Zachary opened his eyes and thought he saw an angel. White hair, long fan eyelashes, a cute petite nose, and two rose petals as lips. Not to mention her flawless cream-colored skin. That's when Zachary had come up with his own nickname for her. One that would be the root of countless nicknames for Lorena in the future.
He smiled warmly at her and pulled her closer to his chest. She wrinkled her brows at the movement, but quickly repositioned and snuggled into him, her light breath tickling his chest. He stayed there, content until he knew he had to wake her up. He poked her nose and smiled seeing her face scrunch up. He lightly shook her and watched as her eyes groggily opened. God, she was his too!
"Morning."
Her morning voice was beautiful too. Why had he been so stubborn? He could have had mornings like this for years! It didn't matter, though. They would become normal soon enough.
"Morning. Let's get something to eat."
Lorena and Zachary quickly got ready for the day, occasionally stealing kisses along the way. Lorena finally closed her tab in the Inn and went to the pub to quit. Though Randel was saddened by her leaving, he knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. The other customers didn't take her departure so smoothly, however.
"It's okay, girl. You don't have to go with this guy! We'll protect you!"
"Yeah, Lorena! You can just stay with us! Ugly over here can beat it."
"NO MY ANGEL LORENA!!!! YOU CAN'T LEAVE US!!!!"
"Shut your trap Jarvis! Can't you see she's forgotten us because she found a man?!"
Similar conversations littered the pub. Zachary's face was indifferent, but he was really annoyed. They were taking up precious time with his Lorena! Time that could've been spent just the two of them. Lorena, on the other hand, was amused. She really had grown attached to the regulars of the pub.
Take Aron and his crew. They were rowdy construction workers who came for lunch and after their shifts. They were loud and jolly, just like everyone else in the pub, and always were cracking jokes with her.
There was also Pete and his buddies as well. They sat in their table in the middle and was always arguing politics with their rivals, Mark and his group. Things would get heated, fast, but Lorena always stepped in just in time to diffuse the situation with some steak and sausage. Never alcohol, that was just adding oil to the fire.
There were many other groups and just travelers who came through town. Though it didn't seem like it, Lorena considered these people her friends. Since coming here, she didn't ever really have friends. Zachary was her boss, now lover. Raymond was like her father and mentor. The Sol members were colleagues, but these people were her friends. She would do almost anything for them, and she was sure they felt the same.
"Listen here Lore, you run into any problems and you call me, got it? I've got connections and brawn. Nobody'll mess with you when I'm done wit 'em!"
Aron said and his crew roared in agreement. Lorena was touched and hugged every single one of them goodbye.
"Over here girlie! You make sure and tell me if you need any help, ya hear? I got eyes all over the capital!"
Pete was saying before Mark interrupted.
"Oh quiet you kook! She'll be callin' us if she needs any help, isn't that right Lorena? We can help her much more than you ever could!"
"Huh?! You wanna go, cheapskate?!"
"Hah?!"
They both bickered with each other and their groups each looked at one other and shrugged helplessly. One took a long sip of his beer before leaning in the whisper to Lorena.
"They both care about you, okay? They don't have the courage to admit it, but they would gladly set aside their differences to help you. Just keep that in mind."
She winked and smiled to the man and he smiled back, carefully ignoring the killer glares a certain forgotten party sent his way.
Finally, she got to Randel. He was standing behind the bar cleaning a cup, just like he had been doing when she first met him. She smiled softly to him and tried to keep her voice steady.
"Bye Randel. I'll make sure to send you letters, okay? You're like the grandpa I never had."
Moisture started to build up in the old man's eyes but he quickly wiped them away. He grabbed something out of his breast pocket and set it in the palm of her hand. It was a metal emblem. Lorena looked at it in wonder. It was beautiful! She had never, in her two lifetimes of living, seen anything like it.
There were two daggers, exquisitely crafted, crossed with a black flying dove right where they intersected. The daggers' blades were squiggly and looked like they would hurt much more than a normal dagger.
"Careful with that. If you give it to anyone else without my permission, it'll curse them. It's a powerful curse too. The man that they love will die. That is the curse of the black dove. But since I have made you immune to it, it doesn't apply to you. Whenever you need professional help in regards to someone you hate, wear this on the cuff of your jacket. Someone will come. Most likely with red eyes or a similar cuff link. Take care of yourself."
The first part was spoken into her ear so no one else could hear, the last sentence was spoken out loud. Lorena looked at the pin one more time and tucked it away safely into her pocket. She gave a quick peck on Randal's cheek and bid him a farewell.
Finally having his Lorena alone, Zachary was content. He was glad that she made so many friends while he was being an ass. Multiple times he got pulled aside and was instructed to never harm her or hurt her. If he did, they swore they would come deal with him themselves. As if he would harm his precious angel!
He slid his hand down into hers and intertwined their fingers. She looked up at him in surprise and he just leaned down to kiss her once more. It was light but conveyed all his feelings. Together, they walked down the street and out of Stoneway.
Okay, sorry it took a while to get another chapter out! I was organizing my thoughts and trying to figure out where I was going with this story! It's turning out to be so much longer than I had intended. :) (1103 words! That's a lot for me!)