At the top of the stairs, Rose made a blind turn down the dim corridor. She wanted nothing more than to get away from the crowd below.
"Slow down, please. You are going to trip!" Hurrying up the flight behind her, Cole tried to catch hold of Rose as she struggled to find the correct room.
For a moment the soldier forgot she was a princess. She was just a woman who was in distress. Grabbing her arm, Cole was caught off guard when the princess wheeled around and nearly punched the soldier in his nose.
"Don't you dare touch me!" Rose's humiliation had suddenly turned to anger. "You have become far too comfortable with putting your hands on me. Do it again and I will scream bloody murder!"
Realizing what he was doing was not well received, Cole released the woman and held his hands in the air in surrender. "I didn't mean to…"
"And another thing. There is no way you are ever going to have a honeymoon with me. So you can wipe that grin off your face!"
"Grin?" Cole lowered his voice to a desperate whisper. "Your Highness, there is no grin, this is just how my face looks." He tried to frown, but was only half successful. The brown haired man looked far too pleasant for his own good.
Looking at the man's face contortions, the princess could only assume he was mocking her further. She scowled, and backed away down the hall. Upon finding the room with two stripes on it, Rose pushed open the door, slipped inside and shut the door in the man's face.
Cole was stunned. He had no sisters and his fellow soldiers were all male. The courtiers all adored him. As such, he hadn't any experience with this particular emotion. What was he supposed to do with a furious female?
Against his better judgement, which said to run and never look back, the brown-haired man pushed against the door. The princess had already barred it.
"Please let me in. I promise I will not come anywhere near you. I just want to…talk." Cole gulped. The last thing he wanted to do is talk, but there seemed to be no other option.
After what seemed like an eternity, Cole heard the scraping sound of the wood bar being removed. The rickety wooden door opened just enough to admit the soldier then closed to a crack. Rose had lowered her hood and scarf, which only made her indignation quite obvious.
As promised, Cole moved to the far end of the room. Unfortunately that was where the bed was. Rose gasped as he bumped into the old straw mattress, and opened her mouth to scream. Without thinking, Cole lunged forward and covered the woman's mouth.
"Please don't scream. I was only trying to keep my distance when I bumped into the bed. I would never want to hurt you, and I am sorry I claimed to be your husband. It was only to keep the other men from hassling you. I would never presume anything, ever! I swear I will do anything to protect you. Not just because you are the daughter of the king, but because I respect you." Having finished his words, Cole looked intently into the eyes of the woman before him.
The blue orbs softened slightly, and he could feel the corners of the woman's mouth turn slightly upwards. That is when he realized he was touching her yet again. With a wave of guilt, he lowered his hand.
"And I promise never to touch you again. You have a valid point about me being far too comfortable. Mother always said I was too familiar with people. Even now I am over-sharing." Cole slapped his forehead to stop the meaningless words. "Ugh, I was never cut out to be a personal guard. You have been very patient with me, all things considered..." Cole backed away and bowed. "Forgive me, Your Highness," he said formally.
When Cole glanced up, the princess was smiling slightly. She looked shyly at him from below her long eyelashes. "I should not have assumed the worst of you, Cole. You have been faithful and courteous, and went above your duty to help me. Thank you," she paused and blushed. "But if you could stop touching me all the time, it would probably be best for both of us..."
"Agreed!" Cole rubbed his neck and stepped away from the princess, bumping into the rickety bed once more. "An accident, I swear!"
"I know," the princess giggled. The tension had suddenly left the room. "I know you said you would make a terrible personal guard, but I say you would make a very good courtier. You are charming and have a way with words, even if there are slightly too many of them."
"You are just being kind," the brown-haired man gave a lopsided smile. "Though if I had a title, then maybe then the ladies at court would stop flirting with me finally."
"Or flirt with you even more! Who wouldn't want to marry a charming man with a title?" Rose chuckled.
"I could think of a few..." Cole said vaguely. Before he was asked to explain, Philip entered with three hot plates of stew.
The dark-haired soldier set down the plates on the bed. "It is supposed to be venison, but it looks more like charred rabbit." Glancing at the flush state of the two others in the room, Philip cocked his head to one side. "What did I miss?"
"Cole is marrying a courtier..." Rose announced with a hint of mischief.
"In his dreams! I've seen rocks with a better chance of that than him..." Philip jerked his finger toward the other soldier.
"That's what I was trying to tell her!" Cole agreed easily.
Rose noticed Cole did not take offense at the other man's personal insult. She wondered if it was due to a low opinion Cole seemed to have of himself or if they were just that close. She guessed it was the latter.
"Well, I suppose we shall not settle that matter tonight." Rose looked down at the food. It was various shades of brown and black with no recognizable shape. "Shall we eat? It has to taste better than it looks."
The princess was once again wrong. Sitting on the floor, the two men began to chew at the charcoaled substance with mixed expressions. Cole was lamenting the grittiness being stuck between his teeth while Philip was simply glad it wasn't raw.
The lady positioned herself daintily on the edge of the bed and tried to use the utensils provided. However they were bent and nearly broken, and she eventually abandoned the task and used her hands.
'All part of the adventure,' she told herself as her hands became suspiciously greasy. 'Finish so you can get some rest.'
Rose paused mid-chew as she realized a problem. Swallowing hard, the princess tried to broach the delicate subject.
"You only paid for one room," she said slowly.
Philip nodded, understanding her concern, "One of us will keep watch in the hall while the other sleeps on the ground beside him."
"You are sleeping in the hall?" Rose was even more confused than she had been a moment ago.
"After we secure the room and make sure no one can get in the window without us knowing, yes." Philip abandoned his meal, and looked to complete the task. He unwrapped a bell and went to work securing it to the window's shutters.
"I thought the innkeeper said no one could sleep in the hall," Rose had heard these words distinctly.
"Let him try and stop us! Anyway that speech was for the benefit of the drunkards below. He could care less where paying customers sleep." Philip finished tying off the window and nodded. "Now, Your Highness, if there is nothing else, we will beg your leave."
Cole was clearly not done, but he dutifully picked up his plate and bowed. "Rest well, Your Highness," he smiled genuinely.
A warm feeling came over Rose. "Thank you Philip and Cole." The princess's eyes lingered on the second soldier just a little too long.
Philip shoved his comrade. "Come on! You have first watch." The men filed out into the hall. "Don't go getting any crazy ideas concerning women, Cole," the older soldier warned him. "It won't end well for you."
"Don't be silly," the younger man shook his head with a chuckle. "I already nearly had my nose broken by a lady today. I do not plan to add my heart to that list..."