He chuckled, lowering his gaze to the floor and rubbed his toe on a spot in front of him in the shape of an arch. The melodic sound caused me to react, very much the same way it did in the market. Only this time, it wasn’t my imagination. “I did rescue you. Enid helped make sure you stayed in the carriage.”
“But you almost gave me to the guards! Why the change of mind?” I threw my hands in the air with a grunt and stomped toward the balcony, in need of fresh air, but stopped right before I stepped through the doors. Something, his eyes maybe, gently encompassed me, urging me to stay and continue talking. Fear, once again, filled me. Only it wasn’t for my safety, but for something else entirely.
“Please understand if I didn’t do what was expected of me, we would have a mob after us…Still may.”
I turned and walked toward the foot of the bed, keeping my eyes on him. Something about the way he said “still may” set off warnings inside of me. “What is going on Marren? Why in the world would there be a mob after us?”
He approached me, coming closer than I expected, which forced me to take a step backward. My heart drummed harder.
“You will understand soon enough. Please try to get to know me. Don’t be so quick to judge.” His voice pleaded as much as his eyes did. He took another step closer.
“What makes you think I’m judging you?” I took another step back.
“Are you saying that immediately assuming I’m conceited and trying to charm you isn’t judging?” He stepped closer as his words started to hypnotize me.
“Are you saying you aren’t?” I stepped back again.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” He stepped closer again.
The room started to spin. My head filled with a strange buzzing sound. Before I could faint, I said, “I need some air,” and turned quickly, walking to the balcony. The coolness of the stone helped to reground and refocus me. I took in a slow, deep breath.
Marren sighed, surrendering. “If you would like, I can place a guard at your door to protect you?”
“Why would I need protection?” I spoke my words into the wind.
“You’re blind,” he said before letting out an uneasy chuckle. It still made my heart flip. He stood close behind me now, but not so close I couldn’t walk away from him again. I gripped the stone railing as tightly as I could to push away the spell I was falling under. The last bit of sunlight disappeared behind more clouds. I closed my eyes.
“How exactly am I blind?” I tried to form the words evenly, though the last word shook slightly on the way out.
Silence returned to me. I turned around as the doors to the room sealed. I let out a huge breath that made me want to slide to the floor of the balcony and cry. My heartbeat drummed through my ears. Exhausted and worn, I shifted my gaze over the trees one final time. A dark figure moving below caught my attention. I glanced down right as he looked up. A jolt shot through me and, for unknown reasons, I thought again of Marren. I forced myself to turn around and walk back into the room, grabbing a few pillows from the bed and throwing them to the floor in front of the fireplace. I laid on top of them and stared at the fire, letting the tears fall, hoping they would wash away my cares by morning.
Chapter 3
Unsettling
I didn’t intend to fall asleep on the floor. My stiff body was unwilling to move, and Enid stood over me, trying to wake me gently. “A’lainn, you must wake now. Marren wishes to see you.”
“Then he can come to me. Not the other way around,” I muttered half asleep.
“Very well. I will tell him that, but I have something I would like to show you as well.”
I nodded, sat up, and followed Enid with my gaze as he approach the bench to grab the robes. He walked back over and handed them to me. “Oh, the bump is gone. Put these on. I will meet you outside.”
“I’m a fast healer,” I said and took the clothes. I waited until he left the room before changing. A pair of black boots fell out of the folds along with a straight bodice. The function was obvious, but the item did appear rather odd.
I dressed the best I could, trying to use my memory of the way they were on Marren and Enid as a guide. The process turned out not too complicated. On the contrary, it ended up being much easier than I thought originally. I pulled the boots on and wrapped the laces around the leg of them a few times before tying them. I left the hood off my head and placed the clothes I had taken off back on the bench then walked out the door.
Enid nodded with approval and said, “Follow me.”