A long, dark narrow hallway with a faint, flickering light at the far end greeted her, though more warned her away, along with a musty odor that tickled her nose. She hurried to pinch her nostrils, feeling a sneeze about to erupt. Keeping hold of her nose until she was sure the sneeze had passed, she made her way slowly down the hall.

She kept alert for footfalls from either end of the hallway, not sure if the man who had disappeared through here was gone and if he was, that meant there was an exit in this wing. And from what Slain had said, he would be coming here as soon as he finished in his solar.

Finished what?

She had little time to explore and little light to do it by. There were three doors from what she could make out. Halfway down on the left was one, another sat across from it to the right, and the other sat at the far end where the light flickered. Knowing her time was short, she hurried quietly and cautiously to try the door to the left and when she found it locked, she turned and went to the door on the right. That one was locked as well. Which meant the man must have gone through the door at the end of the hall. The same room Slain would go once he entered here.

Her knee bumped against something, the sound sending a slight echo along the hall. She froze. If the man had not left the keep yet, he may have heard it. She was relieved when no noise came from the far end of the hall, but fear prickled her skin when she caught the sound of footfalls on the stairs.

Her heart was already pounding against her chest and grew worse as she glanced around frantically searching for a place to hide, but she could see no alcoves or cubbies to duck into.

She was beginning to question the wisdom of her decision to have come here in the first place. What had she thought she would find? Or had she hoped to hear more of an exchange between the two men? Either way she should have given her action more thought, but it was too late now.

The footfalls grew closer and a creak sounded at the end of the hall, someone was opening the door.

Hannah felt along at what she had bumped into, grateful to find it was a wood chest. It was long and narrow. Hannah did not hesitate. She opened the chest and felt down around inside it. From the feel of it, blankets & garments were stored within. It really did not matter what the chest held. She had to disappear and fast. She climbed in and eased the lid down, trying as best she could to bury herself beneath the contents in case the chest was opened.

Footfalls drew near, though she could not tell from which end they came.

“Why have you not left?” Slain demanded.

His voice sounded as if he stood in front of the chest.

“…heard a noise.”

Hannah caught only the three words, the man whispered so gently as if not trusting that he and Slain were alone.

The silence grew so heavy that Hannah feared the two men would hear her breathing. She closed her eyes and willed herself to breathe gently and not move a muscle.

Slain finally spoke. “Footfalls?”

“A scratching noise,” the other man said. “Rats perhaps.”

Hannah squeezed her eyes tight and wrinkled her nose at the thought of the scurrying creatures. She also wondered over the voice that was a bit clearer. She thought it sounded familiar, but the whispery tone made it hard to place.

“Possibly,” Slain said, not sounding quite so sure. “You need to hurry. This message must reach him before daybreak.”

The man must have given a silent response, since footfalls followed and Hannah heard a door shut. From what she had heard, the man was about to leave on a mission for Slain. But what of Slain? Would he be returning this way again? Did she wait or did she take the chance and run before he made his way back again?

A sudden thought had her easing the top of the chest open. If Slain did come back this way to leave, he could lock the door behind him and then she would be stuck. That was a chance she was not willing to take.

She eased herself up and out of the chest and lowered the top carefully, though she wanted to rush. Any moment Slain could open the door at the end of the hall, and then what?

Once done, she hurried down the hall toward the door she had entered and as she reached it, she heard the door at the other end creak open. She almost sighed with relief when she saw that the door had remained ajar and slipped past it with ease. Though it reminded her that Slain had intended to return this way and no doubt would soon not be far behind her.

Hannah flew down the stairs and hurried to her pallet in the Great Hall. She tried to calm her breathing, but it was difficult, fright still heavy upon her. She turned on her side, keeping her back to the stairs in case Slain approached. She did not want him to see her chest heaving.

No sooner had she settled herself as if asleep, she heard him enter the Great Hall. His footfalls stopped for a moment, then she heard them again… headed her way.

Fear raced through her, rushing to her heart, pounding it like a mighty drum in her chest, and her breathing increased until she thought she would not be able to catch her breath.

He would discover that she had spied on him, then what?

Swift thoughts and instinct to survive had served her well these last few months just as it did now.

She jumped up off her pallet, screaming.

Slain was rarely startled or rattled by anything. It came from surviving endless battles. Yet Hannah’s terrified scream had pierced his heart as sharply as an arrow, though it did not freeze him as such screams did to some men. He was by her side in an instant, grabbing hold of her arms.

Hannah struggled to breathe and her eyes were as round as full moons as she stared at Slain. He had not been that far from her. Had he intended to see if she was there on her pallet?

“Ni-nightma-nightmare,” Hannah stumbled to say.

“You are safe. I am here with you. I will let nothing harm you,” he said and gently rubbed along her arms.

Her heaving breaths began to slow.

Slain slipped his arm around her and guided her to a bench at one of the nearby tables. He held her against his side as he eased them both down to sit. While he held her close, his free hand eased beneath the sleeve covering her left arm to caress and massage the muscle.

That he remembered or even thought to see to her injured arm or offer her comfort touched her heart. Not to mention that the strength of him half wrapped around her made her feel safer than she had in some time.

“Tell me of your nightmare. It will help to chase it away.”

That was easy, for all she had to do was share the recurring nightmare she had since escaping the dungeon.

“Voices, footfalls, they rush at me—” She stopped a moment, fear racing her heart and catching at her breath once again. She pushed past both eager to speak it aloud and be rid of it, if only it was that easy. “Hands grab me, pull at me,” —she shuddered— “they have come to take me away, to torture me, to see me dead.”

“You believe your family wanted you dead?” he asked, his arm remaining firm around her.

She bit at her tongue, having been so focused on her nightmare that she had said too much.

“It felt that way… in the nightmare,” she said, hoping the brief explanation would suffice.

“Your nightmare also makes it seem that you believe your family searches for you. Do you believe that?” he asked as if it troubled him.

“They have no wont of me,” she said her words partially true.

“Yet you still fear monsters. You still seek safety.”

She thought for a moment on her response, concerned she would say too much. “I worry that one day someone in my family might come across me and think to return me home or perhaps finish what they had started.”

“You said they had no wont of you, so why would they bother,” Slain reminded.

She knew exactly why they would bother, but she could not share it with him.

She sighed. “Memories of what I suffered brings endless fears… and nightmares.”

“Then think hard on what you will surrender for the safety you seek from me when you may not need it,” he cautioned, his arm slipping off her. He stood. “Monsters come in different guises. Make certain you do not exchange one monster for another.”

Hannah sat staring as he walked away. Was that not what she needed? A bigger monster than the one she had escaped to help keep her safe?

“Hannah.”

It was the first time she heard her name fall softly from his lips.

He turned and looked at her. “I will give you one day to give me your answer since we both know what it will be.”

* * *

Slain sat in his solar, his thoughts not where they should be. He did not know what to make of Hannah. He had known from first meeting her that she did not speak the whole truth of things to him and the more he spoke with her the more he realized he was right.

She kept something from him.

The question was why? What did she not want him to know?

Whatever it was, it frightened her enough to seek refuge here and with him in particular. Again he questioned why. She had had courage enough to escape a horrific situation and courage enough to seek out the savage. She was braver than she believed and yet she still feared.

He should probably speak with her more before forcing the situation, but in the end he doubted it would matter. He had need of her and she would serve that need well.

That he found her appealing was another matter. He also found himself catching a glance of her whenever he could and if by chance he caught a smile on her lovely face, he would find himself growing aroused.

A smile…a simple smile had aroused him.

Not just any smile, though, Hannah’s smile. It had annoyed him. He had no time to allow a woman into his thoughts. He had enough on his mind. She lingered there anyway, refusing to leave. Or did he refuse to let her?

He had had the occasional visit from women selling their wares as they passed through on their travels. They had sufficed, though rarely satisfied. There was too much for him to think on, too much that needed to be done to allow himself to get lost in a woman.

That was why Hannah would serve him so well. Though he would have to be careful and not let her into his heart. What heart? It had died and he had buried it along with all he had lost. He had no tenderness, no caring, no love to offer her.

They each had a need and that need was what would be served, nothing more.

* * *

“That offer still remains,” Helice said with a sour face and a nod to a wrapped bundle on the table when Hannah entered the kitchen the next morning.

She decided to counter with a smile. “You will miss me if I go, Helice.”

“Bah, why would I miss a lazy one like you?”

Hannah snatched a warm piece of bread off the table. “You will miss my smile since it is the only one in the keep and you will miss how I eagerly devour your delicious meals.”

“I will not miss your foolishness,” Helice argued with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Hannah chuckled. “We are all foolish one time or another whether we want to be or not, or so my mum warned me.”

“Then you should have paid her heed,” Helice scolded.

Hannah’s smile faded. “Aye, I should have.”

“I will bring your meal to the Great Hall,” Helice said as if dismissing Hannah.

Hannah went and while she did enjoy Helice’s meals, she found that this morning she was not hungry. Her mind was on Slain and that he had given her one day to accept his offer and that he seemed sure she would.

But then that was what she had come here for, safety, was it not? Why did she continue to question it? What would it change?

Everything… with what he wanted from her.

She sat at the table alone staring at the bowl of porridge Helice had brought her. She forced herself to take a few spoonsful, then shook her head and snatching up her full bowl off the table, she went to the kitchen and placed it on the table where Helice worked. “I am not that hungry.” She then went to the door, grabbed her cloak off the hook, and went outside.

“Where are you going?” Helice called out.

Hannah did not answer.

She headed to the woods out of instinct. It was where she would go when her father let loose his temper, which had been far too often. She shook the disturbing memories away as she kept her gait steady. There was a briskness to the spring air that brought a smile to Hannah’s face and a glow to her cheeks. It felt good to leave the darkness and solitude of the keep even though two other people occupied it besides herself. There was simply no life to the place.

“I told you not to go into the woods alone.”

Hannah turned, surprised to see Slain not far behind her. He truly tempted the eye and not only his features but the strength of his stance, his broad shoulders drawn back, a slight lift to his chin and the way his muscles strained against his shirtsleeves.

“Why?” she asked before she could stop herself.

He raised his brow as he came to a stop in front of her. “You question me?”

She had forgotten her place as her father had often reminded her. “Forgive me, I thought a walk would, at least, keep me from being idle.”

“It is not safe for you to walk alone in the woods.”

“Then walk with me,” she said, hoping he would accept, hoping he might tell her exactly what he expected in return for allowing her to remain in the safety of his clan.

Slain was about to refuse when he found himself saying, “No more than a brief walk.” She smiled and he felt himself stir. It annoyed him that her smile could have such a stimulating effect on him.

Hannah snatched up a small stick as they walked, her smile growing. “This was an ample sword when I was a wee bairn. I would fight the fiercest of creatures with it and always emerge victorious.”

“I insisted on a real sword from the time I could grasp one firm,” Slain said surprised at himself for sharing it with her. He rarely, if ever, shared anything about himself.

“That was brave of you, since this,” —she raised the thin stick and waved it— “did little to help me.” She tossed it aside, thinking how unprepared she had been for real monsters.

“What of a brother or did he agree with your father?”

Another question she could answer honestly. “I have no brothers or sisters and I was a disappointment to my father.”

“A disobedient daughter could prove a problem, though a courageous daughter brings great pride.”

Was he defending her?

“I would prefer courageous over obedient.”

Hannah reached out as if it was the most natural thing to do and hooked her arm around his as they continued to walk. “I would imagine your daughter would be more courageous than most other women.”

“I will make sure she is,” Slain said surprised she had taken hold of his arm, yet enjoying the feel of it wrapped snugly around his.

“Then you hope for children?”

It was one thing he wanted most… a family. He once had hoped for a wife who would love him the way his mother had loved his father—unconditionally. She had known his faults, but they had not mattered to her. He could see the love in her eyes and in his father’s eyes each time they looked at each other. It never dimmed or faltered. It had shined like a beacon ever strong.

It was not meant to be for him.

“A marriage is being arranged.”

She stopped abruptly, dropping her arm off his. “I have heard no such news.”

“I have not made it known yet.”

For a moment, she stood speechless. “Then what do you want from me?”

Slain stepped close to her, took hold of her face and brought his lips down on hers.