Anne

I tasted the salt from my tears as they streamed down my cheeks and onto our lips.

Maybe I saw this coming; perhaps this was why I led Christopher outside: so that I could feel his lips on mine. In my conscious mind, I knew that that kiss was what I was after, and maybe it was the same for Christopher. At that time, I didn't know, but I did know one thing: I loved it.

I loved the way he cradled my head in his hands, the way he pulled me in. I loved hearing the words he said as he kissed me. "You're so beautiful. You're so beautiful. You're so beautiful."

He kissed me with hunger and need, and I would be a bloody liar if I said I didn't kiss him back the same way. But like all good things, it had to come to an end, and we broke apart from another, panting.

He gazed into my eyes, and I could have sworn that I saw his soul. Hell, I probably felt it.

"God, I should have done that sooner," Christopher mumbled, stroking my cheek with his thumb once more.

I couldn't have agreed more with him.

"You really should have," I smiled weakly back.

He pressed his lips against my forehead and held me close and felt his warmth.

"I don't ever want to see you cry again," he mumbled. "Do you understand me. It hurts me."

I sucked in a breath. "I-it does?" I whispered against his chest.

His lips left my forehead and moved to my cheek, and then moved to my nose, and then my neck, stringing kisses all around my face until he stopped at my ear where he kissed the side of my head.

"Very much so," he whispered.

Christopher cared, and I didn't know what to do. I've never had this happen before, so I did the only thing I thought was logical; I grabbed his face and kissed him again.

His lips were warm and soft, and it felt good against my own. Never in my life had I felt so good as I did at that moment.

Christopher kissed me with equal passion and wrapped his arms around my waist. I never thought the kiss was going to stop until we both pulled away again for air, and we were back at staring into each other's eyes.

"Are you cold?" I suddenly asked as I noticed that his dress shirt was thin, clearly not enough for this weather.

He smirked and pressed his lips to my forehead. "I've been through worse," he said and kissed my nose.

I escaped from his grasp and crossed my arms, smiling as I asked, "Are you cold now? Now that I'm out of your arms?"

He frowned, looking disappointed. "You know what? I changed my mind. Come back here." I giggled as I ran back into his arms, absorbing his body heat.

"You want to go back inside, pirate?" I asked, now feeling him shiver.

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Absolutely," he said, and we headed back to the mansion.

Back inside, I slipped off Christopher's tailcoat and handed it back to him. He took it and put it on.

"Ready to face the crowd again?" He asked.

At that moment, I stared at him, gazing at the man that I once wanted dead and now wanted nothing more than to kiss again.

I forgot about why I was even crying. I forgot about Daniel.

"I should go... powder my nose. I look like a mess," I said, rubbing my sticky face.

He smiled. "Don't be too long, alright? By now, I bet they're wondering where we are," he said with a wink.

Even though I was blushing, I rolled my eyes. "I won't be too long. I promise," I said and watched Christopher as he went inside the ballroom without me.

I smiled to myself before walking to the nearest washroom that was down the hall. I was in a good mood, and I thought only happy thoughts, but that didn't long because the cloth slapped over my face took that all away.

The man behind me held me around my waist, and my back pressed into his hard chest, all while I was trying to struggle away. Because of the tight position I was in, it was hard to get loose, and the man behind me knew it. He pressed the cloth even harder against my face, giving me no choice but to breathe in chemicals that were on it.

Within a couple of minutes, I fainted in the man's arms and was swept away into the night - never to make it back to the ballroom.

***

Christopher

Christopher couldn't help smile, still feeing Anne's kiss lingering on his lips. He had finally kissed her, but what was better was that she kissed him back.

But why did Anne bring up his family and his past? He pondered the question as he listened to endless chit chat of a few male companions he made since coming to the mansion. None of them seemed too interested in the sudden appearance of Christopher and the absence of Anne.

They were too engaged in the conversation about the single ladies around the ballroom to care about a girl Christopher made his wife.

Was she scared to go home, but missed it? Christopher had seen the pain in Anne's emerald green eyes as she explained her home life, and he felt a pain in his chest for just imagining what it must have been like for her.

Maybe that was another reason why Anne was different from the other girls: because she learned to adapt. She had conjured up a hero for herself, wear a mask, being the only way she could handle her father.

Her father. He wanted a boy. By those words alone, Christopher already decided on her father's character. He had wanted to marry his daughter the first chance he got, selling her off to God knew who.

Christopher always hated the standards of the world. He knew the world was cruel, and he felt a need to care and protect the innocent and helpless.

He had felt with Madeline. After her husband died, who could she turn too? She had children and was not a man so she could work for the needed money. She was even lucky to have a small paying job. Christopher had saved her from the pit she had fallen in. He supported her financially.

Anne wasn't helpless, though. She was strong and could withstand a storm. She did with her father and the pirates that capturing her. Anne did it with Skip and even did it with him. She could adapt.

And it hurt even more when she did cry. It did when Christopher saw her in the park, just as it did in the garden.

Right then, Christopher promised to himself and Anne that he would not let anything harm her. And he wanted to keep that promise.

"Oh, there you are, Captain," Lady Wheat said, walking over to him with a worried look.

Christopher stepped away from his friends to join her in a much quieter part of the ballroom, instantly catching the distressed look on the woman's wrinkled face.

"My Lady, what happened?" He asked, finding his voice just as distressed as hers.

With a calm, collected breath, trying control herself, Lady Wheat gave Christopher the news he never wanted to hear: Anne was gone, and nobody could find her.

***
A/N

What do you think of the kissing scene? Was it alright? Let me know in the comments!

The next chapter will come soon!

---Author