Sarina awoke once again to the swaying of a camel. Everything on her hurt, her arms and legs, her feet, even her face. And then it dawned on her, she wasn't alone! Sarina was draped uncomfortably on a camel's back, with a strong figure riding steadily behind her. She peeked up at the man's face, seeing his dark tan skin, thick black eyebrows, long nose and strong jaw which was covered in stubble. His most captivating feature however, were his stone-gray eyes. She couldn't help but notice that he was quite handsome. He kept his eyes straight ahead, looking at the golden dunes.
She cleared her throat and tried to speak,
'Excuse me?'
The mysterious man looked down at her,
'Hm?', he replied
'Um, could you please help me to sit up?', she answered in a raspy voice. She needed water and laying on the camel this way was extremely uncomfortable.
The man switched the reins to his right hand and wrapped his left arm around Sarina's waist, hoisting her smoothly into an upright position with both of her legs hanging off one side the camel's back. She breathed a sigh of relief and reached for her satchel that was still attached to her shoulder, grabbing out the water skin and drinking deeply from it. Sarina thought about trying eat some of the dried ham her mother had packed for her but her stomach was not up to the task. She was nervous to ask the stranger more questions, but her curiosity won.
'May I ask your name sir?', Sarina questioned quietly.
'Caspar' he replied quickly, not looking at the girl.
'Caspar, sir, could you please tell me where we are headed?'
Caspar's eyes finally met hers, and he stared deeply for a short while, 'you wouldn't know of the place, but it is a small village deep in this desert, called Azzaran. You're going to need to heal before you do any more ...traveling' he replied, obviously trying to avoid what a lady such as herself was doing in the desert alone and unprepared to deal with the deadly desert.
'Heal?' Sarina asked, not sure what he was referring to.
Caspar rolled his eyes to the sky and scolded lightly, 'Have you looked at your skin? What were you thinking walking in the desert unprotected?' He didn't want to pry but he couldn't imagine why she would subject herself to such harsh burns, not even considering all of the other things that could hurt her here in this dry wasteland.
'Oh' was all Sarina replied and proceeded to look at her hands and forearms that were not covered by the dark green dress she had escaped in. The skin was painfully red and hot to the touch. She lifted her hand and touched her cheek to feel the same heat come off of the skin there. The worst part was there was no relief as the sun continued to beat on her already wounded skin.
Noticing her discomfort, Caspar reached into one of the side bags that was hanging off the camel. He pulled out a chunky looking green plant with spikes on the edges and she recognized the plant as aloe. He took a small knife out of some hidden place in his black tunic and used it to open the plant. Inside of its green leaves laid a clear gel like substance.
'Take the stuff and smear it on any exposed skin' he instructed. 'It will help with pain and slow the burning until we arrive.'
Sarina quickly dipped her fingers into the aloe and was surprised with how cool and smooth it felt. She applied it to her hands, arms, neck and face which had all been exposed to the sun's rays and was pleased as she immediately began to feel the aloe soothe the burns on her skin.
'Thank you' she said genuinely.
Caspar simply hummed in response.
'So,' Sarina began, 'what are you doing here in the desert?' she asked curiously.
'I could ask you the same' he responded, avoiding her question. His voice was deep and rich, washing over her ears and she stared at his face, trying learn more about him.
'I am fleeing my city that was just attacked' she answered truthfully. To her there was no reason in trying to hide what had happened. Sarina was desperate to save her parents if they were still there to save. This man might be able to help her or lead her to others who could.
Caspar looked a little surprised at her answer. So far his impression of her was that she was naive and curious and unprepared. Hearing that she was running was not what he had suspected, although it was rare to find a woman out here alone in the dunes.
'What is the name of your city?' he asked seriously.
'Bamm' she answered.
Caspar's already serious face turned grave. 'Did you say Bamm?'
'Yes' Sarina replied in a confused tone. She couldn't understand why he had reacted so seriously. 'Are you from there as well?'
'That was a long time ago, but I did have some family that remained' he answered vaguely while looking off into the distance. His mood seemed to have changed from passive to disturbed.
'Well I would like to go back and see if I can rescue my mother and father, maybe you would like to help me?' she asked hesitantly? The sun was beginning to set so she had to turn away from the falling rays and more towards this man who had saved her in the desert.
'I cannot go back' he said in an emotionless voice, confusing her even more. 'Not yet at least, I have something I need to accomplish in this area first.'
Sarina was now utterly confused and she didn't know what else to say. She looked ahead now at the setting sun, remembering how just yesterday she had stared at all of this sand, hoping one day she would be able to feel alive, and now here she was in the midst of the desert and feeling her heart die. Sadness began to creep into her mind and she could feel the tears start to well in her eyes. She missed the safety of home and her loving parents. The sky once again began its display of changing colors, but it didn't bring her the peace it usually did.
Caspar watched the girls face fall and sadness replace curiosity. He felt a ping in his chest, something he hadn't felt before, watching her face morph into despair. He tried to think of a way to cheer the girl without making promises he couldn't keep when he suddenly felt a slight trembling in the sand.
'Damn it all' he cursed lowly.
Sarina stiffened when she heard him curse and saw the sand begin to shake.