Alarmed of something, the bird darted away; back into the denser parts of the forest.
Knowing the bird had been scared of something or someone, Aeliana turned around. And as expected, a person stood a few feet away from her. It was a guy. Although she wasn't entirely sure because of the distance, she reckoned he was around her age. He had dark brown wavy hair, neither too long nor too short.
The moment Aeliana had turned she had expected the boy to look a bit ashamed, maybe even embarrassed, that he was caught observing her. Nevertheless when her vision focused on him, she noticed that the boy looked at her with amusement. It was because of this overconfidence she already felt highly irritated. She had caught him staring at her, how dare the boy even look bemused. It was unmannerly to do, not to say impolite.
The girl stopped singing as a bird flew away from her and she turned around. Her bright brown eyes bore into his with surprise. His eyes widened at the beauty of the young girl in front of him. With her small lips half opened she stared at him in astonishment.
The girl in front of him had light brown hair bounded in a low pony tail. She had freckles spread over her cheeks and her lips were of a dark red color. He figured by her clothes that she was a peasant. She wore a white cotton chemise with lace details, a green/brown skirt reaching slightly below her knees and a dark brown bodice, with laces on the front. In one hand she was holding a basket halfway filled with berries. Yet even with peasant clothes he couldn't help but admire how beautiful she looked, the way pieces of her hair fell loosely over her temples and how the sun highlighted some of the features of her face. He couldn't help but feel pleased with his finding.
''Didn't you learn that it's rude to sneak up on people?'' Aeliana asked, anger radiating from her eyes.
''Didn't you know it's dangerous to be in the forest alone?'' He shot back at her while a grin spread on his face.
''Well, then it's a good thing that I'm not alone because unfortunately you are here'' A saccharine tone to her voice showed exactly how she felt about his company.
Theon laughed. He couldn't help it. ''Technically, that doesn't make it any less dangerous.''
''Technically, you shouldn't be the one speaking, you were the one sneaking up on people.'' She bit back.
''Okay granted'' the boy replied, holding his hands up in surrender but a charming smile never left his face.
''So, what are you doing here in the forest, alone? expect for singing to birds of course?.''
''Well at least most birds are more charming than some human beings, no offense,'' Aeliana smiled sweetly, her tone implying anything but. ''But thanks for reminding me because as opposed to some people, I do have things to do, so I should go. But by all means, find someone else to sneak up onto,'' she challenged, her eyes wide with fake innocence.
Her subtle snub did not go unnoticed, like it would have done with most people. The boy knew exactly what she was implying. But he seemed to find it rather amusing. ''Non taken feisty pants. Naaah they probably can't sing as well as you did, that's probably why the bird liked you so much. I think he considered you as one of them.''
She was not completely sure whether he had just complimented or insulted her. ''I think I'm going to take that as a compliment,'' Aeliana said with raised eyebrows. She turned around and started towards the denser parts of the forest.
''Be careful,'' the boy called after her. Aeliana stopped walking, she didn't know why but there was something in his voice that made her turn her head. "You never know if someone more dangerous will sneak up on you,'' for a moment the grin on his face was gone and he looked sincerely genuine. Aeliana merely nodded her head, not sure what to say or do and she continued her path. She could feel the boy's gaze on her back, but some mistaken sense of pride, made her refuse to turn around again. Instead, she walked further in the woods.
''I think I'm going to take that as a compliment.'' Her eyebrows were raised as if she was not really sure how to take his comment. She turned to leave. No, he couldn't just let her leave like that, what if he never saw her again? He wanted to say something, but what could he say? He didn't even know her name. He knew nothing of her. ''Be careful.'' The words had slipped out of his mouth before he had thought them through. She turned around slowly and looked at him. Okay think Theon. Say something. Anything. ''You never know if someone more dangerous will sneak up on you,'' What was that? He thought by himself. Great one Theon, really. If you wanted to impress the girl, that's how you should have done it.
She nodded her head, it was something one could easily oversee but he hadn't and then she turned around again and continued her walk back into the forest. He wanted to stop her, he didn't want to see her leave yet but somehow there was nothing useful coming out of his mouth. He was a charming guy, a smooth talker at times, but right now he was at a loss for words. It was strange but the girl had managed to surprise him. Her forwardness had intrigued him; the fact that she had not recognized him was astounding. But it had felt refreshing. He liked her temper and how unfazed she was by him. He wasn't used to people doing that.