Balancer's Soul (8 page)

He jumped in before she could continue her
speech. “Listen Sarah, I will keep your secrets to myself, as long
as you do the same for me. Your secrets are your own anyway. I
wouldn’t be much of a friend if I went around and told everyone
another’s secret. Ok, so don’t worry?”

“If someone asks about last night?” She
prompted, lifting her head to look at him with concern pleading
within her green eyes. There wasn’t a single part of Connor that
could deny Sarah of anything she wanted.

“I’ll simply say ‘I got worried that my new
neighbor was lost in the woods and I tracked her down and made sure
she was safe. We decided to wait until morning and I brought her
back without difficulty’.” She nodded deciding that was a good and
easy story to stick with.

“And the Cougar?” Her eyes looked over at the
motionless cat.

“What Cougar?” Connor grinned meaningfully.
“Are you calling yourself that now? You’re definitely the older
woman.”

Sarah burst into a calm laughter as she tried
to stand up. Instead she slipped on the wet grass and fell directly
on top of Connor.

As she laid on top of Connor they both stared
at each other in shocked surprise. He noticed how very light she
was. They were thigh to thigh, belly to belly and breast to chest.
Most importantly their faces were even closer than when she woke up
this morning. She had a very pleasant smell on her; strawberries
and apples. It was a faint smell, but it seductive nonetheless.

As their faces were so close, they shared
each other’s breath and it sent Connor’s senses reeling. She was
the perfect size for him. A compliment to his size. Her long and
luscious hair fell over her back and on to his chest and neck.
Their hand found each other and they instinctively laced themselves
together. They were just moments from kissing each other when he
felt something in his hands getting wetter.

Connor pulled both of their entwined hands up
to his face to see liquid crimson. With regret he pulled his face
away from Sarah’s and noticed by looking down that her hands were
dripping with blood.

“Sarah, you’re bleeding!” To his horror he
grabbed her other hand and it too had been soaked red. Worry shot
through him. “What happened? Did I hurt you? Did the cat do
it?”

Coming out of her own daze she said
“Relax…relax Connor. When the Cougar growled and I tried to flee,
you grabbed me and you were also keeping me from falling. When the
Cougar and you charged each other, I fell and scraped my hands.
That’s all, don’t worry about it.” She said with a sly smile, plus
she was still laying on top of him, enjoying the experience.

He did not smile back in the least. What
Connor did next was grab her soft and very womanly hips with both
of his hands and effortlessly picked her up. She felt lighter than
he first thought or it was the adrenaline making her seem so. She
squealed softly, as he sat her down. He sat up and reiterated “I am
your protector!” As Connor stood up Sarah didn’t adjust anything in
her sitting position, but her face and beautiful green eyes
followed his movement. Saying as sweetly as possible he said
“Please stay here Sarah. There are a few things that I need to
attend to. Will you wait right here for me?”

“I think I can handle waiting for my
trusty protector to return to me.” She said it in honesty which
truly brightened his dark mood.
“I love
your smile Sarah, don’t ever stop smiling.”

“Thank you, Princess.” At that endearment she
blushed again.

Connor walked over to the dead Cougar
and laid him over his shoulder, he weighed well over two hundred
pounds. He also picked up gore stained Tool and slid it into the
belt loop. Sarah’s and his eyes connected again. As Connor left he
saw her eyes twinkling.
“What did that
mean?”

***

“Connor called me…Princess?
Sarah means Princess, but is that a coincidence or his own pet name
for girls he likes? I have always hated endearments and pet names
for as long as I can remember. Except for some reason I love it
coming from him. Am I in love? Infatuated, most definitely.”
He walked away carrying the deceased cougar like a sack of
potatoes when their eyes met again.

As he walked away he melted back into the
forest again. He was walking away like the added weight from the
mature cat didn’t bother him, it probably didn’t judging from the
build of his large body.

What was a major surprise to Sarah when
she fell was that his body was beyond solid. She figured he was
heavyset, chunky to be wearing all those baggy clothes, but in
reality he was layered in solid, iron muscle. She couldn’t stop
thinking about them when she was laying on his large and hard
body.
“Wow! I have never felt so very sexy
and womanly before… We were so close moments ago and I almost
kissed him. Blasted bloody hands… Why did you get in my
way?

“Even if we only met yesterday, I knew his
eyes said that I’m beautiful even if I am nothing, but plain… Oh
well, all I can do is wait till my Knight returns. It’s the very
least I can do for causing Connor so much trouble.

“I’m waiting, come back as soon as you can
Connor.”

With the dead weight of the mountain lion
draped over his shoulder, Connor needed to find a final resting
place to bury this great fallen warrior. All warriors who meet
their end in honest combat need a proper burial, even predators.
They only do what comes naturally and instinctively so Connor
couldn’t begrudge such compassionate needs. In fact he felt a
closeness with such creatures. That’s what they are designed for,
to hunt and carve out their lives by will alone. Connor would want
the same respect given to himself should he fall, no more and no
less. Still he needed to find a place and not take too long. The
smell of blood would bring in more predators for sure.

As he came across a large natural depression
in the ground, that was just the right size for the great cat,
Connor gently laid him down into the moist recess. With only the
use of his hands, dirt and stone easily moved to cover the cougar,
a few yards away wild flowers were blooming since winter’s snow had
finally melted away. Connor unearthed a small bundle of the vibrant
vegetation, buried it atop the mound as a small memorial to show
the task completed and honor had been properly given.

Getting up from the ground, Connor closed his
eyes and focused his hearing to listen out for any nearby running
water. There are a lot of nearby streams around the area luckily
and especially after last night’s heavy rain storm. The sounds of a
slow and decent trickle of water ran nearly two dozen yards away,
hidden behind some ferns. He walked over to the flowing stream.
Firstly he washed the blood off of Tool and then he washed the dirt
and blood off of himself as well. The last thing he needed is for
his mom or Kara to freak out by seeing blood.

Now clean, Connor stood and looked for raw
materials to clean Sarah’s wounds. A small piece of bark lay near
the trunk of a tree that seemed capable of holding a little water,
shaped like a natural shallow bowl. He picked it up and filled it
with the clean and clear running water. Connor could only hope the
water didn’t hold any parasites. Now a good antiseptic needed to be
found just incase.

Searching for the right plant or herb can be
quite daunting and dangerous if one doesn’t know where or what
specifically to look out for. The worst thing to do in the outdoors
is use or eat anything that you don’t know about. Being raised in
the outdoors, Connor learned quite a bit about medicinal herbs from
his grandfather’s survival lessons. Many times he had to treat his
own wounds from careless mistakes. In about five minutes he found
the exact plant he was looking for and would serve the desired
purpose.

The shrub like herb barely reached up to his
hips. It is a long stemmed plant that has tear shaped leaves and
they have a glossy green color. Connor snapped off a few healthy
leaves and stuffed them into his pocket, careful not to break them
just yet. “Let’s see if Sarah knows what this is.” He said to wryly
to himself and snickered. “She probably will, being three hundred
years old and all. I’ll still see if she knows.”

He picked up the container of water and
headed back to where he left Sarah.

***

While Sarah continued sitting in the damp
grass she examined her hands. “Well the cuts really aren’t too bad…
At least the bleeding stopped. I just hope it doesn’t get
infected.” Her nose wrinkled.

It took nearly an hour before Connor finally
returned carrying a small piece of wood filled with water. “I’m
back, Princess. How are you feeling?” His voice of heartfelt
concern and relief was evident and made her suddenly feel
better.

With a shy smile Sarah replied “It’s not
every day that you are protected and saved from a hungry and wild
animal. I should thank the big cat.”

Connor’s laughter sent her heart beating
wildly yet again. “It’s not every day I get to rescue any beautiful
maidens.”

Sarah face flared with heat and she knew
immediately that he made her blush yet again. Trying to change the
subject she asked “What did you do with the uh…cat?”

“Gave him a proper burial, as best as I could
manage under the circumstances.” Connor said remorsefully while his
unique hazel eyes spoke of compassion. It was a rare glimpse of a
person’s true character and one she looked for constantly.

“Interesting, he doesn’t
want or like to kill, but he will not hesitate when there is need.
That’s how every man should be.”
“Good.” Sarah said,
breaking the silence that lingered between them. She then noticed
that he held a cup of water in his hand. “Connor, I am a little
thirsty. May I have some of that water?”

“I’m sorry Princess, but this water is for me
to clean your wounds, not to be drunk.” He said while walking
towards her. He stopped in front of her and shoved his hands into
his black jeans pocket. He pulled out some green leaves which Sarah
recognized instantly.

“Sage!” She announced, sounding
astonished. Connor smiled a smile like she passed his test. To
further prove her knowledge she explained. “This will help keep my
hands from getting infected. Good job, Connor. I didn’t think of
using that. I didn’t even know if any grew around this area.” He
still smiled calmly when he slowly sat down right in front of
her.
“I can’t believe how talented Connor
is at finding a medicinal herb so quickly… let alone how attracted
to him I am… no stop that, he’s just a child… well not exactly.
He’s already proven himself a capable man already. Few grown men
could do what he did.”

Breaking her chain of thought he grabbed her
hands gently and turned Sarah’s palms up. Sharp eyes scanned the
scrapes with obvious training in medicine. “This will not be
pleasant Sarah, but I have to clean and open up these wounds
again.” He said remorsefully and his tense expression matched. But
what she noticed the most were just how large his hands were. They
were the hands of a person used to physical labor.

Pouring a little of the cool water over
Sarah’s palms felt very pleasant until she felt his calloused
thumbs. Sarah could tell he was going as quickly as possible so as
to not prolong her pain while not being overly forceful either. She
kept her eyes shut tight to keep from wincing and locked her jaw.
She made a slight, pained whimper which made him work more quickly.
After a minute, the torture ended and he finished cleaning out the
wound. He poured the last of the water over both of her hands to
show the blood flowed free and all dirt had been dug out. “Well
that wasn’t too bad.” Sarah said, forcing a smile.

Connor didn’t smile, but said instead “As old
as you are, you know that was the easiest part. This Sage stings
just as much, if not more.” He placed the Sage leaves into the
piece of wood that held the water. He pulled Tool out and she
noticed that it too had been cleaned. Using the hammer side to
crunch and grind the leaves into a paste, the little bit of water
residue helped congeal the Sage into the right texture that it
needed to be. It makes it more effective and easier to apply. At
the exact time she knew it to be ready Connor said “It’s finished.
May I take your hand?”

Sarah took his question the wrong way. Her
face burned even hotter and brighter than ever before and all she
barley could get out was “We have only known each other for a day,
Connor!”

He stared at Sarah with a questioning look
until he caught onto her train of thought. He let out a strong
masculine laugh that gave her stomach butterflies. Sarah’s body was
getting out of control from being so near him. When he was able to
speak again he said “Sarah, I don’t know about that yet. We really
have only known each other for a full day. I definitely have
feelings for you, but this is all new for me. I have never felt
this way about anyone like this before. It’s all so confusing.”

“I’m ancient and for the first time in my
long life, I too haven’t felt this way about anyone before now
either. I am just as, if not more confused than you are.” Sarah
said in all complete honesty.

“Well let’s just see how things go from here
on in.” He said, being honest himself too. He took his index and
middle finger and dipped it into the Sage paste. He applied it
gently to the wounds on both of her hands.

When the stinging finally ebbed from her own
endorphins, Sarah asked him very seriously. “What do we tell people
about…us?”

Connor answered with a bone melting smile “We
can say that I found you in the woods and brought you back safely.
For your scraped hands you may say ‘I tripped on a tree root and
scrapped them trying to brace myself from a fall.’ As for us, we
tell others that we became good friend. In private we can do
whatever we want.” He then added with a grin and a twinkle in his
eye, “I won’t tell anyone about your age if you don’t tell anyone
that I took on a full grown Cougar and killed it.”