ELIZA

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT: VISIT

We visited the castle quite quickly. Fortunately, I was so bound up in it that I probably forgot about my stomach ache, and I could focus on the beauty of the place. There was a lot to see, the fortress was a royal residence and an example of Gothic architecture. I especially liked the Knight's Hall, located in the northern wing of the palace.

We stopped in the courtyard by the well, talking about the legend. Apparently, it was dug by three Turkish prisoners who didn't live to see their release despite such a promise after digging a groundwater intake. So they engraved an inscription in the well which, according to legend, reads: "You have water, but you have no heart."

I saw clearly how much Cosmo wanted me to like the surprise. He didn't say anything, but he looked at me searchingly, so at one point I couldn't stand it and stammered by the well:

"Stop it, this is getting annoying," although it wasn't quite my intention, I guess I offended him. He opened his mouth, but then closed it, surprised why I snarled at him. So I tried the other side.

"I can see that you're trying, but if this is how a trip to Serbia is supposed to look like, I prefer to turn back."

He still understood nothing.

"You don't like it here?" he tried to examine my feelings, but the more he violated my space and the emotions that tugged at me, the more I clammed up.

"It's not that," I said, heartbroken. "It doesn't make sense, I'm not on vacation. I don't have to visit the castle... I mean, of course it's beautiful, except..."

I sighed. I heard myself that I was talking nonsense.

Cosmo grabbed my hands in his. Instinctively I took them from him, but when he caught them again, I realized that he wouldn't stop. He will grab them as many times as he wish.

I felt terrible. Since we established the new rules, I never thought about Tom, but I kept thinking about my kidnapper. I don't even know when I started getting attached to him, but I knew I was under the influence of the controlled Stockholm Syndrome. Controlled, because I was aware of its existence, although I couldn't prevent it in any way.

"What's happening?" he asked gently. He was honest, he was really curious about my sudden changes of mood.

"Nothing," I lied. "Let's just go."

"To Belgrade?" he raised an eyebrow, referring to my earlier speech. "Or are we going home?"

I could have told him to take this day as a trip and then turn back. I was able to make myself a slave and a martyr by staying at home in the woods, but I didn't want to. Deep down, I really dreamed of going further.

"It could be Belgrade," I muttered, smiling a little. He let go of my hands when suddenly I heard my name.

"Eliza?!"

Someone waved at me from a distance.

I narrowed my eyes, then shuddered. About two hundred meters from me stood Helen, my former classmate in high school.

It materialized next to me in just a few seconds, chattering.

"Whoa, I hardly recognized you... What a meeting, don't you think? What are you doing here?"

Cosmo spoke instead of me. I didn't understand what he said, because it was in a foreign language, and before I could do anything, he took my hand and pulled me away from Helen. Out of the corner of his mouth he whispered that I shouldn't turn around as we walked forward, away from my friend.

It was the second time in Romania when I could scream kidnapper at Cosmo and I missed the opportunity again. But I promised him, I don't let them bring him home, handcuffed. After a month, each of us will go our own way.

I really hoped that...

We entered Serbia about three and a half hours later. We didn't have any, even the slightest problem with crossing the border. I honestly admit that I was a bit afraid of it, in my thoughts I imagined a raid on the Cosmo; I already saw the police surrounding the entire border crossing area, hunting us... or rather him.

I don't know if I was disappointed or on the contrary, I felt relieved.

We drove to Belgrade another two hours with only a short stop for refueling and a bathroom. Due to the fact that I slept in the car at the beginning of the road, now I felt very refreshed. Even my stomach stopped hurting.

I was staring at the scenery outside the window, wondering how it was possible that Cosmo wouldn't even ask me who the girl who had recognized me in the castle was. After all, he didn't know how close I was with Helen and whether she knew my sister or her fiancé. In his shoes, I would simply be curious... But if I was him, I would also politely ask if I would like to go to the Balkans, instead of kidnapping me right away. Well, he was definetely very different from me.

"We're not staying long in Serbia," Cosmo suddenly said.

After several hours of silence while driving, his voice was so unexpected that I flinched.

"Sorry?" I gasped, trying to calm my pounding heart.

Cosmo cleared his throat.

"Belgrade is the most obvious place. We were seen in Hunedoara, so it's likely that we crossed the border after it."

I understood what he was saying and had to agree with him.

"What is the probability that your friend's already talked to Camila?" he asked, seemingly calm.

I glanced at the road and sighed.