Eva's Journal

CHAPTER SIX

"Eva?" His voice was rough due to him being in a coma for the last day. Atlas' head was resting on my chest with my arms around him. I quickly moved away without hurting him and stood up helping him sit up on the bed.

"Atlas? Don't move, princey. Let me get you a glass of water and I will be back in a second." I went to leave until he grabbed my hand. I turned and sat back on the bed, looking into his hazel eyes. They were deep and full of emotion.

"I will be back in a second Atlas. Don't worry." He closed his eyes, leaning back on the pillow, and waited for my return. I paced down the stairs into the kitchen where Olivia was cutting and washing vegetables she had grown in her garden.

"He's awake now. He just needs some water if that's okay." Olivia nodded looking at me as I rushed around the kitchen getting some new cloth, water and some crackers to try and help Atlas eat.

"Eva, you care for him, don't you?" I stopped and looked at her.

"Well of course I do. He is Anna's fiancé and the future king." She smiled and I ignored her, walking back up to Atlas.

As I arrived back into the room, Atlas was sat up straight on the bed looking deep in thought. I smiled at him and placed the food and drink on the bedside table. He seemed to not see me so I slightly coughed and got his attention.

"Oh, I am so sorry, Eva. I've just been thinking about things." I cut him off quickly to stop him from talking about what I just didn't want to hear.

"No time for thinking right now, princey. Let's get you better and then we will talk about whatever you've been thinking about. We need to keep you well-rested for rescuing your princess." He smiled at me but it didn't quite reach his eyes. I left the room believing we both needed our time to process things.

I went into the kitchen and began peeling potatoes for the stew that Olivia was cooking. As I began the menial task, my brain escaped to the hundreds of thoughts I'd been pushing out my mind since I met Atlas under a week ago. I didn't know it was even possible to love someone who wasn't your soulmate. It seemed like a dream, well more of a nightmare that I couldn't escape from. I needed to escape it and leave any emotions behind. I needed to be cold and calculated to rescue Anna. There was no room for emotions.

As the night came and went a second time at Olivia's house, Atlas was improving greatly. I kept a close eye on the wound to stop it from getting infected. I didn't sleep in the room with him the second night; I simply couldn't bear the idea of becoming anymore attached to him than I already was. When I got some sleep, it was minimal and broken as I slept at the kitchen table. I awoke when I heard Atlas' voice from the garden.

"Good morning, Eva. Are you okay?" He talked to me through the open window in the kitchen. I stretched and made my way to the window.

"Am I okay? Are you okay?" He smiled and lifted his shirt showing the bandage I placed there.

"I'm good because I had you here helping." I smiled at him as our eyes seemed to meet. As I realized what was happening, I coughed and moved away from the window. I couldn't cope with what was happening. I assumed it was one-sided but by his face, it was not.

"I need to run a few errands before we leave tomorrow to enter the castle. I will see you in a few hours." I walked through the back door and left the house before he could get another word in. I had to visit someone who could help me.

The town was small and quaint. I enjoyed the quiet hustle of the town as they respected one another while still bargaining to get a better price on bread, fish, silk. The houses were small and wooden. Children played outside in the street as mothers hung washing on the line that ran from house to house. They chatted to one another about this and that; gossip was a great tool that housewives used to their advantage every day. I smiled to myself and carried on walking up to the last house on the last street.

The house was small and broken. It was different from the rest as there was no children or washing lines. There was a broken gate, hanging from its hinges. I moved past the gate and stood at the dark purple door, wondering what was on the other side. Rumours of the person who lived here were secretive amongst the servant community but through my ties with the royal family, I was able to know that there was someone here who could help me.

I knocked on the door and waited for the old woman to open it. An elderly lady opened the door and smiled at me.