A Sentence of Solitude

[Lion]

The moment the body fell on top of Alison, Christer lost sight of her.  His heart was already about to burst from his chest and leave behind cavity of hysteria to be taken as another body to the earth. As if the earth could even handle all the anxiety he had floating in his head.

So Christer shot forward, pushing past the old caravan master that had tried to intervene before him, and Christer completely ignored anything that spewed from his mouth. No words could abide him, and Christer rounded the tent to the other side, reaching to pluck Alison into an embrace amidst the chaos.

"Thank Ansgar's balls!" he prayed loudly.  "We've got to get the hell out of here!"

Because stating the obvious clearly made the situation that much better.

There was no organized counterbalance around them. And even as innocents got slaughtered, soon the bandits joined the dead around them, as weapons were brandished and skewered bodies left and right. The fire now began to spread across from one tent to another, and even lit one of the bandits on fire with the foliage he had covered himself in.

[Zero]

Trembling arms immediately clung to him, as Alison near collapsed against him with a choked cry of both terror and relief. Her master would protect her, Christer would keep her safe! She told herself that, and then convinced herself it was an absolute truth. After all, she had relied upon her master to care for and protect her near as long as she'd been alive. Just because it was a different master than before didn't mean that had changed.

"We have to hurry!" She pleaded as she collected herself once more, forcing back the fear as best she could. If she was too scared to move she would only be a burden and hindrance to her master.

Alison grabbed him by the sleeve, tugging urgently as she pointed towards what appeared to be a small opening or lull in the chaos. The bandits had surrounded the camp, but most were already engaged with those members of the caravan that had taken up arms.

"Master this way," she urged again, trying to pull him with her.

[Lion]

Christer didn't know if they could escape. Every corner around them seemed to be covered by chaos. Or perhaps he was simply delirious from the adrenaline and his heart was pounding wildly in his chest.  Suddenly he whirled around and looked towards his tent.  Pulling Alison with him.

"M-my horse!" he cried out and wrenched himself back toward the direction of his own part of camp.  The animal fought against his tether, and raised himself up on hind legs to thrash wildly against his attackers.  Christer's fog cleared the closer he got, and he raised his blade to cut between the shoulder and neck of a bandit that tried to ensare him.

"Quickly!  On the back of it!" Christer blurted and reached around to snatch Alison up, throwing her onto the back of it. The blade hacked against the tether and he climbed up behind her, turning the horse with his legs and snatched his hands into the mane, the horse ready to bolt into the trees.

[Zero]

A soft squeak escaped her, pink eyes wide and terrified as she felt herself wrenched in another direction. Any protest died in her throat as she clung to Christer as he pulled her along a different way. Alison felt rather helpless to do anything at all. Besides, her first instinct was to trust her master and do as he wished.

So they ran to his horse.

When Christer cut down another bandit she couldn't help but let out a soft scream, throwing her hands over her eyes. There was too much violence! Too much blood! She didn't want to see anymore.

She gasped as she was lifted from the ground and tossed onto the back of this horse she did not know and that didn't know her. When had even been the last time she'd ridden a horse? Alison didn't know, and her arms instinctively reached for Christer as he jumped up behind her. Her body was awkwardly in the saddle, but it didn't matter. She buried her face against him, clinging for dear life as they took off.

Alison might have been sobbing against his chest. She really wasn't even sure at this point.

[Lion]

Christer wasn't any hero, and he knew he was going to die if he stayed. As would Alison, and he'd be damned if he was going to lose someone he was protecting twice. She had asked him for help, God help them both.

They galloped out of there, Christer's horse [coughwhoneedsanamecough], pounded loosened earth, disappearing into the nearby trees. He didn't know where he was going, and frankly he didn't give a damn, he just wanted to get away from the blood and iron filling the air with mist. 

The sounds behind them drew further away, and suddenly there was just silence between them, save for Alison's sobs. And only then did Christer realize he too had been crying.  His chest suddenly heaved with the lapse of adrenaline and be buried his face in her hair.

"Gods, I'm so sorry, Alison! I almost got you killed!!!!" he sobbed against her.

[Zero]

Maybe Christer wasn't a hero, but at least he wasn't completely useless. Alison on the other hand felt like worse than dead weight. People dying all around her and all she could do was scream and cry and run.

The silence as they grew far enough away was almost worse than the sounds of screaming and dying. Had anyone else escaped? Could others have escaped if they had helped fight off the bandits? Of course they would both have likely been slaughtered with the rest of the members of the caravan, but she couldn't help the survivors guilt that ate at her heart.

It was the sound of his sobs joining hers, and his apology, that got her to attempt to get herself back under control. Alison managed to suppress her cries to shuddering breaths and sniffling hiccups. She had never had to comfort her master before. It felt a little strange. Her body was still pressed against his as she clung to him in the saddle, but she tried rubbing his back in a soothing gesture.

"No Master, no. It was those nasty men. You saved me." He'd saved her twice now! She really did owe him. Somehow she would find a way to repay him for it.

[Lion]

Christer shuddered against her, trying to get a hold of himself. The stress compounded in the after shock of battle and then came the gradual realization that he could have very nearly gotten her killed. Yes he blamed himself, and he knew that bringing her into that camp was his doing, and having her guard with him was his as well.

"No-no, I didn't save you. You nearly got killed, and I was supposed to protect you. It almost happened again, and I'm sorry, Alison. This is exactly what happened with the last noble I was meant to serve," he hiccuped against her.  Somehow the sorrow was compiling on even more now.

When his lungs ached for breath, only then did he pull away, slipping from the saddle of his horse and trying to calm himself, wiping uselessly at his eyes, which were now red and sore and his nose giving only swollen sniffs.  "Fucking hell," he hissed, trying to get a hold of himself. "I'm sorry."  Turning back to her he laid his head against the side of horse's neck, and he felt the pulse racing therein.

"Don't call me, Master, Alison. Please. It's too much to be borne," he sniffed, looking up at her with glossy eyes and a face burning with shame.

[Zero]

Except if he hadn't brought her into camp with him she would surely have died alone out in the forest, and it was she who had saddled herself with guard duty.

Alison was holding him, letting him sob and trying to soothe him, but she tensed up at the mention of the last noble he was meant to serve. That was not at all right, and this was not the same at all! "I'm not a noble, and you don't serve me. I-I serve you!"

Yes, maybe her father had been a lord, and if her life had been very, very different she would have been a lady and married to a lord and so many other things. Her life wasn't different though. She truly did feel helpless and useless as he slid from the saddle. Not having him to cling to nearly tipped her right off the back of the horse, but she grabbed the pommel and shook softly.

She was cold and upset. Looking down at Christer only made her feel worse. His face was all botched with his crying, and overall her master seemed rather pitiful in that moment. Why did he have to apologize?

"Don't be sorry. I'm sorry. With all the chaos, and I was so afraid...I forgot. Calling out for my master was just...I know you want me to call you Christer. I'll try to remember better." Alison blushed, looking down with shame that she had disappointed or upset him. Using the title master felt more natural for her, but she would get used to calling her new master by name, because that was what he wanted. She was determined to please him and be a good servant to him.

[Lion]

Christer did his best to push the disappointment out of him. Drowning in a sea of his own self-pity was never what his father would have wanted from him, and he knew that if his family saw him now, they would think very little of him. Feeling sorry for himself had gotten him nowhere. Now here he was right in the middle of it.

And the person that needed him now was sitting alone on top of that horse, and he'd made his promise. She was still alive, or as alive as she could be in comparison to the rest of the caravaners, and here he was wallowing in his misery. Christer took in a deep breath, looking up at Alison, no longer crying and only sniffling a little.

One hand on the sword at his side, Christer staggered over to Alison and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face against her.  He was just thankful that this time, he hadn't failed. Almosts were not certainties. Could haves were not dids.  "Can we both be sorry?  At least just a little," he said muffled through the cloth on her leg, shifting his face to look up at her.

[Zero]

Never in her life had Alison felt more like a fish out of water. The poor girl felt she was floundering and far out of her depth in this situation. At least she was no longer crying. Her pale face was a bit puffy and her eyes were red and swollen, but the overwhelming emotions of fear were back under control for the moment. Too bad they had been replaced with confusion.

Letting go of her death grip on the saddle with one hand, she used that hand to smooth over Christer's hair when he held her by the waist and laid his head almost in her lap. She wished there was a better way to reassure him, because so far she didn't have a clue what to do or say.

"Yes...I suppose so." Alison still didn't think he had a reason to be sorry, but if it made him happy (or at least appeased him), then how was she to deny him? It wasn't as if she could make him feel a certain way. Although she could try. There was bound to be some way to cheer his mood eventually. For now somber seemed rather apt. They'd just survived a bandit attack, after all.

"Um, Christer...what should we do now?" She didn't really know where they were, and she looked around at the darkness timidly. What if bandits followed them? They could find them eventually, unless they ran far enough for them to give up. "I don't like it here. Can we please go further?"

Not that she knew how far might be far enough to make her feel safe again.

[Lion]

Yes she was right. Christer climbed up behind her on the horse again, and carefully took those cut reins back in hand again. The horse was calmer now that the danger was farther away. With Christer firmly planted behind her, his arm slipped around her and for once he was thankful for her presence. Even if he was a little pathetic in showing it.

"I think the only thing we can do is try to find some kind of town. Maybe alert their guard that there are bandits up the road. Find some kind of shelter, for the night.  But either way we have to keep going. I'm not going to risk them finding us again," he said, voice firmer now, and the air cooling his hot flushed face.

Christer kept his chest firmly pressed to Alison's back.  "I...I know I keep apologizing. I...don't know what came over me. I haven't been that scared in a long time. I also have never...been in a real bandit attack before."

[Zero]

A sense of relief went through her when Christer rejoined her. She leaned back slightly against him, into his warmth. No matter how pathetic he seemed to think his performance during the raid had been, Alison felt safer tucked against his chest. Plus the warmth, she was cold.

"I've never been in one either, but I'm always scared. It's okay to be scared. You can't be brave if you aren't afraid." Right? Sure thing! Christer had been brave enough to save her from that one bandit and then get her to relative safety. As far as she was concerned her master was vastly heroic and good.

[Lion]

Christer guided the horse down the hillside, finding a small passage that the horse picked his way downward. He chuckled enough to feel calmer. She had a good point at that, even if Christer hadn't felt very brave at the time. There was a small shame at leaving everyone else behind, but at least in his cowardice he didn't leave her behind.

"Thank you," he murmured. "I'm...pretty good at being afraid. I was a castle guard for most of my training. I figured it would be an easy job one that would afford me a comfortable career and I would never really have to do anything. But then...the daughter of the noble I served ran away, and I was the only one that went after her.

"When I came back and was without her, I knew I failed then. And I've kind of been on the road since then."  He cleared his throat and reaffirmed his grip around her waist.

He blushed and just rested his chin against her shoulder for a short while as the ground flattened out and the trees parted as a stream rushed out beside them.  It would be nice for the horse to drink for a bit and for Chister to wash the blood off his face.  "Do you want to clean up?" he asked, looking at her from over her shoulder.

[Zero]

Sure there was pity for those left behind, but Alison wouldn't have changed the fact that they had run from it all. The life of her master was worth far more than that of anyone else to her. Saving themselves was just looking out for their own best interests. Although she still felt her life was quite expendable next to his.

He barely knew her, but he had saved her anyway.

Nestled on the saddle in front of him, with his arm securely about her waist and his chin on her shoulder, Alison listened quietly to his story. She felt a pang of sadness for him. Her entire life had become a giant failure, so she thought she could understand his pain at least a little.

"It isn't your fault, you know. None of the others even tried, at least you did that much. If she ran away, then she obviously wanted to be gone. If you hadn't failed him you'd have failed her, right?" She grew silent again for a moment, before continuing even more softly than before. "I didn't run away, but no one tried to save me."

Alison shook her head, driving away the dreary thoughts. Or at least trying to. His question did make her perk up a little. Bandit blood had been splattered across her and she was eager to get it off her skin. Too bad it was staining her clothes. "Yes please!"

[Lion]

Christer rolled that thought over and over in his mind. She would have been gone anyway, whether or not he was there. That was a harsh reality to swallow, but it made it no less true.  No matter what he did, it changed nothing. He was here now with Alison, and he forced himself to focus on the present.

After all, it was supposed to be a gift, wasn't it?

Slipping from the back of his horse, he helped her down and sat down beside a rock alongside the water. He unstrapped his boots, pulling them off and setting them aside, unstrapping his greaves until he was just in his breaches. "If you want to wash up alone, I can, er, turn around I guess?  You don't need me gawking at you. I can tend to the horse," he smiled and stood up, stepping over the smooth pebbles and unsaddling the animal brush them down.

Too bad he left his brush back at camp.

[Zero]

As soon as her feet were on the ground, Alison nearly skipped over to the running water, crouching down at the edge to test it. It was near freezing cold, definitely fed by a mountain spring. At least it was fresh and clean.

She turned to watch as Christer stripped to his breeches, trying to take her cues from him. After all, she didn't know how long he intended to be stopped. His partial undressing suggested for at least long enough to properly scrub herself down. Although with the temperature she thought cleaning quickly was for the best. They didn't even have a tent for shelter now.

"It's okay if you see, Christer. There's no one else out here and it'll be hard to avoid seeing each other a little if we're going to be traveling together." Alison smiled at her master, shaking her head a little as she pulled off her slippers and stockings. Next she wiggled out of her dress down to her slip, which was thin and only reached to about her mid-thigh. "Did you lose everything back at the caravan? When we reach a town I can help you find replacements."

The slip was the last thing to go onto her clothing pile. It was a good thing she was used to being cold, because she hissed as she stepped into the water, but only up to her ankles as she crouched down and poured handfuls of the frigid water over her skin as she rubbed at the blood and dirt, washing herself as quickly as she could.

[Lion]

His initial intention had been to undress and bathe quickly himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had a proper bath in a not-river, and indoors at that. Daring and hoping to dream would only make him long for the place he once called him. That world was no longer.

Just as he sat down to pull off his tunic, he watched her from the corner of his eye and stared. Oh God, what was wrong with him. Christer's gaze was momentarily averted when she asked him a question. Wait, what was that? 

"Ooh, um.  I...guess so. I had everything else that wasn't already attached to the saddle. But I guess there's little point now in mourning it," he murmured, peeking out from behind the horse to spy her again.  She was beautiful, and he didn't want to say anything that might ruin what brief glimpse she allowed him. Truthfully they were probably going to see a lot of each other like this. So he saw it best as she did to simply get it over with as quickly as possible.

So off came the breaches until he was as bare as see was and quietly skirted around the horse, that drank slowly and daintily above them.  Christer tiptoed to the edge and crouched, trying to hide his own manhood and found it was probably easier if he just skirted further into the waters.  "Ansgar's balls!" he abruptly cried at the chill that coursed up through him.

And lost his footing and landed on his ass against the embankment pebbles.

[Zero]

"No, I guess not, but we will still need to get essentials." Alison shivered against the cold, and the water certainly wasn't helping. Her pale skin was covered in goosebumps. She hadn't glanced in his direction since she began undressing, and so didn't notice his gaze lingering over her.

Even if she had, well, she had said it was alright if he saw. Eighty years ago she'd have been mortified at the idea of a man watching her while she was naked, but her old master had been a sadistic vampire. Having Christer see her naked was nothing compared to some of the awful things Victor had done to her through the years.

She had managed to at least get the blood off when suddenly Christer shouted and fell. Alison started, whirling around and losing her own footing in the process. With a soft splash she landed in the water, smacking her butt against the smooth rocks on the bottom.

"Ow." Was all she could say for a moment. For a moment she had been completely terrified, fearing that maybe the bandits had found them. Realizing that her master had simply been alarmed at how cold the water was - and how he'd fallen on his ass - Alison momentarily forgot that she was sitting in the cold stream herself and started laughing.

It had been a while since she had genuinely laughed out loud, and the sound was one of relief as much as humor.

[Lion]

Maybe it wasn't a big deal to her, but Christer just didn't see naked women on a daily basis. So it was somewhat jarring to just see breasts as plain as day. He could appreciate them, however, and he smiled at the state they were both in, asses flopped into the water.  As much as his bum hurt, he chuckled, slowly at first and then loudly, cackling with his head thrown backwards.

"Gods, we are a pair aren't we?" he said, snorting and getting up to walk over to her, forgetting momentarily about his nakedness. He crouched down to help her up and pulled her up beside him. Christer smiled sweetly, sobering now that he had gotten over his inhibitions.

"Are you okay? Your bum's not too bruised is it?"

[Zero]

Well at least he was laughing too. Alison would never have dared laugh at Victor, not for any reason. Laughing felt so good, she almost didn't want to stop, but managed to stifle herself to giggles at Christer's comment, watching him walk over while covering her mouth a bit to try to further subdue her mirth.

Plus there was an eyeful. They were both naked, but it didn't bother her too much. Sure, she felt a little curious - he wasn't like Victor at all! Everything about Christer was warmer and more appealing.

Forcing herself to keep her eyes upwards, she accepted his help, hauling herself out of the water with a bit of a grin. Although his question made her pull a bit of a face, one hand rubbing her sore butt where she'd hit it on the rocks. There was probably going to be a bruise later, but nothing too terrible. Sitting in the saddle was going to be even less fun.

A moment later she was chuckling again and shaking her head though. "I'm okay. Are you?"