"Keep the veil on till you are in the estate bedroom and have the new maids assigned to you."

"Yes, my lady." Emma teared up a bit as her lady-ship finished putting her other items into her shoulder bag before lightly leaning her head out the carriage window. She looked around slowly before meeting eyes with her personal escort knight and smiled.

"Sir Dan, I need to take a little ladies' break, as does Emma. Do we have time to stop for a short burst of time?" 

"Of course, my lady." He nodded before riding ahead to inform the escorting party of the quick change of plans. The parade, along with the carriage, came to a stop. Sir Dan rode back beside the carriage before dismounting.

"Excuse me, my lady-ship." He said as he opened the carriage door before stopping in his tracks.

"My lady? What is—" he started, but she silenced him with her hand, looking worriedly off into the dark woods. "My lady?"

"Change of plans, Sir Dan," Ria smiled confidently in Emma's maid's clothes. 

He laughed and bowed to her. "No more of it, my lady."

He glanced at Emma, who was adjusting the veil, before looking back at his master, leaning in through the doorway slightly to whisper. 

"What's the plan?" 

"Emma is going to use her amazing adaptability skills and take my place, stalling the wedding for as long as possible," Ria whispered back as she closed the bag, throwing it over her shoulder. 

"And as for you? Why the delay?" He asked, feeling his anxiety build up, remembering all the troublesome plans the Count's daughter had come up with the past few months - unlike her past self. A wicked smile spread across her face as she adjusted her hair to a style more suitable for a lady's maid. 

"Until I find a husband, I pick."

"Husband?!" He cried out, startling his horse as both Ria and Emma rushed to silence him. He turned to secure his horse before returning to the carriage door and whispering sternly. "What do you mean a husband you pick? You already have a husband waiting for you!"

"Never that man! I refuse to marry that villain and die!" She pressed back in whispered anger. Emma and Dan looked at her in surprise and confusion. 

"What!" They both pressed her for answers. She shook her head.

"I'm leaving, sneaking off to head to the village. I will pick my own man of quality to marry, and then my father and the marquis won't be able to force me to marry. I will change my damn fate."

"When will that be?" Sir Dan asked flatly.

Ria looked at him with fake, concerned eyes. "When I'm done, I will be married within the month. Emma just needs to last that long with her acting skills."

"Acting skills..." Sir Dan squinted his eyes in confusion, his heart racing in anxiousness. "You're not… planning to marry a random commoner, are you?"

"Oh, I love the word 'planning'!" Ria exited the carriage, turning back and reaching for Emma's hand to escort her out as well. Emma instinctively adjusted her lady's hair into a bonnet.

Sir Dan felt the frustration building. His hand went to his sword. "Who is this man?"

"I don't know who yet, but I will obviously choose someone of high quality, decent strength, and an overwhelming personality who will also listen to what I have to say."

In disbelief, the knight shook his head, dropping his face into his gauntlet. He walked slowly, escorting the ladies into the shrubs for privacy.  Once out of view of the wedding escort, Ria turned to them both and jumped forward, bringing them into her arms for a goodbye hug. 

"I promise to be safe and well. I can take care of myself. I know what I am doing and where I am going, trust me. I have been planning this for a long time."

She stood up straight and held her satchel up even higher above her shoulder, looking at the sky to see the sunset gently. 

"I know I am a noble lady, but I don't need anyone to come to find me. I'm going to head straight into the village, buy a horse, find a husband, and ride straight to the castle," She said, looking back at the carriage.  She spoke with a sweet smile on her face, looking back in the distance at the setting sun.

"Lady Ria, please." Sir Dan said, his voice breaking. Emma had started wheezing, bordering on sobbing. 

Ria turned back to each of them and jerked them both up into a hug. "It will be okay! " she said, pulling out of the hug to look at their faces. "I will see you both again."

"No, you're the count's daugh--"

"Please try to understand.  Sir Dan, I appreciate everything you have done for me. I owe you."

"I love you, Ria. I know you are overbearing, hard to handle, and disobedient. But I love you like a sister. And the Count loves you like his daughter. Don't say stupid things like this. Like it's goodbye." Sir Dan hugged her back. 

"You're my favorite cousin!" She jokingly exclaimed into his shoulder. "I am sorry, too. I will be saying goodbye to you... but I must." Emma held off no longer. She dropped her tears into Ria's shoulder.

"If I take your place at the wedding, won't I be discovered?"

"No. Because you are not me, you will be safe. If anything, I bet that villainess man will fall madly for you, Emma!"

"My lady!" The faithful maid gasped. "Don't suggest such a thing!" Ria laughed in response. 

"Okay, I must leave now. We can't hold the wedding escort up too long, or they will get suspicious." They laughed, letting go of each other, tears still on her face.

Sir Dan shook his head. "Go—run away. Maybe run off with a commoner," he said, curving his lip upward a bit.

"Maybe I will!" Ria smiled. She waved at them both before taking off into the woods, her figure disappearing into the golden glow of the leaves. 

****

"Lord Rendyke, I have a report to make." A man, well-dressed for a personal aide, knocked on the office doors.

"Be quick, " grumbled the voice in anger on the other side. The servant opened and closed the door behind him, walking briskly up to the marquis' desk. "My lord, I have completed my investigation concerning the daughter of Count Winnifred's departure. We received intel from our spies following along with the escort part."

The marquis sat up slowly. The aide coughed. 

"And?"

"I have learned from them that her ladyship and her maid have traded places."

The marquis moved to chew on his cigar, nodding slowly to his aide. "Continue., Adam."

"According to the conversation they overheard, her maid is continuing here acting as the bride - while her lady-ship has taken off to the village on foot to... find a husband of her choosing."

The marquis sat straight up, slamming his fist into the table. He rose from his chair, walking around in a circle.

"A husband? She wants a husband!?" His voice was now raised. Adam stood straight with his arms folded, looking into the air above at the marquis.

"I demand we find her and bring her back by any means possible. Find her now. Also, Adam, you will be paying a visit today to the Count. We need to understand that we cannot force her wedding on him. For now, he will monitor Emma to see how long she can hold out while I and the town hunters search the mountainsides!"

"As you wish, my lord." Adam nodded, not moving. 

"Wait, Andre..." The marquis smiled, his plush lips stretched, his red eyes thinned, and his defined round jaw pointed upwards. He threw his long, slender hand through his curly hair, which was darker than the shadows that surrounded him. "I have a better idea."

"Of course, my lord." Air Andre nodded again, knowing from the years of experience with his master that his mind would change.  

"Why don't I find her - personally? I can guarantee that with my looks, I will be the one she 'picks for herself. ' And then I will drag her back here myself to face the consequences."

"My lord, that is unnecessary," The marquis' servant piped up in a low voice.

"Andre, if I want to do this, I want to do it. That is final!"

Andre nodded and stood at attention. "Yes, my lord."

"That's better." The marquis said, seating himself back at his desk. He took his cigar and tapped the ashtray on his desk. His eyes followed the ash to the soft, velvet rug beneath his feet that shined a deep, intense red. He smiled as he glanced down at the painted portrait of his bide on his desk. "Let's see how far she can run from me."