Her Fierce Protector

Chapter 11

"A man with a pair of gray, cold eyes?" Ashera's sister burst out laughing after hearing that from her like it was the funniest joke she ever heard dropped in front of her.

Ashera pouted, didn't get what is funny for her sister to laugh that hard and loud.

"I'm sorry," her sister said trying to stop her laughter, "I just couldn't believe you… when will you find a man with a pair of gray eyes? Ashera, all of us have dark brown and black eyes."

Ashera bit the insides of her mouth, stopping herself from telling her sister about the man who owned that most beautiful pair of eyes she had ever seen in her entire life.

That pair of gray eyes that Amaru has are rare, her sister is right, all of them in their village have either dark brown eyes or black which is the most common one in their village.

"It'll really be impossible for you to get a husband for you're looking for a man who doesn't exist, Ashera."

Ashera pouted at her sister and didn't mind her. The important thing is that she knew that Amaru exists, he has that pair of gray cold eyes. But why did I even think that a man with gray eyes is the one that I like?

Amaru is the only person she knows who has those eyes. That's why she couldn't help but overthink and felt guilty about that. She was just caught off-guard, maybe because she was thinking that she saw Amaru at the entrance of Alawin forest and her sister suddenly asked her a question.

"Don't you have someone you like in our village? Even one of your suitors?" her sister interestingly asked her.

Ashera winced and pouted before she shook her head as if she was disgusted with all of her suitors, "All of them are just the same, Zelda."

"So you want someone different then?"

Ashera shrugged, "I guess?"

She looked at her sister and suddenly realized something, "Wait…"

Her sister looked at her as if waiting for what she was about to say, her sister stared at her with a questioning look.

"Hmm?" her sister asked when it took time for her to continue asking.

Ashera chuckled at her sister, "Why are you asking about my suitors and who I want to marry when you're way older than me and supposed to be the one who'll marry first?"

Her sister's eyes widened like she didn't expect that from Ashera. Ashera smirked when she found her sister blushing, she is sure that her sister already likes someone but is not comfortable telling them who he is.

"So tell me, who is this lucky guy who captured your heart?" Ashera grinned at her sister especially when Zelda averted her gaze.

"Hmm?" Ashera mimicked her sister when her sister took the time to answer. Ashera wanted to burst out laughing when her sister suddenly couldn't look at her, she looked so embarrassed.

"L-let us not talk about it, Ashera. Let's just swim so we can be home before the sun sets just like what we promised to Father," Zelda said trying to escape from the topic but Ashera really looked at her sister intently as if checking her out making her sister more uncomfortable.

Then her stubborn mind suddenly started to think about going somewhere else. She glanced at the Alawin forest before she looked at her sister who is now on the water rubbing her skin with it.

"Ashera, come on!"

Ashera smirked, "I will really know who is the one you like, Zelda."

"Stop thinking about it, Ashera. Let's just bathe so we can finally go back home," her sister said calmly. Ashera chuckled and pulled her feet from the water.

"Where are you going?" Zelda nervously asked her.

Ashera looked at her sister, "Don't worry, I will be quick, I promise, Zelda. I'll just look at something."

"What?" her sister stood up from where she was bathing, her sister suddenly felt alarmed and worried about what she was about to do, "Ashera?! Father will be mad at you!"

"Just wait there!" she said and continued walking towards the entrance of Alawin forest.

"Ashera?!"

"I'll be quick, trust me!"

"Ashera?!" Her sister sounds threatening but she didn't listen, she just entered the forbidden forest. She suddenly jumped out of happiness when she finally got there.

"Alawin forest!" she said and breathed the fresh air she has been wanting to feel these past few days of staying in their village.

She turned to her back and her heart suddenly skipped a bit when she bumped into something—no, someone.

She found that muscled chest, she suddenly looked up to see who it was and there, her eyes darted on the pair of gray eyes and suddenly remembered what she told her sister earlier about the man she likes. She gulped when she felt her heart beating abnormally fast.

"A-Amaru…" she stuttered, she couldn't even smile because of what she was feeling inside her heart.

His usual emotionless eyes were filled with sudden longing but it immediately vanished like she was just imagining it.

"Why did you take so long to visit again?" he asked in a very soft voice, that she could even close her eyes with it to sleep.

"M-my… Father forbade me to."

"Then why are you here now?" he asked curiously.

Ashera sighed and averted her gaze, his eyes distracting her, it seems like that pair of gray eyes are slowly pulling all her ability to think right.

"Because… I miss… this forest," she said and gulped, she couldn't understand why her sentence felt so lacking.

"You miss this forest? So, you didn't miss this forest until those days you didn't visit here?"

"What?" Ashera shut her brows up, she didn't even think that he would think like that.

"Hmm?"

Ashera didn't know what to say, she was lost for words, she couldn't understand why she is feeling this right now, a feeling that she does not know how to name especially that it is new to her and she didn't even feel it the first time she met Amaru… and to think that this is just their third time seeing each other if she's not wrong, she suddenly felt nervous thinking what would happen for the next fourth and fifth?

"Ashera?"

Ashera closed her eyes when she heard him call her name, it sounds like her name is very beautiful with his voice.

"Amaru…" she couldn't say anything.

"I waited for you… I'm always waiting for you, Ashera…" she isn't sure if she is hearing the right emotions in his voice. It was so emotional, it felt like he was longing, and she couldn't understand why.

"W-why?" That's the only word that she uttered like it was the only word that she knows how to speak.

His thick eyebrows furrowed, "What do you mean why?"

"Why did you wait for me?"

His eyes suddenly filled with surprise, then replaced with amusement, and just like the other emotions, it suddenly vanished.

He sighed and closed his eyes, "This is wrong," he muttered enough for her to hear it… "This is not right, Ashera."

"What do you mean?"

The man stepped away and that's just when Ashera realized their inches of distance from each other earlier. Her eyes traveled from the bone on his throat, down to the bone on his neck. She gulped when she suddenly felt the unexplainable feeling when her eyes lowered down to his muscled chest and abdomen.

Ashara turned her back from Amaru to distract himself, she gulped again when she felt her throat suddenly dry. She tried to roam her eyes around and her eyes darted on the green mangoes again. She felt her mouth watered.

"Do you want to eat?" the man asked.

She glanced at him and nodded. In just the blink of an eye, she found Amaru getting the fruit that she wanted. It wasn't too much, just five pieces and it is reasonable that she didn't bring something that could be used to bring the mangoes.

"Thank you," Ashera said.

The man just nodded and looked at her again, she just got used to it, maybe the man really likes staring. Or it is his eyes that look staring intently even though for him it is just a normal way of looking.

"When will you visit me again?" the man suddenly asked and suddenly his lips formed into line like he was forcing himself not to speak.

Ashera chuckled, "What do you mean… visit you? Am I visiting you?"

The man averted his gaze and Ashera gulped again seeing how perfect his jaw was, it was carved, the bone was firm and clean. She stared at it in total awe, she never saw such perfection. Amaru has the most perfect appearance she had ever seen, she must admit that his appearance is rare.

She didn't know what his work was, even the most hardworking man in their village did not have the same body built as Amaru has. He is impossible, like a product of fantasy, he is too good to be true.

"I mean the forest, Ashera…"

Even his voice, even though it may sound emotionless, it may be a deep baritone, but whenever he calls her name, she feels gentleness in it.

"Amaru?"

The man looked at her suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Do you live here?"

The man looked at her for a moment, "I live somewhere… here."

"Wait for me then," Ashera said and smiled, "Wait for me 'til my next visit."

Amaru stared at her like he was confused about what he would answer.

But instead of hearing words, Ashera was caught off guard when the man suddenly took a step to fill the distance between them and pulled her, the next thing she knew, she was already resting on his chest, her body felt small being wrapped by her arms.

"I kept waiting for you even though I'm not sure if you'll visit ever again… and I am even guilty and regretful, thinking that maybe you're avoiding me… maybe… watching you from a distance is the best thing I should do… just like before… I could watch your beauty every day… even just from a distance, Ashera…"

Ashera's eyes suddenly watered feeling the pain in his voice.

"Ashera?!"

She heard her sister's voice calling her. She looked into his eyes, "I need to go…"

The man nodded.

"I'll wait for you… even for how long it takes… even if it's wrong, Ashera."

Ashera didn't mind what he just said, she immediately ran and left the Alawin forest with the mangoes that the man had picked for her…

When she finally got out, she unconsciously looked back.

Why am I feeling that… I left something in the forest now that I'm here outside?