Silence hung for a time, she wasn't sure how long. She broke it with a single word, "hello", which carried everything she felt. She waited for a response, but none came.

He stood, suddenly afraid to speak. He could ruin everything, his reputation, her reputation, and worse of all, her power. He was nothing to her, he reflected, comparing the two.

He turned before he could think about it, and ran, blindly, dodging trees with no thought.