Author's Note: Thanks for hanging in there with me. I was looking back at the writing prompt I had just finished and realized, I had left out the part that specifies that a mortal begins to accompany me so this is a continuation of the second part. The third part will be coming along shortly but it's now that I introduce you to Thrasamund, now Roderic's new mortal companion.
Something vexed me.
I saw her everywhere. At the tavern when I watched young warriors, farmers and village folk make fools of themselves after too much drink. She lurked in the dark alleys, watching me.
She seemed to act as though I hadn't noticed her, but I had. She had been following me since I left my cave. She stayed to the shadows and at a distance but I could smell her, sense her. She ensured I stayed hidden. She took great pains to ensure that I would not be discovered. She kept me alive and out of the sun but, each time that I awakened to the dark, blanket of the night sky with only the stars to greet me when the tangled branches of trees didn't blot them out, she was not there. I could sense her on those roads, along those rivers, in those dark forests but she was hidden from me.
I could have lost her. I've found that I could move at considerable speeds for short distances, however, I knew if she were following me, had she stayed, perhaps she could be of use. I moved at the speed I would if I were a mere man.
I sensed no ill-intent from her. Certainly, had she wanted me dead, she had every opportunity to end the wretched state that is now my existence. I didn't know what she looked like, I could only sense her presence. I kept looking back but could not see her. I kept my ears open, however, I didn't hear her. I began to wonder if, perhaps, we shared this affliction in common.
It had been several weeks and, one night, I decided to end the entire damned game.
As I walked under the stars, I suddenly turned and approached her. She turned to run and that's when I gave chase. It was not long before I had caught up to her, pulling both of us in between the tavern and the blacksmith's building. I held her to a wall by her shoulders, preventing her escape.
I finally beheld my stalker. Her golden locks fell around pale and smooth skin. Her eyes shined like sparkling jewels, the youth and vitality alive and brilliant in her eyes, the color of amethyst set against white.
"Who are you?" I demanded, "Why are you following me?"
She stammered, a look of surprise on her face but then she winced and almost cried out.
I let go of her when I realized that I had hurt her. My nails had grown into small talons and the sharpened ends had pierced her shoulders, causing her to bleed a little from where I'd caused punctures in her skin. I backed away, fully expecting her to run, fleeing in terror but she merely stood and pressed her hands over the small wounds to conceal them.
"My name is Heva," she said to me, "I have been following you because I heard the stories in our village and I had to see if they were true for myself."
"You could have been killed yourself finding out," I told her but, she didn't seem in the least bit frightened.
"If you wanted me, you could have killed me at any time," she said to me. She looked at me and took a step forward. More of the full moon's light illuminated her. "I ensured you stayed covered. I saw to it that none of the animals you killed along the way went to waste. I took care of myself as we moved along the roads and rivers. I knew that, as much as you have become the beast they say you are, I was safe with you."
"How would you know that?" I asked. She had my attention and now, my curiosity.
"Because were you nothing more than a beast you would have killed without thinking about it," she said, dusting herself off.
I could smell the little bit that she bled. She was right, against all that I had been taught to believe, I did want her blood. I could hear her heart slowing from it's racing beat.
"You can only move at night," she says, "You hunted and killed wild animals no one would miss. I would not watch how you consumed them. You have no one else to help you. The man who led the volunteers to come against you? Is he your enemy?"
"He was my father," I said.
"My apologies," she said, "I followed you because you have no one else. If you are this beast that your father said you were, then why have you not slain the entire village. Why allow all of us to live? You needed someone. I saw you carrying sacks of meat to the ale hall. Why would you do that unless you..."
"Unless I what?" I asked.
"Unless you needed help," she said, looking straight at me, "I can be your help. I can make sure you have your room. I can sell meat during the day. I know how to approach others. All I need is for you to trust me. I know that this isn't my place but what choice do you have? They called you a beast but I see a man standing before me. I aid you in your matters during the day and you can rest much more easily. Do you see?"
I did. Though I asked myself if I could trust this girl who called herself Heva, the reminder that she had seen to my well-being was enough to put the thought from my mind.
She was correct. What other options did I have at my disposal? Though beautiful, she did have need of food and a bath, perhaps. I had no use for food any longer. She would be the only one in need of it. If I fed and clothed her, then perhaps she would be of some use.
"Follow me," I said after a long pause. We both walked back to the inn where I'd signed in and she accompanied me to my room. My few possessions remained in the pack I had taken with me. She immediately began covering the windows with heavy blankets, hanging them like curtains as I began lighting the candles in the room. The light given by the candles was dim but the light was sufficient enough for me. I sat down in one of the two small chairs in the room and she drew another chair and sat across from me.
"What is your name?" she asked.
"Thrasamund," I replied, "I signed the register under the name Roderic."
She nodded and looked at me, seeming to study me in the dim light of the room.
"You have had to change your name," she said, "Roderic, I think it important to change the way you look. If you wish to keep from being found or you do not want to be recognized, I think it best to dress you differently and perhaps trim your hair and beard. You will need two more nights in this room. You will also require horses and perhaps even a cart. I will drive during the day while you sleep and you may drive at night while I sleep. As you know, traveling by day on foot can be dangerous to you. You will need provisions but, for now, you need rest.
I listened. She was right. It took some time to change my appearance. My beard and hair were trimmed. She secured food for herself and took care of our lodging. She only took care of the small tasks at first but, over time, she began to acquire the things we needed, tightly managing and keeping count of the coin we had on hand for ourselves. Her resourceful nature, her ability to negotiate aided both of us in our quest to procure supplies.
Sitting with her one night, I remember thinking that a woman in her 20s and as beautiful as she was, Heva should have had a suitor and should have been ready to marry but she didn't. I never asked but I also never told her. I may have had a hand in that. Many of the men who invaded my place of rest were from her own village and now they lay broken in the cave not far from the village.
We began to gather the supplies into the cart. She had a sort of trunk built into the cart itself. By day, she would drive and I would lie in the cart to rest. By night, I would drive and she made a place to sleep inside the cart. We stopped at times, sometimes to hunt and camp but others because the terrain was too uneven for Heva to rest comfortably. I could rest through anything at all. There were villages and cities along the way as we headed South.
It was one city in particular where we finally concluded our travels. The night we arrived, Heva was awakened to the sound of our wheels on stone. We both agreed that this city would be one where our time would be more well-spent.
The city of Athens at night is not only well-lit but beautiful.
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