Relief, Fear, Embarrasment

Stelon froze under the man's gaze. She had not realized they were not alone, and waited for Larkin's anger to surge forth upon her. Yet it did not come.

"Stelon...I was not expecting you this early. Come, I'm sure you've had a rough night. Let me apologize and we'll have you fixed up."

The girl opened her mouth to speak, and promptly shut it again. No use telling him of the strange man in the dungeons. Clearly she was to be brought to be him later that day as it was; better to play along for the time being.

Besides. The man was being kind. He seemed to care.

Just as he always had.

Stelon pasted a soft smile on her face despite her mixed feelings of confusion, relief, and nerves. All eyes in the room were upon her, and she did not do well as the center of attention. She took a deep breath and blocked them all out, focusing solely on the Shrike.

"I thank you, and I apologize for coming to you so early...it's just..."

Coldness. Dark. Small space of stone walls, surrounding her.

She closed her eyes as a tear slid down her cheek.

"I wanted out so badly...I did not know what to do."

Larkin saw the look of confusion that passed between the other nobles around him, a look quickly silenced by his own orange glare.

"I understand. You will be taken care of, and those who...made you uncomfortable, shall be dealt with."

She smiled again at him, this time genuinely. She had forgotten just how kind he had been to her the night of the ball, and gently smoothed down her dress. She had forgotten how terrible she must appear to him, and a deep red blush crept over her dirtied skin as she looked at him embarrassedly, unsure of what he wanted her to do, or where she was to go, her confusion communicated clearly to him in her body language.