Deimos wakes up as he senses the hostile presence. He has a heightened instinct for danger ever since an assassin tried to kill him in his sleep during a siege. He opens his eyes and saw Anastasia against the morning light coming from the window, for a moment he thinks that a forest nymph visited his bedchambers . Her hair is disheveled making her look like a beautiful lover after a passionate evening. The view would’ve been a wonderful way to start the day until Deimos sees the knife glinting in her hands.

"You fiend!" Anastasia shouts as she points the knife at him while covering herself with a blanket.

"Easy, Anastasia." Deimos says in a neutral voice. Anastasia charges at him. It wasn’t a wild swing but a precise strike. Deimos catches her hand and pins her to the bed. He quickly takes away the knife and ties her using her blanket as a knot to cuff her. Deimos leads her to his chair to sit down. The blanket fell during the scuffle exposing Anastasia. Uncomfortable with her nudity, Deimos covers Anastasia with his bath robe.

"Anastasia, I know you remember everything because I gave you ClearDawn." 

"You could’ve called my maid, you titanic pervert!" 

"Look, you know fully well what happened last night wasn’t my fault but yours. You threatened me." 

"You are a special kind of asshole." Anastasia says, still angry with him but she is starting to calm down. She knows that it was her own fault that led her to his bed but by lashing out she can soothe her guilty conscience. Her face reddens when she remembers that she kissed Deimos and tried to seduce him. It was a hammer to her face when Apollonia revealed that she may wed Barcus Mandrake. Her illusion of a happy ending was shattered yesterday like a fragile glass. In her sorrow, she descended to the prominent taverns and wasted a fortune on alcoholic drinks, the cheap stuff and expensive ones. She vaguely remembers feeling irritated at her socialite friends, wondering if any of whom will be there at her lowest.

"That may be but I am innocent here." Deimos retorts. Anastasia stays silent. Deimos stands up and goes to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" 

"I'll make some breakfast. I am hungry."  Deimos is not a good cook but he learned well during his time as a mercenary. He learned that a hungry stomach erodes morale and morality. And to cook his own food rather than risk being poisoned.

Anastasia can smell poached eggs, sautéed mushrooms, smoked fish, and her favorite coffee being prepared. For a man of his size, his movements are graceful.  Anastasia observes. Deimos approached her after preparing.

"Anastasia, I will untie you now, but promise me you will behave." Deimos says, looking at her violet eyes.

"I promise." Anastasia concedes as she is also hungry. She subsisted on nothing but air and alcohol yesterday.

"But first, help me dress." Anastasia asks then immediately regrets it. It has become her habit that her maid helps her dress up in the morning. Deimos for his part didn’t flinch but paused for a while before saying yes.

Anastasia puts on her undergarments that she tossed in a corner during her drunken episode. Deimos didn’t notice it the last night but Anastasia’s body is toned. Her rectus abdominis is eye-catching yet more noticeable are the bruise marks all over her body. Deimos knows a bruise from a blunted blade when he sees one. Deimos helps her put on her dress furiously trying to figure out the diabolic contraption. Finally, Deimos kneels down like a gallant Knight and gently fits in her shoes, touching her warm feet like a fairy-tale lover. Neither of the two talked during this surreal interaction, acknowledging that to do so would cause awkwardness in an already bizarre situation. So, they let the moment pass solemnly.

"I will be back shortly." Deimos says as he escorts her to his small table filled with breakfast. She was a bit tempted to eat first but she promised him that she will behave. Deimos came out in his training gear.

"Are you going to the training grounds?" Anastasia asks as he poured her coffee.

"Yes, I have a Duel. Let’s eat." Deimos says as they ate their breakfast in peace. The two didn’t talk as Anastasia is too hungry and Deimos is not the conversational type.

"A Duel with whom?” Anastasia asks as they finished their breakfast which satisfied her hunger and cooled her temper. For the moment.

"Hermesia." Deimos answers as he cleaned the table and took away the dishes.

"What did you do? Something lecherous, I bet." Anastasia chuckles, "Compared to Hermesia, I am a saint."

"No and maybe." Deimos says. While washing the dishes, he remembered that he had Hermesia followed by his spies. Does that count as something lecherous? He wipes the remaining dinner wares.

Anastasia observes him, feeling a bit shaken in seeing him cook for her, attend to her, and now cleans after them. She may have the wrong impression about him. In her view, he was a selfish prick ever since they were children, always in the library with Apollonia. Anastasia was always wary when he was around as she never really knows his intentions. 

“Under normal circumstances, any man would be happy if a gorgeous woman approached them let alone come willingly to their beds.” Anastasia teases, making light of her mistake is one of her defensive mechanism, “Why didn’t you?”

“I would be happy if a gorgeous woman approached me.” Deimos scans his room as if looking for something, “But alas, there is none.”

“Oy, do you want to die?” Anastasia glares at him. Deimos smiles, warm like the early morning sun, which unnerved her.

“Why are you secretly training like a Knight?” Deimos asks in a serious tone. Anastasia squints at him with suspicion.

"The way you attacked with a knife is not something an untrained person can easily do." Deimos adds. He also has seen the bruises in her body but decided it would be wise not to mention it. 

“Yes, because I want to protect myself from bastards like you.” Anastasia lies. It seems that she didn’t remember her last words before she drifting to sleep. Deimos didn’t reply but merely indicated he believed her.

"I have to go now." Anastasia says, standing up to avoid further inquiry. Deimos escorts her to the door and opens it. Anastasia paused and moves closer to Deimos, invading his personal space. Their faces inches from touching.

"Apollonia loves you, Deimos.” Anastasia says, Deimos can feel the conviction in her voice, “And if you do anything that will hurt her, I will come for you.”

P.S 

Dear Blood Sharks,

First of all, thank you for the ratings! It really motivated me to do my best. From here on now, I will write every chapter with at least 1,000 words. In order to do that without filling it with empty calories, I have decided to release 1-2 chapters per week. The chapters will be released on Friday at the earliest and Sunday at the latest, GMT + 8 time.  Also, please leave a rating as it would greatly boost my confidence and motivation in writing this novel. A five-star rating would have tremendous impact because it means I am (probably) on the right track in writing the story the way you readers like it. 

All the best!

-Evaldai