I try to break out of a headlock, but it is of no use; I am being picked up and dragged into the washroom. The hallway is a good cover and no one from the lounge has noticed. No one has come to my rescue. The music is so loud that my struggle can''t be heard unless someone happened to be at an arm’s length. Fatigue evaporates; I am wide-awake, fighting to break free. Everything is happening in slow motion. It is just a couple of seconds. What did I do wrong and why am I being attacked?


    The attacker drags me into a stall. I can hear the latch of the stall door click shut behind me.


    “Stop freaking out it’s just me.” The voice says in a rushed hiss. I stop struggling and he lets me go. I turn to face him.


    “Sit? Why did you grab me like that?” I am so irritated.


    “I wasn''t certain that you would stay and chat with me.” Sit answers exasperated.


    “You think that I am on her side?” I say with arms crossed and looking up at him.


    “Well, you have a motive.”


    “And what is that? That I risk bringing my mother and other sister, Saydira into the mix because I left Rosaleen who will go after them. On the other hand, is it that I enjoy the company of my attacker''s wife? When Shaylo figures out that, I was the one who sentenced her husband to death and then finished him off myself. Should I just stay in her company and let her kill me?”


    He rolls his eyes and replies, “Okay sorry, it''s just that I didn''t see it like that.”


    “How did you see it?” I cross my arms and lean against the wall of the stall.


    “I thought that you had become her ally, I thought that your motive was freedom and that the entire prison thing had become too much for you to manage.”


    I sigh and let my breath escape my lips, “It was, but look at the situation you and Newlyn put me in. With being your captive, I needed to act the part. When Shaylo made a break for it, what did you expect me to do; tell her; oh, I will hang back in this horse stall?”


    “Sorry,” he shrugs, “Well, I’m happy that I found you safe.” Sit rubs my arms in a half-hearted embrace and smiles shyly.


    I whisper, “Thanks, I missed you and wondered if you would find us. I thought that you and Newlyn would not have thought to look this far?”


    “We figured after a rigorous search of the island that you had managed to leave. We are on good terms with the other islanders and no offense, but you two would not have been able to stay hidden with them so I trusted my gut that no one was harboring escaped prisoners in their home.”


    “Makes sense” I smirk.


    “Enough of this let me take you back. You are no longer obligated to continue in this act. We can leave now, and Shaylo will never know what happened.”


    “Sit, I can''t, please don''t make me leave?”


    “But why Taylan, you can leave this all behind and forget it ever happened.”


    “I have invested so much into this, and I feel like I am so close to having this play out and finish. There is no point of taking me now?”


    “What do you mean?”


    “I don''t need rescuing; I am safe for now and the whole point of tracking us down was to stop Shaylo from getting to the Palace. We are only about a day away and your saving me isn’t stopping her. You can''t stop her unless you confront her when she is without her friend, or the other way would be, if you ousted me for being her husband’s killer. Her motive is her husband’s safety. Trust me. I am fine. This won''t play out the way Rosaleen and Newlyn had hoped for, but regardless, it will play out.” I see a change in Sit, an understanding, or tolerance.


    “I won''t return to Newlyn and tell her that any of this happened.” He says.


    “I should hope not, I don''t think that they would take your failure lightly, or my stance on this.”


    “I’ll follow you and stay hidden so that Shaylo doesn''t suspect. I need you to do something for me?”


    “What?” I ask and wait for his proposal.


    “We need to try to slow her down so that we give Rosaleen the chance to conduct her own plan at the Palace. We need to get Shaylo away from these people and her friend. I can try to stop her, but I can’t do it here with so many people around.”


    “I can try my best and see what I can do.” I say to him.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    “I can live with that.” He answers. We embrace while still locked in the washroom stall and seem to come to sense of our own surroundings. I laugh at the thought that we just had a deep conversation next to a toilet. The laugh is contagious.


    “We got to get you out of here.” I say as I managed to hold in a giggle while trying to stay focused.


    “There is no need, you leave first, return to Shaylo and her friend. Pretend that this never happened.” He says with a brave smile and longing eyes. I can feel it, he does not want me to leave, and I can feel he does not want to let me go.


    “Sit I will miss you. Geez I hope this all pans out so that we can see each other sooner than later.” I hold onto him and lose myself in time. I am not sure how long we are together although it is only a moment, or two. In unison, our eyes meet. I look up into those clear blue eyes of his; he leans down and gives me an intense kiss. I just want to stay with him. He is warm, tender and I want more. He does too, but we force ourselves to end the bliss, he nudges me.


    “Go, you have to.” He asserts. I give him one last hug, a kiss on his cheek, and then leave the washroom. Oddly, there is still absolutely no one else in the washroom, but Sitrus in the stall and me just giving myself a final check in the vanity mirror.


    I leave and my heart aches. All kidding aside, I knew that I have developed feelings for him even under the strange circumstance, but never thought that I would ever long for him this much. Leaving him brings me to the realization that Sitrus means much more to me than I had ever thought.


    Down the hall I walk, a man brushes passed me entering the men’s washroom. I hear him say a gentle excuse me as he passes. I enter the lounge. Nothing seems to have changed. The atmosphere is that of fun and laughter, people dancing and friends enjoying each other’s company. The only thing that seems to be different is that Shaylo and Oden are not where I left them. I see this before approaching the round white leather couch; however, I don''t veer off my intended destination. I stand there for a moment looking around for a sign of them, but only catch a few glimpses from strangers’ curious glances. They have not been gone for long because their empty drinks have not been picked up, and no one has taken over our spot. I decide to sit and wait for them. A server walks over; picking up the empty glasses and says to me, “I was asked to tell you that your friends are just outside.” They are not my friends.


    “Are we all paid up?” I ask to be polite; regardless, I have no kiros anyway.


    “Yes, your friend covered the tab.” The server answers.


    “Okay great.”


    “Have a good night.” She smiles, leaving with a full tray.


    Well, that is weird. Why would they be outside? They had not really shown much of a desire to leave anytime soon. I have a strange feeling that something isn''t right. I casually get up and approach the exit, sure enough the two of them have continued their catching up outside. I come out into the warm night, and they spot me, waving me over.


    “What are you two doing out here?” I ask.


    Shaylo answers, “I know you’re tired and I am to, I figured that we would call it a night.”


    Oden pipes up, “You are both welcome to stay at my home for the evening. It’s not an inconvenience.”


    Shaylo answers before I open my mouth to speak. “Thanks, so much Oden, but I am afraid that we have an early start to our day tomorrow, we wouldn''t want to disturb you. We are going to find a quiet place to rest for the night and tomorrow we will make our way to the Palace.” Before Oden can make a second attempt at convincing her otherwise, Shaylo cuts right to it, “Thank you so much for the diner and drinks. I can''t remember the last time that I enjoyed myself as much as I did this evening.” She gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “When I see my better half, I will tell him how well you treated my friend and me.”


    I must take note of how Shaylo does that. She has Izavelle''s skill with having a good relationship with others, but also, she is good with transitioning and does it in a way that doesn''t make it sound short or cut off. She also pays attention to the feelings of others.


    Oden smiles and pulls her in for one last hug, “It was so good to see you again have a safe trip and say hello to Shrago for me.”


    “I will and thank you.” Shaylo puts her arm into mine like a chain link and we walk in the opposite direction that Oden is headed. We head back to the shore and through the park, down the boardwalk. I am beyond tired, but after seeing Sit I have butterflies in my stomach and have a much-needed boost to get me through this last leg. We walk in silence. Normally I would question her on where we are going next, or what are we going to eat, or where we should rest; come to think about it, where are we going to rest? At the beginning of the night, I would have guessed that Shaylo would have taken Oden up on his offer to rest at his home, but I guess with no money to pay to stay at an inn I guess we are camping outside like we have been doing. I doubt that she is going to have us travel by night and I know she has been up as long as I have so travel at this hour is completely out of the question. I decide to keep quiet and just wait out until she decides for us. I think I have done well for myself playing the part of Shaylo''s partner and the chemistry between us is amicable. This could have gone bad, but it hasn’t, and I can honestly say that I am proud of myself for being so strong and give myself an invisible pat on the back.


    We walk back to the spot in the forest where we left our solar suits. I pay little attention to Shaylo and instead get to work with finding a comfortable spot to rest my eyes for the night. There is not much of a breeze, which is good because the temperature is comfortable without the wind. The trees are a good barrier from the ocean. I crouch down but hesitate because the sound of Shaylo''s footsteps approach me from behind.


    “Shaylo, I didn''t think I would ever get to rest with the way you and your friend were catching up.” I decide on resting up against a tree trunk, back against the trunk and my legs extended. I look up at her; she is only a shadow in the moonlight. “I was so sure you were going to take your friend’s offer at a nice comfy bed.” I cross my arms to a comfortable position. “Your decisions always surprise me.” There is a moment of silence, and I blink to try to get a better look at Shaylo, but it is of no use she is still just a shadowy silhouette in my vision.


    “You sure had me fooled.” A stern voice projects into the night.


    “Shaylo, what are you talking about, can''t we just put whatever it is aside and get some rest? We can talk about it in the morning.” My heart is starting to race. Does she know about Sitrus’s visit?


    “You can stop pretending. I heard everything.”