The Courtship

Chapter 5 Week two

~Amira~

For the last couple of days, Amira was avoiding Derrick. She knew he would never apologize and that he hated her. So, she stayed out of sight from him. Still, she did do things for him without him knowing it, like cleaning his horse's stall or washing his sheets. It made her feel good to do nice things for him. She always had to pick up her bed and put it away every morning and every night she started the fire in his room, making sure it would last all night. She also checked up on Calvin every night too. She was worried about him. His fever was extremely high, and he wouldn't stop bleeding. Gwen was trying everything she could to help him, but it was up to Calvin if he wanted to live or not. His fever finally broke last night, and the bleeding was now just a little which was a good sign. She grabbed a tunic out of the chest, they both had to share. It was a dark green and a little big for her, but she wasn't going to complain. It could always be worse. Wait it was, she was borrowing derrick's shirts. Why she was borrowing his was because Maddison despite her and Cecilia had only three tunics, which she borrowed two of and Gwen well she only had two. As she was about to put it on, someone walks in. Turning as fast as she could, she covered her chest with the tunic.

"Don't you people ever knock?" Amira said with her back towards the intruder

The intruder stayed silent as they stood there. She pulled on the tunic as fast as she dared.

"Well?" She said slipping it on over belly and turning around

Derrick stood there with a blank expression on his face, but his eyes were on the floor. What he saw she couldn't blame him for, not even wanting to look at her. She wasn't beautiful anymore with the scares and that was the point.

"I was told to tell you Gwen was looking for you." He said never looking up

She grabbed the boots and the extra cloak she was borrowing and walked towards the door. Before she shut the door, she turned to him and saw him staring.

"Thanks." she said with a gentle smile then shut the door

She bolted down the stairs and out the door. She stopped when she saw Gwen, who sat on a light brown horse. She was looking out towards the forest that sat behind her tavern. She wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and tied it as the wind picked up. She looked up at the grey clouds. She knew winter was just around the corner.

"Are you ready my dear?" Gwen said handing her the reins of a white horse

She smiled as she climbed on to the horse. As she turned the horse around, she caught a glimpse of Derrick in the window. She was glad she was going to be gone for most of the day. She wasn't ready to explain her past.

~Derrick~

Getting back from yet another mission, his body hurt. He knew he was pushing his body to the breaking point, but he didn't care. With Calvin out, Cecilia and Madison were the only ones making the money which wasn't much. The two wouldn't work together so they couldn't pull off the big jobs. Which in turn left him. In fact, that last job might have done something to his injury, but he would worry about that later. Right now, all he wanted to do was crawl into his warm, clean bed. As he was about to open the door, someone yelled his name.

"Derrick!"

He let out a sigh and turned around to Gwen's voice.

"Will you tell Amira I'm looking for her?"

He nodded his head and went inside. He wonders where they were going, he thought as he climbed the stairs. Lost in thought, he slumbered across the hallway towards his room. Well, their room since he been sharing it with that spoiled princess. Which wasn't too bad actually. She always had a fire burning at night and was sleeping on the floor. Plus, she was in bed before him and didn't snore. Reaching for the door, he jerks it open and catches Amira halfway dressed. He could hear a muffled voice but was to lost to hear what was being said. She was more beautiful than he could have even imagined. Her skin looked soft to the touch and was perfectly tanned. Her curvy body fit her too, but he noticed something. Something that shouldn't be on her back. He was about to double check when she pulled the tunic over her head and turned around. He averted his gaze to the ground and held his breath. Being caught looking at her would need an explanation, which he didn't have one.