Daughter of Starlight

Her house should've been empty except for her, Odette knew that.

Her mother was off to yet another of her travels, and her sister hadn't been there for... a while. Odette was alone, and even if she wasn't really fond of quiet, she liked it when it gave her the certainty of her house being safe.

Tonight, though, her house wasn't quiet. Someone was there. She was sure of that, since she was certainly not the one whimpering in pain like an hurt animal.

Her fingers tingled with the need to grab something - a book, maybe? But what good would that be against a evil intruder?

Well, she didn't know if the intruder was actually evil, but she still grabbed the heavy book and slowly made her way to the closed door of her room. The wood floor underneath her creaked, and another whimper made her freeze in her steps, more curious than how she should've been.

She opened the door, and she was met with a corridor dark enough for it to look endless, even if she knew that a few meters away from where she stood was another wall, and a window where she used to spend her nights blinking at the starlight.

Odette knew this was a terrible idea. She was well aware she didn't knew how to fight, how to throw a punch, how to kill, for that matter.

But if the intruder was really whimpering in pain, then she could be of help.

She did not know how to kill, but she did know how to heal.

She jumped at the sound of a loud crash, followed by a low voice muttering a "Fuck-" that made her whole body shiver.

She tightened her grip around the book, imagining one of the Royal Guards with dark eyes and a smile that screamed danger in all the different languages of Th'arys.

If her mother were to see her now, she would've been proud, Odette thought. Well, she hoped, since pride wasn't really something her mother had for her.

Usually, she would shake her head in disappointment, let down yet another time.

Odette took a deep breath, one that echoed so loud she was sure the man had heard it. "Okay... coming in," she whispered, before rushing through the door into the kitchen.

She seemed to have done some really good deed, since the Gods above had blessed her not with a stupid Guard, but a simple man.

The darkness engulfed him, but she could make out the seams of his face under the dim light of the moon.

His thick dark brows were furrowed, his high cheekbones slightly flushed, and his lips curved downward.

He was handsome.

She blushed at the thought, thankful for him to be too focused on clenching his arm to look at her.

"You're bleeding on my floor." The man inhaled sharply, turning to her with so much force he knocked over the vase on the table.

Odette watched as the flowers touched the floor, her fingers tingling with the need of fixing it, helping them.

She shoved her power deep down, hiding her hand behind her back. Magic in Th'arys wasn't really appreciated by many.

People thought it was disgusting, unnatural, dangerous. Magic was repressed, that's why her mother always seemed so worried talking about her powers.

The rule Odette had learnt from a very young age was simple: never trust anyone.

And she wasn't going to break that rule, especially not for the stranger in front of her, looking like a caged animal ready to strike.

His dark eyes fixated on her, something moving in them as he studied her. "Yeah... I noticed."

She gulped. His voice was deep and gruff, and his words came out as a pained mutter. "Who are you? And why are you here?"

One of the man's brow arched, and he gritted his teeth - in pain? Amusement? She only then noticed where his gaze had moved to. The book. Her cheeks reddened, as a corner of his mouth turned upward, in a crooked smile that made her whole face burn.

"Is that... a book?"

Odette huffed. "Have you never seen one?"

"I've never seen anyone use it as a weapon," he snickered, but he probably remebered his arm was wounded, because he folded, breathing heavily.

Something in her shifted, the magic pulling her towards him. "What happened to you?"

Alarms started going on in her ears, reminding her of the fact that the stranger bleeding on her floor could be one of the King's men, even without the armor.

"I was-" He grunted, slipping on the floor as his grip on the table loosened. "I was hit."

The moon illuminated the arrow coming out of his upper-arm and the symbol carved on the wood. A crown surrounded by tendrils and flowers, to represent the peacefulness of King Sylas' Kingdom.

Yeah, peacfulness my arse.

It was a Royal Guard's arrow. Why would a King's man be shot by one of his allies?

Even if he was a stranger, he was hurt and something told her he didn't like King Sylas much either, whether because he had magic too, or another reason.

"Let me see. I can help."

Unfortunately, as her mother always reminded her, she had been gifted with an unlucky trait. Trusting.

"You're lucky it didn't hit any organs," she said, lighting a candle up so she could work better on the wound.

Odette could finally see him without the shadows covering parts of his face. He was wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the V-cut was showing just enough of his muscular chest.

She could see the veins on his arms everytime he stretched them, a pained sound escaping his lips.

And then his eyes. So dark, so deep. She had never seen anything like it.

They were watching her. "You're staring."

Unfortunately, she was.

Godsdamn it, Odette.

"You are, too." She turned around, grabbing a vial and a piece of fabric, hiding her embarrassment from his gaze.

Once she got closed again, she could see the wound in all its splendor. It looked horrible under the light of the candle.

The skin around the arrow was red and puffy, with blood dripping out and falling on the floor like water. The face of the man looked strained and exhausted, and when her fingers started to shine with gold light again, she couldn't hide it from him.

He looked at her with a knowing smirk that made her flesh melt in a puddle of nonsense mutter. "W-what?"

What a mess.

"You're a healer," he said, nodding at her hands. Odette shut her eyes, hoping to wake up from this awful nightmare, but when she opened them again, the man was still there, watching, studying her.

He didn't looked... disgusted, though. He didn't looked like he wanted to cut her hands off and shove them deep in her mouth - as people often said they would with magical healers.

He looked... curious.

"I am. Hold still, please," she said, before wrenching out of his arm the arrow. A loud gasp escaped his lips, his brows forrowed so hard Odette thought his face would be stuck like this if he continued any longer.

"What the fuck, Goldie?" He cried, jumping on his feet. Was he calling her Goldie because of the light of her fingers?

Odette, focus.

"Don't you know you shouldn't-" He stopped when she gently grabbed his hand to make him sit again. "I'm very sorry... Ehm... yeah, this is gonna hurt a bit."

He grimaced as she brought a cloth soaked in a special ointment to the wound.

She had spent sleepless night figuring out how to mix the herbs and her magic in order for it to actually work.

She had had to stab her thigh to test the ointment. Thank the Gods, it had worked.

"Sorry." She wasn't sorry at all. This is actually quite fun. "I take it you were running from someone?"

"Did somebody ever tell you you're smarter than you look?"

She grimaced, fingers barely touching his arm. "Why were the Guards chasing you in the first place?"

He shrugged, glancing down at the closing wound. "Royal Guards don't really like me...How is this possible? You aren't even touching me..."

She smirked, proud of her own creation. "I made it. I mixed herbs with my magic so the ointment could work without me having to be the one to actually use it."

Had she revealed too much? By the look on his face, she had. But the way his eyes gleamed with something very close to awe made her face flush with pride.

In a few seconds, the wound on his arm had healed. "That's... I didn't know it could be possible."

"I didn't, too. But... well, I know I can't use my magic but I still wanted to help others."

His eyes pierced right through her. "Even if they would likely kill you, if they knew who you are?"

Warmth radiated from his whole body, and her hand lifted from his arm as if it had burned.

She threw the cloth onto the table, but it missed the surface, falling on the ground with a loud 'plop'.

Odette cringed. Real nice.

"People hate magic because they were raised thinking it's dangerous, when it's obviously not. It's not their fault... " She glanced his way, noticing his dark hair were messy, and his hand gripped the table tightly as his eyes watched her movements with amusement.

"Not completely, at least. I'm Odette, by the way." She murmured, feeling suddenly shy. She had a stranger in her house, after all.

A bleeding, handsome, man in her house, that looked like trouble.

"I'm-" He didn't finish the sentence, the sound of voices filled the room, breaking the bubble that had created between them. So much trouble.

"You led the guards here?" She hissed, blowing the candle. The room was dark again, but this time she wasn't scared to inch closer to the man.

She should've been, but there was a string inside her pulling him towards him. Maybe he was still hurt, somewhere she couldn't see, somewhere deeper.

His finger gripped her wrist, yanking her down. "I didn't led them here, Goldie! They were fucking following me!"

"Ryder! We know you're in there!"

Odette smiled softly and curiosly, despite the terrible situation, turning around just slightly so she could face him in the dark. "Ryder, uh? Is that even your real name?"

"It is, Goldie. Now, shut your pretty mouth or they'll know we're here."

Did he called her pretty?

No, obviously not, Odette.

Thank the Gods for the dark, because the way she was now blushing for his closeness, and the nickname, and his oh-so-nice scent was too embarrassing.

He was still holding onto her wrist, which was making her even more flustered and warm.

You're gonna die, for all the Gods!

"Stay put... I'm gonna-" She went to stand up, but his grip around her wrist tightened, pulling her down once again. Closer, their faces a few inches apart. "You're gonna get yourself killed, Goldie. We have to go."

A guard outside started banging on the door, the air thick with his threats. "I can't go! What about my mother? What about my house?"

She didn't mention friends or family, aside from her mother. She didn't have any of that. She was alone. But still.

"If the guards find you, they're gonna figure you have magic. They'll kill you if you stay." He inched closer, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine. "King Sylas..."

"Ryder!" Odette heard the door swing open, the heavy footsteps of the guards making her imperceptibly curl up towards his body. Her breath itched.

"Ok, Goldie. Now it's the time where you tell me there's a secret exit and we can run and-"

"There isn't any extra exit."