Kitanna
Chapter 111: JUST YOU AND I

Chapter 111: JUST YOU AND I

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: CLAIR DE LUNE ~ CLAUDE DEBUSSY]

Cortez gently placed the girl on his bed, making her lie on her front with her back facing him. Her eyes were closed, but she still whimpered in pain. The girl’s face had turned pale, her lips looking dry and broken. Her lashes still had small teardrops latching onto them, evidence of how much she had cried, begging for mercy or for help.

Axilla’s body jerked at every interval, as if her body was remembering what had happened earlier. Now lying down on the bed, she opened her eyes to look at Cortez.

"Thank you, Young master," her voice sounded very weak and a little hoarse because of how much she had shouted.

Cortez nodded with a reassuring smile, "I’ll always be there when you need me." He said the words casually, but it meant a lot to the young girl.

"Let me call someone to get you treated; I need to have a word with Panha." Cortez rubbed her hair gently and stood up to leave. When Axilla quickly held his sleeve, the speed she used in raising her upper body caused the wound to tear open again, and she winced.

"What are you doing? Stay still," Cortez asked in an annoyed tone. Was this girl some kind of masochist who enjoyed pain?

Axilla closed her eyes for a moment to get her mind off the pain, "Please...stay." Her words were like the gentle breeze of autumn, and as light as a purple daisy.

Cortez looked at the girl; he was not expecting her to say something like that. His eyes trailed to look at her flushed cheeks, and her innocent hazel eyes, which sought for shelter. Her black hair was now falling on her face, making her look helpless, like a cute little puppy that was scared of being abandoned. Cortez knew that Panha had instilled fear in the girl, which now made her afraid of being left alone. The thought of it made his blood boil.

He walked to sit back on the bed, pushing her hair back. This caused Axilla to blink her eyes as her lashes fluttered innocently.

"I wasn’t going to leave you by yourself. I just wanted to get someone to look at the wound; I’m sure your future husband won’t want to see a scar on his woman." Cortez lightened the mood with his words.

"I’m not an expert when it comes to treating wounds, especially on women, but if you still want me to look at it, I can try. But you have to remove the upper part of your dress. Are you okay with that?" He completed.

Cortez wanted to be the one to treat her wound, but he knew Axilla to be a reserved girl who puts a line between male and female relationship. A maiden who has never been seen by another man, suddenly treating her wound will make her hide in her shell. He needed her to make that decision by herself.

Axilla didn’t drop her gaze that was on Cortez; he had been there every time she needed help. Even though he teased her and taunted her with his words, he has never done anything to hurt her. During the period of serving him directly, rumors went on that she was being used by him. But in actual truth, Cortez left the room at night so she could sleep comfortably on the bed. Since she left the palace, he had been the only person she could depend on. And the thought of it warmed her heart, having all these at the back of her mind, she said in a small voice,

"I know you won’t hurt me. I’d prefer if you treat me yourself; don’t let another person touch me." In Axilla’s innocent mind, she meant that she didn’t want another female who might also be working for Panha to be the one to treat her because they might do another thing to harm her. Nobody is to be trusted, even other merchants who ignored her when she was being dragged away. The only person she could trust was the man sitting beside her.

The words Axilla spoke came out meaning another thing to Cortez. It was as if she gave him an invitation to claim her openly, and the thought of it made his eyes darken with unholy thoughts. The girl still stared at him innocently like she didn’t understand the weight her words carried. Such a thoughtless girl! He pushed the words to the back of his mind.

"I will be the only one to touch you then." Caressing her hair gently, Cortez said to her in a soft voice, but Axilla failed to notice the darkness it now carried.

She heaved a sigh of relief when she heard he would be the one to treat her.

Cortez brought out the small box that held a few medical tools; he always carried it around during his travels in case he got hurt by bandits. Placing it beside the bed, he brought out a small vial that held a liquid content, and a piece of white cloth.

"Can you stand a little; you need to remove your dress." Cortez asked when he was ready.

Axilla bit her lips; she was the one who had agreed for him to treat her, but that was because she was caught in the moment. The actual situation was different; she needed to bare her chest in front of a man.

Cortez noticed the hesitation in the girl’s eyes, he narrowed his eyes at this. Even if she tried to back away now, he wasn’t going to accept it. He decided to give a little push, to entice her. People like Axilla needed just a small push to assure them that they were in safe hands. People who have trust issues.

"Don’t worry yourself, I’ll close my eyes. When you’re done, you can lay back down. My eyes won’t wander." His voice was like the little whispers of Pandora. A better word even, the devil’s advocate. He whispered the soothing words into the ears of his prey, and as soon as it left his lips, he shut his eyes close, to prove his point.

Axilla stared at him for a moment, then she slowly stood up and dropped her gown to her waist. As she moved to lie back down, her position was awkward. She felt the wound threaten to break again, she winced.

Cortez moved his hands to her bare stomach and helped her to lie down properly.

"Master Cortez! You promised," Axilla almost screamed, the sensation of his cold hands still lingered on her stomach and for some odd reasons, it felt good. She cringed at the thought of enjoying it, then her cheeks blushed.

"My eyes are still closed; I just knew laying back down would be difficult for you." Cortez answered, and truthfully his eyes still remained closed.

Axilla saw that his eyes were closed, and it was the same even when he had helped her. But it marveled her because how did he know she was going to have trouble lying back down. She finally positioned her back, pushing her breast in, and covering with her hand so it won’t be visible at the sides.

"Y-- umm, you can start now." By this time, Axilla was already regretting her decision of asking him to stay back.

Cortez finally opened his eyes, without wandering it anywhere else. He opened the vial, and before he started, he said, "This might sting a bit. Why don’t you tell me what happened today." He wanted to get her mind off it, so it’ll reduce the pain.

Axilla closed her eyes waiting for the pain, but it didn’t come. Then she said, "I was helping the merchants set things out when Chief Panha called me and said ah..." she winced when she felt the liquid touch her back.

Cortez nodded, "She called you?" He prompted her to continue.

Axilla bit her trembling lips, "Y-yes...I told her you asked me ah....." She cried out again when she felt something being dabbed on the wound. Another episode of tears trying to break away from her eyes.

The tears disappeared back inside when she felt a warm breeze on her back; she couldn’t move up to see what it was. But she had an idea because she could feel the man’s lips almost touching her back.

"Master Cortez please stop." Axilla cried out in shame. This man was blowing direct air to her back; it was not the air that was the problem, it was how her body trembled at the feeling.

Cortez finally raised his face, closing up the wounds with little patches. It won’t take long for it to heal as long as nothing opens it up again. He noticed how red the girl had turned and he knew exactly why.

"Did it hurt a lot? I tried to be gentle." Cortez said his voice slightly deeper than usual.

"I’m fine, thank you." Axilla replied; she wanted to touch her cheeks and prevent herself from blushing. But her arms served as a shield to protect her womanly blessed fountain.

Now done with dressing the wound, Cortez noticed how the girl was holding her hands together awkwardly. He picked up a neater cloth and used it to cover her leaving the wound open.

"Thank you," the young girl whose heart was warmed by the act whispered. Feeling more comfortable.

"Tell me exactly what happened today, don’t miss out on anything." Cortez said to her.

Axilla pressed her lips worriedly looking at the door, she was scared of saying anything.

"Don’t worry is just you and I here." Cortez reassured her.

Axilla became a little confident with that, and moved on to tell Cortez everything that had happened in his absence. The man didn’t say anything and he just nodded throughout.

Axilla realizing she haven’t asked how his day was, decided to change the wave of conversation, She asked.

"You said you won’t be coming back anytime soon. What happened?" Even though she was glad he had come, she still wanted to know why he came back earlier.

Cortez dropped his shoe on the ground and joined the girl on the bed, his hands rested beside his head, and he faced the ceiling.

"My business partner said there was no need to rush things. Since he has come to stay, I think you should even know about it. It’s the Crown prince of Avon; he has come to ask the princess’s hand in marriage, and I think it’s the best option for Morado." He left the information for Axilla to fill in the dots.

"Marriage? The princess is getting married? And is the crown prince of Avon." Axilla whispered the last words to herself. From what she saw while in the palace, the princess harbored feelings for the white Lord. Or was it just her thinking too much of it.

Cortez noticed the girl’s countenance from the side of his eyes, "You don’t look happy; does the princess have someone? Crown prince Adric is quite a strong contender." He chipped in, his lips tugging at the end.

Axilla bit her lips; she wanted to be in the palace to know how much things have changed. What about the White Lord? She asked in her mind.

"Sleep now Axilla; let’s let the royals worry about royal problems." Cortez gently rubbed her hair, making the girl feel drowsy. And slowly, our bright flower drifted to sleep.

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