It didn't take long for either of them to get lost among a crowd of unsuspecting citizens. With so many people out shopping for toys there was enough that they'd get lost in the crowd.
All Elizabeth managed to do was keep her head down as she weaved in and out of the crowd. It was William, who continued glancing over his shoulder, barely able to keep a steady pace, as the feeling of being followed dissipated only to bounce back with force.
A few hours had passed and by now there was no crowd to hide in; William grabbed a hold of Elizabeth's arm and pulled her off into an alleyway. They ran until she collapsed from pain and exhaustion. By then they'd already ran far enough William figured they deserved a few minutes of rest.
He leaned against an overflowing dumpster while she hunched on the frozen pavement beside him. William constantly glanced around their surroundings as his patience started running extremely thin; their window of escape was closing drastically with each passing second that they spend trying to simply catch their breath.
Finally he had enough and forced her to her feet causing her to immediately cry out in pain. Glancing down he quickly found out why, Elizabeth, was barefoot and now had frostbite. William gritted his teeth, as he looked up, locking eyes with one of her future owner's men. Panic locked itself up in his throat as he grabbed onto her arm once again. Ignoring her cries and barely audible mumbling he dragged her through another alleyway.
They went down several more brick stone alleyways before Elizabeth tried to turn away from his strong grasp causing her to fall face first in the snow. William held back his laughter as the beautiful strange woman struggled to sit up. His deep brown eyes held laughter while her sapphire blues were filled with an intriguing mixture of malice, melancholy, and determination.
His heart began to beat faster as he continued staring at this beautiful woman sitting on ice cold snow and brick stone. Now more than ever he was determined to make sure she would survive. Except to do that they'd have to keep going.
The crunching sound of frozen snow underneath tire tracks causes panic to swell once again in his throat. Before he can think to tug on her arm, Elizabeth, spots a quick place to hide and takes off at a pace he has to struggle to maintain.
Upon entry they both discover a small black backpack that she quickly tears open. Inside are a tattered pair of dingy old tennis shoes, two water bottles, and a pile of ham and cheese sandwiches. Elizabeth, glances up at him with a beaming smile on her face, and before William can think to stop her she reaches for the items.
A sickening feeling causes him to back up from the backpack as one thought runs rapid with the tingling at the base of his skull; there wasn't a slim chance for them finding these things, they were placed here. Without allowing himself to continue reading into his thoughts, he stops Elizabeth from consuming any of the food, to which she glares daggers at him. He sighs and tries explaining to her that he thinks everything was placed here on purpose, her confused expression reminds him about their language barrier.
Cursing silently under his breath he watches horrified as she opens the top of the first water bottle. Without thinking to check the clear liquid she takes a few sips before placing the top back on and hurriedly stuffing her frozen feet into the dilapidated shoes. He holds his breath as she uses the wall as leverage to stand; upon realizing she hasn't fallen over a small smile etches itself across his features.
That didn't last long because no sooner had they run past the next alleyway then she started to say something and look pale. The language barrier refused to exist in that moment and somehow William knew she'd been poisoned. He muttered a string of colorful language under his breath before monitoring their surroundings for a hiding place. There wasn't one and the only other option was to keep going regardless of whatever happened.
With a quick glance over his shoulder he pulled Elizabeth closer to his right side. There was no where to go and even fewer people to trust.