Fate and choice

Meanwhile, after leaving Eleanor's room Francis went inside his office and looked at his desk filled with mountain of papers, and he suddenly had the urge to return to where he came from, a place that made him feel confortable and happy. Though, the fact that it made him feel this way, was still something he couldn't comprehend, so he racked his mind and cursed at himself for succombing to the feeling of yearning for her. 'I don't even know what went through my mind for going to her room and doing whatever pleased me. I just feel anger for her indifferent attitude toward me. She didn't see me for a while, and didn't even bother to come and see me even once....But well, I can understand that she could be angry or hurt about my decision in leaving....sigh! actually who am I kidding, she has every right to get angry. I acted like a horrible bastard, still I couldn't resist the urge that's lurking in my heart and that keep asking to see her.' He stood in from of his desk deep in thought and was interrupted by Sebastian coming in with a look full of suspicions.

"Your majesty, you know that you must finish this pile of work to get some rest so please don't make my work harder and do..."

"I get it, I get it Sebastian, no need to make my head go insane." He interrupted him and sat on his chair before going through the document on the desk.

"I am just saying that for your sake, your majesty and by the way, where were you? I couldn't find you anywhere...And I know the place you usually go to so, I wonder were you went to hide yourself today."

"Well, seem like you don't actually know everything about me. Heh!...." Francis said with a pleasant look on his face.

"Please, just don't tell me that....you....you went and fooled around with womans?!" Sebastian uttered with a troubled and exasperated look on his face, like it is a habit for Francis to do that.

"Hey...who do you take me for!" His words didn't have that much confident, knowing his past experience. It was normal for Sebastian to think that way.

He looked over him with a suspicious eyes but let this matter slide and changed the topic.

"Miss Eleanor's implication on the attack from the nobles is cleared, she didn't have anything to do with them. Her past is still a mistery but it is not enought to make her stay here, so should I tell her that she can leave the palace anythime she want?"

".....No, we must still figure out where she came from. The fact that, she doesn't tell us about her background is suspicious." Francis replied after thinking of a good reason to keep her in the palace.

"True, but we can't force a person to tell us about her personal life if she doesn't want to. Also, does it even matter where she come from?"

"It matter if she is part of some dangerous mercenary or guild."

"You don't need to be smart to see that she doesn't..."

"We can't be sure about that without proof, now leave me alone...I need to work." He said while waving is hand at Sebastian to gesture him to leave. Sebastian nodded and left the office.

At night, Francis ate his dinner alone in the dining hall and wondered if she was still sleeping. But he preferred not to disturb her and finished his dinner. In his room, he laid down on his bed but didn't feel like sleeping so he took his coat and decided to visit the town.

To avoid been preconized by the citizens, he put on the hood from his black coat on his head and only took his horse and Val that followed him from a distance wearing a normal cloth. Francis inspected the market and looked through every shop that was selling woman's accessories. 'I don't even know if she will accept my present, but I guessed that she might forgive me if I came with a present.' He thought while looking through every shops windows that displayed jewelry. Then, he stopped at a shop that took his interest and intensely gazed at a beautiful blue necklace before hearing a woman bargaining with a shopkeeper. He didn't pay much attention to what she was saying and keep on looking at the neckace until she shouted,

".....the emperor's lovers.." He didn't hear all of it but those words made him turn toward the woman shouting those nonsense. 'What the?! since when did I have a lover even those with whom I used to fool around knew that they could never have that much value to me. I have fun sometimes but that's it, there's nothing more. I wonder who is this woman who declared to be my lover....But her voice, it seem like I have already hear it....' He thought while looking at the woman and when he saw that familiar long white blonde hair, he froze and his eyes widened.

"Eleanor? what the hell is she doing here?" He wispered to himself before noticing that she was leaving after talking to a woman, with a bow and a whip on her hands. Without another though, he went after her even if he wasn't sure that the woman could be her but when he passed beside the maid, he looked at her from the corners of his eyes and reconized her. 'Shit! it really is Eleanor, that was her maid. But why is she here, how did she leave the palace without my permission. Sigh! this woman, is she trying to scare the hell out of me?... Seeing as she is leaving in a hurry and with a bow and a whip, something must be going on.' He thought and followed her from a distance, but after turning a corner he saw her freeze in place, her eyes that showed fear and anxiety for a moment suddenly became fierce and threatening. She held up her bow and shot an arrow toward a place that was out of Francis's view. Panic set in, people were running to the opposit direction from the fight thus making difficult for Francis to reach her. His heart was beating hard, he feel fear deep in his heart, fear that she could get hurt or worst killed in the fight. His eyes became red and the air rapidly drew out of his lung. Val quickly ran toward him but instead Francis pointed toward the fight and Val understood his order and though he was worried, he still did what he was ordered to do and went toward the fight. Francis's legs weakened and so he put one knee on the floor while pressing his hand on the side of his heart. 'I have to calm down and not let it take controle over me...uhh! this never happened since the war so why now. Is it because I was concerned by Eleanor's situation?....' He thought while looking at her, sweat running down his forehead.

"Damn it! I have to move or else she...she is going to...." He weakly muttered, and saw her dodging an attack and fighting back against professional assassins or mercenaries. Then as his eyes keep on following her, he saw a man who looked like a citizen approaching her quietly from the crowd, with a blade on him he was one of those hired assassins hiding all this time for an opportunity.

"No! Lea!..." He shouted from where he was but his voice didn't reach her.