I slowly began to wake from delightful sleep. It felt amazing not being tasked with getting up early, and sleeping on an actual bed. I was in a heavenly morning comfort. Nuzzling my head deeper into what I was laying on, I denied the thought of getting up. I breathed in and the sent of mountain air, and let my body completely relax.

My brain began to clear of sleepy mist, and I became more aware of my surroundings. I opened my eyes to see the surface of Theo's bare chest. His arm was curled up around my shoulder, and my arm was laying across his chest.

Suddenly, my senses lit up. My skin tingling and burning, my throat clogged with my breath, my nose breathing his blossoming mountain sent, my vision lines with his body, my ears pounding with my heart, and his soft breathing in the background. But, most importantly, he was still asleep.

I began carefully lifting my head, but stopped when he started moving. Unsure what to do, I laid back down and pretended to be asleep. He moved his arm up over mine and rested his cheek on the top of my head. His soft breathing danced with my hair.

Opening my eyes agian, I became very unsure how to get out of the situation without waking him, and became very aware of his touch. I can't believe I forgot to get him a stupid shirt.

It was an unusual feeling laying. I felt complete. As if I could lay there forever in an endless dream. But at the same time felt as if his skin was burning me up, setting off a chemical reaction within me, and if I didnt get away soon, I would explode. I felt completely confused.

I laid there for a moment, then decide I needed to do something. I slipped out of his arms as gently as I could, and succeeded without waking him. Standing at the foot of the bed, and brushed back the scattered hair from my face. I looked back at Theo, at the imprint I'd made beside him. The image of me sleeping, curled up in his arms trickled down my spine, causing me to roll my shoulders in the hopes of shaking the image off. My eyes move to his face. It was smooth and peaceful. It's one of the first times I'd seen him so calm. A small smile casually formed on my lips. And then I began to feel like a creep for watching him sleep. I really needed to get out. I changed into human form and left.

Walking out into the moist air felt good. It was the beginning of a cool spring day. Although the ground was soaked, the sun had dried up the clouds.

A small match of excitement sparked in me. This was the first time in the past month I'd explored the unknown without Theo. This was actually the first time I'd explored something far from home without anybody beside me. The world felt open.

I began to walk on the side of the road, with no destination in mind. Noticing the people as I passed, I examined the things they were doing, attempting to guess life stories out of moments. I wondered what it would be like to live in their shoes for a day. What their culture is? The little problems they run into? How they operated day to day?

It had struck me. I'd been walking around in worlds I never imagined to be real, and I haven't taken the time to get to know my surroundings. It would be interesting to take some time in the future and study the worlds.

On my walk, I noticed the colors that appeared most in the people lives. Navy and silver. Those were the colors that were on the banner in the castle. The colors of Velberis. These people were still holding on to the past.

It seemed like a great thing to do, trying to rebuild the former glory of a city. And by account of what Theo told me of Velberis, this was an ideal city to do it to.

I let myself relax as I ignore my problems, and ponder things that don't concern me. It felt good to have some alone time, and I didn't want to pollute it with worries.

I turned a corner back to the inn. The neighing of horses rang in the street, as a young boy was wrestling them by the reines, beckoning them towards the stables. The horses were winning. One broke free, stomping away from A few of scattered berries on the ground.

A man came out of the inn from the noise the horses where making, and have the boy a cross look before rushing off towards the loose horse. The horse that was currently racing towards me.

My brain told me to move, but my body wouldn't respond. I was paralyzed, and I didn't know why. The horse was coming at me, but my legs still wouldn't move.

"Move girl!" The man chasing the horse warned. At the last second, I took a few steps away as the horse sped past me. The man caught the raines, and calmed the horse. He gave me a questioning glance as he went back to the boy.

"How many times do I have to tell you to only handle one horse at a time! You're to stay the night with them keeping them in perfect condition. Horses are too valuable to not be tensed to properly."

The boy held eye contact with the man, and said an obedient, "Yes sir." They retreated with the horses into the stable, revealing two laughing boys scrambling away with a slingshot, through an alley way.

I stood there in the street for A moment, thinking. Why did I just stand there? After fighting monsters, you would think my nerves would be pretty hard by now. There was no reason for me to freeze up like that, but I did. I sighed. Lately everything in this city has just been weird.

A small growl tugged at my stomach, which led me back in the inn.

I bought myself some food, and took a seat at the bar. Two men came in and sat by me. One large' with broad shoulders and a travel worn cloak, the other small' with dirt smothered hands and a raggedy cap.

"So Tames, how's the farm?" The larger man said to the smaller.

"Everything been good. Thankful for the rain we've been getting. What about you? Where you coming down from this time?" Tames said.

"Comin' down from Tanth in Norath."

"Any news from up in Norath?"

The larger man's brows drew together. "Well... up in Tanth there was something strange..."

"Strange how? Any thing to do with grievers?"

"No, no. There was a woman."

Tames smiled. "I know women can be strange, but they're certainly not something to look so grim about." He nudged his friend's shoulder.

"It's not like that , there was a woman rallying people. Her followers think she some kind of goddess, seems more like a demon if you ask me. She was said to have unimaginable power."

"And did she?"

"Well... I saw her once. She looked powerful, but it was unnatural. The sight of her gave me chills..." The large man starred off into know where while surviving the memory.

"What's her name?"

"I don't know, but most just called her the White Witch."

"Hmm... hope she doesn't bring any trouble to us down in Anic, but I doubt she would. If they don't take care of her in Tanth, Lyon will."

I drew my attention away from the two men when the food I bought arrived. Taking the two plates, I left back to our room. Theo still hadn't woken up.

After eating, I was unsure what to do to pass the time, so I checked on Theo's ankle. The swelling had gone down significantly. I moved to his waist carefully removing the bandages with our walking him. After checking the wound, I miraculously managed to get the bandages back on. My eyes wandered from the bandages, and to the rise and fall of his chest, in which made me think of the soft deep strum of a cello. His skin, the rays of a evening sun. I moved to his lips, the ones that had moved so gently with mine, reminded me of a waltz. A dance of grace. Making my way up, I moved to his eyes. They were open.

"What are you doing?" He asked

And his voice...

"And why are you smiling like that?"

"Oh... umm... I was just checking your wounds."

He grunted a response, then spoke. "Here," he held out an arm, "Help me sit up." Grabbing his forearm, I carefully helped him up. His eyes squeezed shut from pain. He leaned against the wall with a sigh, then looked at me with a head of disheveled hair. I smiled.

"Nice bed hair." He ran a hand through his hair, taming it.

"Oh, I brought you up some food." I handed him the plate.

"Thank you." He picked at his food, testing his appetite. His eyes moved up from the plate, with an amused smile. "So, agian, why were you smiling at me like that?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I woke up, you were just smiling at me."

Was I? "I don't know what your talking about."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then what were thinking about that made you smile?" I felt my face heat before I knew it.

"Nothing." I said faster than I should have.

"Nothing?" I gave him a small nod. He began to laugh, but quickly regretted it. "Really, what were you thinking of?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, when I wake to you smiling down at me like that, I get a little curious."

"It was nothing."

"It was obviously something."

I didn't respond for a moment, then said, "When do you think we'll be able to leave here."

After giving me an annoyed look for trying to change the subject, he sighed, and decided to give in. "I'm hoping sometime tomorrow. My foot should be healed enough to walk on by then."

"So... what should we do in the meantime?" He shrugged, then began eating his food agian. I was sick of standing up by the bed, so I moved, and ended up sitting in one of the chairs. After sitting down for a bit I got up again. Theo watched me get up and walk around the room, then he said, "You can work on your training."

"I thought I was finished with training."

He chuckled. "You are far from being finished. You can work on your stances."

I picked up my sword from the side of the bed, and unsheathed it. It wasn't my ideal way to spend the time, but I prefer it to nothing. I began to practice. Right as I was about to thrust, Theo stopped me.

"Wait, you're positioned wrong. You're putting too much pressure on left leg." I tried fixing the problem, but according to Theo sigh, the problem was still there. "Come here." He carefully moved his legs over the edge of the bed. I walked over to him, and he grabbed my shoulder, gently standing up. His hand moved from my shoulder to my chest, and pushed it back slightly. I hoped that he couldn't feel the thumping of my heart with how much I could. "And you need to be more secure in your stance, you don't want to be able to fall over easily." He pushed a little harder causing me to stumble back a little.

I kept practicing until I managed to do it sufficiently enough for Theo. Eventually, I got bored of it after a couple hours. I propped my blade up against the wall. "I think I'm gonna be done for today." I said to Theo, who was limping next to the bed. Staring at the plate on the bed, I decided to take care of it. I wiped my sweaty hands on my skirt as I walked forward. My foot caught on to the strap of the satchel, causing me to stumble into a domino effect with Theo. We fell over onto the bed.

Lifting my chest from his, I said, "Are you okay!" He was squeezing my waist. All he produced was a small, "Ow." I rolled off him. He slowly turned his head towards me to give me a small glare.

"Sorry." I said softly.

He gave me a small smile.

We laid there for a moment, then he asked, "What time is it?" I looked up at the window.

"Sun set." I sighed as I put my head back down. "Theo, give me your hand."

"Will this cause me anymore pain?"

"Unlikely." He gave me a questioning look, but put forth his right hand. I linked our hands together, with our thumbs opposite each other. "Thumb wrestle me."

"What?"

"Thumb wrestle. You try to push down my thumb without unlocking our hands." I grabbed his thumb with mine and pushed it down. "See, I won that round."

"Okay..." he said as we began the next round, "What made you suddenly want to play this?"

"Me and Jennifer used to play it when we were bored."

"Who's Jennifer?"

"Oh, she's just a friend... well my best friend actually."

"And what else did you two do?" He said while pushing down my thumb.

I smiled. "We talked a lot, usually with coffee on a park bench."

"What did you talk about."

"About like... the things we'd do when we get out of school. She was thinking about becoming a fashion designer, or opening up a café and having me come and read my poetry." My smile grew sad. The memories felt lost in a old life. A life that was out of reach. A life I missed.

Theo stopped and looked up at me after I didn't continue speaking. His eyes hardened then softened again.

"So... you write poetry?" He asked.

I replied with a small shrug. "A little."

He sat up and looked down at me. "Well tell me some."

My cheeks tingle with heat, and it burned brighter as he gave me that perfect fragment smile look. I pushed myself up against the wall and crossed my legs in front of me. He did the same, elevating his leg back in place. He looked at me expectantly.

"You mean right now?"

He nodded.

"Well... I can't because I don't have my notebook with me."

"But you have your memory."

"I can't remember exactly what I wrote down. "

"It doesn't have to be perfect I just want to hear some."

"Well I do remember a little bit of, but it's not at all good. "

"Tell me

"Really?"

He gave me a nod with a soft smile. The sincerity in his eyes chiseled my heart, shaping it for him.

"Umm... well... it goes like this," I took a moment to gather the words, and exhaled a calming breath.

"She began at sunrise,
arms fully loaded with tools of her days work.
Then she saw the new man,
glowing with a potential that made himself unclear.
She asked him to help her carry the load that weighed upon her shoulders,
He replied with a chivalrous smile,
"Only for you, my dear."

Her vision of him begins to solidify,
revealing spots of mock and tease.
Relentless and continuous,
always there beside her.
She asked him why he wastes his time tormenting her.
He responds with a devious smirk,
"Only for you, my dear."

As time goes by,
hidden pieces of him come into the light.
Pieces of valor that seem reckless in battle.
But when she ask him why he rush in with such risk,
He says softly,
"Only for you, my dear."

She begins to see how he shines in full glory,
the truth behind his arrogant eyes.
And as he stands beside her on her road towards the end,
She can't help but ask why he takes this path.
His voice was pure with sincerity and love as he said,
"Only for you, my dear."

I lift my head slowly after reciting, slightly afraid of what his expression would be. He was smiling.

"Thank you for sharing that with me. I liked it."

"Really?"

"Truly." A piece of my soul let go of it's breath when I heard his response. "But one question, where did you get the inspiration for the poem?"

"Oh... I don't know. It kind of came to me one day. And, for some reason, it always just stuck with me."

"So... you didn't right for anyone in particular...?"

"Oh, no. I wasn't in a relationship with anyone, if that's what you mean." The thought of Mark popped into my mind. I hadn't thought of his scince the night of the party. "Well, actually there was this one guy, but we were never together." I stifled a tired yawn, then laughed a little. "Actually, looking back, it all just seems kind of ridiculous. I mean, I don't really know why I liked him. Yeah he was cute and nice, but I'm not really sure what was real and what was a fantasy, you know?"

I looked up at Theo, who was giving me an unsure nod. I smiled, then sighed as I closed my heavy eyes, and rested my head against his shoulder.

"Well, that's one thing I'm happy to completely leave in the past." I said drowsily. "Well... are you ready for tomorrow?" My body felt comfortable against his, and the walls of sleep were beginning to close around me. If Theo responded to my question, I never heard it.

I laid against his arm for a moment, till it shifted under me. He held me for a second before laying me gently on the pillow. His fingers brushed against my cheek as he whispered something that was suppose to be left unheard.

"Only for you, my dear."

A/N: Please remember to vote, and thanks for reading!