Hello people who are reading this =P...thank youuu! i can't believe it has managed to get over 5,000 reads and 100 votes, makes me kinda excited =P

But down to buisness...I am going on holiday on monday and won't be back until the 4th of August, therefore My usual uploading will be interupted (sorry but i do need some time off)...I'm hoping that my holiday will give me lots of exciting new ideas for Ilea and my other books so expect another upload anywhere between the 4th and the 10th of August (as i will need some time to actually write the chapter when i get back before i can put it up =P)

PLEASE if you like what i write VOTE and COMMENT!!!!...i haven't really pushed it that much before as i feel cheeky, but a while back i almost packed up writing this cs no1 seemed that interested, so if you're a closet reader, just click on the little orange button <<< orrrrrr tell me you like it =P

 Readingreader and Kalamazookaka7 get a shout out here for being awesome and giving me huge support!! if you want a shout out or dedication, tell me what you think, otherwise i won't even know your there =P

right...Vote, Comment....Enjoyyyyyyy!!

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Catch up from chapter 41

Where as I had been cautious before, I was reckless now, giving myself to him completely; pushing my mouth against his and wishing that he would never stop kissing me. I could feel his hands on my back and his wide shoulders underneath my own hands, smooth and strong. I leant back against the tree and felt his body press against mine again, sending yet more shivers down my spine. He paused for a moment and then picked me up, laying me gently on the grass before kneeling next to me, studying my face closely. I knew that I should feel nervous, that I should shy away from him, but I didn’t, I wanted him more.

I untied my robe and then pulled him towards me, finally feeling his skin against my own.

I fell asleep against his chest as the dawn was breaking.

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A soft touch on my hip woke me as his finger softly traced an invisible line across the small of my back. I smiled at him and leaning back into his arms I realised that I had slept without nightmares or thoughts of any kind. Moving my head up I kissed his lips softly and he smiled at me as he opened his eyes, “Morning.” He said softly and then looked up at the sky, “Or should I say afternoon?” I smiled at him and kissed him again.

We got up and had something to eat. I picked up my sword and walked to the middle of the grass, standing in the first stance, “How can you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Train? I’m so tired, I can’t have gotten any more then five hours sleep.” He said smiling at me coyly.

“I have taught myself to use every ounce of energy to my advantage.” I said smiling on the outside, but remembering my journey across the Plains with a shiver.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

“Your smile, it didn’t reach your eyes at all.”

“Oh, just a bad memory.”

“Oh.” I managed to get all the way through the Tingure before he stopped me again. “Do you trust me enough to let me use your sword, fine warrior?” I rolled my eyes at him and went to give it to him, pausing momentarily.

“You do know how to use one don’t you?”

“I think so, which end do I hold?” He said sarcastically, but still grinning. I passed the sword to him.

“Just don’t hurt yourself.”

“Why?”

“That is a stupid question. But simply because it would be an inconvenience to patch you up afterwards.” I said angelically.

“Oh, haha.” He stood in the first position of the Tingure and flowed fluidly to the next, surprising me with his grace. I watched him open mouthed as he flowed from stance to stance, no emotion on his face. Finally he came to a stop and smiled at me.

“Apparently, I am not the only one with secrets. Where did you learn that?”

“Didn’t you notice how most of the men from the village seemed to all appear at once?” I thought about them all suddenly turning up at the lake that morning.

“Yes I suppose so, but I did not think anything of it at the time. Why did they?”

“We had been away at the army camp. We go there for two months every year from the age of eight to train.”

“Every man?”

“It alternates through the cities, but yes, every man in our country goes and trains from the age of eight. Don’t people in your country?”

“No, we have an army that lasts all year round.”

“Just one set of men?”

“Yes. Your way is really strange.”

“Not if you have been brought up that way.”

“I suppose.”

He went through it again, and I sat on the grass by the tree, slightly bored. I was a bit in awe of him, I would never have described him as awkward, he was just tall with a lot of muscle, but when he went through the Tingure it was as if he changed into a whole different person, a smooth and lethal weapon.

“What?” He asked, noticing that I was staring at him.

“Nothing.” I said, smiling. He shrugged and went back to doing the Tingure, I sat there, bored. The last time I had been this bored but still happy was when I had been in Elmira, still in school with Jacob and Johanna, it seemed like a lifetime ago. I felt a familiar ache in my chest at the thought of my friends; where were they?

“Ilea, what’s wrong?” I hadn’t noticed him stop and walk over to me, so lost in my thoughts that it took me a couple of seconds to realise that he was talking to me.

“Sorry, what?” He knelt down in front of me, his eyes level with mine.

“What’s the matter?”

“I was thinking about my friends.”

“Your friends?”

“Yes, we grew up together; they were more like a brother and sister to me.” I explained patiently.

“Oh, where are they?”

“I have no idea.” I said, feeling a tear roll down my cheek and hurriedly wiping it away with the back of my hand. He held my other hand.

“Tell me?” I thought about it for a moment.

“I would have to explain a great deal.”

“Okay then.”

“It will not be a short story.”

“How long is it?”

“Very, you might want to find a comfortable position.”

“Okay.” He sat down with his back to a tree, I turned around to face him and then sat on the floor opposite him. I told him my story.

I could see the mixed emotions in his face when I told him about Rowan and then the outright disgust when I told him about how evil he was and how he had manipulated me; a young girl desperate for someone to love me.

I got up to the part where Senkrad killed the child in front of her father and felt the tears slowly run down my face as the memory burned brightly in my mind’s eye. I continued and got to the part where I was about to cross the Plains and then saw the darkening sky. “I should leave the rest for tomorrow.”

Beau was looking at me, but his eyes were out of focus, when I spoke about stopping they zoomed in on me. “I thought I knew, I thought I understood why you acted the way you did, why you were always so uptight and unwilling to reveal any kind of emotion, but I didn’t, I didn’t know anything.”

I looked at him closely, suddenly afraid that I had told him too much, that I had told him more than he could deal with. Just the thought of it made me catch my breath in instant desperation. Not again, please not again. “You’re hurt.” He said, looking at my face.

“No, I am fine.” I lied through gritted teeth.

“What haven’t you told me?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re looking at me as if I’m some kind of predator.”

“Am I?”

“Yes, what have I done?”

“Nothing, yet.” I whispered the last part, but his eyes narrowed and I knew he had heard me.

“What do you mean, yet?”

“I keep waiting to tell you too much, to tell you something you do not want to hear, something that will make you leave.” I said, looking at the floor. He put his hand on my cheek and gently lifted my face, so that I had to look at him.

“That won’t happen.” I hoped the doubt did not show in my face, as I looked at him, and I was praying that he was not lying, but I just could not be sure of anything.

“I am sorry, it is just…” I trailed off, not wanting to say it.

“After Rowan.” I nodded sadly, “Don’t worry Ilea, I know he hurt you, I can see it in your eyes when you speak of him”. I smiled at him sadly. He smiled back at me and I saw a strange look in his eyes. He moved towards me and then kissed me softly, then stood up and began to climb the main tree I used. “What are you doing?”

“I’ll be back down in a minute.” I rolled my eyes again and said nothing. “Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“I can’t come down until you’ve closed your eyes.”

“But this is…”

“Humour me.”

“Fine.” I heard him climb down the tree and waited impatiently with my eyes closed, I tried to look.

“No, no, keep them closed.” I stuck my tongue out at him and he kissed me. I felt him fiddle with something behind my neck and then felt a small weight fall on my chest. “Now you can open your eyes.” I opened them and put my hand immediately to my chest to find out what he had put there; it was a leather strap, on the strap was a small grey stone that seemed to glitter slightly in the twilight sun, I looked at it, slightly confused.

“I found it in the cave behind the waterfall, just after you left.” He voice was hard but I could see the emotion in his eyes again.

“Thank you.” I said and kissed him softly. I thought for a moment, trying to work out if accepting was the right thing to do, but was still too unsure to do anything against it. I leant against his chest, feeling secure as his strong arms wrapped around me and held me close. He kissed me again, softly at first and then firmer as he pulled my body towards him more. I broke apart panting for breath but he continued to kiss my neck, slipping his hands up my back.

“Since you’re so tired I suggest that we get some sleep.” I said, he glanced at me with a look in his eyes that told me I was getting no chance of sleeping tonight.

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Next upload between the 4th - 10th August =)