Manna from Heaven
Chapter 09
It does not...
The sound of thunder was overwhelming as the two riders rounded the curve in the woods. Sir Guy and his men stood ready, broadswords out.
The rider in front was familiar - Genevieve was lying over on her mount's neck-
'Zeus! She's riding Marian's Zeus!'
-followed closely by Michael the Red. It became immediately apparent this was no race, no fun ride. They both were looking behind them, seeing if-
"WHOA!" The moment he saw Genevieve, he pulled off one of his gloves. Guy then put his thumb and forefinger to the inner edges of his mouth and let out a shrill whistle.
Hearing a familiar voice, the horse began to slow, looking for his master. Michael also slowed, pulling up in front of Sir Guy.
"When I told you to keep an eye on her," Gisborne spat tersely, "I did not state you were to take her on a tour of Nottingham!"
"Sir," the guard started out with a rush, "you may berate me all y'like later." He pointed over his shoulder. "We've been accosted by Robin Hood-"
At that point, Guy's blood turned to ice. He turned to Genevieve, who had pulled up beside him. Her eyes were red-rimmed and she had a hunted look about her. Pulling his horse around, he yelled loudly, "Follow me. Joffrey, stay here with Lady Genevieve. Do not leave." Remembering what all he was holding onto, he tossed the package at Genevieve, and slung the cloak at Joffrey. "Hold this." With a curt nod of his head, he took off back from where the two had just come from, the guards following in pursuit.
The two that were left behind watched as the soldiers took off down the road, stirring up dust before disappearing.
The two sat for a time, Genevieve's heartbeat beginning to return to a normal rhythm. The temperature was dropping and as a result, she began to shiver.
Joffrey handed her the heavy cloak. "I think this 'un would be for you."
It took her a few minutes to figure out one side from the other and she had to dismount so Joffrey could help her with the unfamiliar clasp, but she finally got it on. She spread it to admire it. "Oh, this is pretty." Her smile fell. "I'll bet it's one of hers, isn't it?"
Joffrey saw the change in Genevieve's disposition. "Lady Genevieve," he began gently, "I knew Lady Marian - not well, but well enough. She would be grateful that her clothes are bein' used by someone who needs 'em an' that y'cared enough about 'er horse to make sure 'e got proper exercise. Besides," he added quietly, "it would take a long time to make a really nice cloak like that an' I think Sir Guy wanted to make sure you didn't go without. Did... did Hood hurt you? Rob you?"
Before Genevieve could answer, the sound of returning riders could be heard in the distance. Very quickly, the two remounted, Genevieve making sure she had a tight grasp on the package Guy had given her to hold. Before long, Guy and his entourage returned, circling the two, Guy's men corralling her securely between the Black Knight and Joffrey. Genevieve discovered herself being pulled closer to the knight as he reached and grabbed the slack reins. Although she could feel, sense his fury, for some odd reason, this act made her feel safer, protected. "Gone. I knew he would be." He sniffed the air. "It seems as if he has a underground hidey hole to slink into; I would not put it past him. Coward!" As he drew Genevieve nearer, she fought the desire to ask him to pull her in his arms, to shelter her. "Are you hurt?"
"Just my pride."
"Did he steal or attempt to steal anything from you?"
She swallowed and her bottom lip began to tremble. "Only my cross. I dropped it down in my... tunic and some... odious creature stuck his hand down the front and took it."
Guy's countenance turned dark. "Do you know who?" He poised this question to Genevieve's guard.
"Allan-a-Dale."
Guy nodded. "And most likely proud of it." Again, he looked at Genevieve. "He did not..." his voice trailed of softly.
"No," her ire was evident. "He didn't grab anything, but my necklace!"
He sighed in relief. "I am sorry, Genevieve. We probably will not be able to get it back."
"They have a priest with them. He made him give it back."
"Tuck," Guy murmured under his breath. "So you have it still?" Genevieve nodded. "Good." He then turned his full fury on Genevieve's guard. "Where was your brain, taking her into the forest with only yourself to watch over her?"
"Sir, I-"
"Don't blame him, Guy." Genevieve tried to intervene. "I pretty much left him in the dust and by the time he caught up to me, I had this beauty saddled."
"And who gave you permission to ride him?" Guy's eyes had turned a deep gray, wrath raging like a firestorm. Fear for her safety was now gone, as she was out of harm's way, so rage replaced his alarm at what he considered her disobedience "Did you have any idea what were you doing, if you can ride at all? You could have injured him, injured yourself!"
For the first time since her arrival, despite the spats and yelling between them, Genevieve felt dressed down, backed down and it was not a place she liked to be in. She and Guy had exchanged heated words since her appearance, but never anything like this. She opened her mouth to retort, but then shut it again, because her own temper was rising and she had no idea what would fall out of her mouth. "If we could discuss this in private," she hissed between clenched teeth, "I would be more than happy to tell you what I was doing, prove I was doing it right and that I would not have injured him, much less myself!"
"I am not a man who listens to excuses!"
"And I am not a woman to give them!" Genevieve retorted hotly. She sat up as tall as she could. "You asked me to prove what I know and can do! That isn't an excuse! Besides, I was not aware I was a prisoner!"
Neither one was conscious of the guards, eyeing each other nervously beneath their helms. "If you knew how the Sheriff treats his prisoners, you would not be so glib."
"Well, let's just say I'm pretty sure I know how to ride, okay?" The two glared at each other, Genevieve's breathing labored and angry, Guy's taut spine, his entire body as stiff as a too-tightly strung bow. "Can we please discuss this in private? At the very least, do not castigate your man as he did everything in his power to keep me safe."
"Very well." The quiet rejoinder was forced between tight lips and clenched teeth. "However when it comes to my men, you do not dictate terms to me." He jerked his head at the arms men. "Go to Locksley. Joffrey, tell Thornton we will be there when we get there and to hold dinner."
The two waited while the soldiers regrouped into formation and followed Joffrey down the road at a solid clip. Soon, too soon, the group rounded the curve and the sound and the dust of their horses disappeared and died off in the air.
"I am waiting." Guy had turned around, pulled up next to Genevieve so that his knee was against hers. He held her horse's bridle in a tight fist.
"Waiting for what?" She started to hand the package back to him, but he shook his head and shoved it back to her lap.
He leaned over so his face was very close to hers. "Your excuse as to why you saddled a horse that does not belong to you, that you did not have permission to ride and that you did not have permission to take out." His breath was very hot on her face. "I recall I told you not to leave sight of the manse!"
Oh yeah, that's right... ooops.
Genevieve was immediately contrite. As domineering as the man was, he was looking out for her best interests. After her encounter with Hood and his gang, that much was obvious and Guy's anger was justified. It entered her mind to tell him she didn't think he'd be back for a few more hours, but that would constitute as whining and offering excuses and as he said, he didn't listen to excuses, so she decided to go on attack.
"I am sorry. After the run in with Hood, I understand your concern and admit you were right." Guy swelled up, his smirk and ego very obvious. "However, this horse is pining!"
"He is wot?"
Genevieve stiffened her shoulders and reared up as tall as she could, which quite frankly, was not impressive. It registered in Guy's mind that this did not bode well and he was in for an argument. "He is pining! He's languishing! He misses his mistress, his rider, and leaving him out to pasture is cruel! He needs exercise! He needs to be ridden!"
An unbidden crass thought went through Guy's mind when she said that. But she didn't take much of a breath as she continued her rant.
"I needed air! I know horses, Guy! I'm from Kentucky! I've owned them! I know how to ride! I've broken my fair share of head-strong colts!"
"Really?" He pulled her closer, something Genevieve didn't think was possible. It crossed his mind to ask her how well she had been broken. "I thought you were from..." he began to snap his fingers as if to force himself to remember, "... Alanna Jawjah?" He thrust his chin forward. "Hmm?"
Genevieve rolled her eyes. Men! They haven't evolved much in 900 years! She raked her brain. "Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, much like..." she snapped her fingers back at him, "Nottingham, Sussex, Kent, Essex-"
"Ah. Shires." He backed off a hair. "I understand." He started to turn on her again, ask her what she knew of Marian, but deep down, that was a part of him he wanted to stay hidden, buried, forgotten. He pulled away from her and with a nod of his head, the two began a slow walk in the direction back towards Gisborne.
"I see you decided the cloak was for you."
Genevieve was learning not to be shocked by the man's mood swings. "It's very pretty and warm. Thank you." She said nothing, but she knew who the cloak had belonged to.
"There will be frost tonight, so I thought you might be cold if you wished to venture out."
"And yet, you're yelling at me for venturing out, and with a guard, no less." Her sassy attitude made Guy grin. They continued on for some minutes in silence, Guy watching covertly as Genevieve took in her surroundings, the fall beauty of the forest, the very fresh air. "I enjoy riding, Guy. I've missed it in my day-to-day life. I hope you will not berate Michael to harshly. He threatened to tie me up!"
The words fell out of his mouth before he thought. "I would have enjoyed seeing that."
Genevieve's response was not what he expected. She laughed. "I bet you would!"
In a rare fit of good humor, he blurted, "I have a suspicion you enjoy that sort of thing!"
Genevieve pulled up beside him, a cheeky grin on her face. "Truth be told, no one has had the boldness to do so!" With that remark, leaving him, quite frankly, stunned, she put her heels to the stallion and took off, leaving Gisborne in the dust.
He shook his head with his customary half-smirk, before he put his own spurs to his stallion and followed her. It was an interesting race, one he did not catch up to her until just before they both re-entered his old village.
"Genevieve!" Guy's call caused Genevieve to pull up and back. Guy was looking around trying to get his bearings. Finally finding what he was looking for, he jerked his head, taking his steed off the road and into the woods. "Follow me. I wish to show you something." Genevieve had no choice but to do so. For some minutes, she followed as the man picked his way through shrubs and bush, backing up several times.
"Where are we going?" The further they traveled away from the road, the more alarmed she became.
"I thought you trusted me," he retorted.
""I do, I'm just... well... curious is all." She clicked behind her teeth, trying to keep up and trying not to be disturbed.
"Somewhere I have not been in over twenty years," he murmured, backing up yet again. "I pray it has not changed." Again, with a nod of his head, he bid her to follow him. "Ah. Here it is!" The two burst into a small clearing.
The place was hidden, almost a secluded, wooded valley. The pond, over to the side, was clear, reflecting the red and gold in the trees. Genevieve could only imagine how beautiful it was in the spring. The only sound was the wide waterfall from the creek that fed the pond, a lower stream extending out into the woods. Low bushes hung over the edges and there were several large rocks and a fallen log on the banks, large enough to sit on and dangle one's feet in the water.
Guy dismounted, leading his horse to the edge of the pond. "Strange," he said, looking around in awe, "I loved this place. I had forgotten about it, as I have not thought of it in many years."
"Do you make it a habit to squash happy memories?"
Guy almost jumped out of his skin, she stood so close. Genevieve had tied the reins to the stallion she was riding and he, too, was drinking from the pond. As it was, she stood next to him, looking up with the most innocent of eyes, with her hands clasped behind her back "It hurts to remember them."
Genevieve's smile was not joyous in the least. "My happy memories sustained me through horrid times," she admitted. "I can't imagine trying to forget them. They give me hope." She again handed the brown package to him. "This is yours."
Guy made no move to take it from her. "Actually, it is yours. Isandra says it is one of the tunics from the nine," he wagged his finger under her nose, "you managed to procure."
Genevieve shook her head, her lips pursed. "Three long tunics, three kirtles equals three outfits." She then smiled mischievously. "Unless you mix and match!" With that, she winked.
Guy moved away, the nearness of her caused him to fidget. He propped a boot on top of one of the rocks, testing its solidity. "Isandra decided that as you were so outrageously clothed, you should go ahead and have something that would be a bit less scandalous." He nodded over to a thick copse of bushes. "Why don't you try it on? The bushes will hide you."
With a smirk, Genevieve tucked the package under her arm and headed over in the direction of the tall thicket he pointed out. "Been a while since you've been here, hasn't it?"
"Over twenty years."
She returned to her original spot. "It's over grown, hon." The endearment caught him off guard. "Anywhere else?"
Lifting his foot from the rock, he stood up. "Since you mention it," he started slowly, "there is small cavern behind the waterfall."
Genevieve's eyebrows rose in appreciation. "Really?"
"Really," Guy nodded. "If you go to the right of the fall, you should see a narrow path leading to it. It is really quite well hidden."
"And I'll fit and not fall in?"
Guy shrugged elegantly, Genevieve noticed with jealous disdain. "I managed it even the last time I was here, when I was fourteen." He held out his hand. "And I was tall then. Take my hand. I will show you where it is."
Sure enough, while water plants had grown up, there was a rocky ledge, well hidden that led to and behind the waterfall. It amused Guy to watch her slowly balance her way to the edge and squeeze behind the cascading water.
"OH! Cool beanies!"
Guy turned his back, scanning the landscape, praying neither one had been followed. He wondered if this was another foreign curse, but considering her tone of voice, he thought it was more likely an expression of delight - whether for the cavern or the clothing.
Truth was, he rather liked her in her tight trousers, out-lining that wonderfully rounded arse than he wanted to bite...
He pulled down on the crotch of his own trousers, which were suddenly on the tight side. In an attempt to get his mind off her, he wondered if Hood had found this place yet. He took great pains when he was younger to keep from sharing this hidden alcove, keep anyone from finding out. He hadn't wanted to let anyone know about it; it was his secret, his private spot. In fact, Genevieve was the first person he brought to this place. Bringing Marian here would have been out of the question, even if he had thought of it back then...
How long did it take a woman to change? It wasn't as if she had an array of choices in clothing to choose from...
"Genevieve?" He pulled off his gloves and tucked them into his sword belt.
"What is the horse's name?"
That came from nowhere. He thought he could hear her bouncing around, struggling. "Do you need... help?"
More grunting and bouncing. "Not from you, not yet. What is the horse's name?"
"Zeus."
"Really?"
"Really." What a strange conversation.
"Do you even know who Zeus is?"
He rolled his eyes. Obviously, she thought his education was limited. In truth, it was but still...
"He was the highest of the Greek Gods. He was also known as 'Jupiter'." Take that! Sometimes, listening to Marian's prattle was educational!
"Yep. And Jupiter is the largest of the planets in our solar system. Great big gas giant!"
What was she talking about? Before he could ask, she blurted out,
"I have a problem."
"What would that be?"
"I... uhm... need someone to tie me up."
Oh THAT set off a rash of mental images. Guy rolled his eyes. Damn, if suddenly he didn't have intimacy and carnal pursuits and pleasures on his mind all of a sudden, now he had visions of Genevieve tied spread on his bed. After Annie, Guy had been so busy courting Marian and wanting Marian and getting his home ready for Marian, he had not entertained another woman in his bed, instead relying on the availability of his hand.
After all, allowing his hand to tend to his needs ensured there would be no more illegitimate children.
After her death, for sometime, the thought of sexual intimacy with anyone, including his hand, had been stomach turning. It wasn't until he went to London, to John...
There had been a highborn Lady, Aedyth, the wife of Lord Someone or Somesuch, who was off with Richard fighting for glory in the Holy Land. She was older, still quite beautiful, wiser, looking for a discrete lover. She had been insatiable, domineering, in charge. And while Guy enjoyed their evenings, he left each tryst feeling used up, empty, and treated much like a toy.
But for the first time in a few years, he felt virile, alive...
'Life goes on, my beautiful one,' she whispered over the supper table in her rooms, that first time. 'Do not pout for what cannot be. I want nothing lasting and you need nothing permanent. It will be a most satisfactory arrangement. Now, come undress me. You know you want to.'
"Really, I can't seem to... grrrrr. Laces up the side! Whoever heard of such a thing?"
"Come on out. I will do them for you." Guy rolled his eyes.
"Are you sure? You can probably see... stuff."
Guy smirked at what 'stuff' could possibly be. "You would not be the first woman whose laces I have tied."
"OH REALLY? Braggart!" The words were shrewish, but her tone was jovial. Before he could respond, Genevieve made a mad dash from behind the fall, protecting herself from the misty spray with her discarded clothes. Good God, the woman was giggling like a girl!
The sight of her as she came to rest in front of him caused his heart to stop.
Isandra was right. I've dressed her as a peasant!
The dress was grey - had he asked Genevieve the exact color, she would have told him it was 'dove grey.' The cut was simple, a scoop neck, fitted through the bodice and to the hip, at which the dress fell straight to the ground, Genevieve's very odd shoes with laces peaking from under the hem. The sleeves were long, coming to a point at the back of her hand. There was a small bit of embroidery in darker grey about the neck and the cuff, but it did not detract from the simplicity of the gown. The silver chain of her crucifix shone brightly next to her sun-kissed skin.
He prayed the kirtle would be more...lady-ish, more to her-
his
-station.
Guy was now beyond twitching. "Lay your clothes across your saddle and then allow me to see to your laces." It came out gruffer than he would have liked, but she took no notice and after laying her jeans and white tunic over the saddle, she turned to her right, her arm slung over her head to show a gap in the upper laces. She had managed to get them tightened up to close to under her arm, but was unable to work her way around the last few eyelets.
"So you've done this before?" Genevieve was keeping her tone light, but Guy could sense a - was it jealousy? - thin veneer of strength behind it.
"When I was a boy," he began softly, concentrating on the ties in front of him, "my father fought in the Holy Land, leaving me with my mother..."
and sister...
"Oft times," he stumbled on, "she or my sister needed help with laces, among other things. So it is something I am used to doing. There." He tucked the finished tie under the arm opening at the top, brushing soft, slightly damp skin. He fought the urge to put his finger in his mouth to taste the salt of her. Genevieve spun to face him.
"Leaving you to be the man of the house."
'Vous êtes l'homme de la maison maintenant, Guy. Vous devez regarder sur votre mère et sa sœur.'
"Aye."
"You have a sister?"
"Isabella. We got on better as children than we do as adults."
"Ah." Genevieve spread her skirts out and tilted back and forth. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Again, Guy's heart fell. At that moment, he decided he was being petty when he purchased it for her. If she saw the silks and velvets his sister paraded in... "You make it beautiful."
Genevieve's jaw dropped in surprise and she blushed. "Such honeyed words falling from your lips. One wonders," and with this she moved around him and looked back at him over her shoulder in a most flirtatious manner, "what favors my lord could possibly be wanting."
You. I want you, naked and writhing beneath me. I want to hear you cry my name when you come to completion. I want to hear you say 'I lo...'
"Why would I want anything?" He followed her over to a fallen log next to the pond.
As she sat down, she kicked off her shoes and ankle-high stockings, wiggling her freed pink-painted toes, before she spun on the rock and dipped her feet in the water.
"ACK!" She pulled her feet up quickly, flinging water in the air and showering herself and Guy. "Frack, that's cold!"
Guy flicked the water droplets from his jacket. "I would think it is cold. There will be frost tonight." He felt a frigid bead roll down his nose, making him rub it. "What is 'frack'?"
"I'm trying not to swear." The silly wench was now quickly dipping her toes in the clear water, making circles, hissing at the chilliness of the water. "I doubt the priest will give me a free pass, again!"
"Why do you keep putting them in the water," Guy settled down next to her on the log, his back to the pond, "if it makes you shudder?"
"Because, it's fun! Oh Guy! It is beautiful!" Her smile faded slightly, her eyes lost in a fond memory. "There was a pond near my grandmother's I used to swim in, oh, years ago. It's dried up now. But this..." she slung her arms wide, encompassing the entire small glade and almost beaning Guy in the back of the head had he not ducked, "this is just beautiful!" Again, her smile widened and the wonderment of it brightened Guy's dark world. "I bet you share this with all the girls!"
"Only you," he answered quietly. Genevieve's eyebrows rose at that admission. "You are the only one I have ever brought here." It was quiet for a few moments, moments the knight stared at her mouth. He was shocked when she took his hand.
"Surely, you've brought others here. Friends... I'll bet you were a part of a mess of young boys and the entire group came in when it was warm and you splashed and made so much noise!"
How do you tell someone who lights up your world that you were a dark, anti-social, broody child...
Guy was shaking his head. "I... found this place when I was a boy." He pointed to the overflow creek that led into the woods and away from the clearing. "The creek goes into the Gisborne lands proper and once, when I was hiding from chores, I followed it up to here. I spent most of the excursion on my stomach and slithering like a snake under the brush." His free hand wiggled, mimicking said serpent, causing Genevieve to giggle. "My mother was most upset with me, as I became filthy dirty. So I found another way and I marked the trees with my knife; little nicks and niches." Genevieve watched as he looked up, taking in the beauty. "All of this was on what was originally my father's land. I think he would be proud I earned it back."
"He lost it? What happened?"
For a moment, Guy's mood darkened. "He did not lose it. It was stolen from me upon his death. I have taken it back."
Ah Genevieve, they have both stolen something dear from each other...
Before Genevieve could question him, he continued on. "In truth, now that I think on it, I was not running from chores when I found this place. I was hiding from my sister." He looked down, stared down at Genevieve, who was gazing at him intently. "She was worse than a puppy, followed me every where, pestered me every chance she was able. Every time I turned around, she was telling Mère every little thing I was in to."
"Mère?" She now held his one hand between both of hers.
"My mother. My mother was French." Guy began to blink. "She was a healer of great renown, kind to every one, no matter..." his voice trailed off.
"No matter… what?"
"Nothing." It grew quiet between them, Guy focusing on what he almost divulged to the woman sitting next to him and Genevieve basking in the pure golden side of this man she doubted anyone saw. This place was special to him, almost... sacred and if he was telling her the truth, she was the only person on earth he shared it with.
What did that mean?
"I have decided I do not like that Robin Hood person."
Guy squeezed her hand gently. "He is an outlaw and he tried to rob you. It is natural to not like the man or his friends."
"He called you a murderous demon."
Everything Guy had in him clenched and froze. "Did he mention names?"
Genevieve shook her head, Guy sighing in relief. "No, but-"
"Funny, Robin Hood would accuse me of being a murderous demon. He went to war in the Holy Land; I imagine he killed his fair share of Saracens while there." Wanting to steer the conversation elsewhere, before she questioned him further, he changed the subject. "Why were you crying earlier?"
The question, as were so many of his queries, came out of the blue, unexpected. "What?"
"When you and my armsman were riding so hard from Hood and his gang, you had been crying. Why?" Genevieve dropped her head. Again, with his free hand, he gently tucked under her chin and tilted it up. "Do not lie, Genevieve. I will know. Your eyes were red-rimmed and swollen. What did Hood do to make you cry?"
Taking one of her hands from his, Genevieve pulled her crucifix out. "Hood took it. He told me that I was eating well and many were not and the cross would feed several."
"But Friar Tuck took it from him and returned it. So why did you cry?"
"I cried because he took it, Guy." She was now fingering the ornament, beautiful in its simplicity. "My grandmother gave it to me. It belonged to her mother. She told me when she put it on my neck, when I left for college," she missed Guy's furrowed brow, not understanding what 'college' was, "she told me to keep it close. It would keep me safe, and to remember it was given to me by someone who loved me. I was devastated when he took it away and wasn't going to give it back."
Don't forget who you are, who made you, who gave you your gifts. Don't let any man make you think less of yourself or undesirable. You find a strong man, who will cherish you, one who will lift you up, support your ideas, keep you strong...
His hand was now cupping the far side of her face, long fingers spread from her chin to her ear. "It is precious to you."
"Yes." She smiled. "I would fight to get it back. Just as you fought to get this beautiful, peaceful place back."
"Because it is precious to me."
"Ah," she pressed her face into the palm of his hand. "We have had a meeting of the minds. I wonder what happens next?"
Guy knew what he thought should happen next. Using his hand to gently guide her, he lowered his mouth...
Her nose scrunched up, nostrils flared, and she sniffed.
The man jerked back, irritated, the mood - for him - ruined. "Why do you do that?"
Jolted from... whatever it was she was feeling, Genevieve sat up taller, alarm clearly set across her features. "What? Do what? What did I do?"
Guy pulled away from her. "You... sniffed as if you smelled something rank."
If he expected her to deny it, he was disappointed. "I'm sorry. It's just... the smells here are over-powering to me." She gestured to the sky. "Truth is, that was another reason I wanted to go out for a ride. The smell of the town, the house... this is much fresher."
"But you sniffed at me." Guy was not going to let her off the hook easily and it put Genevieve in the wretched position of telling the man-
"When was the last time you got in a tub and bathed?"
Ooooh chickie-poo. That was NOT tactful!
Indeed, it wasn't. The knight's brows knitted to almost one, darkening his features. "Bathe? Are you suggesting that I am unclean?"
Immediately, Genevieve sought to soothe the angry beast she had just awakened and insulted. "Well, of course I understand that without indoor plumbing, it's hard to bathe on a daily basis and of course we have deodorant soap and antiperspirant and there's the filtering systems in the air conditioning and we don't rely on fire places for heat and there are toilets that actually flush, so that stench isn't hanging around all day and... what?"
Guy was looking at her as if she was a wretched three-headed mythological beast. He raised a finger as if to admonish her, but changed his mind. "Indoor plumbing. You have used this term before."
Genevieve reached over and gently grabbed the wagging digit, pulling his hand back into both of hers. "Indoor plumbing. Something we take for granted, but I never will again, believe you me!" She started to wave the air in thought, seeing his question. "Imagine a large... urn... or cistern that kept heated water in it all the time. And when you wanted to bathe or shower, you turned on a knob and the hot water from the urn was pushed up through a spout. Or rather than a chamber pot, the pot is rinsed with a lot of water and it takes all of... that... away... underground and it doesn't have to be cleaned out or sit around and bake in the sun..." By now, Genevieve was standing up, pacing madly while Guy continued to sit on the rock, his elbow on his knee and his chin cupped in his hand. "We have central air and heat, where one can adjust the temperature in a room, building. Make it warmer or cooler without lighting the fireplace or opening the window." Her mind began to wander... "We have cars to travel in, airplanes to fly-"
"Fly?" Guy didn't believe that for a moment. "Your time... flies."
Genevieve completely missed the sarcasm in the man's voice "Yes. And we have put a man on the moon."
By now, Guy's hand moved from cupping his chin to covering his face. "Next you will be telling me that the world is not flat, but some other odd shape. Tell me something I understand, Genevieve. Tell me of war, tell me of weapons." He removed his hand from his face, braced it on his knee. "Tell me how swords have improved, arrows, armor."
Guy was shocked at the change in her mood. The light in her eyes died, and sorrow graced her features. "We are horrible, Guy. At times, I am so ashamed at what we've become. There are no swords, no arrows. There are guns that shoot metal bullets through a person from... I don't know how far. One can unload a clip of... I don't know... 50 of them in a matter of seconds before reloading. We drop bombs on cities, killing hundreds of people in one swoop. We fight over important things, stupid things..."
"It sounds as if nothing has changed." The man was now standing above her, the look in his eyes, unreadable. He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "We have a king who does not speak our language; who has only stepped foot on our soil once since becoming king years ago. We are not *his* people, but simply revenue to fund Rome's war. And you tell me that rather than solving things, things just seem to have gotten worse."
Genevieve nodded. "Oh, some problems are settled, other problems pop up. It's simply a never ending cycle."
It was quiet for a time, the two off in their own personal nightmares, the only sound being that of the waterfall.
"But," Guy spoke up brightly, breaking the painful silence, "you do have chamber pots that clean themselves. That, I must say, is an improvement." He took both of her hands in his. "So perhaps, the air smells better."
"It helps." She smiled shyly up at him. "That and daily showers." She kept a hold of his hands as he pulled back, keeping him close. "Guy! Think. Sweated in leather and horse and rain and dirt and muck and sweat and more sweat..." Her voice trailed off.
"That bad?"
"To me, yes." She shrugged. "Sometimes. I am quite sure the smells of my time would be equally nauseating to you as well. Pollution, colognes, perfumes, diesel exhaust…"
They stood there for a time, holding hands and listening to the quiet, each focused on their own thoughts.
"I have been thinking," the man could speak so softly, he would not disturb mice, "that you are correct about Zeus. It is a cruelty to leave him in the stall or turned to pasture. He should be exercised properly."
"So I can ride him?" Genevieve immediately perked up.
"Aye. But only with me." He didn't tell her that he was enjoying this idyllic time with her, away from his duties, away from Vaisey, away from Hood. This was peace, peace he had forgotten about.
Somehow, she was part of this peace, was an important part of it and even if he came by himself here ever again, it would not be the same. And he wanted this peace again and again and again.
"Tell me something," he whispered. Genevieve nodded. "Explain your adult toys."
She blushed. Not a gentle pink to the cheeks, but a furious red. Genevieve ducked her head and an amused Guy watched as the part in her hair turned as red as blistered skin.
"They are... ah... for personal use."
He bent over, his hands now running up her arms to grip her by the elbows. "I imagine," he whispered, "that considering your reaction, your adult toys are of an...intimate nature."
She nodded.
Guy's hands continued to move upwards, now holding her gently but firmly by her shoulders, and pulled her closer, into him. "Are they to... assuage a... woman's needs?"
She nodded again.
He bent over, his lips trailed across the side of her face to her ear. "Genevieve cannot speak all of a sudden? I do not believe it."
"The world is round."
"You are avoiding the issue and the world is flat. Do not change the subject. Your toys are to relieve a woman's needs? This is so?"
"Yes." He had to strain to hear her, the word, whispered in his chest. "It... scratches... an itch."
His mouth found her ear, his tongue, darting around the very sensitive rim of it, causing her knees to buckle. Guy stepped backwards, bringing her with him, until he found, with the back of his leg, the large rock he knew was behind him. Sitting down, he pulled her into his lap, continuing his assault. His mouth, his teeth nibbled, nipped their way to her jaw line, her fingers were now threading their way through his hair. "Would you rather have a man to tend to that itch?" One hand found its way around her, now caressing that delectable backside.
In an attempt to regain some sort of control, Genevieve grabbed him by both sides of his head and pulled back, gazing at him in earnest. "Yes! Do you know where one is at?"
He stared at her in disbelief for a moment, before finally registering the mischief in her eyes. "Oh," he started to chuckle deep, a rusty sound, "Genevieve Faith Robinson, you are a willful, willful, woman and your willfulness will get you in serious trouble." With this, he kissed her full on the mouth, exploring, sucking on the flesh of her lower lip. His hand found her ankle, stroked, and caressed its way up her leg to her thigh. Who would think such skin was made of velvet? She was thoroughly squirming by the time he rose for air. The hand under her dress was resting at the upper most part of her thigh. He smacked it once, causing her to jump. "I know of such a man." He lowered his head, and proceeded to continue his exploration of her mouth.
"Hmmm? Who?" Somehow she managed to get that much out when she raised her chin, leaning back, reveling in the feel of his mouth as it traveled down her neck, to her clavicle, directly above the indention at her breasts. His fingers skirted along and under the edge of her panties. He nipped the rise of flesh at the scooped neckline of her dress.
"Me. But-" He stood up and set her on her feet, "not today." He took advantage of her open mouth to kiss her again. "You are not the only one with a sensitive nose!" He tapped hers to make a point. "Put your shoes back on. I will retrieve our horses. We have tarried long enough."
Embarrassed by the liberties she had allowed him to take, Genevieve sat down on the fallen tree and dusting off the dirt from her feet, she quickly put her tennis shoes back on. She was so upset, she didn't realize her socks were stuffed down in the toes until after she stood up. She stormed over to where the knight was holding both leads. "What do you mean your nose? I've bathed recently-"
"Your menstrual cycle, Genevieve." She gasped. "Your... scent is suddenly rather... musky." He handed her the reins and interlocking his fingers, offered her a hand up.
As upset as Genevieve was, the cool air had cooled her ardor. She accepted the make shift step and settled in the saddle. She struggled with her cloak, until Guy came forward, mounted on his own stallion and then allowed him to fix the clasp. "I think your nose is just over-sensitive," she sniffed.
Grabbing her saddle horn, Guy pulled himself forward. "If my nose is wrong, come to my bed tonight." Genevieve started to jerk away, but he kept a strong grip on her saddle. "Despite what you might think, I do not consider you a conquest, much less an easy one. Perhaps later, we can discuss why you think such. Come." He turned her loose and began to pick his way through the forest, leaving her no choice but to follow. Within a minute, the forest swallowed them both, branches and twigs shaking in their wake, before the air stilled and leaving the little glade quiet again.
Silent.
It sighed.
In the middle of the pond, a shimmer rose in the shape of a short woman. As she took shape, blue wings spread out, the tips dipping in the water and causing it to ripple.
"Rats!"
Anael. Patience.' The whisper hissed from the heights of the trees in the wind.
"But the timing was so perfect!"
The ground is wet. And the floor of the cavern is damp. Besides, it is cold.
The little angel still scowled, dragging her toe sullenly in the water, unmindful of the frigid temperature.
They are talking. Give them time.
"You didn't give them much time. Remember?"
Anael! I can warp time.
The being on the water made a perfect 'o' with her mouth. "Ah!"
And with that, she turned into a mass of blue butterflies and scattered into the breeze.
~~~...~~~
That never crosses my mind
~~~...~~~
Vous êtes l'homme de la maison maintenant, Guy. - 'You're man of the house now, Guy.'
Vous devez regarder sur votre mère et sa sœur. - You must watch over your mother and sister.
Vous devez prendre soin de votre soeur. - You must take care of your sister.
A/N~
Thanks~to~all~who~are~reading.
Sorry~for~the~lag,~however~the~motherboard~on~my~computer~went~toes~up~and~until~its~repaired~I~
Do~not~have~a~functional~computer.
Or~one~with~a~space~bar~Sorry~It~is~in~the~shop~but~I~don't~know~how~much~longer~it~will~be~