My Zodiac Guardian

Guarded Affections[5]

The bite wound on my arm throbbed as we scarcely crossed the town’s gate before the night stars shone in the sky. I wiped the beading sweat from my brow, taking in my surroundings.

The towns around Caldarsia were not big by any means, they survived depending on what sort of resources lay around them. Other than the massive woods by my town, there was also a seemingly endless stretch of plain, flat land, ripe for the harvest. In its neighbouring village, they mostly focussed on their lumber, the nearby river garnering enough energy to slice through the thick logs and making them easier for transportation. The constant clearance of the surrounding area made it easy for this town to expand its population as well.

Judging by the fact that there was glass in these windows as well, it stood to reason that this town was quite well off. Moreso than mine was, even with it’s rich bakeries and odds and ends stores that my mother and father supplied with their clothes and carvings.

I wondered what kind of treats or luxuries I would find in this town here… If I could even afford it.

Remembering how little coin I had back in the village, I rifled through the pack and pulled out a pitiful sack of coins, stomach now tightening with hunger as I realised that I had to choose between shelter and food.

I didn’t want to turn to Aquarius, afraid that he would snicker or make a snide comment about how I should have remained at my homestead. Maybe I should have searched around for any more coin I had left over there, but alas, I couldn’t turn back now.

No, I would make this work. I was determined to.

“We need to find a town board. Someplace that they would put up wanted ads for work, make some coin,” I mentioned confidently, scanning the town for something like that.

He snorted, and I grit my teeth. “Is this your way of saying you’re broke?”

“I-” I looked around, embarrassed about how loud I raised my voice. “We’re a little short on coin, so yes- I’m going to look for work so I am less poor.”

“And how do you think you’re going to get any work like this?” He pressed, gripping my injured arm and lifting it over my head, squeezing the bloodied bandage until it hurt. A small noise escaped me and he let it go, shaking his head. “Right now, you need to rest. There is no way I am going to let you work yourself to the brink to nurse your mortal pride.”

I tried to hide how much his words cut me, instead biting my tongue as he dragged me to the nearest inn and approached the counter. The barmaid gasped at his resplendent clothes, eyes bulging from her skull.

Oh, Gods. I forgot that having a Guardian wasn’t exactly normal.

“Oh my goodness, you are a handsome couple! And look at that dashing suit of yours, you must be a prince that just married!” Her eyes traveled down to where his hand enveloped mine, and I could have sworn hearts jumped from her eye sockets at the sight of it. I was too tired to correct her. “We have just the honey-moon suite for the two of you! Here, take these keys!”

“But, what about the payment?” I asked, not wanting to draw too much attention to myself. Sure, Aquarius looked like a prince, but if she looked even two seconds longer at my hands, or even my clothes for that matter, she would see scuffs and scars that would declare me as little more than a rat off the street.

She waved off my inquiry though, clearly only seeing exactly what she wanted to see. “Think nothing of it! If a prince as dashing as himself can say to others that the Sunny Fields was a wonderful stay, then the guests will flock! That will be payment enough.”

I wanted to protest, but instead Aquarius dropped my hand and pulled me into his body, hand on my shoulder. “Do you mind sending up something for the miss to eat as well? The long journey to your fine establishment has left her a little weak, and I could not bear to not have my new bride at full strength.”

This time, bloody stars exploded in her orbs as she hurriedly nodded her head. “Why, of course! I’ll make sure the chef gets on a warm and hearty soup for the young lady. I would say it’ll take less than twenty minutes, so all I ask is your courtly patience, your highness.”

He dipped his head in gratitude. “Blessings be upon you and this establishment.”

Without looking at me, he hurriedly swept up the stairs with me firmly pressed to his side, key jostling in his hand as he looked around for the suite that the kind innkeep had set up for us.

With a turn of the key, we entered what was the most beautiful room I had ever seen. There was a triangular window with a pulled aside curtain that overlooked the town square. Pictures full of harvest fruit and snowy cottages hung up around the log walls as well, with a love couch seated before a gated fireplace, cleanly chopped pieces of firewood piled neatly in a stack beside it.

On the left side, pressed against the wall, was a four poster bed with curtains drawn around it. A thick, plush, red and green plaid blanket was draped smoothly on top of it, with blisteringly bright white linens beneath.

“Would you like me to draw you a bath, Rimona?”

Aquarius’ cool voice jostled me from my stupor, and before I could respond, the sound of running water hitting the tub resonated from the room over. “Bath?” I said stupidly, scuffling over to the restroom.

My eyes widened to see him crouched by the massive tub, enough to fit two people, his hand glistening wet as clear water ran over his long digits. My throat was strangely dry as I took in the imagery. I wondered what he would look like, shirtless and drenched from a waterfall.

I shook my head, clearing my head and my throat. “You didn’t have to do this for me, Aquarius.”

His body seemed to jolt as I said this, his lips parting slightly. “It is my duty to care for my bonded.”

For some reason, the way he said bonded seemed to hurt me, but I tried to ignore it. “Well, you shouldn’t have to. I can take care of myself.” I’d have to now, anyway, without any parents.

He barked out a laugh at that, standing up with a stunning smile that choked the breath from me. “That’s why you’re pale and barely standing, right?”

I… had nothing to say to that. The bandage had long since been bled through, probably because I had flexed my arm too much looking through the carriage earlier. Peeling off the bandage left us with a rather gruesome sight of an oozing wolf bite.

Aquarius grimaced, gently taking my arm in his hands, looking over the wound with… I wanted to say guilt? “I should have come to your aid sooner.”

“Why did you do it at all?” I couldn’t help but ask, and his eyes closed as he sighed, shaking your head.

“That isn’t important right now. What is, however, is that I can heal your arm, or at least clean it out. If you’d let me.”

My eyes widened with surprise. “You can do that? I thought Aquarius- you, were an air sign?” I’d have to work on that. He was no longer a distant truth, but a real, physical person standing in front of me.

He smirked at me. “You’ve been studying me. I’m a bit of an odd case, being a water-bearer.” His tenured voice distracted me as he helped me strip off my shirt, but I had to stop him before he went further, turning him around as he chuckled and crossed his arms. “I can manipulate the air around me, yes, but… handling water has ever been in my job description. As such, healing is a skill I am much accustomed to.”

I hummed in thought as I undressed. Suppose it made sense. I stepped into the tub, surprised to find it at a hot but bearable temperature, almost as though it was meant to help sweat out the toxins of the day. I didn’t fight against it, sinking into my first proper bath with a long, sweet groan.

He turned around then, coming to my side and dipping a bucket into the tub and filling it to the brim with water before dunking it over my head. I gasped and gripped the sides of the tub, muscles tensing before another wave of hot water had them coaxing out the strain. I breathed deeply, trembling as I sank deeper into the water, feeling much weaker than I had before stepping into the tub. All of the day’s adrenaline eddied out from my body into the crystalline waters.

Running a gentle hand down my wound, I hissed as he lifted it up to his face, blue eyes roving over the injury as though he were studying it for a test. His free hand drifted over the water of the bath, conjuring droplets from the mass and letting them spin around his hand before he coaxed them towards the infected bite, settling them into the bloody crevices.

I bit down a cry as he worked, though if he noticed I couldn’t tell, so focussed he was on his work that he might as well have been the only person in the room.

After a minute, the pain began to subside, and to my amazement, the wound began… closing. And yet there wasn’t a sweat on his brow, not an intake of breath, nothing that would indicate he exerted himself. He rested his palm against my arm after he was done, wiping away the water and revealing a jagged pink scar where the wound once was.

His brow furrowed and he averted his gaze. “The wound was deep, and I didn’t want to hurt you, so… There is a scar. My apologies, Rimona.”

I flexed it, rotating my wrist and feeling nothing except a little tightness. I smiled at him, exhaustion settling in finally. “You have nothing to apologize for. You’ve helped me so much already.”

He bowed his head low, and I couldn’t help but admire how silky and water-like the strands of his dark blue hair seemed. I absent-mindedly ran my hand over his head, and he whipped his head up to me, his shock mirroring my own. His eyes were so wide I could see my own gaping appearance in his gaze.

“I- I’m sor-”

A knock on the door gave him the perfect escape, and he didn’t hesitate to bolt from the bathroom before I could finish my apology. My chest constricted in horror, and I sank further into the tub’s waters, wishing for all the world it would scrub away my very existence like he did with my wound.

The bath suddenly grew extraordinarily cold.