A Warrior's Legacy (24 page)

Where was my dream girl?

We had become separated in the general
hubbub of the crowd of jubilant people. I found her retreating form
pushing through the crowd away from me as hot anger governed her
every movement.

“Give her some time and she will cool
down.”

I glanced to the old leader, who had come up
beside me.

“She must hate me!”

He nodded matter-of-factly, “Perhaps a
little, but it is a good thing.”

I looked at him as if he’d gone crazy. How
could Raya hating me be a good thing?

He chuckled at my consternation, “I’ve been
around for a long time Zevin. I know more about these things than
you do. Hate is a powerful emotion that can often turn into another
powerful emotion. I’ll let you guess as to which one that is.
Besides Zevin she already likes you far more than any hateful anger
she may be feeling.”

“She likes me?” I hadn’t known that.

“Raya has been virtually alone all her life
and she needs the companionship of a good man even more than you
desire her companionship.”

That I doubted. I’d never wanted to be with
anyone more than I did with her.

Several hours passed by before I managed to
get away.

I gazed up at the stone dwelling that was
Raya’s, even as the woman who had led me here departed giggling at
what she saw as a funny occurrence for some reason. For myself I
was completely serious as I climbed up over the boulders to the
narrow doorway.

I slipped past the heavy blanket covering
the doorway and entered the single room that lay within. The room
was surprisingly well lit just as the old leaders had been.

Colorful crystals, unique pieces of rock and
even some softly glowing plants adorned the room. There was little
else in the room.

The bed was literally a narrow stone slab
with some blankets thrown across it. Raya sat on the one end of it
her back to me.

I advanced into the room and stopped when I
came to a narrow shelf along the wall. The little bottle of perfume
I had gotten her sat proudly displayed on the mostly empty
shelf.

My heart squeezed softly at the knowledge
that there was little to show in terms of belongings in the little
room. A woman should have more than this I thought and one day she
would I promised to myself.

“Have you come to claim your prize?” She
asked sullenly still facing away from me.

I approached where she sat, “I don’t think
of you in that way Raya. You mean far more to me than a possession
or prize ever could.”

I sat down beside her on the bed keeping a
little distance.

“You haven’t answered my question. Do you
mean to claim me?”

“Only if you’re willing.” I said softly.

She bolted off the bed and stood with her
back to the wall across from me her arms folded across her
chest.

“I am not willing! I am not some object that
can be simply traded away for someone else’s amusement! I am a
warrior first and a woman second and if you lay one finger on me I
swear I’ll cut them all off!”

She was even more beautiful when she was
angry. I didn’t let my attraction to her in her current state of
anger show though; instead I leaned down and began taking my boots
off.

“Raya since coming to Assoria sleep has been
a hard thing to come by and Raya I’m tired! Very tired. I’m going
to lay down and get some rest, but before I do I want to set the
facts of our new existence together down.”

I tossed one of my knives at her and it
landed handle first at her feet.

“In the not so distant future Raya I intend
to touch you a lot and if you have a problem with that than you
have my permission to murder me in my sleep, otherwise deal with
it! I am not a cruel or hard uncaring man Raya, but I will not
stand to be threatened by my woman. And you are my woman just as I
am your man. I’ll touch you when and how I want and you’re more
than free to do the same with me. If you don’t like that there is
the knife and it’s in your hand to change your future with me to
one of your liking. Now I’m going to get some rest and you probably
should too, you look tired.”

I lay back and closed my eyes wondering if I
would have my knife snapped off in my chest at any moment. I heard
a slight sniffling.

Oh darn I had made her cry!

I felt like scum.

“Have you no honor or respect for a fellow
warrior?” She asked softly.

Without opening my eyes I said, “Raya I will
always respect you as a woman and my wife first and a warrior
second. As for honor, I have given you my family name. There’s
enough honor in that name for both of us.”

A little time went by and then she said
softly, “You’re sleeping on my bed. Where am I supposed to
sleep?”

I held one finger up, “Correction, this is
now our bed and there’s plenty of room right here.” I said patting
a narrow space beside me which I heard her huff disgustedly in
answer to.

“Suit yourself then.”

I drifted off to sleep then, confident that
tonight wouldn’t be my last night alive.

Raya stood watching him sleep. It wasn’t the
first time she had watched him sleep. Darkly she thought to herself
that she should have crushed his head with a rock the first time
she’d seen him.

Now that was impossible because he was the
leader of her people. She was stuck with him!

She was tired and cold. Not only had he
stolen her bed, but the big oaf was laying on all the blankets to.
What did it matter anyway to resist?

He had made it clear what the ground rules
were going to be. She stepped toward the bed and her foot kicked
the knife at her feet.

Did he really trust her so much to believe
that she wouldn’t kill him in his sleep?

Some part of her said that he did. If he
trusted her enough not to kill him could she trust the kindness
that she had seen in his eyes ever since she had first met him?

She’d have to find out.

She stepped over the knife and carefully lay
down beside him on the blankets careful not to touch him. The space
was narrow though and her bottom lightly touched against his side.
One thing became extremely apparent. He put off enough heat even in
his sleep that it reminded her of the time she had stood next to a
molten lava river.

Carefully she’s eased backward more and lay
against his side fully, relishing the heat emanating off of him. At
least there was one good benefit to this relationship for her. She
would be warm at least.

There was another benefit to she had to
admit. For the first time in her life she wouldn’t have to face the
nightmarish realm of sleep alone. Maybe the dream wouldn’t come
tonight she thought sleepily, but later it did.

“Mommy please stay back!”

“What’s wrong with you Raya? Why are you
like this?”

“Stay back!”

“Aahhh!”

“I told you to stay back mommy I didn’t mean
to hurt you! I’m so sorry! Please stay away!”

“What has he done to you Raya?” “I don’t
know mommy, but you need to stay away! What do you have a knife for
mommy? No! Don’t go! He’ll hurt you!”

Slam!

“Let me out mommy! Don’t go! Please come
back!”

“Raya! Wake up Raya! Please honey wake up.
Raya!”

Raya’s eyes opened and her screams died off.
Her eyes looked around frantically and then she dissolved into
tears and curled up in a ball crying brokenly.

“Oh we’re not having this honey, come
here!”

I pulled her out of her curled up ball and
over against me. I wrapped one arm around her and with the other I
pulled her long hair out of her face.

“Shhhhh! You’re alright! You’re safe!”

Her teeth started chattering uncontrollably
and I pulled the blankets over top of us. It seemed to help some
and a little while later the chattering stopped and she lay quiet
on me as I continued to comb one hand repeatedly through her soft
glowing hair.

“Was it a nightmare?”

Her expressive eyes glanced up at me from my
chest, “A memory.”

“Does it involve your mother? You were
calling out for her.” I said by way of explanation.

She glanced back down, “Yes.” Came the
muffled reply.

“Do you want to talk about it? Sometimes
that helps.” But her head was already moving no.

“Okay we don’t have to talk about it. You
want me to let you go?”

Her grasp on me tightened and I took that
for the answer that it was.

“Here let’s get you a little more
comfortable. I slid her to the side a little and let her head lay
on the crook of my shoulder while one of her legs and arms still
laid draped across me.

“Comfortable?”

I felt her nod slightly and I said no more,
but continued to stroke my fingers through her hair and hold her
with my other. I said prayer after prayer for her silently and to
my surprise she fell asleep and started to breathe evenly and
deeply.

It was then that I realized suddenly that I
loved her and that I would do anything for her. I held her a little
more tightly to me.

Suddenly I noticed the curtain move to the
side and then it fell back into place. Someone was in the room with
us!

“It’s just me Zevin,” Said the old leader,
whose name I had learned was Malchiesha.

His aged hand gently brushed a lock of hair
I had missed to the side of Raya’s face.

“You prayed to your God for her to have
peace?” He asked softly.

“Yes.”

“Then your God must be real, as I have never
managed to get her to go back to sleep, no matter how I tried.
You’re good for her. Some may say that I gave her away too easily,
but that is not so. Many have asked for her through the years, but
always I said no. I’m glad that I did. She will be happy with you I
can tell.”

Unasked questions came up in my mind in
concern to Raya. He must’ve read my mind, “Are you beginning to put
the pieces together then?”

“Why is she a princess? You have no king in
Lanoria so how is she royal unless she’s…… I don’t understand the
time problem.”

He chuckled softly, “No, none do. That is
why Raya is often alone even among her own people. You see Raya is
over a hundred years old.”

“How can that be possible?” I exclaimed
softly.

Malchiesha shook his head, “I don’t know.
When she reached maturity she stopped aging or at least she ages
only very slowly.”

I thought about what I had just learned for
a moment. “Then she is the Northern princess who was given to the
sorcerer?”

“No, that was her mother and yes before you
ask her father is the sorcerer.”

I gazed down at Raya as she slept peacefully
in my arms.

“Does she know?”

“Yes she does and a great deal more that
she’s never told me. Her mother from all accounts died tragically.
Not much is known, but I think she knows. When we were plotting to
free the slaves a Western slave woman put in charge of caring for
Raya came to me bringing her along. The woman made me swear to look
after Raya and so I have. I will leave you now to your rest, thank
you for caring for her so tenderly.”

After he was gone I clutched her a little
tighter to me and fell back asleep myself.

Raya opened her eyes slowly. She was warm,
so warm. She raised her head up off the firm muscled chest it lay
on and looked up at its peacefully sleeping owner.

She looked down to see one of his hands
laying possessively across her hip and she carefully moved it to
the side and sat up. She craned her head back around to look at the
strong chest she had lain against all night.

There were a few drops of dried blood
staining the shirt and the material was slightly ripped. She
glanced at her long pointed nails. She had done that!

She quickly went over to the tossed knife
and picked it up and then began to savagely saw off the tough
points. It was hard and she feared that she was dulling his knife,
but she was determined.

“You don’t have to do that Raya.” I
said.

She jumped slightly and looked up at me, “I
want to! I keep hurting you with them. I’m not used to touching
people or being near someone.”

I got up and was before her before she knew
it with my hands on her shoulders, as her hand still holding the
knife lay between us. She looked up surprised by my sudden nearness
and I saw her swallow reflexively.

Husky voice I asked, “You don’t really mind
if I touch you do you?”

Slowly her head shook negatively ever so
slightly.

“You’re so beautiful Raya. I’m going to kiss
you. Think you can handle that?”

Again she nodded only slightly but it was a
yes. Slowly my head dropped lower to hers and our lips found each
other’s.

It was a new experience to be sure and one
that I liked. I had pressed the kiss at first, but now she pushed
back slightly with her own passion. After a long moment I drew
back.

“I’ve wanted to do that ever since you
invaded my life in the night with your beautiful tempting
presence.”

She sighed a little and I could tell she was
suddenly a little scared.

“It’s okay Raya. Everything is going to be
okay between us, you’ll see.”

Her eyes searched mine, but I couldn’t
ignore the temptation of her lips so near to mine so I claimed them
again. Kissing her was as sweet as I had ever imagined kissing my
woman one day would be. Life in general in this moment was sweet
and I was cherishing every moment of it.

I took the knife from her loose grip and
said, “Let me help you with this.”

Her eyes were somewhat dazed looking as I
drew back. “And oh by the way good morning Raya.”

She mumbled something in reply and looked
down to where I was trimming her talon sharp nails.

“They make me feel like a beast.” She said
softly.

I stopped what I was doing and stepped back
and looked at her from her head to her toes keeping a serious
expression on my face as I did so, “You sure don’t look like one to
me, but if you are you are definitely the prettiest beast I’ve ever
seen and I think I’ll keep you anyway.”