...Falling In Love...

Anastasia, suddenly, found herself hugging Valdimir from the front since she was sitting in front of him while facing him. It was such an embarrassing position. Her heart was racing like the horse's speed. Being that close to him made her even more confused. She tried, at least, to turn around to not face him, but she couldn't due to the fast speed of the horse.

- SLOW DOWN SO I CAN TURN AROUND. I CAN'T STAY LIKE THIS.

-.....

Valdimir pretended that he didn't hear her.

- CAN'T YOU AT LEAST TELL ME WHERE ARE WE GOING?

-.....

She didn't find a choice but to keep hold of him like that. His warm body somehow made her feel cozy secure and comfortable.

" I understand now why hugging someone is a source of consolation. I had never experienced such a feeling. I can't lie, it is kind of good, but I shouldn't be this comfortable in this kind of situation... For now, I will wait and see where is he taking me to. "

To avoid his glares, Anastasia buried her face into his chest.

- If you feel uncomfortable, slow down so I can turn around.

Valdimir kept running as fast as he could and never slow down.

Anastasia's heart fluttered.

" I guess he is not uncomfortable. "

On the other hand, Valdimir had strange feelings as well. When Anastasia was hugging him, he felt happy, but he couldn't show it. He only wished that she keeps hugging him for much longer.

" I won't slow down until we reach our destination. "

After about an hour, finally, the horse stopped. Anastasia couldn't look at Valdimir's eyes out of embarrassment. She immediately jumped from the horse, then when she looked ahead of her, she became amazed.

- THOSE LIGHTS!.... IS THAT THE CITY?

- Yeah...

Anastasia forgot about the embarrassing moment and looked at Valdimir with eyes full of joy.

- DID WE COME TO THE CITY?

- Yeah...

- REALLY? AM I ALLOWED TO GO THERE?

Valdimir felt relieved when he saw the smile on her face again. He walked toward the city:

- What else will you do? Come on, let's go, we don't have much time.

- Why did you bring me here?

- Well, I have something urgent to do and I thought about bringing someone along.

When they entered the city, Anastasia kept looking around while amazed. She looked like a child inside a toy store. Valdimir couldn't take his eyes off her. Her happy expression made him smile.

They kept walking under the beautiful lights that were spread everywhere.

- Wow, the city is much more beautiful at night than I imagined.

- Do you like it?

- Yeah, I love it so much.

Since Anastasia didn't eat her dinner, her stomach started gurgling as soon as she smelled the delicious food's smells. Unconsciously, she held Valdimir's hand and headed toward a food stand.

- LOOK AT THE FOOD! IT LOOKS VERY DELICIOUS.

Valdimir's heart skipped a bit when Anastasia held his hand out of a sudden. Her soft and small hand was holding his rough and full of scars hand.

" Why is her hand very cold?"

He squeezed his hand a bit to warm hers. At that moment, she realized that she was holding Valdimir's hand. She pulled it, right away, while looking embarrassed:

- I...I'm...I...

Valdimir pretended that he didn't care:

- Let's buy some food, I'm hungry too.

They started eating, Valdimir barely ate anything, he kept looking at Anastasia.

- W..What's wrong?

- The way you are eating.

- What about it?

No one will guess that you are a noble.

- I don't care...Nobles are nothing but a bunch of rich bastards who pretended to be better than anyone because of some ridiculous etiquette.

Valdimir leaned his head on his hand while keep looking at her:

- What about you? Aren't you a noble too?

- I'm not like that...for me everyone is equal. Every human life deserves to be respected.

Valdimir reached his hand to her mouth, he wiped some sauce from her lips and then licked it without hesitation.

Anastasia was dazed for a moment, trying to understand what was going on. She was about to choke but then she decided to change the subject.

- W...What is the urgent matter that you came here for?

- We run out of supplies, I come to buy some...

- That's it?

- Yeah...

- Why did you bring me with you? You could bring anyone else.

- You seemed very depressed, so I wanted to take you out for a bit.

Anastasia felt touched when she heard that. The commander was doing all of that for her sake.

- That's the market, let's go.

They bought what they needed, then they went back to the horse.

- I think it is time to go back.

- Yeah...Thank you...I was in a very bad mood, but you managed to cheer me up.

Valdimir, without notice, held her like a little girl and put her on the horse's back while looking straight at her confused eyes.

- I was wrong.

- W...What do you mean?

- That you shouldn't trust anyone...I was wrong about that...You can trust me...I will never betray you.

Anastasia's heart was about to burst from her chest and her face turned red. She was surprised. How could those sudden, yet sweet words, be coming from the warrior with the iron leg?

Valdimir kept looking at her while holding her waist, which made her lost for words.

- A...Alright...I think we must go...

Valdimir jumped behind her. This time she wasn't at least facing him, but he was too close. She could feel his wide chest sticking to her back and his big arms surrounded her. Anastasia put her hand on her chest:

" What is wrong with my heart? Why does it keep beating so fast? This is the first time I have had such a feeling. "

Valdimir noticed her red ears and neck, he leaned more until he smelt her sweet scent. Anastasia could feel his breath near her ear.

" What is he doing? "

- Are you ready to go?

- Y...Yes...

- Can you hold on tight or do you want to turn around...

- NO...I...I

- Good, let's go.

On their way back, the horse wasn't running that fast. It took them more time to go back to the camp. But eventually, they arrived. Though Anastasia wasn't ready to confront him, she tried her best to act normal.

- Thank you for today, going to the city makes me very happy.

Valdimir was busy taking out the supplies from the bags:

- Yeah...I'm glad to hear that...

- Then...I will go back

- Good night.

She ran back to her tent as fast as she could. Lucia was waiting for her:

- My lady, Where have you been? I was very worried about you.

Anastasia took a moment to understand what was happening to her.

- Lucia...This is not good...

- What are you talking about...

Anastasia covered her red face:

- I...I think I fell...in love...what should I do?