Goodbye to the Knight✔️

60. A thousand times over

"Don't move it is only me," Killian's rough voice whispers in my ear, stopping me mid way from raising my leg and kicking him in his jewels. "I am going to let you go but don't run or make any noise, there are knights outside."

Slowly he lets me go and I spin round to face him at last, eyes narrowed and definitely not prepared for the wave of emotions that hit me when I finally see him. He is just as I remember, dark tousled brown hair although a little longer, still frames his face and his lips are drawn into a classic Killian hard line without any sign of the playful smile I had grown to love.

"Follow me," he mouths and I do, because in this moment, I trust him.

He leads me down into a small, windowless room that I have yet to explore, the walls are covered in moss and a damp smell emits from one corner.

"Stay here." He whispers before returning back outside plunging the room into darkness.

I walk over to the door, illuminated by little cracks of light around the outside and strain my ears against it. I hear his footsteps walking away and then voices.

"I just checked inside, she isn't here,"

"Are your certain?"

"Are you doubting me Alexander?" I hear Killian reply in a dangerous voice.

"No, I am sorry,"

"Our best plan now is to split up, you and Godfrey are to go down stream until you reach the track, if she isn't there return back to the manor and wait for me there," Killian commands, "I shall go up stream and search there, understood."

"Yes."

A few minutes go by and then Killian appears at the door, "They are gone."

"Why did you lie to them?" I walk back outside.

"Because they were going to hurt you," he says in a monotone voice.

My gaze softens slightly, "Thank you."

Killian remains silent for a moment or two and then suddenly becomes alive, "Ell, we thought you were dead. You left in the middle of a snow storm, on foot without any warning! You did not even tell Sage that you were leaving! Do you know how worried both of us have been?"

"Killian...I—"

"Sage and I searched the entire countryside looking for you!" He begins to pace with his voice rising, "We rode to Sanlowe and found that the entire village was on lockdown, no one could go in or out meaning that you certainly had not made it there! Eventually we stopped looking for signs of life and instead we started searching for your body because we thought you were dead!" I stand there helpless, watching him let out the torrent of emotions trapped inside of him, "Now imagine the shock I got earlier today, when I see you, the girl I thought to be dead, rush out of the hall at full sprint, very much alive."

The pain in his gaze is agonising when he finally turns to face me.

"Killian, I am so, so, sorry that I put you through that," I slowly go over to him and put my arms around him. For a moment his stays rigid in my arms before relaxing and leaning down, wrapping his own arms around me in a long tight embrace.

"Chérie I thought I had lost you forever." He whispers into my hair, the anger all gone leaving behind only pain and relief, "How did you survive?"

"I got lucky, really lucky, two women found me in the snow and brought me here with them."

"Bless those two women," he hugs me even tighter, "why did you run then?"