When Anastasia saw valdimir taking his plate and sitting a little farther away from them, unconsciously, she stood up and head toward him.
" I must take this chance and talk to him. I can't run away from him forever. "
She stood up in front of him while her heart was about to explode.
- C...Can I join you?
Valdimir looked at her with his usual expressionless face, which made her more nervous:
- I...I'm sorry...I will go if you...
At that moment Valdimir made a place for her to sit, then he went back to eating like it was nothing.
" He agreed!"
She sat beside him and started eating as well, but somehow she couldn't eat out of nervousness.
" This is so awkward, what should I say? "
Suddenly Valdimir talked:
- You don't have to force yourself.
- I...I'm not forcing myself.
- It's okay, I know that I'm a scary man. Most of the soldiers hate being around me because I'm tough with them. But that's how I am, and I can't change that.
Anastasia felt sorry for him. She knows more than anyone how much he is noble and faithful. He didn't deserve such a reputation.
- I'm not scared of you and I...I don't hate being around you.
- You have been avoiding me for several days. It's okay if you hate me. I was too harsh towards you the other day.
Suddenly, Anastasia jumped from her seat while looking annoyed because he thought like that:
- I DON'T HATE YOU...I DON'T!
When she realized that she yelled and made everyone look at her, she sat again while looking embarrassed.
- I...I know that you are a good man and you are only thinking about the interests of the soldiers. I...I was avoiding you because I was afraid that I might make another mistake and get kicked out of here. I just want to stay in the army as much as I can.
" What am I saying to him? will he get angry at me again?.... Why isn't he saying anything? should I just leave? "
She took a glimpse of him while her heart was about to burst to see if he was angry or not.
As for Valdimir, he was only looking at her without any reaction.
Anastasia put the plate down and stood up.
- I...I think I must leave.
Valdimir grabbed her hand and made her sit again. In fact, He didn't know what he should say to her, but he could feel her sincerity. And for a moment, her clumsiness made him smile.
- As long as you don't disobey my orders, I won't ask you to leave. You can stay as much as you want.
Anastasia's nervous face suddenly smiled:
- Thank you for accepting me.
When Valdimir saw her smile again, somehow a heavy burden on his chest got away. He felt relieved.
- I suppose you won't run away from me.
- I...I won't.
- Good...
The conversation ended and the atmosphere became awkward again. Anastasia didn't want to end things yet.
" I must keep talking to him. I don't know when I will have another chance like this. "
- Can I ask you a question?
- What is it?
Anastasia looked at Valdimir with her big green eyes and without hesitation, she asked:
- How old are you?
- What kind of questions is that?
- I...I was just curious. You look young, An at the same time, you look old. I couldn't guess your real age. I'm sorry if I asked about.....
- I'm 26
Anastasia became happy when she heard that.
- Really! I thought you are over thirty
- Do I look that old?
- Well, your face's expressions seem too tough for someone that young.
At that moment, Valdimir leaned toward her until his face became very close to hers. Anastasia stiffened, she couldn't even talk when his eyes were fixed on her.
- What about you? You are only seventeen, yet you look like you lived for too long.
Anastasia couldn't handle the situation. She immediately backed off without realizing that she will fall from the small bench. Valdimir pulled her strongly from her hand out of a sudden. But instead of falling, Anastasia found herself sitting on his lap while her hands were touching his firm chest. Her face turned red right away:
" What kind of situation is this? "
She wanted to get away from him, but Valdimir was still grabbing her hand. He kept looking at her embarrassed face for a moment, then he let her hand go.
- You know this place is full of men that have been away from their homes for so long so.
- What do you mean?
- I mean that sitting with them and laughing along could make them misunderstand the situation. Be careful the next time, you are a lady after all. You shouldn't let your guard down or they will get the wrong idea.
When Anastasia understood what he meant, she jumped away from him:
- I...I KNOW THAT...I'M VERY AWARE OF MY POSITION...
- I just wanted to warn you.
- I think it is time for me to go back to my tent...Good night.
- Good night.
She ran back to her tent while hiding her red face:
" How can he say such a thing to me? When did I ever let my guard down? What did happen earlier was his fault. he pulled me too hard to him. He should have let me fall instead of telling me those annoying words. "
- My lady, what is wrong?
- It's nothing
- Your face is very red! Do you have a fever?
- I'm fine, Lucia. I'm just tired. I only need to sleep.
She changed her clothes, then she threw herself immediately into her bed.
She kept recalling everything that did happen between her and Valdimir, especially the moment that she was too close to him. Her heart kept racing which made her feel confused:
" What is wrong with me? What is this strange feelings? It's true that I wanted to get closer to him, but why I'm this excited? Damn it, I must get hold of myself. I came here to survive and I don't want anything more. "