"He is one lucky knight to have a noble lady such as yourself taking meticulous care of him,"
Had it been anybody else other than the angel, those words would have added insult to injury for the current dirty and ungroomed Adela. Heat crept into her cheeks at the surprising unearned compliment, especially since the thoughtful man was the one whom an unconscious Arkin leaned on.
The three men took the front seat inside the carriage while she sat alone in the back seat, they continued their journey out of the forest followed by the men's stallions that were ridden by guards who came out of nowhere to assure what Andreas called a smooth ride back to the safety of her lands.
"You are too kind," she said curtly, casting her eyes down modestly like she was taught to when she was undeserving of words of praise. All too soon, the beautiful interior of the flawless carriage distracted her.
The Archduke's daughter lived in a lavish estate and knew by heart all kinds of expensive material used to furnish rooms and vehicles, there was no better candidate to appreciate the fine craftsmanship behind something this extraordinary other than Adela.
Giltwood painted with a layer of pure gold on rubberized iron wheels, the inside was lined with satin and velvet, the kind that would not soak mud even if a bucket of that was emptied over it.
Each time she recalled her conversation with the foreigner about that, she was further humbled. Moreso now that he was explicitly not paying attention to her existence and gazing through the window he chose to sit closest to.
Fine, it is what it is…
The nobleman who seemed to detest her was not a part of her life anyhow, or at least that was what she had consoled herself with each time her eyes brushed over the bow and arrow that never parted ways with him. She wished she had thanked him when she had the opportunity to do so, that was her one lingering remorse.
With a few objecting neighs, the carriage suddenly swerved before it came to a halt.
"What now,"
The foreigner grumbled with a fixed gaze on something outside the window, Adela's curious eyes stared in the same direction then widened when she caught a glimpse of the Archduke's knights, never had she seen these ferocious expressions on the angry-looking army that stopped the coach she was riding with shields that blocked the narrow exit.
"In the name of Kaiser de Lanark, I order you to open the door at once!"
They must be looking for me!
Stunned out of her trance, Adela straightened up and quickly opened the side door, she was half out when a gloved hand held her by the arm stopping her from leaving.
"What are you doing?"
Her heart skipped a beat when she turned and he was leaning toward her, his handsome face at a breath's distance.
"Where do you think you are going?"
She slightly shuddered at the bleakness in his voice or the way his cool breath brushed over her lips, the complex emotions his eyes conveyed had her mind going blank at the worst timing possible.
Say something… Anything!
Hypnotized by a pair of feral dark eyes, not a syllable left her parted lips that opened up in an attempt to salvage the situation.
"It is her! Lady de Lanark! She was forced inside that carriage!"
The loud exclamation that came from the outside was followed by the sound of many swords unsheathing, and before three seconds had passed, the golden and black coach was fully surrounded by the knights of the First Order.
"I must go,"
She yanked her hand back without a counterforce holding it in place and went out of the carriage. Once away from the foreigner, it was all too easy for her to put on the arrogant front of the Archduke's daughter who had the authority to make demands of the First Order.
"Put down your weapons! They are friends, not foes!"
Her eyes darted left and right until she found Baron Gustav, the commander of the Archduke's' knights who happens to be Arkin's father and Adela's godfather. His face was a mixture of rage and concern as he dismounted his stallion and closed the distance between the two of them, his eyes roamed her body in search of an injury then showed brief relief before they darkened.
"Sir Arkin has been badly injured… He is inside the carriage…We were attacked in the forest, but he…The gentlemen inside the carriage…"
Her poor explanation was muted by a loud noise that the arrival of the Archduke's royal purple carriage brought along as more knights arrived at the scene, Kaiser's golden stallion skidded to a stop just a few feet away from Adela.
"Get in!"
A furious Kaiser commanded.
Adela hurried to her father's carriage without looking back, too ashamed of being publicly scolded at her age and lacking a suitable retort if such a thing existed anymore. She made her way through the knights and their horses without looking anybody in the face then took somebody's extended hand and got inside the purple carriage; the door slowly shut behind her.
Just breathe…
Ostracized by the almighty Archduke de Lanark, all that she was allowed to do was watch from afar instead of taking an active part in the events she had started herself. She sat in a heavily charged silence, unable to hear anything in her isolation except for the unhindered and frantic beating of her own heart.
After a moment of self-collection, she allowed her eyes one last look outside the window yet ended up emersed in a full-fledged stare.
There he was again, wearing his red cloak that glistened under the twilight of a dying day, it was as if he had become another version of the man whom she spent long hours with as he froze beside the blocked eastern exit of the forest, gawping at her father with a murderously enraged expression on his face.