Alice’s soft words soothed the former knight further and soon, she too felt a little light headed. The injuries inflicted on her during her capture began to strike back, causing dull aches all over her body. Grimacing and gritting her teeth, she opened her eye and looked up at Alice.

[i]“ The cold stone isn’t very forgiving, is it?”[/i]

“No. No it’s not. In fact, I think I’d rather stay in a nice comfy bed,” Melissa said, already moving to get up. How strange it all was. Just minutes, no, moments ago she had misguided thoughts about this royal girl. But…well, who was she kidding? She had nothing now. No home. No family. No kingdom.

But she did still have a princess. Yes, Alice had, ignoring the magic incident, been kind to her throughout her time here. Kindness was wasted on her these days, especially with her tarnished physical appearance. And Alice hadn’t even screamed out when she saw her missing eye.

Alice.

Melissa suddenly felt a prick of uncertainty in her side, though it was not mistrust this time. Something…else. This feeling made her feel shameful and she turned her head away to hide what probably was a streak of red on her pale visage. She couldn’t be….no. It was just a sense of friendship and…new loyalty.

“You Highness? If I can ask you of this…I don’t want to waste my time being a burden to you. On normal circumstances, I would be executed immediately, probably even tonight. However…”

A pause.

“…however, I’ve been…touched by your consideration for me. And so…me and Miranda would…well…c-can you…c-can I serve you your Highness as a loyal knight? I’ll become your tool! Your soldier and guard to use freely! We want to be of use to you! So please…can I serve you?”