The Dark World

Chapter 9: Blushing lady

Marisoll

It had been so unexpected that for a moment, I wondered as Ezekiel walked back over to us whether he would kill me too, but he gently took me into his arms and walked me back inside the inn and to the room he had spent the night in.

Mystic Zerena handed him some more of that paste stuff and went off to move Cairn’s body to a safe place until he awoke.

His bed was made, but I still grew hot in my cheeks after having seen what he had been doing in it earlier, I was just thankful he did not know that I had seen him.

He sat me on the edge of the bed and bent down in front of me, I could not meet his eyes when he looked up at me. “I apologise on behalf of Cairn, he has always been rude, quick to temper and has no regard for anyone but himself.”

He applied the paste to my face softly and while he was distracted, I looked at his face, he was an extremely handsome man, beautiful even, and I found myself becoming bashful when he caught me looking.

“My apologies,” I whispered and tried to look away, but he tilted my chin back towards him, making our eyes meet. “You never need apologise for looking at someone,” he smiled.

I needed the conversation off me, so I said, “you know he is going to come after you like hell itself?”

“I am aware, yes, but not surprised, this is how we have always been with one another, and it’s not likely to change now.” He smoothed some paste across my right cheek lastly and then sat back on his heels before standing up.

Mystic Zerena returned, along with the barman who was helping her carry in Cairn’s lifeless body. They put him on the bed and then mystic Zerena smiled at us, “shall we head back then? Do some training?”

I stood up so fast I swayed and Ezekiel caught my arm, “take it easy, there is no rush.”

I could only assume mystic Zerena traded items with the innkeeper because we left with a wooden tub to wash our clothes in, some bread and water and even some sheets that I had no idea what we could use them for.

We reached my home, if you could it that, and mystic Zerena filled the tub with water from the river and began washing our clothes. I was used to the wild and nakedness had never bothered me before, but I realised it was very different with other people around, especially other men.

I passed my clothing to mystic Zerena, but I noticed Ezekiel could not seem to stop looking, although he tried to be polite about it. Images of him in bed with that lady came back to me and I wondered how it would feel to have his lips upon my bare skin, to have him giving me all his attentions and touches.

What was I thinking! I pushed those inappropriate thoughts aside and grabbed my cloak, wrapping it around myself, it would have to be washed last. I was no better than Ezekiel with the staring, for he was also naked, he held his shield in front of himself, but it did not hide that he had a glorious body, well-built, muscular, strong, a man who could keep his lady safe, the kind of man every lady wanted and needed, especially these days.

Mystic Zerena hung our clothes to dry with a spell that let them hang midair, and not on the dirty ground. When it came time for me to hand over my cloak, I was not brave enough to stay naked. I changed to the form of the wolf, the animal I felt most comfortable being.

I felt bad when Ezekiel kept his eyes on the ground, he probably thought it was his fault, that he had made me uncomfortable, but even if it had only been mystic Zerena here I would have done the same thing, Ezekiel had not leered or looked lingeringly at me and I did not want him to feel bad. I padded over to him and rubbed my body along his legs in a friendly gesture, I did not understand why I wanted him to like me, or why I needed to make sure he didn’t blame himself, that I did not feel any ill will towards him for noticing my female body.

He gave a small smile and ran his fingers through my grey fur, being a Druid meant I could take on the shape of any animal and not be restricted to my hair colour, I could choose any colour I wanted, for the wolf, I chose grey fur with a white underbelly. “It is always so fascinating to see a Druid take on the form of any animal,” he said.

“Druids are not the only shape changing being out there,” mystic Zerena said.

Ezekiel snorted and said, “werewolves, sirens and more, yes I am aware there are more out there, but werewolves are monstrous beasts who kill everything in their path and eat the flesh of man, sirens lure you to the waters and do much the same thing.”

“You should not judge so harshly that which you do not understand,” she replied.

“You think they are not beasts?”

“I think they are still people who simply lose control of themselves, but when a man they are still who they’ve always been, a good person.”

“You cannot think that way mystic Zerena, if we felt bad for every creature we slay, then we wouldn’t slay them, and they would carry on killing innocent people and ruining villages.”

She gave a small smile but did not debate with him any further and carried on washing the clothes.

When our clothes had dried, me and Ezekiel sparred with one another, mystic Zerena was a warrior herself, Ezekiel said, but not as a fighter, she was better as a healer, or using magic to distract or stun enemies, so while we sparred she found a quiet place of her own and practiced her magic.

Ezekiel fought hard and brutal, he was no more gentle than Cairn when we had our very real fights, but it was good, there was no use being gentle because our enemies would not be gentle, it was best to fight as hard and fast as your enemy so that you’d be prepared.

When we were finished, we walked back to the main camp sight we had set up and Ezekiel was back to being the perfect gentleman, when I tripped over some vines, he gently caught me, smiling so warmly it did something to my heart.

Cairn was wrong on his assumptions of Ezekiel, he was a gentleman and kind and respectful, but he was not weak, and he knew when to be a gentleman and when to be a fighter, I liked that he could be caring and kind and thoughtful outside of training, but also knew when to be tough and hard and aggressive.

Mystic Zerena was already sitting around a fire she had made, waiting for us. When we quickened our pace our hands accidentally brushed against one another, we both looked at one another, and I was the first to blush and look away, thank goodness for my ebony skin, I’d die before I’d let anyone see me blush like some silly girl.

I had saved some of the deer I had caught during the night, it was extremely difficult to find animals that were untouched and untainted by the darkness, but being a Druid helped, I was in tune with nature, and I was usually able to track them down, eating animals wasn’t my favourite thing to do, but food was scarce, and it was better than starving to death over and over again, I’d tried it once before and vowed never to do it again, the pain had been unbearable, the suffering long.

Tired from training no one spoke very much, we ate our food and slept in the tree again, it was the safest place, sleeping on the ground was ok for the most part, but there was always the risk of some creature or even bandits sneaking up on you and killing you in your sleep, for the creatures it was to eat you, for the bandits it was to steal from you.