Page 12 of A Tale of Mirth & Magic

A chill that had nothing to do with the night’s temperature slipped down my back. So. I guess Felsith had put a bounty on me after all.

Well, it wasn’t the first time this had happened, and it likely wouldn’t be the last. I thought back to that last view of his ugly face, shrieking that he’d find me. That stupid idiot. No one was going to put me behind bars—certainly not a weaselly weakling like him.

I stayed still on my bedroll, ears attuned to the sounds of the bounty hunters until they moved far enough along the road that even my elven hearing couldn’t make them out anymore.

Mind still a bit fuzzy with sleep, I scooched my bedroll closer to Barra, trying to escape the wind and steal some of his warmth. He had turned over at some point in the night. I huddled back into my blankets, facing him but not crossing the divide over into his space.

He was so close now. In the moonlight, I watched the subtle flickers over his face, some dream playing behind those closed lids. Honey-brown hair brushed his broad forehead. I imagined running my hand through it, then tracing the large shell of his ear, down to his strong lilac jaw.

His bulk blocked the worst of the wind. I still shivered, but after a time the low rumble of his snores lulled me back to sleep.

BARRA

I came out of sleep like a cork rising suddenly through water. One moment I was dreaming, adrift in fragmented memories and warped images. The next, I found myself thrown into the harsh light of morning—muscles aching with stiffness and a soft, warm body pressed against mine.

Oh no. Elikki was fast asleep, close beside me. She’d burrowed near sometime in the night.

My arm wrapped tightly around her soft waist; I couldn’t move without the risk of waking her. After a minute of silent panicking, I forced myself to relax. Breathed deeply in and out. I could smell her spicy cinnamon scent more than ever before. I kept myself from burying my face in her neck, just barely.

Elikki looked so fierce in sleep, her face scrunched up in a scowl. I bet she was striking down assholes even in her dreams. I’d been drawn to her boldness yesterday. The way she confidently went for whatever she wanted—sales from the square’s customers, respect from Felsith, even sex from me—she was unlike anyone I’d ever met. Brash and loud, yet charmingly cheeky. And here, tucked against me, she looked so peaceful. Vulnerable in sleep, and it made something in my chest ache slightly to see her so snug and safe. With my free hand, I moved a stray piece of auburn hair off her face. She murmured and snuggled closer.

This was… nice. Very nice. But what happened when she started to wake, found herself in my arms, and screamed? Or turned to me with a face full of unease or embarrassment or—the worst—alarm and fear?

It had happened before. It will certainly happen again. And I can’t blame anyone, not really. I imagine it must be confusing in those moments between sleeping and waking, finding yourself being held by a muscled seven-and-a-half-foot-tall purple half-giant—no matter how intimate we had been the night before.

But I didn’t think I could bear that right now, with Elikki. So I drew away, detaching myself from her grip as smoothly as I could. She stirred, face scrunching even more, and tried to hold on to me. I pulled back. Settled the blanket over her again, grabbed my water flask, and rushed out of the clearing into the woods.

I moved unthinkingly through the trees, half visible in the early dawn light, heading toward the stream I thought I’d heard last night while gathering firewood. Finding it, I dunked my large flask into the clear water to fill it up.

I glanced at my surroundings and tried to focus on something other than the thought of Elikki curled up alone, chilly without me to keep her warm. I should have at least built up the fire first—stupid. Stupid, stupid.

Negative thoughts swirled in my head, popping up one after another no matter how quickly I tried to force them down. I pulled my flask out of the stream. A deep draught of the icy water calmed me a little, and I focused on the sensation of the liquid cooling my mouth, my throat, down into my roiling stomach. I stripped off my jacket, then shirt, then all the rest of my clothes and stepped into the stream. Finding the deepest section, which came up to my hips, I took a breath and plunged my whole body underneath.

After a few moments, relief came. My racing heart slowed. My mind cleared a bit. My breath steadied. Stretching out face-up, I floated in the cold water. Clarity. I knew what to do.

I let the gurgling flow wash over me for another minute, eyes tracing the leafy tree crowns high above, then stepped up and out of the stream. I dried myself off with my shirt as best I could, then pulled it and the rest of my clothes back on. Shaking my sodden hair out and finger-combing it back from my face, I grabbed my water flask and turned to head back to the clearing.

“Morning.” A sleepy-eyed Elikki stood in front of me by the tree line, looking me up and down.

I froze. “How—uh, how long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough,” she said, that smirk creeping across her face. I felt a blush spreading across my own and coughed.

“Oh, I’m just teasing!” she said, rolling her eyes as she moved to the stream to fill her water flask. “I’m not that much of a perv. Just got here. And what have you been up to—taking a little ice-water dip?”

I let out my breath, relieved she hadn’t seen me working through my anxiety attack. Though something about the idea of her watching me while I bathed was… interesting.

“Yes, just freshening up. If you want to do the same, I’ll leave.”

“Goddess, no, there is absolutely no way I am getting in there. It’s freezing.” She bent down, splashing some water on her face and quickly patted it dry with her skirt. “Brrrrr… There, that’ll have to be good enough for now. Plus, you never know what’s going to get you in these little streams and rivers. Once when I was a kid, I was swimming along and a HUGE toad jumped onto my head.”

I couldn’t help smiling. The disgruntled look on her face, and the way she grimaced at the water—I could so easily picture a young Elikki screaming with a toad perched on top of her head.

“Hey, are you amused by my pain?! It was horrible! Big as a loaf of bread, it was, and all gross and wet. Its legs got tangled in my hair, and the more I tried to get it off, the more stuck it became. Traumatizing!”

I was flat-out laughing now, and despite her protests she was giggling. Sitting down on a nearby stump, I said, “I actually hate toads too. Never have encountered one that big, thankfully—sounds like yours might have been a giant toad baby. But somehow one got into my bed once. It’s hard to not be terrified of something when you’ve woken up with its creepy skin pressed against your face, croaking right at you.”

“Ugh, that sounds awful,” she groaned.