13
I returned to Taka and told her that I had agreed to help with whatever she wished. I was familiar with house work, but she didn't tell me to do anything in doors. She showed me what the women did. She washed and folded clothes and she showed me how they prepared food for the rest of the village. A lot of the other women wanted to be around me, and when I saw Aika, as Taka told me, I knew she was the reason why the other women looked unsure and nervous of me. But I expected as such. I was used to such stares. After I had helped carry some robes to Taka's home, I waited for her to give me something else to do, but instead she shook her head and smiled at the door.
"You have done plenty today. Please enjoy the rest of the day. I shall tell my brother of how much you have helped." she said and I tensed almost unsure of what to do now. But I nodded and turned and looked around wondering what I should be doing. Instead, I walked through the village again letting my eyes roam the vast and mysterious forest that surrounded the village. I had never seen such beauty before if anything forests were used for hiding from those who wished to harm runaway slaves. I shook my head of the thoughts and decided maybe it was time to take a walk there. I started to walk to the other end of the village and that's when I noticed Aika, the pig face standing with some other girls sneering and clearly looking at me. I frowned thinking I should say something. That's when I noticed they were holding their noses and wiping their hands in front of their faces.
It didn't take me no time to know they were saying I smelled. I wanted to say something, but I was not foolish. I looked down at myself and realized I was sweaty and probably did smell. I just glared at them and began to march off toward the springs where I bathed at. As I closed in on it, I removed my dress and the rest of my clothes, and once I was naked I got right into the water and just engulfed myself in the warm water letting out a bubbly scream as I did so. My hair unraveled in the water and once I needed to breathe, I rose from the water and gasped, my hair covering my face some. I spit out some water and heard a hard snap and I turned and looked over my shoulders to see Nathan standing there. I tensed and covered myself in shock.
"Nathan!" I said turning from him. He chuckled.
"Since when did you ever get bashful when naked in front of me?" he asked now casually removing his…kimono? He wasn't in his uniform. I stuttered some now hearing his question.
"Y-you just scared me is all." I replied watching as he was now removing the rest of his robes and now he was naked in front of me, his scars from war showing. He just smiled handsomely in response. I was asking myself why I was so nervous as he began to move toward the water. Oh no he was not going to get in. I moved back and just stared at him as he submerged into the water until his lower body was all the way into the water.
"I didn't mean to." he said and now began to move beside me and we were just sitting there looking around at the forest around us and I didn't like the awkwardness that was surrounding us so slowly I just rested my head on his shoulder a sign nothing had changed. "You think about escaping yet?" I shook my head.
"No you?" I asked and he shook his head.
"I am unfamiliar with this forest and with the snow coming, we won't be able to escape, but with the talks I have been having with Katsumoto, I feel safe saying they aren't going to hurt us." he said. "Taka has been kind to me and you and so I think we should just go with the flow of things until the snow comes and melts, then we will leave here."
"Leave? Back into that world of hate?" I whispered gently looking up at him and he just looked down at me, his eyebrows pushing together.
"That world is where we belong, and you belong with me. You will be safe." he said and I thought about his words before nuzzling into him again.
"Why did allow me to come along when you went to move against Katsumoto?" I asked and Nathan was quiet for a moment before tilting his head to the side and resting his cheek on my curls.
"If something were to happen to me, if that day was the day I was killed, I expected you to run away. Bagley had his eyes on you since we arrived. If I left you alone for even a few hours, he would have taken you." he said, and I winced at his words.
"He told you this?" I asked and he shook his head.
"He didn't have to. I saw it in his eyes, the look of perversion… and the look that I give you when no one is looking." he said lowly, and I looked up at him with soft eyes. I knew he looked at me with thoughts. I am not surprised by his words. He was gentle with me and kind in confessing that he wanted me. I knew I could deny him if I wanted, and never had I denied him when he wanted me because at a time, I wanted him too. Nathan began to move closer to me trapping me against the rocky edge of the springs and his forehead pressed into mine and for once, I felt a sense of instant panic as I knew what he was going to do. I had to tell him, tell him what Ujio and I did.
"Nathan… I-" I whispered feeling his lips start to cover mine. But a sharp yelling in another language caused us both to jump and Nathan turned and we could see a very angry Ujio standing across the springs. I felt I was seeing the devil in his eyes, and I felt a deep fear over take me and Nathan stood from the water and faced him keeping my body shielded from Ujio as if not wanting him to see any part of him.
"Hey haven't you ever heard of privacy?" he snapped and Ujio's hand was on his sword gripping it hard and Nathan just stared down at it. "Are you going to defy you lord's order and kill us for being naked together?" Ujio's eyes darkened at his words and I saw his chest was inflating up and down and I could see it. He glanced down at me and it was quick, but I could see the look of betrayal on his voice, and it was covered by anger again.
"Nathan, you should go." I said now slowly standing up and placing my hand on his shoulder. He glanced back at me.
"Not a chance. I'm not leaving you alone with this guy." he said. I squeezed his shoulder.
"For once Nathan, do what I say and go! He can't hurt anyone without disobeying his lord. I am sure he wants to make sure we aren't conspiring to hurt his people or Katsumoto." I explained.
"Then I can tell him that." he said with a glare looking at Ujio who's upper lip was twitching now as if he was doing his best to hold in his anger.
"While naked? He has a sword Nathan." I said slowly. "Let me talk to him. He will believe me over an American "swine" like you." Nathan looked stunned but from looking in my eyes, he just winced and slowly nodded.
"Go he won't hurt me." I said and Nathan just glared at Ujio before stepping out of the springs slowly and Ujio just looked at him over with pure disgust. Nathan gathered his kimono and somehow managed to make it around Ujio without getting cut. I could see in Nathan's eyes that he didn't want to leave me at all, but we were both powerless so he was going to have to let me get us out of trouble. Once he was gone, Ujio's hand shook as he removed his hand from his sword. I saw it shaking even more when Nathan merely passed him.
"You dishonor me." he spat lowly looking up at me. My eyes widened at his words and he shook his head. "I should have known you would use trickery to try to make me drop my defenses so you and your dog could trade information."
He moved closer to me spitting something in his language in anger until he was right in front of the springs.
"I should have known you were just a dog acting upon command of that swine!" he said viciously, and now my breath got caught in my lungs from his insult, and I couldn't stop my hand from smacking him dead in the face. He didn't flinch like I thought, but he was genuinely stunned.
"How dare you! I was going to tell him about us you idiot!" I yelled hitting him against his chest which didn't move him. "I had no ill intentions with you and I was not going to lay with him!"
"Why should I believe you! Why should I EVER believe anything you say!" he shouted. And even though, I was sure he wasn't use to ever expressing such emotion, I could hear in his voice, that he was in pain. He was very hurt at the assumption that Nathan and I were going to just sleep together. I shook my head.
"Because I planned to make the man who only ever cared for me hate me for lying with you, just so he knew that I had lain with someone he saw as an enemy." I said my eyes watering and my tone cracking. I began to get out of the water and he recoiled from me some, his hands just shaking from pure anger. I looked down at them and just closed my eyes some. "Do you want to hit me?" I merely turned my face so my cheek was facing him.
"It's not like anyone would really believe me if you did. No one cares if you beat a dog." I said. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see his hand coming up, and I just closed my eyes feeling tears streamed down my face awaiting the tenderness of his hand only to be tricked and smacked anyway. But it didn't happen. I just felt his fingers lightly wiping the tears away and I still couldn't look at him. His fingers lightly gripped my cheek and moved my face to meet his and now I was looking up him his eyes now calmer now.
"I'm sorry." he said leaning into me and I was still hesitant until he slowly pecked my lips. "I'm sorry, I said such things. I just saw you with him and remember that he has taken you and I only saw hatred and anger, that you never truly wanted me." His voice was still so stern even if he was trying to be gentle. He was really good at being angry. I shook my head and just leaned forward kissing him and pulling him in to me and he wrapped his arms around me and embraced me hard.
"I know how you can make it up to me." I said between our lips as I began to move my hand beneath his own robes and slowly attempting to remove them, but he stopped me.
"Here in the forest?" he asked unsure. I looked up at him.
"You afraid?" I teased, and now he looked at me as if challenged. He grunted and began to remove his robes himself sprawling them out onto the ground before picking me up and twirling me down onto top of him, his lips capturing mine with such dominance. He lied atop of me and bit my bottom lip already causing a moan to escape me.
Author's Notes
Hey all hope you're enjoying the fanfics. I'll be graduating college in two weeks and so my updates may be slow, but I will be starting something soon with Karl Urban. I am thinking Dredd and a fic about the wife of Judge Dredd, or maybe Priest. But we shall see. Anyways, updating soon!
