3 Chapter 3: Too Close For Comfort

Thank goodness for my quick reflexes. I barely missed it but it nicked my right ear. I quickly darted off down the dark hallway, turning through the corridors. I could feel the man chasing me, and he was not far behind.

I must find a place to hide.

I spurt up the stairs and down the hall. I could see a door that was a little ajar to my right and quickly went in, shutting the door behind me. I slowly backed up, eyeing the door as though it would burst open.

"Who are you?"

When did he get in?

Out of breath, I flipped around. Right before I raised my fists to fight, I stopped. I saw an outline of a tall muscular man standing in the middle of the dark room. There is a desk by the curtained window with very little moonlight, barely seeping through, and behind him was a bed.

This is probably his room.

The door handle jiggled, sending blood rushing through my body and my adrenaline kicked in. My ears were filled with the loud thrumming of blood rushing past as beads of sweat collected on my forehead.

In my last effort to hide from my pursuer. I took wide strides toward this man and pressed my lips against his, wrapping my arms around his neck as we fell onto the bed. He smelled of burning wood, leather, and iron. He let out a small moan of confusion, but gave in. His tongue entered my mouth and licked the corners of my cheeks to the roof of my mouth.

I can hear the door creak open, and I roll this man on top of me so that I am hidden from my pursuer. This man slid one hand down to embrace my lower back and the other up to my neck. I flinched slightly as he brushed against the stinging sensation of my ear. He must've felt the flinch because he tried to push himself away.

I grabbed hold of him and pulled him back on top of me. He took a deep, shaky breath before slipping his tongue back in my mouth. Slowly the door creaked to a close, and I pushed this man off me.

Being forced to read romance novels to Lady Syn has finally paid off.

I quickly stood to my feet, placed a hand to my chest and bowed slightly. "My apologies." The man lay very still on the bed in the shadows, and didn't say a word. I think I shocked him, because he hadn't moved. If I hadn't known any better, I'd say he didn't even breathe.

Forcing myself onto the man was definitely not something I would ever do. In fact, that was my first kiss – ever, but desperate times calls for desperate measures.

I carefully approached the door. After taking a quick moment to gather my composure, I fixed my hair and walked out. I checked each corner carefully as I worked my way back to the ballroom.

What had I just heard? Were they planning an assassination? What if Lady Syn is in danger? Wasn't she supposedly the one that was going to be betrothed to the crown prince? What if they kill her?

My heart raced with worries for my childhood friend as I rushed back to the ballroom.

"Lady Syn." I was out of breath, but I smiled politely to the nobles she was talking to.

"Where were you?" She twirled her goblet in her hands.

"Huh? Oh – uh, nowhere. I was just uh, outside – cooling off."

"Is that blood?" One of the noble ladies gasped, her eyes widened – so much in fact that if it were any wider, I was sure her eyes would just pop right out of the sockets in which they sat.

"Huh?"

"Your ear, it's bleeding." Chatters and murmurs erupted.

"Oh! This?" I chuckle nervously. "This is nothing to worry about. I just uh – I just fell; – on the steps – uh, when I went out for some air." I smiled sheepishly, glancing around for the hooded man. I wasn't able to get a look at his face at all. He could be any one of these people.

"Are you okay?" Lady Syn looked at me with concerned eyes.

"I'm fine my lady." I raised my hand to my chest, but she stopped me. After forgetting that I was here as a 'lady', I put on an apologetic smile and put my arm back down. "It's just a small scratch, I'm fine." I reassured the noble women, who were looking at me in horror. I pulled my hair in front of my ear, hoping to prevent any further murmurs and unwanted attention.

"Why don't you go have a seat?" Lady Syn whispered, taking a sip from her goblet.

"No, I'm fine, my lady. I'd rather stay by your side and keep you safe." I glanced around, still trying to locate the hooded man.

"There are so many people here, nothing is going to happen to me. Go sit down." She said quietly through her teeth. "You're drawing attention." She sounded irritated that I was embarrassing her.

I glanced around at everyone murmuring as their eyes landed on me. "Yes, my lady." I smile apologetically making my way back to my seat. I grabbed a handkerchief from the table and pressed it to my ear, wincing as it made contact.

The people returned to what they were doing and chatted loudly again, talking about how beautiful Lady Syn was, and how she will be betrothed to the Crown Prince.

But I paid them no mind. I was still too concerned, continuing to scan the area for anyone that may be staring at me just a bit too long.

"Where did you go, my lady?" Sir Talks-a-Lot had returned and sat himself next to me. "Lady Syn said she hadn't seen you."

"Oh, well, uh – I thought I heard her calling for me, so I went looking for her outside, but I couldn't find her, so I just came back."

"Are you okay?" He glanced at the handkerchief pinned to the side of my head.

"Oh, I'm fine. I fell down the stairs and hit my ear. It's just a scratch."

"Here, let me see." He turned me toward him.

"No-no. I'm alright. Thank you."

"Come with me." He grabbed my hand, but I resisted. My fists balled up tightly next to me, ready to give a very nice greeting to his face should he try anything. He leaned in next to my ear. "You're scaring the guests. You're covered in blood." I glanced down, blood had dripped from my ear, down my neck and in between the crevice of my breasts.

"Ugh, I knew this dress was going to be a pain." I mumbled and stood up. Sir Talks-a-Lot took off his cloak, draped it over me and we walked out of the ball room.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer called out, "the crown prince will now choose a special lady to dance with!" Cheers erupted as we left the ballroom.

"Please fetch me a pail of warm water and a clean rag." He said to the maid carrying a tray of goblets.

"Right away y-" The maid stuttered and left.

He walked me to a bench in the abandoned hallway and sat me down.

"Are you sure you're alright, my lady?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you."

"Did you hit your head when you fell?"

"Uh – just a little bit, but I'm fine – truly." I smiled politely and hoped that he would just leave me alone. I never realized how horrible I am at telling lies – or perhaps it's just this man, unnerving me.

He sure is persistent, I'll give him that.

"The items you requested." The maid returned placing the bucket on the floor by me.

"Thank you kindly." He winked at her, causing her to blush as quickly turned around and left without another word.

"Alright let me see." He damped the cloth and wrung it out, gently wiping my ear. "Does it hurt?"

"No."

He chuckled with only one side of his lips curling up.

"What?"

"You say 'no' but your face says differently." Only then did I realize, I was wincing every time the warm towel touched the wound.

"It's just an automatic reaction, but it doesn't hurt."

"This is a pretty big cut. You're going to need stitches. Are you sure your head is okay? You must've fallen pretty hard to cause this big laceration."

"I'm fine."

"Can you get me a needle and thread?" He stopped the next maid walking by.

"Right away y-"

I narrowed my eyes. This maid also stuttered before leaving.

"I don't need stitches, it'll be fine."

"Don't be ridiculous. I can't leave such a beautiful lady, like yourself, with such a huge scar for the rest of your life."

I felt my cheeks burning just as my heart began racing so loud I was sure he could hear it.

Beautiful?

I've never thought of myself as beautiful, in fact I was far from it, I've plenty of scars on my body to prove it.

"Here are the items."

"Thank you." He smiled politely to the maid.

"You're very popular with the ladies I see."

"Oh yeah? And what are your thoughts?"

"Uh-" I flinched at the needle piercing my ear.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot to warn you." As he pulled on the needle and thread, I could feel it tug and burn my skin. Whenever the thread gets pulled tight, I could hear the thread plucking in my ear. "You never answered my question."

"What question?"

Please don't remember, please don't remember.

"What do you think of me?"

Damn.

"I think you are – good at stitching."

"What else?" He smiled crookedly and continued to stitch away.

"I think you are – very talkative."

"What else?"

"What do you want me to say? We literally just met!" I lashed out in frustration. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"No-no. It's quite alright." He seemed to be amused at my anger, which caused my blood to boil even more. "You know, you are the first person, or woman, to talk comfortably to me."

"Why? I thought the ladies liked you."

"Maybe, but they don't talk to me like a normal person."

"And, how I am talking is normal?"

"Well, you're not – uptight and always formal like everyone else. When most people see someone with authority, it's always 'Sir' or 'Lord' and 'bows' and blah blah blah." He rolled his eyes in irritation. I couldn't fight the rise of a smile painting slowly across my face. "I just want to have a normal conversation, so this is nice." His smile reminded me that I too felt the exact same way.

Even his gaze as those dark crimson eyes turned to regard me, watching me to intently as though he understood exactly how I felt.

He leaned in really close to my face, I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. I clenched my eyes shut and held my breath as my heart raced. I wasn't comfortable with people in my space.

I heard a snap right by my ear.

"Alright, we are all done." He dipped the cloth back into the pail of water and handed it to me. "You might want to clean up before we go back into the ballroom."

I blinked, trying to remember exactly where I was at that moment as though I had gotten lost somewhere.

"Thank you." I took the cloth from him and started wiping my neck. Like a knight's chivalry, he turned the other way as he waited for me to finish cleaning. I had to really shove the wet towel between my cleavage to get the blood since it already dried and crusted.

"Did I get everything?" I adjusted my dress to cover up my breasts. He turned around, scrutinizing me like a wolf deciding how to hunt a feeble rabbit. He took the towel from me before speaking.

"You still have a little bit, right here." He braced my neck with one hand and wiped where my jawline met my neck. I felt my body stiffen at his touch, making my heart race, sending chills through my body.

Oh how his touch felt like fire coursing through very nerve ending, very vein spreading like wildfire. "Okay, that's it, all clean." He smiled innocently, causing my heart to skip a beat.

"Could you please put these away?" He said to the maid as we walked back to the ballroom.

The doors opened and we walked inside. Murmurs and chatters echoed in the quiet room. I glanced around as everyone's eyes were upon us.

Why did we have to walk in at a quiet moment?

I averted my eyes away from those relentless gazes and headed toward my seat, but a hand grabbed hold of my arm, stopping me in my tracks.

I turned back. Sir Talks-a-Lot was holding onto my arm. I only just noticed, but he was no longer wearing his armor. Instead he wore a graceful red and gold outfit. He stared at me with his red fiery eyes.

"Lady Charlix. Will you have this dance with me?"