The King's Daughter

28 Away With Death

I tried my hardest to avoid Louis for the next couple of days. I kept waking up earlier than him and hiding in the vast house. Then at night I would make sure he thought I was asleep in bed when he came to the bedroom so I wouldn't have to talk to him.

It was just that I didn't know what to say to him, so I decided not to talk to him at all, which was probably a stupid idea. But I didn't have anyone to give me advice. I only had myself. And sometimes when you only have yourself, you make stupid decisions.

On the third morning, I woke up and Louis was still asleep. Carefully, I moved away from his hand which had wandered around my waist in the night and quietly got out of bed. I turned to see if I had disturbed him, but he didn't wake, his fingers only stretched out as if searching for me. In sleep he appeared so innocent, his eyes not guarding any hidden intentions. I wished he was like that awake.

As quietly as I could, I slipped into a loose white dress with long flowy sleeves and then draped a light blue wrap around myself. I wanted to step outside in the early morning air for some alone time. Making my way downstairs through the quiet house with Felix following me, I found a backdoor and slipped through it. The chilly autumn morning air hit me instantly and I sighed in relief.

Turning to Felix, I asked. "Can you follow at a distance? I just...want to be alone."

He nodded and bowed respectfully.

I gave him a small smile and then began walking across the green lawn, breathing in the crisp smell of fall. A layer of fog had swept across the estate and the grass was still wet with due. I wandered further toward a group of trees where I knew there was a bench. As I reached it, a voice from behind me startled me.

"Is this where you've been going to avoid me?" Louis asked.

I turned to find him standing there curiously. The buttons of his shirt weren't fastened all the way up. He must have quickly dressed in order to follow me.

"It's one place, yes." I answered, staring at the ground.

He stepped closer, folding his arms across his chest. "So you have been avoiding me then?"

I sat down on the bench, not knowing what to say. Louis came over and sat beside me, remaining quiet at first to admire the beauty around us.

"Talk to me." He said simply.

I tightened the wrap around me to keep out the cold. "I don't know what to say."

"Well...then maybe start with the reason you've been hiding from me." He suggested gently, bumping my shoulder with his.

"I saw you do something terrible." I admitted.

At the corner of my eye I noticed his head swiftly turn to look at me.

"You saw me do what?" He wanted to know.

"You killed people." I murmured, playing with loose threads of my dress.

"What? When?" He reached over and took one of my hands, but I pulled away from his grasp.

"I was watching the news. You robbed some people on the road and shot three of them. They're dead...because of you." I said, my voice catching.

"Last week? Aria...I didn't shoot anybody, I only stole from them." He defended himself.

I turned to him with a frown. "They said there were three casualties and I watched you pull the trigger three times."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, trying to smooth his bedhead. "Two of those casualties were my own men. And I didn't shoot the royal guard, someone else did."