:D I got reviews! YAY! Well, remember that part about the Theives? Well, that's going to be a side story soon :3 hope you guys like this so far :D Sorry this took so long to crank out, some parts had to be revisited and ripped apart XD
Mynameistolong: Yes, I must agree with you, Felson is amazingly amazing.
xXI-Slit-My-WristsXx: Sorry about the spelling, my spell check likes to think something is right and it isn't, and I don't always pick up on it XD
Enjoy!
Chapter 4: I Shouldn't Be Alive
"Shh, you'll wake up the parents" he whispers barely able to keep back his own laughter. My mind is spinning and I'm aware I'm in his lap, both of us laughing together. When the giggles calm down enough for me to eat, I do so. I break the meat into pieces and begin eating them with Felson watching me. His arms are lightly around my waist and his eyes are a darker blue than normal.
"What?" I ask him. He's acting mighty strange. He shrugs and leans back against the tree, letting me go, but I don't move. I offer him a piece of meat and he takes it and pops it in his mouth. He looks up and smiles wide and I have to tilt my head in confusion.
"Okay, what's going on?" I ask him, and he puts his hand around my chin and tilts my head back so I'm looking up. The sight of the moon makes my jaw drop and I'm vaguely happy that I have swallowed my food. The moon is bigger than I have ever seen it and I wonder if I am dreaming, the wisps of fog rolling in front of it only help to amplify the feeling. I look down to eat another piece of meat to see that it's gone and Felson is trying to hide the fact that he is chewing. I stare at him wide eyed as he goes to put the very last piece in his mouth.
"You look like I just killed your damn puppy!" He groans and hands me the last piece and I eat it happily while swaying slightly. I don't realize I swayed a bit too far until I'm almost on the ground with Felson's arms back around me and a big smile on his face and the moon makes his eyes sparkle.
We stay like that for a moment before I realize our foreheads are touching. His eyes are so beautiful, and show such happiness and yet so much sorrow. I smile and kiss his nose and giggle, standing up and stretching.
"Where are you off to?" he asks and I shrug
"I suppose I'm going to go wash if that's alright with you" I stick my tongue out at him and he laughs again "You better watch who you stick your tongue out to girl, some might take it as an invitation" he laughs harder as I feel my face heat up and I turn, walking away from the laughing man I had almost kissed. I walk to the cart to see my cousin and she is sleeping and Kay is keeping watch. I grab a spare blanket from the cart and turn to see Kay had moved to another tree to sit behind.
"Kay, I'm going to check on Spirit and wash, I'll be back in a little while." Kay nods and stretches "Whistle three times if you need help." I nod and wave and walk off to the hot spring. Spirit is standing out of the water when I get there and I smile and pat his shoulder. He snorts and I pick up his leg with no problem, and in the dark the wound looks better.
I sigh and look around, the world had only slightly stopped spinning but the whisky I drank will have me hurting in the morning. I toss my blanket over his back to keep it from freezing and I pull off my clothes and chest bindings and I slip into the water. It's beautifully hot and I shiver in delight as I dive under to find it's deeper than I thought. I come up for air and I see Spirit looking at something. The world takes a sharp spin and I fall back under the water. I fight to swim up above the water but I only splash. My lungs burn and I feel tired, I take a breath and give up, the last thing I taste is the mixing of water and meat and I imagine what Felson's mouth would taste like.
Suddenly I am pulled from the water coughing and heavy arms wrap around me. I feel the ground behind me so I turn away from my savior and cough up was much water as I can. My lungs burn but I take greedy gulps of breath. A hand hits my back and as what just happened rushes into my mind. I could have died, but my thoughts become foggy as the world takes another spin. I look up at my savior and I see intense blue eyes.
"You stupid girl, what did you think you were doing?" he yells and I flinch back, he immediately regrets his words as my eyes tear up. "Shh, come here" he is surprisingly comforting as he wraps his cloak and arms around me and allows me to cry until I tire into his shoulder. He smells better than I could have thought, there is only the light odor of man, with the heavy scent of the wilderness and furs. When I have stopped my tears and my hiccupping I wipe my eyes and sit back. His eyes stray to my chest for only a moment before he looks at my eyes.
"I'm going to have to tie you to my leg so you can't get further then a yard away." He smiles slightly and I have to laugh. "Now that you've bathed, get dressed and warm and go to bed." I nod and he leaves his nice fur cloak around me as he stands and turns. I grab my clothes and I dress, and I sigh when I realize I have no one to re-do my breast bindings.
"Felson?" I ask softly and he tilts his head towards me "I need help…." I trail off and turn around, my face heating up beyond what I thought possible.
"Huh? I don't know how to wrap a chest cloth, I only know how to…..forget it" he chuckled slightly and his sentence only made my face heat up more. I feel him walk behind me and I pass the cloth under my arms and back to him. His fingers brush my back with every pass and I have to surpress the shivers that threatened to run up and down my spine.
Every move is mechanical as I try not to think about the heat rising between my legs, I have never felt anything like this before, never when the guards had touched me, and before the guards I had never been touched by a man, but the way Felson's fingers just so lightly brush the skin of my back is so much different than the harsh hands of the guards. It is delightful. With the last pass he ties the two ends of the cloth together tightly and I pull my fur tunic back on. Felson watches me with an odd look.
"What now?" I ask as I button the bottom button on my tunic and tie the ties. He chuckles.
"Never met a woman who couldn't tie her own bindings before" he laughs now and I blush even more, which makes him laugh more.
"Well for your information before that hell hole of a castle I had never worn bindings like these, back home, in Ireland, the bindings have ties in the front, like my tunic, but cut and fit to be for breasts" I reply defensively. He chuckles again and puts his hands up.
"Okay okay okay, don't get your laces in a twist" he shakes his head and leads me back to his furs. I hand him back his cloak and he takes it, lays it to the side, then takes my arm and falls with me to the softness of fur and ground. I try not to laugh and I'm too shaken to care that Felson covers us both with his heavy fur cloak. I only then realize how cold I was and I press my back tightly against his chest. His arm snakes around my waste and it isn't long until I give myself over to dreams.
I wake with a start, I'm surrounded by the smell of man and earth, confused and my head is spinning. I groan and Felson smiles down at me.
"You know, you sure are one hell of a snuggler" he laughs as I groan and shake my head.
"What happened?" I ask him as the light throbbing in my head becomes worse. I am unable to recall any of last night, but since I'm considerably cleaner I gather that I bathed last night. I look around through slightly cracked eyes because the light, though dimmed by fog, is still too bright for my head. Everyone else is up and Behmen is handing out bowls. He brings two to Felson and I with a smile down at me.
I take the bowl and begin eating the stew he made, and I close my eyes at the delightful taste of rabbit. When I am finished I feel much better and I can keep my eyes open for more than five seconds. I slowly stand and pack my gear, all the while wondering what happened last night.
I could always ask Felson, but he would never let me live it down, so therefore I cannot ask Felson anything. I sigh and soon we are on our way again, with me avoiding everyone's eyes and Felson trying not to laugh.
By the time we reach a bridge and the caravan stops, my head pains are gone, and so is my memory. We dismount and while I listen to Felson and Hagamar argue over what to do Behmen begins walking his horse across.
"Behmen? Behmen!" Felson calls to the man, stepping closer to the bridge. We all move to see what the man was doing. He maneuvers his horse and when he reaches the other side we all let go of the breath we had been holding and I smile.
"Take everything off the wagon! Bring the horses across one by one!" I roll my eyes lightly, always the ever leader. I help unload the wagon and I steady Powder.
"I can take him" Kay offers and I shake my head "I would rather take him myself, but thank you" I smile softly and he blushes lightly. I laugh and kiss his cheek and ready to bring Powder across right behind Felson. After Felson made it across he came back to take Powder and I shook my head "I want to take him, I don't trust him to behave himself with anyone else." He nods in understanding.
"Be careful, I'll follow behind." I roll my eyes but smile nonetheless. It has been two days and I have grown fond of the men around me. Powder and I walk slowly, careful of our steps but ever moving. We reach the other side and Behmen helps me tie Powder off and I head back over. I step wrong and the sensation of falling takes over and suddenly I am hanging upside down. I think I scream. I'm tangled in the cord like vines under the bridge and Behmen is looking down at me, his face covered in worry.
"Can you free yourself? I cannot reach you" he said, worried. I shift slightly and the bridge creaks. I'm taken by fear and I can't find the ambition to move. Now Felson is standing with Behmen looking down at me. I look down at the canyon and I am frozen beyond help. It's so far to the bottom and for once I am thankful my hair goes in my eyes.
"Come on girl, get yourself free so we can keep going" I sigh and glare at Felson, and he just chuckles. "Yes we know you're stubborn, now come on." I groan "Oh shut up old man!" I call to him with a shaky yell and this makes Felson laugh more but I begin to plot. If I can just get my hands free I can swing my legs up between two boards and pull myself up. I grab two vines and I let out a sigh, years of tree climbing will finally pay off.
I swing my legs out and up over one board and tuck my feet under the next "Don't grab my legs!" I call as I see the two move. I let go of the vines and I force myself to sit up and on the board my legs were across. At this point Felson picks me up and carries me to the horses and I laugh, giddy with excitement.
"Now you sit here, and you stay here and you DON'T MOVE!" he seems so angry and yet relieved. I smile happily at him and nod "Yes daddy, I promise!" he taps the back of my head though there is hint of a smile. He goes and they ready to bring the cart across. I sigh and walk back across the bridge and stand in front of Hagamar, holding the rope. "I thought I told you to stay!" I turn and look at Felson.
"I am not your pet, and how much trouble can I get into standing three men ahead of you?" I ask him with another smile. My stunt has me giddy with energy and I need to burn it. He just scoffs.
"On my count of three!" we ready ourselves, me at the front, with a leg against the tree the rope is around, ready to let the rope slide. I have no guard on my hands, and I know as soon as we begin lowering the cart that I will regret it. Almost as soon as we start blood begins to soak the rope and my grip begins to slacken. "There is blood on the rope! I can't hold much longer!" I call and right after Debelzeq yells that he can't hold much longer either.
Suddenly I am pulled forward, only momentarily stopping the cart before being flung around the tree, and I hear another body land behind me. I feel the ground breaking my skin as I am dragged. "LET GO STUPID GIRL!" Felson yells behind me. I do and I feel a heavy weight on top of me, then it is gone. We watch as the cart goes and Behmen and Kay are forced to jump out from in front of it. I try to get up but a sharp pain runs through my right leg and I scream in pain and fall back down. I look down at my leg and I can tell it is broken. Everyone begins to move as Behmen calls to Hagamar and tells him to hitch up the horses.
Felson comes to me and moves my leg "That hurts asshole!" I yell and I immediately feel bad. Felson stops and looks at me and laughs. I stare wide eyed and I shake my head. He stands "It's just sprained, so sit here and actually STAY THIS TIME!" He picks me up and carries me across to the cart and passes me to Hagamar who brings me over and puts me on Powder's back. My leg hurts but I know I am safe there. I move Powder out of the way of the other horses and watch helplessly.
I watch Felson and a smile comes to my lips. He is truly handsome in his own way, probably not much older then I. Mother would have been pushing me to marry him the second she saw him. This makes me laugh quietly though a pit falls into my stomach. Home. How I miss it. I smile at Anna from my perch though I'm sure she does not see.
Anna, the supposed witch. My cousin, my dear sweet cousin, and deep down I know that I am beginning to believe the words of men who don't know a pigs arse from a horse's head. I sigh and shake my head firmly, accidentally moving a bit much and jarring my sprained knee. I groan and lean forward on Powder. "Ouch."
They make it across and I know I need help. A soft music drifts on the wind and I close my eyes. A path shimmers before me and I coax Powder along it, passing through the group of people and veering off the path. I do not hear what they call, but they call after me. The music and path lead me far and I know someone follows. When I open my eyes we are at a small village with a tavern and a barn and that's it. I laugh, it was a way house. Behind me Behmen and Felson stop their muttering.
"How did you know this was here?" Felson asks as he walks up to stand at my side, and I smile down at him "Faeries showed me." He looked at me guarded and my smile faded "I'm not a witch Felson." He shook his head "Not what I was thinking" he said and turned back to Behmen.
"We can go back and bring the cart through, Felson, stay with Aisling and secure a place for us to stay." Felson nodded and took the reins of my horse and led him next to his into the stables. The stable boy immediately ran inside and a man came out of the tavern where the light music could be heard. I tap Felson and point "That's how I found this place. I listened." The man is fat and angry looking and he eyes me with more than common interest. Felson smiles "If you have the space we have the money" the man looked between us and nodded.
"Jus ye two?" he asks, his accent thick. Felson shakes his head "four others" the man nods "O'ly three rooms, but if ye has tha mon'y, yer welcome to em" Felson nodded and paid for our rooms. The stable boy comes back and takes our horses. Felson helps me down and I lean heavily on him as we go into the tavern.
We sit at a table and I put my leg up on a chair next to me as Felson disappears. He comes back with two pints and two bowls of food. I smile in thanks as he sets the food and a pint in front of me. We eat in silence and it isn't long until Behmen comes in with Debelzeq, both looking rather flustered.
There ye have it kiddies :3 R+R please and thank you. :D Review pretty please!