Out of Time

Chapter 20

Arthur let all the stresses of his life flow out of his body as he exited the castle with Danny only a few steps behind him. He rolled his neck, stretched, and tried to let all the tension escape. The stretching didn't quite do it, but Danny's voice did.

"Would you slow down? You've got legs like tree trunks." He spoke the aggravated words in a breathless way that made Arthur think of sex, and after a few moments, the boy walked up beside him and punched him in the arm.

Arthur frowned at the analogy that had come to his mind, but when breathless like that, Danny's voice really did remind him of a lover's in the midst of the act. "Is this better?" he asked as he measured his gait better.

"Barely. You really have been trying to keep me in doors, haven't you?"

Arthur shrugged. "It is my duty as king to ensure all of my men are in fighting shape."

"And how am I supposed to manage that if I'm not allowed to train?"

Arthur frowned, but didn't relent. "You seemed to be ailing. I wouldn't have any of my men ailing if I can help it."

Danny scoffed. "I wasn't ailing."

"You weren't eating."

"I wasn't hungry."

Then it was Arthur's turn to scoff. "You'll never grow big and strong eating like that, Danny."

Danny laughed, but Arthur couldn't figure out what was so funny. It was true, after all. How could Danny ever hope to build muscle if he rarely ate much at all?

Danny jogged ahead a bit and turned back to look at him. "Can we not talk about this?"

"Very well." But for once, Arthur was at a loss for words. The sun had streamed through the trees, and somehow the way the light and shadow graced Danny in that moment, it took his breath away, and it was as if a shroud had been lifted from his eyes and he saw her for the first time.

She was walking backwards, smiling at his acquiescence. While she had a strong jaw, there was a softness to her features that he'd missed before. Her hair had grown longer, now curving around her face and starting to pile down her back so that if one didn't see her from the back, one could believe it was much longer than it was. And the light cast shadows, accenting the curves she'd developed since she'd arrived.

His mind raced to all the furtive glances, whispered words, and more he'd seen from his people. He remembered the way Alden had seemed to take the boy under his wing. At the time, he'd just taken it in stride, but now he could see. He could see her for the woman she was. "Danny," he whispered under his breath.

"Yeah?" she said, stopping in her place. She frowned at him.

He closed the distance. He couldn't stop himself. It was as if his body had a mind of its own. After a few steps, he stood in front of her, towering over her, really. He looked deep into those eyes and wondered how he could have ever been fooled. Eyes as blue as the sea stared into him. He brushed the locks of her hair away from her face with both hands and she gasped.

Arthur smiled, and he held her in place by his hold on her hair as he dipped his head down and gently touched his lips to hers. At first touch, he was lost. The moment dragged on and the world disappeared. He barely registered as her hands reached for him as nothing in the world seemed to exist other than those wonderful, soft lips.

The moment dragged on, and his hands began to wander. He wanted to pull her closer, but his hands had other plans. They dipped under her tunic and fluttered over her stomach. He felt the muscles there clench, and he smiled against her lips. His hands moved upwards, roaming her ribs and then teasing the bottom curves of her breasts.

But teasing wasn't enough, and in the next moment, he found his hands engulfing the small orbs. She gasped again, and he captured the sound with his mouth before deepening the kiss.

He couldn't have stopped to save himself. He didn't want to.

#

Dani sucked in haggard breaths, the previously warm air cool against her naked, damp skin. Rough bark from a tree root scraped at her back, and coarse chest hair tickled her front. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through Arthur's hair, still dazed at what had just happened.

They'd had sex. He'd just walked up to her and kissed her. It had taken her completely by surprise, and before she knew it, clothes were flying onto the ground.

Her heart slowed further in her chest, and while laying naked with a man on top of you in the middle of the forest was certainly awkward, she also felt incredibly content. For those few moments, she felt like everything was right with the world, that everything would work out. She had no idea what the future would hold, but in that moment, she didn't care.

Then reality crashed down around her ears.

"Oh Gods," Arthur groaned. He looked up into her eyes with a sort of horror on his face. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that." He got up off her in a rush, jumping to his feet in a rush that would have impressed her on the training grounds, but which just left her feeling cold now. He shook his head, pulling at his hair.

Dani's gut clenched. "Arthur?" Insecurity spread through her.

Arthur wouldn't look at her. He kept pacing and rotating through his stable of anxious gestures: pulling his hair, covering his mouth with his hand, pacing, even grumbling to himself.

She tried not to cry, but she could feel the heat blossoming under her skin. Looking away from him, she scrambled for her clothes and tried to forget the last few minutes had happened. Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could block this entire nightmare out of her memory. But she'd never been very good at living in a fantasy world, and reality really could be a bitch at times. Her heart sank and she clutched her stomach as it occurred to her that she could get pregnant.

She breathed several ragged breaths to try to calm down, and to convince herself that the world was not coming to an end. So what if she'd just had sex with a man who had immediately regretted it. So what if she was also at his mercy for food, clothing and shelter. So what if she was in a time when childbirth was a much dicier proposition than in modern times. That, at least, she didn't even want to consider for even a moment, so she pushed the idea ruthlessly out of her head.

One step at a time, Dani. Don't borrow trouble. You've already got enough of your own.

With another deep breath, she stood, fully clothed. She couldn't look at Arthur then, but he took her arm, and led her back to the castle. When they approached the castle walls, Dani pulled out of his grip, not wanting to be seen led like some invalid. Arthur didn't resist, and when they reached the bailey, he disappeared into the keep without a backward glance. She watched him leave her behind, and a numbness began to envelop her.

Now what?