#orc boy

Since the last visit Aisley made into town Evreaux has been closer at hand and always seems to be around the corner whenever she needs him. Whether it was to do chores or reach the sack of flour that her brothers put on the highest shelf, Evreaux seemed to be there right when she needed him. He still did his usual morning ritual out in the forest before breakfast, but as he’s done so much on the farm, there’s little left to do that her brothers can manage it all. He’s stayed closer to the house and has often held the yarn in his hands while she knitted his socks. The conversations they shared were intimate and sweet and only made her fall for him more. Her father seemed to like him and even her brothers would ask him for his opinion on things. He just fit so well into their lives and made her so incredibly happy. However, the more that she fell for him, the louder the voice in the back of her mind was as it reminded her that he would leave; and at the rate she was falling it would be soon.

Thanks to the incident with Thomas, her handsome Orc has personally escorted her any time she’s gone into town to make sure that there isn’t a repeat of that incident. Whether to make deliveries or to make a trip to the church to go see Rheda, Evreaux has been by her side and holding her hand through it all. Her hand has healed nicely since breaking Thomas’s nose and she’s successfully finished knitting a single sock and has started the second; though she just can’t keep her stockpile filled. Despite her younger brother’s many trips to the Yates’ farm, he’s come back with more love bites on his neck than yarn she needed. She was hesitant at first to truly believe what Fralick told her, the love bites were a huge distraction, but news traveled throughout the village that the Yates’ farm has suffered the loss of a few sheep recently so they’ve been more conservative with how much wool they spun and dyed. They were backed up on orders and moving as quickly as they could. It made her anxious not having much to do while she waited for the yarn to be made so she could finish the second sock. It felt foreboding, like she wouldn’t be able to finish it before he had to leave, and it shadowed her mind with the fear of never seeing him again. She, and her brothers and father, had all grown accustomed to his presence in the house, the wonderful work that he did around the farm, and she hated to think of moving on in life again without him.

Their courtship was going extremely well despite the rain, though there hasn’t been a definite notch of progress beyond hand holding and a few stolen kisses when her father wasn’t looking. That was partly due to Aisley’s fear of the future and Evreaux’s strong understanding and willingness to move at whatever pace she wanted to set. If Aisley knew that he was to stay in Drusilla or even take her with him on his travels, she would complete the courtship and simply marry him. However, as a Dark Knight, as he’s so explained to her, it is never that simple. They have no lord or king to rule over them, and as they are similar to mercenaries in the type of work that he does, the chance for vengeful enemies are high. Even though there were idiotic bigots in the village, Drusilla was a quiet and far off enough of a place where neither would have to worry about him being hunted down or even having a bounty on his head if he chose to stay. Until Evreaux finished his secret mission, there was little to be done about the status of their relationship. Thanks to Thomas, the village already knew that she was courting the handsome Orc and had already decided that they would not be entirely surprised if the Orc left her with a child and was never seen nor heard from again.

It angered her that the villagers spoke so ill about Evreaux and essentially her father for allowing him to court her, but she knew the truth and knew that Evreaux would not leave her in such a way. In truth she thoroughly enjoyed the idea of giving Evreaux children and creating a family of their own. Even with her willing to wait for his return, should he return at all, Evreaux was hesitant to move forward in their relationship; whether it was due to such terrible gossip in the town or of his own choice or her father’s pleading she would not know. For now, she would just have to be patient, no matter whether wishing or praying could truly hasten this process even if she desired it.

Staring out the window, she saw that the rain was considerably lighter this day and she would be able to make the deliveries into town without the fear of being a drowned rat. It would do her good to be up and about and doing something she knew well to distract her seething mind; then again, she would only hear all the whispers and gossip and only make things worse. Her thoughts were so loud and tangled in her head that she had not heard the gentle knock against her door frame, nor the creaking of the floors as heavy footsteps approached her. A hand touched her shoulder and a kiss was pressed to her ear to keep her from shrieking out in surprise as a deep and throaty laugh sent a shiver down her spine. “What’s got you so cloudy as the sky outside?”

She turned from her bench in front of the window to look at him, his red hair was loosely tied back behind his neck and she could see blueish purple circles under his eyes. Despite the pleasant smile on his face and the enchantment dancing in his eyes, she could see just how tired he was. For some reason he was worse than she was about sitting still and had to do something, however, it often left him with sleepless nights. She hummed with a shrug as he took a seat beside her, his large calloused hand reaching for her own. “Just thinking.”

“About?” He prodded and slowly rubbed deep circles in her hand. It felt wonderful and eased tense joints she hadn’t realized were tight.

“Things I don’t want to be thinking about.” Her nose wrinkled as she huffed and blew her bangs from her face. “Not to mention I’m all out of yarn again.”

He hummed with a nod and reached for her other hand, smoothing it out with a massage like the other hand. She quietly watched him work circles into her hands, she enjoyed the way the rough pads of his fingertips felt against her hand. His were large and warm to encompass her own smaller and colder hands in that warmth. Her heart swelled at the sensation and wanted him to never let her go. It was strange to find herself attached to someone so quickly in such a short amount of time, and to make matters worse, somewhere deep in her heart she knew there would never be another like him for her.

 “What are you doin’ here?” she asked softly. He glanced at her as she captured one of his large hands between her smaller ones. Having watched his menstruations long enough, she did her best to mimic the massage to his own hands. A cheeky grin came to her face as she glanced at the door and heard her father softly snoring in the room across the hall. “I highly doubt my father would approve of you being in my room.”

“Aye.” He chuckled low, a grin creeping on his face as his fingers traced swirling circles of comfort in her hair and catching on a few ringlets. A happy hum escaped her at his touch and she leaned into his strong embrace. “However, you did leave your door open, and I did knock, and I did call you twice before entering.”

She chewed on the inside of her cheek at this information, but it wasn’t anything to be concerned with so long as he kept running circles through her hair like this. “That doesn’t answer my question though, my love.”

“You didn’t answer mine, my love.” His brow flicked at the challenge, a small smirk forming, and held her hand that was working on the fat of his palm and studied her face.

“My thoughts are one of the few things of privacy I’m allowed as a woman.” She teased and pinched his hand, but he did not release hers and only held it tighter to keep her from pulling away. “But it’s nothing better or worse than what I think of when I’m knitting. . .”

His smile tightened and his eyes lost a glimmer of enchantment as his shoulders sagged. There was a minor flash of regret, it just came any time they broached this topic, something akin to pain, before he brushed it off and continued. “Aisley, you know I – ”

“I do.” She swallowed hard to make sure the tears stayed down and that her emotions did not rise to their peak. They had had this conversation too frequently this week, but with each passing day, she knows their time together grows shorter. She could not help the foreboding feeling that crept into her mind every time she saw a Holy Knight stalking through the village. “I do. . . it’s just hard to not think about, especially since I haven’t finished your socks.”

“You finished a sock.” He said teasingly, his left hand grabbing her other hand, give it a squeeze trying to reassure her that all was well.

“But it isn’t a pair.” She huffed and shook her head. “You can’t have just one sock; you have two feet! They come in pairs for a reason!”

“Aye.” He nodded with a grin, “But I’m just as happy with one as I would be for two.”

“Still, I wanted to have them both finished before you leave. . .” She pouted slightly and glanced over at the single sock sitting in her knitting basket at the foot of her bed. At the moment she felt like that single sock, laying and waiting for its match to be completed, but for Aisley it was waiting for the definitive of what Evreaux would do, not only with his life but also their courtship.

“I’m not leaving yet, love.” He spoke softly, a tentative hand smoothing down the crown of her head and cupping her cheek. “There’s time to get it done still.”

Her eyes were hot and tears threatened to peak, but she leaned into his hand with closed eyes and took a deep breath. He was right, but it didn’t make that fear go away either. He would tell her if he had to leave, he swore to her that he would. She would not be left or abandoned without knowing where he went, but she still hated the thought of being left behind regardless. No matter how it was explained or even if she were with her family in the end, she knew she would be abandoned. She could feel it in her bones, the time was drawing closer than she liked, even if he didn’t know, she knew the time to say farewells would come much sooner than they anticipated. Though her thoughts were as grim and nasty as the chilly weather outside, she knew that their time was limited, and she couldn’t afford these tantrums of sadness.

Inhaling through her nose and scolding herself for acting like this, a quick smile came to her face as she opened her eyes. “So, what’s brought you here, hm?”

His brows furrowed as he frowned at her, it was obvious he was displeased with the way she switched the topics but brought her hand to his lips for a kiss instead of addressing it. “I came to see you of course.”

She failed to hide her smile as he kissed her other hand. “For what purpose?”

“I have something for you.” The light seemed to return to his peridot eyes and the enchantments were there once again. “A surprise.”

“A surprise? For me?” She licked her lower lip in anticipation. “To what do I owe the honor?”

“You’ll have to come with me to find out.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, the smooth curve of his tusks pressing against her skin. When he pulled back, there was such a glimmer of light in his eyes she couldn’t refuse him.

Neither of her brothers were home, and her father was too deep in his sleep to notice that they crept out of the house. Once they were downstairs, Evreaux draped his cloak over his shoulders and held his arm out for her to duck under. Her face flushed for only a moment, but a moment long enough to have him chuckling at her and corralling her in his hold against his right side. He pulled his hood over his head and after uttering a spell under his breath, held his hand over his head and took them out to the yard. Though her boots were covered in mud and filth, not a drop of rain touched them as they walked. A small gasp of delight came from her as she was very impressed with his magic and she quietly clapped to herself at the feat. He smiled down at her, as if he were aware of how impressed she was, before keeping his eyes forward and escorting her past the fences and off in the direction of the cliffs.

The drizzle of rain led up to a mist that desperately tried to cling to their clothes but couldn’t thanks to whatever spell Evreaux used to repel the water. As they drew closer to their destination, Evreaux’s large hand came up and covered her eyes. A small laugh escaped her as she tried to pry his fingers from her face, but without having to use an ounce of effort, his hand remained on her face. “A little late to tell me to keep my eyes closed, isn’t it?”

“Never too late when the timing is important.” He grunted with a chuckle.

“Reaux!” She bemoaned playfully. “I want to see!”

“Just a little longer, love.” He pinched her nose then laughed when she stuck her tongue out to lick his hand. “It’ll be worth it.”

Her hands remained on his hand that covered her eyes, just to have a feel of something as he blindly led her to this surprise. Though his left hand was preoccupied with keeping the repelling spell up and his right hand covered her eyes, Evreaux did not allow her to stumble or fall or even step on a semblance of a hill, cow pie, or pothole. She couldn’t stop smiling or laughing as she trusted him to take her wherever it was that he was taking her. Her excitement almost beat out her patience when they finally came to a stop.

He said something in a foreign tongue followed by the snap of his fingers and a whoosh of air around them as a strange sense of warmth clung to them. He gently tapped her hand with his index finger and she loosened her hold on his hands and lowered them at her sides. When her hands were out of the way, he finally removed his hand from her eyes. Her hands almost instantly returned to her face to cover her mouth as she gasped.

Before her was a small linen canopy covered in a vast array of blooming wildflowers and rolling purple wisteria that draped over the sides. For each flower that decorated the canopy, a firefly adorned a flower with individual twinkling green lights. A green checkered blanket was laid out underneath with a basket happily overflowing with grapes, cheese, fresh bread, and thinly sliced ham. There were two lanterns all aglow with a strange purple light that she dared not question, all of which were untouched and untampered by the rain around them.

“What’s this?” Her hands shook and she hardly trusted her voice.

“You were so eager to take me to this spot a few weeks ago and were so disappointed when it all started raining, I just had to do something to make up for it.” He pressed the gentlest kiss to her temple, his voice thicker than honey as it warmed her heart. “Besides, we haven’t truly had enough time alone together.”

It was true, whether it was one of her brothers, her father, or even a bleating cow, there always seemed to be something or someone that managed to get in the way of things for them. The closest they had to being alone together was on their travels back and forth to the village and the farm, but even then, they were under such scrutiny that they were never truly alone. It was only thanks to a few tea dates with Rheda and Idra that they were able to get out at all. This would be the first time they truly got to be alone. Tears of happiness brimmed in her eyes, her smile was wide, and her heart was full of things she wanted to tell Evreaux as he took her hand and led her towards the canopy.

It was strange the way magic worked, Aisley never would understand it, but the way Evreaux used it when she was around was pleasant and made her feel safe. Everything he told her about his magic, which was little and far between, was dark and dangerous, though he could pull a few pretty tricks to amaze her when he wanted. There was power in the magic he held alongside the powerful strength of an Orc, but there was a gentle blanket of safety that wrapped them contently together as they sat down to enjoy their picnic. It had been so nice and so lovely, it was almost enough to ebb away the aching feeling in her heart; almost. Even in the most beautiful and romantic setting she’s even had the opportunity to behold, that terrible foreboding feeling somehow seemed to cling to her soul would not allow her to properly enjoy this moment.

The food was crisp and delicious and filled her to the brim with happiness amidst the tender kisses and the simple way he held her against him. He molded his mouth to hers in kisses that warmed her, the smooth of his tusks resting against the apples of her cheeks and sending shivers down her spine, and his large hands never left her with the feather light touches to her arms, the curve of her neck, and the arch of her back as he only ever made her feel safe and secured. He sucked away any whimpers or moans whenever his tongue dipped into her mouth for a taste of her own and left her drunk on his touches and kisses alone without so much as a sip from the mulled wine he had made for them. They talked of things that had hardly mattered, silly things that they both liked and disliked, especially about the town. For Aisley she loved the village, but not all of the people that reside therein. The people were terrible, the weather annoyingly fickle, the forest was far too ready to consume all who would trespass, and if she had not her small family, she would have felt cursed. He told her how he had grown a strange attachment to the village and had the strange sense to call it home almost. He really likes the farm life, which was strange to her after all his many adventures and travels, but he said the constant labor of love and seeing the progress with his own two hands, it beat anything else he’d done with his magic.

She wished she would have spoken to him more, carried the conversation on for longer, or at least stolen a few more of those precious kisses to keep in her heart, for when they returned to the house, Sir Theron was waiting with a grim face and a furious Mother Superior. The moment she saw Sir Theron, she knew that her time in having to say goodbye would draw closer. The foreboding feeling that had followed her like a shadow had not been wrong.

The not so holy knights that were residing in the church were no longer welcome and the church needed guarding from the Dark Knights. Three of the sisters needed special guarding thanks to the strange actions from the Holy Knights and Mother Superior would hear of nothing else until her girls were properly guarded. Kiasax was to watch Lidwina, Theron was already charged to Bethea, and Evreaux was to guard Rheda at the church where they were to remain for the remainder of their stay in Drusilla until further notice. Sir Theron and Evreaux spoke in a strange tongue which neither she nor her father understood, and after a grunt of anger from Evreaux, and something that sounded like an apology from Sir Theron, Aisley’s handsome Orc was to pack his things and go to the church.

 Aisley did not cry or shout or show how upset she was. No matter how much she wanted Evreaux to stay with them, she knew she could not interfere with his job. It was not as though it were truly the end of the world, he was, after all, still in the village. She could see him at the church any time she went, though the friendliness and warmth they shared underneath the canopy at the cliffs would not be the same. After all there were only so many sins that could be committed in the church before even god frowned upon them.

Dinner was far too quiet that night and her brothers were careful to not ask her about anything that went on in her head at this time. Her father was kind and silent, though his worried eyes always trailed after her as she sat in her chair knitting. Though he never said it, she could feel his words of worry about what would happen to her when the Orc had to leave. It was simple really; she would sit and she would wait. He only had to finish this job and he would return to her. He promised he would. Unless it was death that was to take him from her, she knew he would return.

His stay at the church barely lasted the week before the secret news that the Dark Knights would be escorting the three sisters to Dyrk. He wasn’t even the one who told her he’d be leaving; it was Mother Superior as she and Sir Theron walked out of a room together. She only had a single opportunity to see him after a tea session with Rheda while he was on guard duty when she had received the news. Sir Theron  was polite but stern about it and she could swear she saw regret in his eyes as he told her, as though he understood her pain and did not want to take her precious Orc from her. However, no amount of regret in his eyes would be enough to ease the pain in her heart, whether he understood it or not, and no matter how much she understood why he had to leave it did not mean she was happy about it. Aisley did not cry or shout or show how upset she was or how loudly her heart cried as it felt as though a knife were stabbing it, instead she merely gave him a nod of understanding, thanked him for telling her, and held her head up high as she exited the perimeter of the church. The farther she got from the church, the quicker her steps came until she was picking up her skirts and running through the village.

Aisley had to get away. She knew it would more than likely be the last time she would see her handsome Orc for a long time, but she couldn’t bring herself to go see him. If she saw him after receiving that knews, she would only be able to beg that he take her with him. Whatever was going on in the church with the Holy Knights was quickly proving dangerous and no matter how emotional she got over it all, Evreaux would not put her in danger and she knew he would not take her with him; not on this mission. No matter how much she wanted Evreaux to stay, she knew she could not interfere with his job

She had to get as far away as she could before the tears could fall so Evreaux couldn’t hear her sobs. It always seemed as though he was always there in wait for her to break down and cry to be there to comfort her. She couldn’t be allowed that kindness for she would continue to cry until he couldn’t leave and had to stay with her; but that wasn’t fair to him and she couldn’t do that. Not if she was ever truly to have her to himself again. So she ran, and ran, and ran, all the way home, not even hearing if anyone called her name as the wind howled with the pain in her heart.

Her sides burned, her lungs screamed, and her heart cried as she ran all the way to the barn without stopping or even looking back. She couldn’t step inside the house without worrying her brothers and receiving that pitying look from her father, so she went to the one person who would merely comfort her in silence. A sob ripped through her as she tucked herself into the cow’s stall and threw her arms around Pieper’s neck and just let the tears fall. She always hated goodbyes, and though she knew she was acting like a child she didn’t want her tear stained face to be the last thing he saw before he was gone for however long he’d be gone for.

The rain was not loud enough to mask her sobs if either her brothers or her father came out to the barn and she pressed her face into the cow’s side to soften the sounds of her sobs and only clung tighter as she tried to get everything out. Once she got it all out, she would go to the kitchen to prepare dinner and then make him something for the road so she could properly say goodbye with a smile and with the confidence that he would return. She cried long and hard and after exhausting everything from herself, she brushed Pieper’s back before slipping out of the stall. Pieper licked her face, the small amount of comfort the poor old cow could offer her and she bleakly managed a smile before walking to the entrance of the barn. As she pulled the door open to leave, a green hand stuck through and grabbed the door, almost ready to sling it open had those peridot eyes not spotted her first.

They went wide as they locked onto her watery hazel ones as tears threatened to fall again, her heart rising up in her throat, and before she could retreat back to Pieper’s stall, Evreaux caught her by her waist and pulled her into a crushing hug as he entered the barn and shut it behind them. Encasing her in his hold, he leaned his back and slid to the floor as he held her in his lap, like a child not wanting to release it’s most precious treasure. She hated how easily another sob hiccuped in her chest and how much she loved the embrace as he shushed and tried to calm her, rocking her slightly. Her head was pressed into his chest where she could hear how loudly his own heart was beating and screaming about having to leave. His cheek was pressed to the crown of her head, one hand tangled in her hair while the other held her hand tightly. 

“Theron told me. . .” His own voice, which was always full of confidence and bravery, was thick and watery like it was hard for him to speak, “that he told you.”

Aisley didn’t trust her voice and merely grunted in response, biting her lips as she sniffled. He shushed her slightly and rocked her in his arms.

“I wanted to tell you. . .” He grunted and squeezed her tighter. “I knew you wouldn’t be happy about it.”

“How could I?” She sniffled and pushed on his chest to sit up properly. He loosened his hold so she could sit up. She rubbed the palm of her hand in her eyes as she tried to rub away the tears. “You’re leaving. . . we both knew you would.”

“I don’t want to.” He winced and his calloused hand reached out and cupped her cheek, his thick thumb rubbing under her eyes as tears leaked. “You know that I don’t want to.”

“I do.” She nodded with a shaky breath, her nose still sniffling even as she tried to rationalize it all. “You know I didn’t want you to see me crying. . .”

He nodded with a sad grin and brushed a kiss to her forehead. “I do, but I’d rather see your tears than a forced smile.”

Clear peridot eyes gleamed at her watery hazel eyes as she bit her lip, her eyes burning with hot and fresh tears. She was already so exhausted from before, how could she still have more tears to cry? She was so mad at herself, that she could be so easily vulnerable in front of him and that her tears could fall so easily in front of him. He didn’t seem to mind though, his hands stayed on her face, his thumbs still rubbing the tears from her eyes. He was gentle as he brought their faces closer and pressed his forehead against hers. He was so warm and tender, and she would have traded anything to have just a little more time with him. His lips touched her nose, her forehead, her right cheek, her left cheek, her chin, before he slowly swallowed up any more sobs and pressed his lips to hers.

The tears slowly stopped, her hand grabbing his shoulder in desperation to keep him there. His hand that rested on the back of her hair tightened its hold in her hair, the other gripping tightly at her hip to show her how much he wanted nothing more than to be here with her. Time seemed to grant them a small gift of mercy as the rain grew harder and drowned out any possibilities of them being interrupted and somehow stopped time for them. The kiss went on for eternity, but it was still far too short when they parted. Another kiss to her forehead before he pulled her into his chest again and simply held her. The tears somehow stopped, and she clung to him for as long as she could before they really had to go inside and inform her father that Evreaux would be leaving.

Evreaux had joined them for a last dinner to announce his departure, and Aisley didn’t dare to look away from her soup as he announced his news. He held her hand under the table the entire time, a constant squeeze of reassurance, but she could feel the pitiful and worried looks from her family. Her eyes were puffy, and she was so tired.

After dinner Evreaux helped her with the dishes and gave her one last kiss before leaving and a promise before returning to the church. “I promise I will come back to you.”

Due to the severity of the situation, she would not be able to see him in the morning to wish him off and only had the night to bid him farewell. Aisley stood in the doorway staring after his figure as it disappeared in the gray rain, and even after he’d disappeared from her sight, a part of her hoped that this was somehow all just a bad dream and that she’d wake up soon. But it wasn’t and the longer she lingered in the doorway the colder she grew until Fralick gingerly convinced her to return to the living room.

“I know it’s late.” He gulped and laughed nervously as he handed her something. It was soft and red in her hands. “I just got it from Brishen this afternoon. He upped your order by a lot after I asked him. . .”

“Thanks, Fralick,” She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and just barely managed a smile to hide the bitterness within her and took to her knitting chair. There was no use in being mad at him, none of them would have known when or Evreaux was to leave. No matter how much she tried to be more mature about it all and hide how upset she truly was it was obviously written on her face for her brothers were far too sweet and brought her a few honey biscuits and tea while she worked. She bit her lip as she started making her knots and counting her stitches to continue the second sock, all the while her mind kept going back to his promise.

“I promise I will come back to you.”

It was really interesting to her that he said ‘to’ and not ‘for’, it meant that he truly intended to come back rather than take her with him. There really wasn’t much in their forgotten corner of the world, and unless someone was really searching for Drusilla or knew where it was, it was very easy to pass by; then again, after the life he’s lived, maybe that’s exactly what he wanted. Part of her wouldn’t have minded him coming for her to take her away to some place for them to call her own, but then a part of her heart would be left in the village and she’d never stop thinking about her father or her brothers. Perhaps it was best for Evreaux to come back to her. It gave her a small hope, not much, but just enough to have a small semblance of peace that things would somehow be all right in the end.

Sleep did not come to her easily that night, despite the tears that exhausted her and the soothing drizzle of rain on the roof. She had spent most of the night knitting until the fire died in the hearth, even then she still couldn’t bring herself to go to her room and fell asleep in her chair. When the morning came, she did not wake up in time to make breakfast and woke up achy and full of knots from sleeping in an uncomfortable position. She was pleasantly surprised by her brother Jayroe bringing her a plate of over-salted eggs and a glass of milk and a slightly burned biscuit covered in way too much honey to hide the burned taste. Her brothers quietly did her chores while she continued to knit the last quarter of the sock and it was her father that encouraged her to go to bed. Their concern for her was sweet and brought a weak smile to her face, but it was not enough to motivate her to get up from the chair. She wanted to get the sock done so that when Evreaux would return he would finally have a pair.

Her father merely nodded at her, knowing that once she made up her mind there was little to be done to change it, patted her knee and took the boys out to the yard to do the morning chores. She wasn’t sure if she wanted their lingering presence so close to her, their concern and worry deeply evident in their faces as they’d steal glances at her as they passed, but once she was alone in the house it only served as a prickling reminder of how much she already missed Evreaux. This is what her father had tried to warn her of, and even though he did not say it to her, she knew he was right. Despite this, she did not regret falling for Evreaux, and though it hurt now, she knew it would be worth it in the end. She only had to bear a little bit of hardship now so that she could be rewarded with his return later; at least that was what she told herself.

Hours had passed, though with the constant gray outside it was hard to know how much time had passed until her brothers and father came in to take breaks. She did not leave her chair and was determined to get the last sock finished that she fell asleep in her chair again. It had taken the entirety of the day, but she had managed to get the second sock knitted. With the sock finished and the pair matched, all she had to do was wait for her match to come back to her. Relief at finishing her project eased her mind and allowed her to relax enough to sleep in her chair and she did not stir until a calloused finger smoothed the hair from her face. It was really the creak of the floor beside her chair that woke her up, but as she turned her head in waking, her whole cheek was engulfed in a familiar hand that she had come to love so much. Her eyes fluttered open as she stretched, and that deep rich chuckle made her smile as she opened her eyes to take in the vision of Evreaux kneeling beside her.

“Evreaux?” She blinked hard once, he was a bit of a blur; twice he was clearer and still there; thrice she could see that delightful grin on his face as he brushed his fingers against her hairline. She was certain she was dreaming and rubbed her eyes hard to feel something to make sure she wasn’t.

“Hey there, dear.” He purred with the biggest grin. “I wasn’t gone a day and you already started crying again?”

“What?” She touched her fingers to her cheek, they were damp as though she had been crying in her sleep, before she wiped the trail of them away. Her voice came out as a whisper as her eyes rolled over to the peridot ones smiling down at her. “Am I dreaming?”

“No dream, Aisley, no dream.” He pressed his forehead to hers, his tusks grazing her cheeks as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“You’re back?” In her tired delirium she wasn’t quite sure what to believe. She reached out and touched the scar down his cheek, her thumb grazing the lines and he leaned into her touch.

“Aye.” He pressed a kiss to her palm and held her hand against his cheek. “A few things happened before we even left the village. . .”

Evreaux vaguely explained the happenings in the Violet Oaks and how the Holy Knights were actually Witch Hunters in disguise. The long and the short of it was they were going to kill Lidwina, Rheda, and the blacksmith’s wife under the accusations of them being witches for their nonhuman romantic partners. They were able to stop things before they were able to take action and they would be executing the Witch Hunters and escorting Lord Colquett to the nation’s prisons for the false accusations. For a little while, though, Aisley would be able to have her Orc all to herself again.

“So how long will I have you now?” Her eyes searched for him as a slight fear tried to rebuild its threshold in her heart again.

“Just a few weeks.” He reassured her and pulled her closer to him. “This will be the last mission that I need to do, and then I can confidently say I’ll be staying with you, my love.”

She pulled his face to hers in an eager and impatient kiss as she was finally filled with relief. He growled in the kiss and it sent a shiver down her spine as his hands encompassed her body and pressed her as close to him as they could possibly be. Her arms slid around his neck while his slid under her knees as he scooped her up from the floor. The motion had caught her off guard and she broke the kiss to cling onto him for better stability.

His deep chuckle warmed her heart and her cheeks as he nuzzled the side of her face and gave her a squeeze. The moon sparkled in his peridot eyes and she noticed the tiniest flecks of blue in the depths of his eyes. They almost seemed to dance in joy as he looked at her. She trailed a finger down his scar and caressed the sculpt of his jaw as she studied him, trying to memorize each little feature of his face.

“What is it?” He hummed as her fingers trailed down his face to his plush lower lip.

“I’m just committing this to memory.” She hummed softly as she gently raked her nails through his hair. “So that my dreams can always be this vivid. . .”

He growled playfully at her as he made his ascent up the stairs to her bedroom. “Shall I show you how much better reality is?”

She tried not to squeal as he closed the door to her room with his foot and set her in the depths of her bed. Climbing over her, slowly slotting his knees on either side of her, surely with confidence as he placed his hands on either side of her head. “This is not a dream, my Aisley,” he dipped down and kissed her gently, “and I want to show you why.”

THE END

Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! If you liked this enough please reblog, who knows, maybe I might do a continuation for this little story. We will see. ^_^

Hope you have a Happy New Year!

Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!