Fiction Friday :: "At First Sight"

Yes, I'm a day late on getting this up, but considering I let a whole month go by without posting anything, I think I'll let that slide.  *g*

Note :: This was originally written on 31 October 2010.  This one delves into the background of Kerai and Zandra's relationship in the Laikhostra universe.




The very first time I saw her, she was bloodied and bruised from some skirmish she'd tried to prevent.  Clearly, her efforts were for naught.  Neither of the drunken revelers who'd been fighting were harmed, of course.  The statuesque Knight had been knocked unconscious and was sporting a knot the size of a goose's egg on her poor head.

As I painstakingly cleaned up the blood and worked to Heal all of her injuries, I found myself drawn to her beautiful face.  She looked far younger than she probably was, and my fingers actually <i>ached</i> to wind themselves in those long curly pale strawberry tresses.  She hadn't been in full armor, so didn't have her hair pulled back nearly as severely as a Knight of the Builder God normally would.

In retrospect, I can admit that a part of me fell in love with her upon first sight.  It didn't matter that she was unconscious and wounded; something about her spoke to me and brought a warmth to my Soulstone that I hadn't ever felt before.  As I sat by her bedside, nursing her to health, I let myself wander into fantasies of what might happen.

It was only when she regained consciousness that my fantasies began to falter.   She proved herself a self-righteous, self-important, arrogant woman desperately in need of a lesson or two in humility.  And she was absolutely the worst patient I've ever had to deal with.  I was never happier to have her out of my infirmary ward.

And at the same time, I found that I missed her presence keenly.