Ophelia's feet were bare. They scraped against the cobblestones. This hurt her feet a lot. Each time she took a step it sent a pain up her legs..Even so, Ophelia did not stop walking. She has been journeying for heavens knew how long, she was very hungry, her stomach was growling loudly. It felt like it had been a long time since she last ate.
Ophelia's throat was also very sore because she had not had anything to drink in days, maybe weeks, she wondered how could a human stay such time without eating or drinking.
She had a satchel, with her. Inside the bag there was not so much to eat. Just a little bit of bread was left. The bread was stale. It was wrapped in a dirty cloth. The bread was half eaten. The town she walked into after one week of walking every day was really nice and pretty but it made her feel bad because it was so much better, than the town where she used to live. The town was doing well and people had a lot of money but this just made her think about how poor she was. Tsk.
Ophelia had tried being nice and asking for food the day because , she had no money. She had bent down told jokes and even tried to make the bakers son like her by being funny.. Every time people laughed at her yelled at her or spat on her. One person even said "go and die beggar" to her. Ophelia learned that being nice did not get her anything. She found out that people like the baker and his son did not care about Ophelia being polite. Ophelia had been treated badly. She knew that being polite, to the people here was not going to work.
Her stomach suddenly hurt bad. It was, like a cramp that made her bend over. She was talking to herself. Saying "Great my digestion is not working. This is a bad time for it to happen." Her digestion was giving her a lot of trouble. It was very painful.
It was time to stop pretending. She looked around quickly. The streets were busy with merchants and people, from the town. They were all distracted by the loud salesmen. So she grabbed a loaf of bread from a stall that was not being watched and ran away hiding it under her dress. The dress was a brown color but it was torn and worn out from her traveling for months. As she ran the dress moved around her knees. Her bare feet hit the rough stones on the ground. This made dust and mud stick to her skin. She kept running with the bread under her dress.
Ophelia told herself to stay calm. She was twenty years old, hopeless, orphaned and very hungry. Had no shoes, on her feet but Ophelia was still alive. That was a thing. Maybe it was. Ophelia was not really sure.
She turned fast to the left and her brown hair that was tied up in a messy knot bounced up and down with each step she took. Her dark blue eyes looked around for things that might get in her way. There was a cart up that had a lot of barrels on it so she jumped over it in a way that showed she really needed to get away. As she did this she said to herself "This is just great. The city is trying to hurt me. It is also helping me learn how to run and jump over things for free." She thought about the city. How it seemed to be against her and she thought about the barrels and the cart and how she had to jump over them. The city was a problem, for her. She had to deal with it.
A fruit stand wobbled over the place as she walked by it sending apples rolling all across the cobblestones. She did not stop she just kept going. Said to herself "That is good. The fruit vendor should not be so full of himself." The fruit stand was still. The apples were still rolling. The fruit vendor was going to be very upset when he saw what had happened to his fruit stand and his apples. The woman just kept running she did not even look back at the fruit stand or the apples. She was still thinking about the fruit vendor. How he was always so smug. The fruit vendor always thought he was better, than everyone just because he had a nice fruit stand. She's been there for some days now.
Then as she ran fast past the market she saw the men, with angry shouts waving sticks around and they were clearly the men who worked for the shop owner. Her breath caught in her throat. The bread that was hidden in her dress suddenly felt very heavy.
"This is just great " she said in a tone. "My life is really bad now. I am a thief. I am always hungry. Everyone wants to catch me. Thief is what I am. I am. Everyone wants me."
Her eyes went back to the people chasing her. The people chasing her were getting closer. She twisted her ankle fast and slipped on some mud so she stumbled and her arms waved all around. Her body hit something that was really hard and would not move. She fell on top of it with a big gasp. The people chasing her were still getting closer. Her body was, on top of something solid and she was trying to catch her breath.
"Oof!" She fell right onto a man her hands went to his chest to stop herself from falling. It was a big chest. She just stayed there her eyes were wide, with surprise.
He stumbled back fast because something hit him hard. His hands were waving around trying to catch a map he was looking at just a second ago. Then he fell down. She fell on top of him. He made a grunting sound when he landed. She was sitting on his chest with her hands pushing down on the map, man!Her eyes were really wide because she was so surprised. The map man was under her. She was, on top of the map man.
For a moment they just stayed there. Then he looked down at the pendant hanging, above his face, dangling from her neck. It was a silver and amber gem that looked like a drop of water. It was a jewel pertaining to the royal family of Astalia, the sunlight was shining on it. The man's eyes, which were also amber got a little bigger. His mouth opened like he was going to say something. He did not say anything.
Ophelia was really tired. Her mind was racing. She thought something bad was happening that he was appreciating her cleavage. "Pervert, " she said quietly moving a piece of hair out of her face. Ophelia thought the man would try to hurt her. Instead he just stayeeld under her looking shocked. Ophelia was sitting on his chest. She could hardly breathe for some unknown reason.
He looked at her for a time. He saw her hair, her blue eyes that were shaped like almonds her face that was shaped like a heart, her sharp jaw and her full lips that were pink and had a little bit of mud on them. These features are stickingly familiar. She was wearing a dress that was torn and stained with sweat. The dress did not hide how beautiful she was. It was surprising that she still looked beautiful after being hungry and dirty for long. After walking on the road for months. The girl and her beauty were still noticeable, in her dirty brown dress.
Could this really be the lost princess that everyone thought was dead years ago? The man's eyes kept going to the pendant she was wearing. It was very familiar. The gem, in the pendant was giving off a bit of light just barely noticeable like it knew him too. He's eyes widened more, realisation hitting him.
A loud shout tore through the market:
"Thief! Get her!"
She has to be punished the woman has done something and she must face the consequences the punishment is necessary, for her actions she must be punished.
Ophelia's head turned quickly towards the voices. A crowd of people was forming their eyes were big, with curiosity. They were clearly angry. Ophelia was very tired. She did not get scared instead she stood up calmly. Her hands moved down to brush off her dress. She still had a piece of bread in her hand it was covered in mud.
One man yelled "Punish her". The man was really angry. He wanted her to be punished. He was saying it like he meant it. The man kept saying "Punish her" over.
Someone else shouted "Thief! Thief! You should be ashamed of yourself!"
"Oh great " she said to herself getting ready for what was coming. " What I needed a big scene in front of everyone, over a loaf of bread that is almost too old to eat."
Behind her, the stranger was already in his feet wiping the dust off his clothes.
The men who worked for the shop owner moved towards her their hands reaching out to grab her. She quickly looked at the man who she fell on earlier, he was in his feet he stood there,not moving, calculating , watching, at least that's what Ophelia thought. The stranger man did not say anything. His hand suddenly came out and took hold of her wrist holding it firmly but gently earning a silent gasp from her.
The man said "Gentlemen," in a tone but his voice was calm and he sounded like he was, in charge. He said "please it is okay." He told them that his wife has a a mental disorder, and he is willing to pay for whatever damage she has done to things. He wanted to settle the matter and make things right because of his wifes disorder.
Ophelia froze. 'My wife?' She looked at him with a confused face. She just could not understand what was going on. Ophelia was totally bewildered, by what he said.
The people seemed to soften, though the shop owner was clearly not satisfied.
Ophelia opened her mouth to protest but , the man quickly gave a light squeeze on her hand and she unintentionally obeyed.
'Great this can't get any worse than it is.' she said inwardly.
The shop owner said loudly: "That will be seven crowns."
She said that seven crowns for bread is a lot of money. "Seven crowns for bread" she said loudly her voice was sharp. This is like they are stealing from people. The person would be better off if they got in trouble with the law because that would cost than seven crowns. Seven crowns is much to pay for something, like bread.
The young man looked at her with a confused expression. She had a lot of nerve. She was totally wrong and guilty. She was still arguing like she was right. He did not say a word. He just gently squeezed her hand to tell her to be quiet. Soon as he did that she closed her mouth and did not say another word because she could feel the firm pressure of his hand and she knew he meant it. He was still holding her hand. She was not going to say anything else.
He threw a bag of money on the counter. This was a lot of money more than he needed to pay for the bread and anything else that might have gotten broken. The owner of the store was really mad. Said some mean things but he took the money anyway. Then he told the scary men to leave him alone.
Ophelia looked up at him. His eyes were amazing. They were amber. They seemed to see right through her. He was really tall. He was wearing simple black clothes. These clothes were not like what people in the town wear. They were special. His hair was black as the night. It went down to his shoulders. Some of his hair was tied back int to a half ponytail. Highlighting his gorgeous face.
Speaking of it, he had a face out of the ordinary, like those demon kings in novels, dangerous beauty. His lips were pink thin, his jaw was defined, his nose sharp. His body was muscular and powerful. He looked like he could do anything.. At the same time he looked like he was in control. Ophelia thought that being royalty really suited him. That's what he appeared like in her eyes, a royal in disguise. The black color of his clothes made him look more handsome as they highlighted his tan complexion. His amber eyes were still looking at her. They were like sunlight, on water.
The commotion started to fade as people stopped paying attention to them and went back to their doings.
Stil holding her hand he led her further into the kingdom, away from the market place.
After walking for some while in silence, she broke the silence.
"Let go of me, there's no one here who will know I'm your diseased wife." She said, he turned to look at her, appalled by her voice, deep female bass he's never heard before.
His cold gaze that had faded for a split second returned.
The man said "You owe me, miss...?". His voice was really deep it sounded like he was in charge. It was also soft. This softness did something to her that she could not explain. The man's voice was like nothing she had ever heard before it was deep and commanding yet soft enough to make her feel strange inside. The sound of the man's voice saying "You owe me miss" was still, in her mind.
"My name is Miss Mind Your Business, I owe you nothing good Sir, I hadn't asked for your aid." She said yanking her hand away from his grip, he was obviously stronger so she didn't win .
This girl had some attitude, she was hopeless and tired but still roaring as a stubborn lioness, he watched her tsk and all her feisty demeanor, he was amused to even say anything.
The lady told him to mind his business. She tried to pull her hand from him but she did not try very hard because he was not holding on too tightly. She said "I am not your woman" and "I will not go with you wherever you think you're taking me". The woman wanted to make it clear that she was not going anywhere, with this man. She wanted him to leave her alone. The woman said again that she was not going to go with him. She meant it.
The man's eyes, which were of amber color looked at the pendant. It was glowing a bit now. This small glow told him what he was afraid of, what he wanted to be true what he had been looking for the five years. The pendant was really important,she was to him. He had been searching for it l, for her long time five whole years.
He took a breath feeling calm and cool on the outside but really he was all upset on the inside. "You will come with me, " he said in a voice. "This is, for your safety the safety of you."
She crossed her arms feeling really sarcastic and exhausted. Still she was being defiant. "Oh naturally, " she said. "Because it is perfectly safe to follow a stranger who says he owns the woman that's me after I have just fallen on him. That is a plan. The plan is truly brilliant following a stranger who claims ownership of the woman he just met."
The pendant started to cast it's purplish glow she's never seen, she brought her hand to her pendant, she didn't understand to her this was just something that was with her when she was left at the orphanage, the educator would tell her. In her prime days.
"What is happening." She muttered.
"Your pendant, it's magical. It has power," he said calmly.
She looked at him, he continued. "Your amulet has been activated, this means Draigholm will soon find out of your existence. You must come with me, please. Annalise."
"What joke is this, Annalise? I think you are mistaken. Magic? You are clearly insane." Ophelia said .
"I will explain but we need to leave immediately."
Ophelia was about to speak when, his eyes starting glowing in a bluish silver glow, her face twisted in shock. She didn't understand what was going on.
After some moments he's eyes returned to it's amber colour. "Who... who are you."
"Draigholm, he knows you're alive, we need to leave." He reached out again. Took her hand holding it lightly but firmly not being cruel. He knew that the woman had no choice at this moment. The man was stronger than her, and he was faster than her. He felt safe and definitely had the answers to her questions.
"Who are you?" She said again.
Alexanders eyes stayed fixed on hers. He was good looking so much that it was hard for her to look at him. It made her feel inside but she made herself look away from how beautiful Alexander was. Alexander had this effect, on her it was like she could not handle how handsome Alexander looked.
This man is a mystery, to her. She brushed a piece of hair out of her face. Who is this man she wondered.. What is he doing here dressed up like a noble person but walking around with ordinary people like it is no big deal? She looked at the man again this man who seemed out of place.
He looked at her again. His face did not show what he was thinking. He spoke in an steady voice: "You are safe for now. My name is Alexander Jameson.. You, milady, are under my protection."
Ophelia's dark blue eyes got smaller. She made a fist with the hand that was not holding anything. The bread was still hidden under her dress. "Protection? I am not someone you need to take care of. I am not your responsibility. I do not need you to keep me safe.. I definitely do not need an Ophelia's bodyguard, especially one, with a face that looks like he is trying to be a hero and hair that is just too long."
Alexander did not smile. He did not smile all. He just nodded his head. The pendant was giving off a bit of light and it was shining in Alexander's amber eyes. This was, like a sign that only Alexander knew about. Alexander got it. That was all that mattered.
And in that moment, Ophelia had no idea: she had just collided with fate.