Your dreams were plagued with the Mandalorian. He was standing inside of your room, on the opposite side of your door. You sat up in bed and asked what was wrong, if there was any danger. He removed his helmet. You gaped in horror when you saw that the man behind the mask was Vinor Thiff. He smiled sinisterly when he approached the foot of your bed. I'm the danger, he said, pulling out a blaster and firing it directly at your chest, and you screamed.

You woke with a gasping start, your hand making a fist and slamming down on the plushness of your bed. You rolled over and looked at the door, but the Mandalorian wasn't there. It took several minutes for you to calm your breathing and focus on what was around you. The sun was starting to come up. It was almost 07:00.

You got out of bed. The dress that had been hung up for you was pink again. This one was darker, and the shoes it came with were gold. Without the crown to go on your head this time, you felt slightly older. Especially when you tied your hair back and twisted it up so that it stayed out of your face. As you washed your face before the start of your day, a fist knocked on the door.

"Yes?" You turned your face towards the door to listen.

"Princess, it's time to go meet your father for breakfast."

The Mandalorian sounded nothing like Vinor Thiff, and that was somewhat of a relief. The Mandalorian sounded young. Vinor Thriff was old. His voice was raspy and shaky, and laced with evil that you couldn't describe. You shut your eyes and tried to separate the two men. Vinor Thriff would no longer wait at your bedroom door for you. You had the Mandalorian now, and he was different. You couldn't yet trust him, but he was different from the man that scared you this badly.

"Princess?"

"I'm coming," you said. You looked at the reflection in the mirror one final time before you left the bedroom. The Mandalorian was facing your door now, leaning against the opposite wall. He stood up straight when he saw you. "Good morning."

"Morning."

"How did you sleep?"

"Fine," he said.

"Good." You started down the hallway and he walked alongside you. "And breakfast?"

"It was great," he said, "thank you again."

"My pleasure," you said.

The dining room was open, the servants moving around the table. You took your seat and the Mandalorian took his, and as you both lowered yourself, you saw the smiling face of Vinor Thiff cross the dining room. You stiffened and cast your eyes downward, embarrassingly terrified. You could only imagine how pleased his made him, but after the nightmare you had last night, you couldn't help but react this way.

"Good morning, your majesty," he said, nodding at your father, who was already digging into his food. "Princess."

"Good morning, Vinor," your father said, and his eyes flashed at you.

"Good morning, sir," you muttered, sparing only a fraction of a second to glance at him. You shuddered and looked away, too terrified to even notice the eyes of the Mandalorian on you.

"And there he is, the Mandalorian himself," Vinor Thiff said. "It is an honor to finally get to speak to you."

"Vinor Thiff," the Mandalorian said in greeting. He stood slowly to his feet. He stood an inch taller than the man that used to be your bodyguard. "I thought we were meeting in a week."

"Oh, we are," he said. "I've just come in a spare moment of my own to meet with the king on certain private matters. The king will have a busy schedule all day, so the only chance he could spare was during breakfast. Won't you eat with us, Mandalorian?"

"No, he will not," your father said, amused. "He doesn't take the helmet off. Ever."

"Oh, that's right. I remember you mentioning that to me now, your majesty. How silly of me to ask. It's such an easy thing to forget."

"It's not an easy thing to forget," you blurted out. "You are just choosing not to listen or respect him."

"Know your place!" your father hissed, his fist slamming onto the table. The Mandalorian stared at the way your father seethed in shock.

"You talk about respect, young lady, but you don't understand respect." Vinor Thiff stole your gaze. You felt sick to your stomach as he took the few steps around the table and grabbed your face harshly. "I can teach you some respect, if you'd like me to."

"No," you said pleadingly, voice trembling. The Mandalorian turned his body towards you, his fingers twitching toward his blaster. Vinor Thiff smiled and dropped your face, chuckling until your dad laughed with him.

"Mandalorian, relax," your father said. "There is no threat here!"

"That's not what I'm seeing," the Mandalorian replied coldly. "His hands were on her."

"Vinor Thiff is a close family friend, Mando. He means no harm." Your father smiled.

You were horrified and disgusted. You pulled your hands off of the table and stood up quickly and let the lie pour out of your mouth. "I-I have to use the refresher."

"Of course, Princess," Vinor Thiff said, grabbing your elbow. "Let me escort you there safely."

Your eyes widened, the no about to spill of your lips, when the Mandalorian stepped between the two of you, his hand hovering over the chest of Vinor Thiff. "That won't be necessary. I was hired to follow her closely. I can escort her myself."

"Yes," Vinor Thiff said, stepping back. "Go ahead, Mandalorian."

"Come," the Mandalorian said, and his hand touched the small of your back briefly until you started moving. Your feet shuffled clumsily.

You walked very unlike a princess, and for the first time in a while, it was exactly how you felt. You had no more composure left. You were breaking apart at the seams, letting the true you shine. You were terrified of this life that you lived. And it wasn't until you left the dining area and made it to the first refresher down the hall that you collapsed against the wall, a string of cries and panicked breaths escaping you.

Scared. You were so scared.

"It's alright," the Mandalorian said, his hands on your shoulders. "You're alright."

No, he didn't understand. You were not alright. You could feel the pressure on your jaw where his fingertips dug in. You could smell the alcohol on their warm breaths. You could feel their stares as if they were still watching you from even here. And as you thought about them more and more, you grew more hysterical. You grabbed the Mandalorian's arm and yanked open the refresher's door, pulling him in with you.

He followed silently as you slammed the door shut and locked it. Your hand remained on the lock for a brief moment and you tried to focus on your heart. It wouldn't slow down.

"Forgive me," you whispered, eyes squeezed shut against the tears. "I am so scared."

"No, you don't have to be sorry. That was... that was... you have every right to be scared." He placed a hand on your shoulder again and you opened your eyes, wiping the tears away with your fingertips. He reached behind you and grabbed a towel that was neatly folded above the sink. "Here, Princess."

"Thank you," you whispered, pressing the soft towel against your face. It dampened with your tears right away.

"Do they always treat you like that?"

You pulled the towel away. "Like what? Like an object?" You sniffled. "Yes. Some days are worse than others. This is one of those days. My father is fond of the palace's collection of alcohol, and some days he splurges a little too much on the supply. And on days like this, Vinor Thiff is able to truly be himself."

"That man used to be your bodyguard?"

"He was, until I broke out into hysterics. I threatened to jump out of my window, and so my father took him away, offering him a higher position," you explained. "I was punished, of course. And he was rewarded. But my father replaced him, and for that I was grateful. I had common palace guards follow me until you came. It's been three months since he's grabbed me like that. I am no stranger to pain, Mandalorian, but some days... some days the hurt is greater."

As you explained, you pulled your sleeve down. The glimpse of your skin showed plentiful bruises, enough to tell the Mandalorian a whole new story. His gloved hand raised as if he wanted to touch it, to cover up the dark fingerprints that had left marks on your skin. There were so many in one place that they had yet to heal.

"And if you were to see the rest of me, you'd see proof of the same. On my arms, on my back. The ones on my face healed the quickest."

"And your father allows this?"

"Mandalorian," you whispered, "my father isn't protecting me from anything other than myself. He wants me to remain here because I am the only thing he has left to control. My mother died, my brother..." You shut your eyes for a moment. "It's just me now. And he can play up this sob story all that he wants, but I know that he doesn't put a lock on my door to protect me from a threat. The threats are all around me and he likes that they're there. He just doesn't want me to get any ideas. He doesn't want me to think to rescue myself." You looked up at him. "You're here for one reason, and that's to keep me in line." Your fingers ghosted over your shoulders one more time before you yanked the sleeve back up.

"Your father hired me to protect you. Not keep you in line. Whether those were his true intentions or not, that's what I'll do." He nodded his head once. "Protect you."

"And if my father stops paying you?" you asked, raising your eyebrows. "What will you do then? Because if you stand up to him, if you protect me from him, he will expect you to change or leave."

"I'm not worried about the money," he said.

"That's very brave of you," you said. You were surprised by his answer. "Thank you."

"This is the way," he said.

You swallowed and wiped your face with the towel again. "Um, can you give me a moment in here? I'll be right out, I promise."

"Take your time," he said. "I will be right outside the door for you."

You smiled, even though it was small and through your tears, and you locked the door back as he left. And you realized, as the lock clicked, that this was the first time that you were grateful to have someone on the other side of the door for you.