The room was cast in darkness as the candle finally burnt out and the red hot coals in the fireplace started to die.
Coldness set in but there was so much warmth between the knight and the princess's bodies that neither of them felt the chill from underneath the blankets.
Henry held Princess Marie for a long time, watching her sleep peacefully with her lips slightly parted and hair splayed along his arm and the pillow they shared. He knew that it was too late for him to sleep because if he tried to he wasn't going to be able to wake up as early as he would like to for the long trip ahead.
In his eyes, there had never been a more worthy interruption to his sleep. Even though he was struggling to stay awake because the peacefulness of the moment was getting to him, he was still happy to simply be there with the woman he loved in his arms.
