Someone lightly caressed my cheek and I slowly open my eyelids and looked into Leon's brown glittering eyes.
"Good morning my love."
Leon looked at me with a smile playing on his lips before attacking my neck with kisses. Kisses that moved to my lips and made our bodies ache for more, when suddenly my stomach gave off a loud grumble and Leon started laughing.
Shameful I bite my lower lip but his laughter was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard and I couldn't help but admire his gorgeous face.
He got up to fetch the breakfast from the table by the window. I ate bread, cheese and salty ham and gulping it down with water. Leon looked amused at me at first but then his expression got serious. He sat down behind me, his arms wrapping me tightly.
"What have they done to you?" The words were barely a whisper, but I could hear the pain in his voice.
"We were looking for you in despair, but the days went by and we started to fear the worst. I was loosing it Eve." He kissed my neck before he continued "and you were right about the fog, there was some kind of black magic that misled us several times."
I leaned my head against his chest and listened.
"We didn't find any traces of you anywhere and went around in circles."
He reached for a cup of some vegetable oil which he started to rub into my damaged skin.
"How did you find me?"
He snickered "Did you notice your mare and Daniels horse are very attached to each other? I think she'd been looking for us and when we found her she showed us the way back to you."
He moved down to examine my ankles tenderly.
"You arrived just in time," I mumbled "I've never been so scared in my entire life."
He sighed and stood up "We failed to protect you. And when we finally reached the house and-... the image of you.." his voice broke and he went quiet.
I stood up and placed my arms around his neck, holding him tight. "I'm safe now."
"You'll be safe within the castle walls Eve. We have to leave soon, if anyone's searching for us we'll be safer in the capitol. And the others are probably waiting for us."
The others, it felt like a punch in my stomach, here I was enjoying my alone time with Leon while Daniel and the others fought the snakes and maybe got hurt for my sake.
"Don't worry, they'll be fine." Leon whispered tenderly, as if he's been reading my mind. "Wait here, I'll find new clothes for you". He walked toward the door "I'll be back soon".
I examined my wounds and licked my lips sighing over every scar I would get. Then I pulled the sheet around my body and stood by the window.
We were in a medium-sized village, people were fully occupied in the streets and there were traders selling their goods in the square. I opened the window and breathed in the warm air. I heard dogs barking and children laughing, and my gaze wandered from a woman admiring a fabric to another who seemed to bargain on a box, and various other people walking back and forth on the streets.
I could thrive in such a village, I thought, to be Leon's wife for real. I sighed deeply, it would never happen.
My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening, Leon came in with my new clothes and it was time to leave. I decided to push all my worries and fears away and enjoy my day.
Leon went to check on the horse and prepare as I got dressed and when stepped out of the inn door, I was greeted by Leon's wide open eyes. He was just about to tighten the pack on the horse when I came out and he froze in his motion. I wore a long dark green velvet dress with gold linings at the hem and a yellow belt with embroidered gold details. I had braided my hair which hung over my right shoulder with a golden ribbons in it.
I took a deep breath and went out into the sun, giving him a radiant smile as I spun around for him. He let go of everything and walked up to me, put his hands on my hips and looked me deep into my eyes before he bent down to give me a light kiss. The innkeeper smiled at us when she came out of the house.
"You look better my lady," she said, handing me a basket of food.
"Yes, thank you for everything Mrs. Dawson" I said, hugging her hand in mine.
Then we left.
I sat in front of Leon again with his arms around me, we chatted and laughed. We rode for hours before stopping to rest, but the day had passed so fast, too fast.
I looked through the bags and handed him some of the food we had with us.
"Is it far?"
Leon sat staring into the fire, he shook his head. "We'll arrive tomorrow"
"Tomorrow!" I exclaimed in half despair. I got up and walked up to him, he looked up at me as I sat down in his lap. I moved my fingertips along his jawline and kissed his lips, breathing in his scent.
"I don't know if I can do this!"
"Of course you do, and we are there to help you."
I would continue to object when he put a finger to my lips.
"I will always be with you, don't worry .."
I sighed deeply and closed my eyes, right then I wanted the time to stand still.
"How?"
"We'll figure it out Eve, I'm not prepared to loose you, so don't worry your cute little head about it."
I trusted him with all my heart and his words made me relax. And I must have fallen asleep in his embrace because suddenly the sun rose on the horizon.
Reluctantly, I got ready and we rode away quietly, we were in no hurry. The forests were dense and everything was quiet around us and there had never been any signs of anyone following us. We could enjoy the tranquility and listen to the birds' twitter. I felt his hands caress my braided hair, he kissed my neck and whispered softly "I love you too."
I jerked at the words and held back the tears that burned in my eyes when he stopped the horse and looked at me smiling.
"We are almost there, if everything goes as planned, they sit and wait for us in the glade over there."
He pointed forward but I was still facing him.
"What will happen when we arrive at the castle Leon?"
He looked at me seriously "We'll take one day at a time." he moved a string hair from my face "Come on, Daniel is waiting for you"
The horse started walking again and soon we got to see them, they were sitting by the campfire and I noticed that nobody seemed to be injured.
Leon quickly jumped down from the horse and stretched out his arms towards me, I gratefully accepted the help because it was difficult to get down in a dress. Right away I had eye contact with Daniel and Ren who both came walking towards us.
"Evelyn" Daniel called out my name with a relieved look.
Ren glanced at Leon's hands still resting around my waist he said nothing but stretched his arms out to me and I ran to meet him. I was wrapped tightly in his arms before taking a step back and admiring me.
"You are beautiful"
I blushed at his words and turned to smile at Leon.
"He chose the dress."
Daniel laughed and walked up to Leon, hugging him happily.
"Thank you!"
We all laughed, cried and hugged each other before we finally walked over to the fire and Leon and I each had a cup of coffee and Mathew went through what happened after Leon freed me.
"As soon as we saw that Leon freed you and managed to escape, we went after the leader. It turned out to be the same man who managed to get away from us in your forest." He looked at me and Daniel when he said it.
"Unfortunately, he used the same magic again, disappeared without a trace in front of us." He sighed heavily. "The others had no chance against us, we quickly got away and searched the forest for the magician, but not a trace."
He turned to Leon "Did you have any problems along the way?"
Leon rested his elbows on his knees, and with his head lowered in his hands, he rubbed his face before looking up and shaking his head. "No, but Eve was in bad shape and we had to rest at a small inn."
Daniel clenched his fists with anger but I put a soothing hand on his arm.
"I feel better now."
He looked down at my hand and ran his fingers over the bandage around my wrist.
"Dan, I promise, I'm fine."
He shook his head and looked up at Leon who met his eyes "She's not."
"Leon.." I sighed.
"You don't have to be strong for us Eve, we are here to support you. And from what I saw and what you told me, you've been through hell."
I leaned my head on my brothers shoulder "But I'm fine now, I'm back with all of you."
Daniel held me tight but I could see him and Leon they exchanging glances in agreement.
"You still need rest."
Mathew agreed, we would stay there for a few days so I could recover. Ren and Patric would leave for the village and buy a tent for me and also find a wagon that I could ride in, it was time for me to be treated like a princess.
I went over to my horse to fetch a blanket and wrapped it around me and walked over to Leon who sat leaning against the log by the campfire. Without hesitation I lay down in his lap, with my head leaning against his chest. They where right, my body was exhausted, every muscle in my body was aching and my throat still hurt with every word I spoke. I closed my eyes and fell asleep immediately.
Leon moved his hand gently over my locks, rolling his eyes at the stubbornness and total ignorance of what the others would think. But he smiled happily as he pulled the hood down over his eyes and the mantle more tightly around him, then shuffled down into a half-lying position, and soon he fell asleep as well.
Daniel sighed heavily to himself. He had failed, he had almost lost her. He loved her like a real sister and he had sworn never to let anything happen to her. Who knew what they had done to her, he looked down at his hands shaking and took a deep breath to calm himself. Then he looked up at Evelyn, who slept deeply in Leon's arms, she looked happy and so did his friend.
He closed his eyes and prayed to whoever would listen, and that day he swore his sister would stay happy as long as he lived.