3 The Man with the blue eyes

Adelaide wasn't quite sure what possessed her to grab the strange mans hand. She supposed a part of her felt guilty; the coins in that purse were such a trivial amount that she would have never noticed their absence. Taking in his disheveled clothing and world weary eyes a part of her wished that she had just kept her mouth shut.

The mans head snapped around to look at her, eyes wide. She took in his dark hair that fell into eyes so blue they appeared gray. Sharp angular features gave him a look of beauty that most local men just didn't have. Just exactly who was he?

After an awkward pause she realized that he was in fact waiting for her to say something.

"Here!" Heat rising to her cheeks she shoved the small coin purse at him, and without another word she replaced the hood of her cloak and spun on her heel walking away as quickly as possible .

Mere seconds later the man was at her side again, "You don't have to give me this," he said quietly. His voice was low and deep with an accent that she couldn't quite place. She turned to look at him, his face ridden with shame. Even in worn down dirty clothes, stubble outlining his sharp jaw, this person had an air of aristocracy about him. She wanted to admire his beautiful face and run away from him simultaneously.

"Keep it." She didn't break her stride, keeping her eyes straight forward she was determined to not look at him.

He gave a long pause, "Thank you." Another pause. "May I know the name of my benefactor?"

Hesitating for a long moment, she finally answered, "Addie." And with that she quickly melded with the crowd of people that were surrounding them.

And as hard as she tried, and as sternly as she told herself she wouldn't do it, she glanced back.

Her eyes instantly met his. He seemed oblivious to the people rushing past him, his attention focused solely on her, as if it were only them in this crowded market place.

For just a moment the world faded away and then she blinked quickly and faced forward, her face hot once more.

She never even got his name.

***

Back in her chambers, Adelaide insisted on receiving supper in her room. She didn't think she had the fortitude to deal with her step mother this evening. Sitting at her desk she ate methodically, thinking about the events of the day.

She was to be married.

To the enemy.

She understood royal duty. She truly did. But it didn't make the situation any easier to digest. She didn't know if she could even stomach being in the same room as him, nonetheless enjoy a life of marital bliss.

She wondered what he looked like. Would he be as atrocious as she always imagined the royal family of the barbaric Arthro to be?

Surely this man, whoever he may be, was as thrilled as she was about this arrangement.

Two hot tears rolled down her cheeks silently.

Aggressively wiping them away she suddenly became determined; there had to be a way out of this.

She began formulating a plan in her head. Perhaps she could run away? It seemed a simple enough solution. More often than not she was allowed to move about freely around the castle grounds and the surrounding town. Granted when leaving home she was supposed to have Elizabeth accompanying her, and while she somehow avoided it today in the future it wouldn't be quite so easy.

Then there was also the possibility that she could fake her own death. She shuddered at the thought. She could only imagine the smirk on her step mothers face as her coffin was lowered into the ground.

The journey to the new kingdom would be a long one. Was there a possibility that she could escape on the way to her impending doom? The more she thought on it the better this idea became. She could fake compliance to make everyone lower their guards. And then she would disappear the moment they were unsuspecting.

She washed her face and changed into her night clothes. Sitting at her vanity, she brushed her long golden hair, her face resolute. This was how it was going to be done.

She just needed to put it into action.

In bed she tossed and turned until the early hours of morning, trying to sleep but unable to. She imagined every way that her plan could go wrong, and what she would do if it went right. Where would she go? Who would she become? She was overwhelmed and her brain would not hush its internal chatter.

She eventually drifted into a restless slumber, where her mind was plagued by nightmares of marriage, capture, and death. But suddenly a pair of blue eyes flirted along the edges of her dreams, and with the tiniest of smiles touching the edges of her lips, she finally surrendered to a deep sleep.