Notes in Ochre

Chapter 13 - Part 3

My hand thrust out, slamming hard onto the rough wood of the gate at the same time as Briar's. Suddenly, everything changed. The sky was still darkening with the coming storm that I had seen in the distance, as if mirroring the weather in Ferndell. That, however, is where the similarities ended. It was as if the world had reset around us. The stone statues could now be seen off in the distance, immobile once more. The damage around us was gone. Briar and I looked at each other, eyes wide. Our injuries were still there, Briar still clutched at her side and blood had crusted in her hair where she'd been hit in the head during the second blast. I was beginning to feel my ankle, as well, though I still hadn't mustered the courage to look, and I was covered in large and small cuts. We were both breathing hard, and I turned my body so that I leaned my back against the door of the gate. In a silent prayer of thanks, I closed my eyes momentarily.

"What just happened," Briar breathed in a strangled whisper, her question more rhetorical.

"I don't know," I answered anyway, "But I think we should stay in connection to this gate." I opened my eyes to look towards my sister and saw Briar nod. I shifted, and let out a yelp of pain. My ankle was beginning to really hurt and I was sweating anew from the sheer immensity of it. Briar looked at my ankle, gasped, and then began to call out.

"H-help! We need help! Someone open this damned gate! We need medical attention!" Briar yelled, her voice incredibly hoarse and coming out raspy. Just then, I heard something on the other side of the gate and the door swung inward. I fell inside, flopping onto my back and let out a cry of surprise and pain. My eyes had closed on impact, but looking up, I was shocked into silence. Before me stood the last person I expected to meet.

His raven black hair had grown out so that it was now long, well past his shoulders, flowing like water in the salty breeze. The dark voluminous wavy locks delicately caressed sharp features, lovingly framing a stern expression. I had remembered his face as being planed, and with age, it was as if he had become even more statuesque as he looked more carved of marble than either the David or Goliath I had just met. His piercing blue eyes were sharp, as a hawks, defined by the furrowed heavy brow that expressed something between concern and guarded. I remembered this same expression from his youth. He had remained thin, but his body had become more defined. Perhaps he was doing manual labor here? His snowy white skin had tanned a little and he wore simple black pants and a linen shirt that opened into a 'v' with the lacing undone so that it more or less hung open, exposing the top of a well defined chest. Towering over me, I realized he had either grown taller since I'd last seen him, or that I had guessed his height incorrectly before at the banishing grounds that day. I was tall at 5'9", but as he extended his large hand for me to take, almost pulling me to rise on my one good foot, I realized he was much taller than Heron, even, who was a few inches above six feet tall. He seemed to gaze at me with all the depth of the sea below us, his blue eyes penetrating deep into my own, and I found I could not tear my gaze away. It was as if I had become captive to those depths and the rest of the world seemed to fall away as I willing dove deeper.

"This will hurt," Prince Uther warned in a rich baritone that I found inherently sensual as it caressed my ears. Then my mind caught up.

"What?" I asked dumbly, just before the pain began. I crumpled under the sheer immensity of it and I felt strong arms wrap about me, embracing me firmly, but gently, as if trying to protect me. I clawed at the air and eventually, my hands found purchase upon solid flesh which I gripped with all my might as I screamed. It felt like it went on forever, as I held on to whomever it was for life itself, but then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the pain slowly ebbed away, leaving only a dull throb in its wake. My breathing was ragged and I could feel sweat pouring off of my body from the intense experience. As my head cleared, I heard him gently comforting me, saying "Easy, easy," over and over again, while stroking my hair. I became aware that I was pressed against his body and that the hard flesh which I currently clung to so tightly was his own. His warmth and the feel of his strong arm about my waist and his hand gently running through my hair simply felt good. His solid body was a rock for me in this moment and it felt like the only thing keeping me weighted to the ground, else I might be swept away by the winds of the coming storm. I could not bring myself to let go just yet, to return to dignity. I felt I had none left, broken and bruised, dirty and sweaty from both the exertion of my escape and the tribulations of experiencing the most excruciating pain in all my life. I needed his reassurance more than I needed my pride just then, though I may not have been totally conscious of that choice, it was certainly an odd admission on my part. My reason was still retuning, my mind at work as it always is, and it demanded answers.

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Author Note: We welcome Prince Uther! If tall, dark and handsome with a side of complicated feelings happens to be up your alley, please vote 🤤