Savior (11 page)

              “’Tis market day,” Angie explained as she followed the girl’s gaze. After a few moments her eyes settled back on the angel. “I’m headed up north for bit. I shouldn’t be gone more than a week. My sister,

              Abigail, will be having her baby soon. I plan to be there and help in whatever way I can. You be careful now, don’t get all your dresses dirty before I have a chance to make you new ones,” she warned sternly.

              Both women knew Angie wasn’t just warning her about getting dirty.

              “I promise not to roll around in any mud until you get back,” Alyssa replied. For the first time her stomach didn’t hurt and her mind didn’t wander at the mention of a child. She was genuinely happy for the woman. “Will I get to meet the baby?”

              “Absolutely. My sister would love to meet you, and I bet the baby would too. And not just because of your… um… unusual attributes,” Angie replied in a hushed whisper. There were strangers about. She didn’t want to put Alyssa in any danger by mentioning her wings.

              The girl blushed and nodded. “I would like to meet them too.”

              “Then it’s settled. As soon as the baby is old enough, and my sister is strong again, I will bring them here and we will all have some tea,” Angie replied with a warm smile. She pulled Alyssa into a tight hug before saying goodbye to them both. Angie patted Luca’s forehead before turning to go.

              As she watched the woman leave, Alyssa stroked Luca’s cheek. “What would he like to eat?” she whispered softly to him. Luca shrugged and followed her through the clusters of people. “These look good,” she said as she fingered a few white chicken eggs. She paid for them and the man gave her a basket to keep them safe. Alyssa moved on to the next cart, Luca close beside her. She bought a jar of honey from the woman and then a loaf of warm bread from the man next to her. Next came butter and fresh orange juice.

              They rounded the corner and Alyssa walked up to a man selling meat. He had rows of sausages, hams of all sizes, and many different large chunks of steak. “Does Marcus eat meat?” she whispered to

              Luca as the man finished with a customer. Luca shrugged helplessly.

              “Hello there miss, would you care for some fresh ham?” he asked her. Alyssa smiled at the man and nodded. He wrapped it for her and handed her the package. “It’s already cooked so you don’t have to worry about that miss. It’ll be one silver dime please.” She handed him the money and tentatively put the package in the basket. Her hands felt dirty touching the meat, but she reminded herself that it was for

              Marcus and that if he liked it then it would be okay. Alyssa thanked the man and then followed Luca to another section of carts.

              They pushed their way through a bunch of playing children and their doting mothers before finally finding a calmer part of the mass. Alyssa looked around, her eyes settling on a man selling a few animals. Luca accidentally bumped into her and looked up. His body instantly turned cold and then he went numb.

              “Want to buy her?” the man asked Alyssa as he followed her gaze to one of his horses.

              “Please,” Luca whispered to her, his voice cracking through his pain. “Marcus wouldn’t mind if that's what you’re worried about. Please save her Alyssa.”

              The angel nodded softly and forced herself to look away from the small gray mare’s visible ribs and protruding hips. “How much?” she asked, her voice hoarse with the tears that she forced herself to hold back.

              The man looked her over, his pale lips curving into a smile. “Yer a pretty little thing, so how about one silver coin? On account of those curls of yers.”

              Alyssa blushed modestly and paid the man. He gave her the end of the rope that was wrapped around the mare’s face. “It’s okay, you’re fine now,” Alyssa whispered softly to her. The mare stared back with cold, dead eyes. She took the rope off the horse’s face and looked to the still stunned Luca.

              “Let’s go home,” she whispered softly to him. He nodded and led them away from the commotion to the silence of the fields. Alyssa waited until they had left town to talk to the mare.

              “What’s your name?” she asked.

              The horse only stared at her. Luca nuzzled the gray mare reassuringly. “It’s okay, she can understand us,” he told her.

              The mare’s eyes widened. “How? No human has ever been able to.”

              Alyssa giggled and pulled her cloak back a little to expose her wings. “Well, I’m not exactly human. I’m Alyssa and this is Luca. What’s your name?”

              “Iris,” the young mare said shyly.

              “Please to meet you,” Alyssa said as she touched the mare’s face gently. Iris smiled at her and they walked back to the forest. “You’re welcome to stay with us as long as you want. You’re free now though,” she said, remembering Marcus’s words as he had led her over the same hill they were now walking on.

              “I would like to stay,” the mare squeaked meekly. Luca nickered softly to her and caressed her neck with his cheek. He was being gentle, sincere, and sweet. The mare nuzzled him back and Alyssa found herself, with some surprise, missing Marcus. They passed through the gate and Luca led the mare to the herd while Alyssa ran to the house in order to make Marcus breakfast before he woke up. She quickly scrambled a few eggs, threw the bread onto the table and sliced up some of the ham.

              Although she was a strict vegetarian, Alyssa couldn’t resist taking a small bite of the meat. It tasted sweet and delicious in her mouth but guilt quickly overcame her before she could sample some more of it. She quickly washed her hands of it and laid the rest of the meal onto the table. The center of the table needed a decoration so she ran outside and picked a large bouquet of daisies from the field. She placed them on the table, poured some of the orange juice into a glass and then disappeared outside before Marcus saw her. He made some noise as he moved around the bedroom, but she was already outside lying in the grass by that time.

              Alyssa lay in the flowers, their softly fragrant petals brushing against her body in the summer breeze. Her short sheer dress fluttered against her legs. The little golden flowers embroidered over her stomach and thighs glittered in the rising sun. It was late morning, but she couldn’t tell the actual time.

              She heard Luca grazing with the other horses near her. Iris was with them and Alyssa heard the mare munch softly on the dew-covered grass. She sighed as her skin warmed in the gentle morning sun.

              Marcus yawned softly and wiped the sleep from his eyes. The sun was already in the window and the birds were singing their sweet songs within the trees. He rose from his makeshift bed and returned it to the closet. The familiar scent of cooked ham wafted through the pleasant morning air and Marcus stepped out of the bedroom. He remembered hearing Alyssa wake earlier that morning but was not sure where she had gone. Marcus walked to the table and was taken slightly aback when he saw what had been so carefully laid upon it. By his chair was a fine plate covered with hardy portions of ham and scrambled eggs.

              A smaller plate held a few slices of warm bread and several pats of golden butter. Fresh honey had been set out next to the bread in a small, glass pitcher. Centered on the table was a lovely bouquet of cut daises in a fine crystal vase, filling the air with their gentle sweetness. Marcus smiled to himself and looked around for Alyssa and finally spotted her though one of the cabin windows playing with Luca outside. There was a smaller, somewhat malnourished, horse near them that he did not recognize. She was happily trotting alongside them, stopping every few steps to munch on some green grass.

              Marcus watched them for a while and then sat down at the table before the delicious-looking food cooled. He spread some of the soft butter on the bread and drizzled it with the fresh honey from the pitcher. The warm bread tasted wonderful and he moved on to the eggs and ham. When he had finished the delicious meal he washed the dishes and retrieved a small pot for the daises. Marcus waved his hand in front of the flowers and small roots began to spring out from the base of their stems. He filled the pot with some soil and planted the flowers within it. He set the pot back at the center of the table and went outside to join Alyssa and Luca.

              The angel chased Luca through the flowers. He kicked up his heels and laughed loudly as she almost caught up with him. The older horses rolled their eyes, but that just gave Luca even more reason to play. He neighed to Alyssa and spun in circles a few times before collapsing onto the grass. Alyssa giggled and lay down next to him, her head resting against his stomach. She closed her eyes and ran a few fingers through Luca’s silky mane. A few foals chased each other nearby.

              The angel watched them and wondered how they didn’t trip over their long gangly legs. Iris caught up to them and continued grazing as Luca watched her. “Slow down, you could get sick eating so much in such a short period of time,” he warned her. Iris nodded and lay near him. He could tell that she was beginning to become infatuated with him but quickly brushed it off as nonsense. Hazel was a good stallion that had come to join them months before, Luca decided to introduce Iris to him soon.

              “Have you ever been wild?” Alyssa called to the small mare.

              “I was born tame and I’ve stayed that way ever since. Will I be ridden here?” she asked cautiously.

              Luca laughed and shook his head no. “Being wild means you get to decide when, or even if, you want to be ridden.” He exchanged smiles with the mare. “Would you ever like to ride me Alyssa?” he asked her softly. His offer was genuine, and any other time she would have leapt at the chance to ride him. But she couldn’t.

              Alyssa shook her head no and smiled at the stallion. “Thank you Luca, but no thanks.”

              He was disappointed. “Have you ever ridden a horse?”

              She shook her head no.

              “Then why can’t you now?”

              Alyssa smiled at the stallion and kissed his cheek. “I promised a dear friend once that he would be the only horse type of creature that I would ever ride. I’m sorry Luca, but I intend to keep my promise.”

              “You are a lady of your word and I respect that deeply,” he said as he nuzzled her cheek. “What do you mean by horse type of creature?”

              “My friend was a unicorn,” she replied.

              Luca stared at her. “There are still unicorns in the world? I thought they all died out long ago.”

              Alyssa shook her head. “He was the only unicorn in captivity, just as I was the only angel. There are at least twenty unicorns that maidens and hunters haven’t captured yet, that I know of though. There could be thousands. The unicorn only told me of twenty. But even twenty, given the right protection, could turn into hundreds or even thousands in a few lifetimes. They grow to be very old after all.” Luca nodded and stood up to greet Marcus. Alyssa hadn’t even noticed him approaching, but the others had.

              Many of the horses nickered to him in greeting, some of the foals even stopping their play to watch him pass. Luca nuzzled the man as Alyssa stood and went to Iris.

              “He won’t hurt you,” she whispered to the frightened mare. Iris nodded back and approached

              Marcus cautiously. “Her name’s Iris, Luca and I bought her in town this morning,” she told Marcus as the mare continued walking toward him. She sensed the good within him and relaxed.

              “Oh, and I borrowed this. I owe you a few silver pieces,” she said as she tossed the bag of money to him. “And Angie’s sister is having a baby.”

              “Not with the babies again,” Luca whined. He collapsed into a pile on the grass. One of the playing foals ran into him and tripped haphazardly onto his back. “This is why I’m celibate,” he said wearily as the foal tried in vain to untwist his legs from the fall. He glared at the spindly limbs and tried to stand but again fell. Alyssa walked to him and pried them gently apart.

              “There you go little guy,” she said to the smiling foal.

              “Thank you much miss angel,” he said gratefully. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed the white star on his forehead. He giggled and pranced away, his cheeks quickly turning a dark red.

              Alyssa walked to Marcus and petted Iris’s face as she stood in front of him. “Hello Marcus, how was your breakfast?” Part of her could still not believe that she made him breakfast. With Ruben her helping with the meals was expected, what she had done for Marcus was completely of her own free will. The choice to do something or not was a completely new concept for the young angel. For years humans had told her what to wear, what to eat, and everything else that they could dictate. Pleasing

              Marcus made her happy because she wanted him to be happy. There was no punishment involved if she didn’t make him that way, and her payment was just a smile and some gratitude for her being nice to him.

              She watched those lips of his shift gracefully into a smile and she was instantly overcome with a sudden desire to kiss him. Alyssa pushed it aside though and promised herself that she would kiss his cheek later that day.