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I jumped, again, when Viggo reached around me and opened the door.

Either he is a total gentleman or he's trying to annoy me to death.

"How did you get in here?" Viggo asked when I continued to look up at him in surprise; he was like a giant muscular ninja!

"The door, you opened it for me."

Yes, I was being a smart ass, but it kept me from spewing more random factoids he didn't need to know.

"Difficult la fillette, that is not what I meant and you know it," he said.

"Little girl me again and you will get a firsthand reenactment of what I did to Arthur the other day..." I stopped. "How long have I been out of it?"

Viggo's forced smile fell and he motioned for me to continue down the hallway with him. "Is the length of time relevant to any of the questions you are adamant that I provide answers to?"

I shrugged.

He sighed. "Longer than I would have liked, but it was understandable due to the severity of your injuries. Is that the question you are insistent on seeking an answer to?" he asked as we took the stairs.

"No, but it'd be nice to know how much homework I have to do," I admitted.

Yes, I was a geek.

"There is no homework," Viggo said. "After what transpired in your suite, all activities and classes were canceled. Sentinels and Administration did a full sweep of the campus for anything of concern, and any undetected Devilry," he said, seeming reluctant to tell me that. "They had to replace the windows in your dormitory on one side as well. That was passed off as if a prank went awry. All fencing and wards have been reinforced, and they dispatched additional Sentinels to patrol the campus and maintain the surrounding perimeter."

That answered a few of the questions I had and just created a hundred more.

We walked the rest of the way in silence.

When we exited the front doors, Sentinels stopped us.

"My guest has ripped her sutures out. It will require medical attention and I will escort her," Viggo informed them in his overly formal tone.

"How did she get in the building?" one of them demanded.

"I have mad ninja skills," I informed them. "I can kill a full-grown male with merely my mind." I put my fingers to my head and looked at him before squinting one eye.

"Excuse me?" the Sentinel asked, confused.

Viggo gave me a warning look. "This is Mademoiselle Ariadne Li," he said. "The name should be familiar to you. Mademoiselle needs healing. I understand that you have your orders?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Notify the Imperial Guard on campus where we are headed so they may maintain the perimeter."

"Yes, Your Highness," they said with a bow of submission then returned to their posts.

"Why must you antagonize all those of authority around you?" Viggo asked. "It is truly unbecoming, and counterproductive considering you are in Sentinel-in-training classes."

"Being unbecoming kept them from asking more questions than I was willing to answer," I said. "Especially when it pertains to how I was able to infiltrate the visitor's housing without them knowing. And considering I was an unannounced female guest in the room of a male, a Prince nonetheless, a Prince of one of the first Five Houses even," I smugly informed him. "Oh, the scandal which would have ensued," I teasingly sang.

The flow of French profanities from his full lips was unbelievably sexy and other than that, he didn't say anything tangible as he tried to pull me towards the Healing Center in the middle of the campus, but I kept stumbling as we went.

Eventually, Viggo gave up and ducked down, then carefully slung me over his shoulder so he could carry me.

"Hey!" I squeaked in surprise before giggling.

"It is faster this way," Viggo said, pointing out the obvious.

That was true, and I wasn't complaining; the view of his firm, muscular backside from this angle was very agreeable.

We were flanked by three of the Imperial Guard as we went. They tried to stay back in the shadows, but I saw them.

Once we reached our destination, Viggo carefully pulled me over his shoulder and set me on my feet.

I waved to the Imperial Guards. "Thanks for the escort. Your presence fills me and Prince de Babineaux with safety and security," I humbly said with a bow.

Viggo pulled the door open as the Imperial Guards took their positions outside of the building and then motioned me inside.

Now it was time to face the truth of what this was going to cost me.

"You need to stop acting like this," Viggo warned.

I pulled away from him and then got in his face. "You need to stop talking to me as if you're my mother!" I warned, jabbing my finger into his chest, and he softly smacked my hand away so I jabbed a finger from my other hand into his chest.

"Are you finished?" he asked, not at all amused, grabbing my hand and then pulled me into him so our bodies were pressed together.

Suddenly I was hyper-aware of his proximity, and the way each exhaled breath that broke past his lips washed over mine, it made my head swim, and I got weak in the knees.

"Floccinaucinihilipilification, the declaration of an item being useless, is the longest non-medical term in the English language," I blurted out.

And here we go again.

Viggo blinked rapidly, as if to clear his head, then leaned back. "I remember that one," he said.

"Sorry," I mumbled, then stepped around him and headed into the Healing Center.

Viggo quickly caught up to me. "What are you apologizing for?" he asked.

"Spewing random crap," I said. "When I was a kid and would get nervous or upset about something I'd spout off random factoids. It really annoys Zannie."

"I know, but why do I make you nervous?" he asked.

"Lots of reasons I suppose," I admitted. "You are like Dr. Jekyll and Monsieur Hyde. One moment you are a smug, condescending jerk telling me what to do, and the next you are holding my hand while reading me Charles Baudelaire. I can't keep up with rollercoaster Viggo; it is starting to wear me out."

He looked confused then contemplative. "I see."

"Do you?" I rhetorically asked.

"Yes. I will meet you down there," he said with a slight bow then turned on his heels and continued to the basement, leaving me at the dressing rooms.

"That was weird. I've been wondering what it would take to shut him up and wipe the smugness from his handsome face, and now I know," I mumbled.

It wasn't the response I was hoping for.

I wanted him to enlighten me as to why I was getting whiplash from his mood swings, and why he was even bothering to worry about me!

However, Viggo's quick dismissal and running from me only caused more questions and gave no answers.

"Ce n'est qu'un stupide gar?on!" I grumbled.