Loving the enemy

6. Flower

My body is frozen over and I can't even concentrate on what to answer anymore.

I didn't want to die. The life I've lived until now seemed to meaningless to have it end already.

Lord Asher scans my facial expression. "I'm not going to kill you," he almost sighs and grabs another sword only about 3 feet away.

Yes you are!

I watch him carefully still seated on the ground in shock, as he starts picking up all the weapons laying around. He opens a big chest at the end of his bed and lets them drop into it.

I need him to have a reason to keep me alive and I've got an idea.

"I was looking at the flower."

"What?" Lord Asher turns to me after locking the chest. It'll be difficult to get a weapon now. Darn.

"The flower over there." I tremblingly point at a small weed at the corner of the tent, close to where the ax was.

"The hell?"

"It's Yarrow," I explain, "it helps with the wound." I look down at my burning skin, surrounding my wrists circularly.

"You know about medicinal herbs?" He raises a brow.

I nod at him. Back in my village we had a wise elderly woman who'd help people with her herbs and ointments, when someone turned ill. She happened to be my neighbor and whenever I'd found some spare time, which was rare, I'd learn from her in return for gathering her ingredients.

Many people were scared of her wisdom and spoke badly of her, but when they got ill they'd come running for help. It was utterly disrespectful, and when I asked her why she'd proceed to help people she'd told me that she didn't care about what they thought, and that it only mattered to her that they would get better.

"If you keep me alive, I could help with the wounded," I offer, hoping that he'd budge.

He chuckles at my offer. What's so damn funny?

"I don't know if you've caught on, but no one knows that we're here and until we start attacking we won't be having any wounded. Not to forget that I don't trust you one bit, little Lady."

I frown at his explanation. "Then put me to work. I'm used to hard labour as I come from a farmers family."

"I've got a camp full of soldiers, each assigned perfectly to a job. I don't need anyone else. You'd just be another mouth to feed."

Think Bella, think. I bite my lower lip in thought. If I could only think of something I could be of use to him, then I wouldn't have to dread dying at any moment.

"Prove to me that you know how to use medicinal herbs."

What?

"How?"

He nods towards the small Yarrow Flower I'd pointed towards.

I place my hands on the compressed soil floor of the tent and painfully come to a stance. The man leans back against the locked chest, crossing his arms before him, never interrupting his gaze as I limp to the flower.

My foot is throbbing and what I had thought to have been better seemed to be healing quite slowly.

I pick off the leaves and place them into my hand and then proceed to stumble over to the jug and cup which I'd drunken from.

As I hoped there was still a bit of water at the bottom of the jug. I fill it into the cup and add the leaves. I turn and look around the tent for a rock or something I could use. Those jade colored eyes follow my every movement and I quickly avert mine.

Scanning the big tent I finally see a rock almost covered up by the soil. I walk over to it and start clawing at it. It's bigger than I thought but with a bit of brute force I finally get it to budge out of the ground.

"Don't do anything stupid." The man warns.

How I'd love to bash his head in with this.

I limp back to the cup and start grinding the leaves with it into a greenish pasture.

"How do you apply it?"

It surprises me that this man had so much interest in what I was doing. He hadn't moved from the spot but I could see him staring at me from the corner of my eyes.

"I'm going to need more water." I state bluntly.

"Answer the question."

I sigh. "I'll rub the paste onto the wound and then wash it of after a short while. It'll sting but it prevents infections."

"Come." The walks over to the pole I'd been tied too, and picking up the rope.

I shake my head. My skin burns horribly and I don't even want to know how much it'll hurt to tie them back up.

"I'm not leaving you to roam around here freely if that's what you're hoping for!"

"Please." I lower my head, dreading the ties. Not only was it horribly infuriating and humiliating but it hurt so badly.

"Get over he-"

"Can I use the water from the basin?" I point towards it.

Is he man looks over to it in thought still holding the ties.

"I've used it."

"It's fine."

He waves his hand in a approving motion.

In the next ten minutes I'd finished covering my wounded arms and bearing the stinging pain silently before washing off the paste.

"It should start to heal better with time," I mumble still washing the greenish texture off of my arm.

The man had watched my every move.

"That is unless the ties are put back on," I add very silently.

Lord Asher doesn't answer but his expression is telling me that I won't be having a choice.

"If your wounds get better I'll consider, keeping you alive."

A flash of hope alights my chest at his words. Maybe just maybe I could get out of here after all.

"Now get over here," Lord Asher commands as he lifts the ropes in his hand.

My heart starts pounding once more. "Please, I won't do anything! I promise."

He proceeds to take a step towards me making a shiver run down my spine. "I'm not playing games!"