Chapter 15

Paige POV

“I thought you were ignoring me,”

I mumbled, fondling the petals in between my fingers,

“I was,”

“Was... So that means you're no longer pretending I am not in the room,” I smirked,

“Listen, we are not friends... We are not enemies either, it's just that my loyalty... It stands with the crown until the day I die,”

To hear a man speak like that is truly sad, he is so blinded by allegiance he can't even hear how stupid he sounds. What was it about Crown that made people devoted to him, pretending as if he is worthy of their love and praises, what there a side of him I look over, or were they fools, drowning in sin, clutching into Arlington, their straw of hope?

“What is it about him... That makes you think, you have to be loyal, what about you? What's your story?”

“My story is still ongoing Paige, I am still alive aren't I?”

“True,” I whispered, walking away from him, hoping he would follow,

“But there must be life before this... All this,”

“That's the thing, Paige, there isn't... I grew up in crime until I became apart of it. You know what they say... You live by the gun, you die by it,”

“You're a weird man Miguel,” I chuckled lowly “What makes you think that,”

“Because here you are prophesizing your own death to me,”

“Paige... About the other day, when we...” He stammered, inflicting me to turn around gazing back at him,

“Our lips... It touched and I—”

“You what ignored me? I thought we were already past that Miguel, and it's not like we kissed, our lips barely touched,”

“You're the one who kept locked away in your room for days Paige, not me...”

“So now I am the blame?”

“No, that's not what—”

“Paige... Miguel, what a surprise to see you here,” Priscilla observed Miguel carrying a tray in her lands,

“Mary told me you haven't had breakfast yet, and I could find you out here, I didn't expect to find you with Miguel,” she shifted her gaze to him again.

What is this really about I thought, are they, ex-lovers, because it seems to me, Priscilla here is sounding a little jealous.

“I am sorry... What's this about? Because it sounds as if you don't approve of Miguel's company,”

Chuckling lightly, she walked toward the table, setting the tray down. Looking at each other than quickly looking away, Miguel, scratched the back of his neck, while I caressed my throat, this is awkward.

“Forgive me,” Priscilla approached us again, “for snooping around, I had no place, to do such a thing... Paige,” she nodded to me, before walking off, not acknowledging Miguel,

“What did you do to piss her off,” I chuckled,

“I didn't, we never really spoke, I just pass on messages from Crown to her, but now that it has discontinued she thinks I have something to do with it,”

So it's Priscilla, the woman I heard, they are...well were sleeping together, and I accused poor Mary, I assume she was lying when I saw the marks on her neck, they weren't love bites, “The river,” I whispered, they were really back swimmers that had bitten her,

“You have been there?” Miguel raised his eyebrow, inquiring about what I mistakenly blurted out,

“No... Mary... She told me about it once,”

“I can take you there... If you like, you could have a picnic, by the riverside,”

“Picnic? Sounds like you're inviting me on a date,”

“I said you can have a picnic... Not me,”

“Fine,” I snickered, walking away from him, “Take me there, take me to the river,”

“Wise decision,” he scrambled behind me, picking up the tray from the table, “Best to enjoy the view before you leave here,”

“Leave?” I glared at him, folding the cloth that once covered the table, we— I can use it as a picnic rug,

“Yeah, He is planning to release you, eventually,”

“That's eventually...you don't know that,” I clutch on to the fabric,

“That's the thing, Paige... I do know,”

What did he mean, did Arlington tell him that he was going to release me, or was this Miguel being silly,

“Well,” he added, “Let's go,” he leads the way, out of the garden and into the meadows,

“How do you know that Arlington will release, did he tell you himself?”

“I know because I know Crown, you will see,”

“Oh,” I mumbled, walking closely behind him,

We have been walking for a few minutes, five... Maybe more, and though the low dried grass brushing against my legs felt as if I was walking on clouds, I was not enough to keep me distracted from what Miguel said. Is Arlington really planning on letting me go? How I am going to survive out there, alone in this cruel without any family, what will become of me.

“I hope you're not thinking too hard about what I said, Arlington will do anything to protect, thought you knew this from our first encounter,”

“Not because he stopped you from killing me means he cares,” I snarled,

“True, but usually he doesn't stop me,”

“Are you saying... He kills women and children,”

“He doesn't,” he answered coldly,

“But you do?” I asked, but he said nothing, he kept walking ahead of me,

“Earlier you asked me what's my story, my life before meeting Arlington,” Miguel slowed down, glancing back at me over his shoulders,

“But that's the thing, I had no life. I was just a homeless kid, running from social services when Mr. Crown found me,”

“Arlington?”

“No, his father. He took me in, fed me, clothed me, trained me, now I am one of the best,”

“Where was Arlington at that time?” My lips parted, curious about the rest of Miguel's story, or maybe I was curious about Arlington, “He was around, watching each day when I trained, jealous actually, always finds himself in a heated argument with his father about the fact that he was older yet still the stranger was shooting targets, winning combats,”

“You two... Grew up together?”

“I didn't say that,” he uttered.

I heard it before I saw it, the river. The curves around the trees, whispering along with its endless streaming. The clear water, clear enough to see the multicolored sandstones at its shallow depth, it's beautiful, I thought.

“Mind setting that down,” Miguel nudged his head towards the cloth in my hands,

“Sorry,” I mumbled, spreading the cloth in the rocky ground, “I was too captivated by this place,”

“I understand, I still remember the first day I saw it, it's formerly etched in the back of my head, burning a scar on my skull,”

“Here,” I mumbled, “You can set it down now,”

Sitting on the fabric, I reached out, touching his shoulders as he lay the tray down, “And it's we... We are having a picnic,”

“Fine,” he smiled, handsome guy, I thought.

I didn't even realize what was on the tray until now, strawberries, diced pineapples, scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, a medium bottle of orange juice,

“There is no cup,”

“Don't worry about me Paige, I am a resourceful man, plus I am not really hungry,”

Eating in small portions, I kept quiet, listening and enjoying the music of nature around us, even the air smelt different out here,

“Running low on vocabulary Paige? It's bothering how you have no more silly questions for me,” Miguel reached for a piece of fruit,

“Can you swim?”

“I should have kept my mouth shut,” he snickered, “Of course I can, can you?”

Vivid images flashed before me, recollecting moments of Morris and his men trying to drown in that bathtub in the dungeon,

“No,” I mumbled, “Terrified of the water,”

“Come,” he stood up, “Let me show you a trick,”

Raising to my feet, I took his hand, hesitating as he marched into the water,

“I think this is far enough,” I complained, staring down at the water they barely cover my ankles,

“Don't be silly, Come—”

“Miguel,” I cried out, pulling him back, our faces a few feet apart, “I— am scared,”

Tucking my hair behind my ear, he held my cheek, stroking it with his thumb,

“It's ok... We— we can go back,” he whispered, ogling down on my lips, before crashing his onto them, my first kiss.

Pulling away, I forced my eyes shut, avoiding his stare while I hugged my body, “I think we should get back,”

Our walk back was quiet, Miguel packed the empty dishes into the fabric, trying it into a little bag, carrying it over his shoulders with the tray tuck led under his arm. From where we stood we see men... Boys, hurrying from a bus, what's going on? I asked myself.

“Who are they?”

“Recruits,”

“For what?”

“Do you think Arlington cultivates men... We recruit them, Paige,”

Oh my God, they were the next batch of possible killers,

“Arlington is going to train them to kill,”

“Not Arlington,”

“You...” I whispered, “You are going to teach them,”

“See you later Paige,” we were now into the garden, him walking away, leaving me there “Teach me,” I wailed, causing him to stop in his path, “Teach me how to kill.”