My Sister, my treasure, his desire... do you dare enter these cursed woods?

Chapter XIII

Rose Point Of View

Everything went black...

Have you seen how the damsels in distress always faint at the RIGHT MOMENT? I don't consider myself one of these poor, helpless little ladies, but I sure lost contact with the world - literally - at the right moment. I mean, I was in the arms of a 'gentleman', his grip very tight on me, he was going to kiss me, the perfect moment! Who am I fooling? I know! MYSELF!

How long have I been out? God knows! Now, Rosie Rose, it would be the perfect moment to open your eyes and find out where you are, and what you're doing. Easy to say. My head felt so heavy, major headache at the horizon. Just what I needed. Strange thing, I tried to move my arm and I felt nothing. Just air. Not the silky sheets those maidens always wake up in after fainting in their Prince Charmin's arms. Better that way, I wasn't in the mood for the drama.

I opened one eye, and I closed it again FAST. Must wake up from this nightmare! What nightmare, you ask? The only thing I saw was the nice little face of the 'polite' stranger. Yes, yes, the one who KISSED me without my approval. The very one man who brought me to despair in less than a quarter of hour. 15 minutes. Can life be happier than that? Rosie Rose, better open your eyes, or God knows what he's going to do. I felt reluctant to open them. Why not sleep, I thought. I had a headache, my eyelashes felt so heavy, someone was carrying me, the air was fresh, no light, we were alone, perfect for sleeping... Wait! WHAT? Alone? Someone is carrying me?

In the end, I ignored my body's screams to go back to... sleep, or whatever I was doing, and opened my eyes. It was, sadly, true. The... man was indeed carrying me. We were somewhere outside, but there were no lights. Just the moon and the stars. It would have been perfect, if HE wouldn't have been there. I realized that we were in the same garden, for I could see the big house, thing... in the distance. That meant I hadn't been out of it for too long, so he couldn't have done too much damage, right? RIGHT? What damage? I had NO idea. What damage could a 'respectable' gentleman do to a lady when they are ALONE in a garden, at NIGHT? However, at that time I knew nothing, and I mean NOTHING about that kind of damage. 'Reputation' was just a word I used to find in books, and Lu told me that most of the ladies thought about it as of something very important. But that was in the society, somewhere I had never been, until then. So why bother?

For a long time, I just stood there, as if I was frozen, and watched his expression, wondering what was he thinking about. By the looks of it, he was thinking about a lot of things. Maybe he was thinking what he should do with me, or if he should eat only three slices of bread at breakfast, I didn't knew. I still don't. After what seemed like forever, he lowered his look at me. So he actually knew I was there. What a big surprise! However, the look in his eyes wasn't what it used to be. This time I could read it quite clearly. It was worry. He was worried about me. Well, he was right to. After all, I HAD fainted in his arms, right? It was his... duty to be worried. If a maiden loses consciousness in your arms, you HAVE to take care of her in a way or another. The problem was, I didn't like the way he chose to take care of me.

I couldn't stop but wonder where was he going to take me. To his house? He surely had servants, he looked nothing like a servant. A friend's house? No, he didn't look like a person who would share, whatever it is that others would like to share, and by the grip he had on me I could tell that he was more than just possessive. Great. Just my luck.

Why did males enjoy carrying females around like that? By the looks of it, I was no more than a flake to him. I think it was just for a show off. And how come that all the males in my books (the books I've red, don't get any ideas) always carry the love of their lives like that? Not fair, I want that too. And HE isn't supposed to carry me like that, only my soul mate is allowed. And I don't even know his name. He was a stranger to me.

He rudely interrupted my flow of thoughts with one of his annoying questions. Why annoying? I just HATE it when someone answers my questions with another question. I just can't take it! And I had the feeling that he was going to do that quite often. Alec!

"Do you like cherries?"