Beautiful as you!

Rom smiled awkwardly and gave them a curt bow " No need to apologise! I have a sister, and she gets carried away sometimes, too!" he explained in a calm voice, keeping a straight face. At the same time, his thoughts drifted when he touched Edýia, and he couldn't help but notice the warmth of her body left behind on him.

Rom cleared his throat and tried his best not to show the men in the room the effect Edýia indeed had on him. He pulled himself up and sat back on his chair, grabbing the edge of it and squeezing hard, hoping to shake the feeling that she had awakened in him.

Wondering if this was all it took to rattle him; if she did more than just that, he would probably die in her hands.

" Tell me more about the Mytrhrian Queen!" Dak's low voice broke Rom's train of thought, bringing him back to reality.

" There's not much to tell! The witch is hunting her! She doesn't want to do anything against the witch until we find a way to break the bond! That's why I'm going to Lathian village, the woman who helped us lives there, and I was hoping she would know how to break the bond!" Rom explained while looking at the two men in the room, who looked worried and stared at each other.

" It looks like we are in the same boat!" Haren concluded while turning his attention to Rom

Thinking that whether they like it or not, they are in this together, and there is nothing that they can do about it now.

" Hmm...You shouldn't get involved. The witch is a force not to reckon with! Rom warned, thinking they would want to join him since he was their way in with the Mytrhrian Queen.

" We need to see the woman ourselves!" Dak countered while he sat back down in his chair.

"None can enter the forest, and even if you manage to get in it, you will spend your days walking in circles since it's enchanted against intruders!" Rom explained, hoping they would grasp the situation and stay out of it.

"Hmm!" Haren hummed while he glanced at his brother, who nodded in understanding and turned his attention back to Rom.

" Then I will join you and help you defeat the witch!" Dak offered with a warm smile, knowing that at some point Rome would have to meet with the Queen, and he wanted to be there when it happened.

Rom gave Dak an awkward smile " What about Edýia and Haren?" Rom questioned curiously, wanting to know what would happen with Edýia if Dak joined him.

" You are smitten, truly!" Dak exclaimed, seeing the colour in Rom's cheeks change when he uttered Edýia's name.

Rom shyly smiled " You could say that!" he murmured under his breath, himself not believing how strongly he felt for Edýia.

" How old is she? You said that she not of age to wed!" Rom shyly asked while keeping his eyes on the two brothers whose expressions turned sour at his question.

" We are not sure! She has lived with us for 18 years!" Dak explained, frowning while looking intently at Rom, who frowned and opened his mouth to speak several times but failed to do so.

" I don't understand! I thought she was your sister?" Rom countered after a few moments of silence, thinking that if they didn't know, someone had abandoned her, and they had taken her in.

" She is our sister but not by blood! We found her near lake Tokar while we were patrolling the lake!" Haren explained while getting up from the chair to pour himself a glass of water.

Rom smiled, glancing out through the small window" I see! The moon is up in the sky. We should get some rest! We will leave tomorrow at first light!" said Rom, while getting up from his chair and looking around the room for a spot where he could make his bed for the night.

" You can make your bed in front of the fire! It will keep you warm for the night!" Haren suggested while getting up from his chair, pointing at the fire that was still lightly burning.

" Thank you!" Rom replied while making his way to stand in front of the fire. Unstraping his bag and getting the blanket out, placing it on the wooden floor.

" Have a good sleep!" Dak wished while turning around and walking out of the room, closely followed by Haren, who turned to look over his shoulder at Rom and nodded.

Rom nodded and continued making his bed, looking forward to a good night's rest. He hadn't had one in days.

With his bed made, Rom finally lay down on his back, staring at the ceiling, feeling the warmth coming from the fire seep into his bones while his mind drifted to Edýia.

His eyelids got heavier and heavier and finally closed as Rom drifted into a deep sleep.

" Rom!" he heard a whisper calling at him through the lethargy but brushed it off, thinking he was dreaming.

Rom ignored the whisper and drifted back to sleep, only to feel a gentle pat on his shoulder and the same soft voice calling at him again.

Rom slowly opened his eyes heavy with sleep, still thinking that he was dreaming and looked at the figure that rested on its knees in front of him. His eyes slowly travelled up to the thighs and the thin waist and lingered a bit on the generous bosom, and that's when he realised who was kneeling in front of him.

Rom pulled himself up in one swift move, his face close enough to hers that he could feel the warm breath on his lips.

" What are you doing here?" Rom worriedly whispered, looking into her steel grey eyes that twinkled in the fire's light like the stars in the sky.

Edýia gave him a sweet smile " Tell me about the Queen?" she asked in a pleading voice while she shifted to sit next to Rom.

Rom frowned " If your brothers catch us, I'll be dead before sunrise!" Rom lightly scolded Edýia, who gave him a pleading look and pouted.

Rom chuckled; he would recognise that look anywhere. It was the same look his sister gave him when she wanted something from him, and she knew the answer would be 'no.

" Fine! What do you want to know?" he conceded while intently looking at Edýia and couldn't help but enjoy the fact that she was so close to him, and he could feel his fingers itch to touch her plump rosy lips.

" How does she look? Is she beautiful?!" Edýia asked in a hushed voice while keeping her eyes on the door, just in case one of her brothers would wake, but she knew they slept like logs.

" She has white hair and green emerald eyes!" She is beautiful but...!" he stopped speaking, not voicing out his thoughts, thinking that maybe she didn't feel the same way he did towards her.

" But?" Edýia echoed while she looked at Rom wide-eyed with her lips parted, patiently waiting for his answer.

" Not as beautiful as you!" Rom breathed out the words while taking his eyes off her and looking at the ground, feeling his cheeks burn hotter than the fire he stood in front of.