The man I knew as Al smiled to himself after I left the shop kicking and screaming. He had seen Percy coming through the window and didn't bother telling me to hide, knowing that if I went back to my family's clutches there was a decent chance he could become my husband.
If I ran away he had no chance at all and would end up lonely as ever with some insignificant baron's airheaded daughter. His family did not want him having any political power, after all.
Unknowingly, I had captivated this man's heart. Al didn't have much going for him but he refused to be completely miserable like he had been before now that he had experienced a taste of sunshine.
How could he lie down and accept his fate now that he had a chance of getting what he wanted? He whistled cheerfully with his hands in his pockets as he made his way back to the palace.
On the other side of town, oblivious to what Al was thinking, I was getting the chewing out of my life.
