The Ward Ch. 04

Shout out to Rumpole for pre-approving.

Thanks to you all for reading, feedback and voting ;)

********

The sun lazily descended beyond the horizon, signalling the end of twilight. Edmund's mind whirled with doubt as he approached home at a gallop. The puzzle seemed almost solved, but the answer was difficult to stomach. It was impossible to credit with an objective mind, yet Edmund sensed its truth. Though plain from the outset that Sage was no ordinary girl, he'd hardly expected his discovery to link with the forbidden occult.

In a quick prayer, Edmund wished his inklings were convoluted coincidence, delusion and paranoia. He prayed he had not inadvertently fallen in love with a girl raised by a creature who founded a chilling, mythical nightmare. A heartbroken, vampiric creature, who somehow chose Sage as his mate.

Edmund swore and abruptly pulled the reins, realising his path was blocked. The horse whinnied indignantly as it strained to halt with only moments to spare.

In the path's centre stood a fully cloaked, motionless figure. Edmund edged his horse back from the unstartled character, and the beast eagerly complied, very distressed by the obstruction.

"A robbery would be ill-advised!" Edmund harshly called, his words echoed along the still road.

Though rattled by recent discoveries, Edmund was unafraid of footpads. But the stranger offered only silence - there was no demand or threat. A strange feeling crept up Edmund's spine as he noted the disguised man had no horse or weapon beside what might be concealed beneath the blue-black cloak. The surrounding wilderness was such that companions would be impossible to conceal. It was not an ambush.

In an unusual rebellion, the horse tentatively stepped back and Edmund warningly tightened the reins. He had no intention of retreating.

"Why do you block the path?" he asked coldly.

"Your name?" the stranger inquired. His voice was deeply pleasant and hardly older than Edmund's.

"My name is not your business," Edmund snapped. "Let me pass."

"I am afraid we must disagree," the other purred in clipped, eloquent tones.

Edmund's eyes widened as he faintly recognised Sage's accent.

"A-Aleksis?" he breathed.

A part of Edmund felt foolish for voicing a ludicrous suspicion. But his query was not met by denial. The cloaked figure stepped back and swept a graceful bow before resuming stance, still concealing his features.

"Now you have me at a disadvantage, dear boy." The melodious voice contained a smile.

"Why do you hide yourself?" Edmund asked. With a thousand questions tumbling about his bewildered mind, his heart pounded with justified unease. But he had his sword, and was ready to use it.

"Why do you hide your name? Perhaps we are both men of instinct, with reason for caution. You have something that belongs to me. I smell her on you."

"I will believe she belongs to you, when I hear it from her lips with certainty. And you are no man."

The figure angled its head thoughtfully. "Very well. You are braver than I predicted. I could easily kill you now."

"You could try!" Edmund growled, his gaze unwavering from that shadowed, black space from where he knew a face keenly observed him. Edmund's horse restlessly shuffled in disagreement to his challenge.

The figure chuckled. "Foolish young man. Whatever you think of me, I am not here to harm you."

"Then what do you want?"

The creature angled his head, and Edmund sensed Aleksis' cynicism. "Really, boy?"

Edmund grit his teeth. "I will not forsake her."

"It is not your choice."

"If you truly care for Sage, you will allow her a natural life."

Aleksis laughed scornfully. "Naïve lad. My gift to her is coveted by the world."

"If she accepts it."

"She already has."

Edmund snarled, unable to think clearly for the anger pulsing through him. Before he could retort, the hooded form stepped forward and Edmund's horse panicked, rearing up with a shriek. When Edmund regained control of the steed, the road was clear and silent.

*******

"Do not run from me."

Not heeding the command, Sage fled into the dark. Danger swiftly followed as she blindly plunged through patches of clouded mist. Glancing to the sky for direction, she saw the treetops, impossibly high, disappear into the starry sky.

The surrounding forest stood cold and unresponsive to her panic. Reaching a familiar clearing where old ruins lay, the tranquil stone pieces appeared grim in the stark moonlight, like jaded gravestones. Sweat poured down Sage's temples as she abruptly changed direction.

Finding herself in a maze-like garden, she met one dead end after another. The forest was gone from her world, taking all comfort with it. Now, she was trapped in a cluster of thick hedges that began to slowly reduce in proximity, boxing her in.

Defeated, Sage whimpered and turned to the hedge, praying for rescue as the unyielding plant wall pressed into her soft skin, marking her delicate cheek with cool imprints of leaf and twig. A step sounded behind her, and Sage stood frozen with terror. Too afraid to face her pursuer, her heart thundered with frightened adrenaline. Where was she?

"Sage," he whispered, so close behind her.

Large, gentle hands guided her to turn around. Held in a nurturing embrace, her cheek lay against a broad chest.

"Wait! Please!" Sage begged, her eyes still tightly closed in fear. Though fighting to be free, she was too weak to make a difference. The man was unfazed by her struggling.

"Do not fight me, Sage," he ordered. "Be still."

"Where am I?" she sighed pitiably. The hands returned, warmly tracing up her waist to settle beneath her breasts. A mouth drew close and caressed her ear.

"You are dreaming."

"Dreaming?" she dizzily echoed.

The hands became inquisitive, touching and kneading until the cold sweat that had settled like beads of ice on her skin, suddenly warmed to something else. Hot perspiration. Arousal. Suddenly Sage's heart raced for desire, not fear, and she felt breathlessly confused.

The mouth by her ear moved to more sensitive territory. Smiling lips teased along her jaw and journeyed down her neck. Sage gasped, her heart fluttering as he caught a slip of flesh between his teeth and gently sucked. The hands continued to move over her body, sensually stroking her breasts and dipping lower.

Sage moaned restlessly, and was released. Panting, she finally dared open her eyes to perceive a tall man dressed in black, wearing a familiar, flattering navy coat. He was perhaps a few years older, in his early twenties, with blonde hair that shone like soft gold, swept neatly back from his brow. His striking features were sharp with ancient wisdom, enclosed in youth. His eyes glinted like black coal, captivating Sage with hypnotic intensity. As she recognised him, his mouth slowly curved to an attractive smile.

"Aleksis!" Sage gasped, staring around. "How?"

"You are dreaming, sweet," he grinned, intently watching her.

"B-But..."

"I told you not to run from me. It shortened our time."

"I did not know you could do this."

"Nor I. But I persevered." He stepped closer. "Tell me, quickly. Who has you?"

"Lord Edmund Bard."

"A Bard?" Aleksis exclaimed, rarely taken aback. "And his parents?"

"They passed, long ago."

"They-? How?"

"I do not know," Sage answered, bemused. "Did you know them?"

A shadow of grief crossed Aleksis' face as he scrutinised her. "The Bard lineage is noble by more than blood. Why does the boy keep you?"

It was slightly odd hearing Aleksis refer to Edmund as a 'boy', when Edmund was marginally older than Aleksis' physical form.

"I do not know." Sage shook her head, not meeting his eyes.

"Truly, Sage?"

Unnerved, she looked away. "You spoke in my mind. I did not like it."

"I felt you slipping from me."

Still flustered from his recent attention, Sage gestured to him. "You...Just now, you touched me differently."

"Our time is drawing close. Can you not feel it?" Aleksis breathed, his dark eyes earnestly searched hers. "We will meet in passion, without fear. What Edmund offers is nothing to what I can give. Believe me, Sage, I will fulfil your needs in a way no mortal woman could dream."

"But..."

"How were you captured? What of the spells?"

Sage's cheeks warmed guiltily. "One I used to change form. Another to bridge across water."

Aleksis' handsome face tautened with stern disapproval, his eyes flashed black ice. "You could not wait till night?"

Sage pouted sulkily. "I enjoy the sun while I can, Aleksis."

Aleksis raised his chin as he considered her. "Sunlight will never trouble you, Sage."

"Why?"

"It is not important."

The immediate dismissal of her query told Sage it was pointless to pursue it. Though pleased with an answer that implied commitment to his scheme, Aleksis still had grievances to air.

"After what happened with Stiles, you went out without my protection, armed with only two tricks," he accused, crossing his arms as was his tendency before a lecture.

Even in sleep Aleksis chastised her, and Sage sensed he'd been desperate to nag her at length since she was taken. She quickly turned the subject.

"Why have you not come for me?" she asked nervously.

Aleksis arched an eyebrow, unimpressed. "I lost your scent when you crossed water. But it would make little difference, Sage. Why does a vampire avoid a noble manor? Or did you anticipate the Lord would grant invitation?"

"But Aleksis!" Sage breathed, suddenly afraid. "I thought that was only if..."

"Correct, sweet. I am acquainted with one across that threshold."

"Who?"

Aleksis pursed his lips and the warmth left his eyes with a warning look that Sage had seen before.

"I would invite you, if..." she muttered, though her words were uncertain as they left her lips.

Aleksis laughed roughly and finished her sentence. "If I spare them from slaughter? If you were Lady of the house, you could admit me. But you will never be that. Has the boy defiled you?" he asked sharply.

"No," Sage softly answered.

"But you want him to?"

Silence hung in the night air, heavy with tension. Mist murkily swirled above them in white channels.

"Sage, answer me."

Sage pleadingly met his fierce stare, unwilling to answer.

"Sage, you belong to me," he curtly reminded her. "Our home has grown cold without you. If the boy trespasses upon your body it will not change our future, but he will feel the consequences. Need I be clearer?"

"Aleksis!"

"You love me, don't you?" he persisted, moving close to tilt her face and look into the blue depths of her eyes. "You understand the care I have taken so we can be happy together?"

Sage looked doubtful and Aleksis guessed her thoughts.

"Sage, my reasons are not what they were. I have fallen in love with you, as you are. Do not doubt me now, merely because you are in lust with a mortal."

"I am not!" she hotly denied, and Aleksis chuckled.

"I have been around long enough to know, sweet. It is perfectly natural for girls your age. You will forget him."

Sage wrung her hands, feeling an ache in her heart as she considered a life without Edmund. They hardly knew each other and yet she felt strangely attached to him. It was true, she loved Aleksis. But it was a different love, and only after meeting Edmund could she know there was a difference.

"What would you have me do?" she whispered. "I am always watched."

"Do not concern yourself with escape. There is only one promise you must make me."

"Promise? What promise?" Sage stared up at him, trepidation etched across her features.

Eyes softened with longing, Aleksis indulgently encased Sage in his arms, trapping her in an iron hold. Their lips met and he kissed her passionately for the first time, even if a dream. The sensual experience was strange, overwhelming and arousing.

When Aleksis drew back, the fire in his gaze seemed to burn Sage's skin to her very core, as though she was nothing but a wisp of spirit caught up in his strength. Aleksis grinned at her confusion, but his eyes were hard.

"Do not fall in love with the Bard boy."

Before Sage could answer, she was released as the gardens around them blurred to black nothingness. Wind whipped unruly, dark hair about her face, and through it Sage caught a glimpse of Aleksis calmly stepping back to observe her departure.

*******

Curled up in bed, Sage gasped and her eyes flew open. Unsteadily sitting up, she cried out at the sight of Edmund in a chair by the bed, his expression grim.

"I...? What are you..?" Sage faltered, very startled by his presence in her bedchamber at night.

"Are you ready to talk?"

"Edmund, I do not know what you mean. Talk about what?"

"Aleksis, of course. Your guardian."

"W-W-Who?" Sage stupidly stuttered. Surely he had no proof. If she denied it convincingly...

"Oh, yes. You know," Edmund's lip curled with a bitter sneer. "The creature you conversed with just now, in your dreams. The one who intercepted my ride home."

Sage's jaw dropped with dismay. "H-He did?" she stammered, forgetting to deny it as she fearfully eyed his physique.

Edmund appeared out of sorts, but thankfully not mortally injured. Realising he had met her guardian and left unscathed, Sage breathed with immense relief.

Taking her breathlessness for frivolity, Edmund spoke in soft tones, laced with anger. "Do you often speak so, in slumber? Your dialogue seemed too passionate to be idle."

Sage flushed. "What did I say?"

Edmund smiled, though in the moonlight his hazel eyes blazed emerald with fury. "No, Sage. We will not play that game. We will begin with the impression that I heard and understood everything."

"If that be the case, then there is nothing to discuss," Sage snapped pettishly, feeling recklessly giddy with gratitude that Edmund was alive. He still drew breath, because Aleksis willed it so.

"Oh?" he lightly replied.

Despite Edmund's easy manner, the rage on his face was very similar to when he'd caught the stable boy in her room. Sage held her breath and uneasily watched him stand from the chair to tower over her.

"Sage, I believe you have taken my nature for granted," he continued, his eyes wide with challenge. Slowly, he removed his green riding coat to roll up the sleeves of his white shirt as she shrank back. "I may not be villainous as Nicholas, but that does not mean I won't punish you."

"P-Punish me? What for?" Sage breathed, her heart pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it.

Sage was afraid, but oddly excited. Her senses pleasantly tingled from his proximity. Rather than express her usual indignant fear by Edmund's threatening behaviour, Sage silently appreciated how tall and strong he appeared.

It seemed in their time apart Edmund had grown more attractive than she'd imagined. The idea he might force himself on her, with that foreboding expression darkening his handsome features, was shockingly not as unwelcome as she'd expect. What was wrong with her?

Sage felt mildly disappointed when Edmund retreated, but he did not leave the room. After calmly lighting enough candles to bring a healthy glow about them, he sat on the bed and took her hand.

"Will you speak to me?"

Sage fretfully considered. She wanted to confide in him, but feared retribution from Aleksis. Another part of her, one that she didn't understand nor would ever admit aloud, was very curious, and possibly eager, to find out exactly how Edmund would punish her.

Sage's thoughtful hesitation proved too much for Edmund's patience, and she squealed when his arm sneaked about her waist and tightened. Hauled across his lap, her nightdress was briskly bunched around her hips.

Edmund paused a stunned moment and drew a deep breath at the sight of Sage's soft, rounded buttocks, displayed bare to his itching palm. He already knew every part of her was beautiful, and untouched. He was also keenly aware of wanting to be her first and only lover.

"Oh, no!" Sage shrieked, desperately wriggling.

She hadn't been spanked since a young child, after venturing out during hunting season against Aleksis' most strict instruction. Naively thinking he'd never find out, there was quite a scene come nightfall.

Sage's distant memory sharply reverted to the present when Edmund stingingly brought his hand down, mesmerised by the taut, creamy flesh delightfully jiggling with each smack. Only under the impression of discipline could he do something so obscene to a young lady. It made the act far more erotic than he anticipated.

"Edmund, stop!' Sage cried, straining to escape his lap.

She felt something thicken against her side, a quickly hardening thing that wasn't there when she was first laid across him for punishment. She'd much prefer to explore that, than be painfully humiliated.

"If Aleksis did not teach you manners, then I shall!" Edmund growled with more passion than he intended. He was unable to resist seizing a handful of delicious, pinkened flesh in a lustful squeeze. How he ached for her.

"You brute!" Sage squealed, hugely offended. "I have manners, damn you!"

The door cracked open. Both panting, Sage and Edmund looked to see Joel peering through, an open candle lighting his stunned features. Whenever something seemed awry in the house but a matter of delicacy, the older man was always summoned to investigate. As steward and the Lord's good friend, Joel was least likely to suffer repercussions for trespass upon the Master's privacy.

Edmund grinned sheepishly and raised his eyebrows as Joel took in the confronting sight. Sage's face flushed a deeper colour to be caught in such a shameful position by the elderly servant she'd come to respect. Dismayed, Joel first looked exasperated at his master, and then had to gall to give Sage a small sympathetic smile, before snapping the door closed.

"Oh!" Sage exclaimed, feeling abandoned.

Caught up in her thoughts, she didn't realise Edmund ceased spanking. Still holding her in position with his forearm across her shoulders, his other hand shifted down between the cleft of her cheeks to brush the fresh wet coating her sex. As he touched her intimately, Sage sighed and squirmed, unwilling to protest his touch or admit she liked it.

Edmund groaned with both lust and disapproval, aware her excitement likely began in the midst of dreaming. Without thinking, he eagerly licked his fingers and shuddered with desire, before quickly returning them to the source.

"E-Edmund?" Sage whimpered, feeling unfamiliar flashes of pleasure where his fingers inquisitively stroked. The resulting sensations were not restricted to her womanhood, but travelled up her torso and across her breasts like hot sparks.

Harnessing his self-control, Edmund reluctantly shifted back to let Sage up and pulled her into his lap, cradling her like a child.

"I love you, Sage," he confessed against the top of her head. "I won't deny my feelings any longer. I've known no woman like you, nor felt this way before. I want you to be my wife."

Still dizzily excited, Sage fumbled with a button on his shirt, enjoying the pleasant heat of his chest warming her cheek. Edmund's fierce heartbeat thudded against her temple, and Sage wondered if he was as affected as she.

"Sage?"

"I don't know what to say," she shyly answered.

"Say you'll marry me. Tell me all there is to know about you."

Sage bit her lip, still fiddling with the button.

Edmund gently enclosed her restless hand in his. "You don't trust me?"

"I trust you," she answered in a small voice.

Sage had her own history that she was entitled to tell. Perhaps she would never have another chance to share it with a living soul.