Red

42. Shackled

its time. i'm finally giving you all a FULL 3000+ word chapter in the pov of ROME! YAYAYAYAYA! the excitement i have is unreal. he deserves a little spotlight and i'm finally giving it to him LOL

also, i have something new and important i would like to share with you. if you've read UHK or have seen it on my profile, it's a book i wrote about 2 years ago. and i'm going to rewrite it! by the time this chapter comes out i will have posted the copyright statement for the new and improved story, so check it out!

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                                   Rome

My final day with Scarlett passed faster than I had wanted it to, and as the new day crawled slowly over the horizon I knew it was time for me to leave.

She slept so peacefully beside me. Her rosy lips were slightly parted in her sleep, and her brown hair was scattered across the pillows and draped over her bare shoulder.

     Undisturbed. Beautiful. And she was all mine.

     I didn't want to get up. I wanted to continue to lay beside her and sleep the day away with her, but I knew what I had to do. What I must do.

I forced myself to get up out of the bed and head to my dresser. Inside, I grab an off-white button up shirt that had a few holes here and there and dark pants splattered in dirt that the girls had packed for me. I needed clothes that looked peasant-like. I needed to blend in if my operation was to work.

The daggers I had laid out the night before gleamed in the lamp light as I took them from the table and attached them to the holster under my shirt. It was bound around my abdomen, and would hold the weapons safely and remain concealed. Carrying them out in the open on my belt would be too suspicious.

A worn farmer's hat had also been placed on the top of my dresser, which I secured on my head once I finished getting dressed.

Red hair wasn't the most common color. In fact, I'd never met anyone who shared the same color as me. A deep red, a fiery red—a color so red it was impossibly rare. My mother had passed it on to me.

Which is why I needed it to be covered. Otherwise, I could be spotted, and that would be bad. Especially on unknown territory.

Blending in is what will get me inside and to the source I needed to find.

Turning around, I button up my shirt and determine whether or whether not I should wake her up. It would be best if I let her sleep, and I could always leave her a note. But she had a knack for being stubborn, and could be quite aggressive if she wanted to. I wouldn't hear the end of it if I didn't tell her goodbye.

Striding up to the bed, I squat down and gently shake her shoulder.

"Scarlett," I keep my voice soft as to not disturb her. "Wake up, love."

Her brows furrow as she stirs awake, and ever so slowly those brilliant turquoise-colored eyes opened. She blinked as she looked at me, and gradually rose to a sitting position when I stand back up.

Gods, she was so beautiful. Everything about her, from the light freckles that dotted her nose, to the sharp yet soft edges of her face, to the pinkish tips of her pointed ears. I could go on and on for days.

With the bed sheets tightly bound in her hands, she says sleepily, "Are you leaving already?"

"I'm afraid I must."

Her full lips pull down in a subtle frown. "That's too bad." Her gaze wanders over my peculiar outfit, and she raises a dark brow in question.