“Why not?” she asked curiously.
“Well, let’s think about this. What is the single most noticed color in the color spectrum?” he asked her.
“Red, well, and orange,” she added.
“Yeah, and my hair is basically orange.” He said, “Do you know how hard it is to hide bright orange hair? Think about this: your hair is the first thing everyone sees, and mine is the brightest color. I could never be a covert agent,” he confessed chuckling. Savanah grinned.
“I totally relate to that in every single way, except that my hair is not red. Try having golden hair like the sun that is nearly blinding at first glance. At least you have hair that doesn’t do that,” she said.
“Touché. So, what are you doing out here anyway?” he asked her.
“Getting some out time. I never imagined I would run into you again though,” she stated.
“Well, I’m glad you did, because I really enjoy talking to you. You’ve always got witty and interesting things to say,” he said. Savanah blushed slightly.
“You know, you’ve got a way of making a girl’s cheeks burn red,” Savanah said.
Kyllian grinned from ear to ear and leaned in closer to her, drawing his lips closer to her ear to speak directly into it. “No, I think you are the one who makes me feel all tingly and awkward inside. How do you do that, Savanah?” he asked.
Savanah’s lips parted, and she smiled wider. “You remembered my name,” she said, slightly amused and completely surprised that he had.
“Of course, you made an impact on my memory,” Kyllian admitted, fondly.
Savanah smiled inwardly. It made her feel validated and important in ways she hadn’t in weeks, and for the first time since she had been latched down, Savanah felt free to be herself. It was moments like this that a woman lived for and Savanah’s emotional state was moving from horribly depressed to entirely ecstatic in such a huge polar shift, that her mind nearly went into hyper mode. What Kyllian did next was just enough of a push to send her over the edge.
“You’re beautiful, Savanah,” Kyllian smiled, and leaned in closer, slipping his hand up into her hair and pulling her closer to him as his lips closed over her own. Savanah’s eyes fluttered closed, and she parted her lips to receive his, relishing the way his tongue slid over hers as he explored the cavern of her mouth. It was breathtaking and exhilarating, but also more than Savanah could handle, and all the reasons she had been kept away from the city now came: overflowing, to the top in crashing waves that eroded away her sanity in seconds. As Kyllian pulled away from the kiss, Savanah stood up and began to spin in circles, casting her eyes up toward the sky, and humming along as she did a jig in the middle of the street. Kyllian watched her closely, his eyes widening as her reaction to his kiss appeared to be coming unglued.
“Are you okay, Savanah?” Kyllian asked, rushing to her side to make sure she didn’t lose her balance as she continued to spin and flit about the alleyway. By now, a few of the others who had been congregating there were staring hard at both she and Kyllian. Savanah didn’t respond. Instead, she continued to hum louder and spin faster and faster, directing herself away from Kyllian and further down the alleyway. “Savanah?” Kyllian followed her, calling to her and realizing that she wasn’t responding to her name at all; finally, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He walked up to Savanah and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him as he looked into her eyes, but Savanah didn’t seem to look back, still staring off into the sky as if she were no longer inhabiting her own body.
Kyllian sighed and shook his head. He couldn’t just leave her there like she was and he felt obligated to make sure she would be okay, “Okay, we need to get out of here.” He said it knowing full well Savanah wouldn’t respond, but deciding to take matters into his own authority, Kyllian grabbed Savanah’s wrist and began leading her away from the alley back toward his father’s house.
Sometime later, Savanah awoke, her head aching slightly as she looked about the room and discovered she had no idea where she was, “Kyllian? Hello?” she asked as she rubbed her throbbing skull.
“I’m here, Savanah,” Kyllian stated, from beside her. Savanah turned to look at him and furrowed her eyebrows.
“Where are we?” she asked him.
“At my father’s. You’re in my room, and I’ve been watching you for several hours,” Kyllian stated.
Savanah’s eyes widened. “Wait, why am I here? What happened?” she asked, feeling a sense of dread. “How did I get in here?” she finished.
“I snuck you in via the servants’ entrance, and you sort of had an episode in the alley. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I had to make sure you were safe, so I brought you to the safest place I could think of,” Kyllian said. Savanah could feel her heart sinking into the pit of her belly as humiliation overtook her.
“Oh, god. I’m so embarrassed. I’m so sorry, Kyllian,” Savanah muttered, looking to the ground as she cradled her head in her hands. She couldn’t help but think that maybe it was true: maybe she really did need to be locked up. It seemed to be what was best for her.
