Arranged (40 page)

She climbed out and sat on the shore, not quite able to meet his eye. He sat next to her on, studying her and trying desperately to see into her mind. His lips still tingled and he wanted nothing more than to pull her into another embrace then he realized that he might have done exactly what he had feared. He had scared her off, "Look...I didn't mean to take advantage of you...if I've made you uncomfortable−"

She shook her head, silencing him. Her eyes touched his for a moment, shyly, before retreating once more. "Why did you kiss me?"

He blinked in surprise. Wasn't it obvious that he cared for her? Perhaps, just like him, she needed to hear the words. "I care for you."

Shock and joy fought for dominance on her face. She laughed nervously and hid her face beneath a curtain of hair. Qwinn cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. He didn't like that she was so insecure with herself. "I like you," he repeated

She blushed but didn't look away. He had never felt this nervous or alive, not even when he'd battled enemies. Her lip quivered slightly and as he held her face he could feel her pulse jumping. "I-I care for you too."

Relief washed over him so violently that he literally let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. She smiled, impulsively throwing her arms around him and hugging him, burying her face in his shoulder. He laughed and held her close, realizing that he might actually be able to get away with asking for her hand in marriage without her ever knowing otherwise.

After a moment of lingering, they pulled themselves out of the water and headed for the mouth of the cave. Qwinn kept a hold of her hand, but this time was different. He was aware of her touch even more than before, if that were even possible. They walked in compatible silence through the moss and out to the mouth of the cave with the breath taking view of the glowing city.

Through the
Alimbra
in the ceiling of the cavern, Qwinn could see that the sun was beginning to rise. Alison covered a yawn as she waited for him to begin the climb down. As the adrenaline of his confession and her revelation was leaving him, he realized that he too was tired. "Perhaps we should camp here?"

Alison looked around skeptically and he smiled. "Wait here," he said as he hurried back into the cave.

He followed the cave back, but instead of turning into the wall of moss, he turned the opposite direction, where there was a nook in the wall, just big enough to keep a travel bag. Qwinn came here to get away and often stayed the morning, so he was well prepared. He carried the travel bag with him back to the mouth of the cave. Alison was sitting along the edge of the cave floor, dangling her feet over the side of the cliff. He put the bag down, fishing out a blanket and wrapping it around her wet shoulders.

She accepted it thankfully and wrapped it tighter around her shoulders. He felt like a fool for forgetting how fragile humans were, she was still wet and it was chilly. "I'll find wood for a fire," he said, as he began to climb down.

"Please be careful."

He smiled up at her as he climbed quickly. He didn't want to leave her alone for too long, not because he didn't trust her, but because he wanted to protect her. He also wanted to know what was going on in her mind, they hadn't spoke since their confessions and he was growing anxious. Yet, from her kiss, he was still flying high. She cared for him, which was one-step closer to loving him. He gathered wood, looking for things that were dry and weren't damp from the ground.

Though it never rained in Vidar, the energy from Ahanu made the crops grow, it was almost as if the water came up from the ground. Finding dry wood would be difficult. He hurried through the forest, not spending too much time in one spot or another. When he had gathered enough logs, he hurried back to the cave. It was awkward to climb with only one hand, but he managed well.

When he reached the cave at first he didn't see Alison. For a moment, fear raced through him, turning his blood cold, and then he spotted her, in the shadows. She was curled in a ball beneath the blanket, already asleep. He smiled softly as he hurriedly built a fire, close enough to her so that she could be warmer but not burnt.

When the flame was acceptable, he sat against the cave wall, never far from Alison. As the fire crackled, he watched her for a moment; she seemed so content.

As the sun rose and the light revealed Vidar, he looked out across his kingdom and hoped beyond all hope that Alison was ready to rule by his side because in less than a week, she would be his queen.

ALISON WOKE IN A CONFUSED FOG. That fog lifted when she realized that she was resting her head on Qwinn's lap, who was resting his head back against the cave wall, breathing deeply with sleep. She slowly lifted sat up, looking around to find that they were indeed still in the cave. She smiled to herself as she remembered the pleasant discovery they'd made the night before. He cared for her. Again, her heart skipped at the mere thought.

After a moment, her eyes fell to the few red embers of what was once a fire. She shivered in the evening cool. The sun was setting, she could tell through the bubble in the ceiling of the cavern. As she looked around, she noticed a small pile of wood. Moving slowly, so as not to wake him, she crawled to the pile and added a few logs to the fire. She had never done this before; the servants had always taken care of the fires in the house, so she mimicked them and hoped she was doing it right. She bent down, quite unladylike, and blew gently on the coals.

To her relief, the logs caught fire and a wave of warmth washed over her. She scooted as close as she dare and soaked in the heat, grateful to find her clothes fully dried from her swim.

"You must be hungry," a groggy voice sounded, causing her to jump. She had tried to be quiet. He smiled at her and she fought the urge to blush, which was useless. The blush heated her cheeks anyway.

"We should leave, before they send a search party for us," he said, chuckling slightly but making no move to get up. Instead, he simply watched her over the flames of the fire. She wrapped the blanket more around herself.

"How did you find this place?" she asked, filling the silence.

He looked around the cave. "When we were first...exiled down here, we had to search for ground that we could use to farm. I was much younger, however, my father allowed me to help with the search for good soil. The forest on the north side of the city is mostly uninhabited by anything dangerous. Why? We don't know. That's just the way it is." He ran a hand through his dreads, continuing with the story. "While I was searching, I found a few nooks in the rock that could serve for foot holes." His dark eyes met Alison's as he smiled. "Needless to say the search bored me, so I climbed. Adalia, followed, though I didn't know it at the time. I reached the cave and followed it back. There was nothing spectacular about it. Just a cave." His eyes lit more with the fire. His excitement was contagious.

Alison couldn't help but lean forward in anticipation to hear what happened next.

"Then Adalia scared me, not an easy feet, and I fell onto the curtain of moss, falling right through. We discovered the pools that day and have kept this a secret place ever since," he finished with a shrug. "We never know when we may need such a hide away."

"When I was young, I once was hiding in the forest, avoiding my uncle and tripped on a root hidden by the leaves, I fell against a bush and right into a hollowed out tree. I'm sure an animal had lived there once, but it served as a great hiding spot for me when I needed to be invisible…which was a lot of the time," Alison said.

"Do you want to be invisible now?"

She thought through her answer for a moment, "At times. Even on the surface I never had as much attention as I'm getting from you and Adalia, let alone the townspeople..."

"Do they scare you?" he asked, a worried look flashing across his face for a split second.

She studied the fire. "A few of them. I've never seen anything like your people before...it's a little overwhelming sometimes. But I imagine, if they are anything like you or your sister that I have nothing to fear..."

He smiled softly. "They are good people. They simply need to get comfortable with you."

She nodded and curled into her blanket again. The cave offered little protection from the chill of the forest.

"We should return," he said again, this time he stood and made his way toward the ledge. She quickly followed. "What about the fire?"

"It will burn itself down," he said, beginning the climb down. Alison folded the blanket and left it by the travel bag, then copied him. She learned very rapidly that climbing up was much easier than climbing down, especially when her foot slipped and she lost her handhold. Her world dropped out from under her as she fell, unable to grip the rock enough to stop her decent, screaming in fear. Thankfully, Qwinn was not too far below and caught her wrist before she slid too far. He quickly pulled her upwards, against him.

In a panic, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hanged on for dear life, her limbs shaking violently from her fall.

"It's alright," he tried to calm her. "But, I'm going to need you to climb onto my back and hold on while I climb down the rest of the way."

She shook her head, swallowing hard. Her eyes looked down, taking in the long ways they still had to go.

"Alison, look at me." Immediately her eyes met his as she trembled. "I will not let you fall, now climb onto my back."

She hesitated for a moment, fear coursing through her. She sucked in a deep breath and shifted so that she could climb onto his back. She pushed her feet off the cliff wall and quickly swung onto his back, nearly pulling him off with her swing. She screamed again, but he regained his grip and balance with an exhorted grunt. She was wrapped around him like a second skin.

After a moment, when he was steady, he continued their descent. Alison squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her face between his shoulder blades, which she could feel move with every inch they descended.

After what felt like hours, his feet finally touched the ground and she loosened her grip only enough for him to turn around in her arms and pull her into a tight, reassuring hug. "It's alright. No more."

Her limbs still shook furiously as she held onto him as if he were her anchor. She fought tears of relief. He rubbed a soothing hand down her back and up again until she was calm and her shakes were under control.

When she pulled away, he lowered his head to look her in the eye. She nodded at him to let him know she was going to be all right. He took her hand and began to lead her silently out of the forest.

She had never been so relieved to see an ou'tani as she was at that moment. He helped her up and mounted behind her, urging the creature to a quick gallop. She didn't want to spread her hands out this time. She wanted to curl up and be safe. Suddenly she felt Qwinn press into her back, warming her. "We'll be home soon."

Home? Had she accepted the palace as her new home? She was surprised to find the relief and comfort the thought of the palace brought. Her dungeon was more home to her than her Uncle Jackson's manor had ever been.

Without realizing what she was doing, she pressed her back into him and sighed. His strength against her made her feel safe, made her feel strong. The farther they rode from the cave, the less it felt like the fall ever happened and the easier she could breathe.

The palace came into view and she straightened herself, not wanting to embarrass Qwinn if anyone saw them.

It must have been still early in the evening because not many Vidarian's were out. The servants took the animal to the stables and Qwinn grabbed her hand again. She could get used to the feel of his strong hand around hers.

He walked her back to her room. She was relieved to be back. Though the caves had been nice, that was a trip she could bare to go without, for a while at least.

She washed her face in the basin of water by her bed and dried it with a towel. Qwinn leaned against the closed door, his arms crossed, watching silently.

"Hungry?" he finally asked.

She nodded just as her stomach spoke up. She giggled and he stepped forward, cupping her cheek. Her mouth dried and her heart sped up as he drew her closer, his eyes to half-mast. Her eyes darted to his mouth before closing on their own accord. At that moment, the door burst open.

"Where have you been?" Adalia squealed.

Qwinn and Alison immediately jumped away from each other. Adalia didn't seem to notice, or just decided not to comment on it at that moment. "I have been up all morning worrying about you two! Where have you been?" she demanded again, propping her hands on her hips.

Alison swallowed a laugh. She had seen his pose many times when the cook was lecturing the maids.

"Do you know what time it is?"

Qwinn folded his arms, a smug sneer on his lips. When Adalia realized she wasn't getting answers, she began to pace the floor. "I thought that something had eaten you. When no one said they had seen you even return, all these things were going through my mind. Are you trying to take away years from my life by making me worry like this?" she rambled, not even pausing when Alison tried to explain.

"We're here and in one piece," Qwinn answered easily.

She zeroed her glare in on him. "Where were you?"

"The cave."