Arrow's Wind (The Healing Touch): The Elemental Realms

by Gina Manis

  “She has a right to be, Katy,” I say and shut up before I say too much. I know Jenna doesn’t want people here to know of her past. She doesn’t want people to look at her like they did in Star Kingdom. I hurry to change the subject. “Now we can’t leave today.”

  “I’m sorry,” she says, and I know she is. Katy does many things without thinking first, but she is my sister and has a good heart. She is very open with her thoughts and often says things she shouldn’t. We were close growing up, being almost the same age. She knows too much of my own past, and I don’t want her talking to Jenna about it.

  “Don’t go telling Jenna about Darla and me. I will do it in my own time.”

  “She was hard on the girl.”

  “Don’t call her that.” I tell her, “Jenna is not a child. She is a woman with her own mind and who has come here to start a new life on her own.”

  “She is young, Arrow, by ten cycles to you,” she says defensively. “It doesn’t take a genius to see she is innocent. Are you sure you want to get involved with someone like her?”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You and Darla did some crazy things back in the day. What do you think someone like her will think when she finds out?”

  “I am not that person anymore, Katy. You need to mind your own business for once.”

  “Fine,” she huffs and crosses her arms over her chest as Charles comes up beside her. “But you better tell her before others do.”

  Charles looks at me apologetically and holds out his hand, “It was nice seeing you again, Arrow. Please come by and see the baby and Simon when you have a chance.”

  “I will,” I assure him, shaking his hand.

  “Come on, Kat, we should get home,” he says, slinging their bag over his shoulder and touching her lower back with his hand to direct her out.

  “Goodbye, Arrow,” she says stiffly. “Make sure to visit our parents soon.”

  “I plan to,” I say as they move out the door. I sit down my cup and follow them but head in the opposite direction once outside. I want to check on the sleds and make sure they will be ready for tomorrow early. The sooner we get out of here the better.

  Katy is right in that I have to tell Jenna about my past with Darla. I don’t want her to know I have been with more women than I can remember. That I have been married, and it ended because of sex.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Jenna

  My head is pounding when I wake, but I sit up and look around the room. Arrow isn’t here, and I am alone. I have no idea of the hour, but considering how much light is coming through the windows, it has to be late.

  I look down and see I am still in my dress from last night, and it is a mess. I remember dancing with Arrow last and then nothing. He must have brought me back here and put me in the bed.

  I swear I am never drinking again. I had liked it last night when Katy kept giving me drinks, but I had no idea it would make me feel like this in the end.

  Getting up, I wash my face and change into some of my new clothes. I had bought up several pairs of pants and shirts, thinking they would be of better use to my fresh start in the mountains. I like the freedom they offer me and feel it is a right choice.

  Arrow must be tending to the rest of the shopping and checking on our sleds. I will see if I can find him and offer some help. As I go out the door, I grab the hat by the door to keep the sun from my eyes. They are sensitive this morning, even in the room.

  I feel sluggish as I walk down the stairs but am determined to get things done. I don’t think I could make the trip to my new place today, but I could at least get everything taken care of so we could leave first thing in the morning.

  I walk out of the hotel and down to the little eatery to see if they have any coffee. The hotel is out, and I don’t want to wait for another pot to be made. I have wasted enough of my day already.

  Sitting down at one of the small tables in the shade, a woman comes over and takes my order for coffee and bread, not trusting my stomach to hold anything else. I take my hat off and look around as I wait, which isn’t long.

  I eat my bread and watch the people from the theater as they pass by, making their way out of the village in their wagon train. The show had been amazing last night, and I’m glad I caught the last one.

  “Well, hello, dear.” I hear a voice but don’t realize who it is until a woman sits down across from me. I tense, seeing it is the woman Darla from last night. “You look like you just rolled out of bed. Are you okay after last night?”

  “I am. Thank you for your concern,” I say, sipping at my coffee. I don’t like this woman, but there is no reason for me to be rude to her.

  “You gave us such a fright last night when you fainted. I hope Arrow took good care of you.”

  Did I faint? I have never fainted in my life. Well, that is just great. I hate the idea that I looked like the weak little girl I remember her calling me last night.

  “I… had a little too much to drink is all.” It is the only thing I can think of to say.

  “Someone so young should watch that in the future.” She warns me like she would a child from overeating candy. “Why, men will take advantage of someone like you in a heartbeat.”

  “I would have been more cautious if I wasn’t with friends,” I tell her.

  “Oh yes, friends,” she says with a smile. “You sure trust Arrow, don’t you?”

  “Why should I not?” I ask her. “He is a good man and I have known him for a long time.”

  “Oh, he is that. Very good indeed, as I recall,” she agrees with me with a sly smile. Darla doesn’t seem like she would be Arrow’s type. She is brazen and flaunts herself with revealing clothing. Right now, she has on a pair of pants that show every curve of her body. Her blouse is even worse and buttoned only to the middle of her breast. Maybe she is his type. She is beautiful, even though I don’t like to admit to it. I’m sure she gets many men’s attention. “But you shouldn’t put too much faith in any man. Especially one who is a sex addict.”

  “What?” I ask, shocked by what she calls Arrow. There is no way!

  “If you have known Arrow for cycles, you should know his cravings,” she says even in front of the server setting her coffee down. “Arrow was never shy about taking a woman to his bed, even more than one. I take it you haven’t visited it yet?”

  “Me? No.” I am completely thrown by her telling me this about Arrow. I have never seen him before with a woman, but it wasn’t like I ever paid much attention to him before.

  “Um, yes,” she says and leans closer to me. “Arrow and I were married once, but I had to end it. I couldn’t deal with his… habits and thirst. He became too much for me to handle him on my own and there never seemed to be enough women to appease his appetite. I mean, how many men can fuck ten women in a night and still want more?”

  “You were married to him?” This shocks me even more than her talking to me about sex. Arrow and sex? Him and her?

  “I only tell you because you are so young, and I don’t want to see you hurt.” She tells me. “Arrow can be a charmer and say all the right things, but once you take him to your bed, he is an animal.”

  I am struggling to see Arrow as she tells me this. Sure I have seen Arrow’s temper, but he is one of the most patient people I know. He is at least with me, and I can’t see him as some animal she is trying to portray.

  “I need to go,” I tell her, rising to my feet, not wanting to hear anymore, but she grabs my hand.

  “Be careful, my dear,” she tells me with what looks to be concern in her eyes. “I can see you are innocent, and I don’t want you to get hurt by him as I was.”

  “Arrow wouldn’t hurt me,” I tell her, pulling my hand away from her.

  “Not intentionally, he wouldn’t. But he has a strong drive and a taste for the innocent like you,” she says, smiling at me as she stands up. “I wouldn’t tell him I warned you. It could set him off. When
he gets angry, he tends to be more aggressive and… forceful.”

  My past rushes back at me, reminding me of what it is like to be forced. I don’t want to think of Arrow being like that, but I can’t help it at the moment. I don’t wait to hear anymore and leave her, moving down the street as fast as I can.

  She couldn’t have been telling me the truth, I tell myself. She seemed to have wanted him last night, but I get a sense she is one of those women who enjoys sex. What about her saying she was married to him and divorced because of his habits? I don’t like the idea of Arrow with her, but she had to know him on a much more personal level than I.

  Maybe I should ask him, but how? I am not comfortable talking about these things with a man, not even Arrow. Yesterday in the hotel room, was the closest we ever came to speaking of intimacy. He had stood in front of me and straight out asked if I was attracted to him. It had been hard to admit to myself and to him that I was. Then he mentioned courting me, and my heart had almost melted at the idea.

  I never had even considered it before and as I got ready, I became excited about it. When he knocked on the door, I was determined to make it a good night for both of us. And the night had been perfect until Darla showed up.

  She is trying to scare me and make me doubt Arrow. I know I shouldn’t listen to her, but it does have me thinking. How well do I know Arrow?

  “Hey, Jenna!” I hear my name and see him moving down the street towards me, and my heart races. Should I ask him about what she said? No, I can’t do that. I’m not even sure I want to know about his marriage with her.

  He stops in front of me and gives me a light smile. “I see you made it out of bed. Have you had a bite to eat yet?”

  “Yes,” I answer, not sure what else to say. I feel uncertain with him again and look away.

  “That is good. I have finished with our supplies and have loaded them in our sleds. They are fixed and ready to go,” he tells me. “We can leave early in the morning if you like. I thought we could get settled, and once we are, I will take you to meet my parents.”

  “Um, sure,” I say, my mind racing at the idea of being alone with Arrow again. I’m feeling uncomfortable around him, and I haven’t in a long time now. It makes me mad that Darla has gotten to me.

  “Are you okay, Jenna?” he asks me, and I look up. “Maybe we should go back to the hotel and rest. You are still not looking well.”

  “No, I am fine,” I tell him, not wanting to go back and be alone with him. The room is enormous, but I don’t think it would calm me down. “I don’t want to be inside all day. Maybe I can find Katy and get to know her a little better.”

  Yes, Katy could tell me if what Darla says is true. She was open with me last night, even though I yelled at her once for trying to set me up.

  “Katy and Charles left earlier, heading home,” He tells me and my plan drops out of the bottom then. “But if you want to do something, there is the river nearby, and it is where people around here like to go and relax for the day. It has a park for the kids, a place to fish and picnic, even an area to go swimming in.”

  “That does sound nice.” It is better than staying in the hotel room with him.

  “How about you round us up a picnic, and I will go and see about finding us some fishing poles. Have you ever fished before?”

  “No, I haven’t,” I say, liking the idea of learning. This is the Arrow I know. The man who is always trying to teach me something.

  “I will teach you,” he says with a friendly smile. “There is a place where we can cook them once we catch them. Bring some salt and something for them, okay.”

  “Okay,” I agree, thinking that maybe us spending a day of leisure would be a good time to get to know him better. We have been together for weeks now, but traveling takes a lot of energy and it isn’t like we spent all our time talking.

  “I’ll meet you in front of the hotel in half an hour,” he says and turns to leave. I see nothing in him like what Darla says, but I can be wrong. I have been before, and it cost me. I didn’t want to ever be used like that again. It is hard to think of Arrow being like that with me, but doubt has crept in.

  I haven’t had the nightmares since Bran, but there are memories still and I am feeling them on the surface right now. Just a short conversation with Darla brought them all back. Still, I like Arrow, and he has been good to me. He hasn’t done or showed me any of those things Darla has said, and I don’t even know if I can trust her.

  I head for the hotel to gather some things for us, hoping to make the best of today even though my head is still throbbing some. As I work to gather the items, I decide to put what Darla had said away. I am not going to turn away from Arrow just because of her words. I need, but more importantly, I want him with me.

  Pineview is my future, and I don’t even know where it is yet. No telling what things it will need once I arrive and having Arrow with me does bring me some peace. I am not going to be completely alone.

  There is no one else here I trust like him. I just need to find a way to ask Arrow. I feel he will tell me the truth no matter what it may be. But I am not ready to do that now. Talking about sex is hard for me, and it isn’t something I like to remember.

  Besides, it isn’t like Arrow owes me anything. He doesn’t have to share his past with me. I haven’t shared mine with him even though I know he knows about it. If I can’t tell him of mine, I can’t ask about his.

  There are more secrets between Arrow than I knew of before. Until I am ready to share with him, I am not going to pry into his. With my mind made up, I wait for him in front of the hotel, determined for us both to have a nice day.

  He joins me shortly with the two fishing poles and a small bucket of worms. Together we walk down the street and off to the river.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jenna

  It is evening by the time we catch enough fish. We move up to a picnic area that has several grills, and while I clean the fish, Arrow starts a fire with some logs in one of the pits.

  The river's nice and the place is set up so everyone in the community can enjoy, with a park in the distance, the eating area, a deck off the river for fishing, a swimming area, and even a trail for walking. It is clean and well maintained, and several families are around.

  “I can’t believe you caught so many fish,” Arrow says as I give him the tray, and he puts four on the fire for us. I caught six total to Arrow’s two. We gave the others to a family who took them home, keeping just enough for ourselves.

  “Beginners luck,” I say, smiling. I am proud of myself for being so good at it. I didn’t like the idea of putting the worm on the hook, but after the first two, I was okay with it. Arrow insisted that I do it myself.

  “You shame me, woman, with your skills,” he says playfully. I start to pull out the rest of our food and set it on our meal table. I am hungry and ready to eat.

  “Just wait until we get to Pineview, and I can cook you a real meal,” I tell him. “You wouldn’t believe some of the things I can cook after working in the kitchen at the castle.”

  “I can’t wait,” he says, taking a seat while the fish cook and watches me. “The house hasn’t been lived in for some cycles. No telling the condition it will be in, but I have filled one sled with all the tools we may need for repairs. There is a man at the edge of the village I want to speak with about some chickens and a milk cow before we turn in for the night. We can pick them up in the morning.”

  “With the price you got the place for, I have plenty of coins for anything we will need. For several cycles maybe.”

  “My parents should have a good stock of rabbits, and I can get some from them, also.”

  I sit down as we talk more about Pineview and make tentative plans. We eat once the fish is done, and as night is quickly approaching, I hurry to pack the stuff back up, and we head back to town. Everyone else has left, but there is still plenty of light on the street as we walk back to the village.

>   We come up on the house, and Arrow heads to the man outside feeding some pigs. I continue on, tired after the day and ready to lie down.

  As I walk down the street, I see some young men hanging around one of the buildings' alleys. As I pass them, I can’t help but recall the night Jared had attacked me in an alley. I shove the fear away as I continue, but soon realize that they have joined me as they come up from behind.

  “You’re new around here,” a tall, slender one says to my right as I pick up my pace. “I am Sam. This is Jonny, Lex, and Tick Tock.”

  I say nothing, and the one to my left asks as he turns and walks backward in front of me, “What is your name?”

  The two who have spoken are young, about my age, but the other two look younger. I try to walk around him, but he steps to the side and blocks me as we all come to a stop.

  “Are you not going to tell us your name?” he asks, smiling as his eyes roam down the front of me.

  I swallow hard but finally tell them, hoping they will leave me alone, “Jenna.”

  “That is a pretty name,” Sam speaks again, but I don’t look at any of them. “A pretty name for a pretty girl.”

  “I need to pass,” I tell them. “Please move out of my way.”

  I don’t like the invasion of my space. I haven’t had to deal with men like this in awhile and am on edge.

  “What’s your hurry?” The one in front of me, Jonny asks. “We just thought we would introduce ourselves.”

  “And you did,” I tell him, finally looking up at him. I know I need to keep a brave face with them and be direct. “Now, please remove yourself from my path.”

  The others start making sounds around me as Jonny smiles. “You’re a little spitfire, I believe. Where are you from anyways?”

  “Star Kingdom,” I tell him.

  “The Fire realm,” he says, looking surprised. “Don’t get many of your kind here. Are you planning on staying or just passing through?”

  “I am staying, but as I said, I need to pass.” I remind him and try to step around him again. Sam steps in front of me now and way to close, and I back up but not too far as there are the two younger boys behind me. The air is becoming thinner around me now as I feel trapped.