'We can share the bed... '

"Athena." She heard someone call her. She opened her eyes to see a grinning Darren. "You sleep like a log."

"What is it?" She asked, looking slightly annoyed. She did not like being woken up.

"What do you think?" He said as he showed her a short silver dress. Her eyes widened in astonishment. "This..."

"It's the dress that I was making," he said.

No doubt it was beautiful. Athena stretched her hand out and hesitated to touch it, afraid that she might ruin it by mistake.

"Go on. Touch it," he encouraged her. Athena touched the dress gently. It was so soft. It looked so simple. She could not believe that he was the one who made it.

"Aren't you going to praise me?" He asked with puppy dog eyes. Athena rolled her eyes. He said that he was not a tailor nor has he ever made clothes before but this...

"It's a beautiful dress," she said shortly. Darren's lips curled down. " That's it?"

She blinked her eyes innocently. "What else do you want me to say?" Darren sighed and gave her the dress. "I will get a bowl of water and a towel." With that, he left. Athena stared at the dress. How did he manage to make a dress within a few hours? A tailor probably takes about three days to design and make a dress but he managed to do it in a short period of time!

He soon came back with a bowl of water and a towel. She raised an eyebrow. "What's that for?"

"It's for you to clean up," he said as he placed the bowl beside her. " Let me help you..." He said as he stretched out his hands. She slapped them rudely away. "I can do it on my own."

"There's nothing to be shy about."

" Get out!"

Darren raised his hands in defeat. "I am leaving... You have a bad temper," he complained. "If you need help with something, you just call me. I will be standing outside."

Athena watched him close the door and sighed. He was so narcissistic, playful and shameless...

'At least he is different from that ice cold ruthless king,' a small voice said in her mind. She frowned and immediately dismissed that voice. Athena slowly unbuttoned the big loose shirt and removed it slowly. She looked at her unsightly deep wounds and sighed. Why was she so unlucky? Why were all these terrible things happening to her? Why can't she have a normal and peaceful life like other youngsters?

She dipped the towel into the warm water and wrung it slowly. She began to clean herself slowly. Athena whimpered in pain when she accidentally pressed a wound.

"Are you okay?" Darren called out worriedly.

"I am okay," she shouted back and continued to clean herself. Who would have pushed her off the cliff? Who wanted to kill her? She had grown thinner. She looked paler than usual.

While cleaning herself, she noticed that she was no longer wearing the bracelet that the old priest had given her. She panicked. Where could it have gone? She had to find it!

After she was done cleaning herself, she picked up the dress and began to wear it slowly. Fortunately, it was not complicated. After struggling for what seems to be like eternity, she managed to put the dress on. Her body now was covered with sweat after the long struggle.

"Are you not done yet? I am now tired of standing!"

" You can come in," she said in a soft voice. The door was opened and Darren came in. "As expected, my little girl looks pretty in this silver dress."

Athena only rolled her eyes. " Don't you ever get tired of flattering people non-stop?"

" For you little princess, I will never get tired."

"Also why do you smile all the time?" He never stopped smiling! It was somehow creepy...

"I only smile for my little girl," he said as he patted her head.

" How did you manage to make this dress in such a short time," she asked curiously and ignored his words.

"It's a secret," he said in a low tone, looking mysterious. Athena's ears perked up immediately at his words.

"Do you promise to not tell anyone?"

Athena bobbed her head eagerly.

He leaned towards her and whispered in her ears. "It's magic..."

Athena,"..." What did he take her for? A three year old kid who believed in fairy tales?

"Darren was I wearing an old sapphire bracelet when you rescued me?" She asked nervously. Darren scratched his head thoughtfully. Athena looked nervously at him as she waited for him to reply.

He shook his head making her expression falter. "No." Athena sighed in disappointment.

"But I can help you look for it. I will go back to the place where I found you and look for it."

Her expression immediately lit up. " Will you do that for me?"

He chuckled. "I will do anything for my little princess."

The day passed slowly as the two bickered at each other.

"You want this?" He said as he waved a piece of grilled meat in front of her. Athena looked at her empty plate and then at the piece of meat he was holding. She could not help but salivate at the piece of meat.

She reached out for the meat but her hand was slapped away. "Ow," she groaned and rubbed her hand. She then glared at him.

"Not so fast," he said cheekily. Athena pouted in displeasure.

"It looks so delicious. I wonder how it tastes..." He said slowly as he stared into her dissatisfied big green eyes. "Here you go."

He pretended to give her to only dodge her hands.

"Why don't you just give it to me?"

"Because I don't want to," he said simply. "Now stop moving too much or your wounds will open up."

"I won't stop moving until you give me that meat!" Darren sighed resignedly and gave her the piece of meat. Athena snatched the piece of meat away from him. The little foodie did not waste anytime and immediately put the whole meat into her mouth.

He grimaced at her actions. "Slow down." He wondered if she wouldn't choke on that piece of meat. " You are not in the least ladylike."

Athena swallowed the meat and said nonchalantly, "I don't care." She picked up a glass of water and drank slowly. She watched Darren clear the table. She rubbed her full stomach in satisfaction.

After that, Darren helped her go to the bedroom. "Don't walk too fast or else your wounds will open up," he reminded her. They got into the room. There was only one sleeping place. She climbed onto his small bed. He covered her with a blanket.

"Where are you going to sleep?" She asked in a sleepy voice. She felt so exhausted despite doing nothing the whole day.

"I will sleep on the floor," he said as he put a pillow on the floor. He laid down with his back facing her. There was only one blanket and Athena was the one using it. She looked at him guiltily. He had been sleeping on the floor for two months with no blanket to cover him from the cold.

"Are you feeling cold?" Athena bit her bottom lip at her stupid question. Of course he was feeling cold but he would never tell her that.

"No. I am good." As expected.

She opened her mouth to say something but then hesitated. She wanted to say that they could share the bed but she felt too shy to tell him that.

After gathering up some courage, she said in a small voice. "Umm, Darren?"

"Yes?"

"We can share the bed..." Her voice became smaller.

Darren turned around to look at her. " What did you say?" His eyes shone with mischief.

" We can share the bed," she repeated shyly.

" What did you say? I did not hear you. Did you not eat? Why is your voice so soft?" He teased her. Athena glared at him silently. He turned serious. "Do you know it's inappropriate for a man and a woman to share a room and not to mention sharing a bed?"

Athena nodded. " I know."

Darren stood up and went over to the bed. He climbed slowly onto the bed. "Since my little girl wants me to sleep with her, I will do that."

Her ears turned red. Those words sounded wrong... He went to the other side of the small bed. Athena placed a pillow between them and moved far away from him.

"What's the pillow for?" He asked mischievously. She did not reply. Instead she closed her eyes.

"Don't worry," he continued. "If anything happens, I will take responsibility."

"Goodnight Darren." She did not want to hear anymore of his shameless words.

"Goodnight Athena."

Everything became silent and she slowly drifted off to sleep. She did not know what time it was when she felt something bite her neck lightly. It was probably a mosquito. She felt lazy to open her heavy eyelids and went back to sleep.

..........

Days passed quickly and the two were slowly getting along. Her wounds were beginning to heal and she could now move freely but not too much. This is all thanks to Darren's strange brown medicine. She had asked him what the strange medicine was called and where he got it from but as always he would say something like you ask too many questions, making it difficult for her to probe further.

Right now, Darren had gone out to hunt, leaving her alone. She wanted to go with him but he tactfully refused to go out with her. All she could do was to sit on the bed lazily, doing nothing.

During her stay at Darren's small house, she managed to know a few things about him and how he saved her. Darren was just a hunter living in the forest alone. He was quite a friendly and playful young man. She did enjoy his company. His house was situated right in the middle of the forest. He depended on hunting to survive.

He had gone out to hunt when he saw her laying in a pool of blood, breathing weakly. She was on the brink of death. At first glance, one would have thought that she was dead.

"So I thought to myself, 'How can I leave such a beautiful little princess to die? I got to save her with my magical medicine.'" Darren had told her rather proudly.

And that was how he became her knight in shining armor. Athena rolled her eyes at the thought. She felt bored. Why did she have to sit all day doing nothing? She looked around. The room was a little bit untidy. Her eyes suddenly sparkled. She had now found something to do.