Protector (Little Death Bringer, #2)

by Banks, Catherine

  “I didn’t want to leave you alone,” he said, “And the healer left to eat so I stayed by your side in case you woke up. It turned out to be a good thing, right?”

  “You didn’t have to stay by me,” I whispered as I sat up. My head was still a little loopy from the medicine and I almost fell off of the bed.

  Sebastian caught me and helped me lay back down. “Easy, Marin. You don’t need to act tough around me.” He smoothed my hair down and smiled. “Your foot looks a lot better already.”

  I looked down at the foot which was wrapped and sighed. “I can’t believe she had to cut the boot off.”

  “Were they a present from Favian?” he asked. I nodded my head. “Don’t worry, he’ll understand, or at least he should. I guess I need to find you a new pair of boots since my horse caused the destruction of these ones.”

  “No,” I said as I shook my head, “You don’t.”

  “Do you dislike me?” he asked as he leaned back in his chair.

  “No. Why would you ask that?”

  “You are pushing me away. It is subtle, but I can tell that you are keeping me at arm’s length so to speak. I understand you need time to adjust, but I was hoping that while Favian was away you and I could get to know each other.” What he said made sense, but…“How will you ever get to know me if you don’t let me in?” he asked softly.

  He was right, but I couldn’t explain to him that I was keeping him at arm’s length because I loved Favian and I was scared that I would confuse my love for Favian with Sebastian looking like him. I didn’t want to end up confusing myself and making me think I was in love with him when I wasn’t.

  “I’m sorry,” I answered since it was the only thing I could say.

  “Apology accepted. Now, let’s get you to your room. The healer has ordered you to bed rest for two days.”

  “I don’t do bed rest,” I said as I sat up slowly.

  “You’ll have to learn,” he said as he scooped me up into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” I asked in shock.

  “Carrying you to your room.”

  “I can walk,” I said a bit in exasperation, “I’m not helpless.”

  “No you’re not, but you aren’t supposed to put any pressure on your foot and this is the easiest way to help you up the stairs.”

  “You’re as stubborn as Favian,” I said in exasperation.

  “That makes me like him a little more,” he said with a smile. He carried me out of the healer’s room and down the hallway. I closed my eyes because the pain was starting to come back and I didn’t want him to see it. He carried me up the stairs and asked, “Which is yours?”

  I opened my eyes and pointed to the first door. He walked me to the bed and laid me down gently. “Thank you,” I said despite the fact that I wished he hadn’t carried me.

  “Don’t sound so mad,” he said with a laugh. “No one saw us.” I adjusted my pillows and he looked around my room. “This is not what I expected your room to look like.”

  I looked around at the pink draperies, lacy curtains and over the top girly décor and laughed. “Mother takes down any thing I put up that is not ladylike when I leave. I’m used to it now though.”

  “So what do you do besides mercenary jobs?” he asked as he sat on the other side of my bed and faced me.

  I felt somewhat uneasy with him in my room, but decided it didn’t matter since I had a broken foot and couldn’t leave anyways. “If we aren’t on a mercenary job we are here at the castle,” I said. “We have been trying to get as many mercenary jobs as possible so that we can become Protectors.” A Protector was the highest rank a mercenary could attain and you only obtained the title after performing a large number of missions or a couple of high ranked missions. Some mercenaries never even became Protectors.

  “By ‘we’ you mean you and Favian?” he asked.

  I nodded my head. “Yes, he is my partner.”

  “So I was right, you two are a couple.”

  I shook my head vehemently. “No! No, we are just friends.”

  Sebastian gave me a strange look and said, “So you two aren’t in love with each other?”

  I did not know how to answer that and I did not want to tell him the truth. “No, we do not love each other,” I answered. It was partly true because Favian did not love me I just loved him so technically we did not love each other.

  “You’re a horrible liar,” he said with crossed arms.

  “I’m not lying. We aren’t in love with each other.”

  He stared at me a moment and asked, “Why not?”

  That was a strange question and one I wasn’t prepared for. “Um, because it wouldn’t work even if we were,” I said.

  “What? Why not?” he asked again.

  “Because it wouldn’t,” I answered a bit angrily. He was asking very personal questions which I did not want to answer. “He and I could never be married.”

  He didn’t seem to believe me, but he let it go and asked, “What is your favorite weapon?”

  The change in topic was drastic and I greatly appreciated it. “I don’t have a favorite, but I hate archery.”

  “Only because you are terrible at it,” Maddock said as he walked into my room.

  “Maddock!” I said happily, “Where have you been?”

  “I was with the Pegasus herd. I didn’t know you were back yet,” he said as he sat down on my side of the bed and kissed my cheek. “Why are you in bed?”

  “My horse decided he disliked her and stomped on her foot,” Sebastian answered.

  Maddock looked at him and then his eyes widened. “My apologies Prince Sebastian. I assumed you were Favian.”

  Sebastian smiled pleasantly. “It’s quite alright.”

  “Maddock I owe you a huge debt,” I said to get his attention back.

  “You do?” he asked. “For what?”

  I lifted the necklace which was still around my neck. “This necklace saved my life.”

  “Truly?” he asked in shock. I nodded my head and he asked, “What happened?”

  I moved upwards on my bed so that I was sitting up higher and Sebastian grabbed my pillows and arranged them behind my back so that I could sit up easier. “Thank you,” I said as I relaxed against them. “Okay, you remember that someone had hired kidnappers to kidnap me and Favian and our parents brought me back?” I asked Maddock.

  He nodded his head. “Yes, they chained you in the dungeon if I recall,” he said with a smile.

  I laughed, now able to laugh about the whole ordeal. “Yes, they chained me up in the dungeon.”

  “Why would they do that?” Sebastian asked in shock.

  “Because they were trying to protect her,” Maddock answered, “And they knew that they couldn’t simply bring her back to the Kingdom because Marin would run back to the Academy to finish becoming a mercenary so they were forced to chain her up.”

  “And I did escape,” I said proudly.

  “Yes, how did you escape from the dungeon?” Maddock asked.

  “I’ll have to show you when I’m not on bed rest,” I told him. “But it’s a secret that Favian must not find out.”

  Maddock laughed and then he said, “Then on the mission for the Academy they managed to kidnap you and Favian was injured, right?”

  I nodded my head and decided it was alright to tell them about the medallion. “They had a medallion that knocked me unconscious and stole some of my energy when it touched my skin.”

  “What?” Maddock and Sebastian asked in shock at the same time.

  I nodded my head. “It has something to do with my true father’s genetics, whatever they may be. So three men kidnapped me and took me to a far off castle where the man who had hired them was. He wanted me to stop my pursuit of being a mercenary because he didn’t want other women trying to do the same thing. He had me chained in a cell and refused to feed me or give me water. He lied to me and told me that the medallion made me fall asleep for an entire day, so I thought I was down t
here for three days when in actuality it had only been three hours. He usually placed the medallion against my skin and then removed it, but the last time he tied it around my neck. I used the magic word and your necklace burned through the cord holding the necklace and allowed me to stay conscious. I then used it to melt the restraints and the door lock to escape from the cell.”

  “That necklace did all that?” Sebastian asked.

  Maddock smiled proudly. “I made it myself and since you are probably wondering, there is no limit to how much it can be used.”

  “I was worried about that at the time,” I said with a laugh.

  “So how did you escape?” Maddock asked.

  “When he came down to check on me I ran up the stairs and out of the castle. Unfortunately I was weakened from the medallion being used against me and he caught me.” I swallowed as I recalled the next moments and tried to clear my emotions.

  Maddock rested his hand on my arm and said, “If it is difficult to discuss you do not have to.”

  I smiled at him. “Thank you friend, but I need to get over it.” I took a deep breath and said, “He fought me and was winning. He tried to rape me and when that failed, because I injured him, he started choking me. I would have died if Favian had not come and tossed him off of me.”

  “How did Favian find you?” Sebastian asked curiously.

  “He pretended to be one of the kidnappers and wore a hooded cloak the entire time so that even I didn’t know it was him. I actually threatened to kill him at one point and probably would have tried since I had no idea it was him. He killed the man and started towards me, but since I didn’t know it was him I ran away. He caught me and removed his hood.” I felt embarrassed about the next part and said, “I thought he had been in on it the whole time and thought he had left me down there for days so I was furious with him. He explained that he had to pretend to be one of them so that he could find the location of the person looking for me and that had he not there would have been no way for them to have found me and I surely would have died.”

  “That is quite the tale,” Maddock said as he absorbed it all, “I’m glad my necklace was able to help you.”

  I smiled. “As am I or I probably wouldn’t be here today.”

  “How many times must I tell you not to have boys in your room,” Mother said as she walked inside with a half teasing smile on her face.

  “I’m on bed rest, Mother. I need some form of entertainment.”

  Maddock hugged her and she kissed his cheek since he was taller than her and could not reach the top of his head. “It is good to see you Maddock. We miss you running through the castle.”

  He smiled. “I will be sure to visit more often.”

  “Please do,” she said seriously. “Are you hungry?” she asked me. I opened my mouth to answer and she laughed. “I’m not sure why I even asked because I know you are since you are always hungry. Maddock will you help me get food for her?”

  “Of course,” he said with a smile as he stood up.

  “Would you like some lunch as well, Sebastian?” mother asked him.

  He nodded his head. “Yes, please.”

  She turned and walked from my room with Maddock beside her. “She is going to lecture me later about how a proper lady does not allow male visitors inside her bed chambers,” I grumbled.

  “She is correct about that,” Sebastian said, “But in the circumstances I’m sure it is alright.”

  “I’m not worried,” I said as more pain built in my foot. “I’m used to hearing her lectures by now.”

  “Are you in pain?” he asked.

  I opened my mouth to say no and then nodded. “Some,” I said.

  “I’ll go see if the healer has pain medicine for you.”

  I watched him leave and wondered if this was all real or if it was only an act. What could he gain from becoming my friend? I instantly felt bad for thinking such a thing and decided it must be because I was sort of an outsider like he was, only the people here didn’t fear him, but instantly loved him. I didn’t doubt that by tomorrow he would be too busy with the other elves to even pay me mind.

  Mother and Maddock came back with food and shortly after Sebastian returned with some pain medicine. Maddock told of his trip to the Pegasus herd while we ate and things almost felt normal. If it hadn’t been for the fact that I missed Favian and was worried about him, I would have felt great. Father summoned Maddock away, which left Sebastian alone with me. He cleaned up the food mess and then sat back on the bed facing me.

  “So, are you ready to get outside?” he asked me.

  “I’m on bed rest,” I reminded him. Favian would have been tying me to the bed instead of offering to let me outside.

  “Yes, but you can lie down outside, right?”

  “Yes,” I said with a smile.

  “Then I shall carry you to the fields where Amile interrupted us and you can nap out there.”

  “You are not going to carry me,” I said seriously.

  He picked me up and said, “You have no choice.”

  I groaned, but let him carry me out of the castle and to the field since I did not want to injure myself further and delay my healing. I looked around to see if anyone had watched us, but it didn’t appear so. He set me down in my area of the field and I stared up at the blue sky with wispy clouds slowly moving across it.

  He lay down next to me and said, “I could get used to this.”

  “It is peaceful,” I said as I closed my eyes and relaxed.

  We dozed silently beside each other until the sun began to set and then he carried me back to my room and retrieved more pain medicine from the healer. The longer I spent with him, the more comfortable I became around him. He had an incredibly quiet and gentle disposition that somehow also made me feel safe. Or was that because of his similarity to Favian? Was I confusing my feelings for one to the other?

  I couldn’t decide, but I shoved the thoughts away and tried to get to know him better. “What is your favorite time of year?” I asked as I showed him how to fold pieces of paper into animal shapes.

  “Winter,” he answered right away.

  “Winter?” I asked in shock. “Why?”

  “Because I love snow and having a fire in the fireplace. What is yours?”

  “Spring because it is sunny and cool and the perfect time to go on missions.”

  “You don’t like winter?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t like the cold. At some point of every winter I always end up in the icy river. And snow always makes camping harder when we are out on missions.”

  “You camp outdoors on missions in the winter?” he asked in shock.

  I nodded my head. “Yes.”

  “How do you stay warm?” he asked.

  “We use a tarp and branches to keep the new snow from falling on us and usually end up sharing a sleeping bag and lying the second one underneath us so that it keeps us warmer,” I said as I finished folding a crane. I realized what I said, but it was too late to take the statement back and honestly I shouldn’t be made to feel bad because nothing intimate ever happened between Favian and me. It was only done as a survival and comfort thing. Yet, part of me worried what Sebastian would think.

  “What is your favorite type of meat?” he asked, seeming to have ignored the comment or understood what I meant.

  “Beef.”

  “Really? I would have thought pork was your favorite.”

  I shook my head. “I love bacon, but beef is my absolute favorite. What’s yours?”

  “Duck,” he said with a smile.

  “I’ve never had duck before.”

  His mouth dropped open. “You have never eaten duck meat?” I shook my head. “Well we are just going to have to change that.”

  “I won’t kill a duck just to eat it,” I said.

  He looked appalled and said, “Neither will I, but there are surely ducks around that have died from natural causes.”

  “What’s your favorite weapon
?” I asked.

  “The sword,” he said, “But I also like the dagger quite a bit for close combat.”

  “It does come in very handy,” I said with a smile.

  He groaned in frustration and held up his mangled crane. “I cannot seem to get this right.”

  I laughed and flattened out the edges and said, “You almost have it. You just have to flatten it out more.”

  He watched me do it and then picked up another piece of paper and tried again. He concentrated very hard and after a moment held up a perfect crane. “Now I understand,” he said with a proud smile.

  I smiled back. “Perfect.”

  We spent several more hours folding various animals and then it was dinner time. I expected them to feed me in my room, but Sebastian carried me to the ballroom despite my protests and set me down in my chair.

  “How are you feeling?” Father asked.

  “Frustrated at the moment,” I said as I straightened my shirt.

  “Your foot will heal soon and you will be as good as new,” Father said with a smile.

  Dinner was delicious as always and relatively quiet. I wanted to ask about Favian, but knew no word would have returned yet. Sebastian tried to carry me back up the stairs, but I refused this time with an elbow to his ribs, making him put his arm around me and only assist me as I hobbled along, not carry me. He smiled the entire time so at least he wasn’t upset that I refused to let him carry me.

  We resumed making our paper animals and I showed Sebastian how to make three different kinds. We had worked three more hours and used up most of the paper supply that I had when a yawn escaped as I worked on another animal. “It seems that my body is stealing my energy to heal itself,” I said as I continued folding the paper.

  “I shouldn’t have kept you up so late. I’m sorry,” Sebastian said.

  We piled our paper animals together and he placed them on my nightstand. They looked like a little army preparing for battle and it brought a smile to my face imagining them attacking other paper animals. Tomorrow I would have to make some sinister paper animals for them to fight. “Thank you for keeping me entertained all day,” I said sincerely, “And for taking me outside.”