A long night

The thought of Charlotte undressed in front of her in broad daylight gave her a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, she tried to dismiss that feeling.

"There was only one so quit winning. It's better than nothing." They spoke with a irritated expression.

"Your sleeping on the floor because there is no way I'm going to sleeping the same bed as you." Neia said shooting them a dirty look.

"Like hell I am. Listen here 'princess', I don't deal with unless drama so either we're sharing the bed or you can keep sulking there in your little corner."

Charlotte pouted, flipping the covers over them like an upset toddler mad at their parents for making them leave their friends.

Something inside her pulled her toward the bed like a magnetic force was attracting her.

Seeing as Charlotte had no intention on moving, she walked over to the bed.

"Don't go to my side." Neia warned.

"Wouldn't...dream it, goodnight." Charlotte managed to form out in a sleepy tone.

Not responding, Neia turned the other side that was not facing them.

'This is going to be a long night.' Neia thought to herself as she slowly fell asleep.

*****

They woke up at the crack of dawn.

Neia sat up. Neia grabbed her dagger and got into a defensive position.

When Charlotte made no move to attack her, she relaxed.

Neia stretched and looked down at where Charlotte's arm was draped across her waist. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed she had been lying on top of Charlotte during the night and she quickly scooted away from her.

A smile crept onto her face when Charlotte groaned, rolled onto her back and opened one eye to glare at Neia.

Shaking off these disturbing thoughts, she went and got ready. After putting on the pants and tunic Neia left to search the castle.

On the way down stairs, she ran into the kind maid holding up a pair of pure white frilly dresses in her hands.

Nyra nodded a greeting to her.

"It is still early so please make haste. The king has a very important meeting this afternoon." The woman said handing her the dresses, which Nyra reluctantly accepted.

When she arrived, everyone was gathered around a table eating breakfast and chatting about what they did during their free time while she was gone. She ignored them and went straight to her room to change.

After getting dressed, she went to go find Charlotte who was nowhere to be seen.

She found her sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea when she got downstairs.

"Good morning." Neia greeted taking the seat opposite her.

"Hey." Charlotte muttered taking another sip of her tea.

"Did anyone tell you where the prince is?" Neia asked looking around. Charlotte shook her head and then continued drinking her tea.

Sighing loudly, she stood up.

"I'll find him myself." She walked over to where the door to the dining hall used to be and pushed past the crowd and through the entrance doors.

Standing there waiting for some reason, she could hear the clanging of pots and pans coming from the kitchen.

The streets of the North Kingdom were quiet. Even more than usual, as there weren’t many people out and about this late at night, even for a town like Winterfell. The guards patrolling the walls kept an eye on everything while the soldiers stationed around the perimeter watched over their charges and made sure that nothing dangerous came through. There were still some stragglers out wandering the area, so it wasn’t surprising when they encountered one of these.

The figure paused before them, and the soldier in charge of watch stepped forward to stop him from going any further.

“State your business please,” he said sternly.

They hesitated briefly before answering, but finally replied, “I’m looking for the Prince.”

“What would you have with the Prince? Are you here to try and steal his crown?” The guard joked slightly, earning him a glare from the stranger before shaking their head.

"You think I want to see him? I was sent here by the king to serve under him and the only thing I want to do is peirce a dagger into his heart not stealing some useless crown." Nozira mumbled the last past to herself.

"No. I just need to see him. That’s all.”

The guard eyed him suspiciously. He didn't believe this person for a second, though he had no choice but to give in.

He called one of his men over and instructed them to find the prince's quarters.

One guard held open the door for Neia and the other escorted her to the prince's private study.

The door closed behind them and she took a deep breath, before taking her first steps in this new world.

She stood awkwardly at the foot of prince Idar's chair, waiting for permission to sit. He looked up from his papers and waved his hand at the chair next to him. When Neia remained standing, he raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Feeling foolish she walked over to the chair he indicated and sat down. She felt her cheeks grow hot as her eyes landed on her lap.

Once she'd finally gathered enough courage to meet the prince's gaze, she looked up at him.

His lips twitched upwards before he returned his attention to his papers. His shoulders were slightly tense and he seemed almost bored.

"Are you the new maid? You look a bit young." He said.

"Yes, my name is Nozira." She bowed her head in greeting before adding, "Your majesty." She whispered.

"Ah yes, you've probably heard me call you Zira." He replied, his voice devoid of inflection.

"So you can start by calling me, Prince Idar. My father prefers it." Idar leaned forward to grab something from his desk.

He turned to face her again, but he didn't offer her any food or drink. Instead, he handed her a piece of parchment.

"My schedule, and make sure memorize by tomorrow." He stated.

"Thank you, Prince Idar." She forced out bowing low.

He nodded in response and she saw his lips twitch again as he glanced towards his window.

"If you'll excuse me now." Idar dismissed her without waiting for her reply and began signing documents.

Neia stood up and retreated from the room, she wasn't sure why, but the sight of him reminded her of how small and helpless she was.

She also couldn't help but wonder if she would have fared worse if she had escaped when she did.

But then again, she wouldn't have survived the attack if the people outside didn't have her.