A Royal Ransom

XIV

I'm dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful
I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight

-Perfect, Ed Sheeran

♛

"You look-"

"Like a twelve-year-old boy, I know, let's move on from it."

"I was gonna say beautiful," Ryder whispered, not-so secretly eyeing me head to toe.

I felt a bit self-conscious under his intense gaze. I'd picked a red dress I'd found in Dahlia's closet. It surprisingly fit me pretty well, hugging my curves in all the right places.

"You've cleaned up pretty well too. Nice suit." I commented taking in his appearance myself.

We'd both taken turns taking quick showers to wash off the mud from our little leap from the train. The water had been freezing cold but I didn't bother complaining about it. Just glad to be out of the horrid clothing I'd been wearing for a few days now.

Ryder shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "I found the suit in my father's closet, surprisingly enough."

"Speaking of...do you think John knew who you really were?" I asked in a whisper.

"Only way to find out is to ask him ourselves," Ryder stated.

I nodded, "Alright let's go."

"Let me just leave a note for my sister."

"Where did she go?" I asked, I was surprised she wasn't there yelling and accusing me of scandalous things.

"Went to some friend's house," Ryder shrugged, placing a note on the kitchen counter.

"Okay. Now let's go. We don't wanna be late."

Ryder paused, seeming lost in thought. "Are you sure we should do this?"

I scrunched my brows. "It's the best way to get your father back and get some answers."

"Yeah I know. But we're not very prepared. What's our escape plan?"

"We can talk about that if it comes up." I said, dodging the question because I frankly had no clue. If we were caught it would be very difficult to escape considering the security measures in place at the castle.

"Alright, well then what about our defence plan? Where's your gun?" Ryder asked. "Don't tell me you hid it in your hair or something."

I sent him a little smile, "Here." I pulled up the bottom of the dress, revealing my calve, to which I had fashioned a makeshift holder for my gun, using a bit of spare cloth I'd found in Dahlia's closet.

"Classy." Ryder snorted. "I'll keep mine tucked into under the waistcoat."

"Perfect." I laughed. "Now, are you ready to go?"

Ryder gave me a curt nod. "Let's go."

Both of us headed out of the kitchen, towards the main door.

"Wait!" Ryder called.

I abruptly stopped walking, nearly tripping to my death in the killer heels I'd borrowed from Dahlia. "What? What's wrong?"

Ryder shook his head, stepping towards me, "Nothing."

Without warning I felt one of his hands brush against my back, pulling up the zip.