Asher Sellinite

The Orchard

I always looked back on my time spent with Courtney with such a confused mix of emotions. She was like a cool aunt in a lot of ways, but also, I was scared of her... she seemed a little unstable, and I can't quite figure out why Asher even kept her as a friend or let her around me...

"Mortal? Mortal..." I can feel someone shaking me, and that's definitely Asher's voice. I'd fallen asleep in his laundry- dirty laundry basket last night, I'm not sure why, but his closet had started smelling really nice to me over the last couple months. And then the more I've been treated like an animal, the more I felt like one.

I open my eyes a tiny bit, my eyes having a hard time focusing in the dark, but I can see the silhouette of Asher's horns as I lie on my stomach, my head nestled in my arms as the pile of his laundry weighs on my back... my brain feels so foggy, like I can't think straight.

"Mortal, get up. It's time for a walk, let's go see the garden, hm?" Asher's voice is firm. I nod a little bid and let my eyes close for a moment, my body feeling so heavy. Asher sighs heavily as he sees this and he moves the laundry off my back before shaking me by the shoulders again, "No sleeping, mortal, get up," his voice is a little stern. I groan softly as I lift myself off the floor, finally getting a good look at Asher, seeing that he's holding up an outfit for me... he's expecting me to let him dress me, I know, so I hold my arms up and he pulls the dark green cargo jacket over my head. He seems to be smiling at my obedience, which makes me feel a little better- he's not upset.

I know that he's not going to yell or hurt me, but I'm still so rattled by all that my parents did... he gets me dressed and stands me up, pulling me by the wrist as he leads me out of the closet, using the brighter lighting to fix my unruly hair- bedhead, I guess. He seems frustrated with how my hair is acting, mumbling something about me needing to be groomed soon.

He ends up picking me up and setting me up on the bed, brushing out my hair and putting it up in a french braid. I sat there, staring up at him with a slight smile, enjoying how gentle he's being with me... I've never had this much genuine affection before. Asher finishes up with dressing me and fixing my hair before he puts me back on the ground, grabbing my wrist again and leading me out of the house.

The gardens are so beautiful. I look around in bewilderment at the lilac bushes and the jasmine vines on the silver trellis archways, I'd never smelled any flowers so fragrant and captivating. I trail along behind Asher to the little apple tree grove, a mahogany bench wrapped around a large oak tree in the center of the clearing. Asher lets go of my wrist and he strides over to the bench as he speaks,

"Why don't you run off and play for a while, mortal? I'm going to read my book for a while." I nod a bit and glance up at him, wandering off towards the fruiting trees that are blocking the view of the fast-moving creek that I can hear faintly as I reach up for an apple.

I jump up a few times for the apple, giggling slightly every time I miss. I don't know why, but I've just been feeling so giddy and disoriented lately, my reflexes duller. Maybe it's that I've been off of some of my medications? But that dull ache that I always used to feel 24/7 is gone with how... happy... I am. I have no clue how all my ailments have suddenly cured in the last two months or so, but I'm not really complaining. I finally snatch up the apple I was jumping for, immediately taking a bite. It's delicious.

There's something about home-grown food... I can't even describe how juicy and sweet this apple was, almost like it was seasoned by mother gaia herself. And lemme tell you that her palette is immaculate. Almost tangy. I glanced back at Asher, he was reading a book on the bench, he wasn't really paying attention to me, and I knew that I could take advantage... but did I want to? This was a perfect opportunity to escape if I really wanted to. I could just run through these trees... across the creek...