Lost but Loved

Chapter Seven: Love and Pain Are a Package Deal

Lucy woke up snuggled up against the bare chest of the prince. Gagging, she rolled away from him to hear the cheerful chirping of birds and the heavy snoring of a man sleeping by a smoldering fire. The man who killed her parents. It would be so easy to just slit his throat, to just stab him in the stomach while he laid there helpless in a deep drunken slumber. Lucy stood, grabbed her sword and stalked towards the man, a sneer on her face. Hands grabbed her from behind, a hand clamped over her mouth. The sword dropped onto the soft grass.

"Don't, Lucy. Let's just leave him. He's drunk anyways." Damon let Lucy go and she whirled on him, tears in her dark blue eyes. Damon felt shocked when he saw Lucy's tears. He stepped away from her slowly, trying not to show any fear.

"That man killed my parents!" she screamed loud enough to wake the dead. Birds flew in a clatter away from the cozy branches they were nestled in, and the man snorted like a hog in his sleep. Lucy shook her head, reaching down to pick up her sword. "No, I can't just leave. Just a little cut is all I need." She walked back to the man, slitting his arms up and down so the warm blood flowed from his burly arms. Again, he only snorted.

Lucy walked to her mare, flung herself on and galloped away, a bright smile on her face. Damon wasn't far behind, and they raced away from the man. As the grove of little trees turned into a smudge on the horizon, Lucy let loose a wail and a fit of giggles. Damon side glanced her and kept his horse even with hers. With a surprised face, she leaned over in her saddle to search through her saddlebags. She threw a shirt at Damon with a smirk. He was grateful and quickly put it on. It was a relatively new men's shirt that Lucy had stolen from the castle.

Lucy was now in a good mood, considering she woke up snuggled to a boy. Not to mention that he was the crown prince and he was shirtless. That made Lucy look down at her waist where his shirt was acting as a bandage. Sighing, she put that fact aside and continued to ride Havoc with a fierce attitude. She needed to act the part of a man. A murderer, since that was what she was. She had dirtied the name of Miller, but that was okay, an important part of her role as Luke Miller. She needed to cut her hair. That was a good idea.

They stopped in the middle of nowhere and breaked for lunch once the sun was at high. It shined down on them, warming themselves in the sunshine. The horses took a much needed rest and grazed on the grass. Damon broke the bread and shared it fairly with Lucy. Once Lucy finished her share of bread, she grabbed a dagger from her saddlebag. She lifted the blade to her head.

With a yell, Damon jumped up and knocked the blade from her hands. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm cutting my hair, silly boy," Lucy replied coolly as she retrieved her dagger. "I need to look more like a man, do I not?" She raised it again and this time Damon took the blade away gently. Lucy glared at him and was ready to shoot at him a long string of dirty words.

"I'll do it. You'll cut yourself otherwise." Lucy still glared at him but stood still as Damon cut her hair so that it still covered her ears, and went down to her chin. Lucy didn't look the same, Damon decided as he finished.

"Thanks, Damon," Lucy whispered as she took the dagger away from him. Her hands shook as she looked at the strands of her hair laying on the grass. Long blond hair stood out in grass. "I should try to make a beard with that."

Damon laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist. Lucy tensed, not sure what he was playing at. Was he just playing? Did he think that was funny? Lucy wriggled out of his grip and stared sternly at him. "You do not touch Luke Miller. You do not laugh at him, you do not insult him. Did you see what I did to that man? I could do that to you too. You must remember that from now on, I'm Luke, not Lucy. Understand?"

Damon's brow furrowed but he nodded. She sighed and picked up the strands of hair, placing them in the saddlebag to be thrown out at the next stop at a town. "Yes, Luke."