"It's getting late," Mary said, glancing at the entrance of the tent.
"Yes, so can I stay here?" Amara asked, giving Mary her best puppy eyes.
"Haha, sure! But do you think the captain will allow this? Don't you remember the Rose Hotel?" Mary laughed.
Amara shot her a look. "I don't think it's funny."
"Yes, it was hilarious! You punched him because he came to your room," Mary continued to tease.
"I had my reasons, you know that," Amara replied defensively.
"Sure, your husband came to your room, and you punched him," Mary mocked playfully.
"How was I supposed to know he would come to my room? I thought we were all going to have separate rooms—like you and Lara, Ethan and Mark, and me and Maxwell," Amara explained.
Amara, you never told me what happened," Mary said, her curiosity piqued. "We only saw the captain with a black eye, and he yelled that his wife hit him. It was funny, but really, what happened?"
Amara hesitated, recalling the chaos of that day. They had only learned about her marriage when Max had yelled it at them, leaving everyone in shock.
"I... it's complicated," Amara finally replied, her voice low.
"But we didn't even know you two were married until then!" Mary pressed, leaning closer. "What led to all of this?"
"You know why we were there; the crown prince wanted us to find a prisoner. Well, I was sleepy and went to my room.then I left the door open, and he came in, and... I .... I punched him," Amara confessed.
"I know that, but what was his reaction? Why did you try to come to my room? What did you tell him that made him yell at us all day?" Mary asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
" Don't laugh ," Amara warned.
"True friends always laugh, but I'll try to hold it," Mary promised.
"Fine! Well, I told him, 'Why are you here?' He yelled, 'This is my room!' I apologized and tried to leave," Amara recounted.
Mary couldn't control her laughter. "Stop it! Let me finish at least!"
"I'm sorry, keep going," Mary said, still chuckling.
Amara smiled, encouraged by Mary's laughter. "Well, he stopped me and asked where I was going. I said, 'I'm going to my room.'"
"Haha, this is hilarious! Keep going!" Mary urged.
Even Amara started laughing a little because of Mary's infectious joy. "Well, he said, 'This is your room!' I replied, " what are you doing in my room?" And he yelled ' this is our room!! ' then I replied .'Why are we sleeping in the same bed?' And he yelled, 'Because we are married!' It's still ringing in my ears. It was terrible then, I asked, 'And?'"
"Did you really say that? You're kidding, right?" Mary exclaimed.
"What? My parents don't even sleep in the same mansion; how would I know?" Amara replied.
"Okay, okay, and what happened next?" Mary asked, still giggling.
"And we slept in the same room. It's over, okay?" Amara said, trying to shut her friend up.
"I'm sorry! Please tell me what happened next!" Mary pleaded.
"No, I won't; you'll make fun of me," Amara protested.
"I don't have a reason to make fun of you! I'm already doing this for no reason; at least you're giving me one!" Mary joked, her laughter echoing in the tent.