Blue

To Study her

They spent the next three days in Idris and Atlas couldn't help but watch Tallulah. She was for sure, unconventionally beautiful. How he had not seen it before made him feel utterly stupid. But she had hidden her facial scar the night of the ball, perhaps she knew it would've been a dead giveaway about who she was. He would ask her how she did it.

It made him realize that her prowess with weapons was even more great than originally thought. Normal women could never, or maybe they could if given the chance.

The fact that she was a woman alone would have meant exile, women did not go to war, but he couldn't do that to his own mate. He wasn't sure if she could hear his thoughts because he could not hear hers. By rights they should be able to communicate through their bond by now. Atlas realized late into the first night of knowing who she was that the day she took the oath in order to join the guard, they had shared blood, a thing that would have been reserved for their privacy as they sealed the bond they shared.

How long had she known who he was to her? Long enough, he thought. But she seemed so far removed from her heritage it was hard to say. The confidence she had displayed at the ball had him so utterly confused, it was a different form of confidence than she displayed as his soldier. She knew her place and that night she wasn't afraid of it. But the Tallulah that he witnessed the other night and the Tallulah that he saw now was different. She had to be in order to protect herself and her secret. For that, Atlas didn't blame her.

He wanted to claim her. Even as Talon, he appreciated who she was. Her soul was good even though she had overcome so much pain.

Meals had been tense since their first night. Mykel never joined them, and Atlas noticed that in his absence, Lord Kelwin had invited his other children to join them. He could see in them the resemblance to Tallulah. Mainly in the eyes. They all had the same piercing gaze. Their height was also attributed to their father. And of course their scales. Each sibling of hers, and there were three, not including Mykel. Two other boys and another girl. The second boy was but a baby, held in his mother's arms. Had Tallulah been raised here she probably would have looked identical to her sister. Barely of age at 16, she was hell bent on finding her mate and had gone as far to hug him in order to see if Atlas was her mate. He had to fight the urge to squirm away and could feel the tension from Tallulah at her actions-he wished he could claim Tallulah right there, but the circumstances were not the best for that.

Their scales varied in number across their bodies, the two boys had scarcely any past their collarbones and sparser still on their arms. Tallulah looked as if she was wearing a chainmail of scales, a set that reached almost to her chin and he wondered where else they extended to on her body.

Tallulah didn't stay in her room at night, Atlas also realized. He would follow her to an empty field where she would sit for the night. He noticed that she would fall asleep sitting up and then he would leave. He didn't understand why she slept under the stars. It was something he'd ask in the future. He repeated this for the remainder of their stay and the final night they spent in the city he followed her again.

This time it was different, she had a bag with her. She went past the field tonight and into the forest that ran alongside it. He crept quietly behind her. A ways into the trees she stopped and he stepped behind a large tree to remain hidden.

"Ooh, shit, I should have cleaned this when I had the first chance," Atlas peered around the tree. She was examining her shoulder. It wasn't a deep wound, but the top layer of skin was essentially scraped away and scales lay embedded in a field of blood it seemed. "That will be a bitch to heal," she hissed as she took a damp piece of cloth to the area. Cleaning it of old, dried blood. The scent hit his nose offensively.

He couldn't help but take his eyes over her exposed flesh. He wondered if her scales had felt as warm as her hands had when they'd danced together.

He watched as she rolled and stretched out her body.

"Someday I'll get proper sleep," she muttered to herself. It was an odd thing to perceive, the muscles that lay under her skin. They were heavily defined, weilding an axe was no small feat and she proved it. The women he knew were all soft and round, with delicate features. But this was his mate. She wasn't built to be delicate, she was built to rule by his side as his equal. What better way to be true equals than have prowess with weapons and an understanding of diplomacy. He had never thought about it this way before.

He continued watching her as she pulled a pouch from her bag. She took something out and put it in her mouth, shaking her head in disgust before forcing it down with a sip of water.

"You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but it is still as nasty as the first time," she put the pouch back. Atlas wondered what it was that she consumed. She began to strip completely and it was at this point that Atlas averted his gaze entirely. Several nights before had been an exception but he hadn't fixated on anything other than the scars that laced her body and he intended to keep it that way...for now.

He heard a splash, and not realizing there was water where Tallulah stood, Atlas found himself surprised by the noise. He looked past the tree, she was submerged up to her chest. Her wet hair hung to her shoulders, curls were loose with the weight from the water.

This was another thing that hadn't passed his mind, bathing. She couldn't bathe in the castle with everyone else, unless Mykel or Ander stood guard, or she bathed at night like this instance, where no one would see her.

He stayed in her presence until she heaved herself from the water. He averted his gaze once more.

"Gah! I fucking forgot a towel, these clothes are going to give me hell," she said. He had to contain a laugh.

"Moth-fuck-" and noises of the like were uttered aloud as Tallulah struggled to dress. Atlas had experienced this before but seeing someone else suffer was funny. He felt bad for wanting to laugh, but it couldn't be helped.

She walked past him back in the direction of the city walls. After a short while he followed, allowing distance between them. He crept back to his room, avoiding guards in the process.

Hiding the fact that he knew who Tallulah was to him was going to be a challenge. He wanted to protect her, but she was the one assigned to protect him. What an odd reversal of roles. She was damn good at it though and that was something that intrigued him.

His initial perception of women had been to look at them in a subservient way. His mother had been subservient to his father, and often he found himself doing more for the country than she, even though she remained queen and had more power than he did in a political sense.

Lady Kelwin was subservient to her husband, Tallulah's mother was the same for her husband. But the one person meant for him challenged his entire perception of the opposite sex.

He found himself not minding this. He never knew what he was going to get as a mate, personality wise, and he never knew what to expect. He had only wanted the same devotion and love that his mother had displayed for his father...that Mykel shared for Ander and likewise.

They departed from the city the next morning. Both he and Tallulah looked utterly exhausted from the last few days. She looked relieved to finally be gone of this place and he couldn't blame her.