Undiscovered Origins

Undiscovered Origins - Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

            Traveling to Europe had been relentlessly tiring. Each traveled in carriages pulled by horse and Jade was expected to travel along with the wardrobes where she bounced around with fabrics. It made a certain amount of sense that the trailers for the wardrobes had neither bench nor chair for someone to sit. Luckily the master had traveled well ahead and so Jade was able to elude him. It was not only him that she wished to elude, but the costume carriage altogether.

            It had taken several days if not more for the circus to pack all their things to begin the journey. In that amount of time Jade found herself spending a lot of time with Drake. It seemed she could not help herself, feeling drawn to him. His stunning good looks and smile that pushed dimples on his cheeks only tugged at her more.

            Drake seemed to be a quiet man and he seldom spoke. It was with great effort that Jade learned anything of his past. Yet still, with weeks passed of sitting in his carriage across the journey, little was known about him. He only spoke of his travels and whether or not he had a family remained unknown. Every time she made an attempt to ask he had quickly brushed it aside and changed the subject.

            Even with the time she spent with him before the start of the trek; she was still rendered speechless when he offered her passage with his horse and carriage. She only reluctantly accepted his notation and greatly dreaded it. It was not that she didn’t wish to travel with him, but a matter of self-preservation. Worry had struck her that he may make a pass at her during the journey. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him to, well, perhaps that was the part she feared the most. If he made a pass at her, would she have enough strength to deny him? Or, on another note, if he didn’t make a pass at her, did she have the state of mind to keep away from coming onto him. The brief days they spent together before the journey was a constant flow of subtle flirting. If things continued to progress as was fashioned, surely an act would likely occur before the travel’s end.

            She was relieved when weeks down the journey and no such pass was made. In fact they hadn’t shared much more than a friendly hug and some brief cuddling on cold nights. It was the cuddling that often brushed across her mind. It was strange to her how being so closely pressed up against him could make her both warm and cold at the same time, with his body heat and her chill bumps.

            It wasn’t particularly freezing but summer had faded to fall. The once blushful green leaves withered into colors of yellow, red, and brown and crumbled on the ground. Somehow the crunch of dried leaves under the carriage wheels and horses’ hooves brought a soothing feeling of mind to Jade. She found it very strange how when she stepped out of the carriage the temperature drastically changed. Even though there was no source of heat inside the carriage, it always stayed excessively warmer. Well, no source of heat besides Drake. It still shocked her that he continued to travel shirtless. Not that she was complaining having to cuddle up on a shirtless hunk.

            She would often ask him how come he stayed so warm, but the only reply he would offer was, “I am just warm blooded.”

            Eventually she stopped asking and was content just being next to him when the other carriages would probably be freezing. It was also unbelievable to be in such an immaculate carriage. Much like the Victorian house he had in the wilderness, his carriage was filled with the finest of fabrics. There were linen drapes strung both over the window and door. Both of the benches had blue velvet pillow tops that were probably stitched full of linen for comfort. One bench had hardly been used after the first few days of the trip. After her awkwardness wore off she sat next to him or more often than not, arms wrapped around his waist.