The Contestants Ch. 02

"You've better come with me," he said. "You can't travel in daylight anyway."

Anna looked up at him with alarm in her eyes. What he said meant that she was going to lose a whole day.

He spotted her apprehension and added, "If your life is dear to you, there is no other way but to travel at night."

She agreed then to follow him, and they all started in silence into the woods.

Soon enough they reached a small wooden hut well covered with tree branches, and they all entered the cramped space. It took a while to become used to the semi-darkness inside, but no one intended to light any candles or fires.

The old man turned to Anna. "I'm Joseph and these two are my sons," he said. "I knew Jeanne La Villiere a long time ago, and I also know Celia. That is why you are here today."

Anna looked at him in wonder. It was strange to hear anyone mention Jeanne's name again after all these years. Yet, she realized in a flash that the old man standing in front of her most probably was the very young boy, who had lived with Jeanne on her houseboat. That had happened almost fifty years ago and the man looked to be around sixty, so it could be right. As if also he was skilled in reading minds, he started to smile a little, looking at her and he nodded slowly.

"Yes," he said, "you are right." Then he turned to his sons. "You two should start worrying about getting the horse here. We will need it tonight."

When the boys had left the hut Joseph made Anna sit on the floor, and he gave her dried meat and bread to eat. Strangely enough Anna was ravenous with hunger now and everything tasted good, even the lukewarm water that Joseph gave her to drink. Then he started to talk to her about the journey.

"Should it have been ordinary times, it would not have taken you more than two days in the saddle to reach Baton Rouge," he began. "That is, of course, if you would keep riding without any stops for a full eight hours per day or so. It is roughly eighty miles between New Orleans and Baton Rouge and half that measure to Donaldsonville. However, since these are troubled times — and you are out on an errand that mustn't be revealed — you can only rely on a comparatively safe journey if you travel in the evening and the early morning. Since you are not familiar with the surroundings, I do not advice you to travel in the middle of the night. And you must keep out of the ordinary roads. The area between the lake and Baton Rouge is swarming with little bands of soldiers, both Federal and Confederate, and they are engaged in constant fighting more or less. Don't count on help from any civilian. The civilians in the area are 'friends' one day and 'enemies' the next. Not out of their own choice, mind you. When the soldiers — and that goes for both armies — hit upon the civilians, they force them for fear of death to take sides. This war isn't a pretty sight, lady."

"Was there ever one?" she asked quietly.

He shook his head and continued. "Celia has told me that you are looking for the Mad Irishman."

Anna gave a start, and her eyes widened. "Is that how Conaill is known these days?" she thought.

"Captain Conell O'Conaill was last seen near Donaldsonville," Joseph went on, "that is right. He and his men are camping in Confederate territory on a deserted plantation for a couple of days because their commanding officer, Major Templeton, is wounded. They will most likely want to let him die in peace and bury him instead of trying to bring him to Camp Moore across the river. He wouldn't survive that journey."

Anna shuddered when hearing Joseph's calm voice describing the hardships of war. He then went on to inform her of the route in great detail, and he had even drawn a rudimentary map on a piece of paper for her. She kept memorizing his description throughout the afternoon, and she asked about the conditions of the small roads he advised. He also gave her dried meat, bread and water to take along for three days and told her to be careful with the water and not drink to excess. He also reminded her not to make any fires unless it was absolutely vital; only if she would have to boil water to make it drinkable.

The rest of the afternoon Anna slept to gather strength for the night, but she had a troubled sleep with haunting and vivid dreams. When she woke up later, it was already dusk and the two young men had returned. Anna went to look at the horse and immediately warmed to it. It was a chestnut mare with a quiet temper.

"You had better leave now," Joseph said and she agreed.

They all shook hands and she mounted the horse, and then she was on her own.

********************

They worked in good unison, Anna and Chestnut; she had decided to call her horse by that name. Anna soon realized that she could leave it to Chestnut to find the best path as long as Anna kept track of the proper direction according to Joseph's advice. It darkened quickly, and soon the bushy marshland around her felt impenetrable, yet she pushed on a little, hoping to find a clearing soon. Then she heard voices in the distance and she stopped, calling out softly within her mind to Chestnut to stand still and not make a sound. Her heart beat furiously against her ribs, and it almost distracted her. She heard a lot of voices talking at the same time, but she couldn't make out what was said. She gathered that it was a military unit of some distinction passing by on the main road, not far away from her. When she observed that the voices grew weaker, she believed that they were leaving the area after all. She breathed again but felt a little bit shaken from the experience and decided to camp for a couple of hours as it was very dark now anyway.

She found a sheltered spot under a big tree and rolled herself up against the still warm trunk and felt comforted by Chestnut's presence. She even dozed off for a little while and woke up a couple of hours later when Chestnut gently nudged her as if telling her that it was time to get on the road again. The darkness wasn't pitch-black any longer, and Anna really felt the urge to push on, putting some distance behind her. As the dawn slowly broke, she became aware of the surrounding landscape. They moved in the outskirts of the woodland. Anna could see fields and houses in the distance, only the houses were burnt skeletons of buildings, and the fields were dry and unkempt. She didn't see a single soul around, yet she felt being watched by apprehensive eyes and quickly moved into the forest again.

Anna moved deeper into the woods when the sun had risen. She looked for a brook where she could offer Chestnut some water to drink and where they could rest. She found what she was looking for at last and stayed in the shelter of bushes and trees the whole day. It was a rest that wore her out in a way since she wanted to move on as soon as possible, but she remembered Joseph's advice and forced herself into inactivity. Anna tried to figure out how long she had traveled, and she came to the conclusion that she would reach the outskirts of Donaldsonville tomorrow morning if nothing happened that would stop her journey.

Anna was right in her calculations. When she sensed the bustle of the nearby town, she moved away from it and stayed near a deserted farm the whole day. There was a well on the premises, which still could be used, and she was grateful for being able to supply Chestnut with fresh water. When the dusk fell, she moved out on the road again, now heading directly for the plantation that was reported being the camp where Conaill and his men had last been seen. She hoped that they were still nearby and hadn't been forced to move on. If that was the case, she didn't know what to do. However, it was no use brooding over problems that hadn't happened yet.

********************

It was near midnight when Anna and Chestnut stopped, hearing the distant sound of voices. Anna could divine that a group of men was not far away. She knew she was on the right path to the plantation so she concluded that this must be Conaill's group of men. She stopped for a while and closed her eyes trying to calm the beating in her body. "What will he do when he sees me?" she asked herself. "Suppose I will put him into peril by coming here?" Well, it was too late to turn back now, and she motioned Chestnut to move slowly ahead.

At last she saw the burnt and destroyed building in the distance. She could see that the men had made a campfire in the courtyard. It was rather quiet. A couple of the soldiers were on guard. She didn't sense Conaill's presence here and gathered that he slept elsewhere, most likely in the building itself somewhere. She dismounted and motioned to Chestnut to remain hidden in the shrubbery while she stealthily moved up towards the house. At that moment, she saw the young guard at the back door, and she stopped in her tracks in the shadows. She stood for a long time motionless and concentrated and directed her thoughts towards him, mesmerizing his mind not to observe her. After what seemed ages, he moved yawning and left the door for a short moment to take a drink of water. She used the space of time to move into the building soundlessly.

Nothing felt real anymore, and she moved over the floor looking for doors as if in a dream. She whispered his name trying to sense where to look for him, and then she knew that he was nearby in the undestroyed part of the building. She went to the door, which seemed to lead there, and she opened it slowly.

Conaill was standing at the far end of the room in front of the fireplace and when the door opened, he turned around in deliberate slow motion until they faced each other. He was still imposing to look at but leaner and more youthful than she remembered. He narrowed his eyes into gleaming slits, and she saw the muscles moving in his face and on his neck when he clenched his jaws tightly; he showed no surprise at all seeing her. They remained looking at each other for an eternity in silence, and then she slowly went up to him. She unbuttoned the soft leather jacket she was wearing, exposing her breasts and when she reached him she opened his jacket too, and she slipped her hands over the hard muscles in his chest before she pressed her nakedness towards his. He gave a low, sharp cry and almost lost his balance, and then he drew her close to his body in an almost suffocating embrace.

"Say my name," she whispered in agony. "You never once said my name."

"Anna!" he breathed almost inaudibly. "Anna!"

Then he groaned and started kissing her like a man dying of thirst, drinking her, eating her, tasting every part of her mouth, sucking on her tongue and her lips. She tried to break free to breathe in between, but he wouldn't let her. He bruised her lips and inserted his tongue into her mouth and filled it for her to taste. She shivered in his grip now, and she licked up every scent that emanated from him; that of horses, tobacco, weapon grease, and possibly even blood, and the indefinable something that was only him and that drew her wild and weak. He undid her hair and buried his hands in it. Then he fell with her to the thick carpet on the floor in front of the fireplace. With frenzied hands, he moved her skirt up above her hips, exposing her, prying her legs apart. He unbuttoned his trousers and freed his throbbing erection, and he entered her not caring to indulge in any subtle foreplay. All the same he slid into her without force, gently and softly, and she sighed with her whole body when he filled her up. For a short while they just lay there joined to each other, and then he started to fuck her urgently and feverishly. He buried his face against her neck and pressed his fangs towards her beating pulses. He didn't bite her, but she could feel the sharpness of his teeth grating her skin. "If he were to kill me tonight, I wouldn't mind," she thought in a daze. She arched her back meeting his every thrust, and she mewled quietly and incessantly now in hunger to be satisfied. Relentlessly he brought them both to the pitch. When her orgasm started to shake her, he raised himself on his arms to be able to look at her. With his eyes locked into hers, he stiffened and succumbed with a wailing cry to the spasms that wrenched the semen out of his body, flooding her. Then he sank down over her with a deep sigh, and she felt his body relax against hers, enabling him to move yet deeper into her, coming to rest with his still stiff cock securely buried inside her.

She held him in her arms, and she began to cry with huge sobs as her muscles and nerves snapped at last and left her shivering in the wake of the tension. He rolled around with her on the floor so that she came to rest on top of him. Then he tightened his embrace, and he caressed her back and kissed her face.

"Don't cry," he said soothingly in a low voice. "Don't cry My Darling; we have no time for tears."

She quieted down after a while, and she was able to look at him at last. He was smiling, his white teeth glimmering at her in the semi-darkness of the room. He lifted her right hand and started gently to finger the leather bracelet, which she had tied around her wrist.

"When I realized that I had lost it," he said, "I knew that I was going to see you again. It was just a matter of when and where. I didn't think though that you would be mad enough to come out here."

"Do you honestly think that I would be able to stay in the house doing nothing, knowing that you were so close?" she asked and he laughed teasingly at her.

She sat up beside him and looked in wonder at him, not getting enough of him. She reached out and traced the features of his face as if memorizing them with her fingers. He closed his eyes, caught her hand and pressed it against his mouth. Then he moved it to his heart so that she could feel the vibration in his chest.

"How long have we got before you have to move on with your group?" she went on.

"I don't know," he answered. "Perhaps not more than this night."

She covered her face with her hands and started to cry again. "How do you know, have you been summoned to move already?" she persisted.

"Listen," he said, "this has nothing to do with my present situation. You wouldn't be here in the first place, hadn't Gareth agreed to it."

"Gareth!" she exclaimed in alarm, but he continued.

"Permitting you to come here and see me is something very extraordinary coming from him. If this also means that he will consider being lenient, showing us mercy in the end I don't know, but it is at least a breakthrough, a move in the right direction. It has given me hopes for the future."

He sat up beside her and took her into his arms again. He had her back against his chest so that he could freely move his hands over her breasts and stomach. Now it was her time to close her eyes and give herself over to the almost unbearable caresses of his hands. Even so, the thought of Gareth being behind this meeting was a disturbing feeling in the back of her mind. She had tried so hard to cope with the situation without involving Gareth. Now it looked as if he had been holding on to the strings all the time, perhaps following her every move.

"Don't think about him just right now," Conaill soothed her. "There is nothing you can do to spite him anyway. By the way, I know that you have put a spell on him. Was that a wise thing to do?"

"Of course, I had a purpose," she mused, "but it wasn't what you might think. I didn't do it to antagonize him. I want him to experience love the way humans do, not in the omnipotent way that the Inis King would. I want him to feel the agony of hell, facing a possible refusal and the sweetness and pleasure of heaven when feeling accepted and loved for his own sake only. I want him to experience the utter fragility of feelings like love and hate. There is such a small difference between the two. I want him to know that no magic in the world will help secure the love of the one he has chosen. In the end, he will have to beg for her love."

"You might as well be talking about me now," he murmured in her hair. "Not until I met you, did I become aware of living. And I have lived for centuries already. They don't count any longer. When you happened to me, I was thrown down into an abyss, and I've been made to wander endlessly around the world in search for you ever since. The brief moments I've been able to come to the house just to look at you and touch your face have been the moments that have kept me alive, but I don't complain over my fate. Every second with you is a second of life, and I'm ready to crawl for them, to beg for them."

She closed her eyes in agony when listening to him, and tears ran over her face. He dried them gently away with his fingers and rocked her in silence for a while in his arms.

The fire had almost died, but the night wasn't cold. They heard almost nothing from the men out in the courtyard, only some muffled commands when they changed guards out there.

"How did you manage to slip by the man posted at the door?" Conaill asked. Anna then told him how she had put a spell over the young soldier so that he wouldn't notice her.

Conaill chuckled with low laughter and remarked, "You against an army. I wouldn't bet on the outcome of that confrontation."

She laughed too for the first time this night. He rose from the floor and fetched a bottle of wine and a glass.

"I only have one glass, we have to share it," he said. She liked that idea very much, and the wine warmed her and made her inside melt sweetly. He went to the small camp bed and fetched a pillow that he put under her head.

"The bed isn't very comfortable," he added. "We might as well stay on the carpet." He let his hand glide over the soft surface. "A piece of luxury left in this pile of rubbish." He put his army coat over her and rose again.

"Shortly before you arrived tonight Major Templeton died," he informed her in an even and calm voice and she looked at him with attention. "In a way one can say that he died a couple of days ago, having been in a coma for the better part of our stay here."

Conaill was silent for a while, and then he continued after a brief pause. "The major was a good soldier and a good man. He was totally dedicated to what he fought for, and I did nothing to take him out of his convictions. He died all the happier, believing that he shed his life for a worthy cause. We will bury him tomorrow, but I'll go and check on him to see that everything is all right in the room, and I will also have a look at your horse."

"Do you know where I left her?" Anna inquired and he nodded.

Anna couldn't rest on the floor when Conaill had left her so she got up and went about the room, examining every item that belonged to him; she fingered his clothes, feeling the coarse material and taking in the scent they signaled to her. She examined the books and weapons that he kept on a table by the camp bed. She lay down on the bed and wrapped the dirty sheets around her and closed her eyes. There he found her when he returned. He went up to her and looked at her for a long time in silence. Then he removed their clothes and lay down in the bed and covered her with his body, he was heavy, and he was already very hard. She moved a little under him, feeling how he pressed and rubbed his swollen cock against her belly, groaning in desire. Then he withdrew a little and resting on an elbow he started to trace the outlines of her body like a blind man. His fingers moved around the hollow at the base of her neck and continued their journey down to her breasts. He wetted his fingers and traced intricate patterns all over them, brushing over her erect nipples, giving them quick, sharp and almost painful squeezes that made her cry out.

Then he bent down over her and sucked at her breasts with long, forceful, and yearning licks. It brought her to a state of total frenzy, shivering with heat and unappeased lust. He took her hand and guided it towards his swelling penis, and she greedily took hold of it and rubbed herself against it. His breath came in short, low groans now, and it was visibly hard for him to control himself, but evidently he had decided not to give in to the torture just yet. His hands, now harsh and hot, continued their way down over her body. He brushed his fingers through the curls covering her mound, and she gasped when he inserted them into her vagina to feel her moistness, wetting them and licking them clean. He moved her thighs apart and caressed the inside of each with light teasing touches. Ripples of fire ran over her skin, and she felt like giving herself up for good to him, to make him do whatever he wanted with her body. He jammed three fingers into her pressing them to the roof of her cunt and circled her clit with his thumb at the same time. The frenzied movements of his hand when he pressed his fingers together, trapping her in a vise of pleasure, were too much for her, and she came in a violent orgasm, shuddering helplessly in her throes. When she screamed, he eased up on his hold over her, and contented himself with lightly fingering the silken folds of her vagina, getting his fingers soaked in her juices. All the while she held his hardness in her hands, and she didn't let go of him.