Finding Heathcliff

Fifteen

Astrid noticed nothing of the large, gloomy room they entered, she was only dimly aware of the turning heads and whispering voices that followed their group on its way towards a long wooden top, laden with jugs and cups of many different shapes and sizes.

Izar, making himself at home, brought a stool from the nearest table for Astrid to sit down, then, peeking into several of the displayed jugs he chose one, and poured out drinks for all of them.

Astrid brought her cup to her lips tentatively while the guards and Orion drank thirstily, and Izar stopped a maid who appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen, judging by the tray laden with food she was carrying, to ask her to find the landlord.

She nodded in agreement, carried the tray to the waiting guests, then disappeared again, while Astrid finished her drink. It was red wine, something she had only been offered at the balls in the castle until she had turned sixteen, but she appreciated its strong, still unfamiliar taste, and the temporary warmth and strength it was lending to her tired, aching muscles.

She didn't protest when Orion refilled all their glasses before the landlord finally appeared, bowing deeply.

"Izar!" the dark-haired, middle-aged man called, stretching his arm towards the guard and shaking hands with him, then nodding to the other guards. "I'm glad to see you again." His eyes paused on Astrid and Orion then, and he mused, observing Orion's fancy clothes thoughtfully, his words a half-question, "There's two more of you this time? I only have three rooms left, you'll have to share them somehow..."

"Lady Astrid and I will share one room, you can divide the other two between your men, Izar," Orion said, his arm coming proprietarily over Astrid's shoulders, attracting the landlord's attention.

"Lady Astrid, you say?" the man asked, scratching his dark beard, then pulling at the sleeve of the maid who was just walking past them again, a pile of empty plates in her arms, and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes darted to Astrid before she curtsied and disappeared one more time.

Astrid thought that maybe it would have been better not to disclose their identities, but she was too tired to really care, and Orion would not listen to her anyway. The people of Eurovea were loyal to her uncle, they depended upon his care and protection. Moreover, the news about the princess having been sent on a quest to make their lives better and safer might have already spread. They had nothing to fear from these people.

Yawning, Astrid realised that she was unable to follow the introductions and the conversation that followed. She was just about to ask if she could retire when the maid reappeared, announcing that the rooms were ready.

"You go up, Astrid, I'll join you in a minute," Orion said, and she gladly followed the young woman up a flight of wooden stairs and down a long, candle-lit corridor.

The maid opened one of the several doors lining the dim corridor on both sides for her, and Astrid walked in, looking around herself curiously. There was only one bed, but both hers and Orion's saddlebags were there, which meant that the woman didn't make a mistake, and the two of them were supposed to share that bed.

A small, wooden tub filled with steaming water was set by the lit fireplace, taking her mind off the inconvenience of the single bed. She would think about it later, first she needed to bathe.

"May I help you with anything, my lady?" the maid offered, but Astrid shook her head.

"I'll be fine. Thank you."

Without another word, the young woman curtsied and left her alone, and Astrid followed her back to the door, fumbling with the mechanism of the latch to make sure that no one would disturb her while she took her bath. The only thing she needed to feel perfectly happy was a towel, and she found two, and a piece of soap, on a stool placed behind the tub. She shed her clothes fast then and dipped into the tub, sighing as her aching muscles started to relax in the warm water.

Astrid washed quickly, aware that Orion might come at any moment, donned a clean shirt which she had pulled out from her bag, and ran a comb through her damp hair when he knocked, then walked in, making her notice that she had latched the door wrongly, and that without Orion by her side she definitely wouldn't get far on her mission.

Her breath caught as she observed his eyes roaming over her, making her blush when she realised that the light cotton of her shirt, lit from behind by the fire burning brightly in the fireplace, did little more than nothing to hide anything from him.

"You... take my breath away, he muttered, kicking the door shut behind him, "You have no idea how beautiful you are, Astrid."

She had to remind herself to breathe as heat flooded through her, and her legs threatened to give way as he approached her in two long strides, cupped her face and kissed her deeply, making her walk backwards towards the bed, laying her down gently, never breaking the kiss.

He always knew what to say to her in the right moment, to make her feel how he wanted her to feel, to make her do whatever he wanted her to do, she mused, feeling too weak to protest, leaning her head to the side, giving more space to his lips kissing their way down the column of her neck, instead of trying to stop him, arching her back to get closer to him yet when his hand strolled under her unlaced shirt, caressing, teasing...

"Orion," she whispered, begging him to stop, finally, despite herself. Having grown up together, with the knowledge that they would be married one day, and taught well what marrying someone entailed, they were both ready to take the next step, they had been for a long time. But they had both agreed to respect the ancient tradition and wait... And this was one of those moments they both needed to remember their resolution. "It's only a few weeks now, we've been waiting for so long..."

He sighed, disentangling his hand from the fabric of her shirt unwillingly, "Too long if you ask me."

However, he stood up, pulled her to her feet and laced her shirt tightly, as if to prevent the sight of her bare flesh from tempting him further. He kissed her once more before he walked off, towards the bathtub.

"I'll wash and change quickly, you get dressed, Astrid. We must go back down, our dinner will be served soon and we need to talk to Izar. I want you to hear what he told me on the way here. It's not much," Orion continued as he removed his clothes while Astrid pulled her gown and a pair of shoes from her bag, "but he said that the landlord here might help us."

Astrid wished she could just stay in the bed, and let the men talk without her, but she couldn't afford that, finding the angels was her trial, not Orion's. She pulled her dress on fast and even prepared clean clothes for Orion before he stood up from the bath, and towel-wrapped, damp, smelling irresistibly of soap and Orion, wrapped her in another embrace from behind, as she stood next to a pile of their used clothes, debating with herself what to do with them.

She closed her eyes, leaning into him, wondering why his closeness felt so good, why it was always harder and harder to resist... She turned around and kissed him, then stepped away decisively, making him groan.

"The landlord told me that if we leave our clothes by the door, they'll wash them for us before we leave," he said after a moment, voice laced with resignation.

That surprised Astrid-- she didn't expect such service in this inn-- but she nodded, collected their used garments, placed them on the stool and carried it towards the door. It was as good an excuse as any to take a distance from him.

While she was busy with their clothes and repacking their bags, Orion got dressed, and after another unrushed kiss, they finally exited the room and headed towards the stairs, holding hands.

~~~
Word count: 20 564 at this point.