Brian had checked on Khaat several times during the night. He was grateful when the storm, after making one last hour's worth of severe damage, blew out to sea and left finally. Brian had gone out and inspected the damage. Nothing a landscaper with superb skills couldn't turn around for them. He came back in and secured the house and checked on Khaat again.
The power returned to the house at sunrise, just when they didn't need lights anymore. Brian had already brewed a pot of coffee, taking the liberty of using magic to power the coffeepot. He showered, shaved and dressed in jeans and a well worn blue plaid western style workshirt. He had chosen it only because it was soft and comfortable. He figured he might have work to do around the Tower grounds today. He had chosen his western boots because he figured he'd be up farther than he wanted in mud.
He was concerned for Khaat this morning. Her bruises had fully manifested finallly, and she was, as Robert had forewarned, coal black. He was a bit limited as to what he could see of Khaat while she was still in bed asleep, but he could see her face, neck, shoulders, chest, arms and hands were all black and had some swollen places. The ones that got to him the most, from an emotional point of view, was a massive, severe coal black bruise right across her left cheekbone, one that was just as bad on her left jawbone, and one that started up in her hairline on the upper right corner of her forehead and extended down to the outer edge of her right eyebrow. The bruises on the left side of her face had caused her to have a black bruise beneath her left eye, looking like she had taken a child's black marker and drawn a half circle right beneath her left eye.
And Brian was sure that was just the beginning of it. He knew he was going to have to check her again today, and more thoroughly for bruises. And he'd already made up his mind that she was not going to help with the outdoor chores. No--she was staying indoors today. He was hoping to get her to agree to spend the day on the sofa, if he had to buy every magazine in the village newsstand to keep her occupied and content. And he was hoping Ronata was interested and able to keep Khaat resting today to rest her battered frame.
He poured himself a cup of fresh coffee. He had devoured a pot by himself during the night. He had not gone to bed. He was Khaat's bodyguard first, beyond all else, and he didn't want the noise of the storm to cover a possible intruder. He took a sip of the fresh coffee. It rejuvenated him. He thought of starting breakfast, but he knew the smell of the bacon would certainly reach Khaat's nose and wake her. So, he postponed it for awhile.
by 
