Chapter Eight

Emily's POV 

The next thing I knew, we were out of the secret hallway with Alan forgotten in it. 

We walked to the garden and one of the guards stopped us. I kept my head bowed so that the guard did not recognize me.

“So why are you stopping me?” Aiden asked which led the guard to clear his throat.

“I don't mean to stop you, I swear, sir. I just want you to know who's with you.”

“She's a maid, now my woman. Do you have anything against that?” Aiden asked angrily, causing the guard to clear his throat and look at Aiden with a bowed head.

“I'm sorry, sir. I didn't… I didn't think about this well. You may leave.”

Aiden grabbed my wrist and pulled me along with him as we walked away from the guard.

I looked at Aiden, having a lot to say but keeping it in my mind. The moment we arrived at the gate, the guards in charge grunted upon seeing us.

I brought my hand to my pocket, brought out the gate pass and handed it over to Aiden. He collected the gate pass and lifted it so the guards could see it. When they saw it, they calmed down and bowed their heads.

“Sorry sir!”

Then they walked over to the gate and started to open it.

Aiden lead me outside untill we got into the woods where we were alone.

“Aiden,” I said calmly. “I'm sorry I got you in trouble.”

“You're out of the Kingdom, you should go now.” He said frankly.

I looked at Aiden and closed my eyes briefly. “I'm sorry, I can't begin to imagine what you will go through in the hands of Alan when he wakes up.”

“You don't have to worry about me, Alan is my brother, we'll be fine. You on the other hand, are in danger. From now on you'll always be in danger so you have to watch your back always.”

A sigh escaped from my lips which made Aiden pat my head.

“You should know how to live in the woods on your own now, shouldn't you? I guess you should be used to it by now.”

“I have had no home in a while. This wouldn't be too hard.” I said.

Aiden removed his hand from my head. “In the future, if our paths ever meet again. I hope you'll forgive me for what I've done to you- kissing you without permission.”

“Why do you apologize? Are you scared?” I asked with a smirk.

“Yes.” Aiden answered, catching me off guard. I didn't expect for him to say it.

“I don't want you to hurt me in the future.”

“And why do you think that I would hurt you in the future?” I asked softly.

“The world has hardened you. It'll be hard for you to remain someone weak in the future. When you become powerful, I hope you'll align with my kingdom.”

“Your kingdom?” I said.

“I don't want to remain in the background anymore, I want to be at the forefront.”

“Which means you'll kill your brother and take over?”

Aiden nodded. “I have to try.”

“That's a risk.” I said and he nodded. “How do I become king without risk?”

There was a sound coming from the gate from a new guard.

“Did the king's brother leave with a woman in a maid's outfit?”

“Yes, why?” The other responded.

“She’s not supposed to leave.”

Aiden looked at me. “You should leave. I'll stop the guards from chasing after you.”

I nodded and without another thought, I started to run away.

I slipped and was about to fall and hit the ground when I heard a voice.

“She's in the woods! Someone catch her!”

My legs slipped forward and I started to feel tired as I moved ahead but I could not let myself be taken without a fight so I ran as far as I could until I started to hear wolves howl in the air. That is when I started to feel fear that I would actually be caught.

I kept running until I saw that there was no end for me except for me to fall behind the cliff.

I heard a hundred howls in the air and saw wolves heading towards me with their teeths barring out.

Fear oozed onto me and my legs started shaking. I thought Aiden would help me figure this out and have my back but I came to realize that no one was coming and that I would actually need to have my own back when it came to matters like this.

But it got extremely infuriating knowing that I had no one in this world. And without thinking, I moved further near the end of the cliff and let myself fall down.

Soon, I felt myself splash into the water. I held my breath and it was then I realized that I could actually survive.

After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and swam to the edge of the water. By the time I arrived at safe land, I realized that I was too tired to keep going so I laid on the ground and felt myself pass out.

When I woke up, I saw that I was in a cave with warm covers on me. There was heat in the cave and all of the tiredness seemed to have dissipated from me.

“How did this happen?” I said out loud. “Who brought me here to the cave?” 

I sat up on the made-up bed and placed my feet on the floor. I was dressed in a long peach dress which looked native and old but at least it was something.

I was about to stand up on my feet when I realized that my feet could not carry on my weight. I fell to the floor and coughed, only to have blood spill from my mouth. I stared at the now blood-covered floor and traced my fingers over it. It was then I realized that I had been poisoned.

A woman stepped into the cave barefoot with a short peach dress around her body.