It was like her mind was warring with her heart. She didn't want to leave him or run away from the intimacy they were sharing, but her mind was reminding her of all the reasons she shouldn't trust him. She had fallen in too deep with him already, falling any further would only cause both of them unnecessary pain. He was still her prisoner who refused to tell her the truth of his presence here. She was still the ruler of Jurot, the protector of her people. She could never risk falling into bed with an intruder, let alone allow them to steal her heart.
Thame's hand came up to her jaw, cupping the side of her face. Gently he guided her until she was looking at him again.
"Give me a chance," He said, resting his forehead against hers.
"How can I trust you when you will not even tell me why you are here?" She asked.
Thame's expression closed off, validating her point. Her spirits dropped, her hope for a reason to trust him dying a painful death as she swallowed down her disappointment. He stepped away from her, and fury erupted in her veins as her eyes turned bloody red. How dare he use her like this! She thought.
"You think that seducing me is the answer? What is it you want, Thame? If your reason for being here is so important that it must remain a secret, then I can only assume that you wish for me to trust you blindly. And do you know why people demand blind trust from others?" She asked, stalking towards him.
Thame backed up quickly as she advanced on him, his arms out in an effort to ward her off. She laughed cruelly, vanishing in a blur of preternatural movement. Her foot landed hard on his back as she knocked him to the ground from behind. Thame landed on his face in the dirt, and Aribelle jumped on him, straddling his prone form as he struggled beneath her. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his head towards her leaving his throat exposed. Leaning down, she whispered harshly in his ear, even as she felt the anger ebb away slightly.
"Because if they are blind, they never see how crooked you are. Blind people cannot see the fangs extending and going for their throat. They cannot see the knife in your hand as you walk around them to reach their back. Blind followers are for crooks, liars, and thieves. Which are you, Thame?"
Thame's mouth moved, but all he did was gurgle on his own spit as he tried to talk. Aribelle slammed his face into the ground and let go, standing up and allowing him to speak. Her jaw clenched tightly as it felt like all the fury rushed back tenfold. Her claws sliced out from her fingertips, replacing the nails; fur sprouted across her arms, and a rumbling growl emanated from her chest.
"I do not want you to blindly trust me," Thame growled back, wiping the dirt from his face. "I just don't want you to hate me when I tell you why I'm here."
"I probably will, but you should tell me anyway," Aribelle snapped.
"You have to understand, I don't want to lose you," Thame said. "I'm already halfway--"
"Don't you dare say that to me!" Aribelle shouted. "Do not tell me you care for me to cushion the blow of whatever it is you are hiding. Such a cowardly thing to do, to try and use my emotions against me."
Aribelle turned her back on him, walking away from what was sure to be a flowery speech of love and devotion.
"Wait! I'm sorry. It would have been the truth, but you're right. I shouldn't try to pretty up my lies or soften you before the blow. I apologize." Thame said.
Aribelle continued walking, but Thame ran ahead of her and cut her off.
"Just hear me out," Thame pleaded.
She turned around and headed back in the direction she came from.
"I will tell you the truth, I swear it," Thame shouted as he cut her off again.
"It better be the whole fucking truth!" Aribelle shouted as she stopped.
She looked down at the ground as Thame stepped in front of her, not wanting to look him in the eye just yet. Thame grunted and staggered on his feet, and Aribelle chanced a glance up, hoping she wouldn't lose herself again without having the truth first.
"Goddess, no," She breathed as she looked upon Thame in horror.
An arrow protruded from his chest, the feathered tip poking out of his back. Blood ran in rivulets down his tunic, soaking the material and causing it to cling to his stomach. There was a roaring sound in her ears as the world seemed to spin a little around her. Her head felt light as her vision dimmed, her heart racing frantically. Thame fell to his knees before her, and suddenly everything came back into focus.
"Don't die, don't die, don't die," She repeated as she bent down and tossed his arm around her neck.
Aribelle tossed him over her shoulder, taking off as fast as she could through the forest.
"Wren!" She screamed. "Get a healer! Send for a healer!"
When no answer came, Aribelle howled for her assistant. A too-long minute passed by before she heard an answering howl, and Aribelle changed her direction slightly to the west. She screamed her command for Wren to find a healer again and again.
"On it!" Wren shouted back after the fourth repeated scream.
"Thame, stay alive, please," Aribelle said calmly, hiding the sorrow she felt as his skin paled before her eyes.
"Meant it," He croaked from over her shoulder.
A sob caught in her throat, and her eyes misted.
"I don't want to lose you, either," She whispered, terrified of what was to come.
Thirteen: Shot Down
“Momma, I cannot do this anymore. I don’t like hurting them.”
“Enough! You will do as I say, for your own good, Aribelle. You must kill or be killed by these people. Do you want to die?”
"Belle," Thame choked, a loud gurgling rattle sounding in his chest.
"You know what? I'm a little pissed at you, Thame," Aribelle huffed as she stomped through the forest, crashing through the trees and underbrush in her haste. "You're about to come clean with me, prove that you truly care about me...and then you die. The only man I've ever been interested in beyond a hot, sweaty, animalistic fuck and the Goddess wants you for her own."
"Didn't need to hear that," Thame wheezed.
"You cannot have him, Goddess, he is mine," Aribelle shouted at the sky, uncaring if the Goddess could hear her or not.
The smell of smoke was heavy in the air; Aribelle could hear the crackling of the fire coming from several yards away. She pumped her legs faster, gasping as hundreds of twigs and thorns snagged on her flesh. They were likely tearing apart Thame's handsome face, but she didn't care, her only thought was to get him to a healer quickly. At last, the camp was visible through the brush, but Aribelle didn't slow until she reached the fire.
"Put him here," Dru said frantically, pointing to a pallet of blankets lying next to the fire.
Aribelle promptly dropped Thame, much harder than she wanted to, on his side upon the blankets, and began inspecting his wound.
"How did you know he was wounded?" Aribelle asked as she prodded the arrow sticking out of Thame's chest.
"I-I...uh," Dru stuttered. "Heard you screaming."
Aribelle hummed dismissively, fingering the feathers on the tip of the arrow.
"Are our arrows missing?" She asked Dru, recognizing the arrow as one of her own.
"W-What?" Dru asked, his face pale and sweaty.