For The Whored: Beyond Ch. 33

Katie groaned and blinked the sleep from her eyes. Untangling an arm from the form in her bed, she wiped her crusty eyes. "Sunwood?" She muttered.

The form shifted. "No." He mumbled into her hair.

Katie jolted and tried to fight the form in her bed. "Get out! Let go of me!"

Stephen wrapped his arms around her. "Wait, wait. You'll fall. Stop, you'll hurt yourself."

"Why are you in my bed?" She whimpered.

"Don't you remember?" Satisfied she wouldn't fall, he released her. "You were crying so hard. You fell asleep and took me out with you."

"Oh." She sighed. Sitting up, she buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, sweetheart. You need a shoulder to cry on, and I can just get a dry shirt."

"Um... I don't have extra shirts. Sunwood never wore any clothes... you see."

"Ah." Stephen blushed. "Well, that's not important. I'm here for your safety."

Katie nodded. "You're very kind."

He sat up beside her. "I'm sorry you lost your love."

Katie leaned her head on his shoulder. "I don't know what to do with myself. I... I have to stay here. I have to tend to the garden. I want to write my book..."

"Then do those things. I'll be here for you; in whatever capacity you need me to be. I mean, when I'm not at the training yard, of course. Grogek would have my hide if I spent more than necessary away. I spent nine years trying to get picked, I won't give it up now."

Katie's smile didn't reach her eyes. "I understand."

"In fact, come with me."

"What?"

"I can't offer much at the moment, but I can at least offer you company at the yard. Plus, don't you like sitting with Susan?"

"I miss him."

"I know you do, sweetheart." He rubbed her back.

"Oh, Gods." She buried her face in her hands and began to sob.

Stephen wrapped his arms around her and whispered. At the knock on the door, he sighed and left her on the bed. Pulling open the door he blinked down at Ryan.

"The fuck?" Ryan looked up at Stephen and back behind him at Katie on the bed. "Seriously, you fucker?"

"Don't start with me." Stephen snarled.

"What are you doing here so early? Can't you keep your damned hands off of her for five minutes?"

"Like you're one to talk." Stephen pushed Ryan out of his way before quietly closing the door. "She needs comfort, not a couple of assholes sniping over her like dogs. So, back off."

"I'll back off when you back off."

"Are you telling me you're only trying to help her out because I'm here?"

"I was here first."

Stephen put his fingers at his temples and rubbed. "Are you insane? Are you listening to yourself? She just lost the person she loves the most, and you're acting like... this. Go home and think about what you're doing."

The door opened and Katie frowned at them both. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Sweetheart." Stephen smiled, even though a muscle twitched in his face. "We're just talking. How about we see this garden of yours?"

Katie shook her head. "He... That's where he was. I want to go away today. I just want to walk."

"I'll walk you." Ryan slid around Stephen and scooted to Katie. "We should go look at the portals. You like those, don't you?"

Katie wiped at her eye. "Yeah, I guess I do."

Stephen narrowed his eyes at Ryan. "Katie, I'm going to go see the execution. Do you wish to go? If not, I'm perfectly fine with that. I just want to be sure of your safety."

Katie shook her head. "I can't take the sight of any more death."

Stephen nodded. "I'll find you later." He eyed Ryan. "Take care of her."

--

Stephen waited and watched the Execution of Marie. He stood there for the longest time, even after they hauled away the body. Elunara found him standing by the platform.

"Where is Katie?"

"She couldn't see this." He shook his head. They stood together in silence. "Am I a bad person? He whispered.

"Why?"

"I can't be away from her. I know I should. I know I should just walk away. I started to several times, but she is breaking my heart. When she weeps it crushes my soul."

Elunara sighed. "You didn't kill her lover, and you're there for her. She needs someone to comfort her. I try, but I don't have the hours in the day. I'm glad you were able to take her home last night."

"I slept with her."

"You... WHAT?"

"Not like that. I slept. In the bed. With her."

"Oh." Elunara continued to blink.

"I just wanted her to stop crying, and she did. I would have been fine standing watch outside, but... she started crying." He held up his hands. "I couldn't let her cry by herself."

"You're a good man. Go to her, be there for her, for however long that is."

"But..."

"If you're worried about Grogek, don't. I'll speak with him."

"I might strangle Ryan."

"Ryan?"

"She says he's her friend... but his attitude is crawling up my ass."

Elunara's eyebrow went up. "What is he doing?"

"He's being clingy. I know, I know. I'm not much better. But he had the gall to tell me "I was here first". Like that gives him a right or something."

"Wow, even I'm impressed by the douchebaggery of that statement."

--

Katie stood by the edge of the lake and frowned at the portals. Ryan reached out several times and rejected the idea. Katie started walking forward as if in a daze. Ryan watched her walk into the lake.

"What are you doing? You'll get your dress wet."

She wasn't listening, just kept on walking, her fingertips trailing through the cold lake water.

"Are you sure you want to go for a swim right now?" He called.

Leaning forward, she looked at herself curiously in the water, before going face first into it. Under the water, she felt herself floating. Letting go of all emotion, she began to sink. Without warning, arms came around her middle and yanked her free of her watery prison. She struggled, even as she gasped for the life-giving air that rushed into her lungs.

Stephen hauled her out, her dress clinging to his arms. "Are you out of your mind?" He yelled at Ryan.

"I thought she wanted to swim."

"What part of that was SWIMMING?" Katie clung to Stephen, sobbing and gasping for air. Stephen turned down the path and started for the cottage.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ryan demanded as he ran to catch up with the pair.

Stephen freed one of his hands and plowed his fist into Ryan's face. Watching the man hit the ground, Stephen readjusted Katie in his arms and headed back down. She was shivering with the force of the cold as Stephen murmured to her. Once at the cottage, he shoved the door open with his shoulder and placed her on the bed. Digging around the cottage, he came up with some oversized towels and wrapped her up in them.

Kneeling in front of her, he fiddled with a wet lock of her hair. "Katie, sweetheart... would Sunwood be happy with you if you took your own life?"

She shook, and her teeth chattered. Shaking her head, she sobbed.

"I know it hurts, but you can't just end everything. That would defeat the purpose."

"T-the p-purpose?"

"To keep his legacy alive. You loved each other. That much is obvious. But more, he loved your life, your happiness. He wouldn't be happy to know you took your own life. I don't know a thing about gardens. How would I keep that lovely garden in the back alive if I don't have you to help me?"

"G-garden?"

Stephen nodded. "The one you wanted the orchid for?"

Katie looked around as if just noticing the room for the first time. "The garden outside?"

"That's the one."

He began to rub her down with the towels. "Come on, let's get you out of that wet dress and get you dried off." He went to the small cabinet and pulled out a dress at random. Tossing it on the bed, he took the towels and held one up high. "I can't see you, so you can get undressed."

Katie hesitated a moment, before pulling her wet dress off. Letting it drop to the floor, she picked up the dry dress. Staring at the soft blue color and silver filigree, she began to sob again. Hugging it to her chest, she closed her eyes and curled in on herself.

Stephen heard her and bit his lip. Finally, he dropped the towel around her shoulders and wrapped it around her body, pulling her into a hug. "Shh, my beauty. It will be alright."

"How... how can I love and hate a dress so much?"

"What?" Confusion clouded his mind.

She tossed the dress on the floor and turned around, burying her face in his chest. "That is the dress Tulani gave me... after I was attacked. After I was attacked by the man that woman killed my Sunwood over." She scrubbed her face against his shirt. "I can't wear it. I'll never wear it again."

"We'll get you new dresses. An array of them. Please don't cry over a little dress. Hold on, I'll get you another one." He tried to wiggle free of her grasp, but she held tightly to him. Leaning over, he managed to get the tips of his fingers on the edge of another dress. He was struggling to grab it when the towel fell.

The door burst open and Stephen froze in place. Ryan was standing in the door, both of his fists bunched. "You fucking asshole! You pun—" He stopped and stared at the scene before him. A naked Katie was wrapped around Stephen, her dress in the floor, a discarded towel at her feet. "This was your plan all along!"

"Plan?" Stephen blinked.

"Plan?" Confusion rippled across Katie's face.

"You just hauled her off so you could get her naked and have her to yourself. You fucking PUNCH me in the face so I'm out of the equation."

"Oh, dear Gods." Stephen muttered. He pushed Katie gently on the bed, before scooping the towel out of the floor and shoving it at her. "There is no PLAN, you goddamned cock sucking asshole."

Ryan pulled his sword. "You say that to my face!"

"You're going to attack an unarmed man in a tiny cottage?" Stephen held out his hands and snarled. "You're out of your damned mind."

"Pull your sword then, we'll settle this like men."

"Like me— You ARE out of your goddamned mind. I'm not fighting you. Not here, not now, not ever." Seeing Ryan's intent, Stephen stepped to the other side of the room. Ryan charged at him, but Stephen dodged effortlessly.

Katie gasped and put her hands on her cheeks.

"You forget, I'm in the elite corps, you idiot."

Ryan swung out, but Stephen dodged that too. When Ryan swung at Stephen's head, Stephen caught the sword with one hand and punched Ryan in the face with the other. Ryan staggered back and upended the table. Stephen tossed the sword to the side, the palm of his hand splattering blood with it.

"Gods damn it, you made a mess." Stephen snarled.

"You made the mess!"

"Stephen! Your hand!" Katie scrambled off the bed and threw herself at Stephen.

He blinked at the naked woman on top of him. "Katie... it's just a flesh wound. Sweetheart, you really need to put some clothes on."

Ryan looked back and forth between the two. "Katie..."

"Ryan! You big jerk!" Katie turned on him with tears in her eyes. "Look what you did!" He held up Stephen's hand. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"I thought..."

"I don't care what you thought. I want you to go away! Go away until you stop being so mean!"

Ryan turned and fled.

Katie turned her attention back to Stephen's hand. "I'll fix this." She got up and went to the kitchen, getting rags and water. Coming back to him, she sat on the floor and pulled his hand into her lap. Carefully cleaning the wound, she frowned. "I can't heal this. We need to take you to a healer."

Licking his lips, he nodded. "Yeah, but, you really do need some clothes..."

"Oh!" Katie looked down at herself. Her first reaction was to cover her breasts with her arms, but she still held on to Stephen's hand, causing him to touch her. She jolted back. "Right. Excuse me." She stood up and went to her closet, pulling out a dress.

Unable to help himself, he watched her. His hand still tingled from where he had touched her soft skin. He looked down at the still bleeding wound. Dressing it himself, he tightened a cloth around his hand. "Come on, let's see a healer."

Down at the healer's building, he held out his hand.

"What happened here?" Ina eyed the wound.

Katie opened her mouth, but Stephen interrupted. "Training accident. I'm just clumsy."

"I'm getting too old for this shit." She muttered.

"For healing?" Katie blinked.

"For believing young lover's lies."

"Oh, we're not..." Katie blushed.

Ina just raised an eyebrow as she healed the cut in Stephen's hand.

"It's complicated." Katie blurted out.

Stephen blinked at her. "It is?"

"Everything is just so complicated." Katie whispered. "I'm just so confused."

When Ina released his hand, he put both of his hands on Katie's shoulders. "We'll figure it out, ok, sweetheart?"

Katie nodded.

"Come on, let's go for a walk."

--

Grogek noticed them first but ignored the pair walking towards the training grounds. He had an elite corps to train and assignments to give out. He was concerned for Katie's well-being, and Elunara had given him explicit instructions. Stephen walked over to the platform and spoke to Susan. Obviously confident in whatever was said, he helped Katie on to the platform before walking out on to the training yard. Grogek's eyebrow shot up.

"I would like to continue my training."

"What about...?"

"Katie could use some return to normalcy. Besides, I think your wife Susan can watch over Katie and keep her from doing anything rash again."

"Rash? Again?" Grogek furrowed his brow. "What happened?"

Stephen shook his head. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

Grogek considered. "Elunara is trusting you, so I have to as well. Get into formation."

--

After training, Stephen met Katie by the side of the platform. "Did you have a good chat with Susan?"

Katie shook her head.

"You didn't?"

She shrugged. "I didn't feel like saying much."

Rubbing her back, he smiled down at her. "Don't worry about it. Just being out will do you some good. Come on, let's get something to eat."

They walked together for some time before she finally spoke up. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

She shook her head. "Taking care of me, I guess."

His hand came up and he redirected it to his neck just a moment before he could touch her again. "Because I want to. Because I'm worried about you."

"Hmm."

"It's complicated." He smiled.

"I wonder why Ryan is acting like he is." She murmured.

Stephen's mind flashed back to that horrifying nightmare of seeing Ryan standing useless and unconcerned by the lake as Katie sunk below the freezing water. "I couldn't say." He managed.

"He... he's my best friend." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Or, I thought he was." She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what's gotten into him."

"You're not the one who should apologize." He rubbed his hands over her arms and shoulders.

Putting her head against his chest, she shuddered. "I'm not hungry. I just want to go home."

"Alright. I'll walk you."

--

Standing on the porch, Katie put her hand on the door and just stood there.

"You don't have to stay here, you know." He murmured near her ear. "If it's too painful, you could go back to Tippy's. Or Elunara's, or anywhere else in the world."

Katie shook her head. "This is my home now. I've only lived here for a couple of weeks. But, it's mine."

He opened the door and stood there. "If you need me, I'll be here. If you want me to go away, you'll never have to see me again."

She hesitated. "Please come with me."

"Alright."

Together they walked into the cottage. Katie stood in the center of the room and looked around. Spotting the dress on floor, she gasped and began to hyperventilate. Stephen walked over and snagged it off the floor. Throwing it out of the cottage, he turned to her. "I'll deal with that thing later."

Nodding, she climbed in the bed. She curled up and looked at Stephen. Shaking her head, she hunched her shoulders. "Am I a bad person?"

He knelt beside her. "Why in the world would you be?"

"Because I want you in the bed with me. Hold on to me like you did last night."

"Your wish I my command." He climbed in the bed behind her. Wrapping his arms around her middle, he pulled her tight against him. "Sleep, beautiful. You need it."

Nodding, she closed her eyes.

--

In the morning, Stephen buried his face in her hair, breathing deeply. Regretting every movement, he dislodged himself from her body and climbed out of the bed. Making his way over to the sink, he pulled a rag from the cupboard and began to wash his face.

She sat up in the bed and just watched him. "I'm sorry."

He glanced at her in the small mirror by the sink. "For what?"

Her feet dangling off the bed, she wiggled them forward and back. "I didn't think about you."

"Think about me in what way?" He turned to her now.

"You must want a shower or a bath after training. Instead, you took care of me."

"It's fine. Maybe after training today I can get cleaned up. This is fine for now."

"Sunwood and I..." She blushed even as tears began to run down again. "Bathed in the lake."

"Guess I can do the same. If I'm staying here at all."

Katie looked away. "Is it wrong that I want you to? I mean, this is my home... but it's so empty and lonely. I don't want to be here by myself."

"Then I can move in. I don't own much anyway. I just have a rented furnished soldier's quarters because of my status. The only thing I did was stock the pantry."

"You shouldn't uproot your whole life for me." She shook her head.

He walked over to her. Putting his finger under her chin, he lifted her face to his. "You don't understand. I want this. I want this so desperately that I'm selfish about it. You need time to heal, and that's fine. I'm patient."

"Wha...?"

He kissed the tears off of her cheek. "Now, about that swim in the lake. If I'm quick about it, I can get in and out and still have time for breakfast before I need to be at the yard. What's edible in this cottage?"

"Oh! Umm, I haven't been to Tippy's since... well... and I never got any pots and pans to cook with."

"Then we'll just have to hit up Tippy's after my swim. Please tell me I can trust you to not try and sink like a stone again."

Katie blinked up at his rapid change of personality. "No. No, I think I'm over that idea."

"Good." He ran his finger down her nose.

"Maybe I can convince you to swim with me then?" He winked.

Katie felt the heat rising in her face. "I don't have anything to swim in. We... well, we always swam naked."

"Ah, well. I tried." He yanked off his shirt and tossed it on the table. Grabbing a towel, he wrapped it around his waist and then wiggled out of his pants. Tossing those on the table he grinned at her. "Don't want to offend you with my privates. Excuse me, I'm going to find the nearest lake." Curiosity drove her to follow him. They made it down to the edge of the lake and she stood there watching him. He eyed her with a wicked grin. "You can look away. Or you can watch."

Blushing, she licked her lips. "Forgive me." She turned around.

With a shrug he tossed the towel over the branch of a tree, before diving into the freezing water. Katie watched him swim laps back and forth in the water. When he would flip, she thought she caught sight of... blushing, she turned away. She'd only bathed twice with Sunwood, but it didn't matter. He'd seen every little piece of her. Touched her, tasted her. She never got to return the favor. Sitting down on the edge of the lake, she wrapped her arms around her legs and buried her face into her knees.

Stephen found her there like that. He walked up to her, not thinking about the state he was in. Stooping down, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Katie?"

She jolted and looked up into his concerned face. "Oh, I must have dozed off."