War

Hey all, I was going to be kind and merciful and give you this entire chapter in whole, but I think I'll draw it out instead, put a little more emphasis on the development. *insert evil laugh here* Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Plz R&R and thank you to all who have supported me so much.



18

Catherine sat for only a short time in her tent, but it was too long for her. A young slave threw the flaps of her tent open, heavily winded and the look of a frightened deer on her face.

"Master Azel, he's alive!"

Cat recognized the girl; she was Wil's slave, one of several. Cat stood but before she could ask her questions Azel stumbled into the tent. He looked as if he was in pain, and had a hard time standing on his own but that wasn't what concerned her. Blood covered every inch of him; it was in his hair on his face set deep into his clothes. A small lantern threw light onto his still wet skin as it glistened a sick crimson color. She went to his side to steady him but his weight was too much for her. The other girl rushed to help her and together they managed to get him to the cot Catherine had been sitting on. The tent Wil had supplied her and her master was large, at least the size of a standard room at an inn. She was thankful for that now. He lay on his back, breathing heavily and with a slight wheeze of pain with each inhale.

"Why wasn't he attended to by a doctor?"

The girl stared at Azel in fear, Catherine didn’t have that luxury.

"He refused, he said he wasn't wounded, that he only needed sleep."

Catherine clenched her jaw in frustration. WHY did he have to be so STUBBORN! She calmed herself, taking a deep breath and trying to concentrate on something other than the stench of blood around her.

"Fetch me a basin of warm water and some rags. I'll tend to his wounds."

The girl nodded and quickly disappeared, surely happy to be away from the gruesome scene. A tight knot had embedded itself in her stomach, but she had to act. Since she had met Azel she had been growing up, learning to take care of herself. He needed her now more than ever. She went to him and tried to carefully peel away his wet heavy shirt. He struggled against her, his hands not so weak as he tried to push her away.

"Azel, please, you're dying."

She wasn't sure if it was the tone of her voice or her words but he yielded to her letting her pull his shirt away gingerly. The clothing dropped to the ground in a wet pile, sure to leave a stain on the dirt. She was relieved to see no wound on his chest or stomach, and yet his skin was covered in red. The slave returned with a large steaming basin of water and an armful of rags. She left them on the ground near the cot before taking her leave. Catherine didn't want her there anyway; she would take care of her master herself. It seemed as though the blood was his skin, reaching down to his waistline and she was sure beyond. She moved to the end of the cot and worked his boots off gently. She dropped them without a second thought and moved up to work his pants off. He was filthy and bleeding from somewhere, she needed to find where. Azel was so quiet as she stripped him naked on the cot that she decided he had fallen asleep. At least that's what she hoped; his chest rose and fell steadily, reassuring her that he was alive.

She was baffled, there wasn't a scratch on him anywhere, she would have gawked if she weren't embarrassed. He was beautiful, even covered in blood, and looked the most relaxed she had ever seen him. She took one of the rags and dipped it into the warm water of the basin, wringing out the excess a calm fell over her. He was alive; he came back to her and with seemingly no wounds. She started at his feet, washing away all the blood and dirt caked to his skin. His legs weren't bad; she only ran the rag casually over them. She blushed as she moved past his sex, nothing was there that needed her attention. Blood was caked to the skin of his waist however and she had to get a new rag to wash it all away. She cleaned his chest and arms his stomach and throat. She lightly brushed away the splatters of crimson on his beautiful face.

She placed the basin under his head; using a glass she poured it over his dark hair, the water turning red with blood. By the time she stopped to take him in her own linen dress was stained red from washing him. She pulled a blanket up to his waist to cover him as she stared. A single rag was left unused, the rest were piled on the dirt next to his clothes. She wet the last rag, wringing the excess water from it before returning to him. She sat at the edge of the cot and tried to lift him up into a sitting position. His back was still caked and needed to be cleaned before she went to bed. She had great difficulty doing so, he was like a big heavy rag doll, she needed more leverage.

Catherine blushed deeply as she straddled her master, lifting him up towards her so she could rest her chin against his shoulder and wash his back. It was an awkward situation, what would happen if he should wake up? She pushed that idea from her head and set back to work. He was hurt and tired, he wouldn’t wake up. She washed his back gently, wiping away the blood and reveling something she hadn't noticed before. Along the center of his spine was a dark twisting tattoo, it wrapped about itself and up towards his right shoulder menacingly. It looked as if they were black thorned vines, what startled her was they weren't there a few days ago when he relieved himself with her in the lake. She traced her fingers along the dark tendrils gently, eliciting a slight wince of pain from Azel. His lean muscled arms wrapped about her waist as she went stiff as a board in his grip. She had been caught red-handed admiring his body and in a very awkward position to say the least.

"I was washing you, Azel you were covered in blood…I was so afraid you were dying."

His strong hands slid up her back as she wrapped her own arms around his neck, he was all right.

"I told you Cat, I can't die."

She watched her fingers dance over the dark vines along his shoulder gently, his muscles tensed, the touch caused him pain.

"Where did that come from?"

Azel's tone darkened but he refused to release her.

"That's something that shows up from time to time, something that helps me fight."

She swallowed and pulled her fingers from the design.

"Is it something from over the Wall?"

He sighed against her shoulder, running his stubbled jaw against her soft neck.

"Don't stop Cat, that felt divine."

She furrowed her brow in confusion, allowing her hands to venture further down his back the dark design running under her fingertips. A shudder ran through him as he sucked in a breath. It didn't cause him pain, but pleasure. She realized this as she felt his length hardening beneath her, only a thin blanket separating them, thrown over his nakedness casually before.

"Azel-"

"You don't need to panic Cat, I told you before, nothing will happen again unless you make it so."

To her surprise she detected a very deep tone of sadness in his voice, as if she were something so far out of reach he wouldn’t even try. She pulled away from him slightly, only to rest her forehead against his and close her eyes, taking in his scent. He was beautiful, and kind to her, could a slave really ask for more?

"What if I'm scared?"

Azel's eyes froze over again with their familiar cold expression, his arms falling away from her finally releasing her.

"Then nothing will happen Cat."

He tried to move away but her arms about his neck held him firm, his gaze meeting hers in slight confusion.

"What if I want something to happen?"


Tada! Now a week of torture MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *clears throat* ok anyway, please rate and review, I love hearing from all of you. See you all next Monday. Toodles!