Troubles | TROY OTTO |

Chapter Five

She fiddled with her stuff in quiet, not wanting to disturb Luciana as she went about her business.  The tanner girl watched her pace with narrowed, suspicious eyes that left Ella feeling like her skin was crawling.  As much as it disturbed her, she didn't confront the other about her behavior, either.  It was warranted distrust.  Luciana had been taken by Troy and his men, on the verge of death because of their actions.  Now she was expected to be comfortable with the very people who hurt her helping her.  Ella couldn't blame her caution, but after the first two hours, the situation got old.

Sparing a small look at the bedridden lady, Ella's lips curled into pleasantness as she took her seat on the other side of the room.  "Can I get you anything?  Water?  Food?"  She questioned, the tone of a nurse who was caring for a patient.  Luciana's scowl deepened at the girl, a shake of her head prominent as she shifted her gaze toward the wall - as if the action would make Ella disappear.

With a sigh, Ella pushed to her feet and left the cabin.  Her body led her to the Mess Hall, where she grabbed a glass filled with water and a packaged granola bar.  Despite Luciana being stubborn and ignoring the fact she needs to stay nourished for a proper recovery, Ella would go back to the infirmary and place the items beside her bed anyway.  If she wanted them, she could have them as she pleased.  At least Ella would have a clear conscience as she had done her job.

As darkness fell on the landscape, Ella made her way back to the cabin she's lived in since she was thirteen.  It was dainty with only a single room aside from the entrance.  It didn't have to be big for the original family of three.  Now, it seemed too big for the single woman that lived there.  However, the feeling would lesson as Troy arrived each night, sometimes staying entirely and sometimes leaving before dawn breaks to head back to his house with his dad and brother.  Tonight, he would arrive later than usual; he had told her of a boar that needed to be hunted.

When he does arrive at nearly midnight, Ella has changed into a long sleeved t-shirt that once belonged to him and a pair of sleeping shorts that exposed everything from her mid-thigh down.  He doesn't focus on the bare skin, only her face fatigued from the wait of his arrival but sweet with a smile that spoke she was glad to see him.  His own lips were stretched into a satisfied grin, child-like as he swooped his arms around her to bring her closer and rest his chin against the top of her head.  The gesture simple but it brought a fire of warmth through her chest and a giddiness to her stomach as she wiggled away to bring doe eyes to stare at his face.

"You seem happy.  Did you get the boar?" She mused quietly, as if avoiding waking the ghosts in the walls of her cabin.  The nod he gave was curt, but his lips brushed beneath her eye at the top of her cheek before he breathed contently.  "Nick and I are friends now."  His words were fluttering with pride and joy, something that made Ella's chest swell with her own happiness.  As far as she knew, Nick hadn't been on Troy's radar more than his stand at the gate to get Luciana treated.  Now, Troy had gone so far as labeled him as a friend.

His body lurched backward to give her space, a hand taking hers and gently tugging her to the small cot they would squeeze on together.  Settling down into the firm mattress, Troy wrapped his arms around her waist as he whispered the story of what lead to his newfound friendship into the strands of hair resting on her cheek.  His voice, scratchy from the effort at being quiet, slowly lulled her to a pleasant sleep.  When she woke up the next morning, he wasn't there, but the warmth of his presence lingered.

Unedited.