Guardian (Sequel to Fearless)

Chapter Forty Two

A/N -- I am on a writing rampage and I probably should slow it down because I feel like you guys might miss something I'm going so fast! So, I've written like 2 chapters in the last couple of days... so make sure you're caught up! Every chapter is essential now.

Hench sat beside Iris, who just looked around the area they were now sitting in. It was a pretty enough area. It was actually a clearing about a mile away from the sanctuary --an area where the copse of trees went very thin to let the sunlight in. There was an assortment of stones that was almost perfect for sitting down and eating a picnic. A small creek babbled a few feet away, and Iris was entranced by the assortment of wildflowers that grew near the water.

"Nice place," the rogue commented as her mentor got situated.

"I agree," Hench replied. "It's nice this time of year. Flowers are pretty." She motioned to the the plants on the water-bank.

Iris looked over at Hench. "You like flowers?"

Hench turned an eye to Iris. "I do," she said. "I'm still a girl, believe it or not." The words were spoken with a husky laughter. For a moment, they both just took in the beauty of their surroundings quietly, and Iris was reminded how serene nature made her feel. The sound of the running brook alongside the steady birdsong and insect chirps reminded her a lot of the days she'd once spent with her mother.

Iris shut her eyes and took a few deep breaths in. She was at complete peace.

"Girl," Hench called her out of her serenity. "Look alive."

Iris whirled around just in time to be assaulted with something. A meaty presence landed right on her cheek, and out of the bottom of her eye, Iris could see something moving. Something was tickling her face. She went to swat it off but the damn thing bounced right as her hand got close, right into her hair.

"Is that a bug?" Iris asked, frenetically trying to find it in her tresses. "Did you throw a bug at me?"

"I did not," Hench said with a chuckle. "It bounced out of my hand. Here, be still." Iris felt her mentor pluck a presence from her hair a few moments later. Hench showed Iris the little creature. It's minuscule, brownish-green form sat singing its song calmly in her mentor's palms. "Nothing to flail around about. It's just a cricket." Hench wore a small smile on her face as she cradled the thing.

Iris just stared hard at the bug. In the back of her mind, she wondered why everyone had called her sister cricket. It bounced away, breaking the moment. "Interesting little creatures, aren't they?"

Hench snorted and shook her head. "Indeed."

"Well," Iris said, further changing the subject. "Who first? What am I allowed to ask about?"

"You first," her mentor answered. "And, like I told you at the beginning of all this, you're allowed to ask me anything you want. Answering your questions is my choice." When Hench saw Iris's look of disappointment, she couldn't help but laugh. "None of that now, girl. I'll answer what I can bear to. I'll even do my best to answer embarrassing questions."

Iris grinned. "Okay." She looked Hench up and down. "I suppose I'll start simple. How in the world did you get to be so... so massive ? And I mean that in the best way."

"The answer to that, is as you can imagine, lots of exercise," she replied. "I've been doing hard physical training for over a decade now. I enjoy it. It's an escape --kind of like reading. Hence, the muscles. If you're talking about how I got to be so tall," she paused. "Same way you got your black hair. Your brown eyes. My father was a tall man --guess I got that from him."