Two days had already passed.
And Kendra was already bored to death.
Alaric was treating her like the true lady she had claimed she was. She had everything at her beck and call… everything that would keep a lady truly entertained, but she only fantasized about training with the soldiers instead.
She watched them longingly each time they practiced, making sure to only do so when Alaric was nowhere in sight. She wasn’t going to do anything to blow this second cover this time.
When she wasn’t doing some embroidery, she was reading, and when she wasn’t doing that, she was helping Alaric draft letters to his Queen, or doing some other thing like that— basically things that only stimulated her brain and not her combatting senses.
This was truly starting to feel like the worst idea she had ever had.
“Artemis!”
It took a bit for Kendra to recall that that was her new name now, and when she did, she jumped up with a start.
What had she done now?
“General Macintyre!” She called back, rising from her seat in her tent where she had sat reading. She headed outside, towards the sound of the blonde haired man’s voice.
“Ah, Artemis, there you are,” He greeted excitedly, reaching for her hand. “You called for me?” She asked in puzzlement, not quite understanding his excitement.
“Yes. I was out scouting with my men, and I found this,” He let go of her hand and bent down, reaching for a small woven basket.
How hadn’t she seen that earlier?
He handed it to her, “Open it.”
If anyone who knew Kendra was given a chance to say a few words about her, the first thing they would probably talk about was the fact that she hated surprises.
With a passion.
Of course, like every other human being, she could deal with it when it came down to it, but she very much preferred to generally stay clear of them.
And so, it wasn’t very astounding that she tentatively pulled up the latch.
“Oh.” She tried to think of anything else she could add to that as she stared down at the little white rabbit, with huge adorable eyes busily nibbling on a bunch of carrots.
“You do not like it,” The esteemed general observed albeit with a little disappointment. He had noticed her looks of boredom, and he had done everything possible to keep her entertained, but the thing was that Artemis was a hard nut to crack. He wanted so badly to make her happy in his company so she wouldn’t leave, but it didn’t look like luck was on his side in that regard.
“Indeed I do not,” Kendra confessed with a sheepish grin, “That doesn’t mean that I do not think it is adorable though,”
The General only nodded his understanding and took the basket from her hands, reaching out to let the bunny go. It stood still for some time watching the both of them and then it started to hop away, until Kendra just heard a loud bang and then the animal stopped moving. She turned to look at the leader of the Curers in silent surprise only to find him still wielding the murder weapon, a small black pistol that still had smoke coming out of its muzzle.
“Since you didn’t want it, some of my men can have it for supper.” Came his reply. There was no disputing the fact that he was right, but Kendra still couldn’t shake off the blanket of mortification that covered her as she tried very hard to keep her face void of any emotion.
“Pietre! Pietre!”
A young dark haired boy appeared in a flash, his red tunic so large that he seemed to be lost in it. “Milord? Yer sent for me?”
“Yes, Pietre,” Alaric spoke absentmindedly, his gaze never leaving Kendra’s. “Carry that dead animal away and hand it over to the cooks.” He ordered.
“Yes, milord.”
“You never cease to amaze me, Artemis,” The blue eyed man praised. “Most women would have passed out by now because of the gore they just witnessed, but some way, somehow, you’re still standing,”
“Those women have strengths that I may lack too, my lord, it doesn’t do us any good comparing us, we each have our own set of fortes and weaknesses,” She was quick to reply, still trying hard to process what had just happened.
“Tell me about your life, Artemis… come, let us go into your tent,” He said.
Kendra bowed her head slightly, “I’m afraid, that would be inappropriate, my lord,” The last thing she needed was him in her tent, but then she thought better of it.
This was actually a perfect chance to get to know him better, and get to find out about the witch. “It’s inappropriate, yes… but thankfully, we’re far away from the watchful eyes of the ton.” She quickly amended.
With those words, she headed for her tent, with the General trailing right behind her.
“I see you have settled in quite well,” He said satisfiedly, taking a look around. Kendra could only smile to that, “It’s all thanks to your wonderful hospitality.” She gestured towards one of the makeshift chairs that littered the room, “Please sit,”
The man did as the she-wolf requested.
“So…” Kendra dragged out releasing a deep breath in the process, “What did you want to know about me?”
“Tell me everything. What are your interests? What do you dislike?”
“Well,” Kendra pondered over it for a bit, “I love reading, I love gardening, and I really enjoy sparring too.” She decided to finally confess, because she had had enough. She almost chuckled when the General’s head reeled so sharply that he almost got whiplash. “You can spar? B-but you’re a lady!”
Kendra cocked and eyebrow, “And?”
Alaric shook his head, not wanting her to see just how much he was fascinated by her, “Never mind,” How did you learn how to spar?”
Kendra smiled as fond memories took her back in time, “My father taught me. I was his only child, and so he didn’t let the fact that I was a wee lass stop him from imparting all the knowledge he had to me.”
Once again, the General found himself surprised. That had been happening quite a lot around this Artemis woman. If he was being honest, he hated surprises. Nothing surprised him in fact, since he couldn’t have been in this position for long if anything did, but he found that he didn’t mind the surprises the woman kept springing up on him.
He was intrigued.
There was also the fact that he couldn’t identify her scent, but he’d dive into that later.
“How good are you?” He found himself asking, “Are you an all-rounder or you’re only good in one field?”
“I’m practiced in a little bit of everything, so I guess I can call myself an all-rounder.” Kendra admitted, being quite humble about it, and having the grace to look bashful.
Wow.
“Anyway, enough about me,” Alaric heard her say, the words snapping him from his musings. “What made you become a soldier? Specifically one that hunts wolves down?”
Kendra saw the pleasant smile drain from his face, a hard look taking over. For a moment, she thought that she had crossed a boundary, but then she quickly realised that she was not the one he was angry with, he was angry with a memory instead.
“I never knew my father,” He started a faraway look in his eyes, “Growing up, it was just my ma and I. We were so close, so close that she tended to overlook my stubbornness sometimes, choosing to speak sense into me and not use the rod like most parents did. When the werewolf curse started spreading and they started having kids, it became dangerous to go out… the streets were not safe anymore. Ma told me countless times never to go out without her, especially at night,” He choked slightly, “I didn’t listen. My mum would come and search for me every night, pleading with me to just listen to her and stay indoors, but the very next day, I’d do it all over again.” He stood up, and began to pace, “One night, she came to get me, like she did as usual… but we were crossed on the way home by a group of werewolves. They shifted into human form, sneering and jeering about how they were gods, and how soon they were going to rule the world… and then they proceeded to rape my poor mother, right in front of me, first in human form, and then in werewolf form. All that while, ma kept screaming at me to run away, but my little legs wouldn’t move. I was just five then… I watched one of them rip her throat out right in front of me, and watched them howl and run off into the night.”
The hatred oozing from him was enough to maim, and Kendra felt bad for him, truly she did. He had had a sad life yes, but he was taking it out on innocent souls now, she needed to find a way to get him to see that.
“I held her in my arms one last time, and watched her choke on her own blood and try to catch her breath, all to no avail. I-I kept repeating how sorry I was for disobeying her, but I don’t think she even heard me. Her soul had already left long before her body finally gave up.”
Standing before her, Kendra didn’t see the ruthless General everyone was afraid of. All she saw was a little five year old boy lost in the guilt of his mother’s death, and wanting to make things right.
Without saying a word, she stood up and wrapped her arms around him in a comforting hug. That was when she felt it;
The sparks.