Season's Change Winter's Plight Book 1

10 Measurements

He fell asleep again. It was a relief to be able to eat, but it was also exhausting. She sat him up to feed him but must have lain him down when he fell asleep, he woke on his side. He was resting comfortably covered in soft furs. If she was there, he couldn't find her. The light in the cave was limited and he couldn't see very far past where he lay. He couldn't hear her either. Then again, she moved silently, he never heard her move when she did. There was a fire burning low in a pit several feet from him. He was warm and comfortable and felt oddly safe, despite the fact that he was being cared for by a Dark Faye and completely helpless. He could not even perform the most basic human functions on his own. He felt miserable and useless. He couldn't wrap his mind around why. Why was she caring for him like he was a baby? She was a Faye and a dark one at that. All Faye were cold and aloof, they couldn't care less about the other races they shared a world with, especially humans. All they ever cared about was themselves and what they wanted or needed, everyone else be damned. But the Dark Faye had souls as black as their skin. They were all evil. So what evil could this kind gentle and caring Dark Faye have in store for him? What purpose did it serve for her to keep him alive, to feed him, too -- OH BY THE GODS! His mind swirled into momentary chaos and threatened to derail and break -- keep him clean, and to teach him to speak her language? What purpose? Did she have a purpose? He wanted to be able to move, to care for himself, but he was in no condition to do so. How had he survived being poisoned by the denizens? Their poison was known to be one hundred percent lethal. He should have died. He knew the arrow had pierced his skin, he felt the poison run through him, felt it pull away his strength and eat away at him from within. It was sheer will and determination that had kept him standing as long as it had. Long enough for the Dark Faye to save him. She had saved him. He would have died that night under the cold moonless sky if she had not come to his aid. The night was moonless? Then how did he see the moon? He was grateful, concerned and more than a little frightened. If she left him now, he would starve to death.

~

She fed the Stupid Human until he drifted into a soft and quiet slumber. She then laid him down so that he would be more comfortable when he woke again and left him to sleep. He had finally obeyed her and stopped moving, or trying to when she approached him to check his wound, so she was able to check it and feed him. She was pleased to see that it had finally healed and only a smooth, but jagged pink scar remained on his flesh. The poison was gone from his body and he was alive, but he could not care for himself. If she left him, he would die. That would not be saving him as she was commanded. So, she would stay with him until he was able to tend to his needs. He couldn't even sit up to eat. She was pleased that he finally allowed her to touch him, that some of the fear was gone from his eyes when he looked at her. It was so difficult to make that stupid human understand that she would not hurt him.

She did not understand why it mattered so much to her that he was afraid of her. But, it did. It bothered her greatly. He was afraid of her. Every time she moved near him while he was awake and noticed her movement, he tried to move away, even though he could not. She was not accustomed to any male moving away from her.

They could make a pact. She would not hurt him and when he was strong enough to leave, he would, and never return. That would work for her. But why then did it matter if he was afraid of her? Should he not be? If the roles were reversed would she be afraid of him? He was so much bigger than she was. Yes, she would be very afraid of him, if the roles were reversed and he was the one taking care of her while she was helpless. But, why did she care? What did it matter? Why was she teaching him like she would a child, providing for him? He was just a stupid human after all. She needed to be able to communicate with him to command him. In order to do that, she would need to teach him how to speak the language she knew best, the common tongue was too crude, and it was now clear that he did not understand all of it. She shook her head to free it of useless thoughts. She would do what was needed to save the stupid human.

She focused on the group moving ahead. They were humans too. Had they come in search of their lost child? Did humans do that? Every Faye she had known would have left a child to die if it became separated from its maid. Could she return him to them? She watched them closely. No, they were not looking for him. They did not talk or dress as he did. They did not seem to be from the same place her stupid human was from. Everything about them was wrong. They did not look similar to her stupid human. Their hair was yellow where his hair was almost black, their eyes blue while his eyes were green. Did Humans have races? She thought they all looked the same. He was a testament that they did not. The only other humans that she encountered were much like the ones she was observing. A cold chill ran down her spine as memories, violent and painful gripped her momentarily. She closed her eyes and centered herself while clenching her fists and teeth. These humans must be from a different race. What were they doing in the area? Humans did not live in the area and they rarely, if ever passed through.

These humans must not be as stupid as her human. They traveled in a pack like dogs, not like hers, who had traveled alone like a wild cat in the dark. Stupid Human. They traveled under the sun, making it hard for her to see them well, and keeping the denizens that only attacked under the cover of darkness away. He had traveled at night and alone, Stupid Human. Even though she could not see them well, she could see the way they were dressed. They were not dressed like her human. For as stupid as humans were, denizens were ten times more stupid. All you had to do to avoid them at night was climb a tree and be quiet. It was not that hard. She observed the human pack for a bit longer to ensure that they were not looking for her stupid human or her. When she was satisfied that they were not, she moved away and returned to her hunt. She had a healing human to feed.