Chapter One
She threw her weight against the worn wooden door, thinking perhaps it would give way due to it's poor state but it held fast. She brushed away her greasy black hair from her eyes and leaned back against the door while scanning the dimly lit hallway. She was being held prisoner in this basement until he returned for her, returned for the secrets he very much wanted but that she could not tell him. It was a frustrating paradox due to the fact that she could not talk but he would not believe her. If only she couldn't hear him either, then she would not have to listen to his horrible threats that he so wished to deliver. He would love to torture the words out of her mouth but if she couldn't talk then what words would escape? None. Her hands reached up to feel the knotted wood behind her, it's surface rutted and scarred from pervious prisoner's in these halls and - she could tell - that they had not always had a lenient captor because of the dried blood that splattered the cold, cement floors. She was in a hopeless situation, one that would likely end her up dead if the ministrator had anything to say about it. He did not want a captive that could not speak among him for useless purposes but the other man, the Slovet prince, would keep her here if it were to his benefit. Again, she tried throwing her weight against the door, only to fall to the ground when it opened. A harsh laugh made her eyes dart upwards into the cruel face of a man, or what had once been a man - now only a monster. She opened her mouth to speak, forgetting her own disability as he looked down at her expectantly. When only a hoarse breath of air escaped her lips she closed her mouth tightly and looked away. A rough hand jerked her by the hair upwards, turning her face with another callused hand to face him. "Now, Slave, you will speak when I ask you questions. I know you're a petty little liar, so I expect some answers." his harsh british accent made him all the more intimidating but she would not answer his questions, for she could not. He would beat her, torture her, until he finally came to accept the truth- that she could not speak.
He shoved her towards another wooden object, this time a chair. Both the back and the arm rests were stained with the color of rusted metal but she didn't dwell much on the fact as she was shoved towards it again. She took three stumbling steps before turning around to face him. He nodded his head, telling her to sit and she didn't complain, knowing it was best to keep her mouth shut even though she didn't have to. The rough wood was prickling her tender skin from where the chains that she'd earlier been locked in had chafed against her wrists. She shifted uncomfortably as the man bent forward to tie the leather straps around her ankles, wrists and neck. The leather was sticky, as though it had freshly spilt blood left on the inside of the straps. She shifted again, the thoughts were making her restless as the man backed away into the darkness near the door of the chamber. "Ah, are you prepared to cooperate?" a booming voice echoed around in the stone built room. She shuddered, the voice was familiar but with no face to go along with it, she could not tell whom it was. She opened her mouth again, forgetting her disability. It was hard now not to, since many expected her to speak. There was an expectant silence but she closed her mouth again and an audible sigh reached her ears. "Speak!" snarled a voice infront of her, she suspected it to be man with the callused hands. She decided then that she'd call him Rough Hands since she had no other name for him. She shook her head, bowing it in defeat and she heard a rush of movement towards her. It was as though he were wearing armor, the rubbing of metal against metal made her cringe. Rough Hands gripped her hair and tilted her head back, "You pathetic little slave, speak now or I will slice open your arms and let you bleed." he growled, his head bent forward and his mouth near her ear. She let out another wheeze of air and he took that as a refusal to his words. He unsheathed a knife at his waist, all the while keeping her hair in his large, meaty hands and drew the blade down her arms in quick successions. The pain was intense, she felt tears burn in her eyes as she struggled to hold them back. He smiled at her with wicked delight and was about to draw another wound in her flesh when - in a flash - an arrow was protruding from the warrior's chest. His smile died on his face, a frown of surprise replacing it before he slumped to the floor, his knife slicing into her arm just as it fell from his grasp. There was silence in the chamber, even the previous voice had gone and she had to wonder if he was dead too. Her head turned at the sound of shuffling footsteps. Her arms neck ached from the leather strap and she flinched when a gloved hand touched her arms. "Are you alright?" asked a quiet murmur to her right. She tried to peer over towards the sound but a gentle hand pushed her head to the left. "Don't move." he breathed, before sliding the coolness of a blade under the leather band and touching her skin. She froze, breathing coming in quick shallow gasps. He was quick and efficient, after having freed her neck, she turned to look at him with wide brown eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you." he reassured her, and she heard the rather loud tearing of fabric before pressure was applied to her nearly numb arms. She realized, as she looked down, that she'd been bleeding for quite a while without taking notice of it. Her heart beat was slowing, quelling the fear she'd felt not a minute earlier and she could feel numbness in her arms but aside from that she believed she was alright.
She raised her eyes to meet his, and she saw the frown of concentration as he removed the bands around her wrists and ankles - trying not to nick her skin. A sigh of gratitude escaped her chapped lips and he looked at her, his face still in shadows. He squinted, "We've got to hurry," he breathed, his voice still strangely loud in the silent room. She nodded, she knew that as much as the next person who'd ever been caught. He placed a hand in hers and then helped her stand, the warm pressure of his hand was comforting, knowing that she hadn't lost all feeling in her body from the fear that invaded it now. In the silence, as they ran from the room and into the deserted hall, she could hear the loud thudding of her footsteps against the cement flooring. It made her cringe every time she took a step, but the darkness here was so thick that she could see nothing but faint outlines of the man infront of her. Then, a soft glow of candle light sliced through the darkness like it had been a ray of sunlight in the shadows, she inhaled sharply and the air whistled down her throat. The man's hand applied a bit of pressure to her hand, a warning. She was prepared, however and began to lighten her steps, this time hardly daring to breath for fear of being caught by a passing warrior or some other minion of the Slovet Prince's ministry. She ignored the greasy strands of hair that fell into her eyes and instead bowed her head, creating a curtain of black hair infront of her face. It was almost a relief that she'd let her hair grow out to be so long. "This way." hissed the man that dragged her along, his bow and arrows slung across his back. She hurriedly moved her feet to the left, turning into the winding tunnel that would hopefully bring them to the outside. The man had brought himself inside, he should be able to bring you out, a voice in her head told her. She nodded to herself, it made sense but why was the man so urgent and yet restless at the same time? The question was strange, even to herself but she kept to herself. It was nearly dawn, or so she thought, when they finally passed a door that held the voices of two men and a woman. "You cannot keep her there for long, my sire." the woman's voice, high and trilling said. "Yet I can, dear Sovania. I can." the gruff voice of the man she'd heard earlier in the chamber growled. "Sire, it would not be wise to keep a slave among your midst for long-" he was interrupted when a loud clack sounded and the woman spoke again. "We do not mean to speak against you, sire." she seemed to be holding back tears and she realized that the woman had been slapped. A sharp tug on her arm made her realize that she had paused infront of the doorway and the shuffle of footsteps from behind the door made her turn abruptly and follow the man before her. I'm sorry, she thought and longed to have been able to speak.
"Can you not walk any faster?" the man's voice hissed quietly towards her, and she cringed at how urgent he sounded. Her barefeet slapped against the cement, wet with condensation, and her lungs ached from not having had such excercise in the week that she'd been held here in this malevolent place. Her eyes grew accustomed to the blackness and she continued forth, with renewed speed so as not to slow the man whom had made it his job to help her escape. The air that whistled down her throat made her swing around to see if anyone heard her breathing, but the hall they traveled down was empty. Her right hand reached out to feel the grime covered walls and she shuddered at the touch of mold but did not let go. This way, if she could not see, she would know which way to turn when it came to that. A sudden sound, of metal on metal made her lose her focus and she slipped, landing on hands and knees on the cold, wet cement. She felt tears prick her eyes, her knees throbbing and her hands scraped from the wall and floor. A rough hand grabbed her at the shoulders and she hissed out a breath and struggled. Her hands clawing for the man's face for she could say nothing to let him leave her here, "Are you trying to get us killed?" snarled the voice near her ear. At first she didn't recognize it, then all at once she went limp in his grasp with relief. She shook her head, then nodded towards the end of the hallway where a crisp scent of decaying leaves and forest pines wafted from an opening somewhere. "Answer me." he told her, a growl his voice this time, his cobalt eyes looking into her brown ones. She opened her mouth and he looked on expectantly and only did she know she would disapoint him with the sound of wheezing air come from her open lips. He eyed her a moment before turning away, taking her hand and leading them back down the hallway with uncanny precision. She sighed, something tugging at her gut perhaps an ache for forgiveness that she could tell him nothing but who would care that if she could speak what useless words would tumble from her parted lips.
She was, after all, a useless slave that was bound to the Prince as her family was bound to a newborn child that would need caring for. Her family, the memories brought up tears that had not passed her eyes but did now. She felt them slide down her cheeks, and she carefully wiped them away just as they rounded a corner and came to a sudden halt. She was jerked backwards, the man's hand clamped over her mouth as soldiers bustled past them with an urgency that seemed infectuous. She was pushed away when they were gone, the man now running with her towards the door that was opened just down the hall. She let out a whimper of delight as they passed through the door and touched their feet, hers bare, onto the soft, spongy soil of the castle grounds. It was just when they took their fourth running step, that a loud shout of recognition lashed out at her from behind and then the arrows flew towards them.
He shoved her towards another wooden object, this time a chair. Both the back and the arm rests were stained with the color of rusted metal but she didn't dwell much on the fact as she was shoved towards it again. She took three stumbling steps before turning around to face him. He nodded his head, telling her to sit and she didn't complain, knowing it was best to keep her mouth shut even though she didn't have to. The rough wood was prickling her tender skin from where the chains that she'd earlier been locked in had chafed against her wrists. She shifted uncomfortably as the man bent forward to tie the leather straps around her ankles, wrists and neck. The leather was sticky, as though it had freshly spilt blood left on the inside of the straps. She shifted again, the thoughts were making her restless as the man backed away into the darkness near the door of the chamber. "Ah, are you prepared to cooperate?" a booming voice echoed around in the stone built room. She shuddered, the voice was familiar but with no face to go along with it, she could not tell whom it was. She opened her mouth again, forgetting her disability. It was hard now not to, since many expected her to speak. There was an expectant silence but she closed her mouth again and an audible sigh reached her ears. "Speak!" snarled a voice infront of her, she suspected it to be man with the callused hands. She decided then that she'd call him Rough Hands since she had no other name for him. She shook her head, bowing it in defeat and she heard a rush of movement towards her. It was as though he were wearing armor, the rubbing of metal against metal made her cringe. Rough Hands gripped her hair and tilted her head back, "You pathetic little slave, speak now or I will slice open your arms and let you bleed." he growled, his head bent forward and his mouth near her ear. She let out another wheeze of air and he took that as a refusal to his words. He unsheathed a knife at his waist, all the while keeping her hair in his large, meaty hands and drew the blade down her arms in quick successions. The pain was intense, she felt tears burn in her eyes as she struggled to hold them back. He smiled at her with wicked delight and was about to draw another wound in her flesh when - in a flash - an arrow was protruding from the warrior's chest. His smile died on his face, a frown of surprise replacing it before he slumped to the floor, his knife slicing into her arm just as it fell from his grasp. There was silence in the chamber, even the previous voice had gone and she had to wonder if he was dead too. Her head turned at the sound of shuffling footsteps. Her arms neck ached from the leather strap and she flinched when a gloved hand touched her arms. "Are you alright?" asked a quiet murmur to her right. She tried to peer over towards the sound but a gentle hand pushed her head to the left. "Don't move." he breathed, before sliding the coolness of a blade under the leather band and touching her skin. She froze, breathing coming in quick shallow gasps. He was quick and efficient, after having freed her neck, she turned to look at him with wide brown eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you." he reassured her, and she heard the rather loud tearing of fabric before pressure was applied to her nearly numb arms. She realized, as she looked down, that she'd been bleeding for quite a while without taking notice of it. Her heart beat was slowing, quelling the fear she'd felt not a minute earlier and she could feel numbness in her arms but aside from that she believed she was alright.
She raised her eyes to meet his, and she saw the frown of concentration as he removed the bands around her wrists and ankles - trying not to nick her skin. A sigh of gratitude escaped her chapped lips and he looked at her, his face still in shadows. He squinted, "We've got to hurry," he breathed, his voice still strangely loud in the silent room. She nodded, she knew that as much as the next person who'd ever been caught. He placed a hand in hers and then helped her stand, the warm pressure of his hand was comforting, knowing that she hadn't lost all feeling in her body from the fear that invaded it now. In the silence, as they ran from the room and into the deserted hall, she could hear the loud thudding of her footsteps against the cement flooring. It made her cringe every time she took a step, but the darkness here was so thick that she could see nothing but faint outlines of the man infront of her. Then, a soft glow of candle light sliced through the darkness like it had been a ray of sunlight in the shadows, she inhaled sharply and the air whistled down her throat. The man's hand applied a bit of pressure to her hand, a warning. She was prepared, however and began to lighten her steps, this time hardly daring to breath for fear of being caught by a passing warrior or some other minion of the Slovet Prince's ministry. She ignored the greasy strands of hair that fell into her eyes and instead bowed her head, creating a curtain of black hair infront of her face. It was almost a relief that she'd let her hair grow out to be so long. "This way." hissed the man that dragged her along, his bow and arrows slung across his back. She hurriedly moved her feet to the left, turning into the winding tunnel that would hopefully bring them to the outside. The man had brought himself inside, he should be able to bring you out, a voice in her head told her. She nodded to herself, it made sense but why was the man so urgent and yet restless at the same time? The question was strange, even to herself but she kept to herself. It was nearly dawn, or so she thought, when they finally passed a door that held the voices of two men and a woman. "You cannot keep her there for long, my sire." the woman's voice, high and trilling said. "Yet I can, dear Sovania. I can." the gruff voice of the man she'd heard earlier in the chamber growled. "Sire, it would not be wise to keep a slave among your midst for long-" he was interrupted when a loud clack sounded and the woman spoke again. "We do not mean to speak against you, sire." she seemed to be holding back tears and she realized that the woman had been slapped. A sharp tug on her arm made her realize that she had paused infront of the doorway and the shuffle of footsteps from behind the door made her turn abruptly and follow the man before her. I'm sorry, she thought and longed to have been able to speak.
"Can you not walk any faster?" the man's voice hissed quietly towards her, and she cringed at how urgent he sounded. Her barefeet slapped against the cement, wet with condensation, and her lungs ached from not having had such excercise in the week that she'd been held here in this malevolent place. Her eyes grew accustomed to the blackness and she continued forth, with renewed speed so as not to slow the man whom had made it his job to help her escape. The air that whistled down her throat made her swing around to see if anyone heard her breathing, but the hall they traveled down was empty. Her right hand reached out to feel the grime covered walls and she shuddered at the touch of mold but did not let go. This way, if she could not see, she would know which way to turn when it came to that. A sudden sound, of metal on metal made her lose her focus and she slipped, landing on hands and knees on the cold, wet cement. She felt tears prick her eyes, her knees throbbing and her hands scraped from the wall and floor. A rough hand grabbed her at the shoulders and she hissed out a breath and struggled. Her hands clawing for the man's face for she could say nothing to let him leave her here, "Are you trying to get us killed?" snarled the voice near her ear. At first she didn't recognize it, then all at once she went limp in his grasp with relief. She shook her head, then nodded towards the end of the hallway where a crisp scent of decaying leaves and forest pines wafted from an opening somewhere. "Answer me." he told her, a growl his voice this time, his cobalt eyes looking into her brown ones. She opened her mouth and he looked on expectantly and only did she know she would disapoint him with the sound of wheezing air come from her open lips. He eyed her a moment before turning away, taking her hand and leading them back down the hallway with uncanny precision. She sighed, something tugging at her gut perhaps an ache for forgiveness that she could tell him nothing but who would care that if she could speak what useless words would tumble from her parted lips.
She was, after all, a useless slave that was bound to the Prince as her family was bound to a newborn child that would need caring for. Her family, the memories brought up tears that had not passed her eyes but did now. She felt them slide down her cheeks, and she carefully wiped them away just as they rounded a corner and came to a sudden halt. She was jerked backwards, the man's hand clamped over her mouth as soldiers bustled past them with an urgency that seemed infectuous. She was pushed away when they were gone, the man now running with her towards the door that was opened just down the hall. She let out a whimper of delight as they passed through the door and touched their feet, hers bare, onto the soft, spongy soil of the castle grounds. It was just when they took their fourth running step, that a loud shout of recognition lashed out at her from behind and then the arrows flew towards them.
Chapter Two
Currently editing, this chapter is under construction and I advise you not to criticise it just yet because there are parts that need to be edited and removed.
Thank you.
K.C.
The sound of their pounding feet and the cries of the distant guard made her push onwards, not wanting to be caught again by the brute men who have no mercy upon innocent slave women. Arrows flew past her, embedding themselves in the trees that were close by her, and she had no want to stop her feet until an arrow caught her in the shoulder. She stumbled, the blood already running from her wound down her arm and sliding between the hand that held the man's. The man felt her stumble, and turned to look at her and he immediately spotted the arrowhead the protruded her shoulder and he hissed in a breath. "Damn you, Agradeon." he growled, but they pushed on. She was stumbling now, she could feel her pulse throbbing at her shoulder and her eyelids felt heavy as she tried to keep up with his quick pace while she heard distant shouts of the guard. When she blinked she could see the redness behind her lids that was the sun but when she opened her eyes everything was a foggy blur. Another shout, another painful throb in her shoulder, another step and the next thing she knew she was laying on the grass.
"I must remove this." he told her gently, his hands probing around the wound. She could only nodd, even her breathing came in shallow gasps that jostled her shoulder further and made her wince. "I will break off the head of the arrow and then I shall go around to your back and pull it out on the count of three." he said, and she could only bite her lip in response. He did not mind her answerless response and he was professionally efficient as he broke off the head of the arrow before walking around her to her backside and squatting behind her. His hand gripped the long arrow shaft and she closed her eyes as she heard his voice count quietly, "One." he breathed, "Two." and she felt her nails bite into her palms as he whispered his signal, "Three." and then intense agony took over her as his first pull made no difference aside from moving it an inch out of the wound while it still was firmly embedded in her flesh. The man held tight and after a muttered sorry, he tore the arrow viciously from her shoulder with a quickness that brought her no relief. She felt the loss of blood that came with the removal of the arrow though she did not care much for it at the moment as a fog of pain relief settled over her brain and she collapsed to the ground on her uninjured shoulder, unconscious.
When she awoke, she was disoriented and without knowledge of where she was. Her eyes roamed the sky, as she lay on her back, and when she realized that she was in the forest with her savior she sat up quickly which brought on a wave of dizziness. She steadied herself with her left arm which was the one she'd injured but all she felt was an uncomfortable tug when she moved it. She turned her head and looked at her shoulder, seeing it bandaged with bloody rags made her smile. He must have been quite worried to have bothered bandaging her wound. She began to rotate her shoulder slowly, feeling the tug again and wondering what it was. "Keep you movements to a minimum." his voice lashed out from behind her and she started, before turning around and looking at him. She touched her arm and then looked at him, "I had to sew the flesh together. It was quite a wound, you'll have a scar but I applied an herb poultice to minimize the risk of infection." he told her before setting down a skinned rabbit on the quiver that held his arrows. A sudden thought occured to her, she looked at him and tapped the tree so he'd look up, and when he did she placed two fingers on her mouth, cocked her head to the side and asked the question with her eyes. He took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose, "I know you cannot speak." he nodded, his cobalt blue eyes shinning eerily in this forest where the canopy of trees blocked the light. She bit her lip and slid down the back of the tree until she was sitting. She nodded to the rabbit and then without hesitation rose from where she sat again. Her movements still slightly unsteady but she gathered twigs and branches quickly and efficiently before bringing them back and dropping them next to him. He smiled at her, the smile crinkling the skin near his eyes. "Thank you." was all he said before arranging the small pile to create for an ideal fire. She sighed, he was quite handsome to be frank but she'd never known someone to care for her as he seemed to. It was like those fairytale's her grandmother used to tell her.
"Those princesses and their princes they always felt a need to give eachother gifts, but there was one princess," she said, "That never cared for richness, handsomness nor gifts she cared only of his heart. For it was the biggest thing he could give her, and he did. He gave every last drop of love to her from his big heart and she thanked him even but there was a small sadness to their story. She could not hear him tell her he loved her, so he painted his love to her. Painted the beauty that he saw every morning when he woke up to see her in his bed, and every night when she sat by firelight to read one of what little books she had. She loved him for it, and that was what she wrote in her journal. That even though she could not hear, she could feel, see and speak to him to tell him of her love to him and he would paint to her his feelings. That was what love was believed to be. Not something someone saw in another but what someone felt from another."
She wasn't certain but she knew that she felt an incredible pull towards the man who'd helped her through the toughness of having broken her out of the wretched prison. She sat down next to him and her hand tapped him on the shoulder so that while he watched, she signed him her message. "Deiter." he responded, and she was surprised that he actually knew sign language, it was a rare knowledge that. "Rest a while, the food is nearly cooked." he told her before turning to tend to the rabbit that hung over the fire. Obediently, she listened to his words and leaned back against the rough bark of the tree and closed her eyes, however her mind was overtaxed as she thought of what had happened while she'd been unconscious and if they'd been spotted or perhaps one of the guard had come very close to finding them. If they had then they'd ought to move fast and find new shelter, shouldn't they?
Her pulse began to race now, a sudden fear that perhaps this man was leading her into a trap but one look from his sincere face and she was shocked at her thoughts. He wouldn't lead you into a trap, he wouldnt! her mind told her sternly, chastising herself for believing such a thing. The sound of a snap from the fire made her whirl, trying to look for approaching enemies and her hand inching towards the quiver of arrows. He touched her hand, he'd been doing the same thing. "It's alright." he said after a moment of staring at their hands, and he withdrew his own quickly. "It was the fire, I presume." he said smiling that smile that crinkled his eyes. She nodded and let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. He grabbed a small twig and prodded the meat, it fell from the bone and she looked at it longingly as her stomach growled and complained. She hadn't eaten anything since a while back before being captured by the manic prince who'd believe a mute could talk. He laughed at her, a low husky laugh that made her flush and duck her head, hiding behind her curtain of hair as he passed her a piece of the rabbit's leg and accepted it in her hands, ignoring the heat for it was bliss compared to the coldness of the night. She nodded her head in thanks and ate the meat ravenously while feeling the warmth of his eyes on her as he too ate, much more slowly.
If grandmother was telling the truth in her stories then perhaps it is love at first sight, she thought vaguely, her stomach full of the delicious meat and now a heavy sleepiness settling over her. Do I think I love him? she mulled over that thought for quite some time, the fire warming her with it's nearness and she watched it lazily, the tongues of flame licking at the inky blackness that surrounded her in this nook of the forest. Her mind dulled for a while, and atlast, as she fell into her much wanted sleep she thought, Yes, I do.
Thank you.
K.C.
The sound of their pounding feet and the cries of the distant guard made her push onwards, not wanting to be caught again by the brute men who have no mercy upon innocent slave women. Arrows flew past her, embedding themselves in the trees that were close by her, and she had no want to stop her feet until an arrow caught her in the shoulder. She stumbled, the blood already running from her wound down her arm and sliding between the hand that held the man's. The man felt her stumble, and turned to look at her and he immediately spotted the arrowhead the protruded her shoulder and he hissed in a breath. "Damn you, Agradeon." he growled, but they pushed on. She was stumbling now, she could feel her pulse throbbing at her shoulder and her eyelids felt heavy as she tried to keep up with his quick pace while she heard distant shouts of the guard. When she blinked she could see the redness behind her lids that was the sun but when she opened her eyes everything was a foggy blur. Another shout, another painful throb in her shoulder, another step and the next thing she knew she was laying on the grass.
"I must remove this." he told her gently, his hands probing around the wound. She could only nodd, even her breathing came in shallow gasps that jostled her shoulder further and made her wince. "I will break off the head of the arrow and then I shall go around to your back and pull it out on the count of three." he said, and she could only bite her lip in response. He did not mind her answerless response and he was professionally efficient as he broke off the head of the arrow before walking around her to her backside and squatting behind her. His hand gripped the long arrow shaft and she closed her eyes as she heard his voice count quietly, "One." he breathed, "Two." and she felt her nails bite into her palms as he whispered his signal, "Three." and then intense agony took over her as his first pull made no difference aside from moving it an inch out of the wound while it still was firmly embedded in her flesh. The man held tight and after a muttered sorry, he tore the arrow viciously from her shoulder with a quickness that brought her no relief. She felt the loss of blood that came with the removal of the arrow though she did not care much for it at the moment as a fog of pain relief settled over her brain and she collapsed to the ground on her uninjured shoulder, unconscious.
When she awoke, she was disoriented and without knowledge of where she was. Her eyes roamed the sky, as she lay on her back, and when she realized that she was in the forest with her savior she sat up quickly which brought on a wave of dizziness. She steadied herself with her left arm which was the one she'd injured but all she felt was an uncomfortable tug when she moved it. She turned her head and looked at her shoulder, seeing it bandaged with bloody rags made her smile. He must have been quite worried to have bothered bandaging her wound. She began to rotate her shoulder slowly, feeling the tug again and wondering what it was. "Keep you movements to a minimum." his voice lashed out from behind her and she started, before turning around and looking at him. She touched her arm and then looked at him, "I had to sew the flesh together. It was quite a wound, you'll have a scar but I applied an herb poultice to minimize the risk of infection." he told her before setting down a skinned rabbit on the quiver that held his arrows. A sudden thought occured to her, she looked at him and tapped the tree so he'd look up, and when he did she placed two fingers on her mouth, cocked her head to the side and asked the question with her eyes. He took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose, "I know you cannot speak." he nodded, his cobalt blue eyes shinning eerily in this forest where the canopy of trees blocked the light. She bit her lip and slid down the back of the tree until she was sitting. She nodded to the rabbit and then without hesitation rose from where she sat again. Her movements still slightly unsteady but she gathered twigs and branches quickly and efficiently before bringing them back and dropping them next to him. He smiled at her, the smile crinkling the skin near his eyes. "Thank you." was all he said before arranging the small pile to create for an ideal fire. She sighed, he was quite handsome to be frank but she'd never known someone to care for her as he seemed to. It was like those fairytale's her grandmother used to tell her.
"Those princesses and their princes they always felt a need to give eachother gifts, but there was one princess," she said, "That never cared for richness, handsomness nor gifts she cared only of his heart. For it was the biggest thing he could give her, and he did. He gave every last drop of love to her from his big heart and she thanked him even but there was a small sadness to their story. She could not hear him tell her he loved her, so he painted his love to her. Painted the beauty that he saw every morning when he woke up to see her in his bed, and every night when she sat by firelight to read one of what little books she had. She loved him for it, and that was what she wrote in her journal. That even though she could not hear, she could feel, see and speak to him to tell him of her love to him and he would paint to her his feelings. That was what love was believed to be. Not something someone saw in another but what someone felt from another."
She wasn't certain but she knew that she felt an incredible pull towards the man who'd helped her through the toughness of having broken her out of the wretched prison. She sat down next to him and her hand tapped him on the shoulder so that while he watched, she signed him her message. "Deiter." he responded, and she was surprised that he actually knew sign language, it was a rare knowledge that. "Rest a while, the food is nearly cooked." he told her before turning to tend to the rabbit that hung over the fire. Obediently, she listened to his words and leaned back against the rough bark of the tree and closed her eyes, however her mind was overtaxed as she thought of what had happened while she'd been unconscious and if they'd been spotted or perhaps one of the guard had come very close to finding them. If they had then they'd ought to move fast and find new shelter, shouldn't they?
Her pulse began to race now, a sudden fear that perhaps this man was leading her into a trap but one look from his sincere face and she was shocked at her thoughts. He wouldn't lead you into a trap, he wouldnt! her mind told her sternly, chastising herself for believing such a thing. The sound of a snap from the fire made her whirl, trying to look for approaching enemies and her hand inching towards the quiver of arrows. He touched her hand, he'd been doing the same thing. "It's alright." he said after a moment of staring at their hands, and he withdrew his own quickly. "It was the fire, I presume." he said smiling that smile that crinkled his eyes. She nodded and let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. He grabbed a small twig and prodded the meat, it fell from the bone and she looked at it longingly as her stomach growled and complained. She hadn't eaten anything since a while back before being captured by the manic prince who'd believe a mute could talk. He laughed at her, a low husky laugh that made her flush and duck her head, hiding behind her curtain of hair as he passed her a piece of the rabbit's leg and accepted it in her hands, ignoring the heat for it was bliss compared to the coldness of the night. She nodded her head in thanks and ate the meat ravenously while feeling the warmth of his eyes on her as he too ate, much more slowly.
If grandmother was telling the truth in her stories then perhaps it is love at first sight, she thought vaguely, her stomach full of the delicious meat and now a heavy sleepiness settling over her. Do I think I love him? she mulled over that thought for quite some time, the fire warming her with it's nearness and she watched it lazily, the tongues of flame licking at the inky blackness that surrounded her in this nook of the forest. Her mind dulled for a while, and atlast, as she fell into her much wanted sleep she thought, Yes, I do.
