|
Post by Charlie Dudox on Dec 11, 2004 0:40:37 GMT -5
She had refused to talk to Daniel on most of the way home. Unlike on the way here, she had allowed the horses to walk instead of pushing them onwards. When Daniel's eyes began to droop she had taken the reins of his horse to give him the opportunity for some shut eye. She was uncertain if she would be able to sleep tonight. When emotions got the best of her, she could go nights without ever being able to shut her eyes or shut off her brain. Still, despite being wide awake, her entire body ached and she knew that she could ride no more. If nothing else they should eat and change into more appropriate clothes for the ever dropping temperature. "Let's rest here for the night" She murmered as she pulled both horses to a stop and slid off the side of hers. Her legs felt wobbly and weak from riding so much. A most Ulsterians would be embarassed to have such a low tolerance for riding but most of Charlie's growing up had been in places where the trees were too close together to make room for horses or anything near their size.
She stretches our, letting a a small groan issue from her lips and began to unload the food packs. They had been given far more than they would need, full meals to cook up if they so pleased. A little bread, cheese and meat would do her fine though, she was unsure about Daniel. The whole way here he had received nothing but the cold shoulder and, except for a sentence here and there, she did not question the shear intertia of their silence. It was not a question of whether Daniel deserved to be treated as such, it simply had to do with her capacity to speak to him without sounding like a complete fool. She had no doubt where his mind was: Isabella and the Temple of Tempus. She would hate to interrupt his little potion-induced fantasies.
Without a word, she opened the pack and began to make herself two simple sandwhiches, buttered bread, meat and cheese. She cut up an apple for the two of them to share without ever breaking the silence of the evening. Had she been cooking a meal for him at home, Daniel would have learned Charlie's deep affinity for strong tastes. Unlike many Ulster residents, she loved her food heavily spiced or flavored. On this cold night, though, there were no such options. She would make due with what they had. There would be no complaining over such little matters as travel food.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Daniel Carter on Dec 11, 2004 1:23:42 GMT -5
Daniel had been silent. His head was swimming, some residual memory of a feeling he once held for Amariette, now replaced by Isabella, though he did know why. He just wanted to understand what was going on... and Charlie, here she was, a girl he also cared for overshadowed by a stranger and obviously angry with him. What had he done? What could he do to fix it? Suddenly he remembered why he never usually left the house. And then suddenly pangs of regret for leaving Isabella's side shot through him and he sighed, looking away from Charlie and the horse, back to the ground.
He was not at all against stopping for camp for the night, though after sliding off the horse and pulling on a warmer coat, he could do little more than make a bed for himself and lie down on it. Hunger was not on his mind at all, and so he curled up on one side, his back facing Charlie, not knowing what at all to do. Occassionally tremors would come as his body temperature lowered and the potion stopped having some of its effects courtesy of the night's chill. Now he just felt groggy yet unable to really sleep. He was in a half sleep, but that was the best he could get.
His thoughts felt like they were drowing in a raging sea of confusion. Three women, one he couldn't love, one he did love and was gone, one he loved and didn't know why. It was a terrible feeling to be caught in the center of such a vicious triad... yet no one seemed to understand that. Perhaps he should voice it. Perhaps he should tell Charlie what he was thinking about her. Did she really know why he kept such a distance between them? Too scared to admit he had fallen for her? He was with Amariette now, and he did love her, and he did want to marry her, but now with her following Theoren into certain danger halfway across the globe the water was getting muddier and muddier.
All he could do, for now, is slip the glasses from his face, let a few silent tears stain the bedding below him, and shut his eyelids in a futile attempt to sleep the nightmare away.
|
|
|
Post by Charlie Dudox on Dec 11, 2004 1:56:22 GMT -5
She brought him the sandwich where he was lying and murmured softly "You should eat. Really." She set the food down and rolled out her own small sleeping mat. She wanted nothing more to move over and curl up against him. The minute the weather began to cool she started missing the heat. She and pulled on a sweater but had yet to move up to her jacket. It was lumpy and constricting and some times she would simply rather be cold. For a moment she seemed to hesitate as though she were going to tell Daniel something but she held back. Instead she sat quietly on her mat, her eyes lowered as she nibbled at her own sandwich. Though it was hard to see in the dimness of the evening light, a small tear slid down her cheek. The whole episode had been too much stress and not enough rest. She had been working so hard before Daniel was even missing and it was like the whole world was just piling up on top of her to crush her down. Quickly she let out a yawn, coving up the tears as she wiped them away as though they were nothing but a sign of her being tired.
"How are you feeling?" She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer but she asked the question anyways. The silence on the night was stifling and perhaps a little small talk was enough to get her mind off things. She didn't want to be mad at Daniel, it was too much effort. The potion still weighed heavily in her pocket. It was a bit like the tell tale heart. She should not have taken it and still could not explain why she had. To use it on him would be worse than what any other woman had done to him so far. His first fiancée had left him with good reason, Amariette had taken his heart than been too weak to be faithful, Isabella had been careless, but the conscious use of potions, that would simply be corrupt, wouldn't it? He hadn't played with her heart. He hadn't led her on. She had tortured herself through this all. A part of her wondered how long she would be able to wait for him, to stand the torture of his presence. It was hard to say what would hurt more, staying or going.
"She really did a number on you didn't she, with that love potion. Can you even think straight through that stuff?" She was trying to force herself to think straight herself. It was not Daniel's fault that Isabella had enchanted him. For the most part, he simply looked bewildered. She let out a small sight and began to search through her own pack, from near the bottom she pulled out a bottle of pomegranate liquor, home brewed. The recipe had been touted to her for its medicinal purposes but she enjoyed it for how it managed to warm your insides to the bone and the fragrant aroma. Without asking, she began to rifle through her bag to find some glasses for them both. It would do Daniel good, or at least it wouldn't screw him up any worse than he is now.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Daniel Carter on Dec 11, 2004 2:09:58 GMT -5
Rolling over onto his back Daniel finally admitted to himself that he was not going to sleep anytime soon. Hands reached up and covered his face, trying to make the swirling in his head go away. "I feel... confused." he replied in a muffle to her question. "And yes, she did a number on me. I can't get her out of my head and I don't know why. I'm completely infatuated with her for no reason what so ever and I feel like it's going to drive me crazy." He let his arm fall over his eyes and his other hand flopped onto his stomach. "Next time I get the bright idea to help someone please feel free to hit me with a rock." he said sullenly.
"At least if I could forget about ... her... total stranger... name I don't even remember now... I could sleep. And no thank you, I'm not hungry." He was peering at Charlie with one blue eye from underneath the crook of his arm. Three women. One left him, one enchanted him, and one he couldn't tell a thing about his feelings for. Life was not treating Daniel Carter kindly right now. He would blame God, if he wasn't an atheist.
|
|
|
Post by Charlie Dudox on Dec 11, 2004 2:31:51 GMT -5
She looked him over and gave a small sigh. She held out two tiny glasses and filled them with the dark red pomegranate liquor then with a sigh she pulled the vial from her pocket and held it out for his viewing. She didn't say a word as she added a splash to each of the glasses. It wasn't as much as Isabella had added. She didn't want the poor man to overdose on this stuff and she also was frightened of the effects. There was no way to be certain of how it would leave the two of them or what would happen tonight if they drank. At this point she didn't care. Falling for Daniel hurt her too much. It hurt her brain as much as it hurt her heart. She did not like the concept of having to think her way through so many of her emotions. With Becks it had been relatively easy, up until the end when everything was impossible. In the university, she went for anyone who struck her fancy and was available. In contrast, this was so much harder. She wanted, if only for one evening, for everything to be simple again, for them to simply act on instincts and passions.
She held out one glass for him to take and held the other one up as though for a toast. "This should get your mind off of her. To... " she paused a moment as she tried to figure out what the proper toast should be in a moment such as this. "To tonight." 'To us' seemed to ask too much. She liked the promise of impermanence that came with one night. This was not how she wanted things to be. If they were meant to be together, then it should be naturally but if she could not get close to him tonight, it might be enough to make her lose her mind. Assuming that he accepted her toast she clinked her glass against his and sipped down the contents, feeling the warm sweetness flow down her throat and the equally swimming feeling rise to her head. Perhaps she had made the dose more potent than she had intended. She eyes dilated wide as she stared at Daniel. She had been right about him all along. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen. She loved the look of his stubble growing in, of his goofy glasses and those beautiful deep eyes that stared out from behind them. It was obvious that she was suddenly awestruck with how perfect each of his imperfections was. "How... do you like it? I made it myself." She was referring to the drink but even as she did, she found herself drawn closer to him. This was not beyond how she normally would feel about Daniel. It was simply that all inhibitions were out the window.
|
|
|
Post by Dr. Daniel Carter on Dec 30, 2004 15:43:12 GMT -5
He could hear the water being poured, but with his arm over his face he saw nothing but black in front of him. His head was swimming in circles, he didn't know what to feel, what to think. Not to mention being hungry, thirsty, and in the wake of his second kidnapping. The poor man had been beaten into the ground and his spirit was nearing a breaking point. The water was a bit to assauge the mental schizotypal reaction he was having to so much trauma in a short amount of time, so he took it.
'This should get your mind off her.' What did that mean? He looked up at the glass which was blurry in front of him with his naked eyes. Perhaps clever Charlie had snagged him the antidote? He smiled a bit and glugged the water down, happy to get rid of the chemical feeling that was fogging his brain and get on with sleeping, living, teaching, whatever it was he wanted to be doing right now that was not camping in the middle of Ulster dreaming of a woman he didn't even know.
It felt slippery and warm in his throat, not at all like water should be. "Wha..." He started to say before his eyes rolled back into his head for a moment again. When he opened them he fumbled for his glasses, slipping them on to see Charlie moving over to him. She was more beautiful now than he had ever remembered her... those dark curls, deep brown, warm eyes, beautifully tanned skin and a figure that blew his mind. "Charlie...?" Was the only thing he could manage as his eyes trailed over her, that same groggy feeling in his stomach and head he had felt around Isabella.
Could it be something was toying with him? He didn't have the will to explore the notion. All he knew is that he wanted the woman in front of him with some kind of magnetic attraction that was so far beyond explicable that he couldn't form the words to try. His hand reached up from it's place on the bedroll by his side and brushed along her shoulder. The skin felt warm, soft, and inviting. His eyelids felt heavy and his mind was as fuzzy as a tv channel with no reception. Everything was white noise, it was almost as if his body had been put on an autopilot and he was helpless to change the course. What was most fascinating was that he was not sure he wanted to, given these new feelings for Charlie that were surging through him. What on earth was going on?
|
|
|
Post by Charlie Dudox on Dec 30, 2004 23:29:07 GMT -5
His touch of her shoulder was electrifying. She could feel the shivers running up and down her spine and for a moment she simply held her breath. Together they were floating through a cloud, everything beyond them was fuzzy and unimportant. As the full effects of the drug settled in, her eyes grew wide. She was looking at, lusting after a man to be married. For a moment she struggled against the potion mumbling softly "Is this what you want?" Even as she spoke the words, every fiber of her body was screaming yes. In the end, she wasn't sure if she even cared what his answer was. In this moment, there was nothing else in the world but him. If she could not be with him, be a part of him, completely know him, then life was not worth leading, and she would simply lie down and die. She leaned closer to him, begging to be kissed. So long ago, she had promised not to kiss him until he was willing to kiss her. Now she found herself nearly willing his lips to press against hers, his hands on her body, her hands on his. At the University she had had a reputation as a bit of a tramp, using men for a good time and tossing them asside when she was done. Here, now, it was different. Since she left the jungle she had never felt so willing and so needy all at once. Her voice came soft, and breathy as she brushed her hand along his stubbled cheek. "Daniel..." She was at a loss at the moment as to what to say to him to make this right, to make this perfect. All she could think of was those deep blue eyes of his and the feeling she got when he touched her.
|
|