Getting Morvran to rest was a lot harder than you had thought. You had managed to get him up the stairs, to his chambers, and into bed.

Without taking care, he dropped himself on the soft mattress, ripped his remaining shoe off of his foot and threw it across the room.

"Goddamn it!", he cursed.

Unimpressed by his anger, you went to pick up the shoe and placed it at the end of the bed.

"Are you always this pissed when you're forced to keep your ass in bed?", you asked with a mocking smile.

Defeated, he dropped into the soft pillows.

Seeing him like this, all snuggled up and buried in a sea of softness, reminded you that sometimes you had to resist the urge to sleep in one of the many empty beds yourself. They had been empty for so many times that you had wanted to claim a guest room for yourself.

The mansion had been empty for quite a while and the beds for the servants were about as comfortable as a rock. But the thought of getting caught had chased you like a wild animal so you had not dared to sleep in one of the chambers. Only sometimes you had snug into one room and had took a quick nap.

Surprisingly, it had been Morvran's chambers.

"You just mock me. Do you even know how hard it is for me to even be here? No? Let me tell you.", energetic, he sat up and pat the empty side of the bed. "Sit. It will be a long story."

With a raised eyebrow, you sat at the edge of the bed. You hesitated to make yourself comfortable.

"Are you sure, sir? It's quite late. I should get going.", you wanted to get up but he grabbed you by the wrist, pulling you towards him.

That sudden movement made you loose balance. You stumbled, fell back and landed halfway on his chest. With one arm, he reached across your chest, forcing you to stay down.

"Now where do you think you're going? It's you're fault I'm in this position in the first place. I have pain and can't ride for the next few days. So you might as well listen to my stories.", he demanded jokingly.

You snorted.

"So that's my punishment for running off with the mere?", you asked and sighed.

"If you want to see it that way. I guess we are stuck together now. You will have to take care of me as long as I can't walk by myself. That included entertaining me. And right now I feel like telling you a long story."

Sighing, you closed your eyes to wipe your face.

"I guess I don't have a choice then... Just tell me your noble problems stories so I can go to bed."

Filled with sarcasm, he laughed. That made his chest move upwards, raising your head lightly.

To your surprise, he was soft to lay on. So soft, that the feeling of dizziness wrapped around you. A little tired, you yawned but kept your eyes open.

"Pff. Noble problems stories. Forgive me but we nobles have issues too. We might not work physically every day but our minds work harder. We need to be on edge at all times. One wrong step and you will loose your position. As the right hand man of the emperor, things are even worse. A lot of people want me to fail. If they could see me right now. Ha! They would love to see me like this."

"Oh, yeah I forgot that being a noble comes with backstabs. Too bad that the common folks invented it. A farmer's wife would give a lot to gossip about a scandal.", you hummed. "Marry your daughter to someone and you will have new allies and new enemies equally. That's what my mother always said."

"Sounds about right. But I've heard some farmers still marry for love. Nobles don't do that."

Confused, you stretched to look up to him.

You yawned.

The movement alone was exhausting. All you wanted to do was getting a decent sleep.

"If they don't for love what do they marry for then?", you asked, a little lost.

Unmoved, he shrugged.

"Wealth. And if not for wealth then for military forces. Or for power. It all depends. The more powerful a family the more careful they must choose the ones they marry. At some point, you need to marry someone who is at least as powerful as you are yourself. They must be fitting to continue the bloodline without bringing shame upon you and the family.", he explained as if it was obvious.

"Hm.", you nodded, trying to understand his words. "And you?"

"Me? What about me?", he looked down on you.

Carefully, you sat up a little to be able to look him in the face. One of your arms was resting on his chest, the other on his stretched out leg.

You yawned. Your eyes were getting heavy.

"You know, as someone as powerful and noble as you. Who will be left to marry, if no one is worthy enough?"

For a moment, he kept quite. Secretly, he knew the answer. But he did not dare to tell you.

Not yet.

Instead, he cleared his throat and looked up to the ceiling.

"I feel like it's getting late. We should go to bed. You must be tired. After a day like this, I mean.", he wanted to grab you by the shoulder to get you moving.

But you were already asleep. Safe and sound, you had snuggled up onto his chest. The soft blanket was covering you. Both, you and Morvran, were still fully clothed. But at that moment, you did not care and he was unable to undress himself. At least to a certain extent.

At first, he thought about waking you. But as he saw your calm sleeping face, trapped in the realm of dreams, he decided to let you sleep. You seemed so peaceful, he almost too it like a compliment.

Carefully, he pushed you off of him, placed your head on a pillow and made space for himself on one half of the bed.

"Till tomorrow then.", he mumbled and turned around.