At first, Almira wanted to ignore it and go on with what she wanted to do but the knocking turned into banging and soon, they were screaming the prince’s name from outside the door. She glared at the door, humming a dark tune and soon, the banging died down. 
She returned her attention to the unconscious man. Her eyes roamed his bare chest, calculating how to run the knife through it without causing any damage to his heart. The sword was not a brilliant choice either. 
    “Princess!!” She heard Kitanna’s voice from outside. Almira groaned inwardly. “Princess you need to stop, the news is everywhere. Soon they’ll flood here with all kinds of mystic creatures and you won’t be able to escape. You have to listen to me please,” She pleaded.
Almira dropped the sword and buttoned up his shirt, before pulling the duvet over him. She unlocked the door, to reveal the panicking girl. Before she could utter a word, Almira grabbed her and dragged her in the opposite direction.
Pushing open a random door, she pulled the Princess in. They heard noises and several footsteps almost immediately. Kitanna breathed out in relief. 
     “I shut my eyes for barely five minutes and you already got yourself in trouble. Do I have to forfeit my sleep to babysit you?” Kitanna scolded. 
      “They are mere humans. There is no need to be so frightened?” Almira flatly replied. 
      “Seems like you have forgotten what these mere humans did years ago. We need to be careful, your highness. If you wanted to see the Prince, all you had to do was take permission, not draw unnecessary attention to yourself,” Kitanna told her.
     “And when they find him dead in his chambers? You are too inquisitive, Anna. If I ran in asking you to follow me, you would question me until we get caught,” Almira stated.
Kitanna stared at her, alarmed. “I thought you were only checking on the Prince,” Kitanna crossed her arms. Almira was about to reply when she remembered the promise that she made to the girl a few days ago.
    “I didn’t have the energy to seek permission. My chest was hurting, I couldn't think straight. All I wanted to do was make it stop,” Almira replied carefully. The explanation was sketchy, but kitanna didn’t complain. 
Silence followed shortly after as they waited for the chaos outside to die down. Almira seized the opportunity to look around the room they were in. It was empty for the most part except for the bed and a little desk. Everything else was gone. 
     “Looks like someone moved out of here,” kitanna commented. “It must have been a long time ago, too. The cobwebs and dust are enough evidence.”
Almira said nothing to that. She simply moved around the empty room, searching for something that could give out the owner of the room. Kitanna opened the door slightly and peeked outside. There was no one in the hallway except the two guards who were guarding the Prince’s door heavily. 
    “I think the coast is clear, princes, we can leave now,” Kitanna whispered. Almira turned away and followed her out of the room. The guards went still and blank as they walked past them. As soon as they got out, Almira headed the opposite direction.
    “Where are you going, Princess?” kitanna asked. 
    “Go to bed, I'll join you later,” Almira replied. 
    “No, I won't. Not after what just happened. Wherever you’re going, I'll come with you,” She insisted. Almira didn’t try to talk her out of it. She strolled into the night, using the moon as a guide. The woody scent grew stronger as she approached the barn.
She pushed the door aside to reveal the small form curled on the floor, sobbing softly.
     ‘Dante?” she called, but he remained on the floor, sobbing, ignoring her presence. “Dante!” She called again.
      “Please l-leave me… I just want to b-be alone…” he hiccuped. Almira ignored his request and walked to him instead. He turned his face away from her as soon as she got close enough. “I-i don’t want t-to talk to you…”
Almira let out a taunting laugh,” You don’t want to talk to me? Since when do you get to decide who you talk to? I see you’re hungry for another punishment.”
   “Please don’t punish him, princess. He looks like he’s been through a lot already,” Kitanna pleaded on his behalf. 
   “Look at me,” Almira ordered, ignoring Kitanna’s plea. Dante hesitated. “It’s an order!” She added and he let out a small whimper. He turned slowly, wincing in pain as he moved. Almira’s eyes raked through him, trying to ascertain the damage. He looks fine to her. Why was he whimpering then? Her eyes dropped lower and it felt like a bucket of ice was dumped on her. For some reason, the ache in her heart increased.
Almira lowered herself to him and pushed the hair away from his face. The pain in his eyes stung her.
    “It won’t happen again,”She blurted and a puzzled look crossed his face. “Whether you’re guilty or not, this will be the last time they will get to punish you. You won’t go through this pain again, I promise.”
Dante let out a teary smile, “you don’t owe me anything. You did what anyone in your shoes could have done..” 
The words hit her harder than she expected. Did what anyone would have done. All they did was torture him and make him feel worthless. She didn’t want to be counted as one of them.
  “I’m used to it..” Dante sniffled, “I only hoped you would… believe me.”
Almira went silent. For the first time in history, she was rendered speechless. Her head went blank, her lips pressed together like they were afraid of outing the wrong thing, even though there was nothing to say.
She was a witness. She saw it all. How was she supposed to believe him? When she met those misty eyes again, she blurted the one thing she never thought she would.
      “I’m sorry”.
The words felt foreign to her tongue but they felt so right.
     “For not giving you the benefit of doubt, for not giving you a chance to explain, I’m sorry,” She added and kitanna let out a loud gasp. Dante’s eyes shone beautifully as he stared at the gorgeous woman who managed to make him happy despite her snarkiness.
     “Do you forgive me?” Almira asked and he nodded. “No gestures allowed, use your words.”
      “Yes, princess. I forgive you,” he replied with a smile.
The next minute, she pulled him into a warm hug.