Chapter 4

Obedient to Siobhan's suggestion, I stuck to the east wall, grateful each time I slipped into the glow of a lit torch. It was so late by then that the streets were nearly silent. I had not realized how much time I had spent talking to old Siobhan… Hearing a noise behind me and with her warning of criminals in my head, I rushed on. The great east wall of the castle guided me round towards the entrance and I clutched my thread purchases as I hurried to reach it. I glanced behind me but the path was clear. Passing the guards at the main portcullis gate, I had never been more pleased to reach the outside courtyard and only then did I slow. The outside courtyard surrounded the keep where the royal family and servants lived and stretched out to the castle walls. It was large and open and primarily stone paved. There were grassy areas to the left and right of the main steps up to the keep's grand entrance. The only lights out there were from large torches on the walls and sides of the keep but it was safe none-the-less; fortified and guarded.

Walking across the open to the door of Alice's wing, I noticed a dark figure sat in the shadows, an instrument clutched to them as they plucked out a melody. I knew the sound of the instrument from the feast and slowed as I passed. I glanced at the man, hoping to see the ensnaring green eyes. I did not realize I had stopped until he spoke over the music, "It's dangerous to be out at this time, even in the castle walls."

I licked my lips, a nervous habit, "I am sorry and sorry to disturb you." I turned to leave and had hurried only two strides before I heard him laugh lightly. I stopped again turning to face him. He was now stood, his black cloak hanging in a thick drape from his broad shoulders. "No, You did not disturb me. I am more concerned about your safety. You should not be stopping to talk to strangers in the dark. No matter how beautiful the music. That is how siren's lure men to them."

More legends. "But you are not a sea-nymph and I am not a man." I answer carefully.

He chuckled and his voice was deep and warm. Tingles rocked through my body and I could not bear to look at his hooded figure to I lowered my eyes to my feet. My hair cascaded forwards in gentle, persistent waves to cover the sides of my face. It was longer than I normally had it, I would have to ask another lady in waiting to cut it.

"No, but the warning is still the same." He replied in a voice as smooth as velvet and still amused.

"Even if it is based on a myth?" I challenged looking back up at him and barely swallowed my gasp. His hood was down and piercing green eyes were on me. It was indeed the musician from the feast; I had known from the instrument and the music. I would have been glad to see him again, but what rocked me to my foundations was that this man's hair was bronze, his jaw sharp and his cheekbones defined. "Emrys." I whispered to myself so softly. If he heard, he never gave any indication as he began walking towards me. His head tilted and his eyes narrowed on me.

"You have trouble with that, don't you? Believing in the reality of legends." His voice was harder, frustrated and angry in equal measure. He was so close now and I could feel a tingle in his presence. A power and grace radiated from him and washed over me. My skin tingled with its touch. Everything about him was shadows and darkness and I could feel a power in him that made me uneasy. He was like a predator, a lion, as he approached and I was the meek rabbit caught within his unwavering gaze.

Tentatively a small part of my mind confirmed the legend despite I whispered, "Yes."

His hand lifted to the sides of my face and I jumped as vines of electricity crackled from his fingers to my cheek like lightening to the ground. I expected the pain and burn but I felt nothing but a heated tingle where his fingers caressed my cheek and jaw. My eyes were tightly shut now suddenly fearful of this man they called Emrys. "Why do you fear me, Olwen?" His green eyes so verdant compared to the plain brown of my own.

"My name is Bella." I swallowed around my name as I felt his proximity. He smelled better than any man and I felt myself weaken beneath the enticing scent. Emblazoned across my eyelids was his face. Even in the shadows it was smooth perfection; like marble with the strength he radiated. His beauty was transcendent.

He drew back, "Then call me Edward." My eyes snapped open. A simple name and another confusing piece of the puzzle I longed to solve.

"So you're not Emrys." I took a step back and breathed a sigh of relief when he stayed where he was.

"I never said that." A wave of frustration rolled through me but was lost in the tide of emotions that engulfed my body at that moment.

"Then why call you Edward?" My head tilted, my eyes reading his face as confusion settled itself deep into my core.

"That is my name. It's what they call me when they are not looking for Emrys."

"I- I don't understand." His jaw clenched and the torches flickered nearly going out before bursting into flame again, feeding off his emotions. I took a step back unnerved.

"It's myths. It is easier to tell a story when the subject has a name that has a greater meaning. It helps people understand and remember." His voice was curt, his patience with me clearly growing thin.

"Then what shall I call you?"

His gaze tethered me. Its hold suffocated and breathed so much life and energy into my body at once that I feel undone. He is silent for so long before, almost with sadness, he murmurs, "Edward."

I nod, but he had become distant, his eyes blankly consumed by thought. "Very well. Goodnight, Edward." I turned slowly, feeling those green eyes on my back as I walked for the door. I tried the handle, once, twice but it was locked. My frustration and need to get out of the situation built and I tried the door a third time, more frantically than the last and still it did not budge. I dropped my hands, my fingers clenched with the needs to escape and flee. Then I heard him murmur a word I cannot understand. I glance to him and his speaks louder.

"Try the door again." His voice is clear that time and I do, it clicks open with ease. I cast him a last tentative glance as I enter the main castle and he is still stood where I left him, his hood down, his face ethereally beautiful. The door closes behind me and I head the weighty click of the lock and know it's him.

"Goodnight Emrys." I whisper, before running up the stairs to my chamber.