Do I know you?

We sat in silence during our break as I tried to regain my strength as fast as I could. I took a few more bites of my biscuit and was listening to the sounds of nature. I heard some odd rustling sounds coming from behind us. Leo heard it too as he immediately stood up and helped me get on my feet.

Without a word between us, we started to walk quickly north and redirected our path into more dense vegetation to avoid being spotted. The anxiety we both felt pushed us forward and my pain seemed to dissipate among the stress. It could have been harmless travelers, but it was better to not find out what may have been behind us.

We walked on for well over an hour and even after the noise stopped long ago. We seemed to evade whatever was there as we took a second to look around to ensure the coast was clear. We stopped for a few minutes for some water and snacks then continued with haste. We had to find another town before nightfall.

"Are you alright?" He asked me with that same sweetness in his voice again. He is quite confusing lately. I shook my head yes as we continued along. Soon we saw the familiar smoke rising in the air and dark wood peering through the trees. There was another smaller village ahead of us as we hurried in before the sun could set.

We repeated the same process of the night before, finding an inn and enjoying a hot meal before we retreated to our chambers for the night. When we closed the door behind us in our private room Leo came up to me and started to kiss me passionately again. He must have more energy than he did last night. He pushed me against the doorway and grabbed my neck.

I indulged in his kisses but I couldn't shake this uncomfortable feeling in my chest that he was moving too fast and aggressively. He continued to tease me as he started to kiss my neck and groped me but I pushed him off shaking my head no. Even if I wanted it, I was too weak to be able to do any more, let alone what he so clearly wanted.

"Why not?" He spoke to me in an intimidating manner. He seemed to be trying to sound sexy but it just made me more upset with him.

"I can't, I don't have the strength," I looked away from his harsh gaze. Embarrassed at myself for not being able to please him.

"You don't remember your promise?" He asked me. I shook my head 'no', not having a clue what he was referring to. "You promised yourself to me once we were free, everything," He grabbed my face and kissed me hard again.

"Please, forgive me. I am still weak from my coma and I don't remember everything. Just, just let me rest," I pleaded as I pushed him off and skirted around him. I went to my edge of the bed and tucked myself in, avoiding him more. I heard him sigh as he left me alone for a while to go back down to the main hall of the inn.

I hated it but Kache came to my mind. The first day he at least asked before he could kiss me and never made a move like that, or made me feel this awful inside. He would always help carry me when I was weak despite him not having as large of muscles as Leo. I let out a few silent tears as I remembered my anger with what he did. Perhaps we would of had a chance if he hadn't been so crafty with my life.

Eventually, I found I had cried myself to sleep. These days didn't feel much freer than everything else up to this point. The bed was empty again when I arose. I wasn't sure if Leo came back at all until I looked around my room. His clothes were missing and the gemstones were gone. Not just a few, the entire bag. I was confused, maybe he went to get something again before we left but I had that sinking feeling in my stomach as I started to cry again.

I trusted him with my life, but did I really know him? He was a man that came to see me at night and gave me the teenage fantasy of romance through my memories, but I can't remember any more than that. Was it all a ploy? I gathered myself and heard a knock at the door. Fearful I peered through the opening and saw it was Leo. My heart skipped a beat. I rushed to conclusions again.

I opened the door as he came through without anything except the bag of stones.

"Where did you go?" I asked him, worried as he looked as though he didn't sleep the night before. His eyes were red and had large bags under them. He smelled of alcohol and his hair was a mess.

"I fell asleep down there by mistake," He said.

"With the bag of gemstones? We were lucky we weren't robbed!" I said, trying to hold back the anger in my voice with little success. His face turned to anger at me and I immediately regretted raising my voice at him.

"We are together in this! Why is not enough for you?! I have it under the control so just stop." He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room. I wasn't ready for the day but I wasn't going to continue to argue with him further just because my hair was messy. "we are leaving, now, and don't go slow today. They are close I can feel it,"

I nodded my head as I followed him along. As we exited the inn I saw a visiting noble staring at us with shock on her face as I turned my gaze away, hoping I didn't just get us killed. When he finally let go of my arm it was red with marks from his grip. I rubbed it until the soreness stopped. I inadvertently let out a few more silent tears as we made our journey back into the wilderness. He wasn't slowing down at all but I knew better than to complain as I kept pushing myself. Finally, he let me take a break.

"Wait here," He said. His voice was sweet again. I put my head between my hands. I was so confused lately and my mind was always foggy even without any medication. After a while, he returned a bunch of roses in hand and got down on his knees placing them on my lap.

"Please forgive me, Viola, I am just so scared for us lately and I am taking it out on you which isn't fair. Let's just move on and be happy okay?" He asked me. He apologized but it felt ingenuine but I accepted the gesture as I put a few of the flowers in my hair before we continued. They should be an accessory, but they felt more like a marker of his control over me than anything else.