Stirred to life

He gently tugged on her yellow dress, and every inch as he went up had Aaliyah sweating and her eyes looking between him and his fingers. She thought she could do it, but one more inch up, revealing her knee and she was done.

"I'll do it myself!" She yelled, not meaning for her tone to come out that loud. She was even panting, "Thank you, but I'll bath myself," She said softly this time, flashing him a little thank you smile.

If anything, his arms grew firmer around her body, "You have deep cuts on your arms and legs. There's a deeper wound by your sides, and every part of you must be aching badly even as you stay in my arms without doing anything," Alastair explained and paused once again.

"You don't need to," She whispered this time, staring into his eyes.

"You won't be able to take a step. You won't be able to raise your arm. I'm trying to help you, little Siren,"

Aaliyah could smell the welcomeness of the bath and loved it already. She wanted to dive into the bathtub and stay there forever, and she wanted to do it all herself but Alastair was right. She was in no position to push herself and risk putting her weak body in even more pain.

It would be nice to have someone help her, but she wasn't comfortable with him taking off her clothes. She was not ready for that to happen. She felt insecure and anxious.

"Wear a Blindfold, then," She suggested.

He didn't say anything.

"You're right. I can't do anything on my own, and you can help me. I just need you to wear a Blindfold before we...go further,"

She was a little surprised to see him obey without complaint. But what he did next almost had her fainting as the dang man maneuvered her in her arms in a way that allowed him to take off his shirt.

She fought to keep her hands from gripping his biceps and stop her hands from flaring as she was about to lose it. Her lips were set into a thin line, and she was breathing hard and had looked away, not seeing as he had efficiently used one hand to tie the shirt around his eyes.

"Now can I take off your dress?"

She turned back to him, confirming the shirt was covering every part of his eyes and wasn't see through, "Yes,"

As he took off her dress, his fingers kept brushing against her naked skin and she had to bit her lip to keep from making a noise. She was the freaking problem here! How can such a simple touch make her feel so... different? It's like he wasn't just touching her skin, but her core instead.

Once the dress was over her head, he moved and carefully placed her into the tub. Aaliyah could feel her heart about to explode as his arms were making direct contact with her naked skin, and she breathed heavily.

The bath was even better than she thought, and she melted into the soapy water with a soft sigh emitting from her lips. She was very relaxed and closed her eyes for a second to properly feel the effect of the water, only to pop open her eyes again knowing she wasn't alone.

Aaliyah peeked up at the man standing above her with a blindfold on. He was just so tall, and even though she was catching glimpses of it unintentionally, she didn't dare let her eyes wander further down to where he wasn't putting on anything.

His hair had been tucked behind his ears, although a few strands had escaped and fallen over his eyes. He just stood there like a bodyguard, silently. Aaliyah marveled about what he could be thinking about right now...what he was feeling.

Why did he change how he was treating her? For how long would this new Alastair... last?

"Alastair?" She whispered.

"Yes, little Siren?" He replied.

"Why...are you really doing this?" She asked.

"You still doubt me," He said.

Aaliyah continued, "I didn't even know I was getting married that night. I was in so much confusion the whole time, and you left without even looking back. It took me two weeks to find you again, and you were not treating me in any good way. You... would never look at me, and you made me feel worse and worse day by day. It's hard to believe that you've changed all of a sudden." She looked away from him and at the surface of the water covered with bubbles. Her eyes held so much sadness and anger at the same time, "Was it because I almost died? Is that what made you change your mind? Are you just... pitying me because of my condition?"

Aaliyah was beginning to regret bringing up this topic. The emotions she was feeling were bringing tears to her eyes, and she couldn't afford to let even a single drop fall. Her heart felt heavy, and she would be so devastated to know that he had changed simply because he took pity on her.

"It's called the Hollow Copse. None that has stepped foot in it ever returned alive," Alastair replied, his head looking down at her.

Her slim figure remained staring at the bubbles, "What?"

"I have no pity for anyone, Little Siren. Especially... someone who walked out of the hollow Alive,"

Her eyes remained on the water, "Then why are you being nice to me? This isn't you at all,"

"How would you like me to be?"

Her gaze snapped up at him, awed at what he meant by that. The shirt wasn't doing anything to lessen the gravity of what his eyes were doing to her, and she immediately looked back to the water again. Why does it feel like he could still see her through the shirt?!

Could...he?

"A Better husband, right?" He added, "Is that what you want?"

"It's not about what I want. It's about who you are. Be yourself, Alastair. Don't fake being nice to me,"

He was quiet after that, making Aaliyah feel like she might just have been right about this. It stung her heart badly, and her arm slowly reached up and clutched her chest, trying to ignore the pain. Why was it hurting this bad?!

Why was she feeling so bitter about this? Why was her heart squeezing?!

"I'm only trying to be better to you, Aaliyah," He had called her name once again, making her feel all jittery about how unique her name sounded off his lips, "As long as you can see it," He added.

His last statement sounded strange to her. Very... strange, yet... meaningful.

Aaliyah's eyes flew open. Was he referring to...that?!

She made to look up at him again and request him to explain himself, when his fingers touched her chin, and it felt like her body had been dead and stirred to life once again. In what was less than a second, all she knew was that he had tilted her chin upward as if to look at him.

But...it wasn't to look at him.

He had also leaned forward, and Aaliyah was very sure she had just exploded into pieces.

His lips...were smushed against hers.

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