Villainess Of Hearts

Her gaze met green—it came from the lush trees, its unending spots of leaves and shrubs, the thick roots and foliage. She could smell the scent of freshly cut grass, hear the sounds of creatures residing within its chambers. It took a second for her to realize that she was behind the Castle of Hearts. She had arrived in the forest.

She looked back once into the dark hallways and stepped out to the bright sunlight. Her thoughts focused on this newly discovered path. A secret passageway led to this woody area, then it must have been an old escape route for Royals?

Or perhaps it was another path to enter the Castle and not necessarily for escaping. 

No King and Queen would leave their Castle without a fight, for running away was too cowardly. The Nobility had their pride, facing everything with a stiff upper lip, and so Royals must have done the same. And yet, perhaps this might have been the very route that she had taken when she was exiled? 

Rosalyn hadn't got a clue. 

She glanced at the Knight already cleaving his sword and cutting a path in the forest. She didn't even say a thing, but the man had already set out to work, he listened to her request and did everything in his power to do it for her.

He really was her Knight.

And yet… 

"This way, Rosalyn." He called out to her, his amethyst eyes looking her way. Now that he had cut off hanging branches, he proceeded to trample them down with the undergrowth to make the easiest route for her.

Now that there were no other people with them, he had resumed calling her by name. No honorifics and such, she should have been used to it, and yet she watched the man use his sword. Despite the sword meant to cut down enemies, the method he used to swipe down branches and roots were nothing but finesse.

He hadn't been able to swipe his sword down smoothly on her neck—

It was a strange thing to be frightened by him now, and so she took a deep breath and ventured forward towards him. His gaze never left hers until she arrived in front of him. She then asked, "We'll be using this to arrive back into the town instead of the Castle's main entrance and exit?"

"Even if the assassination has been cleared—the mastermind still remains uncovered, so it's not surprising if there are still eyes surveying the area, Rosalyn." 

When he called her by name, there was no skipping a beat. He said it naturally. As if there was no other name he would have called her. 

She didn't know why she focused on this particular detail right now, Rosalyn stepped behind him and sighed inwardly. "The people do not know how to give up, do they? They should have left and deserted such a plan like this already." She said useless words, 'should', 'could' and 'would'—even hoping for another person or group to change their behavior. 

It was silly.

She might have been the Queen, but people were free to do as they wished.

…That was a thought she didn't think she'd acknowledge. It only got on her nerves, however. She followed her Knight down the trail that he made. Rosalyn sighed inwardly. "How long will we be traveling, Gine? We can't let the food grow cold." She called after him and stomped through the ground, relishing the sound of leaves crushing underneath her feet. 

Julius mowed down the stray branches hanging ahead of them, perhaps even better than a gardener—he glanced back at her, "I am not so sure, it depends on how much walking one can do, Rosalyn. Although, perhaps half an hour or more at our current speed—"

"That's too slow." She pursed her lips. At this rate, Mallory and Harold would have already been done with their tea time with the Prime Minister. And surely they, or at least Mallory, had been against her thought of bringing something for Nicholas, would she do something? "We need to move faster and get there, I still have things to do this afternoon. This wasn't in my schedule."

"It's better than getting your skin snagged on stray roots or thorns, Your Majesty. Let me clear this path for you." 

Rosalyn pursed her lips, "Now wouldn't that make a trail more obvious? We're trying to be invisible, Gine. If we make a clear pathway for others to see, then they'll discover—"

"You are right, that others might see it—but nobody will be able to enter the… alright fine, but we need to be more careful. You need to be more careful." Julius sheathed his sword and turned to her, and he offered his hand to her. "I'll do my best to get us out of here as fast as possible, but please watch where you're stepping, my Queen."

She narrowed her eyes at him but nodded. The man always considered himself as her guardian and protector, didn't he? 

. . .

"Very well then, take my hand please, Lady Rosalyn." An image of a younger boy appeared before her. A resigned smile on the boy's face, the apprentice Knight was leaving the manor today to do some errand and could not play with her.

It made her unhappy.

Going outside the manor.

What exactly did the world outside look like? It was unfair that only he would be able to see it, so she reached for his hand. "Promise you won't leave me behind, Gine?"

His eyes softened, squeezing her fingers. "That would have never crossed my mind at all." 

. . .

As much as he promised, the man had stayed with her all throughout the years—and only the year when she parted ways with him was the time when they had been separated. To fear a person she'd seen grow up alongside her, that was a strange thought to have. Even as the two of them traveled through the forest. 

He led her gently and carefully.

Despite his flaws, there had always been one constant thing about him—and it was his love for her.. She'd like to think that it would never change, even if her own feelings were wavering and distant.