She felt like dealing with affectionate puppy that insisted on clambering up in your lap, constantly giving out little, yapping barks and over-enthusiastically licking your hands and face. Not that she had ever owned such a puppy, but her parents had brought her brother one. The boy had grown bored of it and even the little taking care he had to do fast, so Adelmar had been the main person to bond with it, until their father had gotten rid of it. It had hurt so much, picking these scraps of affection from things no one else needed and having them torn away from her just when she had started to accept the fact she could have them. And, wasn't this the very same scenario, in some absurd way? How could this man, that so gently worried about hurting her, say that he wished to rape her and mean it? Although she wished to think he wasn't capable of it, now that his dazed eyes constantly swam back to her face, she couldn't.

"No one should have to live down there. No one. And I have goals, dreams... Maybe one day, I will have power to change something," she told him in shushed tone, hurriedly, as if afraid that if anyone else heard, if the words hung in air for too long, they would never come true. It was strange how easy it was to talk with him, now that she hoped he won't remember any of this. It was just good to have a conversation of sorts about these things, even if the other person barely grasped what she said. It loosened her tongue, like drug did with Mannik's. Adelmar's face fell slightly when he mentioned her fiance and what he might do, but she pulled his hand away from her face and to his lap, leaving it there and linking her fingers together on her lap. "Zenon's bark might be worse than his bite," she told him, mentally adding 'especially if I have a say in it'. She might never be able to give this man his freedom, but she could try to provide him a decent life as prisoner. She kind of owed that to him, but her sense of duty might be tripping her up once more.

For a moment, she thought of singing to him, but realized they were already drawing too much attention to themselves, some of the soldiers throwing dark looks their way so she quickly withdrew the hand whose fingers he had so gently kissed (who even did that, aside from romance novel characters? Did Zen do this to his lovers? She for sure had never seen anyone do that...) from him as she started to hum the same melody of yesterday, feeling absolutely out of touch with the world, yet far too aware of everyone and everything.