Chapter 8: Chapter 8
The cold breeze made the leaves rustle in a short distance. A misty darkness still embraced the landscape a few moments before the dawn. From the top of the hill, Ashton was watching over the manor below on his horseback. Since the man he used to send for this job was out of town, he had to do the espionage himself.
He knew his look would be too striking to mingle with the villagers. He might very well attract undesirable attention, so he decided to do it from an entirely unseen place. Evergreen was surrounded by rolling hills all over. He planned to watch from higher place. He knew all the track in this town and where it might lead. He wore a simple attire and kept his sword hidden beneath his long coat.
Before long, a shadowy figure breezed out of the manor gate in the dark. Magnus. He jerked the bridle and came after him silently from up above. He maintained a safe distance from him, keeping him unaware yet within his sight.
The daylight appeared, everything went smooth and easy until Magnus reached a crowded road, making it difficult to stay watching from above. He dismounted from his horse and loped fast downhill, sneaking into the busy street. He caught sight of Magnus' back in a distance, but suddenly two hulking men carrying a large cupboard crossed the street, effectively blocking his view. He slipped swiftly past them, but it was too late. Magnus had totally disappeared from his sight.
*****
People flew in and out of the lively market in the bright morning. The place was rowdy with people chattering about the grocery price and such things. After waiting about an hour in a dirty, foul-smelling alley, finally Ashton saw her walking out of the market.
Ava strolled idly along the way, not really paid attention of her surroundings. She was absorbed in deep thoughts. Some people passed by and greeted her, and she replied with a smile.
Ashton hated to admit it, but she possessed a natural grace. She looked like she belonged to noble life even when she dressed in rags. And her smile was deceitfully sweet and adorable.
From the way her brows furrowed slightly, and her eyes looked down beneath her lashes, he could tell she was thinking seriously about something. While she passed him by, Ashton slid carefully out of the alley and came after her from across the street.
He tugged his coat's collar high it covered half the sides of his face. He walked by the wall of the building in relaxed manner to avoid drawing attention. The street was busy and crowded. His unusual height made him easy to stalk her over the heads of the people in front of him, but he was fully aware that it made him easy to be seen as well.
Although he doubted his uncle's suspicion about Magnus and this woman reuniting, but after he thought about it again, it was possible. Besides, Magnus had gone without a trace. He couldn't just come back empty-handed. He decided to spy on this woman. If the suspicion was well founded and she was caught with Magnus, he would take the appropriate action at once. If she wasn't with him, it meant there was nothing to worry about, Magnus had been occupied with something else.
Ava was still drowning in her mind yet something in the window curiously caught her eye. Like it was calling her beyond the restless thoughts. She stopped immediately and peered through the clear glass. An oval porcelain snuff box. It was painted on cover, base and sides with a beautiful scenery as a background of a couple holding hands.
She stood there for a long while, couldn't shift her gaze from the delicate beauty. She stepped into the shop. The shop owner peered at her through his spectacle. He frowned at her humble appearance, yet the old man himself took the snuff box from the display and let her have a better look. She was enchanted by the beauty, but the tiny stuff cost bigger than a farmer's earnings for half a year. So she left the shop in regret, giving it a last look through the window before stepping away.
Somehow, Ashton got curious. He crossed the street and took a peek at the shop window. An oval porcelain snuff box glinting at him. The fancy little thing was a rare beauty. She surely had a fine taste.
Soon they left the busy street and reached a rural area. Ashton slanted up the small hill fast. He had anticipated that this was the only path which the market street led to, so he had his horse waiting for him uphill. Soon he caught up her again from up above. She was easier to spy on than the other target.
Ava arrived at home in the lunch hour as usual. Today was passing like any other day, but she knew today she would change her life some other way. She was on a crossroad. She had come to a point that she decided she couldn't live like this anymore, but she hadn't made up her mind yet. She finished her daily chores, took a quick bath and changed her clothes. Soon after everything had done, she stepped out of the house and walked along the lane, into the grassland spread downhill.
She drifted aimlessly through the meadow. All she needed was time for herself, without noise or interruption. Time to contemplate her choices. Time to tune into her real inner values.
She stopped in the midst of the field, took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, embracing the quietness surrounded her. In this silence, she would listen to the voice inside, deep within her soul. And she would hear its answer.
Standing amongst the tall yellowing grass with the wind blew through her hair, she gazed thoughtfully at the distance. Bathed in the mid-afternoon sunlight, her fair complexion was shimmering in soft golden rays.
Watching her from a distance under the safety of the shadow, Ashton felt a sudden, unexpected urge. If he had pencil and paper in hand, he would sketch at once. Or even more. If he had paintbrush and canvas, he would paint right now.
It wasn't the physical beauty, though he wouldn't deny that it was breathtaking too. It was beyond that. What moved him and what made this moment worth capturing was its amazing sense of solitude. The glory of being alone. And how the whole mood of her self-absorption blended perfectly with the scenery around her.
He squeezed his fingers unintentionally, resisting the temptation to absorb into the glorious sense and the crazy idea to imprint the sight on his memory and paint it later.
He was an artist. He had the gift to recognize beauty even when nobody else could see it. He once painted the wrinkles on an old servant's hands. It wasn't just a string of ugly lines and folds in human skin. The years of lifetime devotion were showing in every wrinkle, in a pair of hands that had worked selflessly for his family, giving more than what was required.
He always knew at once when he found it. Beauty was comforting, inspiring, enlightening the spirit and infinitely healing, even when it was fleeting and intangible. Beauty never failed to move him.
A sudden awareness alarmed him, bringing him speedily to his senses. A woman of her sort had no beauty within. His sense of beauty had been so blunt it could be deceived by an illusion. He tore his gaze away, suddenly felt tempted to walk away from the whole espionage thing at once.
He thought about the dull, monotonous task he had to do everyday, the piling-up documents on his large mahogany desk in his comfortable, quiet study. He would have made the most of the day sitting and burying himself in those heaps of paper, rather than stalking this wench all day like some obsessed secret admirer.
But he was halfway toward completing his job. He had stalked her almost all day and there were only several hours left. What he had been waiting for could have come in the last hour. Moving his gaze to her again, he decided to stay.
*****
Later in the afternoon, Ava was standing in front of the mirror. She brushed her hair quickly before wearing her cloak. After checking her look once again in the mirror, she took a little pouch and put it into her pocket. Now she was ready to go.
"You're going to see him?" Polly whispered from her bedroom doorway. Her voice sounded low-pitched and deep.
"I will get the things packed, so we could go as soon as you come back."
"I'm not going to see him, Polly."
"What?! So where do you want to go?"
Polly returned to her normal voice.
"I'm going to see the fortune teller."
"My God!" Polly exclaimed loudly.
"You're getting insanely superstitious like all the silly people in this town! What are you thinking? Instead of wasting your time listening to all the Gypsy nonsense, you better go seeing Magnus and take his offer."
"I'll never take his offer."
Polly stared at her with disbelief.
"Good God! What makes you so unreasonably stubborn?!!! He loves you and you love him, will you say it otherwise?"
"Life has taught me not to expect too much from a man." Ava tied the string in front of her cloak.
"His passion for me was very strong before, perhaps it still is now, but I don't know if it would last for the years to come. What if he gets tired of me after a few years, or even less? It would leave me broken, Polly. Much more than now."
"I trust he is not a man like that. He will take care of you for the rest of your life. Like your father to your mother."
"I trusted he would be brave to fight his family for me, I trusted he would be willing to sacrifice everything and runaway with me, but he didn't. I won't risk everything I have hoping that he would do the same in return."
"You... you're impossible!" Polly waved her hand in desperation.
"You're the most difficult person I ever knew, you're the worst!"
*****
From above the hill, Ashton saw his target moving out of the house into the street. Peering from a relatively fair distance, he could see she was wearing a cloak as if she was going somewhere far from home.
Where was she supposed to go at this hour? When the birds were flying back to their nests and people were walking home before the dark stole the last vestiges of daylight. The shops and taverns, practically all public places must have been closed within minutes. In a little town like this, there was nowhere to go at this hour. The nighttime was definitely not the time to go out of one's house. Except... for a clandestine meeting. His blue eyes gleaming brilliantly in the black of the night. Finally, this long, tormenting, aggravating hours of waiting would not go futile.
Ava walked quickly passing a number of tiny cottages before reaching a long, quiet trail with meadow by its sides. The path sloped up to a hilltop. There was a solitary wooden cottage stood in the shadow of the trees. She had arrived there.
It wasn't difficult to find the fortune teller's house. Most of the villagers knew her. The Gypsy woman was famous not only for her accurate prophecy but her effective medicine as well. People said her prophecy never failed and her medicine could heal the worst and most terrible injuries. She had stopped several times to ask the direction and everyone she met talking enthusiastically about the Gypsy woman's exceptional gift to get a glimpse of one's future.
As she got near to the rustic cottage, her pace slowed down. Doubt and fear crept in her mind. But she had gone this far, and she really wanted to get a clue. She forced her feet to move until she finally reached the front door. She stood still, making some time to get herself together. She was just raising her hand to knock when a voice came from inside the house.
"Come in, lass. I've been expecting you."
Her heart pounded fast in a peculiar feeling, she pushed the handle and the door opened in a creaking sound. Ava caught her breath, bracing herself to look inside. Unlike the mysterious and scary facade, the inside of the house was bright and quite warm. Nora was sitting behind her desk, the woman smiled at her.
"I know the first time I saw you, we will meet again."
Ava glanced around and surprised to see the house of the fortune teller was not like what she used to think. It was like another country house with a set of simple and shabby furniture, a worn-out carpet and some vintage wall decorations. A cupboard full of pots and jars stood on the corner. Seemed like they were the famous healing potions and medicine.
"There's no crystal ball if you're looking for it." The woman startled her out of her observation. Ava turned to the Gypsy woman and smiled back. "I guess you know why I am here now."
"Come and sit, young lady."
Ava approached a chair in front of the woman's desk and sat. The fortune teller gazed upon her in silence.
"You are a woman who knows your worth even when the whole world denies it. That's why all the universe will conspire to help you achieve what you want..."
The curious sensation filled her again.
"Does that mean someday I'll get married?"
"Sure."
Ashton watched the creepy house stood alone in the hilltop beneath the darkened shadow. It looked more like a ghost house than a love nest, but it would be suitable for a forbidden affair. Finally his mission had come to an end, he just had to take the last step to finish it. He would caught the pair in the act and send the wench to her father and her betrothed at once.
He loped across the trail and reached the house in split second. He slipped to the side of the house and flattened his back to the wooden wall next to the window. He stood still, listening in silence. He barely heard anything from inside the house. He turned and tried to peek from the window, but a floral curtain blocked his view. Ashton looked around in thorough observation. This cottage was built of wood planks, there must be some little gaps in some places. Finally he saw a little beam of light from a small gap between the planks. He pressed his body against the wall and peered through the hole.
Ava stared at Madam Nora, feeling completely puzzled. Though her dramatic, hyperbolic words had her spellbound and greatly amused at first, the longer she listened to it, the more she realized it didn't give her any clue or a concrete direction about what she was going to do.
"You are an enchantress. It's your blessing and your curse. The man your heart most desires cannot escape. He may deny you, he may try to flee but your charm will bind him tighter than any chain. The helpless soul cannot go far."
She contemplated the words. If it was true, it meant the man she loved would stay beside her for all her life. Well, it could be... but she didn't want a lifetime affair.
"Will I live in proper and righteous way?"
"I have no doubt. I see great power and wealth and honor."
Polly was right, the dramatic and hyperbolic prophecy was getting tedious now. It was impossible for any decent man to have her. It would have sounded less nonsense if the woman said she was going to marry a villager, a man with lowly status and a humble beginnings who didn't require a respectable background from her. A man who could marry whoever he wanted. She smiled at the thought. Indeed, the people who had nothing were the people who had the infinite freedom. But if her prophecy was true...
She shivered at the first thought crossed her mind. If she was going to marry properly and live in nobility, chances were she would be married to Roger. After all she had been through, she would end up with Roger... It was the biggest possibility anyway, it had been half a year since she ran away, her father must have sent men to chase her from the first time. It had been a long hunt, after collecting some clues, perhaps eventually they would find her. Suddenly a sickening feeling stirred in her stomach.
"You said I will live a respectable life, a life that I've always wanted..."
She paused and swallowed, she felt like her throat were clogged.
"But would I be happy and content?"
The woman fell silent. She stared at her for a brief moment that felt like a long, maddening hour.
"No matter how great my special gift to foresee the future, there's one thing I could not tell because I don't know either..." She took a deep breath.
"I can't measure happiness."
Now it was Ava who fell silent. It was true. One could have the most enviable life to others, yet it didn't guarantee one had a meaningful, fulfilling, and satisfying life. She took out a coin pouch and put it on the desk, rising from her chair and walking toward the door. Her hand was on the door handle when she heard the woman called. She turned and saw Nora stood from her desk.
"I have to tell you. You've walked into a dark mist, and you've come at the point of no return. You're in the midst of it now. What awaits you ahead is not a rainbow trail. Denial, deception and doubts, tears and sacrifices, painful revelation and danger. I see it all along the way. It won't be an easy ride, but it's worth the cost."
Ashton let out a harsh breath in frustration. He stepped back from the filthy wall and brushed the dust off his coat in annoyance.
What a great result. He had spent an entire day sneaking and hiding, stalking a silly wench like an idiot, and all the total efforts had only led to this. A visit to a fortune teller. Well, at least he had succeeded in collecting one strong evidence. That this woman was definitely crazy.
She walked out of the house into the quiet trail and Ashton scowled at her back. He waited until she was a fair distance away then came after her in silence. His spying was over. He would no longer follow her, enough, never again.
He watched the back of her grey cloak swooshing with every lope she made. She strolled in silence into a long, dark path in the immense rural area, entirely alone, blissfully unaware that a man was stalking her for hours. She was lucky he wasn't some dirty rogue. One would prey her so easily in this perfect secluded patch, surrounded by nothing but tall trees.
Ava was musing on the prophecy when suddenly she got alarmed. She was walking into a long, dark path underneath the shadow of tall trees. The moon was hidden beneath a misty cloud. This was the only path to come and go, before the dark, it wasn't as terrifying as it was now. She gripped the neck of her cloak and walked quickly. Suddenly she regretted her visit to the fortune teller. She didn't feel like getting any clue and now she was all alone in a dangerous place. She turned her head to look around and loped faster. Still a long way to go.
"Hey, Gully! Look what we have here."
A rough voice in strong cockney accent startled her. Ava jolted and choked as her eyes caught a man standing a few feet away from her. The man was tall and robust, with muscles all over him. A sudden tremor ran through her when she saw his face, an ugly scar crossed from his forehead to his cheek, but what made him even more terrifying were the malice in his eyes. He gave her a wicked smile, and Ava turned back and ran as fast as possible, knowing her life was in danger.
She screamed when a pair of strong arms came around her waist and she was pulled back, crashed a hard body behind her. She struggled in her captor's clutch, shoved those steely arms, stomped on his feet and moved frantically against him in a futile effort.
"Wow, Gully, I've got a wild cat, come help me tame her!" The man laughed in amusement. Ava halted abruptly when she saw a hulking beast came over her from the woods. The second man was a bulky giant with a sullen face. He stared at her with a scowl and suddenly she felt a surge of panic that made her move again, pushing the hands that imprisoned her, clawing, kicking and stomping, trying desperately to release herself.
The gloomy villain smacked her face so hard she stopped moving out of shock. The next second, the man already tore away her cloak with a frightening ease, and now he was grasping the front of her dress. The violent sound of shredding clothes sent fear and panic through her brain. Never crossed her mind that such a misfortune would befall her, that tonight would be the death of her.
"Get your filthy hands off of her right now."
The smooth voice carried over the wind, the coolness in it was strangely chilling. The two men paused and turned.
A silhouette stood in the dark, beneath the trees. The moon rose, sending moonbeams through the leaves and for a moment the figure looked like a ghostly shadow. Until his silver locks gleaming at a ray of light.
Ava gasped when she recognized him. In the midst of the dark with moonlight illuminated his face, he looked like an angel of death.
The scarred man who held her grinned maliciously.
"Look who's joining the feast."
He made a quick scan of the duke's simple yet well-made clothing.
"Tis' fancy blueblood will make a great deal of fortune." He cocked his head.
"Finish him, Gully."
The gloomy villain stormed to him like a ravenous animal. Her eyes widened as she noticed the man looked like a hulking beast compared to the duke's tall and slender figure.
It happened too fast she could barely see anything. A sudden whistling, a flash of white light, then all she could see was a blade piercing through the giant's body to the very hilt, blood spurting heavily from the cut. She cried and turned her face away.
The scarred man threw her hastily and she crushed hard against the ground. She was so overtaken by shock and fear she barely felt physical pain. She heard the villain curse furiously.
Another whistling and a piteous cry screeching in the air. Ava crept to move away from the scene, her body was cold all over.
The villain was on his knees, clasping his hand to the right side of his head, blood dripping through his fingers. A distant away, a tiny something laid in the ground, splattered with blood.
Ava started to tremble when she realized it was an ear. The villain's ear. She turned to see the poor man crying, begging for mercy. She saw the duke coming over him, a sword coated with blood in his hand.
There was something about his composure that made it awfully terrifying. Ava knew instantly he wouldn't show any mercy. He was going to kill this man.
She struggled to get up and ran toward the duke, standing between the two men. The duke seemed surprised by her sudden move.
"Please don't kill this man! He has already surrendered!"
Suddenly a harsh groan came from behind and the next second she was already lunged by the villain. His arm outstretched tightly across her shoulders while another one held a dagger against her neck.
"Throw your sword away or I'll slit her throat." The man hissed between clenched teeth.
From the slight gleam in his eyes, the duke must be quite taken aback, but he remained still.
"Now!" The villain shouted, pushed the dagger a little more, it nicked her skin.
To her surprise, he flung his sword away at once. The metal fell a distant away, clanged against the ground.
All in a sudden, the villain threw her away at the duke. She crushed against his chest and reflexively clung to his arm, keeping herself from falling. He grasped her arm at once, at the very moment, the mad villain stormed to him, roaring as he struck the dagger at him.
Ava watched in horror as the duke lifted another hand to fend off the attack. He pushed her aside, she lost her balance and nearly fell. The next thing she knew was the dagger fell to the ground and the duke was clasping the villain's head, trapping it between his hands.
She cried loudly and turned from the sight, covering her face with her hands. The next second, she heard a short cracking sound, followed with a dull thud.
Her heart pounding wildly like it was going to jump out of her chest. She was witnessing a murder. A brutal murder. She was in the midst of it. She stood still, her shoulders hunched, her body was shaking from head to toe.
It was silent now, there was no sound but the rustling leaves on the trees. Slowly, she turned to see him, her trembling hands were still on her face.
"Don't turn back." He warned.
"You're not going to like it"
She startled and turned away again hastily, but this time she made the mistake of lowering her hand and opening her eyes. The dead body of the other man laid a distant away, bathed in soaking blood.
She had no idea how she could stay conscious and alert throughout the terror, but now that it was over, she felt like she was going to faint, her vision faded, her knees began to buckle.
Suddenly a strong grip seized her and she was hauled away leaving the hideous sight. Her consciousness returned gradually as they went farther. The first thing she perceived was a clean masculine scent. Though she smelled blood that spattered over his coat, she could still smell his natural scent. The next thing was his warmth that wrapped around her as he held her shoulders. After what had happened, surrounded by his scent and warmth was deliciously comforting. She tilted her head slowly to see his face. For one who had just killed two persons at once, he looked indifferent.
"I... I'm all right now." Her voice was quivering and her step was unsteady. He looked down at her with glacial eyes, somehow they made her heart beat faster.
He stopped and released her from his grip, the warmth of his embrace disappeared from her back and suddenly she felt disappointed.
"You almost have yourself killed, empty-headed fool! What were you thinking, trying to protect the villain? Have you lost your mind?!"
Her mouth gaped open, and closed, and opened and closed again before she was finally able to utter a word.
"I... I just... I think... you don't need to kill them..."
"Really?" He said sardonically.
"Those men nearly rape you, and they would very likely kill you afterwards. What makes you think they deserve mercy?"
She choked at the dreadful thought. She swallowed nervously,
"But... it is not right to just... put them to death..."
"Had I let them go after I've scared them, soon they would prey another maiden. Another woman crosses path with them might not be as fortunate as you are to have a rescuer. Giving mercy to them means you put someone else's life in danger."
She fell silent, couldn't deny the truth in his words. He glanced toward her and suddenly she couldn't bring herself to gaze back at him. From the corner of her eyes, she saw him discarding his coat.
"Cover yourself."
He handed the fine wool to her and at the very second she just realized that most of the front of her bodice had been shred, exposing a plentiful view of her shoulders and cleavage. Totally embarrassed, she covered herself with one hand and took his coat at the same time.
She gasped in horror at the sight of his wounded hand. There was a deep, long slash across his palm, a trickle of blood still dripping from the cut. She glanced at her arm where he had grasped her just a little time ago and saw the fabric stained with his blood. She recalled the moment before when one of the villain struck him with dagger, he had fended off the attack with his hand. And it was her fault, for he flung away his sword because the villain took her a hostage.
She put his coat around her shoulders quickly and took his hand to her inspection.
"Your hand! It must be really hurt!"
Guilt filled her as she recognized it was his right hand. The hand he used to paint. She fumbled into her pocket to draw a handkerchief.
"I've survived many worse than this." He withdrew his hand from her quickly, apparently her attention was not gladly received.
"We have to stop the bleeding and cover the wound soon, otherwise it would get infected." She snatched his hand without thinking and held it firmly yet gently in her hand, then she pressed the folded linen gently against the wound.
"Does it hurt terribly?" She glanced upward worrily and met his gaze. An odd, unexpected thought floated through her brain. If pain could be shared like some sensible objects, she would take half of his pain for herself. No, she would take more.
In that moment, unexpectedly the way she looked at him, the way she was taking care of him, brought back a far, distant memory he had buried long ago. It flashed in his mind vividly, a vision of his mother easing his pain as a little boy. This moment was a resemblance of the fading memory. He showed a little cut on his palm and her mother kneeled down before him, soothing the pain, then she glanced up at him, her eyes glowing with tenderness. No one had ever looked at him that way again. No one. Until now.
She was always a filthy, unworthy, deceiving wench to him. How the image of her could remind him of his beloved mother was absolutely insane. But in this strange moment that got him tangled up with her, all his senses was telling him that she was sincere, her concern for him was honest.
Impossible. The midnight-haired witch had charmed him with her enchantress eyes.
She sensed his resistance instantly as he stiffened and pulled his hand off. She knew it wasn't for the pain but his distaste to her touch.
"Hold on, please let me help you. The bleeding is awful. We have to bind your wound."
Studying his wound with a quick glance, he found her reasonable. He was seriously injured and needed immediate care. There's no point in denying her help.
"If you will allow me, it won't take long ..." she glanced up to see his reaction, but his expression was indecipherable. "May I ..." She reached his hand very carefully, fearing he would shrug her off at once.
He didn't. She wrapped and tied the handkerchief around his hand, a trickle of blood soaking the white fabric, but the bleeding had slowed down. She felt him watching silently, and she got a bit nervous. As soon as she finished the task, she pulled off and stepped back.
She seemed restless and regretful. Hiding his observation beneath a nonchalant gaze, Ashton studied her deceptive innocence. He could see she was desperate to say something. Finally she opened her mouth to speak.
"I'm sorry, this is my fault... I hope after your hand recovered, you would still be able to paint as well as before."
Her words struck him like a sudden shaft of sunlight through a blinding darkness. Who was she to care about what matters to him? About something he had been very fond of. Nobody had ever cared about it. Nobody. Except his mother when she was alive. Again, she brought out the memory of his mother.
He had been very careful not to show his passion in art to anyone. He had been taught all his life that the art thing was sort of unmanly thing, that it was not for nobleman like him. And off course it would be forever relating him to his father. The greatest failure of their dynasty. So he simply did it discreetly, in his spare time.
There was a maddening silence and in a strange way it encouraged her to look into his eyes this time.
"You have gifted hands, it must be given for a reason. I believe you will be able to paint again and make a lot of great works."
For a moment, there is a certain stillness, even the leaves in the trees and the gentle breezes paused. Magic scattered from her eyes and he was adrift in their depth. Nowhere described where he was. It must be the moonlight cast its spell on him.
He turned back without saying a word, suddenly couldn't abide her gaze. He never felt something like this before. He walked with a glassy stare and a vague feeling. Hasty little footsteps came following him from behind.
"My horse is waiting nearby." He said without a backward glance. He didn't plan to leave her alone here. Another villain might come upon her.
Ava halted at his words. Did he mean to ride her home? Unbelievable. But surely she didn't want to walk alone after what had happened just a little time ago.
After a moment, an obsidian black stallion near a tall tree caught her eye. The duke took a halting step by the beautiful creature and stroked its head gently. Ava hesitated and stopped a distance away from him. He turned to see her.
"Come, I've just killed two men. If another harm befell you tonight, I would have committed a meaningless sin."
She hurried to the horse and tried to climb up. She failed at the first try, and she tried again. Suddenly she felt his hands grasping her waist from behind, the warmth of his skin penetrated through the thin fabric. He lifted her easily and seated her on the horseback. The next second, he already settled himself behind her, his hands entrapped her between as he held the bridle. He didn't want her to put her hands around him. He didn't want her to cling to his back.
"Hold on." He jerked the bridle and the horse started to move, but she had nothing to hold on to. Instantly she lost her balance as the horse started running in rapid speed. She nearly tumbled down but his arm encircled her waist immediately, keeping her from falling. The back of her head slammed his chest lightly. When she finally managed to keep herself steady, he released her. The horse ran through the dark. The cold wind hit her face and blew through her hair.
His weight against her back. His warmth and his scent surrounded her like a divine embrace. She closed her eyes to feel it more. His hands touched her accidentally sometimes, his heat kept her warm in the cold air and she breathed in his scent. Here, now, in the very moment, it was almost like they were sharing intimacy.
She had been with men before. It was certainly not the first time she had been so close to a man, but she never felt their whole existence, their very presence, as intensely as this time with him.
From the first time, he always elicited fear for her, and now she knew why. He was an angel of death, literally. He came and slayed his prey without mercy, without regret. Yet now beneath his wings, she was feeling completely safe. No harm in this world could ever touch her. She turned her head slightly and stole a glance at him.
They were riding in silence. None of them said a word ever since. From a distance, she caught sight of her little cottage. A warm light was glowing through the window. The horse slowed down, she was at the end of her journey.
The horse stopped by the fence. He descended first and helped her climbing down. She walked toward the door, feeling uncertain what to say. Suddenly she remembered she was wearing his coat. When she turned around, he was already on the horseback again.
"Your coat ..." she wasn't sure, should she offered to wash it first or just give it back to him.
"Just throw it away. I no longer want it."
Then without sparing her a glance, he stormed away in lightning speed and disappeared in the end of the road.
***
Ava was sitting on the edge of her bed this afternoon. Looking at the blood-stained coat in her hands, she felt an irresistible impulse to bring the fine material to her face and inhale deeply, breathing in his scent. She did it without a second thought. The particular scent of him blended with subtle male cologne filled her lungs and she closed her eyes. It was like she was in his embrace again this very moment.
The door swayed open, she opened her eyes abruptly and dropped the coat to her lap. Polly was entering her room. Glancing at the coat, Polly snatched it from her.
"What are we going to do with this? It surely would make good money in the flea market. Let me wash it first."
"No!" Ava rose quickly and snatched the coat back.
"I... I will wash it." She said the first thing on her mind when Polly frowned at her. Turning around, she pretended to fold the coat on the bed. Polly said nothing and left her. Relieved, she dropped herself to the bed again. After a while, she decided to hide the coat somewhere in her cupboard. There was a detectable trace of him in its threads, and for some curious reason, she wanted it to last as long as possible.
To her surprise, the last-night terror didn't haunt her very badly. Last night when she heard the sound of bone cracking, she thought she would never forget the ghastly sound for the rest of her life. But she recovered from the terror quite fast. Her mind was consumed with another thing.
Today, not a second passed without thinking of him. Would his wound recover completely? She wouldn't forgive herself if he could not be able to paint again. She really needed to know if he was doing fine. A crazy idea occurred to her. Certainly she couldn't see him at his manor, but she knew he still visited his studio. She would try to go there. If he wasn't there, she could come again tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and after, until she got a chance to see him. She just need to be sure that he was fine.
*****
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone