EVERYONE WHO THOUGHT I'M KILLING OFF MERLE, READ THE NOTE AT THE END

WIND WARRIORS

Chapter Eight: Forever and a day.

Rafer

For a long, frightening second, I feared she was gone. But then I saw she was breathing, slowly but breathing. Maybe there was some time still. I ignored all the questions around me, just shouted that they called a doctor as I carried Merle to one of the rooms of the castle, I wanted her to be as comfortable as I could make it.

Days went by so slowly, the doctors weren't sure if she would live. Fortunately, the head injury wasn't as bad as it could have been; there was no damage to her lungs, just a couple of bruised ribs. The problem was all the blood she had lost...

If Merle died, I was a goner too... she could not die.

That's why I stayed by her side those three days she spent unconscious. I wouldn't leave to room; I wouldn't eat or sleep... not until I knew she would be fine. The fourth day the doctor said she wasn't unconscious anymore, she was just sleeping. Nathaniel –having heard from Rafaga what had happened with Bolek, had came to check on Merle -said it was a fairy trait of her blood, she would sleep until her body had mended.

Nathaniel assured me that Merle would survive.

"She is too stubborn to die like that." Nathaniel said

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Merle

Confusion and darkness swallowed my mind. I was in a lot of pain and then I felt nothing but there was a part of my mind that kept telling me everything would be fine and I slept. I don't know for how long... it was a dreamless bliss.

My vision was blurry when I woke up. And I couldn't recognize the room in which I lay though the bed was comfortable, I felt a weird tickle on my side and I just knew that if I moved the tickle would turn into pain. I wondered if I could move at all.

But it turned out that I could move. True to my prediction when I tried to stand up, my side troubled but the pain was bearable, grabbing the edge of all the furniture I could, I was trying to make my way to the window, maybe if I looked out I could get an idea of where I was. I never made it to the window though, because the door opened.

Then I remembered everything, well... some things... like the fact that he had called me 'little love' before I passed out... He was always calling me pet names, but never love… "Buttercup" that was the one he liked best, the word love? Never before had been mentioned.

"Rafer?" I asked grabbing the edge of a chest drawer to stand still, Rafer looked a bit pale, tired I guess... there were deep purple circles under his eyes. "Are you al-" I never got to finish my sentence for Rafer strode to me and picked me up.

"What on Earth do you think you're doing?" He demanded taking me back to the bed. "Doctor said you had to stay in bed. What were you thinking?"

"Sorry. I didn't know." I said quietly. "Where are we?"

"Let's say that if you had married Blake this would have been your room." Rafer answered, sitting down next to me.

"The Braeden Castle?"

He nodded

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Almost two weeks, you lost a lot of blood but the injury on your side wasn't close to anything vital so you'll archive a full recovery."

"Oh." I said, my hand reaching for the place where it tickled/hurt, it felt like I was going to get a scar.

"But you don't worry about anything, you're my responsibility and I'll take care of you."

"I can take care of myself, thank you." I snapped, perhaps a little bit too harshly. "I don't need to be one of your many responsibilities."

I thought he would get mad or something but he didn't, instead he wrapped both arms around me and gathered me close till my head was on his shoulder. "You're not just a responsibility," he said, voice soft. "And I know you can take care of yourself. But I want to take care of you." There was a pause during which he just stroked my hair. "I want you to be happy," he added. "And I want to know you're happy because of me."

"Why?" I asked.

Rafer loosened his embrace and leaned back to look at me. I stared him in the eye and I saw that same warm, vital thing I had seen before... just once. Then his face was closer to mine. "Because, I love you." Was his answer. "I think I've love you all my life. I've tried to deny it, to fight it, but I can't."

"Rafer," I said in a none-sense tone that was very hard to maintain with him being so close. "We fight all the time."

"I know, but that's because you can't control how much you like me and it makes you cranky."

"I don't like you."

"I bet." He said, his lips almost brushing over mine. I closed my eyes.

"I really don't like you." I repeated.

"Then?" he asked, half playful, half serious.

"I love you." I said against his lips. Finally Rafer's mouth came down over mine. It was a much softer kiss than the last one he had given me – when he found out I was going to marry Blake – almost as if he wasn't sure if he had heard right or if I wanted him to kiss me. I chose to solve the matter for him and I parted my lips beneath his...

He needed no further invitation, his tongue walked into my mouth like he owned the place, which, truth be told, he practically did.

That kiss touched places deep within my soul that recognized him as my mate.

And I knew I was exactly where I belonged.

It took Rafer and me almost twenty years to understand that we weren't meant to fight each other but to complement the other. But now that we finally had, we weren't going to waste time.

And besides, if you really think about it, it wasn't such a big surprise. I mean, we fought so much that what other fate could have been in store of us than to fall in love?

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Nobody

Rafer and Merle were so busy kissing that they didn't notice the mail knocking at the door until she abruptly threw the door opening, wondering if everything was okay. Rafer and Merle jumped at the "Excuse me!" the young maid let out.

Rafer righted himself while Merle placed her hand on her left-hand side with an "Ow!" Rafer looked down at her worriedly, but Merle held up her free hand to indicate she was fine; it had only been the quick movement.

"I apologize, my lord," the girl said with a curtsy. "I just came to ask if you'll want diner."

"I'm starving!" Merle said bighting up to the prospect of food.

"Bring us our diner here. Just, please, check with the doctor first what Merle can and can not eat."

"I will, my lord." The maid said and left.

…

"It's not fair!" Merle whined half an hour later, looking up from her vegetables broth. "Why do you get to eat chicken in garlic sauce, I love chicken in garlic sauce."

"The doctor said you could only eat soft stuff and vegetables." Rafer said in a stern voice, trying not to laugh at Merle, which was proving to be quite a task since she was whining like a two year old.

"But it's chicken! That's practically a vegetable!" Merle said, working up her two-year-old reasoning.

"Eat your vegetables." Rafer said simply. And grumpily Merle started to eat her diner but she was soon distracted by the little piece of chicken Rafer had cut and was holding in front of her.

Rafer was so going to spoil her rotten, he wanted to, all he needed was a chance to do it so… a life time to fulfill her every wish and make her happy…

Afterwards, Merle said she wanted to brush her teeth so Rafer carried her to the bathroom. "Your turn." She said when she was done, grabbing the sink for support, she didn't feel ill but she did feel weak. When Rafer didn't move, Merle added. "If you think I'm going to let you kiss me with garlic breath, you're nuts."

"Don't push your luck, baby girl." He said gruffly but never the less sat Merle up in the counter next to the sink and brushed his teeth. "Happy now?"

Merle gave him a quick kiss, "Oh, yeah." She said and raised her arms like a child who wanted to be picked up. Rafer chuckled and carried her back to the bed.

It was odd somehow, how they had eased in to his new thing – love – without much effort. It just simply happened… maybe it had always been there but they were just realizing of it… maybe their mothers had been right and what they had had always been meant to be. They didn't know, but they were willing on taking their chances.

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Merle

Rafer and I stayed almost a month more in the Braeden Castle, I was recovering and he was settling the political affairs in order. It was decided to split the territory in three: Lhite, Mhalta and Circe. The three new kings had sworn alliance with the Windam Valley… peace would rein again, no more war threats.

I send word to my father, saying that I was alright and that as soon as I felt totally recovered I would be back. Well, actually, I had said that Rafer and I would be back… but when my father wrote back, all he said was that he hoped I got back soon, for the unspoken words in his letter, I could tell that anything that was, even remotely, related to King Roger – Rafer included – was not among my father favorites. And I wondered how he would react when I tell him that I loved Rafer.

Rafer took me for a walk the night before we went back to Windam Valley, I went eagerly, most of the times I wasn't allowed outside the castle's building… hell if it had been for Rafer I would have stayed in bed all the time, it took me and the doctor two weeks to convince Rafer that I was healing perfectly fine and that I could go outside… Rafer still was overprotective and insisted on being with me each time I went for a walk… something that irritated me no end.

Anyway, that night he took me to the garden… to the chapel that served to worship the Powers that Be – or "Power" as the new wave said that the four powers were only different faces of the one same power that made everything go around. All is one, the priests said.

"Why are we here?" I asked as Rafer ushered me inside the chapel, we were al alone.

"We are here to get married, silly." He said, playing innocent… I hated when he did that and he knew it, I shot him look and he just grinned.

"Rafer…" I groaned warningly when I saw the High Priest step into the moonlight by the altar. If it was going to be a joke, it was a very cruel one… I'm a girl after all and as every other girl I had thought about getting married… lately I had even thinking about getting married to Rafer… so you see why I though that if it was a joke it was a cruel one?

"What? Like I'm going to take the chance on you getting away from me again, I almost lost you once and that is a risk I'm not willing to take." He said, taking my hand and dragging me along. "Now, is very simple, all you have to do is say 'I do' and that's it. Unless you want to say 'no'," he added. "In which case I would have to kill myself because I don't think I can live without you."

I smiled… I would never grow tired of hearing him say stuff like that, "Well, I guess I don't want your death in my conscience." I said smiling as he let out a long breath is if there had been any doubt I would say yes.

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End of Chapter Eight.

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Notes:

I was really surprised you thought I was going to let her die... like I'm not happy-ending-fluff-lover-extraordinaire!!!!!

That's all I have to say for now, no spoiler of next chapter!!!