"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know, I don't know. I didn't expect this. I didn't expect any of this. I didn't think I would ever see you again."
"I didn't have a choice!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling. "She was going to ruin everything for you. Do you think I wanted to leave you?" She stepped closer, her eyes fierce. "Do you think that my heart wasn't breaking when I got on that plane?"
He shook his head. "After doing something like that it was hard to believe you ever did care." He sighed, obviously frustrated. "You just... were gone."
"What would you have done?" she asked, her brow furrowed. "What were my options? Seeing as you seem to think that it was so easy."
"I don't know, Poppy. There's always a way. Maybe tell someone that she's threatening people? That seems like a pretty good idea." His tone was a bit arrogant, and he pursed his lips as he watched her.
"I wasn't allowed to tell anyone," she said, her voice deadly quiet. "Francis, I thought this through backwards and forwards that night. Think. I..." She hesitated before changing her words. "I was going to be married to you. I didn't have a choice."
She sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't either," she said. "I mean.. I thought I was never going to see you again."
He nervously pulled at his fingers, quiet as he thought. "Me neither.." He paused, looking up at her. "I've missed you."
She smiled for the first time, shy and unsure. "And stuff? Your English teacher would be disappointed, Francis."
"Well, it's a good thing I'm not in school anymore. What about you?" he asked. "What have you been up to?"
"I've still been meeting with nations," she said. "They taught me how to fight, though. For safety, and all that."
