Accidental Meeting

She made her way to the track, and jogged in place for a couple of seconds, admiring the view. Her father had built this track for her, as she had loved running ever since she was a child. The King would, when she was younger, place Ava on his shoulders and run with her, and she had grown to love the feeling of the wind on her face. As Ava grew older, she was able to keep up with her dad, and eventually, as the King grew older, she was able to outpace him. She had brought a small watch with her, a shiny silver piece with sweat-resistant material she could wear around her wrist without being bothered by the band. She waited for the larger hand to reach the number '12' before shooting off. She had worked out earlier today, so she was still loose. Her shoes hit the pavement with a satisfying 'clap clap clap' and her breath was even, measured. Her hair streamed behind her, giving her the feeling of the wind that she loved so much. The track itself was a mile long, and Ava knew that her best time was 5 minutes and 15 seconds, but she hoped that today was the day she might finally beat her record.

~~~

Justin's feet finally led him back outside, even on an unconscious level he seemed to resonate with the outdoors. He wondered if there was a certain place he could go running, surely he would not be able to just run wherever he wanted, people would think he was running away. However, he knew he needed to burn off this excess energy somehow and running was always the preferred option. Asking a few of the guards timidly, they subtly tilted their heads this way and that, never speaking, but seeming to direct him towards someplace in particular. His eyebrows scrunched up in confusion at their hidden messages but he followed where they led him nevertheless. Finally reaching what looked like a painted oval on the hard pavement, he stared at it a while, trying to figure out what it was and why someone would paint such a thing on the ground. He had never heard about a track, nor seen one in person. He was completely perplexed, was he supposed to run around it? Was he supposed to follow the lines and run on them? He saw a cart of towels, those were for the people who sweat, that much he knew from reading stolen books, but why would they sweat on a circle?

~~~

As Ava made it around the track, she focused her eyes on her watch. She did the math quickly in her head, even as her feet speared the ground. She was at 5:30 right now. "Damn it," Ava muttered to herself, as she had thought that this was the day. As she came closer to where she started, she noticed a young man standing there, looking confused and nervous. She did not spare him another glance, as she thought he might be a new hired hand. She made her way, jogging now, to her starting site and towel, before remembering that she forgot her water bottle.

~~~

Justin heard feet pattering against the pavement, they sounded like they were coming towards him and for an instant, he thought he was in trouble. Before, when he heard feet pounding the ground, it would be his father displeased with something or the other, come to take it out on him. Now though, it could not be his father, it had to be someone from the palace. He could not afford to be sent home right away, definitely not on the first day. He was preparing to mutter some platitude about not knowing what he was doing when he noticed it was not a male guard coming to escort him away, it was a female; a beautiful one at that. Running, and in tight, long leggings and a tank top with no sleeves, showing off her muscular arms and shoulders. They were not muscular off-putting, they were toned and...what's the word used in the books...sexy? He chuckled to himself slightly and shook his head at where his mind was taking him. He did not know this woman and definitely should not be describing her in such an objective way. But his relief was instant, it looked like she was running around the painted oval on the ground, not running towards him to send him home.

She had an air of confidence around her though, and he was extremely jealous. He wished he boasted that same attitude about life and himself. He was tired of living in fear and pain, he wanted to change his life, and putting his name into the bowl of the potential selected was his first step. Getting into the limo and signing all of those papers releasing his body and soul to the palace was the second. Going out for a run with this mystery woman would be the third. He did not have to talk to her, the officials that came by his house made it pretty clear that he was not to fraternize or get too friendly with any of the other women, save the Queen herself while he stayed at the palace, and he swore by it. He intended to keep his promise: he always does. No, he was not going to talk to this woman, or even look at her, he is just going to follow her movements and confidence and try to instill as much of her self-assurance and comfortability into himself. He started following her lead, not wanting to get too close to her though, he held back on himself. He held a nice, even, steady pace a few beats behind her, shutting down his mind and thoughts, focusing on his breathing and heartbeat.

~~~

Ava had started her second lap, a workout lap, instead of the hard-pressed lap which was like the previous one. After a minute into the run, she noticed the formerly scared and nervous boy who had been standing beside the track was now following her, a few strides behind, but keeping up with her pace nonetheless. Ava, curious, wanted to test this boy. She was not going, by far, the fastest she could go. She increased her pace, just a little. She effortlessly increased the length between her strides, her breathing still even, her heart rate steady.

As she was doing this, she let her peripheral vision stray, which was unlike her. She took in his shaggy brown hair, which glinted in the sharp afternoon sun. She frowned for a minute, thinking that those eyes looked familiar, before looking back ahead, refocusing.

~~~

Justin noticed the woman ahead of him was going a little faster after a minute or so into the run and adjusted himself accordingly, stepping up his rather slow pace to match hers. He thought of this as a little game, if she faltered in even the slightest, he would match it. If she slowed, he would slow, if she sped up, he could do that just as well and just as easily. He loved running, if he were to ever have a passion, this would be it, though learning would beat a quick second. Anything physical suits him, but running is his domain. It is what he uses to escape, from his father, his house, even himself. Oftentimes he would sneak out late at night when his father was drunk asleep and not even lightning striking the house could wake him up. He loved running underneath the moonlight. Out in the country where his family's farm was, there was no technology, no high rises or industrial buildings, and thus the air was free, clean, and pure from smoke, smog, or any other pollutants. The stars would shine so bright he could see individual patterns amongst them and he could envision a future in which it was just him and the open sky. He did not have to worry about anything other than enjoying the breeze on his face and the stars in the sky. His feet would fly over the ground as if he was flying himself, and he could pretend, if only for an hour, that he was free from all burden and that all of his problems were quite literally behind him. Without realizing it, Justin had sped up his pace such that he was almost within touching distance of the woman in front of him. He faltered slightly, purposely slowing himself down so that she could maintain a comfortable gap between them again before he picked up his pace again. He did not want to be caught touching or socializing with another woman that was not the queen, and he could not even see the queen until tomorrow anyway.

~~~

After a couple of more laps around the track, Ava noticed a faraway look in the boy's eyes as he almost caught up with her. She also observed the way he seemed to check himself and let him fall back behind. She had been monitoring not only her own breathing but the breathing of the boy. Ava thought for a couple of seconds. The boy had caught up with her, and quite easily at that. With that in mind, Ava started to sprint fiercely, putting all of her remaining energy into this last lap She lowered her head and rounded each corner of the track as close to the inside of the lane as possible. Her hair started escaping from its thick braid and streamed behind her. She could feel the cool wind whip across her face. Her breathing hitched up a few notches and she inhaled long and hard. Her eyes were determined, focused on the end of the lap.

~~~

Justin noticed the way the woman let the pace continue for a few more ovals. Then, on what presumably was the last time around, she started hardcore sprinting around, keeping to the inside to shorten the distance. Despite himself, he chuckled at her play. As he was enjoying the game, he wanted to match her. He easily distanced his strides one by one, letting them get longer and longer, faster and quicker. He stayed on the outside ring though, he knew this would cost him dearly, as this meant he had farther to go in the same amount of time, but he also did not want to accidentally touch her or get too close when he caught up to her because, in the back of his mind, he still knew he could get in trouble if he was caught. The woman was fast though, faster than she let on and it was with difficulty that he even caught up to her, especially since he was on the outside of the oval, not on the inside with the advantage of a shorter, quicker distance. He was even with her though and as he realized what she was looking at, the supposed finish line where she had initially started, he pushed himself to beat her. He did not honestly care if he won or not, but the chase was fun and exhilarating, as he had never experienced this game before and he was going to be sure to make the most of this. So he pushed himself, harder and harder, onward and upward, noticing how his breathing started becoming more erratic and stressed, his heartbeat quickening and a sheen of sweat collecting at his forehead, causing his hair to stick to it.

~~~

Although Ava was going at her top speed, the man following her had caught up to her. He was breathing hard, but step by step, stride by stride, he had gotten a lead. He had even kept to the outer ring, which was incredibly impressive, considering her own running track record. When she finally broke her pace, at the end of the track, she could see the thick brown hair plastered to his face with sweat ahead of her. Ava brushed her tangled hair into a messy ponytail, as she quickly stretched her lean muscles. By now, the sun had just started descending and her black hair had grown hot. She quickly walked to a little shed nearby to grab a couple of bottles of water. She walked back to her towel, wincing, and opened a bottle. Ava could not remember a time that she had sprinted that hard, as she was more of an endurance runner than a sprinter. She sprinkled a little water onto her towel, resting it on her shoulders, and took a large swig, before catching the stranger's eye and tossing the bottle, now slippery from condensation.

~~~

Justin crossed the finish line mere moments before the mystery woman, his legs and lungs protesting the whole way, but his mind reeling. He beamed to himself but kept his head low, careful not to look at her in any way that may be considered unsuitable. He noticed when her feet crossed the line as well and soon after, they disappeared from sight. He frowned, slightly confused, and lifted his head to watch her back, wanting to see where she was going. She went over to a shed nearby and to grab some bottles of water: two bottles. He tilted his head at her motives, both for herself, maybe? When she came back with a towel on her shoulders and drinking a large sip, she looked right at him. This startled him, so much that he did not realize the bottle being thrown until it was right in front of him. On impulse, he shot his arm out and caught the bottle before it hit his chest, which was soaked with sweat. Looking back up at the woman, he smiled his thanks before turning to walk away. He did not know if he was being rude or not, he never had much experience with this, but he definitely did not want anyone walking by and getting the wrong idea of why he was out here with another woman.