A/N: You can add The Messenger by Linkin Park to your playlist.

9. Fascination

A week later, the epidemic had worn out. A few men were still ill and resting in their barracks, but most of it had either gone well or very bad. More than 50 men were dead.

Emie and Henry had opened a graveyard behind the small village, with home-made crosses which bore the names and ranks of every dead man.

It had been hard.

James Nicholls had had a harsh time on his third night of illness, but thanks to Emie's good care, he was now more than well, even if he had had to be supported the first few times he tried to walk alone.

"Emie, stop dreaming and pass me that mortar!"

She snapped back from her sombre thoughts and gazed back into the tent. Henry was preparing several potions in prevision of other diseases to come.

Outside, the incessant work of wheelbarrows taking the dead from one edge to the other was highly disturbing.

She took advantage of the situation.

"So, you've seen it, heard it or guessed it?"

Henry's grey eyes locked on Emie's, as if he was trying to guess if she was serious.

Apparently she was. "Seen it. That was pretty cute, in fact." He took a brass of herbs and threw in a large bowl, externalising his anger on something intangible.

She sighed. "You could have said it."

"And what good would that had done?"

She walked forward a little, still keeping a safety distance between the two of them. "Why are you acting like this? Why are you always acting like this?"

He looked at her, enraged this time. He tried to keep his voice down. "Why? Emie, are you blind, deaf or anything else? Or are you just an idiot?"

She took her apron off and threw it to the ground. "Well, when you want to talk about it other than by yelling at me for no reason, you know where to find me!"

She reached their own barrack in no time. The smashed door echoed in the small kitchen/dining-room. She almost ran to their bedroom, breathing heavily to calm her racing heart.

Henry crashed the door.

Emie breathed once again and turned on her spot.

He jumped on her, stole her arms, put them on his back and crashed his warm lips on hers.

So different from her kiss with James. As much as that one had been deep and desperate, this one was passionate and completely insane.

Emie put her hands up, rubbing Henry's back as his callous hands caressed her face.

Without any warning, he deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue on Emie's mouth, probably at first thinking that she never had been kissed like that.

But he was so wrong. Emie had had so many boyfriends who didn't mean anything to her.

She pushed Henry against the wall, answering the kiss and invading his own mouth.

He growled and pulled on her dress' fabric.

She made herself fall on top of Henry's bed.

His warm and hard body crashed on hers, and there wasn't a part of her that wasn't part of him. Even with their clothes on, she could feel him, and want him more than anything else.

His kisses trailed off, and he lifted his head to breathe.

She was panting so hard, it made him smirk. "Well, Miss Tate, who do you take this as an answer?"

She smirked back and stole his lips with hers again.

Later that day Emie found herself sleeping in Henry's arms on his bed. She had been completely oblivious to the fact that there was probably a bunch of soldiers waiting for their care.

She got up, made sure her dress was still properly covering her body, and braided back her hair.

Henry chuckled behind her and got up too, wrapping his arms around her.

"So? What are you going to do about this?"

She turned around, breaking his embrace, looking at him, deadly serious. "I don't know, Henry. I really don't know."

He sighed. "You like him too, eh?"

She nodded. "That's the worst part. Loving two men as different as you two are, that will be the end of me."

She thought he'd put back his angry mask on again, but instead, he took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "When you are sure, you know where to find me."

And he exited the room.

Emie turned around and kicked the wall above her bed.

How on earth was she supposed to get out of this?

Yeah! Love triangle definitely on people! :)

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