Refuge

Chapter 3

    HE WAS TALL, LEAN MUSCLE CLEARLY VISIBLE UNDER THE SAME UNIFORM HE wore. He had striking blue eyes and long bronze hair that curled around his neck. His well-proportioned lips were set against a jaw that could cut steel.

    He was striking.

    And he had another knife ready in his hand.

    He met my eyes and I watched in horror and morbid fascination as he again struck; he was quick and clean and agile. He made swift work, not bothering with flashy moves or meaningless words: before the man could prepare himself, he moved, nimble and quick as an asp.

    When he was done, he wiped his blade clean on the dead man’s lapel, frowning slightly, then slowly got up and looked at me.

    I still couldn’t move, petrified from both fear and shock. He was clearly another soldier. Why did he help me? Why kill his own?

    He cleared his throat, “I won't hurt you. You’re should be safe now.”  He spoke firmly but gently, his voice a modulating lilt, and a warm smile on his face that seemed wrong considering the scene before us. The rapid cadence of my heart did not cease, however. Not even a little.

    “What’s your name?” he asked me.

    I remember answering dumbly, “Tikva. Tikva Appell.”

    “Tikva,” he repeated. My name rolled off his tongue in a melodious croon. “Hope.”

     I slowly stumbled to my feet. “W-why? Why would you help me?” My voice sounded wobbly even to my ears and I mentally cringed at my state. So I bristled, raised my chin and asked, more confidently this time, though my voice still held a slight tremor, “I mean, you’re supposed to be capturing me. Why would you kill your own comrades?”

    He didn’t answer right away. He seemed to be scrutinizing me, looking me down from head to toe. My eyes narrowed and I shifted from foot to foot self-consciously despite myself.

    Finally, he replied, “They are not my comrades. I don’t work with them, not anymore.” Clipped. Elusive.

    “Why?”

“I left,” he shrugged stiffly, as if that was answer enough. Iciness crept into his voice as I looked at him expectantly, anticipating a more detailed answer, but he deigned not to say any more.

    “You don't just leave the army,” I said incredulously.

   “I didn't say they let me,” he responded.“What about you? What’s a little thing like you doing in the middle of the forest by herself in the middle of winter, with barely anything but the clothes on her back?” He tilted his head to the side, continuing assessing everything from my garb to the grease in my hair. He was back to his light, mild way of speaking again.

    “I left,” I retorted, lifting my chin in annoyance. Why should I tell him anything when he told me nothing? I couldn't trust him just yet, waiting after he just killed two grown men without batting an eye. His lips twitched in the beginnings of a smile and then slowly spread until they reached across his face in a breathtaking, heart stopping smile bright enough to light the world for a millennium. The air caught in my throat and for a second I forgot my earlier irritation.

    “Touché, Tikva Appell.”