Chapter 18

Chapter 18: You’re Coming With Me

“Are you in pain?”

His question had paused her from taking the first initiative as she stared confusingly at the man who remained oddly composed on a rock, dressed in a black outfit which she recalled to be from a guard who had followed her into the dark forest.

They weren’t completely out yet but based on how the trees had split up and the canopies feathering themselves high above to the point of light penetration, she could tell they were already reaching the outskirts of another village.

Squinting her eyes suspiciously at the good-looking being in front of her, she doubts he was among those guards. His looks were enough to make her doubt cause truth be told, the man before her was neither handsome nor ugly.

His looks was one that reminded her of those fairytale prince’s she once read in storybooks during her childhood but she never believed such men with that amount of beauty existed.....well, she never believed until now.

His skin was so spotless, smooth and naturally pale, but what mesmerized her more was the eyes she was staring into while trying not to break her resolve, they looked so rare, so beautiful and yet so familiar, almost like a strange sense of deja Vu had hit her.

Those feminine long lashes she noticed the moment he closed his eyes earlier made her jealous. They looked so thick, so dark and extremely long she secretly wished she could pull them out and give it to her own lashes instead.

.....

His hair plunged over his shoulder in a midnight black, looking soft and silky to the touch. He looked attractively lean with broad shoulders and lean muscles. If she were to count to a hundred men in Euphrasia who were handsome, with all of them combined, their charms were nowhere close to this stranger sitting before her.

As handsome as he looked, the dark energy emanating from him and the icy expression in his eyes scared her weak soul as she kept up with the pretense of being brave, she tried not to forget his question while keeping her own expression fierce as well.

Was she meant to be in pain before?

Cracking her brain further, she faintly remembered her knee was hurt while trying to leave the dark forest and vivid images of her being shot with an arrow played in her head, reminding her of her earlier actions when she opened an unknown door and called for help.

The moment she got a chance to recall everything that happened, she was distracted, giving the being a chance to steal the opportunity and snatch her sword right from her grip, with such quick movements that Annalise never saw it coming.

“You_”

Without enough time to react to his unexpected advances, he was already on his feet, pointing the tip of her own blade directly at her face instead. She stared into those hazel-green eyes as she slowly retreated backwards. As beautiful as they might look, she has never come across such eyes that looked as cold as this one to the point it made her shiver. So unreadable, expressionless......lifeless.

“Who are you?” She didn’t even realize she was already out of breath until she uttered that question, feeling the cold sharp blade being threateningly placed at the nape of her neck, reminding her he could kill her like a bug with just a little movement of his hand if she dared to act smarter than this.

“I don’t see how that actually holds any importance to you.” He sneered bitterly, he was a man filled with a thousand burning rage that couldn’t be quenched until he was done with the people of Euphrasia.

“I can bring back the pain, the same way I took them away.” He emphasized while Annalise glared in response, feeling her back hit a tree as it stopped her movement. Truly, she was shot, so she was meant to be in pain, but strangely she wasn’t.

“That didn’t answer my question. What happened to the guards?” Her heart raced at the thought of what she might have done. The physician warned her about the devil which was sealed inside the forbidden temple and in reference to that, she came across a seal door which she had stupidly opened up due to her state. Then the figure in the shadows, was it just her imagination or was there actually someone in it?

Despite her heart already knowing the truth, she couldn’t accept it, she couldn’t possibly have freed something she knew nothing about.

“I killed them.” He took a step closer, “and I’m going to do the same to you if you keep standing here in the next five minutes.”

He drew the blade back, giving her some space to make a run for it before he changes his mind at any moment. A look of relief expressed in her eyes but before she got a chance to run out, she stopped.

Almost like a thought had hit her and her expression changed. She immediately went on her knees and clutched onto his leg, holding it tight and leaving the being baffled by her act.

“Forgive me for my unruly act, you’re indeed a savior and I thank you for it, but I promise I’ll leave if you give a response to my one important que_”

She wasn’t even done speaking when he crouched before her, startling Anna to her wits, afraid she might have angered the unknown stranger and truly, she did after sensing the building rage glinting in those gorgeous eyes of his, causing a shocking gasp to escape from her lips cause it looked like he was serious about that five minutes.

What was he? A killer? And why does he look so upset?

“You barely know me.” He started off with a very strange, yet calm voice as he looked her petite body over before meeting her gaze, “what response do you possibly think I can offer? Aren’t you afraid that I can kill you?”

The thought of dying frightened Annalise as she looked away, most especially when it reminded her that even if he doesn’t kill her, she’d end up dying anyway if this birthmark isn’t removed soon, and she doesn’t want to die just yet.

“If you wanted to, you’d have done that even before I woke up. Why didn’t you?”

“I’m with the sword, so I get to ask the questions here.” He silenced her up with the sword hanging on her neck once again. But something fell from her waist at that moment as it cluttered to the ground, catching both their attention but Annalise didn’t dare to move as it could risk her throat to be easily slit.

She watched the devilishly handsome being eye whatever it was that dropped from her dress and when he picked it up, it was the golden badge her physician gave to her before she left Euphrasia, the badge which belonged to her father and before she got a chance to speak, the stranger’s expression seemed to have darkened further in a way she couldn’t understand.

“You’re from Euphrasia?” He asked without looking at her, the anger in his eyes was becoming visible the more he stared at the badge, surprising her that it made her wonder if he recognized it, but before she knew it, he grabbed her arm and roughly made her stand up to her feet.

“Ah! You’re hurting me!” Anna complained the more his hold around her arm tightened, like he wanted to crush her bone and she looked at him with glaring eyes. She couldn’t understand why seeing the badge added fire to his mood but he suddenly stopped and whispered.

“You’re coming with me.”

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The Baroness Misbehaves