The Pain that Made Her Beautiful

PMHB ch23 (Pic of Hermun)

“Warick, I hope you never forget those feelings, for if you do, your life could, at any point, be torn in two. She holds your heart, Warick, and you must respect that. Be honorable, but not too much so. However, I will warn you once and never again: Never let your guard down. People will use her against you, and you will be outraged; therefore, guard her with your life, and never leave her side when her need arises,” Apollo adjusted his gaze to look Warick smack in the eyes, “for with her, as I said, lies your heart and, with your heart, is your life, and if she is taken from your sight, or loses her life, I promise you, Warick, you will be hard pressed to carry on. But, whether or not you are capable of moving on, you will never again be the same.”

Nayeli’s eyes snapped open. She didn’t know what to say, what to do, or even what to think. She was so scared that Warick would actually do what the Roman fool had suggested. She didn’t want him to. She was just so… unnerved by the fact that, because he most likely had experience in this sensitive area, Apollo would probably manage to convince Warick to actually follow through.

“I will take your words under very sincere thought and will probably follow you instructions. Thank you, brother Apollo,” Warick said, his gaze downcast.

This was absolutely preposterous! There was no reason for him to protect her. In fact, if anyone here NEEDS protection, Nayeli thought, it’s Warick!

Nayeli had come to this conclusion because of the… Oh well, Nayeli thought interrupting her own thoughts, what’s the use anyhow? He won’t take ‘no’ for an answer any day.

Nayeli could picture what Warick would say were she to refuse, “remember, Nayeli, I am your master now, I broke you and you have already sworn to it. There’s no use resisting your fate.”

“Is she smiling?” asked Apollo. That broke Nayeli’s train of thought and brought her back to reality.

“I don’t know what to make of her,” Warick said dismayed, “she has a rather strange personality to her. But I have a request, will you go to the nearest town with me to pick up some supplies?”

“I would be delighted to go. I need out of this old and musty camp anyhow, “ Apollo said. Then both the men turned around and walked out of the tent chuckling slightly.

*                                                *                                                            *                                                *

Warick had been rather delighted when Apollo had agreed to come with him to the nearby settlement. They were walking around the courtyard bargaining down the ridiculously high set prices of the individual vendors around the main street, when Warick spotted the community’s poster board. It had wanted posters, important events, and other miscellaneous notices posted on it. Warick was curious to see it his own poster had been posted. His heart almost jumped out of his chest with relief that he wasn’t among the posters. However, his relief was premature. For when Warick looked around the board again he saw an incredible beautiful picture of a girl that looked oddly familiar. Under the picture was a caption reading “This lady is neither fugitive nor foe of any Roman. Vespasian seeks her for her lineage. Any person who delivers her to Rome, unspoiled, unharmed, and alive, will receive a large sum and a spot in the emperor’s court.”

By the gods, why would Vespasian be searching for this girl? Warick asked himself.

“Warick, come. We are ready to leave,” Apollo called.

Warick walked toward Apollo, but something in his gut from that second onward gave Warick the heightened urge to bolt for cover.

“I spied you looking at the poster board. Were you looking for anyone in particular?” Apollo asked sternly.