Smoke and Mirrors : Royal Angels I

Cotton and crows

~Victoria~

"You're a fighter, not some prissy little princess."

I took a deep breath, adjusting the grip on my leg. The son of a bîtch guardian had missed my ankle by a mere inch.

Earlier, I'd tried a makeshift dressing with some cloth dipped in spirit, but I knew that bullet was going to cost me my leg if it stayed there.

"Don't ever wait for a hero to save the day."

I bit down on a rag and picked up the tweezers. I looked at the clock with some apprehension. I only had a few minutes left to finish the job.

Biscuit was away only for so long.

"Quit being such a wimp and handle it like a woman."

I did my best not to scream as I found the metal and pulled it out. It was beyond excruciating and despite my self control, a painful whimper got out.

And then it was done.

"That's my girl."

Yeah, my dad did always have his own special brew of tough love.

Imagining his voice in my head, I swallowed a lump in my throat. I knew it wasn't just because of the pain in my leg that time.

Quit being an emotional wreck. We have enough to worry about without a hugely depressing flashback.

Right on cue, Biscuit stepped out of the shower, looking alert.

He cocked his head. "I thought I heard something."

"A crow came in through the window." I offered lamely.

Biscuiy looked at the blood on my hands, understanding dawning on him. He sighed. "Was the crow also trying to take out a bullet?"

"Naw." I shrugged, super casually wiping my blood stained fingers on a piece of cloth. "The crow stole my sandwich. So I beat that bîtch and got it back."

"Right." Biscuit smiled, softly. "Totally."

"Totally." I echoed, sheepish.

I should probably mention here that Biscuit was wearing only a white towel.

His dirt blonde hair was soaking wet, his every muscle accentuated and taut. For the first time, I saw his real eyes.

Endless pools of ocean blue stared through to my very soul, silver and gold flecks dancing in the sunlight.

"So, um, are you going back inside?" I asked, my eyes automatically going to that muscular V disappearing under that awfully small cloth. "Because the, um, crow might come back and  steal your towel too."

Awkward level 1000.

"You'd like that though, wouldn't you, Shortcake?" He winked.

I rolled my eyes. "Might peck off more than your towel."

Biscuit gave me a fake gasp.