Chapter 95 - Talking (1/2)

Al's arms tightened around me as he continued to digest everything I had said. After a while, he spoke up again a bit hesitantly.

”I see why you don't want to leave the palace for a while. We'll be more careful until everything is said and done. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. But Katie…why did you feel so strongly about following the story before? And what changed your mind?”

I had wondered that many times. Bending over backwards to make the author's original intentions come to pass had been exhausting. Maybe it was to have a sense of normalcy, honoring a story from my world.

For some reason back then I had a horrible feeling that something bad would happen if I didn't keep the story the same. Plus I felt guilty about stealing Marcy's man. The last of my inhibitions on the matter went out the window when I realized she had been using him the entire time in the novel.

”I don't know why I felt so strongly about it…consistency, maybe? Trying to keep what I knew the same? I had gone through a lot of crazy changes by coming here. As for what changed my mind…it was you,” I confessed.

”I had originally planned to run away alone and leave you with her. But when I realized she only wanted your connections for her own political gain I realized she wouldn't take care of you for me properly so I couldn't leave you alone again. I cared too much.”

Al's expression softened and he fiddled with a strand of my hair. ”I hope you know that you're ridiculous…but you sure know how to make me feel loved.”

How did that make him feel loved? I had just admitted to planning on leaving him and going my merry way! I suppose he was focusing on the fact that I didn't leave because I couldn't bear to leave him alone in this terrible place.

He was handling this a lot better than I had thought he would. Every crazy thing I said had been taken in stride. I frowned. ”Al…why do you believe me? What I'm telling you is impossible.”

He laughed. ”Perhaps so, but I know you Katie de Kanta. You wouldn't lie to me.”

Well, not now, but I had lied to him a lot in order to keep my secrets. Yet he still trusted me. Love truly was blind.

”Thank you,” I said quietly.

I had always been myself more around Al than anyone else in this world but now he knew the entire truth. I had been set free from a self-imposed cage. The weight I had been carrying alone wasn't as heavy with someone else sharing it.

”You said you didn't think you were even supposed to be here and that was a part of why you tried to 'fix' things but I think everything happened exactly how it was supposed to,” he said thoughtfully.