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Chapter Fourteen: Dreamer
He chuckled.
“You look stunning in green.” He complimented.
He sure knew how to distract me.
I observed him. His beard was growing in messy stubble, giving his young face a shade of age. His eyes were sad, yet full of life and experience.
“We have no time to waste Thekla.” He said my name urgently, and I treasured every sound of it. I liked the way he pronounced it, clearly and definitely.
“Let me steal the horses.” I offered.
“In that?” He pointed at the dress. It was still flawless, but still the same eye-catching green. It demanded attention, and on me, more that just attention.
So I kept my mouth shut and let him do all the planning. I was going to wait for him here, in the woods. How safe.
Nathaniel left shortly, leaving me in the pitch darkness alone. It was cold, and I had no cloak, or a mantel. It was still February and the coldness of the air drew shapes of mist from my breath.
I could hear nothing, except the occasional wind whistling through the lonely branches. I sat down at the base of an oak tree, relaxing. I let my senses go numb and drifted to sleep without any notice.
As I slept, I dreamed.
I was walking in a garden. It was spring. The soft breeze caressed the fresh leaves, teasing them. I kept walking inwards, deeper and deeper in the garden. I looked down at my apparel. I was wearing a long, floral chiffon dress, with small, barely visible baby pink flowers. It swayed around my legs, the hem of it trailing on the grass. I was barefoot.
The image ahead of me cleared and I saw Nathaniel running around the garden with a little child. He was smiling, his eyes no longer sad, but with joy and life. They were mesmerising, now even more. An involuntary smile spread across my face and I ran towards the two.
I picked up the toddler in my arms caressing her little nose with mine. She giggled, her small teeth showing and buried her curly head in my shoulder. Nathaniel was now standing beside me, looking down at us lovingly, his gaze tender and full of care. I looked at him, meeting his eyes and drawing towards his embrace. His lips caressed my forehead and then he placed a very gentle kiss on my lips. The toddler giggled again, this time throwing her head back from my hold. Her onyx curls dangled wildly from her head, her wide green eyes full of energy. They were the exact same shade as Nathaniel’s.
“Thekla!” Nathaniel bellowed suddenly, “Thekla!”
The scene began to dissolve into the darkness.
“Thekla!” came yet another shout.
I snapped and jumped from my place. Nathaniel stood two feet away from me, staring at me.
When he saw me awake, he exhaled.
“You’re back.” I whispered, straightening up and adjusting my dress.
“We need to go, now!” He said his tone urgent.
I saw two horses nearby. One was Nathaniel’s and the other one was, probably, mine.
“You can take my horse.” He said.
He helped me get on as usual and then he hopped onto the other horse.
Then we were flying.
We rode for hours and hours to come. Our road seemed to lengthen with time and I was once again, getting tired.
Somewhere towards noon Nathaniel stopped near a spring. He hopped off his horse.
“We’ll get some water here, let the horses rest.”
I nodded dismounting. I stroked the horse’s head before I tied it up on the tree near the spring.
I drank some water, quenching my thirst. Then I went over to Nathaniel and gently took his wounded hand in mine. Carefully I unwound it to find it in a better condition. The cuts were beginning to heal.
All the while he was looming over me. Looking down. I pushed my hair away from my face and behind my back, to avoid getting it near the wound.
I tugged at his arm lightly, directing him toward the water. He followed; his steps graceful as usual.
“It’s already healing, so it’s going to be just fine.” I said quietly.
I felt him nod.
I washed his wound carefully, softly stroking the skin. His hands were large and masculine, and tan even in winter.
After washing, I wound it with the cloth again, making sure every bit of it was covered. And then I looked up. His body was inches away and when he saw my eyes, he sighed and pulled me into a tight hug. He kissed me tenderly on the forehead, holding me pinned against him. The feel of his warm body even through layers and layers of clothes gave me chills. The soft kiss on the forehead warming my head and spinning my mind in bright colours. It was exactly what I needed, but nothing I had expected.
When he did pull away, he pulled away slowly, letting the cold come between us. I waited a second before opening my eyes.
He looked at my eyes, frowning uncertainly.
“I’m glad you’re okay Thekla.” He whispered.
I chuckled, remembering the dream.
Suddenly realising that that was what I wanted. I wanted him. And only him. Forever.
Nathaniel got up to search for some food.
But he didn’t find any and in a few minutes after that we departed.
We rode a little slower this time, but longer. We rode all day in silence, but in a comfortable silence.
It was nice.
At nightfall we stopped. Nathaniel unwound two large black quilts from where they hung at the side of his horse and gave me one. I wrapped it around me. It smelled of dust and dirt, but I didn’t care. It was warm and cosy.
“Thank you.” I said.
“You’re welcome.”
This was a time for my break. I went into the trees.
“Where are you going?” He said, outraged.
“Um… Bathroom?” I said, blushing.
“Don’t go too far,” He warned and I nodded.
I came back shortly to find Nathaniel wrapped in his quilt, sleeping. I was afraid to sleep too far away from him, so I lay across from where he was sprawled underneath a tree, facing him. And watching him sleep brought rest to me, I drifted…
* * *
The next morning groaning woke me up. I opened my eyes, realising that I hadn’t even moved during the night, but slept in the exact same position I had fallen asleep.
From this angle, I could clearly see Nathaniel.
He was the one groaning.
I frowned.
He sat up, his lips blue from the cold. I also felt the chill piercing to my bones and shivered.
He looked around, now fully alert and his sleepiness reappeared when his gaze landed on me, lying on the freezing ground not four feet away from him. A smile danced on his lips, but he wouldn’t show his emotion. He thought I was sleeping.
His eyes closed for a minute and then he sprang, startling me. My eyes flew open to see him standing straight, his back to me, looking at something.
From where I lay, his shoulders looked wide and masculine. I shut my eyes, embarrassed.
He turned and I heard him walking my direction. My heart flipped in my chest, and my breaths became shallow. What was he doing to me? He was just heading this side, didn’t mean he was coming to me? And already I was in this condition. Get a grip girl!
But he did come to my side. I felt my quilt pull and my face was exposed to the cold. I didn’t dare open my eyes.
And then, to my utter surprise, he brushed a loose strand of hair out of my face and kissed me on the forehead. Don’t blush! Don’t blush! I kept mentally screaming to myself.
So, to further pretend I was sleeping, I stirred.
He moved away, his footsteps fading from me. It was safe to open my eyes again. I peeked. He was prepping the horses, it was time to go. I sat up.
“Good Morning!” I said.
“Morning...” His reply came fast, he turned to face me.
“Is your hand better?” I inquired.
“Much. Thank you.”
I stood up and went to his side. He was growing on me big time and for some unknown reason, it was dangerous.
“How long will it take for us to get to Scotland?” I asked.
“At this rate three or four more days.”
“What happens then?”
He didn’t answer my question. Instead, he busied himself with the horses.
“We should get going. We don’t have any reasons to waste daylight.”
So we set off once again, this time actually conversing.
“Is Scotland where you grew up?” I asked him at one point.
“Yes, I spent my entire childhood there.”
“So, how did you end up in Sharlotte?”
“War. The King announced that England had entered war. A man from each family had to go. My father was too crippled and death was guaranteed if he went. I couldn’t do that to my Mother. So I went instead. I never went back there again. I left when I was seventeen like you and I haven’t seen my parents or my home for six full years. Yes, we did write letters, but I missed the place. Then we needed a safe place for you and I realised that Scotland would be safest.”
“Now you’ll see your parents.” I whispered.
He nodded.
“What is it like?”
“What exactly are you asking about?” He looked at me puzzled.
“Not seeing them for so long?”
“It hurts.” He said. “And you miss them, a lot. But it passes with time. You become less and less aware of their existence and they – yours. You just learn to forget. Your mind starts to heal, but scars will always stay there. You just cope with the reality.”
And that was what was happening to me. Right now, it hurt, a lot.
So I didn’t talk and thought about his words for a while for a few hours after that.
We kept moving towards him home and away from mine. His wounds healing, mine – becoming deeper and deeper.
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