The play was starting soon. It appeared to be quite popular as nearly all the seats were full. The last two rows were left suspiciously empty. The pair shuffled their way to the available seats. Eliza sat back, grateful for Artizia’s height. With a little adjustment she was able to see the stage quite clearly, and with her eyesight, the stage looked as clear as it would if she were in the front row.
This was a pleasant surprise. She would have expected front row seats to have been booked prior to their visit — whatever the reason was for this oversight, Eliza was grateful. She preferred being away from the attention.
She had just taken a sip of her drink when the lights dimmed and a telltale hush fell. A minute passed in near silence, with customary anonymous coughing and clearing of throats occasionally breaking the quiet.
The lights and music came on abruptly, causing many to squint. The stage was set beautifully. Even though Eliza came from a world of big budget movies with fantastical special effects, she was impressed. Her eyes didn’t stray from the stage as the show began– she might even have forgotten to blink.
At some point, she had ended up with the tub of popcorn. The seats didn’t have cupholders so it was balanced on her thigh between them to give them both access. Their fingers bumped on occasion as both reached in without looking.
It was a pity that Eliza couldn’t look at the Duke’s face, but the way his expression froze when she had returned with only one tub of popcorn and two drinks had been well worth it. She had all but shoved the tub in his face to get him to have some. She was relieved that he had taken the hint and wasn’t avoiding her hand.
On stage, a man dressed as a soldier was shouting in terror, “The east wall has been breached, sir!”
“What?!” Roared the general. “What are the First and Second battalions doing? Tell them to stop the intruders!”
“General, lieutenant colonel of the Second battalion is requesting backup! The First battalion has fallen!” Another shout arose from across the stage.
A painful flash of white crossed Eliza’s vision, and she raised a hand to her temple.
“The enemy has breached the north wall, General!”
“Sir, there are riots in the capital—we have lost contact with Central!”
“Damn it all!”
The shouting on stage continued, but Eliza suddenly couldn’t make out what they were saying. The world swam in front of her and there was a creeping white at the edge of her vision. Her head felt like there was a balloon inside that was growing bigger, pushing at the inside of her skull.
Instinctively, she grabbed for the Duke’s hand, turning to him in panic. Their eyes barely met before everything went dark.
Alexander nearly dropped his drink in shock when a vice clamped down on his hand. He shot a sideways glance at Artizia, wondering why she had done that so suddenly. When their eyes met, he caught a glimpse of terror before her eyes rolled back and she fell forward. He reacted instinctively, leaning across to stop her body falling with his shoulder, grabbing the cup out of her failing hand, and keeping the popcorn from falling with his elbow.
It was an awkward position to be in, but he didn’t want to create a fuss. A quick look around showed their escorts approaching from the end of the row where they had been seated. Good, they had noticed. As he and Artizia had been sitting right in the back with most seats on either side empty, no one else noticed what was happening.
He held this position until one of the guards reached him. Then, he passed the two cups to the man and gingerly freed the tub from between their bodies before handing it to them too. Waving them off, he picked her up in his arms with some difficulty in the narrow space. With a silent complaint about the extra load, he nodded for them to lead the way.
Despite trying his best to remain quiet, the flurry of activity in the back row had drawn some attention. Those in the spotlight on stage were still performing, but the extras were watching them with interest.
He ignored all of this. Artizia’s breathing was quick and shallow, and the colour had drained from her face. He walked briskly, leaving the theatre and making it to the end of the street where the car was waiting. His own breathing had picked up speed and his arms were beginning to burn.
As he bundled the unconscious woman into the car, he heard one of the men report over his shoulder, “The doctor is on her way, Your Grace. She should arrive the same time that you do.”
Nodding, Alexander entered the car and they drove off. Carefully, he moved Artizia so that she was lying with her head on his lap. Her breathing had changed – now she seemed to be in deep slumber. Alexander passed a hand over her forehead, relieved that she didn’t seem to have a fever.
He dropped his hand to the side as he took a good look at his wife’s face for the first time. They had not seen each other for more than a few minutes since the wedding party, and he had not even thought about going to visit her at night.
With her eyes shut, Artizia had a softer beauty. The Azulrain bloodline was famous for its piercing golden gaze. Not every descendent inherited it, but it was a common enough trait within the family to be distinguishing. Many found it difficult to meet their eyes straight on. It was a look that seemed to see right through you. Alexander thought about the first time he had met Leo. How old had they been? Five, six? He couldn’t recall their interaction, but he remembered being intimidated by the yellow gaze that had locked onto him.
He was used to it now; even felt some comfort when he made eye contact with one of his closest friends. He turned his attention to the scenery going past. Hopefully this was nothing serious. Leo would kill him if anything happened to her.
Comments (0)
See all