Forget Me Not

[Sirius Baren]

Emma stifled a small scream as her wrist was grasped and she was pulled into a hug. Her heart had skipped a couple beats and relaxed only when she realized it was Ignacious. She smacked his chest lightly.

"Don't creep up on me like that." She scolded him. She was happy to see him and offered him a small smile. From a distance she would never know it was him as he was wearing a dark cloak with a hood coming low over his eyes. She was quite glad that he had made it and hadn't been caught on his way out.

"I was stopped this morning by one of the Spanish princes. They are certainly a very odd lot." She commented quietly as they moved from the shadows over to where Jerard was nearly finished saddling the horses. She hadn't officially met the man and already she was owing him her every happiness. Without Jerard, Emma had a feeling none of this would be possible.

The two horses shifted nervously as they had supplies strapped to them. Emma wondered how long the trip would be to France. The thought of freedom had pulsed energy through her veins. She was ready to get out. She was ready to be with Ignacious.

It still struck odd in her mind that she was running away and getting married. She never thought she'd marry, and she would've never imagined it would be to the crown prince of England. It was all very strange indeed.

Emma looked to Ignacious and smiled at him. She knew they didn't know a lot about one another. She didn't mind so much. They had plenty of time to learn the finer details about the other. All that mattered right then was for them to get away as fast and as far as they could possibly get.

Chloe's face came to Emma's mind and it caused a frown on her face. She didn't like abandoning Chloe and her friendship. She wasn't sure if Chloe would ever forgive her, and if she never did Emma wouldn't blame her. It was wrong of her to ever ask forgiveness when she was outright leaving without a word. Chloe was a dear friend, and she was a spit fire. To be left without a single note or message would break her heart.

"To Paris then?" Emma asked once the horses had been prepared.

[Syn.!]

At the sight of her reaction, Ignacious let out a small laugh. Her eyes were wide open, and they seemed to clear the foggy morning. "Did I scare you, princess?"

Ignacious's smile widened as his eyes looked past Emma's face to see Jerard sattling up the horses. He saw his friend load them with supplies for days journey to France. He and Jerard had cooperated on how exactly the trio would travel there without much hassle.

By sea.

His smile faded when he heard Emma talk about the Spaniards. His blood boiled at the very thought of that Spanish witch that popped up in his mind. To think he was going to marry her! How could his family had been so cruel to their only son! He shook the anger from his head and looked affectionaly at his real bride-to-be. "Don't speak about those Spaniards anymore," his voice was strict. "I don't want to hear anything else of them."

Jerard held both of the horses by their reigns as he led them out of the stables slowly. They refused to move at first, but with a little cooperation and impatience, they finally gave in and accepted their defeat. Jerard hoisted himself onto one and urged two others to do the same. Ignacious slowly helped Emma onto one of the horses before jumping on himself.

"Is she really going to just go bare?" Jerard harshly whispered to his friend. "Once they know we're gone, they will be looking everywhere for that face!"

Jerard's thick French, angered accent frustrated the prince. Then again, he knew his friend was right. "Let's just get to the docks," Ignacious responded. "We'll figure that out once we get there."

He could hear Jerard mumble something, but he couldn't make it out. He thought it best to leave it alone and ponder about it later; Emma was the only thing he was worried about.

The two men clicked their heels against the horses and off they went. The journey to the docks would only amount up a couple of hours at best. If they were careful and their plan worked perfectly, they would stop and take a break for the horses to rest and to feed themselves. Fortunately for them, Ignacious knew multiple shortcuts so they would not have to ride through town. The last thing the escapees needed was one of the townspeople to see them in black cloaks.

Just like he had done before, Ignacious kept his hand firmly on Emma's thigh. He held the reigns with one hand while Jerard followed closely behind. In the corner of his eye, he could see the castle become smaller and smaller the further they rode. A single sigh escaped from his lips.

He'd let down all of England, and it hurt a lot.

[Sirius Baren]

The weight and reality of the journey finally came heavy upon Emma's shoulders as they took off in the predawn light. The guilt sloshed in her stomach heavily as the horses were going at a steady pace. War was going to break out with Ignacious' disappearance.

The ride was a silent one as the horses pounded steadily against the ground. Emma was more comfortable during this ride than when they had left to the countryside before. She could feel the horse heave beneath her as they cut through back areas to avoid towns and villages. They didn't need someone to get suspicious of them. If they were caught it would ruin their plans.

Emma's mind drifted back to her encounter that morning with one of the Spanish prince's. It made her wonder why he had asked such odd questions. She had seen the anguish and pain locked behind his eyes. Even with that she had seen a spark of hope. What brought him hope? She wasn't sure what had been running through his head and was grateful she hadn't been further questioned.

The horses started to come to a slow as they approached a river. She could feel the horse shift at the sight of the water and knew they were probably quite thirsty from their sprint.

As they were brought to a stop Emma came down carefully. She looked to the clear water as it moved passed them in no hurry. She wished that she might be a leaf upon the river so that she would simply be taken wherever the river was flushed out. Perhaps if she were a leaf, then she wouldn't feel so terrible inside.

Even though she felt terrible inside for what they were doing, she was still excited and thrilled. She stood quietly on the bank side thinking. She knew this must have been a much harder decision for Ignacious than it had been for her.

Not paying much mind that Jerard was there, Emma walked over to Ignacious and took his hand. She looked into his eyes and could see her own regret reflected in his. They both felt the weight of their decision, though perhaps he felt it much more strongly than she did.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked softly. "It isn't too late to turn back. I shouldn't have let you give so much up." She looked down to the ground feeling rather ashamed and selfish. Did she deserve such happiness at the cost of the happiness and life of others?

[Syn.!]

The ride may have been quiet for the other two, but Ignacious's thoughts were louder than ever. They were screaming at him, telling him to immediately pull back and return to the castle. Then there were the other ones that were telling him to follow his senses, and if ruling a kingdom wasn't what he wanted in life, then there was nothing to stop him. Either way, every single thought jumbled in his head as if there was no end. He had no idea what to think of any of it, and it could easily drive him insane. However, he tried his best to push all of his thoughts out of his mind - they'd reached the water bank.

His horse shifted eagerly at the sight of the crystal clear water. He guided the stallion to the edge and held the reigns carefully as he stepped off. He hadn't even noticed Emma step off, for he was too busy to think about the well-fare of his horse. If anything were to happen to either of the steeds, their plan would take a great drop to the bottom of failure. He stroked the horse's mane gently, while the horse responded in a tail whip.

Satisfied, Ignacious turned to see Jerard doing the same to his own horse. He could also hear Jerard speaking to the animal in French, in which Ignacious's eyebrow arched. He walked over to his friend, standing beside of him and listening to the angelic phrases escape off of Jerard's tongue. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked him.

Jerard jumped which initially startled the horse. Jerard huffed as he grabbed onto the reigns to ease the stallion and gave his English friend a look. "You are lucky I did not let this horse kick you into the stream!"

Ignacious laughed aloud, watching Jerard struggle to calm the horse. He knew that none of his friend's threats were dangerous, but it was quite amusing to see Jerard so riled up. Nevertheless, he walked away from the French man and headed over to the edge of the water bank. Slowly, he removed his hood from the cloak. He reached his hands inside the stream and splashed cold water all over his face. He could feel the water soothe him as the cool wind breezed right past him. The feeling never felt more relaxing, but he knew he couldn't relax for too long. Once they were comfortable, they would be back on their feet and heading towards the docks.

It was then that he stood up, admiring the scenery of the landscape. The stream seemed to never consistently end, and he admired that. Then again, the never ending could also be a bad thing. It reflected on him that his problems would almost never end, no matter where he went or what he did. His mind went blank when he felt someone grab his hand. To his surprise, Emma's fingers intertwined with his own.

Emma's concerns were far stretched, and Ignacious just shook his head. "We are not turning back now," he growled. "We've already come out too far, and the only thing I want is you now."