If am lost, I am lost on purpose.
He’s different than anyone she has ever met.
More introspective, more calloused, more kind—and she finds that the contradictions that tangle around in his belly are interesting enough to hook her, enough to keep her golden eyes trained on him. She wonders at the things that make him up, that keep him shy enough to shuffle his feet, distracted enough to stare at the ground instead of her face, and hurt enough to open up to a practical stranger.
She has never felt such burdens before and it feels exhausting—
but, she cannot deny that there is something intriguing about the depth.
Content to observe for the moment, she simply breathes in and out as he works through his thoughts, more curious about his idiosyncrasies than offended by them. So when he finally does jerk his gaze back to her, she lifts a brow and just smiles. “Do you always apologize?” she questions, tilting her head to the side before shaking her head, deciding that she doesn’t really care to know if he does or not.
“Why don’t we go somewhere else then?” she finally asks, brightening at the idea of an adventure with him. “We could go to some of the common lands if you’d like—those are fun.” Her grin turns a little more mischievous then, something dangerous flashing in her bright eyes. “Or we could sneak into one of the other kingdoms. I know they have borders and what not, but I almost never get caught.”
At least, she hasn’t before.
But it was a lot easier to do when you could just shift into a bird or a squirrel and scamper away.
The challenge of trying to go undetected as herself was too delicious to ignore.