Author's Note: Well, I'm back from a March break of doing nothing but working and am about to spend a few days in the hospital for some testing. Not the greatest, but I hope it all works out in the end. Not sure when the next chapter will be out, but it hopefully won't take me too long.
Disclaimer: I own nothing at all in this world, except for the OC. I made her all on my own. :D
As he had hoped, no one had questioned him as he lugged an unconscious girl onto his horse with him. Well, no one had said anything, but they sure had given him quite a few looks. He had ignored them all, but took a few seconds to pause on the fact that these people we clearly worried or not alright with this situation but not saying anything. How many times had this happened before? Is that why they didn't say anything, because they were used to it, but still disgusted with themselves for being too scared to stop it? He hoped that wasn't the case, and gave them a large tip before leaving.
The journey back his land and property didn't take that long, a few short hours and they were there. It was a nice and quiet journey, no conversation and no harsh coughing. She had stayed unconscious the entire time, and he thought that probably be for the best. They were mostly going to fight when she awoke and that was never the best thing to do when share a horse back together. Speaking of that, when he had knocked her out, he hadn't really planned on just how he was going to have to bring her back with him. Now, he sat behind her, she limply laid against him and his arms had to wrapped around her to reach the reigns.
He hoped that when she woke up, she wasn't offended by how close they were. Though, he had quickly decided he liked the feel of her against her, even though her dress left mud on his clothes as well. He noted that he should draw hot water for her when they arrived so that she may bathe. That would probably help her feel better a well. Perhaps tomorrow he should go out to town and purchase her a new dress that one looked like it had had better years. He could help but laugh at the thought of showing up at the tailor, (who would most likely know who he was) and request a dress and then have to guess her small measurements. It would look like he was just getting a gift for a lady, (which he would be) but there would be a rumor of that in mere hours. The captain of the guards, sweet on some mystery girl, the kingdom would just eat that up.
They arrived right about the same time that the girl started to stir. He had just laid her on the bed, before her eyes open violently and she shot up and away from him. She backed herself until her back hit the wall and then shrunk herself down to appear even smaller then she already was. She whimpered as he reached out to calm her and hyperventilated as he took a step closer. He gritted he teeth in frustration, he hadn't expected this as a reaction at all and he wished that this wasn't happening; he wished he knew what was going on inside her head.
She was suppose to get mad at him, they were suppose to argue and he had been going to convince her that she was safe here and this was for the best. Instead, she was clenching her eyes closed and curling her arms around her head to get away from him. He felt sick to his stomach, which was a reaction he now recognized from years working as captain of the guards; one that girls and woman had after being captured and used in unmentionable ways. His heart sunk for her, as she started coughing again, though now to scared to remove her hands from her head, she coughed directly onto her dress and left splotches of blood on it.
Unable to think of anything else to do, he simply got her a mug of water and sat on the bed not that far away from her. She took the water with shaking hands and nodded to him instead of answering. Elmont wanted nothing more than to see that smile as he had hours earlier. "You don't have to be scared of me, dear. I just want you to rest, you were going to kill your out there in that field." He spoke in a quiet tone and simply so he didn't scare her more then he already had.
It didn't really look like she believed him, but she drank the water anyway, handing him
back the mug when it was empty.
She soon as her hands weren't full anymore; she curled back up around herself, and closed herself off from him as much as she could manage. He sighed, a stood back up off the bed once more. "Look, you have my word that I'm not going to do anything to you; I just want you to get better. Now, you should lay down a bit and I'll get some water for a bath. You'll feel better when clean." With that, he set upon his self appointed task. In the castle there were many maids to do this, but in his house, (which he only ever managed to visit every few weeks) it was just him and the lady which he employed to come by once a week to keep everything in order for him. He usually liked being alone while he was here, but right now he wished that he had a permanent maid. Perhaps the girl would be less uncomfortable if there was another woman around.
No use worry about that now, there was nothing he could really do. He had just gone outside to get some water from the well for the bath, when the door flung open and the girl rushed out, making a run for it. "Shit!" He swore as he ended up dashing after her, and quickly grabbing onto her with an arm around the waist. She struggled against him, but he stood his ground and didn't let her go anywhere. She screamed in frustration and weakly beat on his chest, but he still didn't let her go. Finally, he went limp against his chest with one hand planted on his shirt and just sobbed.
Not knowing what else to do, he lowered them both to the ground, so that she was just sitting in his lap. He was afraid to let her go, afraid she might just make another run for it. He hugged her close and just let her cry, rocking them back a forth for a small bit of comfort. "It'll be alright, no one is going to hurt you here. I'll protect you, you're safe." He whispered continuous sweet things into her ear.
He didn't move them until she had cried herself to an exhaustion induced sleep in his arms.