Sephtis

24. If he were Kavah...

"I was bitten once." Eleutheros muses, seemingly remembering out load

"You were bitten by a wolf?" I ask.

He grins, "By a terrifying child, when I stole its berries. By your look, you need more than berries wolf-woman, you have grown mighty thin, since I last glanced upon you. Have you eaten at all today?"

I shake my head, embarrassed as he takes from a leather pouch beside him a small package wrapped in cream linen cloth. He hands it to me. "Cakes made by my own hand with the last of the grains from the store-houses," he says. "You can have them, I ate before we came to the fields, I need them not."

Thanking him, I unwrap the package tenderly. The cakes are good, and I try to eat them slowly, trying to make them last. I feel Eleutheros' eyes upon me, and I wish we had some words to say. I finish the cakes, and carefully fold the cloth before handing it back to him. He puts it in his pouch, then lies back in the cut wheat stalks beside me, his hands behind his head, his eyes half closed. If he had been Kavah, I would have laid crosswise and rested my head on his chest, and I would not be afraid by, nor feel his lack of words.
The village people are all lying down, some murmuring softly, some dozing. The sun is hot, the shorn earth smells of sweat, the remaining wheat is shimmering, and the pale folk are no longer pale, their shoulders and backs are a ripe red. Besides me Eleutheros sighs and moves his hand so it rests against my waist, he tugs at my girdle, gently.

"Why not rest wolf-woman?" he asks.

"I am not tired," I reply. His fingers tug again, and I lie down beside him. Cut stalks prick my back, and the ground is uneven behind my head. I am too close, to him. I can hear his breathing, feel his heart beat, and his hand is moving through my hair. I roll away from him, onto my front, and bury my face in my arms. I lie very still.

"Wolf-woman?" he says, and I hear the cut wheat stubs rustle as he moves. I do not answer.

"Sephtis? There is something I wish to talk to you about." He pauses, unsure before continuing, " Sephtis, you are in trouble with the village people, there is much talk, and they blame you for this disaster that has happened to the king. I have spoken with the young one you have been teaching, and he is fond of you, and says it is no fault of yours. But, the people choose not to listen. They want something, someone to blame." He hesitates again, his breathing uneven, "I know what it is like, living with a people which are not your own. It is easy for me, since I am a pledge-son, an much respected... But you, your place here is not easy, I think. I have heard what they say about you, but I am not afraid of you, of a cursed one who has lived and run with the wolves. I honor your courage and strength, and your face pleases me very much. If you need a helper in this place, think of me. And I, I wish to be more than a helper, if you could think of me that way."

(Sorry its so short haha, I hadnt planned on writing this part about Eleutheros admitting his feelings so soon, but I just couldnt help it!!!)