Aura (17 page)

Vernon left and Signi got Aura dressed.  She got her to wear her white gown again.  She then led her future sister in law to her brother, who, like Vernon had said, awaited their arrival.  Along with Edwin, Vernon, Chatelaine, and the priest.
Aura was beyond caring about anything at the moment.  She felt lightheaded.  She had eaten nothing all day and had only the alcohol to drink.  The two did not mix well.  She took her place beside Thorn, and repeated her vows with extra care on the pronunciation and delivery.   She wondered whether she would remember her own wedding ceremony as she spoke then decided it would not matter if she did or not.  After all, she would still be married and still be the property of the Lord Thorn.
The priest pronounced the couple before him man and wife, after blessing their marriage, and Thorn smiled.  It was over and Aura was his, by all that was holy and by the laws of man.  He turned to look at her, noticing her for the first time as more than a mere future possession.  He also noted that she was very drunk.  He frowned over that, his eyes snapping in anger at her condition and as he took her into his arms to kiss her.  She passed out against him.  He swore mutely under his breath, lest he scandalize the priest then picked her up to start for what was to be their room for the duration of their stay.
Signi caught him before he got to his destination and pleaded for his attention.  "Thorn, please?"
He glared at his sister as he turned to face her and growled.  "Yes Signi?"  It seemed she somehow knew something about this.
"It was not Aura's fault and if you will take the time to hear my story I can explain everything."
"It seems I suddenly have lots of time on my hands." Thorn remarked dryly then went to put Aura to bed, before returning to his sister.
"Alright Signi, she is sleeping, and since you seem to know so much about it, perhaps you had better tell me all about it."  Thorn demanded.
"She was hysterical when she returned from her ride and she was not fit to attend the wedding because of it.  Vernon gave her a couple of drinks to settle her down, and I guess she reacted strongly towards them."  Signi reported.
"I think that would be putting it mildly.  What was she reacting to or may I ask?"  Thorn wondered if she had reacted to Robert’s attack.  He was suddenly feeling guilty that he had not followed her back to her room as everyone else seemed to thought he should have.
"You, if you must know.  She seemed absolutely terrified of her future, as well as of tonight."  Signi replied.
Signi’s announcement caught Thorn by surprise and he answered.  "After last night, which she did not seem to fear almost at all, I cannot begin to imagine what she might have thought she had to fear."
"She said that she was sore and tired and that she wanted to go home."  Signi watched her brother's face as it cleared and he nodded with sudden understanding.
"She feared I might hurt her Signi.  You will understand better after you have been wed yourself."
Signi did not want to tell her brother that she had a good idea of what he was talking about already because she had heard enough about the relationship between a man and a woman to piece together a picture of her own.  Some of the stories told by servants, and people in general, were graphic enough to paint a very vivid picture, even to a very naive or stupid person.  Signi was neither.
"You had something special planned for her, am I right?"  Signi asked.
"Nothing that cannot wait.  I wanted to tell her that tomorrow we would be leaving for home.  Now I will go to advise Vernon of my plans instead."  He had had other plans as well, but thought better than to voice them to his sister.
"Why so soon?"  Signi wanted to know, she had hoped to spend time with her brother and his bride as a couple to see how they got along.
“I think it would be for the best if she is to start thinking of my home as our home.  She might accept me in her life quicker that way."
Signi nodded.  "I am going to miss her, we have become quite close."
"I am glad," Thorn hugged his sister as if he meant what he had just said, and gave her a wide smile.  "It is a good sign.  It shows she has excellent taste and judgment when it comes to choosing her friends.  We should deal well with each other."
"And when will I get to see you again big brother?"
"Before you wed for sure.  Perhaps for the yuletide if things go as they should.  With luck Aura should be carrying my heir by then.  I think I shall enjoy the task of getting her with child."  Thorn replied with a wide smile.
Signi nodded, smiling at her brother's train of thought, and felt pleased at her part on their matching.  She gave him one last hug and left to go on a bit of a walk.  She wanted to do some thinking on her own.  Thorn was not alone in his attractions towards Aura, but he was by far the safest.  Signi hoped she would have time to tell her this before they left, for her friend had won a special place in her heart and she wanted her to know it.
Thorn joined Vernon as his guest for the evening meal much to his amusement.  Nor, Vernon decided, was he going to make it easy for the newlywed, for while they shared an easy camaraderie, it was seldom that he got the opportunity to tease his favorite in such a manner.
"We are honored by your presence Thorn.  Pray, tell us what is so important that it could drive a bridegroom from his bride on the night of their wedding?  I would have thought you otherwise occupied."  Vernon teased.
"The Lady Aura rests, as you know, and I am reluctant to disturb her.  Besides, I have some news to convey to you Vernon."
"Really?  What else have you done today of importance besides killing one of my fiercest fighters and getting married?"
"As far as doing, I thought that would have been enough.  What I came to tell you is that we are going home tomorrow.  It has been a while since I have spent any amount of time at home, although I have made sure all is well.  I need to take my land in hand.  There is much to do."
"You are telling me now that you have a wife you will not be so available anymore, am I right Thorn?"
"I will be still available, just not so conveniently so."
"Good.  It is what I might have hoped for Aura.  She needs someone to care for her, someone to make her feel she is not so alone."
"I want to make my home hers and I want to share it with her.  I do not want to just leave her on her own to bear my children and raise them."  There were other things that Thorn would have liked to have said, but didn’t.  He wanted to tell his friend that he wanted to spend more time in his own home, raising his own family.  It was time Vernon no longer thought of him as no more than his primary warlord, to be poised and ready to travel at moments notice.
 
"Who dwells in your house during your absence Thorn?"  Vernon asked, knowing he had not yet had time to build much of anything and had little more than what he had heard Aura call a cottage.
"None dwell in my house now, but they will.  Over the winter we will build the main stronghold.  Over the spring and summer we will build our new home.  In the meantime we shall dwell in my house, as it now stands."
"Hardly sounds like the life for a lady like Aura, perhaps you would consider leaving her behind, where she could dwell in comfort."  Vernon teased smoothly.
Thorn just smiled as he countered.  "Would you leave her behind if she were yours Vernon?"
Vernon laughed as he answered.  "Probably not."
Beyond the entertaining conversation, Vernon was actually glad that Thorn had decided to join him.  Thorn was always good company, someone he could speak freely with.  He needed someone like that tonight. 
"Tell me Thorn, as we are alone, I have always thought that beneath Aura's mask of mystery that she hides behind so well, lays a mountain of passion.  Is this so?"
"Only I will ever know the real answer to that."  Thorn replied then gave a smug smile as he added.  "And I am not about to complain about what I have found.  Oh, and Vernon?"
"Yes?"
"Never ask again.  She is my wife, she will never be with you."  Thorn gave a subtle warning.  He wanted everyone to be clear on how he stood when it came to his feelings about Aura, even his Duke.
Vernon looked as if he was taken back a little at Thorn's words. Had he been so obvious?  He was quick to cover his tracks.  The last thing he needed was for his most powerful warlord to think he might be harboring a lust for his wife.
"You need not worry about me Thorn, I would protect her name and body with my life, but you must admit, she is slightly out of place here.  A part of me will always wonder where she came from."
"You have never asked her?  That is very unusual for you."  Thorn was surprised.  Vernon was usually much more curious than that.
"I asked, but she refused to answer."  Vernon admitted.
"Perhaps she hides something."  Thorn stated, more as fact than anything else, for he had felt the same thing about her since the beginning.
Vernon just gave a bark of laughter then, slapping his friend on the back, he teased.  "If she has, she has found the perfect person to hide her secret behind.  Go now to your bride Thorn, although I doubt if she has even woke to have missed you."
"That is another thing Vernon never feed Aura strong spirits again.  She cannot handle it."
Vernon's expression turned grim as he remembered the way he had found Aura before the wedding, and he replied.  "Be happy I did Thorn, you would not have been any more pleased with the way I found her.  She asked, or should I say, she begged for a release from her promise to show up at the ceremony."
"I gather you refused."  Thorn commented with equal grimness.
Vernon smiled to lighten the mood and answered.  "She showed up."
Thorn nodded then made his solitary way up to their room.  He was about to claim his bride, and tomorrow he would take his Lady wife home, and although it was a fair sized house, it was not quite what he had even begun to imagine Aura living in.  He wondered what she would do or say if he invited her to help him design their new home.  He wondered what she would suggest.  She seemed so unusual it might be one way of getting to know what she was really like.

Aura woke to a pounding headache, one for which she felt justified in cursing Vernon for.
  After all, he was the one who had poured three cups of alcohol down her throat.  She moved her head, in an effort to find a more comfortable position and gave a slight groan as the movement caused the pain to intensify.
Thorn opened his eyes at the movement, as the sound of her voice woke him, and he looked at his suffering wife.  He knew and understood what she was going through for he had often suffered from excesses in the past.  He tried to think of a way to help then turned to her for ideas, as none of his had ever worked for him.
"What would you have me do?"  He almost whispered.
"In my backpack," Aura pointed to her old sack in the corner with a shaky finger.  "There is a bottle of aspirin.  Get me two tablets and a glass of water.  You will find the pills in one of the secret compartments."
Thorn had no idea what she was talking about so he brought her the whole bag and she got the bottle herself.  A few seconds later she reminded him about the water and he hurried to fetch it for her.  He then watched with interest as she took the pills and washed them down with the fluid.
"Thank you."  She expressed her gratitude as she passed him the cup and set her head carefully back on the pillow.
"Is there anything else I can do?"  He asked in concern as he took the cup and set it aside.
"No, I just need quiet now.  Oh Thorn, it hurts."  A tear slid from eyes that burned.  This was a pain beyond Aura's experience, though she had heard from others that it was excruciating.  She vowed she would never doubt them again.
Thorn sighed as he placed a gentle caring hand on her cheek, and with a thumb, rubbed the tears from her face.  "I know." He slid back into the bed and took her into his arms to cradle her against his chest, kissing her on the forehead much as he would have a sick child in need of comfort.  Unfortunately his feelings for her did not match his actions and it was making him very uncomfortable. 
After a time Aura fell back to sleep and Thorn slipped out of the bed to walk over to the window where he looked out into the early morning sunlight.  It was a very new day he decided, much too early for a new bridegroom to be up and about yet.  He turned and as his gaze fell on his sleeping wife.  With a sigh he decided it was not as early as he had thought.   It would have been different if he would have been able to bed her properly, but she was in no condition to welcome his attentions.  He dressed and left the room to give his troops their orders to ride.  By the time they had broken camp Aura would be awake.
Aura winced in her semi sleep state as she heard Thorn carefully close the door behind him.  She sighed as she snuggled deeper under the covers and gave a weak smile of triumph.  True, her head was aching, but even foremost in her mind was her desire not to have to live through a repeat of the night before, at least not quite yet. She just was not ready for another of his lessons.  She still blushed every time she thought of her behavior that night.  It was hard to believe that she had reacted as she had to his touch and, just as hard to accept now, was her craving to feel him next to her.  She had to find a way to escape.  Perhaps these feelings would go away if he was not around to remind her of what he could make her want.
Soon after Thorn left Aura got up and dressed before he returned and caught her still undressed or in the process of changing.  She knew that he was well aware of what her body looked like and how every inch of her felt, but she felt awkward when it came to being naked before him.  She sighed as she realized that it was a condition she had better get used to, for Thorn was unlikely to be content to just hold her as he had the last night.  It was this that she feared more than anything, her future as his wife and that she might come to like it.
When Thorn did return Aura was sitting on the side of the bed studying the plain gold band on her finger, the one that symbolized her marriage to him.  She had been surprised, due to the speed of the ceremony that he had managed to get a ring so quickly, but he had somehow.  She wondered if he had gotten it made or whether he had been given it from his mother to give to his future bride.  She had noticed that he was quite unlike his brother and sister for looks and had summarized that they could not have shared identical parents.  Not with Thorn being as dark as he was when Edwin and Signi were so blond.
Aura was, in fact, so preoccupied with her thoughts that she did not even hear Thorn enter the room, or notice him as he walked up to her side.  He watched her for a few moments, feeling his chest swell with the pride of ownership then cupped the back of her head as he sat beside her.  She looked at him in confusion, catching the look of tenderness he held within his eyes.  He reached out to pull her into his arms to hold her closer as he kissed her.
It was happening to her again!  He had no more than to touch her and she could feel the fire burning through her veins.  She could not let this happen.  She was not going to allow herself to become so ruled by her emotions that she no longer had control over her own body.  She pulled away from him and closed her eyes as she shook her head, seeking to clear her mind.
"Please Thorn, no."
He gave a light frown at her dismissal of what was meant to be a tender moment between them and sighed in momentary resignation.  They were very newly wed, he thought, perhaps she would understand better what it was that he offered as they became better acquainted.  He held his hand out to her as a peace offering as he spoke.
"Come Aura, it is time for us to go home."
"Home?" Aura repeated, sounding bemused then began to move about collecting a few odds and ends as she continued.  "I shall need a few moments to gather my belongings."
"Can I help?"  Thorn offered, not knowing what else to do.
Aura did not want his help.  At the moment she did not want him anywhere near her.
"Shouldn’t you be tending to your men?  I can come to you as soon as I am ready."
"The men await our arrival and from what I can see, you will not be very long in your packing so they need not wait long before we all leave.  I will wait here with you then I will carry your belongings downstairs."
Aura shot him an indignant look and he smiled in response.  "Nor do you need to tell me you are capable of doing it yourself.  I am quite aware of this.  I am also aware of the fact that you are altogether too independent for your own good."
Aura shrugged an indifferent shoulder, finished packing her clothing into her rolled up blanket then, as she looked at him, spoke.  "That is everything.  Do I have time to speak to Vernon and Chatelaine before we leave?  I would like to thank them for their hospitality during my brief stay here."
"Of course, if you feel it is necessary, but it may take a while before you can see them.  They are late in rising today.  Of course they would also understand if we left without saying anything to them."
"The least I could do is thank them Thorn.  They took me into their home and treated me as an equal without even knowing who I am."
He nodded in agreement.  "Perhaps you are right, besides, Vernon did bring us together.  For that alone he deserves our thanks."
She stopped for a moment, and thought, before responding.  "Second thought perhaps we should just leave.  After all, there are some things that he has done that I am not at all pleased with.  I presume this will also be a long trip."
"Several days."  Thorn informed her.  Inwardly he smiled.  He knew what she was thinking.  She was not pleased with Vernon’s methods of matchmaking.  He couldn’t blame her, though he was happy that she was his.
Aura nodded as she picked up the empty packsack and held it to herself as she spoke.  "Then we better start so we can get it over with."
She led the way out of the building with quick, almost running, steps stopping only when she reached their horses.  She smiled at Thorn's squire as he passed her the reigns to her mount and then, turning to her husband, she reached for her roll.  Thorn smiled at her display of independence as she rejected his offer to secure her belonging for her, insisting that she do it herself.  She also insisted on mounting her horse without aid.
"I am ready."  She announced when she had settled.
Thorn nodded, suppressing a smile so she would not think he was laughing at her then mounted his own horse, an animal that she felt almost made hers look half grown.  The warhorse stood quietly beneath his master, awaiting the command to move and she acknowledged the breeding and training it must have taken to get him to do the things he did.  She had read books on how important a good warhorse was to a warrior.  She knew he would have to have been one of the best, for she had a feeling that Thorn would not have settled for less.
Thorn smiled down at Aura, exhibiting a fondness for her that he wished she would acknowledge.  He watched as she admired his mount and knew that she recognized the great stallion for what he was.  She was, he acknowledged a complicated woman, and there were so many things about her that pleased him.  There were so many things that he was going to have to learn about her before he could say that he really knew her.
Signi called out to Aura from the doorway as she ran to her side to pass a message of farewell on to her.
"I wanted to talk to you before you left, but did not expect you to leave quite this early.  Everything will be all right, but only if you let it be.  Please Aura, promise me that you will give it a chance?"
Aura thought for a moment as she looked down at her sister in law from her position on the mare then gave a quick jerky nod as she replied.  "Only if you promise to visit us at Christmas."
Signi beamed up at her as she promised she would then ran around to her brother, and was lifted onto his horse as he wrapped her in his arms to give her a big bear hug.
"I never get to see enough of you big brother.  It seems you no sooner arrive than I am bidding you farewell.  Promise that you will think of me from time to time?"
"How could I not?  You have given me the greatest gift a sister could give a brother?  Be happy Signi, and remember us in your prayers.  I will send an escort for you at Yule time."  Thorn promised.
Signi gave him one last kiss and hug then leaned over to hug Aura one last time before they parted.  In doing so she left her with one last message. "I am going to miss you so much, remember, you are loved dearly by all of us.  Take care of Thorn for me."  Signi then sat back straight on her brother's horse and he lowered her onto the ground, giving her hand a fond squeeze of farewell, and a smile of gratitude as he did.
Aura held her trembling lip between her teeth and urged her horse forward.  It was either that, or she was going to make a complete fool of herself by bursting into tears.  She was loved!  If only she could believe that.  No one had ever, in truth, ever told her that they loved her before.  Now she was headed for a life alien to everything she had ever known and as she rode a tear trickled from the side of one of her eyes.
Other than the silent tears, Aura gave no indication of the turmoil going on inside of her mind.  She held her chin high and rode, looking as if she was in an equestrian competition, her posture rigid beside the more relaxed position of her husband.  The men fell in around and behind them.  She did not even look back to see her friend waving her last farewell to them as they started their journey.  She wondered if she would be capable of handling what life was about to hand her.  She then smiled wryly.  She did not have much of a choice in the matter, did she?
Thorn set a fast, hard pace, for his men and his wife, deciding to follow her earlier advice to get the trip over with, and despite several rest stops during the day, he noticed Aura visibly droop in her saddle.  She had not expected the trip to be so taxing.  It had not seemed that way with Vernon, but then he never seemed to spend the time Thorn did in the saddle.  He rode up to her side and for the first time since they started he spoke with her.
"You are tired Aura, I will have the troop stop and set up camp."
In a cutting manner Aura responded.  "Do not do me any favors Thorn, I will not thank you for them.  Nor will your men if you show them you are going soft."
"My men will not think any less of me for my stopping to care for my wife."  Thorn snapped back.
"I guess money can buy anything, even in this time and age.  Am I right Thorn?  Even the respect and loyalty of your men?"
Thorn's lips tightened at the intended slur and he controlled his temper with difficulty as he replied.  "Have it your way Aura, we will continue to ride.  You will find; my wife, that the loyalty and respect shown to me by my men is earned, not bought.  As shall your love."
"I will never love you."  Aura hissed stubbornly.
"That is not the way I remember it."  Thorn taunted with a smug smile and a heated look.  He then watched her face go up in flames with a satisfaction born out of scoring a major point.
"What happened that night had nothing to do with love,” Aura snapped back.
Thorn gave a hoot of laughter and replied.  "You might know a lot Aura, but you have a lot more to learn, especially when it comes to life and the types of feelings involved in the type of attraction we have for each other."
"I am not attracted to you."  Aura denied.
"Really?"  Thorn caressed her with another heated look and she squirmed beneath his gaze as he huskily suggested, "perhaps it is time for another lesson."
"Lesson?"  Aura shot him a horrified look.
"In just how attracted you really are to me."  Thorn reminded her.
It was not a subject she wanted brought up and her face flared an even deeper shade of red.  To cover her feelings she urged her horse faster as she snapped in irritation.  "School is out as far as this student is concerned."