Tic-tac… tic-tac… tic-tac… The clock kept on going tirelessly. And the silence of the room swung back and forth on their rhythm, like a bored child in the backyard with nothing better to do…
Tic-tac… tic-tac… swing, swing… back and forth… back and forth… tic-tac… tic-tack…
Her entire body seemed to vibrate on this simple, calming repetition as she lay motionlessly on the bed… Such soothing rhythm would have been very welcoming, was it not for the alternate, not-so-regular rhythm… Something inside, dreadfully similar to that of a heart… As it kept skipping a bit every time a disturbing little thought sneaked up on her…
Traitor… traitor… traitor!
Why? Why did she do it? How could she have done that?... A few months ago she would not have even dared to imagine questioning the decisions of her masters, much less disobeying them! And particularly disturbing was not the fact that such an action would inevitably lead to harsh punishment, but that she willing went against those, to whom her life was dedicated… Her masters… her fathers… Her family!... She betrayed them… And the reason?... A human… Yes, an ordinary man!
And not just a man, but the one who had started all this chaos! The one who was responsible for turning her life upside down! The one, who she should hate!... Hate!... Hate him!... How many times had she repeated that to herself over and over again… and yet… That did not stop her.
When she was finally released from his captivity… when she was back with her masters… when the time came to punish her offender… to enjoy the pleasant sight of his suffering, just he made her suffer… she discovered in horror that, instead of pleasure and satisfaction, it… It hurt! It hurt to see him get hurt! This was impossible! But it was so.
The execution was planned for tomorrow morning. He was there… bound by heavy chains… awaiting the inevitable destiny, which he fully deserved…
An hour ago she had announced of her wish to "play" with him a bit before the execution, and gift him with a "bittersweet" good-bye. Her message was easily understood, and she was permitted to see the doomed prisoner one last time.
As she made a big show entertaining herself with a dark little game in front of the guards, she kept slowly moving closer and closer to the prisoner; until she swiftly and imperceptibly dropped a pair of tiny keys right next to him… providing a perfect chance to evade the inevitable…
She had broken her pledge of loyalty… She betrayed her masters… She deserved to be punished…
A sudden sound shattered her thoughts… Then another sound…
In a fraction of a second, she was out of bed, her gaze swiftly going through the room, her ears listening, her body tense, her mind concentrated, her protective instincts turned on… That sound again… Coming from the window…In an instant, she was near the window, pushing back the drapes, revealing…
First, a hand reached to grab on to the window-sill, then the head appeared, then the other hand… until, finally… He was in the room… His wide shoulders were framed by the red valance, its vibrant color adding a golden glow to his chestnut hair.
Him!... The one who inverted the course of her life, the one who made her suffer, the one who made her a traitor… her enemy… her dear one.
For a moment, she just stood there, paralyzed with shock… The stormy waves of words overcoming her mind somehow never reached her lips… But reflected in her bewildered eyes…
She opened her mouth to say something, but he quickly placed an index finger to his lips, indicating her to be quiet… Then, before she had time to comprehend what was happening, his arms wound around her shoulders, and he pulled her close to him in an embrace warmer than the summer sun… The sentences that had started to form on her mouth somehow melted away as it was covered by his… And her eyes closed as, for the first time, she was defeated by the terrifying pleasure of feeling…