The song ended and so did their dance. Ostus's heart pounded against his chest as he smiled down at the woman in his arms, an arm wrapped casually around her waist as he reveled in the weight of her hands against his chest through his clothing. She was laughing, smiling, having a great time, which made Ostus's spirits soar. He laughed along with her. "That was fun," he exclaimed. "You are a terrific dancer and a surprisingly impressive drinker... fuck, I could use a drink right now. You're also handy with a bow... what else can you do?" He wanted to dance like this with her again, to see how long they could last. He wanted to hear her laugh again knowing that she was having so much fun with him.

A much slower song began to play, attracting couples from all corners of the camp to step in and slowly sway to the music. Ostus sighed and wondered if he should complain to the musicians about playing more rousing songs. The tone of this song and the mood that it set suddenly reminded him of his place. He was the guard hired to protect the princess on her journey to meet her betrothed, and in the morning she would remember that he was a brute and he would remember that she was a spoiled brat, even though he now found it more difficult to think of her as such, and things would return to the way they were.

He blinked, realizing that he had carefully smoothed some of Kiara's hair from her face, softly caressing her cheek... it came so naturally to do this, to look at her...

He cleared his throat as he blushed, the awkward side of Ostus returning, as he politely dropped his hand and took a step back. Somehow finding the manners he should have displayed days before, he bowed respectively towards here. "Sorry about that," he muttered. "I guess we can... go talk somewhere, find a bit to eat, maybe get some water for you..." What he needed was a dip in some ice-cold river somewhere.