The Unknown Thief

Part 26

Chapter 26

Nathaniel arms tightened around her as her head lulled to the side.  Leaning back slightly, he allowed her body to fall back onto his.  There were only three horses and one dragon.  Daisy would allow Ainsely and Alin on her back, but he and Luther were still strangers to the young dragon.  Therefore, as Ainsely rode Daisy, Alin was stuck on a horse, as was Luther.  That left one option: share a horse with Aubrey.  He did not mind in the slightest.  It was actually quite nice to have her body in his arms.

“Nathaniel,” Luther said, coming up next to him on Aubrey’s horse. 

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow in question.  “What is it Luther?”

Luther looked down at Aubrey with a soft expression on his face, before turning his eyes to Nathaniel.  “She will love you.  I know she will; you just have to give her time.”

“What if I do not want that?”

“Do not be foolish,” Luther said with a laugh.  “Deep down, that is all a man wants, to be loved by their other half.  Aubrey must have been born with two other halves, because you and my brother are hers.”

Nathaniel’s face scrunched up as he was compared to Luther’s brothers.  “Swinging blades?”

“Swinging blades,” Luther assured while nodding in amusement.  “I did not say the two of you were alike in any way.  You are the complete opposite.  My brother, he could kill a magic user before they even knew what was happening.  You, you have no training.  I would not trust you by yourself with a sharp blade, but you two have something in common.”

“What is that?”

Luther motioned towards a sleeping Aubrey.  “Her.  I see the way you look at her.  You may not have admitted it to yourself or her, but you look at her the same way my brother used too.”

Nathaniel let out a sigh as he realized the man was not going to continue talking unless Nate asked questions.  “How did your brother look at her?”

“Like it was the last thing he would ever see.  With such joy and love, that it made others envious.  You have the same look upon your face, and if you do not do something about it soon, Aubrey will move on.”

“I thought you told me to give her time,” Nathaniel stated in confusion.

Luther nodded.  “Give her time, but let her know what you want from her.  Do not let there be any doubt in her mind that you wish for her to be yours.”

“And this will work?”

“Yes,” Luther mumbled, his eyes narrowing at the horizon.  “There is a well ahead.  Maybe we should stop for a minute?”

Daisy huffed and shook her head back and forth, but the four of them ignored her.  Alin jumped from his horse before walking towards the well.  Once he made it without difficulties, the other men began dismounting and walking towards the water source.  Glancing down at Aubrey, he questioned whether he should jostle her awake, but looking at her relaxed face, he knew he couldn’t.  He would just have to sit here until one of the men could bring the water source to him.

As they glanced down the well, Nathaniel only had time for a quick shout as the ground beneath their feet began to shake.  From his viewpoint, he could see the ground corroding around the three.  Alin grabbed his water bag before darting into a safety zone.  Luther looked as if he had seen worse, while Ainsely slowly walked towards where they stood.  The only problem was that they all knew they would not make it.  No matter how fast or slow they tried to outmaneuver the suction of the sand. 

“Nathaniel,” Ainsely said with a sigh as they drifted deeper into the sand pit.  “Keep Aubrey out of here; do not let her follow us.  We’ll be back before she knows it.”

“Perfect time to talk to Aubrey,” Luther called out.  “She cannot run from you this time, and you will be alone.”

Alin didn’t say a single word as the sand overtook his face.  Watching the process, Nathaniel shivered in disgust.  He was glad that it was they and not he.  Looking down at Aubrey, he, surprisingly, found her eyes still shut tight.  Sleep had overtaken her minutes before, and he had a feeling that she would be asleep for quite some time afterwards.  Letting out a sigh, he began backing the horse further away from where the other three had disappeared too.

As soon as he knew he was on safe grounds, he jostled Aubrey awake.  The woman’s eyes popped open, her body immediately went on alert, but she slowly relaxed as she realized where she was.  “I just need you to get off the horse,” Nathaniel mumbled.  “You can nap when we hit the sand.”

She shook her head at him.  “We need to talk.”

“Yes,” he answered with a nod, “we do, but we can do so as we lay in wait for your friends and brother.”

“Why are we waiting on them?”

“Sand storm took them straight from the dirt ground.”

She nodded as if she knew exactly what he was saying, but Nathaniel knew she didn’t have a clue. Settling her down onto the ground, he pulled the blanket from the horse before lying it down for them to lie on.  As they settled down, he ran his free hand through her hair.  “You wanted to talk?”

“Yes,” she mumbled.  “You have feelings for me?”

“I do,” he admitted in amusement.  “Am I right in thinking you feel the same towards me?”

“No, Nathaniel; I feel the same, but with my curse still in place, I refuse to begin another relationship.”

“I understand, Aubrey, and I respect you for that decision.  Once we break your curse though, you will no longer have an excuse to put me at a distance.”

She sighed, snuggling closer to his side.  “What will your father think?”

Nathaniel let out a laugh.  “If you can convince him of something once, I am sure you can convince the man to like you.”

“I certainly hope so,” she said with a yawn. 

“It’s dark out.  Go to sleep.”

“But Ainsely-” she started, but he interrupted her.

“Ainsely will be fine.  Go to sleep.”

Her eyelids drifted shut, and Nathaniel knew she was taking his advice.  Letting his drift shut also, he basked in the warmth against his side.  This was what he wanted, Aubrey, next to him for the rest of his life.  Now, he just had to live long enough for it to happen.