Evening Tales: Dark Academia Short Stories

The Princess Who Could Fight Pt. 2

The wound on my arm throbbed painfully as the rain poured down in sheets. I had been fleeing on the horse that Ashton had prepared for me, and the constant jolts from running had my bones groaning and aching.

The beast came to a sudden stop in a clearing, its breaths loud and bated. It could sense something was wrong. No, something was here. 

I pulled the dagger from its sheath at my hip as I surveyed my surroundings, my wounds a loud heartbeat in my ear. 

"Who is there?" I called, half hoping that I wouldn't get a response. 

 All went silent as even the rain seemed to hold its breath, the trees leaning toward me to listen. I kicked my horse hard, urging him to get out of the wood, but the beast reared and I was tumbling to the ground, hitting my head hard on the forest floor, before it all went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Silly girl." 

 I awoke to the sound of a roaring fireplace and the patter of rain on the pane of  windows. Where was I? Had I not just been in the woods?

"So she awakens!" A familiar cocky voice said from beside me, and I jolted sideways.

"Ash! What- what are you doing here?" I tried to sit up, but it was no use. The world had started to spin and my head felt heavy. I looked beside me to where Ash sat, a bundle of bandages in his lap, his expression nonchalant. 

My heart beat wildly as I recalled our last meeting: his lips on mine in the dark washroom, leaving me confused and wanting more as he pulled away.

"I followed you after you left the castle. I couldn't very well let you run away with your head all fogged up." He said, tying the bandage on my arm tight. Had he replaced it while I slept? "You had a bad fall in the forest, so I brought you here."

"Where is here?" I asked.

"One of my many manors in the countryside," he smirked, his emerald eyes searching my body, probably for more wounds. "No one will find you here." 

I laid limp and sore, wincing at my second attempt to sit up, "Why are you doing this?" 

"Be careful," he chuckled, "you suffered a concussion, moving will just cause you more pain." 

"You didn't answer my question."

"Need I answer it, little dove?" He cocked his head to the side, his eyes narrowing. "You and I both know why." 

I did not know why. He confused me with his sudden sweetness and care for my life. I did not know whether I could trust him or not. 

When I stayed silent, my confusion probably displayed clearly on my face, Ash sighed deeply and placed the bandages aside. 

"Seeing as you can't move, shall I do it for you?" He smirked, and before I could answer he had pulled me up into his lap so that I sat facing him. 

"I'm not that helpless!" I said, yanking my wrist away from him, attempting to get off of his lap.

"So picky," he chuckled, "you mustn't play hard to get. I know how you feel already."

"I-" My cheeks flared with heat, "you do not get to tell me how I feel! And you certainly don't get to confuse me like this!" I beat my fists on his chest as he watched with amusement.  

"Oh, I didn't tell you how to feel. Your body curving to mine, begging for my touch was a dead give away." His eyes danced with mischief, trained on me as he played this wicked game.

"You kissed me!" 

"Perhaps, but I am not afraid to tell you how I feel." His smile disappeared, his gaze softening. "Or I could show you?"