Brotherhood ~ Chapter 3

Fortune passes everywhere.

The Ancient who had coined this phrase had been dead on the money, or such was my consideration while I secretly observed Sierra from a safe distance.  I had just concluded my hunt and was returning to camp with a brace of rabbits when I spied her waking from a long night’s sleep.

That was one habit of which I had yet to break her – sleeping in, that was.

Time – we have Time, Aidan O’Reilly, I cautioned myself.  Eternal patience I had pride in possessing, but this was not an absolute.  Well, apparently I had a few lessons to teach myself, as well as teach this woman.

Stretching with leisure, Sierra eventually left the comfort of her bedroll to then make her way down to the river.

Today was the day, I decided, when we two would consummate our relationship – before time ran out.

Now hunkering down, in silence I watched, considering my options – options which I had been pondering for almost a week.  We could continue to melt off into the wilderness, just she and I.  It would be in her best interest in the long run, I knew – if not but for my Oath.  To keep her from falling into the hands of the AFA meant one of two things – disappear with her or instead bring her back to The Order.

One option required me to break my Oath to The Order, as well as to The Brotherhood.  The other went without saying.

However, we were not in Order territory – or that of the AFA.  We were in that nether world between the two where the Blackguard reigned, but this mattered little to me.  Work with the Blackguard we must, but that didn’t mean I would permit the woman to be claimed by them – if even the agreement to which we had longed agreed was crystal clear.  Up until recently, it had been a moot point, really – for with the passage of years fewer and fewer women were being found.  The discovery of this woman was like being wholly blindsided – a gem where no one would ever expect to find one.

And there was no way on God’s Earth I would see handed over to the AFA another woman.  The Americas Federated Army already held my daughter as a pseudo-hostage – under the auspices of a goodwill gesture.

I would not willingly suffer Sierra a similar fate.

It was an incredible notion that the woman had no idea there were others in this world.  This was just a little hard to swallow, but not wholly impossible.  Little did she know, I thought with a heavy heart if this was indeed Truth, her belief.  Yet, there were mysteries surrounding this particular woman that one could not overlook.

Or at least, people in the know could not overlook.

One point being how could she have gone unfound, utterly undetected, for seven years?  Much less have survived all by herself in such a hostile environment for so long?  She did not look as if she’d been weathering the elements for such a span of time.

Tenacious I had certainly found her to be, but for a rather petite and diminutive Latina woman?  It was difficult to comprehend how she could have done so well without the support of others.  I and my men had crossed paths with numerous cougars and bears and yet to hear her tale, she had had few encounters with any of the wilds more dangerous, and proliferate, carnivorous residents.  And those few incidents she had recounted for me, the woman had walked away unscathed.

It did not add up – and this was just one of much preponderance which had been dogging me as of late.

Not to mention the fact that she had managed to remain under the radar of many far-reaching eyes.

Needless to say, something about this alluring woman did not quite fit which in turn gave me considerable pause, making me feel decidedly ill at ease.  The possibilities that could explain her existence were few, a short list, but one loomed large in the foreground, unavoidable.  It was this suspicion that I would keep to myself until I had gathered more data.  Observation would have to be my instrument of choice in ferreting out the Truth.

Putting aside my ruminations, I now initiated a new hunt, one where the prey was far more tantalizing than mere coneys.

Slipping back to camp with absence of sound, I laid down the rabbits along with my bow and then removed my hunting vest.  Setting it aside, I kept my eyes trained on the river where Sierra was washing up, oblivious to all surrounding her.  The perfect opportunity offered up itself and so gladly would I accept it.

With well-honed stealth born of measured patience, I made my way down to the riverbank to join her.  I was about to break a direct order, but that was of no concern to me.  After all, I was only an agent for the Blackguard – as was the man to whom I was, during these forays at least, answerable.  I would break his command without thought or care of reproach.  My Oath to The Order was of greater import, and that, thus far, had remained intact.

Even if it was teetering on a fine line at present, this woman having tempted me beyond reason and back again.  I should have just spirited her away, off to The Order – however, there were mitigating circumstances.  These I would embrace and play them for all they were worth in defense of myself, my actions.

Regardless, in the end, I knew what I must do – and upholding my Oath to The Brotherhood was the least of my worries.  That was an absolute – to die would hold preference over that of being branded as an oath breaker.

I allowed the woman to finish her morning cleanse while I hung back, biding my time as I played the part of voyeur.  After she had finished dressing, there she stood, watching the river run with her arms tightly wrapped about her body.  It’s now or never, Assassin, I prodded myself and so with resignation and ease of practice I slipped up behind her at unawares.

Thus I waited for her to turn around.

After almost a minute, the woman finally caught on that she was no longer alone.  Thus she spun about with a bit of a start, Sierra now locking her eyes onto my own.

“God gives us another glorious morning” I made note, offering her a heartfelt smile, one with which she rewarded me by its return, and tenfold.  Always happy she was to see me – a small detail which consistently warmed my heart, each and every time.  Not the least of which was feeding my ego.

“Yeah, Aidan – but those aren’t exactly in short supply here in the desert” was her reminder as she pulled her wet hair back into a pony tail.

“No – but women are” was my plain reasoning and now she grinned.

“And like men aren’t?” she joked in return, although I was not about to offer a response.  Men, though rare enough, were not as much a rarity by comparison with women.

Instead I only stood there, considering her and savoring being able to look upon woman, so few and far between they had become.  And here was one standing right before me, and an extremely desirable one, no less.  Sierra reminded me in many ways of a woman from my past.  So much so that often times I found it thoroughly disconcerting.  It was not appearance alone, although that was a greater part of the resemblance.  Her spirit was what had captured me, as had the one of a woman who, in a distant past, had been a major part of my life, as well as the life of my brother.

Again, more answers than questions – however, I was of the mind that God was not in the practice of replicating souls.  Bodies could be cloned, but the inner light of God’s finest creation, Man?  Not.  Only God had the ability to hand out souls, and not man.

Deciding that I had wasted enough time drinking in with my eyes her incredibly appealing beauty, and before she started running off at the mouth, I closed the distance between us.  None too soon, apparently, for she was about to begin more of her incessant chattering – but that I was quick to curtail.  Raising a single finger to her lips, I was able to abruptly cut off her string of words before it had even had a chance to begin.

“The time for talking is over” I informed her in a low voice, the last words I would speak before engaging her in intimacy.  Would I get an argument, I wondered?  Hesitation she showed, but I did not think opposition would necessarily ensue.  I had not misread her, but her forthcoming response held me amusement.

“Aidan!  I look like a wet rat!” the temptress exclaimed, concerned with her appearance – another trait which endeared her to me.  Here we were, in the middle of literally nowhere, and she was worried about how she would look to me.  Wet or no, the woman was a knockout – hands down.

Oh, well – a few more words wouldn’t hurt, I supposed, if they would serve to quell her bout of nerves.

“I’ve seen my fair share of wet rats, Sierra – and trust me, you bear no resemblance to any of them” I chuckled.  “You are a gorgeous woman – dry or wet” was my assurance, reaching out to stroke her cheek with the back of my hand.  Hopefully that would be the end of speaking – for both of us.  If not?  Then I would make it so, even if she did not like it.  Idle conversation had no place during coitus.

And so, without further discussion, or resistance on her part, Sierra allowed me to kiss her.  A kiss which at first was sweet, but then transmuted as she now greedily returned it.

No, I had not misread her.  Not at all, I thought in triumph, but then suddenly, as quick as she had been to engage me, she now pulled away.

“Uh… given what I think we are about to do… um… protection?” the woman sheepishly inquired and I could only blink at her.  Did she think men still wandered God’s Earth with condoms tucked away in their wallets?  There would be no need to worry about conception – the Unspoken and their biochemists had seen to that minor detail.  At least for the present.

Sierra needn’t know this, however – anymore than she need know who were the Unspoken.

“God would not approve” was my matter-of-fact reply – a stance in which I firmly believed, being yet a good Catholic at heart, at least for the most part.  However, it would serve purpose enough, getting across the message that skin-to-skin was the only way we were going to consummate our relationship otherwise no dice.  Nothing else would suffice in the Eyes of God.

Warring with herself, Sierra bit her lip as she cast her eyes downward.  With a look of concentration on her face, it did not take a genius to guess that she was counting off in her mind the days since her last period.

Sighing in resignation, and also with a touch of relief, I could detect, she looked to me once more.  The woman did not speak, instead just slowly nodding – and that was all the consent I needed as I then drew her into my arms.

And I was of a mind that our coupling would have given even nirvana a good run for its money.