Let me explain

"What do you want from me in return for telling me what I want?" asked Liam carefully as he looked at Elvira.

He knew that nothing in this world went for free, there was always something else that the person wanted in return, and it would be insensible of him to just think that Elvira would tell him everything that he needed to know just because she was a nice person.

"You are very attentive Liam" said Elvira as she smiled at him.

"I know that nothing in this world goes without a cost, so what is your charge?" asked Liam as he still did not trust this woman, he felt something unsettling, but he did not think that she would try to kill him.

"I need nothing more than your trust Liam, that is all I need you to trust me" said Elvira with a smile.

"Let me be honest with you Elvira, if anything, I do not trust you, I apologize for that, but that is the truth" said Liam.

"And I thank you for your honesty, as expected of someone on your calibre you are very outspoken" said Elvira as she smiled and Liam could sense come parables here, but he just could not put his finger on it, Elvira was not revealing anything to him, which made him to start to wonder.

"Are you going to tell me the truth or not?" asked Liam.

"Will you trust me or not?" asked Elvira with a smile.

"Fine, I trust you Elvira" said Liam.

"Good" said Elvira as she smiled.

"Now, I can tell you everything that you need to know, but first before that, I need some of your hair" said Elvira.

"My hair?" asked Liam in confusion.

"Yes your hair, just a strand would do" said Elvira.

"Why do you need my hair? What will you use it for?" asked Liam as he narrowed his eyes as Elvira as she just smiled at him, he could sense something fishy going on here.

"Relax Liam, there is nothing here to be scared off, you see it is just part of the rules, before we do anything, we need to be sure of the identity of the person we are meeting, and for that I need a strand of your hair" said Elvira as she explained and she smiled.

"I do not see what my hair has to do with anything, can you not just answer my questions without having to take my hair?" asked Liam as Elvira smiled at him, he really was Alaric's son, his mere caution and testing everything.

"No, I do need your hair, but there is nothing that you need to worry about, I will not take your hair anywhere else, once you give it to me, you will see what I need to use it for" said Elvira as she smiled and Liam seemed reluctant.

"You agreed to trust me Liam, please we do not have all day, your people are waiting for you outside, an especially a particular woman" said Elvira with a smile as Liam narrowed his eyes at her, he still did not trust her, but regardless he pulled out a strand of his hair from his head and he handed it to Elvira.

"Thank you" said Elvira with a smile as she took the strand of hair from him as she smiled and she dropped it in her cauldron.

"The first step is completed, now onto the next step" said Elvira with a smile.

…

Darla got off her horse as she tied it to a post and she entered into the full market, oblivious to the fact that there was someone following her.

Darla walked past the many stalls as she wondered what to buy for everyone.

"Darla" called Elihu as he finally caught sight of Darla and he rushed to her as she turned around and she was surprised to see him here to say the least.

"Elihu, what are you doing here??" asked Darla as Elihu stood in front of her.

"I followed you, we have to talk Darla, seriously, we need to" said Elihu as the surprise on her face disappeared and was replaced with anger and annoyance.

"Elihu, there is nothing that we need to talk about, we have already said everything, you explained to me that I am repulsive to you, whatever happened between us for a moment was nothing but a mistake" said Darla.

"Darla, there you go again jumping into conclusions, I never said any of that, you did not let me explain at all" said Elihu as he could tell that Darla was really hurt by what happened between them, and he really wanted to explain, if only he would allow her.

"No, I am not jumping into anything, you told me all that by your actions" said Darla as she did not even give Elihu a chance to speak.

"Darla, you are being unfair to me, not letting me explain to you properly" said Elihu as Darla scoffed.

"Leave me alone Elihu, unlike you, I have things to do" said Darla as she turned around to walk away, but she could not go any further when she suddenly felt someone gently pull her hand back and she looked at Elihu as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Let me go Elihu" said Darla.

"Not until you promise to be quiet and let me explain" said Elihu as Darla frowned at him, she would not fall for his pitiful look this time.

"Elihu, I am being serious with you, let me go, or else" said Darla.

"I am not letting you go Darla, not until we talk properly, like the adults we are" said Elihu as Darla growled at him.

"Let me go Elihu, or else I will scream and tell everyone that you are trying to hurt me!" said Darla.

"You would not dare Darla" said Elihu.

"Try me" said Darla with a smile on her face as Elihu groaned, he had forgotten just had stubborn she could be, she did not let him speak or explain himself at all, she had many ideas already formulated in her head that she would not let go of.

"Fine" said Elihu as he let go of her hand and Darla smiled smugly at him as she rolled her eyes at him and she hissed as she walked away.

Elihu looked at Darla as she walked away, if she thought for a second that he would let her go and continue to have a bad view of him, then she was wrong, he was going to find some way to talk to her.

"That stupid man Elihu, does he know how annoying he is?? First, he kisses me, and then apologizes for it, and after that, looks at me as if he is disgusted by me, and now he wants to explain to me?? Explain what to me?? Explain nonsense, explain my foot" said Darla in anger.

She just hated herself so much for thinking highly of that man, for once, she thought that he was a good man, and the care he showed her when she had broken her leg just made her admire him more.

"Oh Darla, when will you realize that you make bad choices in men?" asked Darla to herself as she scoffed and she decided to stop thinking about this and buy food for everyone to eat.

…

Darla was walking back to where she had tied her horse as she carried the leather bags in her hands when she suddenly felt someone pull her hand gently and cover her eyes.

"Who is that?? Who is doing this to me? Let me go you idiot, let me go!" said Darla as she struggled but she could not break out of the hold.

"I will only let you go if you promise to listen to me" came Elihu's voice as he whispered in Darla's ear.

"Elihu??" called Darla in a mix of anger.

"Yes it is me, and I will only let you go if you agree to listen to me and speak like the adults that we are" said Elihu as he whispered in her ear once more, he had tried the gentle approach, but now knowing Darla and her stubbornness, he needed a tough approach with her.

"I will kill you" said Darla as she felt shivers run down her spine when Elihu whispered in her ear.

"That is alright, as long as you listen to what I have to say first" said Elihu as he whispered again and Darla wondered why him being so close affected her so much, she wanted him to move away from her as far as possible.

"Fi… fine, just let go of me, we can talk" said Darla in a shaky tone as she took a deep breath.

"Thank you Darla" said Elihu as he let go of her and she turned to look at him.

"Are you insane or what?" asked Darla.

"Yes, I am insane because of you, I do not want any misunderstandings between us, so I will do whatever it takes to explain what I really mean" said Elihu.

"Go on then, explain, because we do not have all day" said Darla in an impatient tone.

"Darla, that kiss between us… I do not know how to explain it, but it felt like a jolt of energy, even though it lasted for a few moments, I have never felt that way before with any other woman that I have kissed" said Elihu as Darla waited for him to finish.

"I never said that I found you repulsive, you are very attractive, and I do not regret that kiss honestly" said Elihu.

"Then how come you did not come to see me after that kiss hmm?" asked Darla.

"Because I was afraid and ashamed, ashamed because of what I did by storming out of your room, and speaking to you the way that I did, and afraid because I did not want to hurt you" said Elihu.

"Let me be honest with you, I have been with countless women, but none of them compare to you, those were all not important, but you, you are important, I did not want to play with you, lead you on, or break your heart, which is why I felt truly horrible when I kissed you, I thought that you would hate me" said Elihu.

"I do not hate you Elihu… I… I like you… very much" said Darla.

"I do not know what t feel regardless because… I do not want to be stupid and fall again, like I have in the past" said Darla as she sighed.

"I know Darla, but I want you to know that I have never felt the way I feel with you, with anyone else" said Elihu as Darla could not help but smile, she felt her heart flutter when she heard Elihu say that, because it meant that she was not the only one who felt the way that she did.

"Darla can I kiss you?" asked Elihu as Darla nodded and Elihu gave her a kiss as she kissed him back and he pulled away.

"I like you too Darla, a lot" said Elihu as Darla smiled at him.

"So does that mean that everything is settled between us?" asked Elihu.

"Yes, it is" said Darla as she smiled.

"I guess that we should get going now, the others must be wondering where we are" said Darla as she smiled.

"They can wait a bit more, how about you and I spend some time together, for a little while?" asked Elihu as he smiled.

"Are you really sure about that Elihu?" asked Darla as Elihu nodded.

"Alright then, I agree, we should spend more time together… I want to get to know you more Elihu, honestly" said Darla as she smiled and Elihu smiled at her, he felt the same and he was so relieved that they were back on good terms again.