The Kingdom

6

Keira woke up the next morning to find James still sleeping. For a while, she sat on her bed and watched him. He was sleeping on his stomach, his back slightly uncovered but his breathing was steady and soft. He was sound asleep for what she could tell. She then got up and approached him tiptoeing. When there, she crouched and pulled the fur upon his back so he wouldn't be cold. He was still too fragile, she thought, to catch a fever; it could be fatal in his case. Then, and even if she wanted to move on, her gaze rested on his figure as if she had been hypnotized by his bright hair and then the amiable conversation they had the night before rang in her mind. Her lips opened a soft smile, she had enjoyed their talking indeed. It had been honest and clear and straight forward.

Shaking her thoughts away, Keira shook her head and walked away for she needed to get dressed. Quickly, she changed to a white tunic despite the rain outside. It was raining heavily she could tell by the noise of water drops landing on the muddy streets and the wind was blowing strong for the leaves of the trees near whistled. She braided her hair patiently while sitting on her bed and mindlessly her eyes were set on the man sleeping at the corner of her room but her thoughts were on Cahill that very moment. Cahill was a handsome man but she grew to be used to his beauty and it had done nothing for her than to see him as great friend or even a brother. The man in front of her eyes was a mystery to her. His beauty enchanted her in ways she didn't know how to explain and she was becoming more and more curious about him but tried not to show him so. He had moved her more in two days than Cahill and yet she still saw him as the enemy. Done, she left the chamber leaving James sleeping peacefully. The rain left the streets covered in mud, almost impossible to walk through but Keira ran with a fur covering her head and another rolled tight around her. Winter was definitely arriving and it should be a very cold one as it was menacing.

"May I come in?" She asked out loud at the door of Cahill's chamber.

"Yes!" She heard a very anxious voice inside.

Slowly, Keira appeared at the door. Cahill was seated on the bed with his head turned to the door waiting expectantly for her to appear. Her face rubberized again the moment she set eyes on him. The kiss was relived inside her head and she had the will to run away from there again.

"Keira..." He called, seeing she was not approaching him. She then walked up to him and sat in front of him with her hands on her lap.

"I am sorry I left the way I left last night." She apologized not able to look in his eyes. He too had dreadful blue eyes that she could not face.

"What have I done?" Cahill asked, knowing it had to be something he had done.

"Nothing Cahill..." Keira shook her head. "Nothing... really... it was me... I..." She felt her legs trembling.

"Was it the kiss Keira?" He asked. She remained silent and his eyes opened wide at the realization. "It was it, wasn't it?" She still said nothing feeling too embarrassed. "But I have kissed you before..." She took the courage to look at him there.

"But not like last night..."

"We are to be married... there's nothing wrong with the way I kissed you." Cahill claimed

"I got scared..." She got up. "...I didn't know what to do... I... you know I never kissed anyone... I got a little lost and embarrassed I am sorry." Hearing her explanation made him smile.

"It's ok not to know... I know you're pure..."

"Ugh... if only I had my mother to tell me what to do Cahill... you know I have no one to explain to me how to please you. That's a mother's job and mine is gone."

"You don't have to worry about that. I will teach you how to please me when the time comes. You don't need to be scared."

"Do you really want to marry me?" She asked out of the blue making him confused. Cahill's expression changed and a curled eyebrow appeared above his right eye.