Blind Fury

Three years later…

Things between father and son on Olympus had not improved. Zeus was upset with Ares for chasing skirts all over Greece, thus neglecting his duties as God of War.

“What, it’s okay if you do it, father, but not me? Only the great Zeus is allowed to enjoy the pleasures of mortal flesh? Right!” Ares prodded.

Zeus looked down upon his son from his position on the high throne of Olympus. “No, Ares, that is NOT what I’m saying. I don’t care what you do with your personal life. My concern lies with your position as God of War. You’ve been letting your personal life interfere lately. This is not acceptable. If you do not refrain from your games with these mortal women, then you will leave me no choice but to reassign your position to another god. Do you understand?”

Ares laughed at his father. “You’re jealous, that’s all. You want me to stop fooling around with the twins, don’t you? That’s what this is really about. You’re mad because Salinda and Kaylynn won’t have anything to do with you since they started seeing me. Admit it, father, you can’t stand the fact that I’m a better lover than you.”

Zeus’ eyes widened and his face became flushed. “YOU? You are the reason they no longer speak my name?”

Ares smiled smugly. “It’s really not my fault, dad. I can’t help it if I’m . . . good.” He laughed.

The King of the Gods stood, walked calmly over to Ares, and slowly circled him. “Well, son, originally that was not the reason for our meeting. My true concerns were for your position as war god, however, in light of this new development, I believe further action is required.”

“Further action? Oh, do tell, father, please.”

Zeus returned to his throne and sat. “It is one thing to ignore your duties as god, but it is another thing to disrespect me. I will not tolerate your insolence, Ares, and therefore, I sentence to you mortality for six-months. BE GONE,” he roared as he waived his hand.

Before Ares could respond, the God of War disappeared from Mt. Olympus.


******************


Ares had been having a tough time as a mortal. He hated to be powerless and hard work was no fun. He had been lucky enough not to come across any enemies who knew he was the God of War. But even though he was temporarily mortal, he still possessed his dashingly good looks and ability to charm the ladies, so he never went without a good meal and a bed.

About a month into his sentence, he wandered in to a tavern in a small village. Ares took slight note as to the folks who littered the place. There were many strapping young men here, potentials for service in his army. He wondered why he had not recruited them; some looked so familiar to him.
Then he realized he was in Karr. These men were ready and waiting to be picked by their god to join in his army, only he had not returned to this province in over two years. When he got back his godhood, he would have to correct this error right away, he thought.

Ares sat at a table and ordered an ale from the lovely, voluptuous, dark haired woman who came to serve him. She was a beauty, and was also the wife of the owner. But after three or four drinks, that didn’t matter to Ares. He was accustomed to having what he desired – and he desired her. This would not have been a problem for the god had he appeared in his usual godly manner. The townsfolk would have bowed down to him in service, offered up their wives and children and he could have swept her off for a night of unfettered passion. But on this day, he was no god. He appeared to them only as a stranger – a mortal stranger. When the bar maiden approached him with his fifth ale, he grabbed her and pulled her close to him, running his hands over her breasts and ass. She yelped and slapped him, and struggled to get away. A moment later, four men surrounded him.

“Unhand her,” someone shouted.

“C’ mm’ on fellas. I’m just ha…havin’ a little fun,” the god slurred. “She wants it,” he continued, his attentions back on the maiden in his arms, “Don’tcha?”

Two men grabbed him from behind and the maiden broke free. They escorted him to the door and tossed him out. He landed face down on the dirt road.

“Get outta here, ya drunk.”

Angrily, Ares rose and dusted himself off. “How dare you handle me that way,” he shouted, suddenly sober. “I am Ares. God of War.”

Everyone laughed. “Listen to him. He thinks he’s the God of War.” They laughed harder.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha.” The sound echoed in his head. He drew his sword and held it royally above his head. “QUIET! Yore mre mock your Lord? Just as I have blessed your province, I can just as easily condemn it.”

The men watching drew their weapons as well. “Watch your mouth, stranger.” - “Just who do you think you are fooling?” - “If you’re a god, then I’m Zeus.” - “Let’s teach him a lesson, guys.” - “Yeah.”

Now even though Ares was tipsy, he still had his wits about him. He could have fought and beaten three, maybe four of the men. But since all the shouting started, even more were drawn outside of the tavern. Now there were at least twelve men with swords and four young boys with smaller weapons, all pointed in his direction. He knew he could not fight them all. He had no choice but to flee on foot into the surrounding forest. The men gave chase.

As Ares ran for his life, he mumbled obscenities at Zeus for putting him in this situation. Thankfully, he still had a slight advantage over the mortals of this world. Even without his godly powers, he was stronger and could run faster. He had put a good distance between himself and his pursuers when he suddenly tripped and fell into a small cooking ditch. He tried to get up and continue, but he had injured his ankle.

Not being accustomed to pain, it was almost too great for him to bear. He sat and coddled his injury, moaning in pain, when he heard a sound behind him. He reached for his sword but it was not there. He had been holding it when he fell and it had landed a few feet away.
“Come on,” a soft per per urged him.

He turned around only to see a tiny hand extended to him from under a gray hooded cape. He reached for it and was surprised at the strength this small figure possessed when helping him to his feet. He also noticed the calluses. They were definitely patterned from holding a sword.

“Can you walk?” the figure said.

“I’m not sure. I think soooo… oowwuww. I guess not.”

“Here, lean on me. My horse is over there.”

As Ares and the stranger reached the horse, voices could be heard nearby. The men were catching up and would be upon them soon. The caped figure helped the estranged god onto the horse then climbed on and quickly rode away before anyone saw them.

“My sword. I left my sword. We must go back,” Ares said in a panic.

“We can’t. They’ll find you. Then your sword will do you no good.”

“But you don’t understand. I need that sword. Without it . . . Oh, gods!” Ares frowned.

The stranger halted the horse and sat silently for a moment. “All right. I’ll go back and get it. You stay here on the horse, okay?”

“Thank you.” Ares nodded. He watched as the figure ran back to retrieve his sword and knew by her shape that she was a woman.

She searched the area around the ditch for the sword. Just as she found it, two of the men that had been chasing Ares emerged into the clearing.

“Well looky here, a woman! What are you doing out here alone in the forest? It’s not safe for a sweet girl like you to be out here alone. Something might happen to you,” one man said. Both men laughed. They approached her.

The girl said nothing but held up Ares’ sword in her defense. The two men laughed even harder. One looked to the other and said, “Let’s take her.”

Ares could see them in the distance. He wanted to help her but his ankle was throbbing in his head and it seemed to be three-times the size of the other one. There was no way he could walk on that foot. He sat helplessly and watched.

But the girl surprised everyone. She quickly disarmed both men, killing one, and injuring the other. She could hear more voices, the others were close by. She turned and ran back to where Ares was waiting on the horse. Jumping onto a rock and then to the horse, she landed behind Ares and flung her arms around his waist.

“GO! NOW!”

Ares urged the horse into a run and they were gone in a blink of an eye.


**************


They reached a small cottage crly rly camouflaged at the base of a rocky hill. The woman got off the horse and then helped Ares limp into the house. It was only one big room inside, so she directed him towards the bed. Once he was settled, she retrieved an old scarf and began to wrap Ares’ ankle.

“Oouu – ooww! That hurts,” Ares whimpered.

The girl looked up into his eyes and grinned as she pulled the material tight around his leg, laughing slightly. “You act like you never twisted your ankle before,” she teased.

“I haven’t.”

She gave him a disbelieving look. “Well, the bandage has to be tight to keep the swelling down.” She tied it off and then rose and picked up a large log sitting next to the homemade stone fire pit. She placed the log at the foot of the bed and then turned the blanket up over it.

“Lay down and rest your leg up here. That will help it some.” She returned to the logs to prepare a fire.

Once she had the fire going, Ares watched the young girl gracefully remove her cloak and hang it on the back of the door. When she turned his way, his heart nearly skipped a beat. She had big, beautiful, blue eyes and golden blonde hair. Such an angelic face that had been hidden under that old dirty hooded cape. He was quite surprised, and pleasantly so. She sat down at a small table and began to chop some potatoes and carrots.

“Thank you for helping me,” the god said softly as he tried to get more comfortable. The fire was beginning to pick up now, and the warmth felt good on his tired body.

“You were lucky I was there. They seemed pretty intent on capturing you. So, what’cha do, anyway?”

“Nothing,” Ares mumbled, disgusted with the emerging memory that he had to flee for his own life.

“What was that? I didn’t hear you.”

Ares spoke up. “Nothing – I said. I didn’t do anything.”

She shook her head. “You must have done something, or they wouldn’t have been chasing you.”

Ares stirred, again trying to get comfortable. “I was a little drunk and maybe I pissed somebody off. Really, it was nothing.”

“I believe you,” she sighed. “Those men have much too much energy for their own good. They need to find something else to do other than to pick fights with passersby. It’s sad, really. All their lives they have been preparing themselves for service in the God of War’s army, and now the bastard forsakes them. It doesn’t surprise me. He is a liar and a fake.”

Ares would have come up off of the bed to ring the young girl’s neck if not for his injured ankle. Again, he was being insulted right to his face. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

“Why do you think that? Perhaps there is a reason. . .”

“He spoke to me once – or I should say lied to me. When my mother was sick I went to his temple with an offering. He told me he would send Apollo to my mother. But she died eight days later. She was in such pain and the gods did nothing. That is why I say what I say.”

“Eden,” he whispered, and then turned his head and stared into the fire. It was true. He remembered that day. He had told her he would send Apollo, but he got sidetracked with a few of the town maidens that night. By the next day, he had completely forgotten about it. “I’m . . . I’m sorry . . . for the loss of your mother.”

Eden got up and approached him. “Thank you,” she said. “Here, you er eer eat something.” She handim aim a bowl of vegetables. “So, what’s your name?”

Ares straightened up and his chest puffed out. “I am Ar. . .Ar. . . Aaron,” he said, letting his body relax again.

“It’s nice to meet you, Aaron. I’m Eden.” She picked up a stick and poked at the fire.

“That’s a pretty name – Eden. You don’t live here alone, do you? Where’s the rest of your family?”

“Well, as I mentioned before, my mother is dead. My father and two older brothers are as well. They died fighting in battle.”

“That’s an honorable death,” Ares interrupted.

Eden shrugged. “If you say so. I also have two younger sisters. But slavers captured them last winter. It’s only me, now. But I plan to find my sisters one day. I’m just not ready yet.”

“Ready? What do you mean?”

“I need to learn how to fight better first, then I can plan their rescue. But I can’t go up against anyone if I don’t know how to fight.”

“I saw yow you handled yourself back there in the forest with those two men. Seems to me like you know what you’re doing. You handled that sword like you knew how.”

“My father used to spend time teaching me when he was home from war. He told me that, with my brothers also gone most of the time, that I had to be the protector of our family while they were away.” She sighed and continued to poke at the fire. “Some protector, huh? My whole family is either dead or enslaved.”

“You couldn’t help any of that. It’s not your fault, Eden,” Ares said trying to comfort her.

Eden stood and tucked some loose hair behind her ear. “Yeah, well, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’ve got to go feed the horse. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Ares sighed and lay back again. “So beautiful, and so bitter. I see potential here.” He smiled wickedly.


************


Eden had insisted that Aaron take the bed while she chose the floor in front of the fire. When morning came around, Eden had awoke first and began to prepare a simple breakfast. She woke up Aaron when it was ready.

“Wake up, Aaron. It’s time for breakfast,” she said as she shook his shoulder.

Ares opened his eyes, only to wish he had not. The pain in his ankle seemed to engulf his entire leg now. But once he could focus on his surroundings, he momentarily forgot about his ailment when he saw Eden. She was leaning over him, smiling with her bright blue eyes. Her golden hair fell forward and framed her pretty face.

He smiled back and then let his eyes drift downward, where he had such a glorious view of her plump melons threatening to spill out onto him at any moment.

When she could tell he was awake, she stood up straight and went to sit at the table. “So how are you feeling this morning, Aaron?”

“Like Tartarus,” he replied huskily.

“Well eat, before it gets cold.”

“Thanks.”

There were a few moments of silence while the two ate breakfast. Ares was the first to speak again.

“Why are you doing this? Helping me? You don’t know me from Caesar; yet you bring me into your home, feed me, tend my wounds. Why?”

Eden shrugged as she swallowed a mouthful of food. “I don’t know. You needed help – I was there.”

“Most people would have walked away.”

“I’m not like most people.”

“I can tell.” Ares set down his empty plate and sat up, trying extremely hard to keep his brave façade over the excruciating pain. “So, you’re not worried that I could be some criminal or slave catcher? You’re not even concerned that I might do something to you?”

“Nope. Not in your condition. Besides, you wouldn’t do anything to me.”

“How do you know?”

“Because . . . you need me too much right now.”

Ares liked her headstrong attitude. He continued to prod her. “Oh, really?” he said with a charming smile.

“Um-hum.” She smiled and then rose to retrieve his empty plate. She paused at the foot of the bed, smirking. “Have you tried tok onk on that ankle yet? No, you haven’t. You are going to find out, my friend, that you are not even going to be able to use the privy without my help. At least for a little while, anyway.” She turned and took the plate into the kitchen area.
The vision of her words made the great God of War’s ears turn red. He hadn’t thought about that. He hadn’t thought about how this little injury of his was going to hinder the slightest task, how he might have to be completely reliant on another. That didn’t really appeal much to him. He realized how fortunate his good health as a god had been.

Eden went over to him to check his bandage. Some of the swelling had gone down, but it was still good and puffy, and it has begun to bruise horribly.

Ares gasped when he saw the black and blue skin. “Hades!! What’s wrong with it? It . . . it . . . looks DEAD!” he exclaimed in horror.

Eden chuckled. “You really haven’t ever sprained your ankle before, have you?”

Ares shook his head. “Why would I lie about that?”

“I thought you were kidding. Well, don’t worry. I’ve seen far worse. The swelling should go down in a few more days and the bruises in a couple months.” She rewrapped it as tightly as the time before and then teased him quickly by tickling his bare foot.

Ares yanked it away as quickly as he could, causing some discomfort. “Hey, stop that.”

She just smiled in response. “I need to go into town. Do you think you’ll be alright here by yourself for a few hours?”

“No problem. I am a man. I can handle it,” he answered.

“You sure, now?” she teased as she grabbed her cape from the back of the door. “Most men I know who are injured usually act like babies! You just stay off of that foot. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She was gone a moment later.


*****


When Eden returned, she found Aaron on the front porch with his leg propped up on an overturned basket, sharpening his sword with a stone. She was surprised to see him outside.

“Hey! How did you get out here?” she asked.

“With much difficulty,” he answered, pausing from his task to study her. The tattered gray cape she wore hid most of the lovely girl. One would never know that she was a beauty underneath.

“How’s your ankle?”

“It hurts. However, I think I’m getting used to it. It only feels like a dull throb, now.”

“I’m glad to see you’re keeping it up. But wouldn’t you be more comfortable inside?”

“Probably,” the god answered. “But I was board. Being incapacitated like this really sucks. Especially when you’re used to having a lot of action in your life all the time. I just couldn’t sit there any longer. I had to do something.”

“I understand. I don’t like sitting around too long, myself.” She sat down next to the handsome man and continued, “So, you have a lot of action in your life. You must be a soldier or ior.ior.”

“You could say that,” Ares said, trying to stay elusive.

“Are you a warrior for Ares?” Her eyes narrowed a little when she asked him.

Ares hesitated. He knew she wouldn’t be happy if he told her yes. But other than Rome’s, his army was the army that most men in Greece served.

“Yes,” he said finally.

“It figures. He only has the best of the best serving him.”

“How do you know I’m any good?”

“Because, it’s obvious that you’re strong, and that sword of yours is of the finest quality I’ve ever seen. You can’t just buy those from your local blacksmith. It came directly from the god, didn’t it?”

He nodded.

“I thought so. You must be of high rank, then.”

He nodded again.

She stood up and offered her hand. “Come on. Let’s get you back inside. You really should be lying down.”

She helped him to stand, placing his arm around her neck to support his weight and started towards the door.
“You’re mad at me, now, huh?” he asked.

“No. I’m not mad at you. I just think it’s a shame that you serve a god who cares nothing for his worshippers. But we all choose our own paths to walk, even if that path is a dead end.”

Ares stopped and looked at her. “Well I’m glad our paths crossed, Eden,” he said as he lightly touched her cheek. “I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t there to help me. I owe you – big!” He smiled at her.

Eden almost melted. His teeth were beautiful white and his dark eyes seemed to light up and bring a real softness to his handsome face. His dark raven-colored hair fell across his forehead in little curls and his matching beard and mustache framed full, perfect, kissable lips. She couldn’t help but be attracted to this gorgeous specimen of a man. It was too bad that he worshiped the one god who broke his promise to her, she thought.

“You’d better watch what you say, Aaron or I just might take you up on that one day.” She smiled back.


******************


A number of dhad had past and Ares was up and trying to get around on his own. He couldn’t stay on it for too long before his ankle would begin to swell again, but at least he could use the privy by himself.

Once again, he went to the porch to sharpen his sword. Eden joined him a few moments later with a cool drink of water. She sat silently and watched him work.

He noticed how she seemed enchanted with his weapon and offered it over. “Want to try it out?” he asked.

“I did already. Remember?”

“Yeah, but you were too busy concentrating on what those men were going to do and not on how the sword felt in your hand.”

She shrugged. He was right. She really didn’t remember handling the weapon. Nothing particular stood out about it in her mind, other than she now knew it was a weapon of the gods.

“True.”

“Well, go on. Give it a try,” he urged.

Eden hesitated. She was worried that she would like it too much and not want to give it back. Especially since her own sword, one that her father had given her had been stolen in town recently.

“No thanks. I better not.”

Ares looked baffled. “Why not?”

“Because it will just make me angry about losing my own about a month ago. I don’t want to get used to another and then not be able to keep it.”

“Is that why I haven’t seen you training?”

She looked at him with a scrutinizing eye.

“I know you had to have been training recently by your hands. You’ve got calluses on your hands from holding a sword. And you mentioned you were interested in learning to fight better.”

Eden looked at the inside of her hand and could see where the rough skin had patterned the handle. In another week, they would be completely gone and she would have to start over when she acquired another sword. She thought about how much those calluses hurt when she first began to seriously train with her sword, right after her sisters were captured. She didn’t look forward to going through that a second time, but it really didn’t matter. Only the rescue of her siblings mattered. The calluses were just part of the price.

“I do want to get better,” she said with her head still looking down. “But I need to get another sword first.”

“I understand. A sword is a very personal thing. It becomes like an extension of your own body.”

She looked at him and nodded in agreement. “Yeah. My father used to tell me that when I was younger. I always wanted to try his weapons whenever he was home, and he used to get upset with me. Said they were very personal to him. He finally brought me my own sword from a warrior he killed in battle.”

“Your father was a good man,” Ares mumbled in remembrance.

Eden’s eyes got wide. “You knew my father? How?”

Ares looked blankly at her for a moment and then shook his head. “No,” he said. “But his name has been spoken in high regard on the lips of many soldier’s I’ve known.” He realized that he almost gave himself away and changed the subject quickly. “So what happened to your sword? You lost it?”

“Well, I didn’t ‘lose’ it as in: I left it somewhere and can’t remember. No. Someone stole it off of my horse when I went to market one day. I really miss it, too. I understand what you mean by personal.”

Ares set down the sharpening stone and sheathed his sword. He didn’t like to see her upset, and obviously his sword was stirring up way too many memories for her. He wished his sentence was over, and that he had his powers back. He would have conjured her a new one in an instant. Or even better, have Hephaestus make one for her. That would really impress her, he thought.

“So, Aaron, why haven’t any of your soldiers come searching for you? Don’t they realize you’re missing by now?”

“I took some time off. I guess you could say that I’m trying to find some inner peace, to get in touch with the world. They don’t know I’m missing,” he answered.

“And what about you? Are you missing someone?” Eden asked in a slightly flirtatious way. She was dying to know if he already had a wife or was promised to another.

Ares cocked his head, confused by the question. “What do you mean? I was traveling alone.”

She smiled. “No, silly. I mean do you have a wife?”

Aaron let out a hearty laugh. His cheeks flushed with color and his face brightened. “Nooooo. No wife. Not attached . . . whatsoever.” He gave her a quick, sexy glance-over. “Why do you ask?”

Eden suddenly blushed and became shy. “Just curious. That’s all. I better go and check on lunch.” She hurried back inside the cabin.

Ares stroked his beard with his thumb and forefinger, smiling as he thought about how cute Eden just was with that whole conversation. She obviously was inexperienced. “Perhaps I can teach her a thing or two…”


***********


Every day that passed Aranklankle became stronger and stronger. He also found his fondness of Eden growing, as well. She was spunky and smart, a survivor - all the way. And yet, she had an innocence about her. Not just with her untouched beauty, but something deeper – he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He found her company refreshing and enjoyable.

Eden, too, enjoyed being in his company. She found the handsome soldier quite charming. Not at all tough and overbearing, like her father and brothers were. No, this man had all the brawn, but he was also intelligent. She took in every word that left his mouth. Ooh, and his mouth – those kissable lips. Mmmmm. He made her much more conscience about the fact that she was a budding woman. He brought out a part of her that she didn’t know she had. A flirtatious part, and it was such fun!


*********


The time came when Ares’ ankle was healed enough for him to use again. He knew it was time to move on. There were some advantages to being mortal temporarily, like scouting for new men to join his ranks. However, he did contemplate riding out the remainder of his time with Eden. It would be so nice and easy, a kick back vacation get-away. But he didn’t want to do that to her. He didn’t want her to find out who he really was, at least not yet. He knew she would hit the bottom of Olympus when she found out she had helped the one god she despised. No, now wasn’t the time for her to know. She’d already gone through so much for being so young.

Before Ares went on his way, he decided to do a few of the more demanding tasks that needed attention, like repairing the roof. Eden kept insisting that he should spend more time off of his ankle, but she too could tell that he was much better. She knew that his efforts to help her around the house were his way of trying to compensate her for the recent care she had given him. And although she was appreciative, she was also saddened, for she knew he would be leaving soon and she didn’t really want him to. She had gotten to to his company over the past weeks. Home had been such an empty place since her sisters were taken. She did not look forward to being alone again.

Finally, the morning arrived when Aaron would announce that he would be leaving that day. He had got up before Eden and decided to make breakfast for her, instead of the other way around. Unfortunatelynce nce he was a god, he had never cooked before.

Eden awoke coughing to the thick smell of smoke and quickly sat up only to see Aaron dousing the flames ablaze in the frying pan with a wet cloth.

When the fire was finally out, Aaron breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. He heard a quiet giggle and looked over to find that Eden was awake.

“Ah. . . sorry about the fire,” he said apologetically. “I wanted to have breakfast ready for you when you woke up this morning. It didn’t really work that way.”

She rose from her place on the floor. She wore only a simple, unattractive bed dress – the kind of thing a grandmother wouldr, yr, yet she made the god’s heart skip a beat when he looked at her. Ares seemed to find her the most attractive first thing in the morning. He thought she looked sexy when her hair was messed up. But he had a deep respect and admiration for the young girl, and so he kept his desires to himself, even though her body told him otherwise.

Eden helped Aaron clean up the ashen mess that used to be breakfast. He carried the frying pan outside to dump the contents and when he returned she asked him why he chose to cook that morning. But she already knew what his answer was going be.

“I wanted to do something nice for you before I left. You’ve been so kind and caring to me – a complete stranger, I am so grateful.”

Eden smiled at him, yet the sadness in her eyes was apparent. “You don’t have to do anything for me, Aaron. It was nice just to have some company again; things are so quiet now that my sisters are gone. Besides, you fixed my roof, chopped that pile of wood. . .”

“I know. But you saved my life,” he interrupted.

“We don’t know that. We don’t know what those men were going to do to you.” aronaron smirked. “I do! Believe me, if you hadn’t of been there . . .”

“Shhhhh.” Eden approached him quickly and placed her fingers over his mouth to silence him. Her touch, her closeness to him caused a rush of blood to his cock and he moved ever so slightly away from her, taking her hand from his lips as he did.

“Just live long and stay healthy,” she continued. “And be happy. We all could use some happiness in our lives.”

Aaron still had a hold of her hand and brought it back to his lips and kissed her fingers. He pulled her close to him to hug her and his stiffening cock brushed against her body. They both froze in movement, staring in to each other eyes.

Then he kissed her. He cupped her face with his hands and gently brushed his lips against hers. She sighed and closed her eyes. When she didn’t resist his advance, he kissed her again. A wonderfully long, passionate kiss. It ached him when he finally tore himself away. He turned from her, unable to look at her face, knowing that, if he did, he would not stop with just one kiss.

“I … I’m sorry, Eden. That was not appropriate of me to do,” he said with regret.

“I’m not!” she said cheerfully. He turned back to her with a surprised look on his face.

“I’ve been wanting you to do eve ever since we met. Now, when you finally do, you’re on your way out.” She laughed and tossed her hands in the air. “But that doesn’t really surprise me. That’s just my luck, it seems.”

She continued to speak, almost nervously, as she walked to the table and reached for the breadbasket. “Well, you should take something with you to eat on the road, since you won’t be able to stop at the market in Karr. Someone is bound to recognize you if you do.”
Ares started to protest. She had already done enough for him. “Eden, I …”

“Don’t try telling me no, Aaron. You know I can be quite stubborn when I want. Just take it and say thank you. It would make me feel better, knowing you have a long journey ahead of you.”

Ares sighed and finally agreed. “Thank you . . . again.”+

She packed him some bread and fruit, turned around and practically shoved it into his hands. “You’d better go now. You should be able to travel out of this province before nightfall.” Her voice was beginning to crack and even though she would not look at his face, Ares could see her eyes becoming glossy. She was doing her best to keep from crying.

“Eden,” he said softly but she did not answer. “Eden,” he said again, reaching for her chin and tilting her head up to look at him.

“Please, Aaron. Go now. Go quickly.” She took a step backward. She couldn’t hold in the tears any longer.

Ares turned to leave, pausing in the doorway, but not looking back to her. “Good-bye, Eden.” He sighed deeply and then closed the door behind him. As he started down the road, he heard her break down and cry. Her heavy sobs echoed in his mind for miles down the lonely road.