Scorched

17

Jezio keeps leaning down to kiss her forehead as he holds her beneath his arm under his shoulder tightly keeping Cleo close to his side. With the dark coat keeping her features hidden and Jezio's arm slung across her shoulders, no one could so much as catch a glimpse at her.

They keep walking closer and closer to the docks, passing plenty of farms and crops which were so frozen it made Cleo grit her teeth. She could see the distress in the farmers— they're losing profit in the busying time of the villagers purchasing more products and food. The demand increasing with the time coming closer to her ceremony. She grits her teeth again. She is sure there wasn't enough to feed every villager right this moment.

She creeps even more closer to Jezio because of the fair amount of villagers swarming around trying her best to not seem too mysterious but also completely normal.

On either side of the pathway they were walking down were various crops, they were currently in the fruit section, and it was swamped with farmers and workers picking and ploughing with some trying their best to make the best of the green bananas, which didn't seem to turn ripe at all.

Some villagers have physically come to the farms themselves to find out what was happening with the yields and also picked their own food; which Cleo deemed is pretty selfish. Obviously the Court gets the first batch of the best foods provided and the rest gets distributed to the Market to be sold to the Village. But to pick up the foods straight from here is a bit selfish when everyone else is struggling as well.

Cleo lifts her gaze under the cloak to the farmhouses set behind all the crops and fascinatingly watches the turn of the windmills almost in sync with one another with every farmhouse they've been passing. In the distance she can also see the cattle of cows and goats and some other things she wasn't interested in, grazing and feeding, strip feeding; and even from here she could see the drying of the grass and how limited the supply of fodder was to the animals.

She bites her lip this time. Things really weren't looking good. It's the cold sickness, the food dying out, and her waiting for the next demon attack? How cliché. She should just end it here and now.

"Don't look up like that. Keep hidden." Jezio pipes to her and draws her head down onto his shoulder pulling the hood low again.

She fancied all this with Jezio. Especially how caring he was to her, she feels warm and protected in his arms and most importantly she loved the way he kissed her over and over. She couldn't get enough. And it is clear he couldn't either, not with the regular kisses he plopped onto her forehead almost every second.

After the heated kissing session they have had the previous day Cleo was forced to end it then as she had to take her leave back to Court. And this morning when she came in, he immediately pulled her onto his lap forcing her to straddle him on his unmade futon and kissed her senseless. She must say, she does prefer kissing after one freshens up. It just tastes better but she didn't dare stop Jezio. They were both enjoying themselves.

It was when she felt a hardness poking her front that she right away stopped him and asked if they could leave. Jezio didn't seem to read into it, he only grinned wickedly and they left quickly to head towards the dock which is where the next barge will leave to do some far fishing and her only opportunity to go with and to find out where this Esra stayed in the high rocks in the sea. Thane wouldn't lie, he is still a child following his father around like a little puppy so Esra has to be real.

She was also more afraid than excited when she got that way with Jezio. She has never felt anything like that before. She also could not believe she didn't give herself away to him yet. She loved the feelings she got when she got intimate with him. But that hardness scared her. It is not the time to be doing this either, that could be her excuse if he really wanted to know why she stopped him. She couldn't be sleeping with him with so many issues going all around the City. But at the same time. She really desperately wanted to continue.