I Will Protect You...Chapter 12.5[A YuGiOh fanfic]

After my fallout with the Prince in the throne room, I returned to the inn once again in tears. Karn told me I was being idiotic when I told what had happened, but I refused to listen to her. She knew some of what I'd gone through, but I'd never told her the full extent. There was no way she could understand how desperate I was to protect myself from drowning in the darkness that had devoured my childhood. And if that meant I had to sacrifice what little love life I had, then so be it.
The next day, I entered one of the empty bedrooms to clean it before the next guest arrived—at least, I thought it was empty. When I'd knocked on the door, there hadn't been any answer, so I let myself in. Whoever had last stayed here had obviously only used the room for sleep (if you find that strange, then you've never worked in an inn before), so there wasn't much to clean. I made the bed, swept, and tidied up what little there was to tidy. I was just putting the finishing touches on the bedside table (fresh-cut flowers in a clean vase as a homely welcome to a weary traveler), when I heard a noise at the window. I figured it was just another faithful servant of Bast the cat goddess come to watch me work (no, I am not arrogant, they do actually do that, and not just to me. Karn's sweeping seems to fascinate them as well), so I paid the noise no mind.
"Thank you so much for cleaning my room for me. It was becoming quite a mess."
I jumped, startled out of my wits. I whirled around to find a man sitting leaned against the window sill with one foot propped up for support. He looked like he could be Auset's—much older—brother. He was tall, with the same flashing blue eyes and stark white hair. He wore a faded black kilt and a blood-red coat that reminded me of the Prince's eyes. The coat hung open to reveal his bare chest. His skin was so dark, it looked almost as red as his coat. His muscular arms were crossed over his chest.
There was one striking difference between him and Auset. While she was quiet and shy, he had a cocky, evil air. Well, maybe not evil, but definitely manipulative to say the least. He flashed me a smile that seemed eerily familiar, with his glowing white teeth that were so sharp they were barely human. I knew immediately to keep my guard up around this one.
My heart had jumped so much, I put a hand to my chest to be sure it didn't leap away. Once it (my heart) had stopped trying to pound its way from my ribcage, I regained my composure and sent him a stern glare.
"Sir," I said, placing my hands on my hips. "Please refrain from climbing through the second-story window when there is a perfectly-working door out front."
"Ah, but what would be the fun in that?" he asked sarcastically, climbing down from the window into the room and walking towards me. He had a strange accent, similar to Auset's. "Besides, if I had tried the front door, I might have missed walking in on a pretty girl like you. You know, those ragged clothes really don't suit your good looks."
I glared at him, unfazed by his hollow compliments. "You said this was your room. Karn told me nobody's heard from the resident in this room in days. If this is your room, why haven't you been down to have any meals?"
The man shrugged, still smirking. "I'm not much of a 'people' person," he said. "I'm rather picky about my company."
"You could always request to have your meal brought to your room," I informed him.
"Only if it was by you, dear," he replied, winking.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "You said you weren't a 'people' person," I observed, "yet you don't seem to have a problem with me."
He chuckled, leaning one arm against the wall by my head, bringing his face closer to mine. "What man wouldn't want the company of a beautiful young lady like yourself?"
I didn't like him. His mere presence made me uneasy. But I wouldn't let him see my discomfort. It would only egg him on and make things worse. I kept my stone face.
"I appreciate the compliment," I lied, darting underneath his arm and heading for the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going. I still have many more chores to do." I reached the door knob and started to pull the door open. "At dinner, I will bring you your meal, as requested—" Before I could open the door enough to slip through, the door knob was yanked from my grasp and the door slammed shut again. I looked up the man, who was leaning with his back against the doorframe and grinning at me wickedly. He was easily a half-cubit taller than me, which didn't settle the knotted feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"Leaving so soon?" he asked rhetorically.
"I had hoped so," I replied, glaring. He shifted his weight to face me with his shoulder still against the door. I knew that there was no amount of strength that I could summon that would force the door open, and I was nowhere near as good at climbing through windows as he was. I was trapped.
"You look troubled," he said, still smiling (why was he so happy?).
"Do I?" I answered, slowly backing away from him, trying to think of a way I could escape.
"You have something on your mind. Well, other than trying to find a way to get out of your current situation." He laughed as if he found my distress funny. My eyes continued to dart around the room. "You won't find one, by the way."
"I can always try." My calves bumped the edge of the bed. I muttered a curse under my breath. I glanced back at the man. Luckily, he hadn't moved.
"Don't worry," he said. "I won't force myself on you. I'm not that kind of man."
"You could have fooled me," I whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. Still, something inside me believed him. I couldn't shake my small feeling of relief.
"I have a natural appreciation for beauty," he said. And I'm ashamed to say that, now that I knew he held no ill intentions toward my…femininity, a slight blush crept up to my cheeks; at which he chuckled again, seeing as his words had finally gotten to me. "However, I've learned that trying to take beautiful things for oneself has a tendency not to pan out too well, so I leave well enough alone." The way he worded his explanation rose a small bit of curiosity in me, but not enough for me to investigate further. He pushed himself to a standing position, his eyes never leaving mine.
"Now that you feel a bit safer," he continued, "do you want to tell me what's been bothering you?"
"If I say no, will you let me leave without question?" I asked.
The man shook his head. "Probably not," he confessed.
I sighed. I'd figured as much. Cautiously, I sat down at the edge of the bed. There was no point in trying to lie to him, of that I was sure. No doubt, he would wring the truth out of me whether I wanted to tell him or not. So why bother putting myself through the torture?
"I'm having a bit of an emotional conflict," I began.
"With a young man, I presume," the man interjected.
I couldn't answer him at first. "…Yes, with a young man…" Before I could stop myself, it all came pouring out. I told him about how the Prince and I met, and didn't stop until I'd finished with our embrace in the throne room, and my fleeing for fear that he would hurt me again. As I went on about our adventures and misadventures, the man's smile steadily faded into a thoughtful frown.
"And now you don't know whether or not you should have stayed with him, am I right?" he guessed.
"Y…Yes. That's right. I don't know what to do. I want to be with him, but—"
"But you don't want your fears about him to be correct. You're afraid he'll turn out like your father."
I couldn't speak; there was a lump in my throat that kept me from saying anything. Instead I just nodded as my vision blurred. I blinked away the tears. I found it surprisingly easy to talk to him, once my suspicions of him had subsided.
"Do you want my opinion on this?" he asked. I nodded. "I think…should he prove to you that he will never lay a hand on you again, that you should be with him."
I swallowed the lump, forcing it down momentarily. "What makes you say that?" I asked.
"Well, human beings have never been very predictable. We're constantly changing depending on the situation we're in. No one can ever be sure that they can completely trust the person that they're with. But, if this young man loves you as much as you say, and you love him in return, then you should give each other a chance to grow. You're young adults. You must be able to take risks and bear the consequences, whatever they may be."
"So, you're saying that if he hurts me again, I'll just have to deal with it?"
"Of course not! I'm not saying that at all. I'm merely stating that what happens between you two from now on will be up to you. It only depends on how the two of you behave towards each other from this point on. Besides, if he does hurt you again, as you fear, then you always have the option of divorce—"
"No!" I exclaimed. The man looked at me curiously. "I'm not going to divorce anyone. I want my marriage to mean something. I want my first marriage to be my only marriage."
"I see. So that's why you're being so cautious with this one. Divorce is not an option for you. If you were to marry a…someone like your father, then you would be stuck with him for the rest of your life. But why put so much pressure on yourself?"
I stared down at my feet. When spoken aloud, it did sound rather odd, but… "I just want to know that I've made the right choice."
The man placed a hand gently on my shoulder. "You have to make that choice first. If you keep living your life in fear, then you'll never make the right choice at all, and then where will you be?"
"Broken and alone, as I always have been."
"You said it, not me."
"I…I guess you're right. I shouldn't be afraid of making the wrong decision. If I am, then I'll never make the right one." I stood, filled with a new hope. I dared to even look at the man and smile. "Thank you so much. You've really helped a lot."
The man smiled back up at me. It was still a little unsettling, but not so much as it used to be. "Always glad to be of assistance, milady." From his seated position beside where I had been, he did a little bow. I wasn't sure whether or not he was joking, but I didn't let it bother me too much.
I started for the door. "I assume I'll be bringing you your dinner later today?" I asked.
His smile widened, and he winked at me again. "If you wouldn't mind, my dear."
I laughed and left his room, closing the door behind me.