Green Eyes

Jared smoothed out his cloak and turned back to his seat when he felt a hand grasp his shoulder. Resisting the urge to retaliate he coolly told the person, “If you value your life, then I suggest you remove your hand.”

“Sorry buddy,” a friendly voice spoke up behind him and relinquished his grip. “I just want to buy you a drink.”

“That is not necessary,” Jared indifferently replied, turning to face the newcomer.

He was a soldier, an inch or two taller than Jared, and about Selene’s age. He appeared to be off-duty and so only had a black tunic with a red serpent emblazoned on the front and deep red cloak around his shoulders, signifying him as a member of the Blood Guard, Kalashon’s elite soldiers. Jared guessed from the silver-embroidery around the edges of the cape that he was a captain.

“Oh come on,” the soldier replied. “What you did was amazing. I haven’t seen many stand up to Arioch like that, let alone best him in a brawl. Let me get you something. What are you having?”

“Water.”

“Uh, okay,” he turned to the barkeeper. “An ale and a water for my friend here.”

The barkeep nodded and quickly produced a pair of glasses, filled both, and handed them to the young soldier. He motioned for Jared to join him at the bar and reluctantly the traveler did.

“Thank you captain…” Jared paused.

“Mallon, Captain Mallon,” the soldier took a swig of his ale. “I’m surprised anyone in this dump can recognize military insignia. Although from the moves you put on poor Arioch you’ve had some military training.”

“I’ve picked up bits and pieces,” Jared enigmatically replied.

“Really? Where?” queried his companion.

“I’ve spent most of the last twenty years working as a mercenary,” Jared answered reluctantly. For a town that didn’t like outsiders, it certainly seemed to have an overabundance of people who wanted to disturb him. “Most of that time was spent fighting in the Ammonite Wars.”

Mallon gave a low whistle. “The Ammonite Wars? No wonder you’re so good,” he shook his head. “I’ve only heard stories, but from what I’ve been told it was hell. Those Malchians are vicious creatures.”

“They fight hard,” Jared agreed.

“You know we could really use someone with your talents in the Blood Guard,” Mallon observed. “I’m the captain of the local detachment here and so I could get you in as an officer.”

“No thank you,” Jared declined. “I’ve spent more than twenty years fighting and would like to put my sword down for once.”

“We could certainly make it worth your while,” Mallon pointed out.

“I have been well compensated for my pains,” Jared told him firmly. “I don’t need more.”

“As you wish,” shrugged the captain. “Even still you have my thanks for rescuing Selene.”

“You her boyfriend or something?” Jared queried though not really interested.

“No,” snorted Mallon. “She’s hardly wife material. But she is hot, aside from her eyes. Especially those tits; you just want to bury your face in them.”

“How very noble of you,” Jared sarcastically commented, silently regarding Mallon as another lecherous waste of life like Arioch.

“I’m a soldier, not a gentleman,” retorted Mallon. “It’d have been a pity if Arioch had ruined her. But thanks to you, he’s not going to be bothering her anytime soon. And this,” he suddenly hopped off the stool and picked up something lying on the ground, “will go a long way in helping me claim my prize.”

He held up in his hand a silver necklace with a sapphire pendant. Inside the sapphire was a silver wolf howling up at an unseen moon. Without warning, Jared snatched the necklace out of Mallon’s hand and started studying it carefully.

“HEY!” the captain protested but Jared ignored him.

“Where did this come from?” he demanded in a sharp tone.

“It’s Selene’s,” Mallon answered, confused. “It must have fallen off when she got knocked down. I was going to give it back to her in exchange for a date or something.”

“You said something was wrong with her eyes,” Jared said suddenly. “What?”

“What?” Mallon was thoroughly confused.

“Before when you said that she is hot,” Jared was speaking quickly, “you said ‘aside from her eyes.’ What did you mean by that?”

“You haven’t noticed?” Mallon asked. “She doesn’t have brown eyes like the rest of us. She’s got these weird green eyes, like glowing emeralds. It’s really eerie.”

“What color did you say?” Jared demanded in a low, harsh voice.

“Green, why?” Mallon asked, but he was too late. Jared was already out the door.

*******

Selene was walking home by herself, trying to keep from trembling. The thought of what might have happened had Jared not been there made her sick. What Jared actually did left her in awe. In the blink of an eye he had reduced the biggest bully in town to a sniveling mess and he had done it with the ease of taking a drink.

Belatedly Selene realized that she had left her basket of bread back at the tavern, thus rendering her whole trip moot. That was their bread for the next week, which she and her father needed but the thought of going back into the tavern gave her the shivers. She was considering whether or not to go back for it when the sound of a galloping horse behind her arrested her attention.

Turning around, Selene saw who she guessed to be Jared bearing down on her. It was his horse, the magnificent bay and the rider was wearing his clothes. But for the first time his head was uncovered.

Seeing his face made Selene wonder why he bothered with the hood. There was nothing particularly special or distinguishing about him. He appeared to be about her age and though handsome in a rugged sort of way, he certainly wasn’t memorable either. Riding up beside her, Jared reigned in his horse.

“What do you want?” she asked nervously.

“Look me in the eye,” Jared commanded in a voice that she dared not disobey. Reluctantly she lifted her gaze to meet his and—

Her jaw dropped.

Instead of the typical brown eyes that all Kalashonians had, his were a brilliant sapphire blue. It was so strange and so unexpected that Selene could only blurt out, “Your eyes are blue!”

“Your powers of observation are truly astounding,” he sarcastically quipped never breaking eye contact. Reaching inside his tunic, he produced the necklace.

“My necklace!” Selene exclaimed, immediately placing a hand on her neck, feeling for the missing jewelry.

“So this is yours,” Jared still did not hand the item back. “Where did you get it?”

“I’m not sure who gave it to me,” Selene replied. “I got it when I was very little. All I remember is a girl with blue eyes like yours putting it around my neck while my mother held me. It is the only memory of my mother I have.” That wasn’t strictly true but the other memory was more of a nightmare.

Jared stared at her in amazement. Selene started to feel herself blushing under his intense gaze wondering what could possibly make him so interested in her all of a sudden.

“To find you here, of all places, after all these years,” he finally said, more to himself than to her. “And of course it would be my luck to be the one to find her. Oh well, I suppose better me than the king.”

“What are you talking about? Find me? Was I missing or something?” Selene interrupted his rather strange monologue.

“Do you know what you are?” Jared asked.

“I’m not sure I understand the question,” Selene furrowed her eyebrows, desperately trying (and failing) to follow his logic.

“Do you know what your green eyes mean?” he rephrased.

“Depends on who you ask,” Selene felt suddenly very self-conscious. Her eyes were a rather sensitive subject. “To some, they mean I’m cursed. They even call me the ‘demon-child.’ But to most people, it’s just a strange birth defect that makes me the ugliest woman alive.”

“In other words, you haven’t a clue,” Jared summed up. “Max, you fool, why haven’t you told her?”

“Hey, don’t talk about my dad like that,” Selene snapped. “Wait, how do you know my dad’s name?”

“I know a lot of things,” Jared replied vaguely. “Come,” he extended a hand, “I’ll give you a ride home.”

“Uh, thanks,” Selene took his hand and he swung her up in front of him. “I left my stuff back at the tavern.”

“I’ll get it taken care of,” Jared promised. “But you need to go home and rest after your ordeal.”

“Why are you being nice to me so suddenly?” Selene asked curiously.

“I’m not being nice,” Jared responded. “I’m just doing the right thing.”

“Close enough,” Selene shrugged as Jared wrapped his arms around her to take the reins.

When he did, Selene’s eye caught sight of silver ring on his right forefinger. The craftsmanship was exquisite. Two wolf heads with sapphire eyes, facing each other, emerged from the body of the ring. Each appeared to be howling, similar to the wolf in her necklace. In between them was a large sapphire gem inset with a silver disk, the moon Selene guessed.

“That’s a pretty ring,” she commented as they cantered down the path.

“I suppose,” Jared shrugged.

“Does it mean something?” Selene queried.

“Not anymore,” Jared replied.

“Where’d you get it?”

“From a dead man,” Jared emotionlessly answered. Selene felt an involuntary shudder run through her.

“You don’t deal with people very much, do you?” Selene observed.

“Not that are still alive,” Jared explained. Suddenly Selene didn’t feel so curious as to her guardian angel’s past.

“My eyes mean something, don’t they?” she changed the subject.

“They do,” Jared confirmed.

“Well,” she waited expectantly, “What?”

“That is something you ought to discuss with your father,” Jared avoided the question. “It is his place to tell you about yourself, not mine.”

“Getting a straight answer from you is like pulling teeth from a hydra,” Selene groaned in exasperation.

“Clearly you haven’t met a hydra,” Jared countered flatly.