The Prophecy (The Goddess Game Book 1)

Chapter 3

"Millie?" Out of the periphery of his vision, Osric could see Esmerelda looking back and forth between him and Amelia before settling her stare on him.

He wanted to look at her but couldn't stop staring at the woman walking away from him. Her posture was stiff, her hands balled into little fists at her sides. What had he said or done to upset her so much? Was she still upset about the past? That had to be it. They hadn't spoken in over seven years and he had been nothing but polite today, or at least he tried to be. He could never resist teasing her a little, even when they had been friends.

Amelia turned the corner, but Osric remained lost in thoughts of her. Gods she had become beautiful in the years since he'd last seen her. He had tried his best not to stare at the way she filled out her healer's uniform. Maybe she noticed and that's why she was so mad? He smiled to himself as he thought about how flustered she had gotten at the mention of him taking off his pants. He hadn't meant it to be inappropriate, but her blush had thrown his mind straight into the gutter. She'd always been so quick to blush; it didn't matter if she was mad, embarrassed, or extremely happy. He had always loved how the redness of her cheeks made the green in her eyes stand out in stark contrast. Even when he tried his best not to notice, he was always drawn to those blushes.

A sharp pain tore through Osric's leg, radiating from his left ankle. He hopped on his right leg and cut a glare to his friend, "What the hell, Esmerelda?"

Her arms were crossed and she rolled her eyes, "Oh you poor thing," she cooed with sarcastic concern. So much for the real concern she felt earlier. "Was she right, Oz? Was your pride wounded too? Perhaps by her? Did she turn down your advances?"

"Will you stop asking so many questions? What did I do to you to make you so vicious all of a sudden?" He tested his weight on his left leg. It still hurt like hell, but he could stand on both feet again.

She began counting on her fingers, "You mean besides making me wait two hours to eat because you wanted to train and then making me wait an additional hour because you feigned an injury? How about the fact that you're still making me wait while you stare after your healer? She's gone by the way; in case you didn't notice."

He shook his head, "I should have known. You're always cranky when you're hungry."

She raised her foot as if to kick him again, but he dodged her. When he looked down at the offending foot, he realized that she was wearing slippers instead of boots. Then he noticed that she was wearing a dress. "When did you change out of your training outfit? And how did you make your hair look so nice? The last time I saw you, it looked like birds were about to take up residence on your head."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Spells," she ground out, "And I did it all while you were off flirting with your healer... apparently."

"I was not..." he sighed. There was no use arguing with her when she was like this. "Let's go get you something to eat. We can talk about this later." Or not.

***

Osric looked around Sapphire and noted that despite the restaurant being popular amongst Indale's citizens, the majority of the velvet blue chairs were empty. Each table contained a small candle bouncing soft light off of the white tablecloths and adding extra warmth to the single red rose in each of the table's vases. They were set with silverware wrapped in cloth napkins, waiting for the dinner rush that would not come for another 2 or 3 hours.

Osric inwardly winced. He hadn't meant to keep Esmeralda from her lunch this long. He peeked over at her, devouring her roasted chicken as if it were the most amazing thing she'd ever eaten. Juice glided from her mouth to her chin and Osric had to take a bit of his own lunch to hide his smile. She was always starving after a training session and she never gave a rat's ass if she looked ladylike while eating. It was one of the many things he liked about her.