BLACKOUT
CHAPTER NINE
RUN FREE
…...
Hello and welcome again to my story! I thank everyone who has pressured me with their follows, favourites and reviews! I am evil, you will one day get used to it, like my family has mwhahaha.
Anyways, I am sorry about the cliffhanger, but I had to. But rest assured, I will NEVER EVER stop writing this story, unless it finishes, which it wont any time soon (as a hint at its longevity think World War One...) Yes. WW1. Lol.
I had a thought, are my chapters too long? ;-) just kidding! I know personally that the longer the chapter, the happier the reader is, as long as it is full of interesting things. So please sit back, relax and read this normal, long chapter. It is hard for me to do long chapters, since I only have one perspective to write from :-(
BTW- I am amazed at how many people are reading this, is the Troy section normally this busy? ;-) I might soon change the category once the story progress's more.
ENJOY!
…...
The lions mouth was wide open, blood dripping onto her face. The huge weight on-top of her made Asha's chest ache. But she breathed, she was alive. Amazingly the sword had pierced through the lioness's thick golden hide, shattering bones and reaching the heart. The lion had died instantly, and was now a dead weight upon Asha's body.
"Asha!" Sammael called out, she opened her eyes taking in his worried expression.
She gave him a pained grin, "I'm fine. It's dead." Giving a whimper as she tried to take a breath Asha's eyes trailed over to where her filly was. The once glossy beautiful hide of the horse was splattered with blood. The huge gash in her neck made it clear, her horse was dead. Asha gave out a cry, she had failed the filly, hadn't even named the brave horse. Closing her eyes she murmured peace for the filly, then turning her head Asha gazed into Sammael's eyes, "Can you get this thing off of me please? I can hardly breathe."
He nodded, the wound that he had sustained from the lioness had completely stopped bleeding, lifting the lion off of her he allowed Asha to slide over. Then letting go of the immense weight Sammael sighed, "Are you okay?"
Asha nodded, rubbing her ribs she glanced back to her filly, "Do you have something I can dig with?"
Confused he shook his head, "Why-" He broke off when he followed her gave, "Asha-"
Closing her eyes she stood up, "How about we get started on a fire?"
"Asha." Sammael said, "She was brave, but if the Nemean Lion finds his mate killed by us, we won't stand a chance."
"Nemean. The one from myth?" Asha asked, thinking about a class she had once at school. It had been history, the teacher had talked about the golden armoured Lion of Myth, the Nemean, named because it resided near the city Nemea, it had ravaged the townsfolk, until one day Hercules had killed it, choking it to death. In the myth it was told that the lion had been Hera's own prized pet, the Queen of the Olympians casting down terrible fury at Hercules.
Asha shivered, "Will Hera be upset?" Not even sure if the Olympians were real Asha swallowed a lump in her throat, no, she knew they were real. After all, if there were dragons, weren't there gods?
Sammael nodded, "Unless we sacrifice something to her, I don't think we will have very long lives."
"Sacrifice?" Asha asked, "At her temple?"
"There is one on this island, fortunately. But it's in the other direction of where you are heading."
"Are you trying to trick me?" She worried, her eyes searching the stormy depths of his. She wished she could trust him, but a part of her still shuddered at the thought.
"Neutral ground Asha." He then smiled, "It just means I get to spend more nights with you."
Her face burned, "That was, a weakness. It won't happen again Sammael." Quickly her eyes darted back over to the fallen horse, tears prickled at the corners of her eyes. Biting her lip she looked away, "Is your wound healed enough that you can go on the journey?"
Sammael stepped closer, "Asha..." Sighing, "Don't freak out on me." He pulled the piece of fabric off of the injury. Asha's hand went to her mouth, stopping the gasp. The wound had completely healed, the skin wasn't even marred by a scar, unblemished skin stared up at up at Asha. Unbelieving Asha moved closer, trailing her fingers over the smooth skin.
"Its healed. How?" Asha asked, eyes wide, she looked up meeting his gaze. They were so close, her hand on where the injury had been. Giving a cough to hide her embarrassment Asha pulled away, stepping backwards she waited for his answer.
"The Sun." Is all he said, muttering it quietly whilst watching her.
Blinking Asha shook her head, "What do you mean?"
"I can't tell you. Ask your friends." Answering quickly he turned away, heading to Whisper.
Asha grumbled and followed him, "What can I do for my horse? I need to-"
"She died protecting you Asha. Don't let it be in vain." He lifted himself onto Whisper, then turned to her holding out his hand, "It's faster on Whisper."
"It's dangerous to ride in the forest." Asha said, narrowing her eyes at his hand.
"You do know there is a main road through here, don't you?" His mouth quirked up at the sides.
Asha grumbled a curse at Sophia, "No. Obviously." Ignoring his outstretched hand Asha leaped up behind him.
Laughing quietly Sammael nudged his horse onwards, "Lets leave this place. Hold on."
Nodding her head Asha wrapped her arms around his muscular frame, then she leaned her head on his back. Whisper trotted onwards, snorting at the stench of blood in the air.
Glad that he couldn't see her Asha cried silently into her enemies shirt.
…...
Opening her eyes Asha stretched, her arms wrapping tighter around Sammael.
"Your getting pretty comfortable around me." He murmured quietly to her.
Asha didn't retort instead she gazed around finding that they were on a wide road that looked like it had been used frequently. The tree's surrounding them creaked silently when a faint brush of wind travelled through their branches.
"It's so peaceful." She murmured, "How long until we reach the temple?"
"It will be at least a day's journey."
"Is it safe enough to camp?" Asha glanced around her eyes trying to find any traces of gold.
"No. But we don't need to. There is an inn halfway. It was made for the traveller's who come from Blue Owl." Sammael explained, he turned his head, catching her gaze, "We can share a room." He winked.
Asha growled, leaning away from him, "I will seriously kill you. I can pay for my own room."
She looked away from his smirk, glancing up at the sky, taking in the beautiful sunset that was forming above them. Red, yellow and orange framed the sky, but Asha could also see a bit of purple in it, that made her smile weakly. She remembered her older sister, Kazendae, loved purple. Her heart ached to be home, but in her mind she knew that she wouldn't be able to get back. She would never see home again, the laughing faces of her family, and most important of all, her dogs.
Yes, she thought that her dogs were sacred to her. They loved her for who she was, and what food she had. Asha smiled slightly at the thought of their smiling, lovable hairy faces.
"Cat or dog?" Asha suddenly asked.
Sammael turned around giving her a curious look, "What do you mean?"
"Which one do you like the most?" Asha asked, she genially was curious.
"Dog." He answered.
"Good. Now, water or land?" She smirked at the confused look on his face.
"What is this about? Water." He cocked his head, attention solely on her. Whisper easily picked his way through the road, not even needing direction.
"Just seeing what you have in common to me." Asha shrugged, "Fire or light?"
"I don't see how this shows that we have things in common. Fire." He still answered.
Asha almost laughed, so far he had gotten all three right, "Meat or vegetable's."
"Meat of course."
"Love or lust?" She asked, instantly regretting it, she shifted awkwardly, looking away from his penetrating gaze.
"Can I say both?" Sammael asked, looking towards the road.
"Sure." Asha answered, glaring at his back, "You got four thing's in common with me so far."
He glanced back over, about to say something when his eyes caught on something. Asha followed his gaze and found a horseman approaching them at a canter. Sammael grasped the hilt of his sword, which was beside his leg. Narrowing his eyes he nudged Whisper into a canter.
The stranger, sped up. Asha couldn't make any detail's about him yet.
"Hold on tight." Sammael whispered, then he urged his horse into a fast gallop.
Asha wrapped her arms around him, "Who is it?"
"I think it's a bandit." He murmured.
Asha glanced back again, the pursuer was slowly falling away. Whisper was the fastest horse she had ever seen. And she had seen race horses run at the Melbourne Cup in Australia.
"I think we are losing him." She said quietly, giving Sammael a shake on his shoulder.
He looked back, smiling at her, "There could be more. It's better to stay at this pace, that way we can get to the inn faster."
"Can Whisper keep it up?" Asha asked, concerned for the stallion's well being.
Sammael chuckled, and Whisper gave a snort at her, "He is the fastest horse in the world. Of course he can keep it up."
"Sorry that I asked." Asha said glumly, loosening her grasp on him, she poked him in the ribs.
Giving a growl Sammael reached backwards and poked her in her ribs, "That hurt."
"Poor lil Sam." Asha muttered, smirking.
He tensed up, "What did you call me?"
"Sam. It's a nickname. Like my best friends call me Ash." Asha explained, she grinned at his look of confusion.
"Your a strange one." Was all he said, then he looked towards the road again, becoming silent.
Asha rolled her eyes at his moodiness, "Are we there yet?" She whined, trying to mimic a scene in a movie she had seen. Road Trip or something like that.
"No." Sammael snapped back.
Asha grinned, tugging on his arm so she looked at her Asha widened her eyes and pouted, "Are we there yet?"
He narrowed his eyes at her, then shifted his gaze to her lips, "Give me a kiss and I will tell you."
Hand put her hands up in defeat, "Wow, no thanks."
He gave a grunt and looked away, muttering to himself.
Asha replaced her hands around him, snuggling closer to the heat of his body, "But really, are we close? I'm tired."
Sammael didn't answer, instead he slowed Whisper down to a trot and cocked his head, listening for anyone nearby. By now the sky had turned dark, and the moon had started to rise, the glorious silver rays shinning down at them. The tree's creaked with silence and the leaves rustled in the slight breeze.
Asha also listened, looking behind them and trying to see if she could spot the pursuer.
"We are here." Sammael said suddenly, making Asha jump.
"Geez." She muttered, rubbing her eyes she looked to the direction they were heading, finding a quaint, cute, inn. It was filled with light and laughter echoed from it's walls. It was three stories high and made out of stone and wood. A sign told her the name of the place.
"The Dove." She said, "Looks nice."
Sammael shrugged, "They serve good food too, and," He paused looking at her, "Have nice beds."
Asha gave an unladylike snort, slipping off of the horse, "As I said, I can pay for a room by myself." She sashayed into the inn, Sammael following close behind, having let Whisper off to wander freely. The inside of the inn was warm and cosy, welcoming anyone in with it's bright lights. On one side of the room a fire burned. People were crowded on the tables, drinking merrily and joking with friends. No one looked up as they entered the inn.
A nice looking girl came up to them, beaming and welcoming them, "How may we help you tonight?"
"We are after two rooms." Asha stated firmly, before Sammael could say anything. He chuckled lightly beside her. The girl looked at them both, blinking rapidly.
"I'm... I'm sorry, but we only have a single room left." She looked at her feet when Asha stared at her.
"Does it have two beds?" Asha asked, her heart beating quickly, she would share a room with Sammael?!
"No." The girl said so softly that Asha almost didn't hear it, "But for the inconvenience you can have dinner on the house."
"It's not an inconvenience." Sammael stated shrugging, he handed over a handful of drachma's, "And thank you."
The girl smiled widely at him, handing over a key she walked off to serve the men banging on a table.
"Did you do that on purpose? Pay her off or something?" Asha growled, giving the man beside her a glare that would make a lesser man cower.
"No, I didn't. But it's quite a nice turn of event's if I do say so. We have a free dinner." He shrugged, twirling the key in his fingers.
"Money's not a problem." Asha stated, handing over half the drachma's he had paid, he shook his head.
"You can pay me with something else later."
"A fist in the stomach?" Asha glared at him, grabbing the key quickly and walking up the stairs to their left. She reached the door that had the same number as the key and unlocked it, glancing in she gave a grunt, "Decent." The room had a rug on the ground, a huge king sized bed, and a cute little window. They were on the second floor and Asha looked out of the window, taking in the glowing moon. She found another feature to the room, a bath, it stood empty, with a privacy shield blocking the view in.
"Want a bath?" Sammael asked, he had walked over to the bed, putting down his carry bags. Asha shrugged her backpack off shook her head.
"After dinner. And you get to stand in the hallway." She replied, grabbing her wallet she slipped it into her trousers pocket.
"I could get attacked." Sammael said, grinning at her, "I won't look."
Rolling her eyes Asha shoved past him and out the door, starting to head downstairs, but Sammael caught her elbow.
"Your covered in blood. Wash up quickly and get changed, I will wait downstairs with the food." He then nodded and left the room.
Asha huffed and turned to the bath, surprisingly there were taps. She didn't know that they had running water in this era. But she didn't question it, slipping out of her clothes she quickly rubbed herself free of blood and dirt, then changed into a loose blue dress. Grabbing her brush she quickly ran it through her hair then gave a sigh and slipped her feet into sandal's, and placing her wallet in the convenient pocket in her dress, locking the door behind her Asha walked down the stairs.
When she reached the bottom she started looking for Sammael, she found him quickly, as he was sitting by himself at a table in a corner. Two mugs of some sort of liquid sat on the table and he absently picked at the food in front of him. He looked up as she neared, eyes widening slightly as he took her in.
"You look beautiful." He stated, smiling as she sat across from him.
Asha rolled her eyes, "It's the most comfortable thing I have to wear." Her cheek's still burned slightly though, "What's in the mug?"
He raised his eyebrows, "A drink. Try it." He raised his drink to his lips and took a sip, smirking at her.
She tentatively raised the drink to her lips and took a testing sip, making a noise of appreciation she took a larger gulp, "It's a whiskey. It's nice."
"Good. Try the food. It's chicken, I think." He gestured to the food.
Asha willingly obliged, digging into the food, she nodded her head, "It's good too." She gulped down more whiskey, then finding it empty put it down, "Do you want another?"
Sammael blinked at her, "You already finished it? Sure."
Asha grinned, standing up she walked to the bar, ordering two of whatever Sammael had gotten. The girl who had greeted them served her.
"Your so lucky." She sighed, her gaze on Sammael, "I wish a man like that would fall for me."
Asha made a chocking noise, "We are friends. Nothing more. And he's not very gentlemanly once you get to know him."
The girl didn't answer, instead she stared at Sammael dreamily whilst handing over the drinks.
Asha almost laughed as she walked back over, handing Sammael his drink she took a gulp of hers.
"The girl over at the bar likes you." She winked at him. She watched him glance over at the girl then back at her.
"She's not my type." He said simply, sipping his drink.
Asha smiled softly, "So what's your type."
"Tough, stubborn, yet beautifully sensitive inside." He said, eyes holding hers, "What about you?"
Asha shrugged, "I don't know. I really don't have time to bother with that stuff."
He gave a grunt, looking away at at her mug, "Slow down or I will have to carry you back to the room. And that will be embarrassing for you."
"I'm not a light weight." Asha mumbled, but she took smaller sips, knowing that the drinks they served here were much stronger then the ones back home.
There was a commotion and a group of men stood up from they're seat's heading towards them.
Sammael tensed, "Muggers. I knew I should have brought my sword." He stood up, standing protectively in front of Asha.
"Hey pretty boy, give us yer money like a good boy." One said, he was a bulky man, a couple of inches taller then Sammael, and holding a knife.
Asha gave a derisive snort, she stood up, walking by Sammael, "I just killed a lion, so I would go back to your seats quietly before I decide to kill you too."
"Ash." Sammael murmured quietly, warning her.
But the alcohol had gotten to her system, and she gritted her teeth at the leering looks the men gave her.
"How bout you come and sit with us darl-" The leader started but Asha punched him in the throat.
He groaned, collapsing in on himself, his breathing coming out in gasps, "You bitch!"
Asha laughed, putting her hands on her hips, she glanced over at the other patrons and raised her fist, "Bar fight!"
Everyone cheered, getting off of their seats and surging at the muggers, and at each other.
Asha ducked as a man punched out at her and giggled as she slammed into Sammael, "Join in!" He gave her a look, as if she was crazy, but then he smiled, quickly he kicked the man who had attacked Asha's feet from beneath him. Asha leaped into the fray, ducking and dodging, she slammed her fist into one man that tried to grope her, knocking him into the ground.
She grabbed her drink from the table and took a gulp as she kicked a man in the balls, then some of the liquid spilt onto the floor when someone tumbled into her. She quickly untangled herself, chugging down the rest of the drink she placed the mug on the table.
Glancing around the inn she found utter chaos. The leader of the muggers groaned and stood up, looking around he found her, advancing towards Asha. She prepared herself, arms up in a defensive position.
When he came into range Asha clumsily kicked out, but he caught her foot and flipped her over.
Asha gave a huff as she landed on the ground, slowly she struggled back up and turned to find the ugly man right in front of her.
"You will fetch a nice price at a brothel, bitch." He rubbed his throat.
Asha shuddered, a memory flitting through her mind from her first day at Troy, she blocked it quickly and dodged the punch he threw at her.
Quickly Asha leaned forwards, almost tipping over because of her drunken sense of balance, she punched the idiot in the stomach and he kneeled, over again.
Asha gave a laugh of triumph, "Yes, knell before your master! Mwahahahhahahahah!"
Sammael looked over at her after dodging a punch and grinned, "Nice work!"
Asha grinned from ear to ear, then narrowed her eyes at Sammael, she advanced on him, "Let's fight!"
He blinked, "Your drunk."
"No I'm not." She flushed, cheeks red. She struck out at him but he dodged easily.
"Easy tiger." He said, he turned around and grabbed her by her waist, lifting her bridal style. Asha kicked her legs out at him and squirmed.
"Lemme fight me! You chicken! Brak brak brak!" Asha exclaimed.
Sammael didn't answer instead he waved goodbye to the people in the room who were watching them with smiles, the muggers totally knocked up.
Asha continued struggling, "Come one you loser! Fight me, or are you a pussy? Are you a little girl! Grrr. Fight me like a real man you wuss!"
Sammael didn't say anything, he just started laughing uncontrollably, placing her on the bed he pushed her down so he was above her, "Asha calm down. I'm going to have a bath. I am locking the door so you don't beat anyone else up."
Asha blushed bright red, "A bath?"
"If you want to join-" He said smirking.
"Nuh uh!" She said, crossing her arms, "Never."
He shook his head, getting up he peeled off his shirt, he felt her poke him in the ribs and looked at her disgusted face.
"Don't strip in front of me!" She growled, blushing crimson. Sammael shook his head and walked behind the screen.
Asha grumbled to herself, resting her head against the pillow and dozing off.
BAR FIGHT! DRUNK ASHA! Heheh.
Hope you enjoyed!
SB7 Reporting Out!