Warrior

Chapter Five:: Hot and Cold

Copyright 2012 Lindsay Covington

UNEDITED

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 Chapter Five--------------------------------------------->>>>>>>>>Hot and Cold

From the warm, wooden walls, to the small, charred fireplace, to the worn, green duvet of the bed I rested on this room was familiar. The corner of my mouth tipped up into a smile as I let my calloused fingers stroke the thick threads woven into the fabric of the blanket. Cautiously, I eased myself up to a sitting position and gladly took note of the absence of my headache. My eyes immediately scanned the room around me and I noticed my boots sitting at the base of the plush, purple armchair at the end of the bed. The leather material that wrapped around my waist in a corset-like fashion was draped across the chair along with my heavy belt, the ruby of my prized dagger glinted dangerously from the hilt of the sheathed weapon. 

Satisfied, I flung the covers back and swung my legs over the side of the large bed and jumped to the floor, my bare feet hardly making a whisper of sound on the worn wood. I padded over to my boots and pulled them on, not bothering with anything else but my dagger as I slid it into the waistband of my pants and readjusted my loose tunic. Moments later, I was clomping down the dark stairwell that led to Mae’s beloved kitchen. The aroma of her breakfast sweetcakes had my mouth watering in anticipation as I practically hurtled down the last few steps to get there faster. It felt like I hadn’t eaten or drank anything in days. I swallowed thickly, my throat feeling raw and dry as if to prove my point. 

“Aza! Good ta see ya up an’ movin’ ‘round garl!” Flynn assaulted enthusiastically me the moment I swung into the doorway of the kitchen. I stiffened a bit as he tackled me into his characteristic bear hug, a bit surprised to see him here. “Aye!” He howled in surprise and dropped me from his hug, “were ya rubbin’ yer feet in the carpet, recently? Got me good, ya did!” I tilted my head to the side in confusion at Flynn.

“Did I shock you?”  I inquired, getting over Flynn’s surprise attack, and reached to touch his arm. He quickly shied away with a mischievous grin on his face and his hands thrown up in surrender.

“Aye! Non’ that now, ya ‘ear?” I snorted at him before letting a smile take hold of my features.

“Good to see you made it out of the storm too.” I said around my grin and drew him into a friendly hug. In the background I heard the ring of something hefty and metal hitting the ground with a mighty clang!

“Aza!” Mae all but screamed in surprise. Next thing I know, Flynn is being pushed to the side and my good friend has her thin arms constricting my breathing, “You gave me quite a fright there! You should know better than to ride into Tornado Alley! I swear sometimes--”

“Can’t--breathe!” I gasped in the middle of her rant, effectively cutting her off. Her arms immediately dropped from around me and she seized my forearm in their absence, dragging me to the nearest chair.

“You’ve been asleep for three days! Three!” Mae pushed me down into the chair and continued to scold me.

“You’re blaming me?” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, “Not my fault the spirits have it in for me,” restlessly, I tossed my head to get my hair out of my face, “and you have to be exaggerating. I was not asleep for three days.” My voice broke into a dry whisper on my last word, as if my aching throat was trying to contradict me. And doing a pretty convincing job of it too. I winced with another thick swallow and raised my hand to rub my throat lightly.