Stepping forward, she took a huge gulp of breath and held it in her chest as she reached for the door handle.
It was oddly warm to the touch and when Fleur opened the door and stepped inside the room she could see why. The room was bathed in warm sunlight. It came in from all sides through the open archways that served as windows and doorways out onto the tower round balcony. The vista that stretched out before her in rolling hills one way and cliffs and ocean the other was breathtaking and for a moment she entirely forgot her troublesome situation.
All she could do was stare out at the scenery, the colorful birds soaring through the sky, the bees that danced around the flower boxes on the balcony, the large room she stood in that was all white marble and climbing ivy, a room left to nature's beauty yet filled with all the necessary things a royal might need.
There had to be some mistake. This room was fit for a princess, not a prisoner. Fleur turned back to the door to ask the captain what was going on but as she turned the door slammed shut and she heard the metallic sound of a bolt sliding home.
Bile rose once more in her throat. She had been locked in.
Restless and with little to do but wait to know her fate, Fleur wandered about the room, examining the furniture and everything inside the room. The scenery outside was just too beautiful and she couldn't bear the thought that it might be the last beautiful view she ever saw.
She had just opened up one of the floor to ceiling silver birch wardrobes when she heard the bolt in the door sliding back.
It was dusk and the setting sun had cast the room in brilliant orange light yet the man who stepped into the room was an ominously dark presence.
His tall stature and broad shoulders were oddly familiar even beneath his cape yet his hood was pulled down, casting his face in shadow.
"Do you find the room acceptable?" His voice was deep and gravely, also oddly familiar. He kept his face turned down, the hood pulled forward as if he did not wish to be seen.
Fleur quickly closed the wardrobe and moved to the center of the room before answering. "I would much prefer to be with My Lady."
It wasn't just loyalty to her mistress which made her say the words, it was missing what she knew. At Delilah's side she was safe, she knew her purpose and she went about her business with as little chaos as possible. Here, she had no idea what she was doing or what she needed to do.
"Is there anything I can do to make your stay here more comfortable?" the man asked, standing before the door as though he was a sentinel blocking her exit.
"You can release me and allow me to return to my mistress," Fleur said, deciding it was better to try all her options.
"I am afraid I cannot do that," the man responded, shaking his head, though the hood remained firmly in place. "Make another request."
Fleur held her breath, wondering. There was nothing save for being released that would make her feel more comfortable.
"I would be more comfortable if I could see the face of the man I am talking to," she admitted, hoping that perhaps baby steps might get her to why she had been arrested in the first place.
She saw the man's shoulders tense beneath his cloak and he straightened up until he towered over her. He must have been well over six feet. Even for a fae, he was tall.
Fleur found herself gulping with fear at the imposing presence that now stood before her. She sucked in a breath and held it as the man slowly reached up his hands to take hold of his hood.
"Are you sure you wish to see my face? Once you have seen it, you may never unsee it," he warned her.
What is wrong with him? Is he horribly disfigured or something? Fleur gulped once more before nodding. "I am sure."
When the hood was pulled back the first thing Fleur saw was the golden coronet that circled the man's head. Her heart leaped into her throat and she took an involuntary step back, dropping down into a curtsey. "Your Grace!"
King Theo growled deep in his throat.
"Don't do that," he snapped. "You never used to do that. I always loved that about you."
"Do what?" Fleur asked. Her heart still hammering, she forced herself to stand. Her knees had grown weak and she struggled to stay on her feet with how badly they were trembling.
"Don't be overly respectful. Don't curtsey and trip over your words as if I am a God," Theo insisted, his stormy eyes roiling with emotion. "Leave that to those fools."
He gestured behind him and Fleur got the distinct impression that by 'those fools', he meant the people of his court.
Fleur opened her mouth to speak but found she didn't have a clue what to say.
Theo broke the silence for her. "While we are in here, I wish for us to be equals."
Me? Equal to a king? That's impossible!