Wings of Grace

Chapter 4

"Like hell we will!" Lyon slammed his fist on the table.

"We have not come this far just to let Reardon take my kingdom. Our numbers may not match his, but our soldiers stand strong and are willing to fight." Lyon, striding the kitchen floor, vented his anger over King Reardon's threat to attack.

"You're going to have to tell her." Sally interrupted Lyon's train of thought. Suspecting the dark shadows under his eyes were not only due to Reardon.

Lyon always made time to see how Lara was, in his busy schedule. Which hadn't surprised Sally. She knew he felt responsible for her but, she had never seen Lyon so troubled by his emotions.  

Of course, there had been women; Sally knew Lyon was no saint. With his title and good looks, few could resist the man. She'd seen some of the pompous, overbearing princesses parade themselves on his arm for all the kingdom to see. Always beautiful, but cold. Capturing his eye, possibly, but never his heart.

Sally hated to remind Lyon of his responsibilities, what with this war with King Reardon so imminent. But there was no getting out of it. Better for Lara to find out from the King himself and there was no way Sally was going to do his dirty work for him. This he had brought all on his own.

                                                                                        *****

 Lyon knew Lara would have to be returned home, before Reardon made his move, but he was still coming to terms with how he felt about it. 

Maybe if he had more time....

Then again how could he ask her to stay? Her life was so different to his. She wouldn't be able to last a single day in his world.

                                                                                      *****

      Lara, upon waking, could hear a male voice, speaking to Sally somewhere in the house. The voices were muffled. The room was darkened again because of the closed curtains. Pulling back the sheet, she slowly got to her feet. She needed to go to the bathroom. Her muscles were stiff, but not as restricting.

     She pushed past the discomfort and ventured out of the room. 'Next door to the right', she remembered Sally saying. The voices were getting louder, moving in her direction.

     She started walking faster down the dim, high-ceiling corridor, away from the noises, thank goodness. In her hurry, her left foot, kicked the edge of a cast iron table, sending pain shooting up her leg. She dropped to the floor, crying out. The sound brought running feet to her side and a familiar voice spoke just above her.

     "What happened? Are you alright?" concern threaded through Lyon's deep voice as he knelt beside Lara. She could feel the warmth of his hand on her shoulder. Her waist length hair covering her face.

     Embarrassed, Lara replied, talking to the floor. "Yes, thanks, I just kicked my foot on the table. But I'm fine." As she tried to stand up, she lost her balance and fell back onto his boot. Her face reddened even more. Moving, she quickly pulled the T shirt that had slightly ridden up, down as far as it would go, feeling self-conscious of its length.

     "Come here little one let me help you.'

     "No, I'm fine. I can do it myself. And five foot-nine inches is not little."

     "Six foot-one, says it is." Lyon picked her up without any effort, trying not to laugh as he started to carry her back into the bedroom. Sally watching on with bemusement.