Zeven was grateful for the glasses he wore that let him see the small changes her face made throughout the day. Before, he would have to have been inches from her to see the way her nose scrunched or make out the shape of her eyes as they squinted in the sunlight. But now he could see them clear as day.
In the moment their eyes met, a thousand possible universes disappeared, leaving the one where neither of them acknowledged the other.
Chris continued to the mast where their horses were hitched, but Zeven had other plans.
The town was only a short distance from Brennan and Mae's house. Just far enough to be considered a light walk, but no further. It was pointless to take the horses out only to re-hitch them minutes later. Zeven figured that the walk may also prove beneficial to Chris.
She had been sequestered inside for so long as she studied and sought an answer to her freedom, that she had also missed her freedom as it was given. Zeven could only speculate what it had been like for her in her kingdom, but he figured that at least what he had given to her had been less restrictive than where she had come from. From what he could gather, she was almost imprisoned behind the stone walls of the palace. isolated from others and only brought out like special china that one owns to impress guests who happen to visit on occasion.
But in the past two weeks, Zeven had begun to see that she was a reservoir of untapped potential, all she needed was a chance to prove it. In the span of days she devised solutions to problems that had plagued his country for years. all in hopes of finding some impossible answer. There was no answer to creating a lasting peace between their countries and Zeven knew this. It was only a short time before Chris realized it as well.
Originally the bet was a distraction, a diversion to keep her placated until her resolve wore out. But from what he could see, he severely underestimated her. And for that he almost felt bad. Her whole life she had been overlooked and brushed aside, only used as a figurehead, but inside her was a stronger person than anyone realized.
He didn't see it at first, no one did. But bit by bit, it started to show. Zeven was more frustrated that he hadn't even been the first person to realize it. Brennan had been. In the letters he sent from his time in her army outlined exactly that. her cunning, her resolve. In those letters, Brennan told how Chris could formulate a plan that would rival his own. And if her army had followed her plans instead of the ones given by the other generals, who's to say how the war would have ended.
Zeven walked a few steps in front of her as he led her into town, but she kept in stride easily. Matching each step he made, she followed like his shadow. As the town grew ever closer, Zeven decidedly stopped and pulled his hood to cover his hair and obscure his face, turning he grabbed Chris's hood and pulled it up over her head as well. Then with great reverence, he looped his arm under hers and escorted her the rest of the way into the town.
Chris attempted to pull her arm back, making it clear that she did not approve of his gesture, but Zeven's grip tightened.
"It is far less conspicuous for a couple to be gallivanting about. And with the skirt, who knows you may attract unwanted attention without me."
"This was your idea," she huffed at him, "I didn't want to wear it in the first place."
"Fine. All joking aside the skirt is for my own personal benefit."
Chris looked like she could scream, but Zeven cut her off before she had the chance to go on a tangent, "Don't twist it that way. Unfortunately, I get quite a few advances from others that I would rather avoid at the moment. And let's be honest, you make a rather attractive man which would only make the situation worse."
Hidden under the cloak, he didn't look as striking as he usually did, and she noticed the way he slouched forward enough that he was only an inch or two taller than she was. With her hair also hidden, they didn't look out of place in the small town.
The streets were lined with vendors of all kinds, from foods to fabrics, silverware to swords. There were temporary tents set up along the sidewalk to house the sellers.
Chris figured it must have been a festival or parade day of some kind, because the town itself seemed rather small to house such a large market place. She walked alongside Zeven, every so often looking over at him to try and figure out what he was thinking. But it did her no good. It was impossible to tell whether the calm look on his face was there by choice or by nature.
They walked up the street a ways, completely immersing themselves in the crowd. If Chris noticed Zeven pulling her in towards himself more, she didn't say anything. He moved to the side of her injured shoulder as the population grew denser, she didn't say anything then either. however when his arm snaked around the small of her waist, she instinctively jumped away from him.
Before she could go crashing into one of the people around her Zeven caught her, but the damage had already been done. His hood dropped off his head, exposing him to the crowd. Easily pulling it back up, he shot Chris a look of warning to be more careful. As he scanned the area to see if anyone had seen something they shouldn't have, his eyes caught something.
His brow creased and his lips pulled into a thin line. when his hand wrapped around her waist again she didn't pull away, instead moving with him away from the bulk of people. She looked around as they moved, but that was the wrong choice as Zeven squeezed her waist to stop her.