I contemplated my answer for a while. What did this woman wish to hear?

I stretched, then breathed.
"I would rest a while in the town wherein I deliver you. Then return to my mission of finding Dakor, and ridding him of his head."

I rolled the rest of the sizzling meat against the fire. The sweet aroma, urged by rock salt, peppercorn and the savor of the animal, filled the blank atmosphere.

"You talk confidently of your sole goal and objective, like you don't even fear a thing. Like you are not scared of Dakor," She snorted.
"He is a big man, and I bet in an old fashioned fist brawl, he would have the better advantage." She said jokingly.
I knew she was taunting me, but to some extent I felt her words sting.

"Well," I said. "what can I say, you have never watched me in a fist combat before. Besides, you are Dakor have beennin a very close condition. I wouldn't be surprise if you gave him your vote." I paused before flashing her a wink. "By the way, where is your child." I put a smug.
"I mean you spent a considerably long time with the man, its only normal he acted as a one even for a night." I smiled derisively.

"Ahh!" She exclaimed before throwing me a pinch full of sizzled flesh.
I grinned, wearing a self impressed look.

"I had no child for Dakor, because he never touched me...even though he dearly wanted to." She said, and I flashed her an unconvincing gaze.

"Doesn't sound like the Dakor I know."

"Well," she returned to her meal. "believe it or not, he would not force me to lie with him, because he was trying to win my heart." She smiled smugly.

Now I couldn't hold the pressure. I broke out in laughter. She was surprised at first. Then the confusion free to irritation when she realized the reason foe my expression of amusement. 

"How is that even possible?" I began. "Dakor would never bend to the will of a woman at the expense of his. How would you live with a man like Dakor, and he neither killed you nor forced you to bend to his desires?" I folded my hands and waited for her justification.

"Believe it now, he didn't touch me. He told me he loved me, that I reminded him of someone he had a rough tale with. He was earnestly trying to please me, even though I considered it all vain. Of course because he had abducted." She smug again. But I took in her words with a bitter demeanor, even though I did well to conceal my countenanced.

I could make perfect sense of what she was saying, and it sprung an irritation. What did the mad man even know of love? And how dare him consider events with my Keiya as "a mere rough tale."

"But the truth be told," her voice tore me from my brooding.  "had he continued striving in softness, I might have just fallen for him out of fondness. " she scoffed. "Besides, Dakor was softer to me than you have ever been. You are the harder person."

Her words fell again exiling my wandering peace. All of them burnt through, as coal on silk. She sensed my grimace and was trying to change the topic, when I broke in.

"Dakor is not, and can never be a softer and reasonable person as myself. And if I was a harder person, then I should have just stolen you a long time ago." I smirked. It was the way to package all the irritation and sound composed.

"Well, probably because he fancies me more than you do." Her gaze were soft at me. I knew it for what it was.

"After all," she continued. " Dakor did entertain me from time to time...with dance, which I doubt you can do." She flashed a mocking gaze at me, before pushing out the absurd words. "Or can you dance Dorack, son of Dun?" She was teasing. Her voice was sardonic. I would fall for this snare.

"Well, I am not a good dancer, but I can tell you I am good at cheering." I smirked.

"Dance with me."

I twitched my lips
"No."

"Just as I thought," She scoffed "Good thing I am not ready to be dissuaded by your incompetence." She dropped down her devoured meal, and in a moment as in a flash, she sprang up, and the dance began.

Just like we did it during feast in our clan, and moments in the bar, I began jamming the steel cups to produce a melodious beat, accompanied with my manly roar of cheer, which I knew would only prompt her further.

Believe it or not, Rina was well in many things I was yet to discover. She was a beautiful dancer, and the way she twisted her fragile body and played with her fingers and brilliant feet, was enough to win her a beautiful amount of gold coin from an entertained spectator.

I stared at her as she made the rhythmic motion of her body. My eyes fixed on nowhere but her stylishly dancing butt. Slowly my cheer and beats in the procession faded away been replaced by my drools, and so had her dancing too slowly began to die.

My eyes trailed down her body, selfishly and shamelessly, rather assessing her out. Some how, I knew her feelings too, and understood her to be doing same thing as I. Her eyes wandered across toned chest and a perfectly carved belly, which I knew only made her consider me more attractive.

Then in that moment of absolute silence, her eyes meets with mine. Her beautiful green eyes. A rare green orb. It was burning earnestly into me. Awkwardly, so was mine too.

Where was the paranoid, vindictive, fearsome and vengefully dark Dorack, before her spells.

This was foolish...blindly tending feelings for an absolute stranger. This perhaps was the first time I was admitting it to myself. Worst of all, we were bound to be torn from ourselves in only days.
I knew I needed to stop this madness. But where was the might to do this?

"Beautiful," I said,  at last. 
She flashed a lovely grin. But the cold silence made its way again no sooner.

"You had a chance to kill Dakor in that barn...why did you hesitate?" She looked at me suddenly.

I was hesitant to speak. But her eyes were persuading...it urged me on.
"Because I want him to feel every pain when I take his life. And I want to do it honorably." I answered coldly. She shifted uncomfortably. I sensed it. Somehow I was pleased.

"You always sound dark, and act formidable, but I know the truth about you, " her face held no amusement now.

"Truth?" I scoffed. "Well then, tell me little wolf." My smile replaced my scoff.

She shook her head. Still no sign of humor. She would not restrain to speak. It came out...
"You try to mask up your emotions with anger and hardness and some times humor. But in truth, you are softer than you appear and you are not a man of humor." She said.

"Soft!" I huffed with sarcasm. "I am anything but soft." I frowned.  "And humor...I do not do humor."

"No you don't!" She snapped. "Do you want to know the second truth about you." She asked again. I was sceptical about this one, but a part of me wanted to hear what she had to say.

"Speak!" I simply urged.

"You are not so different from Dakor." She declared.
I snapped my neck to her in complete awe and a rising annoyance. But she was slow to sense it. Her passion got the better of her reasoning.

"The difference in you two is that Dakor held me on compulsion -- as his prisoner. But I am here with you on will."
She still tried to sound humorous, but she had reached the limit. Their was nothing funny in her words anymore. Her words pierced hardly into heart, puncturing it so savagely.

"Do not compare me with Dakor." I growled darkly.

"Why," she snapped. "because you are afraid that you would see the truth. That you've have become a hard, vengeful and selfish person as he."

Who was this woman to judge me? What knowledge had she of my many sufferings?

"Do not compare me with Dakor, little wolf," My growl was harder.
I knew her to be defiant and strong willed, but she was foolish to keep ignoring my warnings.

"All am saying is that..."

That was it.

In that moment I felt my beast broke free.  Though I battled to chain him...Rina's voice had assured him freedom.
I threw away my food and sprung to my feet brusquely.

"Tell me how a man moves on, when before him, the maniac ripped his unborn child out of his wife. His laughter still echoing in the room as he found his place of escape. And my wife, my uncompleted name resting on her lips, as she breath her last. That name Dakor, would keep tormenting me through the ends of this earth."
I took a deep sigh.

Breath. Calm down.

I returned to my seat. The woman was overwhelmed in terror. I must have even hurt her in the process of that power spring.

"What mad man would do that to an innocent child? And how now can I live above the hatred and rage?" I scoffed.
"Never compare me with Dakor. I may be dark as you see it, but he created that darkness...and it would only be satisfied with the spilling of his blood." I sighed, and then suddenly wore a humorless smile -- it was sinisterly crafted.

"One day...soon, I shall find him, and we shall be alone...void of any chance or route of escape. And with all hate and rage, we shall contend it to the death. Whoever dies, its his doom. And what glory awaits he that would march out victorious, for in the end, he shall be free from the torment of the other." I said smiled, staring deeply into the fire.

"Would it be what she wanted?" Her voice tore in suddenly.

"The dead don't think, the dead don't feel and the dead can't speak." I growled hoarsely.

"Dakor might have made you dark...but the darkness is slowly consuming you." She sighed with a wince.
It was then I saw the reward for my rage. The red fluid flowed gently from ruptured flesh. I couldn't tell how the wound had come, but I knew I had done it.

I tried to assist. She would refuse. She moved away, marching for her wooly blanket.

I was sorry for ruining supper. But her enthusiasm and gleefulness as well, had incited the whole frail show.

But she was right in one thing. I was slowly becoming dark as Dakor. Yet truly I craved earnestly to leave the life. But I couldn't tell how.