Isonei woke feeling hungry and bruised, being bounced and rocked as if she were on a horse. The air was stifling and she realized she was completely wrapped in a black cloak. Trying to push her way out of it, an arm clamped down on her.
"Isonei, don't-don't fight me." Draeseth's deep voice sounded almost anguished.
"I'm not, but I need to breathe." There was a moment's pause and she pressed her hand to what felt like the side of his chest, "Draeseth?"
The cloak was pulled back enough for her to breathe and she realized he had her not only wrapped but tied in his cloak to his torso with her legs bound together to his thigh. Looking up at his face he was careful not to look at her, staring stonily straight ahead.
"What happened?" Isonei reached up to stroke his cheek, feeling that it had grown rough since the morning.
Draeseth took a deep breath letting his eyes half close for a moment. "They tried to take you from me."
A bitingly sharp voice came from somewhere near him. "The black bastard managed to sour relations that had never been so cordial and then almost managed to kill the who-" the sound of a blow being struck made the speaker pause before he continued resentfully, "the enchanting creature he soured them for. That's what happened. Lady Isonei." The inflection of her title was mocking.
She watched as Draeseth's jaw clenched and felt him tense. "I don't understand. I remember... I remember coming to find you after you called for me. And you threw me over your shoulder and knocked the wind out of me. You didn't let me move to a position I could breathe in. You kept..." Draeseth looked sick. "You thought I was fighting you?"
He looked down at her with a bitter smile. "Why wouldn't you? You were already regretting your choice."
"My flower wine... I thought you understood I still-" She wanted to explain herself but he looked angrily away and she lapsed into silence looking at him and wondering how wrong she had been to choose to stay. Andnaeuth might have been right. Perhaps she should have listened when he told her to stay at the table.
"You don't want to tell her about how you left her brother and a dozen of the palace guards in a heap in the stables? Or about how our servants were forced to abandon most of our things including father's carriages?" The sound of blows being traded made her bury her face in Draeseth's side in fear.
"Enough!" He barked, keeping her close. Sounding bitter and tired he added more quietly, "She's frightened enough."
Isonei heard someone else mutter something she didn't understand and Draeseth growled and responded in a coarse guttural language. She'd never heard Torgan being spoken, she'd only ever been told that it was a brutish language unfit for a lady's ears. "Is that-is that Torgan?"
"You don't recognize it, Lady Isonei?" Someone she thought might be Burgath asked curiously.
"No, I don't think I've ever heard it." She didn't lift her eyes to look at Draeseth.
She was almost surprised when he bent his head and spoke softly, "You have. This morning in bed when you were..." A glance up into his blushing almost hopeful face eased her fears somewhat.
"You were making words?" He raised his head and looked as though he were trying not to laugh for a moment.
"How have you never heard Torgan, my jewel? Your father seemed to want to trade with us and your brothers at least understood it."
"I was told that it was...," she hesitated not wanting to give offense, "unfit for a lady's ears."
Draeseth gritted his teeth. "Unfit." He spat something in Torgan.
"She doesn't know." The one she thought was Burgath spoke reassuringly.
"What don't I know?" She looked up at Draeseth's furious face with trepidation.
"Unfit was used to describe the black bastard more than once today. Your brother, for example, was adamant that the Beast of Kroscur was unfit to so much as kiss his sister's feet." The sharp voice she thought must be Shoban gleefully informed her.
Isonei whispered, "Did you tell him you'd already kissed my finer parts? You could have seen the vein pop out of his forehead."
Blushing, Draeseth looked down at her with glittering eyes. "Woman, are you teasing me again?"
"What did she say?"
"Nothing for your ears." Draeseth almost smugly answered. He squeezed her. "We should ride harder. I want to be out of Ara as soon as possible."
"We won't be out before nightfall and the sun is almost setting, your Highness. We need to stop and make a defensible camp." That was unmistakably Krouth.
Responding with a grunt, Draeseth made a sharp gesture with his head and the horse came to a halt. "Help him find something." He commanded brusquely beginning to untie her legs and free her from the cloak.
He eased her to the ground and promptly dismounted, righting his cloak. "Why am I wearing only one shoe?" She looked at him questioningly as she stretched, rising on her toes.
"We left in a terrible rush, Lady Isonei." Burgath gave Draeseth an accusing look. "It probably fell off in our haste."
She balanced on one leg, resting her one stocking foot on her shoe, and looked around. They must have been riding hard to get this far, they were out of the wooded part of the royal forest. The land was open, low rolling hills dotted with rocks jutting out of the ground.
"Are you standing on one leg?" Ougath asked looking at her as if she were mad.
"Yes." Isonei looked at him as if he were the odd one, lifting her hem slightly and poking out her white stocking covered foot. "It'll get dirty."
The Torgans began to laugh. Ougath almost fell from his horse laughing as he dismounted. "Arans." He shook his head looking at the grinning Draeseth. "At least you'll have clean toes to kiss."
Draeseth's grin widened and he carefully picked her up, cradling her instead of throwing her over his shoulder this time. "She's light. If keeping her toes clean is what she wants I can carry her easily enough."
Isonei shook her head and smiled wryly, "Very thoughtful for someone who lost my shoe."
Pulling her higher to kiss, he murmured fiercely, "I didn't lose you, my silver Aran jewel." She kissed him back with a sigh wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning her head against his shoulder. Running her tongue over the soreness of her lower inner lip, she couldn't help but think that when he wasn't angry with her it was easy to remember why she'd chosen to stay.
A sharp whistle over a small rise put Draeseth in motion. Burgath took the reins of his horse as Draeseth carried her away from the road. Krouth had found a hollow that he referred to as serviceable out of sight of the road and the servants with him had already put their saddles on the ground in a semicircle and were seeing to the horses not far away. Draeseth sat her gently on an outcropping of rock and went to speak to his brothers. Hearing them speaking Torgan was strange, she shivered. It was something she would need to get used to.
"Are you cold, Lady Isonei?" Krouth asked her with a frown.
"A little. And starved. There's no chance that Draeseth managed to leave my shoe but bring some of the lovely roast chicken they were serving in the garden?"
The man frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Should I remind you that his Highness didn't get a meal in the garden before he fled with you?"
"I didn't either." She returned his frown. "I had one bite of the chicken and two sips of honey wine. The rest of the time was spent talking."
"Talking?" Draeseth returned to her side and wrapped her in his cloak.
She nodded and winced as she started to chew on the inside of her lip. Draeseth came to kneel in front of her. "Tell me." He brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "It was unpleasant?"
"I chew on my lip when I'm nervous sometimes." She gave him a half smile. "I've chewed it bloody today." He reached up and touched her lip and gently pulled it down to look.
"You still kissed me."
"One kiss and you weren't chewing on my lip." She teased him gently making him smile.
"What did you talk about?" He looked at her as if he already knew.
"About you, about why I'm bruised. They told me I couldn't be bound to you against my will, that I didn't have to go." Draeseth's face was hardening as she spoke. Isonei slipped off her shoe and pressed her feet to his thighs. "I told them that I was afraid and that I didn't want to go to Torga but that you had done nothing wrong, and didn't deserve to be deserted. I told them," She felt him grip her ankles. "I told them you weren't a brute or a beast, that you were sweet. I told them I would go." His hands slid up the backs of her calves as if he were caressing the silk of her stockings.
"I want to kiss you but I can't hurt you anymore today." He moved his hands slowly back down, his eyes were glued to her lips. "Tell me you still..." Isonei slid her feet up his thighs, feeling the embroidery in the slits of his pants. "Woman. Tell me."
"I'm still willing to come with you." She leaned forward pressing a soft kiss to his lips.
He pulled her feet to his groin and she could feel him hardening under them through the layers of fabric as she tried to stroke him from base to tip, moving her feet slowly, not wanting to hurt him. "Woman." His voice was a quiet growl.
"Draeseth!" Ougath barked at him. "Stop playing with your Aran toy and come help. Rocks need to be moved. Impress her with your strength." Draeseth gritted his teeth and blushed.
"I love that you blush, my flower wine." Isonei stroked his black hair and tried to pull her feet back while he clutched at her stocking covered calves squeezing and massaging them. "I will be right here." She gave him another kiss and teased at a whisper, "I only have one shoe, I couldn't leave if I wanted to."
He pinched the back of her leg. "Woman, don't tease about leaving me."
"Draeseth!" Ougath barked again.
"Go. Move rocks and impress me." She grinned at him impishly.
