I turned around to Reeceson standing with his back to me. Everything was quiet as I turned him around to face me. Reeceson’s right cheek was beet red with a lash across it; a small trickle of blood running down his cheek. He gave me a small smile.

“Couldn’t let you get hit, now could I?” He questioned in a raspy voice. His cheek must really be hurting right now I thought to myself. 

The general laughed heartily, “better hang on to this one, lady. Reeceson is such a good boy.” He motioned for the soldiers to follow him. He left the slums with people’s money in hand. A short woman with grey hair and a slightly wrinkled face came over with a small wet rag. She handed it to me before walking away. Reesecon thanked her and looked at me. 

“You shouldn’t have done that. Silly man,” I mumbled to myself as I tended to his wounded face.

“Yes, well I was not going to let him hit you, Marabeth.” Reeceson said softly.

“Even so, this mark could have been worse. What if he pulled out a gun instead? Would you have still stepped in to save a woman you barely know?” I argued.

Reeceson sighed, “I am a soldier, I save dozens of lives that I barely know or don't know at all. So yes I still would’ve saved you.”

 I looked at his face and gave a small smile. “Fine, I accept your help. Thank you very much, Reeceson.” I said softly as I studied the wound on his cheek. Reeceson smiled at me and stayed still until I finished patching up his cheek. After a few minutes I took the rag from his face.

“It will swell up a bit, but I have herbs to help. Also, I hope you don’t mind me helping everyone out including your family,” I said as I held the rag in my hands.

“Of course, they need all the help they can get. I wish they could come live with me but it’s against the law,” Reeceson regretfully sighed.

“I know it sucks for them here but I’ll do the best I can to help out.” I assured him and patted his back. Reeceson smiled lightly.

“Let me get my horse and I can take us to your workplace,” he said as he turned to walk away.

After a few minutes Reeceson came back atop a grey and white horse. He smiled down at me as he lifted me onto the horse. I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Her name is Abby. I trained her myself. I take very good care of her,” Reeceson mentioned as he made a clicking noise with his tongue to get Abby moving. I rested my head on his back as he spoke.

“That’s a really pretty name for her. And I expected no less from a caring man.” Reeceson chuckled a little bit at me.

“Well, thank you. You know, Marabeth, I’ve been meaning to ask you, are you and the older lady who runs the shop where you work your grandmother?” he asked me with a curious tone.

I hummed slightly before answering, “yes indeed, she is. How did you guess?”

“Well, you both look very much alike, and she seems much older than my mother so I couldn’t help but make that assumption,” he chuckled slightly.

“Ah, I see, well my mother...she’s-” I paused as I felt the need to say something unnecessary. I cleared my throat and started my sentence again. “Nevermind that, yes, she is. Her age is roughly 63 years,” I lied seeing as I couldn’t tell him her real age.

“Oh, I see. Well, excuse me if I’m overstepping boundaries here but, you look quite young.” Reeceson mentioned cautiously glancing back at me. I couldn’t help but giggle at his statement.

“I’m 24 by the way. That’s quite the way to get me to tell you my age, Reeceson. Quite clever.” I could see his cheeks become an even pink color. Reeceson smiled back at me and nodded.

“I have my ways. I’m very polite with people and I know my boundaries. Also,” he began again, “I am also 24.” I nodded and grinned.

“Well, now I feel a tad more comfortable knowing we’re the same age.”

“As you should, I hope,” Reeceson guided the horse through the streets. I remained quiet for the remainder of the trip. I watched the houses go by. Some of which were big and some were small conjoined homes.There aren’t this many houses in Italy. It was quite a sour feeling I had. Though, I did miss home and my Aunt’s cooking. But she did indeed learn from the best.

As we got closer to the herb shop I realized that maybe being friends with Reeceson wasn’t a bad idea. We were already getting to know each other so it would be no harm to me. He stopped his horse and stepped down. I watched him in fascination. He tied her reins to a wooden post and then helped me down. I smoothed out my dress and smiled up at him.

“Thank you, now let’s go get you some cream for your face,” I said, taking another look at his wounds before we went into the shop. Reeceson followed behind me carefully. The bell chimed as I pushed open the door.

“Hello Grandmother!” I called out as I walked over to the counter. My grandmother came from the back room with a smile on her face.

“It is your day off dear. What brings you in?” she asked me.

“This man decided to go and get himself a clean cut. I needed some cream for his wound.” I smiled as I verbally jabbed at Reeceson. He couldn’t help but smile in my direction and put on a cute face.

“I can never stay out of trouble, Mrs. Marabeth,” he commented cheekily. I turned to look at my grandmother who was grinning from ear to ear.

“Of course dear, give me one second.” She dipped into the cabinets to grab a jar of wound cream. She walked over to me and gave me the jar. ”Here you go, dear.” She smiled at the both of us. I took the jar and smiled back.

“Thank you,” I said to her and then turned to look at Reeceson. “Now you hold still.” I said and opened the jar. He smiled and moved closer to me. I chuckled a bit as I scooped some of the cream into my hand and rubbed them onto my finger tips. I started gently applying the cream to the red marks on his cheek. Reeceson relaxed a bit as he closed his eyes. He would flinch every so often from what I assumed was pain.

Once I finished I wiped my hands on my dress and sealed the jar. “There, all done. Now you have to apply this once every day so the wound gradually heals. Then you’ll have that same baby face I-” I coughed, “I mean, until you feel better,” I almost said something embarrassing there. Reeceson smiled and gently took the jar from me. His hands grazed mine and I got a chill because while they were rough, I enjoyed the slight feeling. 

“Thank you very much for your kindness, both of you. I should get going,” he mentioned politely.

“See you again soon,” said to him with a smile. I stayed beside my grandmother as he left the shop. She finally encouraged me to take my leave. I gave her a hug and a kiss on her cheek before leaving the shop. I made my way down the road. The night was chilly and quiet. I held my arms across my body as I continued to walk. I wondered if I would see Reeceson tomorrow. I could take this chance to get to know him a little more. I suppose if he asked me things about myself I would be honest and answer.

My thoughts were distracted by a shiver down my spine. Something was off and I could feel it in the air. I looked around to see if there was anything or anyone around. I felt a pair of cold hands wrap around my neck and before I could react I was flung into darkness.