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fellowshippers2005-12-21 06:03 am
mind-of-onion.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2005-12-21 06:03 am
Love of all Times (15/?)
Title: Love Of All Times 15/?
Author: little___hobbit and Fin_Anwamane
Type: RPS
Pairing: Liv/Miranda
Rating: NC-17
Beta: Ourselves
Warning: Physical violence, abuse and rape described in later chapters not between the main pairing.
Disclaimer: This never happened. This was written in fun that's all.
Feedback: Yes please send to paddington-bear@web.de
or glorfindel@hornorfgondor.com
Archiving: The Angels Realm, others please ask.
Summary: A.U. An Egyptian Princess and her slave fall for one another and overcome the threats of their environment
Italics indicate thoughts
~~~~~
The two women had been up since sunrise fishing again to get food for the day which had ended in a small water fight full of laughter and squealing; all the tension of the past few days had lifted after Miranda had checked on a sleeping Nakhti and found that the healing had progressed quite a bit since they had set up camp last night. When they returned to the small camp Liv had hung their gowns up to dry on a nearby tree before she settled down around the fire laughing and talking with Miranda as they cooked. The smell of the fish drifted inside Nakhti's tent and stirred him from his sleep.
With a little effort Nakhti got to his feet and exited the tent. "Good morning ladi..." he started but was unable to finish as his mouth dropped open and his voice caught in his throat. There they were, the Princess and her love sitting by the fire as naked as the day they were born. "I, um, I. A thousand apologies," Nakhti stammered as he spun and re-entered his tent, his face a bright red color. "By the Gods, why are they sitting around like that?" he muttered to himself. “They should know better.” He continued shaking his head.
Liv looked up at Nakhti when she heard him speak. She began laughing as the man became at a loss for words and began blushing. Her laughter only increased as he entered his tent and the sounds of muttering and banging around could be heard. "I think poor Nakhti is a little shaken," Liv said as she got up and went to retrieve their gowns from the tree. "I think we had better dress again," she said, still giggling from the thought of Nakhti's face.
Just sitting there by the fire with her love and chit-chatting about this and that was everything Miranda could have asked for. She felt happy and content and giggled at something Liv said, snuggling close to her love and stealing a kiss every now and then as they were cooking the fish. The whole atmosphere was so relaxed and happy that Miranda completely forgot about everything else, including the injured guard in the tent nearby.
Chuckling, Miranda disentangled herself from Liv's embrace to stir the stew and turn the sticks on which some fish were roasting over the fire. Luckily, Nakhti had packed a lot of salt and spices so none of the food she'd prepared on their journey tasted bland, but actually very good.
As she added some curcuma to the stew, Miranda suddenly remembered Nakhti and looked up, only to find him standing behind them, in the entrance of his tent, frozen in mid-sentence and mid-movement, his face burning bright red and his eyes bulging. Miranda followed his shocked stare and looked down on herself. Only then did she realize that she was still wearing nothing; at once, her face took on the same deep red shade as Nakhti's and she gave a frightened squeak, covering herself with her hands and arms, though this was not too successful.
At last Nakhti disappeared into his tent again, and only then did Miranda dare to relax again. When Liv handed her the gown with a giggle, Miranda half-glared at her and quickly took the dress and pulled it over her head. "Since when was he standing there? You did that on purpose, didn't you?" she asked with a pout, "You enjoy seeing me blush!"
"He just walked up I think. I realized he was there at the same time you did," Liv said with a slight giggle as she looked at the expression on her love's face. She gave Miranda a hug and kissed her gently on the lips. "I am sorry he saw you this way, my love. I can tell you are slightly embarrassed. For me it's nothing. We bathed together as little kids," she said squeezing Miranda's hands. "I had better go check on the poor man. It's been years since he's been with a woman and we may have given him heart failure," she said as she released Miranda and turned heading for the tent. Pausing half way she looked back to Miranda over her shoulder, “And you are very cute when you blush,” she added with a small grin.
"I am not embarrassed, it's just..." Miranda trailed off blushed even more. "Yes, go and check in on him," she murmured and gave Liv a small glare when her love teased her before she entered the guard's tent. While she sat there and focused on the food, Miranda's mind trailed off. It was true, she had not been embarrassed that Nakhti had seen her naked but she had not really felt comfortable either.
Being exposed before a man had reminded her of why they had fled the Temple, and she could not really bring herself to bring up the topic again. Even though Liv had never said anything, Miranda knew only too well how much trouble Liv had with the knowledge that it had been her own father to have abused her love in a way that it caused Miranda nightmares. If she was honest, she still was having them, but for the sake of her love, she had hid this fact rather well.
"What were you thinking?" Nakhti asked as Liv entered the tent. "I mean, seeing you that way does not bother me, but seeing her like that. I am so embarrassed and I am sure she is as well. How will I ever be able to look at her again without blushing?" he added.
"Oh, grow up you big baby," Liv said giving Nakhti a playful slap on the arm, "Our clothes got wet while we were fishing and I hung them to dry. I thought you would be asleep for sometime and we would be able to dress again before you saw us."
"You should have wrapped in blankets or something," Nakhti pouted, the redness finally leaving his face. "How did you get wet fishing anyway?" he added, a questioning look on his face.
“This time it was on purpose,” Liv said before realizing it sounded like there had been a first time.
“This time?” Nakhti asked raising an eyebrow.
With a sigh Liv replied, "Yesterday I, um, I fell in. Then Miranda fell in trying to pull me out," she answered, feeling herself blush now. She had hoped Nakhti would not find out about the little incident.
"You did what?" Nakhti asked before he began laughing really hard, the image of what they must have looked like running through his mind. "I wish I had seen that," he said, holding his side as his laughter subsided.
"I think you have seen enough," said Liv, a grin on her face.
"I believe I have," Nakhti replied, blushing again as his mind returned to the thought of the two nude women. "Between you and me," Nakhti whispered, "She is very beautiful; even more so than I had ever imagined."
Liv slapped him again. "Dirty sod!" she exclaimed and added, "I think you should go apologize to her." She placed her hands on her hips.
"Yes, I think it would be best," Nakhti said as he headed for the exit of the tent.
Miranda's thoughts were interrupted when Nakhti emerged from the tent. He still had slightly pink ears and tried to avoid her gaze; Miranda sighed inwardly and stood. With gentle hands, she cupped his face and made him turn his gaze on her. "I am alright, my dear friend," she said softly, "I was just caught off guard. I rather have control over who I expose myself to, and when. Please forgive us for shocking you as we did." She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight as a big lump formed in her throat.
"I reacted so scared because it brought back memories," Miranda whispered, fighting back tears, "Of Raneb and his..." She trailed off, unable to hold back the pain of the memory any longer and hid in the hug, sobbing softly. As the strong arms of the guard closed around her protectively and soothingly, Miranda snuggled further into the hug, her crying slowly subsiding. It felt strangely good to do this; without having known it, this had been just what she had needed to have the healing of the wounds on her soul progress further.
Nakhti continued holding Miranda as he began to caress her hair gently. "There is no need to worry my friend, you are safe now and I will see that no harm comes to you. My life for yours." He gave her a slight squeeze. "And for the Princess," he continued. His voice was very gentle and sincere as he spoke. "You have my apologies for what just happened. If I had known I would have never..." His voice trailed off and he simply stood there and consoled the sobbing woman.
If I ever get my hands on that bastard Raneb he will die by them, he thought to himself as he felt his own eyes begin to tear slightly.
Liv moved the flap covering the entrance to the tent and peaked out. She smiled as she saw Nakhti holding her love in his arms. She watched them a moment longer before closing the flap and tending to the blankets Nakhti had been sleeping on.
"And mine for yours," Miranda answered and lifted her head off his shoulder to look straight into Nakhti's eyes, "This goes both ways. Don't worry about what happened earlier. As I said, you caught me off guard." She hugged him tight and wiped a single tear from his cheek. "Don't cry, my friend, I will be fine. I am already healing, thanks to you and Liv."
She squeezed his hand and then pulled back. "And now let's get your strength back. Liv and I have caught fish, there's roasted fish and fish soup, and I also cooked the livers to get a salve that will seal off your wound for good. Liv?" she called out, "Where is she?" Miranda walked to the tent and peaked in. "My love, come on out, dinner is ready."
Liv looked up when the tent flaps opened and smiled at Miranda. "You two looked so sweet standing there together," she said getting up from the small cot and walking towards Miranda, "My love and my brother in each others arms. I hope you two are ok," she said as she took Miranda's hand and exited the tent.
Nakhti had taken a seat by the fire and was already sampling the food the women had prepared.
"Get your grubby hands off!" Liv ordered and Nakhti dropped what he had and looked up like a child who had been caught sneaking a treat. "Have you washed those hands yet?" Liv continued, sounding more like his mother now. "You get up this instant and go wash. Miranda and I will have your food served for you when you return."
Nakhti got to his feet and bowed as he turned without saying a word and headed for the small pond.
"I swear that man acts like a little kid sometimes," Liv said shaking her head.
Miranda giggled as she watched the little interaction between her friends and she put her hand on Liv's arm. "Now, now, my love, Nakhti's only recovering from a severe injury. Go easy on him," she said, still giggling and winking at Nakhti who was just returning from the pond. "Come here, Nakhti, let me fix you something." She reached for one of the plates they had brought with them and stacked it with heaps of fish and couscous and also filled a bowl with fish stew up to the rim and handed everything to Nakhti. "Go on, tuck in, you need your strength," she said with a bright smile, "We need to get you big again; you have become quite skinny lately."
"I'm only teasing with him," Liv whispered. "We have known each other for far too long for me to be upset at him," She added turning her eyes to Nakhti. "I hope you are hungry," she said as he took the food from Miranda.
"I am starved," he said as he eyed the food piled on his plate. "So tell me about this fishing you two did yesterday," Nakhti said to Miranda with a small wink as he took a bite of fish. He figured that this would get Liv riled up again.
After helping herself to some of the food, Miranda settled down next to Nakhti and giggled. "Oh, the fishing?" she said and took another bite of the fish, "Oh Nakhti, you should have seen it. Liv was doing very good, but when the first fish got caught in the net, they tugged, and Liv, well..." Unable to continue Miranda broke into new giggles again and fell back laughing as the images of wet, sputtering Liv returned to her mind.
Liv sat there, her eyebrow raised as Miranda erupted in a fit of giggles.
Nakhti to started laughing, thinking of what Liv had told him in the tent. He put is hand on Miranda's shoulder. "Please continue," he said through his laughter.
Unable to stop laughing, Miranda struggled to sit up, only to collapse against Nakhti's shoulder, nearly making him tip over his half-empty bowl of soup; her eyes were already filling with tears from all the laughter. "Well, she..." Miranda tried to breathe, "Liv... she was..." Once again, Miranda broke into new giggles, partly at the sour face her love was making, partly at the memories. "It surprised..." she gasped, "Surprised her, and..." Once more, nothing but Miranda's laughter rang through the evening air.
It took her several minutes to calm down long enough to finish the sentence. "She was caught in surprise so she fell in." This last image made her lose her countenance again, and Miranda curled up as she was hit by another giggling fit. "She fell in, Nakhti!"
Nakhti's giggles turned into pure laughter as Miranda continued. He could picture the scene in his mind and it would make him laugh even harder.
Liv looked at the two, a stern look on her face but slowly it turned to a grin, then to a giggle and ended in laughter as well. "She tried to pull me out," Liv said, "... and she fell in as well." Liv moved to sit right next to her love and leaned over her wrapping her arms around her as the three continued to laugh.
"I sure wish I could have seen that," Nakhti commented as he looked down at the two women leaning against him.
Miranda giggled and leaned against Nakhti's shoulder, catching Liv's eye and winking at her. "Yes, it was a lot of fun, you know. And it would have been even more fun had you been there." She slowly got to a stand and pulled Nakhti with her, slowly but surely leading him over to the shore of the pond again.
Liv smiled as she walked along just behind them. "So you would like to see us all wet?" She said to Nakhti as she stepped up on the opposite side as Miranda. "Are you ready my love?" Liv asked, looking over to Miranda, a small smile on her face.
Nakhti laughed. "Well it would be rather funny if you two looked like I imagine you did earlier."
"Ok then," Liv said as she grabbed Nakhti's arm with one hand and placed the other on his shoulder. "Now!" Liv shouted to Miranda.
Hardly able to believe that Nakhti didn't suspect anything, Miranda tried to keep a straight face during the little dialogue between Liv and Nakhti. When Liv shouted out, she quickly placed her hand on his shoulder as well and pushed, sending the guard stumbling forward towards the pond.
Nakhti realized too late what was going on and lost his balance as the two women pushed him. He fell head first into the pond and came up sputtering, much like Liv had. He sat there and looked at the two women on the shore who were holding onto each other and laughing. "A little help here ladies?" he asked at last. "My foot seems to be caught under a rock," he added sticking his hand out to them.
Liv reached for his hand but it was just out of reach and she was straining to reach it. "Hold on to me my love," she said to Miranda as she stepped right to the water's edge, her fingers just touching the tips of Nakhti's.
As her laughter subsided, Miranda stepped closer and reached for Liv's other hand, but then she stopped and lowered her arms again, thinking she'd seen some evil glimpse in Nakhti's eyes. "I don't know my love," she said hesitantly and eyed the man in the pond suspiciously.
"Please hurry," Nakhti said desperately as he saw Miranda hesitate. "Whatever my foot is caught on I think it had torn the flesh," he added with a grimace.
Liv turned to Miranda, a pleading look in her eyes. "Please my love," she said before returning her gaze to the trapped man in the water. She leaned even more as Nakhti let out a loud painful moan, her feet kicking small pebbles into the water as her toes were now at the edge.
"I really don't..." Miranda got interrupted by Nakhti's moan and it softened Miranda's heart almost instantly. Hurrying to Liv's side, she grabbed her love's hand so she could get closer to the guard. "Don't worry, Nakhti, we'll have you out in no time," she said anxiously.
With Miranda holding on to her Liv stretched out farther and grasped Nakhti's hand tight in hers. "Here we go my brother," she said as she began to pull.
Nakhti's grimace turned to a grin, as he pulled back hard on Liv's hand yanking both women from the shore and causing them to tumble into the water beside him. He burst into laughter as they sank and resurfaced.
"Argh!" was all Miranda got out before she hit the water; a second later she surfaced again, sputtering and glaring at the guard. "You rascal!" she exclaimed as she helped Liv into a more dignified position, "I *knew* you were only pretending! Oh, but wait till I get you!" And with this she splashed water into Nakhti's direction.
Liv gasped and brushed the hair from her eyes. "Oh you!" she exclaimed and joined Miranda in the splashing.
Nakhti closed his eyes as the first splashes hit him. Then shaking his head he began to splash back as he moved closer to the two women. Liv was the first he reached. He grabbed her and pushed her under the water releasing her quickly. He then made for Miranda and did the same to her.
He and Liv had often played in the river near the temple as kids in a manner much like this. It was bringing back fond childhood memories from a time when neither he nor Liv knew anything of the way her father really was.
He paused momentarily and watched the two women as they splashed each other. It had turned into one big game. Laughing he rejoined the two women and began splashing again.
After several minutes he was exhausted, still being weak from his injury. He stopped and held the two women, Miranda in one arm Liv in the other as he tried to regain his breath. "I've had enough," he said in a rather winded voice.
Immediately, Miranda stopped laughing and checked Nakhti's shoulder. She winced when she saw the wound slightly bleeding again. "I am so sorry, Nakhti," she said, honestly embarrassed that she of all three of them had forgotten of the guard's injury, "I am afraid we have exaggerated. Liv, help me get him back to the fire."
By the fire, Miranda spread a blanket on the ground and gently made the guard lie down again while Liv got the water cauldron and some stripes of cloth they had prepared earlier on. Miranda took the stripes from Liv with one hand, with the other, she caught Liv's hand and brought it to her lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her fingers, before she focused on cleaning the wound again.
"For the rest of this day, you will rest, and tomorrow too," she said to the guard, the look on her face making it clear that she would not endure any arguments, "And now you have to be a bit brave. This salve will burn some when I put it on, but it will help to stop the bleeding." She picked up the small pot in which she had prepared the fish liver salve and took a small amount of it to gently apply it onto the wound.
Liv smiled as Miranda kissed her fingers then turned her attention to what Miranda was doing. She was becoming worried for her friend once more, but trusted Miranda to take good care of him.
Nakhti lay there as Miranda worked on his shoulder. The wound felt as if it were on fire; the longer the burning continued the more the pain increased. He could feel himself becoming very cold although he was sweating. When Miranda gave the order for rest he did not argue at all, instead he took her by the hand, causing her to pause momentarily and look him in the eyes. "Will I be alright?" he asked, "I mean, my shoulder." He paused. "I will not lose my arm will I?" His voice was full of concern as he spoke.
"No, you won't," Miranda said softly and brushed a hand over his head. "Your arm will be fine, I promise. That is, if you listen to me and rest." She leant forward and examined the wound a bit more closely. The cut still went rather deep, so that meant they would have to stay put for another week in order to make sure that Nakhti would get the rest the wound needed to close fully again. But even though no one else had come to the oasis since their arrival three days ago did not mean that they would remain this lucky for another seven days... Miranda hesitated and bit her lip as she sat back on her heels, studying the pained grimace on Nakhti's face. She did have the knowledge, and also the means, as they had packed her bag with all her herbs and the other things...
"Nakhti," Miranda began slowly, "When I was still living with my people, I spent a lot of time with our old healing woman... and last year, one of the other slaves on the caravan I was travelling with was a shaman... They both taught me a lot about healing..." She stopped again, not sure how to word her suggestion. "I could stitch the wound," Miranda said at last, "If you are up to it, that is, and if you want me to. But we have already lingered here longer than we should have. We should not count on our luck too much that we remain the only visitors to this oasis for another week. With your wound stitched, it should heal more quickly and we could be on our way again in four days at the latest."
Nakhti smiled up at Miranda. She was right. They had been blessed with the luck of not seeing anyone so far, but that could change at any time. Releasing her hand he gently touched her cheek. "Thank you," he said before turning his attention to Liv. "Will you go get the bottle of ale out of the wagon for me please? It's stored under the seat," he said. "A few drinks and I should be ready for you to stitch," he said looking back to Miranda as Liv went to get the bottle for him.
"Will you promise me something?" Nakhti asked, as he looked deep into Miranda's eyes. "If anything should ever happen to me will you look after Liv and take care of her?"
Liv returned a moment later and gave Nakhti the bottle. He began sipping as the women got the balm ready. Once he felt himself ready he turned to Miranda again. "Be gentle with me," he said with a wink. Liv sat down and took his head in her lap as Miranda prepared to stitch his wound.
Author: little___hobbit and Fin_Anwamane
Type: RPS
Pairing: Liv/Miranda
Rating: NC-17
Beta: Ourselves
Warning: Physical violence, abuse and rape described in later chapters not between the main pairing.
Disclaimer: This never happened. This was written in fun that's all.
Feedback: Yes please send to paddington-bear@web.de
or glorfindel@hornorfgondor.com
Archiving: The Angels Realm, others please ask.
Summary: A.U. An Egyptian Princess and her slave fall for one another and overcome the threats of their environment
Italics indicate thoughts
~~~~~
The two women had been up since sunrise fishing again to get food for the day which had ended in a small water fight full of laughter and squealing; all the tension of the past few days had lifted after Miranda had checked on a sleeping Nakhti and found that the healing had progressed quite a bit since they had set up camp last night. When they returned to the small camp Liv had hung their gowns up to dry on a nearby tree before she settled down around the fire laughing and talking with Miranda as they cooked. The smell of the fish drifted inside Nakhti's tent and stirred him from his sleep.
With a little effort Nakhti got to his feet and exited the tent. "Good morning ladi..." he started but was unable to finish as his mouth dropped open and his voice caught in his throat. There they were, the Princess and her love sitting by the fire as naked as the day they were born. "I, um, I. A thousand apologies," Nakhti stammered as he spun and re-entered his tent, his face a bright red color. "By the Gods, why are they sitting around like that?" he muttered to himself. “They should know better.” He continued shaking his head.
Liv looked up at Nakhti when she heard him speak. She began laughing as the man became at a loss for words and began blushing. Her laughter only increased as he entered his tent and the sounds of muttering and banging around could be heard. "I think poor Nakhti is a little shaken," Liv said as she got up and went to retrieve their gowns from the tree. "I think we had better dress again," she said, still giggling from the thought of Nakhti's face.
Just sitting there by the fire with her love and chit-chatting about this and that was everything Miranda could have asked for. She felt happy and content and giggled at something Liv said, snuggling close to her love and stealing a kiss every now and then as they were cooking the fish. The whole atmosphere was so relaxed and happy that Miranda completely forgot about everything else, including the injured guard in the tent nearby.
Chuckling, Miranda disentangled herself from Liv's embrace to stir the stew and turn the sticks on which some fish were roasting over the fire. Luckily, Nakhti had packed a lot of salt and spices so none of the food she'd prepared on their journey tasted bland, but actually very good.
As she added some curcuma to the stew, Miranda suddenly remembered Nakhti and looked up, only to find him standing behind them, in the entrance of his tent, frozen in mid-sentence and mid-movement, his face burning bright red and his eyes bulging. Miranda followed his shocked stare and looked down on herself. Only then did she realize that she was still wearing nothing; at once, her face took on the same deep red shade as Nakhti's and she gave a frightened squeak, covering herself with her hands and arms, though this was not too successful.
At last Nakhti disappeared into his tent again, and only then did Miranda dare to relax again. When Liv handed her the gown with a giggle, Miranda half-glared at her and quickly took the dress and pulled it over her head. "Since when was he standing there? You did that on purpose, didn't you?" she asked with a pout, "You enjoy seeing me blush!"
"He just walked up I think. I realized he was there at the same time you did," Liv said with a slight giggle as she looked at the expression on her love's face. She gave Miranda a hug and kissed her gently on the lips. "I am sorry he saw you this way, my love. I can tell you are slightly embarrassed. For me it's nothing. We bathed together as little kids," she said squeezing Miranda's hands. "I had better go check on the poor man. It's been years since he's been with a woman and we may have given him heart failure," she said as she released Miranda and turned heading for the tent. Pausing half way she looked back to Miranda over her shoulder, “And you are very cute when you blush,” she added with a small grin.
"I am not embarrassed, it's just..." Miranda trailed off blushed even more. "Yes, go and check in on him," she murmured and gave Liv a small glare when her love teased her before she entered the guard's tent. While she sat there and focused on the food, Miranda's mind trailed off. It was true, she had not been embarrassed that Nakhti had seen her naked but she had not really felt comfortable either.
Being exposed before a man had reminded her of why they had fled the Temple, and she could not really bring herself to bring up the topic again. Even though Liv had never said anything, Miranda knew only too well how much trouble Liv had with the knowledge that it had been her own father to have abused her love in a way that it caused Miranda nightmares. If she was honest, she still was having them, but for the sake of her love, she had hid this fact rather well.
"What were you thinking?" Nakhti asked as Liv entered the tent. "I mean, seeing you that way does not bother me, but seeing her like that. I am so embarrassed and I am sure she is as well. How will I ever be able to look at her again without blushing?" he added.
"Oh, grow up you big baby," Liv said giving Nakhti a playful slap on the arm, "Our clothes got wet while we were fishing and I hung them to dry. I thought you would be asleep for sometime and we would be able to dress again before you saw us."
"You should have wrapped in blankets or something," Nakhti pouted, the redness finally leaving his face. "How did you get wet fishing anyway?" he added, a questioning look on his face.
“This time it was on purpose,” Liv said before realizing it sounded like there had been a first time.
“This time?” Nakhti asked raising an eyebrow.
With a sigh Liv replied, "Yesterday I, um, I fell in. Then Miranda fell in trying to pull me out," she answered, feeling herself blush now. She had hoped Nakhti would not find out about the little incident.
"You did what?" Nakhti asked before he began laughing really hard, the image of what they must have looked like running through his mind. "I wish I had seen that," he said, holding his side as his laughter subsided.
"I think you have seen enough," said Liv, a grin on her face.
"I believe I have," Nakhti replied, blushing again as his mind returned to the thought of the two nude women. "Between you and me," Nakhti whispered, "She is very beautiful; even more so than I had ever imagined."
Liv slapped him again. "Dirty sod!" she exclaimed and added, "I think you should go apologize to her." She placed her hands on her hips.
"Yes, I think it would be best," Nakhti said as he headed for the exit of the tent.
Miranda's thoughts were interrupted when Nakhti emerged from the tent. He still had slightly pink ears and tried to avoid her gaze; Miranda sighed inwardly and stood. With gentle hands, she cupped his face and made him turn his gaze on her. "I am alright, my dear friend," she said softly, "I was just caught off guard. I rather have control over who I expose myself to, and when. Please forgive us for shocking you as we did." She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight as a big lump formed in her throat.
"I reacted so scared because it brought back memories," Miranda whispered, fighting back tears, "Of Raneb and his..." She trailed off, unable to hold back the pain of the memory any longer and hid in the hug, sobbing softly. As the strong arms of the guard closed around her protectively and soothingly, Miranda snuggled further into the hug, her crying slowly subsiding. It felt strangely good to do this; without having known it, this had been just what she had needed to have the healing of the wounds on her soul progress further.
Nakhti continued holding Miranda as he began to caress her hair gently. "There is no need to worry my friend, you are safe now and I will see that no harm comes to you. My life for yours." He gave her a slight squeeze. "And for the Princess," he continued. His voice was very gentle and sincere as he spoke. "You have my apologies for what just happened. If I had known I would have never..." His voice trailed off and he simply stood there and consoled the sobbing woman.
If I ever get my hands on that bastard Raneb he will die by them, he thought to himself as he felt his own eyes begin to tear slightly.
Liv moved the flap covering the entrance to the tent and peaked out. She smiled as she saw Nakhti holding her love in his arms. She watched them a moment longer before closing the flap and tending to the blankets Nakhti had been sleeping on.
"And mine for yours," Miranda answered and lifted her head off his shoulder to look straight into Nakhti's eyes, "This goes both ways. Don't worry about what happened earlier. As I said, you caught me off guard." She hugged him tight and wiped a single tear from his cheek. "Don't cry, my friend, I will be fine. I am already healing, thanks to you and Liv."
She squeezed his hand and then pulled back. "And now let's get your strength back. Liv and I have caught fish, there's roasted fish and fish soup, and I also cooked the livers to get a salve that will seal off your wound for good. Liv?" she called out, "Where is she?" Miranda walked to the tent and peaked in. "My love, come on out, dinner is ready."
Liv looked up when the tent flaps opened and smiled at Miranda. "You two looked so sweet standing there together," she said getting up from the small cot and walking towards Miranda, "My love and my brother in each others arms. I hope you two are ok," she said as she took Miranda's hand and exited the tent.
Nakhti had taken a seat by the fire and was already sampling the food the women had prepared.
"Get your grubby hands off!" Liv ordered and Nakhti dropped what he had and looked up like a child who had been caught sneaking a treat. "Have you washed those hands yet?" Liv continued, sounding more like his mother now. "You get up this instant and go wash. Miranda and I will have your food served for you when you return."
Nakhti got to his feet and bowed as he turned without saying a word and headed for the small pond.
"I swear that man acts like a little kid sometimes," Liv said shaking her head.
Miranda giggled as she watched the little interaction between her friends and she put her hand on Liv's arm. "Now, now, my love, Nakhti's only recovering from a severe injury. Go easy on him," she said, still giggling and winking at Nakhti who was just returning from the pond. "Come here, Nakhti, let me fix you something." She reached for one of the plates they had brought with them and stacked it with heaps of fish and couscous and also filled a bowl with fish stew up to the rim and handed everything to Nakhti. "Go on, tuck in, you need your strength," she said with a bright smile, "We need to get you big again; you have become quite skinny lately."
"I'm only teasing with him," Liv whispered. "We have known each other for far too long for me to be upset at him," She added turning her eyes to Nakhti. "I hope you are hungry," she said as he took the food from Miranda.
"I am starved," he said as he eyed the food piled on his plate. "So tell me about this fishing you two did yesterday," Nakhti said to Miranda with a small wink as he took a bite of fish. He figured that this would get Liv riled up again.
After helping herself to some of the food, Miranda settled down next to Nakhti and giggled. "Oh, the fishing?" she said and took another bite of the fish, "Oh Nakhti, you should have seen it. Liv was doing very good, but when the first fish got caught in the net, they tugged, and Liv, well..." Unable to continue Miranda broke into new giggles again and fell back laughing as the images of wet, sputtering Liv returned to her mind.
Liv sat there, her eyebrow raised as Miranda erupted in a fit of giggles.
Nakhti to started laughing, thinking of what Liv had told him in the tent. He put is hand on Miranda's shoulder. "Please continue," he said through his laughter.
Unable to stop laughing, Miranda struggled to sit up, only to collapse against Nakhti's shoulder, nearly making him tip over his half-empty bowl of soup; her eyes were already filling with tears from all the laughter. "Well, she..." Miranda tried to breathe, "Liv... she was..." Once again, Miranda broke into new giggles, partly at the sour face her love was making, partly at the memories. "It surprised..." she gasped, "Surprised her, and..." Once more, nothing but Miranda's laughter rang through the evening air.
It took her several minutes to calm down long enough to finish the sentence. "She was caught in surprise so she fell in." This last image made her lose her countenance again, and Miranda curled up as she was hit by another giggling fit. "She fell in, Nakhti!"
Nakhti's giggles turned into pure laughter as Miranda continued. He could picture the scene in his mind and it would make him laugh even harder.
Liv looked at the two, a stern look on her face but slowly it turned to a grin, then to a giggle and ended in laughter as well. "She tried to pull me out," Liv said, "... and she fell in as well." Liv moved to sit right next to her love and leaned over her wrapping her arms around her as the three continued to laugh.
"I sure wish I could have seen that," Nakhti commented as he looked down at the two women leaning against him.
Miranda giggled and leaned against Nakhti's shoulder, catching Liv's eye and winking at her. "Yes, it was a lot of fun, you know. And it would have been even more fun had you been there." She slowly got to a stand and pulled Nakhti with her, slowly but surely leading him over to the shore of the pond again.
Liv smiled as she walked along just behind them. "So you would like to see us all wet?" She said to Nakhti as she stepped up on the opposite side as Miranda. "Are you ready my love?" Liv asked, looking over to Miranda, a small smile on her face.
Nakhti laughed. "Well it would be rather funny if you two looked like I imagine you did earlier."
"Ok then," Liv said as she grabbed Nakhti's arm with one hand and placed the other on his shoulder. "Now!" Liv shouted to Miranda.
Hardly able to believe that Nakhti didn't suspect anything, Miranda tried to keep a straight face during the little dialogue between Liv and Nakhti. When Liv shouted out, she quickly placed her hand on his shoulder as well and pushed, sending the guard stumbling forward towards the pond.
Nakhti realized too late what was going on and lost his balance as the two women pushed him. He fell head first into the pond and came up sputtering, much like Liv had. He sat there and looked at the two women on the shore who were holding onto each other and laughing. "A little help here ladies?" he asked at last. "My foot seems to be caught under a rock," he added sticking his hand out to them.
Liv reached for his hand but it was just out of reach and she was straining to reach it. "Hold on to me my love," she said to Miranda as she stepped right to the water's edge, her fingers just touching the tips of Nakhti's.
As her laughter subsided, Miranda stepped closer and reached for Liv's other hand, but then she stopped and lowered her arms again, thinking she'd seen some evil glimpse in Nakhti's eyes. "I don't know my love," she said hesitantly and eyed the man in the pond suspiciously.
"Please hurry," Nakhti said desperately as he saw Miranda hesitate. "Whatever my foot is caught on I think it had torn the flesh," he added with a grimace.
Liv turned to Miranda, a pleading look in her eyes. "Please my love," she said before returning her gaze to the trapped man in the water. She leaned even more as Nakhti let out a loud painful moan, her feet kicking small pebbles into the water as her toes were now at the edge.
"I really don't..." Miranda got interrupted by Nakhti's moan and it softened Miranda's heart almost instantly. Hurrying to Liv's side, she grabbed her love's hand so she could get closer to the guard. "Don't worry, Nakhti, we'll have you out in no time," she said anxiously.
With Miranda holding on to her Liv stretched out farther and grasped Nakhti's hand tight in hers. "Here we go my brother," she said as she began to pull.
Nakhti's grimace turned to a grin, as he pulled back hard on Liv's hand yanking both women from the shore and causing them to tumble into the water beside him. He burst into laughter as they sank and resurfaced.
"Argh!" was all Miranda got out before she hit the water; a second later she surfaced again, sputtering and glaring at the guard. "You rascal!" she exclaimed as she helped Liv into a more dignified position, "I *knew* you were only pretending! Oh, but wait till I get you!" And with this she splashed water into Nakhti's direction.
Liv gasped and brushed the hair from her eyes. "Oh you!" she exclaimed and joined Miranda in the splashing.
Nakhti closed his eyes as the first splashes hit him. Then shaking his head he began to splash back as he moved closer to the two women. Liv was the first he reached. He grabbed her and pushed her under the water releasing her quickly. He then made for Miranda and did the same to her.
He and Liv had often played in the river near the temple as kids in a manner much like this. It was bringing back fond childhood memories from a time when neither he nor Liv knew anything of the way her father really was.
He paused momentarily and watched the two women as they splashed each other. It had turned into one big game. Laughing he rejoined the two women and began splashing again.
After several minutes he was exhausted, still being weak from his injury. He stopped and held the two women, Miranda in one arm Liv in the other as he tried to regain his breath. "I've had enough," he said in a rather winded voice.
Immediately, Miranda stopped laughing and checked Nakhti's shoulder. She winced when she saw the wound slightly bleeding again. "I am so sorry, Nakhti," she said, honestly embarrassed that she of all three of them had forgotten of the guard's injury, "I am afraid we have exaggerated. Liv, help me get him back to the fire."
By the fire, Miranda spread a blanket on the ground and gently made the guard lie down again while Liv got the water cauldron and some stripes of cloth they had prepared earlier on. Miranda took the stripes from Liv with one hand, with the other, she caught Liv's hand and brought it to her lips, pressing a gentle kiss to her fingers, before she focused on cleaning the wound again.
"For the rest of this day, you will rest, and tomorrow too," she said to the guard, the look on her face making it clear that she would not endure any arguments, "And now you have to be a bit brave. This salve will burn some when I put it on, but it will help to stop the bleeding." She picked up the small pot in which she had prepared the fish liver salve and took a small amount of it to gently apply it onto the wound.
Liv smiled as Miranda kissed her fingers then turned her attention to what Miranda was doing. She was becoming worried for her friend once more, but trusted Miranda to take good care of him.
Nakhti lay there as Miranda worked on his shoulder. The wound felt as if it were on fire; the longer the burning continued the more the pain increased. He could feel himself becoming very cold although he was sweating. When Miranda gave the order for rest he did not argue at all, instead he took her by the hand, causing her to pause momentarily and look him in the eyes. "Will I be alright?" he asked, "I mean, my shoulder." He paused. "I will not lose my arm will I?" His voice was full of concern as he spoke.
"No, you won't," Miranda said softly and brushed a hand over his head. "Your arm will be fine, I promise. That is, if you listen to me and rest." She leant forward and examined the wound a bit more closely. The cut still went rather deep, so that meant they would have to stay put for another week in order to make sure that Nakhti would get the rest the wound needed to close fully again. But even though no one else had come to the oasis since their arrival three days ago did not mean that they would remain this lucky for another seven days... Miranda hesitated and bit her lip as she sat back on her heels, studying the pained grimace on Nakhti's face. She did have the knowledge, and also the means, as they had packed her bag with all her herbs and the other things...
"Nakhti," Miranda began slowly, "When I was still living with my people, I spent a lot of time with our old healing woman... and last year, one of the other slaves on the caravan I was travelling with was a shaman... They both taught me a lot about healing..." She stopped again, not sure how to word her suggestion. "I could stitch the wound," Miranda said at last, "If you are up to it, that is, and if you want me to. But we have already lingered here longer than we should have. We should not count on our luck too much that we remain the only visitors to this oasis for another week. With your wound stitched, it should heal more quickly and we could be on our way again in four days at the latest."
Nakhti smiled up at Miranda. She was right. They had been blessed with the luck of not seeing anyone so far, but that could change at any time. Releasing her hand he gently touched her cheek. "Thank you," he said before turning his attention to Liv. "Will you go get the bottle of ale out of the wagon for me please? It's stored under the seat," he said. "A few drinks and I should be ready for you to stitch," he said looking back to Miranda as Liv went to get the bottle for him.
"Will you promise me something?" Nakhti asked, as he looked deep into Miranda's eyes. "If anything should ever happen to me will you look after Liv and take care of her?"
Liv returned a moment later and gave Nakhti the bottle. He began sipping as the women got the balm ready. Once he felt himself ready he turned to Miranda again. "Be gentle with me," he said with a wink. Liv sat down and took his head in her lap as Miranda prepared to stitch his wound.