‘Haven’t heard that song in years, never heard it sung so beautifully either.’ Barmic said with a smile, but Adonia only replied with a quick smile before hiding behind her drink. ‘Yer a shade of crimson yerself Addie.’
‘Are you okay?’ Arthur asked rather concerned as he tried to look at her face, her cheeks burned red and her concealment only made Barmic chuckle more out of disbelief than anything.
‘Ye clocked someone didn’t ye?’
‘What? No.’ she tried to evade the accusation.
‘Dinnae think A dinnae see him lookin’ at ye too lass.’
‘Everyone was looking.’
‘Aye, but someone in particular was watching, A saw how ye two looked at each other.’ Adonia tried to laugh it off and used her drinks as an excuse for her redness.
‘I best be going to bed; I think I’ve had enough.’
‘Suit yerself Addie.’ she gave a smile and retreated back up to her bedroom while the pair remained downstairs.
‘Wait, you don’t think they actually like each other, do you?’ Arthur asked as he leaned in closer. Barmic gave a scoff and looked out toward the tavern.
‘Aye there was definitely somethin’ there.’
‘But they fight at every opportunity they get how can Adonia like that? Plus, he’s an elf they can’t.’
‘That’s a stupid law, people dinnae even ken why they ain’t allowed anymere n dinnae give me that crap aboot that tyrant king that killed ‘em all. Yer both the same in me eyes ‘sept ones got pointy ears.’
‘You two.’ Jenny smiled. ‘That girl is as shy as a chapel worshiper when it comes to men, I’d believe it if she said she was still a virgin, leave her be.’
Adonia stumbled past patrons to get to her room, to them she wasn’t even there, as she came to the silence of her room, she was quick to flop onto the bed and roll on her back, but she couldn’t sleep. She hugged and clenched at her pillow, pinning her face into it but it was no avail as the thoughts of Fenrir danced through her mind. She couldn’t deny he was handsome, even in a dark and mysterious way. His physic was nothing in comparison to the likes of Greymire, yes, he was slender like many of the elves she had come across but even with his scars his body was immaculately sculpted. Every scar had a history, a story, a reason for being there, his eyes she once feared but when they shone they shone with fierce dominance, and his voice, his voice that made her body tremble a deep masculine gravel but smooth as silk with each word. Adonia slammed the back of her head into her pillow to rid the thoughts.
He’s an elf and he doesn’t even like me. She tried to fight against herself, but then looked over at the sash against her wrist. She gave a sigh as she remembered her husband and remembered how he was gone and how difficult it was to keep the promise. Adonia hadn’t been with a man since Greymire, of course in her younger years she dreamed of a valiant knight or prince charming to sweep her off her feet. She had the valiant knight and lost him to his duty, Fenrir was hardly the prince charming, the exact opposite but perhaps that’s what Adonia liked about him. There was a sudden knock at the door.
‘What?’ she slurred almost annoyed.
‘Addie it’s me.’ She quickly slid herself from the bed and let in Jenny, she gave a smile, but her friend only replied with a sly smile with her arms crossed.
‘Have you come to tease me as well?’
‘Just ignore those two.’ She said as she brushed past Adonia and sat on the dresser table. ‘So much for not liking the elf eh?’
‘Jenny please.’ Adonia sighed as she shut the door and fell back onto her bed again. ‘Fen is an ass, he’s mean and heartless and-.’
‘Does telling yourself that help?’ Adonia sighed drunkenly in response. ‘You two have this funny love- hate relationship, you ain’t shy about throwing a punch, but that look back there, there was a spark Addie.’
‘I had my spark Jenny, he’s dead now.’
‘Exactly Addie.’ Adonia shot up almost insulted but Jenny was quick to back her words. ‘Your husband has been dead for a long time now Addie, it’s not as if he’s been gone a week and your bedding other men, don’t you think that he’d want you to be happy?’
‘In an illegal relationship with a man that doesn’t like me?’
‘Whatever floats your boat.’
‘I’ve just had too much to drink, that’s all, come tomorrow everything will be back to normal and we’ll forget about this evening. I mean Divine we’ve only just started talking to each other.’
‘Once you get that spark though Addie it’s hard to go back, sure you two pretty much hated each other when you first met but, I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you, I really think he likes you, even if he’s…Well, a bit of a dick at showing it.’ Adonia only leaned up from her pillow with a glare.
‘Please lets, let’s just forget about this.’
‘Suit yourself Addie.’ Jenny joked.
Adonia awoke hours later, her head ringing and her body ached, she groaned as she sat up only to realise that she had fallen asleep in her clothes. She yawned and stretched as she slipped off her bed and approached the vanity mirror, her hair was a tangled mess and her completion was pale almost sickly looking, Adonia gave a sigh as she rubbed her cheeks and brushed her hair, the tavern downstairs was almost completely silent apart from quiet murmurs as staff and some guests ate their morning breakfast. Adonia joined them, taking a seat next to Arthur she was presented with a small plate of food a mixture of eggs and meat, the smell attacked her stomach, but her mind forced her to eat.
‘Another drink normally helps.’ Barmic said with a smile.
‘Not today…’ She sighed then continued to eat, but she looked around the tavern, some faces she recognised others were new, but not the face she looked for.
‘If yer lookin’ fae Fen he went oot last night with a group of men.’
‘He hasn’t come back?’
‘Aye.’ Barmic said as he sat down. ‘It’s nothin’ unusual, probably raiding Griffiths or some other unlucky noble that crosses his path.’
‘He really doesn’t like nobles does he.’ she said as she tore a piece of bread off a larger loaf that they shared.
‘Aye.’ he chuckled. ‘Taken a shine tae ye though.’
‘No, he hasn’t.’ she brushed off the comment as she looked back down at her food.
‘If Fen didne like ye, ye’d be deed by noo.’
‘He nearly did kill me remember? Ever since it’s been nothing but fighting and squabbles whenever we cross paths.’
‘Well, if ye dinnae like him why is yer eyes peerin’ oot fae him?’ Adonia sharply stared at him but he continued to smile at her.
‘I’m married Barmic.’ she hissed as she twisted her wrapped wrist to him.
‘Aye A see that, but A take it that’s the other half.’ he said as he pointed to the tattered white sash that hung on the handle of her sword.
‘Da come on leave her alone.’ Arthur said with an almost frustrated look upon his face as he tried to eat his meal. ‘Why would she or anyone like to be with someone that fights with them all the time? I’ve known Fen for years he isn’t about to change.’ Barmic gave a slow nod but continued to smile.
‘But yer the only one who’s ever had the balls tae stand up tae him even though ye ken fully well he can kill ye.’
Adonia gave a sigh but remembered what she thought of last night and how his stare caught her off guard, she shook it off as nothing but still had her concerns, yes it wasn’t unusual for him to disappear into the night to fight but he would always be back by now. It made her think back to when he saved her, he didn’t have to, but he still went out to look for her, she felt as if she had to do the same. She finished her breakfast and made her way outside to the stables where she found her horse but several others missing, including the chestnut horse that Fenrir sometimes rode. She took Midnight out from his stall and prepared to set out in some hope of finding the group. Adonia scanned the surrounding landscape as sh
e followed the dirt track, she remembered the tracking skills she had learnt from the elves so many years ago, she looked down at the dusty road and saw several hundred hoof and footprints but some looked fresher than others. Around five horses all heading south in the direction of the Griffiths castle. Suddenly the group of horses seemed to split and scatter, was this another tactic? She noticed some went toward the surrounding forests while others headed straight through the open grasslands, she took the direct route carefully following the faint hoof prints through the grass, that’s when she noticed an abandoned wagon in the far distance. She quickly looked around to see any signs of Griffiths’ patrols, but nothing. Cautiously she approached the wagon and several shapes started to take form, several men and their horses laid dead. They had been dead for hours given the stench, some died by arrow strikes while others died by sword wounds, she recognised some of the men, they were from the Badlands while the other dead were random soldiers. But none of them were Fenrir.
‘Fenrir!’ she called out but only the gentle wisp of wind was her reply. She circled the wagon slightly and that’s when she noticed another dead horse further away pointing in the direction of the forest, it was the chestnut horse that Fenrir rode. She hastily kicked her heels into Midnight to make him approach, Adonia examined the corpse carefully and given the position it was in it tried to run to the forest but was struck down before it had a chance. She examined it closer and saw a faint trickle of blood leading to the forest, something was dragged there, or someone crawled there. She quickly made her way into the forest and continued to call out his name. The forest was thick and untamed, plenty of places to hide and conceal, Adonia only hoped that his white hair would stand out to her.
‘Fenrir!’ she called out again but this time she heard a small grunt. Adonia looked down at a small creek and only just managed to see an outstretched boot in the water, she jumped from her horse and approached, Fenrir was there, he had managed to hide himself under a ledge before the water, and given the right angle it would have been impossible to see him. ‘Fenrir!’ he didn’t even move; he was gravely injured as blood covered nearly every inch of his skin and even stained his hair. Adonia crawled into the small hiding place and pressed her head against his chest, she could feel his heart beating but just barely. Quickly, she dragged him out from the hole by his legs and tried to lift him up, his body was completely limp. She whistled over to Midnight who quickly approached, Adonia placed his arm over her shoulder and tried to hoist him up onto the horse, but his limp weight and Midnight’s height made the task difficult. ‘Why are you so damn heavy?’ she hissed, she took in a sharp inhale and squatted down to throw more of his weight over her shoulder. Adonia counted to three and with a slight jump she flopped his body over her horse and climbed on herself. She gave a loud shout which made the horse run back to the village, she tightly clenched onto Fenrir’s shirt to make sure he wouldn’t fall off. As they rode, he made small grunts and gasps it was a relief to her as it showed he was still alive. When she came to the entrance of the village, she slowed the pace of her horse and called out for Barmic and Arthur, the pair quickly exited the bar and rushed to her side when they saw Fenrir’s limp body.
‘What in the Divines’ name happened?’
‘Everyone else was dead.’ Adonia said as she slid off the horse and pulled Fenrir off with the assistance of Arthur. Adonia held him under his armpits while Arthur held his legs and they quickly rushed him back into the building. They took him into the back where they laid him on a large table, Barmic quickly grabbed a nearby wooden stool and stood on it to get a better view of Fenrir.
‘Where’d ye find him?’ he asked as he looked over the elf’s body to try and find his wounds.
‘He was hiding in a small hole in a nearby forest close to Griffiths’ territory, there was a wagon with several soldiers and men from the village Fenrir looked like he barely escaped.’
‘Divines’ flaming arse Fen whit did ye get yerself intae? Arthur, gang get me a cloth n some water, can barely tell whit blood’s his n whit ain’t.’ Arthur gave a quick nod and quickly left to get what was asked, Barmic gave a sigh and shook his head as he started to undo Fenrir’s shirt. ‘A have tae thank ye Addie, he would’ve died oot there if ye did naw look fae him, he’s been hurt bad before, but he usually makes it back on his own.’
Adonia gulped slightly and looked away as Barmic managed to remove Fenrir’s shirt which revealed several gashes and cuts, but the worst was a clean slice through his side which continued to pour blood.
‘…How is he even still alive?’ Adonia gasped as she saw the wound, there was no telling how long Fenrir had been out there for but judging by the bodies they had been dead for hours.
‘Clearly ain’t his time yet, say whit ye will but he’s a strong wee bastard.’ Arthur burst into the room with a large bowl of water and several rags and placed it on the table next to Fenrir’s head, Adonia grabbed a rag and pressed it against his largest wound.
‘This needs to be treated right away, I don’t know how much longer he’ll last.’
‘Right.’ Barmic jumped down from his stool and went back into the tavern to search for supplies, while Adonia continued to apply pressure Arthur tried to clean away the blood as best as he could.
‘…Can I ask you something Addie?’ Arthur asked nervously as he continued to clean the blood of Fenrir’s skin.
‘Of course.’
‘You and Fenrir have never seen eye to eye, why do you help him even after how much he’s hurt you?’ she looked down at the rag that was already covered in blood and up at the unconscious Fenrir.
‘He saved me before…I owe him that.’ Arthur gave a slight side smile and a nod of acknowledgement.
‘He’d kill you in the blink of an eye if you crossed him, but he’s the most loyal man I’ve ever met.’ Barmic burst through the door with a bottle of whisky, a thick needle and thread and a metal pole from the stables, the tip of the pole he placed into the open fire while he bit off the cork of the whisky and stood up next to Fenrir.
‘Least he’s oot cold, should naw hurt as much.’ he poured the whisky onto the wound which made him stir, his eyes flickered open as he gave a painful hiss but it was more of a hiss of a small injury like a scratch. ‘Welcome tae the world of the livin.’ Fenrir glared at Barmic as if he had been rudely woken up, the dark circles around his eyes only seemed to illuminate his eyes further. ‘It will only hurt fae a moment.’ he said as he prepared the needle.
‘Just give me that.’ he said as he took the bottle of whisky and started to drink straight from the bottle.
‘The fuck happened tae ye?’ Barmic asked as he began to stitch the wound close.
‘We were ambushed.’ he gasped as he took a breath from the bottle. ‘There was a high-end looking wagon, I split the group up, so we’d attack from different angles. I took the frontal charge but as we got there it was empty, that’s when the soldiers came out of nowhere…I barely got away.’ he took another swig of the drink, hardly fazed by the needle penetrating his flesh.
‘Well ye got Addie tae thank fae rescuing ye, girl wondered where ye were n went lookin’ fae ye.’ Fenrir gazed over at Adonia who stood tightly holding the blood-soaked rag. Even though he never said a word, Adonia could tell just by the look in his eyes that he said thank you.
Barmic looked down at the wound and even though it was stitched up the blood still continued to pour.
‘A ken ye’d need some heat on that, ready Fen?’ Fenrir looked down at the bleeding wounds then gave a sigh, Adonia was prepared to hold him down for the red hot metal but Fenrir just laid down on the table and lifted his arms behind his head to hold down onto the table as tightly as he could.
‘Just get it over with.’ with a thick leather cloth Barmic picked up the now glowing pole and approached, he and Fenrir looked at each other briefly but then gave a nod like they had done this hundreds of times before. Adonia could hear Fenrir’s breaths becoming sharper as he anticipated the pain
and as the pole touched his skin it fizzed and hissed. Fenrir didn’t even make a noise, he just gritted his teeth and pulled back harder on the table while only just shifting his legs, she thought he would kick out but no, she remembered the intense pain how much it hurt but Fenrir just shrugged it off. But as she looked at his body, she saw several other wounds that were similar to burn marks, some looked far worse than others as if a poker had been forced into his flesh. As the ordeal was over Fenrir laid back down and gave a few heavy breaths, as strong as he was, he had still lost a lot of blood and was very weak.
‘Yer way too weak, yer naw goin’ anywhere fae a while.’
‘Can I at least go to bed?’ he sighed, Barmic chuckled as he jumped down from the stool and let him sit up.
‘Go fae it.’ Fenrir slid his legs off the side and went to stand but as the weight of his own body went to his feet he instantly collapsed. Adonia rushed to his side and offered to help him stand but he shook his head and tried to stand up on his own but didn’t have the strength to.
‘Stop trying to be a hero and let me help you.’ she argued as she lifted his arm over her shoulder and hoisted him up, Fenrir stared at her baffled but tried to force himself to take each painful step forward.
‘…She does like him doesn’t she.’ Arthur said as they watched them walk upstairs.
‘Aye.’
‘Do you think he likes her?’
‘Aye.’ Barmic chuckled. Adonia took him to his room where he reached into his pockets and found the key to unlock his door, she gently kicked open the door and led him to his bed where he slumped over and stretched out giving a sigh as he found relaxation. His room was no different to her own, same layout and items, the only thing different was a few pieces of paper strewn across a small desk. Nervously she approached and picked up a piece expecting Fenrir to object but as she looked at the paper, she realised it was a drawing, a drawing of a beautiful elven woman.
Bitter Wars- Ashes Page 14