Turning on his heel, Archer began to approach them, Keir hot on his heels.
“Are we goin’ now?” he asked, the excitement in his voice barely concealed—until he realized where he was going. “Archer!”
“One moment,” said Archer, holding up a finger, before he turned to River. When she noticed him, she came to a sudden halt, and then her maid and the children followed her, falling silent behind her. He couldn’t help but feel like the monster everyone feared, and he wasn’t sure what to do about that.
“Good mornin’,” said River with a small, bemused smile.
“Good mornin’,” he echoed, and then nodded to the maid and the children behind her in greeting. “Keir and I were just talkin’ about how entertainin’ yer game looks.”
“Nay, we werenae,” said Keir flatly, only for Archer to shoot him a glare.
“Aye, we were,” he insisted. “And we would like to be included.”
“What?” exclaimed Keir.
“What?” mumbled the maid.
Still, Archer only had eyes for River, whose confused frown only deepened.
“I...of course, if ye’d like,” she said in the end, a little hesitantly.
“Excellent!” cried Archer, clapping his hands together in excitement. “What shall we do?”
“Uh...well,” said River, glancing nervously behind her. “It’s tig. So Colby is chasin’ us and when he touches one of us, we start to chase the others.”
“Aye, I ken what tig is,” said Archer, a little amused. “Believe it or nae, I used to be a bairn once, too.”
That earned him a giggle from the children, something he counted as a big victory. They didn’t move from their spot behind River, though, as if they were using her as a shield, trying to hide behind her.
“Well, then...if ye ken what it is, ye may as well start chasin’,” River said, and then sprinted away from him. Arya and Colby squealed, running after her, and after a few moments, the maid—Layla, Archer reminded himself—started running, too.
The only one who remained motionless was Keir, and Archer wasted no time before he tagged him, slapping his arm and running away.
“Seriously?” Keir asked with an exasperated sigh. For a few moments, he stood there, watching the others as they ran away.
“It’s yer turn!” Archer called to him, glancing at him behind his shoulder. “Go on, then! Daenae just stand there!”
With a huff, Keir began to chase them, albeit reluctantly. He was half-running, half-walking as he tried to catch someone—anyone—so that he wouldn’t have to work too hard or chase them for too long. In the end, with his large stride, he managed to catch Colby, tagging him—and then was forced to run away so that he wouldn’t have to chase everyone else again.
Archer paid him little mind, though. As he ran around, trying to avoid being caught, his gaze always found River, wherever she was. He was chasing her more than he was playing the game, trying to find a chance to touch her—and he did, whenthey almost collided as they tried to avoid Colby. Archer’s hands shot out, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around so that they wouldn’t fall on each other, his touch lingering for far longer than necessary.
Finlay’s gaze was so persistent, he could feel it like a burning flame on the back of his neck.
Archer’s gaze met River’s and everything around him seemed to slow down, the game fading in the back of his mind. He could feel the heat of her body even through her dress, he could see that pretty flush on her cheeks, he could hear her soft panting through those rosy lips that he so craved to kiss. It took all his self-control to stop himself from kissing her right then and there. It wouldn’t be so odd—she was his wife, after all—but he was fairly certain she wouldn’t appreciate such a gesture in the middle of the courtyard.
But the way she looked at him, with those blue eyes, lit a fire in his chest that he couldn’t extinguish.
And then, as he stood there, gazing into River’s eyes, Colby tagged him and River ran away from him with a sound caught between a shriek and a laugh.
With a groan, Archer began to chase after anyone in his way. First, he went after Keir, but the man was quick to get out of reach. He ran just enough to escape him and then sat back with a sigh, as if the game was a chore to him, so Archer changed tactics and went after the closest target—Arya. Naturally, she was slower than Keir, her shorter stature making it difficult for her toincrease the distance, but just as Archer was about to catch her, River appeared seemingly out of nowhere, putting herself like a shield between them.
Once more, she and Archer almost collided, and she laughed as she brushed just past him, twirling around to avoid him when he reached out for her. Laughter bubbled out of him as she ran past, and Archer changed his target, going after her instead.
It was hardly a race. Archer caught up to her quickly, grabbing her by the waist once more and pulling her close. River cried out, surprised, as her back collided with his chest, then turned around in his arms so that they were facing each other. She was panting against him, trying to catch her breath, and the more Archer looked at her, the faster his heart beat, until it was trying to force its way out of his chest.
Just as he was about to pull her even closer, River’s eyes narrowed into a glare and she pulled back from him, disentangling herself from his arms. For a brief moment, she looked around as if to see if anyone was watching, but Archer knew no one was; no one but Finlay, who was glaring daggers at him.
And Archer didn’t appreciate that look at all.
