𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 ▻ 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘣𝘺 [1]

𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣

     "I can remember the day, the exact moment, when I failed to batt an eye at death", she says softly, "The moment that man, who I don't even know the name of, exhaled for the last time in front of me on that table whilst choking on his own blood. I remember in that moment, as the life in his eyes faded into nothingness, I too felt nothing."

     Another moment of silence lay between the two, the soft wind again taking front and centre stage. Elizabeth didn't exactly know what to expect when Thomas had told her to meet him at the stables, but having a heartfelt moment was defiantly something that wasn't on her radar.

     She didn't speak much about her times in the war, mostly because she had no one she cared to speak to. Though she shared a few light stories with the ladies at work, she never wanted to burden them with the horrors they were able to avoid. Why burden them with images that would keep them up at night? Why spread the rotten words of war?

     "You still like the horses?", Thomas asks and Elizabeth can feel his gaze turn towards her.

     "Of course", she says as she gently extends her hand up towards the stallion, "Their innocence remain even after death."

     "Then it's official", he says as he stands up straight and reaches into his jacket pocket, "You will accompany me to the races."

     Elizabeth drops her hand from the horse's snout as she turns her head towards him in confusion, "The races?", she echoes with a slight laugh in her tone.

     The sound of coins being pulled from his pockets catch her attention and his hand can be seen held out for hers to receive. "I don't need your charity Mr. Shelby", she says in refusal to take the money.

     "You've to go buy a nice dress", he says as the cigarette hang off the tip of his lips.

     "I have plenty of nice dresses with me, I am absolutely offended you assume otherwise", Elizabeth retorts as she gives the Shelby man a glare.

     "The dress is to be red", Thomas says as he looks into her eyes, sending an unspoken message.

     Elizabeth let out a quick sigh, as she now knows why the man is handing her the money, "Thomas Shelby", she replies, "You know I don't wear red."

     "Which is exactly why you'll be needing to go buy the dress", he says as he continues to hold his hand out towards her.

The thought that Thomas had remembered all those years that the colour red doesn't exist in her wardrobe brings another glimpse of happiness to her heart. Why she never wore red was for a couple of reasons: The first being it was the colour her Mother looked the most ravishing in, and anything and anyone in comparison in the eyes of the Alder girl was less than such. The second reasoning that had developed over the course of time was that the colour seemingly reminded the girl of all the blood, and why would she want to put that deathly colour on herself?

The eyes of the two past lovers stare into one another, as if trying to communicate; The blue ones in act of persuasion and the hazel ones in search of deception. "Red is still not my colour", Elizabeth says as she slowly takes the money from his extended hand; which by doing so seemingly agreeing to go to the races with him.

"I see that topic has yet to come up between you and your fiancé", Thomas bluntly states and she follows the man's gaze down to the ring that sit on her finger.