Never Enough

Never Enough

Chapter 2: Discovery
and Comfort

OOC (hehe): So, how was the first chapter? This is my first
fic like this, so can I get some constructive criticism when we get to
the…uh…lemony parts? Yar, this one is short. Don’t hurt me! *whimper*

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The walk
towards Elizabeth’s manor was
silent save the the sounds of birds calling and the wind in the grass, and it
was beginning to wear slightly on Kenshin’s nerves. Elizabeth-san had always
been rather reserved in conversation, apparently delighting more in listening
and in the speakers company than in speaking, but she had never been this quiet
before. It was as puzzling as the scar on her back.

“Sano,”
Kenshin murmured to his taller friend. There was no answer. Kenshin glanced up
and saw that Sano was gazing at Elizabeth’s
pale, smooth back, wonder and a little bit of lust in his deep brown eyes.
Kenshin elbowed him in the ribs and smirked slightly at his companion when he
looked down, indicating that he was going up to speak with Elizabeth.
Sano nodded mutely, resuming his staring as Kaoru and Yahiko walked beside him
while trying to break him out of his reverie.

Kenshin
sped up along the path until he was by Elizabeth’s
side. She didn’t notice him until he reached up to tuck a rogue piece of hair
behind her ear. She started, jumping a little, eyes wide until she saw Kenshin.
She visibly relaxed, reaching out to touch his arm lightly to steady class=GramE>herself.

class=GramE>“Elizabeth-san?” Kenshin prompted, hoping for a vocal
acknowledgment. He received none, only a slight smile and a nod. He sighed
heavily, eyes closing in concern. “Why won’t you speak, Elizabeth-san?”

Elizabeth looked
very surprised at this question, her bright blues eyes widening at the corners.
Kenshin was shocked to see tears forming at the corners. Quickly, Elizabeth
wiped them away.

“This is neither
the time nor the place to speak of it,” Elizabeth
answered, her voice slightly rusty from a long time without use. “Come to my
chambers after midnight.”

That was all she said about it.

“Wow,” Kaoru murmured as they
entered the main hall. Indeed, the manor was beautiful. They had all heard
wonderful things about French estates, but everything that they had seen had
surpassed their expectations. Gorgeous horses, rippling with muscle (and
trained and ridden by Elizabeth
herself, said Kenshin), grazed peacefully in pastures, and a clear little river
with stepping stones to lead a way across cut through the path. Gardens with
beautiful flowers were dotted across the landscape, and everyone was in total
awe by the time they entered the house. They were silent then as they surveyed
their surroundings, but then the angry shout of a drunken man erupted from
another room and the sickening sound of a hand against flesh. Feeling like the
bottom of his stomach had dropped out, Kenshin motioned for Sano, Kaoru, and
Yahiko to follow him and rushed into the room where he had heard the shout.
What he saw nearly made his heart stop.

Elizabeth
was lying on the stone floor, not moving for fear of something. When Kenshin
came closer, he saw that she was bleeding heavily from a wound near her eye and
crying silently. Kenshin enveloped her in his arms and pulled her into his lap,
asking Sanoget get a wet cloth and a bandage of some sort. Immediately, the ex-fighter-for-hire
did so, leaving Kenshin to comfort Elizabeth,
as Kaoru and Yahiko were too shocked to move.

“Shhh, my
Elizabeth,” Kenshin murmured to her, stroking her hair with the hand that was
not wrapped around her waist to hold her steady in his lap. “You’re alright.
I’m here.”

Elizabeth
remained still in his embrace for quite some time. When she did finally
recover, she silently escorted the others to their rooms before leading Kenshin
towards her own.

“It is my
husband who does this to me. Every day, he comes from town, drunk, and beats me
senseless. You have no idea how happy I…”

Elizabeth’s
words were cut short by Kenshin’s lips on her own, parting her lips, slightly
open from surprise, with his tongue. His intentions held no lust, only comfort
and he made it clear to Elizabeth
as he stroked the inside of her mouth gently. When he broke away from her and
pushed her back against the pillows, he saw tears in her eyes for the second
time today.

“Elizabeth,”
he whispered before he pressed a kiss into her neck…

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MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CLIFFY! DON’T HURT ME! *dives under
table* We’ll continue this in the next chapter.