"Flower of Fire (Chapter 4)" by Christina K. Thornton

Chapter 4

That was interesting. No warning whatsoever. He quickly cleared his throat and turned around. Taking the basket out from where he had it under his arm he turned cautiously and seeing that Tora was in deep enough water to be well covered he walked back over to the pond concentrating very hard at the ground under his feet. He stopped when the water appeared abruptly in front of his toe. He set the basket down at the edge of the water.

“Here you go. It’s got soap and oils in it among other things.” Tora took the soap from inside the basket and started rubbing herself fiercely. “I’ll be over by the big rock over there.” He pointed vaguely up at a large rock on the edge of the clearing.

Charlie sat on the rock and listened to the girl splashing in the water. Her tiger leaped out of a shadow in front of him. “Gah!” He almost fell off the rock in his surprise. The tiger sat in front of him and stared up at him with big yellow accusing eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that, she’s the one who just threw off her clothes like that, its not like I made her or anything.” The young man muttered at the tiger. It cocked its head to the side quizzically which made him laugh. He hopped off the rock and landed in front of the tiger. Slowly extending his hand towards the tiger he petted it on the head.

“I don’t know how to get this on.” Charlie spun around abruptly, and realized he couldn’t hear the girl splashing in the water anymore. She stood before him wrapped in a huge towel holding a dress out to him. Both items were found in the basket. He might be enjoying the form of the almost naked girl if it wasn’t so sad. She was covered with numerous cuts and bruises that had been covered with her clothing before.

“Turn around.” She obeyed. He slipped the dress over her head and she let the towel drop. He tugged it down on her quickly. It was loose, but it would work for now.

She extended her arm again this time holding a brush, looking down at the ground helplessly.

“I suppose we’re going to have to cut a lot of your hair with all the knots you have. Just bring it back with us and we can brush your hair out there.”

They arrived back at his little shop just as the sun was setting and started on the girl’s hair. It took over two hours to brush. The floor was littered with chunks and bits of Tora’s hair. When it was all brushed out it reached her lower back and was one big puff of black curls.

“An admirable head of hair to be sure.” Charlie said softly to the girl. She was already drifting asleep in a chair in front of the fireplace. The fire he had built burnt down sleepily matching the girl’s visage. The small room was filled with a soft glow and a lazy warmth. He was beginning to fall asleep too.

“Take the bed right there, and I’ll take the other one.” Tora obediently rose from the chair and ambled over to the pile of fresh hay in the corner closest to the fireplace. The other elf also went to his bed keeping his eye on the female.