An odd Prince Charming

“Who are you?” Sasha asked, her voice sounded both confused and frightened even to her. She wondered if she screamed for help if anyone would come, and even as the thought of screaming crossed her mind, the pounding in her head vetoed that option.

“James and Julien are waiting downstairs, so get dressed and get ready to leave, unless you want the Veer agents to find you.” The man was talking calmly and without raising his voice, but he had the same look as the Veertor agents that had followed her for most of the day yesterday. His hair was cut short in a military style, and his eyes were hard and angry. The man was soft-spoken and he knew that she had met Julien and James the night before but he showed no sign of humor and persisted with an unwavering pressure to rouse her from her bed.

“The Veer?” Sasha asked, wondering if perhaps he wasn’t one of her hunters after all. For the thousandth time in the past few years she acknowledged that her mind was not processing data the way it should and she tried to focus on her surroundings.

“Yep, now get dressed and I’ll take you back to my ship.” The strange man replied as he towered above her. "He had a ship!" Those words more than any other helped drive the last of her **** induced confusion from her brain. Before she could even ask the man stepped from her bed and turned his broad back to her. She pulled on her panties and wiggled into her tight jeans before lifting the black top over her head and pulling it down 'til it met her jeans. The top was perfect for attracting the attention of sailors last night, but as she pulled down the top she became aware of how much of her cleavage was now spilling from the scoop of her neckline.

Trying to compromise between flashing too much of her belly or breasts, Sasha grabbed her carry bag that held her only remaining possessions. No sooner had she started for the door than the man stepped out of the room and scanned the nearly empty tables below. She could see Winter's men sitting by the front door, and the same sassy maid that had been so rude to her last night avoiding the reaching hands of some drunks at one of the back tables. Best of all she saw the gentleman swordsman from last night, gazing up at her with a stupid grin on his face. "Why couldn't he have been the one to wake me?" Sasha thought a little wistfully as she followed the man down the stairs.

The bar maid smiled warmly at her new companion and then threw Sasha a disdainful sneer as he lead her past the serving girl heading directly for the door. It was only Julien's presence behind her that gave Sasha the courage to follow the grim faced man out the door. Outside the inn she was greeted by a the Swordsman’s cheerful younger brother James who seemed genuinely pleased to see her. But before they could even properly meet, her new savior? captor? hero? tossed her a rag and told her to hide her ‘goddamned hair’ and then started barking orders at the two brothers.

“Good job so far boys, exactly like the plan. Now move on ahead and watch for trouble; remember you two don’t know us.” He must be an officer Sasha decided, the way he threw out orders and expected them to be followed blindly. She was pretty sure that he meant to help her, but she wasn’t going anywhere until she had a better grasp of the situation.

“What’s going on?” She asked the man as he took her by the arm and started moving down the main harbor boulevard..

“You’re being hunted,” he answered curtly all the while scanning the street in all around him for Xelta only knew what.

“Then why are you helping me?” Sasha tried again as she was swept swiftly along the roadway.

“Those two vouched for you,” the officer said nodding at the two brothers she had only met briefly last evening. “Anyway, what happened last night?” Sasha felt more than a little annoyed by the man’s attitude. Was he angry with her because she got drunk? Ever since waking her the man seemed to barely hide his disapproval of her. Nothing she had or did seemed to please him, not her hair, nor her clothes and now he expected her to defend even her choice to drink too much last night.

“I’d rather not talk about it.” She told him trying to keep her voice neutral. If this man was an officer on a ship, she could not afford to irritate him anymore.