The other Kingdoms

Chapter 12

          Just as her lips slightly grazed mine I came to my senses and reared back so fast she flinched due to my sudden movement 'Why did I feel so compelled to kiss her? . I knew nothing about her or where she came from'. When I turned back to her she seemed confused, I opened my mouth to speak but I was silenced by a grumbling stomach, how could have been so forgetful, with the state I met her in who knows how long she had been there, she was probably starving. I kept quiet instead and went to find something for her to eat. Luckily, she didn't stop me this time and I was able to leave the shed. I sneaked around quietly, looking to find some of the fish we caught without waking up James and Connor who were asleep on a mat in the middle of the room and snoring heavily, James that is. Connor was silent but I could tell from his even breathing that he was asleep.

          I finally located the baskets at the dark corner of the room right next to the door, there were only two full baskets left and it made me wonder what happened to the third one. Ignoring the slippery skin of the fish, I pulled out five and held them to my chest careful not to let them fall, I'd deal with the smell later. I walked out backward and closed the door with a small creak before I could finally breathe. I turned around to see the lady staring in awe at the fire we'd left out, she lifted a finger to touch it but pulled back when she heard my approach. I dropped the fishes in a bowl, as soon as she caught sight of them she immediately took one and started to eat it raw. 'Where the heck did she come from' I thought as I stared at her in disbelief.

          I fixed my fish on the rod and placed it above the fire. When I did this, she stopped eating and stared at me for a brief moment then she looked at her fish, the third one, and looked back to me before offering the rest by pushing it towards me. She looked on expectantly like she wanted me to take it "No, thank you" I said with a gentle smile while pushing her hand back, she didn't seem to understand it though because the next thing she did was shove it into my mouth. A shiver went down my spine and I didn't wait a second before spitting it out, I ran to the water and started scrubbing my tongue, gaging over and over to cough out whichever had gotten into my throat.

          I didn't know how long I spent there and I still wasn't satisfied but I knew if I scrubbed my tongue any more than I already did, it would probably fall off and I would never taste again, so I had no choice but to stop. When I got back to the fire, I met her staring at the fish above it not like the wonder she had in her eyes earlier but like she was still hungry and knew she couldn't take it. Her stomach made a low grumble and looked at me pitifully. I could only smile to myself at how adorable she looked as I went in to take more fishes.

          This time I didn't let her take it herself, she probably had a concussion and that would explain why she was acting weird, I took off the smoked fish and dished it out to cool while I fixed the rest on the rod, I put them all on at the same time because of her. Finally, I sat and closed my eyes for a moment after all the crazy things that had happened this night. I felt something shift next to me and I turned my head to see that she was trying to sit close to me with her arms wrapped around her body, she was cold. I took off my coat and put it around her, she didn't shrug it off like she did last time and pulled it closer to herself then she looked at me and gave me a small smile like she was saying 'thank you', I smiled back with a small nod.

          The air felt calmer and the sound of the waves was smooth, behind her the dim glow of the fireflies suddenly looked like stars and the chirp of the crickets sounded like a melody. Her eyes held mine and we looked on like we'd never look away 'this feeling of peace, this unexplained joy, is this love? , love. No what am I thinking' this thought made me look away, how could I even think of love, I had only known her for a few hours and she hasn't even said a word to me, she might be crazy for all I know, I can't easily have feelings for her just because she's beautiful, I shouldn't even think of her at all.

          Just to distract myself I started checking the fish to see if it was done even though I only just put it on a few minutes ago. The ones that were already on the plate were a bit cool now and we could finally eat them. I handed one to her and she looked at it reluctantly before accepting it, then I gave her a fork but she kept looking like she didn't know what to use it for. I decided to teach her since she obviously didn't remember how to eat anymore. Luckily, she was able to copy my actions really well, she looked at me as if confirming if she should eat it I nodded and she finally took a bite. It looked like they had set fireworks off in her head, there was a sudden glimmer in her eyes and she ditched the fork to eat with her hands because of which I gave her a stern look making her pick the fork back up.

          We ate the rest of our food in silence and when we were done she gave a small yawn, her lashes fluttered slowly and I could tell she was about to fall asleep, I gently took her hand and walked her to the shed where she laid down and fell asleep immediately, I looked at her for a second before leaving, it almost felt like she already trusted me despite her vulnerability. It made me smile a bit, also she had nowhere to go but I couldn't let her stay how would I even explain how I met her. I suddenly had an idea, and it could work as long as I dress her up a bit and hope she doesn't get caught before that.