Hunted (Open - please PM before joining)

[Steiner]

It had taken a grain less selfcontrol than Brinn possessed to start Alexia about her washing, rather than pushing her up against the room wall and taking her there.

However, he felt a little unhappy about something - a nagging suspicion or sensation that he couldn't put into words, but which had saved his life a hundred times or more.

And it was telling him that it was time to leave this nest and press on into the world again. Perhaps it had been one of the guests last night who had tripped his suspicions, or maybe something he'd heard without hearing properly...

Brinn sighed and continued dressing, checking his armour and his sword doubly carefully, trying not to awaken Alexia's suspicions.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

Alexia glanced over at Brinn as he busied himself.
She let the sheet slip from her body and put the hot water to good use.
She had but time to dampen her hair and began to untangle it with one of her combs.
Giving up, she finally drew on her garments, before throwing the discarded sheet back onto the bed and pausing again to regain some order in her still-tangled tresses.

She glanced over and caught Brinn's eye.
She smiled, a look of pleasure, contentment even as she watched him ready himself for the road.

"Do not forget I ordered provisions last eve. That should be plenty to see us on our way,"

She informed him softly.

His eye hovered on her and then he nodded, turning away to pick up his coat.

Without a word, she pinned up her hair, stood and joined him.

"Ready, love?"

Alexia flushed at the endearment.

"aye.."

She assented and walked beside him as they moved down the stair way and into the inn to collect their provisions before setting out once again.

 

[Steiner]

Brinn led them out of the village the wrong way, then doubled round once they were out of sight of the tavern. He pushed Alexia on mercilessly for three hours - at a pace far faster than their last journey, and then took a meal some distance from the road.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

Alexia followed as Brinn led them out of the village.
She did not comment as she realised how he led them round and back on themselves, a route calcuated to fool anyone who might try to follow them.

She continued neither commenting or complaining as Brinn insisted they walk hard and fast.
Fear drove her onwards.
Fear held her silent.

Not until they were seated, well out of sight of the road, Alexia noted, that she finally asked.

"Brinn... who's following us? Why are we travelling like this... ?

The fear was evident in her voice, in her expression and in the fact that she had actually eaten very little.

 

[Steiner]

Brinn toyed with a slice of apple and looked down at his feet. He didn't answer her question directly, instead his voice took on a slightly distant quality as if he was trying to emotionally distance himself from what he was telling her.

"When I was a boy of sixteen I served with Duke Michael at the siege of Newcastle - city way to the North. One night, as we took our turn to sleep before morning, I awoke with a sudden need to get some fresh air. I stepped out of the barrack hut, took two steps and was flattened. The burn marks on my left shoulderblade are from a piece of flaming timber that struck me when the Earl of Northumbria's forces fired burning pitch that landed smack on the roof of the hut I'd just left.

Since that night, I've followed my instincts when they warn me of danger. Now it could be nothing - for every time it's saved my life, I'm sure it's been unnecessary ten times..."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

Alexia watched Brinn and listened to his words.

So he felt something was wrong, but ... he didn't know what?
... or was he not telling her something?

"What should we do?"

She gave up all pretence of eating.

"Should we split up or... "

She broke off panic in her voice again.
Again the images danced before her eyes;
the fire, the man as he came after her, the blood ...
Images she had banished, but temporarily.

 

[Steiner]

Brinn shook his head...

"I'm carrying on like an old woman, Alexia. It's nothing - but it's just a good policy to be cautious. He shrugged - it could be something as minor as that tavern wench slippin the word to some highwaymen that a monied traveller and his new wife are on the road. Maybe it's just the way she looked at you on the way out the door - it's nothing."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

"I'm carrying on like an old woman, Alexia.
It's nothing - but it's just a good policy to be cautious."

Alexia nodded, but remained unconvinced.
She began to put away her food.

" ... it could be something as minor as that tavern wench slippin the word to some highwaymen that a monied traveller and his new wife are on the road. Maybe it's just the way she looked at you on the way out the door - it's nothing."

Alexia looked up sharply. The wench!
How had she looked at her. Alexia hadn't noticed!
Damn!
She was filled with guilt.
Her stupid jealously could just have landed them in serious trouble.
But she made no comment.
She waited until Brinn was ready to continue and walked silently beside him lost in her own thoughts, fears and regrets.

 

[Steiner]

As the day progressed Brinns fears appeared to be groundless - whatever had been persuing them now seemed to be solely in his imagination. He let the pace drop off, and now walked back with Alexia - chatting with her more and more frequently.

Because of their fast pace they reached the stop off point Brinn had in mind early. If Alexia was expecting another comfortable country inn then she was going to be disapointed Brinn reasoned - because their destination was an ancient fort, long since abandoned by the Romans and left to collapse.

Brinn eased through the collapsed gateway and went to the mound of collapsed wall that marked the hidden flight of steps leading down into the earth. To his satisfaction the torches were still piled where he'd left them three years ago, and lit one up from a flint and steel in his belt pouch.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

The day seemed endless.
Brinn seemed to become more relaxed and began to converse more, but Alexia remained wrapped in her own thoughts.
Guilt and fear still had a hold on her.
She smiled and responded to Brinn's comments and observations, but held back from truly sharing the conversation with him.

He seemed to press ever onwards.
She was tired and stiff and desperate to rest, but would never have said so. If they were captured it would all be her fault anyhow, so she preferred to continue without complaint.
It was with relief that Alexia entered the fort, which seemed to be their intended destination. As Brinn looked round she sank to the ground hardly able to suppress a groan and closed her eyes, content to just sit and rest.

As she opened her eyes the fire from the torch made her jump and exclaim in fright, realising too late that Brinn had merely leaned over to check if she were asleep or not.

She pulled herself upright and took a step away from him into the shadows and turned her head away from the flame.
She had been brooding on that all day and those thoughts were just far too near the surface.
She moved away from Brinn, in the pretence of looking round.
In truth she needed to find an isolated corner where she could just ... be...

Finally out of his sight, Alexia sank down into a darkened corner and drew the knife out of her boot.
The sharp blade glinted in the tiny chink of light that shone between the cracks of the fort wall. She ran a finger lightly over the blade.
She watched as she applied slight pressure, watched as the blade became a pen and drew a red line across her palm.
Red.. blood... she watched detached as the wound overflowed and spilled...

"Alexia!"

She jumped at the sound of his voice, the knife digging hard into her hand. Her exclamation of fright gave way to a sharp gasp of pain.

Had he seen her actions or had he merely come in search of her.
She hastily tried to hide the knife and looked round desperately for something to disguise the more copious flow of blood from the unintentionally made wound.

 

[Steiner]

Where was she? Last he'd checked she'd been stretched out on the floor, looking like she wasn't going to move until doomsday, the next second she was gone - and there were parts of this fort that weren't safe for exploring.

"Alexia?!"

His voice rolled around the stone walls of the fort, but brought no answer, however he heard a gasp from one of the corners and headed off that way at a run.

"Alexia!!!"

This time his call was a full throated bellow - in an agony of fear that he'd failed her, and she was in danger, he rounded the pile of rubble the gasp had come from in time to hear a cry of pain.

Alexia was stood there, her knife in her hand and blood running down her fingers to hit the floor. Brinn whirled about, sword in hand, looking for the threat before he realised she had done it to herself.

Eyes narrowed at her as he stepped in at her, moving impossibly quickly so keyed up was he. His sword hand moved in a blur, the flat of the blade striking her hand where it held the knife, numbing her fingers and knocking the blade to the floor. His other arm wrapped around her, drawing her up to him where he could bear hug her, stopping her from moving.

Alexia seemed too stunned to move as Brinn slamemd his sword into its sheath, lifted her and ran from the small enclosed area to the fire he'd been building out in the main courtyard. Water was already being heated - he'd been about to prepare a stew for their evening meal - but now he grabbed a linen pad from his pack and dunked it into the hot water, waiting for it to boil.

"My God, lass... Why? Did I say something? Is something wrong?

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

Alexia did not even have time to move.
The sword moved so quickly to knock the blade out of her hand.
She gave a small cry of shock and pain as she watched the metal clatter to the floor.
Instinctively her fingers reached out to retrieve it, but she found herself held tightly against him.
It had all happened so quickly.
She had been... if he had not called out...
Her eyes met his in incomprehension.

They were almost at the small enclosure before she had realised that he had taken her in his arms.
He moved quickly making it impossible to retrieve her weapon.
She sat where he placed her, her head turned towards the place she had been.

"My God, lass... Why? Did I say something? Is something wrong?

She looked up at him not taking in his questions.

"My knife... I have to have it. Brinn.. we can't leave it there ... if someone found it ... "

She looked at him watching realisation dawn.
It was the knife, the weapon she had ...

"Later... I'll... "

But Alexia remained agitated.

"Brinn ... now ... please... "

The tears finally began to well up.

"I have to have it... now..."

She made to stand up, but Brinn restrained her.
He pulled her hand so it was elevated and made her hold it so.
Moving the linen pad in the now boiling water.
He knew she would not be at ease until he had retrieved her blade so knowing it to be the easiest course of action, he turned and strode back to the place...

The blood on the rocks made the knife easy to find.
He picked up the weapon admiring its sharpness, its quality.
A weapon to kill with, if one so wished.
Then he turned and made his way quickly back to the fire.

Alexia sat, her hand dangling unheeded by her side.
Unaware and uncaring of the blood that seeped from her wounds.
Her eyes were watching the fire beneath the pot.
Her face a study of terror and grief.

"Alexia.."

In exasperation he took the pad and applied the necessary pressure.
The pain as he took her hand and pressed the fabric mercilessly against the cuts made her wince and cry out.
Her attention snapped back from the flames and up to Brinn's face.
As if seeing him for the first time she looked down at her hand.
Unable to stop the tears, her body began to shake.

 

[Steiner]

Brinns voice shook and he pointed a finger out of the gates of the fort...

"If it's death you seek then it lies that way - just keep walking. In a seven day you'll be dead or close to, and you won't ever have to deal with what happened to you."

Alexia's eyes were on his finger as he pointed it, and he knew she could see his hand shaking with emotion, so he brought it back and clasped it to his chest.

"But I don't think you're that weak. I think you want to live, and that means you have to accept what happened. Find some way to cope with it. You're not an evil woman Alexia, whatever happened, I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

He stopped, his voice had been shaking with emotion. Looking down at her he wasn't even sure she'd heard him.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

"If it's death you seek then it lies that way - just keep walking. In a seven day you'll be dead or close to, and you won't ever have to deal with what happened to you."

Alexia watched him pointing.
Was he telling her to leave?
He was angry with her, but she couldn't work out why?

"But I don't think you're that weak.
I think you want to live, and that means you have to accept what happened. Find some way to cope with it.
You're not an evil woman Alexia, whatever happened, I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

Alexia shook her head, not in denial, but trying to make sense of his words...

"But... I wasn't trying to ... the blade... it was just an accident.. kind of...and then you shouted and... "

She didn't know just what she'd been doing, she'd been trapped reliving a part of her past, but she hadn't been trying to end it all.
What made him think that?
Did he not understand her at all?
If he'd not been so distant today perhaps he'd have realised how she was feeling she thought uncharitably.
Turning she looked Brinn in the eye.

"If I'd been trying to end it all Brinn, I would have done it before the hellish journey you pulled me through today!"

She snapped at him.
She was upset, exhausted and, now she realised what he had assumed, out of temper.

"You tell me to deal with it, Brinn ...
Well... I'm doing my best...
I've lost both my parents within the past three months, I've been shunned by my neighbours just when I needed them most, attacked in my own home and forced to watch while the house was ransacked and finally left to burn."

Brinn tried to speak, but there was no stopping her now.
She forced a laugh.

"Whether I'm being hunted as a witch or murderess really makes no odds now does it ...?"

She paused out of breath with emotion.

"After all that and having been on the run for a month,
All in all I think I'm doing pretty damn well!"

She glared at him defiantly, then promptly burst into tears.

 

[Steiner]

The anger drained out of him, abrubtly - leaving just the shaking. He felt his face drain of blood and then, ironically, fill again as he flushed from the tips of his ears to his cheeks.

"Oh... I... ...erm... ...thought that you... ...when I saw the blood, and the cuts on your hand..."

As her tale unfolded Brinn grew more and more dumbfounded - then ashamed that he'd put her through more than she needed to go through.

"I'm sorry... I'm an oaf. I was frightened and that made me angry...."

He reached out a hand to comfort her as she cried, but stopped short - unsure whether he would make things better or worse with further clumsy attempts.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

Alexia heard Brinn's apology and realised she had scared him.

"I'm sorry... I'm an oaf. I was frightened and that made me angry...."

She half nodded in acceptance and tried unsuccessfully to stem the tears.

He did not approach her.
He did not hold her.

With effort she pulled herself together.

"It.. it's not your fault, Brinn... I .. did cut myself, but I hadn't realised... I know how to use it if I have to..."

She held out her good hand and not wanting to imply he mistrusted her, Brinn handed the small weapon to her.
She tucked it into her boot and moved away from him.

"I'm sorry I got angy too.
I'm just exhausted... today was... a nightmare ... in many ways for me...
sometimes ... "

She broke off. He didn't need to know any more.
She took a step away from him.
Rather than closing the chasm that seemed to have opened up between them, Alexia withdrew behind reserved politeness.

"I think I need to rest. The hand will be fine.
Don't worry about food for me.. nite Brinn..."

So saying she moved away to curl up and rest.
She turned her back to the fire and to Brinn.
Impatiently she brushed a hand across her face, rubbing away the tears still falling.
What did she expect after all?
He'd been ... tense all day...
Perhaps he blamed her for the danger she may have caused with the bar wench and then when he'd seen the knife ...
He'd been so angry.
Perhaps he still didn't believe her or trust her anymore.
He had withdrawn from her, so ...
They didn't need to pretend to be husband and wife out here.
It was obvious the role play was over.

 

[Steiner]

Brinn felt the coolness between them - perhaps she'd thought things over during the march and decided that she'd taken all she wanted from him. Now a woman she was exercising her perogative to choose - and Brinn wasn't the sort of man to question that perogative. Perhaps things would be different in the morning.

She curled up in front of the fire and pretended to sleep. Brinn pretended not to hear her crying - not wanting to intrude where he wasn't wanted. Not wanting to add pushiness to his list of mistakes today. Not wanting a more explicit rejection.

Instead he paced the fort, taking up a station on the parapet over the gateway he watched the tree choked trail that had once been a broad road, and reflected that 600 years ago there had probably been other soldiers stood on this wall, their minds also wandering to women inside.

The thought was comforting, far more comforting than the full moon that blazed silver in the sky. Perfect. Cold. Unreachable. Unknowable.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

Brinn did not even pretend to sleep that night.
He did not approach the fire and he did not come near her.
He had taken her virginity and cast her aside.
She had not thought it possible, but it was what had happened.

Alexia curled up into a tight ball and made as little noise as possible. She had run and run and tried to survive.
For what?
She tossed and turned and dreamed, but the images haunting her sleep were not of those dead and gone, but of Brinn...
And in her dreams each time she drew close, he walked away, his look angry, his eyes despising her. The eyes she recognised were those of the man ... the man who had...

With a cry she awoke.
She sat up, shivering with cold and fear.
Somehow the past and the present had all gotten mixed up.
She dropped her head into her hands and tried to steady herself.
Yesterday things had been so ...
Now 24 hours later, it felt as if everything had been turned upside down.

 

[Steiner]

By dawn Brinn was cold, exhausted and no happier. He was within sight of both Alexia and the entrance, so when he heard her cry, he wasn't unduly concerned that something had happened - still remembering the knife he turned and set off down the steps - too quickly.

His legs, stiff with the cold, betrayed him and pitched him down on his face - just enough time to get his hands under himself and ensure he didn't hit the ground face first.

Winded and startled he lay still at first, waiting for the air to come back to his lungs, and then he levered himself to his feet. Stiff and bruised he hobbled his way towards the fire, his stiffened gait painful.

Alexia was sitting, her head in her hands - she looked more miserable than ever, if anything, and he could see that she had yet to learn the travellers trick of wakening every three hours or so to feed the fire.

He eased himself to the ground near but not next to her, and started to rebuild the fire from sullen embers to a crackling blaze. There were several grazes on his arms, hands and forehead that would need bathing in hot water to get the dirt out - task he wasn't looking forward to.

Not turning his face to her just yet he greeted Alexia, the woman about which he'd spent the night moping like a teenager.

"Morning lass - did you sleep any better than appearances suggest?"

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

Alexia heard Brinn lower himself beside her.
He did not turn to her.
He did not sit close by.
His hands worked throwing twigs onto the fire.
Alexia rubbed her eyes and willed them not to start their weeping.

She was heartsore, she decided.
She knew she had given herself fully to him and was distraught that he felt so little for her.
Her heart ached.
He had been worried, angry, agressive yesterday, but since leaving their bed... it were as if he had become a different man.

"Morning lass - did you sleep any better than appearances suggest?"

His words were meaured, wary.
But the opening endearment wrenched at her emotions.

"No... "

Her response was but a whimper.
She forced herself to continue, not wanting to be accused of being sullen.

" I did not sleep at all ..."

He sat in silence, feeding the fire.
She hazarded a glance in his direction, but his back was turned blocking her out.

Unable to bare the silence, Alexia spoke softly.

"I think you should take your ring and things back now or after we leave the next town... I think... perhaps ... "

She hesitated he turned his head and waited.

"I know you're angry with me, Brinn and ... being with me is just a danger for you so... perhaps we should part company at the next town... "

She heard his ready protests.

"I ... can't travel with you ... like this... not .. now... "

Again he questionned her.
To his mind she just wasn't making sense...

"... not after the other night... after we ... "

She stood up suddenly, she was fed up of pretending she didn't care about what had happened between them.
She looked down at him, meeting his gaze steadily.

"Not after you made love to me...
after you made realise I loved you ...
You have no use for me now ... and I can't just sit around and pretend I don't care ... "

She turned away from him so he couldn't see how distraught she was.

"I think... I'll go for a walk... "

She murmured, excusing herself knowing he would need space away from her after the confession he had drawn from her ...

 

[Steiner]

Brinn sat, shocked. All this time he'd thought she was angry at him - in her introspection, her fear she must not have realised that she was as different from the carefree lover he had taken in the Inn as he was from the patient, caring man who had taken her in return.

This was a misunderstanding, and needed to be put straight.

Ignoring the scrapes that still needed tending he stood and walked after her - this was something that needed to be fixed, or he'd lose her forever - something he wasn't at all sure he was willing to accept.

"Alexia! Alexia!"

He caught up with her after only a minute or so, and laid hands on her shoulders to spin her round to face him.

"What happened in the inn, was not done casually, nor was it done without feeling. When I saw you yesterday, and I thought I'd lost you... It hurt me, lass, worse than I've been hurt in a long while. I know that despite how close we were in that Inn, that I still don't know you, and I still don't understand you... ...and that hurts too."

He drew in a shuddering breath and gently shook her by the shoulders.

"And I don't know what you've seen, so I don't know what you've suffered. So I try not to judge you - and I try not to smother you, or patronise you. But you don't know what I've seen either, lass, so don't judge me. I care about you, Alexia, I may even love you, and I know you're under threat. Can you imagine how you'd feel if my life was in your hands? If any mistake you made might kill me? That's how I feel, girl, and I'm trying my hardest to not put a foot wrong that might endanger you. So please don't hate me if I'm hard on you - because being hard on you might be the only alternative to watching you die."

Brinn felt a tear track through his beard and wiped his face - furious at himself for his loss of control. He turned back to her, passion still throbbing in his voice and glittering in his eyes, and kissed her as she looked at him, pale with shock.

"That's how I feel about you - and any time you're not sure about it, you can ask me for a fresh demonstration."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

Alexia wasn’t sure where she was going.
She just wanted to find a corner to hide in.
She wished she hadn’t blurted that out!
She was just so damn stupid.

”Alexia! Alexia!"

She heard him call, but did not stop or turn.
She couldn’t face him.

”Alexia!"

Then, suddenly he was beside her.
His hands were on her shoulders, but she shrugged them off.
His hands moved to capture her shoulders firmly as he spun her round to face him.
She averted her eyes, even as he began to speak.

"What happened in the inn, was not done casually, nor was it done without feeling.”

She did not react.

”When I saw you yesterday, and I thought I'd lost you...
It hurt me, lass, worse than I've been hurt in a long while.
I know that despite how close we were in that Inn, that I still don't know you, and I still don't understand you... ...and that hurts too."

His words were confusing her. He cared enough to be hurt by her actions … but then..
He shook her then, prompting her to look up at him.

"And I don't know what you've seen, so I don't know what you've suffered.
So I try not to judge you - and I try not to smother you, or patronise you.
But you don't know what I've seen either, lass, so don't judge me.”

She didn’t understand him. She hadn’t realised that she .. judged .. him.
Maybe that was how it seemed to him.
They were so different… too different?

”I care about you, Alexia, I may even love you, and I know you're under threat. Can you imagine how you'd feel if my life was in your hands?
If any mistake you made might kill me?
That's how I feel, girl, and I'm trying my hardest to not put a foot wrong that might endanger you.
So please don't hate me if I'm hard on you - because being hard on you might be the only alternative to watching you die."

Alexia stared. She had not expected him to care, much less…
He had seemed so strange, so offhand, but …
She began to understand how, if he cared, how worried he had been.
It was his way, it was how he dealt with it..
Even as she looked up at him, stunned, Brinn pulled her to him and kissed her.
The kiss was deep, rough, passionate.
It took Alexia’s breath away. She could not even react as his tongue pushed into her mouth and his lips moved roughly over hers.
He kissed her like with a hunger that almost devoured her and left her weak.
As he withdrew, Alexia’s body rocked.
She put out a hand out to rest on his chest, needing to steady herself as she trembled.

"That's how I feel about you - and any time you're not sure about it, you can ask me for a fresh demonstration."

His voice was gruff with emotion.
She gave a silent nod and reached up to touch his face, tentatively, as if fearing his reaction.
Her touch was light as if discovering him for the first time.
They both stood still, almost holding their breath.

”Ohh.. God.. Brinn!…
What did you do to your face..?”

For the first time, Alexia noticed his injuries.
Her hand moved to the grazes and he flinched.

Here, let me wash it for you … do we have water?”

She took his hand and walked with him back to the fire.
Her eyes were all concern.
He tried to say it was nothing, but in the light of the fire, she could see that he must have fallen pretty heavily.

”Please.. .Brinn.. just let me help?”

She offered quietly...

 

[Steiner]

It had been a last ditch thing - he wasn't sure whether she was going to knee him in the cods and run off into the night or melt into his arms... Luckily she melted. She'd had a rough day, a rougher night and he'd been too hard, and her strength, brittle as ice, had snapped.

With the relief came pain from the grazes, the scrapes and the bruises inflicted in his tumble. She expressed her concern and asked what he'd done... He mumbled under his breath, then realised he'd better say - for fear she'd think he'd done the damage deliberately.

"I... I... ...fell down the stairs, Alexia. In full armour."

He saw the words hit home... Charged emotions made it harder for her to hide her feelings, and the first snort of laughter was explosive as she tried to restrain it and failed. Pretty soon they were both laughing hard at the thought of the tough guardian, Brinn Ceornhelm. Laid low by uneven stairs....

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Alexia Kenton

Alexia moved about the fire and eyed his wounds.
They looked sore, but not serious.

"What were you doing, Brinn?"

She enquired, concern in her voice.

"I... I... ...fell down the stairs, Alexia. In full armour."

Alexia eyed him.
She had imagined a series of reasons for his injuries, but the picture that entered her mind now made her snort with laughter.
The sound was out of her mouth before she could move her hand to smother it.

She looked at Brinn, anxiously and realised that he too had begun to chuckle.
The sound of his goodnatured rumble was contagious.
Their laughter drew them together and released the tension that had built up between them.

"My hero..."

Commented Alexia as she carefully planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

 

[Steiner]

After the lack of sleep, the exhausting march yesterday and the emotional and physical shock of his fall and the argument, it was very easy for Brinn to relax and let Alexia bathe the grazes and scrapes with warm water.

With the crusted blood cleared away the wounds made it look less like he'd been through a slaughter and more like he'd been lightly grazed, and he could see Alexia's face relaxing as she realised how little true injury he'd taken.

First Brinn set aside his helm, then he removed his armoured shirt and his padded jacket he wore beneath it. The feeling of Alexia's hands on his body, as she tended his injuries, had a predictable effect, and so as she finished up he grabbed her and manuevered her down to the floor with him.