Birthrights: Part 9 (AmericaxReader)

You wandered around with blond-hunk-on-a-horse minus the horse for what felt like forever, but you kept secret the fact that you were running from the king and his loyal advisor. You did, however, tell him about the white buck and the owl and told him it was probably all just your imagination. You were quite tired, and it was quite dark.

He laughed, but told you not to worry so much about the validity of your visions. “This forest is a magical place, dear child. Who knows what it has in store for you?”

“I hope not too much,” you were laughing now, too, and you couldn’t believe your luck. Only you would run into the woods and find Lord Francis of the kingdom of Confrérie. Only you would catch his fancy. Only you would wander around a “magical” forest with him. Only you.

And he seemed special. Especially in that he seemed to have no ulterior motive in interacting with you. There were no crowds: he had no idea who you were. It was just two people walking through a forest together, enjoying the smell, the color, the quiet. No advisors surrounding him, no mother surrounding you. Though, you doubted you’d ever complain about her buzzing around you again.

Francis seemed to notice your shift in cheerfulness as your expression took on a more somber sort of quality. “My lady? Has something upset you?”

You attempted to shake off his worry. “Not especially recently, no,” you told him. With a glance of his knowing gaze you knew he wasn’t buying it. It’s not like you couldn’t tell him anything, you just didn’t want to tell him some things.

“Today is my first day away from home, and I’m finding that I miss my parents significantly more than anticipated.”

“Why don’t you return, then?”

“It’s much more complicated than that.”

He watched you, eyes almost sad. “It rarely is.” But he smiled through it, and you found the two of you had circled back around to where you had started. Once more you were in sight of his horse, who was tied to an old birch. The mare, whose name you learned was Alexandrine, was waiting patiently at the tree, half-heartedly pulling up the grass where she stood. Francis glanced at you and offered you a place to stay for the night. His manor wasn’t far and he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving you in the woods (or so he claimed). For some reason, you trusted the almost-stranger, and allowed yourself to be guided to the calm horse.

You had never been taught to ride-- never even sat upon the back of a horse. In your village, very few had enough money to even buy a horse, let alone let children fool around on it. No, instead you mended your father’s clothing that had been torn while he was working in the mill or helped your mother bake bread for supper. You never learned to ride a horse.

And you were pretty sure Francis could tell. “If you’d rather,” he offered, hands reaching to hook the reins from where they sat on the saddle, “we can just walk.”

Instead, you shook your head and pulled away. “I’m afraid this is where we must part ways, my lord.”

“But-”

The thundering of hooves silenced him, and caused you to start, eyes wide and breaths already becoming shorter and more rapid. Francis turned to you, eyes frantic.

“Who are you hiding from?” he whispered harshly to you, and you knew this was the end of your freedom. Did you truly want to keep running? It didn’t seem very free to be stuck in a forest as far as your legs could take you with no means of collecting food or finding shelter. Would you rather live like this or face the consequences of your actions. The decision had to be made.

It was made for you as Francis pulled you close, his long cloak wrapping around your skirts. His head rested above yours, eyes narrowed in watch for who was about to come into sight.

His grip slackened a bit when he made out the colors of the blond man in the distance, but it was renewed quickly when the king called out to him with a yelp. When Alfred pulled up, he was out of breath and his voice shook. You hid your face further in the chest of the man who was keeping you covered.

“Francis!” Alfred sighed, sounding relieved, “Have you happened to see a young girl around? She would have been on her feet, red dress?”

Hands soothed over your back and you tried to relax, at least a bit. “If I had seen such a woman she would no doubt be in my care, would she not?”

It was silent for a long time and you wished you could see the man behind you. But he laughed, regardless of how he was feeling. You felt your heart tightened and your fists clench as you attempted to keep from turning to face him. Perhaps this is why he couldn’t find another queen.

Perhaps soulmates tied by a red string are legitimate.

He laughed and you could almost hear the hurt behind it. “I suppose so.”

More silence.

“If you do see her, could you send her my way?”

You swallowed and Francis’s fingers found your waist, holding you still as you felt yourself nearly vibrating in anticipation. You should go to him. You needed to go to him. But you didn’t. You couldn’t.

“Of course, my friend.”

And he rode off. Didn’t even question who you were or why you were with Francis. Just that you were there. In existence. Another piece of the puzzle. Maybe he didn’t feel the same pull that you did. Wouldn’t that be disappointing?

Francis held you close until you could no longer hear the heavy stomps of the hoofbeats. When he pulled away, his eyes were dark and threatening. His fingers dug into your shoulders and you wished you had turned to your future husband and lived up to the consequences.

“Now you tell your story again, and this time you tell me why you’re fleeing the king.”

Clenching your jaw to keep your teeth from chattering, you watched him with flickering eyes. “I’m afraid that’s what makes this complicated.”