Chain Mail and Butterfly Wings

I groaned once, and rolled over onto my stomach, realizing that I was on my back when the sun blinded me through my eyelids. After that I whined several times, feeling a throbbing in the back of my head, which also caused my eyes to throb in their sockets. "What the hell...?" I murmured, opening my eyes to lush green grass. Last I had checked dungeons didn't have green grass, just stone. How long had it even been since I'd seen grass? It seemed like I'd spent all of my days in that damn smelly dungeon.

I rolled over again, back onto my back and blinked repeatedly as my eyes adjusted to the sunlight. "My freakin' head..." I murmured, complaining to myself as I attempted to sit up.

I gasped when I was pushed back down by my shoulder and someone straddled my stomach while holding me to the ground. When my pounding head struck the ground I remembered all-too-well what had happened and my eyes widened in shock at the memory. I had been knocked out! What had happened after that? The prisoner was escaping, using me as a hostage...

Oh God...please tell me that this wasn't the prisoner sitting on my stomach.

I focused intently on whoever was holding me to the ground and groaned again. It was the prisoner. Just my luck, now he was going to kill me because he didn't need me anymore.

But that didn't mean I couldn't insult him until he killed me. "Get off of me, knave," I protested, trying to sit up and push him off of me, but he shifted so that one of his hands held my wrists together while he used his free hand to press my head firmly to the ground.

I was successfully immobilized. Fantastic

The young man smirked down at me, his amber eyes flashing in triumph. "You know I should probably kill you for all the trouble to tried to cause me during my escape," he pointed out with a voice as smooth as the finest of silk.

"I guess you should," I agreed with a scowl as I tried to rip my wrists from his hand, but he had a better grip than I had imagined. "If you're going to kill me than just do it," I ordered in annoyance, at least when I was dead I wouldn't have to work in the dungeon anymore.

The young man--what had the General called him? Aiden? Yes, Aiden--pulled his hand away from my head and pressed my dagger to my throat with strangely fluid movements, I didn't even have time to react. "If that's what you want..." he muttered, although there was a strangely playful look in his eyes. Toying with his prey before he finished it, I decided with disgust.

"I think the clean air is making you giddy," I pointed out, waiting for him to drag the dagger across my throat and let me bleed dry.

Aiden chuckled. "I see being a guard hasn't stripped you of your sense of humor," he pointed out, but he still wasn't killing me. "Well, I don't think I'll kill you," he said thoughtfully, moving the dagger away from my throat and sheathing it in his belt.

I stared at him in awe. "What?" I asked incredulously. Was he toying with me? That must have been what he was doing.

Aiden looked down at me skeptically. "Unless, that's what you wanted..." He began to reach for the dagger again.

I didn't answer him but swiftly flung my knee upward and nailed him in the back flipping him over me and then rolled away. I scrambled to my feet, quickly facing him, but he was still on the ground...laughing? What was he laughing about?

"What's so funny?" I demanded, realizing that I had no weapon.

"You,” Aiden said simply with another chuckle. “You’re completely clumsy, and yet you can manage a move as slick as that. It’s no wonder you’re a guard.” He got calmly to his feet and dusted off his hands. "Your name is Angeline, correct?"

I watched him suspiciously, how'd he know my name? "And if it is?" I inquired warily.

"I just thought I should know the name of the girl that's going to fall head-over-heels in love with me." Aiden shrugged, and turned away from me. "Of course, I'm truly sorry that I can't stick around for you to be infatuated with me. As you can probably tell, I'm on the run," he paused, turned to me and waved once, "Have fun being a guard and all, that is, if they don't execute or banish you for helping me escape."

My jaw dropped. "I'm not head-over-heels in love with you!" I objected loudly, making him pause to look over his shoulder at me with a grin. I was aware that I had disregarded the banishing and executing part of his sentence. Those things I might have expected, but being in love with him? Ridiculous on approximately nine different levels.

"I didn't say you were, I said you were going to fall in love with me," he corrected calmly. "It's only a matter of time you know. It's my charm I'm pretty sure." Aiden began to walk away again and I stole several glances around me to realize that I had no idea where I was.

"H-hey! Wait a minute!" I jogged after him just as he began to disappear behind a tree on the edge of the clearing I was standing in.

When I rounded the bend that he had gone around I gasped and stumbled backwards when I almost collided with him. "Yes?" he purred with a raised brow.

"Where am I? You can't just leave me out here," I pointed out sharply, taking several more steps backwards.

"Why not? I'm sure you'll find your way back." Aiden said with a sound of disappointment in his voice, had he really expected me to fall in love with him? I snorted at the thought. Although he was indeed remarkably handsome. I shook the thought away, my traitorous mind was playing tricks on me. This was a fugitive and I was a guard, it was my job to apprehend him, right? Right.

"I don't even know where I am!" I replied sharply.

"For Christ's sake, I'm losing time here," he told me firmly and looked around behind me. "Here, I'll even help you out, I came from that direction." He pointed directly behind me. "Bye now." Aiden turned to leave again.

I turned to look to the spot where he had pointed, it led directly into the forest...and it was getting dark...I didn't like the dark, especially when I was by myself and I was unarmed. If I went back now, I would most likely be relieved of my duties, banished or even executed, like Aiden had said...Unless, I could capture him and drag him back by his golden hair. If I could manage that I would surly be forgiven. In a rush to stop him I asked loudly, "If you were so worried about time, why didn't you just leave me in that clearing and be on your merry way?"

Aiden paused for about the twentieth time in the past few minutes, and glanced at me over his shoulder, "What? And leave you to be woken up by a hungry pack of wolves? Now, that wouldn't be very gentleman-like would it?" he stated with a grin and then waved his hand. "Go on now, go and report back to your General. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you."

"W-wait!" I called and jogged so that I was in front of him.

"What now?" Aiden asked in an exasperated voice.

"I...er...can I...come...with you?" He looked at me with something like shock on his features. "Just until the next town!" I assured him. All I needed was to get to the next town, then I could capture him while he slept. Yeah, it was a little underhanded, but he used me as a hostage for his own gain, why not capture him and use him as a hostage for my own gain? An eye for an eye.

Makes the whole world blind.

Shut up, not philosophers allowed to impede my judgment. It was a perfect motto to live by, why change it so that peace-lovers could relate to it?

Aiden glanced up at the darkening sky, then grinned at me as if he had just found out a secret. "I suppose it would be the chivalrous thing to do. Protecting a woman from her fear."

I bit my lower lip to keep from shouting profanities at him, and felt the blush slowly creep onto my face. Alright, I wasn't fond of the dark, what of it? It was a legitimate fear! Anything could just launch itself out of the darkness and drag you into some unknown little pit where it would slowly devour you starting with your toe until it ate you completely!

......

Okay, sorry, I went off on a bit of a tangent there. I'm good now.

"Well? Can I?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the ground.

Aiden lifted my chin with his fingertips and I jerked away, glaring at him. "You know, it's much more polite to keep eye-contact when you're talking to someone." There was a mischievous glint in his eyes, which told me he noticed my blush.

"Whatever," I muttered, looking down at the ground again.

He sighed and shook his head. "Fine, you can come with me, but only until tomorrow, after that, you're on your own. If you start walking by morning, you should get back to the castle before dark." Aiden reached his hand toward me, paused for a moment of thought, shook his head, and walked past me. "Come on then little guard, we've got a lot of ground to cover before I'll be comfortable enough to go to sleep."

I hope he is comfortable when he goes to sleep, otherwise my plan would be much more difficult to carry out. I also hope he's a hard sleeper, which would also make my task more simple.