"No, I don't want to go!"
Anna's heart plunged the moment Kyren mentioned sending her back to his home. She barely even registered the name of the place. Whatever he'd said had slipped past her the moment her mind froze.
"It's for your own good. This camp is not suitable for you. You'll be well taken care of there," he insisted, voice steady.
Anna shook her head hard, panic rising.
"I don't want to. I'll be alone there. I'm scared!" Her voice cracked, her face tightening with fear.
"You don't have to worry. Just wait for me. I'll come home when I finish my tasks here," he added, trying to sound reassuring.
But Anna still refused, clinging to him with desperate resolve.
"Please don't send me away. You're the only one I have. You promised you wouldn't abandon me!" she pleaded.
Tears pooled on her lashes as she stared at him.
Her mind had only just begun to accept that she was married to him. Being sent to some foreign place again to live among people who had nothing to do with her, and expected to settle her emotions over this… it was far too much for her heart to bear.
Kyren exhaled sharply, patience thinning. Never would he have thought that this delicate, lamb-like wife of his could be so maddeningly stubborn.
"I'm not abandoning you. Even if you stay here, I won't be around every day. When I'm out on duties, it might take days or weeks before I return," he explained.
That only made Anna cry harder, her fear swelling until she could barely speak.
"No! Please don't…"
***
Rafe and Ayden walked the narrow path between the orderly rows of tents, summoned to check on the commander's wife—their newest patient.
As they came close to the commander's tent, a woman's pleading cries seeped through the canvas.
"No! Please don't…"
They exchanged alarmed looks.
Rafe immediately charged inside without thinking, only to freeze at the sight before him: Anna on the bed, clutching Kyren's hands, both of them staring back at him in shock at the intervention.
"Don't you know how to ask for permission before entering?" Kyren growled, eyes murderous.
"Forgive me. I heard crying, so I thought—"
Rafe's explanation died on his tongue as he noticed her small hands holding the commander's. Clearly, the danger he imagined was not the danger present.
"Get out!" Kyren barked.
"My apology… I'll wait outside."
The healer backed away with stiff awkwardness.
"What happened?" His assistant whispered when he stepped out.
Rafe grimaced, shrugging his shoulders. "I thought he was hurting her. But… no."
They waited until Kyren finally summoned them in, and when they entered, Anna was still quietly sobbing.
"Check her condition," the commander ordered curtly.
Rafe took in the sombre mood swirling within the tent, then decided to ask politely.
"Could you step outside for a moment?" he said, gazing at the commander.
"Why?" Kyren countered, tone flat.
"I need a private session with the patient. It won't take long," the healer assured.
"Kyren…" Anna whimpered, clutching his hand tighter.
"It's all right. I'll be just outside," he soothed gently, rubbing her head and prying away her fingers. The tenderness shocked both healers, who stiffened in disbelief.
When he left, Ayden set the healer's bag on the table while Rafe approached Anna.
"What happened, my lady? Were you hurt?"
"No… My husband… he… he said he wants to send me back home," she whispered, voice solemn.
"Home? To your home?" Rafe asked, shocked.
He would surely give the commander an earful if this were true!
"No, his. Garrard or… something. I don't know!" the princess flushed.
"Ah… Gerhard, my lady," Ayden supplied.
The healer shot a sharp look at his assistant, silently ordering him to stop meddling.
Ayden pressed his lips together at the warning and immediately busied himself—flattening a parchment on the table and pulling writing tools from the bag as though they had been his focus all along.
Rafe turned back to Anna.
"I see… I thought something else had happened."
Anna wiped away her lingering tears and observed the two men before her. She recognised Rafe Amares well enough, the healer from last night, but the other man—tall, with long black hair and dark eyes—was foreign to her.
He stood in complete contrast to the healer's short, unruly grey hair and matching eyes.
Sensing her curiosity, Rafe quickly made introductions.
"He's my assistant, Ayden Norman."
"Nice to meet you, my lady," Ayden said with a polite bow.
Knowing her circumstances, he kept a respectful distance.
The princess offered a slight nod, acknowledging his greeting. The assistant then took his seat at the table, ready to record her condition.
"Now, tell me exactly what your husband said," Rafe urged gently. "If he's sending you there, he must have some plan in mind. Maybe I can help."
Anna quietly repeated the commander's demand—how he wanted her sent ahead to wait for him at his home.
"I don't want to go!" she burst out, tears spilling again.
Rafe nodded gently, understanding her fear.
As the commander's wife, she would be sent off with knights she'd never met, left to wait for a man whose return had no specific date. Who wouldn't be frightened?
Trust wasn't something easily built, even with acquaintances—let alone strangers.
The very fact that she had conviction on Kyren so quickly, and that he had accepted her in turn, was astonishing enough.
But at the same time, Rafe understood why the commander had made that decision. Since they were all on duty during the campaign, the harsh conditions they were now in were not suitable for a woman.
"Gerhard is beautiful—green and fertile. It's comfortable too. I'm sure you'll like it," he tried.
But the princess shook her head fiercely, sniffling.
"No," Anna refused. "I want to be with him."
Her trembling voice made both men waver.
Ayden cleared his throat softly, trying to ease the tension.
"If you don't mind me asking… where are you from, my lady?"
That question, however, earned another glare from the healer.
"It's for the patient's history," he whispered, making Rafe ease back.
"I came from the City of Constance, Ardel," Anna said, tears still clinging to her lashes, though the familiar name gave her a minute to breathe amid her grief.
Rafe's eyebrows shot up in excitement.
"Oh, you're an Ardelian! I studied medicine at Engarth!"
"You did?"
Her tears slowed, curiosity briefly replacing sorrow.
The healer brightened at the memory of his early days of study, though they had been spent almost entirely immersed in books and experiments.
Engarth, a city in Ardel, was home to the continent's most prestigious medical university, boasting the most extensive library and archives dating back to the Ro'an Empire.
"It's a beautiful place. I cherished my time there," he said warmly.
"It is…" Her voice dimmed.
Memories of Ardel resurfaced in her mind. Although the terrible experience of the usurpation still haunted her, that region remained meaningful—it was once her home, her land.
Rafe sensed the weight of her grief. Her kingdom lay far to the south, in the heart of the continent. She couldn't have travelled this distance alone. Clearly, there was a reason she ended up so far north.
"Can you tell me exactly what happened? How did you get here?" he asked.
Quietly, the princess told him and his assistant about her kidnapping, journey, and the assault attempt.
She recounted, as she had to Kyren, how 'bandits' raided her home and killed her family.
"I have nobody. Please don't let my husband send me away," she begged again.
That explanation gave the healer and his assistant a more precise understanding. She wasn't being intentionally clingy—she was overwhelmed by the flood of emotions after enduring one horrific experience after another.
In simple terms, she was suffering from trauma, the kind one develops after surviving extreme danger or abuse.
Her mind was not ready to face another challenge so soon. And how deeply this trauma was affecting her wasn't clearly shown… yet.
"I understand. I'll talk to him. Don't worry," Rafe promised.
"You will?"
Hope lit her eyes.
"Of course. You're my patient. If you leave, how could I take care of you?"
Relief softened her face swiftly.
"Thank you."
"Now, if you don't mind, let me examine your wounds."
Anna hesitated for a moment, but with Kyren waiting just outside the tent, she forced herself to steady her nerves.
After all, the healer had been the one first to suggest the marriage—he meant no harm, and she could trust his intentions were honourable.
The commander had also reminded her that there were no female servants around; if she intended to stay, she would have to grow accustomed to being in the company of men and receiving their services.
The examination was brief and respectful, with Rafe focusing only on her face and hands. Satisfied, he gave a nod of approval.
"They're drying well. Did the commander apply the salve?"
"Commander?" the princess blinked. "Who is that?"
Rafe raised a brow, while Ayden paused, pen hovering over the parchment. They exchanged a brief, knowing glance.
"Apart from the plan to send you home… your husband didn't tell you… anything else?" the healer asked.
"No. Why?"
"Nothing," Rafe deflected, knowing better than to pry.
The instruction he received was explicit: attend to and care for the commander's wife.
Ayden, who had the same understanding, looked down, pretending to be busy with the notes.
"Can you tell me where I am?" Anna suddenly asked. "I know we're in Cassian, but where exactly?"
"This is the Dartrey Forest, and this camp is the Knights of Gerhard's temporary settlement."
The princess's eyes widened slightly as she recalled—Kyren had mentioned the same last night, that they were in a knight's camp.
Her eyes flicked around the tent, observing its neat arrangement. Parchments were stacked in order, swords and shields properly stored, armour set aside. This detail had gone unnoticed as she was too absorbed in her thoughts… until now.
Kyren's earlier words about his responsibilities and his occasional unavailability lingered in her mind.
She remembered his confident stance, the sharp authority in his voice, and the raw strength he had shown when confronting the slave trader with nothing but his bare hands.
Watching how he directed the healer, his precise gestures and measured responses brought a dawning understanding to her.
"My husband… he's a knight."
The princess had pieced together the clues and reached this conclusion; undeniably assured.
Rafe and Ayden exchanged a glance of mild surprise. If she knew this, shouldn't Kyren have mentioned his rank? Yet, by her words, it seemed he hadn't.
"How do you know?" the healer asked, curious.
Anna lowered her gaze, masking her discernment. Showing her perceptiveness might reveal more than she intended; it was safer to keep her true identity hidden… for now.
"He… looks like one. And you both called me 'lady.' Only knights' wives or noblewomen are addressed as such, right?" she said, her reasoning mild but pointed.
Her logic was sound to the healer and his assistant.
"Usually, yes—though Cassian men also use it to address any maiden," Rafe explained with a small smile.
Anna's lips formed a small 'O.' It made sense. Kyren had called her 'lady' when they first met. A subtle difference in customs of two different regions.
"It's best to ask your husband the rest if you want to know more about him. After all, you are his wife now, aren't you?" the healer added, noticing her contemplative gaze.
She nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Rest for now. I'll speak with him about your stay," Rafe said.
Anna nodded gratefully as the men left the tent, her resolve quietly hardening. No matter what, she would stay by Kyren's side.