As she made the agonizing walk through the castle to her chambers, Lola felt as though she could hardly breath. In this instance, it wasn't the corset constricting around her waist that she could blame. It was the pain, the pain of the loss she was feeling so keenly right when she'd begun to have hope she wouldn't lose anyone else. Just earlier this same day they had all been celebrating. Of all the people she knew in life, why did it have to be the one so far removed from the darkness in this court? She found herself picking up pace as she moved, the desire to run building, but her rational instincts kept her at a brisk walk. Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks. Fresh air, that's what she needed. She turned swiftly in her heels, curls of hair swinging. She sped towards the nearest exit as though it would somehow fix everything.
She was three steps onto the grass when she stopped him in the near distance, hovering near the stables. The girl had hardly registered a thought before she found herself calling out his name. "Sebas- Bash. I…Aylee," she could get no further words out in this moment, but he needed no more details to understand. In seconds the space between them disappeared and she promptly found a place between his arms. The tears she'd thought had finished continued, bleeding into the fabric of the bastard's tunic. No words passed between them as she felt the prior feeling of suffocation roll off of her in small waves. After minutes that seemed much longer, Lola slowly pulled away from the embrace. Their eyes locked as she still struggled to form words. When she finally broke the silence, her voice was somber but no longer shaking.
"I should get back. To Mary…the others." He seemed thoughtful for a moment, as though determining choice words. He considered telling her. Explaining that for reasons she doesn't want to know, he's leaving, doesn't know when he'll come back. It somehow seems like less of a betrayal that way, to at least give a grieving lady notice of his departure. A lady he considers a friend. But also one whom he's grown fond of in a way he doesn't completely understand yet. But instead he simply nods, eyes burning into her pale complexion and pained expression, knowing this will be the last time they meet for an undetermined length of time. "We'll meet again soon," he replies quietly, the lie leaving a sour taste in his mouth.
It isn't until later that she learns the truth. She understands Mary's decision to leave. It seems the only viable option in this worst case scenario they've found themselves entrapped within. Francis returns the complete picture of heartbreak and delivers the news that not one but two significant members of their court have left together on this day. Bash and Mary, run away together. She feels she should have seen it coming. His infatuation with her queen had been obvious to Lola from the start. But the suddenness of his absence strikes her in a way she hadn't expected. She was now short two of the few people in this court she felt she could trust. Francis seemed convinced this was an indication of something between the two of them, his betrothed and his brother. Given previous events, Lola could understand his point, but she knew Mary's true motivation for escape. What was her brave companion's?
All would reveal itself in due time.