Of Mine Enemy

chapter eight

Alexander had lost interest in the conversation when his father had mentioned lavender - but through the haze of early morning and the rhythmic drop of - what was that, water? - he wondered if his dream was no less than a harmless vision. Finger by finger, Alex curled his hands together, testing them as the world came back with a gentle touch - or, at first anyway. As if he were hit in the face with a burning torch, Alexander was suddenly awake, eyes blinking and chest swelling with his gasp.

And his head was on fire.

A moan that would have silenced the loudest of birdsong left him. He clasped his face, his fingers bouncing away the moment he brushed his bruised skin. He didn't dare find a reflective surface, he could feel that his face had swollen terribly. For a moment Alex thought he may have fallen asleep in a meadow somewhere, enchanted by a lass and wine - but memories soon pressed to either side of his skull and he found himself wrapping his arms over his chest.

Bloody face, snarls that belonged to wolves not a woman - dead bodies. Bodies slain there by the woman keeping his company. Alex ventured to sit upright, holding the side of his face in a palm that rested over his knee.

What was a man to do when faced with such a dire circumstance. What Saiorse had done to the soldiers would befall his family. There would no justice for anyone - for himself, for the people Saiorse felt had been mistreated. Alexander could not take Saiorse to his home. Even if it meant his death when she discovered the truth.

Alex drew to his feet, teetering toward the sound of frothing water. Saiorse always seemed to know where the nearby streams were - perhaps she could hear them even miles away. Stepping carefully over rock and brush, Alex picked his way to the music of the water, until he caught sight of a figure emerged in a babbling brook.

Her clothes, wet and lying in the sun to dry, rested on a rock farther up the shore. The shimmering stream did well to light her porcelain skin, the stoop of her shoulder blades hidden by the drape of chocolate hair clinging to her skin. Alex found himself confused; he should not find his kidnapper so... elegant.

And yet.

Saiorse dunked beneath the water for a fleeting second, then shot upward with a rather loud cry, folding her arms over herself with a shudder. Alex smirked to himself - so vampires could still get chilly. Hands running through her hair, Saiorse turned, ready to head for the shore in search of a clean gown (she had more in her satchel), but stopped, hands frozen where they clasped her hair as she caught sight of Alexander on the bank.

Neither of them said a word as they stared, Alex's face growing a shade of red as a mischievous smirk crept over Saiorse's lips. He could not tear his eyes away no matter how hard he tried as she wadded forward until she stood on the bank, arms at her sides and her hair doing very little to cover her chest.

"What's the matter, Lord LeRoy?" Saiorse teased. "Have you never seen a naked woman before?" She swept her hands outward, tilting her head with a growing, smug leer. "Of course not all of them are as ravishing as I am, I will give you leeway there."

Alex struggled to focus on her eyes. "I've a special lady that puts you to shame," he told her, turning his back as Saiorse reached her satchel. Saiorse wrinkled one side of her face, sliding through a gown with practiced precision. "Her name was Oinks and we had her for breakfast on a holiday morning - I cannot remember which."

Saiorse's jaw fell open with an offended huff. "Are you calling me an ugly pig?"

Alex's victorious smirk was lost to the trees he faced. "I am not calling you a beautiful woman."

A hand startled him, his eyes popping wide and his gasp burning his aching ribs. Saiorse turned him to face her, the light in her eyes perhaps a wee too playful for his liking - although, the flecks of blue he could see rather surprised him. They weren't just grey, it seemed. He wondered if her eyes had once been solely blue. Saiorse leaned close. Alex didn't draw away, only narrowed his eyes.