The Stolen Bride

13 - Intertwined

"Why not?? Kira, he's the best man in this village. He's shown you and me nothing but kindness. And besides, don't you like him?"

Kira sighed at her mother's words. It was the following afternoon, and she had just told her mother about Marko's offer of marriage. As expected, her mother was very much for the idea.

Kira wondered if her mother would still be singing the same tune if she knew how Marko had really felt towards his (half) sister. But of course, Kira wasn't about to betray his secret, even if it might make things easier for her. "I do like him but... "

"But what?"

"But I'm not sure that's what I want," she answered, thinking of Drev.

Her mother took a while to think. "This is about what happened with that tribe, isn't it?" She frowned, one hand at her temple. "Oh, Kira... I'm so sorry. After what you just went through, this must be too much for you. Well, there's no rush. I'm sure Marko would be willing to wait until you're ready."

Kira didn't say anything to that. She appreciated her mother trying to be sensitive to what she'd been through, but she was mistaken. Kira didn't know how she could marry Marko when Drev was the one she couldn't stop thinking about.

A pang of guilt struck her as she thought of how she hadn't gone to see him yesterday. Her thoughts had been in too much of a mess after talking to Marko, but now, she missed Drev more than ever.

Tonight, Drev. I will come see you tonight.

It was all she could think about the entire day as she did her chores and helped with errands, all the while doing her best to hide her feelings of excitement.

Late that night, when everyone was asleep, she snuck out under cover of darkness, all the way to the old village and to the unfinished house atop the hill.

"Drev?" she called out hopefully, finding him lying in bed, covered in blankets with Lobo nestled up beside him.

"Kira?" he spoke, his voice sounding weak. Looking him over, she saw that his face was pale.

"Oh my God, Drev, what happened?" she asked, kneeling down and touching his forehead. "You have a fever!"

"Maybe you should stay away from me then."

"Don't worry about me. Have you eaten anything today?"

"Not really. I couldn't go out and hunt today."

"Damn it, Drev." She got to her feet, making up her mind. "Don't worry. I know what's safe to eat around here. And I'll get you some water to drink too."

"Kira, you don't have to do this. I'm sure it'll pass soon enough."

She bit her lip, wondering if what had happened to Drev was somehow her fault. After all, he wouldn't be in this situation at all if not for her. "Just stay here," she told him, taking one of the sticks from the hearth to use as a torch.

It took a while but eventually, she was able to gather some berries and fetch water for Drev. She returned to his side, making sure he finished everything by painstakingly feeding him every bite and pouring every drop.

"Thank you. Now, if you really want to help, you could always get under the covers and warm me up..." he suggested as he lay back down, his lip curving mischievously.

"Drev, aren't you mad at me?"

"For what?"

"For not coming last night."

He sighed softly, turning his head away from her on the pillow. "Of course not. You have a life now."

"You're my life, Drev."

He said nothing, his eyes clouding over. Kira thought for a moment, then lifted the blankets, curling up beside him.

Drev didn't respond at first, seeming uncertain. But she didn't give up. She rested her head on his chest, and at last, he put an arm around her, pulling her even closer. "Maybe I should stay here with you," she suggested worriedly. "You're not well, you can't even hunt your own food."

"Your family will come after you."

Kira took a moment to imagine it happening, picturing the villagers coming in all their fury to bring her back and make him pay for stealing her away from them a second time. 

And Drev, in the state he was in, would be in no condition to fight back. "Fine," she mumbled. "But tomorrow, I'm bringing you food and medicine."

"How long are we going to keep this up, Kira?"

"Let's just focus on getting you back to full health first."

He said nothing, shifting slightly to kiss her on the forehead. "Fine... but you're going to have to face this sooner or later. You're going to have to make a decision."

More than one, in fact.

A few hours later, she trudged back towards Litur Cas on tired feet, yawning loudly and fighing to keep her eyes open. It had only been twice, but these midnight escapades were already starting to take a toll on her.

She hadn't gotten far when a voice from the trees made her jump. "Kira."

She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in alarm. "W-who's there?"

Someone stepped out from the shadows, tall and pale-headed, gazing at her with intent brown eyes.

"Marko? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see where you'd gone."

"You spied on me?"

"I was worried about you. I wanted to know why you were heading out alone in the middle of the night."

"I was just returning to my home."

"At this hour? Why?" he asked, eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Kira wondered just how much he knew. He couldn't have seen her with Drev, could he?

"I just wanted some time alone with my thoughts in the place I grew up in. Is that so wrong?"

"I was hoping you were beginning to see Litur Cas as your home."

"It's not that simple, Marko."

"I just don't understand why you would have to do this in secret. It's not like we wouldn't understand," he said, looking towards the old village.

Kira was afraid he'd spot some sign of life back there, so she reached out, taking Marko's hand. He faced her then, blinking in surprise.

"I know. I know it's unsafe but it's just something I have to do now and then. You don't have to understand it but please try and respect it. I'm keeping your secret so please keep mine."

"But this is different. What if those savages happened to find you and took you away again?"

"I'll be careful."

"I'm afraid that's not good enough," he said, his tone of voice surprising her. Marko was usually the laid-back type, not one to use his authority to persuade others. "If you want to visit your old home, I won't stop you but I won't allow you to do it alone. Next time, I'm coming with you."

Kira wanted to argue, but now was not the time. She was too tired, too overwhelmed. "Let's just go home. I don't want to argue with you right now."

He nodded, still firmly holding onto her hand as they headed back to Litur Cas together.