With Apollo gone and Trevor unconscious, no one really bothering to move the latter, Colman stared at Ruby in concern. She did not have to do that, she did not have to be Apollo's conquest of the hour and yet there she was, a sad look in her large, reddish-brown eyes and her arms held close to her body.
Extending a hand, the Young Poet placed it upon the shoulder of the Minceiri Girl. He had opened her mouth to tell Ruby that she did not have to do that, but even then, he realized that she had no choice. He was her friend and she did not want to lose him, he understood that, he just wished he could have saved her from being Apollo's conquest of the hour.
Finding his voice, Colman said: "Lets leave Dublin. We can take the first Minceiri caravan out of town and Apollo won't be able threaten either of us."
Her voice broken, Ruby replied: "I can't, Colman. I told Apollo I would do anything and I shall meet him at the Tudor Rose Inn, no matter how much I wish I did not have to. My great-uncle says that sacrifices must be made in life, I just never imagined this would be once such sacrifice."
"It doesn't have to be." Colman wished he was a better person than he was. Someone braver, stronger, someone who could not only challenge but defeat Apollo and yet he knew such hopes were useless. He merely what he was, not much of a person, not pious enough to be a member of the clergy, he was not brave enough to be a soldier, yet even then he had no desire to be, and he was not strong enough to chop wood. He was just a poet, a playwright and an orator, nothing that could help.
Wrapping her arms around him, Ruby whispered into his ear: "I know, Colman, but there are things in life that must be this way. A person' word must be kept, even if they do not like it." The Young Poet wished he could argue, but the argument was sound.