Adelaide awoke in a state of warmth and sense of safety that she hadn't felt since before the war, so upon opening her eyes, she was confused to find herself not in her bed at the castle, with the warm summer sun streaming in through her chamber window, and a servant politely but firmly awakening her for breakfast with her brother that she was late for as usual, the entire war just a terrible terror of dream; instead she found herself trapped in the belly of an enemy ship, wrapped up in the arms of her mortal enemy, with the talons of a bitter, harsh winter, clawing at the edges of the makeshift bed of furs.

Looking up at the face of her still unconscious frenemy, she was taken aback by how different he looked whilst asleep. The few rays of morning sunlight that managed to squeeze through the barred window at the top of the back wall of their cell illuminated his face, and for the first time since his return, Adelade looked at him, and she really looked at him, taking in every detail of his sleeping face. In slumber he did not look like the devious, power hungry attempted murderer that she had been fooled by. He looked younger, more innocent and boyish than she had ever imagined it possible for him to appear. His brows, which she usually only saw furrowed in annoyance, or raised in mischief, lay relaxed above his peacefully closed eyelids.
and it was only then, while allowing herself to really observe him, that she finally noticed just how much he had changed since that fateful summer.

Though still devastatingly handsome, he was paler, for starters, a sharp contrast to the golden sailors skin he had bore when she had first met the Islander prince; and glancing down at her wrist for comparison, she realized he was now paler than her, and the drastic change she could only deduce be due a complete lack of exposure to the sun from his stay in the dungeon.
Next she noted how much sharper his already glass cut cheekbones were, and that led her to examine his jutting collar bone, and then the wrist which was still wrapped tightly around her; he was also thinner than she remembered.

A small wave of unexpected pity struck her, and she pictured his suffering deep below the castle of his family, alone, hungry and in the dark.
She quickly reminded herself that he deserved it, this was the man who almost killed her brother and took over her kingdom.
That man deserved it.
She told herself again.
She was pulled from her thoughts when Iolas shivered audibly in his sleep. Pulling her closer, he nuzzled his cheek into her hair,
"Princess..." He sighed in his slumber, relaxing back onto the pillow once more.

Adelaide felt a strange bubble of warmth build up inside of her chest at the unexpected act of subconscious affection, and she did not fight him, nor try to pull away. Instead she felt her body treacherously relaxing against his.
This is not that same man.
The voice in her head spoke up once more as she drifted back to sleep.

Adelaide and Iolas were abruptly awakened by the sound of the brig door being slammed open by Groaa. He entered with a plate of food in one hand and a large pitcher of water in the other. He swaggered in, face pained with obvious annoyance at being tasked to care for the prisoners.
Iolas and Adelaide quickly rose to their feet as he drew nearer. Iolas instinctively pushed the queen behind him when the burly barbarian reached their door and his eyes began to roam over her body with their usual perversity. The tall man strained his neck trying to see behind the prince, but Iolas moved further to block his view. With a disappointed grunt, Groaa slid the plate under the cell door and set the pitcher down through the bars before turning to leave.

"Wait!" Adelaide called.
With another sigh of annoyance Groaa turned around.
"What?" He asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
Adelaide stepped out from behind Iolas and picked up the other, now empty pitcher and the dirty, blood stained cleansing rags.
"I need more warm water and rags."
She said, holding them out for him to take, wanting to clean Iolas wound.
"No." The barbarian refused.
"Alright, but as I'm sure you know, high borm women of Aelford such as myself are quite delicate, if we do not cleanse regularly we fall ill, and if I do, I am sure your captain will understand why you didn't prevent it."
She lied so impressively and with such an ease that Iolas was all but stunned silent.

Groaa contemplated this for a moment.
"Fine..." he grumbled, reaching through the bars and snatching the rags and pitcher from her hands.

They ate and drank in silence, and Groaa returned a few minutes after with fresh, hot water and a fistful of clean rags before leaving them once again alone.
"I am impressed, needless to say."
Iolas tsked.
"I learned from the best... err worst I guess." She chuckled, picking up one of the rags and dipping it into the water.
"Glad I could be of some use to you."
He shook his head and began to remove his outer layers, starting with his jacket.

Adelaide watched as his nimble fingers began to next undo his cravat, untying it from his neck and pulling it free, and it only when he had half undone the buttons on his shirt that she realized she was staring.
Quickly she turned, but not fast enough for him to miss her crimson cheeks.
"Why so flustered Adelaide?"
His question, though genuine, came off almost teasing.
"I am fine..." She lied, this time quite badly, but turned to look at him directly, not daring to let her traitorous eyes fall any lower than his own.

Despite their circumstances, Iolas felt his own heart beat skyrocketing.
He bit his tounge, wanting to bide his time before further exploring this. Perhaps this fatal attraction he had begun feeling wasn't so one sided after all. Another part of him spoke up, telling him that he was wrong, that he had done too much, and wronged her to badly for the sweet maiden to ever even consider putting an intimate hand on him, but another, more desperate, broken part of himself was begging to try and find out.

They sat and she began cleaning his wound. His eyes lulling at her touch.
Unbeknownst to the queen, her fingers against his skin were as gentle to his flesh as they were chaotic to his insides.
She paused for a moment to reach for a drink, and that is when Iolas finally spoke up.
"Adelaide, do you find me attractive?"
Adelaide, who had a cup of water to her mouth, began coughing and gagging in suprise of his abrupt, out of the field question.
"What kind of question is that?!?"
She exclaimed, wiping the spilled water from her mouth with the sleeve of her nightdress.
"A curious one."
He answered back, catching her eyes and holding them.
"Well it's a stupid question to ask."
She began to answer, looking slightly offended.
"I mean, I said yes when you asked to marry me didn't I? Of course I did. I didn't just agree because of the quality of your ships and your islands good harvests."

A moment of silence passed between them.
"That wasn't my question though. I didn't ask if you did, I asked if you do? Now?"
It was a heavy question to ask, and he regretted it the moment the words were free from his lips, for it one with too many complications and implacations, and it left Adelaide in a confused silence. She bit her lip, and turned from him so he wouldn't see the confliction in her eyes.
In that moment he knew.
She did. She didn't have to answer. But he knew she hated herself for it, because she still hated him, and that thought made him hate himself.

"I'm sorry Adelaide. Here we are in such peril and I'm letting my own vanity get the better of me..." He chuckled, tone implying that the whole thing was just a joke in bad taste and brushing it off.
"Never mind me."

Iolas stood up to redress and when he was finished, he picked up one of the few remaining unused rags, wetting it and then wringing it out, then he held it out for her.
"What's that for?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you told him you needed the water to clean yourself. He won't believe that if he comes back and sees you still look like you got dragged through the woods."
Reminded Iolas.
"Good point."
She agreed, taking the rag from him.
"And I guess being clean would be a small reprieve from this entirely loathsome situation."

Iolas turned away to give her some privacy, and as the moments passed, he was doing all he could not to think of her now exposed body.
"Iolas." She called out softly, his name from her mouth hitting his senses with the most pleasurable sting.
"Yes." He cleared his throat.
"This is terribly embarrassing, and you may refuse, but could you help me get this grime from my back. I mean I normally have a maid... I cannot reach."

Every nerve in his body came suddenly and violently alive at the prospect of touching her bare, soft flesh.
"Of course your highness."
He croaked out, turning back around.
His breath caught in his throat, for she had her nightgown pulled down, exposing her creamy white shoulders and collar bone.
"Your highness?"
She laughed, handing him the rag and turning her back towards him.
"Who are you and what have you done with my evil prince?"
She pulled her now completely loose hair away from her neck to allow him better access.
"Oh he's in here... somewhere."
Iolas answered, knowing full well exactly which part of his body his evilness was currently residing, but unable to tell her for the sake of decency.

He could see why she had asked him for help, the layer of dirt and twigs from the woods on her back was truly worthy of requesting aid.
Biting his tongue to the point it brought a sharp pain, Iolas tried to clear his mind of lustful thoughts and dutifully began to wipe her back.

Adelaide did not expect the shower of sparks against her flesh wherever his fingers brushed. The heat of his body from behind hers was suddenly overwhelming, and she felt herself instinctively leaning back towards him more and more with each gentle stroke, and before long she was flesh against him, relishing in how solid and sturdy he felt behind her, a pillar of strength.
When the last speck of dirt was gone, he let the rag fall from from his hands, and when it hit the wooden floor the plop noise it made broke her from the trance that had brought her so physically close to him. Instead of pulling away, the only part of her that moved was her head, turning to look back and up at him.

Her eyes were filled with a great many number of things, like the clouds that gathered before an angry storm.
In them he saw mostly sadness, despair, and the obvious bitterness that had sown itself into her since her brothers untimely death, but beneath that, he saw a clear and desperate longing. For what he was unsure, but he sensed her need for comfort, which was a strange thing for him to experience, let alone want to act upon.
Iolas snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her even further against him, till their was not a breath of space between them and he had her pressed tightly to his chest in his first ever attempt at a genuine hug.
She tensed for a moment, and he watched, waiting for her to jerk out his grasp or at least voice something, but then to his suprise, without a word, she allowed herself to melt against him, and her eyes slowly closed to a deep lull. Iolas squeezed her tighter, and his strong arms encompassing her so dearly made the world around her fade away, if only for a brief moment, bringing her feelings of warmth, safety, reassurance, and perhaps... other t

Why this exchange brought him so much of his own content, he didn't know, but he felt his chest filling with a warmth that in the moment felt impenetrable to the icy air around them. Gently the brought his face to rest upon the crook of her neck and shoulder. With the dirt and grime washed away, when he inhaled he could smell her unique scent once again, it was soft, sweet, and reminded him so intensely of summer. With her flesh so near his lips, so bare and exposed, it beckoned to him and Iolas couldn't stop himself from planting a small, delicate kiss on her milky white shoulder.

For Adelaide, the tender brush of warm lips that had grazed her shoulder so lightly that at first she thought it must have been an accident surprised her, but accident or not she was not prepared for the wave of short, but promising pleasure that ran through her entire body afterwards. All thought left her head, the young queen shuddered, and found herself leaning ever further onto her former enemy.
Iolas was not prepared for her, the intoxicating, yet equally infuriating girl who claimed to despise him so much, to respond to him like that, to pull closer, instead of away, and to feel her shiver in pleasure in his arms; and it strangely thrilled him.

When his mouth greeted her skin in the same spot a second time, this time a lighter firmer, with a little more assurance, and after the second wave of brief pleasure had faded, Adelaide became certain of two things; firstly, that the previous kiss had not been an accident, and secondly, that her traitorous body wanted more.
Her mind was cleared of every thought but to lay her head back upon his shoulder and wait for another. She wanted to fight it, to remind herself of just who was bestowing this pleasure, this intimate human connection she so suddenly, yet so wantonly craved, but her body won the war against her mind and she couldn't help but lay back her head and further expose her shoulder to him.

For the briefest of seconds, Iolas froze in disbelief, realizing what he was doing, and more shockingly, what she was allowing him to do.

Before anything else could happen, the rattling of keys sounded at the door, startling them both. Iolas quickly stepped back just as the door swung open. In strode Groaa, a smug grin upon his ugly face, accompanied by two other, much bigger mongrels.
With heavy footfalls they reached the cell.
"Better warm up those pipes boy."
Groaa snarled as he unlocked the door.
"The Captain wants to hear you sing."

"What's going on?"
Adelaide panicked as the two bigger men stepped inside and grabbed her would be cousin from either side.
"Fret not woman, we just needs to ask your cousin a few questions." Assured Groaa deviously.
"If he thinks I will tell him where the army is hiding, or anything at all, he will be severely disappointed."
Iolas stated firmly, standing up as tall as he could despite the two men now pulling him out of the cell.

"We have our ways..."
Groaa smirked as they dragged him out and locked the cell once more.
"Iolas!"
Adelaide cried out reaching through the bars.
"Dont worry about me, dearest cousin,.." Iolas turned his head to call back to her as they reached the brig door and began to pull him up the stairs.
"I'll be fine."

_________________________

A/N: Yay! A new chapter!
I love this book so much, and I'm glad I finally had a little time to work on it.
In other news I want to enter this book in this years wattys since Bedding Camp made the longlist last year.
Would anyone like to edit it for me before I submit it? Send me a message if you do. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please don't forget to vote and comment. :)
All my love,
-QueenOfGeeks