Emerald And Aharon

Chapter 15

“What are you doing here Emerald?” he asked me.

I could have slapped him, we made love the night he left, after we said we loved each other, and he has the nerve to ask me what I was doing there?  “What do you think I’m doing here?” I retorted back.

He smirked at me and I felt my heart melt, “I have no idea what you’re doing here Emerald my love, but I think we would both be better off if you enlightened me.”

I almost laughed, “I thought it was high time for me to show up.  I have heard somewhere that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but they never mentioned it made the heart grow lonelier.” I threw my arms around him and kissed him and he twirled me around. I broke off the kiss and laughed.

He took me into the kitchen and I wasn’t surprised to see Alleyne with Fire. Alleyne looked up from what she was doing and glared at me again, “What are YOU doing here?” she demanded.

I shrugged my shoulders, “It's none of your business what I am doing here Alleyne, that’s between me and your father.”

“Emerald!” Fire yelled and came around the table and hugged me, “I’ve missed you.”

I knelt down and hugged her back, “I’ve missed you too,” I said quietly.

That night I slept with Aharon in his bed, and felt like I had found home again.

Life started again, I tried to make peace with Alleyne, but she would have none of it.  The only time she acknowledged me was to insult or snub me, though she was careful not to do it within earshot of Aharon.  After a while I gave up trying to make peace, the girl blamed me for her mother’s death, and it didn’t matter to her that I blamed myself.  That wasn’t enough and there wasn’t anything I could do to change it.

A year passed and on the day Aharon and I had been together again for a year, Alleyne came up to me. “I will never forgive you for what you let happen to my mother, and I won’t stick around while you let it happen to my dad.” With that she was gone, and I shook my head, she was a young 16, and shouldn’t be out in the world on her own, but I had been far younger when Tresa and I were on our own so I said nothing to Aharon about it.

A few days later Fire and I went riding to town for some supplies and shopping.  On our way back we got caught in a bad storm, so I had us take shelter in a cave that we had come across.  I gathered tinder and wood and Fire concentrated and the wood burst into flames and I grinned at her.  I headed back out into the heavy rain to find more wood to keep the fire burning when I thought I saw a shadow slip past a cold wave pass through me.  At the same time I heard Fire scream and I dropped the wood I had gathered and ran to the entrance my sword out.

“Tala!” I yelled, I knew who was in the cave with Fire. “Leave her alone!” As I came in Talatiana paused and glanced at me.

“Still protecting the innocent children Emerald.” A cold smile passed over her lips, “I thought you would have learned your lesson after the last time.”

My anger flared up even farther and I came closer, “That child is someone I care about very deeply Talatiana, and you lay a hand on her you will lose it, and your head, I promise you that.”

Talatiana frowned turned to face me fully and Fire ran past her and to me and I pushed her behind me.  “Your choice Talatiana. You want to lose your head over your intended next meal?  You wouldn’t win a fight against me now, you’re too weak.”

She sighed, disgusted, “if only I didn’t need blood.” She finally shook her head, “I’ll take you up on your offer for a fight in a few centuries, Emerald.  Perhaps even over the girl’s fine taste.” With that she faded onto the ghosts paths and her shadow slinked out of the cave.

“Over my dead rotten skeleton,” I muttered to her shadow. I glanced at Fire, “we aren’t staying.”

With that, I bundled Fire up with her cloak, my cloak and a few blankets on her horse so she would stay warm and dry. I would survive the cold till we got back, even if I caught my death of a cold, I’d be back.

When we reached home and got inside, Aharon started to chew my ass out for riding through the storm with his daughter. I sighed and stopped, looking at him. “Would you rather have Fire become Tala’s next meal?”

Aharon’s jaw dropped, “next meal? She eats flesh?”

I shook my head, “No, blood.” We were in the kitchen and I placed my hands near the stove to warm them. After a few moments I started explaining. “A long time ago, Talatiana had a life and family she loved, but lost it all to orcs. She was beaten and injured so badly that even our natural healing powers would have left her for dead for a few centuries if she ever went to sleep. To save herself from falling into that sleep and get revenge for her family, she dragged herself to an old witch, and that old witch gave her a potion." I paused a few minutes thinking back to when Talatiana told me the story. "The potion she was given was a simple one, druid's blood.”

“But that’s poison to anything that has a pulse.” Aharon said.

I shook my head slowly feeling a chill deep in my bones, “not to immortals.  To us, it’s an elixir of rejuvenation, our healing increased, strength restored instantly. But that rejuvenation comes at a high price: a dependency on blood, the more blood you drink, the more dependent you become on it. Talatiana likes to kill, and those she kills, she drinks their blood.”

I looked at him, “now, if you have no further questions, I’m going upstairs to take a bath, and then come back down to scrounge up some food, then go to sleep in your bed. You can join me in the later if you so choose.”

I climbed up the stairs and drew a bath and soaked in it, my long hair piled on top of my head. Not that it could get any wetter, but I didn’t want to get soap in it. After I finished with my bath I took a towel and dried my hair and then brushed it out. Without it in its customary tight braid, it went to my knees.  After I finished with my hair I put on a green robe that I had made and went back down stairs.

When I came back into the kitchen Aharon was still there, waiting for me.  A bowl of stew was sitting on the table at the spot I usually sat at.

Aharon’s eyes lit up with appreciation when he saw me in the robe, but narrowed when he noticed my hair down.  “You’re wearing your hair down.”

I smiled at him and came over and stood behind him touching my cheek to his, “Yeah so, why don’t you wear yours down?”

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me around and into his lap, “because I don’t,” he said flatly.

I laughed as I kissed him and stood up, “spoilsport.” As I stood up I got swatted on the ass.  I glared back at him but he looked innocently back at me, but his eyes were laughing.

I shook my head and sat back down at the table again and started eating. I soon finished and headed upstairs, Aharon following behind me.  I climbed into his bed and Aharon climbed into bed next to me, pulling me close and I laid my head on his shoulder. I soon fell asleep, content.

Winter passed without much fanfare, Aharon and I worked on patching up the stable and some of the rooms in the castle that had fallen into disrepair from being empty for so long.  Spring came and having a case of cabin fever we went to visit Aurianna and her brood.  Fire decided to stay to receive some training with the bow as she had a preference for it to the sword.

Aharon and I headed back to the castle on our own, only to run afoul of panthras.  Half dragon half panther creatures with a very nasty temper and voracious appetites to match. Aharon went up a tree and pulled me up with him.

The panthras prowled around the tree, a couple tried climbing up but were unable to.  A couple snapped at Nightshade and Ember but they took off.

I sighed and muttered a spell and a tree house formed around us.  Aharon arched an eyebrow at me and I shrugged my shoulders and started making some lunch.

As we ate in comfortable silence though hearing the panthras roar in frustration and fight with each other, I reached over and untied Aharon’s hair tie.  In retaliation, he pulled my braid clasp lose and it went from there.  That’s where we conceive Sacratia, in a treehouse in the middle of a forest surrounded by panthras.

We were in that tree house surrounded for two days and a night, and that was a very pleasant and energetic time. I heard that it had gone totally silent outside the tree house so stuck my head out and saw that the panthras were gone, and Ember was there, looking up at me.  I pulled my head back in and looked at Aharon, “time to go.”

Aharon just looked at me with his dark eyes and kissed me and we stayed there for a few more days.

After two more days, “Aharon? Emerald? Are you 2 up there?” came a male voice.

I frowned and Aharon this time stuck his head out the window, and pulled it back in, shaking his head slightly, “Accalon is here.”

I nodded my head, so ended our impromptu vacation, and time to go back to reality, though it wasn’t a bad thing. When we got back to Auron’s and Aurianna’s, Fire tackled both of us with hugs.

Aurianna came up, “where in the hell have you been?” she demanded.

I grinned at her, “up a tree in a tree house trying to wait out a large group of panthras.”

She chuckled and shook her head, and hugged me, “only you two,” she murmured.