Alaric noticed how distracted Gwendolyn appeared to be as she sat in the passenger seat of his truck. She spent the entire ride looking out the window with her hands folded in her lap.
She hadn't said much of a word, not even inquiring where they were headed to.
Despite this, he knew the plan would work. Alaric knew what it felt like to be listless, having been there many times in his past.
Hell, he was feeling that way now.
After days of looking around with every resource known to man, he still hadn't the slightest idea who this stalker was or their true motive.
The only way he would obtain it was by ensuring they stay in the press and the papers, at least that is what he would tell Gwendolyn that if she asked.
In reality, tonight he was putting the mission aside and expressing humanity.
In the few days Alaric had been around him, he had begun to realize the controlling nature that Peter had taken on. It was something he had always been aware of.
But when he began asking for information, he had been provided a timed itinerary of everything she had done in a day. He monitors her contacts, location, presence in the media... there was nothing that man hadn't controlled over her.
Learning of her not dating was another shock. He wasn't a blind man, Alaric couldn't deny the beauty in the woman. After numerous dead ends, he figured that they could both use tonight.
As Alaric walked forward, he realized that he couldn't hear the sound of Gwendolyn's footsteps beside him anymore.
He turned and saw her frozen, staring up in awe.
The sun had begun to set, casting a golden hue over the park. The lights from the amusement park lit up her face like a kaleidoscope and for a moment he could only stare at her with the same awe she gazed at lights with.
As usual, everything on her was perfect. She had worn black pants to work that day, his first time not seeing her in a dress.
Yet even still, she wore the heels he had asked her to remove. Her white blouse was conservative as ever — he'd likely never seen her in lounge clothes.
Her blonde hair had been curled that day, but the rogue winds took it in the direction it wanted to go, giving her a wild look.
"Earth to Gwen," Alaric said once he was able to snap out of his haze.
She looked at him and smiled, "Sorry, I just... this is what I mentioned at the Gala."
Alaric smiled, pleased with himself.
As she had requested, they were at a fair — the only fair Alaric could find and just so happened to be thirty miles from her home.
Far from anyone who would recognize her, and if they did, they likely wouldn't care.
"Well, come on," Alaric said, boldly taking her hand and walking towards the booths.
"Two tickets please." He requested, pulling out his wallet to pay for it.
Even while at the booth, he kept his gaze in constant movement, attempting to be aware of every around them.
Given it was a Monday, there weren't many patrons, much to his relief. That part hadn't been planned, but pure luck.
Gwendolyn stuck close to him, still not letting go of his hand as they passed by the vendor's games.
"Where to first, princess?" Alaric asked.
He watched as her eyes moved from ride to ride, game to game, before she spoke, "That." She pointed to a vendor game with multiple nets set up — likely a hoop game.
Alaric led her to the vendor who leaned on the table and focused on their cellphone.
"One or two players." The teen mumbled without looking up from his phone.
Alaric clenched his jaw in annoyance, "Two."
With a lazy sigh, the teen straightened his back and started the game.
"So, how does it work?" Gwendolyn asked the kid, a polite smile decorating her face.
"You don't know how to shoot hoops?" The kid asked though the question was likely rhetorical. Gwendolyn blushed in embarrassment — slightly deflated.
"You have to get as many shots as you can before the timer runs out. If you can land them all, you win." Alaric explained, hoping his annoyance wasn't present in his voice.
The bell rang and the timer began clocking down. Alaric couldn't hide his laughter at how awful she was, every ball bouncing from the rim and falling back into the queue.
Noticing she was losing, Alaric picked up the balls and assisted her, making everyone he could before the buzzer went off.
"Oh did I win?" Gwendolyn asked with a wide smile.
"Uh, no." The teen said, "Want to go again?"
"No, we are fine," Alaric said, taking her hand once again and walking away.
In his youth, he wondered if he was that insufferable. Luckily, he was the last of the awful vendors. Stopping by each game and playing it.
More or less, Gwendolyn was terrible at them all but not for a moment didn't her smile break as she took her losses in stride.
Alaric had gone to the fair a million times it had felt as a kid. He hadn't been to one since he was one, and he had gotten used to the events. He recalled a time he thought fairs weren't enough fun for him.
Now, he was looking at it through the eyes of someone who went for the first time. Her joy was contagious, he found himself laughing more than he had that night that entire month.
"Oh, we have to do this one." Gwendolyn pointed, shoving her cotton candy into his hands and running off toward what caught her eye.
It was a large attraction with a hammer, the scale lit up to the top with the challenge of who can hit the mark. Alaric grinned, following her.
At the end of the day, he was still a man, and would always find a way to show his strength... especially in front of a pretty girl.
"Hey, Shrimp, you think you got the chance?" The vendor said. He was a large man with a jolly smile, his jests in good humor.
"I don't think I can, but he can." Gwendolyn pointed at Alaric.
"Well, step on up, Andre the Giant." The man said, clapping Alaric on his back as he walked past.
Gwendolyn swiped her cotton candy back as he picked up the mallet, not expecting it to be so heavy.
Holding it above his head, Alaric slammed the mallet down as hard as he could. The screen lit up to the top and began flashing and making a ruckus.
"Holy shit!" The man exclaimed, "I knew you could do it." His praise was unlike his words before, but Alaric didn't comment on it.
"What prize do you want to get for your beautiful date?" He asked, turning his back on them and pointing to the prize stand.
Alaric looked to Gwendolyn who had her fingers on her chin as she thought about what she wanted. Her eye went to the overly large bear that was pinned to the top before she pointed.
The man shuffled to the stand, pulling the bear that had been near her size down, and handed it to them.
Alaric thanked him before they walked away, "I think this thing needs a ticket of its own." He commented, poking the bear.
"Shut up, it's mine." She said, the sentence unlike how she would normally speak.
"I won it," Alaric said.
"I picked the game." Gwendolyn countered.
"If that's the logic you want to use..." Alaric said with a smirk, he led them over to a corndog stand, relieved to see it was still open.
"This night is perfect... I don't think I've had this much fun since... I don't think I've had this much fun." She said, her face looked as though she was trying to recover a memory.
"I don't imagine your life is too exciting." He commented.
"I forgot that my father has given you everything about me. It's like you know me but I don't know you."
"You'd be surprised how little he doesn't know." Alaric commented, "The film is filled with what you do but not who you are."
"Well, he wouldn't know that... ever since he..." She didn't finish her sentence due to the people in line around them, but Alaric understood her intentions, "He has just become more occupied in more important things."
Her explanation was simple, but Alaric only remained concerned about how passive she was about her father's care. Of course the man cared, it was why he hired Alaric.
But many times Alaric couldn't tell if it was out of concern or his pride.
He kept his thoughts to himself as they both ordered the next thing that Gwen had mentioned. Once they had ordered, Alaric pulled Gwen to a table in the corner of the park, granting them the privacy to speak freely.
"This is probably one of my favorite foods. My dad would buy the frozen corn dogs and I would eat the entire box in a day. I just haven't had one in so long." Gwendolyn mused before taking the first bite.
She let out a long moan of delight, treating the fair food as a fine delicacy. The sound caused an uncomfortable tightness in Alaric's lower belly.
"I have got to get you out more." He commented before taking his bite, not enjoying it as much as she had.
"I get out plenty."
"Well, we have only got one more thing left to do before we leave here." Alaric stood and clapped his hands, throwing away what was left of his corn dog.
Gwendolyn went to ask his intentions until she followed his gaze, "Absolutely not."
Alaric's face fell at the immediate turn in her mood. "What? It's a Ferris wheel? What is a fair without a Ferris wheel?"
"Not interested." Gwendolyn said, keeping her head down as she walked over to the trashcan, "I am tired, it's getting late."
Her lie was terrible, and it left Alaric wondering if she was always this terrible of a liar. "It's not even eight o clock."
Despite his call out, Alaric watched as she faked a yawn. He crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.
Gwendolyn sighed, "Okay, fine. I don't like heights."
"That is normal, plenty of people are scared of heights."
Gwendolyn held up a finger, "I didn't say scared, I said I don't like them."
"Why don't you like them?" Alaric asked sarcastically, "Let me guess, is the reason because you are scared?"
Now she mimicked his position, "I said I wanted to leave. You work for me, don't you do as I say."
"That is where you are wrong, I work for your father — and you are getting on that Ferris wheel."
Alaric didn't give her a chance to protest again, taking her folded arm and dragging her over to the line. The teller standing by gave them a frown, "Dude, we close in like ten minutes."
"Oh darn, looks like we just missed it," Gwendolyn said sarcastically.
"How many minutes is the ride?" Alaric ignored her.
"I don't know," the kid shrugged, "Like five."
"Good, we will be out of here before it closes." Alaric said, "Two tickets, please."
They climbed the stairs, climbing into the first cart. With them being the only ones left on the ride, the kid fired it up without delay.
As soon as the metal creaked, Gwendolyn moved closer to Alaric and gripped him as if he was her only lifeline.
While It hadn't been his intention, he was still greatly rewarded. He watched the worried look on her face as they slowly got higher.
Before long, he could see the view of the trees and the city beyond them. As much as he desired to admire the view, he was beginning to feel bad for convincing Gwen to get on the ride.
She had kept her eyes in her lap and was visibly shaking, trying to console herself. Against his better judgment, Alaric put his arm around her, pulling her closer.
"If you took a moment to stop praying to all the Gods, you'd see an amazing view." He whispered into her ear.
"When I get off of this thing, you are fired." Gwendolyn snapped.
Now, his desire to tease her had returned. He went to move away from her and sit on the opposite bench, "Well if you don't want me.."
He didn't have to finish his sentence before she violently pulled him back into his seat, causing the cart to rock back and forth.
"Please don't leave." She said just as quickly.
"I am not going anywhere," Alaric said, filling his voice with as much reassurance as possible.
She sighs in response, relaxing her body into him. It had been the most relaxed she had felt since they had first stepped on the ride.