by K. Lyn Hill
“Yes. Thank you.”
The woman stood and approached the bed. “My name is Nala. I am apart of Natalia’s tribe. She brought me here to see what I could do for your wounds. You gave everyone quite the scare.”
Aerity glanced back down at her wound in utter confusion.
“Yeah I thought I had an infection. My wound looks and feels much better than I thought it would. How did you heal it?” This kind of medical attention would do wonders in her world. It was amazing.
Nala looked a bit sheepish. “I’m afraid it’s an old tribe secret. Just a combination of different plants and some meditation. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.”
Aerity wanted to be suspicious of how vague her words were but with her smile so genuine and the fact that she had helped her feel better, Aerity couldn’t find it in her to express the accusation.
Movement by the door caught her eye as another woman headed towards her.
“You must be Natalia.” Her voice still sounded raspy but it was better than when she was pulled out of the dungeon. The woman nodded and Aerity leaned back onto the bed. “Thank you for all you have done. I have been a bit out of it. Can you please tell me where I am? How I got here?”
“Darius brought you here.” There was a hint of distaste as she spoke his name. Aerity wondered what he did to get on this woman’s bad side. As much as she heard him speak, she thought he had been nice. “Soldiers have been closing in on your trail. You are going to be traveling with us overseas where you will be safer. I am the captain of the boat.”
Aerity nodded as she took everything in. The captain’s voice was calming, welcoming. Aerity had the desire to lean in towards the sound.
But then she ruined it. “I brought in Nala because I didn’t want you throwing up all over my boat.”
Aerity tried to chuckle at the blunt comment but it got lodged in her throat. Apparently, she wasn’t used to using her vocal cords just yet. “Well throw up or not, I appreciate your help.”
“Your friend paid me sufficiently. Nothing more.” Well this woman clearly didn’t seek credit of being a hero, but her honesty was oddly refreshing.
Aerity went to pull the blankets off her and realized she was in a hut, not a hospital of sorts. The bed beneath her was small, almost like it was fit for a child. Natalia’s warning eyes told her not to question it and she simply continued to stand. As soon as the blanket came off, she got a strong whiff of herself. Combine sweating with almost dying and she was so rank she could have matched the guards smell when she was taken to the dungeon.
She cringed. “Is there any place for me to wash up?”
Natalia’s lip dragged up. Aerity had no clue what was about to come out of her mouth. “You do smell like a dead fish.” Her head nodded to a closed door on the left. Aerity followed the motion and went to clean herself up. “There are towels and extra clothes in there for you once your clean. Your man bought them from the town.”
Aerity laughed. “He’s not my man but thank you.”
Natalia tilted her head. “He wishes to be.”
That had Aerity snorting. “Nah, he’s just my best friend. He sees me as nothing more.”
She didn’t look convinced. “While watching you suffering, he did not look at you as one friend looks at another. He looked at you as if you were the last drop of water in a dessert.” Before Aerity could respond, both her and Nala exited the hut.
She had to be mistaken.
Right?
After she was washed and dressed, Aerity finally felt human again. So much had happened in the last few days and none of it felt real. She went from being a princess to being tossed into a dungeon. From trusting Siel to him betraying her. Never in her life would she have thought Damien would be the one to come to her aid. Her head was spinning from all that had transpired and what it meant for her life. Overseas? She was meant to go to another part of this foreign world. To do what? Hide? Run? Those words didn’t sit well with her.
But neither did dying.
And she knew she was now going to be hunted.
The door creaked open again and as soon as Eli came into view and saw her, he launched into her arms. Careful not to squeeze too hard, he held her like he couldn’t believe that she was there, standing in front of him. His head rested in the crook of her neck. He seemed almost defeated. She ran a hand soothingly down his back and he shuddered before releasing her. “I thought I was going to lose you again.”
She offered him a sad smile. There was no telling what he had been through to get her here. All she knew was that she was unconscious most of the time. She cringed. He probably had to drag her all the way here. “Thank you for saving me. I can’t imagine how much of a load I was to drag around.”
He rested his forehead against hers like he always used to do but somehow it felt different this time. She shook off the odd feeling. “I would tear apart any world for you. I didn’t know you were in the dungeon or I would have come sooner. Siel all but locked me in my room.” His voice grew angrier the more he spoke.
She was angry too, so she shared in the sentiment. “Yeah well Siel fooled us all.”
Bitterness tinged her words. Eli picked up on it. “What happened? I only know that Damien told me to trust no one. He said the castle was infiltrated and the princess took your place.” She filled him in on how she had first escaped and the conversation she overheard, followed by the guards who grabbed and beaten her. His face darkened towards the end of the story.
Eli glanced down at her body and his eyebrows hiked up, only just noticing she looked much better than before. “I can hardly see your bruises anymore.” Amazed, he ran a hand up and down her arms. Without even hesitating he yanked her shirt up to inspect her wound. His eyes brightened with shock. “How is this possible? It looks like it is healing already.”
She shrugged even though she had the same reaction earlier. “Apparently Natalia’s tribe has some kind of magical healing plants. She wouldn’t tell me. Said it was a tribe secret.”
“It’s amazing.” His voice filled with awe as he continued to inspect her. After a few minutes it became uncomfortable and she cleared her throat.
He dropped his arms. “Sorry.” Pink overtook his cheeks, but she just smiled.
“So when do we set sail?”
“Tomorrow.”
“What time is it? I feel like I have been sleeping for an eternity.”
“Yeah you were out of it for a few days. It’s almost six.”
She inwardly cursed. There wasn’t much time. “Can I see what Damien gave us? We will probably need more supplies.”
He nodded as he went to the corner of the room where the bag laid on the ground. He carried it over to her and dumped its contents on the bed. The dagger Siel had given her, a bag of figs, some clothes and a few medical creams and wraps. She fingered through the other supplies when her hand landed on a bag of coins. Thankfully Damien thought to give them money. “We have no idea how much this is worth in dollars, do we?”
Eli pursed his lips. “Nope. We gave about a quarter of that much to Natalia and she looked at it like we had just stolen a dragon and trained it as a pet. So, it must be a decent amount.”
Aerity nodded as she grabbed a handful of coins and tucked the knife in her shoe.
“Where are you going?” Eli asked.
“To the nearest market to get some supplies. This won’t last us very long.”
He nodded and led her outside, with his hand to the small of her back. He was acting weirder than normal. She just couldn’t put her finger on why. He walked with her and she put a hand to his arm. “It will be easier for me to slip through the town by myself.”
Instead of waiting for him to put up a fight (which she knew he would) she silenced him. “The guards will be looking for two of us. I can wait until it gets dark and slip in and out of the crowd.”
“Someone will recognize you.” He argued.
“Someone could recognize you too. But both of us together wo
uld be a disaster.”
She knew he wanted to push it but after a minute in thought, he sighed and nodded his head. “Fine. But if you’re not back in an hour, I’m coming to look for you.”
Stubborn.
“Two hours. This is a girl about to go shopping after all.” She smirked at him, hiking up her eyebrow. He shook his head, a hint of a smile teasing his lips. It almost felt normal, as if she was about to run to the mall for an afternoon of window shopping. Or maybe something more like an outdoor flee market. “Fine. Two hours.” His gaze dropped down to her casual stance and calm demeanor. “Your taking this surprisingly well. You do realize we have to start all over and be further away from getting home, right? I’ve had a few days to process this. You’re just finding out now.”
“We don’t have much choice on the matter, now do we?”
∞∞∞
The shadows enclosed around her as Aerity walked through the abandoned alley. She had kept to the darkest areas since she left the marketplace. The happiness she felt with her purchases was diminished when she felt his presence creep in behind her. He weaved expertly through the crowd as he followed her discreetly across the town square. Just not as discreetly as she assumed he thought he was. As quiet as he was, his silence still seemed to echo against the path behind her.
Turning the corner, she positioned herself flat against the wall and waited patiently while gripping her dagger and widening her stance. As soon as he came to the spot she desired, she hastily pulled his back against her chest and placed the blade angled at his neck.
“I would be quite intrigued to know why your following me.” Aerity whispered in the stranger’s ear. His scent smelled masculine and familiar. She tried to place where she had smelled it before. She felt a tug in her chest that had her sucking in a breath.
“And I would be quite intrigued to understand your fascination with holding a blade to my neck.” His familiar voice had her loosening her grip.
“How did you find me?” Mentally churning through what could possibly be his reason for searching her out, she came up with a blank slate of ideas. Concluding that she was in no real danger, she dropped her arm and in effect, her weapon.
Damien spun to meet her gaze with a look that didn’t quite fit his face. “I tracked down Carly’s brother and he told me where the hut was. Once I reached Eli, he told me where to find you. How are you feeling?”
She was overwhelmed by the look in his eyes. It was like how one would look at a boy kicking an injured puppy. “A lot better actually. I had an infection and fever for a few days but someone did some voodoo magic healing stuff on me and I’m better.” The look he shot her made her feel crazy. Well, she felt like it so might as well embrace it. “What are you doing here?” She shook off the uneasy feeling his presence instilled in her, rubbing a hand down her cold arm.
“I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
She was amazed by the honesty she found in his voice.
Tucking her new blade into a sheath at her thigh, compliments of his money, she caught as his eyes trailed her movement.
“My eyes are up here, buddy.” Pointing two fingers in the direction of her eyes, she waited until he slowly slid his gaze up to meet them.
A grin danced on his lips. “You must be feeling better if you can still defend your honor.” He was silent a moment as he looked her over, his voice held a note of humor, but concern was there too. “You have new scars.”
He didn’t say it in question form, but she answered it anyway. “Yes.” She had forgotten all he had seen when she had gotten stabbed.
“What did they do to you?” His words didn’t require an answer. They were simply an under the breath mumble. He had saved her in the dark. He must not have seen the complete damage underneath all the blood and bruising. “Oh ya know. A little here. Little there. Some while I was locked in a dungeon and then when I was banished to survive on my own in a strange world with psychos that want to kill me for no reason.”
His eyes dropped as if some untold feeling of sadness had dragged them down. “Aerity, I’m so sorry.” She knew he wasn’t only speaking of her plight but also of Siel’s betrayal. His words sounded genuine yet, at the same time, hollow against her ears. She couldn’t deny how much pain she sensed in his sentence. “I should have believed you. Helped you find a way home. Anything but what I did. I fought you at every turn. Determined you were a liar. I’m just… I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. Me too.” They stood there for a minute just looking at each other hoping one of them would have an answer to their problem.
“Thank you for saving me.” She whispered.
He only stared at her. Then nodded. Awkward silence again.
“I was just told that we are going across seas. It makes no difference to me. Anywhere we go will be a new place.” She glanced up to see guilt in his eyes. His feet shifted nervously.
Gosh this was weird.
“Once I figure everything out Aerity, you will have a home to come back to. I just don’t know who to trust yet.”
She wanted to snort but held back. Damien was being more genuine than she had ever seen him be and she didn’t want to ruin that. “Your princess returned. There’s not much you can do, Damien. I’m not meant for this world. I’m nobody. Your father will return, and you have no choice in the matter. You’ll marry who you were supposed to. I need to embrace that I may never be home again.” Damien looked like he was about to object but she interjected, remembering her run in with the princess. “The princess is planning something, Damien. She came to visit me when I was in the dungeon. She said the woman in the woods is real and they are who brought me here. They wanted to turn the people against you. Her plan is to cause chaos and destroy the monarchy, but she didn’t tell me how. Watch her. Be careful.”
He nodded, “Yeah, I…”
Their conversation was interrupted by a giggling girl at the end of the alleyway whose footsteps were getting closer. Panicked, Aerity glanced around but the direction of the girl was the only way out. Damien seemed to have the same thought because he tossed his hood up. They couldn’t risk anyone seeing who they were. The steps drew closer as the voices grew louder.
Thinking of the only solution she could, she grabbed hold of Damien’s shirt and yanked him flush against her chest. His heart was racing beneath her fingertips to the same beat hers was.
“Catch my legs.” Before he had the chance to realize what she was saying, she ignored the pain in her side and hopped up to wrap her legs around his waist. Grabbing his head, she slammed his mouth to hers as their company rounded the corner. His soft lips seemed desperate and hungry to devour her as his hands gripped her skirts in his fists, keeping her body pressed up against the wall. She didn’t need to fake the moan that escaped her mouth as a girl and guy gasped at their lude scene.
Noticing that they continued to stand there staring, Aerity reluctantly ripped her mouth from his making sure she kept her face concealed. Throwing on a fake accent she crooned to the onlookers. “keep en lookin an iz gonna charge ya for da show.”
Horrified, the girl stepped back with her companion as they started back out the alley. As soon as their footsteps were far enough away, Aerity left out a relieved breath and set her head against the wall behind her.
Damien’s front side was still connected to hers as it rocked with a heavy panting motion, her legs still wrapped around his waist. Realizing the position they were still in, Aerity slowly undid her legs and tried to slide back down his body. His hands tightened at her waist as their eyes met, her body still suspended off the ground. Frozen in silence, they stared at each other as the heat crackling between them made the air thick and clammy. Her thighs were on fire in every space that had touched him.
Damien’s eyes darted from her eyes to her lips, with desire radiating from them that possibly matched her own.
She had to admit that he was one hell of a kisser, even when they were just playing pretend.
Their breaths
mingled with the heaving of their chests, lips mere inches from each other’s. “We should go.” She said breathlessly.
“Uh huh.” He agreed without moving an inch, as both of them remained locked into place.
“I leave tomorrow at dawn. I don’t know if I will ever be back again.” She whispered.
Damien looked defeated. Then determined. “I will find a way. This isn’t goodbye Aerity. We will figure this out.”
They stared at each other. His arm was still wrapped around her body, but she felt an odd sense of comfort in his touch. It was silly to feel that way, but she felt so alone without it. It was something she could hold in the back of her mind and pull it out on a rainy day. Sadly, she had a feeling that there would be many of those to come.
A shout snapped them both out of their daze, making them jump apart. They both seemed to remember at the same time how much danger they were in lingering there.
Damien stepped back to allow her to stand on her own two feet as they both made their way to the mouth of the alley. They kept to the shadows as the streetlights glowed in random patterns on the ground.
Checking around the curve to make sure the cost was clear, Damien waved to Aerity that it was safe to leave.
“We will meet again.” He called out just as he turned and sprinted back towards the castle. After his shadow retreated in the distance and disappeared from her view she sighed and began her walk back to the docks.
Her future awaited.
She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Damien was right.
Maybe one day they would meet again.
∞∞∞
Damien
He couldn’t deny the rip in his heart the further away he got from her. She was lost in an unfamiliar world, tossed and thrown around. He desperately wanted to help her more than he currently was, but he was in sore enough straights as it was. Every turn made him question who he could trust and how to figure out how deep the deceit ran.