Looking at her strange positioning, I can’t imagine this is her usual sleeping chamber. How could anyone sleep with that terrible light and sound blaring from the monstrosity across from her?Something to revisit once the room stops spinning.
Leaving her there for the moment, I quietly enter the kitchen and pull the compass from my pocket. I understand what the hunter meant now; my re-entering Bel’s proximity caused the compass to spin in rapid circles. Setting it on the table, I turn to where I’ll find what I’m looking for.
Opening the door, the scent of meat makes my mouth water.It’s better fresh, but this will do.I generally don’t need to eat, but it helps restore me. I’ll need every bit of power I can hold while I relearn how to survive in this world. Two measly hunters already found me. Had there been many more, they may have even overpowered me with their new weaponry.
After having devoured a tattooed hand, tasting slightlyoffdue to the ink, I’m feeling more like myself. I glance back at my snoring hostess, struck by her beauty, even deep in her drunken slumber. I think to myself again that she can’t possibly sleep there. She’s nearly falling off.
Making my decision, I go in search of her rooms on the upper level of her home. I peek into the first room, the one she grabbed the clothing from,her housemates,then proceed down the hallway. The next room must be a water closet, though I don’t recognize anything inside of it. Continuing on, I remember which room was her studio. After she’s settled, I’ll have to return and continue my research.
The final room I find is filled with her sweet scent. The bed is unmade and rumpled, but it looks and smells so inviting that I’d give anything to sleep there, surrounded by her scent. Some lacy things lie scattered around the room, and based on their exquisite scent, these must be her underthings. Ideally, I would spend some time investigating her room, but it’ll have to wait. I turn around to leave and—
Okay, maybe I’ll just take one.I slip a pair of her strappy underwear into a pocket in my pants and make my way back downstairs to her.
Returning to my sweet, sleepy offering, I gently slide an arm under her back and my other beneath her knees, lifting her to my chest. She lets out the smallest sigh and snuggles into me, all but nuzzling where my neck meets my shoulder.
“Mmmmm, you smell good,” she mumbles at me.
“You smell drunk, Little Dove.” The sleepy, shut-eyed smile she graces me with makes my heart momentarily cease beating. Even with the messy black streaks running down her face from all the crying, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.The short walk to her room will not be nearly enough time to bask in the gift that she is. But it’ll have to do for now.
As I lay her down and pull the blanket to cover her body, she mutters something unintelligible. Leaning down I ask her to repeat it so I may understand.
“M’ name… ‘s Belissenda,” she slurs before turning over to bury herself in a mountain of pillows.
Belissenda. Brave warrior.
“Goodnight, Belissenda,” I whisper, fingering her red locks one last time before retiring to the spare room for the night.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Bel
The first thing I register is my pounding headache.Did I get hit by a fucking train?Wracking my brain, trying to remember what happened last night, the second thing I register is that somehow I made it to bed.No, that’s not right. Someone put me here.
Caspian.
I didn’t actually expect him to come back. I naively thought he was messing with me, or he’d change his mind when he found some other demons or something. I wonder if he’s still here and decide to investigate.Oof, maybe after I brush my teeth.After I use the restroom and pull my rat’s nest of hair into a scrunchie, I try to sneak toward the stairs.
“Good morning, Belissenda,” he calls to me, the humor in his voice giving it a musical lilt.“Come along now, you needn’t be shy.”
Bracing myself with a deep breath, I walk downstairs and come face to face with the man who haunted my dreams all night, leaning against my kitchen counter like he owns the place. “Morning,” I manage to squeak out.
“I would assume you are famished after all the excitement last night,” he begins. “I had planned to make you something to break your fast, but alas, nothing is familiar to me.”
“Oh, that’s alright. I get the feeling we have different tastes in food,” I tease.If I make jokes, this will be easier, right?
“You mean you do not have a hankering for peacekeeper flesh?” He tsks, “Such a pity. Here I thought we might have something in common.”
I only allow myself a small smile, even though thatwasfunny. I’m not telling him that. He doesn’t get to be hotandpowerful,andalso funnier than me. Absolutely fucking not.
Walking closer and gesturing for him to move, I say, “I really just want coffee, which you happen to be blocking.”
Rather than move, he just stares down at me, a slight smile pulling at his perfect mouth—don’t think shit like that; he can probably hear you.At the obvious blush rising to my cheeks, his smile widens. “What are you feeling right now?” he asks lowly, and at my obvious displeasure, he lightens his tone, adding, “You seem to have imbibed a bit after my departure, are you feeling alright?” as if he’s completely unaware of how his first question came across.
“I’m very hungover, hence, the coffee.” Finally, he steps aside, only enough for me to squeeze in next to him and start up my Keurig. “Ummm. Do you want some?”
His eyes slowly raze over every inch of me before he answers, “Absolutely, I do.”God damn him.More earnestly, he asks, “Will you teach me how to make it?”At my answering nod, he moves off the counter and angles his body to be slightly behind me without blocking his view of the machine. The way he’s standing causes his arm to barely graze my back, making it impossible to breathe without inhaling his incredible scent.
“It’s re-really easy, actually. They made these coffee machines idiot proof,” I tell him.
