Underestimate Me

His eyes would not leave her body, her face. No word was received from her, but he could not yet give up hope. Evelyn suggested he sit by the river they followed for a spell whilst Laila checked his shoulder; she somehow managed to talk Aldith into removing the intolerable manacle to give the burnt skin around his neck a break from the brutal heat. Rowen felt more gratitude toward Aldith once her cool fingers released his scalding flesh than he felt toward any other human at that instance.

His bound hands reached to rub the aching blisters while Laila slapped his hand away. “Do not touch!” She hissed. A loud, ferocious screech filled the air after her outburst. Rowen recognized the sound; however, instead of the innocent warning he heard before, this screech reeked of predatory ruthlessness. He looked to the heavens, a gesture that left his injured shoulder exposed. Evelyn yelled something he did not listen to while Aldith dropped her invention and got away from him as quickly as she could. Laila seemed to pay no mind to the scene unfolding before her.

Within mere moments the horrid bird swooped down on Rowen. The first mark was a simple scratch on his cheek. An angry hiss left his lips as he stood from his rock still watching the bloodthirsty animal. It swooped again, leaving another scratch on his tarnished neck. The falcon turned and with open claws directed itself down onto his left shoulder. Its sharp talon sunk into his wounds, both old and new.

One set of long talons found its way directly into the narrow hole the arrow left in his left shoulder while the others flailed in the midst of his upper back. Memories cracked through his memory while he tried to wave his arms at the creature. The bindings confined him too harshly to reach the bird. Rowen fell to the ground, rolling on his back, making every effort to remove the offender. His actions reverberated through the bird causing it to dig deeper into his skin. Screams pierced his ears while the Falcon let out a series of harsh screeches. Rowen feared the sound of ripping cloth more than he feared his attacker. He wondered where the screaming was coming from before he shoved his shoulders flat against the dusty ground. The talon flailing around his upper spine disappeared before the wretched bird’s beak clamped down on a muscle in his neck.

A hissing whistle burst through the women’s silence and the echoing screams. Falcon’s talon released as did its beak. The whoosh of slapping filled the air as the screams ceased. Rowen took several deep breaths in an effort to calm his being, but it did not work. Every muscle in his body seemed to quiver from the adrenaline the offensive creature caused to burn like wildfire in his veins.

“Now I have to clean this,” Laila stated in a harsh tone, “again!”

Rowen grimaced at the thought of her getting that close to him again. His wounds did not need her attention though the fresh blood staining his shirt proved differently. He looked toward Josselyn and the direction in which the sharp whistle originated. The beast of a Falcon rested on her shoulder now where it enjoyed snippets of bread from her hand. “Well done, Falcon.” She cooed at the creature while smirking at Rowen and none of the people surrounding the swordswoman could resist taking in her look of pure satisfaction.

Aldith and Evelyn pulled Rowen back onto his rock. Luckily, his actions on the ground kept his shirt intact; he would get to keep his secrets to himself a little longer. Laila took a step toward him and he held his hands up stopping her movements. “I am alright,” Rowen spoke like a young boy who simply scraped his knee.

Laila rolled her eyes and continued her venture forward. Her face twisted into a scowl as he continued to hold his hands up as if he could keep her away. “We have had this discussion!” She hissed.

“There is a few new scratches here,” Evelyn reported while running her fingers over an area of his spine below the arrow wound in his shoulder.

Rowen jumped away from her, almost stumbling to the ground. “Nay, there are no scratches; I am fine.” His voice grew high and panicked. The boyish charm he once possessed leaving all his features. He could not hide the fear in his eyes, nor could he hide the pain in his arm. Backing into a tree caused a grimace to crease his features.

“Sit!” Laila ordered.

“I will not!” He growled.

Aldith grabbed his arm and snatched him away from the tree before Evelyn shoved him down on the rock, holding him there. Laila smirked before she slid his shirt off his shoulder and checked the front of his arrow wound first. “Why do you not want to be tended to, Rowen?”

He looked at her green eyes as dark as the canopy above them. Something deep in her eyes caused his nerves to relaxed while she rubbed a damp cloth over the wound before putting some herbs in it to stop the bleeding. She moved to his back and took note of the tension that returned to his shoulders.

“In my home, on the opposite side of the forest from your village, my father was a councilman and he condoned my marriage to the apothecary.” She tended to the back wounds slower than she had the front while her voice seemed to calm him. “My husband fell ill. I was devastated, so naturally I took to his work for him trying to heal his ailment while preparing medicines for others in the village. Everyone believed I made deliveries; however, my father came for a visit one afternoon and caught me making the medication I used to treat my husband.” Rowen felt her fingers gently place herbs in and round the wound while she continued. “He thought I poisoned the man I married, so he turned me in to authorities where I was beaten and brutalized before they left me to die. Josselyn found me and her sisters saved me before adopting me.”

Laila patted Rowen’s uninjured shoulder. He turned to give her an appreciative smile and nod, but her fingers ventured over the cuts that opened underneath his shirt, the area Evelyn touched. “No!” He grit his teeth, while pulling his shirt over his shoulder, returning his secrets to their hiding place. “I am sorry for what happened to you for you are a kind soul and do not deserve that sort of harm, but please leave my demons at bay.” His dark eyes met hers with a force that frightened her a little. None of the women ever saw that much emotion on the eldest son of Elrik’s face.

Rowen took her hand in his and pleaded with her soul. Laila’s features softened as she nodded. "We shall let sleeping dogs lie where they have fallen.” Thankfulness poured from him. He did not chance looking at Josselyn for fear of hopelessness filling this moment of unsettled peace.

Laila’s, whom he considered a new friend, words swam through his thoughts. She was ruined for trying to take care of her husband and village. How could that be a just law?