The Eight Scars She was awake for a while, but unwilling to move.
Cassandra just didnt want to come to the moment when they would have to face last nights issue again.
She was still at a loss about the Princes violent reaction.
Why was he so against it? He hadnt given any reason for his sudden anger from the previous night.
Cassandra was afraid it would be the same all over again that morning, and didnt dare to say a word.
Hows your arm? His deep, low voice surprised her.
Cassandra looked up, finally meeting the Princes eyes.
The black irises seemed free from all anger, making her feel a bit better.
Im fine.
You have bruises.
How did he know? Cassandra was still covered by the fur cloak, and held against him.
Had he peeked while she was still asleep? And if so, how long had he been awake? Cassandra shook her head slowly, and leaned a bit closer to his chest.
Its nothing.
Im fine.
She meant it.
Cassandra had experienced injuries that were much worse than bruises, and she couldnt even feel them at the moment.
She knew it probably looked worse than it really was because of her pale skin.
Yet, Kairen seemed unhappy.
He sat up and left the bed without a word, apparently just to get himself something to drink.
Cassandra sat up as well, covering her chest with the fur blanket, concerned.
She observed him for a while, but the Prince stayed silent, avoiding her gaze until she couldnt take it anymore.
My Lord, can we talk? What? About last night.
Please.
Kairen sighed, suddenly putting his cup down.
I didnt mean to.
What? asked Cassandra, confused.
I didnt mean to hurt you.
It wasnt my intention.
She stared at him, completely caught off guard.
Is that why he was so silent? Sometimes the Prince had such a strange way of thinking, she just couldnt guess what was going on.
His silence wasnt from anger, but guilt? But it was just an accident! She had fallen as a result of him being a bit too rough, but… She didnt think he was responsible for that.
Plus, she was still a slave, and him a Prince! Even if he had slapped her, any other Prince wouldnt have felt anything about that.
I know.
Im not upset about that, she said in a soft voice.
Arent you afraid of me? No! Sometimes you scare me a little, thats true, but not now, not when we are talking calmly like this.
She watched him release a sigh, and felt her heart warm up a little.
Is that what he was truly concerned about? That she would be really scared of him? Cassandra felt her heart melting a bit more for her strange War God, who could act like a normal man at times.
Kairen slowly walked back to the bed, sitting next to her, and Cassandra made the first move by giving him a little kiss.
He grabbed her hair very gently and kissed her some more.

For a while, it seemed like all the frustration and uneasiness from their dispute was washed away in that instant, with that long kiss.
They parted slowly, still sitting close to each other.
Cassandra hesitated a while, but she wanted to ask him while things were still calm between them.
What were you so angry about? Last night? Because you wont listen.
The Red Room.
Why dont you want me to go there? Kairen frowned and turned to her, with a silent anger.
Why would I want you there? Why do you want to go? I only mean to help your men.
The sick, the injured.
I cant stand doing nothing, My Lord.
This isnt how Im used to living.
Youre my concubine.
Im a slave, also.
Ive worked all my life, Im not used to lazing around all day, and spending money, or giving orders.
Then do something else.
Why not the Red Room? Cassandra, he said with an angry tone.
Im not letting you go.
Do you know how many diseases are there? All the men there carry those diseases.
If you go there, youll get infected and sick too.
She was stunned.
She hadnt even thought of that, she hadnt thought of…herself.
But Kairen had.
He had seen what normal people would think, why everyone was so surprised to see a concubine among the sick and injured.
Normal people would prioritize their own health, but Cassandra never learned to think like that.
Like any slave, she wasnt used to putting her security first.
From her own character, she just thought of helping others.
You were worried…for me, she muttered.
I dont want you there.
If you get white fever or something… Cassandra pulled the blanket, and suddenly showed the little scars that were on her hip.
There were eight little cuts, perfectly aligned, and were all the same size and shape.
Kairen frowned, wondering what kind of weapon could do this.
White fever, yellow fever, grey skin plague, the nine days disease, swamps sickness, black tongue plague, Samsah, and infection of Krah, she enumerated, showing each of the little scars.
I got all of those when I was a child.
Kairen frowned.
Those were very common and deadly diseases that common people could die from, except the two last ones he had never even heard of.
What do you mean, you got them all? Back in the village where I came from, all the children are infected with each of those diseases when we reach a certain age.
Its a dangerous technique our healers practiced, with a one in three chance of survival.
But if we do survive, we never get any of those diseases again as an adult.
The Prince looked at her scars again, speechless.
This was such a strange technique! To have the children pass this kind of deathly test, with that low rate of survival.
But the diseases Cassandra had mentioned were the most common ones, and the main causes of natural death in the Dragon Empire.

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He often forgot that Cassandra wasnt born there in the first place.
In your…village? Yes, my Lord.
The Rain Tribe I was born in had…advanced healing techniques, compared to here, I think.
Kairen stayed silent for a while.
Cassandra had mentioned her long lost younger sister, but aside from the fact that she wasnt born in the Dragon Empire, he knew very few things about her.
To be precise, he didnt care.
All of her past as a slave was something that made him angry, if anything.
She covered her hip again, hoping this little explanation would have made him more inclined to let her take care of others, but Kairen was still frowning.
But you can still get infections, and other diseases.
I can take care of myself.
I promise, Ill be careful.
Truthfully, Cassandra knew perfectly well she was still in great danger by doing this.
The germs contained in the Red Room were probably different from the common diseases.
She wasnt totally invulnerable, and her body wasnt even used to cold environments in the first place.
It was still unknown how she would resist things like a common cold or fever.
However, she was still stubborn about doing this.
She would have done it even if she hadnt been vaccinated by her Tribe, but thats nothing the Prince needed to know.
Seeing Kairen was still frowning and silent, Cassandra bit her lip, and leaned a bit closer.
My Lord, please.
I cant help you with matters of war, and I will go crazy with nothing to do all day.
You can accompany me.
I will only hinder you and be useless.
Its the same… She was really hoping he would agree, but he could be so stubborn at times.
After a while, she saw him stare at her collar, lost in his thoughts.
What was he thinking now? Cassandra waited in silence, as she couldnt think of any other ideas to persuade him.
After a while, Kairen sighed and got up.
I want you back before sunset.
And you stay with the Imperial Servant at all times.
Cassandras face lit up, and she immediately got up as well.
Really? Kairen nodded.
He was a bit unhappy, but he didnt add anything after that, confirming Cassandras hopes.
Thank you, My Lord.
Kairen.
She suddenly stopped moving, speechless.
The Prince turned to her, walking in her direction again, and put his arms around her.
Cassandra couldnt react, still taken back by what she thought he meant.
M…My lord? Kairen.
No more My Lord or My Prince.
Call me by my name when we are alone.
& Cassandra turned red then white immediately, completely shook.

Oh, could she call him by his first name? He was an Imperial Prince, not even his own siblings were all allowed to call him simply by his name! Yet, he wanted her, a mere concubine and slave, to call him that! That felt even more intimate than anything they had done before! I…I cant possibly…just… Kairen.
Say it.
She shook her head, torn between confusion and surprise.
She didnt even understand that strange feeling of fear in her stomach, like it was something deeply forbidden.
Cassandra felt like the sky would open and kill her on the spot if she dared to say his name.
She had always been the one with a deep, solid vision of the walls between them; between an Imperial Prince and a slave.
She shouldnt even have been able to look him in the eye, or stand in his presence, if things had been normal between them! But Kairen kept ignoring everything his own Empire had established as normal.
He took a slave as his concubine, let her express her thoughts and desires, respected her choices, and now, he even wanted her to use his first name! Cassandra.
1…I cant! She was almost more scared of that than anything else.
As if the Imperial Guards would come in at any moment and kill her if she dared to cross that line.
It was like the most unthinkable thing for a slave to call her master by his first name! She was so overwhelmed, her hands were shaking.
She kept shaking her head.
I cant do that, I cant.
Its not… Youre my master.
I dont care.
I care! Im not… You cant have me call you that, like Im an equal to you.
Im not! Thats what she had been told for the last ten years.
She was a slave, a nobody who stood at the bottom of society.
She didnt deserve comfort, warmth, nothing.
She was treated worse than livestock, like a shadow who lived to do her chores and suffer in silence.
She had almost forgotten that, in the bliss she had experienced with the Prince.
Kairen had made her forget what it meant to be a slave.
But Cassandra couldnt completely forget, and now, it was all coming back to her.
She felt her throat become sore, and her eyes teary, from just remembering.
Before, she could endure it, because it was normal for her, because she was used to ignoring her own pain.
She had learned to close her eyes, let her body become numb and endure it.
However, things changed when she was allowed comfort again.
Kairen had given her all that, so much and so fast that she had barely taken the time to adapt.
The warm blankets, the tasty food, the gentleness.
It had replaced the cold ground, scraps, and pain, so fast.
But it was still there, like a scary voice, a monster lurking at the back of her mind.
Like the scars on her skin, the collar on her neck.
It was heavy and painful.
Kairen, seeing her distress, silently embraced her in his arms, waiting for Cassandra to calm down.
He couldnt understand what she had gone through, but he saw what it did to her.
She had never panicked like that before.
Fine… Ill wait.
With those words, like she had been given a bit of rest, Cassandra nodded and calmed down in a few minutes.
Meanwhile, Kairen was glaring at her collar.
That damn thing had to come off, and soon!