Night Watch I: Eliza, Ward of Andrew

*Andrew’s POV*

Blasko sat next to me while Eliza was gathering her soup. “You’re not comfortable sparring against Eliza, are you?”

I nearly choked. All thoughts of how I had been fucking up recently, how I should be on my best behavior, left my head, as concern for Eliza took over. “Blasko, she shouldn’t be sparring at all! Of course I’m not comfortable training against her, she has so many infected wounds that I’m pretty certain she’d die if I weren’t taking her to the Grand Healer tomorrow! For fuck’s sake, her wing’s in a splint, I had to re-break it just a few hours ago!” I glared at him, fighting the urge to take him on right there. How dare he suggest that Eliza start training in her condition!? She could practically die of sepsis at any moment! Well, perhaps that was exaggerating… I felt a small, calloused hand on my shoulder.

“Second Officer Andrew, I am a Night Watchman, first and foremost. First Officer Blasko needs to test me to gauge my abilities accurately, for everyone’s safety, and to best protect the Soul of the Forest.” I bristled and grunted. This was ridiculous!

As much as I had secretly relished seeing Eliza’s naked body and applying the healing ointments, I had no desire for her to get hurt again, and to do it all over again! And I certainly had no desire to have to re-set her splint! Fucking bull-dung! “Of course, as you wish.” Eliza sat across from me, eating her soup, totally nonchalant. Blasko gave me his characteristic ‘manly atta-boy’ pat, and rose to, presumably, gather other members of the Night Watch he thought would be suitable to bash Eliza’s head in. I tugged on my hair nervously- would there be weapons? How many rounds would he make her go? Who would Blasko choose? Who did I want him to choose? Should I try and talk to them beforehand? If I did, and I asked them to go easy on her, Eliza would castrate me… Dammit!

I felt Eliza pull my hand from my hair and take it in both of her small, rough ones. She didn’t look worried. “It will be totally fine, Andrew.” I scowled at her and tried to pull my hand away, but she held on to it and smiled at me until I caved and started smiling too. “Andrew, in my old Watch, we would place wagers on these things-“

“-Eliza!” That was crazy!

“Andrew, I could use some new clothes. Everyone will bet against me. The odds will be so stacked, the payout will be incredible!” She grinned, completely confident. “I want you to place a wager that I will win every match tonight.” She raised her eyebrows, excited.

“How can you be so sure? You’re not well.” I refrained from mentioning the fact that the Night’s Watch was full of hardened fighters, and Eliza was, well... there was no point in being insulting. I resisted the strong urge to adjust her hair out of her face. Completely inappropriate. Instead, I decided to be practical. “Here, would you like a band to tie your hair back? It’s in your eyes.” I offered her one of mine.

Eliza took the leather thong and tied her long, dark hair back. “You’re right, Andrew, I’m definitely compromised. But as you know, I’ve got a dirty, filthy, secret.” She said it playfully, making me grin. “Just trust me, you’ll see, ok?”

I looked at Eliza. She was tall for a woman, and I knew from, uh, touching her, that she was more muscular than she appeared, but she most definitely did not look like a fighter, and definitely not a warrior. Because I… thought I had, or perhaps I might even be certain I had, um, inclinations towards her, I wasn’t sure what she looked like on initial impressions anymore. But I remembered, when I had first seen her, she had given me the notion of a filthy, haggard, potato. The thought made me squirm terribly with remorse.

Fuck it. I had money to spare, and she was right- if, by some bizarre chance, she beat a handful of hardened Watchmen to a pulp, we’d make so much money, she’d have enough for a new wardrobe, new boots, and maybe more. “Ok. Please be careful.”

Eliza smiled, squeezed my hand again, and bent over the table, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. I couldn’t help but eye the outline of her nipples and their jewelry against the brown fabric I had found as her substantial breasts hung forward. Gods! Eliza left for the circle and I ran off to find Brendan to place our wager.

Notes

randomness for you:


i swear that never gets old! xD (i believe that is by musicxlove91 on deviant art originally, correct me if wrong)

p.s. sorry for the crappy chapters lately- are you ready to rumble? how will you place your bets?