The Flower That Bloomed In The Dark

"You won't be able to become noble straightaway," She explained, looking at his hands. "But we can make you lower gentry. It would take time, to teach you what you would need to know at court. I can ask one of my friend's fathers to take you in, because I can't be the person to bring you to court. You could then work under them, and make a name for yourself." She added.

"We would need to "meet" at court, but without a doubt in my mind, it's very doable. You're very attractive, and good looks go a long way in court." She sighed a little. "But this is only if you want to. I know you love working with horses, and I'm not against running away with you."

---

"That's not a bad thing. If you keep out of his way, and suddenly disappear, he may not know you've gone for the first few days." He said softly.

She nodded a little,"Thats a good idea, I'll ask to be left to tend to myself then from the maids - by the time they realize I've gone it'll have been a few days already. You're so smart," she murmured kissing him softly, "I should go back soon, before the maids notice I've gone I've already faked my bleeding so they don't suspect,"

---

He nodded and let out a long breath, "Can you bring me some books to look over on my free time?" he asked her curiously, "So I have some knowledge before I dive head first into this?"

She nodded. "Of course, I won't throw you in blind. You'll have to know what a person of at least slightly noble birth would have grown up knowing. But you're intelligent, and you speak well. I'm not worried at all...well... I'm a little worried." She said before sighing. "You're very good looking and looks go a long way in court. Just... don't get too wrapped up in other women throwing themselves at you."

---

He nodded and kissed her back, before kissing her forehead. "Let me know if you need anything, you know where to find me, always."

She nodded a little,"I know, be safe - I love you," she murmured softly kissing him tenderly one last time before sighing a little.

---

"I'm not going to - don't worry about that, I only have eyes for you," he smiled a little as he nudged her.

"Good," She smiled, kissing his cheek and sighing. "Women like to offer themselves up as mistresses, especially when theres someone new and attractive. You'll need to become exceptionally good at talking your way out of situations."

"Speaking of which, at court you would need to refer to me as The Lady Alexandra. If we're alone, then you can call me whatever you like."

---

He kissed her and sighed, stroking her face. "I love you too," He said before checking to make sure she wouldn't be seen.

"Can I just tell them I am uninterested in them then move on?" he said as he looked at her raising his brow, "I find being straightforward the right way to go about things," he smiled.

---

Beatrice waited for the okay then headed out the door and back towards the mansion - getting inside with no difficulty.

She shook her head a little sadly. "No. One thing about court, is that you never want to be on someone's bad side. Well, I mean with you you could. You'll just have several put off women, which I don't mind." She smiled a little. "And I know. I love it about you."

---

He sighed, turning back to his work but with a lot on his mind. He had a lot to worry about now.

"So I'll be straight forward then, I don't care if they're put off," he shrugged a little and smiled as he looked at her,"Don't want them getting ideas,"

She smiled a little and leaned over, kissing him softly. "I'm hoping this works, but I don't have a doubt in my mind it wont. If it doesn't, we can just plan to run off together."

Alexandra walked alongside Chanyeol and a few of the horses to the stream. She had written to her friend who's father had agreed to give Chanyeol a position at court in the King's household. "So, you will have lodgings at court, and will work under him as his apprentice. It will pay you 1000 crowns a day, and all you really have to do is follow him around." She explained, turning to look at him. "Are you sure you're okay with this? If you would feel more comfortable leaving, all you have to do is say so."

He sighed, "This will help me save money, I'll do it, I don't spend more than ten a day normally as it is this is more than I make in a month - I'm doing this for us," he murmured as he looked at her with a small smile.

---

Beatrice woke feeling sick but did her best to hide it, she smiled and ate breakfast as she normally did but when they left she ended up losing it all. The day was hectic at first, but she laid in bed most of the day sipping lemon water - attempting to get food to stay down. Once she felt semi-normal she went over to her jewels and picked out what she could sell; some of these were worth thousands of crowns which would be useful since she'd learned a newly build farmhouse costed around five thousand crowns; that was with two bedrooms upstairs downstairs. She'd sell a third of her jewels which added up to easily twenty five thousand crowns. Keeping them fed and safe for a long while before they had to be concerned.

"Well, you can't do all the work, so I will work as well. As a lady in waiting for the Queen. Once we have enough saved we can leave, and never look back." She said, petting her horse's nose. "But I wanted to ask you something. Tonight, will you sneak inside? Spend the night with me."

---

Sehun spoke to his employer, letting them know there was a sickness in the family and he needed to travel home, but he wasn't sure how long or when he would go. This way, when they left, he had a reason to be gone long before they discovered Beatrice missing.

It was late, and all of Alexandra's windows were covered so no one could look inside. She had Chanyeol in her room, and the doors shut so that no one would disrupt her, for as far as anyone knew, she was asleep. "I bought you some clothes," She murmured, showing them to him. "Under the pretense of them being for my brother." She pulled one out. "If you need help, let me know."

She said, fixing her robe and stretching. "I've had dresses made as well, they need to be a certain design for the Queen's household. A bit much if you ask me, but I'm not the Queen. Tell me if the clothes need adjusting, I'll fix them myself."

Beatrice had slowly taken some of her clothes to Sehun's home, hidden them under the house so they wouldn't be found. She had slowly noticed her corsets were too tight and would often loosen them or not wear one at all. They had planned on leaving that week, so she asked her maids to leave her be for a few days because she'd like some time to reflect on her life and her decisions as a wife. She told them she could take care of herself, she'd fetch her own food from the kitchen were she to be hungry. That night she packed up all her jewels and some expensive items that could be melted down - so far she'd saved enough to get them through two years but a lot of it would go towards helping making their house a home. When night came she dressed down and put on a hooded cloak for warmth then made her way to Sehun's home; tonight would be the night she was leaving.

---

He looked up as he smiled, "They look.. there is so much of them though," he said in shock. He hadn't expected men to wear so many layers.

She smiled at him. "It was nothing really, hardly made a dent in my pocket money. Only cost 25,000 crowns. I have plenty more, I just want you to fit well," She murmured, standing up and walking over to him. "Do you like them? We leave within a week for court, separately of course. But I want you to be prepared," She said to him.

---

Sehun saddled up his horses and carriage, his home on the manor land had long since been packed up. As far as his employer knew, he left two weeks ago, but he came back to pick Beatrice up. He waited silently in the trees for her to arrive, not wanting to attract attention to himself.

When she found him within the woods she smiled a little, "I missed you," she whispered softly as she wrapped her arms around his middle, it had been over a week since she'd seen him but he'd had to leave earlier so no one suspected anything. She climbed into the carriage with his help then sighed, "should I lay in the back?"

---

He nodded, "I'm prepared, I've read a lot of books and I understand most things," he said to her lightly, "do you think I'll do fine?"

"I know you will, you will be a part of the King's household, which will be different to what you are used to. We can save as much money as needed, and then we can leave. I don't care for your class raised because I'd rather marry you as you are now, rather than a noble." She said with a smile. "I am quite glad the clothes don't need to be fixed, and I have a trunk for you ready as well." She said, pointing at them. "You can change out of them, and then come get ready for bed, because I am not sending you out tonight, you can sleep here."

---

He nodded, moving the blankets. "It will be uncomfortable, but I tried to put as many blankets to help. Try to sleep if it will make it better." He said, moving the sacks of food out of the way.

She nodded a little as she climbed into the back to lay down, everything felt stiff and awkward but the situation wasn't good. She knew that if they were caught a lot of things could happen, he could be killed and she would be in a world of trouble - she wouldn't let that happen to him or their baby.

---

He nodded a little, "good cause they're kind of itchy," he snorted as he got dressed in his night clothes before going to the bed and laying down next to her. Knowing what was going to be happening in the next two days had him worried; what if things didn't pan out the way they wanted them to?

She laughed a little and sighed, laying next to him. "They are, I agree." She murmured. "What are you thinking?"

---

He tucked her in and sighed, turning the carriage and driving it away. "In a few hours we should be safely away," He murmured. "We're going to go back to my childhood home first. I'm not sure what condition it's in, but it's better than nothing and I can fix it if it needs to be."

She nodded a little,"I'm sure it'll be fine," she said to him lightly - they didn't have any where else to go. She was going to be showing any day now and the idea of someone finding out worried her.

---

He shook his head,"Nothing really, I just know this isn't going to be as easy as we'd like it to be...so I'm preparing for the worst,"