Undone
Author's note: Hi! This little piece is part of a far larger story that has been in the works since last summer - one that I eventually hope to post! It's AU with an OC named Erika Black. Please, please, please review, comment, say hi, and offer constructive criticism! Also please let me know if you a) like the new character from what little you see of her here and b) think I should post my larger story chapter by chapter or just write it all down and then post. Thank you all for reading!
He was almost undone when he found her in his room, the room he had given up to her. She lay sprawled on his bed, on top of the covers, with her hair tangled and cascading over her face. He breathed in sharply when he recognized the long shirt that so beautifully displayed her long legs as his. He found his eyes wandering over her from head to toe before he could remember his sense of decency. He wanted to go to her, to hold her, to make this fierce, beautiful angel his so desperately that his heart ached painfully in his chest. She shifted slightly in her sleep and he realized that he had moved closer to her. He checked himself and he felt his hand brush lightly against the bedside table. He didn't know how long he had stood there when she stirred and her eyes fluttered open. Brown eyes met green and stared for a moment.
"James?"
Her exhausted voice nearly broke him.
"Miss Black."
It was all he could muster, faced with her. All the questions he wanted to ask and things he wanted to say died at his lips. He was startled when she smiled slightly, a smile that did not quite reach her eyes.
"Don't you think the bounds of propriety have already been broken, James? It's Erika, you know that."
Her voice was so soft, so weak compared to her normally confident tone. What was wrong with her?
"Miss – " He stopped at her glare and swallowed.
"Erika, are you feeling well?"
"No, but I don't believe its anything sleep cannot fix."
He blinked, a little surprised at the honesty of her answer, and then managed to muster up the courage to ask her to clarify.
"If you suddenly picked up a sword and used it for far longer than you were accustomed to, you would be sore and tired as well, James. Besides, I'm told one doesn't come out of a fight without a few bruises."
He stared at her in disbelief. A woman, Erika, use a sword? Then again, why was he surprised? He almost asked her to tell her story but caught himself. Now was not the time for questions or conversation. He smiled gently down as the girl below him.
"No, you don't. Sleep as long as you need."
"Thank you, James." She looked half asleep already as she said it.
He turned smartly and walked out, but not before stealing one last look at the already sleeping figure. She was finally safe, and it was he that had made her so. Yet somehow that knowledge, though it would have been only weeks before, was not enough for him.
