Feeling Thirsty Along With Her
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?!" She questioned as she turned around, holding onto the front and the back of her dress, trying hard to secure it from falling off her body.
With the back left open, she shivered and winced in pain when a cold breeze swept past her coming from the open large windows of the spacious room.
Adrien sighed out loud as if he was walking on a thin line of his patience. He rubbed his face and ran his fingers through his hair before he stood up on his feet. He could feel the woman's eyes following every move of his like the little fretting deer being cautious of its predator, but he didn't glance back at her.
He had to give her some space, but that didn't come before the tending of her wound, for it may worsen if left out exposed. He moved to the widely opened windows and closed them, shutting out the cold breeze, and leaving the curtain slightly ajar for the evening brightness to pass in the room. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the girl observing the room like a fine piece of art.
Darting over the closed transparent shutters he observed the clouds that were reaching the time of twilight, he said, "It isn't advisable to keep your wounds untended..." He turned around and glanced her in the eye straightly. "Trust me, if I had the wrong intention I would have long done it."
For some reason, she felt like believing his words and her head nodded thoughtlessly as she saw him approach toward her again. The grip on her cloth tightened as he continued to take slow and long strides. As he made his way toward the bed, he maintained his eye contact with her, crouching down to her eye level.
He poured a glass from the bedside table and stretched out his hand toward her, which hand her eyes immediately dart down at the water-filled glass. Alicia paused, unsure of whether to act cautiously or with the want to put her trust in the person who had just saved her life. She cast a glance at Adrien, her throat felt soar at the sight, craving for her thirst to be quenched.
Her eyes searched for anything underlying his motives, but she could see nothing past those charming midnight eyes that held her in place.
Taking in a deep breath, she stretched her hands forward. As Alicia reached for the glass clutching her dress with the other hand, Adrien noticed the tremor in her hands. She was hesitant, and he could feel that.
Their fingertips momentarily brushed against one other, and the air appeared to tinge with electricity for a brief second. Adrien looked up to Alicia with his dark eyes.
Adrien beckoned, encouragingly, "Go on. Your eyes seem to fall on the jug more than twice, now. You can use this bowl to soak your mouth before drinking in the water." He looked at her amusedly as he stretched an empty bowl toward her.
Alicia nodded, doing as she was told and lifted the glass to her lips before gulping down as if she had been left thirsty for ages. Her gaze tried hard to avoid the ones that were solely fixated on her. A few drops of water escaped from the corner of her lips. Adrien, who was watching her closely, caught the water drops trailing a path down her neck, tracing toward her upper chest before it disappeared beneath the fabric of her tattered and stained cotton night dress giving him the sight of her supple skin here and there.
Adrien looked away from her and cursed through his teeth, "What the f*ck am I doing?" He should tend her wound and let her change her dress before he'd do something out of his morals. He inhaled deeply, attempting to calm himself down and concentrate on the task at hand. He was conscious of the delicate situation they were in and needed to take care to avoid letting his feelings influence his decision-making. He wondered if this were the effects of not sleeping with women.
Trying to gain his composure, he raked his hand through his hair and glanced back to the woman who had finished drinking the water and was wiping off her neck and chest with her sleeves, before making her hair.
"Still thirsty?" he questioned?" And to his relief, the woman shook her head.
"You may tend my wounds if you still are willing to..." she said with a meek voice. Now that she had drunk a glass of water, her voice didn't seem to break. "But let me stay seated and not lie..." She sounded hesitant as if it had taken her whole energy against her will.
"The sheets can be replaced if that is what you're worried about," he said as he observed her brush her hair continuously.
Alicia looked up at him, her expression a mix of surprise and embarrassment. She did exactly think that, for she was dirty from top to bottom. But then where was she? A frown mered her forehead. He speak as if the room belonged to...
"This is my bed, and so is the room." There it was, the same look she gave. "Don't be surprised about it. You're similar to an open book." There was a spark in her eyes whenever she seemed to look surprised which intrigued him.
She did? she questioned herself in disbelief. Having no choice but to agree to the man she laid on her front and waited for him to start tending her wounds.
Staring at her back for a moment, Adrien dipped a cloth into the water before scrounging it out and using it to clean Alicia's bare back. He heard her hiss and felt her body quiver at the contact of the wet cloth. But he proceeded to continue. He took a small bottle of turmeric powder from the first aid box and combined it with ghee, mixing them into a soft paste, he applied slowly over the bruises of the inflicted injury.
Alicia winced, as the paste did its work on her line of bruises. She tried her best to remain still as much as possible, holding onto the black quilt tight, turning her knuckles white.
When Adrien was about to apply the paste over the deeper wounds, his hands came to an abrupt stop as he observed the burnt marks on her body with a frown.
"Were all of these done by the guards?" He questioned with a raised brow, his eyes narrowed at the sight of it with a hint of anger.
Alicia felt a pang of unease upon his question. "Tha-That...they..."