Bound To Kill

XIII: Bound To Fall Again

Evangeline

Bash and I dashed through the woods but stayed on the road. He said it was to avoid hiding bandits from the woods itself. The horse's gallop begin to slow when he starts, "it's no ordinary cover of vegetation, Evie. It's the Blood Woods, where the Pagans live."

The Pagans. I was so busy planning an escape and starving into famine when I was still at the castle dungeons that I have forgotten about them.

I've just finished eating off two pieces of chocolate cupcakes Bash had given me.

Warmth spreads through me and rids the freezing winter breeze away when I felt him wrap his arms around my waist.

Since there was only one horse, I muster all of my audacity to endure the whole trip with him so close to me. My warmth gets even worse when the flashbacks from the courtyard appear from the sparkling road of snow. I'm so hot that I could start a forest fire.

"I'm sorry if I didn't brought you a jacket, or another pair of clothes that could make you warm." His visible breath tickles my ear.

I look down at his right hand fully bandaged with a teared fabric of blouse. Bash also explained that my blade got stuck and he panicked and if it weren't for a miracle he would have a sword pinned through his chest by now.

"It's alright. What's more important is that you're here with me."

I noticed how I've been changing in the past few days. The day I arrived in the castle, I was only full with faith in myself that I would complete the mission without any help. And now look where it got me.

Sebastian scoffs, placing his jaw on my shoulder as I noticed the sun is beginning to set on the horizon and the temperature is dropping faster than expected.

A snowflake falls on the tip of my nose. It made me remember about the times where I used to stick my tongue out and swallow a snowflake. My parents were still alive back then.

"We need to find shelter," I say, shivering. "Or at least start up a fire."

"You're right. The road is beginning to be blocked as well."

Then I see it, the village of ruins, where my cottage lies hidden. "We can't stop now. My cottage is nearby, only a few gallops left and we'll make it."

After we reached the village, I guided Bash and his horse inside.

"I think I've been here before." He says, his eyes roaming around the roofed back alleys.

I chuckle, connecting my hand with his free one without feeling shame. "Of course you have." It's unbelievable for a man like him to forget a place like this so quickly.

I unlocked my cottage and soon the smell of rotten meat makes my nose squinch in disgust.

The brawny guard. God, I forgot about it.

"Is that one of my men?" Bash asks as he covers his nose with his arm.

"Yes, it is. Help me get him out before we freeze to death here." I groan again in disgust. We only touched the corpse's cape to drag it all the way outside. I covered it with a hill of snow and Bash cynically places a cross built of Birch branches tied with a loose vine just lying around.

I led Bash to a shed where his horse would be able to stay warm for the whole night. Then we throw ourselves inside my cottage finally.

"The smell is still here." He glares at the odor originating on the floor.

"Not to worry." I say, splashing a cold bucket of water on the floor.

Bash sets up a fire on the furnace with some firewood while I take off my cloak and my wrist blade as well. I decided not to ask for Bash to give back my other one because I figured he might be useful in the near
future.

"Listen," I capture his attention from the fire growing slowly on the furnace. His husky blue eyes reflect the orange flame that it was as though the sun has embodied on them. "You can have the blades. Just, don't kill me in my sleep." I almost laughed midway on my sentence.

"My, I would never." He mutters softly. He rises from his crouching position when the fire was enough to reach the other side of the room.

"How long have you been staying here in France?" He questions.

"Two weeks." I say in a croak.

"Are you... Married?"

"No." I would have died cackling because of his question if it weren't for my sore throat and my now wounded stomach.

"How about you, Mr. de Poitiers? Are you married?" I took a step forward. "A frown appears on his face in abrupt. "Did a lover died even before I stepped into your life?"

"No. It's not like that. It's just, my love life was full of hell."

"Was?"

"Before I met you, of course."

I take a seat on the couch of animal fur and watch him of intent. "Tell me everything. I want to know everything."

"As you wish." He takes a deep breath and sits down on the space beside me. "First I fell for Queen Mary. But since she and my brother Francis married I- I was exiled. When I came back to the castle, my feelings for her returned as expected. Then the mad King set up a marriage between me and one of her ladies-in-waiting, Kenna. She ought to love me and I promised to love her back," his eyes dilate when he looks up at me. "That is until you arrive, Evie."

He smiles but I frown apologetically and look away, taking the blame. "I've become a homewrecker, haven't I?"

"Evangeline, you're not a homewrecker. I've known after the day I found out about you and your Brotherhood of Assassins that you were trying all your best doing to avoid me and fulfill a mission that was assigned to you. I'm the one who should be recognized as a homewrecker because I now realized that I'm the one who has wrecked your plan, your mission, your chance to prove to your Brothers that you're worthy of being an Assassin. They're your only home, and I suppose I've wrecked your chance of returning."

That wasn't the definition of homewrecker I was talking about but I didn't wanna ruin everything he just spilled out, so I remained quiet with a small proud smile and stare at his eyes while the fire lasted.

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