Chapter 177: Run Away (2)
"Run away? Why are we running away?" Madeline frowned in obvious curiosity as she blinked in bafflement, looking lost in the conversation they were presently having, and Cassian knew there was a lot of explaining he had to do, considering the look on her face already conveyed how much she was against that idea.
"Come."
Holding her wrist, Cassian led her to the mattress and made her sit, and then he crouched in front of her, withholding the pain that came with it as his abdomen was yet to fully heal. Although he knew the area was restricted and it was just the two of them here, Cassian couldn’t take the risk of being caught having the conversation, so he kept the tone of his voice low, but audible enough for Madeline to grab his every word.
"It sounds absurd, I know." He licked his lips, "but I’ve given this a lot of thought." He rubbed his palms together in an attempt to warm them up, "Alaric and I had a rethink last night. When you told me Klaus had spread the rumors concerning my current state, I expected it. Alaric had to inform the councils about what was going on, it was part of his duty, so the rumors were the least of our worries."
"Is His Majesty aware of this?" Madeline sounded surprised as she asked, a bit taken aback that his Majesty would agree to Cas’s escape plan.
"There’s more to Alaric that meets the eyes, but yes, he’s aware of it," Cassian cleared her doubts, "and he’s the one who’s going to get us out of here."
"But if you escape, everyone would believe the rumors!"
"It’s been a long time since I stopped caring about what others think of me." He shrugged nonchalantly, "besides, I’m not doing this for the people anymore, I’m doing this for us, and those that I care about." His tone softened as he looked into her eyes, "Elijah is out to harm you, and I won’t let that happen as long as I’m still alive. There’s still so much for us to uncover, and staying here won’t do any good."
Madeline pressed her lips into a thin line, not particularly sure of how she was going to respond. Cassian had always been there for her, and she felt entirely grateful to him for it.