238 You Seem to Trust Me

Without question they left, and He stayed by her side. Kyera seemed calmer once the room was emptied of others. Clovis sighed. "At least you seem to trust me." Clovis whispered sighing as he leaned against the wall next to her. He looked at the awkward position she was laying in her brows still furrowed as if lost in the pain. Gently he began rearranging her so she was more comfortable, covering her with the blanket again. Moving her was now vetoed. If touching her would bring back such strong reactions, they could not chance it. As he leaned back again he was surprised to see two golden eyes look up at him.

They were not the normally fierce eyes of the warrioress, nor was it the gentleness that he saw when she spoke to Raina. Instead the woman looking back at him seemed younger, innocent and scared. He wanted to reach out and sooth her, but he did not, worried his touch might cause her unease.

"Kyera?" He whispered gently instead. She nodded slowly sitting up, wincing in pain as her ribs screamed in protest to her movement. Clovis gently stopped her from moving further, his hand on her shoulder. Two soft palms covered his hand as her chin came over to rest against the side of his wrist. She settled back onto the bed obediently but his hand went with her as she held it as though it was an anchor to reality. He wondered who she thought he was, or if perhaps… no he dare not think it. She was vulnerable now, allowing himself to think like that could be building a castle on a cloud.

Moments passed and her eyes closed. A smile lightly tugged at his lips as he laid down beside her, not pulling his hand from her grasp. He left plenty of space between them but allowed her to cuddle against his hand. Propping his head up on his free palm he watched her as she drifted back to sleep. The innocent's in her expression was quite… reassuring. There was something there to fill the void of nothingness that he had seen earlier.

He lost track of time, watching her breathing slowly up and down. It felt oddly natural here, watching her rest. A certain satisfaction that she trusted him enough to want him here. Other than Raina, he had never watched a lady rest like this. Even the nights he spent by his own wife before her passing had never been like this.

Sadness passed through his eyes as he remembered the past. He noticed a strand of Kyera's pale hair had fallen across her face in the soft breeze from the window. The cool air was refreshing, against the skin. He reached out, gently brushing the strand away.

In her sleeping state her mind was trying to wake from this forced rest. Her senses heightened as they struggled to put two thoughts together about her surroundings. Trying to sit up, and something tangible smelling familiar pushed her back down. She couldn't help but grip that hand and pull it close, clinging to the familiarity. The feelings of lost in a  foreign environment was lessened by the sent that spread like a comforting blanket over her. Kyera tried to recognize the sent even as she felt the tendrils of sleep tugging her back in. Then the face behind the scent appeared behind her eyes. A small warmth appeared in her chest, comforting and pleasant, allowing sleep to steal her away before she could think too much.