Word Count: 2041

~Avila

I rush upstairs, a handful of cubed cheese in my hand.

As bad as I feel about raiding the hotels kitchen for a snack, I know I won't be able to fall asleep until I eat something. Insomnia has kept me up past midnight, and my stomach has been growling for hours.

The place is deathly quiet as I pad to my room, slipping in without any problems.

We are into the second week of the tour, and my speeches are progressively getting worse. Today it all compounded into a surging crowd who were yelling so loud my words were drowned out completely.

They think I'm a monster. That I'm cursed, that I bleed dark magic.

I pop a piece of cheese into my mouth, chewing mindless as I stare out the hotel window. The worst comment came from someone close to the stage, who claimed I would pass down my curse to my child, the heir to the throne.

I shudder, reaching out the tug the window closed, feeling the bitter edge of the cold breeze. We still haven't escaped the colder villages. Here, the mountains are tall and wide, snow falling consistently. It has only stopped within the last hour, but the cold still remains.

Turning toward the bed, a piece of folded paper sits on my pillow.

Shoving the last of the cheese into my mouth, I grab the note and fold it open. Moonlight dances along the printed words.

Meet me in the centre of the atrium, in the gardens.

-E

I draw in a shallow breath, looking around. The room is large and beautiful, but utterly empty of people aside from me.

Emerick followed me here.

Scrunching the note up, I hide it under the pillow before I search for a coat. Once I'm sufficiently dressed, thick gummy boots and all, I slip from the room.

My boots squeak as I walk, so I quicken my step. Once I'm downstairs I rush across the checkered marble floor and out the main doors.

A rush of cold air hits me as my feet plunge into freshly fallen snow. There is much left of the garden after the snowfall, but it's still beautiful in an ethereal way.

Trudging out into the garden, I ignore the way the building rears up around us. Anyone could look out their balcony windows and see me, looking around like a maniac.

I spot Emerick soon enough, lounging on a frost covered bench, his legs crossed at the ankles.

"What are you doing here?" I hiss lowly, coming to stand in front of him.

He looks up at me, as mischievous grin taken up residence on his handsome face. It's been a couple weeks since I last saw him, and now having him back here, in front of me....it's confronting.

"You could look happier to see me." He swings his legs off the bench, patting next to him. I remain standing, folding my arms over my chest.

"What if someone saw you?"

"No one has seen me." He shrugs casually, look none of this matters. "I'm sure everyone is asleep."

I huff out a frustrated breath. Any excitement at seeing him is dampened by the reminder of who he is. A rebellion leader. He's someone who wants to take everything from me, and yet, claims he's in love with me.

"Why are you here? How are you here? We are miles away from home," I snap.

He sweeps his hand through his inky black locks, disrupting the flakes of snow that had settled there. "I've been following you."

"What?" I can't hide the horror from my voice.

"I've kept my distance, but close enough to make sure you were okay." He leans forward, bracing his forearms on his thighs. He's looking up at me earnestly, but I can't feel glad for his proximity.

In fact, it's only complicating matters.

"I'm just fine, stalker."

"I care about you, Avila. I feel the need to protect you." He stands to his full height, brushing the hair from my face. I swat his hand away, images of my husband crowding my mind.

I take a healthy step back. "From what?"
 
"From the people." He winces a little. "Rumours are spreading like wildfire, Av. They think you're cursed."

Great, even he has noticed it. No wonder every village seems to be prepared to berate me the moment I arrive. They probably spread the news quickly from one place to the other.

"I know...I'm trying to convince them otherwise, but no one believes me."

"Perhaps it will settle in time, but for now, you need to keep safe." He rests his hands on my shoulders, digging his ungloved fingertips into me.

"I feel safe. I have my guards, and I have..." I drift off. It feels like a sin to utter his name in front of Emerick.

Emerick's eyes darken, his expression cooling off. There is something about Vade that angers him to the core, and it feels like it goes beyond just my relationship to him.

"The Prince?"

"My husband," I add, feeling the need to set that boundary.

My trust in Emerick has dropped severely. As curious as I am about him, and as desperate as I am to find answers about my old self, I don't think I'll ever be in love with him like he wants to me to be. There is something off about him. Something I can't quite place.

"He's not your husband. Not really," Emerick mutters, that blistering gaze chilling me to the core.

"Last time I checked, we had a whole ceremony, and now I'm wearing this." I hold up my hand, so he can see the ring glinting in the moonlight.

His jaw hardens to the point it looks painful, encouraging me to take another tentative step backwards.

"I bet you didn't consummate. The marriage isn't legitimate," he says in a low, almost threatening tone.

"That's none of your business," I growl.

Emerick tilts his head to the side, the snow crunching beneath his feet as he steps closer. I straighten, trying not to appear intimidated, but a voice in the back of my head encourages me to run.

"Did he fuck you?" He whispers.

I open my mouth, then close it again. Emerick doesn't need to know the truth about my wedding night. Even though I want to keep that information to myself, I feel my cheeks flush.

"I said it's none of your business."

He shakes his head slowly, seeing straight through me. I expect to feel his anger permeate through the air, but instead, an almost sadistic smile passes over his face.

"Did you think of me while you do it?" He asks lowly.

I balk, shocked at his question. Emerick has barely crossed my mind over the past couple weeks...Vade has been the main thought in my head.

"Maybe you should just leave," I warn, trying not to shiver from the cold breeze whipping through the gardens. "I'm happy here. I like my life well enough. I don't need my thoughts confused by rebellion, by...well, you!"
 
My voice echoes through the atrium, but I can't find it in me to care. People may overhear, they may look out, but any second now I'm storming back into the hotel and I'm not coming out of my room until morning.

Emerick steps forward, dropping the smile. "You loved me. There is some part of me that thinks you still can."

I shake my head. "It doesn't matter. I wasn't married then, but now I am."

"Come to another meeting. One more," he insists, bordering on begging. "I'll answer all your questions. You can trust me."

"I don't think I can..." I whisper, backing away.

I'm quickly brought to a stop by a chilling voice that speaks from behind me.

"Avila." Their voice carries a warning that is colder than the snow coming up to my ankles.

I glance over my shoulder, seeing Vade approach. He seems to be part of the shadows, like the moonlight has an aversion to him. His expression is impassive, but his eyes convey darkness as he drags his attention to Emerick.

"Shit." I have to physically stop myself at recoiling at my husband's sudden presence. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to talk myself out of this one...

"I think it's time you leave, Emerick," Vade states quietly, calmly.

Despite the softness of his voice, the warning is clear. I feel is sink into my skin, making me want to run for it. However, I don't move, shock moving through me slowly as I realise Vade knows Emerick's name.

I turn toward Vade. "You know him."

He looks back at me, his eyes as silver as the moonlight. "So do you, apparently."

Swallowing thickly, I glance at Emerick. He looks rightly uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot. He may be a member of a rebellion, but he's still standing in the presence of a prince.

"I have a right to speak to her. She's not a prisoner," Emerick tells him, irritating buried in his tone.

"How did you know I was out here?" I ask breathlessly. It's much past midnight.

Vade's jaw settles into a hard line, his gaze drifting over me. "I came to your room. You weren't there."

"Oh..."

Emerick's expression doesn't shift aside from the slightest crease between his brows. The implication of Vade coming to my room this late is obvious, and turns the air between us all thick with tension.

"She needs her rest. It's time you leave," Vade murmurs, dipping his head slightly at Emerick.

I nod in his direction too. "You better go..."

"You're going to let him speak for you?" Emerick questions, his anger finally spilling out.

"He's not speaking for me," I snap. "I've made myself very clear. I don't want to see you again."

Emerick's expression drops. Both him and Vade seem visibly shocked, but I don't feel bad. I'm not going to have my hand in a rebellion. Not when I have a duty now.

"They've gotten in your head," Emerick growls, backing away. "The past you would have seen right through this shit. She would rather be dead than married to him."

My breath catches in my throat as I watch him go, vanishing into the shadows.

"Come now." Vade's hand presses into my back, gently trying to press me back toward the hotel. "It's cold now."

Numbly, I try and fail to let Emerick's words process in my mind. The old me. Even he knows I'm an imposter. Even he knows everything about me has changed, and I'm not sure yet if that's a good thing.

"You know him," I say to Vade once we are back inside the hotel, the warmth soothing my fridged skin.

Vade sighs through his nose, looking down at me as we walk up the stairs. "Somewhat."

"You're going to need to explain this to me." I stop, not caring that the floor landing is only a few steps away. I need answers now.

Both Vade and Emerick made it seem like they had never met in person. Emerick knew of Vade, of course, but he didn't tell me he knew him personally.

But it's what Vade has kept from me that hurts the most...He's my husband, and yet, he is hiding so much from me.

"I'll be honest with you, Avila, about how I know who Emerick is, if you promise to stay away from him," Vade says lowly as he brushes some snow off my shoulder, turning it to dampness.

"I wanted to know him because I wanted to know my old self," I admit, knowing that he is going to require an explanation about how I've come to know Emerick as well. "If you're going to explain this to me, maybe I won't need answers from him anymore."

He rubs his hand through his hair before he draws in a breath, finally nodding.

"Alright. Follow me."

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