Dusk had come early in Óraid as the sun disappeared behind the snow-clad mountains. A blanket of darkness fell upon the pine and aspen forest that surrounded the village. What little heat it brought with it, left quickly.
As tears rolled through her eyes, she avoided the hard gazes of the onlookers. 'Stay discreet.' He had warned. She wiped her tears but they wouldn't stop. Why did he warn her? Did he care for her? Feeling cheated, she shoved the thought out of her mind. Lights had started flickering inside homes promising warm hearth to those who lived here, but outside temperature continued to drop. Anastasia shivered uncomfortably, but her physical unease was nothing compared to her heart's anguish. She remembered her banter with him, his kisses, his touch and the way her body heated up with him. He did all that to come close to her? So that she would lower her guard?
She didn't know whether to thank Darla or think of her as an enemy. She had escaped from Vilinski only to fall in the hands of a bunch of traitors, rogues. Back in her kingdom they wanted her dead and after she thought she got her much coveted freedom, who knew that they would again want her dead here. She increased her pace and soon she was running down the cobbled street that was covered with a thin sheet of snow. The village was now beautifully lit up as each house shone with brilliant light of the lanterns or hearths, which reflected its orange glow on the snow. Anastasia didn't know for how long she had run but she found herself going towards the far end of the town where she would be away from him. Resolute that she would never return, she turned around a corner and hastened into the quickly deepening darkness. Alleyways here seemed narrower and colder, their sides looming around her forbiddingly. The far off bustle of people seemed oddly muted, and the crunch of the snow and her occasional sniffles as she hurried were the only sounds.
She was sure that after today, she would probably never see him again. When she found a lonely square, away from all the humdrum of the village, she sat down on a small wooden bench in front of a dilapidated house and leaned forward to hold her head. She wanted to cry, to wail. Her hand went to her heart and she wanted to claw it out.
Ileus had made her believe that he loved her, but all he wanted to do was trade her with Aed Ruad. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly. She wasn't safe here, she wasn't safe anywhere. She needed to get away from him, from everybody. The entire group was in cahoots. She knew deep down that the last few days were too good to be true.
She chuckled through her tears remembering how she wanted to commit him to her memory, how he said that he would die if she didn't touch him. It was all a façade, a con, a deceit. He wanted to trap her. She was a piece in the game of chess… a pawn… for a greater return. But the more she thought about him, the more she fell for him. She wanted to loathe him, but all she couldn't. "Why Ileus?" she cried. Panic rose in her chest when she thought that she might just return to him for she had grown so fond of him. Why was it that staying away from him was against all her instincts? Why was it that she wanted him to hold her? Her heartbeat raced. "I am mad!" she said through the sobs that made her shudder.
All of a sudden snow crunched beneath heavy footfalls and scared that he had found her, she looked up.
"What's a sweet young girl like you doing all alone this evening?"
A burly man with a scar on his temple stood a few feet away from her without her even noticing it. She was startled. He was standing too near to her for comfort. She noticed that one other man, probably his companion, was standing on her left side and was rather looking salaciously at her.
"Aha! Doesn't she look new here," said the third one who was standing on her right.
Frightened and angered, her hand went to her dagger. "Back away," she retorted. "And how dare you stand so close to me?"
The way she barked, the men chuckled and took a step back. However, the scar-faced man came forward again, a little more than usual and said, "Why are you being so jumpy? We only want to say good evening."
Anastasia's heart thumped against her ribcage. Just by looking at them, she knew they were up to no good. Were they part of the rogue gang of the dark prince? They looked filthy with dirty and oily skins and smelly clothes. They were reeking of strong mead. She struggled to mask her fear and not show it on her face. She got up slowly, with her hand still on the dagger. "I have no intention of speaking with you, so go away," she warned them.
None of them budged from their place. "Such an arrogant little chit!" remarked the man with the scar. "We are only trying to be nice with you and when someone tries to be nice, you should return the favor, shouldn't you? Hmm?"
Anastasia had a choice – either to attack them or simply to walk away from there and not attract attention. She chose the latter because she feared that if she attacked them, they would grow mad in rage and she was outnumbered. So she got up and walked past the man in front of her. She began to walk away from them as fast as possible towards the few shops that were open down the street. However, the three followed.
"You seem to be alone, young girl," said one of them. "We can give you lots of protection combined with satisfaction." The other two lewdly snickered. They continued to follow her all the way up to the shops.
"The only thing we demand is a small price for our protection."
