Chapter 5
Ayame opened her eyes slowly. What was going on? she wondered. Why did she feel so incredibly weak?
She slowly raised her head and took in her surroundings. The room was unfamiliar and incredibly gorgeous. Not bad, she thought. I could have awoken in a drain.
She pulled herself upright and sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, then willed herself to stand. She managed the feat and then leaned on the bedpost for a moment to steady herself. She felt her legs wobble and clutched the post even more tightly.
Just as she thought that she had herself under control, a voice spoke up from behind her, startling her into losing her balance.
"What in God's name are you doing?"
She sat back down heavily on the bed and turned to glare at him. "What are you doing here?"
"I live here," was the reply.
"In that case, what am I doing here?" she asked.
"You were attacked in the woods," he informed her. "Did you see what attacked you?"
Her eyes grew dark. "It was some huge, black monster. I managed to kill it." Her eyes widened. "Is Heliotrope okay?"
"Your horse is fine," he soothed. "He's one fine, well-trained animal. If it wasn't for him, I might have never found you."
She smiled at that, and then she realized that Sakon's gaze kept straying past her neck. Looking down, she discovered why. She was clad only in a short flimsy nightdress that sweat had plastered to her body. It was also pretty obvious that she wore nothing underneath.
To her horror, Ayame felt herself blush. She was never embarrassed, not even during her military training when she had to shower with the men. Hundreds of strangers seeing her naked body had never intimidated her, so why was the frank, appreciative gaze of one golden-eyed man making her lose her cool?
To diffuse the moment, she blurted out, "I need to use the bathroom. Urgently."
He chuckled and stood. "I thought as much."
Before she could have an idea of what he was up to, he had swept her into his arms and carried her into the bathroom. There he deposited her gently inside the door and told her to knock when she was done.
She used the toilet and then took a peek at herself in the mirror. She winced at what she saw. Her eyes had dark circles under them and her hair was in a mess. She splashed some cold water over her face and opened the door to find Sakon lounging outside.
Before she could protest, he had swung her back up in his arms and carried her back to the bed. He lay her down and proceeded to sit on the bed next to her.
"We need to talk."
She stared at him in confusion. "Why?"
"Because I had lost my temper with you the other day and I'm sorry for that. It's just that your uncle has been constantly hounding me with demands to fight the war and I can't do that." He sighed. "I know that it will piss him off royally, but."
She placed her hand over his, effectively cutting him off. "You don't need to apologize. I'm the one who should be telling you that I'm sorry for barging into your house and demanding that you risk your life for us. I just never thought about the fact that you might have unselfish reasons for not wanting to fight."
She raised her eyes to his. "I guess I thought of you as this spoilt little rich boy who just wanted to stay home and bask in luxury while soldiers were dying out there."
He sighed. "Yes - and I feel really badly that so much are dying, but it is their choice to make. I've made mine and I am tired of all the killing. I needed to get away."
Ayame stared at his down bent head and fought the urge to run her fingers through his dark red hair. She found herself feeling the urge to gather him in her arms and kiss him. Maybe he picked up on her thoughts, because, suddenly he raised his head and stared straight at her, his beautiful golden eyes blazing with desire.
She inhaled sharply and he focused on her mouth. Just then, the moment was shattered by voices outside her door.
Sakon stood up, just as Aphrodite and Ryona entered and he smiled at them before leaving the room.
"Was he upsetting you?" Aphrodite wanted to know.
"No. Actually, he was helping me out." Ayame studied the blonde, remembering their last heated words.
Apparently the argument was on Aphrodite's mind as well, because she cleared her throat and said, "Uh about those things I said that last time."
Ayame held up a hand. "There's no need for you to apologize. I deserve everything that you said to me.and more. What I told Sakon was horrible and really low and I am not proud of it."
She shifted her gaze to the petite woman standing next to Aphro. This female was incredibly pretty as well, with sleek, chin-length dark brown hair and midnight blue eyes. She had on a red, short, halter style top and a short black skirt.
Feeling Ayame's gaze on her, the girl stepped forward. "I'm Ryona," she said. Seeing the curiosity on Ayame's face, she laughed. "I'm married to Kit - Nick's twin brother."
Ayame smiled at her. "Nice to meet you."
She took an immediate liking to Ryona - something told her that below the quiet demeanor of the tiny girl was the heart of a fighter like herself.
She could also sense a sadness lying inside of her - sorrow at deeds that were done in the past. Ry had done things in her life that she was not proud of but had managed to overcome most of her demons.
The girls encouraged her to get up and take a bath. She washed her hair and brushed her teeth and after that she came back to the room to find a gold colored halter top and white shorts lying on the bed.
She gladly picked them up and tried them on. They belonged to Aphro and were slightly big but adequate, nonetheless.
She brushed her long hair out and plaited it into a braid that fell down her back. Feeling human again, she smiled and padded out of her room. The first person she saw was Sakon, who happened to be leaving his room at the same time. He smiled at her and offered to take her down to the kitchen for something to eat.
She accepted and he escorted her through the house downstairs to the large but cozy kitchen area. He put her to sit at the table and proceeded to whip up a hot bowl of vegetable soup along with hot, buttered rolls for her.
She was ravenous, but for some reason, the scent of the food caused a wave of nausea to overtake her. In order to distract from this, she tried engaging Sakon in conversation.
"So what was that thing that attacked me?" she asked.
He frowned. "I don't know. It was the strangest thing I ever saw. It was as if the creature had not a care whether it died. I killed it with no problem whatsoever."
She looked at him. "It was the same with me as well. The thing didn't even defend itself against my attack." She propped her chin in her hand. "So what do you plan to do abut these monsters?"
'I'm not too sure at the moment." He fixed a steely-eyed gaze on her. "Are you going to eat?"
She looked at him. "I'm not hungry."
Just then, her stomach rumbled.
He burst out laughing and she glared at him. He quickly tried to compose himself but it only made him laugh harder when she looked at him in an affronted manner.
She stood up and began walking out of the room. He darted across the kitchen and grabbed her hand.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Back to my room!" she replied heatedly.
"Not until you eat, you aren't," he stated.
Her temper flared again and she jerked her hand out of his grasp. "Who the bloody hell do you think you are?"
"The person who saved your life!" he retorted. "Now eat the damn food!"
She opened her mouth to deliver a scathing reply, when the world spun around her and she swayed. She would have fallen if not for Sakon's quick reflexes.
He caught her and cursed. "You little fool! Don't you realize that your body needs the nourishment? After that ordeal you went through.." His voice trailed off as she looked up into his eyes. He swallowed and his grip on her tightened.
Ayame realized that he was going to kiss her and her heartbeat quickened. Her lips parted in anticipation and her eyes began to close. His mouth brushed hers, the touch as fine as the brush of a butterfly's wing, when voices invaded her consciousness.
She jerked back, and raised a hand to her mouth. Wide-eyed, she stared at Sakon, and fled the room, just as the other members of the house entered.
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Ayame opened her eyes slowly. What was going on? she wondered. Why did she feel so incredibly weak?
She slowly raised her head and took in her surroundings. The room was unfamiliar and incredibly gorgeous. Not bad, she thought. I could have awoken in a drain.
She pulled herself upright and sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, then willed herself to stand. She managed the feat and then leaned on the bedpost for a moment to steady herself. She felt her legs wobble and clutched the post even more tightly.
Just as she thought that she had herself under control, a voice spoke up from behind her, startling her into losing her balance.
"What in God's name are you doing?"
She sat back down heavily on the bed and turned to glare at him. "What are you doing here?"
"I live here," was the reply.
"In that case, what am I doing here?" she asked.
"You were attacked in the woods," he informed her. "Did you see what attacked you?"
Her eyes grew dark. "It was some huge, black monster. I managed to kill it." Her eyes widened. "Is Heliotrope okay?"
"Your horse is fine," he soothed. "He's one fine, well-trained animal. If it wasn't for him, I might have never found you."
She smiled at that, and then she realized that Sakon's gaze kept straying past her neck. Looking down, she discovered why. She was clad only in a short flimsy nightdress that sweat had plastered to her body. It was also pretty obvious that she wore nothing underneath.
To her horror, Ayame felt herself blush. She was never embarrassed, not even during her military training when she had to shower with the men. Hundreds of strangers seeing her naked body had never intimidated her, so why was the frank, appreciative gaze of one golden-eyed man making her lose her cool?
To diffuse the moment, she blurted out, "I need to use the bathroom. Urgently."
He chuckled and stood. "I thought as much."
Before she could have an idea of what he was up to, he had swept her into his arms and carried her into the bathroom. There he deposited her gently inside the door and told her to knock when she was done.
She used the toilet and then took a peek at herself in the mirror. She winced at what she saw. Her eyes had dark circles under them and her hair was in a mess. She splashed some cold water over her face and opened the door to find Sakon lounging outside.
Before she could protest, he had swung her back up in his arms and carried her back to the bed. He lay her down and proceeded to sit on the bed next to her.
"We need to talk."
She stared at him in confusion. "Why?"
"Because I had lost my temper with you the other day and I'm sorry for that. It's just that your uncle has been constantly hounding me with demands to fight the war and I can't do that." He sighed. "I know that it will piss him off royally, but."
She placed her hand over his, effectively cutting him off. "You don't need to apologize. I'm the one who should be telling you that I'm sorry for barging into your house and demanding that you risk your life for us. I just never thought about the fact that you might have unselfish reasons for not wanting to fight."
She raised her eyes to his. "I guess I thought of you as this spoilt little rich boy who just wanted to stay home and bask in luxury while soldiers were dying out there."
He sighed. "Yes - and I feel really badly that so much are dying, but it is their choice to make. I've made mine and I am tired of all the killing. I needed to get away."
Ayame stared at his down bent head and fought the urge to run her fingers through his dark red hair. She found herself feeling the urge to gather him in her arms and kiss him. Maybe he picked up on her thoughts, because, suddenly he raised his head and stared straight at her, his beautiful golden eyes blazing with desire.
She inhaled sharply and he focused on her mouth. Just then, the moment was shattered by voices outside her door.
Sakon stood up, just as Aphrodite and Ryona entered and he smiled at them before leaving the room.
"Was he upsetting you?" Aphrodite wanted to know.
"No. Actually, he was helping me out." Ayame studied the blonde, remembering their last heated words.
Apparently the argument was on Aphrodite's mind as well, because she cleared her throat and said, "Uh about those things I said that last time."
Ayame held up a hand. "There's no need for you to apologize. I deserve everything that you said to me.and more. What I told Sakon was horrible and really low and I am not proud of it."
She shifted her gaze to the petite woman standing next to Aphro. This female was incredibly pretty as well, with sleek, chin-length dark brown hair and midnight blue eyes. She had on a red, short, halter style top and a short black skirt.
Feeling Ayame's gaze on her, the girl stepped forward. "I'm Ryona," she said. Seeing the curiosity on Ayame's face, she laughed. "I'm married to Kit - Nick's twin brother."
Ayame smiled at her. "Nice to meet you."
She took an immediate liking to Ryona - something told her that below the quiet demeanor of the tiny girl was the heart of a fighter like herself.
She could also sense a sadness lying inside of her - sorrow at deeds that were done in the past. Ry had done things in her life that she was not proud of but had managed to overcome most of her demons.
The girls encouraged her to get up and take a bath. She washed her hair and brushed her teeth and after that she came back to the room to find a gold colored halter top and white shorts lying on the bed.
She gladly picked them up and tried them on. They belonged to Aphro and were slightly big but adequate, nonetheless.
She brushed her long hair out and plaited it into a braid that fell down her back. Feeling human again, she smiled and padded out of her room. The first person she saw was Sakon, who happened to be leaving his room at the same time. He smiled at her and offered to take her down to the kitchen for something to eat.
She accepted and he escorted her through the house downstairs to the large but cozy kitchen area. He put her to sit at the table and proceeded to whip up a hot bowl of vegetable soup along with hot, buttered rolls for her.
She was ravenous, but for some reason, the scent of the food caused a wave of nausea to overtake her. In order to distract from this, she tried engaging Sakon in conversation.
"So what was that thing that attacked me?" she asked.
He frowned. "I don't know. It was the strangest thing I ever saw. It was as if the creature had not a care whether it died. I killed it with no problem whatsoever."
She looked at him. "It was the same with me as well. The thing didn't even defend itself against my attack." She propped her chin in her hand. "So what do you plan to do abut these monsters?"
'I'm not too sure at the moment." He fixed a steely-eyed gaze on her. "Are you going to eat?"
She looked at him. "I'm not hungry."
Just then, her stomach rumbled.
He burst out laughing and she glared at him. He quickly tried to compose himself but it only made him laugh harder when she looked at him in an affronted manner.
She stood up and began walking out of the room. He darted across the kitchen and grabbed her hand.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Back to my room!" she replied heatedly.
"Not until you eat, you aren't," he stated.
Her temper flared again and she jerked her hand out of his grasp. "Who the bloody hell do you think you are?"
"The person who saved your life!" he retorted. "Now eat the damn food!"
She opened her mouth to deliver a scathing reply, when the world spun around her and she swayed. She would have fallen if not for Sakon's quick reflexes.
He caught her and cursed. "You little fool! Don't you realize that your body needs the nourishment? After that ordeal you went through.." His voice trailed off as she looked up into his eyes. He swallowed and his grip on her tightened.
Ayame realized that he was going to kiss her and her heartbeat quickened. Her lips parted in anticipation and her eyes began to close. His mouth brushed hers, the touch as fine as the brush of a butterfly's wing, when voices invaded her consciousness.
She jerked back, and raised a hand to her mouth. Wide-eyed, she stared at Sakon, and fled the room, just as the other members of the house entered.
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