“Mallory, if you’re willing to accept punishment for your actions, I will not stop you,” I warned. “But I don’t think your friend deserves to pay with her life because of your actions.”

Her head quickly turned to me. Fear has dominated her previously weeping face. “Are you going to tell His Majesty?” she quickly asked, her eyes wide open.

“I won’t but if one of the servants finds her there, they may tell the king,” I added.

She was suddenly torn. She’s too broken to proceed with it but I can see her genuine concern for her friend.

I offered her my hand, causing her to look at me with a confused look on her face. “Come, now. You don’t want to be seen as a rude friend.”

She looked at my hand before looking back at me again.

“We don’t have time for this, Mallory,” I added, trying not to sound as demanding as possible. “You have to make a decision right now. Her life is absolutely in peril right now.”

After hesitating for a few more seconds, she finally held onto my hand and we made our way to the stables.

♔♔♔

As we arrived at the stables, no one was waiting for us. I looked around once more, making sure that I’m not missing anything or anyone.

“I thought you said your friend’s here,” I said, turning to her.

“I hid her somewhere here. I’ll go ahead and get her,” she replied as she walked away.

“This won’t take long, right?” I asked, putting my hands behind my back.

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She didn’t answer and began checking each empty stable. When there was no sign of someone hiding inside the stables, she went back to where she started and began knocking three times on the wooden gates.

“Mallory?” a voice suddenly came from the very last stable, one where Elizabeth’s horse was being kept.

Mallory rushed over to that stable. As she looked over the gate, she talked to someone I can’t see, “What are you doing in there?” Mallory quickly opened the gate, careful not to let the horse escape. I started to hear shuffling where Mallory was.

“You told me to hide,” a faint voice replied as I heard more shuffling from the stable.

I turned around, giving them privacy to speak with one another.

“I told you to hide but not in an occupied stable,” Mallory scolded.

“I’m very sorry,” her friend answered, her voice still fainted, almost like a whisper.

I finally heard footsteps coming towards me after they stopped talking and the wooden gate was closed. As their footsteps started to come closer, my heart began to beat faster. Sweat started to form in my hands as they remained closed behind my back.

“Is this him?” I heard her friend whispered.

“Yes, this is him. Should you find him a bit distant, that’s just the way he is,” Mallory responded, chuckling nervously after.

I scoffed at what I just heard. Being distant isn’t the way I am. Being distant is just something I use to prevent myself from getting embroiled in trouble. For Mallory to tell her friend that this is how I normally act is a bit annoying.

They finally stopped behind me and Mallory stood in front of me. She whispered as she moved closer, “What am I supposed to say? How are we supposed to act?”

As I looked into her eyes, there was a glint of hope while some part of her is lost within the situation. But I could tell that she’s hoping that we would act like a real couple in front of her friend. It may not be the best thing to do but it’s what’s right and I can’t embarrass her.

I grabbed her hands, slowly bringing them closer to my lips. “The least I could do,” I spoke after laying a soft peck on her hands. “The very least I could do is treat you as my beloved.”

She began to smile, her eyes started to water out of happiness.

“But after this, don’t expect that I will be doing it for the rest of our time together. Do you understand?” I added.

Her smile quickly turned into a firm line as she nodded.

I gently put her hand on my arm as I slowly turned around to face her friend. But turning around… was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.