" DISTANTLY TRANQUIL "

THE NIGHT AIR brushed against their exposed skin, the moons luminous rays caressing their moving bodies, with a hand of the softest touches. The stars that twinkled above seemed to spread the wavering hope that ran through Augustina's golden veins, the feeling wordlessly victorious.

"We are so close, my Oraíos." Cato's soothing words rang through the air, hitting the darkened atmosphere with a chant of gathered joviality. The man held Augustina's hand with a tightened grip, almost as if he feared of losing her in the shadows of the darkness. Her words from before seeming to dissolve in the thoughts of the man, for he knew she didn't mean them. She never had.

Augustina's raveled in the feel of the grass beneath her feet, enjoying the softened texture as she followed behind Cato to the nearby stables. The castle was quiet, the only sound being the distant barking of the Kings hounds, and the occasional shout of a command from the guards. "I'm sorry, about my words from before. I truly didn't mean them, I swear upon the stars I didn't mean it." Augustina uttered in a breathless voice, their movements coming to a slowed pace as they neared the stables.

"I know," Cato whispered, pulling Augustina to a stop as they reached the corner of the decently sized building. "I just wish you would trust me. I can't stomach touching another woman, let alone fondling one between the sheets. You are all I think about, from the moment I wake to the moment I sleep. I even dream of you, Augustina. You don't understand how much I think of you, how many times I have tried to stop myself from wanting you. I physically can't cheat on you, no matter how many times I try. I love you."

The moment he said he loved her was the moment she knew he was going to take her heart and rip it into a million pieces and she was going to willingly let him, she would fall on her knees and beg him too. She wanted to speak right then, to tell him how much he meant to her. But couldn't, for the words were locked in her mouth unable to form on her tongue.

Unable to voice her admiration for the man, she found herself simply staring into his ocean blue eyes. The pools of solace, and her peace. He was something solid to lean against, something violent, fierce, and unmoving. Those last words that escaped his lips trampling the others, forcing her mind to race.

She had loved him, and still does but she couldn't find herself saying the words. Something held her back, the barrier feeling almost distant. Was it hope? The question lingered in her mind, the thought alone on the verge of being ridiculous. She merely couldn't say it, and never has.

"I-" Augustin began only to be interrupted by the shouting of men, their voices carried through the air to clash against the building they hid beside. The lightened thunder of yelling caught the attention of the two, their shared gazes snapping toward the castle they earlier escaped. The cage that held them both, capturing their hearts in a fight of freedom.

"Find her!" Dorian's voice sounded through the air, clashing against the formatted clanking of metal. His voice sent a shiver of fear through her body, the simple tremble of her bones bring Cato closer in a act of comfort.

The thundering of a single pair of hooves erupted from the stables behind them, the lightened huff of a horses nose emitting beside the pair. "Damnit," A man's voice broke through the shouting of men, the single word lingering in the air for a passing moment. "C'mon Princess, we have to go."

Taking hold of the woman's cheeks, the Bastard forced her attention back upon him unwilling to let her see the men that ran toward them with a heavy pace. "Listen to me," He began, dismissing the words that were about to leave her lips. "Augustina, you have to go. I will be with you soon, I promise."

His words didn't filter through her mind, for a confused expression devoured her features. "Are you not coming?" Augustina asked with a look of bewilderment, her eyes desperately searching his in an act of plead. He couldn't be staying, he had told her it was their chance. Cato, would leave to wouldn't he?

"Hand her to me," The unknown man murmured with a lightened snarl, his hands falling from the reigns of the black horse to hold outward toward Cato. "It's now or never." The man added, watching the two for a moment before he snapped his attention toward the approaching glow of a torch.

"Let anyone touch her and I will kill you," Cato seethed through his teeth, taking hold of Augstina's waist in a rushed manner. "Hurt her, and I will hurt you." He added helping the bewildered woman onto the horse, his hands falling from her waist the moment she was settled in front of the unknown rider.

"You are coming with us, Cato. You aren't staying, please!" Augstina snapped out of her daze, her body shifting against the chest of the man who held the reigns of the shifting horse. The woman's eyes searched Cato's seemingly emotionless ones, a look of kindled sadness growing in his azure hued eyes.

"Go!" Cato exclaimed, his hand raising to come down on the horses rear. His features darkened with the shadows that devoured him, the only thing set aglow in the blackened atmosphere was his silver-hair. The man wanted to go, to follow in behind the pair. But couldn't, his feet weighed down by the weight of a foreshadowing future.

The black stallion set forth the moment Cato's hand came in contact with its coat, sending both Augstina and the rider into the darkness of the night. The movements of the horse causing Augustine's efforts to turn and look upon Cato impossible, for the man who held the reigns of the horse held her in a tightened grip.

"Stop moving, damnit." The rider snarled through his teeth, his right arm wrapping around her slender waist in an need to keep her from squirming out of his grasp. The man's warmed breath hit her neck, caressing her skin in a heated touch. His features hidden by a hood of wool, his masculine frame unknown through his position on the horse.

The sound of Cato's voice whisked through the air, the sentence fragmented by the sound of the horse's hooves and the screaming of men.

She had left him...

___

A/N: thank you for reading, I hope this chapter was as enjoyable as the last.

What do you think is going to happen to Cato?

Who is the Rider?