The Blood King's Love

Fourteen

I've been in the tree house for a week.

I don't mind living here--definitely a grand upgrade from everywhere I've been for the past month (at least, I think I've been here for a month)--but I'm still not healed. Yes, I can walk a bit better than before, my thigh wound has begun to close, the puffiness in my face from the poison has gone down. But I still need to take care of myself, and unfortunately I don't have the resources to do that in this little secret home. I only realized a few days ago that I can't just consume whatever food I want, no matter how hungry I am; I need more natural foods and a lot of water, not these full course meals Theo has been bringing me with too many spices and ingredients to count.

Theo does his best to try and bring what I ask of him, but wherever he's getting these supplies, it doesn't seem that he can bring more than a handful at a time. Not to mention, he can't stop by more than once or twice a day; even though he doesn't say more than a word about it, he definitely has a busy life outside of me. I can't help but feel like I'm bossing this kid around and becoming his burden.

And that, as well as the fact that I get increasingly bored and anxious everyday, is why I ask him: "Can you take me into town with you?"

The shock on his face is almost funny. He looks at me like I'm insane. "You're...you're a prisoner, aren't you? They're going to find you and put you away!"

I never outright told him I was a prisoner, but I guess his inference found the right conclusion. "Yeah, that's true," I sigh, then shoot him a mischievous glance. "But not if you help me."

He frowns. "Even if you're really sneaky, you'll still stick out."

Again, that's true. My bronze skin, unruly black hair and sharp facial features are a strong contrast to anyone living in the palace area. Add that to my limping and endless blemishes on my skin, I'd stick out like a sore thumb.

But it's not like I haven't already considered that.

I give him a sly smile. "Not if you give me the right disguise."

He's reluctant, but after telling him what he needs to bring for me for my disguise, he seems to be more on board, albeit still skeptical.

We eat lunch together in silence as usual, he leaves, then comes back within the next few hours, which was much faster than expected, since the supplies I told him to bring aren't necessarily easy to find. The hair brush, the undergarments, the sandals are fairly simple, but the long cloak with the hood, the sirwal trousers, and the mask that covers half my face (all in neutral colors) must've taken a while to find. My expectations were that he'd come back with at least one thing missing in about two days, not everything in less than half a day. Does this kid just have everything on hand?

I change into the clothes quickly. I smooth out my long hair and tie it in a bun, covering every strand with my hood. The trousers and undergarments are shockingly good quality--the silky fabric are soft on my skin, and even though they're a size too small for my body type, they're not uncomfortable. How Theo got female clothing like this is beyond me--if he stole this, he has my utmost respect.

I tie a scarf around half of my face so only my eyes are visible and turn to Theo. "Do I look like an evil peasant girl who was stabbed and imprisoned and was crazy enough to willingly drink poison given to her by the Blood King and escape to help a little boy she had never met before?"

He looks at me, dumbfounded.

I get embarrassed immediately. I have no idea why that came out of me at this very moment. Saying it out loud sounds unreal. Well, now he knows what's on my mind twenty-four seven.

I stutter on my next sentence. "Uh—well, I—um—that's obviously not a serious statement, just disregard it." I try to laugh it off and change the subject. "What I'm trying to say is, do you think this is good enough to fool people, or does it just make me stick out more?"

His mouth opens and closes, and he's expressionless again. "No, I've seen a lot of rich people from other countries dressed a little like that. None of them are women though, so I think you should...you know..."

I think for a second and realize he's talking about my "lady parts".

I hop back into the tree house and wrap another scarf i told him to bring around my breasts and hips. Despite my weight loss, they've somehow remained of considerable size. The scarfs don't do much but offer me mild discomfort, but I'll take his word for it.

Once he's seems satisfied with the look, he takes my hand and starts leading me out. It's odd that a few moments ago he was so dismissive of the entire idea, and now he's acting like it's nothing.

Then I think, what if he reports me?

My eyes widen and my grip on his hand tightens. Of course he's going to report me! I just confessed to being a personal prisoner of the Blood King who's feared throughout the entire country, and I assume in the palace area of Valon, he must be admired, especially by younger children.

But then I don't think Theo is that type of person. I can tell he's doesn't want to see me fall. I did save his life, anyway...there's no way...

He stops in his tracks. "Hey, Lady?"

My heart pounding accelerates to faster than i even thought possible. Will this child be my downfall?

I raise my eyebrows in response.

"You have to stick behind me. The entire time we're in town." He turns back around to keep walking but then he stops again. "I...I don't really get it, I mean, I don't really get you, but if you're really in that much trouble, then you have to stick by me, okay?"

The beat of my heart begins to calm down. "Okay," I sigh, forcing a smile so he doesn't suspect my nervousness.

We start walking again, and with nonchalance he says, "Because if you're in trouble with the King, and he finds you, he's definitely, definitely going to kill you."