She lay on top of his back, marveling how warm he felt, how solid and secure he was. She could tell from his slowing breathing that he was falling asleep.
“What are these?” She asked. Now that she could think clearly the scars covering his skin woke her curiosity. Everybody had scars. Even Carl had had few of them, but never had she seen so impressive collection as the executioner carried on his skin.
“Nothing…”
“You were hurt. Badly.” She traced one especially wide from his shoulderblade down to his lower back.
“It was long time ago. Nothing worth mentioning…”
“I still want to know what happened. Could you tell me?”
The executioner huffed exasperatedly and rolled on his back, revealing even more scars on his front side.
“I was just a kid. A convict like you. They had found me wandering around in forest with… They found me from the forest. Put me in to a cell. The executioner was looking for an apprentice. He had a heavy hand and a bad temper. I guess I wasn’t helping matters. Talking back, tried to run away several times. And when I got older started going after his daughter, Jeannette… I guess I deserved everything he threw at me.”
“Why you were in the forest? Why did they lock you up?” She asked puzzled. If children got lost in the forest, they didn’t get locked up when they were found. At least not locked up in prison.
“I don’t know why I was there. I don’t know who my parents were or why didn’t they come looking for me. I lived out there several years. Stole food from farmers. Hunted with… Hunted. They didn’t have any other place to put me than the prison. Nobody wanted to take in an extra mouth.”
She wanted to keep asking more. She wanted to know everything there was to know about him. The look he flashed at her when she opened her mouth made her stay silent. He wasn’t in the mood. There was something he wasn’t willing to share with her. Not now. Maybe not ever.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I just…”
“You’re curious. I like that in women. But things you want to know… They happened a long time ago and they really don’t matter anymore.”
She was sure that her curiosity would some day cost her more than she was willing or able to pay, but the mystery that was him teased her.
“They matter to me. Why can’t you tell me?”
The executioner got off from the bed and yanked his trousers on.
“Do you want to know where I got my name? The name they’re calling me?” He asked. There was anger in the tone of his voice. There was fear in his eyes.
“Yes.”
“When they found me, I was nothing but an animal. I was living with a wolverine. Feeding with it from carcasses, slaughtering cattle alongside it, it took them three years to make me understand why I couldn’t run around naked and steal bones from dogs!”
She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to do. He snorted at the blank look on her face.
“Was that what you needed to know? That you shared a bed with an animal? Feeling better now? Or do you want more details? How it felt to delve in to still warm stomach of a cow when the weather was so freezing that I nearly lost my toes? How I still miss that wolverine? She was my mother and they hunted her down and skinned her alive! Hide is still hanging above the bar in the tavern, they like to keep it there to remind me what will happen to filthy animals who threaten their cattle!”
He stood shaking; his face only inches from hers and bared his teeth.
“Heard enough? Want to go back to the prison right now, or have you got the nerve to wait until tomorrow morning?” She reached with her hand and cupped his cheek.
“I want to stay with you. Please, don’t take me back there…”
He let out a strangled gasp and hauled her against him, crushing her lithe body against his chest and burying his face to the side of her neck. She could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He wasn’t even breathing, just held her in a death grip.
“You were right, it doesn’t matter, but I’m happy that you told me what happened,” she whispered, combing her fingers through his tousled hair.
“You don’t have to stay with me just because you don’t want to go back to prison. I could… I could let you go… Tell everybody that you tried to run and I had to kill you, or…” He spoke with hoarse voice, lowering her back to the bed and backing away from her.
“But I want to stay with you. You have been good to me; I don’t want to go away… Please, don’t make me leave…”
“As long as you’re a convict, I can’t marry you. And we can’t let the people know about us.” She was sitting in front of the fireplace. The executioner was pacing back and forth in front of her, stopping to stare at her with a stupefied grin on his face.
“We don’t have to tell them,” she hurried to reassure him.
“We don’t have to tell them ever.” That stopped him and he turned to look at her, dark look on his face.
“Ever? Are you ashamed of me?” He asked.
“No! But I thought you were worried of what they would think about us and…”
“Jesus, woman!” He huffed, pulling her up from the chair, locking his arms around her and spinning around.
“I want them to know! I want to tell everybody of what treasure I found! But I can’t do that before you’re a free woman!”
He stumbled and lost his balance, crashing against the door of the hut. It flew open and they fell outside on to the soft, fresh snow. She squeaked when her knees touched the cold surface and curled on top of the executioner like a cat, trying to avoid touching the snow with her bare skin. And he was laughing. Full-hearted sound that came from somewhere deep inside of him and echoed all around them. He didn’t seem to mind the icy slush the snow had turned under him.
“I want everybody to know how much I love you. I want to show them what a good woman you are. It’s eating me alive that I have to wait five long months before I can do that,” He said with a serious tone, pulling her closer and kissing her.
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