Through The Ages by Sam & Holly (reading rainbow books TXT) 📖

Sorcha= Sam
Red = Holly

Red walked among the trees, thinking about the lovely daughter of Hamond and Greta. He was supposed to be focused on hunting.

Sorcha ran, fear coursing through her, she could hear the man clomping through the trees, until she ran into a solid object then she fell on it, and it went "omph." she realized she was on another man, and panicked trying to scramble away.

Red grabbed her by the wrist.
"Whoa, where are you going? Who is chasing you?" he could tell just by the look in her eyes that someone was.

Sorcha tried to yank away from him, fear entered her eyes. as the crashing got closer and closer.

Red levered himself to his feet and pulled her behind him, backing them both up against a tree where he could protect and shield her.

Sorcha gripped his shirt, closing her eyes.

Red watched, waiting for whomever was after her to come crashing through the brush.

a tall man with a dark, old leathery came through , holding a sword, looking quite , put out. "where is she? that little vixen!"

Sorcha trembled behind the man in front of her.

"You won't touch her." Red swung at the man's chest.

he laughed and swung his sword.

Sorcha screamed.

Red parried the blow and struck out at the man's side.

Sorcha winced, as flesh hit flesh. "s-stop!"

Red froze, confused.

Sorcha frowned. "violence isn't the answer!"

Red had barely a moment to listen to her before the man's dagger pierced his gut and then his sword severed the man's head from his neck.

Sorcha gasped. a hand flew over her mouth.

Red slumped to the ground, steeling himself against the pain as he pulled the dagger free of his body.

Sorcha fell to her knees beside him, and ripped the bottom off of her short dress and balled it up and pressed it to his wound.

He grunted in pain.

Sorcha let her tears fall. "i-i'm so sorry!.."

"It's alright... I... Would have done it for... Anyone." he murmured through the pain, "You have to go to.... The camp.. Close by... Get help."

Sorcha shook her head, as fast as humanly possible. "n-no..." she pressed her torn dress harder on his wound.

"You... Must." he groaned as the pain increased.

Sorcha wiped the hair from his face. "w-which direction?"

"North." he replied, the direction she had been running.

Sorcha nodded, and dashed off, arriving in the center of camp in no time.

The men looked at her, astonished because they had never seen her before.

Sorcha burst into tears. "a-a b-big man..f-from here...is h-hurt..he said to-to come here..."

"Red." someone said, "Hurry, get help! Lady, please, take me to him." the man was burly but short.

Sorcha nodded, as she sobbed, and ran, back to the huge man, they called red.

Red lay where she had left him, his face contorted in pain.

"Red, hey, come on, wake up." the burly man dropped to his knees beside his friend.

"Baldor." Red mumbled.

"That's it, come on buddy." Baldor pressed the cloth even harder against the wound, staunching the blood flow as much as possible.

More men came and they took him and Sorcha back to camp. Red went through surgery and was placed back in his tent.

"You're welcome to stay with him or join the rest of us." Baldor told Sorcha.

Sorcha had stayed as close to the big man red, as they would let her. she shook her head. "i'm safe with him."

"very well." Baldor nodded, took one last look at his friend and headed outside, leaving Sorcha alone in the tent.

Sorcha sat on the floor by the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Red sighed in his drug induced sleep.

Sorcha jumped, but settled when she saw he was still sleeping.

Red slept for many more hours before he woke with a wince.

Sorcha's head was against the side of the bed, her hands still locked around her knees.

"Who... Are you?" he asked, his voice a whisper.

Sorcha jerked away, and scrambled away, to a safe distance and eyed him. "S-Sorcha..."

"Mine is Red... It's nice to meet the woman that saved my life." he murmured, rolling stiffly onto his side.

Sorcha tensed, at his movement. her eyes watered. "i caused you to get hurt..."

"I wouldn't change what I did, Sorcha." he said.

Sorcha felt her body tingle when he said her name, she didn't like it, it was new and daunting, like him. "y-you killed him though..."

"I did what I had to and for that, I agree, I'm a monster, but if it means protecting those who need to be protected, then I will be a monster every time." he replied, sounding disgusted with himself while knowing he had had no other choice.

Sorcha flinched when he called himself a monster. "d-don't say that about y-yourself..."

Red simply let out a breath of air without saying anything in return.
"Are they feeding you? You look cold, would you like a blanket?" he asked, offering her the extra one lying at his feet.

Sorcha frowned, and shrank away. "i don't want their food...i'm fine,."

"Sorcha, the food in camp is for everyone, even people who are new to us." he said, "You can eat it if you want, just don't starve yourself, ok? We have plenty to share... Has a man hurt you? You're scared of me, I can see it in your eyes."

Sorcha's eyes watered. she sat taller, and looked away from him.

"I won't hurt you, that is a promise. I would kill myself if I ever harmed a woman or child." he vowed.

Sorcha shuddered. "i said no...why wasnt no enough for him?" she sobbed.

Red held out his hand."Trust me?"

Sorcha eyed his hand. then grasped it .

Red gently brought it to his mouth and kissed it.
"No is enough for me." he whispered.

Sorcha felt her body tingle, and gasped, trying to pull her hand back. her eyes wide, as she searched his face.

Red leg her hand go, if she wanted it back, she could have it. Red looked at her gently.
"I won't hurt you, Sorcha, ever."

Sorcha's eyes watered, but she nodded.

"Please... Stay with me." he begged.

Sorcha looked him over, and then in the eyes. and silently, slowly nodded. "y-yes.."

"Thank you." he murmured, a sleepy smile on his face.

Sorcha cleared her throat. "y-you should get some more sleep"

He nodded and closed his eyes. His left hand lay open and placed conveniently for her to take and hold if she wanted.

Sorcha stared at his hand, and shakily placed her own hand in it, and sat on the edge of his bed.

Red's fingers curled gently around hers as he drifted off to sleep. She could still pull away if she wanted to, but her fingers were warm inside his hand.

Sorcha relaxed, and felt at peace.

~One Week Later~

When Red woke next it was morning of the next week. He rolled to a sitting position, wincing as the skin around his wound pulled tight and caused him a small amount of pain.

Sorcha had fallen asleep next to him, her face turned to him, her hand still in his.

Red smiled and silently stood, picked her up and placed her on his cot, covering her so she could sleep comfortably, warmly and peacefully. He dressed in new clothes and headed for breakfast.

Sorcha snuggled deeper. the blankets smelled like him.

When Red came back from breakfast, he brought her some food.

Sorcha woke, and stretched. and smiled when she saw him. "good morning Red"

Red nodded."Brought you some food."

Sorcha licked her lips and smiled. "hmm....i am hungry"

"Good." he set it before her and stripped off his red tunic, replacing it with a brown, more beat up one.

Sorcha watched, wistfully as he re hid his body under the tunic, she blushed when she realized she had been watching and looked down at her food, and started to eat.

Red glanced back at her."I'll be back at lunch. Don't be afraid to go exploring within camp, there are other women here. You can find me at the training grounds." he told her gently.

Sorcha nodded, as she intently stared at the food, her cheeks red.

Red smiled and left, heading to work.

Sorcha let her breath out. she felt so odd around him, like she was wary of him, yet wished he would touch her. she shook her head and finished eating.

Red worked as hard as he could that morning, but he was still injured and that injury held him back from a lot of things.

Sorcha soon wander cautiously out of the tent to wander the camp.

Red kept working, trying to push through.

Sorcha ended up, finding him, and stared amazed as he trained, his chest gleaming with sweat, she felt her mouth water , and her breasts felt heavy.

By the time he was allowed to take a break, he was bleeding just a little from his wound.

Sorcha winced when she saw the blood . but his rippling muscles distracted her, her mouth falling open, and her eyes innocently widening.

Red dropped to the ground close by, drinking water from a canteen and taking a break while he watched a couple of others play out the same scenario he just had with his partner.

Sorcha walked over, dumbly a smile on her face. her eyes bright. "red!" she waved as she got closer.

He rushed to his feet."Sorcha, it's