"I don't have much to offer in the way of food. Tomorrow we'll stop in the next village and I will barter more supplies." When he turned back to face me he had pulled his hood back over his head.

"No." I shook my head, shed my blanket, and got to my feet. "Don't hide." I walked over to him and reached up to push his hood back.

He caught me by the wrists and I could feel those midnight eyes boring into me making me want to see them all the more. "I am not a some statue on display for you to stare at." He growled.

"Nor do I think you are." I answered. "You're perfect."

"You must be light headed from the lack of food." He released his hold on me and stepped back out of my reach. "If you continue this I will bind you." He growled when I again stepped towards him.

"I just want to see you." I glared at him. "I've never see anything so beautiful."

He shoved his hood off his head and glared at me. "Leave it boy."

"Only if you don't hide from me." I nodded.

If possible his glare intensified causing me to smile up at him. "Fine." He hissed then turned back to his saddlebags and began pulling items out of them.

Satisfied that he was going to keep his hood off so I could see him I moved to his side. "Is that all you have?" I scowled at the meager scraps of food he had piled on the rock.

"Is that not what I said?" He growled at me.

I turned to look at him and cast the same glare he was giving me right back at him. "Yes but I didn't think you meant it so literal." I hissed.

He handed me all the strips of dried meat and a chunk of over dry hard as the rocks around us bread. He was left with the other half of the bread and something that looked to once have been an apple of some sort. This wasn't food this was barely acceptable for the pigs. Yet this was all he had apparently and from the looks of our surroundings we weren't going to find anything better.

"Here," I set all but one of the strips of meat back down. "I don't need that much and I'm sure you need it more."

"Just eat it." He bit out and shoved it towards me.

"No." I shook my head and took my jerky and bread back to my seat on the other side of our little camp. I got comfortable back on my blanket and stared at his tense back as he continued to sort through his bags.

I continued to watch him as he turned to his horse and removed the reigns and was reminded of our previous conversation about the beast. "You said you trade with your horse what does that mean?"

He scratched the horse's forehead and shrugged as he fed him the old apple. "I supply him with food and protection and he takes me where I need to go. He's free to leave whenever he wants."

"Would he?" I questioned as I stared at the piece of meat in my hand wondering from what animal it came from.

"That's entirely up to him." He turned to face me. "He may not know that he can leave but if one day he doesn't come back I won't go looking for him." He grabbed his share of the jerky and bread then sat down on the boulder it was previously sitting on.

I took a small bite of the meat testing it to make sure it wouldn't kill me and sighed inwardly when it turned out to be nothing more than burnt beef. It wasn't great but I was hungry and food was food. "But what if he's injured somewhere or stuck or something? You'd just leave him thinking he left you?"

"If that was the case which it has been he alerts me to his situation since he never goes far." He again shrugged at me as he began eating his jerky.

"So he's taken possession of you," I nodded at him. "therefore he needs a name."

"He's fine as he is." He nodded curtly. "It doesn't bother him that he doesn't have a name therefore he doesn't need one."

I narrowed my eyes upon him. "How do you know it doesn't bother him?"

"He told me." He growled getting quite tired of this conversation.

"That is the silliest thing I've ever heard." I snorted and looked at the horse still standing there. "Do you want a name?"

The horse turned its ears towards me and made a snorting noise through its nose.

"See he has no desire to have a name." Sebastian pointed out.

I glared at him and got to my feet. "You don't know that that's what he means." I walked over and stood in front of the great beast causing it to turn it's head slightly to the side to see me. "Alright horse are you happy being just horse or do you want to have a title befitting a beast such as yourself?"

It's ears twitched from me to owner and back again before whinnying loudly.

"I thought so." I smirked over at Sebastian who was scowling at me. "So what kind of name would you like? Something powerful," I placed my fist to my chin in thought. "scary, strong."

"He doesn't need a name." He growled again.

I looked over at Sebastian and scowled at him. "Oh shut-up."

He narrowed his dark eyes deeply upon me.

I matched the glare he was giving me before I turned back to the horse. "You know if he keeps making that face it'll probably stay that way." I nodded at the horse causing it to snort again. "Alright a good name for a powerful beast." I said aloud ignoring the grumbling coming from the male sitting on the rock. "Let's see, Raven?" I shook my head. "No it doesn't fit you."

"I agree." Sebastian growled and moved to start a small fire for the cooling night.

"Stone? Midnight? Blackie?" The horse snorted deeply as I shook my head. "I agree none of those fit you either." I sighed deeply. "What about Athelstan? I think it means noble stone."

"No."

I looked over at Sebastian squatted down on the ground starting the fire. "If I hadn't heard you speak before I would think that that is the only word you know."

He looked over at me and narrowed those beautiful dark eyes. "If you insist on giving him a title that he does not need and will no longer be used once I'm rid of you it'll be a name I don't care for."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." I snorted at him. "What is so wrong with giving him a name? You have one, I have one, and everyone else I know has one." I sighed. "They even name their pet dogs and pigs."

"That's their choice." He growled and set some wood on the fire.

"Well then what about Trotter or Horsy or should we just call him Wolf Food?" I questioned sarcastically.

"For the last time," he growled as he rose to his feet. "he doesn't need a name."

"He does so." I glared then turned back to the horse and placed my hand on his forehead. "No you need a good warrior name." I drew my brows. "Michael maybe?" I shook my head. "No that's too common for you." My eyes suddenly snapped wide. "I've got it, Gabriel, like the winged warrior of God."

I couldn't see him doing it but I could have sworn I felt him roll his eyes at me. However I ignored him and stared at the horse. "What do you think of that for a name, Gabriel?"

The horse set it's ears back and shook it's head.

"No? What do you mean no? That's a good strong name." I pointed out causing the horse to snort at me. "Alright fine what about Shadow?"

It blinked at me then set its ears forward causing me to smile. "I believe we found your name." I turned to face Sebastian beaming proudly. "Shadow it is."

"It's time to rest we have long ride tomorrow." He growled at me then settled himself against a rock and stared angrily into the fire.

I turned back to face Shadow and grinned. "He's just jealous that he didn't think of it first." I whispered to him and scratched his forehead causing him to press his face into my hand.

"I heard that." His deep voice growled from behind me.

I turned to face him and smirked. "Of course you did."

His midnight eyes narrowed even further as he pointed to my abandoned blanket on the other side of the fire. "Time to rest," he ordered. "and enough of your nonsense."

"Alright alright." I conceded and moved back to my spot across from him.

I picked up my discarded bread and jerky and as I stared at my meager scraps of food I was reminded of why I was currently in this situation. Suddenly I found I wasn't so hungry anymore. "Here you can have the rest of mine." I walked over to him and set it on his lap then returned to my little bed, curled up into my blanket, and tried to disappear from the world.

"Don't." I ordered from under my shelter when I suspected that he was going to say something to me. "Do not mock me or remind me of my situation."

"So you will spend the rest of your life in self pity?"

I sat up and locked stares with his dark eyes. "I've hardly had a chance for self pity." I hissed coldly. "Just because I'm not some powerful lumbering man like yourself it doesn't mean I'm any less of a human being."

"I never said you were only that you were less of a man." He countered cockily.

"So be it." I bit back and burrowed myself back under my blanket where I could continue to feel sorry for myself.

xx

Morning came long before I was prepared for it and along with it a sharp poking pain in my lower back.

"Wake up."

Unfortunately for me I was still here, sleeping on the ground, with the man transporting me to my new owner. No, I did not want to get up. "Leave me alone." I growled and shoved the foot that was poking me in the back away. "I'm still alive and I wish to stay right here until death takes me."

I only had a moment to register something that sounded like a grumble before I was unceremoniously hauled up to my feet.

"You can sleep all you want when you're dead." He glared at me his hard black eyes boring into mine.

"So kill me." I nodded up at him.

"Were it an option." He growled and turned to Shadow who was saddled up and ready to go. "Take care of any personal business then we depart."

After glaring at him trying to burn his soul from his body I resigned myself to my situation and moved behind one of the large boulders to relieve myself. "Do you think we can get me some shoes when we arrive at the next town?" I growled after stubbing my toe on a small rock.

"So you can run from me; no."

"No!" I hissed and glared at him when he turned to face me. "I would like to walk and not have to worry about stubbing my toes or stepping on sharp rocks or sticker bushes."

He looked down at my scraped up feet and sighed. "I'll considered it."

"Thank you." I nodded curtly, turned, and began walking away.

"Now where are you going?"

"You said we were leaving so I'm going." I stepped carefully over a large rock while lifting my blanket up highly like it was a skirt.

He walked up behind me, grabbed me around the waist, and walked back over to Shadow. "You're not walking." He set me up in the saddle again side saddle then settle in behind me.

"Oh Lord." I groaned and wrapped my arms around him tightly to hold on for dear life.

"It's not that bad." He growled as he slipped his arm around my waist.

I pressed my face into his chest. "How do you know you can't feel what I feel."

"True," he agreed. "but as long as you refuse to face your fear the less likely it is that I'll care."

I scowled into his chest. "You don't care about me anyway." I bit back. "I'm just a pouch of gold for you and nothing else."

He laughed at that causing his chest to rumble against my face. "That you are." He agreed.

"So facing or not facing my fear should not concern you."

"Perhaps I'm trying to instill some courage in you so you can face your new life with less fear."

I pulled back and stared up at him and though he had his hood on I could still see his face. "Well we all can't be fearless like your majesty." I hissed as I glared at him.

"I never said I was fearless." He smirked at me.

My eyes narrowed even further. "You don't have to." I growled. "At every turn you make sure I know what an all powerful, all knowing, all great man you are."

"Oh that hurts." He mockingly frowned at me. "You forgot to mention how utterly handsome and muscular I am."

"Were it so I would have." I jabbed back at him not amused.

He reached up, pushed his hood back, and leaned down close forcing me to stare into those dark eyes. "Say that again."

"I think," as I stared into his eyes I couldn't help myself I let the truth fall from my lips freely. "you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen. I could spend the rest of my life just staring at you, never wanting or daring to look away."

He lifted back up and snorted at me as he pulled his hood back over his head breaking the spell I was under. "That's what I thought."

I pressed my face back into his chest and scowled at myself. "I hate you." I hissed speaking of both him and myself.

"No you don't." He responded and I could hear the smirk in his voice. "I think you love me."

"What?!" I jerked back and stared up at him. "I most certainly do not! Plus you're a man and I'm not attracted to men."

"You may not be attracted to men but you are at the very least attracted to me." He pointed out with a curt nod.

I sighed deeply through my nose. "Just because I think you're beautiful that doesn't mean I'm attracted to you."

"No I think it does." He nodded. "I've never heard anyone tell someone else they're beautiful unless they were wooing them." He looked down at me and arched a dark brow. "Is that what you're doing trying to woo me so I won't take you to your new owner?"

"Would it work?" I looked up at him hopefully.

"No."

"Then no I'm not!" I hissed and rested my forehead against his chest.

I had to think of a way to get out of this situation. I only had about a day and a half before we arrived at our destination. I needed a plan and one that would guarantee I could get away and Sebastian either wouldn't find me or couldn't find me.