After War Storm

Cal

Mare and I left that night, sneaking away from the castle when it's dark. The guards were switching shifts so it was the perfect time to go.

I had the hastily written list of Newborns I had written earlier along with their addresses which I had marked from closest to furthest away.

Mare was silent for awhile after we left. It had been extremely hard for her saying goodbye to Ti. I felt awful about it and I hadn't had the two years Mare had had with him.

"I know it's hard, Mare," I said after awhile. "I hate leaving him there but if we want to find out what is going on then we have to."
"I know," she said "but what if something happens?"
"Nothing will," I assured her and took her hand in mine.

-~-

We set up camp that night in a forest next to the village where the first Newblood lives. We'd agreed to go and talk to her in the morning since we were both tired.

I started a fire and Mare scooted closer to it to try and warm her freezing body. I lay down behind her and wrap my arm round her waist, pulling her up against me. I let my warmth seep into her and Mare's shivers began to stop.

"Thank you," she said.
"No problem," I answered as she began to drift off to sleep and soon, so did I.

-~-

Mare and I were stood facing each other, serveral metres apart.

"Cal!" She screamed, tears running down here face. "Cal!" I'm confused. What is she screaming for? I'm fine.

I looked around me at the dark room but I couldn't see anything.

I called for my fire to light up the dark space but when it didn't come I glanced down at my wrists to see the stone manacles my brother used on Mare. Looking back up at her, I saw she had them too.

"Watch out!" She cried and I turned just in time to see my brother lunge forward out of the shadows, towards me, sword raised above his head.

I ducked out of the way and then we fought. It didn't take me long to get the sword off him and have him pinned against the wall. I could have killed him but I merely hit him in the temple with the hilt of the sword and he crumples to the ground at my feet.

I dropped the sword and turned to face Mare. "We have to get out of here before he wakes up," I said. Mare didn't answer, instead she ran at me and jumped up to hug me.

I had my arms open to embrace my love but when she should have collided with me, Mare burst into dust. It was like she had never been there. And she hadn't, I realised as Elara stepped forward from the shadows.

"I've got you now, Cal," she purred "First your father and now you. My son should have been King, not you. I should have been Queen first, not your mother," she sneered the last part. I wanted to fight back, to kill her for speaking badly about my mother but I couldn't move, she had control. Elara laughed at my thoughts. "So protective over a mother you never you," she mused. "But now, I must set things right. Say goodbye, Cal."

With that she lifted the sword...

-~-

I woke with a jolt. Mare was awake and facing me, concern in her eyes.
"Are you alright?" She asked me.
"Yeah just a bad dream," I told her.
"What happened?"
"You were there, and we were both wearing manacles. Maven appeared and tried to kill me so I knocked him out so we could run. When I tried to hug you, you turned to dust. That's when Elara stepped forward and then she controlled me and was about to kill me. Then I woke up."
"I'm sorry," she whispered, tracing my face gently.

"It's ok. They're both gone, I know that," I said.
"I dream about them too," she admitted after a slight pause. "Always them. Them hurting you, hurting Ti. I hate that they still have so much power over me." A single tear streaked down Mare's cheek which I wiped away with my thumb.
"They don't have power over you, Mare."
"They do. Before coming back to Norta I didn't sleep once without having nightmares about them."
"But you say they're always about Ti or I being hurt, right?" She nodded. "Then it's not about them having power over you."
"What do you mean?" She asked, meeting my gaze.
"You care about people, Mare, and you don't want to see them hurt. Elara and...Maven," I whispered his name "hurt you terribly and you are worried about what they could do to those you love but they are gone so you don't need to worry."
"I know, thank you. It's strange how I don't get nightmares when I'm with you."

I smiled at that. I'd love to think I made Mare feel safe enough that she didn't need to be scared in her dreams.

"I think we should go back to sleep," I said, brushing Mare's hair back over her shoulder and tracing my fingers along her collar bone.

"I don't want to," she said leaning forward.
"Then what do you want to do?" I asked, looking into her eyes. She was so beautiful.
"This," she answered, knotting her hands in my hair and pulling me close to her and bringing our lips together.

Mare moved her hands to the base of my shirt before pulling it up. We broke the kiss so Mare could pull the shirt over my head before our lips locked again.

I rolled to the side and pulled Mare on top of me. She traced the planes of my chest, my shoulders, my face.

I pulled off her top next, followed by her bra. Mare shivered as the cold, night air hit her skin so I warmed the air around us.

My hands slid down her body to the waist band of her trousers. Mare saw the question in my eyes and she nodded. I pulled her trousers down, as she kicked her boots off, followed by her pants as she unbuckled my trousers and pulled them down as well.

All our clothes were thrown to the side. "Be gentle," she whispered against my lips.
"Of course," I answered and I was.

It was just Mare, I and the forest around us.