"What? Why do you want to know? I'm sure you don't know her..." 

"I just want to know how the woman who stole your heart is called... I have no bad intentions, I ask only out of curiosity..." she continued, sad.

"She's called Freydis" Dag replied, sighing.

"Freydis... it's a beautiful name! I'm sure she's as gorgeous as a ray of sunlight in the morning..."

"Why are you doing this, Claire? You're just making things a lot harder" Dag exclaimed, noting that she was starting to cry.

Before he could totally lose control of the situation, he impulsively hugged her, clutching her tightly.

She continued to cry, resting her face on his shoulder, while Dag stroked her back.

As soon as there was a minimum of physical contact, his body began to shake and he got gooseb.u.mps.

He felt her warm breath on his shoulder and knew that if their gaze crossed again, he would not be able to resist. 

He put his other hand on her head and said: "I will teach you how to fight. I'm going to be your Master... you will become a s.h.i.+eldmaiden and you no longer need to be defended by anyone, you will help others!" 

She stopped crying for a moment, sighing and leaning on him.

"What the f.u.c.k am I saying?! She doesn't give a s.h.i.+t about becoming a warrior, she wants you, Dag, you ugly idiot!" he thought to himself, believing that he had said a craze, useful only to waste more time.

As expected, she moved away from his embrace, but before she could look him in the eye, he kissed her on the cheek.

It was a sincere and affectionate kiss, in which he tried to empathetically convey the emotions he was experiencing at that moment of strong indecision. 

She looked at him, her face full of tears and her eyes languid.

"I will always love you, Dag and I hope you may one day change your mind. I will be waiting for years, if necessary. I just want you to be happy and if another woman makes can help you to do so, well... I wish both of you all the joy of the world!" she exclaimed, bursting again to cry and resting her face on Dag's chest, clinging with her hands to his armor.

He wrapped his arms around her torso and under her legs, lifting her off the bench.

When he picked her up, she huddled tightly.

"Let's go to sleep, it's late. Tomorrow I'm going to have a long journey and you're certainly tired after all this road" he said, sweating cold, relieved that the hardest moment of that conversation was over.

She did not answer. 

After pa.s.sing through the Temple's doors, Dag made his way to the dormitory.

"f.u.c.k! Where do I take her now? I didn't think about this! The only free room is mine! s.h.i.+t!" he thought, grimacing. 

He arrived in front of his room and with one hand opened the door, which he then closed with his foot, not even noticing Claire's weight, which considered his strength, was irrelevant, and did not slow down his movements.

Gently, he laid her on the bed next to his, a couple of feet away.

She immediately embraced the pillow, hiding her face behind it and continuing to whine. 

Dag slipped her boots off her feet, slowly, and then covered her with a blanket made of mutton fur.

When Claire uncovered her face again, he kissed her forehead and walked to his bed.

"f.u.c.k! I'm an idiot! What the f.u.c.k am I doing?!" he thought, continuing to shake his head, trying to reason with his brain, while his hormones went crazy inside his body.

He took off his boots and the top of his armor, hurriedly, and lay down on the bed, under the blankets.

After about half an hour spent looking at the ceiling, he noticed that Claire had stopped whining. 

He turned his head towards her, trying to look at her, in the darkness.

When he realized that she had finally fallen asleep, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned the other way, trying to sleep. 

...

Dag had been asleep for about 2 hours when he felt his blanket moving.

He opened his eyes, looking at the wall before him, without emitting a breath.

"Oh no! I knew it was going to happen!" he thought, as Claire entered his bed and her cold feet touched his.

"I know you're awake... I couldn't sleep alone, sorry. Just let me stay next to you for one night" she said, hugging him from behind the back. 

Dag sighed and stood motionless for a few seconds.

Then he sighed again and turned to her, hugging her. 

Claire was initially astonished at the gesture but then leaned with her head on Dag's arm, snuggled up next to him, like a fox cub.

Dag stroked her hair, while she had one hand on his arm and another on his naked chest, calming down as she felt the heartbeat of his heart.

In less than ten minutes, they both fell into a deep sleep.

...

*bom*bom*bom* 

"Uhm?"

*bom*bom*

"Dag! Are you there? Wake up, sleepyhead! We're all waiting for you!" shouted Karl, as he continued to knock insistently on the door.

"Oh, f.u.c.k! It's late!" exclaimed Dag, who under the heat of blankets had slept like a hurdy-gurdy, clutching Claire in his arms all night long.

He suddenly rose from the bed, while she uttered a groan, turning the other side, without waking up.

"So? Will you hurry up?" shouted Karl on the other side.

"Yes, yes, I'm awake! Wait for me in the courtyard, I'm on my way!" replied him, who in a hurry to put on his boots, stumbled awkwardly, falling with is b.u.t.t on the ground.

"All right! Move!" replied Karl, who walked away.

"He was close... If Karl had found out that I was sleeping with Claire, he would surely have thought the worst and everybody knows he can't keep secrets... He would definitely have told everything to Freydis!" thought Dag, fastening his boots.