She would no doubt be the safest she had ever been in her life, when she lay within his arms. She remembered the fight in the arena and what had happened afterward and shivered. Never had she seen such skilled fighting and raw ability as Roric had exhibited. He perhaps was the greatest warrior in the whole world, but as strong as he was she had to admit his greatest strength was his humbleness and belief in his Creator. His faith was his real strength, just as it had been for Sebastian and Sansa.
She no longer doubted if there was a God or not and she especially did not doubt on whether or not He cared about people. The Creator loved Roric that she was sure of. But did the Creator love her? If He did then why was she still a slave?
The chill of the night closed in on her. Was this the future Sansa had spoken of? Was she supposed to surrender her heart and dreams to the big scarred warrior, who inflamed her with passion? Was that what the Creator wanted from her before He would do anything to help her? She looked back at Roric, who was staring into the flames of the fire and thought of the security and yes even happiness that his arms could offer her.
Should she continue to hold out for the freedom she had craved ever since she had learned what it meant to be a slave? To be able to do as she pleased, to go where she wanted, when she wanted to and be whatever she wanted to be without anyone saying otherwise. Pick her own mate and have children that would be as free as she wanted to be.
That's exactly what she wanted and that realization made up her mind as to what she would do, but it wasn't as easy a decision as she would have thought it would have been.
"Krista."
She turned towards the fire and the man beside it.
"You need to come get warm and get some sleep."
She came back to the fire wondering what he would do next. He rose and came over to cover her shoulders with a blanket.
"Get some rest while I keep watch. In a couple of hours I'll wake you and you can stand watch the rest of the night while I get some rest. That sound okay to you?"
Krista nodded. She lay down next to the fire and starred at it for a while.
Roric."
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry I slapped you that wasn't right of me."
"I forgive you."