Woman Beheld (4 page)

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she replied, giving him a sad smile. “I don’t know what happened to her, but she had quite a trauma. Still, you got her to me in time. Between the two of us, we have given them all a chance at life.”

“I hope so.” Daffyd scrubbed his face with his hands before thrusting his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost her now. Already, I can feel my body attuning itself to hers. I look at her and I can’t help but reach out and touch her smooth skin.”

Standing, he paced the room for a few minutes before finally settling himself on the bed beside Elle. “I find that I want her. I need her more than I ever thought possible. As a defender, I thought I would never need anyone as much as I already need this woman.” He turned to face Alia, unable to keep his emotions from showing on his face. “What will I do if she can’t accept me? How will I continue?”

“There is no good answer to that,” Alia said with a sigh. “As always, you will do what you must. Relax. Give her time. You two were meant to be together. Even the Fates have decreed that, have they not? Eventually, she will accept you. She was jealous of our connection, you know. Somehow, she knew that I have had feelings for you.” Reaching up, she rubbed her eyes. “I know you can only marry the woman who can match you in every way or you will never age. After centuries of defending this planet, death must be a release. While I love you, I could never stay with you knowing that you would stay just as you are while I grew old. I couldn’t take knowing that you could give up your chance at a real life because I wasn’t strong enough or woman enough to let you go.”

A single tear fell from her golden lashes. “I have loved you these last ten years that I have served you and your people. But,” she added, “I love you enough to want you to be happy and let you go.”

“I don’t know what to say, Alia.” He covered her hand with his. He’d never once looked upon her as anything but a trusted friend. Apparently, she knew that.

“Just say that you will latch onto this woman and never let her go.” Alia smiled sadly. “She is your life, your salvation and your chance to grow old. Do not let this opportunity slip through your fingers. No matter what kind of misunderstandings you have, don’t be stubborn. Stand your ground, love her, and never let her go.”

“I promise you, Alia, I will not.” Daffyd squeezed her fingers before releasing her hand. “Perhaps you should leave for a while. Have some time to yourself.” He didn’t want to make her stay here with him if it would hurt her. She was his friend and he would sooner hack off a limb than cause her undue pain.

“To get over you?” She smiled and shook her head. “I did that a long time ago. I came to grips that I was not the one for you when you barely acknowledged that I was in the vicinity every time I came to treat one of your servants.” She gave a one shoulder shrug. “Unlike some of the other women who do not care for you, but want you for the status of being with a defender,
I
know the signs.”

She glanced over at Elle. “Already, she distracts you.” She smiled that special smile all women get when they feel as though they are imparting a secret to an ignorant male. “You can barely stand to take your gaze from her face and you touch her every chance you get. You never did that with me or any other woman I have seen you with over the years.” Her expression turned sad, once again. “Knowing that I was not the woman you needed was a difficult thing to come to terms with, yet I managed. As will she.”

Alia stood and cupped his jaw. Leaning down, she kissed him on the cheek. “Now, I can say that I have kissed a defender,” she said before turning to the door. “Take care of her. She is going to need it. She should stay in bed for at least three days. Send for me if she has any difficulties. I will come immediately.” She stopped before leaving the room. “Call me when it is her time. I swear I will do everything in my power to see that her babies are born healthy.” She gave him another smile. “Just think, in a few months you will be the father of two. Keep that in mind. You might want to see about designing a nursery for them.”

Daffyd watched as she left the room, her head high. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve either of them. Still, he had apparently done something right. Bowing his head, he thanked every the gods for them both.

After a moment, he lifted his head his heart slamming against his ribs as something Alia said finally sank in. He would be a father soon. It was time he saw to the remodeling and cleaning of the old nursery. It had been at least seven hundred years since a child was born in this castle.

Standing, he practically ran to the door. Sticking his head out into the hallway, he glared at Samau for a moment. “What are you doing just standing there, man? We have work to do. Call in the workers. We must fix the nursery and the birthing room as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Defender,” Samau replied. As usual, there was no inflection at all in his voice. However, there was a tell-tale twinkle in his eyes. “Finally, we have a mistress,” he said as he turned to hurry away. “It’s about time.”

Elle woke to the sound of complete silence. Sitting up, she glanced around before looking down at herself. “Oh. My. God. Where in the hell are my clothes?” She pressed her lips together, her face burning with mortification. “If he undressed me, I swear to God, super hero or not, I will kill him.” Who gave him permission to undress her? He should have just woke her up. How would she ever face him again, knowing that he’d seen her huge body, looking like some beached whale while he stripped her naked to put her in this frilly tent that he no doubt called a nightgown?

Sitting up, she eased her legs over the side of the bed, preparing to stand.

“What are you doing?” A strange woman asked as she hurried to set down the tray she’d carried into the room. “You shouldn’t be up. The healer said that you should remain in bed for three days.” She clucked her tongue. “Are you wanting to lose your babes, then?”

“No, but I don’t want to wet the bed, either.” Elle raised her brow and attempted to stare the woman down.

“Wet the—oh!” Her face turned red. “I’m certain you wouldn’t do such a thing.” Bending down, she reached under the bed and pulled out a chamber pot.

“No.” Elle held out her hand and shook her head. “Absolutely not. I am not using that thing. Surely, you people have a bathroom in this place?”

God, please tell me this is not a backward world with no plumbing and no electricity.

Of course it isn’t, you silly girl.
There was that woman’s voice in her head again.

I hope it’s not rude to ask, but which one are you?
Elle didn’t remember if they’d introduced themselves before or not. They could have introduced themselves before she was attacked, but she wasn’t sure. The entire thing seemed like a bad dream and she’d rather keep it that way.

I am Urd, the middle sister. Verdandi is the eldest and Skuld is the youngest of us all. I am Norn of the present, Verdandi is that of the past. and Skuld is seer of the future.

“Miss?” Elle jumped when the maid laid her hand on her shoulder. “Are you quite all right?”

Elle nodded her head. “Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”

“Did you still need to use the bathing chamber or will you lie back down so that I might place your breakfast in your lap?”

“I need to go. I need a shower,
then
I will think about eating something.” Elle didn’t want to think about eating anything right now. As impossible as it seemed, she wasn’t on Earth anymore. She couldn’t be if the two moons she saw last night were any indication. She didn’t want to eat strange food on a strange planet that could very well make her ill. What of her babies? She placed a protective hand over her abdomen. No matter how uncomfortable her empty stomach was, she wouldn’t dare eat anything until she knew if it would harm her children.

Their food will not harm you, Elle. As a matter of fact, you might find it quite tasty—especially in your condition.
This came from the older Norn, Verdandi, seer of the past.

Why did you bring me here?
She might not remember a lot from the night before, but she knew that the Fates must have brought her to this world. First, they spoke to her, then the thugs attacked her, closely followed by her rescuer.

She thought about Daffyd. It was a strange sounding name. It was similar to David, but not the same. One look at him and any person not pleading for their life, would know that he was no normal human being. There was just something about him…

Though Elle had always been drawn to the tall, dark and handsome type, something told her that he was different the moment she’d seen him standing in that alley. She knew that he was there for her, and meant to save her, and that he would care for her…always.

Years ago, we made a mistake. We were young, impulsive…
Verdandi sighed.
Perhaps, we weren’t as vigilant as we could have been. Whatever the case, we made a few mistakes. The many years that have passed have turned the few mistakes into many.

We attempted to put some of them to rights, but we couldn’t find a way to fix it the way it was. People were born on the wrong worlds, in the wrong times and some were even born to the wrong sex. Skuld warned us that we needed to do more than we did, but Urd and I were certain that it would all become right on its own if we but watched and attempted to mend a few things along the way.
She chuckled, though the sound had no real mirth.
Isn’t it strange how the youngest of us all, predicted the things that would go wrong with such accuracy, while
we
saw nothing at all?

Elle stood with the maid’s help and let the woman lead her to the bathroom. “Thank you,” she said as she turned to the young woman. “I don’t think you ever told me your name.”

“Have I displeased you, ma’am?” The girl looked nervous. “I have done what the defender asked. Please don’t complain about me. I do not wish to lose this position. You have no idea how serving the defender can raise one’s status here.” She dropped to her knees. “Please do not call the defender. I will do whatever you wish.”

Kneeling, Elle took the young woman in her arms. “I don’t plan on doing anything of the sort. I merely wanted your name so I could use it instead of saying,
hey you,
every time I needed something.” She frowned. “Is your defender so cruel that he would cast you out merely because you displeased me?”

God, she hoped not. Daffyd had appeared perfect—strong, handsome, and compassionate. She couldn’t have imagined a better husband or father.

As much as she didn’t want to believe the crazy tale the Fates told her, she also wanted to believe it. She didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want to raise her children by herself. She needed help, especially now when she knew she carried twins. How would she ever manage without someone to help her?

You will never be alone, Elle. He will stay by your side and care for you. He loves you even now, though he doesn’t realize it.

It was Urd’s voice in her head again.

Do you know where he is at this moment?
It sounded as though something pleased her greatly.

Giving a slight shake of her head, Elle replied,
I have no idea where he could be. I don’t remember much about the inside of this place. I was in too much pain to care.

At this moment, he is on down the hall seeing to the renovation of the nursery—his nursery. He smiles again.

Reaching out, Elle took the young woman’s hand. “Please tell me your name. You have not displeased me. In fact, I would like to ask Daffyd if it’s possible to keep you on to help me, at least until I go home.”

The girl’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “You can’t go home. Please. He needs you.”

“You don’t understand.” Elle closed her eyes with a sigh. “I can’t stay here forever. As much as I would love to stay in this castle with nice people like you caring for me, I know I must go home, eventually.”

Tears streamed down the girl’s face. “But—but if you go, he’ll stop smiling again.” Turning, she looked toward the door. “He had been unhappy. For as long as I can remember, for as long as my mother and her mother can remember, the defender never smiled unless it was at a child, and even then, a person could tell he was not happy. He is so lonely, My Lady. Please stay. Stay and keep his shadows away.”

Elle stared at the girl, her mouth open. “I—I can’t promise you that.” How could she? She didn’t even know the man. It didn’t matter that the Fates decreed that she was his long-lost mate. She didn’t know him, she didn’t know this world and, if she were honest with herself, this entire situation scared the hell out of her.

“At least stay for a while. Get to know him. See him smile. Watch him put so many others before his own needs. You are the one person, the one thing he will ever want for himself, yet he will never force you to stay.” She laced her fingers together in front of her chest. “Please say you’ll stay for at least a little while.”

“Okay, okay.” Elle put her hands on her hips with a smile. “I’ll stay for a little while. I’ll try to get to know him, but I’m not making any promises.”

“Give him a chance, My Lady. That’s all I ask. Give him a chance.”

Yes, Elle. Give him a chance. The man has put other’s lives before his own for nearly millennia. Don’t you think he deserves a shot at happiness?

Of course he did. Everyone deserved a happy life as long as what made them happy didn’t interfere with the happiness of others. Her parents brought her up that way. As long as what she did harmed no one else, she could do as she pleased. It didn’t mean she didn’t live her life without rules, though.

“I will,” Elle said as she smiled at the girl. “If you tell me your name, I’ll stay for a little while.”

Alone in the nursery, Daffyd walked around the large room. He’d already had the men take his childhood bed out and put it into storage in the undercroft. While there, they would clean the cradles and bring them up. There were four cradles altogether. One defender, he believed it was his great-great grandfather, had sired a set of quadruplets. Not one of his ancestors since had a multiple birth. While the infants Elle carried would not be defenders, they would still be his children in every sense of the word.