To Be Chosen By A God

Chapter 10

                The next morning, when the prayers started coming in, he headed for the shower.  They both knew that today would be her first day back at her duties, so wanted to give her the time to start breakfast.  She woke up as he was getting up and when the water started in the shower, she get dressed and headed to the kitchen.  She made a simple breakfast of eggs, toast, potatoes, and bacon and as she was setting everything on the table, he was suddenly there. 

                “Mmmm, it all looks so good.”  He said as he smelled the air.  She noticed that he was wearing the pants she had finished for him the previous day and the blue shirt she had also made for him.  It made her smile to see him wearing them.

                They sat down and ate and chatted about what she was going to do that day.  “Candles and soaps for sure, laundry, dusting and sweeping, and the normal stuff.”

                “But not taking water up to the bathing chamber.  I don’t want you to carry water up the stairs today.  You are still going to be a little weak and I don’t want to worry.  If you get tired, you can come up to the attic and rest.  It’s ok if you aren’t ready yet.”  He waited for her to nod before going back to eating.  “If you’re up to it, we’ll go riding the day after tomorrow and I can show you were the leather worker’s shop is located.”

                “Ok.  That sounds good.”

                “Please take care of yourself today.  You may tire faster than you expect to.”  He rubbed her hand.

                “I will.  I promise.”  He kissed her hand and stood up.

                “I will see you at lunch then.”  She nodded and watched as he turned around, took a step, and was gone.

                She cleaned the dishes and wiped down the counters before drawing more water from the well to heat up for the laundry tub.  While the water heated, she gathered their clothing from the day before and brought them out to the laundry tub.  When the water was hot enough, she filled the tub and worked on the laundry.  When she was done, she hung the clothing up to dry and then set up the double boilers for the wax and soap mixtures.  She was going to be making a lot, so made sure to have extra water for the pots.

                She readied the molds and while the mixtures were melting, she created the scents for the soaps and candles.  Most of the time the candles were made without a scent, but she decided that this time they would have a nice vanilla scent.  When everything was ready, she poured the mixes into the molds and readied the next group of molds.  After that, all the molds were being used, so she would have to wait until later to make more.  She left the candle molds out, but set the soap molds in the cooler to set.

                She began working on lunch after that along with another jam.  There were plenty of apples so she made enough to keep one jar and give a jar to her parents.  She also made more of the body oils that were low.  There were a few extra of the long bottles used to hold the body and hair oils and thought about making one for her family, but didn’t want to overstep.  She would ask Micah about that later.

                Lunch was ready so she took everything up to Micah.  He opened the door for her and she set the tray on his side table.

                “How are you holding up today?”  He stepped closer to her and noticed an out of place scent.  “Vanilla?”

                “I made candles.  We were getting low again.”

                “You didn’t answer me.  How are you holding up?”

                “I feel fine.  I’m not doing anything too strenuous today.  I made more soap for us, a couple batches of candles, refilled the body and hair oil bottles and made jam.”  He eyeballed her, checking for any signs of strain.  When he was satisfied that she was truly doing well, he smiled and nodded.  He thanked her for lunch and watched her as she left.

                Downstairs she set the yarn she had made the evening before, took a shower and replaced the oil bottles.  By the time she was done, the laundry was dry so she put the clothing away and decided to dye crates of wool various colors so when she wanted to spin a color, it would already be dyed.  She also mixed the wool with silk and bamboo fiber to make sturdier and smoother yarns.  The pants she had made Micah were mixed fiber like this and she had enjoyed spinning and weaving it.  Silk by itself seemed to cling and catch to every imperfection in her skin.  Margaret had suggested a sugar and oil scrub to make her hands smoother for a while so that the silk would be easier to handle, but it never seemed to last long enough.  Maybe later she would try to weave only silk; much later!  By dinner she had a full rainbow of colored wool and then some.  She would put the dyed wool away the next day after it had enough time to dry.

                She set the table and placed the food before Micah appeared.  He gave her a kiss to the temple before sitting down with her to eat.  After dinner, they went to the sitting room and she began working on a sock.  She would not have enough for the whole sock, but was at least getting it started which was always a pain.  She worked on the cuff while he read.

                That night she was awoken by cramping pain in her abdomen. It must have been going on for a while because she already felt wetness between her legs and on her nightgown.  She clutched her abdomen and whimpered.  She didn’t want to wake Micah, but finally decided that if she didn’t, she wouldn’t get any rest.

                “Micah?’ she called out softly.

                “What is it?” he answered just as softly.

                “I….um…. its been a month since last time and….”

                “I understand.  Put an arm over your eyes.  I’m going to light a few of the lamps so I can see what I’m doing.”  He heard the movement and then used his power to light a few of the lamps in the room.  It was otherwise pitch black and he didn’t want to accidently touch her inappropriately.  With the lamps lit, he could see that her nightgown was soiled.  He placed a hand to her lower abdomen and concentrated.  He eased her pain and removed the waste.  “I’m going to clean you, your nightgown and the bedding now.  It might feel weird so I just wanted you to know.”  She nodded and he quickly cleaned everything.  She had a sharp intake of breath when he cleaned her but he expected it.  She was going from damp to clean.  When everything was finished, he doused the lanterns with a thought.

                “Thank you.”

                “Any time.”

                He listened to her as she tossed and turned, unable to get back to sleep.

                “Are you alright, Chelsea?”

                “I just can’t seem to get back to sleep.  I’m sorry I’m keeping you awake.”

                “You aren’t.  Come here and maybe I can help you relax into sleep.”  He was on his side facing her so she scooted over to him facing him.  When she got close, he pulled her in so that her face was tucked into his chest, she was laying on his upper arm and she was pressed against his body.  He couldn’t see it, but she blushed at the intimate contact.  “Do you find fingers running through your hair calming?”

                “Yes.” Came the somewhat muffled reply.

                He began idly stroking her hair and letting it run through his fingers.  When her body began to relax against his, he began to sing softly.  She couldn’t understand the words, but thought she should be able to.  They were just on the edge of understanding like the word was being said differently with a different inflection and some were just completely different.  The tune seemed familiar too, but she couldn’t quite place it.  His voice was low and soothing and just for her.  She could feel the vibration of his voice in his chest.  The combination of everything eventually lulled her into sleep.  He smiled and moved his hand to her waist after moving her arm to his own waist.

                When he woke, she was still sleeping snuggled up to him and laying on his arm.  He brushed his fingertips across her cheek.  She opened her eyes and he kissed her forehead.  She sat up, freeing his arm.  He sat up, kissed her cheek and then left for the shower.  She quickly dressed and headed down to the kitchen and made his favorite.  She had started to keep the maple syrup made so that she could make pancakes for him whenever she wanted.  She squeezed out the orange juice while the pancakes cooked. 

                While they ate together, curiosity got the better of her so she asked the question she had been wondering the night before.  “What did you sing?  It seemed familiar but I couldn’t understand the words.”

                “Just a lullaby.  What I used was the Old Tongue your language evolved from.  But I like how the song sounds in the Old Tongue better.  The words flow better and the rhythm is more pleasing to me.”

                “That explains why I felt like I should be able to understand the words.”  He nodded.

                “Some words are completely different, but others sound very similar to the words we use now.  There are some, though, that have a meaning that can’t quite be expressed by one word.”

                “Would you tell me the words to the lullaby you sang me?”

                “Translate it?”  She nodded.  “Alright.  Bear in mind that the rhythm is gone, most of the lines no longer rhyme, and I may have to add words so that the meaning is clear.”  She nodded.  He paused for a moment as he thought about the song and how best to translate it.  “This is the best I can come up with:  Close your eyes and rest your head against my chest.  You are safe here in my arms.  There are no demons under your bed tonight or dragons flying overhead.  Go to sleep little one.  Let your dreams refresh you.  I will guard you against nightmares.  You are safe here in my arms. Rest now.”

                She wrinkled her brow, trying to match these words with the words he sang in the old tongue.  He chuckled at her expression.  “Much better in the old tongue.”  She nodded agreement.

                “But the tune…”  She began.

                “It’s a common enough tune and used for several other songs and lullabies.  You were expecting a more modern lullaby based on the tune?”  She nodded and he chuckled again. 

                They finished eating and as he got up, said, “After lunch, I want you to come back up to the attic and take a nap.”

                “A nap?”  Her face was a mixture of incredulous and hurt.  Didn’t he think she was recovered from being struck with disease?

                “This is not a punishment, Chelsea.  I care about you and you were finally recovered from Luther’s attack and then your monthly visitor arrived.  By the afternoon you’re going to feel exhausted.  Don’t you remember how you felt last time?”  He stroked her cheek, wiping away a lone tear.  She looked down and nodded.  He could tell she still felt dejected about it so pulled her into a hug and held her until she pulled away.  “You don’t have to sleep, but I do want you to rest, and I like being with you even when you aren’t conscious for it.  That’s the only reason I asked for you to come up to the attic for it.”  She nodded again and turned away to begin cleaning up.  He watched her for a moment wondering how he had hurt her.  Would she have preferred he sent for Margaret to watch her?  He shook his head and Stepped to his workroom.

                Am I overreacting to his request? No!  Maybe a little?  I don’t know.  I just know that I was fine last time.  Yes I got tired quicker, but I made sure that what I did wasn’t going to exhaust me.  Doesn’t he trust me?

                She worked on the laundry, cleaned the dishes, did the prep work on lunch and then took a shower.  When she came back down, she finished making lunch, got everything together and took it up to Micah.

                She was still feeling a little hurt when she set the tray on the side table.  “I’ll see you in a little bit, Chelsea.  Don’t worry about dinner.”  She felt like he punched her in the gut, but nodded and headed downstairs.  She’s still hurt.  Should I apologize?  But what would I be apologizing for?  Maybe we’ll be able to talk when she comes back up to rest.

                It was an hour later when she came back up.  She knocked as she always did and entered when he called for her to come in.  She barely looked at him as she strode to the couch and sat down with her hands in her lap and head slightly bowed.  There was a pillow at one of the armrests and a blanket over the back of the couch.  She felt the couch dip as Micah sat down next to her.

                “You are still upset.  Why?”

                “Don’t you trust me?”

                “Of course I trust you.  What brought on that?”

                “Then why don’t you think that I’d be ok on my own today?  Why do you feel you need to babysit me?”

                “Is that what you think I’m doing?  You couldn’t be farther from the truth, Chelsea.  I will admit it’s a purely selfish reason, though.  I’ve grown used to having you around me during the day.  I know that by the end of the day, you will probably dose in your chair and I really wanted to be able to spend time with you while you’re conscious tonight.”  He took her hand and kissed it.  “I told you it was a purely selfish reason.  If you like, I’ll lie with you.”

                A tear fell from her eye and he wiped it away.  “There isn’t enough room for both of us.”  She looked over to him and saw that he was smirking.

                “There is.  Do you want me to?”  She nodded so he twisted to face her and laid back.  He maneuvered his leg behind her and held out his arms for her.  She didn’t quite understand because unlike the couch he had created from her dream, this couch wasn’t wide enough for that.  “Lay on me belly to belly.”  She was skittish because it was more intimate than anything they had done so far.  She didn’t know where to put her hands.  She twisted to face him and he helped to guide her to be on top of himself.  She was stiff and she held her muscles all tightly as he adjusted her to a comfortable position.  He guided her arms to either side of himself and wrapped is own around her as she laid her head on the upper part of his chest near his collar bone and neck.

                He was content and the nearness of her aroused him.  He began stiffening which made his cheeks redden.  “Micah?  What is that?”

                “I’m sorry.  Let me adjust that.  You’re going to feel my hand between us.”  He reached down and he felt her intake of breath as he adjusted himself to the side.  She would still feel it, but it wouldn’t make her feel like her pubic bone was resting on a metal rod.

                “Why are…is…”  She didn’t even know how to ask what she wanted to ask.

                “I love you, and I’m attracted to you.  It’s very natural, it’s just something neither of us are ready for.  It will go down in a little while.”

                “But why does it hurt?”

                “Because it’s not where it’s meant to go.”  He grinned wolfishly, making her cheeks color.  He rubbed her back a couple quick strokes and gave her a squeeze.  “Do you want me to sing to you again?”

                “Only if you want to.”  She replied.  He idly stroked her back in long languid strokes as he began to hum the tune to the lullaby.  She eventually began to doze.  She woke again a few hours later feeling refreshed.  “How do you feel?”  He asked.

                “Good.  How long was I asleep?”

                “About two and a half hours.”  He helped her to get up and got up himself.  “I’ll see you again soon.”  He stroked her face and kissed her cheek.  She smiled and he could tell she was no longer upset with him for asking her to rest.  He had told her not to make dinner, so she took the basket of undyed yarn down to the sitting room with the sock she had been working on and began working on the rest of the sock.  She especially hated this part of knitting socks: turning the heel.  She was down to the arch by the time Micah came down to her.

                She saw him in the doorway, so set down her needles in the basket and stood up to greet him.  When she looked at him properly, she saw that he was carrying a basket, much like the one that he had used in her dream.  He also had a blanket folded over his arm that was also carrying the basket.

                “What’s this?”  She asked.

                “I told you it was a selfish reason for asking you to take a nap.  I wanted you to be awake this evening.  If you come here, I’ll lift you with my other arm, and we’ll Step to a special place.”  He gestured to his free, left side so she walked over to him and he bent a little, placed his arm underneath her rear and lifted her so that her legs went on either side of himself.  “Put your arms around my neck.”  She put her arms around his neck and she breathed in.  He took a step and they were suddenly outside with the roar of nearby water.  He set her down and she looked around.

                They were standing in front of a cliff face with a water fall streaming down from it.  It fell into a small lake that had a stream it fed into that traveled off into the distance.  The waterfall was slightly secluded with trees all around except for a wide trail that winded through the trees.  When she turned back to Micah, he had already spread the blanket on the ground and was removing the contents of the picnic basket.  It was much larger than the basket he used in the dream, but would never have held all the things he had pulled out of it in the dream basket.  She noticed that he had already taken his boots off, so as she approached the blanket, she took off her boots and sat next to him.

                He plated a slice of meat pie for them both along with vegetables, berries, and some honey cakes.  To drink, he had brought a bottle of wine and a pair of glasses.  She had had wine before with him and they had discovered that she preferred wine mixed with grape juice which the wine makers had started to bottle for her without fermentation.  This was a bottle of wine he had already premixed so that she would like it.  As they ate, they talked.

                “This is one of my most favorite places in the whole Haven.”  He confided.

                “It’s beautiful.”  He smiled.

                “Do you know how to swim?”

                “No.  The river that runs near the village was too swift.  Sometimes we would dip our toes in the water, but that was all.  And there isn’t any other body of water nearby the village like that.”

                “Would you like to?”

                “You mean now?”  He nodded.  “But we don’t have spare clothing to change in to.”  She protested.

                He laughed.  “Do you forget that I can dry our clothing or even make more if need be?”  She blushed.  She had forgotten that.  “But I can do something else so we don’t have to worry about the clothing getting wet at all.”  He gestured over himself and then began removing the clothing he was wearing.  Chelsea turned bright red and turned around.  “I’m still decent, Chelsea.  Please turn around.”  She peaked quickly and saw that his privates were covered with some kind of opaque field.  “I can cover you as much as you want to be.”  He covered her in an opaque field that covered her from her shoulders to her knees.  “More or less?”  He asked.

                “This is fine.”  He turned around so she didn’t have to undress with him watching.  She folded her dress and set it next to his clothing before walking over to stand next to him with her arms wrapped around herself, covering her breasts.

                “You know I can’t see what you’re covering, right?”

                “I know.  I just…..feel weird being naked out in the woods where anyone could stop by.”

                “They won’t.  While this can be a popular place, I made it known I was coming here with you tonight and we were not to be disturbed.”  He led her to the lake and they stepped into the water.  They traveled out to where she was submerged up to her breasts.  He took her a little further and she started panicking that she couldn’t feel the lake bottom.  He held her at her shoulders, keeping her steady.

                “I want you to move your legs like you’re walking, but without bending your knees.  And at the same time, I want you to keep your arms straight and move them like this.”  He moved one of her arms forwards and back.  “Keep your fingers and toes spread out, it helps.  Go ahead and start.”  She began moving her body as he told her and found she was bobbing up and down in the water like a cork as she kicked her legs.  He removed his hands from her shoulders and she panicked a little, but found she was able to keep afloat doing what she was doing.

                “Ok.  Now I’m going to show you how to float on your back.  You’re going to lean back and fill your lungs with air.  You can let your legs stay level with you or let them dangle.  You’ll want to keep your arms level with your body though.”  He placed his hand on her back to steady her and keep her from panicking.  ‘It’s ok.  Your butt will sink a little, but your body wants to float.  Let your breath out easily and breathe normally.  There you go.”  He removed his hand and let her float for a little while.  “Ok, right yourself and go back to what you were doing before.”  It took her a little bit, but she was able to do what he said.

                “Ok.  Now we’re going to try to swim now that you can float and keep yourself from drowning.”  He showed her a couple strokes and they swam for an hour.  He also showed her how to swim under the water.  When they exited the lake he quickly dried them both and they put their clothing back on.  Once they were both decent, he removed the opaque fields.  “What did you think of swimming?”

                “I liked it.  Thank you.”  He laid back on the blanket with his hands behind his head, enjoying the feel of the sun on his face.  She laid back too and rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling up to him.  The water had been cool and she was still a little cold from swimming.  He curled that arm around her. 

                He took his other hand and brushed back her hair from her face.  “Do you still want me to kiss you?”  She nodded.  He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips.  When he pulled away, she looked like she was expecting more.  “A first kiss should always be light, sweet, and simple.”  He leaned back in and kissed her again lightly but for longer.  She seemed to gasp for breath after so he offered her a simple piece of advice.  “It’s ok to breathe through your nose while we kiss, Chelsea.  It means we can kiss for longer and you won’t be so out of breath after.”  He leaned in again and opened his mouth a little so he could flick her lips with his tongue.  She opened her mouth to him and he began by stroking her tongue with his own.  She was learning quickly so began rubbing the tip of her tongue along the length of his.  As he withdrew his tongue from her mouth, she followed with her own flicking the underside of his tongue with her own.

                When they parted, they were both breathing heavily.  “We should probably relax for a little bit.  You’re making me want to do things neither of us are ready for.”  He rubbed her side.

                They both heard the sounds of someone or something coming through the trees.  “What’s that?”  She asked, sitting up and looking in the direction the sounds were coming from.

                “I don’t know.  Probably a deer.”  He answered as he sat up to look in the same direction.  The sounds continued and appeared to sound like it was moving towards them.  He began putting his boots back on and directed her to put hers on as well.  He had heard many things moving in forests and this did not sound like anything normal he had encountered before.  “Just in case.”  He explained.  She wasn’t sure what this was in case of, but obeyed him anyway.  They moved off of the blanket and while he watched the forest, she began putting everything they didn’t use back into the basket and then folded the blanket.

                She had just picked up the corners and was getting ready for the first fold when the creature rushed out of the woods.  The creature looked humanoid but the skin seemed a little distorted like the bone underneath was raised in odd spots.  The lips were perpetually pulled back due to the size of the teeth in the mouth.  They were large and pointed and seemed like there were just too many to fit.  The eyes were like pitch black pits staring back at them.  The hair hung in what appeared at a distance to be dreadlocks.