Chapter 10 - Again

She struggled with the desire to go out and be with him.

"How could I be angry with him and still want to be with him at the same time?" She whispered to herself in frustration.

But however frustrated she was with how she felt, it was how she felt. She wanted to go out and be with him. and while one part of her wanted to beat him to bits for turning away from her again and again, another part of her, the part that yearned for him so much, wanted to kiss him till she lost all sense of what was meant and what wasn’t. And she would have willingly lost all sense if it meant she was tucked by his side, his arms wrapped around her.

She groaned at herself, at her wants and turned on her side. It was Just her luck. She thought that sleep evaded her on a night like this.

Moments passed, and she could finally feel sleep coming on and somewhere between being awake and drifting, she heard herself whisper,

"Jasper, could it be that I'm falling for you? Could I be falling in love with you?" And somehow, someway, as she fell into oblivion, she could have sworn it was his voice she heard,

"I wonder just the same, milady."

~~~~

"Stay close to me."

"But Jasper, where are we?" She was cold and wrapped her arms around him for warmth, and was comforted by his firm hand that held her by her waist.

"I do not know, milady. But can you feel it? The prickly coldness of this place? It literally bites, can you feel it?" She nodded against him, and indeed she really did feel it. she could feel the cold, as though it were teeth, but it didn't bite at her. No- it grazed her skin softly, seductively. it made her slightly annoyed, in spite of the fear creeping up her back. She wanted to tell Jasper, but didn't feel it right, not here, not yet. There was nothing and no one in sight, but yet she knew. They watched, they listened.

They walked along a narrow path, surrounded by trees, with the moon full and bright, the only light that guided them. They had no destination, they could only follow the path... and trust.

But as they moved, they smelled the blood, burning flesh. Hannah crinkled the air as she sniffed the air, and her tummy turned in repulsion and the hairs that were still down rose on Hannah's neck, and those that were already up rose higher, if that was even possible.

Jasper drew the sword from his scabbard and she held on tighter to him. She had no Idea where the knife he gave her was.

They walked on, while the morbid scents faded as they walked on. Fading, fading, fading...

"Wake up, woman! Dammit, wake up!" She opened her eyes slowly, disoriented.

"See me, focus on me."

"Jasper?" She groaned out, her voice still hoarse from sleep. But she was gaining consciousness, surprised by the look on his face, he looked half mad, his hair disheveled, and incredibly handsome. but now wasn't the time to ogle at him. images of her dream were coming back, each part making her stomach turn, and her breath catch.

"Did you dream it too?"

"Yes." He said, gravely and she knew he understood what she meant.

"But how did we end up there? How did we get out?"

"You were screaming, it woke me up, and I, in turn, woke you up. But my guess, milady? That wasn't a dream."

She sat up slowly and he sat on his heel, he had been kneeling over her.

She turned to face him.

"You heard me scream, even while we were in there? How?"

He looked away from her for a moment, his brows drawn together in confusion and turned to look at her again.

"I truly don't know, I just... Did."

"Jasper, it didn't bite. It was seductive."

She whispered, as though she feared some unknown body would hear.

"The cold?"

She nodded.

"I think, perhaps that was on purpose." And she could hear the sizzle of anger in the manner he spoke, surprised at it. But also warmed by it, as well.

"Your hair..." He reached out to touch it, and she felt heat rush up to her cheeks, in spite of herself.

"What about it?"

"In the dream, or projection, or whatever the hell that was back there, it was long again, Like it was before."

"Was it? I didn't even notice. I guess I was too afraid to have noticed." she reached up and brushed her hand against it.

"Were you?" She was floored by the softness of his tone, the compassion in his eyes.

Dear God of all the worlds, she silently prayed, not again.

She closed her eyes, as if that would close off her heart to what he did to it, as if it would close off her heart to him.

But she found herself whispering,

"Yes." She'd said the word so silently and was so sure he hadn't heard her, but when he wrapped his arms around her and drew her close, she knew he had, and she welcomed him, heart and soul.

"Stay with me, Jasper, stay still until morning comes."

He released her and urged her to lay down, laying beside her, he brought her close to him, his arms around her. Here she was safe.

And in time she fell asleep with a palm on his heart, which he knew now beat for her.

"Goodnight princess, my princess."

~~~~

"Come." The ancient woman with the white hair beckoned her. Her face was serene. but not her eyes, Those eyes were Honey brown and they held a storm. Hannah was drawn to them.

"I cannot. Jasper, I cannot leave Jasper."

The woman smiled, just the smallest lifting of her lips, and the smile seemed familiar to Hannah.

"He will be okay, and so will you. Come."

She hesitated a bit, and looked back. She saw him as if through a veil, he was sleeping, and she still in his arms. Another time, she understood. Another place.

And then she gave in, covering the short distance that separated she and the elderly woman.

The woman stretched out a trembling hand, indicating that she wanted Hannah to hold it. And it was strangely comforting to Hannah to have the older woman"s hand in hers.

They began to walk and the agility with which the woman took each step surprised her a little. She spotted a little red cottage and turned to the woman whose head barely reached her shoulder.

"Is that where we are going?"

She nodded her head, and then came to an abrupt stop. Then raising up those eyes to meet Hannah's she said,

"You both must come here."

~~~~

"Do you remember the directions you both took?" Jasper asked her when she woke, and had woken him up quickly to tell him her dream.

"Yes, I think. It was through that clearing over there, I think" She pointed to her right.

“ think?” He asked, his brows cocked, a hint of a smile on his face.

She nodded emphatically,

" That's where I saw her. It was..." She groped within her mind space for the words to use to describe the dream, but the words didn't come. She looked into Jasper's eyes, who watched her like he was mesmerized, or like she was crazy, perhaps both.

"You believe, don't you, Jasper?" She whispered, a bit out of breath from telling her tale.

"Yes. yes, I do. Lets break camp so we can go."

And the grin rose up from her, warming and welcome.