Refusing to step back, Alaric kept his hands flat against the stone, trapping her in his shadow.
"And do you want me to kiss you?" he asked.
Hesitation held her frozen. Her mind was racing; she had never been kissed before, and the man standing in front of her was terrifying. Yet, the brutal reality remained: her mother's and brother's lives depended entirely on keeping him happy.
"I..." She nervously gripped the fabric of her skirt. "I will do whatever you want me to do, My Lord."
"That wasn't the question," he replied, his voice dropping a fraction lower. "I didn't ask what you are willing to do for your family. I asked if you want it."
Staring into those glowing eyes, she couldn't guess the right answer. All she knew was that she couldn't afford to make him angry.
"Yes," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly.
A short, quiet hum vibrated in the damp air. He knew she was just saying whatever she thought he wanted to hear. Slowly lowering one hand from the wall, he brushed a dirty strand of blonde hair away from her cheek. The sudden contact made her shiver, but she forced herself to stay perfectly still.
Dropping his hand, he pushed off the damp stone wall and took a step back, finally giving her room to breathe. The heavy, suffocating tension in the tunnel vanished in an instant.
"You are a terrible liar," he stated. His voice was completely flat, lacking any anger or disappointment. "But we will work on that."
Completely confused by the sudden shift, the young princess blinked. She kept her back pressed against the wall, her heart still hammering against her ribs. She had braced herself for him to take her right there in the dirt, yet he was simply observing her with calm detachment.
Without another word, he turned his back on her and started walking toward the stone stairs leading up to the surface.
"Follow me," he called over his shoulder.
A long, shaky breath of relief escaped her lips. Gathering the heavy skirts of her ruined dress, she hurried after him, keeping her head down as they climbed out of the freezing dark.
When they finally pushed through the upper doors and stepped out into the bright afternoon sun, the sudden light forced her to squint.
The Tyrell camp outside was massive and loud, teeming with thousands of soldiers, horses, and supply wagons. As soon as the men caught sight of their commander walking past, all activity ceased. Hardened Northern soldiers and Reach knights alike dropped to one knee, bowing their heads in deep respect.
Intimidated by the sheer size of the army and the hard stares of the men, the princess shrank closer to his side. She kept her eyes glued to the dirt path, painfully aware of her filthy, ruined dress.
Neither slowing down nor acknowledging the kneeling men, he marched straight through the center of the camp to his large command tent. He pushed the heavy canvas flap aside and stepped in, holding it open.
Stepping inside, she found the space to be warm, lit by a small iron brazier, and smelling significantly better than the dungeon. A large map table dominated the area, alongside a few heavy wooden chairs and a massive bed in the corner piled with thick fur blankets.
The heavy flap fell shut behind them, abruptly cutting off the noise of the camp.
"Wait here," he instructed.
Stepping back to the entrance, he briefly poked his head outside to issue a quick order to a guard. Within minutes, two camp maids rushed in lugging a large wooden bucket of steaming hot water, coarse soap, and a stack of clean linen clothes. They hastily poured the water into a large iron tub in the corner, bowed, and scurried back outside.
Turning back from the entrance, he found her standing near the center pole, looking completely out of place and nervous.
"Wash up," Alaric said, gesturing to the tub. "Use the soap. Scrub the soot off. When you are clean, put those linens on."
Her gaze darted between the tub and the imposing man before her. She hesitated, hands once again gripping her dirty skirts. "Are... are you going to stay in here?"
"It is my tent," came the simple reply. He walked over to the wooden chair near his map table and sat down, leaning back comfortably. "I'm not leaving."
Swallowing hard, she understood the message clearly. Her privacy was gone. She was his property now, having promised to do anything to keep her family alive. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the tub and slowly reached behind her back to unlace the ruined garment.
Trembling fingers pulled at the tight laces. The stiff, dirty fabric finally gave way, pooling around her ankles on the rug. She stepped out of it, hastily pulling her shift over her head without daring to look over her shoulder, and quickly sank into the hot water of the iron tub.
The heat stung her cold skin at first, but it quickly seeped into her tired muscles. She picked up the coarse block of soap and started scrubbing the thick black soot from her arms and shoulders, watching the water rapidly turn a murky gray.
From the other side of the tent, Alaric shifted in his wooden chair. He had turned slightly toward the map table, keeping his back to the tub. He wasn't staring at her, but the sound of his boots scraping against the floorboards served as a heavy reminder of his presence.
"Do you know where Joffrey is?" he asked, his voice cutting through the quiet splashing of the water.
She froze, the soap slipping slightly in her wet hands as she stared at his broad back.
"I..." She swallowed. "I thought he was dead. Did he survive???"
The lack of an answer hung in the air. Her genuine confusion was enough to tell him she was completely in the dark. Shaking his head slowly, he let the silence stretch back out across the tent. The only sound remaining was the faint sloshing of water as the princess nervously returned to scrubbing the soot from her skin.
Focusing on the empty space in front of his chair, he pulled up his System. With a quick thought, the blue interface snapped open in the air.
Bypassing his status page, he opened his inventory. There, sitting next to the dark dagger he had taken from Cersei, was the glowing golden icon he had earned from Margaery's bond:
[Summon Upgrade Card +1].