[i]“Then you do not have to be alone, we can carry on travelling together. If Elizabeth choose of me again, then I will deal with it then. And if you are worried that she will attack you, then the safest place for you would be with me.”[/i]

He said with a genuine smile.

[i]“Surely all the best adventures involve adversaries. I cannot imagine that she will make a move so soon. Hopefully she will reflect on her actions, perhaps she may even return and apologise, who knows.”[/i]

He shook his head as he spoke.

[i]“You are young, and Humans live fast. A lot can happen between now and the age that you consider old. There are an endless about of probabilities and routes to take. For all we know, you might even outlive me…”[/i]

He pulled the covers up to her neck.

[i]“For now, get some rest, you need to recover your strength before we even think about going anywhere. When you are better, we will leave.”[/i]

_____________________________________________________________________________

[i]“Evangeline.”[/i]

She shook the girl gently until she was awake.

[i]“It is time for us to leave."[/i]

He placed some new clothes at the end of the bed for her to put on.

[i]“Put these on. It seems your parents have unleashed the kings guard upon the country in an attempt to find you. I do not wish to get the Father in any trouble for attending to us, even though he has kindly offered us sanctuary, but it would not feel right. Thankfully it is quite dark out now so we should be able to slip away without attracting attention. I will be outside when you are ready.”[/i]

Azrael stepped out into the main room, he knew Father Matthews was in bed and it would be much easier to leave without his protesting. The doctor had been very generous during their stay, and Azrael wasn't sure if he had identified the girl as the princess or had chosen to not get involved, either way, Azrael was happy that they'd met such a kind man. He exited through the front door and stood outside the house. He looked into the cloudless skies and stared at the glistening stars. He hoped that this part of the journey wouldn't involve the attention of the kings army too much. It would make things a bit difficult, but it wasn't the first army that Azrael had had to evade.