Chapter 8
Rescued
Four days later, late at night, Basta stole into Pfeiffer's room by moonlight. She'd been laying awake, trying to forgive herself for what she'd done with Firefox.
So wrong she thought, letting the tears drip from her eyes. She hoped with all her heart that Basta would stay true to his word and save her. Save her from this mess of a life. She just finished wiping the tears from her eyes, when she heard the soft voice with a light trace of an Irish accent in it. Basta's voice.
"Ready to go?" he asked, draping a cloak over Pfeiffer's shoulders.
"Yes." Basta's snowy white teeth flashed in the dark as he smiled. He led her through the quiet corridors of the inn, silent as a cat. Pfeiffer, the BlueJay herself, had trouble staying as silent as him. They crept outside into the moonlight, where Basta gave her a leg up onto a horse.
As they began trotting away towards the castle gate, Basta noticed Pfeiffer's gaze linger on the inn.
"You don't want to go back, do you?" Basta furrowed his brow and felt a pang in his heart.
"Oh, heavens no!" Pfeiffer looked over her shoulder at Basta. He smelt of horses and peppermint…much nicer then alcohol. "Thank you for rescuing me. You've saved me from a lot more then certain death…that's for sure." Basta smiled and tightened his grip around her waist. Pfeiffer liked that. Part of her wanted Basta to gallop his mount past Roxanne's farm, and take her away, but the other part was weary of the man in the Adderhead's coat of arms. What if he was a perverted, walking temper tantrum, like all of the other men under the Adderhead's reign. But Basta's rhythmic breathing and scent pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She nestled up against Basta's body and sighed in content.
When they reached that gate to Roxanne's farm, Basta dismounted, and then helped Pfeiffer off the huge animal.
"Thank you" She whispered. Her face was very close to his.
'It's no problem." Basta brought his face even closer to hers. Pfeiffer felt as if she was in a fairy tale. The moon light beamed upon them, and the smell of Roxanne's roses lingered in the air.
Basta very gently put his lips on Pfeiffer's. He softly kissed the tips of her lips, all the while holding her waist protectively. Pfeiffer slowly pulled away, and ran her hand through his black hair.
"Thank you, Basta."
"W-wait, Pfeiffer, can I meet you tomorrow? Down at the river, where the women do their washing? Late afternoon?" Basta's voice shook slightly.
"Of course." Pfeiffer smiled, and then walked through the gate, speaking softly to the goose. Basta remounted, and then kicked his horse into a gallop. When he was well away from the farm, he let out a whoop of joy. Although, a little voice stole into his head, discouraging him.
Here you are Basta, 21 years old, having your first kiss! How pathetic! You'll stay a virgin until you're 50!
Basta growled and pushed the voice out of his head, although the words left marks in his mind, like the soot fire elves leave behind when they land on your skin.