CHAPTER 6
The Healer's Cove II
Fawn was mindlessly concocting the potions when her thoughts were far away in the distance of the past. Memories of her life were taking up all her concentration, especially those of a certain beloved war man of long silver hair, Kinwhich.
She had always missed him when he was away and spent languid hours daydreaming of him.
Fawn could vividly recall one time when there had been a strange soldier she had been tending to, and the man had well recovered, pending only to return to his kingdom after a day's rest.
The young damsel had been by the lake that day, taking a much needed bath as the evening skies were drawing over head. Humming to herself, she scrubbed some herbs over her arms and her body and dipped into the waters.
There was the sound of rustling of leaves and branches behind the bushes and she had wondered if it was some wild animal that had come by. From fear of being made a carnivore's meal, she rushed to the banks of the water and gathered her towel.
Just as she wrapped herself and stepped out of the lake, she turned to find that it had not, in fact, been a beast of the wild, but the soldier she had been tending to. Expecting him to turn his gaze away from her lack of dressing, she rushed towards the long overgrown grass and trees nearby, so he wouldn't see her.
But there was a speed in his step as he approached, eyes hungry.
Fawn had felt her heart racing as she stepped away from him, and just as her defences grew, the man broke into a sprint. A shriek left her throat as she scrambled and took to getting as far away from him as possible.
Something about being in a deserted environment where no one could come to the aid of a vulnerable woman always seemed to rev the interests of men who would try to get the better of her.
As the young damsel ran the farthest extent her feet could carry her, she turned to spare a glance over her shoulder to find that the soldier was hot at her heel. Just before she could salvage the situation, she rammed into someone.
Fawn's heart hammered against her as she felt cornered, and she looked up, gripping the towel up her chest. She felt strong arms encircled her waist as the man she'd run into drew her safely close against him and his capes covered the exposed parts of her body.
"Out with you", she heard Kinwhich's low growl rumbled out of his chest as she leaned against him, feeling her tears wet his vest.
The soldier who had been chasing her stammered something akin to an apology and them scampered away like a frightened kitten.
Fawn hadn't been able to find it in her to move away from him supporting all her weight.
She had heard him softly whisper to her, "There, there, I've got you safe" and his hand made its way over her arms, making her realise how much she was quivering and gripping the lapels of the collars spreading over his chest.
Once the shaking had ceased, he had caressed her face and wiped the tears away from her flushed cheeks.
For the first time ever, Fawn had felt a shyness at being so close to a man. She had managed a smile and looked up at him through her wet lashes and found a rather amused smile written across his lips and softness in his eyes.
"I was passing by and decided I would pay my lady a brief visit. Now, I am more than grateful that I had dropped by", the man of longish silver hair had said.
Then, he had ushered her to the shelter of some trees and draped his cloak over its branches to yield her some privacy and waited until she was dressed. Although Fawn was certain he wasn't going to look, she had cast glances behind to make sure he wasn't checking her out.
In hindsight, the damsel knew that for the first time, there was a secret feeling bubbling deep within wishing for him to see her as vulnerably as she came.
In a place where most men had wished to undo her when they had the power, Kinwhich had been the only one who had wished to protect her from the others and to let her keep the safety she needed.
They had not shared much of each other's identities during the tenure of their relationship; merely just feelings and thoughts and reflections.
Fawn had divulged to Kinwhich of how she had been approached by all men alike with impure intentions and he would silently listen. She understood that he felt angry on her behalf, but his was a calm disposition that did not break out in shouts or aggravation.
He would sometimes offer her an embrace and every time she had leaned into his chest, she had always felt safe encircled in his strong arms.
During days when he was not with her, laying in bed at night, Fawn would oft dream of him and his gentle hugs and long for them deeply.
One such night, when she was reflecting on all that they had grown into and the strange feeling of longing in her chest whenever she thought of him, the heavy pressing sensation of sadness when he was about to leave and the relief of knowing there was someone she could trust and fall into, Fawn realized that she barely even knew his name or where he hailed from.
As the damsel had decided that she would muster the courage to ask him, she rolled over and tried to sleep. Soon, however, her evasive slumber had been disturbed by the cries outside the little cottage.
The healer, her adoptive mother, old of age and thundered into her room and bid Fawn to hasten down immediately, for the woods were on fire.
The two women had scurried out as fast as they could, but a beam from the burning roof had descended and struck her mother, locking her in place. Fawn's scream had pierced through the woods as she struggled to free the elderly healer, the woman that had saved her and bestowed her with life.
But it was too late. The smoke had filled up their lungs and they were suffocating, with no air to breathe.
Her mother was far gone and by the time the young damsel had managed to salvage the old healer's body and carry her out, there were men from fighting the wild fire that came to their aid.
One of them, who had claimed himself a physician, tended to the old healer, but his expression remained regretful, when he relayed to Fawn the dreadful news that she had known but would not admit to herself.
Her mother was gone.
That day, she had seen her cottage, her home and solace, burn down to ash.
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