William and I walked down the street to my house, without the commander. Neither of us said much on the way, both of us contented to just listen to the silence. My hand was intertwined with his and I could feel the heat radiating from him.
At last, we came to stand at the top of the steps, before the door to the house. He turned to me, and I looked up at him, meeting his eyes. He smiled and I returned the smile. And then, I reached up on my toes and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him.
After a moment, I pulled away, placing my hand on the brass door handle. "Good night." I said softly.
"Will I see you tomorrow?" he asked.
"I should hope so." I smiled.
"Well, then," he took my hand and pressed it against his lips. "Good night, Lady Lovet."
I felt my cheeks heat up. "'Goodnight, sweet prince: and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.'" I said, remembering the lines from Hamlet. They seemed appropriate for the moment.
His eyes sparkled in the moonlight. "Hamlet," he said thoughtfully. "'What is it ye would see? If aught of woe or wonder, cease your search.'"
My heart thudded painfully against my ribs as he quoted Hamlet back at me. Smiling a little, I pulled my hand out of his grasp and leaned up and kissed his cheek. Saying a final goodnight to him, I pushed open the door and shut it behind me. Though my moment of joy was short-lived.
"There you are, Erika." The familiar voice had ice running through my veins. I turned to see my mother sitting by the door, holding a book in her hands.
"Here I am, Mother." I said stiffly.
"Where have you been?" She asked me, setting the book down on the table beside her.
"Does it matter? I had things to do." I hedged.
She stood, smoothing out her skirts and walking over to me. "What kind of things?"
I met her eyes, refusing to back down quite so easily. "Things that you have no business asking about."
"You were meeting him, weren't you?" she asked, her eyes gleaming with a predatory light. She knew I had been, even if I denied it.
I inclined my head slightly. "Yes, I was, Mother. What will you do about it?"
"There is much I will do about it, dear." She said sweetly, and it made a chill scuttle up my spine.
"Like?" I crossed my arms over my chest, feigning a confidence I did not feel.
Faster than I would have thought, Mother's hand shot out and latched onto my wrist. She pulled me up the stairs, and I did not fight her. We reached my room, where I found the door unlocked, but I could have sworn I locked it. I looked at Mother to find her smiling and holding a key.
"You are not the only with a key, dear." She shoved me inside. "Give me your key." She said, holding out her hand. I did as she said and she smiled. "You will be in here for the next several days. At least until the marriage arrangements are made. You will take your meals in here, Miss Grimoult will teach you here, you will not be dancing anymore, and you will not be allowed out. Understood?"
I nodded silently, unsure of what to say.
She turned and shut the door. I heard the loud click as the lock slid into place, and I found that I was alone in my room, with no way out.
Tears burned in my eyes as I sat on my bed. There was nothing I could do now. He would end up marrying my sister and I would still have to see him and be around him. I unlaced my gown and undressed, which was a lot more difficult without Agnes's help. I, then, dressed in a silk cream night gown.
I sighed as I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling. I closed my eyes, but sleep was a long time coming.
I awoke the next morning to the sun streaming through my windows. I must have dozed off sometime during the night, because I did not remember falling asleep. I climbed out of bed and stretched, yawning widely.
There was a loud knock on my door and then someone unlocked it and Agnes stepped through, followed by three younger maids carrying the washtub. I bathed and dressed in a soft pink gown, brushed back my hair but kept it loose around my shoulders.
Agnes brought me a tray filled with fruits, bread, and porridge.
"Thank you, Agnes," I said, taking the tray from her.
She gave me a sympathetic smile. "Of course, Miss." She walked out, shutting the door behind her.
Another knock sounded from the door awhile later and I sat on my bed and waited until Miss Grimoult unlocked the door and let herself in. She looked at me severely for a moment, before shutting the door and walking over to a table placed by the bookshelves in my room.
I walked over and sat next to her and she began the lesson. It was extremely dull, and I had a hard time focusing on what she was saying, but I tried to pay attention, today. My lessons seemed to last so much longer than usual, but I had to keep listening . . . mostly because I couldn't just walk away from her since I couldn't really go anywhere.
Finally, she left, and I was alone once again. Agnes brought my dinner to my room and set it on my bedside table and then left, locking the door behind her.
I ate my dinner by myself, in complete silence. Although I did not particularly care to be around my family, it felt very lonely being by myself. There was no one talking, no servers running around, no sound but the clinking of dishes and the crackling of the fire to be heard.
I would go see William anyway, I decided resolutely. After my dishes had been taken away and I was sure they left so that I was alone, I bolted my door, so there was no chance of my mother coming into my room while I was gone, and I went to the balcony. I pushed open the door and stepped out into the chill night air. Peeking over the railing, my stomach dropped. It was a lot further down then I remembered . . .
I climbed over the railing, still staring at the ground, somewhat terrified. Then, steeling myself, I climbed down, until I was dangling by my fingertips on the edge of the balcony. I reached one hand down, in search for something to hold onto, and I found the lattice. I grasped it tightly and swung down, and I climbed down from there.
At one point, I tore my dress on the unforgiving stones on the house. And then, as I neared the ground, my hand missed the next hold (it was very dark, and I found it difficult to see), and I fell, hitting the damp earth with a muffled thud.
I groaned and stood up, rubbing my aching back. Now, I was covered in dirt, my dress was torn, and my back ached from the fall. Sighing heavily, I began walking down the road to the palace.
When I reached the front gate, I found William leaning against the tree, waiting for me. I smiled, my heart already lifting, just by the sight of him.
He straightened as I reached him and smiled. Then he noticed my appearance and tilted his head. "Did you dig a tunnel to get here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
I laughed and shook my head. "I tried climbing down . . . and I fell." I explained.
"I see . . ." He had an odd, almost comical look on his face. "Are you hurt?"
Only my pride. I wanted to say. But I just shook my head. "I'm all right. My mother locked me in my room. So, I had to go from the balcony."
He nodded slowly. "Well, alright. I suppose that makes sense. You did not have to come if that was the situation you were in." He said, taking my hand.
"I know." I said, twining my fingers with his. "But you should only take it as a compliment that I went the extra length to come."
He laughed softly and wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace. "Of course."
We both sat under the tree and talked softly with each other for the remainder of the time. It was a peaceful evening and I liked that we could just talk.
The monastery bell had tolled twelve times, when I decided I should leave. He walked with me back to the Lovet estate. I was sure this no longer had to do with safety, as it was just more time that we could be together.
I was sad that he had to leave when we arrived at the house. I brought him around back to where my bedroom was two floors up.
"So you are climbing back up?" He asked, tipping his head back to gauge the distance.
"Well, it's not like I can just walk through the door, is it, William?" I replied, walking toward the lattice.
He grabbed my hand before I could reach it and pulled me back to him.
I looked up into his sapphire eyes, darkened by the moonlight. Before I could react, he pressed his lips against mine in a kiss. I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of his lips against mine.
We stayed like that for several breaths, not wanting to pull away, but eventually we had to. "I'll help you up." He said quietly.
He knelt down and cupped his hands, holding them out and I placed my foot in them and he lifted me up. I jumped and grabbed hold of the lattice, clinging to it so as not to fall back down.
I smiled at him, but he could not see it in the darkness. "Good night." I whispered, my voice seeming muted in the stillness of the night.
"Good night, Erika." He replied softly.
I could feel his eyes on me as I climbed up toward my room, struggling the entire way. At one point, my hand slipped and I nearly fell, but, thankfully, I did not. I made it the rest of the way up to my balcony and climbed over the edge. I considered it a miracle that I had made it all the way up there without so much as a scrape.
I looked over the railing and I found that William was no longer there. I smiled to myself and went back into my room and sat in a chair before the fire. And I could pretend I had never left my room . . . except for the dirt that covered me, the rips and wrinkles in my gown, and the fact that my hair was probably an awful, tangled mess. Surely they would never notice I had left . . .
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Hey! Well, that was interesting . . . I probably would not have risked the climb down from her room. But at least she made it!
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P.S. Just a reminder: I know I've published this on the website, but I am still going to edit it just as I go, because I am still working on it. I haven't even finished writing it yet :P