What Things May Come

“Is this it?” he asked as he pulled the chalice out of the leather bag at his side.

The general gazed at it for just a second before realizing it was the one that had been stolen from him. The man seized it from him and quickly handed over the reward money he’d offered to have it returned to him.
“Where did you find it?” the concerned man asked.
“I just took the bag from the ones who took it from you. I’ve dealt with them, so there’s no need to worry about it happening again. At least not from these people.” Ralfaiel assured him.
The man gave him another grateful handshake and they said their goodbyes. Ralfaiel hadn’t seen her in a few weeks. He knew that she’d planned on selling the beautiful cup somewhere up north, but he didn’t know the purpose of doing so. He wasn’t even sure that her intentions were good, but he knew that he wasn’t picking up the vibe that they were bad. Maybe his innocent lust for her was clouding his judgment.

Ralfaiel left the general’s home for a quick stop at the market. He didn’t know what he was searching for, but maybe he’d find it with a little bit of scanning. As he turned the corner he could see there was a big commotion at the fruit stand. It was her! She was surrounded by patrol officers.
“Must’ve gotten caught.” He whispered to himself.

He made his way closer to her to hear what the commotion was all about.

“She took an apple from my table.” The vender explained to one of the soldiers.

He turned to Lionheart, “Is this true?”
“The little boy was hungry. Do you expect him to starve?” she asked forcefully.
“What about my family?” the vender responded angrily, “Do you expect us to starve? We are all poor here! Now, either pay for the apple or go to jail.”

Ralfaiel expected differently, but he wasn’t surprised. He forced his way into the crowd.
“Here.” He handed the vender more than enough for the apple. “Now, release her.”

Lionheart couldn’t believe her eyes. It was him! Coming to her rescue? What in the world?

“Yes, my lord.” The soldier said as he gave the order for her release. Once the others let her go she pushed them away from her. Ralfaiel looked at her with an intense anger in his eyes. She froze almost instantly; he was frightening her.
“Come with me.” He commanded.
“But, sir…” the soldier began.
“I’ll handle it.” He said sternly interrupting the soldier.

Lionheart crossed to him slowly like a scared dog with his tail between its legs. The soldiers called him sir. He had power? She was in deep trouble. Oh, the disgrace she just caused her family… It was getting to be unbearable. She followed him as he led her down to the sewers under the city. They walked on for what seemed like forever. Finally, they came upon an opening. She stopped for a moment, she’d never seen this area before, and she could swear she knew ever inch of the city. She followed him out into the sunlight. The imagery hit her hard; it was breathtaking. They were in a small lagoon type area. The city was above them on the cliffs overlooking the sea. There was water gathered into a small pond, the bottom of which had white sand. The water was clear enough to see straight to the bottom. There were rocks separating the pond from the rest of the sea. And to top it off the sun was setting against the sea sending streaks of pink and orange across the sky and the water. It would’ve been romantic if the circumstances had been different.

Ralfaiel looked at her with anger still in his eyes.
“I’m sure you have questions.” He said sternly.

Lionheart was taken off guard, he had his wrath in his eyes but it didn’t show in his voice.
“Sir? My lord?” she asked in a mocking manner.

Ralfaiel laughed lightheartedly. That hadn't been what he expected.

“Yes, so my family has a little push and pull around here. That is all.” He answered.
“Why did you come to my rescue? I’m just a commoner.” She said with a small strain.
“Don’t expect it to happen again. Your family would be ashamed.” He chided.
“The boy was hungry. He looked at me and my heart broke. I could care less how ashamed my family would be. I couldn’t live with myself if I let him…”
“Calm down,” he cut her off, “I’m not going to turn you in. But you need to reconsider the consequences of your actions. This whole country is in turmoil. There are tensions between the queen and the princess. Other countries don’t feel that the young Princess Sarashada can handle the throne or protect this country. We are on the edge of war like this world has never known, and you go and steal from your fellow countrymen like a cowardly traitor. You are lucky you’re not in the dungeon! You don’t have it as bad as you think! What are you stealing for? Do you understand the danger you are putting your family in?”
Lionheart was looking at her feet, gasping for air and fighting back her tears. How could he have this power over her? She didn’t know how to explain herself. All she wanted was her father to succeed, and for her mother to pay her some mind. There it went…her self-control was gone. The warm tears fell from her eyes.
He could hardly understand why she was crying, but it wasn’t what he meant to do to her. He quickly rushed to her and held her. Almost as if it was routine she laid her head on his shoulder and sobbed a little. Her scent was all around him and he breathed it in happily. She calmed herself down and brought herself to look at him. His sorrow showed in his face. He placed his hand on her cheek and wiped away her tears.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry. I had no idea you were that sensitive.” He said sincerely.
Lionheart was almost disgusted. Her hand went up faster than lightning and struck him hard. He stumbled away from her holding his own cheek.
“You pig.”

Whatever hold he had over her was gone in that instant. They could both feel it.
“God! What did I ever see in you?” she asked rhetorically.

Ralfaiel was a little disoriented. Her sudden attack threw him for a loop. But he couldn’t think of anything to say or do. They stood looking at each other in silence. The sexual tension was gone, the lustful thoughts as well, but neither of them made the first move to walk away. Was there a deeper meaning in it all? Were they both unsure of how they felt right now?
He didn’t want to think of it anymore. He reached for her and to his surprise she didn’t run. He pulled her close to him. She looked at him confused again as he kissed her. There was no lust in it, no hunger for her to respond to, but a promise. A promise he made to never upset her in that way again. He pulled away from her but didn’t let her loose. They smiled at one another. Finally, he released her.

Lionheart walked her way to the water, took off her shoes and put her feet in the warm water.
“You scared me.” She laughed.

Ralfaiel placed his bare feet in the water along with hers as he sat down beside her.
“You scared me.” He confessed.
“I thought I was in serious trouble and that my father was going to suffer for it.” She confided in him.
“I’m not going to tell on you If that’s what you’re scared of.” He said.
“No, I want my father to be all that he wants to be… I don’t like living the way we do. He has to give fighting classes to the local youngsters just to make enough money to eat on. The government is paying for his weapons research, but for how long? My mother works too hard on dinner and cleaning… And dad’s always too busy to notice. He hasn’t eaten with us in three years. I’m scared our family’s falling apart. I steal to get the extra money for my family and to make things easier on us.”
“I meant to find you and give this to you earlier,” he pulled the reward money from the leather bag he had recently taken from her, “you can have it.”
“What is this?” she asked, unsure if she should take it or not.
“It’s the reward money from the general. He was grateful to have his beloved cup back, and gave me this for it.”
“I can’t take that.”
“Why not? You were going to sell it for money anyway. Just take this. It’s not like I need it. Call it a donation.”
He smiled widely at her as he placed the money in her hand and the leather bag around her shoulders. The straps slid down her arms tying her arms loosely to her body. She smirked and splashed him with the water at her feet. He playfully splashed back. She stood up soaking wet. It was almost as if they knew what the other was thinking, because they both bent down and began to throw the water at one another.
Ralfaiel fought his way through the waves she was throwing his way and tackled her. They hit the wet sand harder then he expected; it knocked the wind out of them both. He rolled onto his back and gasped for air. She struggled to do the same, but after a moment the air came back to her lungs. He rose up and placed his arm around her.
“You okay?” he asked concerned.
She chuckled a bit. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Good,” he laid his head on her chest, “I though for sure I’d killed you.”
“You’re not capable of it.” She mocked.

He sat up again taking a bag from his shoulder and swigging from it. After he drank his fill he offered it to Lionheart.
“Have some.” He commanded.

Lionheart took it from him and in one swift move took a big gulp from it, but it didn’t stay in her mouth long. She spewed it back out disgusted.
“God! What is that? It’s horrible!”

Ralfaiel fell back laughing. He’d never seen such an over exaggerated reaction in his recent years.

“It’s my mother’s tea.” He confessed.
Lionheart felt embarrassed, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I don’t know how I learned to stomach it either. It is by far the worst thing she attempts to cook. The woman could boil water and make it disgusting.”

They both laughed.

“I’m glad my mother’s a decent cook. My father’s better at it though.” She told him.
“Lucky you, my father doesn’t cook at all. Good thing too, I’d kill myself if I had to eat his food as well.”

Lionheart smirked as she watched the sun setting. Ralfaiel encouraged her to lie down and watch as the stars began to appear. They chatted for a while longer about nothing in particular. The water began to rise as the moon moved higher up the skyline. They stayed in their spots and let the waves roll over them, soaking them more and more.

“My father wouldn’t approve of you.” Ralfaiel said from somewhere out of the blue.
Lionheart lifted herself up on her shoulder to look at him.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“I’m sorry, I was thinking out loud.” He responded raising up to face her.
“Well, for your information, my mother wouldn’t approve of you.” She smarted.

He was amused and awed by her ferocity. Everything about her expelled a magnanimous energy. He’d grown too fond of her. His father would only disappoint him in the end. He couldn’t have that. His hand caressed her cheek for what he intended to be the last time. He pulled her to him and kissed her gently. She forced herself closer to him and held his kiss longer than he wanted to. In all honesty, he didn’t want it to stop, but if he didn’t break away from her now, he knew it wouldn’t.
She pulled away from him finally. He was a bit relieved and at the same time dismayed.
“I need to get back to my carriage. My father will be ready to leave soon.” She said reluctantly.
“Of course,” he smiled, “Stand up, wrap your arms around me.” He commanded.

She did as he told her. He pulled her closer as if to protect her from some unknown force. The world began to vibrate, and the sand disappeared from under them. It was almost as if they were floating. An immense pressure invaded in on them and within seconds it was gone and they were in the alleyway next to where her father was waiting. Ralfaiel inhaled her scent one last time and released her. She strolled down the remainder of the alley and turned to wave to him but he was gone. She cocked her head to the side in a confused state. However, she shook it off and met her father at the buggy. She climbed into the back and her father started the horses on the road back home. She wondered to herself when she would see him again…….