Lost For Words.
Summary: Geoff Chaucer reflects on the woman in his life, how he came to win her heart and how someone will pay for what has been done to her.
1.
This was unheard of – it had never happened before. Not to him. Lost for words … certainly not a state with which he was familiar.
A writer by trade and with a particular gift for poetry no less, yet all his talents were rendered useless by one glance at this woman – nay, this vision. No matter how he tried, he could never do her justice with mere words. Of course, he could come up with something pretty, but that just wasn't enough. She deserved a tribute befitting her beauty, her intelligence, that inner light which lent such radiance to her and everyone whose path she crossed … Yet nothing could quite serve to capture her true essence – nothing that he had skill enough to find anyway. How could one person hold such power over him, Geoff Chaucer, the one and only self-proclaimed writer extraordinaire?
Geoff shifted slightly as he lay back in bed, one hand running through his tousled blonde hair before tucking itself beneath his head; his mind active in spite of his laid-back appearance. His gaze rested on the young woman still slumbering peacefully by his side, her head pillowed on his chest. She was imprinted on his mind and yet, he could not get enough of her – every glance revealed a new aspect of her beauty to him. Familiar as he was with it, he drank in the sight of her and smiled indulgently - her mane of lustrous dark red hair fell in soft waves around her as a fiery halo and long lashes closed over eyes he knew to be of stunning darkest emerald green. Entranced as he was, his free hand smoothed gently over creamy, silky soft skin and his smile slowly faded to be replaced by a grimmer look which he could not hide.
She was beautiful and nothing would ever change that for him, but it pained him to see her otherwise perfect skin marred in such a way. For, as the blankets rode low across his hips and her bare back, they revealed to him the vicious welts of a whip imprinted on her flesh.
"Never again …" he whispered, his words a fervent promise. "I swear, by my life - never again."
The redhead stirred slightly in his arms even as she slept and he paused to see if she would awaken. She murmured incoherently, a faint tinge of fear crossing her features and he frowned to see it. She appeared to be dreaming and it was evident that the events of recent times still, understandably, weighed heavily on her mind. He held her to him, stroking her hair soothingly and whispering to her, hoping to reassure her as she woke.
With a start, her eyes flew open and she tried to get up, struggling for breath as her heart and mind raced – full of the images of what she had been forced to endure.
"Easy, love …" Geoff said, quickly wrapping her in the blankets and taking her in his arms to hold her tightly. "You're safe here; I've got you and you're safe – he can't lay a finger on you now."
"Geoff!" she gasped, clutching at him as tears welled up in her eyes and she buried her face against his shoulder. "I thought … I mean, it seemed so real … I dreamt he came back and this time, he wasn't going to give up …"
"Ellena, I promise you, he has no choice but to give up for I shall never let him darken your door again. As long as I live, I'll be the one by your side and you need not fear him or anyone else. Words fail me when it comes to declaring how dear you are to me …" the poet began, but she interrupted him with a soft touch to his lips.
"Then there are only three words I need to hear from you …" she said, wiping away tears and looking up at him with a shadow of her usual smile.
"But …"
"I know you don't usually like to use them sparingly, but humour me." she teased, growing more confident as the memory of her dream was dissolved by the sunlight at the window and, more importantly, his protective presence.
Realising what she meant, he grinned and lay back comfortably, drawing her with him. He looked down at her and reached out to gently tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear; momentarily distracted by a blackening bruise by her temple which he paused to kiss tenderly.
"I love you." he said simply, clear blue eyes trained on her to gauge her response.
"From you that means more than any poem." she whispered, "I love you too, Geoff."
She reached up to slip her arms around his neck and felt his around her waist, reassuring her enough to let her close her eyes again and relax. She didn't want to cause him further worry than she already had, but she couldn't help wincing as she tried to get comfortable – something made difficult by her injuries. She hoped that he hadn't noticed, but such a detail was unlikely to escape his sharp gaze. Nevertheless, he wanted to let her rest and so did not draw attention to the source of her pain – he merely swore to himself that the inflictor of her terrible wounds would not escape unpunished. No, this had gone too far to just be brushed aside lightly …
*****
TBC …