The next day, late at night…
In a bed, in an infirmary room laid Evangeline, resting peacefully. At her bedside was Silas, resting his head next to her hand as he intertwined his fingers with hers.
The infirmary room was small, with only a singular twin sized bed, a quartz countertop that had cabinets above and below it, a black arched window, a circular bedside table, and a stone fireplace.
The freshly lit fireplace filled the room with a pine scent as the wood burned, lighting the room in a homey orange hue.
The crackling sounds from the fire cut through the silence in the room, awaking Evangeline from her sleep.
She cracked open her eyes, her head still with a slight ache.
'Where am I,' She wondered as she fully awakened, regaining her vision.
She slowly sat up, the white comforter that covered her slid down her body, revealing the pink silk pj's she had on.
Her movements awoke Silas causing him to quickly sit up.
They met each other's eyes, neither one of them uttering a word.
She looked down at her hand, seeing their fingers interlocked, and looked back at him, lost for words.
"You're finally awake," He sighed, reaching out towards her, being met with a quick recoil.
"Who are you," She questioned, pulling her hand away, "What are you doing?"
His eyes widened as her eyes filled with fire.
"Miss Evangeline, it's me… Don't you recognize me…" He inquired, his heart racing.
She examined his face taking in his perfect comb over side swept hair style, straight eyebrows, icy blue eyes, and a black metal mask that covered the entire lower part of his face from the bridge of his nose to the bottom of his chin.
"That mask covers your entire face, how can I recognize who you are," She grilled.
"Miss Evangeline please, listen to my voice," He instructed, "Listen closely, it's me."
She stared into his eyes listening closely to the sounds of his voice, her eyes widening in realization.
"Oh, I recognize your voice… I know who you are now," She smiled, leaning in towards him.
"So you do know me… I'm so glad…" He sighed in relief.
"Of course I do… You were at my house when I ran outside, and in the hallway… You're that man that's been saving me… The one who reminds me of Cade… How could I not recognize that voice," She chirped.
He continued to stare at her as his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.
'She doesn't recognize me… She doesn't know who I am…'
She looked down at the bed, gripping the blanket.
"Listen I'm sorry for mistaking you for him earlier, it's just you guys sound so similar…" She sighed, glancing back up at him, "I know you're not Cade, you just couldn't be but the familiarity makes me feel safe."
He looked away from her, hiding his heart break in a heavy sigh.
"Not that there's anything wrong with you," She sputtered, nervously waving her hands, "But you couldn't be him… My Cade is a noble from The Brightly Kingdom, which is about a day's travel away from Parola. That and I highly doubt that my Cade is as muscular as you. I mean even if he worked out, there's really no reason for someone of his status to be so muscular and toned… Now that I think of it he's probably more on the scrawnier side… And…"
She paused, seeing him glaring at her, his eyebrow raised.
"Look at me rambling on… You've saved me from falling twice and you know my name already yet I still don't know yours. So, what's your name," She inquired, watching as he looked away, letting out another sigh.
"What's wrong, don't you want to tell me? I would really like to know what to call you," She prodded.
He looked at her, frustration filling his heart.
"Oh, I get it now! You're wearing a mask, which means you're a close subordinate of His Royal Highness. An assassin or a high ranking general of some sorts. Goodness I'm dumb, you obviously can't give out your identity, you have to protect the Grand Duke. Which also means His Royal Highness put a skilled fighter in charge of my care," She rambled, letting out a sigh.
He looked away, listening to her ramble on, as he sighed once more.
'Oh Evangeline, you have an unmatched imagination… You truly had it in your head that I was some scrawny noble with no fighting skills… And now you think I'm a subordinate of the duke… How does that even happen… Why…'
"Hey mister," Evangeline's calls broke Silas' train of thought, causing him to look back at her.
"Since you can't give me your actual name and I need a name to address you as I figured we could come up with a nickname together, what do you say," She needled, leaning closer to him, "So what should I call you?"
He stared into her eyes giving a subtle grin.
'Let's see how she reacts when she finds out I'm the grand duke.'
"Call me Silas," He smirked.
"Oh, you are not His Royal Highness," She scoffed, poking his bicep, "I'll have you know that I caught a glimpse of The Grand Duke when he barged into my house, even with partial vision I can tell you two look nothing alike."
'Barged into her home? When did I…' Silas paused in his thoughts, thinking back.
'The only person who went into her house when she was conscious was… Lord Declan… Does she think he's me…'
He continued to stare at her, listening to her continue to speak.
"You know between you and me His Royal Highness isn't as big and scary as the rumors say he is. I mean look at you, you're way bigger than he is and you're not even scary. You're actually quite the gentleman if you ask me. Such a sweetheart… Matter of fact, you're so strong I bet you could take the Grand Duke on one hand tied behind your back," She ranted as an idea came to her.
She stared at his arm, poking his hardened bicep, as he watched on.
"Any reason you keep poking me," He questioned, staring at her as she continued to poke his arm.
"Because you are so strong," She smirked, meeting his eyes, "You're probably stronger than anyone in all of Parola. You can probably take on 10 skilled knights without issue, am I right?"
"I take on 20 during training for fun," He snickered, "What's your point?"
"My point is you're a subordinate of His Royal Highness and he has put you in charge of my safety and wellbeing which means you have to do whatever I say in order to keep me happy," She smirked, getting closer to his face.
"What's your point," He prodded as his heart raced.
"You are going to help me escape," She stated.
"No deal," He scoffed, looking away from her, "This is your home now."
"You can't tell me no, as far as you go, you're my subordinate," She stated, crossing her arms.
He snapped his head, shooting her a befuddled glare.
"Your subordinate? Don't make me laugh," He chuckled, standing up, "I'm over a foot taller than you."
"Oh and what is that supposed to mean," She laughed, standing on the bed, towering over him, "Now I'm taller than you. Now who's scarier?"
He grabbed her off the bed, lifting her up in the air, as she looked down at him.
His heart pounded against his chest, he stared at her face, slightly grinning at her.
"Still me," He snarked, his red cheeks hidden behind his mask.
They stared into each other's eyes, as silence filled the room, creating an undertone of awkwardness.
She rested her hands on his shoulders as he slowly put her down, both of them keeping eye contact with each other.
"Listen… Your size nor your muscles scare me. Just because you're a large man with a mask doesn't make you a cold brute. I'm not scared of you, especially not after you protected me. To me you're nothing more than a large teddy bear. A large teddy bear without a name," She hummed.
He looked away from her, hiding his love filled gaze.
'Keep it together Silas, she doesn't know who you are… She doesn't know you're Cade… She doesn't even know you're Silas… Don't overwhelm her, she needs time to process everything before she can accept the truth.'
"In any sense the Grand Duke has stolen me from a man whom I love most, and I intend to get back to him one way or another, and as my protector I inquire your help," She stated, watching as he shot her a bewildered look, "Listen, it's just until I escape and then can go back and do whatever you normally do."
"It's not possible," He scoffed, "Leaving here is just not possible. The Grand Duke he… He doesn't want to let you go."
"Well he's going to have to," She snapped, "I want nothing to do with him, and I will not give him the time of day. I don't even want to see him, I want nothing from him and I refuse to stay here in Parola when he couldn't even ask me what I wanted. I'm an engaged woman, and I'm getting back to Cade with or without your help."
'Her loyalty… She's never going to waiver from trying to escape… I have to slow her down… Just for now… Just until I can reveal to her who I am…'
"Well are you going to help me or not," She questioned.
"Fine," He sighed, "But I'm letting you know now, escaping here isn't going to be easy."
"I wasn't planning on it, but luckily I have you with me," She smiled, nudging his shoulder, "Now that, that's decided we have to come up with a nickname for you. Mister just isn't going to cut it for me."
"Name me," He breathed.
"Fine I will and you're in luck because I'm the best at giving out names," She hummed, tapping her chin, "Hmmm, I think I'll be calling you Reuben."
"Reuben," He repeated, raising an eyebrow, "Like the sandwich."
"Precisely," She chirped, grabbing onto his arm, "It's my favorite sandwich."
"Alright, Reuben it is…"