The next evening she goes for a walk... and makes an interesting discovery.

She wasn’t sure what made her venture into the castle’s dungeon but boredom seemed a good enough reason. High above her she could still hear the music and the laughter, although barely audible. Uncle Christoph obviously knew how to entertain his guests but she was definitely neither in the mood for the usual pointless chatter of the rich old hags who had drank too much nor for the lewd smiles and idiotic comments from the lords. So what Nina von Kaltenbach was still single!? As her parents’ only child she would inherit a fortune. She needed no man to support her!

“I could use one to comfort me…” she spoke quietly and then giggled realizing that she was a bit drunk herself.

The halls were well lit so someone surely checked the lanterns once in a while but at the moment it was rather quiet, the dungeon seemed empty. Nina leaned on one of the walls and then slid to the floor. Sitting on the cold stone she examined the apple she had taken from the dining hall. It was large and ripe so she took one bite before the corridor was suddenly filled with echoing footfalls. Someone was approaching. The girl hurried to her feet and, without a second thought, opened the lever lock of the nearest room and darted inside closing the wooden door behind her. Only when she noticed the man shackled to the wall opposite the door did she realize that she entered a prisoner’s cell. It seemed he was waking up.

The man was young, probably around her age. He was wearing tattered remnants of what could have once been decent clothing. His long wavy auburn hair covered his face from Nina’s view but as he slowly raised his head she met the man’s gaze. Feelings flashed in his dark brown eyes when he noticed the woman’s presence: confusion, hatred, terror, and then hope. Through the many holes in his clothes Nina noticed long scars on his chest and his shoulders, the type left by a whip. This man must have committed a crime and was severely punished.

They kept their eyes locked on each other for a moment and, when the guard was passing by the cell, Nina (still feeling fuzzy) smiled and raised her index finger to her lips. “Hush.” The man remained silent. She doubted if he was doing it out of the kindness of his heart. After the tortures he was probably wise enough not to draw any more attention to himself.

The young lady relaxed once the footsteps faded away in the distance and so did her new friend. Obviously he realized that she was here neither to torment him nor to set him free. Not until he heard Nina taking another bite of her apple did he raise his head again, this time looking at her with pain and disbelief. The woman noticed his stare and after a moment of thought she lifted the fruit in a silent question. The man swallowed hard and looking her in the eyes, very slowly as if not to seem too bold, he nodded.

His hands were shackled to the wall so Nina carefully moved closer. She noticed that the man focused his attention on the apple; he looked pretty much hypnotized. She crouched down beside him and lifted the fruit to his lips. Unsure if he will get another chance, the prisoner took a bite as big as he could and ate it greedily. “He must be very hungry. How could I have been afraid of this poor soul?” Nina thought. “He’s rather cute, actually.” She let him have another bite and almost unconsciously began to stroke his cheek as one would to comfort a child.

“There, there. Good boy. Have another one if you wish” she cooed and giggled quietly as the young prisoner ate the fruit she offered.

Then, maybe because of the ****, she got an idea quite inappropriate for a well bred young heiress.