EDWINA (Sample)

Chapter Seven

At the break of dawn, they had risen early and had already continued their journey. Hector was hungry and had nothing to eat and he suspected that Edwina felt the same way even though she wouldn't complain nor admit. It was his idea that Cyril should not pack any food for him in order to make his traveling, light and not put too much burden on his horse, now he regretted ever suggesting such a thing.

He would have hunted if he were alone but he couldn't trust Edwina to stay put. He had a feeling that she would make a run for it before he returned but he admired her toughness for if she was hungry like he was, she simply betrayed no sign of it.

The rain had long stopped and the sun was slowly rising up the sky, shedding its warmth on the forest once again and chasing out the lingering cold and dampness of the wind. Once again, the woods was lively with the movements and sounds of animals, especially birds. Hector noticed that Edwina's hair was dry but her clothes were still a bit wet because she had refused to come close to the fire he had made at the cave, last night and had preferred to sleep off in such an uncomfortable position.

No conversation issued between them ever since she had poured out her bitterness towards him the previous night but he rather revelled in being so close to her, loving the way his arms went around her to hold the reins of the horse who conveyed them through the woods. He could not simply tell why he felt the way he did toward the obstinate maid who wanted nothing more but to avenge the death of her family but all he knew was that he had admired her for years, in fact he had felt drawn towards her the very moment he had seen her trying to escape through the woods when they had invaded her and pillaged village and it had taken him four good years to realize this even through they had barely spoken a word to each other.

He sighed in relief when he heard the sound of flowing water which he later noticed was a stream. They had been riding all morning and he decided that it was high time they rested awhile. Dismounting his horse, he glanced up at her and before he could help her off the saddle, she was down on her feet on her own, her face devoid of any emotion.

He took the reins of his horse and they continued down the hill, through the trees and towards the bank of the stream on foot. As he halted far from the bank and searched his saddle bags for something, he noticed that Edwina didn't stop, she continued walking closer to the bank of the stream, quietly and her hands were busy knotting her hair into a rough bun.

"What are you doing?" He asked, puzzled.

Without looking back or stopping, she replied. "I need a bath."

She halted close to the edge of water and slipped out of her clothes. Hector who had crouched to examine the shoes of his horse, slowly rose to his feet and watched her wade into the water, completely naked and also watched as her body was being engulfed inch by inch by the water. His muscles tightened and his groin began to harden at the very sight of her nudity.

It was not as if he had not grown up revelling in the sight of several beautiful naked women but the very sight of this very woman made him want to go after her, haul her against a tree and ravish every part of her sexual appealing body with kisses till she was breathless but he knew that would not be possible. She would plunge a dagger into his chest if he attempted to even kiss her.

He watched as her body continued to disappear into the water as she wandered further into the stream, wading her arms at her sides. Hector forced himself to turn away quickly, trying to steady his racing heart. He had never felt this way with any woman before and worse not with a woman who held him in contempt and a slave...his father would have his head if he were to find out.

Since she was now busy taking a bath, he decided it was best to go hunting and return as quickly as possible before she even knew that he was gone, for if he didn't wander off now that he had the chance and give her some deserved privacy, nothing would stop him from doing something irrational even though a convincing part of him really wanted to damn all consequences and go for it.