Something Fairytale-ish

Something Mulan-ish Part VIII

"How are you feeling?" he asked her gently.

Huriyah shrugged from under the covers. She couldn't bear to see Harith's face, not after that somewhat intimate moment they shared earlier that morning.

She felt movement on her bed as Harith sat besides her head. He slowly uncovered her face, despite Huriyah's futile attempts to stop him.

"Have you eaten?" he asked her as his eyes scanned her face.

She shook her head. "I'm not hungry," she mumbled.

Harith felt her forehead to see if maybe she had a fever. Thankfully she didn't. "You have to eat something," he insisted. He looked at the tray of untouched food next to her bed. It had gotten cold.

"I'll go get you something else to eat," he said as he got up and grabbed the tray of old food. He left the room and quickly returned with a plate of steaming beef soup and two loaves of fresh bread. "Here," he said as he sat back down on her bed, setting the tray on her bedside table.

"I said I'm not hungry," Huriyah mumbled.

Harith ignored her and helped her sit up.

"I don't want to eat anything Harith," she said again.

Still, Harith ignored her and forced a cup of water into her hands. "Drink some water before you eat," he said.

Huriyah stared blankly at the water in her hands. How can she drink water and live when she had killed her mother? She placed the cup on the table and turned her face away.

Harith sighed. Why was she being so stubborn? "Hur, drink the water," he said once more before putting the cup in Huriyah's hands again. When she made no move to do as he said, he grabbed the cup from her hands, gently pushed her head back, and forced the water down her throat.

Surprised by Harith's boldness, Huriyah drank the water with no further complaint. "Why did you do that?" she asked, her voice no longer raspy.

"Because if I didn't then you would dehydrate yourself to death," Harith answered. "Now eat."

Upon mentioning the food, Huriyah's senses finally picked up the delicious smell of beef soup and fresh bread. But she was stubborn. "I'm not hungry," she insisted, before her stomach growled in betrayal.

Harith chuckled. "Oh really? Your stomach seems to say otherwise," he teased.

Huriyah blushed. Why did her stomach have to embarrass her like that, why?

Harith spooned some of the soup and held it to her mouth.

She blushed even harder. He was going to spoon-feed her too? "I can feed myself," she insisted embarrassedly, grabbing the bowl and spoon from his hand and feeding herself.

He sat back and watched her eat, a small smile playing on the corner of his lips. When she had finished, she placed the empty bowl and spoon back on the tray and turned to look at him.

"Thank you," she whispered shyly.

"No problem," he said, suddenly feeling a bit shy himself. The two gazed down at their laps, not knowing what to say. Harith suddenly had an idea. "Why don't we go take a walk?" he suggested. "You know, a little change of space might make you feel better."

"Sure," Huriyah said. She was getting sick of being cooped up in her room anyways.

"I'll see you in a bit then," he said as he left to let her change.

After she had cleaned up and changed, she stepped outside to meet Harith.

"Let's go," he said.

The two made their way out of the inn and towards the forest of palm trees near the outskirts of the town. It was quiet at first, neither one of them knowing what to say.

"There's a clearing up ahead where you can see the stars," Huriyah spoke up. "It's really pretty, especially at this time of year. Wanna see?"

"It's almost night time," Harith observed, gazing at the orange rays of the setting sun that pierced through the palm fronds. "Let's stay," he said.

The two maintained a relaxed pace as they walked towards the clearing. By the time they reached it, the last rays of the sun disappeared.

"Let's sit on that rock," Huriyah said as she pointed at a large stone in the middle of the clearing. It was big enough to seat the two of them, but with little space to separate them.

They sat on the stone, their necks craned up to gaze at the stars. There were millions of them brightly dotting the dark sky in one magnificent, celestial tapestry.

"They're so beautiful," Huriyah murmured. She thought about her mother again, but instead of thinking about how she had killed her, this time she wondered if her mother was among the stars, watching over her and her family.

Harith gazed at Huriyah, as the light of the stars brightly illuminated her face, making her a thousand times more beautiful than she already was. He felt a strange feeling in his chest again.

What's happening to me? he wondered. As he continued to gaze at Huriyah, one word flashed through his head.

Love.

He was in love with Huriyah. 

A/N: Dun dun duuuun! 

Oh snap. Snap crackly pop! He knows. Harith knows! Boy oh boy, what's he gonna do with his newfound feelings for Huriyah? Only time will tell, muahahahaha!

Toodles~~ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ~~