Chapter Two

The moment Lily laid eyes on him she knew there was a connection there. Sitting at the breakfast table waiting for their food Lily had been scanning around the café across the road from their hotel whilst half listening to her father talk about their plans over the next two weeks when she saw him. Suddenly her father's words seemed to fade into the distance and instantly she was entranced. On the opposite side of the café she locked eyes with a waiter who made her heart flutter. Never before had that happened. She quickly averted her eyes feeling crimson rising up over her cheeks. She had every intention on turning her attention back to her father but risked one more look.

He was beautiful. Lily had never really fancied any of the boys she had met before. She thought them fun as friends but nothing special. Not like this one. He wasn't traditionally handsome, his features were harsh in fact, but there was something about him that pulled Lily in. He was like a rare artefact, similar to the ones Wizard had shown her; exquisite, beautiful and enticing. He was very, very tall with broad square shoulders and long arms and legs. She saw his big hands with long fingers. He was slim, no fat and not a great deal of muscle on him either. He had strong square facial features with a long thin nose and jet black hair cut short like her fathers. He had a big grin on his face as he noticed her looking at him; she was too scared and embarrassed to smile back. He moved around at the other side of the shop aware she was still watching him throwing grins and toothy smiles over his shoulder at her. She blushed even more dropping her eyes once more; but not before a small smile escaped. She didn't risk another look especially considering her father was demanding her attention, but in his black shirt and trousers she had never seen a man so handsome before in her life. All of a sudden in those brief moments of eye contact Lily began imaging things she had never known with anyone, yet she wanted them all with him.

"Lily? Are you listening to me?" Jack said suddenly waking Lily from her reverie. She looked straight into her father's steely blue eyes and suddenly regained focus.

"Yeah…sorry I was distracted for a moment, what were you saying?" She asked half smiling at her father. He raised a quizzical eyebrow yet continued.

"I was saying that next week we will be staying with an old friend of mine Anouk who lives out of town a little bit, Wizard will be coming as well. She has been on an archaeological expedition for the past six months and has some findings she wants to show us," Jack said shovelling scrambled eggs into his mouth. Lily gave him a disapproving look whilst daintily pushing eggs onto her toast.

"Why does she want us and Wizard to come?" Lily asked forcing her father to distract himself from furiously feeding himself.

"Well, Anouk called me asking for Wizard's number because she needs him to take a look at some of the inscriptions and then we got talking and I told her how we were planning this big trip and she said she would love to meet you," Jack answered, "Also Wizard mentioned something about how you are a bit of a genius when it comes to languages," he added chuckling at himself. Lily smiled, she loved it when her father was excited and happy; clearly he was both.

"Well I look forward to meeting her," Lily said smiling at her father. The continued to discuss the plans for the day, what they were going to see, what they were going to do all the while Lily scanned the café hoping to catch a glimpse of the waiter again. She saw him running in and out many a time but he didn't see her, or so she thought.

******

Lily ran down the cobblestone street as quickly as she could, often stumbling, her heels catching on the uneven footing. Whilst site seeing around Prague a huge riot had erupted leaving Lily and Jack separated. She didn't know what the cause for the riot was; all she knew that all of a sudden there was a mass of people between her and her father and rough hands were grabbing her. She had been pulled away from the crowd into a dark alleyway hoping it was her father only to find a pair of greedy eyes and hands descending on her. If her father had taught her anything it was how to kick and run. As soon as she had pushed her assailant off her Lily had begun searching for an escape route only to realise there was more than one man trying to capture her.

They were fast but she was faster. They knew where they were going and she did not. Passing shop windows and hearing the yells and screams from the riot not too far away Lily kept looking over her shoulder to see a group of three men pursuing her. She breathed hard and kept her legs pumping. She wound her way through the winding streets of Prague getting further and further away from the crowd. She knew that she should be heading in the opposite direction, towards the people where she had a hope of finding her father yet the men were blocking her route back. She searched frantically for an escape route. Cursing for not having a phone to call her father she kept running looking for a way back to the main road.

Before she knew it Lily was in a dark gloomy part of town where shadows lurked in the doorways and her footsteps echoed loudly off the walls. She was terrified, yet tried to keep a level head. She saw a corner to the left of the road she was on. Throwing a quick glance over her shoulder she calculated that she would hit the corner before the men could see what she was doing, there was only two chasing her now and she didn't give a second thought to where the other one might be. Pushing her legs faster, her muscles screaming in protest she rounded the corner only to find herself trapped.

The third man had met up with another two men and all were standing around the corner waiting for her. She froze seeing their dirty grins in front of her. She quickly turned on her heels hoping to make it to the main alley before the other two caught her only to see them blocking the exit. She breathed hard and fast taking in gulps of air ready to scream hoping someone would hear her. Her heart quickened with fear as they closed the space around her muttering to each other in a language Lily did not understand. She figured out the odds and worked out she may be able to take out the outer two men, maybe another one. However, her hope for retaliation was squashed when one of the men pulled out a long silver knife. She hadn't expected that. The same one, presumably the leader who had initially grabbed her licked his lips as he came closer, anticipation and hunger flickering in his eyes. Lily began crying wishing her father was there, or at least she had a gun.

Then a shout from near by caught the groups' attention. Turning to the end of the alley there was a tall broad figure shouting something in a commanding voice. The all recoiled a little bit at the sound of it, physically. Lily peered through the men to see who it was. He barked something else and suddenly the ring of men around her broke. The leader with the knife yelled something at the stranger with clear venom and anger in his voice. In an instant he was pressed against the wall next to Lily a hand around his throat and his knife on the floor. Lily shut her eyes tight dropping to the floor feeling the impact of the man next to her. There was another furious flurry of words then heavy footsteps then silence. She kept her eyes shut and covered her head until the running steps had died away then dared to open her eyes.

Staring down at her with a stern lip and worry creases in her forehead was the waiter from early. He looked much more imposing in the half-light of the alley with a big leather jacket thrown over his uniform. For the first time Lily saw the twinkling green of his eyes and instantly felt safe. He offered one of his oversized hands to help her up. As soon as she placed her own slender hand in his, his face softened into a smile matching his twinkling eyes. Lily felt her fear evaporate replaced by the warm fluttering she had felt earlier. She tore her eyes away from his face embarrassed suddenly at her situation.

"Why you always look away pretty girl?" He said letting out a hearty laugh as Lily dropped her hand. His voice was different from before and she was surprised he spoke English. She sheepishly looked back up at him to be met by a genuine grin spread across his angular face.

"Thank you for helping me," Lily finally choked in a small voice.

"No problem, they big trouble makers. I had to put them in place," he said smiling. Lily noticed he had a thick Russian accent, explaining his sharp features. Yet despite the harshness of the accent she felt soothed and calmed by his voice, she was floating.

"Come, I take you back. You can trust me," he said after a long silence. He offered his arm for her to take, without hesitation she placed hers through it. She looked up at him as he led the way. He was a head taller than her at least and broader than she had thought. She was mesmerized by him. Lily suddenly noticed how far she had come from the mainstreet as it was a good fifteen minutes before they heard any of the busy noise.

"You are English?" he asked as they walked through the winding alleyways.

"I am Australian," she corrected. He smiled again making her insides churn.

"I thought accent different," he said in response.

"And you are – " Lily asked cautiously not wanting to offend him.

"I am Russian, but I live here for five years now. Better schools," he said.

"So how old are you?" Lily asked without even thinking, blushing furiously he grinned again revealing a set of white clean teeth.

"I am nineteen," he said, Lily stumbled in shock. He laughed at her clumsiness.

"Nineteen?" she repeated shocked.

"Why too old?" he teased. Lily shook her head. "How old are you?"

"I am sixteen," she said quietly all of a sudden wishing she were two years older. He just smiled warmly.

"Ah so young, so beautiful," he said making her smile. Suddenly he stopped and released her arm. Lily stopped and turned to him. He was standing facing her with a straight back and square shoulders with a serious look on his face. Lily was all of a sudden frightened she had done something to scare him off, or he wasn't as kind as she had thought he was. But then he did something she didn't expect.

"My name is Alexander Yurievich Ivanov," he said taking a low bow flashing a grin on his way up. Lily was unsure as what to do but thought it best to return the gesture.

"My name is Lilian Katrina West, pleasure to meet you," she said performing a low curtsy similar to the ones she was taught in school. He beamed at her making Lily blush even more.

"So Lilian, what were you doing being chased by a group of men?" Alexander asked taking her arm again and leading her to safety.

A/N: Hey thanks for the response guys, I didn't actually expect any. Gives me inspiration to write. Hope you still like it xx