Dalliance

Chapter Twenty Eight

The next daylight appeared like a warzone on Dawson's eyes. He had spent the entire night coming down from his excessive drinking-caused by the guilt he felt for not being able to rescue Holly. The moments they spent together played as a collage in his mind as he found he could not hide the tears that poured down his cheeks. On several occasions throughout the night, he was approached by women of the night, turning them away-by pushing the bottle towards them. Now with the first light of day, he found his head throbbing and his eyes to sting from the sadness that consumed him. Each breath hurt worse then the one before as he found himself in shambles, unable to cope with the image of a deceased Holly. Closing his eyes for a moment, he opened them to see a woman dressed in ivory clothes-a sign of wealth, to be looking at him with great analyzing. As he motioned towards her, she had disappeared by the next time he had blinked. The woman had appeared a doppelganger to Holly-but he was once again reminded of what he had lost.

Walking down the ruined street of the town he once called home, he went back to the spot where Eleana had been killed and saw that only a beam from the home remained along with a few pots that survived the fire. Taking the ashes of the fire, he placed them in his hand before closing his eyes and taking a prayer. Murmuring quickly, he prayed for the inability to feel-to have shame or guilt. When he opened his eyes, he saw the woman from earlier now get into a carriage. Upon seeing him, her face was in horror before she then disappeared away from him.

Feeling pulled to her, he snatched a nearby horse and followed the carriage and a quiet distance-to find she was at the home of the man who had kept him prisoner for those weeks when he almost died. The man he had the arrangement with to attack Seralake. Watching from the trees, he saw how the woman was greeted with kind familiarity before then entering the palace, looking closely around herself to be sure she returned without a stalker.

Peering in the shadows, he had entered through an open window via climbing a nearby tree and arriving a floor higher. Making his way inside, he scanned the room quickly before finding a woman-dressed in white, to jump upon seeing him. Showing he meant no harm by placing his hands in front of him, she moved back slowly before glaring at him.

"Why were you watching me earlier?"

"I-" Her gaze shifted offset before moving back to him. "If you do not leave this instant, I will call the guardsmen!"

"I mean no harm...you...remind me of someone..."

"I have never set eyes on you before." She spoke with an unfamiliar accent as he nodded.

"Yes...I agree. I just had to be sure..."

She nodded. "Then you may go."

He slowly bowed his head before descending back down the tree. As his feet hit the ground, he turned back to her with the feeling of being watched as he saw Holly. Upon blinking once more, he saw it was the mysterious woman. Now being up close to her, he saw how it could not have been Holly-the woman spoke in a different accent, had a darker tint to her skin, and lacked the birthmark he admired about his love. He then moved back to the tavern in hopes of finding a larger distraction in more alcohol.

Going on his forth hour in the establishment and keeping his gaze focused on the fire, his attention was whipped to the front door as it was thrown open. Men dressed in large plates of silver armor and chain helmets came in with crimson faces and perspired expressions as they sat around the location. Many ordered ale as others took the women of the night up on their offers; all while Dawson watched in disgust. He found it a joke how the men who protected his home were more intrigued on what they could get, then what they could offer. He always saw himself as a true patriot-or aspired to be.

"Boy!" Dawson kept his gaze on his drink before a large man sat across from him. A large beard covered his face, while an obvious scar cut over his eye and a mean expression was visible to Dawson. Chugging down the remaining contents of his drink, Dawson nodded to the man as he placed his sword upon the table.

"Have you ever had experience with a sword?"

"Nothing more than dueling."

"But you have held one in a form of battle?"

He nodded.

"We are warriors looking for true soldiers-those willing to give their lives-men-not boys...are you interested."

For a moment, he took a silent thought of what he had to live for. With no other family, having just lost the love of his life, he looked the man in the eyes and nodded.

"I will be a soldier. One of the best, I vow it."