"Going somewhere?" I here a stern voice say.

I look behind me. Garte stands there, looking serious and annoyed as ever. I adjust my jacket and turn around, sighing. He raises an eyebrow, confused and waiting for what I'm going to say.

"Yes. I'll be back later." I say, trying to walk past him.

He puts a strong grip on my shoulder. It doesn't hurt, but it does startle me. I back up and look him straight I'm his dark blue eyes. They weren't the kind ones he had when I first met him. They're no scary, and he looks like he's ready to hurt anyone who comes near him.

His eyes were intelligent and dangerous, like he knew everything and feared nothing in the world. The dark blue color fit.

"Zianna, wait please-"

"Garte. I'm going." I say, pushing past him.

I can feel his eyes scan me up and down, staring at me as if I'll turn around. I keep walking until I hear little footsteps running. I spin around on my heels.

I see Garte pick Garroth up. He usually thinks that Garroth is too old to be babied like I usually do to him, but occasionally he'll do it himself. Garte smiles at him and turns back to me.

"You're leaving again, Mommy?" He asks.

I walk over to him and kiss his forehead. He looks at me with a confused face, but he has those same intelligent eyes Garte has. He'll figure something out.

"I'll be back soon, Garroth, okay?" I say. "You be good for daddy."

"Okay...!" He holds his words out.

I smile at both of them and turn back around to begin walking again. As I put my cloak back on, I think about my two boys. Is going to see this man really worth it? Not for Garte's sake, but for Garroth and Zane's.

I shake off those thoughts and walk out the door. The moment I step out, people smile and wave. I wave back, I like to get out. It's something my husband and I don't have in common; he hates it. He says he hates the honor he gets.

I wouldn't doubt it. He had an older brother, Tobin, died on a battlefront a few years before be had to become Lord. Garte immediately had to take his postion, and he never liked fame. He didn't think he deserves it.

That still doesn't give him an excuse to act the way he does.

I walk back up to the gates. Leo turns around and gives a bright smile. I smile back and peel back my hood. He walks back up to me.

"Going out again, m'lady?" He asks.

"Yep." I say, giving a small smile back.

Leo nods and walks over to the lever. I follow him. He doesn't turn around, but he doesn't pull the lever. He turns to me with a concerned face.

"Is Lord Ro'Meave really that bad...?" He asks.

"What do you mean?" I tilt my head.

"Is he really that bad that you have to leave?" He says as he begins to pull the lever. "Because if he is-"

"No, Leo. He isn't, I just... need to get out once in a while, you know?' I partially lie.

"Yeah, I guess." He says and pulls the lever.

I walk out and give a slight nod. Leo gives a small wave and closes the gates. I don't begin running until I'm out of sight. If I run and they will think I'm running away, and try and find me. Leo will get in trouble, too. I can't let that happen thanks to me.

Once I look back and I can't see the village, I begin running towards the direction I met Theodore. I stop, not remembering the direction his house was in. This is, after all, a big forest.

"Looking for me?" I hear a familiar voice ask.

I jump and turn around. I see no one, and that makes me even more startled. I look in all directions and try not to shake.

"Look up." The voice says.

I look up to see Theodore sitting on a branch. Luckily, its not that high up. He jumps down and smiles at me.

"Zianna, how are you?" He asks.

"Better, I guess..." I say, rubbing my arm gently.

"Are you sure? You look... pale, tired almost." He gives a concerned look.

"I'm fine, I swear." I smile at him. "Can we go to your place, it's getting cold here."

"O-Of course, follow me." He says, beginning to walk towards the direction of his house.

I walk next to him. Looking at his face, I notice things that are all too familiar. The small features look like Garte's, like the way his ears are shaped and his mouth shape.

I raise an eyebrow but he doesn't notice. I push it away from my thoughts. There's probably a lot of people who have similar features, or I'm just paranoid. Maybe both.

We approach his house. He takes a small key and unlocks the door, letting me inside first. He's such a gentleman, that's for sure.

I kind of like him.

No, I really like him.

Theodore motions for me to sit down in a dining room. I gently sit down as he goes into the kitchen. He comes back out with two cups of tea. He hands one to me and sits down across from me.

"So..." he says, fiddling with his thumbs. "Tell me about yourself."

"I told you pretty much everything..." I say.

"No, you told me your family. I want to know about you." He points a finger at me.

I pause for a moment. Ny story isn't that interesting, its mostly just me taking care of my boys and fighting with my husband. I sigh and shake my head.

"There's not much to tell..." I say.

He sighs, "Okay... um.. tell me about your husband, what's his name?" He asks.

I hesitate, unsure to give him his real name. If I say Garte, I know I won't ever see him again. Then I think of his nickname, Jack.

Garte got that nickname through his mother, who always called him John for some reason. It's one of his many middle names. Him and his mother were very close, I think it was a bonding thing between them. As a joke, I started calling him Jack, and it stuck.

"Jack." I choke out.

"And what's he like...?" He asks.

I think to choose my words carefully. There's only certain ways to describe him. I sigh.

"He's like a hurricane; bursts of anger coming and thousands of miles an hour. You never know when he's coming. But then there's the calm. It's an endless cycle."

"Wow..." he says.

I nod. I ask him about his family, he doesn't say much. His hands fidget against the tea cup as he takes shaky, deep breaths. I raise an eyebrow.

After talking for an hour or so, I get up. "I-I better go. My husband will get worried."

"Okay," he sighs and stands up. "But wait, just a minute."

I turn to look at him. He comes closer with a slight look of fear in his eyes. He comes closer and closer. He gently takes my chin and tilts my face up. I can feel his warm breath on my face.

He gets closer and his lips brush mine. I accept it willingly, not realizing what I'm doing. We press our lips together. It sends butterflies through my stomach, but I keep kissing him for a good few seconds. Then, I separate.

A small sign of pink appears on his cheeks. I know I'm blushing too, the heat keeps going to my cheeks. I slightly shake and give a mere smile.

"I-I'm sorry, I-" he begins.

"It's okay, Theodore. We should... do that again sometime." I smile.

He nods. I smile wider and walk out the door. Walking into the forest, I sit down against a tree and ponder a bunch of thoughts.

Did I really kiss another man?

Why did it feel so good?

Did I just cheat on my husband...?

••••••••
Okay so um I've been listening to Burn from Hamilton, Teenage Dream, and now Mine is playing.

And now I'm thinking of Garte's feelings.

Yipeeeeeee.

Thanks for reading! Bye!
••••••••