Amanda had been spending a little too much time alone; if she wasn’t in her bedroom, she was on the grounds, taking long walks in the garden, and even into the forest behind the castle. It was nice to get away from the cheeriness of the place, as Christmas approached and decorations were set up in preparation for the holiday. She usually loved Christmas, but her heart wasn’t in it this year. She was still shaken up after the kidnapping ordeal she, Sarah and Zoey had been through, and even though she hadn’t been physically hurt, part of her felt broken, like she’d lost her innocence. The world had changed in those couple of weeks she’d spent in that dark room, and she didn’t think she’d ever be able to look at it the same way again.
She’d been hesitant when Miles invited her out– she’d politely refused at first, but he’d managed to convince her, though it wasn’t hard once she found out he was going to be taking her out of the castle. She hadn’t been out in forever, it felt like, and decided maybe it was what she needed in order to lift her spirits back up. She was nervous about being around Miles, since they had kissed when he’d come for them, but hadn’t spoken much since. He kept his distance, and though she liked his company, she was grateful that he hadn’t pushed his presence upon her in the last few weeks. She was sure she would’ve said something or done something she regretted, and even though she wasn’t sure where they stood after that kiss, didn’t want to lose him as a friend.
As she approached Miles, she kept her eyes down, only looking up when he spoke to her, curtsying before him as was customary to do in front of a royal– even if he insisted on being informal, but after so much time without talking, she didn’t feel right just saying hello. “Thank you. You look very handsome,” she murmured softly, eyes looking him over with fondness. “Where are we going, I don’t think you mentioned it.” She moved past him, climbing into the passenger seat as he held the door open for her.
Miles shook his head at her curtsy. He hated that from anyone, but tolerated it from people he didn’t know well. It felt so weird seeing her doing it. Made him feel as though they really weren’t equals, at least in her eyes. He actually saw her as a much better person, but didn’t want to go down that road just yet. He half smiled, feeling a bit of his confidence--or maybe it was just hopefulness--disappear. He shut the door once she was in and slid in the driver’s seat. “I didn’t say.” Without another word, he hit the gas and left the castle behind them in a cloud of dust.
Once away from the castle, he slowed down a bit, though he was still going faster than the speed limit. The road was deserted and wrapped around a mountain. He glanced over at her once, but kept his eyes on the road the rest of the time. He maybe a speed demon, but he didn’t have a death wish. “I hope you enjoy it. It’s somewhere very special to me. The place I go when I need to do some thinking.”
When his car finally came to a stop, he hopped out and opened the door for her, offering her his hand. It was a little gravel parking lot around a lot of open fields with woods off to the side. “We need to walk the rest of the way.” He gestured to the woods. “My baby gets me a lot of places, but she can’t handle the woods.” He looked over at her. “It’s not terribly far. About a mile.”