To Slaughter A Lamb

Chapter 4

I awoke to Mizu's face only inches away from mine. I couldn't help but stare. Until that moment I hadn't noticed how beautiful his features were. So soft, nearly feminine. His eyes shot open, blue suddenly piercing my soul.

He sat up, looking away from me, and mumbled "Good morning." I, too, was equally embarrassed by our proximity and followed suit, no matter how nice it felt to be near him.

The next night I thought he would keep quiet, yet he once again asked me about the stars above, and I answered to the best of my ability.

Slowly but surely, we'd grown comfortable with conversations. So much so that I'd tell him of my musings, which never failed to entertain him, even during the day.

One morning, with dew still glistening along the grass, I asked him something that had been in my mind off and on.

"Pardon me if this is too personal, sir, but I figured since we'd be spending a lot of time together, it would be an appropriate question," I said, stooping down to pick flowers from the field we were crossing. Mizu glanced at me with a look that had become familiar. It was hard to tell whether he was annoyed or intrigued at some points. Either way I could barely hold eye contact with him. His eyes were too piercing and would seem to look into my soul.

Taking a moment to ponder, I asked my question: "Do you have a wife?" It seemed reasonable to me, personal, yes, but reasonable. He was a few years older than me, it was likely he was married and I was purely curious, at least that's what I told myself.

"No," he answered. "I used to be married, but I was betrayed."

"I see," I said, feeling lighter, almost relieved, that he wasn't married. I gripped the handful of flowers a little tighter in my hand.

"I'm sure you have plenty of suitors," he said, with what nearly sounded like annoyance in his voice.

"Well, a few of my father's closest acquaintances have tried to have their sons married to me," I told him. "Many samurai, too, yet he hasn't approved of any so far. I don't believe he trusts any man with me, truly." Mizu nodded, kicking a rock, which gently rushed against a few blades of glass before falling still once more.

"What about you?" He asked.

I tilted my head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Have you trusted any of these men?"

I looked down at the flowers I had collected, gently considering his question. It wasn't something I had even thought about.

"No, but maybe one day I will." I looked back up at Mizu, whose blue eyes were trained on me. I smiled, he looked way, and I looked back at the flowers. I then noticed one was blue, like his eyes, nearly identical in colour.

"Mizu, one moment, please," I said. He stopped and looked at me again, his head tilted. I walked over to him quickly, afraid he might start waking again before I got to him. I stood on the tips of my toes and placed the flower behind his ear.

"Uhm... Thank you," he said, his voice both confused and embarrassed.

"You're welcome," I said, bowing with a proud smile. My heart raced and my stomach felt warm. I had to admit, if not out loud then to myself and the gods, that I was beginning to enjoy my time with this man much more than anticipated.

A/n: Hey guys! Thank you for the support. Sorry for this being a shorter chapter, I'm working on a project rn for college and it's been eating up a lot of my time. I hope to publish a longer chapter soon. Xoxo