Being in love leaves you vulnerable in a way that nothing else does. However, that vulnerability will not inspire fear when the love is true. Instead, it will leave you feeling safe as though you have finally come home. This is true even when you may not have realized that you had ever been gone. But, in the end it is what we all long to find and must work even harder to keep. Enjoy..
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His face changed. The expression he wore was a distant one. It did not belong to the room that they were now in and it also did not belong to a battlefield.
"You worried about me." The words had come from him slowly. They were difficult for him to believe. He had meant to say them as a question, but as he had spoken he knew that he had already found the answer.
"Of course I did," was all that she replied, as she gazed at him in wonder. "How could you have thought differently?"
He turned his head so that it was facing hers, but she could see him looking through her; she could see him looking at something in the distance.
When his eyes refocused and he was looking at her, he said, "It wasn't that I had thought differently. I hadn't thought on it at all. I just couldn't help but be amazed when I actually did."
Her brow furrowed as she tried to understand what he meant. "Let me ask you something."
"Anything," she said.
"Why do you care about me? Why do you worry about me? Why is that you fear for the safety of your captor?"
Amber hesitated and then said, "Because you are my master and I am a loyal servant to you."
"I must disagree with you," he said. "I must disagree with my being your master or you being my servant. We have not shared such a relationship since I first used your name, Amber."
"What are you saying?"
"I am saying that we are equals Amber."
"But we can't be, you are the Prince."
"Don't call me that."
"Don't call you what? The Prince? But you are."
"Amber, I will not have you call me by my title."
"Then what shall I call you by?"
He looked deeply into her eyes and slowly said, "The only thing that I would ever have an equal call me, Edward of course."
"But your father has forbidden it!" She exclaimed.
"Amber, I don't give a damn what my father said it is what I want you to call me," he stated clearly.
"But I can't, it just isn't proper. You are the Prince after all, I can't go calling royalty by their name as though they were just anyone else. It wouldn't be right it would strip you of your special status and everything that goes with it. No, no I can't do tha-"
"Amber, listen to me," he said to her clearly enough to stop her rapid speech dead in its tracks. "I don't want any special titles, not here, with you. That is what I was just saying before. And, before you attempt to protest further know that I will not yield in this matter. If you wish to address me you will call me by name or by nothing at all." Edward gazed at her fiercely, unwilling to yield in even the slightest way.
She looked back at him just as intensely and said, "All right, Edward, what was it that amazed you to the point of speechlessness?"
He looked at her softly and said, "Simply that I was happy to have you sitting next to me. I have not been happy in this way for some time, but that is a story for another time. There is a more pressing one that needs to be told right now."
She knew to which story he was referring. "Then please begin."
"As I am sure you knew already, a rebellion broke out in Lingley the night before I left. I was sent there immediately to insure that the peace was kept and that insurrection did not spread to other parts of the country.
"Upon my arrival I met with the general that was in charge of force that had been gathered should the rebellion turn violent or in any way get out of hand. He was hot-tempered and arrogant. The worst combination you could find in a leader in this type of situation. He told me that he could end it all in a day, all I had to do was give the word.
He scoffed. "The fool, as if killing farmers and tradesmen seeking to protect their livelihood would solve anything. In fact, it was because of his soldiers actions against the general populace that the people rose up in the first place."
"What did the soldiers do?"
"They stole openly from shop owners and food carts. They drank to excess and picked fights with anyone they could. But that's not the worst of it if the rumors are to be believed."
"What rumors?" she asked.
"The rumors that what set this whole chain of events in motion was that a man had tried to reason with the soldiers, had tried to stop them from assaulting a defenseless passerby. They said that he was beaten within an inch of his life and that his daughter, who had been with him, was stripped and violated in front of him while he was struggling to breathe."
She stared at him in horror and then whispered, "What is wrong with the world?"
He looked away from her and stared into the distance, saying, "I don't know. I don't know what could drive a man to the level of abomination. Or, what it is that could make them act in such a heinous manner.
"I find myself unable to acknowledge them as men at all. Someone who acts to defile the very nature of what separates man from beast needs only to be named as such and treated much the same. I feel no remorse killing a beast that would harm me or another man and it is with that same lack of feeling that I would slay any man that chose to act as a beast."
Amber could feel the tension that permeated his entire frame. The feeling bled over and into her making it difficult to determine where his body ended and hers began. Without knowing why she did it, she lightly began rubbing his arm.
At first this seemed to have no effect. It was as though he could not be reached in that instant, not by sight or sound or touch. Then, she felt it as the muscles in his arm released some of the violence contained within and were met with peace. His visage slowly changed from one with the desire to destroy to one of a somber calm.
When he spoke again, his voice was free of pain. "Anyways, I immediately informed the general that I would be assuming command. I gave orders that none of the soldiers were to enter the city or harass any of the populace there. None were to steal from the surrounding countryside or violate anyone's property or detain any persons without explicit orders to do so.
"I then set out to speak amongst the men in secret to better determine the source of the rebellion as well as the cause. I had found out that the man and his daughter had been very well respected in the community and that his son had been the source of inspiration to take up arms against the crown.
"I discovered that his name was Alexander Brasher and that his father was William Brasher. It was said that he had inherited his father's bravery and that he was an exceedingly principled and intelligent young man. I realized immediately that should he back down that the rebellion would end with him.
"I sent a messenger to request a meeting with him. He accepted my request on the condition that we would meet on neutral ground at one of the farm houses on the outskirts of the city. I agreed on the condition that we would both meet there with a contingency of no more than five men and that neither of us would carry a weapon to the bargaining table.
"When we met there we began negotiations immediately. I could tell that the main concern on Alexander's part was fear of retribution as they had been treated so harshly by the soldiers before. This put us both in a difficult spot as I knew that the troops could not simply be ordered away from the area and that Alexander would not see the people of the city suffer at their hands again.
"We left that day on fair terms and matters unsettled. We had made some progress, but time was critical and we both knew that time was running out and that one of us would have to act soon. He and I met each day until a messenger came from my father came ordering me back from the front and putting General Hastings in charge of the attack that would quell the rebellion.
"I left in anger and disgust. I sent warning to Alexander to move all of the women and children out of the city and to prepare for the siege that was surely coming. I liked him and did not want to see him die for nothing, but knew that there was nothing more that I could do.
"I rode away from the city with only a handful of trusted men. They were brave and good, but that did not prepare them for the road ahead. We were attacked by a group of men that mistook us for messengers. They did not wish for any information to reach the king and I am sure that they also wished to cut off the supply train for the army as well.
"Two of my men fell within a heartbeat of each other, their chests pierced by arrows. Those of us remaining burst into a full gallop and tried to outdistance ourselves from our attackers. We fought as we ran. Ultimately I was the only one that made it through. I do not know what happened to the others. My horse, Moongaze, was the only thing that saved me from the fate of my guards. He was able to outrun them and continued the journey home without assistance. I am glad to have taken him on this journey, for otherwise I would not have survived."
Both of them sat still and silent, letting the weight of his words settle. After a time, his eyes fell to her and hers rose to him. His face contained mourning and gratitude, hers held warmth and tenderness. As they looked into each others eyes he said slowly but clearly, "I am very happy that you are here, Amber."
Without breaking eye contact she grabbed onto him a little tighter. She saw a single tear fall down his face. "As am I, Edward, as am I," was all that she said in reply. She moved herself closer to him and wiped the tear off of his cheek, their lips nearly touching, their breath on each others skin. Each of them labored for air. Her lips met his.
