After I went back to my tent, I found myself curious about Raphael. I couldn’t focus on my usual tasks and almost over watered the vegetables.
Harold sent me back to my tent to get some rest, but sleep eluded me. All I could think about was the mysterious connection between Raphael and I.
I sat in my tent until the sun started to set, before I went to the campfire to get answers from Alyse.
“What’s his deal? Why is he such an ass?” I asked, as we sat by the fire near the edge of the woods.
Raphael prowled the edge of our encampment which left Alyse and I an opportunity to sit down and really talk.
As a stand-in for his absence, she was responsible for guarding the camp. I finally got my time with her to get as many details as I could.
“Hmm, let’s see. I don’t think it’s really my story to tell, but I will tell you as much as I can,” she explained, stoking the fire.
The heat of it warmed me, and I snuggled into my furs as Raphael walked past us and into the forest.
I turned my attention to Alyse and watched as she gathered her thoughts before speaking. “Raphael was not a normal child in his clan. Did you see the color of his eyes?” she asked.
I nodded, knowing I would never forget eyes that vibrant shade of purple.
“Well, the Purple clan don’t have purple eyes. The children are born with purple flecks in their eyes and the more flecks they have, the stronger they will likely be. When he was born, his eyes were fully purple. At first, the clan rejoiced at a strong male being born. However, as years passed, and his strength surpassed those of his clan, whispers started to spread among his people.”
She bowed her head, a teary look in her eyes before she continued. “After a few years of letting the insults get to him, he hardened his heart and left. I found him in the woods when he was fourteen years of age. I knew by his eyes he was different, but that didn’t mean he deserved to be treated like an outsider. I took him in and raised him, but he keeps himself locked away, never letting anyone close enough to hurt him.”
“But, what about his parents?” I asked, not much of her story making sense.
She shrugged her shoulders, looking lost. It made my heart hurt to see her so affected by this story. It also explained why he treated me the way he did.
He protected himself from everyone around him, so he would never hurt again.
“I’m not sure. He never really told me, and I didn’t ask.”
I sat there shocked that he went through that alone. I couldn’t even imagine what his clan did to him if mine treated me the way they did, then his could have been just as vicious.
I looked into the flames, my mind mulling it all over. We sat in quiet before I murmured, “He’s going to train me.”
Her gaze snapped around, and a slow grin formed. “I see.”
I pushed her arm playfully. “Oh, please! It’s just training. Besides, guys are not even on my radar, yet. I have too much on my mind to let a man into my heart.”
She smirked at me, her eyes sparkling in the firelight. “Oh, of course. Because Raphael volunteers to train every new warrior to come into our camp,” she pointed out, a touch of sarcasm in her tone. “And, trust me, Abby, every woman needs a little love in her life. Even if it is a quick fling.” She winked just as Raphael came out of the forest and straight toward us, his eyes bright and burning.
“You need to come with me,” he demanded.
I watched as Alyse sighed getting to her feet, but he shook his head a small smile playing on his lips.
“Not you, Alyse.” His gaze snapped to me, and my eyes widened in shock. “Since you trusted Little Abby enough to train her, I want her to learn the guard routine and procedures.”
To say I was surprised was an understatement.
Raphael didn't seem the type to volunteer to help anyone unless he had to. Not to mention the gleam in his eyes which sent a chill up my spine. But, what choice did I have? He was the leader, I had to get along with him.
I got to my feet, and tried to show him a calm façade. The last thing I wanted was to end up pissing him off and being out in the middle of the forest on my own.
I had found my own place here, and I wasn't quite ready to leave yet. There was still so much for me to learn.
Raphael would not be the reason I left. No, I would only leave when I was well and truly ready to go.
His heavy footsteps echoed as we walked toward the forest, and I tried to keep my interest hidden. The last thing I wanted was to find myself becoming attracted to someone who would hold my future here in his hands.
As we walked, the nightlife buzzed among the woods leaving me to take a moment and close my eyes. I breathed in the night life, glad to be free from the King's rule.
Some days I would lay awake, my mother’s death burning into my mind. I couldn't help but mourn her loss. She was everything. The only one who didn't belittle me for my role in the world. I knew without her in this world, I would try to do what I could to make her proud, but the King would be dead and gone before any of that.
The heartless bastard deserved a painful death. I knew I might not be strong enough to face him if he shifted to dragon form, but at least, I would die knowing I avenged my mother.
My father, however, part of me wished I knew just exactly where he was. I would have punched him in his pathetic face for leaving me because I wasn't what he thought I would be.
The older I got, I finally started to understand that self-worth wasn't based on who your parents were, it was what you made of yourself.
There I was, in a rogue clan of dragons, and ready to take on the King.
"You okay?" Raphael's voice broke me out of my vendetta-tainted thoughts, and I offered him a weak smile.
"Sure, fine," I reassured him, wiping away the tears that had leaked out when I was lost in my thoughts.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked as we walked through the dark woods.
I was left to wonder how on earth he could see so well when I realized he was a dragon. Their eyesight was absolutely remarkable.
Sure, I could see well enough to guide me through the forest without falling flat on my ass, but not enough for it to feel like daylight which was how it was supposed to be.
The silence between us became deafening, and I couldn't help but speak, "I was thinking about my revenge."
"What revenge?" he asked, surely faking interest out of kindness.
"I'm going to kill the King."
He pulled up short, and I ran straight into his back. He whirled on me, his eyes glowing with something I'd never quite seen before. A mix of hatred and fury.
"Do…not…touch…the…King!" he growled out through clenched teeth, his hands fisting at his side.
I unconsciously took a step back, afraid of the ferociousness in his voice. He seemed to see something in my eyes and closed his own, taking a deep breath.
He turned away.
"Don't talk about the King in my presence," he said, his voice still slightly tainted with anger.
I didn't say anything, wondering if I should turn back, but he started walking as if nothing happened.
"The guards are to walk through the edge of the forest. We are practically in the middle of the woods here, so the only real attack can come from the trees. It's one of the reasons we camped here."
"What about if there is no real area to camp?" I asked, interested to see how he'd handle the situation. I meant it wasn’t like every forest out there had a clearing in the middle of it.
He smiled as he looked around at the trees. "We're Dragons, Abigail. That means we can use our brute strength to knock them down if we have to. Then, we have firewood for the colder months, and if we somehow don't need to use all the wood, we like to give it to the local villages, the ones who have little to no protection from the cold."
My first thought was ‘what a waste,’ but after his explanation, I was proud. They seemed to be doing their best for the other villages. Not many clans cared about anyone except their own.
He continued, "We like to choose places that have some kind of natural clearing already in it, then gradually chop down the few trees we need to make room for our crops. We have a stable with a small amount of cattle, but we usually purchase them from the local villagers. The King, however, likes to breed all his cattle so that he has hundreds of them when it's just not needed."
I nodded my head in agreement not sure what to say because the passion in his voice took me off guard. Not many people knew how much cattle was bred. It was very hard to keep my distance when the passion in his voice was the same way I felt.
But, the hard-ass attitude he had was definitely not attractive.
"Come on, Abigail, this is supposed to be a learning experience not a freaking star-gazing trip!"
Seriously, it was like he could read my mind. One minute nice guy, next moment an ass.
"Fine, just tell me what is the main thing I have to do?"
He laughed, a mix of frustration and annoyance. "Just make sure an army doesn't come through the trees and kill us all in our sleep."
Fucking ass!
"Seriously, Abigail, pay attention," Raphael groaned, grabbing my hand to stop me from walking into a tree.
It was all his fault. He distracted me by being a super douche.
"Okay, I’m listening," I said, walking a few steps in front of him, making little notes about the forest in my head.
Trees had been marked with random letters, there seemed to be small animal traps toward the heavier brush. Maybe for rabbits, so they had meat. I knew every couple of nights there would be rabbit stew for dinner, and while it was great, the same person must have cooked it because it was bland. Maybe I could find out who had cooked it and give them my tips on the herbs my mother used to mix in her stews.
Hers were absolutely delicious and made me go back for more. The camp ones have been tasteless and made me wish I could help cook.
"We have four guards on at one time. We have sections marked out for each guard then after an hour, we rotate in a clockwise position. After four rotations, we try to swap out the guards. Everyone who trains as a warrior in the camp must do their part, and this is the next step. Until you are trusted, you will be shadowed...by me," he said with a wicked smile that told me I was going to regret ever meeting him.
We spent the rest of the night walking around, and he showed me the whole rotation area. I admired the fact that he seemed to know each of the men on guard by name. What I didn't appreciate was the way he talked as if I wasn't there.
We started walking back to his rotation after a couple of hours, and I watched as others took on his shift. I guessed I thought he was leaving his area open, but he must have had another person covering his section while he showed me the outskirts.
As we were leaving, he pulled me to the side. "Do you mind sticking with me for a minute? I would like to show you something," he said, the moonlight shining off his eyes.
I nodded, eager to see something new. At least, I hoped it was new.
We wandered further from the camp, and for a moment, I thought he was leading me to my death. It wasn’t until we’d come upon the sound of water that my interest piqued, and my fear washed away.
“Where are we?” I asked, awed at the scene in front of me. A beautiful little spring sat in the middle of the forest, a small waterfall dropped into it off the mountain edge, making it look like a small Garden of Eden.
“This is where I like to go when I’m having a bad day. It’s soothing. As an apology for being a bit of an ass when I saw you fighting Alyse, I wanted to give you a place to relax. I know you must have been through something for you to run from your clan.”
“How do you know I ran from my clan? Or that I was even in a clan?”
He turned away and walked toward the water. “Will you swim with me?” he asked, changing the subject and refusing to answer me, but I felt the subtle shift. He was hiding something from me.
I nodded eagerly. Bathing in the small sink-like bowls we had in the tents was not exactly cleansing. Grime from a hard day’s work still stuck to you, whether you wanted it to or not.
I stripped down to my underwear—a small band of fabric wrapped around my breasts and plain white underwear that were already becoming grey from the constant day to day washing.
I hopped in the water and sighed in relief. The water was surprisingly warm considering how cool it was. “How come the water is so warm?” I asked as Raphael slowly stripped off by the side of the natural pool. I tried to tell myself not to look, but the bulge of his muscles drew me in. Soft sensual lines ran down his chest, showing how hard he must work at his training to be so...powerful.
He turned his back on me, and I covered my mouth with a hand to hold back the gasp of shock. His back was littered with scar upon scar, the same way mine now was. The whip.
I just knew the King must have gotten to him, too. A tear slipped free, and I hid it before he saw.
He made his way in, and I admired the grace he had especially seeing as I almost slipped three times getting in. “There’s a hot spring pool in the waterfall. It keeps the water warm until we get a cold snap. Once that happens you have to go under the waterfall to get to the heat.”
“Oh.”
We both just sat in the water, the silence somewhat comforting. Usually, silence felt awkward and like you needed to talk, but the silence with Raphael was nice.
After an hour of just soaking in the water, I felt relaxed, and the muscles in my shoulders felt great.
Raphael walked me back to the camp and kept glancing at me, and I was unable to keep the smile from my face. “Dude, why do you keep looking at me? Do I have a leech attached to my face or something?” I asked finally, wondering what all the looks are about.
He grins “No, no leech. You just look different.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, not a clue what he was getting at. Was he saying when I’m not bathed properly I look gross? I mean I did, but still to allude to that fact, that’s rude!
“Don’t worry nothing bad. It’s just while fighting Alyse, you had this glint in your eyes. It made you seem harsh. Now, you look like a noble woman.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, right! I know I’m okay, but I’m definitely not some stuck-up noblewoman.” I shook my head as I veered toward my tent, noticing most of the camp was out for the night.
It was not until I got to my tent, I realized Raphael had followed me over. “Um, did I forget something?”
He grimaced. “No, I just wanted to say goodnight and make sure you don’t wander off.”
“Raphy, I’ve been here for two weeks, and I’ve been fine. I think I can handle myself. Besides, if I can take you on and win, then I should be fine.”
A scowl marred his beautiful face. “Did you just call me ‘Raphy’?”
I grinned. “Yep! I thought since you felt like nicknaming me ‘little Abigail’, I should give you a nickname just as good and ‘Raphy’ was the winner.”
He glared at me. “One, you did not win, we tied.”
I nodded, a massive grin in place. “Uh, huh. Sure. I didn’t exactly lose, so I call that a win.”
He rubbed a hand across his face. “Fine, whatever. I just wanted to say goodnight and tell you I don’t mind you using the hot spring whenever you need to, but now, I feel like you’re being too much of an annoyance.”
Something about our banter pleased me. It was like we both got enjoyment out of irritating each other. He shook his head at some unspoken thought and started to walk away before calling over his shoulder, “I’ll see you at dawn, Little Abigail.”
I watched him walk away, unable to tear my gaze away until he was in his own tent. When I laid down for the night, I found I couldn’t stop Raphael from popping into my thoughts. I fell asleep that night reassuring myself that it was the banter that I enjoyed, not him.