappointed. She probably wouldn’t be able to hear about her younger sister’s whereabouts anytime soon… It probably wasn’t a good time, either. She had just been brought to the North and most likely wouldn’t be back at the Capital again for a while.
“Cassandra.”
She looked at the Prince wondering what he wanted, and without a word, he silently kissed her. Cassandra was completely taken by surprise. Kairen’s lips were warm and passionate, as he plunged his tongue between hers. She moaned, trying to catch her breath while responding to him. It was so sudden, if he wasn’t holding her so tight she might have fallen off.
Yet, the kiss felt somewhat different, a little sweeter than their usual ones. Cassandra felt his warmth, and her heart felt a bit lighter while answering him. Cassandra was surprised by his sudden display of tenderness. Was he trying to comfort her?
After a while, their lips parted, Cassandra blushing. She was expecting him to say something after that, but he didn’t, and only looked forward. She was trying to figure out what it meant when Krai suddenly let out a loud growl.
Cassandra looked down. Far below them, she could see a long building. It took her a while to realize it was actually a very, very large wall, affixed between two mountains. As Krai started descending, she noticed a myriad of tents of various sizes lined up a few kilometers behind the wall, with a few buildings throughout. The Military Camp!
The Black Dragon’s growl caught the attention of the army below. As they got further down, all the soldiers lined up in perfect rank, their armor shining under the sun. Cassandra was astonished by the sheer number. How many men were there? A few thousand? She couldn’t even try to come up with a number as there were just too many! She even saw flags in front of some ranks, probably to separate them into groups. As Krai was about to land on a large platform, she could hear the men yelling orders.
“Get in order for His Highness’ arrival! Faster!”
The Black Dragon finally reached the ground with a loud growl and a few flaps of its wings that sent mini gusts of wind about. Cassandra saw five men in front, all standing perfectly at attention. They were doing a salute and standing tall, waiting for Kairen. The Prince got off the dragon first, climbing and stepping down effortlessly.
“Welcome back, Your Highness. How was your…”
Before the man finished his sentence, he noticed Kairen was already busy helping Cassandra down, ignoring him. The old man, who seemed to be in his fifties, was completely speechless. His eyes were set firmly on Cassandra, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him, before going back to the Prince.
“Your Highness, this woman…”
“She is mine,” simply stated Kairen, as if that was enough of an explanation.
Of course, it clearly wasn’t! Cassandra felt a bit sorry for the soldiers, and bowed politely, facing them with grace.
“I am Cassandra, My Lord.”
Anyone with a military grade high enough to address the Prince was worth calling a Lord, so she decided to use that designation until she could learn their proper names and titles. Hearing such a pretty young woman introduce herself, the old man couldn’t avoid introducing himself too, and did so a tad awkwardly.
“Wel… Welcome.” That was the best he could do in this strange situation. Who was she? What was she doing with their Commander? Her collar clearly indicated that she was a slave, but the Prince’s attitude was nowhere near what it should have been toward a simple slave woman! None of the lieutenants, waiting to salute him, could hide their confusion either.
But Kairen gave them no explanation. He walked away, headed for the camp with Cassandra following close behind him, and Krai right behind her. Even among the soldiers, a large chattering was rising until the old man yelled at them to shut up in front of their Lord.
Cassandra was a bit intimidated following Kairen into this unknown place, but she had already introduced herself and couldn’t do anything else about it. With the Prince walking in front, the old man and the other lieutenants had to speed to catch up with him.
They walked past several tents that all seemed to be deserted, but Cassandra figured it was because everyone had come out to welcome the War God back. It was an impressive camp. There were many fire pits, tents, and training grounds. They had clearly been established here for a while and from seeing the perfect cleanliness and order of the place, one could tell this army was trained flawlessly. Not only were the weapons perfectly stored, but the horses were housed quite well, and there were still plenty more spaces available.
Kairen led her to the biggest of all the tents; large and red. Once she entered, Cassandra was impressed by how big and luxurious it was. It could have been a very decent place to live all year round. There was a bed, a large chair that almost seemed like a throne, and a table full of maps and books. In a corner, there was a wardrobe with weapons stored right next to it. Kairen headed for the table to look at the map while Cassandra stood to the side.
She heard some noise outside, and figured it was probably Krai laying its heavy body down next to the tent. For once, it was not fussing about not being able to see her. Maybe the trip had exhausted it enough to need a nap.
“Your Highness!”
The high-ranked soldiers from earlier barged in, and Cassandra stepped further away, retreating closer to the bed. Several of them were looking at her, some even glaring. The old general then spoke up for everyone.
