He raised an eyebrow at her playfully. "I'm not forcing you, but only two people have more authority than me. The king and the queen." *** Wren frowned slightly, her gaze sliding up and observing the two of them wordlessly.
She seemed concerned by this, looking over her shoulder at the castle. "I'm... if you'd like me to, sir, I will." * * * Charlie looked extremely distressed, but his father looked at him sternly. "It's out of your hands, Charlie. You knew this was coming." "Wren, what do you think?" he asked, turning to her desperately.
He paused, noting her expressions. "It's alright. You don't have to. And you don't have to call me sir, either." *** Her eyes widened slightly and she looked uncomfortable. "It may perhaps be a bit too soon.."
This made her frown deepen. "You are royalty, sire. It is your title." * * * "See?! And she knows me better than anyone!"
He frowned now as well, hesitating. "I suppose. Perhaps I should head back." *** She went silent again, her brows furrowed.
She glanced over at him thoughtfully. "Yes, perhaps... Do they know that you left?" * * * "This is nonnegotiable, Charlie," the father said flatly. "Now, carry on your activities. She'll be invited to dinner in a few weeks."
"Of course not," he replied simply. "I'm not supposed to be here." *** Wren's frown deepened, and she folded her hands tightly.
She blinked, looking confused. "You're not? Why?" * * * He glowered before turning on his heel, storming away. "Come on, Wren."
He shrugged. "My father said it would hurt my social status, but I find it more likely that people avoid me." *** She followed with a frown, saying nothing.
She frowned, pursing her lips. "That seems flawed. I don't mean to seem disdainful, of course, but you might imagine that he'd want you to associate with the population..." * * * He turned the corner and looked down at her, his expression impossible to read.
"You'd imagine," he said flatly, but shook his head. "I had best be going." *** She looked up at him, her expression concerned and thoughtful.
She looked up at him thoughtfully. “If you say so. It was good to speak to you,” she said, hesitating before continuing, “Ezekiel.” *** He sighed slowly, shaking his head. “Wren... what am I going to do?”
He relaxed, looking back at her with a warm smile. "It was good to speak with you as well, Clara." *** She tilted her head slightly. "I'm not sure, my lord," she said quietly. "I'm sure everything will work out."
She gave him almost a playful smile before going deeper into the market, leaving him alone. *** “You may abandon the formalities, Wren,” he said heavily, leaning back against the wall. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
He stretched, heading back to return to the castle with a small grin on his face. *** She hesitated, her shoulders relaxing. "I think you should meet her," she told him quietly. "If you don't like her then speak with your father."
Over the next week or so, he would notice that a new Gypsy had taken Clara’s place; she had disappeared. *** He looked down at her, sighing. “I don’t mean to cause offense, but if he won’t listen to me, I don’t imagine he’d listen to you.”
Ezekiel was worried, her searched the streets and discreetly asked around about her whereabouts. *** She shrugged. "That's fair. I think we'll be able to find a way."
Through whispers on the street, he would learn that she was arrested a day after they had last seen each other. She had been gone about a week. *** He exhaled slowly, shaking his head. “I can’t believe this,” he mumbled. “come on. Let’s go.”
