You Must Always Be On Your Guard
Erik's Eyes:
In my palm, I held a dazzling engagement ring. There it was in all it's magnificent glory, a lone diamond set in the middle of a rose which was made out of gold. Holding this ring made me realize that I had finally asked the question that had consumed my heart and soul ever since I had met Gabrielle. Will you marry me? As simple as those words were to say separately, together they took on a meaning that was nothing short of magical. Of course, I knew that we could never have as grand a wedding as I would have liked to bestow upon her, but none the less, I wanted to be able to call her my wife.
Everything, the sky, the moon and the stars, all seemed to have ceased movement. All that was worth living for, my existence, my entire reason for life, hung on her breath. It seemed as if the world had stopped and the universe itself was silently waiting for her response. I looked deeply into her eyes and was ecstatic when all I saw was complete awe and delight staring back into mine. It seemed that she had forgotten how to speak, for she remained silent, continuing to look from me to the ring and then back again.
"So…will my wish be granted…?" I attempted to bring words back to her mouth.
Breathlessly she responded. "Yes…" then she grew more confident with her speech, "YES!….YES, OH MY LOVE, YES!" She thrust her arms around my neck and held me tight. "I love you so much..! SO VERY MUCH!"
"And I you, my darling…" I found her hand behind my head and carefully slid the ring onto her finger. As if remembering what the ring meant she stared at it in astonishment.
"Erik…where ever did you get such a magnificent ring…?" She spoke in sighs and whispers.
"I had saw it in a shop once…after Christine had left me…I went back to the store and bought it during the return from the prison house…Raoul thought that you would love it…as did I…so I bought it…all the while, hoping that you would accept my proposal…And now you have…you have made me the happiest man on earth!"
It was true. I had never felt as overjoyed as I did then, with her in my arms, a ring on her finger, and knowing that I could call her my fiancé. I was completely contented and so was she. Pulling her head to mine, I kissed her again and again, each time more reverently than before. The sensation of her heated flesh against mine and the scent of night sky that seemed to linger in her hair, rendered me completely vulnerable. We continued to caress each other under the starlit sky, until an odd sensation aroused my guard.
It was the distant sound of baying hounds that had brought me back to my senses. I sat up straight and listened attentively to the howling. Gabrielle soon followed suit. Every inch of my body, mind and soul wanted to desert my defensive instinct and continue to shower Gabrielle with all of my attention and affection. But there was something about the wails of these animals that had me agitated.
Placing one final kiss upon her, sweet, petal soft lips; I rose and swiftly moved to where I had tethered the horses and carriage. Untying the black stallion with great ease and then mounting him took a mere moment. Then I rode off, leaving Gabrielle looking slightly worried and alone on the blankets behind me.
The night acted as a black blanket, concealing me from all wandering eyes. After testing the air and deciding which way the gentle breeze blew, I made my way in the direction of the dogs, remaining downwind the entire time. Not to long after, I came upon a group of men and dogs searching the underbrush that skirted the woods. The dogs frantically sniffed the ground as the men holding onto their leads talked to each other. I faintly could make out the words of one such man.
"So do you really believe that it was the woman who murdered that man…after all, it could have been that masked man who was his cell mate…"
Another man next to him replied, "But that man had been his cell mate for a few days…had he wanted to kill him, he could have done so before that instant…no, it was the woman…"
"What a shame that she is condemned to death when we find her…I hear she was quite beautiful…" The two men laughed at the corrupt thoughts that no doubt had infested their sinister minds.
I growled under my breath. She's MY beauty now, you vagrant, loathsome beasts…You wouldn't even give her a moment to explain herself before gagging her and taking her to the gallows… I shuddered at the thought of a hangman's noose around her slender neck. No, they would never even come close to finding her…not when I was there to protect her.
I nudged my stallion onward, back towards our hidden meadow; our secret garden. Once there, I found her wearing her traveling cloak and standing next to the chestnut mare. The carriage was no where to be seen.
"Where is the carriage?" I inquired.
"I locked it's doors and left it on the side of the nearest road. On the side of it, I pinned a note for it to be brought to Raoul's house, when it was found. We can send him a letter telling him how to get it to us where and when we have found refuge, then you will have all your possessions back. I put plenty of clothes and money into the two saddlebags that lie there." She pointed at the bundle that lied next to her feet. "I figured we would have to travel quickly now…so I thought that would be best."
I swung my leg over the horse's back and dropped stealthily to the ground. Subsequently, I walked over to where she stood, kissed her softly and then began to strap the saddlebags onto the horses. Of course, I knew that she was perfectly capable of getting herself onto the horse, but helping her up seemed the gentlemanly thing to do, so I held out my hand and helped her onto it's bare back.
She smiled down on me and the silhouette of her body, delineated by the moon's light, made me love her all the more sincerely. Resentfully, I recalled what the searching men had said about it being a shame to 'waste her beauty'. I wanted nothing more than to strangle them for thinking of her as something that wasn't worth more than using for their own pleasures. She was so much more complicated than that, she had so much more to give to a man. She loved with her whole heart and soul…you cant find that in a woman as easily as one might think.
I gave her a loving smile and prodded the stallion with my heel. He took off at a canter and her horse soon matched my pace. As we both rode off together in the moonlight, I made a vow that for the rest of my life and also into eternity, 'I would care for and protect her, ALWAYS!'
