A strange reunion.
For the next couple of seconds, Guinevere could hardly react. She just stood there in his arms, gaping, not moving, lost somewhere in between shock and surprise. She could hardly believe it, he was right here. She had finally found the man she had been out for all this time. Her insane plan had actually worked.
Before that moment, she had actually played out how this scene would take place in her head, the moment when she finally meets her knight in shining armour again. She had already planned on what to say and exactly how to react. But now that it was actually happening, it was like all her brain went on a temporal pause, and she wasn't able to act.
"What are you doing?" The man asked, breaking the silence and snapping her out of her trance-like state.
"Huh?" She blurted out, still lost.
"I asked you what are you doing. I saw you just now, you were about to jump into the river." He repeated himself.
"Y-Yes, yes I was... about to jump... jump into the river." She replied, barely managing to answer as she found herself staring into his face.
This man was an incredibly good-looking man. He had these narrow amber eyes that seemed to stare deep into your soul and a narrow pointed nose. The long, rich black hair on his head that fell onto his shoulders extended onto his face as a dark smooth, yet scruffy beard. That wasn't the only hair that stood out on his body however, as Guinevere took notice of when she allowed her eyes stray from his face to the rest of his body. His entire body was covered with fine dark hair, from both his arms, to the parts of his chest that were visible. Guinevere with her mind's eye imagined what the remaining parts of his body that were covered by cloth would look like. Not to talk of the fact that he was also a tall, perfectly sculpted, broad and muscular young man. Guinevere was falling in love with his appearance already at first glance!
"Why were you about to jump into the river? Were you about to kill yourself or what?" He questioned further, giving Guinevere a very puzzled look.
"No, I wasn't about to kill myself..." She replied, finally regaining her composure. "You see, I reckoned that this was the only way to get you to come out. I have been searching for you for awhile now, ever since that day when you rescued me. Although I wasn't able to find you anywhere, I somehow knew that you were around me, watching me. Yes, I could sense that you were actually around all this time. I kept on calling out to you, hoping that you will come out to me, but I was unsuccessful, you didn't want to show yourself. So this was my last resort to draw you out, I knew that if you were watching me, you would most likely come out to save me if I tried jumping. Well it worked." She explained, an involuntary smile forcing its way out of her pretty face.
"So you mean to tell me that this was all a ploy to draw me out?"
"Uh-huh." She nodded in reply.
"By the gods young lady, are you crazy?! So let's say for instance now that I wasn't actually around, like you thought I was, or I simply decided not to come out of my hiding place, what would have happened to you? Is that how you would have killed yourself?" He asked her, raising his voice, all the more stupified.
"I had no plans to kill myself, I'm not foolish. I can swim pretty good. I would have easily swam to safety." Guinevere clarified.
"Yeah, like the way you swam to safety the day I saved you from this very river, right?"
"There was a huge downpour that day, remember? The flood and the resulting torrent back then made it impossible for me to save myself when I fell in that day." She countered.
"Well, fair point, I guess. So you tricked me." The man said with a frown on his face, realising that he had just been outwitted by this young lady standing in front of him. He then took his hands off of her.
"I'm sorry I had to do that, but that was the only way I could draw you out, seeing as I had tried practically every other method available to me." She said. She then paused for a brief moment, then continued...
"Besides, to be fair, you probably should have already known that I can swim, and yet you still came out to save me, I mean, you've been watching me after all, haven't you? You definitely saw me when I swam here in the river just the other day." She added with a slight, mischievous smirk on her face.
"What do you mean? I haven't been watching you." He immediately gave his reply.
"Yes you have." Guinevere insisted.
"And how are you so certain of this, young lady? Did you perhaps see me?" He inquired yet again.
"No, not exactly I didn't, but I could sometimes hear you as you moved silently in the bushes."
"Well that could have been anybody. That's no proof that it was me." He argued.
"Then how come when I was about to jump into the river, you leapt out from nowhere and saved me? Huh? Pure coincidence?" She pointed out.
"Well... well this was pure coincidence, okay? I happened to be around, I saw you try to jump into the river, and I immediately ran over to stop you." He stated, then paused for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but hesitated. He then continued...
"Besides, what do you even mean when you said that you could sense me? You already said that you didn't see me, and if you heard something, the fact remains that it could have been anything."
Guinevere sighed, then proceeded to explain what she meant.
"Look, it goes beyond that, okay? I know it could have been anybody, but I was so certain it was you. It was like... like I could sense you around. I don't exactly know how to explain it, but there's this aura about you. The day when you saved me, I felt it for the first time. Ever since then, I feel it every now and then around whenever I come here, especially when I'm alone. At first, I was unsure of it, but the more I felt it, the more convinced I became that it was you watching me, that you were close by, even though I couldn't see you. And now I'm certain! My senses and intuition are hardly ever wrong, and the fact that you are right here proves it." She said.
For a moment, the man was silent, not uttering a word. He just stood, rather puzzled at this point, confusion written on his face as he stared down at her with searching, questioning eyes. There was something about all she had just said that that left him wondering deeply. He made as if to voice out his thoughts, but then stopped himself. Guinevere noticed this.
"You wanted to say something? What is on your mind?" She quickly asked.
"Nothing that you should know of. I'll take my leave now, I believe I'm done here. I won't fall for your trickery next time." The man said. And with that statement, he turned around and began walking away briskly.
"Uhmm...oh no no wait, wait a moment, mister!" She suddenly called, running after and catching up with him.
"What else do you want, lady?" He asked her, not stopping.
"Uhmm...uhmm... please, I want to know you. I mean, I would like to know who you are." Guinevere stammered.
"Why do you want to know who I am?" He inquired of her once more, throwing her a side glance from the corner of his eyes.
"Because..." She began, wide-eyed, running over to stand in his front, blocking his way. "Because, last week, you saved my life!"
He stopped in his tracks, right in front of her.
"I was in danger of drowning at the river. I was about to die, and in my desperation, I called out for help. And somehow, you heard me. You heard me and you came to my rescue. Don't you get it? I owe you my life! I have another shot at this life because of you. I will not be here right now otherwise!" She stated, with a loud and clear voice, almost shouting. Panting, she paused briefly, took in a deep breath, then continued...
"And so I would like to show my appreciation for what you did for me that day. That's why I have been looking for you. But I can't thank you properly if I don't know who you are, if I don't know your name." Guinevere concluded.
The man let out a sigh, looked away briefly, then in a moment, his narrow hazel eyes returned to her.
"Leander." He uttered.
"Huh?" Guinevere let out.
"My name is Leander, lady." He reluctantly revealed.
"Ohh...I see. Leander. Leander." She repeated, breaking into a smile. Then she added:
"I am Guinevere. Guinevere Kendryck. It's a pleasure to get to know you." As she said these words, she bowed her head courteously towards him, still smiling.
"I see." Leander simply said in acknowledgement.
"I thank you, Leander, for saving my life that day. I am forever in your debt." She expressed, bowing slightly once more.
"You're welcome. Actually, it was nothing, miss Guinevere. I did what anyone else will have done." He humbly replied.
"What anyone else would have done? Stop being so modest Leander, no one would have done that! I still don't understand how you even did what you did that day!" Guinevere exclaimed, wide-eyed.
In response to Guinevere's words, he smiled a little. It wasn't so much of a smile, it was more of a smirky smile. It was there on his face one moment, the next it was gone. This was the first time he had done so since they had started talking. Guinevere took notice of it and was happy. She was getting somewhere, she thought.
"Right. So uhmm... Leander what? No second name? Or is it just Leander?" She curiously questioned.
"Just Leander." He confirmed.
"Oh that's odd. But that's alright. It's okay if you don't want me to know the other name, Leander is fine."
"So can I go now? You know who I am now." Leander declared. As he did, he began on his way once more.
"Oh no no, you can't leave just yet, we're not done yet." Guinevere said, coming after him.
"And why's that? You've thanked me already, like you said you wanted to."
"Well I haven't really gotten to know you. I said I wanted to know who you are, remember? All I know is your name and nothing more. Besides, I feel like I owe you, you know?"
"Oh no, you don't owe me at all, nah. Now if you'll excuse me..."
"Oh come on, what's the problem, mystery man? What could possibly go wrong? I just want to get to know you. I don't bite. And I'm sure you don't either." Guinevere pressed further, grabbing his arm unwittingly in the process.
Leander gave a smirk in response to what she had just said, then sighed in resignation. Turning to look her straight in the eyes, he asked:
"Okay, Miss Guinevere, you win. So tell me, what would you like to know?"
Guinevere smiled. In response, she voiced out:
"Where did you come from? Or to be more specific, where do you live?"
Weekly Power Status
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