<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">"Head toward the castle please!"</span></span>She requested, and to the castle they rode.<br/><br/>After a few hours of riding, the once threatening fog faded back into the darkness of the forest as the castle lights came into view. A long sigh escaped the man's lips as he thought about how avoiding danger was no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful were caught as often as the bold, and for a moment he found himself secretly wishing he conquered his fear and remained where he was to confront the fog and whatever the fog brought with it but the mark of fear was not easily removed; it was only of natural instinct that mortals in general would find themselves rather escaping the terrifying unknown than facing it.<br/><br/>This man, driven by an insistently natural curiosity, despised living a clueless life. Men like him who lived to quench their thirst of the unknown were always in some danger and while some may have succeeded living a life long enough to tell their tales, others never made it back home.<br/><br/>Home...<br/><br/>Her blushing face in the darkness he surveyed as she glanced at him a few times, first to thank him of his preparedness and then to share a surprising revelation with him. Coming eye-to-eye with her again, Julian's stare dived into hers and it was then that he was able to feel her pounding heart, vibrating throughout her frame as she remained seated with her back to his chest, revealing her desire to escape. While the intimacy of their seated position was warm enough to ignite peace and offer him comfort, her words troubled his thoughts and he forced himself to dismount the beast and excuse himself for a moment.<br/><br/>One palm came to rest against the side of the horse's head, and carefully, the young man placed his face close to the beast's nose.<span style="color: #80BFBF">"Easy. Easy now. You are safe."</span>As if pierced by a magical arrow, his frame trembled and he found himself pronouncing a word he recognized soon after to be the name the horse once possessed and made it her own.<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #80BFBF">"Falada."</span></span><br/><br/>His eyes lit up as he glanced up at the lady and he smiled, exhaling out of his mouth in time with the mount's breathing. Assured that the horse was finally feeling safe again, the man stepped to the side and offered to help the female down and back on her feet again. Rubbing the horse's withers and neck, Julian glanced at the female with a hesitant spark in his eyes, calculating the immense responsibility of having to take care of the woman should she end up riding to Misthaven alongside him before sailing together to a world that was not hers, one she never thought even existed. Even though there was no line between the real and imaginary, Julian wondered if one day he would wake up from a long night of sleep and find out that all his adventures were nothing ... nothing else but a dream. All along but a sad prisoner of an increasingly insane world.<br/><br/><span style="color: #80BFBF">"M'lady..."</span>he began, approaching her closely. He raised his eyes and into her own he stared one more time. His raspy voice not only leaked with pure honesty, but perhaps hope as well as he was wishing she would understand that there will be consequences to any decision she end up following. The advice he would be carrying for her this very moment, would be nothing else but reasonably comprehensive, or so he desired..<span style="color: #80BFBF">"I do not know your name. You have not told me yet, but from what I came to realize, you hold an important place within the walls of,"</span>he took a glance towards the castle and looked at the woman again.<span style="color: #80BFBF">"-the King's castle. For all I know you may be a hereditary ruler of a principality in Arendelle, or a lady of the court; someone of a prestigious importance but you are certainly not a servant."</span>A face-consuming smile of intrigue touched his face as he continued, his attention momentarily sailing to the woman's lips, contouring their shape.<span style="color: #80BFBF">"But I do recognize nobility when I see't and you my lady are no stranger to this legitimate reality of yours."</span><br/><br/>Into an open path he lead her, one palm gently placed on the small of her back. The trees gave way to a clearing and from there the view of the castle was clearer than ever before. The wind caressed his face as if the hand of a child, or a woman's had touched him. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat before speaking his next words, his visual attention surveying the dark outline of the majestic, royal fortress.<span style="color: #80BFBF">"I can also understand your desire to escape your life. I have done it. Yes, I was hesitant at first, but I did. I have had no regrets since. This life is not meant for everyone although the miserable and the poor would gladly walk in your shoes. You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If one is not happy in one place, chances are one will not be happy anyplace."</span>Julian glanced at the female and cocked his head to the side, speaking softly to her.<span style="color: #80BFBF">"If you wish to breathe free into clean air once again and if you strongly believe that your present life is no longer suiting you, then I promise I will care for you and in our journey away."</span><br/><br/>Suddenly feeling a lively rush of enthusiasm coursing through his frame, one twenty-four year old young man moved to stand right in front of the woman and joining his palms together in front of his chest, he added, plunging into her eyes and his own glistened with hope. He spoke to her resolutely with an everlonging tone in his voice.<span style="color: #80BFBF">"Show me to Misthaven. Come with me then. Joy can spring, yes, t'will spring like a flower even from the cliffs of despair, and life is too short to spend it wondering what if ... what if one has done different, wherefore we need to get moving, and now."</span>He drew a deep breath and searched her face for one last reassurance that<span style="font-style: italic">this</span>is something she wanted truthfully, just in case a little deflection was in order.