Xopil slowly woke up from his slumber. The first thing that drew his attention, he was tightly holding Xiara, which he greatly slackened. Is this from suppressed desire...? Maybe not entirely.

Xiara tensed instantly then she snuggled closer to him, whether that was possible or not she tried anyway. In her sleep she lightly muttered, "Just a little longer...Prince Xopil."

Xopil wore a complicated expression as his arms moved of their own accord and wrapped tightly around her. The will from his subconscious making itself known. This isn't just muscle memory... there's more here.

"Xiara, I'm here." Xopil whispered to her. He could feel her body relaxing as though the worry of thousands of years was washed away. He lay there, content to watch her sleep peacefully in his arms, until he slowly closed his eyes and drifted into sleep once more.

Minerva's eyes blinked opened slowly as she adjusted to the bright light in the room. The first thing her eyes captured, was a pair of onyx eyes looking back at her. She squirmed slightly, finding herself wrapped tightly in his arms and her legs had become entwined with his.

"Good morning, princess," he greeted her warmly, while suppressing a chuckle at her reaction.

"Good morning, my prince," she replied sheepishly and attempted to push herself away. He gave his spoiled princess one final squeeze before releasing her. She abandoned the bed and scrambled through the room to get dressed, finding her clothes that had been scattered throughout the room from the previous night's activities caused her face to flush crimson.

Xopil watched her in amusement as he slowly climbed out of the bed and then he proceeded to get dressed using the nearby closet.

"Prince, please, it's my job to help you change." Minerva complained as she hurriedly put her undergarments on.

"Isn't that what started the whole mess in the first place?" Xopil retorted.

"Only because you can't control yourself." Minerva defended.

"I see," Xopil replied while thinking about something.

"I.. I didn't mean that, I'm sorry your highness." Minerva quickly knelt on the floor.

"Stop that," Xopil retorted, "you are just as much royalty as I am."

"We are not equals, my kingdom lay in ruins," Minerva replied sadly, "a fitting end to a princess in a kingdom where slavery ran away with the crown... But, living here wasn't all bad," Minerva admitted, "I feared the worst when I was shackled, given a number and forced into a barred cage for transport." Minerva paused while recalling that day from many years ago, "It's truly amazing what one can become accustomed to... even me, a princess reduced to a maid."

Xopil looked at her solemnly, but said no more. Instead, he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. After all, actions speak louder than words.

Xiara's eyes fluttered open in the bright room, and she held her breath as Xopil slowly opened his eyes. She wordlessly stared deeply into his onyx eyes.

"What?" he asked caught off guard by her intense azure eyes.

"..." she just continued to stare.

"Xiara," Xopil spoke her name softly as he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. She recovered from her daze from that.

"Sorry, I'm just... shocked is the best word for it," she replied. Xopil waited silently for her to explain, "you pulled me into the past with you."

"I... what? That's possible? So the 'Minerva' just then was you?" Xopil asked.

"...I am, or was, Minerva." Xiara clarified, "just one of many names you've given me."

"You incarnated in this world with me?" Xopil asked.

"I'm not always able, but yes in this case I did," Xiara replied, then added thoughtfully, "You think I'd let myself become someone else's property?"

"This is hard on you isn't it...? This game of mine?" Xopil asked.

"It has it's ups and downs," Xiara replied, "I can't control where I start, but I can inject my influence to some degree what path I'll tread... for instance, I may or may not have orchestrated the fall of that kingdom that had embraced slavery to such an insane degree."

"You're really something, remind me not to get on your bad side," Xopil chuckled.

"It's really not hard to stay on my good side," Xiara said licking his cheek.

"...Okay, you've made your point." Xopil replied while lightly holding her chin in place until his lips found hers.

"You're a devil." Xiara spoke through her heavy breaths, "stopping time while I was..."

Xopil just smiled victoriously, and maybe a little mischieviously, "So I shouldn't do that again?"

"No one said that," Xiara said hastily then added, "Go on, get out of here; you need to master time magic... for other reasons of course."

Xopil left her alone on the bed to recover and he went to practice his magic with a spring in his step.