10 Ten

The orc was going to drive her mad. After hours of riding well into the night she was exhausted and hungry, not to mention sore from the horseback. No doubt Vain would be tired as well after having to push them so far, but Fang didn't seem to notice.

Every time she thought they had just about finished for the night, he pressed on, taking a new turn deeper into the woods. At times she thought he was leading her away from her friends, but then she should spot the track and feel stupid for judging him.

Eric and Mary were not quite the traveler Fang was it appeared. At several times they had allowed themselves to veer off the path towards the road and get lost before they seemed to correct themselves and turn back. Elizabeth had no idea if it was strategic or pure stupidity, but she was leaning on somewhere in between.

The two of them had never been anything but townsfolk, with Eric only slightly more equipped to handle himself outside of the comfort or his home. A bookkeeper and a heir to his fathers, former, estate didn't add up to the equipped escape artists she was hoping they would be.

Either way, that was the least of her worries. With a domineering orc at her back and the danger lurking among the trees, poor navigation would not be what brought her friend's brief adventure to an end.

She wished she could focus on her friends, pushing all of the thoughts clouding her mind out. The village burning, the abandonment of her friends, the feeling the man at her back stirred with every hard rode mile.

Even now the feeling of the huge strong male holding her in place before him was simply too much for her poor heart. The only other time she had ridden together with someone like this was with Eric on his white steed, and that hadn't been nearly as exciting as this.

Despite not being as handsome or neatly taken care of as Eric, Fang had an aura about him that was a million times more enticing. It sucked everything in and demanded it's full attention like the dark magic that danced among the trees.

If only he didn't carry himself like his life depended on absolute rigidness. She supposed it was a good thing he had very little charisma. If he could capture a lady's eye with only his brusk comments and rough exterior then a smoother version of himself might devastate every town he dared to cross into.

The moon was hanging fully overhead, peeking through the canopy every now and then, and Fang didn't even seem concerned about the time of night. He rode like he had no cares, pushing them to the max.

Worried about the unicorn, she steeled herself to voice her concern, but he beat her to it.

Pushing them all to an abrupt halt, he lifted himself from the back of Vain and landed on the ground with a jolt. She watched as he did a quick circle around the trees, scanning the area for any dangers that hid in the trees beyond.

Finally he turned to them, ushering his commands all at once. "It's time to rest. No fire for the night so we'll have to sleep in the same cot. I expect you to take care of Vain and the resting area while I do a quick patrol."

She nodded, confident she could at least do that.

He left her there to tend to her horse as he disappeared into the trees. She felt a lot more vulnerable without him at her back, but also like she could finally exhale.

Patting Vain's neck comfortingly, and threw herself to the earth, surveying the ground to pick the most comfortable area. She ended up settling on a small grass patch barren of pits and thorny brush. At the very least it would provide a little padding to what she knew would be an uncomfortable night's sleep.

Before they left town they had circled around to pick up Fang's pack, a small black leather bag they had strung around Vain. Within it was a thick wool blanket big enough to spread over the earth and some weapons and salves. It was clearly for survival and little else.

There wasn't enough blanket to cover both the ground and the two of them, so she was left with veiling it over the grass and hoping they would be warm enough. It was still early enough into fall that they wouldn't freeze any appendages off, so she could at least be thankful for that.

As she surveyed her work a sudden thought stilled her.

She would be sleeping next to a man for the first time in her life. A real, larger than life, virile male. One who, if she wasn't confused about orc biology, was very interested in her.

Would he try anything? Would she want him to?

No. She was getting ahead of herself. Just because a man reacted to a soft ass pressing against them didn't mean they were so uncontrollable as to throw themselves on a female they were meant to protect.

Besides, Fang wasn't the picture of an interested male. Not once did she catch him lingering a glance on her, nor did he have the natural wandering hand. On top of that she wasn't interested either, or at least that's what she told herself.

She had gone through too much to fantasize about being ravaged by a male she barely knew for a day.

Giving herself a slap on both of her cheeks she forced herself to come out of her tangled mind and back to the present. Now was not the time to e dawdling.

At the snap of a twig, her eyes flew to the male who had appeared beside her, too startled to let out little more than a squeak. Looking down on her, the ghost of a smile crossed the males features, only to be whisked away as he began to shed his over-armor.

"Decent enough, little human. I recommend you settle down now. The sun is still approaching, and if you want any sleep you should take it now."

She nodded, trying not to peak at the couple of inches of mint green flesh bared as he took off the heavy leather he wore under his undercloth. She thought he would stop once he got down to his shirt and slacks, but to her surprise he also shed his shirt, leaving his ridged muscled torso bared to the cool night air.

She was so enraptured with the sight she nearly missed his glowing yellow eyes watching her as she drooled over him.

Instead of acting unbothered, she was so startled at being caught that she threw herself down onto the blanket facing away from the man entirely. She could have sworn she heard the faint sound of his chuckle, but as he lowered himself beside her they both fell silent.

Crickets roared over the sound of the breeze ruffling the trees, and she shivered at the feeling of it kissing the bared areas of her skin. When his arm fell over her waist and pulled her too his hot chest she tensed.

"Fear not. I'm simply warming you. We're warmer than you humans anyway."

"O-okay," she whispered, entirely overwhelmed by the presence of him.

She could feel his warm breath on her hair and the burn of his skin through her overcoat. At first the feeling of him against her made her so tense she was afraid she'd never get to sleep, but as his deep breath began to blend with hers she found herself being mesmerized back into the grips of her tiredness.

She didn't know how long she had fallen asleep for, but when she awoke the trees were an inky black barren of even the light of the moon. Everything was still and quiet, light a beast slumbering away.

Fang was still dead asleep, his arm clinging protectively over her stomach.

Realizing it was still night, Elizabeth shut her eyes and prepared to drift back to sleep, only to be reawakened by the sound of a cry in the distance. Her eyes snapped open as she took in the woods in the direction of the sound.

For a second she thought she imagined it. The wood were still and quiet once more, but then the sound came again. A deep mournful cry.

She turned to look at Fang, who didn't seem to be bothered by the noise. She attempted to tap one of his shoulders, but he only grumbled and rolled over so his back was to her.

A dry laugh escaped her, more of a breath than anything. What a guard to not even wake when weird sounds were coming from the woods.

Still, the sound drew her attention. After a minute it grew more insistent, the crys coming faster together.

She knew she should not be walking away from the safety of the camp, but that crying was just too much for her to leave alone. Checking to make sure Fang hadn't awoken, Elizabeth slid soundlessly from the blanket, trying her hardest not to make a sound as she tiptoed away. Trying to find an area of ground that was not smothered in dry brittle twigs was a lot harder than she imagined, especially since they were deep in the woods.

The further she got though, the less she cared. The voice was beginning to sound more feminine and weak, pulling at her heartstrings with every wail.

What might happen to someone for that to be the reaction? Had she come from town like them? Elizabeth had to find and help her. There was simply no way someone that sad could go on alone.

She walked for what seemed like forever, growing more and more panicked as she went. As the sounds of her cries grew louder, her heart had begun to race in her chest until it felt like her blood was chugging through her veins.

What if she couldn't find her? The thought made Elizabeth wan't to claw her own heart out of her chest, but as time went on she was confronted with nothing but more trees. Not a hint of light nor life could be seen among the trees which seemed to have grown darker and more barren as she walked.

As fine coat of thin white mist coated the ground before her, making her unable to see the earth as she stumbled frantically though the trees. The voice seemed to echo around her, tossing itself around the trees until she found herself chasing it in circles.

Just as she thought she'd go mad, the world went still and quiet. Before her the trees had parted to show the slender figure of a woman with blue tinted skin, like none she'd ever seen before yet somehow sickeningly beautiful. Thin silver hair hung in a veil around her naked body, covering her emaciated form.

Elizabeth couldn't make any of her features out as she was faced away from her, but despite the fact she was no longer making noise she could tell by her shaking shoulders she was still crying. The sight froze her heart in her chest.

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