Stranger Spirits

The First Flame [Chapter Five Part Four]

I woke up a little feeling the pressure of someone holding my hand. I opened my eyes to see Atticus. He had pulled the chair closer to the bed so that he could sit comfortably. There was soot and smudges from coal on his face and body. Oddly enough his hands were efficiently cleaned.

Noticing that I had awoken he offered a soft smile. "Hey, how are you feeling?" I definitely felt better now that he was here.

"I'm just getting by. My face hurts a little." I cracked a smile but it really did hurt. The roots must be losing their effect. Now that I could move a little more easily I could feel more of the pain that it was masking. I shook my hand lightly and it fell onto his muscular knee. The feel of his pants was rough to the touch. "Atticus, we need to make a decision."

"Yes Vaughn." His face switched to an expressionless slate.

"Dr. Alfred said that normally these toxins will take a couple of days to naturally get out of my system. He also told me that there's a faster way but with heavy physical exertion I could get hurt."

"No." He cut me off before I could tell him more.

"Excuse me?"

Atticus gave me this clear-cut look. His gray eyes resembling silver blades with its sharp intensity. "No. We will not put you at risk."

"But we need-"

"Vaughn. No. End of that discussion." He stood up. "I'll come by tomorrow morning before I head over to the smith again. He headed towards the doorway and turned back one more time. "Try and get some rest Vaughn. I want you to get better." He stepped out of the room and I was once again alone.

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"Vaughn? Are you up?" I woke up to see Charlotte by my side. She was holding another bowl of soup on her lap. She took a moment to adjusted her hair so that it was away from the bowl. "Time for breakfast!" She smiled as she brought the spoon towards my lips. Once again it tasted like I was licking the ground but if Atticus was working to pay for this then I won't let him down by being picky.

"What do you think of Atticus?" I choked on my soup and my hand not being strong enough to cover my mouth yet. "Oh my! Let me get a napkin for you!" She placed the bowl on the chair and quickly fled the room to retrieve the napkin. Coming back, she began to stroke my face with the napkin. "You're looking a lot better now." She added. "Your face looks a lot less bruised and swollen."

"Thank you," I said in a hoarse manner. "The question you asked is quite a broad stroke don't you suppose?"

"Yes!" She giggled softly. "What I meant to ask is...what's he like?" She got herself readjusted ready to give me another spoonful of breakfast. "We usually don't have too many visitors...and well," She nervously giggled. "None as handsome as him." A wide-spread of emotions caused my face to flush.

Naturally one would take is as an offense. Even though my face was battered up I would still count myself as attractive. I also felt this heat of fury in my chest. Atticus is my friend, I don't want others to be lusting over him.

"Well," I cleared my throat after I took another spoonful of the lackluster soup. "He's a good man. Keeps to his word and he's dependable. I mean, he carried me to this village after we were attacked. He has a good character."

"Yes!" She looked down blushing placing her hand on her cheek. "And his eyes, it feels like they can spear into your heart. That kind of raw intensity is hard to find."

"Umm," My face began to redden. "That is one way to describe his eyes." His eyes looked better with a softened expression. Looking like the molten silver, his magnetic look drawing your attention and pulling you closer towards him."

"Does he have a lover?" Her question ripped me away from my thoughts.

"What?" I moved my hands from my sides onto my lap. "I-uh-I don't know." Does someone have captivity over his heart? I never really put much thought into the concept.

"He probably doesn't." She mused. "No woman would let her man leave her behind on some journey. She'd either have him stay or go with him."

"That's not really how it works in our village. The chosen one must leave if that's what the Gods will."

"I guess." She idly glazed over the subject. My eye twitched as she looked away for a moment. How dare she just blatantly sideline the customs of our Gods. She continued to talk about how attractive Atticus was and how I should be appreciative of how he's helping me. She was so lucky that I still didn't have full mobility over my limps because I swear one of them was about to meet her mid-sentence.

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Sorry for the late post! Wattpad was being weird yesterday so I decided to just post two updates today. -Ryan