Flight of the Warrior Chapter 11 - A frank discussion

It seemed he found it hard to refuse her. "You are welcome."

She pulled her knees up to her chest, drawing the cloak around her legs as she was shivered slightly from the chill in the air. "That was my second time sending a message. I was not sure how to do it. I don't know your name...so I had to remember other things about you to make sure I was sending it to the right person..." her voice trailed off and she looked behind her subconsciously, as if checking to see if she had been overheard.

"You did a good job," he said simply, then, "Finn....my name is Finn."

She leaned forward and held out her hand, "Bianca".

He took her hand, it was ice cold. She withdrew it quickly, another shiver invading her body. "You are frozen. Let me see if I can make a fire." He could make fire by summoning it but there was no wood to keep it burning here. "I can go and get some wood," he rose to his feet.

"There is no need, this is a hot spring. I can go in and warm up. I did that last night and it worked well. Will you turn your back?"

He was still thinking about getting firewood, looking at her dumbly and it was a moment before he registered what she was saying. He stumbled over his words, "Oh, I....yes, of course....yes." He was thankful his back was to her as his neck and ears flushed red.

He heard a splash then, "You can turn around now".

He turned slowly. Nervous, like a boy again, on his first day of school. "I am sorry to be so....brazen, but I need to get warm straight away. It will take some time for a fire to throw of enough heat. One night sleeping on that cold rock slab was enough for me."

He sat down again, not wanting to see her body through the water. The light was getting stronger now, the day was starting.

She swam about the pool for a while, no words passing between them. He watched her from the corner of his eye. It was hard not to.

She motioned that he should turn around again and after she was fully clothed she said, "I need your help." He turned to look at her, hair wet and tied back off her face in a bun. Her cheeks were coloured from the swim. He was in trouble now.

Looking down at his feet he said, "You need to tell me why you ran, how you ended up here."

She told him about the message on the wind, he had figured out she knew how to read messages when he had received one from her so that was no surprise. She told him how she had fled to the East, making the mistake that led her to this spot. She explained that she could not take off without running some distance and that although she did not know he was able to fly, she guessed at it and that he might be able to get her out of her predicament. She said she was very sorry to ask him for help, but she could think of no other way out.

He continued to look down at his feet. He would help her of course but he needed some guarantee she would not run from him again. He needed her to stay with him, and he had several reasons for that now.

It was a risk offering her an ultimatum, but he felt he did not have any other choice. "I can get you out of here. You will need to hold onto me, but I can fly some distance with two. We will need to jump off that small ledge over the river." He paused. This was tricky. "I will ask something of you in return."

She bristled. He had used the wrong words. Quickly he added, "I need to find the man who hurt you. As I said when we last met, I believe he will try to find you. I can offer you some protection and meet my obligations to my employer."

"You have made two assumptions." Her voice was very quiet, but he could trace anger in it. "You assume that I wish to be protected, and you assume you are his equal or better." She looked him directly in the eye.

"I don't make assumptions. I hope you want my protection, and I know I can capture him. But I won't leave this place without your assurance." He stood up, getting ready to go. He hoped if she did not think about it too much she would say yes. Rushing her thought process would be his best chance now. "It may rain, we should get out of here before it does. It would flood quickly. What do you say? Do I have your word?"

"You have a plan, a place to go? I need to know that if you are to use me like bait to lure a demon, that it is well thought out."

He felt as if she had hit him square in the stomach. "I take no pleasure from this situation Bianca. This man will not stop, and I am sorry to say this, he will come after you. With me by your side you have more of a chance than if you were alone."

She nodded in resignation. "We will need to set some ground rules. I will also need some privacy at times. Please don't touch me unless you have to. There is a curse, when a man touches me I feel very ill."

"He wants me to always be reminded of him, to always be reminded I am his. As soon as I can figure out how to break that spell.....it is that part that upsets me more than anything. My liberty is a prized possession. That has been taken away so life feels hollow."

"I am sorry," was all he could say.

She stood for some time eyes closed, head lowered as if meditating. When she did open her eyes the bright sunlight of the day had flooded the ravine. They were still standing apart in the same positions but something seemed different. How long had they been standing there?

She picked up her satchel and they moved to the ledge. She slid around to face him so that her back was to the raging river. Then she silently grasped him round the neck, circling one leg in his. He placed one arm around her waist and noticed her face fall to grey before he fell forward and flew out of the opening and down the ravine.