Not one ball in my life had been so pleasurable, and not one of them had had so devastating a consequence, which I believe was already bound to take place as soon as I met Verdi’s eyes. I still do not want to admit it, but something about our meeting seemed fateful. Much more than my planned wedding to a count in the north. I had never met him, but I also never had felt the need to. The north seemed a world away, and I had never been scared of not belonging there, because I had always had the strange feeling that I would never arrive there, even before I had set eyes on Verdi.

Asni embraced me tightly when I walked away from the fire, still taken by what I had seen.

“My gods, I was so worried about might have happened. But I knew that if anyone came to your rescue, it would be him.”

I looked at her sternly.

“Did you perhaps plan for this to happen?”

She grinned.

“I would not say plan, but I did have a feeling. But all is well, ends well.”

She led me by the arm to a market stall which looked suspiciously like Verdi’s, where Boris was handing out food and drinks to those in need.

“Give her some extra ale, please!” Asni commanded. Boris ignored her, but handed me an extra-large cup of ale.

“Your dance was lovely,” he said. I saw Asni glare daggers at me from the corner of my eye. Boris was frowning intensely, and quickly handed miss Melissa a pastry. Oh dear, I definitely did not want to be part of the tension between those two, so I quickly went away when I could. To my surprise, Asni did not stop me.

Tired as I was, I planned on calling it a day, when suddenly Aro appeared. He had been talking to one of the mandolin players, but motioned for me to come to him when he noticed my presence. His companion complimented my performance, and then went away to talk to another musician.

“I did not take you for such a spontaneous dancer,” he said.

Did all of Asni’s family possess the curious talent to turn compliments into insults?

“I did not take you for such a helpful person. I saw you were about to get up when you noticed my distress,” I said boldly.

He tilted his head and let out a bark of a laugh.

“Luckily it was not needed. I hate to dance, but I cannot bear to watch someone suffer alone.”

“That is very kind of you.”

“It certainly is,” he said without further ado.

“And I would like to add one more kindness. I know you appreciated Verdi’s rescuing you, but I must disappoint you. He is not to be trusted.”

“I have witnessed that first-hand,” I said, baffled at this sudden announcement, “he is the one who lured me with the siren’s song. But there was little else I could do but to accept his help tonight. I do not like to cause a scene.”

“I understand that, but I want to advise you to not involve yourself with him anymore.”

He clenched his fists as he spoke, and arched his back. I tilted my head.

“Why exactly are you advising me to do this?”

He put in great effort to remain calm.

“I am advising you this,” he said, sighing, “because Verdi is like a plague. Once he finds his way into your heart, he will never completely be erased from your life. I know this, because I have also witnessed it first-hand.”

“But why do you presume that he found his way into my heart?” I said, while trying not to blush.

He almost winced, as if in pain. As if he had seen the same pattern a thousand times before, and had never been able to prevent it.

“I presume this because of the way you looked at him when you were dancing with him.”

I assured him that this was not the case. I hardly knew him, but he only seemed to feel the need to help me. In the end, he was not convinced, and quickly returned to his fellow musicians. I walked to my bedroom quickly, afraid someone would stop me again. This did not happen, until I arrived at my bedroom door. He had rid himself of the doublet, and was now wearing a simple white shirt. His hat had found its way back onto his head.

“There you are, I thought you would be tired after our little dance, especially since we are arriving tomorrow.”

When he reminded me of our arrival, I felt nervous.

“What is going to happen to the prisoners, then?”

He chuckled, but it did not sound happy. I thought of what Aro had said. Could I really trust him?

“You need not concern yourself with those matters. Although I do not think I will be able to talk you out of it.”

He frowned, as he looked down at my hair. His hand reached for it again. As if it was the most natural thing to do, he freed it from the tapes and pins Asni had placed in it so carefully. Then, without warning, he took the medallion, and opened it again. The mandolins’, and even the harp’s music sounded dull in comparison to the voice inside the locket. He placed his hand on my shoulder, and the other around my waist. His touch was even more prominent because my waist was currently exposed, which sent shivers down my spine, as he began to gently lead me through the corridor.

“I do not like court dances,” he whispered.

It took me some time to regain my composure.

“Why do you have a tattoo of a wing on your neck?”

“I do not like to speak of it, it is the chain which binds me to the island of bones, and this ship is my only way of escaping it, at least temporarily.”

“I did not expect you to be the type to despair so,” I said unkindly, for I was vexed at his vagueness. However, Aro was right. I felt for him, whatever he had been through.

“We all despair, miss. And however unlikely it seems, I am no exception,” he said smoothly.

“You make it sound like I declared you to be one, while I was merely implying-”

“I know what you were implying,” he said.

The torches went out. And he was now merely the arms around me, and a voice in the dark.

“Jane, I do not know you, but I want to.”

There were all kinds of objections against this that I was required to make, but I decided against this.

“There is enough time for that, since we are apparently destined to reside at the island together.”

“There is time to get to know you, yes. But not in the way you know I very much want to. At least, not at the island. I can only be your helper there.”

Aro’s words came to mind again.

“Aro told me not to trust you, that once you find a way into my heart, I will be a lost cause.”

“I do not want you to be a lost cause, but I very much want to find a way into your heart.”

My heart skipped a beat when he whispered in my ear so unexpectedly.

I lifted my hand from his shoulder to withheld him from what I knew he was about to do, but I was too late. He kissed me gently, but I knew by intuition was not the kind of person to be easily satisfied. So I did the only thing that felt right at that moment. At least, better than giving in to the desire to kiss him back eagerly.

I struck at him, and the nauseating sound of my hand –covered in rings!- colliding with his face echoed in my mind.