The Ward Ch. 04

"You may not believe what I tell you," she mumbled.

"I have seen enough lately to hear you with an open mind, Sage."

Sage warily edged from his lap to sit with her back against the large, oak headboard. Allowing her space, Edmund did not move to follow her.

For a moment they stared at each other. Edmund held her gaze with silent encouragement until Sage took a deep breath, and bravely began to tell the story Aleksis imparted.

*****

After a startlingly loud, crashing commotion, the night was quiet again.

Water poured over a steep ledge, where a carriage skidded from the road in an unfortunate turn. At the small cliff's base, the harnessed horses lay dead from the fall. The shallow river flowed over their broken limbs, threading ribbons of red downstream as blood mingled in the water.

"Gad, what a sight!" exclaimed a ruffian, angrily peering over the edge at the carnage several metres below. He was short and stout, with a large belly over-indulged with ale. "This is bad. I told you to have a care, Theodore!"

"Tell the driver," his companion shrugged, preparing to cautiously descend the slick, rocky surface. Lean and agile, he managed quite easily. "Though I doubt caution would aid him now, Mathew," he nastily added.

Indeed the driver had fallen between the horses with the sudden plunge and was immediately crushed by the fallen carriage. All that could be seen was one gleaming black boot, protruding from beneath the wreck at an odd angle.

The highwaymen finally stood level with the overturned carriage, surveying its value.

"Solid gold," Mathew breathed, running a calloused finger down the thick edge of one wheel. He jumped as one of the horses reared up, gasping, before it collapsed and shuddered through a last breath.

"Aye, and the horses worth a pretty coin. Shame," Theodore remarked with a short sigh. "Help me with the carriage. Let's put it straight, before we take it apart."

Looking resentful as Theodore assumed a leadership role, Mathew begrudgingly moved beside him. Together, they strained to push the carriage aright. But it was too heavy, the horses' bodies complicated the matter, and they were forced to give up.

"We'll just go in sideways, eh?" Mathew said hopefully, and Theodore sullenly nodded.

As Mathew reached for the coach door, it flew open. A young woman partially hauled herself out, but the effort proved too much. She gripped the door's edge, seemingly winded. Mathew's jaw hung open. Theodore's eyes darkened.

"My family!" the woman choked, crying out with pain as the men pulled her from the wreck. "I believe my husband is dead!" she sobbed.

Laying the woman to a raised mound of unsubmerged dirt ground, Mathew and Theodore silently took in her appearance. Even dishevelled in night, moonlight revealed she was clearly beautiful, with flowing black hair and crystal blue eyes. Blood ran down one side of her face from a cut on her temple, but her features were nonetheless rarely elegant.

The woman's shoulder was dislocated, and Mathew's eyes widened at the spike protruding from her ribcage. During the tumble her husband's cane had likely impaled and snapped off inside her.

"And how very fetching you are, aristocrat," Theodore drawled, his honey-tone laced with contempt as he stood above the mortally wounded woman. Mathew shot him a warning glance.

"What be you about, Theo?" he said sharply. "The lass hasn't long."

"Then we must be quick," Theodore grinned, undoing his pants.

The sound of scraping steel cut the air as Mathew drew his tattered sword, his face twisted with fury and remorse. "By God, I'm no saint, but I'll not watch you sully a dying woman. I've daughters of my own, and-"

The sword was knocked to the ground as Theodore swiftly lunged and seized Mathew's head in a vicelike grip. "I was going to wait till we had our loot. But nonetheless..."

Mathew never had a chance to reply. Theodore swiftly plucked a dagger from his belt and deftly stabbed through his victim's throat. The blade's tip peeked out the back of Mathew's neck then withdrew. Mathew collapsed into the stream, his face underwater, his body ceased trembling shortly after.

"And now, my dear," Theodore said lustily, turning back to the horrified woman. "I will try to take you gently, though I'm afraid you will feel the pinch of that spike..."

"You can't! You wouldn't...?" she uttered, astounded by the terrible nightmare unfolding.

Though first numbed from shock, her injuries now came to attention. She weakly tried to crawl back and screamed at the flash of agony that seared her mid-section.

"Hush, now..." Theodore murmured. Stepping closer, his heart raced with predatory intent.

The bright moonlight upon them flickered, slightly obstructed by the shadow of a man looking down from the edge where the carriage had fallen.

"Be gone, if you value your life!" Theodore savagely shouted at the silent observer.

Unwilling to share treasure with a stray, he bent to lift Mathew's sword, wishing he'd gagged the woman first thing. Straightening with the weapon in hand, Theodore's jaw dropped at the man standing a hairsbreadth from him.

"H-How did-?"

Theodore shrieked, the sound quickly stifled as blood spurted from his neck, drowning his cry. His eyes rolled back with the knowledge he would die and never know how it came about.

Succumbing to delusion, the woman ignored her suspected hallucinations and focused on the sky. A mere half hour and they would have arrived at her brother's manor. In their hurry they were careless; too recklessly foolhardy to trouble with escort. The road was generally deemed safe in these parts, but they should have known better.

With glazed eyes the woman forced her mind to rise above her physical pain and the terrible sight of her lifeless husband. The stars winked encouragingly, taking her back to her wedding night. A time when she felt so happy she thought it must be a sin.

Her dreamy musings were disrupted as a man blocked her view of the stars.

"Sage!" he gasped, crouching down to turn her face to the moonlight. A long lost pain surfaced to grip him like a vice.

"No. L-Lydia," she faintly answered, weakly lifting her hand to caress his cheek. "Are you an angel?"

Though blood coated his lips and stained the front of his cravat, the man was divinely handsome, with hair that shone gold as her mother's locket she always carried. By fascinating contrast his eyes were fluidly black and swirled with hypnotic emotion.

Aleksis laughed bitterly at his error. "No," he answered. "But I am not cruel."

Preparing to quickly break her neck, Aleksis' features altered to feed. But unexpectedly, against his will, he reverted to natural form and drew back, surprised.

A new, unfamiliar cry broke through his disturbed thoughts. The call of a child.

"Marianne!" Lydia wailed, clutching Aleksis' shirt. "Please, my daughter!"

Aleksis nimbly jumped atop the overturned carriage and peered within. Inside lay a young nobleman, crumpled against the ornate carriage ceiling, his neck twisted at an impossible angle. Freshly dead.

The hunger possessing Aleksis was stunted as his sharp eyes moved over the young man and realised he'd shielded a baby with his body. The child sat awkwardly in the shadowed curve of her father's limp arm, staring unblinkingly up at Aleksis with widely innocent blue eyes.

A strange sensation tugged within him, and he rushed back to Lydia.

"Do not fear for your daughter. I will take her."

"To God?" she whispered, her eyelids heavily lowering.

"No, better." Aleksis brushed tousled, dark hair from the woman's brow, shuddering when blood glazed his fingertips. He wouldn't lick them in front of her.

Lydia breathed in heavy rasps that increased tempo as death drew closer. Careful not to shift the embedded cane, Aleksis cradled her in his arms.

"Does it hurt overmuch?"

"Yes," she sighed lowly, resting her head to his shoulder. "But... I think..."

"Please, sweet," Aleksis begged in a whisper. "Open your eyes."

With an effort, she obliged for a moment, but that was all she could do. Aleksis stroked her cheek and held his breath as Lydia's eyes fluttered open. Beholding a lovely shade of blue he'd not seen for decades, Aleksis smiled into them, the smile twisting as her eyes drifted closed.

The woman in his arms trembled as she passed, and Aleksis' chest tightened with new misery as he witnessed the replay of a buried memory.

Aleksis held Lydia until her body cooled, his watchful eyes never wavering from her peaceful face. Indulging in a moment of fantasy, he lightly kissed her lips and gently laid her back. Then Aleksis stood and tenderly licked his fingers before turning to the carriage.

In all his years, he had never come across such a scene. It questioned his sanity, but remarkably, did not tempt his hunger.

Easily retrieving the child from the wreckage, Aleksis held her to the moonlight. It had been a very long time since he'd seen a babe. Wriggling in his extended hold, the child curiously returned his perusal, idly sucking on the knuckles of a tiny fist.

Opening his mouth to speak to the girl, Aleksis changed his mind. The ridiculousness of his endeavour made him hoarsely chuckle and he held the warm, gurgling child to his chest. Looking back to the mother's pale, serene face, he stared a long moment before finally nodding acknowledgment. Farewell.

Moments later, the evening was again undisturbed save for the trickling rivulets of water moving across various unnatural obstructions. The tragic scene would not be discovered until long after dawn. The highwaymen would be deemed to have caused the incident and finished each other. The child would be presumed taken by an animal of the forest. In a way, it would be true.

*******

Sage finished her tale and Edmund stared at her passive face a long time, before finally speaking.

"He took you, for your resemblance to his dead love?"

"He took me on a whim. My mother quite strongly resembled her, more than me. My eyes are a darker blue."

"My point remains, Sage. Is that the name you prefer?"

"It is the one that I know."

"Marianne is a beautiful name. It would suit you."

Sage tiredly laughed. "Edmund, I would not know to answer it."

"But you do know what this means? You have relations. A family. You should be returned to them."

"And when he comes for me?"

"He has not come for you, yet."

"T-Tell me..." she blushed. "What did you hear whilst I slept?"

Edmund's mouth fixed in a brooding line. "Enough."

The truth was, he understood little of the incoherent words she'd uttered. She sighed her guardian's name, and Edmund watched her writhe restlessly with both distress and pleasure. Though aware it was beyond her control, it deeply angered him.

"I wish to propose a new arrangement," Edmund continued, his mind rapidly working. "I will not release you to a monster, no matter his affections for you. Agree to marry me. That way, I won't be obliged to return you to your true family."

"M-Marry you?" Sage squeaked. "But if you touch me..."

Edmund raised his eyebrows. "I will not take you, if you do not wish it. I will accept no other reason to be denied."

Sage looked terrified, and Edmund reached for her hand and gently opened her clenched fist.

"How do you know Aleksis spoke the truth about your parents?"

Sage looked scornful. "It would have been easier for him to lie. If he was going to deceive me, he would not have confessed to feeding on my dead father."

Edmund blanched with horror. "He told you that? When?"

"When I turned fourteen. He told me everything then. He felt I was old enough because...When I..." she blushed, reluctant to elaborate.

Edmund understood. Aleksis chose the time a girl reached the capacity for motherhood to divulge more sensitive information.

"Sage, you might physically resemble his wife, but you are uniquely yourself," he insisted in a huskier tone as he felt desire kindling. She turned away from him, but he turned her chin back his way.

"Sage, do you love me?"

"I...I don't know..."

"How can you be so protective of Aleksis, knowing what he is?"

"He saved my life. He raised me."

"He raised you as a pet, for his own purposes. He trained you to fear love, to fear connection with another for his own designs."

"If it were not for him, I would not be living today. And he taught me knowledge beyond what any girl could dream of acquiring, no matter how high born. He taught me freedom. I am not trapped in wedlock-"

"You are trapped nonetheless. To belong to him eternally."

"I freely agreed to it."

"And now?"

Sage looked uncomfortable. "He will come for me."

"Let him."

"Edmund-!"

"No!" Edmund cut off her protest as a terribly unpleasant ache spread through him.

He wondered if this was how Aleksis felt, all those years ago when he was desperate to keep the woman he loved. Edmund starkly realised that the loss of Sage would make his charms, money, and entire existence meaningless. Without Sage, he'd be sentenced to the same life of worthlessness Lord Jaromir endured.

"No, Sage," he tersely continued. "There was a reason we found each other that day, in those woods. I will not let you sacrifice yourself. I will not give you up. Let him come."

Conflicted, tears spilled down Sage's cheeks. Edmund quickly gathered her into his arms and gently rocked her.

"Sage, what life do you want for yourself?"

The question only made her sob harder. Edmund sighed, stroking her hair and pondering what might convince her. "Surely you don't wish to reunite with a monster, who-"

"He is not a savage animal!" Sage snapped defensively through tears. "He taught me everything I know. He partakes in society. It is only when he feeds-"

"On innocent victims."

"Most who stray into the forest deserve the fate."

"Ah. Like Simon?" Edmund frowned as he remembered he meant to speak to the servant boy. But he was so distracted from encountering Aleksis, his first instinct upon returning home was to confront Sage.

"That was an accident. Aleksis was in pursuit, and Simon crossed his path and confused him. It was the closest he'd come to-"

"Wait. What do you mean, 'he partakes in society'?"

"W-Well... Sometimes Aleksis goes into town-"

"What?"

"He is not a slave to his hunger. And it would not do for him to hide away!" she retorted. "He keeps informed, and he has provided for me."

Edmund felt sick, wondering if he had already met Aleksis without knowing what he was.

"I never accompanied him," Sage sniffed, drawing small circles on Edmund's chest. "But he said once he has...I mean, when I am-"

"Do not finish that sentence."

Sage sighed heavily and Edmund contemplatively stared at the wall ahead.

"Sage, do you know how he accomplished what he did?"

She shook her head. "That is Aleksis' affair."

"I see. And my proposal?"

Sage nervously swallowed. "I cannot."

"Why, Sage?"

"Because he could enter your property. I would not wish for that."

"Ah. You would invite him, you mean?"

"I could not deny him, Edmund."

"You claim he's no savage beast, but you fear him crossing my threshold?" he queried, edging her back from his lap so he could look into her face.

Sage carelessly shrugged, but her eyes were worried.

Feeling exasperated, Edmund wondered how to deal with her. "Sage, I am asking you to agree to an engagement. I would not ask if I did not believe you want it, too."

Sage blushed fierily but didn't contradict him. Edmund grinned.

"The nuptials can wait until you are ready. It's the only way I can keep you here, without scandal. I do not want to seek out your living relations. I want you to stay here, with me."

"And if I agreed, what of your conduct toward me?"

Edmund slightly raised his eyebrows. "Your virtue will be safe, if that is your wish. There are many other things we can do," he said slyly.

Sage knew her situation was a delaying tactic. Edmund could protect her from Stiles, but he would not release her to Aleksis, who had plans of his own to retrieve her. Most troublingly, Sage was falling in love with Edmund; the one thing her guardian asked her not to do.

But most of all, Sage certainly didn't want to be passed over to a family of strangers. Under current circumstances, an engagement was not the worst compromise.

"So now we are engaged, what next?" Sage asked naively, not realising she just gave her answer.

Edmund grinned widely, admiring her enticing features, flattered by intimate candlelight. A surge of delirious happiness spread through him. She accepted.

"An announcement," he replied, maintaining his composure. "A ball, of course. You will be introduced to society and thankfully quell all dastardly rumours about me brutalising captives."

A shadow of concern crossed his features. "The Stiles' cannot be excluded. They are pronounced in social circles. People would wonder the meaning behind such an insult."

"Edmund, I cannot respect that man."

"You must, only by appearances. Remember he will be forced to respect you."

Edmund took a moment to suppress a budding rage, acknowledging the future self-restraint required to control his own protective instincts. It would do little good for Sage to know how tempted he was to punish Nicholas for ever accosting his fiancé. She might goad him to reaction. Burying his emotions, he smiled reassuringly.

"Believe me, Sage, knowing Nicholas as I do, it is the perfect way to avenge any wrong he committed against you. You can taunt him at will, with me by your side to protect you."

Sage's pretty face had brightened significantly at the prospect, and Edmund knew the charade appealed to her.

"There is one more thing." Edmund's face was serious. "Aleksis will find out. And I want him to know."

Sage looked indignant, but Edmund held up a hand.

"I want him to know that you can be happy. I also do not want to wait longer than necessary for him to surface. If he is ever going to act, it will be now."

"Edmund, he is not a fool," Sage quietly answered. "He has the wisdom of ages, and is not recklessly passionate."

"Age and wisdom carry little weight in matters of love," Edmund retorted. "Love equally affects men of all ages and circumstances. If he is determined to have you, he will be compelled to act."

Sage silently conceded, unaware of Edmund's hands gently moving over her body. With a sharp intake of breath she looked down as his hand sensually cupped her breast over her nightdress. His touch sent immediate hot pleasure down her torso to thrum between her legs. If only he would touch her there...

"I must go!" Sage insisted, her eyes wide with unspoken urgency.

"Where?" Edmund grinned, thoroughly enjoying the way her heart raced under his palm.

"I don't know!" she breathlessly answered.

"My bedchamber?" he teased, laughing at her scandalised expression. "We're engaged, Sage. My touch is no longer inappropriate. Nor is..."

Without warning, his mouth descended on hers as his arm tightened around her. His hand on her breast circled her nipple, rousing the silky peak to stiffen.

Sage, remember me. Cease this folly.

"No!" Sage groaned. Breaking the kiss, she pressed the heels of her palms to her temples.

You promised not to love him.

"I never did! STOP!" Sage cried out, burying her face in Edmund's chest. Edmund did not speak, but protectively enclosed her trembling body in his arms as she weathered the storm within.

******

Aleksis bitterly placed the small item resting on his forehead back to the bedside. It was made of several long strands of Sage's hair, firmly wound about a circular crystal. If he persisted to speak in her mind, she would turn against him. He would become a symbol of dread, and he could not have her fear him.