<span style="color: #FF0000">There was something to be said about the effects of a new suit on the confidence of a man. Sure, Brad had always been confident, downright arrogant at times. However, now that he was in a new suit, which had been cut and tailored to fit him, he felt nearly regal. It was partially this fact, as well as the fact that he wanted to see Maria that gave him the strength to enter that ball when he would of rather been elsewhere. <br/><br/>He entered with his head high, the cape removed from his shoulders and handed to one of the many servants, who bowed to him before they departed. No announcement was given on his behalf, which was just fine for him, this meant that he could move and work his way through the crowd at his leisure. Even if his gait appeared to be casual and without a true care, he actually sought one person and only one person. <br/><br/>There. <br/><br/>Just as the crowd parted he caught a glimpse of her. In the arms of her new...husband, but still there she was. <br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Oh, how she makes my heart race...</span><br/><br/>A nervous thought flitted through his head, while he watched her, ever careful to stay from her sight though he worked his way slowly closer to her. <br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Mine. She should be mine, this should be our dance.</span><br/><br/>Fate, such a cruel and sick mistress, must enjoy the thought of people in pain and misery. To allow for the two of them to find one another, at a time, in a life, where they could never be; and yet were. He has had her in a way that no man should have ever had her, save for the man that was to be her husband. Held her, kissed her, touched her....<br/><br/>“Excuse me,” his voice rich, deep and clear. Ice blue eyes on her and only her, “May I have this dance?” he asked. <br/><br/>Ivor, unsure of the protocol for this, merely nodded then bowed over her hand before he handed her over to Brad. <br/><br/>Firmly, his hand took hold of her own, while his arm went about her waist and pulled her a bit closer to him. “Shall we?” he asked, though no time was spent to wait for her reply. Instead on the next count of the music he stepped and guided her with him through a dance. With a spin, the rest of the crowd faded from existence and there was only the two of them. <br/><br/>“Though you are married to him,” he began, gaze never once wavered from her own. “You are mine...” he stepped, turned and stepped again. “What happened today was not something we could control, but what we can control is what happens next,” another turn and more steps. “This is not how we would have wanted it, but I will not give you up and I know you will not give me up,” he leaned down a bit closer to her. “We will figure something out, one way or another we shall be together,” his face so close it almost appeared that they were in a passionate embrace between lovers. “I will come for you if I must, I will be there for you. I will hold you, kiss you and be with you. Because you are mine, no matter what and I will not give up on you, I will not give up on us,” he dipped her down low as the song wound down to an end.<br/><br/>“This...I swear to you on the honor of my father and the blood that flows through my veins,” he whispered to her while he pulled her back up to him. Once again, their bodies were close, pressed against one another and only as the crowd's applause grew did the rest of the world fade back into existence. <br/><br/>“Wonderful!” Ivor said as he approached the pair. “Come! Dinner is done and ready to be served,” he bowed to Maria and offered her arm to him. <br/><br/>For a moment, brief though it was, Brad thought to keep her and not hand her over to him. His mind played out the fight that would happen and how many of the guards he would be able to take out, before they finally got him. It was not worth it, at least not right now, so with regret he relinquished his hold on her so that she could return to Ivor. He would see them at the dinner, where they would be the happy couple and he nothing but the ranger who brought her there. A servant to the prince and lover to his new bride. <br/><br/>It was the last thought that made him smile, a genuine and true smile before he followed after the rest of the guests into the grand hall for dinner.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">May I have this dance?</span><br/><br/>Her mind had been playing over the same two words in a mantra, to make sure she stayed on tempo, following the Ivor's lead and careful to keep her eyes on his eyebrows rather than his gaze. Give the appearance of making eye contact, but be ever so slightly above so she wouldn't have to put more effort into pretending that she were into this marriage, into what she'd just committed to. The smile perpetually frozen on her face, she kept her thoughts from straying so she could keep tempo, anything to keep from thinking about what she'd have to do later.<br/><br/>Until his voice cut in.<br/><br/>It took everything in her power to keep from appearing a deer in blinding light. Her eyes widened a fraction more, but instead focused on her hand, Ivor's visage bowing over it before it was replaced by another hand. A stronger hand. A familiar hand.<br/><br/>Blinking a bit, though she kept her face as unchanged as possible, she politely bowed her head and kept her face turned away from his own as long as she could manage it. Being so close to Brad, it had her heart racing, the butterflies in her stomach taking wing in an instant flurry. His voice again had her smile turning more genuine, if a bit hesitant.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">No, Maria, don't start. You can't focus on him,</span>she said to herself while allowing herself to be led about the floor, this time far easier and more natural than it'd been with Ivor. But, with that spin, she couldn't keep her face angled away from him without getting dizzy, so she was forced to turn back toward him, still attempting to avoid eye contact for all she was worth as the inner war she had waged on.<br/><br/>He was so close. So close, but so far and all the while she was contemplating how fast they could both escape the castle, then the walls and be on their way. How far they could make it before someone managed to slow them down. If they could make it to the start of a new life without being separated from one another forever, one way or another. She could feel his eyes boring into her own, with a look that she recognized, even if she didn't want to think about it.<br/><br/>Maria didn't hold out for long.<br/><br/>Eventually, her eyes made their way up, across his jaw, along his lips, slowly crawling up the length of his nose before making contact. The blue depths meeting her gaze were confident. Her own violet ones were stormy, uncertain, nervous, but happy he hadn't left her to handle it alone. And his words meant all the more.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">You are mine...</span>It reverberated in her mind over and over, her heart lifting a bit. Everything he said was more important than the names of the stuck up dignitaries she'd been forced to learn. His face moving closer to hers was the only thing she saw, everyone else in the room vanishing. Had it not been for him dipping her, she'd have forgotten they were dancing. The world went sideways, and he with it, her head feeling lighter, a pleasant sort of dizziness settling in as she tried to keep track of what he was saying.<br/><br/>And that final whisper. Tears welled up in her eyes, though her gaze didn't waver. Breath hitched, lips parting, everything in her body screamed at her to kiss him, to say what she wanted to him. But, this wasn't the time nor the place, as Ivor's voice cut in and reminded her that they weren't alone, the sound of the applause slowly trickling in and the rest of the world fading into existence. Eyes lingering on Brad for only a heartbeat longer, so as not to call attention to how they'd been looking at each other, she accepted the offered arm, the other hand falling from Brad's form as she was led away, taking up her seat at the table beside her new...husband (the term holding disdain), to the dinner she wouldn't taste.<br/><br/>Simprina, though not officially part of the festivities given her title, caught her eye nonchalantly as she settled in, giving her a look of concern and suspicion, but Maria feigned confusion.<span style="font-style: italic">That</span>was not something she wanted to try and explain at the moment; She'd deal with it later.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Fancy, fancy, fancy. So many people, sat there at the table with a feeling of self importance that made Brad feel a bit sick. All there to show off and get their spots in with the future king and queen. Like dogs begging at the tables of their Master's for scraps. Pathetic the lot of them. <br/><br/>He took note that he was sat closer to where the, “honored” servants were sat. No doubt at the insistence of Ivor or his sister that Brad had heard so much about. Ioan was there, along with Abby and the rest of the family. As the dinner began to be served, with salads first, Brad could feel the eyes on himself. However, before he could question those around him, the current Queen spoke up. <br/><br/>“Bradioch, my dear boy,” everyone stopped eating to look toward him. “Why did you not tell us you were such a wonderful dancer?”  she asked with genuine interest and delight at his hidden talent. “You had the grace and step of a man with training and fine breeding.” <br/><br/>“Thank you, m'lady. Your words are too kind,” he said with a smile. <br/><br/>“Where did you learn to dance like that?” Abby spoke up, the tips of her fork pressed into her bottom lip. “Did not think your line of work would lead you to learn such....skill?” <br/><br/>Before he could answer Ivor spoke up, “Yes well, one must learn how to dodge arrows, avoid traps and you know wow those country girls with your family footwork.”<br/><br/>The comment produced a low snicker from those at the table, along with a disapproving look from his parents. <br/><br/>“Actually,” Brad's voice spoke out clearly above the snickers. “My mother taught me,” then he directed his gaze and full attention to the Queen. “She believed that for a man to truly be a man and to truly win the heart of his love, he would need to know how to dance. To show her that he could take the lead, guide her and be there for her through life, just as he can on the dance floor,” he finished with a smile and a smirk thrown in Ivor's direction.<br/><br/>“Your mother was a very wise woman,” the Queen remarked.<br/><br/>“Yes, she was. I do miss her, but I am grateful for all that she has taught me,” he said before he looked back to the dinner at hand.</span><br/><br/>As she was seated, a few spoke around her, though it was more idle conversation than anything. She could feel eyes boring into the back of her neck and had a feeling she knew who it was. A quick glance back with her peripherals showed she was right: Simprina. There was going to be no living down that dance, her mind already trying to concoct a story to cover up why the dance with Brad had been so much smoother, organic, than it'd been with her husband. Turning around to offer her a light smile, hoping to be as convincing as possible that the smile was for Ivor, and not Brad, she left it at that, going back to the conversation around her.<br/><br/>Without looking, she knew the majority of eyes were on him, and she couldn't say she was surprised. After the way they'd danced, and with the way he looked—the way he always looked—she would have been surprised if they hadn't noticed him. You'd have to be blind not to.<br/><br/>Using the Queen's conversation with him as an excuse to allow her gaze to linger, she nodded along as though acknowledging what she was saying...only to feel her eyes slip over to the other<span style="font-style: italic">thing</span>. Abby, with her remark of his skill, as though she had a right to comment on it, playing with her fork as though it were somehow attached to her lip. It disgusted Maria, the hair on the back of her neck standing up as her lip twitched the smallest fraction.<br/><br/>The only thing that overshadowed her display at all was Ivor's comment. It earned him a slight look of wary, imploring, though she remained silent. It wasn't the place to make a retort to him, especially where he's newly her husband, and such talks were meant to happen...behind closed doors. That thought alone had her nose wrinkling a touch before forcing herself back into present time.<br/><br/>...Where, just then, her distaste and annoyance was replaced with a sort of revery. It was romantic, that sentiment, that his mother had instilled such a thought into him. Needing to dance, to lead, to be there for her...she'd not noticed the correlation before, thinking of dance as merely a show of slight skill used in situations where people would be trying to show off. Nothing that she willingly attended, if she could help it. Dancing close to dignitaries with bad breath, “innocent” hands slipping below where they should under the guise of tired arms, forced conversation and awkward compliments were all she'd ever experienced when dancing.<br/><br/>But he put dancing into a new light. It had her smile turning genuine again, though with more of an inward inflection, eyes dropping to her plate as she used her fork to push around a few bits of salad before taking a small bite. When she saw him next, alone, she'd playfully poke fun at his not telling her he could dance. Until then, she'd focus on the romantic side of it, replaying their dance over and over in her mind, and wait to be excused.<br/><br/>Simprina, on the other hand, eyed Brádach now, suspicious. She'd heard his remark of winning the heart of his love, heard how he spoke of it, and the smirk thrown in m'lady's husband's direction. Something wasn't right, wasn't proper. Whether it was reciprocated by Maria fully, she wasn't certain, but she and Brad would be getting better acquainted in no time, and having that all-too-necessary talk.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Tonight was the night. A night that he was not going to forget and a night that he wished he did no have to do. If only it was not needed, if only the marriage itself was enough and not the....consummating. <br/><br/>“Must I really?” Ivor asked while Ioan “prepared” him for the night to come. A soft moan came from his lips as he glanced down at the handy work of his lover. “I mean....I could just not and we can just go on with the marriage as if nothing was wrong....” another moan his hand gripped the shoulder of the other man while he felt his knees turn to near jelly. “We could...just...continue with this...and not...waste it on her....” <br/><br/>Just as he thought he would just cum right then and there, Ioan stopped and rose to stand before him instead.  “If that was possible, I would be all for that,” his hand still on his lover's shaft gently stroked it as they talked to keep him hard and on the cusp of cumming.  “But, you need to seal the deal, as it were and need to at least try to get yourself an heir....” Ioan explained before he silenced the retort from Ivor with a heated kiss. <br/><br/>It lasted for several heart beats and Ivor thought he was about to cum and cum hard but Ioan somehow managed to keep him just shy of it. When it ended, he was lightheaded but more than ready to get this deed over with so that he could get back to Ioan. <br/><br/>“Alright. But after I want a hot bath with you and only you....” he stole another quick kiss.<br/><br/>“It will be waiting for you,” Ioan promised.<br/><br/>Now it was only just a matter of him going in there and doing....her.....<br/><br/>With thoughts of his lover's touch fresh in his mind he went into the room where she waited.</span><br/><br/>“I’m here for you…” he’d told her. “No matter what…I’m here for you…”<br/><br/>The words played in Maria’s head over and over as she was led out of the banquet room to her quarters. Brad had stopped her, tried to assure her that this wouldn’t change anything, that she was still his, but it didn’t help. Each step away from the rest of the group was like a step toward her execution. Her steps grew heavier and heavier with Simprina urging her on.<br/><br/>She was undressed with the help of her ladies, Simprina giving her a pep talk that Maria couldn’t help but notice the overtones of. Overtones that spoke of duty and that her mind need remain focused on her husband, not rangers who could dance; Yes, it may not have been vocalized to that extent, but she wasn’t stupid. Maria knew that was exactly the issue.<br/><br/>It was why she couldn’t focus on what she was about to do and felt her body rejecting the idea of another getting anywhere close to her in that way.<br/><br/>Not that Ivor was a terrible person. Sure, he had sarcastic moments like everyone else and had a habit of making things sound far worse than she hoped he’d intended…like that day with Brádach at the gates… But, he’d never done anything to her. He’d only looked at her in that loving way, made sure she had what she needed. For all intents and purposes, he was the loving husband she should have been happy to have. Or, at least the caring one that anyone in this sort of arrangement would have killed for.<br/><br/>All except her…<br/><br/>She had Brádach. She had what she wanted…but she couldn’t have him in the way she wanted him, which was far away from Sirmia, from her people, from Veruu. She wanted him, to live with him and spend time with him no matter the time or place, without fear of having to hide.<br/><br/>A particularly hard yank on the strap holding her into the bodice pulled her back into the room with her ladies, the elaborate fabrics falling away and leaving her in her chemise. It struck her then just how real this was, as they continued to undress her, clean her, and wrap her in a robe, leading her to the bed to wait for him.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">How…How am I going to be able to…</span>she started to think, the tears free-forming then, the ladies excusing themselves to await the knock on the door that’d be her husband, that’d be the beginning of solidifying their union. Letting the robe drop, she got into bed as she was instructed, face down in the pillow, the softness beneath her face catching the tears as the door quickly opened and closed behind him.<br/><br/>The tears came harder, but she stayed still waiting, her mind finishing the thought she couldn’t before, but this time…in a more finite sort of way.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">I won’t be able to see him…I can’t look at Brádach after…after this…I…our dance, what we shared tonight…will have to be the last...</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">The door opened and there she was, waiting for him in a position that would make this easier. He would have to thank Ioan later for this, because he was the only one who could have arranged it as such without it seeming weird. Thoughts were still of his lover, which kept his dick hard at least for the moment. He opened his robe and made his way to the bed, steps somewhat jerky and hesitant while he climbed up onto the bed. <br/><br/>With one hand he held himself, with the other he braced himself on her back.  A deep breath was taken while he fumbled for a moment in finding the proper place to put himself. It took a moment, but he finally got himself inside and he could easily say that it felt weird and different. For a moment he just stayed there, as he tried to get adjusted to her. The moment was short and soon he was moving in and out of her about as hard and fast as he could. Firm in his mind were thoughts of Ioan and what he had just been doing in the other room, along with what he knew they would be doing later. Given how close he had been prior it did not take long before he came.<br/><br/>The orgasm hit and he shuddered as he felt himself empty into her, chest heaved from the exercise before he pulled out and left.</span><br/><br/>It was hard not to shrink away as she heard him come in, heard the whisper of a robe falling free of his form. It was harder not to shrink away when he awkwardly climbed onto the bed. Her teeth bit hard into the pillow to stifle the sound of a sob that forced its way out, skin crawling as his hand touched her skin, as his length moved trying to line up in a way that Brádach had always made seem so effortless.<br/><br/>And then he was in…and that pain that Brád had yelled at her about so readily before…was back. It hurt, this sudden entry with nothing prior. One minute he was lining up, and the next, his entirety was inside of her, stretching her, hurting her. The tears flowed more freely as her breath hitched, but not in the way it did when she was with him… No, this was wholly pain related. Another sob came free, but was lost in the cotton of the pillow.<br/><br/>The movement started and her body recoiled no matter how much she tried not to, the rough pace, the hard and fast, feeling like it was tearing her from the inside out. Each thrust slammed hard into her core and another cry loosed, her nails ripping into the sheets beneath her to keep from crying out in protest, to tell him it hurt, to tell him to stop.<br/><br/>Brád was right. He’d been right about it all. About how it wouldn’t feel good for her, that Ivor wouldn’t care. That it’d hurt, and only be a means to an end. That he’d rape her, do as he pleased, and then he’d be done with her, only bringing her out when he needed her for other things, but fucking everyone else in the kingdom.<br/><br/>He could do with others as he pleased…but now she was tainted…she had another man inside her…who’d claimed her like Brád had…to have his child…for the good of the kingdom, to ensure an heir.<br/><br/>She was to be pregnant with his child…<br/><br/>After he’d left the room, she curled up in a ball and cried, long and hard. And when the tears no longer fell, she crawled out of bed, sore, the core of her making it hurt to walk, moving toward the tub of now cold water to wash herself clean of him. Scrubbing at herself for another hour, still not feeling clean, she had to stop if only because she hadn’t the strength to keep scrubbing herself raw. Then, rather than get back into the bed he defiled…she curled up on her window seat and stared out the window until sleep took her.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He knew it had happened. The whole castle was a buzz with the news that it was nearly impossible for Brad to not hear about it. What he could not figure out was why Maria had continued to avoid him. She had not come to see him in their spot, she had not answered back to any of the messages he left for her in secret. <br/><br/>Not a single word. On top of all of that, he got the feeling that she was now avoiding him. After several days of dealing with this frustration he began to ask around of the staff. Asking about her schedule, so that he could try and track her down that way. <br/><br/>Frustration had begun to get the best of him, not just at the fact he had not seen her, but at the fact that she had continued to allude him. He. The best damn Ranger in the fucking two kingdoms and he could not track down the woman he cared about. Today would be the day that he found her and they could finally talk as he knew they needed to. To think that all this time she had been going through this all on her own. After having been with....</span><br/><br/>“Brádach,” came a stern voice from behind him. Steps increased in a flurry of movement, the sound of skirts being lifted a small fraction to allow for the increased steps to head him off. Though the face was a kindly one, the eyes were determined as was her placement in front of him to keep his steps from moving forward.<br/><br/>“We need to talk,” she started with a slight narrowing of her eyes. “I’ve seen how you look at the princess. I saw how you held her as you danced, heard the way you spoke of such a dance that night… I’ve heard how you continue to search for her.” There was a pause as she took a step closer, eyes looking up hard at him, despite how he dwarfed her. “You need leave her be. Why make this anymore difficult on her than it already is? Why are you even still here? You should have moved on, left her be. Why make it harder for her to do her duty than it already is? She’s<span style="font-style: italic">married</span>to another, one of her caliber. It’s her duty to marry him, to have this child, to keep peace between our kingdoms.”<br/><br/>In the background, Maria was oblivious. She’d left the library, heading toward the drawing room for needlepoint and a rundown of her upcoming schedule. She didn’t make eye contact, the once vibrant violet of her eyes dulled as the rest of her demeanor was noticeably withdrawn, her steps slow as she moved in that direction, no drive in her movements. Simprina only stopped to glance in her direction for a split second before back at Brádach. “Don’t,” she cautioned sternly. “If you had any decency, you’d leave.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Just as he thought he had finally caught up to her, as if he would finally have a chance to see her and talk to her. <br/><br/>The cockblock patrol stepped in his way. An arched brow and a disinterested look upon his face as all that the nosy bitch would see. The words that she spewed were nothing but words to him, because she really had no fucking clue to who he was and what Maria met to him. <br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"> Stupid, puny, know it all, bitch. Thinks she knows a damn thing about making Maria happy. That she knows her, knows about her hopes, her dreams, her wishes....I could snap her scrawny neck like a twig, and dispose of her body in a way no one would ever find her again. It would have been easy too. To grab her, silence her and kill her without so much as breaking a sweat....</span> <br/><br/>At about this time the comment about him not being the same caliber broke through his inner thoughts and his eyes hardened just a hair. A tight smile formed on his lips, while his fist clenched at his side. <br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic"> Not the same....this bitch is barely good enough to even address me to my fucking face. The blood that courses through my veins is about as blue as her fucking face is going to be when I get my hands about her....</span><br/><br/>Movement drew his attention and instantly the thoughts he had been having faltered, as his whole being focused on the one person who meant more to him than he had come to realized. <br/><br/>“Maria...” <br/><br/>Her name but a whisper on his lips as he tried to “gently”, move the mouthy bitch from in front of him.</span><br/><br/>She stepped back in front of Brádach, a preemptive step, knowing that he’d shift when he saw Maria. The whisper didn’t go unnoticed, and her resolve hardened.<br/><br/>“You<span style="font-style: italic">will</span>leave her alone,” Simprina insisted. “You<span style="font-style: italic">will</span>pack up your bags and go. If you really feel for her like you act like you do…which is far more than any ranger should feel for a woman of her stature, let alone a woman of her stature who’s married to another and was promised to another when you met her…you’ll leave her alone and leave her be. Leave us all be.”<br/><br/>Her eyes narrowed, the first real glare she’d given in years, constantly getting on other women for that look as it’d cause premature wrinkles; The situation called for it. “You<span style="font-style: italic">will</span>leave.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">A smile came to his lips as he looked back to the prude, "Oh? Is that so? And you are just going to make me leave, huh?” He leaned forward just a hair, to make him just a bit more imposing as he basically loomed over her much smaller frame. “I am a hero in both kingdoms, I own land in both, I have wealth and power that a poor servant like yourself could only ever dream about,” he retorted and leaned over just a fraction more. <br/><br/>“You do not have the power or authority to tell me to do anything,” he smirked. “Nor do you have the clout or ability to do anything to convince anyone else who has any to do anything to me either,” his arms crossed over his broad chest. “Now...you need to leave me alone and not get involved in something that really only concerns you until Maria grows tired of your nosy ass and sends you away,” his tone as smug and confident as he felt.</span><br/><br/>Her eyes widened as he loomed over her, leaning back as her face took on a scandalized look. It was almost as though he’d physically slapped her, she was so appalled by his insinuation, his words, that fairly confirmed her worst suspicions.<br/><br/>“…Either you leave…” she continued. “Or I’ll get the guard involved. I get Veruu involved…and all of this…everything she sacrificed to end this war…will be for nothing…”<br/><br/>And with that, she hastened away, making off in the direction Maria had disappeared in, not trusting Brád to follow her word and leave as he ought to have the moment he’d healed.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">If she had not left, he would have told just where she could have gone and what she could have done when she got there. With how fast she moved and the direction that she took, he knew that she planned to cockblock him further. <br/><br/>“Bitch!” he swore before he turned about and ran. <br/><br/>He had just one chance and that was being faster and knowing the best route. She saw him, he knew as much and now he had think about this as if it were an actual hunt, and she his prey. Wounded, hurt and scared, prey would go somewhere they felt safe and secure. <br/><br/>Her room. <br/><br/>Turn after turn he stayed focus on his one and only goal. Just had to get to her room first. Then they would be alone and he could wait talk to her. A silent prayer was given to the gods overhead, and he managed to increase his speed just a bit more. At last her room came into view and he managed to get there just before her. Once in the room he hid beside the door and waited for Maria.</span><br/><br/>Her days had been so slow, of late. Where she used to will time to speed up and pass her by to ease her suffering, time had decided to slow to a near halt. Her will to do anything had diminished, her body merely a shell of what she once was. There was no pep in her step, no determination in her walk as there once had been. Though her makeup, her hair, her outfits remained as elaborate as always, her body was merely a shell, there to do as was required, but the mental capacities were gone.<br/><br/>As she’d left the library that day, as she always had, out of the corner of her eye, she’d caught sight of something that made her heart jump, but not in the way it used to. Brádach.<br/><br/>She’d ignored his letters, not gone to their spot, avoided him at all costs. If she couldn’t look at anyone else, how did he expect her to look at him? Though her steps didn’t quicken, she’d seen him, she knew it was him without a shadow of a doubt…with her lady-in-waiting. Needlepoint was next on her list, but her mind was reliving what Ivor and she had…and how Brád was…<br/><br/>Without a second thought, she walked to her bedroom, content on alone time. Moving down the hallways as she had without noticing much else, she made her way to her quarters, entering the room silently, and praying Simprina would stay away long enough for her to get her mind clear. Long enough to become the girl that they’d come to expect: quiet, demure, speaking only when spoken to, behaved.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">The moment she was within the room, just past the door, he slammed it shut. With serious hope that the nosy bitch might have gotten her face smacked in the process. Lock was instantly engaged, his back to the door while he faced Maria. <br/><br/>“I know that there is something wrong,” he whispered to her, a few steps taken toward her but had the right idea to not completely close the gap. There came a pounding at the door and he looked from it back to Maria, “Tell her the wind slammed it shut and now it is stuck.....” <br/><br/>His voice was a whisper, eyes imploring for her to comply just so that they could have but a few moments to themselves.</span><br/><br/>Barely into the room, her eyes having not left the window seat she’d been making a slow, lackluster beeline for…the door slammed shut, and she whirled around, the first fast movement she’d done in days. Her eyes widened, her breath hitched, her heart pounded wildly in her chest, dropping her eyes to the floor and taking a few steps back when he stepped toward her.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">No,</span>came a panicked thought, the feeling of being dirty, of being impure and unworthy flooding her more than it had the entirety of her time since the incident.<span style="font-style: italic">No, he can’t…I’m not…we need to just…</span><br/><br/>She was torn, torn between having him removed so that she could be alone, so that she could keep to herself and not let him see just how far she’d fallen, and allowing him that moment…<span style="font-style: italic">He deserves that much before letting him find someone better…</span>“I-It was the wind,” she called out to Simprina, her banging on the door becoming louder as did one of the guards who’d been in the vicinity. “I-I can’t get it open! It’s stuck!”<br/><br/>There was a harried conferring between whomever was on the other side, followed by an assurance that help would be on the way as Simprina and the guard “hastened” (as women didn’t run) away to get someone to fix it…and then silence. Her brow furrowed, starting to shake itself before backing up another step…and turning to make for her drawing room for privacy. Anything to get away from him, to be alone, to wash herself for another time to get the feeling of his body off of hers.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He waited until the sounds from outside the door disappeared, then his focus returned to being completely on her, which allowed him the time to see her trying to get away from him. “Wait!” he tried to keep his voice down as he cut her off with his larger strides and put himself between her and the room she sough to escape to. <br/><br/>“I know...that....” he paused to try and word it properly. “We need to talk....I miss you and I told you, I swore to you on the blood in my veins and the love that I have for mother, I would be here for you. You and I are one. You are mine as I am yours,” steps could be heard outside the door and he knew his time was short. “Maria...” he put what he felt for her into his voice, as he practically begged for her to look at him. “Look at me...please....” <br/><br/>When she finally looked at him, he tried his best to convey what he felt with that look and the words that followed. “I love you.....” there was banging at the door now and he ran to the window for his escape. Up on the sill and along the ledge he placed his foot while he looked back into the room at her. “I will return to you tonight.....I promise....” then he was gone as he shimmed along the thin ledge to another section of the wall where he could climb down.</span><br/><br/>It was painful, hearing him tell her to wait, watching him stop her. Her body went rigid, her eyes started to tear up, careful to keep from looking up if only to try and make this somehow easier on herself. The expression on her face showed how hard this was for her, to be so close to him, but it felt wrong. Where being around him, touching him, kissing him had once felt so right, now she didn’t feel right at all. Everything about being around him felt so wrong right now, with how she’d been violated. Being around anyone felt wrong, but especially him…after they’d been so close, so connected, and now…now she was tainted, dirty, broken.<br/><br/>His words made the tears come harder, her composure slipping as she braced on a chair, an arm crossing in front of herself still closing herself off in subconscious fashion while trying to gain some sort of comfort in the only touch she could stand: her own. It didn’t work, but that didn’t stop her from trying.<br/><br/>More steps were heard, time running out as the ruse would be seen for what it was the longer this lasted, the longer they were alone together. She could barely see, the tears so thick at this point, having to choke back a sob just in case. But then he spoke her name, spoke it with such feeling that the smallest of sobs broke free, eyes squeezing shut as she tried to resist looking at him. The plea, his begging…she couldn’t deny him that. Slowly, her eyes dragged up his form, hesitating once they hit his jaw, but eventually…eventually they connected, her own violet hues dulled, scared, the vibrant life that once was housed there, the passion, gone.<br/><br/>…And then he said the three words she didn’t expect. She’d half-expected him to tell her goodbye, that he couldn’t handle it, couldn’t see her. She’d almost hoped for it, so that she wouldn’t shirk away from his touch, from his form. But he hadn’t…he’d said he loved her. The tears still flowed, but her eyes showed shock, confusion, the first glimpse of true expression in a week…only to leave as he left, escaped out the window. The air rushed from her lungs, fairly collapsing on the floor as the emotion rolled over her like a boulder, barely able to crawl her way to the door to unlock it and let them in.<br/><br/>“Th-The wind got it…got it stuck…” she offered, her face puffy from tears. Simprina knew better than to confront her then, so she just led Maria to her bed, trying to lay her on it, being met with groans and a trembling form. The moment her lady-in-waiting left, Maria was out of bed and back to her window seat, crying and trembling, staring out the window and half-hoping a void would swallow her whole, solving all her problems and ending her pain.<br/><br/>In the end, though, she fell asleep, missing dinner. It seemed to be the only thing she did regularly anymore, sleep. And, because of Ivor and…what they’d done…her mind then set to convincing herself it was merely a dream, that she’d dreamed Brád still wanted her after everything.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">He won’t come…</span>she thought to herself when she started to (unfortunately) rouse from her slumber.<span style="font-style: italic">No one will…Who would after…after what I…what he…</span><br/><br/>The tears started a new, head resting on her knees as she cried in earnest, one thought forcing its way in in the sound of her father’s voice:<span style="font-style: italic">You did what you had to do for the good of your people. For me.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">The rest of the day had dragged on and on for him. All he could think about was Maria, the look in her eyes and the pain he saw there....<br/><br/>It hurt him to see her hurting so. To want to reach for her, to want to hold her and comfort her. Yet, he knew that was not possible. Not with how she looked when their eyes met, it was like her very soul had been sucked from her body. Broken. Battered. Defeated. The light that had once shone in her eyes, the light that he loved and came to look forward to with each and every one of their visits. <br/><br/>Brad was not sure how, but he would get that light back into her eyes and he would get that smile back on her lips. <br/><br/>At the tavern he sat at the bar, shoulders slumped, mug in hand though he had not even bothered to drink it since he ordered it. The noise that went on about him ignored, so long as no one thought to start shit with him. One had tried. Or at least, one man had tried something with one of the women in the tavern. Everyone else had just stood there, unsure of what to do, which left Brad alone to step in. <br/><br/>Just how he liked it. <br/><br/>“Hey,” his hand clapped down on the shoulder of offending male. “Leave her alone and go bother a corpse or something,” he said with no patience to deal with this man or anything at the moment. <br/><br/>A drunken shrug was given as the man tried to shake Brad from his shoulder, which only succeeded in unsteadying himself further. <br/><br/>Grip now tighter Brad spun the man with a sigh and then tried to drag the sorry sack of shit out and into the street, which he did not seem to appreciate. <br/><br/>“You...get....off meh...” the drunk man slurred at Brad and took a swing that an old woman could dodge. <br/><br/>“Son of a bitch!” Brad swore as he caught and fist and used it to twist the arm painfully. An outcry of pain cut through the silence that had fallen in the room. “I am so sick of arrogant pieces of shit who get two coins to rub together thinking they can do whatever the fuck they want! Treat women like shit! Embarrass themselves! Ruin everyone's fucking night because they want to fucking drink themselves stupid!” A sudden jerk and they all heard a popping sound as his arm broke. <br/><br/>The scream of pain became blood curdling and the tavern keeper came to ask Brad to let the poor drunk go. It took a moment, but Brad finally let him go then stormed out of the tavern, enough gold left on the bar to cover all the drinks for the night. <br/><br/>That was earlier this evening, now freshly bathed and changed into clean clothing, he climbed the wall once again. Up to her room, each step and each reach of his hand careful so as to not fall down to his death. At last his hand touched the glass of the window, before he managed to pull himself up the final bit. <br/><br/>There in the window, just on the other side was...his Maria. Lightly he tapped, needing to rouse her so that he could enter the room.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“You’re disgusting! A disgrace!”</span>her dreams shouted at her, the voice all too familiar sound as she stared at his visage, trembling, hurt, disgusted with her own being.<span style="font-style: italic">“You’re not fit to look in my direction! To even breathe my air! I should have let your bitch ass drown in that river, and saved myself the trouble of dealing with you! You’re not better than the whores that linger around taverns. At least they know how disgusting they are,”</span>he spat at her.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“I didn’t like it! I didn’t want it! I can’t stand to look at myself, let alone anyone else! I didn’t want it, Brád! Really!”</span>she cried as he stared at her hardened, with loathing, like he had that day he’d kissed her in the cave, and she’d turned him down. The look was back.<br/><br/>The look she imagined everyone giving her.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“You’re not worth the air you breathe,”</span>he spat at her, before physically spitting at her feet. All the while, Ivor stood off to the side, laughing at her, gripping her hair and yanking her back, forcing her to look at him, forcing her to look at Brád and see the disgust for her presence, her life, written all over his face. It physically hurt, the way he gripped her hair and yanked her back, a hand gripping at her hip and suddenly pulling her against him as he had that night.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“I’m…not worth the…”</span><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Tap. Tap.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“…the air I…”</span><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Tap. Tap.</span><br/><br/>The sound of tapping somewhere near her roused her from her sleep, tears having continued to stream down her cheeks, eyes bloodshot and face tired. Lazily, she glanced aside, not understanding what the tapping was, only to frown in confusion out her window. Shaking her head in disbelief, she slowly got up off of the window’s seat, eyes dropping from the face she’d seen.<span style="font-style: italic">No…no he didn’t come back…</span>Maria thought tiredly, dejected, backing away slowly as a hand rubbed at her eyes, her head hurting from the amount of crying, the lack of proper sleep, of proper physical rest having refused to use her bed since that night.<br/><br/>“No…no, stop playing tricks on me…” came a wary sob, her voice rough. “Just leave me be…please…”<span style="font-style: italic">I need to wash…I need to wash…and wash again…and again…</span>came another thought, this one almost instantaneous after her vocalized thought, turning and shaking her head, wiping her eyes, trying to figure out why suddenly her dreams had come to mock her in such real fashion.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">The window was pushed open slowly and with care, his steps heavy on the stone floor. The climb had nearly exhausted him, but he ignored that for the moment as he stood there, just looking at her. The aching he had been ignoring until this very moment slammed into him like a weight on his chest. <br/><br/>“Maria....” again he uttered her name with pain and longing, while he stood there wanting to go to her, to hold her to comfort her. The pain and exhaustion that she suffered evident on what he could see of her face. Which made him want to comfort her all the more. “I have missed you....” he finally managed to stay while he stood there and waited for her to speak next.</span><br/><br/>She felt his eyes on her, boring into her, feeling as though they were staring directly into the shattered remnants of her soul, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Hands rubbing up and down her arms, she glanced back over her shoulder at him, dropping her eyes again as the sound of his voice chipped away at her heart. But what did she say? It wasn’t like she hadn’t missed him, but to what end? She was battered and broken, claimed by another to bear his child, a child she hoped she didn’t have, that fate took pity on her and didn’t force her to conceive.<br/><br/>“…I’ve…missed you, too…” Maria answered softly, her voice rough, holding a distant quality to it. And then reality set in, her face turning away from him completely, as she started setting up her wash bowl, the cold water better than nothing. “You shouldn’t be here…” she commented next, the pain in her voice evident as she said what she didn’t want, but knew was necessary. “If Iv-…” Her voice cut off as she tried to say his name, but couldn’t, physically stiffening before continuing on with a slight word choice change. “…If he finds out you’re here…or Simprina…you’ll be forcibly removed…”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I don't care...and have never cared about what they thought about you and I....” he took two small steps toward her. “I only cared that they might hurt you, I couldn't care less what they did to me, because I love you and want to be with you....” another step before he stopped once more. “I should have taken you away....should have...” his voice broke for a moment before he regained composure. “Maria...what happened to you is not your fault and I don't think any less of you. All I care about and all that I want is you....to be with you....”</span><br/><br/>The first steps, she didn’t try to move away from, the tears starting up anew as the trembling started. But when he took another step, when he told her it wasn’t her fault, she started shaking her head more, taking the sponge out of the cold water and trying to rip the armlet off of her arm to allow her more room to wash herself, her movements jerky, shaky, uncoordinated. “Make up-p-p your mind, Brád…” she pleaded with him amid a sob, the words barely audible, as she scrubbed hard at her arm, the skin turning red, turning raw from yet another hard scrubbing to get the feel of him off of her. “O-One minute, you d-d-d-don’t want-t me; You t-tell me I’m…I’m unfit to breathe your air….and-d th-the next you want me…which one is it?”<br/><br/>The scrubbing grew harder and harder as her heart rate rose, as the tears picked up and the sobs grew louder. “Wh-Which one is it?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">At the actions she took against herself and the way she spoke nonsense he acted. Long strides took him to her with ease, his grip on her upper arm was firm though he made sure to not apply too much pressure least he bruise her. <br/><br/>“Maria...stop that...you are hurting yourself,” he practically pleaded to her. “I would never say that to you,” eyes now searching for her own as he willed her to look at him. “I love you and want you, that is all that I want now....please believe me when I say this....” he begged of her again, while he continued to hold her to keep her from hurting herself again.</span><br/><br/>She tensed as he touched her, fighting it for a bit if only to take her unfit form away from his, but it was no use. A few pathetic pulls, and she started to drop, the tears too much, doubling over as she tried to breathe, tried to think. “All I c-c-can th-think of is…is him ov-over me! The p-p-pain, his h-h-h-hands grabbing me! Is-Is him in-inside me! I f-f-feel dirty! Broken! I wou-wouldn’t want-t me, how…how can I expe-…expect you to?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">As she spoke he felt an anger rise up inside of him, his own mind going to thoughts of another touching her and doing....<br/><br/>With a slow deep breath the anger was pushed aside while he focused completely on Maria and nothing else. “Because even when we first met and were not on good terms, I thought about you. When we were in that cave and I kissed you I had not been able to stop thinking about you, even if then I was not ready to admit that. When I shared with you in that tavern about my mother and my family,” he let a hand drift up to cup the side of her face. “I knew you were someone special....”he made sure to keep her up on her feet and her eyes on his own. “When we first laid together I knew you had ruined me for every other woman and I did not care. All I cared about then and have continued to care about is you....”tears came to his eyes then though he did not seem to notice. “I am sorry how I treated you and how much I might have hurt you in the past and that it took me so long to tell you how I felt....” he paused now as the tears and tightness in his chest caused his words to stutter. “I love you....”</span><br/><br/>There was a part of her that wasn’t sure she could accept the touch, almost moving her face away, but something about it kept her there. It was the first…friendly touch she’d felt in a week, but still left her conflicted. She’d been taken by another, from the inside out. His touch, while a form of comfort despite her tears and current mental disposition, left her skin crawling if only because she didn’t feel fit to be touched. Not by him.<br/><br/>As much as she wanted to look away, she couldn’t. His eyes held hers, the tears there reflected in her own as she struggled not to collapse. And then he said it again, those three words. He couldn’t be saying it, could he? He couldn’t love her, what she’d become, what she was: a well-dressed piece of property used to create a man an heir. No more, no less. Everything he’d told her of what her life would be had come to pass, and now she was dealing with the consequences as best she could.<br/><br/>But…for the first time since the exchange, she collapsed into him, arms clinging about him as she cried. She cried for herself, for him, for how everything had progressed and how their life would only get more complicated from there.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">There was not much more for him to say, he had said it all, bared his soul to the woman he loved and realized that he was no better than his father. Worst even, given that he had no way to secret her away, to hide her and pretend for just one moment that they were alone in this world and that they were allowed to be happy. Instead he watched her go off and be basically raped by another man, allowed for it to happen when he could have protected her. Kept her safe and with him. No. He let her go to another man, a man that stole her light, her life without so much as a second thought. <br/><br/>Word had gotten around the castle, word that he had originally chosen to ignore until he had saw her. Saw the look on her face and he knew that the bragging the prince had been doing with the males of the castle was true. <br/><br/>“I am so sorry, Maria....” he whispered while he held her.</span><br/><br/>She just continued to cry, gripping him tightly as her trembling grew worse, as her breathing grew more labored. Her hands grew a bit tighter, barely hearing his whisper as a tingling in her throat, in her mouth started up. It’d been something she’d been feeling for days, had been going through regularly in the mornings, but something about the stress…brought this newest bout.<br/><br/>Tearing away from him suddenly, she rushed to the wash bucket, and promptly threw up, hands bracing on the side of the basin. Looking back at him tiredly, before another heave started, she turned away to continue to heave, not much coming up as she’d not eaten that evening. “I’m sorry!” she choked out in between retching. “I’m so sorry!”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I am so sorry, Maria....” he whispered while he held her.<br/><br/>When she ran to throw up he had at first thought that he had done something wrong, that he had said the wrong thing or his touch had been too much. <br/><br/>“No..no...” he whispered softly to her as he went to her. “Don't apologize. You have been through a lot and I know you have not been sleeping. You are just worn out,” he hugged her gently from behind. “Come away with me for the night,” he whispered to her. “I will have you back by morning, but come away with me....”</span><br/><br/>Shaking her head, she tried to play it off like she was fine, like she once used to before everything else happened. “No, no I’ve been…sleeping fine…” she answered, albeit tiredly, before turning to retch some more. When the retching ceased again, and his offer to take her away, she started to panic again. “You…I ….we can’t… I’m watched closely, ever since the wedding…that night that we danced…I can’t…get away from here…If they found out I left…”<br/><br/>Another violent retch and she collapsed against the basin, her head resting against the cool of the porcelain. “We…we…I can’t leave…”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“If you do exactly what I say we can get out of here and back before they know....” he kissed the top of her head. “I promise you....” he knelt down beside her. “You need to get away from here and you need to get some rest. My bed is soft and clean,”he continued to coax her. “There you can sleep and know you are going to be safe,” he ran his hand down her head. “Please....let me take care of you....and love you...”</span><br/><br/>The touches, though soft, still had her cringing. Had it not been for the love he spoke of, the love he said he felt, she might have pulled away and called for the guards to remove him so he didn’t have to look at her broken form. A fine sheen of sweat clung to her face from the exertion of the lingering dry heaves as she glanced over at him.<br/><br/>A clean bed…how long had it been since she’d slept in a bed? Since that night, she’d slept on the window seat, on her chaise, once even contenting herself to sleep on the floor so that she wouldn’t have to touch the bed that she’d been…that they’d…consummated the marriage in. And to be near him…at least she’d know she’d be safe for a few hours…that she wouldn’t have to pretend to be alright.<br/><br/>Tiredly, she nodded, the tears in her eyes welling up, silently falling but she didn’t protest. His words of love, she didn’t quite focus on, not allowing herself to get her hopes up and think that someone could really feel that way about a used up woman whose one purpose had just been fulfilled. “Wh-What do I…do I have to do?” Maria whispered, eyes reconnecting with his, still hollow, but focused for the first time on something other than cleaning Ivor off of her skin.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He smiled and just continued to with the gentle caresses, “We wait until the nosy one checks on you a final time and then you just....hold on...” <br/><br/>The night wore on and he talked to her softly. Talked about what he had done in his travels more of what he had seen in the world. A world he wanted to share with her some day. He talked about where he would be taking her, the house he had built with his own hands, which had everything that they would need for a night away. It actually had everything they would need for several nights and what was the best part about it, was the fact that no one but he knew it was there. <br/><br/>“Our own secret place...just like the spot by the pond....” he whispered to her. <br/><br/>At the sound of approaching steps he hid away in the other room, while she rested in the window where she had been when he arrived. The bitch went to check on her, soft words were exchanged and Brad could hardly wait for her to be gone. She was an annoyance that he would need to get rid of before she became a real problem. <br/><br/>When she finally left he went to Maria, his arms wrapped around her to hold her close for just a moment. “Now....climb onto my back....” he instructed. The length of rope he had brought in his hands, while he waited for her to do as he said. “Now, the rope is there to act as extra support,” he explained, his arms raised to drop the length behind the both of them, which he then secured along his lower back. It would act as a seat, while also helping her to stay firmly in place at his back. <br/><br/>“Just hold on and trust me,” he said as he went back to the window and with her on his back stepped out on that ledge. Before the climb had been long and difficult, and that was just with his own weight. Now he carried far more precious cargo and he was not about to allow any harm to come to her. Each step he took with care, a test here or there to make sure that his step was sure before he continued. When it came to the climb down, he could feel his muscles burn at the exertion, but still he climbed slowly and carefully. <br/><br/>When his foot finally touched down on solid ground he released a breath that he had held at the last part, which had him dangling for a good while by just his hands as he shimmed slowly along the edge to where he could drop down carefully. From there it was a short jog to his waiting horse and after he removed her from his back, he climbed up into his saddle then pulled her up in front of him. Once she was secured he kicked the horse into a trot at first, then finally into a full gallop to carry them both out of that place.<br/><br/>To their secret place.</span><br/><br/>Shivers traipsed up her spine, partly from dislike of his touch, and partly the need to have his touch. She wasn’t able to make up her mind, to get passed what had happened with Ivor completely, even if Brád was nothing like him.<br/><br/>As he spoke to her, she listened, using it as an escape of sorts. A glimmer of the girl she’d been started to make a reappearance in her eyes, faint but there. The world he’d seen and the world she’d wanted to, the house he’d built, the one he’d mentioned when she asked when he’d be leaving…<br/><br/>Just like that, he had to rush into her other room, her form left on the window seat where she’d come to be a near-permanent fixture, wary eyes finding Simprina approaching her cautiously, a tray of food left on her side table. She tried to press Maria for what was wrong and whether or not a doctor was needed. If she were feeling physically well as she had everything she could ever have want of with this new union (a comment that made her skin crawl), but Maria just said she was feeling tired.<br/><br/>Thus, with a small bow and a worried look, the subject wasn’t pressed, Simprina making her exit and shutting the door behind her, lingering on the other side of it for a moment longer before finally leaving her be for the night. Before he wrapped his arms around her, however, she took one of her nightgowns, and disappeared behind a privacy patrician, fighting with her dress until subsequently asking for help…even if it pained him to see that much of her skin just then.<br/><br/>He did it without fuss, slipping free of the layers and pulling on her gown, arms wrapped tightly around her before grabbing a cloak, too, feeling too exposed without it. In his arms, she trembled but nodded at his direction, gently climbing on his back even if all the fibers of her being were telling her to keep her legs closed and her body as far away from him as possible. Her eyes squeezed shut, not opening them once. Not when he used the rope for extra support, not when he climbed slowly down the wall, not even when they touched the ground and jogged to the horse.<br/><br/>And, when he pulled her up in front of him, she shrunk up into a ball again, the motion of the horse hurting from the encounter with him, her constant scrubbing likely not helping the issue…but she endured silently. Her mind zoned out while bouncing atop the horse, wanting to lean into him, but warring with herself to keep as much distance as possible, no matter how uncomfortable she was, just waiting for him to tell her what she had to do next.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">The ride was silent and he did his best to comfort her. Arm about her to hold her steady and as close as she was comfortable he did not press the issue, just guided the horse to where he needed it. He ducked down through some low hanging branches, which lead to what was basically another world. This part of the woods was cut off and hidden, surrounded by thick row of trees. Cut off from the rest of the world,it was the perfect place for him to build his home.<br/><br/>Their home. <br/><br/>A small pond stood before he house, the horse was guided over the bridge that spanned the pond and then into the small stable and paddock he had built for it. He dismounted first before her, then lifted her down as gently as possible. From there he guided her to the door, the door unlocked and he allowed her to enter first the door closed softly behind them. <br/><br/>“Um...the bedroom is upstairs....” he gestured at the stairs. “I built a library off over there which I have been working to fill with books...” another gesture off to the side. “The kitchen is down that way and I have a bathing area upstairs with a water system that brings the water heated up to the tub I have....” he explained. “Um...I could run you a hot bath? Or cook something for you?”</span>