Saved Or Captured?

"Tsk! It was a waste coming here." Dion muttered as his aide opened the door of his carriage and closed it as he entered.

But his eyes paused when he noticed he had company. This time, Abi was not hiding in the corner. She was not covering her face too. But she was sitting on the side of the carriage and staring back at him.

"So.. you did not run away!" he stared hard at her face, her eyes like a hawk, piercing her every expression.

"No, I only wanted a peaceful place to wait for you." not that she had a choice. She had realized that they would follow her everywhere she went. And she did not have the ability to outrun them. But this man had. And for some reason, he wanted to help her.

She had no choice but to take the gamble.

"Hmm," his head tilted and his gaze wandered at the robe she did not have earlier. But beneath it, she was still wearing those clothes of a harlot and she had been with many men. Who had left many scars, many marks and wounds on her body. Which… had nothing to do with him.

He gulped the strange rage he was feeling and reached for her eyes again. Surprised that she was staring back at him with a narrowed look. She was not embarrassed or scared at all. But she would put up a fight and even slit his throat if needed. The thought left a strange adrenaline rush in his body and he laughed.

"Only crazy laughs without a reason." she commented, making him shrug. His laziness irks him way too much. Only nobles enjoy tardiness as if it was an art. 

"Hmm, so.. You have summoned me and I came. What now?" he asked, ignoring her insult. She frowned. He was asking her, what now? She had thought he had a plan. A reason to come here for her. He would have a deal or instructions for her at least. But the way he sat there silently and waited for her to explain their future plans, left her restless. She cursed herself and her mother for talking in circles. 

She shifted her weight from one foot to another. Opened her mouth but shut it again. She did not have anything to say to him. She did not know who he was.. And for some reason, she was not sure who she was either. 

Her mother had been too vague for her to understand.

"Abigail?" his lips twisted and she looked back at him. Suddenly conscious that her thoughts might have shown on her face and he had felt her helplessness. But when he did not offer another word, she rejected the idea.

"I have not called you." it was time to confess or she might ruin the chance. Perhaps it would be better if her mother would explain. That way, she could convince him to keep her mother alive.

The man frowned, not liking the choice of her words, 

"But my mother did. She is sick and needs help." she spoke in an urgent voice, afraid that he would dismiss her without listening to her. "And she told me that you will help." her hands reached for his but she restrained as she remembered how he had avoided her touch last time.

"I will do anything in exchange." she regretted the voice of her words again. She was not going to sell herself. "I mean labor. I will do any kind of job as long as you save my mother and help us in leaving this town." he looked at her blankly. She could not fathom what he was thinking when she looked at his face.

She waited but he did not reply either. He only kept staring at her.

Dion had years of experience to keep his face stoic and calm. But calm would be the last word he would use to explain his condition. His heart exploded for once.

Mother? How could this girl have a mother? And she didn't know who she was? Perhaps it explained her mistrust and her fears. Oh good god, how would she react when she would know that she was the forgotten princess of the empire.

His breath hitched just by thinking about it. This guttersnipe, harlot and what not was the one and only princess of the empire!!!? And she had no idea about it. But he had.. .he was the only one in the whole empire that knew this secret. Her and the empire's fate was in his ruined hands now. 

"Ha! Hahaha." he laughed dryly, making her frightened. Perhaps her offer was not lucrative for him. If only mother had told her how to convince this man after finding her? She was so sure as if her face would be enough to convince this man to leave the world if she wanted. But this was not the case. 

"I am good at working. I have done all kinds of jobs." she added making him shake his head.

"Perhaps we should go and meet your mother first." there was something wrong in the way he uttered the word "mother" but she was not going to pick a fight over it. He was her last chance, last hope.

So, she nodded and he asked her to guide his coachmen. She offered to sit outside with the coachmen for better direction but he refused. 

"You are going to sit beside me and lead the way, I will tell the coachman." he could not let her disappear again. He was going to keep her in front of him all his life or until he was going to claim the jackpot she held.

She was conscious but she nodded and looked outside the window. Now that he was sitting so close to her, he could see the familiarity of her face from the deceased duke. She was the spitting image of her father. 

"That man.. Who were they?"