"Silence is the key, Mary" Bash's voice was soft against my ear, as he slowly removed his hand that had covered my mouth.
"You gave me a fright!" I whispered harshly whilst pushing him away. I held my hand against my chest waiting for the drumming of my heart to die down. He just stared at me across the dumbly lit corridor, as a soft smile turned the sides of his lips. Then he took a small step towards me, his body enclosing mine beneath his.
"You came." As the words left his mouth, I moved away, walking backwards down the corridor that was hidden behind the curtain.
"I didn't come for the reason you think, Bash." Maybe if I said it out loud I would convince myself that the words were true. He moved slowly towards me, as though I might bolt at any moment.
"You say these things Mary, and yet your actions speak other such words."
"When did you get so philosophical Bash." I kept on moving backwards, until my back hit the far wall. I moved my hand down it to rest on the unforeseen door nob. "I merely came to tell you for the last time that you and I will not happe..." He moved so quickly I didn't even hear the sound of his footsteps, and then his lips were on mine. As though a surge of emotions exploded in that tiny corridor, my arms taking a mind of their own found themselves wrapped around his neck pulling him closer as his lips pressed harsher against mine. His hand slid down my side, over my corset to rest just bellow my rib cage, scrunching the fabric as he too drew me closer.
And in that moment I truly wasn't thinking, but only feeling. Bash's lips on mine, how I had missed their perfection, how they seemed to be made for my own. How I had missed his smell, that seemed to send a rush through my bones that set of little fireworks at every tip. But true thoughtlessness is never long lived, and I pushed him away. His hands moved to rest on either side of me, as his breath came out in harsh puffs. I found that my own breath mirrored his.
"Your blushing.." He said softly as he scanned my face with those blue eyes. Those words made me blush harder I swear, and at that moment I was thankful for the little light. But then I cursed myself for being thankful of the things that hide themselves away from reality.
"We should just say that kiss is a goodbye Bash. We keep it between ourselves and in our heart of hearts we know that this," I motioned between us "was the last of whatever had been building." Bash shook his head softly, letting his brown hair fall across his face.
"I can't do that Mary, and either can you."
"Don't tell me things I can't do Bash..." He grinned at my comment, before brushing a hair behind my ear.
"We shouldn't then. We shouldn't deny ourselves something that others only dream about. That others only fear is a fantasy. This could be our reality," He kissed my lips softly, bringing back another surge of urgency to be closer to him, "We could be the best kept secret for the rest of time."
"Secrets are never good Bash, and they most certainly are never kept. I feel like my whole life is surrounded by secrets, and to add another one would only make everything more difficult."
"It needn't be difficult Mary. You followed me for a reason, and that reason has now been well established," His lips lifted in a sly grin, "Would it not be more heartbreaking to deny ourselves something that we have both been searching for, something that has kept others less fated apart." He moved closer then, so that his body pressed into all the right places against mine.
"Is that what you think we are Bash, fated?" I know I held his heart in my hands, and any swift mention of Francis's night away would dredge the belief that this was an act of revenge. And although maybe somewhere in my mind that possibility had had its moment to flicker through, every other neuron was telling me this wasn't revenge. This was finding something unexpected that filled the slight gap Francis's indiscretion had punctured into my heart. Was that the same as revenge? Or was it merely coming to terms with something I hadn't contemplated for the right reasons before?
"I can't help but think we are.." He said, not above a whisper. " You do something to my soul Mary, something mere words can never truly describe, least of all from the lips of someone like me."
"We shouldn't even be discussing this Bash. Imagine the consequences? You are married and I am married to your brother who I love. I am a Queen, Bash, with responsibilities that can change the fates of thousands. I mustn't be selfish in my life, for to act on such feelings could mean the demise of others not just myself."
"You speak of your feelings Mary, as though there are some for me." His hand cupped my chin, tilting my face towards his. "Is it not symbolic that you are leaning against a door, or that we have now been gone for minutes and no one has called your name in urgency. We have been given this small moment to decide the course of our actions.
Open the door Mary."