Chapter 2
Miara felt much better after having a bath, her muscles weren't as tense as they had been. She had wanted to ask Damian more questions, but he bid her goodnight after learning her name, worry creased her brow as she lay there in thought in her bed. Wondering why he had saved her, or even how for that matter, he must have been a great fighter. Letting a sigh escape her lips she rolled over and nuzzled her face into her pillow in an attempt to drown out her thoughts and fall asleep again. As slumber slowly took hold of her she tried to think of a way to thank her savior somehow.
The first few rays of morning light danced over the sheets of Miara's bed as she still lay there sleeping soundly. The door to her room just barely opened, a pair of steel eyes peered in to check on the girl. Damian seemed to be worried about her, she had been in pretty bad shape when he had saw her crumple down to her knees in the clearing. He was thankful that he had thought to go out in the afternoon that day, perhaps it was fate that had dragged him along the path he took and forced him to check in the clearing in Miara's time of need. Shaking his head he pushed the door open a bit more to let himself in, instead of going straight to the bed he stepped over to the dresser that was on the far wall. Pulling one of the top drawers out to sort through the clothes that were in it, pulling out a blue sundress he held it up in the light and stared at it for a moment as a frown found its way to his mouth. Sighing softly he set the dress down at the end of the bed before moving to close the drawer on the dresser and then leaving the room, but he left the door open just a crack. Heading downstairs he gave a quick glance to the dining room and den, nobody else was up yet. It wasn't hard running an inn, just time consuming. Making his way to the kitchen he stoked the stove and started breakfast in hopes that Miara would wake soon.
Groaning into her blanket Miara rubbed her eyes and yawned, the light streaming in through her window was not going to let her sleep any longer. Folding back her warm covers she pushed herself up into a sitting position, stretching her arms over her head before giving her peepers another rub. At least she didn't feel as stiff this morning, that bath really did her body wonders, shaking out her mop of hair slightly she glanced around her room. Something blue at the end of the bed caught her eye, staring at it a moment before realizing it was a dress, she crawled down to it and picked it up to look at it in the light. It was a pretty color she had to admit, as she slid herself off of the bed she stripped off her nightgown and slipped the dress over her head. If it had been set out for her, she might as well ware it, best not to be rude she thought. If only there was a mirror in this room, no problem though, there was one in the bathroom. Peeking out into the hallway she checked if the coast was clear, she stopped her thoughts a moment, "Why am I trying to sneak around?" Miara said to herself, sometimes she didn't think things through clearly, a smile crept to her mouth as she headed to the bathroom to brush her hair and check how she looked. Staring at herself as her long brown hair curled and settled around her shoulders, the dress complimented her bright blue eyes. Wondering if it had been Damian that had set the dress out for her to wear, that thought brought another to mind, where was he this morning?
A warm heavenly smell came to her; it smelled like bacon and eggs, her stomach made a sudden growling rumble. She hadn't even noticed she was so hungry, stepping out of the restroom she followed the delicious smell down the hallway and down the stairs to the first floor, "Oh wow." Miara murmured, she was at an inn, the den to the right of her looked so homey and warm with its fireplace and mantel. Two plush chairs had been set up near the fire; there were even a couple bookshelves against a wall, even an end table by each chair. Just in front of her looked to be the front door, there was a porch with steps leading down to a rocky path, turning her head to the left there was the front desk with someone sitting there, well reading actually, "Hello." She greeted the woman, "Oh hello dear, Damian said you would be down soon." Miara smiled, "Where is he?" Her eyes seemed to brighten at the mention of him, "Oh he's in the kitchen making breakfast, or at least he was, if he's not there, he might be out back." "Thank you." She said and quickly darted into the dining room that led to the kitchen, "You're welcome deary." The woman called before going back to reading her book. Miara flitted into the kitchen that smelled wonderful to find that Damian wasn't there, just a simmering teapot on the stove and a couple covered dishes on the counter. Thinking best to not peek under the dishes even though she was so hungry she spied the backdoor at the far end of the kitchen, making her way to it she reached to turn the handle when it opened all of a sudden. Lifting her eyes as she took a step back to avoid getting bumped into, "Good morning Damian." She murmured in a soft voice, there he was standing in the doorway without a shirt on, clearing her throat and adverting her eyes as she felt her cheeks grow warm, "I was told that you might be out back so I came to look for you." As if she had to explain why she was down here, "Oh, Bonnie must have told you that. Sorry for almost running into you, I was hoping to get the wood chopped and a new shirt on before you came down." He gave a sheepish grin, "Excuse me Miara." Damian moved to step around her, "Oh yes, yes, sorry." She stepped out of the way with her back to the counter, her heart was all aflutter, it didn't help that the kitchen was small and he nearly had to brush against her as he moved past, "I'll be right back down in a moment, you can go ahead and dish yourself up something to eat, there's hot water on the stove if you want tea." He called as he went to go get a fresh shirt to put on.
Miara shook her head to clear her thoughts and went to get a dish to fill up with two eggs, sunny side up, and three slices of crunchy bacon. Her mouth was watering, so she skipped the tea for now, setting her plate down on the dining room table she pulled out her seat and sat to eat. Not even remembering that she would need a fork for her eggs she started crunching a piece of bacon, her brain still must have been half asleep. Working on her second piece of bacon she licked her fingers and decided to get a cup of tea. Getting up from her seat she found a mug and poured her water, but where was the tea? Peeking into the cupboard she found spices and the like, but no tea, trying another cupboard she stood on her tippy toes and tried to reach for what looked like a box of tea on the top shelf, but with no avail. Another hand reached up above hers and grabbed it and placed it into her hand, "There you go." A shiver ran up her spine as she felt the warmth of Damian behind her, "Thank you." She said before turning to face him with a little smile upon her face, "Tea?" Miara asked as she held up the box he had handed her, "Ladies first." Damian said with a soft chuckle, they were so close together, how she hadn't felt him before seeing his hand was a mystery to her. Feeling her cheeks heat up once more she moved to slide out from between him and the counter, but he stopped her with a gentle grip to her shoulder, "I see you wore the dress I picked out for you, it looks very nice on you." His tone seemed to change slightly, "It used to belong to my sister, I'm just glad that you two were nearly the same size otherwise you'd be without anything to wear." Setting the box of tea on the counter behind herself she slipped her arms around Damian's middle and nestled her head against his chest, "Thank you." Was all she uttered out. Stormy gray eyes softened as he wrapped his arms around her in return, "You're welcome."