Part 3

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"What are you doing here?" Gaining the confidence she needed after seeing who it was. Her aura changed from timid to intimidating. Strutting towards the person she never thought would be here.

"Enjoying a nice cup of tea, am I not allowed to do that?"

She sat down opposite to him, "Don't play dumb Christopherus, why are you five hours away from the capital."

Christpoherus' mood shifted from nonchalant to surprised, sitting up in his seat, "How do you know my name?"

Jayne gulped, she really needed to stop doing that, "Why are you following me? Huh, you creep." She shifted the topic.

"I'm out on duty in this town, that tends to happen," He took a swig of coffee, "Do I know you?"

Jayne slammed the table, causing Chris to shake and spill a bit of coffee. For a guard, he was easily startled.

"Don't play dumb with me boy, I'm not like that."

He wiped the spilt coffee with his sleeve, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Really?" She asked sarcastically, "Then tell me how the crown Prince knows where I live, huh, I got a letter directly addressed to him."

Chris' face soured, "I see you read it."

"So you admit it, that you're stalking me?"

"I am not!" He bellowed, but then remembered where he was, "I am not stalking you, I am doing my job." He whispered.

"And your job is to... stalk me?"

Christ pinched his nose, "I know it seems weird but I can't control my orders, it wasn't my choice, I'm simply doing my job."

Jayne crossed her arms and huffed, "Then why were you ordered to?"

Chris downed the rest of his coffee that wasn't spilt, "He just said to keep tabs on you, make sure you don't get hurt and stuff."

The aroma of coffee pierced the air as Jayne inhaled deeply, the smell stimulating her senses as the new piece of information was ingrained in her brain, she slumped back, "Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"Well, it's just," Jayne fumbled in her seat, a nervous smile playing on her lips, "The prince and I, don't know each other well, it's just, kinda weird for him to do something like this."

Christ sighed and looked off into the distance, "From his orders, it seemed he just wanted to make sure you were safe." He too didn't understand the orders he had to follow.

"Then why the letter?"

"I was the one who put it through your door, though I did not read it."

Jayne grimaced at her predicament, "Why not?" She scoffed.

"I respect others' privacy...." He huffed.

"Sure you do..." She glared at him. Christopherus was always the 'chivalrous type', being a knight and all.

Wait a minute. Jayne had been gone for a year, which means Chris was most likely following her for a year, and because of that, Christopherus had yet to gain his promotion in being one of the ten knights of the capital.

"Oh, god." Jayne heaved.

"What?"

"What ranking are you?"

"... What?"

She leaned in closer to him, grabbing his shirt, "What rank are you?" She asked slowly.

"Well... I'm technically a Captain, but someone else is acting as a proxy back at Telephylus." He said warily, his heart racing as she leaned over him threateningly, unaware she was invading his personal space.

She let go of him and lied into the booth, "Goddammit." She whispered, smacking her forehead.

"Is everything alright?" he leaned over the table to see her lying down.

"No!" She shot up, "I came here to get away from Telephylus, to live a new life, but the Prince has to be creepy and have someone watch over me, which I don't need or want, I can take care of myself, you know, tell him I decline his invitation."

"What?"

She got out of the booth and was ready to leave, "The letter he gave me was an invitation to that party he's having, I decline. In fact, tell him I burned it, that's how much I decline it." She strutted out before he could reply.

"But Miss, your juice!" The waitress shouted, holding a glass of orange juice.

-

Jayne found a tree and repeatedly smashed her head onto it, hoping to wake from this nightmare. She slumped down, trying to figure out what happened.

Let's see... Desmideus is the kind of guy who is a little bit of a player, the ball was still happening in the first place, so that means his father still thought he acted improperly with the ways of women. Des was a little overbearing, but if you sent out the message you weren't interested, he would get it and respect it. He didn't like to play those kinds of games.

Yet he still flirts slightly, albeit in a playful way rather than anything serious. But he did seem to care for her in some way. But sending someone to watch over me is a little extreme.

Jayne hated to admit it, but Desmideus' route was the good old classic 'reformation of the man-whore.' He liked Octavia because she 'wasn't like other girls' and, technically speaking, Jayne fitted the category of 'not like other girls.' For while she refused to actually do anything with him, she still participated in conversation with him. The only girls Desmideus really knew were those who threw himself at him or were just outright disgusted by his behaviour, he never really had a middle ground of a woman who was a friend.

And that was Octavia's role.

Jayne had never spent that much time with Desmideus, not enough to consider him a friend, but she did not know what Desmideus thought. She could not know, she could only assume why she had received this letter. Plus, in the wonderous world otome, not that much is needed to actually develop bonds with characters, just choose the correct dialogue options and you're fine. Maybe that's what Jayne did, she just said the things that he liked and the hidden intimacy bar raised.

There was one other option; Abraham.

Jayne felt her heart sink thinking of him. She had cried at the loneliness she felt without him. Maybe Anastaisa was right when she said she was emotionally attached. Perhaps he begged Desmideus to do something, to try and find her, she didn't think that possibility was impossible

Though if Abraham knew where she was, he would definitely be beside her now.
Jayne quickly stood up and ran into the forest, wanting some peace in her life. Once she was far enough, she screamed to the top of her lungs, the loudest, the most high pitch she could muster. Her fears and nerves left with her shout as she could finally feel some tension leave her body. Her throat was sore, very sore, but for a minute, she felt relieved.

"What was that?" Someone else heard a girl screaming in the middle of the forest.

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