The way he circled her struck Laura as odd. To her it seemed as if he were an animal circling it's prey. Yet she wasn't struck with fear. Once again her instincts were telling her he wouldn't harm her. So she stood still as her eyes followed him in his circle, "I suppose it would be a shame. You seem fascinating yourself." She offered a small smile, "But I do not see why you find me fascinating?" This came out as a question. She honestly was just a normal person on the inside, despite her recent earning of the title Queen.

She briefly wondered if she should tell him she was Queen. Would this make him kidnap her? Or would he decide to leave without bothering her more? [i]But he isn't bothering you[/i], a voice in her head reminded her. In fact, this meeting was intriguing. Despite his inhuman appearance she felt oddly pulled towards him. He was attractive and she found this odd as well. How could she find a member of the Fae attractive? Especially when she had just gotten married not even a week beforehand. 

She sat back down on the rock so that it she would seem less tense. At least she hoped that was the effect on the Fae in front of her. After several more minutes of conversation about each other's species she was truly mystified by him. They told each other stories and at one point Laura realized that this was what it meant to meet someone without politics. The connection that seemed to just have formed all by it's self despite her marriage was [i]real[/i]. She knew that Cirro would be a good friend of hers for a long time to come. When she heard her husband's voice calling out her name she frowned, "Queen Laura! We must get a move on it! Please come talk to me. I'm sure we can work things out!" There it was. The brand of her as a Queen. Perfect.

She stood from her rock and smiled at the Fae. "I've enjoyed this meeting." She said as she walked closer to him, "Meet me here again in a month? I'd like to see you again. Perhaps we will have more stories to tell each other." She kissed his cheek as a form of goodbye and then disappeared through the woods. She met back up with her husband and they traveled back towards the castle. Almost a month later Laura requested she could take a trip into town. With a denied request she stole away in the middle of the night towards her meeting spot. It took her almost a week to reach it. All of that time she was worried her husband would find her and punish her. 

She waited for hours on that rock with nothing to light her way besides a small lantern. When she finally did hear a rustling she smiled softly as she stood, "Hello again, Cirro." She cocked her head to the side, "Anymore stories to tell me?" It went like this for almost two years afterwords. She would meet up with him every month or so and they would talk. Without the strains of politics around her this was a time in which she could relax. The connection she had felt as just friendly soon turned into more than that. Soon it turned into an affair that in another life she would hate herself for. Yet she found she didn't care about anything outside of that small section in the woods when she was with Cirro.

Then she stopped bleeding every month. This unnerved her as well. She knew the father couldn't possibly be her husband for she hadn't had relations like that with him since their wedding night. So she went into the King's chambers late the night after she found out and much to her shame she slept with him. When the meeting time had come around again she found herself not wanting to go. What would Cirro think of her now? The shame she should have felt for cheating on her husband was now what she felt for cheating on the man that she loved. 

Four months later she made the trip with only a small amount of hope that Cirro would be there. She sat on the rock and when she finally did hear a rustling in the woods she couldn't make herself look up at him. "Hello again." She said weakly. She stood and forced herself to look up at him. She had missed him so much everything in her ached, but the shame had forced her to not come back. The folds of her dress fell downwards as she stood and a small bulge in her belly could be seen through the fabric. "I...I'm pregnant. I had to do something when I found out." She whispered, "You're the father Cirro." She took a step forward, "But Joshua needed to think he was the father. Otherwise I'd be hanged. I just..." she frowned, "I couldn't come see you after I did that. It felt so wrong of me." A tear slid down her cheek, "Please don't be upset." She awaited his answer silently with her eyes focused on the ground in front of him.