There was something soft underneath her. Ruby couldn't remember the last time she'd woken to this level of comfort. A soft fluffy blanket lay over her. The sheets were as smooth as the silk dresses she could barely remember wearing. She heard the soft crackling and hissing of a fire. A sweet smell reached her nose, cooked food.
Ruby curled against herself. She held her knees and sobbed. It had been so long since she'd had any soft of comfort. She didn't know how to handle this windfall. It was all too much. She didn't deserve any of this. This was all wrong.
The tears wouldn't stop and she didn't want to let them. They were expelling the weariness from her body. The aches and sores. The bone deep exhaustion was finally starting to lift. It was the first time she'd cried since she'd left home.
There was a knock on the door. She couldn't answer it through her tears. The door opened. Someone entered. There was a pause, then cold as the blanket lifted. But then there was a new warmth, the heat of another person's body was pressed against her back. A soft voice whispered to her and a kind hand stroked her hair.
Her sobs redoubled. She couldn't take this human connection on top of the luxury. She tried to speak, to explain herself. “I—, I—”.
“Hush, little gem. Be calm. There aren't any easy roads to this place. I can't swear there won't be more hard times coming soon either. But I've got you for now.”
At last, worn out from her sobbing, Ruby fell back to sleep, the man's presence soothing her. <reword>