"I walked. I walked for a long ti, taking more than 6 days to get here. It was hard to convince my mates to let go, they were afraid I wouldn't make it... instead... I'm finally here."
Dag waited a few seconds before answering: Claire's determination reminded him of himself when as a child he decided to fight in Arena, despite no one believing in him.
At that ti he felt alone and with his own strength he managed to overturn the expectations of all those who would bet on his failure.
"I know how you feel, Claire. I've been there. If becoming a Shieldmaiden is what you want, I won't stop you" he said softly, smiling empathetically.
"Really?! I'm never going to stop thanking you enough, Dag! But... actually, this is not the only reason why I decided to co here" she continued, looking at him with shining eyes.
"Uhm... what's the other reason, then?" asked Dag naively, his red face of embarrassnt, as he moved slightly away from her, sitting on the stone bench.
"Co on, Dag... isn't that obvious? I think everyone noticed it except you" Claire, who was also embarrassed, replied, looking down.
"Claire, I... I..."
"I know, soone is waiting for you. You already have a woman. I know everything, you've always been crystal-clear to . But if I had stayed on that farm without ever eting you, I would have lived the rest of my miserable life in the remorse of never having explicitly asked for it" she continued, moving her hair from her face, showing her blushing cheeks.
"I don't know what to say, Claire... you are a beautiful and intelligent girl, only a fool would refuse such a choice. But I... I made a promise. And I'm the kind of man who always keeps his promises" Dag replied, with a lump in his throat, thinking of Freydis and the reaction she would have had if she had known about another woman.
"Yes, I understand. You know, sotis life can be really hard. It puts a strain on you. All I know is that since I t you, I've started to see things differently, I've tried to give a new purpose to my days on this planet" she replied, approaching Dag until their legs touched.
Dag looked her in the eye: so many tis he had been tempted, but he had always managed to resist. But this ti was different. Claire was so gorgeous and like him, she ca from Earth, having a lot more things in common.
Without even concentrating, he could feel the heartbeat in her chest.
She was agitated, almost as much as he was, and was trembling with the desire to receive a positive answer.
"I assure you that I am not the best catch... those around always get in trouble, because of my powers. There are so many things you don't know about , Claire, and they might make you change your mind" Dag sighed, continuing to look at her as she looked forward, embarrassed.
"I would like so much to know these sides of you, I need a motivation to stop thinking about you, night and day. Because yes, that's what happened. I don't do it on purpose, but my mind always brings back to you, whatever I do. When I got here at Temple and your comrades told you were here, I couldn't believe I could finally see you again. It's been a short ti since you left the farm, but it seems like an eternity to , there are so many things I'd like to talk to you about, Dag!"
He looked away, avoiding crossing his eyes with Claire's, otherwise, he would not have been able to resist that sweet and infatuated face.
"I haven't seen Freydis in a long ti... what if she had another man? What if she, after the disappointnt I caused her by choosing another Clan, decided to forget about ? No... no, it's impossible. Freydis would never do that. But the ti we spent together is very little, we made love only once... who tells she's not already thinking about soone else? Claire feels sothing strong for , I can sense it, deep in her chest... and I care a lot about her, too. When I saw her in that castle, covered in only rags, my first wish was to bring her to safety... what do I do, what do I do...?" thought Dag, shaking his head, without saying a word.
"Are you alright? Did I say anything wrong?" she continued, turning Dag's face toward her, resting a hand on his cheek.
He looked at her large green, expressive and empathetic eyes and her moist and fleshy lips.
His gaze ended downwards, where the tank top allowed a firm and proportionate breast to be glimpsed, as she leaned with one arm on the bench.
"I... I'm in love with you, Dag. I will be yours forever if you want" she said with a thread of an embarrassed voice.
He put a hand on her cheek, preventing her from looking away.
"There is no 'forever', Claire. Our lives are like a breath of wind, they only last a mont. I rember when Hjalmar put his dirty hands on you... just to make angry. Do you know why he did it? Because it was enough for him to notice the way I looked at you to understand how much I cared about you, without even knowing you".
She looked down, without saying a word, and Dag moved his hand between her long, velvet-soft black hair, while she squinted, trying to perceive every mont in contact with the hand of the man she loved.
"I am deeply torn and... that's not fair. I know how hard this planet can be with people from Earth. When I got here, I was fragile and deeper than everyone around , but growing up, I learned that when you choose the steel of weapons, there is no room for feelings they make you weak" he continued, trying to resist the temptation to kiss her.
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