Lorren

Four

Lorren considered his observation as she continued to stare out the window. “What is it about me that sets me apart from this Ledia you speak of?” she asked, finally turning her attention back to Etan.

“She never was acutely aware of her surroundings like you are. She trusted people blindly. You study everything around you with a scrutiny I’ve never seen before, and are suspicious of others. Ledia was a complete innocent in the ways of the world, and yet I get the feeling that you are not. You have a fighter’s spirit. One that is only gained through much hardship. Although you’re severely malnourished, you’ve got immaculate muscle tone for a female. You’re lithe and lean. Ledia was soft and shapely. You consider your words before you speak, or you do not speak at all. Ledia had no such control. Whatever was on her mind was what came out of her mouth. She was not nearly as disciplined as you are,” Etan concluded, his eyes traveling the length of her body. He noticed that she had no scars, even after the torture she had been through, which struck him as odd. One would think that after that much damage, there would be something there to show for it, but Lorren had healed without any troubles and now had skin that looked as if she had never stepped foot in the sunlight. It was pale with a healthy glow, unmarked except for a light pink birthmark the shape of an arrow’s head on the back of her right shoulder.

Lorren studied Etan from the corner of her eye as he spoke, allowing her powers of Sense to flow from her, seeping into every nook and cranny of the room, looking for danger and finding none but a small blade tucked away under a floorboard near the foot of the bed. She felt sadness, wonder, and even a small amount of lust radiating from Etan, but what she felt most was curiosity. She replayed Etan’s words in her head, feeling the sincerity in those words. If she looked like this Ledia, did that mean anything significant? Should she let it matter to her? Should she act on the rising urge to find Ledia? Find out more about her? Why was Etan being so nice to her, now that he understood that she was not who he thought her to be? The questions kept building in her head until the pressure became too much. She directly looked over at Etan to ask him a question, but felt the darkness pressing down on her mind again. She hardly felt the floor as she fell to it.

“Lorren!” Etan shouted as he shot off the bed and ran to her. He picked her up and cradled her against his chest, panic filling his body as he felt the slowing of her breathing. She may have appeared healed on the outside, but on the inside, Lorren was still weak from her ordeal. She still hadn’t eaten anything more than what was spoon-fed to her while she was healing, and that hadn’t been much since she had been unconscious most of the time, and when she had been awake, she hadn’t been lucid.

“Aran! I need you in here!” Etan bellowed as loudly as he could, summoning his older brother.

“Man agoreg?! - What have you done?!” Aran exclaimed in the old tongue, opening the door and seeing Etan cradling Lorren possessively yet gently against his chest. “Etan, what happened? I said she wasn’t to get out of bed until she was well, and that girl is not well! And for goodness sake, get her some clothing, or all the unattached men will be breaking down our doors.”

“She woke up, stood up, spoke, asked about music, and then just dropped to the floor. Something’s not right Aran. She is healed, you healed her! So why did she faint?” Etan asked, his eyes locked on his brother’s.

“She has been through too much, and her getting up and moving around before she has had significant recuperation time is not helping her. Her body has healed, but her mind has not. She may be strong, may be powerful, but she is still small. You only saw what was done to her on the outside. I saw everything, Etan. Everything! She went through more than what a legion could handle, and survived it all. Do you honestly think that she could come back from that so quickly?! NO! She cannot, brother. She shouldn’t be able to come back from that at all, but she is fighting for her life,” Aran raged at his younger brother, his anger swelling. No one but he and Lorren knew what truly happened.