Eros

Men of Light and Shadow - 17

The four bandits had rushed onto Kaido. They laughed, struck, bellowed names, and hugged with rib-cracking strength. Alora lost all clue of what was going on, and became weary.

Was she safe now? Her fingers tightened around her knife's hilt. She didn't trust that man - Kaido Blackrose - when she was alone with him. How could she trust him now, seeing how he's so well befriended with bandits?

It's even more than that. She recognized deep awe in the bandit's eyes. They looked at him the same way her tribe's young looked at her father and at Eldridge. They admire him.

She considered turning and running away from them. Nobody seemed to be paying her any attention anyway. But the adrenaline was fading, and she felt her throat drier than before.

"Can you please just give me some water?" Alora said, loud enough to draw the men's attention from one another. Scrawny looked to her, and tossed away a bloodied piece of cloth he held to his face. He detached a water-skin from his belt and stepped to her.

"We're very sorry lady." He offered it to her with an apologetic smile. "We would have never treated you so poorly if we knew you are Kaido's girl."

"I'm not Kaido's girl." She hissed and snatched the waterskin from his hand.

"Who are you then?" He blinked in question, but Alora already had her mouth full of water. Although they were warm, she couldn't recall the last time water tasted so sweet. Kaido glanced at her and was reminded of his own thirst, so he took the waterskin from William's belt.

"Alright, alright. Seems like we're setting camp early today." William said as Kaido and Alora drained the skins of all water. The three large, scrawny and short bandits began to set up the tents whilst William brought Kaido and Alora some more water.

When they both stopped drinking for a breath of air, she caught his gaze on her body. His eyes trailed across her figure, lingered on the bloody scratch at the side of her knee, then turned away. He splashed some water on his head and face, swiping back his black hair, scrubbing the dried blood off his brow and cheek. She felt her eyes had lingered too long.

"Let's dine!" Shorty shrieked once the tents were raised. Their cloth was stained and faded, and their iron stakes rusty, and yet the three tents stood solid.

Three. Alora realised. And none of them fit for more than two.

"Sorry doll," William said beside her, amused by the dread on her face. "We all have to share tonight."

The sun crept down the blue skies, reaching for the snow-white, jagged ridge of the Arolar mountains. With its heat gone, it was cool enough to light a fire at the camp's center. They sat around it and began to pass bread and smoked, hard meat. Both were salted, dry, and different from the food Alora was used to, but she ate them as if they were faerie-fruits and fresh meat off of the fire.

The only one who had eaten more than her was Kaido. He devoured twice as much in half the time, and while the rest of them still ate, got up from his place near the fire. "Thanks for the food, my brothers." Kaido pulled his arms up, stretching. "It has been a long day, I could use a good sleep."

"Rest well, brother." William said to Kaido along with the other bandits. Alora saw their disappointment only after he had grinned at them, turned and slipped into one of the three tents. They continued eating in silence Shorty spoke with a full mouth.

"The bastard slipped away without even telling us what happened."

The four bandits turned their gaze to Alora. Their eyes pleading. She sighed. Though she still remembered their initial intentions towards her, she couldn't ignore the kindness they have shown her since.

And so she told them what happened since she and Kaido had met. They laughed out loud when she told them how she took him hostage, and their eyes shone with pride when she described how he fought the soldiers.

She only left out the part where she had used her magic in the chase through the forest.

She liked the way they treated her now, and didn't want to share a factor that might, for whatever reason, change that.

"Did you find out what he was wanted for?" The large, tattooed man, who turned up to be the silent person in a loud bunch, raised his hand and asked politely.

"No." Alora answered. In one way or the other, each bandit seemed concerned.

"The last time we had seen him he left us to join the army," The small man spoke with sadness in his voice. "I wonder how things went so wrong."

A disheartening silence arrived, though luckily the Scrawny was soon to break it with his upbeat voice.

"What the hell are you guys whining about? You just heard how Kaido disguised himself as a guard to eat the prison's food and then manhandled those soldiers. By Velsair, he threw fucking furniture at them!" He didn't even finish speaking, and their frowns had already begun turning into grins. "No matter how things got fucked up in the military, he's still our good old Kaido!"

"Oh, how rude are we!" William suddenly called, and peered across to Alora. "We have dined together, heard the story of your journey, and yet we haven't even introduced ourselves to one another."

He speaks well for a bandit, Alora smirked lightly.

"This one is called Rock because he looks like a rock." William began their introduction with a hand gesture towards the large man, who lowered his .

"This one is called Fat Sam because he's fucking fat." He next gestured over the almost sickly scrawny man, who waved at her with an ear to ear smile.

"This one is called the Nutcracker, Nuts for short, because he, eh..." William paused for a moment, and the small man burst into his speech. "I punch fuckers right in the nuts!" He announced, full of pride, thrashing his fist up in a practiced uppercut. William nodded once.

"And I am called William because, well, my mother liked the name."

"I am Alora." She said, snickering at the group's introduction. "We had a rough start, but I don't quite regret meeting you, Rock, Fat Sam, Nuts and William."

"The pleasure is all ours, Alora." Fat Sam said with an exaggerated bow, making Alora huff.

"Hey Will'," Nuts called out. "I say this occasion calls for wine." Both Fat Sam and Rock rushed to agree.

"Fine, fine." William got up from the fireplace, went to his bag and returned with two bottles of unlabeled red wine. Once they were uncorked, they were passed about the fireplace and sipped from handily.

Soon one of the bottles reached Alora, and she swigged from it without hesitation. Not the best human wine she had tasted, but it rolled on the tongue and spread satisfying warmth within her chest.

"So what," Alora spoke up, after the bottles had made a few rounds about the fireplace. "Kaido was a part of the gang, hunting for women to grab and to sell?"

She surprised herself as the question escaped her lips, realizing the matter troubled her.

"Kaido? Hah, never!" Nuts said in his crudely loud laugh. "I still remember that one time Fat Sam drank a few too many glasses of rum and started laying hands on a frightened gal. Kaido had beaten him so bad he couldn't turn in bed without moaning for weeks."

"I just wanted a little kiss..." Fat Sam grumbled and the rest, and Alora laughed with the rest. The frown lingered on Sam's face just until it was his turn with the bottle again.

"What else do you have to tell?" Alora asked after gulping a mouthful of wine.

"You want the whole story?" William asked her, and she nodded.