His Redemption (TheCorsair and Xana)

“Kill me.” His words were both posturing and begging, threatening her and pleading with her.

“Perhaps,” She said as she stepped out of the cell, back turned towards him, “When the bitter taste of the life you have left for me to live with leaves my mouth. You are not the only one who suffers from living."

If you truly wanted to die, you have had taken me yesterday. If you were just the demon you claim, you would have fucked and drained me, until the life left my body. If the man were truly gone, you would have left me at Baath Me’el’s Court, where I would still be raped and tortured to this day.

Still, she couldn’t spend all day engaging with Matthias, even if she might have wanted to , so she headed to the training grounds, to take her frustrations out on the training dummies. Or any fellow paladins who had something to say to her, about how she managed to survive and escape her ordeal.


“Will you be joining us again tonight, Ari?” Justine asked as she caught up to Aurianna on the way to the mid-day meal.

“I shouldn’t. You two deserve a night together, as newlyweds.” Aurianna tried to protest.

“Don’t be silly! Three days ago I thought you were dead or… worse. Having you here, alive and safe is the greatest thing I could ask for,” Justine said, running fingers through Aurianna long black hair. “Besides, our love life hasn’t suffered for sharing meals with you. If anything…hehe”

Aurianna blushed at the thought, rubbing her neck to look away from her friend. “…is it you or Cassi?”

“Both.” Justine flashed her a wolfish grin, “Believe me, if I were an asshole like Jeoram, I would have invited you to share our bed by now. “

“I knew you wanted to fuck her,” came a hoarse voice from behind them, full of venom.

“Jeoram!” Aurianna gasped, who couldn’t believe the poor timing.

“I thought thing were okay between us, but now I hear you are slandering me to your friends.” He snickered, while Justine rolled her eyes.

“Could you have a bigger victim complex? Did you ever stop to consider Aurianna’s feelings?” Justine sneered at him, standing up to him despite the nearly one foot difference in their height.

“I am always thinking about her!” He snarled, “At least now I know why you always hated me. Jealous that Aurianna loves me and not you.”

“Give me a fucking break! You are just a cheap stand-in for Matthias to her.” Justine mocked, “Ever since she crossed out his name on her shield.”

“Justine, please!” Aurianna begged her friend, as the crowd gathered once more. She could feel her heart pounding, filling her ears with the sound of throbbing blood, her lungs shrinking, unable to hold any air. She bolted off, away from the two people she once cared for and the gathering group that was supposed to be her allies.

His crimson eyes glittered as he met her gaze once more. "Kill me."

“Perhaps,” she answered as she left the cell.

Matthias snorted. "What? Have you become the Oracle now?"

She didn't look back. “When the bitter taste of the life you have left for me to live with leaves my mouth. You are not the only one who suffers from living."

Bitter laughter followed her as she left the cell behind. "But you still live, Aurianna. You still live, while I merely exist."

---

Jeoram watched Aurianna bolt, then turned back on Justine. "With friends like you, she hardly needs enemies," he snapped.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Justine demanded.

Jeoram gestured after Aurianna. "We've got our problems, yes. But I'm not the one throwing her childhood crush on a rapist in her face!"

Justine's eyes narrowed. "No. You just used her other childhood crush to become one of her rapists!"

Jeoram flinched as if he'd been slapped, and his golden eyes narrowed with fury. "She's my fiancee!" he snapped back, balling his fists. "I love her..."

"Then why did you rape her, you self-righteous..."

"Don't throw your judgements on me, you frigid bitch!"

"...asshole!" She wasin Jeoram's face now. "And how dare..."

"Just because you couldn't get a man to fuck you, that...!"

Justine slugged him, a right cross across the jaw. Jeoram staggered backwards, then came back with a solid punch to her solar plexus and murder in his eyes. She doubled over, retching, and headbutted him in the groin as he tried to kick her...

---

"Brawling like children!" Mykel roared at the two bruised Paladins standing before him. "Before the whole practice yard! No, not like children - they have more sense!" He paced before them, eyes cold. "Like animals! Like two dumb, vicious animals!"

"Sir," Jeoram begain, "I..."

"Shut up!" Mykel bellowed, wheeling on him. "Not one more fucking word out of you! Out of either of you!" He glared at them both, chest heaving and fury turning his face scarlet. "You are not common thugs! You are Paladins! And by the Goddess you will act like Paladins or I will have you both flogged until you cannot walk!"

"He..." Justine began.

"I don't care!" Mykel snapped, cutting her off. He fixed Jeoram with a look of steel. "Your detachment leaves in ten minutes, Paladin. Join them. And when you return, you will have learned to keep a civil tongue in your head. Is that clear?"

"Sir..."

"Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," Jeoram gritted out.

"Go."

Turning on his heel, Jeoram limped from the room. Mykel ignored him, glaring at Justine. "I expected better from you. Jeoram is headstrong. Reckless. An idiot - not to put too fine a point on it. He's a weapon. But you..." He sighed. "You are an Instructor, Justine. I expect you to be able to keep a calm head on your shoulders. Not respond to provocations from hot-headed boys."

"Sir... he was..."

"I know what he was saying, Justine. I've talked to the dozens of witnesses in the yard." His eyes bored into hers. "This will not happen again. Do you understand me? Call him out, or let it go. But I will never speak to you again about brawling like this. Am I understood?"

She swallowed, and nodded once. "Understood. Sir."

"You are dismissed."

Stiffly, she turned and stalked towards the door. "Off the record," he said as she reached for the knob, "I hope you cracked his jaw."

---

Clara rapped on the door. "Lady Aurianna?" she asked, voice hesitant. "Are... are you there?"

No response. She tried again. "I... uhm... can... can I do... anything?"

Aurianna found herself at the cathedral, making her way to a back room. “Master Tiliana? Are you here?” Aurianna called, catching her breath for a moment.

“Aurianna,” Tiliana stood now, coming up to meet the paladin. “I was expecting you.”

“You were?” she asked, stepping into the room to find someone was already there.

“Hello Aurianna,” Oracle stood now, meeting Aurianna’s golden gaze with her own.

“I…” She didn’t have anything to say to her. Once more she felt blindsided and closed in, trapped in the room.

“You don’t look well,” the healing master remarked, pulling out s chair, “Please, sit, and tell me what is wrong.”

“The crowd, I just can’t...” Aurianna explained, exasperated, still unable to process the oracle’s presence here.

“Okay, close your eyes.” Tiliana instructed in a calm tone, coming behind Aurianna “Say this with me: I am not at the Demon’s keep. I am at the Temple of Aphodesia. I am safe here.” As the paladin repeated the mantra, Oracle looked away, clenching her fists. Tiliana watched her, silently, and then looked down at the poor girl in her care. After another few minutes, Aurianna managed to sooth herself.

“Are you okay now?” Tiliana asked, rubbing Aurianna’s hands.

“I feel better,” she nodded, letting out a deep sigh.

“You should eat,” The Oracle suggested, pulling out a tray with spinach salad and chopped liver.

“Feel like I am hearing that all the time lately,” She said into her food, eating it nonetheless. She was hungry.

“It’s because you look like death warmed over. Are you sleeping well?” Oracle continued, watching her eat.

“Just fine.” Between the dreams of being killed, selling my soul and fucking on the altar, that is.

“So why are you wearing that robe? Were you hoping he would react?” The Oracle continued, prodding her along. Aurianna looked up at her, trying to figure her out, to imagine where she was going with this.

“I don’t know. He didn’t, if that’s your next question. Does this have to do with the key you slipped me?” She countered, determined to get her own answers out of the mystic.

“Perhaps,” She remarked, “It’s more of a choice than a counsel.”

“Okay, I’ll just have to pretend I know what that means,” Aurianna sighed, standing now. “Thank Master Tiliana, for working me through this.” She left without another word, figuring she should try to meet with her apprentice for a while.

“She is keeping things from me.” The Oracle sighed, looking into the distance

“And so are you keeping things from her. The difference is you know what she is keeping from you,” Tiliana explained, hands folded in front of her. Oracle smirked.

“Well, it is unnerving to be on this side of the lecture.”

"Queen's Knight to King's Three," Matthias said.

Seated just outside the bars, Lord-Commander Mykel moved the piece and frowned at the board. "The Frigian gambit?" he asked, curious.

"Perhaps," Matthias answered, folding his arms and leaning back against the wall.

Mykel looked up, brow furrowed. "I see the Oracle's been talking to you."

"Perhaps," Matthias said, with the barest hint of a smile. His fangs made the expression faintly menacing, but Mykel didn't flinch away.

"And you still think you're funny, don't you?" The Lord-Commander moved a piece.

"Perhaps." Matthias craned his neck, examining the board. "You've brought your Archangel out. A bold move."

"Boldness was what got me recommended for this position," Mykel pointed out. "Why did you do it?"

Matthias didn't hesitate. "Moving the Queen's Knight out is a..."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," Mykel snapped. There was anger in his expression now, anger and sorrow.

"Yes, I know," Matthias replied. "Archangel's Footman to East Rook's Two." He watched as Mykel moved the piece. "Because she was - is - far more important than I ever was."

Mykel's only response was a long, level look. Matthias met his gaze for a moment, then glanced at the board. "You trained me, Mykel. You know what I was capable of. At best, I was a competent trainer and a mediocre Paladin."

"There's not such thing!" Mykel snapped.

Matthias held up a hand. "I know, I know. You always stressed that. But..." he shrugged his shoulders. "I was a middling average swordsman. A middling average archer. Good at the job, but never great. The only talent I ever really had was teaching. But Aurianna?" He leaned back, resting his head on the stone wall. "She was marked for greatness. You just had to look at her to know it. Power and nobility, and potential that she had just begun to reach."

"So why did you do it?" Mykel repeated.

"At the time? It was the obvious choice." He stared at the far corner of the wall. "The Host of Baath-Me'el was closing in. If we had both fled, we'd both have been taken. And she was my student. And far more valuable to the Order than I ever was." Another shrug. "So, I ordered her to... well, I lied. I told her that I'd hold until she could bring reinforcements. That it was my duty to keep the Host from drawing near the Seraphin Gap."

"And then?"

"Well, I didn't lie entirely," Matthias answered. "You remember the Gap - a breach in the Wall nearly a mile long. So I stood my ground, and I fought until I was overwhelmed. And the Host was so delighted to have a Paladin to play with that they dragged me back to the Fortress." His face hardened with remembered agonies.

"And you never tried to escape?"

Another shrug. "When they... finished. When they were done... I was one of them. Voluntarily." He held up a hand. "No, no... I made the choice. I could have, if I'd been strong enough, made them kill me instead. But..." A shudder. "They're very, very good at what they do." He looked back at Mykel, crimson eyes glittering. "I'm not the man you remember, Mykel. And I'm not the boy you trained. I'm a soulless husk, a demon wearing that man's skin."

Mykel stared at him long and hard. "Then why did you save her? Again?"

"I... don't know," Matthias sighed. "Because I wanted her for myself. Because, in the end, I'm no better at being a demon than a Paladin. Because I'm trying to commit suicide in an elaborate and protracted fashion." Because she calls to me, to some part of me that was all but destroyed, although he refused to follow that thought. "Because I'm a traitor, and it's in my nature to betray my Lord."

Mykel stared at him a little longer, and then his lips crooked in a small smile. "Perhaps."

“Lady Aurianna!” Clara rushed up to her mentor, after having searched what felt like the entire temple for her.

“Clara, what’s wrong?” Aurianna asked her apprentice, who had a frantic look upon her face.

“Oh mistress! Justine and Jeoram were fighting! Over you! Well, not exactly over you, but kind of. And she hit him! And he hit her back! It was terrible!” Clara tried to explain. After a moment, Clara began to calm, but added in a cold tone, “She said he raped you. Why does she think that?”

Aurianna sighed, cringing at the thought that her good friend trying to protect her was going to backfire into more drama and rumors surrounding her. She led her student back to her room.

“Things with Jeoram were my fault. I wanted some affection after my ordeal, and he was confused.” Aurianna exampled softly, repeating this same explanation, needing desperately to believe it herself.

“Why couldn’t he tell he was hurting you?” Clara questioned, her face solemn. “Why didn’t he stop?”

“I…don’t’ know,” she responded, bringing her knees up against her chest. Matthias could tell I was only hurting myself. Why couldn’t Jeoram? ”I don’t know.”

The rest of the day was a blur of training Clara, and practicing her own skills. She took dinner alone, and made her way to the storeroom to pick up some clean sheets. As she pushed open the door, she could hear rustling from within. And giggling, a familiar giggling at that. Clara was kissing a boy her own age, with dark skin and thick braided hair. Aurianna considered interrupting them for a moment, but decided to let love be, at least this night.

She thought back to being 16, and pulling Jeoram into this very same storeroom. It was right after Matthias had sacrificed himself her, once she realized reinforcements where not going to go to his aid. Heartbroken, she wanted to lose herself in his eyes and arms. She would have slept with him then, If a priestess hadn’t caught them mid act, half naked.

Was Justine right? Did I ever really care for Jeoram? Or was it just a distraction to push Matthias out of my head?

Laughing, Clara slapped Willam's hand away from the laces of her blouse. "Nuh-uh," she said with a smile, kissing him again. "I didn't say anything about..." She stopped cold as she heard the door open, and both teenagers glanced guiltily towards it. It wasn't as if they'd been doing anything, but... well... Willam was down to his undershirt and Clara's tunic had clearly been tossed away, and there'd be no illusions at all about what they'd been up to.

After a heart-stopping moment, the door closed. Clara sat heavily on a crate, sighing with relief. Willam, still shaken, made sure the door was closed once more. "That... that was... close," he finally managed.

"Yeah," Clara agreed, nodding. Then she grinned and gestured with a finger. "C'me here..." He did, and soon she was making a purring sound as his tongue slipped into her mouth and his hand cupped her breast. She wasn't sure if he was a good kisser or not - Sue was her only basis for comparison, and neither of them had had a lot of experience - but he was good enough. The feel of their tongues sliding over each other, and of his lean, hard body against hers... it all felt good.

His hand slipped away from her breast, tugging inexpertly at the laces of her blouse once more. She slapped at it again, giggling, then sighed as he nipped at her ear. "Hey," he whispered as their hands dueled between their bodies, "it was your[/i[ idea."

“Why didn’t he stop?” she'd asked, horrified.

“I…don’t’ know,” her mistress had responded, huddled into herself. ”I don’t know.”

The memory, combined with Willam's playful words, made her freeze in horror. He stopped as well, feeling the sudden change in her posture. "Clara?" he asked, confused. "What... did I do something?"

"I..." She drew a sudden, shuddering breath and wrapped her arms around him. "You'd... you'd never... hurt me. Right?"

"Goddess, no!" Willam exclaimed, horrified at the suggestion. "I... you.. I..." He swallowed, hard. "You're my friend, Clara." Neither one of them had ever said 'love' about their relationship, and she was suddenly unsure if she was happy or sad he hadn't now. "I... is this about..?"

She kissed him gently on the cheek, arms wrapped around him. "Can... can you just hold me?" she asked, still feeling shaken. "For a little while?"

Aurianna looks over her bed, fitted with clean sheets, and couldn’t help but think something was missing. Perhaps the demon traitor should be chained to my bed. She pushed the thought down as it as quickly arose, but it still brought a smile to her lips. She could see herself, lying in his arms, as he drank from her neck, his hand traveling down her body. She shuddered as the fantasy played out in her mind, the fallen paladin slipping his hand under her clothes, while his other held her close to his body. Her hands moved down her own body now, as she dreamt he brought bloodied lips her mouth, pushing his tongue between her lips to converge with her own. Fingers found her warmth, as she could taste her life on him in her vision. The movement of her own hands merged with the visage playing out before her, and she shivered as her body reached the heights of ecstasy. Pleasantly exhausted, she slipped off into the nether.

She was in the dungeon, making her way down stairs, when she heard noises from below her.

“You will pay for what your kind did to her!” A punch impacting against bone could be heard.

“And who will punish you for what you did to her?”

“I didn’t hurt her! You hurt her. You ruined her! She was supposed to be my wife!” A mailed boot kicking into a gut. She could see Jeoram now, standing over the chained traitor, beating him bloody.

“Jeoram!” She called, as she grabbed him, pulling him away from his victim. “What are you doing? This is not the will of the Goddess!” Jeoram struggled against her.

“Did you tell him, Ari? Did you tell him what I did to you? That I stripped you before Baath Me’el and his court? That I claimed you for my own, and wrapped my hands around your throat until you submitted to me.” Matthias goaded, smiling wide with his fangs gleaming in his own blood.

Jeorams eyes glows with fury, as he pulled the weapon from his hilt. “Let me do this for you! Once he is dead, we can finally be together!”

“Jeoram! You can’t kill him! You will be stripped of your rank!” She tried hold him back, pleading reason to him.

“I am sure you will be fine. If they don’t care about you raping your fellow paladin then they won’t care you murdered a traitor,” Matthias taunted, bitingly cruel.

“I AM NOT A RAPIST!” Jeoram screamed, lunging for the demon chained before him. Aurianna tackled him against the cell wall, fighting for control of his great sword. She pulled the sword from his hand, falling back on her ass. Jeoram fell forward now, his own sword piercing him through the chest. He coughed up his own blood as he spoke his last words. “You chose him over me?”

“Great job Ari,” Matthias mocked, his demonic laughter filling the cell and her head, “You killed the wrong one.”

Aurianna sat up in bed, wrapping herself up in ball, her heart racing as she tried to process her dream. It was confusing to say the least. Her body trembled in memory of the dream, her neck and shoulder throbbing as if his fangs had just been in her. She had to touch herself, to make sure there wasn’t marks left there. Just like yesterday morning, her body tensed sweetly in the memory of being with him.

Days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into a month. Aurianna kept busy enough, training with Clara most days, and honing her own skills otherwise. There were visits to healing master Tiliana, which got easier each time, and visits to Matthias, which got harder. Harder to resisting touching him, staring into his eyes, giving into to the desire to let him feed directly from her flesh. In many ways he made her feel both safe, and terrified. Both alive and empty. Both at peace with herself, and wanting something more. Moreover, his trial grew closer now, as did the prospect of losing him forever.

She looked over the wooden tea box, long since emptied and replaced with new leaves, and thought about the key that resided in there. The Oracle didn’t tell her why she had given it to her, but there must have been a reason. I could free him, the way he freed me. Pay back the debt I owe him. Nevertheless, he was resigned to die, even if she was not ready to lose him.

She needed to find a distraction, exert herself so that she would not be consumed by thoughts of him. She looked over the golden spear propped up against her armor. Gleaming from unused, oh, how she wished she could take it out to the battlefield, and baptize it in the blood of a demon. She had been doing well with her sessions with Tiliana, but the Lord Commander stood firm on keeping her back for another couple months.

Well, there was no good reason not to train with this spear, at least. Honestly, she would need to train with it some, wouldn’t she? Feels the way its weight felt in her hands, how it differed from a practice spear. The force needed to drive it through her foe’s ribcage, and to pull it free once more. With her new weapon in hand, she made her way to the training grounds,

She stood with her spear in both hands, one hand at the base, the other about two-thirds the way up, the shaft parallel to her shoulders. She pivoted with the left foot, facing right, swinging the spear in the wide arc, connecting with the shoulder of a training dummy. Downward thrust to the right, hitting the dummies’ leg while her left foot came up to a mid-kick. She then ripped the spear up, slicing the dummy in two, from the groin to the chest, bringing her spear close to her body.

She lunged, long and low, hitting a target at the end of her range. Quick cut to the right, and the spear was back across her chest. She stepped with right, spinning the spear to protect her leg deflect right, then left, repeating the movement for several steps before performing another low plunge and spinning around, spear still in front of her. She slammed it hard against the ground and held it with one hand, fully extending it forward.

“Impressive, Aurianna. Your new style is coming along nicely. I look forward to seeing you unleash it in battle.” The Lord Commanders voice came from behind her. She turned to face him, wiping the sweat from her brow, flashing him a proud smile.

“Wouldn’t have to wait too long if you signed off on my return to combat,” She proposed hopefully.

“Well, I am considering it. The Oracle asked for you specifically to head up her guard as she makes the pilgrimage to the Temple of Athera. It would leave tomorrow.” He explained, a warm look in his grey eyes. I would miss Mathias’ trial…but considering the likely outcome, maybe it’s for the best,

“So, you are considering it? What do I need to do to prove my competence?” She asked, trying not to let her excitement get the better of her. He looked around, and picked up a wooden bastard sword and shield, motioning for her to grabs a practice spear with his eyes.

“Duel me. If you win, you will be assigned to her protection detail.” He announced, as a crowd began to gather.

Back in the changing rooms adjacent to the training field, Clara was stripped down to her smallclothes and stretching out. Lady Aurianna had been working her hard, pushing her to master other weapons than just the broadsword. Spear, bearded axe, mace, even hand to hand combat - all fighting forms she'd practiced before, but none she'd practiced as hard at. As a result, muscles that she'd thought were in good shape were sore and aching. All she really wanted to do was lie down, or maybe sink into a tub. But Master Marwyn had stressed the importance of stretching hard-used muscles after a workout, to keep them limber and prevent cramps. And so, she stretched.

The door burst open. "Clara! Clara! You've got to come to the field, now!"

Despite recognizing the voice, she jumped in surprise. Which, since she was leaning forward on one leg with the other stretched out far behind her, meant she found herself face first on the flagstone floor. "Sue! Damnit, knock first!"

Sue laughed, offering a hand to the shorter girl. "Why? I saw Willam out on the field, still..." Then she laughed again and dodged lightly backwards as Clara threw a playful punch at her. "Besides, you really have to come see this!"

"See what?" Clara asked curiously, toweling sweat off her back.

"Lady Aurianna!" Sue gushed. "She's dueling the Lord Commander!"

The towel dropped to the ground, unnoticed, as Clara grabbed her breeches. "I'll be right there!"

---

Both girls were gasping for breath as they arrived, having sprinted from the changing rooms to the practice field. They pushed their way through the assembled crowd, shoving rudely until they were right at the fence. Despite herself, Clara gasped in shock and just a little fear. Lady Aurianna was a great warrior, of course. She knew that. But... Lord Commander Mykel Kallekos was a great bear of a man. She'd seen him once, when Willam had complained about having to wear chainmail during a run, scale a flagpole and run a quarter-mile on a balance beam thirty feet in the air while wearing full plate. Just to make a point about training. His shield was nearly thirty pounds of forged steel and he handled his four and a half foot blunted training blade like a foil.

But then, Lady Aurianna was playing to her strengths as well. She wore her chain mail, reinforced with breastplate and greaves and bracers, and wielded a practice spear the same length and weight as her golden spear. And Clara knew from long hours of training just how quick and powerful her Mistress was. So as she watched them circle one another, each looking for openings in the other's defences, she began to realize that it wasn't anywhere near as one-sided as she'd been afraid.

"The Lord Commander will destroy her," Sue breathed.

Clara shook her head. "No... I don't think so." She pointed. "Look how he's trying to get inside her reach - he knows she has the advantage there. And... I think she may be as strong as he is."

Mykel made the first move, a hard overhead strike, which Aurianna deflected with a spin of her spear over her head. Off balance from his advance, she swung her spear around to hit him in the chest, catching on his full plate. She went in for a lunge, which bounced off his shield with ease. Aurianna followed up with a high, quick feint, inviting him to parry and open up his stance for a follow up slash against his midsection. Were he not in sturdy plate mail, and this were not a friendly exhibition, she would have hit a killing blow. He returned with his own wide swing, which she was just able to avoid by sliding back.

They traded blows for a bit, A high strike, a mid swing, a low thrust. She was crouched down, pinning his sword to the ground. She pushed her spear up now, hitting him in the back of the head with the butt of her weapon. He retaliated by backhanding her with his shield, sending her rolling along the ground. Closing the distance, he lunged at her. She stepped into his attack, pushing his sword into the ground again. Bashing his shield against her side, she released his blade, jumping back to avoid a follow up attack.

A high swing from her spear forced him to block hit with his shield. She hit against his open side now, catching her spear under his arm. Clenching her spear against his side, he hacked at her with his sword, which she caught on her bracers. Kicking her hard in the gut, he released her spear to send her tumbling. She swung her spear in a wide circle, forcing him to keep his distance until she could return to her feet.

She lunged for him, he parried. Two handed overhead strike, blocked on his shield., A hard chop from his sword sent her to her knees, and she just avoided his downward thrust. He pushed her forward, hard, leaving her sprawled on her back.

Just barely bringing her spear up to absorb his blow, she was in trouble. She pushed back the deadlock, and kicked her legs out, moving to her knees and swinging at his legs in one smooth motion. He dropped to a knee and she sprung sprung up now, slamming her spear hard on the middle of his back. She pressed her advance, but he brought up his shield, knocking her off balance. She backed up now, as he stood up.

Both were breathing hard, watching the other for an open, for a plan of attack. She rushed forward, Holding her spear before her in what appeared to be a lunge. As he readied himself to block her, she pushed the tip of her spear into the ground, vaulting up into the air. She smashed the butt of her spear into his chest, the power of her leap knocking him on his back. She landed over him now, her feet on either side of him, Spear tip pressed against his throat.

Applause and cheers filled the training grounds, and for a moment, Aurianna was acutely aware of the eyes on her now, the crowd surrounding her. She breathed deeply, calming herself, remembering what Tiliana had taught her. I am not at the Demon’s keep. I am at the Temple of Aphodesia. I am safe here. She looked around at the faces of her comrade in arms, and did not see demons. She chuckled, feeling some enormous burden lifting form her back. She bent over to offer Mykel a hand up, and a respectful handshake.

“The Orcale will be in good hands,” He told her as the cheering died down.

“Thank you sir, I will not let you down,” She assured him, stilling reeling from the pride of her victory.

“Well, gathering your things together, and say your goodbyes. You leave at first light tomorrow. Clara as well.” He instructed, patting her on the shoulder.

"Wooooo!" Clara screamed, racing across the field and hitting Aurianna in something like a cross between a bear hug and a ballista bolt. "That was great!" And then, realizing that she'd just tackle-hugged her Mistress in front of the Lord Commander, she hurriedly backed away. "Ah... I mean... that is..."

"No," Mykel said, laughing. "No, you're right. That was great. Your instructor fought extremely well." He crossed his arms and looked down at the blushing Aspirant. "But... perhaps a little more decorum?" Clara blushed deeper, and Mykel laughed again before turning back to Aurianna. "And you did fight well, as I anticipated. You are a credit to the Order, as I always knew you would be."

He hesitated, as if intending to say more. Then the moment passed. Instead, he bowed to Aurianna and crossed the field to place his practice sword on the rack. Clara looked up at Aurianna with wide eyes. "Me as well? What... where are we going?"

---

"Why do you keep bothering me?" Matthias asked from the corner of his cell.

"Because," the Oracle answered, "I still believe you have a chance - a slim chance - for redemption."

He gave her a long, level stare. "What makes you think I want redemption, Oracle?"

She shrugged. "Why didn't you fuck her?"

The question, backed by those inhuman golden eyes, made him flinch. Just like the dreams. "There was hardly time..."

The Oracle rose, staring down at him. "You're lying. You had opportunity. Multiple opportunities." Her golden eyes didn't blink. "Why?"

"Go away," he gritted out.

"Didn't you?"

"Go away!

"Fuck her?"

"GO AWAY!" Matthias roared, hurling his wooden bowl at her. The Oracle didn't flinch as it clattered off the bars before her.

"Why didn't you?" she repeated. "You've had opportunity. And her blood would have given you the strength you needed to..."

"GO AWAY!" he bellowed, lunging for the bars. She stepped smoothly back as his hand lashed between the bars, grabbing for her throat. "I DON'T KNOW! I SHOULD HAVE!"

She smiled thinly, watching his incoherent, frustrated rage. "And yet, you didn't. Think on that Matthias, as you wish for death." She turned, walking away. "And remember - it may be that death, for you, is a mercy the court will not grant."

Aurianna laughed hard as her acolyte talked her hard in an enthusiastic hug. She might have been better able to withstand it if the duel with Mykel hadn’t taken so much out of her, but she didn’t care right now. She was happy. Truly happy, something she had not felt in quite long time.

"Me as well? What... where are we going?"

“We have been assigned to protect the Oracle as she makes her pilgrimage to the Temple of Athera, the goddess of wisdom and family,” Aurianna explained, standing up and dusting off herself. “We will most likely be traveling with another pair, possibly a student and master like us. These missions tend not to be too difficult and are good chances to put to practice our trainings. It takes a couple months’ time, there and back, so take the rest of the day to relax and say your goodbyes. And get a bath, because it will be awhile before we can again. I know I am heading there now!” Aurianna said laughing, tying her sweat drenched hair behind her.

She took her own advice, luxuriating in a warm bath as the sweat and ache of her duel faded away. She packed the things she would need to take with her on her trip, having everything together so she waould waste time tomorrow. She took a meal with her friends in the mess hall, reenacting her earlier duel for those who were not present. She took a couple glasses of wine with her meal, and when she felt pleasantly lightheaded, she headed back to her room.

She picked brown leather dress, tight around her breasts and waist, that flared out over her hips and down around her knees. She played with her hair for a while before deciding to let it spill loosely over her shoulders. Looking in the mirror, she hardly looked like the warrior who had vanquished Lord Commander of the Order of Aphodesia. She looked like a woman. Her eyes caught sight of the tea box, and her mind thought back to the key inside, and how she believed it would unlock Matthias. The Oracle hadn’t told her why she had given it to her, but there must have been a reason. So she tied it to the belt she wore, in case she decided to free him in a desperate bid to keep him alive.

Making her way to the dungeon, her heart was racing. It always raced, as she made the trek down her, pumping blood furiously through her vein, as though it hoped he would drink form her. Well, perhaps tonight her body would get it’s wish.

“Matthias?” She called as he came into sight. “I hope I didn’t wake you. I really wanted to see you…” She tried to explain, biting her lips as she tried to form an answer. She expecting some taunt form him now, which would only serve to make her more flustered. None the less, she drew closer to him.

“I won’t be around for your trial. I was assignment guard duty, to the Oracle as she makes her pilgrimage. This is my last night here, at the temple. My last night with…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it, choking down the pain she felt now.

“I don’t know what is going to happen, but whatever the future holds, I want to face it with no regrets. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t come to you tonight, and tell you how I feel…”She began, watching his reaction carefully; she was fearful he would throw her out once more. When he didn't, she threw herself into his arms.

“I want you,” she admitted finally,” I want to be held in your arms as you drink from me. From my body. I want to you to make…” she stopped herself, before she embarrassed herself, said something he would only mock. “I want you to have me. I want to know what it feels like when I want it, instead of having it taken from me.” She looked him in the eyes, completely vulnerable, hoping he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

“No,” She told him, her eyes burning into his, “You will not deny me again.” She pushed him down, straddling his chest, the heat and humidity of her cunt pressing against his bare skin. “I will have you. I will have this. You fucking owe me.” She pulled a breast from her top, as her blood trickled down, painting her engorged nipple a dark red. She pushed it into his mouth, moaning and sighing as his tongue traced the areola, tasting the life there. She held his head in place, not letting him stop or pull away, her essence dribbling into his eager mouth.

“Bite me. Again.” She demanded him, pulling his hair until he acquiesced, her lips trembled into a twisted smile as she felt him drink from her bosom. She smothered his face, threatening to cut off his air, waiting until he pleaded with her with desperate eyes before letting him up, pushing her mouth on his once her breast left it. Tasting herself on him, she had a new craving, that he might taste all of her; to drive him so mad with lust he could not reject her desire.

She stood now, pushing her foot down on his chest, holding him in place with her far superior strength. Turning, she stepped over him, before dropping once more, pinning his arms down with her knees, hovering her sopping slit in his face. On her end, she was over his cock, twitching madly in his breeches. For her. She pulled it out, pleased to find it was just as she dreamt it to be. Wrapping her lips around the head, she took him into her mouth, sucking him with a insistent yearning. Her tongue traced his veins and bulges, moving around the ridge of his head, before plunging it back into the soft depths of her cheeks.

Over his face, her womanhood drooled, dripping down on him. He could taste her, if he had a need, and she would give him a chance to act. If he wouldn’t, she would sit up, forcing her cunt against his lips, and not letting up until his tongue was inside her, sampling her sultry silken walls. Her hands continued to tug at his meat, rewarding each pleasurable lick he gave her with one of her, along the long hard shaft of his manhood. As her joy bubbled over, threatening to consume her, she stood, shakily, shuddering hard against impending orgasm.

“I want you inside me, when I cum. I want you inside me, when you cum," She demanded now; she pulled his head up to hers now, let their tastes intermingle in their mouths and on their joining tongues. She wrapped her leg around his waist once more, letting him feel the immense heat beaming form her core. “I’m not broken, Matthias, and neither are you.”

Matthias arched and bucked beneath Aurianna as she pushed him to the ground, putting up a pretense of a struggle. It was futile, of course - with the Runes of the Chain and the Demonqueller, his stength was merely human. But, despite his protests, he didn't want to escape. Not really. And so he sucked hungrily at her nipple, feeling it grow harder, feeling himself grow harder as she held him down and her blood flavored the erect nub between his lips. “Bite me. Again,” She demanded, and he groaned as his fangs pierced the soft flesh and fresh blood dripped into his mouth. His hands gripped her back, pulling her closer as he lapped at the wounds and bit again, piercing her skin over and over again.

And then she rose above him, pulling her crimsoned breast away and pressing him down with a booted foot. Turning, she straddled his face. He shoved her skirts up over the curve of her ass, and groaned aloud as he discovered she wore nothing beneath. He considered protesting once more, then bucked his hips wildly as she undid his breches and found his aching cock with her mouth and hands. "Aaaaauuhhh..." he groaned, hips bucking wildly against her mouth, his head jerking wildly as she swallowed him whole. His whole body heaved beneath her as her tongue played over him, and his fingers dug savagely into the smooth flesh of her rear. Moaning again, he parted the lips of her sex with his tongue as his fangs pierced their flesh, and he lapped with a savage desperation at the mingled taste of blood and lubrication on her cunt. His tongue thrust deep, exploring her walls, then slid out to gather her blood from her lips and toy with the erect flesh of her clit. He could hear her gasps echoing his own, feel her walls clench around her tongue in impending orgasm as his cock throbbed within her mouth. He was close, so close he could...

She rose, leaving him gasping, and pulled him to his feet. “I want you inside me, when I cum. I want you inside me, when you cum." She kissed him, and he could taste his precum on her lips and tongue. She wrapped her leg around his waist once more, letting him feel the immense heat beaming form her core. “I’m not broken, Matthias, and neither are you.”

"You will be," he growled, crimson eyes burning with dark lust. "You will be." He twisted, reminding her that strength wasn't the only part of infighting as he crashed to the ground atop her. "I'm going to pound this hot cunt of yours without mercy," he growled, then sank his fangs deep into her throat. He sucked hard then pulled away, blood dripping from his lips. "I'm going to fuck you and feed on you until you [i[beg[/i] for an end to it, and only then - when you beg me - will I fill you with my cum!" With a single motion he drove his cock to the base in her slick sex, growling with his need. And then, as he drove him self hard into her, he tore open his own shoulder with his fangs. "Taste me," he grunted, gripping her hair and pulling her lips to the wound.

There was a brief moment of utter terror as she waited for him to enter her. A deep-seated fear that this would never be enjoyable for her. That he would hurt her, just as everyone else had hurt her. That, despite her posturing, she really was broken.

She closed her eyes against the fangs that dug into her throat, losing herself in the sensation of her life leaving her body. Her hands were wrapped around his neck and back, holding his body against hers, clinging to him in a desperate bid to diminish her fears.

When he slid into her, several competing emotions bubbled to the surface. She was choking down a sob, gasping out a pleased moan, laughing in relieved elation. Tears slid down her face, as her nails dug into his back, the absolute joy she felt in this moment eclipsing anything else. Her body accepted him with only the barest resistance, just enough resistance that it felt amazing for her. She collapsed upon his retreat, only to be filled once more, his length buried within her.

“Matthias…” she cried, as he continued to direct her, too lost in her own bliss to focus on his words or demands. Her eyes caught the red wound trickling down his body and hers, and she moved to taste him, as he had often tasted her. Like a strong wine, tart and thick, flooding her mouth faster than she could drink it down. She managed to match his greed, feeling his life revitalize her own, swelling her nipples and clit with new found volume. She raked him now, as their bodies slammed together in a riotous eruption of passion and need.

She arched into him now, as the slickened slit tighten around him once more, forcing his thrusts to be harder if he wanted to feel her. She shivered, fiercely, writing in with all the strength her body possessed. She wrapped legs around his thighs, holding him closer to her, letting his body experience her orgasm as much as she did.

She thought back to the first time he brought her to climax, the first time he pierced her skin with his fangs. The memory of that orgasm so beautiful, she had begun to fear she would have to chase it for the rest of her life. Well, she had now reached that horizon, driven there by Matthias once more, and there was an exquisite new dream to chase after.

She was a complete mess of laugh and sobbing and moaning as her orgasm passed through her, stupidly happy, as she looked up at him. The exultation of the moment got in the way of her better judgement, and as he continued to melt into her soft folds, she opened herself up to him, exposing her vulnerabilities completely now.

“I love you.”

"I love you."

Had she uttered those words earlier, it would have dashed cold water on his desire. Love? He was a demon. A monster. He'd spared her, yes. But... how many others had suffered at his hands? There wasn't, couldn't be love between them. He was a monster, and if he was lucky he'd die tomorrow. And she was a Paladin, trusted with high honors by the Order.

But she hadn't said them earlier. She was saying them now, as her slick folds clenched around him. As she clung to him, and opened herself for him. As her orgasm flushed her skin and drew a shuddering, sobbing moan of pleasure from her blood-streaked throat. Now, when all he could think of was filling her, moving within her softness as his own release drew closer and closer. His crimson eyes were wide, staring down into hers as his body moved with hers. Suddenly he was crying out wordlessly as he throbbed and pulsed within her, his seed flooding her depths as he spent himself into her womb.

Gasping, moaning, he collapsed onto her. His tongue lapped at the bites on her throat and shoulder, sealing the wounds as his softening cock pulsed lazily within her. He should tell her to leave, he knew. She'd had him, as she'd wanted - he'd had her, as he'd wanted. That would need to be enough. That would have to be enough. There was no future between them, not between a demon and a Paladin. And yet, nestled against her sweat-slicked, half-naked body, feeling her heart beat against his chest and her breasts moving as she breathed..?

He stoked her cheek with his thumb. "You deserve better, Ari. Someone better than me..."

She didn’t care that he didn’t say it back. That wasn’t what she needed right now. What she needed now has his body against her body, his arms wrapped around her, his mouth on her lips. What she needed now was this quiet moment between them, as their breathing synced up, and they shared the blood that pulsed through each other’s veins.

"You deserve better, Ari. Someone better than me..."

“Shh, I don’t want to hear that right now. I am glad you were my first.” She told him, looking into his crimson eyes. She nuzzled his neck, and lapped at the wound on his shoulder sighing as the metallic taste lingered on her lips.

She felt feisty now, unburdened by feelings for him, or fears for herself. She bit into his neck, her teeth traveling up the muscle until she reached his ear. She ran her tongue around the outside of it, catching an earlobe between her teeth.

“So, you know more about this than I do. How much longer do we have to wait before we can go again? Can I do anything to speed it up? Do you want to finger me in the meanwhile?” She kissed his neck as she awaited the answers, fingers tangling in his hair. Once more, he was her teacher, though she doubted either of them anticipated these sorts of lessons. If he teased her about her libido, she had a comeback prepared.

“What can I say? I have a lot of pleasure I need to catch up on!” She confessed with a laugh. Sitting up now, she pulled him to his knees, taking a hard kiss form his mouth as he body craved a round two. She pushed him down then, on his back, climbing over him. Bringing kisses up his body, her tongue tracing the hard indentations of muscle, collecting his sweat on her lips. She ground against him, teasing him with the feel of happy pussy hungry for more cock.

“I want to fuck you until we both pass out.” She announced, sitting high up on him, teasing her own breasts.

Matthias laughed in spite of himself as Ari peppered him with questions, her breath warm in his ear. "Haven't changed a bit, have you?" he asked, one hand caressing her thigh. "Still hungry for... education." He ground his hips against her, enjoying the feel of her slick walls around his semi-hard shaft. "And proving once again that the only reason I was a goid teacher was because I had an enthusiastic student."

He groaned as she flexed her inner muscles, clenching around him. Then, reluctantly, he tugged his ear from her lips. "But... I wasn't wrong." He groaned, then. Feeling himself start to harden within her as she flexed and clenched again. "You shouldn't be..."

Turnabout, he realized as he thudded into the floor, was fair play. The flagstones were cool against his bare back and thighs, a shocking contrast to Aurianna's heat as she kissed a trail of flame up his abdomen and chest. The slick lips of her sex kissed the now hard column if his cock as she ground against him, coating him once more with their mingled fluids. "I want to fuck you," she announced, cupping and teasing her breasts as she ground against him, "until we both pass out."

This was a terrible idea, he knew. He should make her leave. Instead, he wrapped one hand around the marble shaft if his meat. "Then," he growled, "we should make sure I'm up to it." His hand began sliding up and down, from the base of his cock to his head and back, knuckles caressing her moist slit as he did. His free hand rested on her abdomen as he did, slowly sliding upwards over her leather-clad body to join in teasing a hardened nipple.

"Do you lije that?" he purred, the hand on her breast moving in time with the hand gripping his cock. "Me jerking off, to get hard enough to be fucked?" He picked up the pace, knuckles slick with their juces as his head bobbed in and out of his fist. "Maybe I should come like this? Let you see the cum spurt out of my dick and then fuck you? Hmm? Smear that dress of yours with my seed while I fill this hot cunt of yours?" His eyes were closed now, and his words came in harsh gasps.

She watched him, biting her lips as their eyes met and burning with mutual desire. His hand, moving along his cock, while the other played with her breast. She mirrored him now, wrapping one of her own hands around the base of his length, moving in rhythm with him, while she continued to play with her breast. His knuckled brushing against her slit made her shiver and giggle in almost overwhelming happiness.

She knew it couldn’t last, of course. She wasn’t stupid, his crimes were hardly forgivable. Hell, the things he had done to her were hardly forgivable. She didn’t want to dwell on the fact that this was likely to be the only time they would get to have each other. There would be plenty of time for sorrow in the future, tonight she just wanted bliss.

So she moaned as he grew hard between her fingers, as his knuckles rubbed her clit, as his and her own fingers toyed with her nipples. “You want to cum on me? Mark me, claim me for yourself?” She teased, coming dangerously close to saying something she might have said the day he captured and freed her.

Would it have been so terrible? If he had just kept you to himself? A dark part of her mind asked. It made her freeze for a moment, threatening to bring the pain back up, threatening to take away her happiness in an instant.

My body is my own. It doesn’t belong to Baath Me’el, Jeoram or even Matthias. It’s mine to enjoy, and give as I desire. She took a deep breath. She wanted this, and she was enjoying herself. And she was only enjoying it, because this was what she wanted. She was allowed to enjoy herself.

He was nice and hard now, throbbing in her hand. “Cum for me. Smear it all over me if you like. Just know I want to cum again too. Whatever you have to accomplish that.” She said with a smirk, feeling him pulse and tense against her grip.

"I've already marked you as mine," Matthias growled. "Little scars on your throat and tit, and on this sweet cunt of yours." He groaned a little as her hand joined his on his cock. "No matter who you lie with after this, you'll still feel those marks, still remember my taste..."

Her eyes darkened and her pace faltered for a moment, and he hesitated. It was too much, clearly. He'd reminded her of the Court, and...

And he gasped and arched beneath her as her grip tightened and she invited him to cum on her. "Wharever I have to?" he leered, echoing her words. He released his cock, spreading her lips and sinking two fingers to the third knuckle in her depths. "Maybe I'll just guarantee it," he whispered, exploring her sensitive inner flesh. "Maybe I'll make you cum on my hand, then fuck that gorgeous ass of yours."

He licked his lips as his thumb found her clit. "Or are you fucking me, hmmm? The brave Paladin, claiming the spoils of victory from her defeated foe..?"

Her head rocked back as he filled her with fingers, a deliciously dull ache as he pushed into her depths. It was hard to focus on pleasing him, as he began pleasing her. She bit her lip as he mentioned her fucking him, claiming the spoils of her victory. She took that as an invitation, bringing her cunt up over him, and sliding herself down, a guttural moan as she sheathed him. Perhaps she was a touch tender form the first time, but still it felt good. Good to feel him pulsing inside her, each throb eliciting a blissful cry, her eyes rolling in the back of her head.

She moved now, slow, almost painfully so. Rolling her hips on him, barely coming up off now. Letting his cock brush each of her inner walls, fill her completely, stretching her oh so agreeably. She dragged her nails down his chest, not hard enough to draw blood, just enough to leave his white skin marred pink. She moved harder now, faster, trying to keep pace with the blood rushing through her veins.

She pulled him up to her, until they were both sitting, and her legs were wrapped around him again. She kissed him ardently, devouring his lips and tongue, feeling her body burn form the inside out for him. The feeling of her breasts rubbing against his chest, his dick submerged in the wet heat of her core, his hands squeezing her ass, it all came together to send her over the edge.

“Matthias!” She screamed over and over and over again, until the syllables were nonsense spilling form her lips.

"Ffffuuuuck..." Matthias groaned as Aurianna's slick heat swallowed his cock. Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders as she leaned forward, bracing her hands on his chest as her hips rolled against his. "Is... is that... all you've got... Paladin..?" he gasped, arching his hips to drive her deeper around him. "I thought... you were... fucking me!"

Her nails raked down his chest in response, adding a delightful sting to the glorious sensations. She moved faster now, little gasps and moans escaping her lips as her breasts bounced and the wet sounds and smells of sex filled the air. "That's it," he groaned, cupping her breasts. "Fucking ride me! Ride that thick cock!" Even faster now. "Fuck yourself on me, Ari! Use... me..."

He rose to meet her as her fingers gripped his hair, and then she was fucking his mouth with hers. Her arms tightened around him, flattening her creamy breasts against his marble chest. He filled his hands with her ass, squeezing hard as her thighs flexed and she rode his meat with abandon. And then she arched backwards, screaming his name as her inner walls convulsed around him.

He shifted his grip a little, leaning forward to catch a nipple in his teeth. "Not done yet, Ari," he growled, beginning to move her. The iron grip of his fingers on hips and ass was almost painful as he moved her up and down on his throbbing, iron-hard cock. "You're my fuck-toy now," he told her as his arms flexed and he buried himself deep in her greedy cunt before lifting her once more. "And you're going to cum on this thick dick again, and you're going to beg for me..."

His eyes closed and he bit his lip as he moved her body up and down his length. "Touch yourself, Ari... touch yourself, and beg me to fuck you..."

Every promise he had made to her this night was coming true. He fucked her without mercy, slamming her back into the wall as he drove deeper within her. Come morning she would be sore and swollen with the memory of this night. But not broken. He was even making good on the promises she had made, to fuck until they both passed out from exhaustion and elation.

“Fuck me!” She begged, moving her own hips against his, meeting him each time. “Fill me! Fill with your cock and cum. I want everything. All of you.” Breathy rasps against his ear, laced with moans and sighs. She obeyed his command, bringing her finger down to her clit, teasing it wildly as he pumped into her wetness. She could feel cock brushing against her fingertips each time he entered her.

“Fuck Matthias, you feel so good in me!” She moaned pressing her sweat-drenched forehead against his. There was a safety, in his arms, being held against him with such ease. He filled an emptiness within her, both figurative and literally, and she just wanted to live in this moment for the rest of her life.

“I want it, I want you, I want to feel you. Please, please, please, please…” It was hard to form a coherent sentence or a rational thought as he slammed into her far wall, stretching her around him, taking everything from her, everything she was giving him.

“Don’t stop, please, don’t ever stop…” She was sobbing now, overwhelmed with everything she felt in the moment. For a moment, her mind ran wild with fantasies of freeing him, using the key on her belt, and running away. Living her life out with him, making love each night, until they passed out in a soaked heap of bodies. You would abandon your duty? Your order? Your Heritage? Your apprentice? Her mind asked, before it would allow her a release. No, she wouldn’t, but it was nice to pretend, for the time being.

“I’m cumming,” She told him, as if he didn’t already know, as if he weren’t as intimately familiar with her body, as she was with his. “I’m cumming, Matthias! Make me cum, please! Make me cum like only you can!!!”