Alexei's head cocked to the side, hearing the sounds of a struggle. His eyes sought out the source, but his new fiance must have spotted it sooner. She took off like a shot, not waiting for backup. With a loud curse, he instructed the servants to continue loading while he baled the headstrong princess out of trouble.<br/><br/>"Pavel, get Liz and the others away from here," Alexei shouted out, knowing that no matter what he did, Nikolai would be there to make sure he wasn't blindsided. Reaching the crowd, he and Nikolai grabbed the men, peeling them away like onion layers, tossing the men in the river. One by one until he came face to face with the oaf that had manhandled his fiance. "You presume to touch what is mine?" Alexei growled, retrieving his dagger from his boot. When he went to lay hands on her again, Alexei was finished. He drove the dagger into the fat bastard's arm and dragged it the length of the arm, severing nerves and taking  the idiot out of the fight. Standing in front of Ingrid, he reached out to tuck a hair back behind her ear.