ch. 5 The Stranger

Fear of the unknown. Fear of pain. Fear, of loosing someone precious to you.

 All of those, combined with every other type of fear, was keeping Selene's body, completely paralyzed. As the men's footsteps were getting louder, she prayed. And not just to one deity, but to every god, goddess, and creature in between, she could think of. She prayed for a rescue. Alas, it wasn't to come.

 As the man's footsteps, came ever so nearer, the rest of them, grabbed her clothes, and tore them to pieces. Still paralyzed from fear, she could see a hand approaching her body, while the rest just stood there, watching. Mere seconds before the hand  touched her skin, it fell down, as it's owner's head, rolled down the side, as a voice, chilling as death itself, came from behind the dead body:

 Voice: "Get your filthy hands away from her!"

 Her eyes grew wide, as the hooded stranger, wielding a moon-white, glowing sword, beheaded the rest of the men, one by one. Leaving his hood on, he took off his cloak, and covered her ***** body with it. Scooping her up in his arms, he gently whispered in her ear:

 Stranger: "It's all right! You are safe now. No one is going to harm you. This, I swear to you, Little Princess!"

 The familiarity of the voice and words of the stranger, finally helped Selen relax, as tears formed in her eyes, before finally fainting.

 Again, she dreamed. She dreamed of golden palaces, and sandy landscapes, stretching beyond the horizon. She dreamed of shiny jewels. And a crescent-moon, shaped ring, the same ring she was still wearing to this day. She had never taken it off, since the day the blurred image of a man, had given it to her. Except, this time, the image wasn't blurred. The man's features, were crystal clear. Beneath the black eye make-up, was a set of silver eyes. She knew his name. It was Setna. He was her tutor, back in Egypt. He always called her "Little Princes". But he was dead. He had given his life for hers.

 So then, who saved her? Why did he called her that, and why was her savior's voice, the same as her dead teacher? Before she could ponder over it any further, the crackling sound of a fire, woke her up.

 A tall figure, of a man wearing a hood, was sitting across the fire, fiddeling with the hilt of a long sword, the likes of which, she had never seen. In his hand, and beside his feet, were strange instruments, unknown to her.

 Selene: "Who are you?"

 Hood: "Feeling better?"

 Selene: "Answer the question!"

 Hood: "I'm me. Who do you want me to be?"

 Selene: "Remove your hood."

 Hood: "As you wish, my  queen!"

 Upon doing so, long golden locks, fell down to one side of his face. He turned his eyes towards her, and smiled.

 Selene: "Setna!"

 Hood: "Who? My name isn't Setna."

 Selene: "No! You are him! Same eyes, same voice, same body shape. You are Setna!"

 Hood: "Haa. You were always very observant about details, Little Princess. But as I said before, my name isn't Setna. Although, I did use that name for a time, in Egypt."

 Hearing his words, her tears fell down, as she rushed to his side, almost jumping over the fire. Her momentum was such, that, as she hurled herself towards him, he almost fell down, when she hugged him, like the way she did, the last time she saw him.

 Selene: "Teacher!"

 Hood: "Umph! Careful! These are delicate!"

 Selene: "How? How are you alive?"

 Hood: "Long story! The important thing is, how are you? Any injuries?"

 Selene: "Injuries? No, I..." -then the events of the recent past, came to her. As she remembered, unconsciously, her hands moved to cover her body. Instead of skin, her fingers landed on a, softer than silk, fabric. When she looked, Selene was wearing a long shirt, almost like a short dress, paired, with a royal purple pants and leather boots.

 Selene: "Who put me in these?"

 Hood: "I did! Had to guess your size. Luckily, you are almost the same size, as my sister-in-law."

 Selene: "What did happen last night? Was I..."

 Hood: "No. They didn't touch you. Your husband would be pleased."

 Selene: "I'm not married."

 He stopped fiddling, and looked at her in surprise. The edges of his mouth, curled up.

 Hood: "Why not? You are already past the age!"

 Selene: "No one was ever good enough, Anyway, where are we? How far from Petra?"

 Hood: "We're only a day's ride from Petra. But the floods are here, so we'll have to wait for at least a day, before heading back. And by the way, you were only asleep for a few hours. The sun will rise in more than six. Get some rest, Selene."

 Selene: "Hm. Haven't heard that name in a while. Teacher, what is your real name? How did you survive? Where have you been all this time? And why do you look so young?"

 Hood: "Slow down, little princess. For certain reasons, I can't tell you everything. But, what I can tell you, is that my real name is Attar."

 Selene: "Attar. What about my other questions."

 Attar: "Sorry little princess. But for your own safety, I shouldn't have even told you as much. Now, it's still too early. Off to bed."

 Selene: "Hey! I'm not a child. I'm a grown woman! I'll do as I please."

 As she said that, Selene stood up, placed her hands on his shoulders, facing him. Looked him straight in the eyes, bent over, and kissed him. Surprised at first, he placed his hand, at the back of her head, and his tongue entered her mouth, as hers, gently played around his. Suddenly remembering something, he pushed her away, but still keeping her face close enough, so that they could feel each others breath.

 Attar: "STOP! What are you doing?"

 Selene: "I told you. I am going to do, whatever I want, from now on! I', not going to wait around any longer, because I've remembered something tonight.

 Attar: "What?"

 Selene: "I know why none were ever good enough."

 Attar: "Why?"

 Selene: "They weren't you!"

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