(4) Caught In A Lie

Elodie felt her arm get grabbed as she walked away.

She was pulled into the grass maze before she could even enter on her own. Her mouth was covered. She turned to face her kidnapper, her eyes widened realizing who it was.

"Adam? What are you-" Her muffled voice was silenced when she stopped talking, hearing the commotion just outside the maze.

"Guards! Get that girl heading to the grass maze! Quickly! Hurry!"

The both of them stood still, the man holding Elodie's waist tightly as he covered her mouth, his face furrowed into a serious expression as he listened intently. Elodie had momentarily forgotten what she wished to say, choosing to say nothing.

Finally, his hand on her mouth and waist loosened.

Braking away from him Elodie turned around, a smile on her lips. "Good sir. I would have never thought that you stayed," her hand slowly moved up his chest. "Or that you were so bold-"

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away harshly, Elodie winced, feeling him tightly grip her arm directly where she was chained for 6 years wasn't a pleasant feeling.

She tried to shake him off, his grip only got tighter. "What is the matter? Let go!"

"It was you, wasn't it? The person behind that hologram?"

There was a flicker of amusement to pass through Elodie's eyes. Her face quickly saddened as she shook her head. "I am not rich enough to afford one of those things. And I dare not threaten the royal-"

Elodie winced when his grip tighten. The man gazed at her with furrowed eyebrows and a sharp look in his eyes."Emeralds are embedded all over your gown, Miss. Tell me the truth. How do you know my name? Who are you?"

Elodie felt a headache come from his questions. She nodded softly. "I'll tell you everything, just release me first."

"So you can run away?"

Elodie quirked a brow. "In heels?"

He finally let go. Elodie scampered back, hissing as she held her arm, cradling it. She pouted while facing him. "You should not exert all your strength on a women like that."

Adam didn't flinch. Yet somehow, he seemed a little apologetic. "Forgive me."

Elodie paused, a small smile forming. "Unless of course it is during making-"

"Lady Victoria." His eyes got cold.

Elodie stopped smiling. She wasn't used to him calling her name with such distaste.

"Alright.... I'll explain myself..." she mumbled, sitting on the floor in the grass maze. She patted the spot next to her. "Come, Sit."

Adam slowly sat down. When Elodie raised her hand to his forehead, he quickly grabbed it. "What are you doing?"

"Calm down. I was just going to restore your memory."

"Restore? How can I trust a frivolous woman to stay true to her word? Just tell me who you are and why you're here."

"It is dark already. It will take too long." Elodie chose to not take offense to his words. "Unless, I can come home with you?"

Adam, glanced away. "For such an elegant looking lady... you have no sense of ettiequte."

"Elegant lady? You believe I am elegant?"

He dropped her wrist to the grass floor. "Get to talking."

Elodie sat back, sighing deeply. "You already know who I actually am. Do you insist on hearing it from my lips?"

Her lack of care to claiming the identity of a murderous witch shocked him beyond measure. Still, Adam spoke up.

"If you were Elodie, you would have killed me by now" He said matter-a-factly.

"No." Elodie found her voice grow serious. "I would not kill you. I would never hurt you." She said.

The man kept eye contact with her, only turning away after moments. "Then why did you kill so many others?"

Elodie looked down at her hands. "Killed so many others?" She repeated slowly.

"So many soldiers, noblemen, the Queen."

A scoffed left Elodie's lips, clenching her fists. "That's right. That is what they told people, isn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" Adam started to feel frustrated. She wasn't answering any of his questions directly. "I was one of the people on the front line. The reason for my memory loss is-"

"When you saw me at the ball, I looked familiar, didn't I?"

"Yes, because you are Elodie." He said with assurance in his memory. "I met you on the battlefield. You were the one who killed the Queen."

Elodie placed her hand on his cheek, stopping him from talking. He looked at her, surprised to see a hurt expression on her face.

"When I rubbed your cheek, just like this, did you..." she paused, was she choking on her words? "Did you not feel anything?"

Adam went silent. Something about her actions was giving him a headache. And for some reason, his heart started to ache. But aside from this all he could feel was the cool hand of a woman pressed to his skin. Nothing more.

He was starting to feel lightheaded, like something in the back of his mind was trying to come forward, but he didn't know what it was.

Elodie quickly brought her other hand to the other side of his face, holding his face as she forced him to look at her. "Adam. Do you truly not remember who I am?"

He groaned, averting her gaze entirely. The ache in his heart grew stronger and the pressure in his head was squeezing. Something was trying to force its way out of his mind. But for some reason, he felt as though he shouldn't allow it to.

Adam could no longer focus his gaze on anything around him.

Sensing this, Elodie tried to pull her hands away, standing up from her spot in the grass.

Adam quickly grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Wait... Elodie..."

He remembered such a familiar scene, both of them had sat in the grass like this before. Or, had they?

Just as the thought vanished from his mind, Adam's vision blacked, he fell back, falling into to the grass as he passed out.

Elodie had only stood because she heard someone coming. Royal Guards.

She looked behind her hearing her name, seeing his unconscious figure, she cursed. "Bloody hell... Adam? Adam?"

He wouldn't wake up. Elodie clenched her fists, looking around. There were footsteps coming closer to the both of them. Multiple.

She could probably knock them all out, but it would take too long and more would soon come. The hologram trick already used up some of her magic. She needed time to recover.

'I have no choice but to take him with me. I refuse to leave him to the hands of Isabella again.' Elodie thought to herself. She bent down and picked him up with a grunt, his arm around her neck as she supported his body.

"Here! I heard something!" a voice approached. The footsteps got closer.

By the time they arrived, Elodie and Adam had already vanished from the grass maze, no where to be seen.

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Elodie huffed as she dropped him onto the bed. Immediately after she sat next to him, collecting her breath.

Her body wasn't used to using so much magic in a small amount of time. Especially teleporting with another person. She sighed, glancing at Adam.

His brows were furrowed together, his face scrunched in pain. Elodie frowned. She hovered her hand over his face briefly before pulling her hand away. His scrunched expression slowly relaxed.

'I need to put a protection guard on the room. They will start tracing magic soon.' Elodie thought. She stood up and went to the middle off the room pressing her palms together. She closed her eyes.

There was a dim, green light radiating from her hands, engulfing the room before disappearing. Slowly lowering her hands, Elodie opened her eyes.

Her knees buckled, she fell fast into the floor. Breathing heavily as she collected herself, Elodie stared at the wooden ground of the inn.

'I need to stop using magic. I'm overworking myself...' She thought. She stood up with her hands, glancing at Adam. 'I promise to not take advantage of you, I just need to rest as well.'

With another wave of her arm, Elodie was changed into another dress, a simpler, cute nightgown. Her hair in a bun above her head.

She laid on the bed, being sure to leave space between herself and Adam.

"....."

She sighed.

"I really want to hold his hand..."