"Where is she?" I heard the words spoken from outside the doors of my chambers, but my body did not react.
After the coughing had ceased, Amah had forced me to drink two cups of some hot liquid that I assumed had the same color and flavor as horse piss.
~Please God, don't let it have been horse piss.~
After that, I had stood lethargically in front of a mirror as Amah and a maid wrapped me in a black nightgown, then steered me toward the bed that I welcomed with open arms. I face planted into a pillow and I couldn't remember moving since then.
"She's in here, Your Grace." I heard Amah's voice as the door to my chambers opened. My eyes fluttered open, but I didn't move my body. I felt like another coughing fit may come over me if I moved I definitely didn't want anymore of Amah's medicine. "We think it is a desert cold." Amah Continued.
Silence followed Amah's words, and then an inaudible sigh came after. "Of course it is."
I recognized that voice: smooth and low and chocolate.
It was Altan.
~Did he really come here because I was sick?~
"I can use my element to heal her." Altan began and footsteps approached the bed.
"It may be better to let her rest at the moment, your Grace." Amah intervened and Altan's footsteps halted. "I could send word to you again when she awakens."
Altan released another small sigh.
~Is he really that concerned for me? He's only known me for about a day... oh right, he needs to marry a Water Mage... I'm his only shot.~
I closed my eyes tightly as Altan's footsteps turned toward the door. But then suddenly my nose tickled, and I was going to... no, I could hold it in... no...
"Ah-Choo!!"
~Great, it sounded louder cause I tried to hold it in.~
Silence followed my monster sneeze. Then Amah spoke, "I guess the Lady has awoken."
"Thank you Amah, you may leave us now." Altan said, and I swear I could hear the smile on his lips. "Please don't send anyone into the room until I am finished."
My stomach dipped low at Altan's words and I swear I could feel my heartbeat in my ears as the doors to the chambers closed and Altan's foots approached again.
"You can stop pretending to sleep." Altan said, and as I felt the weight of him sitting on the bed beside me, my stomach dipped lower. Luckily, I was on my side facing the other direction. Even so, I had never been alone in a bedroom with a man before... let alone, a man whom I was apparently going to marry.
"I'm not pretending." I mumbled back to him.
"Then, am I to believe we are having a conversation while you dream?" he asked, and I sighed. I couldn't see his face, but again I was certain that he was smiling.
I turned over in bed and kept my body under the covers. The nightgown Amah had dressed me in was silk and didn't do the best job of hiding my body. When I saw his face, my suspicions were confirmed: a half smile sat on his lips and his dimple was appearing for all the world to see.
~Why does he have to be so damn hot?~
His smile fell from his face slowly as he studied my face. Perhaps I looked as sickly as I felt. "You're sick?" he asked.
I nodded my head, and the motion caused me to feel a bit dizzy.
"Where does it hurt?"
"I-" I cleared my throat, it sounded as hoarse as it felt. "I feel like there is sand in my lungs." I answered, "And I feel cold."
Altan nodded, "That does sound like a desert cold."
"What's that?"
Altan paused, and his hand reached out absentmindedly to push a curl from my face. I almost retreated at the gesture but my body wasn't working with the quickest reflexes and instead my eyes only pinched close. His hand gently took the curl and placed it behind my ear. It was so soft that I wasn't even sure if I felt his hand or just the movement of my hair against my skin. When I opened my eyes again, his hand rested on the bed and his eyes on me. "They don't have deserts in Pani Rasta, do they?"
"I- I'm not sure" I answered honestly.
Altan nodded, then took his eyes from me. "That's right, you don't remember." and I wondered if that was something I should have shared with him. Or if it was something he had shared with others. So far, to everyone except Altan, I had pretended like my memories we not lost, or at least that I had some. "A desert cold is a cold someone usually gets from spending too much time in the cold desert without the proper water and sustenance. "
I nodded, that sounded exactly what I had done. "How long will it take to go away?"
Altan grinned at my question. "Have you heard before that Fire Mages have healing powers?" he asked.
I shook my head in response. "Well, we do to some extent, and I am quite proficient at healing desert colds. I've had quite a few in my day."
"So, you can heal me?" I sat up the tiniest bit and the covers fell from my shoulders to my hips, revealing my bare shoulder and the low neckline of the gown I was in.
Altan's eyes went to my bare skin; resting on my shoulder and then moving silently to where the soft skin at the tops of my breasts was visible. I felt as though I could feel a trail of fire catching my skin following after where his eyes settled. Suddenly feeling naked, I reached to bring the covers back over me.
Altan's hand reached forward and grabbed the covers before I could hide beneath them again. "You'll need to leave them off if you want me to heal you."
My hand tightened around the blankets as his eye looked over my bare skin again, then came to rest on my eyes. I wasn't sure if it was the fever or the embarrassment that made my face feel so hot. "I- uh."
"It will be quick." he assured me. "Take the covers off of yourself and lay down on your back." he instructed, then stood from the bed.
As he took a step away from me, I realized suddenly that I had been holding my breath. I tried to take in a small breath as I did what he had instructed me to do. I didn't look at him as I removed the blankets from over my legs. It was cold outside the covers; the sun was already beginning to set outside and the cold desert air was following. Even so, the bare parts of my legs that were visible through the slit in the gown felt like they were on fire. And I knew it was from Altan's gaze. Did it feel that way because he was a Fire Mage? Or was it just because I was hyperaware of him?
"Good." Altan spoke, and I pulled the gown to cover all of my legs. "Now, lay back down and close your eyes." I did as I was told. In all honestly, it was a little less stressful with my eyes closed. "First, I need you to relax." he said and sat down on the edge of the bed again. However, the last thing I did was relax. My eyes flew open when his hand touched my shoulder, and I swear my heart jumped into my mouth.
"What are you going to do?" I stammered.
"I said relax." his hand tightened on my shoulder. "Do you remember last night when we were riding, and your hands got cold?"
I nodded my head at the memory.
"I'm going to transfer heat into you, just like that time." He spoke, and I tried to take a calming breath, but my heart felt like it was beating twice the normal speed. "Only this time it will be to more than just your hands."
"Okay." I shook my head. "Just give me a second to relax."
Altan was silent as I closed my eyes again and tried to take slow breaths. I tried to imagine myself somewhere else, somewhere relaxing. I remembered the time my friends and I had hiked to the top of a mountain back on earth. We had stared at the stars and I saw the constellations so clearly. My heart rate slowed at the memory and my breathing evened out. In fact, with my eyes closed I thought that I could fall asleep, but then Altan's hand began to move.
It started on my shoulder and travelled slowly down the length of my arm, leaving a trail of comfortable warmth in its wake. I pinched my eyes tightly closed and tried to focus on the memory of the stars. Then his hand moved to my other shoulder, following the same path as the first. And as the heat flowed through me, my eyes began to feel heavy.
His hand moved down my chest next. starting at the bottom of my neck and sliding slowly down. My breath hitched as his hands glided between my breasts, leaving the warm sensation in its wake.
"Relax." Altan whispered to my reaction. His hands continued around the rest of my body. Sliding over my hips and down the length of each leg. When his hands had nearly grazed over every part of me, he backed away.
"How do you feel?" he asked, and my eyes fluttered open.
I had become so relaxed that it surprised me when he stopped touching me. "I feel..."
He took another step away from the bed and with it my body suddenly became colder. It was as if his presence alone was keeping me from feeling the effects of the cold.
"Wait." I reached out for him as he took another step away and he acted surprised by this.
"What's the matter?" he stepped closer to me and the warmth returned.
I grabbed onto his hand. "Don't go." I said, "If you go, I'll feel sick again."
Altan paused, then a small smile graced his lips. "And here I thought you hated the feeling of my touch."
I shook my head but didn't let go of his hand, "No, it's not that... it's just that I- erm... I'm shy."
"I see." Altan took my hand in his as he sat down on the bed. And I suddenly felt aware of myself. A blush fell over my cheeks and I took my hand back.
"I'm sorry," I flushed, "When you were about to leave, my body started to feel cold again... So I didn't want you to go."
Altan watched me, and his eyes glimmered like the flicker of a fire as he did. "Then I'll stay." he finally spoke and my stomach flipped.
"You'll stay?" I echoed.
"If the future Duchess of Kiziljer requests it." He answered and was suddenly pulling the blankets on the bed back over my body. "Then yes, I will stay."
~The future Duchess?~
"About that, Altan- Ah erm, I mean Your Grace." I stumbled over my words as he began to take off his vest and belt and lay them on the bedside table.
"Call me Altan." he spoke, "I told you you could call me that when we met and that has not changed."
"Ah sure, Altan." I said his name, but for some reason it felt so uncomfortable. As if saying his name was too intimate.
"Yes, Azul?" He said and began to pull the cover up over himself as well. My eyes and mouth widened as he scooted closer to me under the sheets. "Uhhh." I forgot entirely what I was talking about.
"Why don't you face that direction,?" he said and pointed behind me. I nodded my head clumsily and faced away from him. I felt my heart beating in my ears as he scooted closer to me again until his body was up against mine.
"There." he said, "This way I can keep you warm." he whispered beside my ear and I felt his hot breath on my neck. Nearly every hair on my body rose.
~Jeez, I'm a nervous wreck around him...~
"What were you asking me about?" he continued casually and rested his hand on my hip.
~Is it possible that my hip can sweat?~
"Erm yes," I tried to clear my brain of his touch but there was so much of it. "It's about being the Duchess."
"If it's because I didn't ask you first, I apologize." he spoke softly. "But it is only fair that you owe me a favor since I saved your life."
I suddenly wanted to laugh loudly and slap him at the same time. "It's a bit of a big favor, don't you think? I mean marriage... It's my whole life."
"Yes," he agreed, "But your life would no longer exist without me."
~I hate that that was kind of a good point.~
"You don't know that." I countered, "I could have possibly found Kiziljer on my own. I was going the right direction."
Altan laughed at me silently, and his thumb circled on my hip. "On foot, it would have taken you another two days." he answered, and I shut up. "Not to mention. You had no money, no water -even as a Water Mage-, and on top of that, you didn't even have memories of how you got there,"
I felt annoyed and attempted to scoot away, but his arm wrapped around my waist and he pulled me closer.
"You're not going anywhere, my Duchess." he whispered, and chills ran down my spine.
"Amah said." I began, trying to change the subject and keep my cool, "That you vowed to marry a Water Mage as your first wife. Is that why you saved me?"
"That is part of the reason." he answered.
"What was the other part?"
His hand moved to my hip again, and he drew a circle with his finger. "I could have ridden my horse right past your unconscious body." he answered, "It's not that uncommon to find someone who was stupid enough to venture out on their own in the desert." But then I looked at the body, and it was the most beautiful and strong looking women I had ever seen." he paused drawing another circle and it pulled at the bottom of my gown, hiking it up my calf the slightest bit. "Then when I saw you were a Water Mage, I knew the gods had answered my prayers."
"Why?" I asked, and my voice came out uneven and raspy. "Why did you vow to marry a Water Mage?"
"Are you cold?" he asked and evaded the question.
"I- what?"
"There are chill bumps on the back of your neck." he said, and I could feel his breath there and knew he was looking at the very chill bumps his presence had caused. "Shall I warm you up again?" he asked, and before I could answer he was running his hand down my leg again and pressing the warmth into my skin. He continued down the bend in my leg until the gown stopped and his hand came into contact with raw skin. It felt so hot there. Then he began back up my leg, pulling my gown up with it as he went. I felt my heartbeat rising as he came up my leg and when his hand reached over the bare skin of my hip, it felt so good, and comforting, and warm that my mouth opened and without any thought of what I was doing the smallest moan escaped the back of my throat.
At the sound of my own voice, my hands flew to cover my stupid mouth and my eyes pinched shut.
~Did I just moan? really? While he's healing me from my cold?... Well, in my defense, he was healing me in a very seductive way. ~
"Do you like it that much when I touch you, Azul?" he asked, and it was like I could hear the dimple dancing on his skin. He was pleased with himself for making me moan, and my face felt so hot that I thought I might sweat.
When I didn't answer, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pressed his forehead to my back. "We should sleep." he whispered, and I felt relief that he wasn't suggesting we do a different activity... yet I was also the slightest bit disappointed.
"If I don't sleep soon," he wrapped his arms around me tighter, "I might not be able to stop myself."