34 sweet talk

Margaret

Erox taught me how to light a fire in the dirty kitchen, even though it was hard for him to move.

"Get some water outside. Don't worry, it's just a few steps outside before you see an old earthen jar. You don't have to go find a river.”

Erox said this between winces and curses. Though I was still fascinated by his charm and body, the kind any model in the modern era would love, I had to move if I didn't want his wound to get infected.

I carried the jar of water and poured it into a small pot to heat it while Erox lay on the hard bed.

I sighed. I got used to that kind of bed when I was at my relatives' house. I remember Christy, my cousin, always making me jealous because her bed had a soft mattress.

Once the water boiled, I got some clean clothes from the small cabinet in the corner and started to clean Erox's wound. As I caressed his hard body frame, he winced again. His whole body was sweating, adding to the heat in the air.

What was happening to me? Erox was technically wounded, and here I was fantasizing about his body.

I sighed for the hundredth time. This man could definitely get a woman in the blink of an eye. His charisma was on the highest level. I wondered why I hadn't fallen for Erox in his future form? They looked exactly the same, though their attitude and aura were different.

"Why are you keep on sighing? Are you hungry or something?"

I shook my head instantly, because I knew if I said yes, he would stand up to cook for me.

"Yes, but don't worry, I'll cook for both of us.”

I said.

"You know how to cook?"

My eyes widened. I crossed my arms, head held high, and said, "Don't underestimate my talent, men. I'm not just beautiful, I'm the full package, you know."

Erox chuckled, though I could see how difficult it was for him to move.

"Why are you making fun of me? Are you insulting me or what?"

"No, not at all. Why do you think the worst of me? Do you know that I tried to elude death just to get home to you?"

"You must, because you promised me that."

"Yes, I know your highness."

Erox grabbed my hand and kissed the back of my palm. He caressed it afterward. "I'm sorry I'm a bit late. I couldn't promise that it wouldn't happen again, but I promise to come back to you as always.”

"Thank you, Erox..." I said, then I stood up to cook for our dinner.

"Are you sure you don't want some help?" Erox asked again.

"Even if I wanted to, I'd rather face this all alone than to ask for help from a person who I think even breathing is hard for."

Erox laughed. "I'm not hardly breathing, it's just that the woman I care most about in this world is beside me, and I'm fighting myself not to reach the edge of my limit because even if I'm injured, my friend down there is still functioning.”

My cheeks heated because of what he said. Good thing the light wasn't so bright, helping to keep me from being embarrassed.

"Shut up, Erox. We're still in the middle of fighting for our lives in this place. We don't have time for your flirting."

Erox chuckled again. "Okay... I'll stop for now. I was just trying to entertain you while you cook so you wouldn't be bored.”

I looked at the food I could cook from the file of stuff Erox had bought. I saw some rice, potatoes, eggs, fruits, some dried fish, flour, vegetables, and herbs.

I cooked rice and eggs since that was the easiest. I cut some fruit and thought about what I could cook for tomorrow.

I sighed and said, "I don't know what to cook since there aren't a lot of ingredients.”

"Don't worry, I'll teach you tomorrow what to cook. Since in this era, we don't have a lot of instant spices unlike in the world where you come from."

I agreed. If I lived here, I might not survive very long. However, as long as Erox was here beside me, everything would be okay.

Later that night, we were laying on the hard bed. Good thing it was big enough for two, but we were so close that I could feel the heat of his skin with every turn I made.

"You can't sleep?"

I nodded.

"I'm still trying to figure out how on earth I got here. And why I'm with you. I don't belong here. But if I didn't meet you, what would happen to me and Erox in the future?"

"Do you like him?" My Erox asked, and he sounded so jealous. I knew I could feel it.

"You're jealous of the things that could happen if we didn't meet?”

"How could I be jealous of a person that I never met if this miraculous event didn't happen? But now I'm thinking that you'll possibly fall for him in the future without me. If everything would be back to normal, we would return to the place where we belong. And I'm afraid of that happening. Because thinking that I won't see you again would surely break my heart into pieces each day."

My tears fell down, and I hugged Erox, leaning on one side.

"That's never crossed my mind. And now that you say so, everything sinks in. How could you like a person that you'll never be with in the future? Once we go back to normal, everything would be memories that would be engraved in our hearts forever. I'm afraid of that day, Erox…”

"We will find a way to be together. Even if it takes a lifetime of waiting, we will see each other again after all of this."

Erox kissed my forehead, then my cheeks, then my lips…