Chapter 6|The Attack.

....

Alexander woke up on his tenth night at Isabelle's cottage covered in sweat, he had a dream, a nightmare and all he could remember from it was been poisoned, the poison weakened his senses until he lay lifeless on the ground as three men stood over him each hitting a different side of his body inflicting harm. He felt numb in a way that the nightmare felt like a replay of what happened to him the day he was found unconscious.

He got up from the bed parched, in desperate need of water to quench the thirst that was making his throat grit and perhaps cool the temper that came with the violent dream he had. Subconsciously, Alex pressed his hand to the wound on his chest and found his gaze seeking for Isabelle in the dark.

Even in the dark she was the only thing that brightened the room. He felt like she beckoned at him to come stay by her side while asleep, his legs moved in accord to the thoughts in his head. Alexander found himself staring at her slender sleeping form, he crouched before her and shifted a slip of hair that escaped from its confines. Her hair was the brightest shade of red which she always covered in a scarf, her brows too were fiery which gave away the fact that the shade was natural.

He tested the soft satiny texture and inhaled in its scent. What wafted through his senses made him reel in his crouched position until his knees weakened. He moved in for another inhale and found himself too weak to move.

Desperately, Alex shifted away the scarf and let the mass of hair tumble out from its confines. Like a man possessed, a savage, he dipped his head and inhaled deeper until he got a lungful of the naturally exotic scent permeating from her hair. He held a portion of it in his grasp firmly but not enough to cause her pain and stroked, letting the velvety feel of it imprint itself in his mind and hands.

A slight movement from her had him questioning his actions.

What was he doing? He asked himself as he attempted to move. When no other sound was heard from her he lowered his head to her face and stared, her face was creamy white and her cheeks had a natural blush to them, her lips were rosy and parted a bit.

In her sleep he heard her mumble his name before shifting closer to where his face was. Alex felt bewitched, he felt compelled to have a reminder of what she tasted like again for the second time. He lowered his head to do just that but had to stop at the last minute because Isabelle's eyes were fluttering open. It was as if she was trying to comprehend where she was while he struggled for composure.

A sort of blinding passion seized his body as he exhaled in and out harshly.

"Alex," She called out once her eyelids opened properly and she realized exactly what was happening. "What's wrong?" She asked, trying to move into a sitting position. His hands shot in to stop her before he wordlessly got up on his feet and backed away.

"Go back to sleep, nothing's the matter."

The girl was like a witch to him. He waited until she slipped back to sleep before walking as stealthily as he could to the door that led him to the front porch. His muscles shifted from lack of use, they tensed and ached with the need to be stretched. His jaw hardened at the need to dispense the pent up frustration he was feeling, he wanted badly to throw himself into some action or a run but at the same time his whole being was against the thought of leaving her alone so defenseless.

Alex thought of how she coped being alone at the cottage with no protection and for only God knows since when before he got presented to her in a way. He gritted his teeth at the thought, not wanting to rile himself up greater than he already was he blew air from his lips in frustration.

......

The next morning, Alexander woke up to the sound of Isabelle humming, he placed his hand over his eyes to protect them from the sun that seemed like it was shining directly into them.

"Good morning." She chirped, moving away like a flower in the breeze.

He yawned and moved to a sitting position before replying his obviously excited physician with a question of her own. "What's got you so excited?"

"Today I'm going to the stream to wash all these." She gestured at the basket filled to the brim with clothes in her hand.

Alex rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm, all for washing. Misplaced enthusiasm.

"I'm leaving, see you later."

"Wait.. Wait a minute." He stopped her by taking her arm in his. "You're not going there alone, I'm tagging along."

She narrowed her eyes at him before speaking in a funny tone. "Why is that? I always go to the stream alone." She shrugged, reminding him of what he needed to forget.

"It's not safe." He muttered through gritted teeth.

Isabelle furrowed her brows at his insistence and at the frown that marred his features as he took up his recently mended shirt and shrugged it on stiffly. Wordlessly she walked out with him following at her trail.

"It'll be a good idea to hunt for our breakfast huh? The provision I have are close to finished so we need to make do with meat or fish. What do you prefer?" She asked, trying to lighten the situation. She didn't want to pry but his silence made her think of what went wrong in their situationship. Last time she checked, they were smiling warmly at each other after she cleaned his wound and mended his shirt. Now, he looked about ready to slay anything that might come his way with his ground eating strides.

"We'll get both and preserve some. Can you do that?" His tone though was not as harsh as his features. It was on a very much calmer level.

"Done."

A comfortable silence slipped over them as they went down the narrow path that led to the nearest stream, it was a peaceful place with waterfalls and a not so deep water but it ran a long mile. Isabelle used the side that was much closer to the land to wash, drink and at times wash herself.

A rabbit ran past them making their attention swiftly move towards it.

"Shh." She whispered at him and took hold of her bow and arrow.

Impressed, Alex stared as she wielded the weapon and aimed at their lunch. It peeped and bull's eye, her arrow pierced right through its neck.

In haste she rushed to the fallen animal and took off the arrow that got struck by the sharp object to its neck and slit it while he watched.

Alex couldn't keep the admiration in his eyes as he offered to take the rabbit from her hand but she was already hopping towards the direction of the stream to wash off.

She caught a sudden movement from her left eye and made it in time to shift before a boar came charging right through where she was previously standing. It looked about before settling on her and huffing at its prey that was now in her hands. From the short distance between them Alexander gestured at her to not make a move and with the stealth he was known and commended for he moved closer until he was directly behind the boar before charging at the enraged animal.

The two fought as Isabelle skirted around to stand behind Alexander shouting at him to be careful.

In a haze of fury and a desperate yearning for blood to be split Alexander sunk his hands between the boar's lips and pulled until a cracking sound was heard. The boar collapsed with a thud and made a squeaking sound, Alex made the final blow by piercing a blade through the snorting animal until it lulled its head to the side, made a final squeal before succumbing to the pull of death.

Alex breathed heavily through parted lips. Fuming, he turned to Isabelle whose dress was covered in the Rabbit's blood. Enraged, he pulled her in closer and inspected her face.

His eyes were fiery as he stared into hers, his orbs were turning darker and the pupils was growing larger by each passing second.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." She repeated in a mantra shakily.

Everything happened too suddenly, as if in a blur. One moment the boar was standing before her ready to charge, the next Alex was taking it down in a powerful and mighty display of strength.

It was like nothing she'd ever seen. How he took it down a little bit of difficulty.

"Are you okay? Your palms are bleeding, let me see." She sent a prayer to the Lord for protection as her eyes roamed over his bleeding palms. They were as a result of the grip he had on the boar's mouth.

They stared and inspected each other one more time before she dropped the rabbit to the ground and flung her arms around him. Alex caught her to his chest and placed his lips at the top of her head, he was too much taller than her but they fit.

His blood was pumping with adrenaline for having let go of some of the tension that has been gripping his neck like a cord. His thoughts though were filled with "What ifs", What if he had not followed her? How could she have protected herself against the animal that was way too enthusiastic to wipe out her existence.

The thought made him feel like killing the boar one more time. It boiled his blood, a heated protective instinct reared its head in his mind as he vowed to protect Isabelle at any situation.

"I'm never letting you out of my sight." He vowed silently before taking her in his arms bridal style and moving back to the direction of their cottage with a frown that was far too scarier than the one he had on when they first went out on his face.

Isabelle let her hands circle his neck helplessly and let her eyes close shut. His heartbeat was all she could hear and the sound was very loud she thought he could hear it with his own ears too.