She Changed Him

It took Charles four horribly undignified days of staking out the back wall for him to spot Alpheus and Catherine escaping. They were playfully squabbling about something he couldn't quite catch but it was clear that they were both amused.

His heart constricted. How dare she smile so prettily at that buffoon! How dare she jump into his arms to get over the wall! Had she lost her mind?

He followed them anyway. They held hands and talked as they walked away from the palace, though he was too far away to hear what was being said. Both of them were dressed like commoners so if you didn't already know they were royalty it would be impossible to tell.

Charles would have thought they would stop somewhere downtown but they kept walking. For miles. He was getting slightly winded from keeping up with them but pushed forward regardless.

Finding out what they were up to would put the final nail in Alpheus' coffin. He wanted to ensure that happened personally.