The Battlefield

Midnight Encounter

Day turned to night, yet Miriam still could not escape from the jittery feeling that had taken shelter in her body, namely her stomach, fingertips and toes.
She tried to understand why, while she sat on the bench amidst the roses after everyone had fallen asleep.

Maybe it was the change of location, she had never lived in another house apart from her childhood home.
Or maybe she couldn't shake off the feeling of the spider landing so close to her she could still feel the slight tap of it's leg on her nose.
Or maybe it was because of Luca. How he affected her she had no idea. But he was the one who intensified the nerves in her every time he was around her before he left for the Colosseum. So it couldn't possibly be him. Could it?

The full moon was high in the sky, showering it's soft pearly light onto the world below. The stars were abundant in the sky, shimmering above her.

The day's stress rested upon her eyelids, forcing them closed and seconds later, she fell asleep.

On the other side of the house, Luca entered as quietly as possible to not wake up his sleeping family and the guest.

Something was unique about this guest. He just couldn't put his finger in it.
He walked towards his room, along the well lit corridor of burning torches.
As he passed the garden, he heard a light thud, as if someone landed in it after climbing over the wall.
Luca went into the garden, the memories of this morning resurrected as he walked the same path again, creating a mix of feeling to arise within him. Shaking them off he kept walking.

After scrutinizing every wall and corner of the garden for any movements in the lightly illuminated night by the moon, he turned around, facing the bench, and saw what he had failed to see before.

He walked over to the dark, slim figure lying on the bench in a foetal position. This isn't effective camouflage, he had wanted to tell the person but before he could decipher who they may be how they might look, the moon hid behind a cloud.

Luca carefully approached the bench until he was directly over the figure. He stayed still, wondering how to approach this person if he or she was the intruder.

The moon came out and Luca's breath caught in his throat the sight. Miriam was curled up, her dress tucked beneath her feet and hair shielding her exposed arms from the chilly spring air.
After contemplating on which room to place her in as he didn't know where she was staying, he decided to put her in the room next to his.
He lifted her up, placing one hand on her back and neck to support her head, and one arm under her knees. With one last look over his shoulder, he went forward.

When Luca placed her on the bed, he noticed red liquid spreading onto the pillow. He immediately recognized it as blood.

Lifting up her upper body to a forty-five degree angle, he examined her head, realising she had a cut on her left ear, the same side she slept on on the concrete slab that they used as a bench.

Miriam, stirred awake, feeling uncomfortable because her body was in a position no one could sleep comfortably in.
She opened her eyes, squinting her eyes as the first thing that came into view was a brightly burning torch which illuminated the room. This wasn't her room. But she didn't mind, she just needed to sleep.
Her eyes then immediately darted to Luca.

They gazed at each other for what seemed like five minutes but was probably only half a minute, before he spoke.
"You're bleeding." Miriam blushed. It wasn't her time of the month. At least she hoped it wasn't. His next words reduced her embarrassment and increased her worries. "You cut the side of your ear on the bench," he said examining it, "I'll go get a rag and some healing oils," he said looking at her straight in her eyes.
Miriam looked away and nodded. It wasn't a lie, he intimidated her, and there was no point hiding from the truth, she liked him and did not want to embarrass herself so she at least tried to not be scared of him.

Why or when she started liking him, she didn't know. To her was somehow perfect.
Great looks and good personality seemed to catch her attention.

Luca's warm breath hit her ear, raising goosebumps along her arm. He cleaned the blood off her ear, with a rag and massaged some of the herbal healing oils onto her cut. From the corner of her eye, she could see his face concentrating on the task at hand. Suddenly, his eyes met hers, making her blush and look away.

"Thank you," she said once he cleared everything and was changing the pillow. "If you didn't see me on the bench, I would've frozen to death, and my ear would probably have been infected."
"It's no big deal, though actually, you might have been injured much worse because I heard a sound eerily similar to someone falling. All I can guess is whoever it may be, they climbed over the wall and into the garden."
Miriam thought of this sound. She had already been in a deep sleep so she didn't hear it. Then she realised,
"Thank you for your concern, but it the sound was probably made by me. I must have fallen from my sitting position to laying down when I fell asleep." Luca nodded, looking at her ear.
" And that's why you have a cut. Your head was right on the edge of the bench, and it must've cut your ear from the force," Luca concluded. He looked at her, smiling softly and then leant in toward her and kissed her hairline.
"Sleep well," he said and made his way to his room.

Well that escalated quickly, she thought blushing while smiling like she like a mad-woman .
Miriam watched his retreating back, resting her head on her knees while trying to hide the smile.

This man really was something.