Not hearing Artemis walking behind him, Alexander turned around to find her far behind him with her hand placed over her chest. "What's happening? Is it already time for you to go back? Is your chest hurting you?" He bombarded her with questions as he walked back to her.
Artemis's expression hadn't changed when he came back to her and for Alexander, she was looking at him like she had just seen a ghost. He hoped she didn't actually see one. "Artemis?" He called out to her and reached out to touch her but she quickly stepped out of his grasp. "Don't tell me that you are seriously upset about me touching you? I did that to help you and I like to think that you could trust me even a tiny bit given the amount of time we spent together and the bracelet on my arm."
Artemis didn't reply to what he had to say and continued to keep her distance. Right now, she could only think of the reason her body felt strange was that she didn't like being touched. She had never felt this strange emotion where for a moment her heart ached. "Touch me again," she told him in an attempt to test out if it happened all because he had simply touched her.
Alexander was bewildered by her request but since the bracelet placed him under her command, he did as requested and touched her again. This time, she hadn't moved away like he was the most disgusting thing on this earth.
"It wasn't that," Artemis muttered, confused by what caused the strange feeling. Had he poisoned her when she wasn't looking? But where on earth would he have gotten the poison when he was trapped in the forest and it wasn't like a mere human poison could kill her. What was it about him a moment ago that caused her to feel that way?
Was it his siren side finally showing? But she had been touched by a siren before and never felt like this. Artemis placed her hand over her mouth coming to the conclusion that this could be his mother's doing. She might be taking revenge on Artemis for making her son a prisoner. This was the most reasonable explanation she could come up with but unfortunately for his mother, she wasn't going to be letting go of her son any time soon.
Artemis was prepared for whatever the siren planned to throw her way. It wasn't like what happened had hurt her. It only felt strange as it was foreign to her.
Alexander placed his hands on his hips and looked up to the sky before back at Artemis. She said it had nothing to do with his touch but her facial expressions had been changing from confused and disgusted. "Did I do something wrong now? I apologize for touching you. Next time I will allow you to fall and then be blamed right after. I won't touch you ever again if that will make you stop looking at me so strangely."
"It wasn't because you touched me. Your mother must be still alive and looking to do something strange to me. Let's keep some distance between the two of us until I can confirm what it was that made me feel that way." The feeling was long gone but her guard would still be up.
"I have no idea what you're talking about but sure. Where do you want to go? To the town, a village, or somewhere else?" She was zoning out so much that he saw it best if he was the one to lead them to wherever it is she wanted to go.
"I'm fine and you won't know the place I want to go. It's nearby the temple I took you to-"
"Kidnapped me from," Alexander corrected her.
"Why must you bring up the whole kidnapping thing? You and I have become acquaintances since then so there is no need for you to use that word. You know what, it's better to say that I saved you, Alexander. Had I not saved you there would be a wedding going on right about now. Think about it. Would you rather be saved by me or be married to the princess?"
In Alexander's eyes, they were both equally bad options but he would go with being saved by Artemis. He had been around Catherine for many years to know he wouldn't last a day being married to her. Catherine was spoiled and wanted things to be her way or she'll throw a tantrum. She was so determined to be with him that she would agree with everything he said in hopes of pleasing him.
If Alexander was to ever get married in the future, he didn't want a wife who agreed with everything he said and didn't have an opinion of her own. More importantly, he didn't want someone who looked down on others who didn't share the same wealth. He liked to mingle and help others in need while Catherine liked to stay with people who were born with a golden spoon in their mouths.
"Can you please stop bringing up an engagement I had no parts in? I was never going to marry the princess even if you hadn't kidnapped me. And I don't enjoy being kidnapped by you."
"Why? I haven't hurt you. In fact, the few times that you were hurt, you did that to yourself by disobeying the bracelet I placed on your hand and the other time, it was because my pets dragged you to the forests. I'm innocent here," Artemis declared since she hadn't hurt one strand of hair on his pretty little head.
"You might be the first kidnapper I have heard say what they've done is innocent."