Rhiannon tried to curtsy but failed miserably as she knocked into the couch on which the other two women were sitting. Embarrassed, she ran from the room in search of Adam. He was sitting in "their" courtyard when Rhiannon found him. "She hates me!" Rhiannon said exasperatedly.
"I highly doubt she hates you. Intensely dislike, maybe, but hate? I don't think so," Adam said. His hands settled on Rhiannon's waist as hers fell to his shoulders and she leaned down to kiss him. Adam moved over on the bench so Rhiannon could sit.
"She is convinced I'm out to seduce you," Rhiannon said. "She actually told me she'd send me away if she thought I had."
Adam shook his head as he tucked a strand of Rhiannon's hair behind her ear and put his hand on her shoulder. "Ignore my mother. It's all about us, everything. In about a week, I will be named heir to the throne and successor to the king and a year later we will marry and then my mother will have no authority over us." He kissed Rhiannon lightly, then said, "Don't worry about a thing. Just focus on preparing for the ball this coming Saturday. Did you choose a dress?"
Rhiannon nodded, then kissed him again and asked in a whisper, "Want to find our own hiding place? Somewhere your mother doesn't know about?"
"I know the perfect spot," Adam replied. "Come with me," he whispered. Running his hand down her arm, he led her from the hallway where the walls had ears.
Pressing a button hidden by a jewel on the hilt of a sword held by a suit of armor, Adam revealed a door in a seemingly-solid wall. "Where does this go?" Rhiannon asked as Adam, clinging to her hand, jogged down the hallway.
"Just trust me!" he replied, tugging her after him. She held her skirts with one hand and chased after him, trying to keep up. Finally, after running down the long, damp hallway, Adam came to a sudden stop before an ancient door. It was made of a dark golden wood carved with Celtic knots and living vines snaked out from under the door. Adam twisted the doorknob and pushed open the door. "Welcome to freedom," he whispered. The door swung open to reveal a breathtaking room. The floor was a carpet of grass and huge weeping willows sprouted from floor to ceiling like lamps since it was their leaves which illuminated the space. The ceiling, though made of stone, appeared as a starry night sky with a shining half-moon.
"Impossible!" Rhiannon exclaimed. "This goes against everything natural! We are underground, for crying out loud! And it's the morning!" Adam smirked as Rhiannon ranted. Eventually, she turned to face him and fell silent. Finally, she found her voice again and asked, "How on earth did you find this room?"
Adam shrugged, "Just poking around one day. T'was no great task." He smiled and kissed Rhiannon's forehead. "Do you like it?"
"It's perfect. It's incredible. It's exactly what we need." She kissed Adam lightly on the lips and whispered, "Thank you."
"I love you," Adam whispered, cradling Rhiannon tenderly. Rhiannon clung to the back of Adam's shirt as her arms wound tightly around him.
Rhiannon sighed, "This is too perfect. Someone is going to run in here in a moment and your mother really will ship me off and everything will be for naught."
"You're so paranoid; just relax, Rhiannon!" Adam whispered, rubbing her back gently.
She shook her head and said, "I can't. I'm sorry, something's not right."
Adam put one hand tenderly on the side of Rhiannon's neck and asked, "What is it?"
"I don't know," Rhiannon shrugged. "Something is missing and I don't know what it is. I just have this feeling that I need to be somewhere else right now."
"Do you know where?" Adam asked. Rhiannon nodded thoughtfully.
"The stream," she replied, putting her own hand over Adam's. "I don't know, it seems like I just need to be there. You know?" Adam nodded and led her from the room.
Hand-in-hand the two teens made their way to the stables. Rhiannon saddled up Rhian, her favorite horse, and Rupert, another horse from the same parents, and they set off for the stream.
"Better?" Adam asked. Rhiannon just nodded as the two slid off the horses. She kissed him gently a few times, then tangled one hand in his hair and kissed him a bit more deeply.
"This is perfect," she whispered. She tied the horses' reins to a tree branch, then sat by the river. Rhiannon slipped off her elegant slippers and, holding her skirts at her knees, let her feet dangle into the lazily-flowing river. Looking up at Adam, she asked, "Sit with me?"
He sighed as he sat and, keeping his booted feet away from the water, he wrapped an arm around Rhiannon. "Tis a lovely day," he whispered into Rhiannon's hair.
"It is," she agreed, turning and kissing him lightly. "Come with me," she whispered, taking Adam's hand and standing. Adam stood also and, fingers loosely holding Rhiannon's, he let her lead him deeper into the woods.
"Where are we?" Adam asked as they came up on a huge clearing with a log cabin.
"My parents' house," Rhiannon replied, leading him up the walk. "Just trust me," she whispered, pecking Adam on the lips. She pushed open the unlocked door, wincing at its loud creak disrupting the silence of the trees.
Adam looked around and asked, "What do you want to show me?" Rhiannon just shrugged.
"I'm not sure. Would you shush and just trust me?" Rhiannon retorted. She kissed him warmly and, taking his hand firmly in hers, led him to the back of the little one-floor house. "This was the nursery," she said. "It would have been my room had I grown up here." In the room was a rough-hewn crib of golden wood and the walls were whitewashed with a plank floor. A small bureau stood in the corner, filled with little clothes.
"Did your parents ever leave a will?" Adam asked. Rhiannon shook her head and Adam said, "Since this house is on my father's land, I can give it to you even before I am king."
Rhiannon shook her head, "I don't need it. I just wanted to show you my once-home. Come on, there's more." She then proceeded to show Adam the living room, the kitchen, and the other rooms.
"What is down those stairs?" Adam asked, pointing to a door that hung open to reveal a flight of stairs.
"My parents' bedroom," Rhiannon replied. "I've been down there but once. Tis dark and scary when alone."
Adam smiled and kissed Rhiannon. "You are not alone now, though are you?" he asked. "We'll bring candles and I'll be right here for you." The two lit fat candles and went down the stairs to the bedroom.
"It's not much, but it's the last place my parents were before they died in the streets of the city, so sick with plague that they told Josiah where I was and left to die so I wouldn't see it happen or remember, but I do remember," Rhiannon cried. "I remember my fourth birthday, when my mother danced and my father played the fiddle, and my fifth birthday when my mother made me a special dress and a cake, and the day they left, sick with the plague, and Josiah's first appearance in my life. My father, Jerome, was a tall, strong man. He was the stablehand before he died. My mother, Erin, was small but tanned and tough from working all day in the gardens. She also loved horses and would help my father some times. Most of all, however, my parents loved to dance. They were the best of the servants here when they were young."
"Was this their first home together?" Adam asked. Rhiannon just nodded and sat on the bed.
"I love it here," she said. "It's just so quiet and peaceful." Adam had been walking closer and Rhiannon pulled his face down to her own for a few light kisses, just feathery pecks.
Laying next to each other on the bed, Adam traced the embroidery on the waist of Rhiannon's dress. "I never want this moment to end," he whispered. "This is the purest example of a perfect moment if you ask me," he added.
"Mmmh," Rhiannon replied, nestling close to Adam sleepily. "It's late. Do you think your parents would care if we spent the night here? After all, it could snow tonight and I don't want to risk walking back in it."
"Do not even think to move," Adam replied, cradling Rhiannon in his arms. "Are you comfortable?"
Rhiannon shook her head and sat up. "Too many layers," she replied. "It's stuffy in here." She slipped easily out of her outer dress and untied her corset and petticoats so she was just laying there in her shift. Adam, following suit, took off his doublet and vest and cummerbund, then untucked his shirt and lay back down.
"It's cold!" Adam exclaimed. "Are you warm enough?" Rhiannon shrugged and stood, Adam beside her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind as she turned down the covers. Slipping in, Adam hissed, "It is icy cold and the sheets are rough!"
"It's perfect," Rhiannon said. "My grandmother made the blanket and my aunts made the sheets and my mother's best friend made the pillows and pillow cases."
Pulling Adam closer, Rhiannon let him kiss her forehead and smiled as he whispered, "I love you. Good night, Rhiannon."
"Good night," she replied, falling asleep almost instantly from sheer exhaustion.
From the moment Rhiannon and Adam walked into the castle the next morning, they knew something was wrong. "There you are!" exclaimed Leila as she ran into the main hall. "Where have you been? Do you have any clue what Lady Sparrow has been through?"
Adam just pushed past the girl and said, "Get out of my sight!"
"Adam! You're home at last!" exclaimed Lady Sparrow, ignoring the conventional aloofness of her station to hug her son.
"You noticed I was gone? Mum, let go of me!" Adam said, pushing the woman away.
"What?" stuttered Lady Sparrow. "Of course I noticed! Why should you ever think otherwise?"
"Mother!" yelled Adam. "You've done nothing but try to get rid of Rhiannon and you hate that in a short amount of time, I will have more power than you can even dream of! Now, we are leaving and going to court!" Lady Sparrow looked shell-shocked as her son stormed to his room, Rhiannon in hot pursuit.
"What are you talking about?" Rhiannon demanded as she followed Adam.
He turned from stuffing clothes into a knapsack and said, "I'm sick of it here. I'm going to be crowned in six days and I'm sure they won't mind me getting there a bit early. Why? Do you not want to go?"
Rhiannon shrugged, "I suppose I do but I can barely handle this court. What if I humiliate you?" Adam just kissed her lightly.
"You're going to be perfect," he whispered. "Everything is going to be great. So, would you like to go with me or would you prefer to stay behind and have me send for you?"
Rhiannon just shrugged. "It's up to you." And with that, she was gone.