A Mercyful Fate [M] [Boglin] [COMPLETE]

[Lion]

"Well, if I'd have given up after the first few times, you would have thought little of me, wouldn't you?" It wasn't so much a question as it was an honest opinion evaluation of himself. He'd been a lot more hot-blooded then. Time tempered that part of him, but what remained was more of a slow burn in its place. A burn that was now simmering the more he spent in her proximity.

"I do...I believe it was over a jar of pickles," Roland softly breathed. "I used to like to chew on them with my own mug of ale. And served on the counter. When it came down to the last one, another recruit was pretty sure it belonged to him. When I snatched it anyway, he took the jar and tried to smash it over my head. I'm...actually really sorry how that turned out, afterward. I was pretty sure you didn't want to see me again after that. It wasn't a very good first outing. Then again, I was in the infirmary for about a week."

[GoblinFae]

Alanna groaned as she let her head fall back in memory. "Those damn pickles! But, yes it was a terrible first outing I suppose. You were a fighter though and you reminded me a lot of myself, someone with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove and damn anyone that tried to stand in your way. So the next time you asked I said yes and you damn near almost fell to floor. I was half expecting you to do a jig on the spot. But yes, we got our quiet drink and the rest as they say is history. I fell in love with a soldier who wasn't afraid of me and willing to get back up no matter how many times I barked or bit at you."

She took his hand and brought it to her cheek to place a gentle kiss to his fingers. "You made a fool out of me by making me fall in love with you. I can't say I regret it though. You turned out to be a lovely wild card. I don't know what you saw in me. What you see in me even now."

[Lion]

Roland couldn't help the small warmth that spread up from his belly, and the jolt that it brought when she spoke fondly of that time. Of course his head hurt a lot more back then, but the early days of their courtship had been good, wonderful. And although they were both soldiers, knowing they could be called off to fight at any time, he had to admit that then he never did think it would ever really happen.

He was an idealist then, he wanted her all to himself. And....he deep down, he still did.

"You were never a fool," Roland murmured, and he leaned in closer to her, looking between her and her hands. "I could never see that in you. But you are human. And that brings weariness to us all. Alanna....I... I see the same woman I grew to admire, to love, and gave me the honor of sharing my life with. You are loyal and honorable. And even after what life has thrown at you, you find the courage to keep going. Even after what I've done. Or failed to do."

Roland frowned and gripped her hand. For she was indeed the Grand Master and now the commander of all the Mordecai in the Grand Duke's army, and he fought hard against the ache that persisted. He turned to her and kissed her cheek. "I know that all that you've earned was hard-won. through blood sweat and tears." His lips lingered against her skin. "That's what I saw, and see even now. But more importantly....what is it that you see?"

[GoblinFae]

"I see a woman from Allar who never really cared where the wind blew her until it blew her into the arms of a man such as you. I may have been older and trained you but you taught me so much more. You taught the most important lesson of all, to love." Alanna turned her face to kiss his lips softly then. She could not get enough of him. A few stolen kisses and caresses after years apart was not enough for her.

She pulled him close and hugged him tightly, burying her face against his neck. "I truly didn't deserve you then. I deserve you even less now. You're honorable and loving and compassionate. You had the courage to leave everything behind for what you believed in even though it meant sacrificing everything."

Nuzzling against him she continued, "When I was told you were dead I began to feel like I was spiraling out of control. There was no solace in the bottom of a tankard or another man's bed. Felt like I was breaking my marriage vows," Alanna groaned then, "I suppose it actually was. Did you ever..?"

[Lion]

It was a tentative reconciliation at best, and although they seemed leveled out now, Roland acknowledged that it was a lot to take in during a single day. He let her embrace him, and the feeling that she had done so freely. His arm fell around her with ease, pulling her against him.

That familiarity he missed, and it made him ache that he wanted more from her. How could he have left her behind? What kind of man allowed himself to forget how she felt against him. Was it a sacrifice worth making after all?

Another man's bed...  An admission that hurt more than he thought it would. Yet he couldn't find it in himself to blame her. He'd been dead and he'd only wanted her to find happiness, even if it was temporary.  Roland's lips pressed to her neck, letting himself relish the beat of her pulse before he tilted his head enough to look at her.

"I don't consider that an infidelity, Alanna. I was dead. You were in need. There was no harm done," Roland breathed, cupping her face, kissing her softly. He sighed.

"But for me..no. I haven't shared a bed since we parted last. I didn't really have time." He chuckled, face flush with the admission. "I got too busy to worry about it. Were you afraid I did? What would you do if I had?"

[GoblinFae]

She hummed softly at his admission. She would be lying if she was to say she was not pleased he had been faithful to her. There was the slightest twinge of guilt niggling at the back of her mind but she tried to brush it to the side. At the time she had been drunk and grieving and even then she had known she would regret it come morning. To her it had been about sex and relief and trying to fill the enormous hole in her heart but it did not last long and she had been celibate since those first few moments of weakness.

Letting go, Alanna sat back comfortably in her chair. "I was not afraid. I was just asking since we're being open and honest. If you had then, I suppose I would understand. I wouldn't have liked it, but I would have understood. We were separated and we're only human. It is not uncommon for soldiers to ease the loneliness," she stated matter-of-factly with with a shrug of her shoulders.

[Lion]

"I'm relieved to hear that. I just wanted your take on it," Roland replied softly, watching her sit back and leaning back over the table. The food was cold now, or lukewarm at best. And hunger for that was the last thing on his mind. "Because there was that one time with a bar wench. I had a lot of slammers. And..."

He cackled suddenly and threw his head back. "I'm kidding!"  he chuckled. "I'm sorry, Alanna, I had to rib you. Just a little. You threw me in a fountain."

Roland sobered enough to look her over with hooded eyelids. He leaned against the table. "I know it's been a lot to take in a single day. But perhaps...It wouldn't be too forward of me if I asked you to stay the night. With me."

[GoblinFae]

A fire sparked in her grey eyes that if looks could kill, Roland would have been dead ten times over. Alanna had never been the jealous type but the notion her husband may have slept with some common bar wench set her blood on fire. His laughter was received with fierce glare followed by Alanna choosing to ignore him with poise and take a sip of her wine.

Eyeing him from the corner of her eye, she took her sweet time in putting down her goblet and dabbing at her lips like the lady she most certainly was not. "In your bed? Is that what you're asking of me, to be the woman who drops everything for a chance to slip between your sheets?" Her face remained impassive save for the single brow that rose in question at his rather brash suggestion. "I do believe you haven't even allowed me dinner yet. Tsk, tsk," she clucked.

[Lion]

Thank the gods that Roland couldn't read Alanna's mind, because he would be chortling over in his chair at what she was thinking. In the end, deposited her poised form, he caught the flare in her eyes and he sipped his wine once more, savoring the taste as he felt his belly warm and his heart speed up.

"To drop everything no," he purred, leaning forward and cutting a piece of chicken with his fork, plucking it with his teeth and chewing quickly. "I always liked your slow and steady burn. Because there's more to savor, and because I know just the kind of heated passion your capable of."

He took another bite and looked her over, as if his eyes were already undressing her.

[GoblinFae]

While her pale cheeks flushed pink at his words, Alanna feigned disinterest. In lieu of responding, she picked up her fork and knife and begin to dissect her food into bite-sized pieces before taking them one by one and chewing exceptionally slowly. "Much has changed since you knew me then. Perhaps I am no longer capable of the kind of passion you seem to be describing. Or even worse perhaps you've lost your touch."

[Lion]

He saw the bait and within his half-lidded gaze, he wanted to sink his teeth into its scarred, tanned, supple flesh. Roland watched her rip apart the chicken as if it were nothing at all.

"I have have I?" Roland asked as he leaned in, looking over her. "I'd like to think I'm fairly persuasive. You look practically famished. You'll need your energy.". He let his leg gently touch hers as he ate his chicken quietly, a free hand reaching down to squeeze her knee.

[GoblinFae]

Alanna snorted and rolled her eyes. "At least the earnest persistence is still there if nothing else." With unhurried movements she reached down and relocated his hand back into his own lap before resuming her dining. "You seem quite sure of yourself, Duke. I'll have you know that titles do not interest me, or most women for that matter. You'll have to do better than that to gain a future wife's interest."

[Lion]

"Oh, and here I thought, you wanted to were in the running to be Mrs. Duchess?" Roland quipped and stuck his tongue out at her.

Roland snorted, just a little. He smirked and he let her slip his hand back to himself. Roland went back to his chicken. It was a nice quiet dinner for a few minutes. And for once Roland settled into the moment. The world outside was gone, and here they were, just a wife and a husband having dinner.

"I like this," Roland found himself saying. "This...is more peace than I've had in...years. It's strange to think I've manged to live without it for so long."  His eyes flitted to Alanna, gaze momentarily somber, even as they lingered on her neck.  Faint movement caught the corner of his eye, just beside the balcony. Looking up, he saw nothing, save the faint fluttering of wind against the potted plants there.

It was a nice breeze that came in and he welcomed it against his flushed skin. Roland heard footsteps behind him, and didn't look up in that moment.

"More pepper, sir?" said a rather unfamiliar voice.

"Darius, I didn't hear you come in," Roland murmured, and only in the reflection of candlelight did he see the flash of silver.  And then it came flying at him. Roland jerked sideways and as the dagger came flying toward him, he threw his arms up and the momentum knocked him clean out of his chair.

And from his view upside down, he could see three others climbing over the balcony's edge beside the prongs of grappling hooks.

[GoblinFae]

"Why would I ever want that? Madam Frou-Frou Duchess is certainly a step down from Mordecai Grand Master. I much prefer my station where it is thank you very much," she informed him rather haughtily. She too felt the gentle night breeze, watching as it made the flames in the hearth dance about in the same manner Roland made her heart sway to and fro.

Not knowing Roland's men, the newcomer approaching from behind her husband was not immediately seen as a danger. But the moment Roland named him as a man she could hardly forget, her soldier instincts were shoved into full throttle. The dull knife she had been using to cut her meat was rolled in her grasp to be clutched more firmly.

In a matter of moments the stranger was attacking, Roland was ducking, and she was up onto her feet, her chair crashing to the floor with a sharp bang. Alanna lunged at the assailant, driving her knife into his shoulder as he turned just far enough away from her attack so as to have her miss his heart. The pair scuffled for a moment before fast approaching footsteps from behind gained on them and the Grand Master was yanked away by her unbound hair.

She cursed vilely at her own folly that had allowed her to desire being sweet and feminine for once instead of practical and a guarded warrior. Another attacker punched her in the gut as the second continued to drag her backwards. As viciously as she had with Roland she howled and clawed and kicked about in hopes of release until she was finally able to get her feet again. The moment she had them, one dark-haired aggressor was unceremoniously flipped over her shoulder and had his windpipe crushed under her boot before he had a chance to get over being stunned.

"Roland!" she barked as she took on the stockier one. "You better not be dead, yet!"

[Lion]

No, Roland wasn't quite dead. But falling out of his chair, left him momentarily winded. And as she distracted the first assailant, it gave him time to roll opposite him and right onto his feet. Even as she scuffled with him for a few long seconds, driving that knife into his shoulder, and when she was done with him Roland was on him.

He flew at him and just as he was about to slash at his belly, Roland gripped his blade hand and turned his wrist inward, turning his leg in against the back of his assailant's knee and pressed his weight forward, causing him to fall back. Roland fell with him and kept that forced angle on his wrist and let the momentum bring the blade deep into his neck.

His eyes were wide, primal, and he grit his teeth as his front shirt was sprayed with blood.  "I was only catatonic!" he shouted back to Alanna, and watched her stomp the neck of a dark haired man.

A club was raised upward beside him and Roland raised his arm to protect his head. His other hand took the knife from the dead man and lunged it forward to press it into the belly of another assassin. The thickened part of hide armor turned the point, and Roland kicked out, and forced his legs out from under him.

The man plopped down hard on his back, gasping momentarily. Roland was on him quickly and still grasped the bloodied blade, cutting it quickly across his neck.

"Why!?" he panted. "Afraid you're going to have to do all the work!?"

[GoblinFae]

Alanna rolled her eyes at his quip, unable to take the time to throw something at him as she would have liked given they were in the middle of something at the moment. "No," she grunted, shoving the burly man she was fighting back until he tripped over a chair. "But I'll kill you when this is over. This is entirely your fault!"

[Lion]

"Ah then we better get on with it then!" Roland growled. He wasn't sure who he was more pissed at frankly. These interlopers that had interrupted the first dinner he'd had with his wife in what felt like a decade, or the fact that Alanna was immediately blaming him for all this!

So when the burly man she shoved over a chair came flying his way, Roland growled and reached down to pluck him by his shoulders. Roland was adequate for his size, but he had no fear for anyone larger than him. Every bastard had one thing that would topple them over.

Roland's fist smashed into his face, crushing his nose, and he dragged him with all the strength adrenaline afforded him, he dragged that burly man over to the balcony's edge. "THAT'S FOR ATTACKING. MY. WIFE!!" he howled just as he flung theman over the edge and watched him splat to the ground.

"I don't know these men. So why you're blaming me, I don't know!" And just then he heard screaming down in the Great Hall and the clashing of steel echoing down the hallway.  "Quick! This way! There are weapons in the office adjacent!" Although, if he had the chance he would have complimented on her having made short of these assassin's unarmed.  Not that she needed anything else to give her such a large head.

So as Roland ran into the next room, carefully keeping an eye out for any more of these black-robed assailants, he shoved the door open with his shoulder. "Just like old times, eh, love? Fighting side by side again," he smirked at her, shoving her inside.

[GoblinFae]

She rolled her eyes at what she perceived to be dramatics but hurried to follow him. "Who says I even am your wife! You changed your name and claim my Roland is dead. And we wouldn't even be in this mess if you hadn't been so busy trying to get into my bloody pants instead of paying attention to your damn surroundings, you fool!"

Alanna hurried after him, grunting as he shoved her inside but refraining from commenting. A quick assessment of the room revealed that as he had said, it was an office. "Hurry Roland. I don't my men having all the fun without me."

[Lion]

"Well, excuse me for trying to be optimistic!" Roland griped right back at her. And here they were bonding just like the old days. And even if her sour mood wasn't what he would call an ingredient for a good time, he tried his damnedest not to let her get him bogged down. Besides, the party only just seemed be beginning.

He pulled opened a wardrobe with brigandine vests inside. It wasn't quiet as protective as plate, but it would dire on such short notice. And the swords on the wall beside it would prove useful as well. For now Roland would have to do without Anguish. Between the two of them, they were armed and armored and Roland ventured back out the door toward the Great Hall.

"I wasn't the one being coy, Alanna. I trying to lighten the mood," he growled as he bounded downstairs, only to see one of her soldiers lying seated against the spiral staircase, at least five dead assassins at his feet.

The mordecai gripped his side, where red poured from him, panting and meeting Alanna's gaze. "They came at us fast. Black-clothed and bearing all manner of weapons. They tried to barge in through the staircase, but I held them off as best I could.  One of the bastard's stuck me though."

[GoblinFae]

"You call this optimism?" she barked back. "I'll have you know I was being diplomatic not coy. I'm a Mordecai not a harlot. At least when I was your wife you still remembered that," she hissed while pulling on the armor and suiting up quickly. Despite her arguing though, Alanna moved with practice ease, even assisting him with some of the leather ties as if nothing had changed.

She was a mere half-step behind him on the stairs but did not slow once she caught sight of her fallen comrade. "Darvish," Alanna called down to him before flying to his side. A steady hand pressed over his wound while she accepted his weight and lowered him to the floor. "Rest man, you've served me well. It's a simple wound and will heal well. I'm sure your lady friends will truly enjoy it." Her jest caused him to bark in laughter before wincing and doubling forward in pain.

"I heard more in the hall. Don't let the boys have all the fun without you, Cap'n," he urged nudging her off towards where the sounds of fighting still rang out in the distance. With a quick nod of approval, Alanna was off and back into the fray. Soldiers of the Red Legion and Mordecai of the Grand Duke fought side by side against the highly trained but unknown foes. It was a strange sight indeed but one that would have to be analyzed at another time as there was blood to spill and heads to roll. Leaving Roland to fend for himself, the Grand Master threw herself into cutting a path to where her weaker men were steadily being cornered. If she was anything, the Lioness was protective of her cubs. No men would die on her watch; not while she still had the strength to defend them.