Saga and Viggo ate dinner together in their room before it was time for sleep. They didn't talk much, but ate mainly in silence. The only topic they broached was Viggo asking about what Saga was comfortable with in regards to sleeping arrangements.

"I can sleep on the floor if you feel uncomfortable sharing bed again," he pointed out, but Saga began shaking her head before he even finished.

"No, no! It's fine," she hastened to say. Just the idea of forcing him to sleep on the floor had her blood running cold. She wasn't one to deserve having him do something so uncomfortable for her sake. If anything she should be the one sleeping on the floor.

"Are you certain? I have slept on worse surfaces than the floor would be," he pressed on.

"I'm certain." She forced a smile on her lips to make him understand she was, or at least that out of the two options, he sleeping in the bed next to her made her the least uncomfortable.

His eyes roamed her face as if searching for something. It was a gaze which caused her to look down. There she noticed her nails were picking out none existing dirt from under them. She separated her hands and flexed them out to stop the instinctual reaction.

"Alright then," Viggo agreed after a long silence.

The bed was smaller than the one they had shared the previous night. It meant it was almost impossible for them to sleep without touching, though both laid on their sides with their back to one another.

It caused knots in her stomach, and her whole body was tense. She couldn't help but wonder if something would happen. Though she had no experience with sexual encounters herself, she had heard the maids talk about men. They would always describe men as insatiable and ready to fulfill their carnal desires at any point in time. From how they had talked about men, it was impressive that Viggo hadn't touched her already the night before. She had been completely at his mercy, and as his wife, he was within his rights to do whatever he so desired with her. Would he really be able to refrain from touching her a second night?

Then another thought hit Saga. One which made her anxiety transform into something much more self-destructive. There had to be a reason beyond the one he had given about loving someone else as to why he didn't touch her. And the only reason she could come up with was that he was repulsed by her, that he didn't find her beautiful in any way.

She had already known she wasn't beautiful. Sickly was the word she had most commonly heard people describe her appearance as. So it was no wonder he found it easy to sleep next to her without touching her in the slightest.

With that thought in mind and the tearing of her insides it caused, she drifted off to sleep.

Her mind didn't get any rest as she slept, however. A dream took shape. In it, she sat in the stillness of the carriage. Outside the window was endless with trees. Then the carriage came to a halt, and shouting started. The carriage rattled and she had to brace herself against the walls to not fall from the seat.

The carriage shook again, and this time she fell to the floor of it. A few sparks, like tiny flakes of fire, emitted from her fingertips. Then it shook for a third time and with such force that she was pushed against the door, which fell open. She tumbled to the ground, but was quick on her feet and ready to jump into the safety of the carriage again. Before she could, though, a gigantic wolf rushed towards her. It had blood coming out of its mouth as it growled. It took a leap, its paws with sharp claws extended, and was going to land on her.

Saga sat up in the bed. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she was breathing heavily as if she had been running. A layer of sweat covered her whole body, which trembled.

Movement at her side caused her to jump out of the bed and take a few steps backwards, but in her hurry to escape, she slipped and fell to the hard floor.

"Saga?" Viggo asked where he sat in bed, his eyes wide on her. Then, likely reading the terror in her eyes, he got out of bed as well and drew his sword while spinning around the room looking for threats.

"I'm sorry," Saga sobbed and pulled her legs to her body to hug them. "I'm sorry. I... I just had a nightmare."

The muscles in Viggo's body relaxed as he lowered the sword. He sighed. "Just a nightmare?"

"I'm sorry I scared you. I'm sorry I woke you up. I'm sorry..." the apologies fell one after another out of her mouth. Tears had started rolling in earnest down her cheeks.

"Hey, it's okay, Saga." Viggo put down his sword and went around the bed and to her. He kneeled down next to her, and pulled her in for a hug. She grabbed hold of his shirt, clung to him to soak in all the comfort she needed, that she had desperately needed her entire life. "It was just a dream. Nothing here will harm you."

Saga let his words calm her, though she knew they weren't true. She had had those dreams long enough to know they weren't simply dreams, they were much, much more than that.

But she couldn't tell him that for doing so was to open up about the evil she carried, and she couldn't do that. She couldn't lose his kindness. They had only known each other for a day, but already Saga knew she would do everything to keep the kindness he showed her. She had been starved her whole life and he was the only one bringing her food.

She stayed in his embrace until her breathing had evened out, until her heart had stopped pounding, until her tears had subsided. Only then did he move and let her go.

"It's still early, but we might as well get started on leaving now that we are awake," he said after a glance out the window.

"But will the knights..." Saga began. The idea of first delaying their departure by sleeping too long the previous day, and then forcing everyone to wake up early because she had had a nightmare weight as heavy as if her stomach was full of rocks on her.

"The knights are used to waking up at any hour," Viggo cut off her protests before standing up and then helping her stand as well. "I'll send for some food up here for you. Take your time to get ready. We'll leave as soon as you are."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before leaving her alone in the room.

The food came quickly, and Saga ate it as fast. If all the knights were forced awake because of her, then the least she could do was to get herself ready quickly so they wouldn't end up waiting for her.

A problem arose, however, as she got her dress on. She had forgotten about the corset bodice and the fact that she couldn't close it on her own. For a few minutes, she tried to reach the back herself, but it was to no use. She managed to pull on the strings, but it felt more like she was making a bigger mess of it than actually accomplishing her goal.

She wished Viggo would return to check on her, but she also couldn't wait for that to happen. Weighing her options, she decided to walk out of the room to find a maid to help her. The embarrassment of walking with the dress open in the back was far less than the guilt of having everyone waiting for her.

As she opened the door, a surprise met her.

"Lady Saga! Lord Viggo asked me to stand guard. Are you ready to leave?" Kai greeted her with a wide smile.

For a moment, she stood in the doorway. Her fingers fidgeting like they often did. Then she took a deep breath.

"I actually need some assistance," she admitted to the squire.

"Of course! Anything." His eyes brightened as if the mere idea of helping her was all he'd ever dreamt of.

"I..." She took another steadying breath. "I need help with the back of my dress."

After having said that, she turned around and pulled her hair to the side. Partly to show him what she meant, but also to hide the burning of her cheeks.

For a few seconds, silence hung in the air. Then the clinking sound of the armour moving came, and Saga felt Kai coming closer to her. A moment of stillness more, then she felt his hands tug at the strings on her back.

"It's silly how complicated they make clothes," the boy said as he worked on the corset.

Saga's lips turned upwards as tension left her body.

"Like what are you supposed to do if there's an emergency? Stop to spend half an hour getting dressed or run out naked?"

His fingers worked downwards, getting closer to her waist.

"There are more convenient clothes for such occasions," she answered him.

"I sure hope so because this is just ridiculous," he huffed, then his next words came out much faster. Fast enough that he almost stumbled on the words. "Not that you are ridiculous for wearing it. And it does look good on you. I'm sure something simpler would look equally good on you as well."

Saga felt her cheeks warm again, but it felt like a very different heat from the earlier one.

Kai's hands were far down her back. They tugged a bit more on the strings, then moved about, likely making a knot. Saga felt her stomach clench as he pressed gently where the knot had to be before he pulled away.

"All done, Lady Saga," he announced.

She turned and though he looked as bright as ever, his cheeks had a slight abnormal pinkness to them.

"Then I'm ready to leave."

Together they made their way out of the inn and to the carriage waiting at the front. Seeing the carriage brought the memories of her dream back to the front of Saga's mind.

Over the years, she had dreamt similar things countless times. Different disasters. But this was the first time she had been directly involved in one of them. Her mind raced with trying to find a solution to something she knew wasn't possible, for no matter how she had tried in the past, the dreams had always and without fail come true.

They would be attacked. It was a fact.

The wolf jumping at her flashed in her mind, though her thoughts lingered mostly at the worst part of the dream. Of the bigger threat than the wolf. Fear convinced her she didn't remember that part right, however. For it couldn't be. It hadn't happened in so many years.

"Is everything alright, milady?" Kai asked next to her. He looked at her with a slight tilt of his head and a wrinkle between his eyes.

Briefly she considered telling him about the dream. Or maybe tell Viggo. But she couldn't. It was among the things she needed to keep to herself. It was something which would surely make Viggo cast her aside if he knew about it.

So she nodded and walked forward. There wasn't any way for her to not get into that carriage. All she could hope was that since she was aware of the imminent attack, she would be prepared for it when it came so that the wolf from her dream wouldn't get to her. So the worse part wouldn't happen.

The day went by uneventful. No issues arose. No wolves attacked them. During mid-day they paused for a bit of food before carrying on. When light started falling, they made camp in the forest as there were no towns or villages nearby for them to seek shelter in. The knights all raised tents outside, while Viggo fixed so Saga could sleep in the carriage.

She wanted to protest as he did. It didn't seem fair that everyone else had to make due with tents and such while she alone got the inside the carriage. But she also worried it would come off as ungrateful if she did, so she settled on keeping quiet.

She, however, tried to get to help with the preparations for camp. Asked if there was anything she could do. But Viggo just waved it off by saying the knights were used to it. Much like he had in the morning.

It didn't do anything to ease her guilt. And it was a guilt which grew as everyone was settled by the campfire for dinner. Kai gave her a smile, but the other knights barely looked at her. Amongst themselves they talked and joked with ease, but she was very aware she was excluded from it.

Viggo sat by her side as a calming presence. But even he was far too occupied with the conversations floating over the campfire to pay her any attention. Conversations about past adventures they had been on and different situations they had found themselves in. All she could do was listen, but they mentioned names and places she didn't know and seemed to jump from one topic to another in such a way that she couldn't keep up.

"Dreadfully boring, aren't they?" a voice said to her right.

Looking to her side, she saw a man take the empty seat next to her. Just one glance was enough for her to know he wasn't a knight. He didn't wear armour, but brown pants, a white shirt, and a blue robe-like jacket. He also didn't have the body of one. Tall and thin, but no noticeable muscles. He had ash coloured hair which went down to his shoulders, and eyes which looked rather turquoise.

"Excuse me?" Saga said, his sudden appearance having made her miss what he had said.

"Boring. The knights," he repeated. "All they can talk about is fighting, food, and sex. Not a single intellectual conversation in sight." The man's eyes had been on the fire, but he now turned to look straight at her. "I hope Lady Saga might be up for more stimulating conversations. It would be a joy to exchange words on more interesting topics at times."

"I..." Saga stammered, not knowing what at all to answer the man.

"You're being polite, right Hrafen?" Viggo asked at her side. His tone carrying the edge of a warning.

The man scoffed. "Of course. I was merely seeing if the Lady was interested in talking about something other than blood."

Viggo gave him a hard stare before turning to Saga. "This here is Hrafen. He is our mage."

"Is that it for an introduction? No mention of how I am the most competent mage in the whole kingdom?"

Viggo leered. "He's also the most arrogant person you'll ever meet."

"It's not arrogance when you know your own value."

Saga looked more closely at the mage now. From that brief interaction, he was nothing like the mages under her father. All of them had an air of superiority that demanded respect. This man, though he had called himself the best, had a much more casual aura around himself.

"It's nice to make your acquaintance," Saga told him, feeling a need to be on his good side.

Hrafen shot Viggo a smirk. "See. I was being all politeness." Then he looked back at Saga. "So now, what topics of conversation interest you?"

He looked expectantly at her, but Saga found her tongue tied. What did she like conversing about? No one had ever asked her before. Indeed, no one had ever asked her what she enjoyed or didn't regarding anything. And she tried to come up with an answer, but try as she might, she didn't know. She had never had anyone to talk casually with.

"All sorts of things," she answered to deflect the question.

The mage tsk-ed. "But if you would need to pick a topic? If we are to converse it might as well be about something you enjoy."

"I..." Her mouth felt completely dry. "There isn't any I like more than another."

"If you had to pick between politics, history, and the arts?" he asked, not giving up.

"Arts?" she answered as if it was a question. It was the topic which seemed the safest out of the three. With arts a lot was subjective, after all. With politics and history she was sure to expose how little she knew in a heartbeat.

"The arts it is then. What do you prefer; music, painting, or writing?"

"Writing?"

"And what type of literature do you read most?"

"Romance?"

The mage sighed deeply and theatrically. "Alas, a topic I know close to nothing about. But let's make a deal, when we arrive, you'll brush up on your history knowledge and I'll read whatever romance stories I can find. Then we'll chat about both of those things."

"Ehm, okay," Saga said, feeling unable to say anything else and though Hrafen's interest in her was making her want to shrink back.

"Good, then that's settled." The man then yawned and stretched his arms. "Time to see if it is possible to sleep on this hard ground." And without further ado, he stood and left as sudden as he had seated himself next to her.

Saga turned to Viggo, seeking some type of explanation for the interaction. His eyes were following Hrafen as he left with his eyebrows somewhat lowered. Then he turned to look at her.

"If he ever becomes too much, don't hesitate to tell me," he told her, and she nodded. His face relaxed for a moment, before the frown appeared again. "And if he ever asks for a favour, it is better to say no. And also better to never ask him for favours as he has a good memory and will ask for something in return."

"Okay," Saga nodded again, and Viggo relaxed once more.