Intrepid

Chapter 11: Him

Candle flames flickered at the corner of my eyes as I reluctantly woke myself up. Wondering where I could possibly be at the moment, a voice on my left jolted me back from my thoughts. ''Oh, you're awake.'' 

I wished my heart would quit threatening to break my ribs. His soft, ebony eyes held my gaze and I couldn't do anything but stare into them helplessly. Feeling the atmosphere growing awkward, I looked away bashfully.

''Are you scared?'' 

''H-huh? No, I-I'm fine,'' I said and immediately winced at my rather unconvincing reply.

Leaning against the headboard, I played with my fingers and looked up when he handed me a glass of water. ''Here, you need this.''

I thought about rejecting his offer in case the drink had been spiked but decided against it. Drowning down the liquid, I let out a sigh and realised that tears had formed at the brink of my eyes. As I pursed my lips to avoid breaking down in front of a complete stranger, I turned the glass around in my hands. 

''Your mother is still asleep in another room and my sister is taking care of her so you don't need to worry,'' he said with a smile that made me melt, ''You don't need to be afraid of me, I am nothing like Edna.''

''How do you know-''

''It's a long story for another day... By the way, I'm Damien.'' 

''I don't think there's a need for me to introduce myself, is there?''

''Well, today I've learned that some pretty girls are smart after all.''

My eyebrows raised in question. ''I will prove to you one day what pretty girls are capable of, '' I said with a smirk as I got off the bed and headed for the door.

''Where are you going?''

''To my mother's room, obviously,'' with much emphasis on the last word. Shutting the wooden door behind me, I walked towards the room opposite mine and knocked.

A woman opened the door and motioned for me to go in. Sitting down on a stool beside my mother's bed, I held her hands in mine as I watched the woman walk out of the room.

''You don't recognise them, do you?'' 

When she saw that I had shaken my head in response, she told me that they were the children of a close friend of hers. ''The last time I saw them, they were running around the house. It was chaotic!''

I imagined Little Damien playing hide-and-seek with his sister and smiled at the thought. ''They are good people. Maybe we could change plans and stay here with them. What do you think?'' she asked me.

''I'm fine with that.''

Suddenly, the door opened. ''Could I lend her for a while?'' Damien asked my mother, who nodded. The time I had with my mother was rather short, but I would find a way to make it up to her.

Smoothing out my dress under me, I stood up and walked out of the room with Damien. ''You want to see me so badly, huh?'' Just as the question came out of my mouth, I realised I had missed seeing him too.

Not long ago, I had fled from a castle because I had no plans to marry a prince I had been betrothed to. And here I was, letting my heart throb uncontrollably in the presence of a stranger. Had I fallen for someone, after all?