Savior (6 page)

              Alyssa, for as long as you wish to stay here.” He smiled at her and dipped the last of his bread into the soup while watching her eyes intently.

              His words had eased her pain and she smiled softly to him. Never had any human been so open with her. She wondered if all humans lived as he did and decided that she should learn more about them.

              At the mention of the elves her ears perked up and she remembered the bag. “Please excuse me for one moment.” She leapt to her feet and quickly disappeared into the bedroom. After some rustling Alyssa emerged with a small package wrapped in a fine blue cloth. She handed it to him and sat down gracefully. She had never given a human a present and so she wondered if it would be okay. Alyssa ran her fingers through her hair and undid the loose string holding it together. Her curls cascaded down her shoulders and she giggled as they bounced against her skin.

              Marcus removed the blue covering to reveal two books, one with a faded red cover and the other with a green one. The title of the red book, Le Morte Del Evannia, was written in delicate silver script.

              The other book with that looked as if it had been made of the green of the forest itself was titled, El Damine Erectus. He cradled the books softly in his hands, “Ah you must have paid a visit to Carl, he is a very nice fellow but a bit strange at times. I have been waiting a long time for these books, the red one tells of the death of a dark emperor at the hands of the elves, the green book speaks of the origin of the elvish people.” He thanked her for the wonderful present and placed the books upon the edge of the table. Questions concerning Alyssa’s past whirled though his mind, though he had decided to stay his inquiries for the time being.

              She nodded and smiled happily. “Who was the woman in the blue dress that was watching you?” she said as she looked into the glowing flame of a nearby torch. Her eyes became wide and she covered her mouth. “I…I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” Alyssa quickly looked away and readied herself for the punishment that was sure to follow such an outburst. She had no right to ask such a personal question of her host. Ruben used a belt when she had spoken out of turn; she wondered what Marcus would do.

              Marcus formulated the answer to her question in his mind but before speaking he realized the look of terror in her beautiful eyes. By her apology he assumed that she thought the question was too forward, but did not quite understand why she appeared to be so scared. He took one of her delicate hands and placed it between his as he smiled sweetly at her. He could feel her soft fingers trembling and looked up to see a small tear trickle down her cheek.

              “Please Alyssa, do not be afraid of me, I have sworn never to hurt you and I fully intend to uphold my vow.” He released her and hand rose from his chair to walk behind the little angel and laid his hands upon her shoulders. He could feel her try to flinch away from him and released his gentle touch and retook his seat.

              “I know it must be very hard for you to trust that the last thing I’d ever want to do would be to hurt you, though I hope you can come to see it someday Alyssa. Anyway, to answer your question she was simply a minor noble with a foolish fancy.” With that he took up the used dishes upon the table and brought them into the kitchen to be washed.

              Alyssa abruptly rose from her seat and walked into the bedroom. She grabbed her cloak and ran out of the house as fast as her legs would carry her. She wrapped her cloak around her body and found herself racing to the forest, her heart pounding in her ears. Her legs felt numb as she ran through the cold river. Soon though the water was up to her hips and she had to swim across. The muddy bank fell away beneath her feet as she pulled herself out of the river. Branches and leaves whipped across her face as she continued running deeper into the forest. In the darkness that surrounded her though she finally fell to her knees and slumped wearily against a tree. Her breath came in short gasps and her body trembled in the bitter cold wind.

              Marcus watched sadly as the door closed behind her and sighed. He had not meant to frighten or anger the little angel; he only wished to comfort her. He decided she might be very upset if he went looking for her so he finished cleaning up from dinner and set to reading one of the books she had given him. He flipped though the delicate pages but his mind could not concentrate on the words. Marcus thought about Alyssa and all the evil things that had been done to her. He hadn’t seen or heard anything more than what had happened the first day when he had come to the manor, yet he could imagine the horrid acts Ruben had done. The torches upon the dark walls of the library flickered and danced, forming living shadows around the room.

              Marcus stared into the flames as his worry for the angel increased steadily. She had now been gone over an hour and dark clouds loomed in the sky. Suddenly the clouds exploded and their fury roared through the once still air. Marcus had not seen her take any sort of protective clothing with her, so he decided that he could not let her stand the dreary conditions, even if she was afraid of him. Marcus strapped on his sword and left the cabin in attempt to find the poor angel. Marcus barely noticed the freezing cold rain pounding against his skin as he raced across the field and into the forest. Searching franticly, he finally found a muddy footprint in the ground. He spotted another and another until he could make out a trail of them leading deeper into the trees. His feet splashed dirt and water into the air as he desperately tried to find Alyssa before her tracks washed away with the pouring rain.

Marcus could hear the faint sounds of sobbing in the distance and quickly found their owner.

              Alyssa sat at the base of a large oak tree with her knees tucked under her chin and shivering profusely.  The white feathers of her wings were completely soaked with water and were turning a light shade of blue. She had her cloak wrapped desperately around her body in attempt to shelter herself from the cold,  though its fabric was so soaked it only made her shiver more. She had not noticed his approach and only looked up as he sat at the base of the tree beside her. The rain made it difficult to tell if the streams of water running down her face were tears, but he had guessed they were. Marcus unlatched his cape from around his neck and wrapped it tightly around her trembling body. The black material, ever warm and dry, comforted her slightly as a small smile touched her lips. He wanted so badly to wrap his arms around her and warm her body, though he knew she would again shy away from him. Marcus rested against the tree next to her and watched the lightning streak though the sky.

              After a few moments he felt a trembling arm wrap around his neck and she started to speak in a shaky voice, “Please, take me back.” Marcus nodded at her and scooped the little angel up into his arms.  They quickly walked out of the forest and to the cabin. Marcus pushed the door open with his shoulder and carried her into the bedroom and placed her upon the bed. He provided her with a few towels and watched her as she curled up upon the bed, still shivering. Deciding to let her dry herself and rest, he left the room and the door clicked closed behind him. Marcus set to making a fire in the large hearth and prepared hot tea for them both.

              Alyssa listened to Marcus as he left the bedroom. She could hear the sound of his boots as he walked into the library. In the silence of the room, her very essence ached. Her body felt numb from both the cold and fear. Her wet hair was plastered to the sides of her face. She held her legs to her chest and shook uncontrollably as she sobbed.

              She wondered why she had run in the first place. Ruben’s face flashed before her eyes. But Marcus wasn’t Ruben. He was good, and sweet, and kind. Ruben was a monster. But Marcus’s every touch, every word, reminded her of Ruben. And so she had tried to escape. But then Marcus came looking for her, she reminded herself. He had been worried about her. Ruben would have never done that. He hardly ever looked for her. Unless he wanted what he always took? Her body burned from his touch. No matter how hard she had scrubbed over the years, the filth would never leave. As she shut her eyes tightly in a futile effort to push back the memories, she could hear him breathing loudly in her ears and the burning between her legs.

              Alyssa opened her eyes and scrambled out of the bed. She was shaking and the memories had become more vivid. They replayed in her mind endlessly until she felt as if she would go insane. She knew Ruben’s smell, his touch, everything about him. And it sickened her to the core. Never in her life had she hated anyone as much. Even the man that had kept her in a cage and paraded her around for people to gawk and stare at was better than Ruben. She should have known what the man wanted as she, the dragon, and the unicorn watched the cages disappear in the distance. The unicorn knew, she had been sure of it. He warned her about the humans long before Ruben ever touched her. But she hadn’t listened.

              She hated herself for being so stupid.

              Marcus stood and went to another bookshelf in the library. His simple movement brought her back into the present. There was no Ruben in the forest. He could never touch her again. There was only Marcus, and he had never tried to hurt her. She doubted that he ever would. His touch was gentle and she could feel no bad intentions within him.

              Alyssa removed her wet dress and cloak then tossed them both into a pile on the floor. She found a sheet in a drawer and wrapped it tightly around her body. The cream that Angie had given her remained in the bag and she picked it up and walked out of the bedroom. She paused momentarily at the door to the library before walking in.

              The room smelled of tea and on a table sat a cup of it waiting for her. Alyssa took the tea between her hands and knelt down in front of the fire. She was afraid to meet Marcus’s eyes and so she focused on the rug beneath her as she sipped her tea. Alyssa placed the cup upon the fire’s hearth and looked into the flames. As her wings started to dry in the heat of the fire she dipped her fingers into the cream and began slowly working it into her feathers. “Why are you friends with Ruben?” she asked softly without raising her eyes. Marcus looked up from his book and smiled inwardly at himself as he saw that she had drunk her tea. “I would not exactly call him a friend, more of a business associate. I once required a certain powder from him. This powder only came from the graces of unicorns and, seeing as they are so rare, it was necessary for me to obtain this powder from him. I use it in the process of making swords; the powder helps them to become more durable. I cannot say I much enjoyed my relationship with him, though if I wanted this important material, he was the only way I could acquire it at the time.”

              She giggled and shook her head in disbelief. “So it was you that wanted the powder that day,” she said as she met his eyes. “If Tiernan had known, he would have just given it to you. It would have been much less painful to just give it rather than Ruben taking it the way he did. But like all the other times before, his horn healed quickly. How long have you known him?”

              Marcus sighed heavily at her response. He remembered the sad unicorn that was prized by Ruben, though he had not known he forcefully removed the special powder from the creature’s horn.

              “I suppose it has been about eleven or twelve years now. Ruben was parading the unicorn through the market when I first met him. I offered to buy the creature from Ruben but he would have none of it, so

              I simply bought the small amount of horn powder from him. I frequently required this material, so every so often I visited him at his home to purchase it from him.”

              Alyssa smiled at him. “Tiernan would have liked to come live here. He used to give me the powder to mix with spring water to drink when I would get hurt as a child.”

              “Yes, it does make good medicine; this is another reason why I use it on my swords. To heal. The powder has the ability to relax the muscles of the person ingesting it. This helped me subdue a person without killing them, plus the medicine helps to heal whatever wounds my blade has inflicted. I have no desire to harm any creature, but sometimes it is necessary.” He sipped his tea and got up from his wooden chair to take a seat on the floor a few feet away from the angel.

              Alyssa smiled at him and shook the last few droplets of water from her wings. “Thank you for coming to find me Marcus,” she said shyly.

              Marcus dipped his finger into his lukewarm tea and swirled it around a few times before looking up at her. The flames of the fire flickered in her soft blue eyes. He laid his hand atop hers and smiled slightly.

              “I could not let you be out in that terrible weather by yourself Alyssa. I understand that you have a great fear of men, and you have every right to. My words may be empty in your mind, but I will never harm you. It may take you a long time to truly believe that, but I hope you can one day.”

              “I think I will someday,” she smiled sweetly at him. Her tongue touched her pink lips as she thought about what her heart had been telling her to do. She leaned toward him a few inches and closed her eyes as her mouth opened ever so slightly.

              But she quickly turned her head to the side at the last moment and pulled away from him. Her mind was screaming at her to kiss him but she resisted the urge and applied some more cream to her feathers. “I can’t wait for these things to grow again. I actually haven’t had a full set in years. Not since my last escape attempt anyway.” Alyssa giggled at him and tickled his nose with the tip of her longest feather.