The Storyteller

Five

It took Nimeuh an elongated moment to realize she had indeed not blacked out, but that her head had been covered by something. A few seconds later she also came to the notice the hands of the drunk man had fallen away. There were grunts resounding through the alley, accompanied by whacks, thunks, and one final THUD. She reached up with shaky hands and pulled off what had been covering her head. My cloak..? Her eyes trailed away from her hands. A few feet away the burly man was laying face down on the ground. He wasn't moving, not making a sound, immobile as a board. Is he dead? No, no he's breathing. His back heaved up slightly in slow constant breaths. Asleep. Something moved in the corner of her vision. Her head snapped up, face-to-face with... the library boy? He was leaning in, vivid green consuming her own. They were full of fury. She gulped and stepped back, only to be trapped against the wall. He stood in the same place, breathing heavily. Did he... Did he just beat the drunk? She looked at the silhouette of the unconscious body behind him before looking back into his green eyes. She opened her mouth but no words would come out. He was the one to break the silence. "What in the hells are you doing here?" Nimeuh looked down, shrinking in on herself. "Ah... Enjoying a night in the village?" She glanced up at him. Apparently that wasn't the answer he was looking for, his eye was twitching. "Enjoying a- by the stars you're a princess. Who let you out? Because I'm sure they're going to be executed for this. We need to get you back." He reached for Nimeuh's arm, his grip firm around her bicep. The princess gripped his wrist, just as firm in her deTermination. "I am not going anywhere." Her eyes challenged him with a glare. "Thank you for the assistance," she pulled his hand off her arm, "but I am fine now." He laughed at her. "Fine? You have no idea where you are, your majesty." He glared back, using his height to intimidate her. It worked. Nimeuh could feel the tension building between them. She narrowed her eyes and raised her chin, stubborn. She had worked so hard, one mishap wasn't going to send her home. They had been standing like this for several minutes before he growled and turned, running his hand through his hair. He was muttering to himself, too fast and quiet for her to make out the words. Nimeuh stepped close, reaching out and touching his shoulder. "Please..?" She stared up at him, eyes wide and pleading. He stared at her for a long moment before groaning. "Fine. Fine! One one condition." She smiled eagerly "Yes, anything!" He smirked down at her. "I'm staying with you." To his surprise, her grin only grew. "So you're going to escort me around? Great! You must know the best activities, I'll get the best out of this experience!" Nimeuh's tunnel vision about this amazed him. He shook his head before stepping back to examine her. "We'll have to change your appearance a bit if you're going to blend in." He started circling her. "No cloak, it's too black." Nimeuh looked down at it. Glancing around the alley she noticed a conveniently placed clay pot. She stuffed her cloak inside and stood back up. "What's next?" He glanced out at the festival goers, examining them. "Your hair." He stepped close, so close she could smell him. He smelled like books and... peppermint? She smiled a bit. His hands were in her hair, long slender fingers undoing her braided crown. Nimeuh shivered as her icy locks cascaded down her back, eyes fluttering closed. He wasn't finished when the braid was gone. He was mussing it up, adjusting the part to the side of her head. When his hand fell away she opened her eyes, blushing at her own behavior . Her brown eye was covered by her hair. She looked up at him in confusion. "We have to disguise you a little bit. We can't have anyone starting a riot because the Princess is here." Nimeuh nodded, knowing he was right. She played with her hair a little bit though, adjusting it so that it only covered her eye, not the entire side of her face. "Is this better?" She looked up at him through her lashes, grinning. He looked away from her face, eyeing her skirts. "It's too clean, I'm going to have to dirty it up a bit." Tayle kneeled in front of her, rubbing his hands in the dirt and proceeding to pat down the ends of her dress with filthy hands. Nimeuh stood stiff, blushing. She averted her eyes to the sky, counting the stars as he made a mess of her dress. When she looked down again he was finished, the hem of her blue dress now a brownish color. The brown was slightly faded, giving the appearance that she had worn it through a dirt road. "Do I look like a village girl now?"

A/N: Hey guys, it's Anonymous! Just wanted to know what you guys are thinking about the story so far, even if only a few of you have made it to this chapter. Also, should I use chapter titles instead of numbers? ALSO BIG FRIGGEN THANKS TO ALL Y'ALL WHO'RE STILL READING THIS, YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST <3!!!