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Johanna shrugged. "Uhu, whatever you say." She didn't trust it, something seemed off like he was keeping something a secret. He called her princess, again and she sniffed. He told her to be silent and for the first time, she listened and didn't say a word. Instead, she just stared onto the road with a frown on her face.

After half an hour, she got tired of being silent and started humming a song. Johanna wasn't one to hold on to hate for long. Actually, she had never been really angry before. Wasn't hard if every single detail was planned for you, even emotions. "A princess doesn't yell, she simply expresses her anger in a lady like way." After humming for a while she was annoyed and wanted to start a conversation but she was too stubborn. Somewhere she knew it was true. He didn't seem to care about money and he hadnt tried to kill her yet. He had saved her, for crying out loud. But still, something fishy was going on with him. She was torn between wanting to talk and wanting to stay mad. Maybe if he started a conversation, she didn't have to pick. So, she started to sniff and cough. "Pffff." Johanna tried to make clear, in a subtle way, that she wanted to talk. Well, as subtle as Johanna was, which wasn't subtle at all.

Zero sighed, enjoying the silence for once. The quite was welcoming and soothing for him and he enjoyed every second of it. His arm became more relaxed around her waist until he moved it to hold the reigns. The only reason he was holding her was because she was passed out and would have fallen off the horse if he hadn't. But of coarse the precious silence could not last. Johanna started to hum, which Zero had to admit, was much better than her singing. It was painfully obvious that she wanted to start a conversation. She kept fidgeting and making sounds until finally Zero had to respond.

"We are almost of the border of the elven realm. When we cross over we can camp and finally get some sleep." He was tired. Riding all night took a lot out of him mentally. When was the last time he went on such a voyage in human form? It must of been at least a 100 years ago. He leaned forward and rested his chin on the top of her head, she was the perfect height for it. He then removed one hand from the reigns and dragged her closer to him so he could actually lean on her. "there thats better." her murmured tiredly. "after you passed out we were ambushed by an assassin. It seems someone really wants you in their clutches or dead."

"Sounds good." She said soft. When he rested his chin on her head and pulled her closer, she froze and kinda got scared to move. "Hmm, really?" she said distracted by him being so close. Then her little bubble bursted and her voice got high. "Wait, what? What happend to him? Where is he?" Even though she was suprised, she didn't move a muscle. It felt weird yet safe somehow, him leaning on her like that. That feeling made everything even more confusing. How could she be mad and feel suspicious yet feel so safe at the same time?

"You want me to take over for a while, so you can rest?" Johanna felt guilty now for being so annoying and dragging him down. Yeah, she still thought something fishy was going on but she was also greatful for him keeping her alive. Johanna thought about that and decided that she needed to trust him, or atleast try. "So, euhm. I wanna say sorry for freaking out earlier. I'll try to not be so princessy all the time. I'll be honest with you, something is not right with you or you are not telling me something but nonetheless you did safe me more then once and I am greatful for that even if I haven't expressed that yet." She coughed and shrugged to keep the conversation airy.

"An apology Princess?" he teased lightly, his voice joking yet tired. "might I remind you that I did just meet you a few days ago. I'm not going to spill all my secrets and past experiences." He sighed, let Johanna take the reigns? It would probably land in disaster. "no I'm okay we aren’t that far away. Plus if I let you take the reigns we would probably end up in some disastrous situation." He smirked "there are many dangerous creatures out here at this time. Wouldn't want you leading us into a warg den or something."

In truth he just wanted to cross into the elven realm. From then on it would be easy sailing. In fact a patrol would probably pick them up and escort them to the palace. "word of advice princess. The elves have never been on good terms with humans. Even though you are royalty you are a mere baby in their eyes. The King and Queen have been alive for centuries. Before the rise of man. They were the first ones to make an alliance with dragons. Your life span is a mere blink of an eye for them."

"Yes, an apology. Dont let it go to your head though. And I do realise that you dont have to tell me anything but if it is something that effects me too, I'd think you'd tell me. But yeah, you are entitled to your own secrets and dont have any responsibility towards me. Which is why I'll just keep it to blind faith, in you and the Lord." She took a deep breath.

"Why this advice? I'm a Princess, something you keep reminding me of, I know of etiquette and I'm not stupid either. What do you think I'll do? Be arrogant or rude towards someone? Judge them based on their status? My name is Johanna, not Zero." She said soft and a bit teasing. "Dont worry, I know what I'm doing." She sounded very secure of herself, like with the horses, being polite towards royalty came natural to her. If there was anything he didn't have to worry about, it was this.

"I tell you what you need to know." Zero said with a small shrug. He wanted to scoff, the Lord? The human's god would have them go on crusades and kill dragons and other mythical creatures if it weren't for those mythical creatures power. "It's not completely blind faith." he pointed out with a small sigh. "I have saved you on many, many occasions."

Zero ignored her small bit of teasing. The bags under his eyes and the slump in how he sat made it clear he was tired. "I just hope so. I won't be able to save you if the royals decide to lock you up or kill you." It was true, he would have no sway in the elven court if Johanna happened to be imprisoned or sentenced to death. That didn't mean he wouldn't try but would it worth risking the peace negotiations for her life?

The forest had slowly began to grow thicker, the trees closer and closer together. Their height soon began to grow as well, as if they were having a race to the sun. Crickets sang their soft songs and an owl hooted in the distance, its sound echoing through the thick forest. "we are almost at the border." he murmured.

Johanna decided to leave it be and focus on making a good impression on the elve king and queen. She got excited about meeting them. Ofcourse, that wasn't hard when you've been locked up for so long, just seeing the same people over and over. She wondered how everthing would be. How would they look? How would they talk? This was all very exciting and very terrifying at the same time.

"Oh, goody!" Johanna clapped in her hands like a retarded seal and made a high pitched ieep noise. She coughed and recovered. "I mean.. Good." And she sat up straight, her smile was friendly and warm yet Serious like she meant business. "So anything I should know about the community or mannerisms of these people?" She asked because she really didn't wanna ruin this. Not only because meeting different people had been a dream, part of her adventure dream, but also because she wanted to show Zero that she wasn't just a pain in the ass. She would show him that she was usefull for something.

"Don't speak unless spoken to in the presence of the royals. So no random outbursts." Zero said as he thought about his many trips to elven realm. "They love the arts and make beautiful things. They have their own gods and goddesses." Zero wasn't prepaird to give her a crash coarse in elven mannerisms and traditions. They didn't have enough time to cover the basics. "Just know that every elf you see will be older then you. Even the few children they have. And also every elf you see, even the children, could easily kill you." Everything he said was true. The elves were highly skilled bowmen and fighters. A few of them would even give Zero a run for his money although he would never admit it.

Johanna nodded determined and took a deep breath. "Okay, got it!" She got a bit scared and realised that this wasn't a fairytale or adventure book. It was real and very scary. She always loved the unknown because it was just that, unknown. But now she would get a taste of the world she had always dreamed of seeing. "You can trust me, I won't be any trouble. I promise." she said soft.

As they got closer, the forest grew bigger and thicker. It was quite beautiful and kinda magical looking, to Johanna that is. There were kinds of flowers and fauna she had never seen before. Her eyes got big and her mouth fell open a little as she took in everything. Her eyes went over the scene and she didn't know where to look first, scared she might miss something. "Wow, pinch me. I must be dreaming." She sighed suprised. They weren't even there yet and already she was speechless from what she saw.

"My father was wrong. The outside world isn't horrible. It's beautiful." Johanna shook her head in disbelieve. How could her father keep her from this? How could her brother have lied about what's out there? She would ask them once she got back. No one should be kept from beauty like this. And at that point she felt greatful for being kidnapped and then found by Zero but ofcourse, she didn't say anything. She just sat there, being quiet and saving every little detail in her mind.

"you better not be any trouble." He warned only half jokingly. The princess seemed to be much more trouble then she was worth. He had half a thought to dump her at times but he would always dismiss those thoughts. Someone wanted her dead, or in their grasps. And there was nothing Zero loved more then messing up people's plans. He smirked, even though he couldn't see Johanna's face he could sill feel her nervous excitement. It seemed to radiate from her body and she defiantly smelled nervous. As the forest grew thicker and bigger the plants started to change. Some of them glowed faintly in the dark. The elven realm had a unique fauna that could be found no where else in the kingdoms; bio luminescent plants.

Zero pinched her upper tight as a mild tempered joke. He was tired and annoyed but he still had some of his humor. He didn't pinch her hard enough to leave a mark but it still hurt slightly. He pressed the side of his face against the side of her head, his breath hot in her ear. His eyes glanced around quickly, looking to see if they were being watched. In a tone barely over a whisper he said "Close your mouth, you might catch flies." He had acted like he had something important to say but in fact he was just being an ass.

Everyone was entitled to their own opinion, Zero thought mildly. He was sure Johanna's father had a reason for telling her the outside world was terrible and her brother probably wanted to protect her. "Well to be fair your father and brother probably don't know much about the Elf's Kingdom. Most Humans arn't allowed over the border, only a select few are." No one was crazy enough to try an trespass. Elfen law was swift and lethal and the trespassers would surely feel its wrath.

The wind picked up, ruffling Johanna's hair lightly and sending a chill up their spines. Two large boulders stood in the distance, standing up right. They were dark, old rocks that had seen many things. Standing taller then Johanna and Zero astride the war horse they were a sight to behold. Glowing Elven runes were inscribed on them, one on each side of the road. "Thats the border." Zero announced, he had moved his head out of her personal space. "Once we cross the border we can find somewhere to properly camp and won't have to worry about being attacked."

She nodded. "I guess you are right." But she still thought it was weird. Any time her father or brother talked about the elves, they had such bad things to say and were very opinionated. Almost like they knew something that she didn't know. She shook it off and shook her head. "Don't worry, I won't be a problem." As they went into the woods, her eyes got bigger and she held her breath taking all of the beautiful fauna. As they went deeper, she felt the wind get colder. But she was too amazed to feel it at first. When he wispered in her ear, she quickly closed her mouth and rolled her eyes. "Weren't you tired or something?" She said a bit annoyed.

"So, euhm. It's really cold out. How will we sleep if there is only one tent?" She didn't mean to sound like a spoiled princess but she couldn't help it. "I mean, euhm." She knew one solution to a problem like that but that was out of the question, just thinking about it made her cheeks heat up and she looked down at the horse to hide it. "I could sleep outside for the first part of the night and we can switch?" She asked softly, hiding the tremor in her voice. As she started to feel the cold affect her, she rubbed her hands and blew in them. Goosebumps spread on her skin and she tried desperatly to pull Zero's cape closer to her.

"I am tired, extremely tired thanks to a certain someone having a panic attack." He didn't really blame Johanna for having the small lapse in trust. After all he was as much a stranger to her then the horse seller or her kidnappers. But Zero's actions spoke louder than his words, although sometimes his words were pretty loud. He had worked hard to keep her alive and well so far, so he was a little upset when she freaked out. The trees grew bigger and the forest grew more wild. AS they passed into the realm of the elves it was clear that an ancient and powerful magic was about the land.

As they rode the horses grew more nervous. Howls could be heard, cutting through the cold night air. There were the briefest flashes of eyes and claws and the beasts of the forest noticed them. But they noticed something Johanna could not. The the beasts and wild children of the forest Zero did not smell human. When wolves and bears looked upon them they saw what he really was and they fled. Although a human would be unaware of this event, the animals being too well hidden and quite.

Zero couldn't help but smirk, only one tent? "There is a rather simple solution to the tent problem." He said nonchalantly. A gentleman would offer to sleep outside and keep watch, Zero was not a gentleman. "We sleep together." He said it simply and bluntly, as if it was the only reasonable solution to their problem. "You would freeze to death outside. With both of us in the tent our body heart will keep us warm enough so we don't have to light a fire." In truth he never expected Johanna to agree to that. She was a princess! Sleeping with a man, even if it wasn't sexually (although from the way Zero stated it, it could very well be taken that way), was not a proper thing to do.

"I'M sorry." she felt extremely guilty, which didn't mean that she already trusted him 100%. She was greatful and being such a pain in the behind didn't show that. "I can't apolagizes enough." she said soft. "But I can show that I'm not just a pain in the behind. I promise, I wont be a problem, anymore."

When she heared that, she gasped. "I beg your pardon?" But somewhere she knew it was the only solution. She was silent for a minute or two, thought about the solution and shrugged. "Fine.." she said a bit annoyed. "But you keep your hands to yourself." Her father could never find out about this. He would be shocked. Her heart already started to race just thinking about sleeping next to a man that close. Not from excitement but from being scared. She had never even kissed a boy, how was she supossed to act normal? "And dont be so smug about it either.. Its not that big of a deal, not to me anyway." She couldn't of been lying more. It was an extreme big deal, especially to her.

The cold air started to affect her breathing. Not only did it show everytime she sighed, she started to feel the cold air burn in her nose and throat. She was freezing but stayed silent, trying not to Shake. She had already nagged him enough, he didn't need to deal with her being cold aswell.

The twinge of guilt that shot threw him was rather surprising. He knew his comment would make her feel bad but he didn't expect to feel bad about it. He felt a little bad for her, stolen from her home, almost killed multiple times. While that was nothing new for him he understood that she was out of her element.

An eyebrow rose in a questioning ark and a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Oh he didn't think she would actually agree to his proposal. She was a princess and from what she knew he was a commoner. Princesses didn't sleep with random commoner men, at least not proper princesses. "Oh don't worry Princess, my hands won't wander I swear." His smirk consumed his face and his eyes glimmered with amusement. This would be an interesting night indeed.

As the night grew colder he could feel her growing more and more uncomfortable with each passing second. They had reached the coldest portion of the night even though the sun would be rising in a few hours. "I think we will stop here." Zero said as he drew the horse to a stop. They were still on the road but he wasn't concerned about danger in this realm. In fact Zero was sure the elves were already aware of their presence. Dropping the reins he stiffly swung down from the saddle. His butt was numb and his legs extremely tensed. Oh how he longed to be in his true form. Words could not describe the dislike Zero held for having to take his human form. There was a nice little grove to the side of the road which looked like a suitable place for a tent. Fetching the bundled tent from his saddle bag he stiffly walked over and started to set it up. It only took him a few minutes to have the tent up. "Well Princess last change to change your mind." Zero said with a devilish smirk as he went and fetched the sleeping bags from the saddlebags. Tossing them into the tent with no small amount of grace he held the flap open for her to enter.

Johanna rolled her eyes at him and sighed. "Please, shut up before I really change my mind." And she kicked off her shoes, got on her knees while holding her dress and got in the tent. While crawling in, she got the right sleeping bag and got in it as quickly as she could. Her hands were hurting from the cold and her feet were starting to get worse too.

Once settled she looked at Zero and how he was gonna manage them sleeping in one tent. She couldn't stop thinking about them that close and her heart was beating fast, her hands started to become sweaty. /Ow god, what is my father going to say? He can never, NEVER know about this./ Her brain was trying to justify this arrangement and her body was trying to cope with that thought.

She figured that the faster she went to sleep, the less she could react to whatever he was gonna do. So quickly she turned the other way and closed her eyes. "Okay, so sleep tight."

A soft chuckle rolled from the depths of his chest. Oh he would never let her forget this! He wouldn't go as far to tell her father or embarrass her in public but he would hold onto this for a while. Holding back a snarky comment he smirked and ran a hand through his hair. "Be right in princess." He called as he went over to the horses to give the poor things some blankets. It wasn't until the tack and gear was taken off the horses and blankets draped on their backs that Zero approached the tent. Pausing for a moment he gave a small sigh, There would only be a few hours until the sun rose. They had expected him days ago, he was behind schedule and one more unexpected occurrence would doom his mission.


"I'm coming in now" he called softly as he stifled a yawn. Slipping out of his boots he climbed into the tight tent and into his sleeping bag. It was uncomfortably cramped and he tossed and turned for a moment before deciding to sleep on his side. He took up the least amount of space that way without having to drape himself around Johanna. Silence descended then, only broken by the occasional call of night creatures. Dark things roamed in the elven forest at night but the road was protected. Zero could sleep easily without having to fear being ambushed by human or monsters. "sleep well princess." he said around a yawn as he shut his extraordinary green eyes. Heat seemed to radiate from him like he was a furnace, something he hadn't thought about before climbing into the tent. Perhaps she wouldn't question it or not even notice. But knowing Johanna she would surely think he was feverish. He huffed and tried to fall asleep. Going over fighting drills in his head and important battles and dates.

Johanna fell asleep faster than Zero could make one of his smug comments. She had the strangest dreams and fumbled around in her sleeping bag all night. She dreamt about dragons and weird little elfs, about her breathing fire and having weird scales on her arms. But somewhere, in her subconsious she knew it wasn't all just a stupid dream.

In the morning, as she woke up, she opened her eyes and didn't move at all. Because she could feel Zero still laying there and she didn't want to wake him. It had gotten hot in the tent. The depts of hell didn't compare to the temperature in the tent and surprisingly she didn't mind. It was as if her body was adjusting to it. Normally, Johanna would have started sweating but now, she liked the warmth. Actually she didn't even notice, as if it was the most normal thing ever.

Her mind wandered off to what was going to happen today. She was going to meet elfs, a whole kingdom that is! She was really excited but she had learned that she couldn't let her excitement take the best of her so she took a deep breath and told herself that she needed to stay calm and act like royalty. She wouldn't want to embarrass Zero..