Eros

Men of Light and Shadow - 15

"Stop following me." Alora hissed. She glanced over her shoulder to Kaido, strolling at the center of the road.

"I am not following you."

"You're walking right behind me, the same way I'm walking. That is following me." Alora pointed out. She walked at the very edge of the road – as far as she could from Kaido.

"No. That's sharing a road." Kaido had his palms in his pockets, peering up to the cloudless skies.

"You could have taken the other way."

"The way leading to the soldiers hunting me?"

"Yes." Alora answered, unhesitant.

"Just when I thought a bond was beginning to form between us." A faint smirk spread on his lips.

"I don't trust you."

"Your feelings towards me aren't going to change the direction I am heading." He said, and that condescending patience of his fumed Alora's nerves.

That's it, I have enough to deal with without this guy. She fastened her stride. Not quickly, but surely, she distances herself and Kaido. Looking back, she saw his steps' idle pace unchanged. His gaze met hers. She looked away quickly, frowned, and stepped a little quicker.

The next time she looked back, he was so far behind the road she could barely see him on it.

-

" 'Let him come' The king had laughed, and everybody else did too

Let him come, a mere boy of the slums. What could he possibly do?

And so they did, and the boy came, into the king's hold he strode

'What wishes a boy like you to do with my gold?'

'Do not hesitate' The king mocked, 'Leave no desire unsaid'

'It's simple my king' The boy said, and to the king's throne he tread

'I would have it painted red'

The king then laughed, and with that laugh went off his head

And the boy went on and didn't cease until every drop of royal blood was shed

And so he came, an orphan from the slums, and sat down the bloody throne

Forever marking Veramor's gold with lines of crimson."

The coarse singing ended as Kaido puffed at his roll. A gentle gust of wind came, scattering the smoke from his lips. He wrinkled his nose, and frowned as he recognized the smell.

Kaido narrowed his gaze, and spotted the group of silhouettes down the road. He flicked off the cigarette and ran towards them.

-

The desert sun beat down on Alora's skin for hours. She had begged Damuzar for a tree or shrub to rest under, and since then, her prayers had turned to curses. There was nothing along the road but sand.

She squinted up at the high-noon sun with distaste. At least a dozen hours must have passed since she last ate or rested.

Another curse escaped her lips – this one specifically dedicated to that idiotic man, whose unbearable presence made her waste her energy rushing forward. Her legs and feet ached from the run in the woods, and the never-ending walk that followed.

She could suck it up though. Along with the hunger and fatigue that made her eyelids slip shut when she wasn't paying attention. What really bothered her was the drought in her throat. Her tongue felt stiff in her mouth, which was too dry for even a little spit to wet the dry itch from her gullet.

There was no point in stopping now. She had to go on and find water, or at least a small shade to rest in. She lost track of how much time her sluggish advance went on before she spotted something that wasn't road or sand out in the distance.

Squinting her eyes, she identified the object as a broken carriage at the side of the road. She got closer. Her hope to find water died when she saw the carriage was old, overturned, and sun-cooked, but then she saw something move in its shade.

People! She rejoiced, and her steps grew quicker. They must have water. Too thirsty to be cautious, she approached the abandoned carriage. There were four men resting in its shadow.

"Excuse me, could you please spare me some water?"

"Could you spare me some coins?" The smallest of the men called in reply, rising laughter from his fellow men.

"I could spare much more than water for a beauty like you..." One of them said, rising towards her. He was as scrawny as a skeleton, and smiled wide as a skull.

"Thank you, but water will suffice." Alora glared at him, taking half a step back.

"No, seriously ma'am," The small man, who had greasy, slicked hair, stepped in front of her. "Hand over your coins, we gotta make a livin'."

He was anything but intimidating as he stood a head beneath her height. She would've laughed in his face if a third man hadn't stepped behind him. He was tall and robust, with thick, tattooed arms. The fourth man shifted back against the wagon, peering at them from the shade.

"I don't have any money." Alora said, and the scrawny man snorted. The men began circling her.

"Come on sugar, I refuse to believe such a rack holds no treasure." Staring at the undershirt that clung to her sweaty skin, the scrawny man reached out towards her breasts. Alora's hand beat his to the mark, her open palm mashing in the tip of his nose.

"Ahh, bitch!" He cursed, grasping his nose as blood trickled out. The large man moved forward, and Alora ducked beneath a swipe of his arm.

She blinked when she noticed shorty rushing at her. He kicked his boot into her shin, and pain jolted up her leg. She hissed and launched her knee against the underside of his chin. His head tossed back from the impact, he staggered into the large man's legs, nearly tripping them both.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the scrawny pervert rushing at her with a knife. She raised her foot to her waistline, and thrust the heel of her boot into his stomach. His knife hand went down as he doubled over, drawing a shallow cut across the side of her knee.

"It's quite alright," He gasped for air, giggling hoarsely. "I don't mind them a bit feisty..."

Alora took another step back, her eyes darting between the three men. They all recovered, and spread out. The large one held a crude and heavy mace in his fist, shorty unsheathed a shortsword, and scrawny grinned as he passed his knife from one hand to the other.

She sent out her senses and found no form of nature alive around her. The odds weren't to her favor, she realized.

Get yourself together!

You escaped those soldiers to free your people, not to die at the hands of bandits! She tensed, ready for an attack. A bolt glinted from the shadows, shooting between two of the men and clanking against the cobblestones between her feet.

"Easy now." The fourth man said, stepping out of the shadows with a crossbow in hand. Although his dainty nose was broken at least one too many times, this one could pass as handsome. His dirty blonde hair was drawn back into a half-assed ponytail.

"Your exotic beauty wouldn't be worth much if you're all messed up, would it?" He said, unhurriedly pulling the string of the crossbow with a leather thong. She gritted her teeth.

No. The odds definitely aren't in your favor.

"William, William," A new voice said behind her. "Down to this nasty kind of business now? How disappointing."

Kaido stepped to Alora's side, and all eyes shifted towards him.

"By the mother fucking seven..." The blonde walked past Alora as if he had entirely forgotten her existence. He stood staring at Kaido, and let the crossbow drop to the ground. "Kaido fucking Blackrose..."

The words slipped past his lips as they spread in a broad smile. He cast his arms out, and pulled Kaido into a firm, brotherly embrace.