Spinning Webs

Cassandra sighed heavily. She was splayed out on her large bed like a drape of limbs. She could feel Rhiannon's hazel eyes on her, if she were to look, Cassie knew she would see her friend's pink lips pressed in a straight line of disappointment, the expression on her heart-shaped face would say: I told you so. That was why Cassandra kept her eyes closed, Ardeth's face was a clear image tattooed behind her eyelids. She had missed him pitifully the two days he had been gone with his father. And not one hour ago, she and Rhia had watched their arrival back to the fortress. Cassandra had stayed out of sight, leaving her free to soak in Ardeth's distant presence. His black shoulder-length hair was matted, his three plaits scraggly and coming undone. He probably smelled of sweat, both his and his steeds. His bright smile had shined when he had greeted his mother. That was one of the many things that Cassandra loved about him; Ardeth's unabashed and open warmth towards his mother.

Not to mention his intelligence. He spoke five languages fluently, and could read and write the ones that had a written language. He was a warrior reminiscent of his father. And he was the most handsome, beautiful man she had ever clapped eyes on. His bronze skin, chiseled face with his exotic tattoos. The way his muscles rippled beneath his flesh.

Rhiannon sighed dramatically. "Do stop thinking about him, Cassie! You are torturing yourself with dreams that will never come true." Rhia had spoken these very words to her friend many times, hoping that one day they would finally get through to her. No such luck yet. She was sitting next to the hearth, her knitting interrupted.

Cassandra's eyes opened, and her head turned towards her friend's. "You don't know that." Always her words. Rhia was a year older than her with auburn hair, and milky white skin. Her father was a soldier and her mother a laundress. For ten years the two girls had been staunch companions, Rhia the more serious one, Cassandra the wild, free spirit.

Rhia's stern glare did not abate. "Your parents would never allow it. He has no land of his own, no title..."

"He has noble blood on his mother's side. And is wealthy in that right, too," Rhiannon was reminded vehemently.

Rhiannon ignored her. "It's a good thing Ardeth does not know of your affections..." Her voice trailed off at Cassandra's odd silence and strange stare. "Does he?"

Cassandra blushed. Remembering how she'd confronted Ardeth so boldly. Knowing Rhia would hound her until she confessed, she found herself telling her everything. Becoming emotional as she spoke, "I stood before him, wearing nothing but the skin I was born in, and my heart on my shoulder."

"Dear God," Rhiannon hissed under her breath.

"My skin was pressed right against his. He was so warm...and firm." Her body became heated, calling up the feel of him. "He resisted me." Rhia's face was as red as hers, but for entirely different reasons, her eyes were as wide as saucers with shock.

"What if he tells your father?!" Rhiannon exclaimed.

Cassandra worried her bottom lip. Trust Rhia to think up the consequences she had not bothered to consider. "He wouldn't do that," she said, not entirely convinced.

"By God, imagine the trouble you would be in! The scandal! And what of Ardeth?" Rhiannon was getting up on her high horse – not without good reason – her voice rising to a hushed pitch of censure. She stood over Cassandra, arms akimbo. "Did you think of the trouble you might have caused him had you been caught?"

Heart beating wildly, Cassandra snapped, "Stop badgering me!" She sat up. "You are supposed to be on my side!"

"I am on your side, you foolish girl! Someone has to remind you of the trouble you brew carelessly and with no thought of anyone but yourself!"

Cassandra knew her friend was speaking logic, but, "I love him Rhiannon."

Her fierce expression softened as she sat next to her. "I know. But he does not feel the same way. Now that you know for certain, you can move passed this with some dignity."

Cassandra swallowed the jagged lump in her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears at bay. "I cannot just stop loving him."

Rhia stifled her sigh. Cassandra was passionate to a fault, stubborn and relentless. She hated not getting her way, and Rhia knew she wanted Ardeth more than anything. She did not doubt her love for him, she believed that Cassandra believed it, but it was more lust than love. She liked the idea of Ardeth; this exotic man whom she thought could offer a reprieve from her stoic life as a princess with an image to maintain. Cassie's amorous endeavor would not cease, she would continue to weave the dangerous web of hers. For now, she might step back and regroup, pretend all was well, but like Cassandra had said, she couldn't stop loving him.

TBC...