Subjugated

Chapter Seven: A Walk to Forget

  The next morning, I'm shaken awake by Finn, who looks at me with a knowing smirk. When I realize why, my cheeks redden. Apparently, Desmond's bare chest was my pillow for the night.  We dress, eat a little bit each, and continue to walk.

   Around mid-day, we stop to eat in a small village. While we're eating, our parents get engaged in conversation and I pull Desmond aside.

  "Let's go for a walk," I say in what I think is a rather casual manner, considering the fact that I'm a churning pot of nerves inside.

  "Why?" he asks.

  "No reason. I just want to stretch a little bit," I say.

   "We've been walking for an eternity. I've already had enough 'stretching' to last me a lifetime," Desmond replied.

  "Would you like me to insult you, and have us go back to our old antagonistic relationship?" I ask.

  "I suppose not," he says.

   "Well, let's go then. Time is a-wasting!" I exclaim. He gives me a funny look, but we walk off in to the forest bordering the little village.

  We reach a clearing with a big oak tree to sit under and soft, damp grass. We sit down and he turns to me and asks, "What'd you drag me all the way out here for, girlie?"

   I glare at him, then take a deep breath, and blurt out, "First of all, don't call me girlie. Second of all, I'm running away. Today."  I feel breathless after saying that, as if I let out a huge sigh of relief. Which I suppose I did.

    We sit in a heavy silence for a few moments. Desmond looks utterly perplexed. Eventually, he shatters the heavy glass wall of silence by simply asking, "Why?"

    I think about that for a moment. Why? It's such a simple question, but the answer is so complex.

    So I just say, "To escape. Originally, it was just to escape marrying you and partly to escape my father. But now...I don't know how to leave without still liking you."

     "Well, there would be no issues if I came with you," he said with a smirk.

    "No!" I yelled out. "You need to stay. You need to help support your family."

    "So, you stay," he says.

    "And be controlled by my father and have him meddle in our marriage? No, thank you," I say.

    Desmond looks contemplative for a moment, then says, "I suppose you're right. Your father seems rather controlling. But you better send me a messenger or something so that I know that you're safe. Because if you ever return, I don't want an invalid for a wife."

    "You better continue to be nice to me. A person doesn't change so quickly. Eventually, you'll revert back to your old, despicable ways. Promise me you'll really try to change," I say, staring straight in to his eyes and placing my hands on his shoulders.

  He takes a deep breath, as if steeling himself for a hard task. Then, he stares back at me solemnly, a certain glint in his green eyes that I never saw, maybe of sadness. He replies back solemnly, "Promise me you won't kiss another man. I don't want to lose you to someone else."

   I glare up at him. "I admitted that I like you and I let you kiss me, but that doesn't mean that you have the right to control me. I will kiss whoever I damn please to," I say, crossing my arms defiantly. Glaring at him, daring him to challenge me.

   "Fine. But doesn't mean I'll be happy about it. And doesn't mean that whoever kisses you won't get bruises from me," he grumbles.

   I roll my eyes at his hyper-masculinity, then say, "Let's go back before our parents start hatching any murder plots against us for disappearing for so long." We walk back and find everyone still sitting and eating.

   When my father sees us, he jumps up and yells, "Where in God's name were you two?"

    "We just went for a walk in the forest out here," I say, suddenly timid when I see the fury in my father's eyes.

     "Well, a walk, in my opinion, doesn't entail disappearing for an eternity without telling anyone where you're going,"  my father yells.

  Just as my father raises his hand to slap me, Desmond steps in front of me. "Sir," he says, "if I may, this wasn't your daughter's fault. I was the one who suggested it."

  My father's eyes widen. "Fine," he grumbles. "Just don't let it happen again. Soon, it will be your responsibility to keep her safe."

  Desmond nods and we sit down. "Why did you do that?" I whisper. "You could have gotten hit instead of me!"

   "Because I'm the only one who can control you," he says with a smirk.

   "You're lucky you're charming," I reply.