Shea’s POV

The weather wasn’t on our side. A sudden downpour caught us in the middle of nowhere. Drenched and tired we found a small village with an inn where we could wait for the rain to stop.

While Ellen was getting us a room to stay I found a stable to leave the horse in for now, I made sure to give the stable boy a few extra coins to make sure it would be in great care.

While making my way back to the inn I counted how much money I had left, my coin pouch was still pretty heavy but spending money like this did hurt, especially since I was saving money to buy Ellen a gi-

I shook my head before this train of thought could continue. This was not the time to be thinking about something frivolous like that, the princess was my top priority right now and I couldn’t hold back anything to save her!

While thinking such thoughts I got back to the inn, it was an old but sturdy building, I doubt Ellen would have much comfort staying here… not like there was any other choice.

After going inside, my nostrils were assaulted by the smell of meat and cheap alcohol and my ear drums by the loud and surprisingly big crowd. I guess the heavy rain made it difficult for people to work so they all decided to have some fun at the inn.

Tables full of people laughing and chatting away made it very lively, I wonder if there was even a room available for us?

After taking in the atmosphere for a bit, my eyes scoured the room to find Ellen, she was standing awkwardly near a corner counting the coins in her pouch, and I quickly made my way there.

“I told you I would pay”

My sudden appearance must have startled her and she dropped the coin pouch with a loud thud.

She seemed to have quite a lot of coins.

“Nevermind that, I got us a room”

I grabbed the pouch for her and she lead us to the room. It was all the way to the back of a long hallway.

“They didn’t have any rooms left with two beds so…”

She said sounding apologetic.

“So?”

She stopped for a bit before answering.

“We… we are going to have to share one”

Since I was the one walking behind I couldn’t see her face but her ears were bright red. I wonder if it was due to the rain...

My mind was trying its best to not start thinking about weird stuff but my heart was giddy with excitement, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me.

“It’s alright since… we are both girls?”

I tried to sound like everything was perfectly normal, but couldn’t finish my sentence confidently. I am sure my ears were now as red as hers, maybe even more.

Thankfully she didn’t look back at me, I tried to keep my cool so she wouldn’t be grossed out by me being weirdly excited about sharing a bed with her, but even the thought of doing that already made my heart almost burst.

I am sure I wouldn’t survive the night.

While I was stuck thinking of how to survive the challenge ahead of me Ellen finally opened the room’s door.

The inside was illuminated by the light coming through a small window and a lamp left on a nightstand near the bed. It was bright enough that I could confidently say it was decently clean and the bedsheets seemed to have been recently changed, the blanket on top of it though, seemed rather thin.

Maybe it was just that working as a royal maid had spoiled me.

As I was analyzing the accommodations Ellen seems to have finally turned around to look at me, below her damp hair that stuck to her face I could still see a faint blush, and I was curious about why she was looking at me so intently.

“Your clothes…Take them off”

What!?

Ellen's POV

The moment those words left my mouth I realized what I had just said, all the mental fortitude I had went through the window. My heart was already working overtime after I learned that we would have to share a bed, but now it was about to completely give up.

“Aaaah”

She seemed as speechless as I was. Her face was a bright red, mine was probably the same.

Amid my panic, I forgot what I even meant to say.

“Aren’t we… moving a bit fast?”

I couldn’t bear to look her in the eye, so my gaze wandered all over the place, even noticing how the wet clothes sticking to her body made her curves even more pronounced…

Wait a second, wet clothes! That’s it!

“I meant, take off your clothes, cause they are wet and, I don’t want to see you get sick”

“Oh! So that’s what you meant”

Her voice sounded relieved but also a bit disappointed. I had cleared up the confusion but the atmosphere still felt very awkward and my heart was still ready to burst out of my chest.

“If so, then… you should also… take your clothes off”

There was no way I could argue with her logic.

“I asked for some towels while paying for the room, so we should wait for that”

I could barely look her in the eye, but at least I bought myself a bit of time. I let out a sigh of relief when she nodded.

If things continued as they were there was no way I could survive the night. I hadn’t gotten any significant amount of sleep since the princess got kidnapped, my mind was already beyond tired, and I couldn’t think anything through. This stay at the inn was going to be a disaster for sure.

I heard a few knocks on the door.

“I brought the towels you asked for”

The voice of the lady that worked at the reception filled the room, as I made my way to open the door I noticed Shea seemed bothered by something, as we made eye contact I noticed she seemed eager to say something…