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

[Lion]

Roland didn't even register that Alanna had left him by the time they were in the midst of the fray. He did feel naked without Anguish and his shield beside him. But the weapons would have to do for now and while it was brave for these assailants to start their all out attack, Roland could only feel pity for them now that the real slaughter was to begin.

The handful of Legionnaires that were present in the great hall were taken aback when their attackers had swarmed in by the dozen out from the side staircases and when they came they did not discriminate between Red Legion and Grand Duke's Mordecai. It wasn't easy to make sense of the confusion, but the Legion stood fast before more could be slaughtered, and soon many could be seen standing back to back with the very soldiers that meant to stand against.

Roland charged at the nearest intruder and thrust his blade deep into his spine, momentarily stunning him as the Mordecai he was bout to fell had stumbled backwards. He yanked it out sideways and kicked the corpse aside. It was the first of many felled bodies. And the assassins in black were slain down to the last one. The figures that paused on the stairs watched the display and when Roland turned to peer at them, they turned and quickly ran back up.

"Red Legion!" he called out, and three of the handful darted up the stairs after them, blades at the ready. The others turned around to tend to the fallen and wounded.

And Roland turned to see an assassin lingering in the rafters above Alanna, pulling a bow taut with an arrow notched in it. And Roland grasped the hilt and blade and with a running start he launched the sword upward in a spin until it caught the assassin through the chest. He sputtered and fired the arrow strayly, falling down and snapping their neck below.

[GoblinFae]

Blood sprayed in the wake of Alanna's blade, coating her and those around her in the blood of their shared enemy. Her once pristine ceremonial uniform was now stained crimson from both her blood and that of the men around her. It was impossible to discern just how much was hers and how much was not. Though the battle was quick, it was nevertheless exhausting once the adrenaline had worn off.

She was already busy treating her wounded men when a gurgled shout above her followed by an arrow whizzing past her startled her into action. Alanna had been completely unaware of the attacker lurking above her until Roland had knocked him from his pretty perch. The Mordecai nearly considered the moment lucky until she heard a body hit the floor. Behind her, Harold dropped to the floor, an arrow protruding from his chest.

Horrified, Alanna rushed to the young man's side, pulling his head into her lap as she tried to stabilize him. He writhed and screamed so much that others quickly moved to help her hold him down so that they could assess how bad the damage was. The arrow appeared to just narrowly missed his heart but was still firmly embedded in his shoulder. Any attempt to dislodge it only served to make the boy scream louder and fight harder to get away.

Shifting her position, Alanna moved to kneel over Harold, her knee pressing into his chest. Then in one swift motion she yanked the burred arrow from his chest. The scream he let loose was blood-curdling but blessedly only lasted but a few moments before he passed out from the pain. Together what remained of her contingent worked to wrap his shoulder and move him somewhere that would be more comfortable. Only once he was safely taken care of did she finally fall back on her heels and hang her head forward. The blood on the floor soaking into her trousers was not even a care for her as she fought to catch the breath she had not even realized she had been holding.

[Lion]

Roland only watched from the side-lines as Alanna took care of her wounded Mordecai. He was a young one at that and couldn't have served for maybe one or two years. Roland stepped forward, gauging whether the young man would survive from the shock let alone from the wound. Getting it in the shoulder like that was bloody painful.

Roland rolled his own shoulder where the runt had wounded him only a little bit earlier. Still raw, but healed over just fine. All that remained was a star-shaped scar from where it was pulled from the skin. Maybe if Harold was lucky, he would get one just like it.

"There's a healer's chambers, we have healers already set up there, down the left corridor from the Great Hall," Roland said swiftly, directing the Mordecai with a quick gesture of his arm. And with that he turned to Alanna's side. Although, he did not worry that she would let herself so easily be hurt, he couldn't help but feel concern for her.

And he moved to kneel down beside her, putting a hand gently on the shoulder of her brigandine vest.  And hadn't yet realized his own had been slashed along his side, until he felt the sting of the wound as he moved. He hissed loudly and pressed a hand down to his lower right rib. It felt just like a cut, where the edge of a blade made it through past the padding.

But still made no sound as to his own state. He merely looked up at Alanna and her blood-covered face. "Are you in one piece?" he murmured, gently squeezing her shoulder and letting go.  A grin curled at the corner of his lips. "You're a right mess."

[GoblinFae]

She momentarily tensed at the hand upon her shoulder but soon relaxed at the soothing sound of his voice. "Thank you," Alanna murmured softly as her men carried Harold and other wounded away. For the moment it seemed both sides were willing to maintain a truce in order to care for their wounded. There was no knowing how long it would last but at least for now she did not need to worry about dragging her boys away from a brawl. That was probably part of her current shock and discomfort. These men that served her were like sons that she had never carried herself. Harold was barely older than any child of hers with Roland could ever have been. She had always considered it a shame that they had never had the chance to have children as they had intended. All the reasons stopping her then seemed so silly and selfish now.

"As if you're any better off," she growled back, though her eyes betrayed the worry her voice dared not. "Come on then," Alanna sighed, dragging herself to her feet with a wince while motioning him to do the same. "You best let me have a look at it. You always were such a baby around healers."

She avoided answering his question for while she was indeed still in one piece, she could tell that some of her stuffing was at risk of splitting. The way her back twinged and her side burned told a telling tale of someone's blade getting caught just beneath the protection of her makeshift armor and clawing its way across her torso and down into her hip. Despite her barking words though she leaned into his side tenderly, her arm about his waist and her head resting just barely against his shoulder.

[Lion]

Roland could stand pain just fine, and he resented the implication that he was a squealer around healers. Of course he did the dignified thing and gave no proper response to the matter, and instead offered her an amused grunt in response. When she put her arm around him, he was careful not to let her lean on his side and instead tucked her in against the wound String Bean had made.

He just chuckled lightly to himself, feeling her head against him, which made his stomach flip, although his face made no sign of it. Not in front of the others. And so much still remained undecided. Roland walked back up the steps while Legionnaires took Darvish from the steps and carried him off to the healer's chambers. For Roland though, such minor wounds could be tended to in private.

Stalking back up the stairs, Roland nudged open the door to his chambers not far from where Alanna had thrown him into that fucking fountain. "You always were more hands-on," he sighed as he shifted himself so that he was against the bed post and pulled up the padding to see how deep the wound went. Yes, a cut. Not deep, but a cut that needed stitching nevertheless.

He didn't ask, simply did. And after unbuckling the straps he slipped off the vest and tossed it to the ground, lifting his shirt for her to take a better look at. "No one's around."  And when he looked over to her  side as she inspected him, he frowned. "Alanna. The vest is ripped to shreds!" An exaggeration or not, if she had a wound, it needed looking after.

[GoblinFae]

Alanna allowed herself to be easily led until they were alone in private at last. She knelt before, her hand coming to press against his skin, pulling it taut and smoothing around the edges to determine how deep and serious the injury actually was. She quickly came to the same conclusion as him though, unknowingly voicing his thoughts aloud. "You're going to need me to stitch that up. Where's the thread?"

His notice of her own side caused her to stand and shrug as she searched for something to clean and sew him up with and conveniently avoid the scrutiny of his hawk-like gaze. Only once she had retrieved a small washbasin with water and cloth did she return to his side. Placing them on the bed beside him, Alanna made quick work of removing his shirt completely and tossing it to the side out of her way.

"That one's new," she commented, her thumb pressing into the still pink star shining upon his shoulder. "How'd that happen?" Alanna did not wait for his answer, as she attempted to nudge him back to give her room to work on cleaning his oozing cut.

[Lion]

Roland was not a squealer, but anyone taking something cold to tepid skin was enough to make him have a sharp intake of breath. That was the sound that came out of him when she returned with the washbasin and cloth and had the nerve to yank his shirt off. Rude. She was the one that claimed to not be his wife anymore.

Bah.

"Thread's on the stand over there, needles in the drawer."  Roland made no further protest and made a point of sitting on the edge of the bed, body turned so that she could better work on his cut. He breathed in softly. "A string bean happened," he chuckled.

Because at least now, it was funny.

"An assassin sent by the Duke of Falkenrath's adviser. Couldn't shoot to kill, but they got my shoulder pretty fucking good. Now she's branded Red Legion. I guess that was the better option than just dying. There's no fun in that. Ouch."  He watched her work, her hands no less deft as they worked through his skin. "You still have your touch, Alanna. Nice to know some things don't change."

[GoblinFae]

She was completely unconcerned with his pleasure. The way she treated him was no different than how she would have treated one of her men. Alanna left his side to retrieve the items before kneeling down once more and pulling his skin taut for the needle. She showed no mercy, choosing to stitch quickly rather than tentatively as slowness would only cause more pain.

"Someone tries to kill you and you make them one of you? Still a fool I see," the Mordecai grunted as she allowed the needle to stab a bit more viciously than was necessary. It had not escaped Alanna's attention at all that it had been a woman who had marked him and managed to gain not only his attention but his affection as well. Roland had welcomed her into his fold and nicknamed her. Alanna would be a liar if she said that it did not make her fiercely jealous.

Roland was not a liar though. Or rather he had not been during their marriage. Now she could not say what he was or was not. But with regards to their earlier conversation, she did not believe that he was a liar when he said he had not slept with another woman after her. Nevertheless, she would not be surprised if he had taken an interest in the possibility of bedding this new woman anyway. The opportunity just may not have come up yet prior to the Grand Master's arrival and that could have been his only saving grace.

Tying the knot off with another sharp yank, she finally dragged herself back to her feet and scooped up the washbasin to clean and refill it. With her back to him, Alanna finally allowed herself the chance to take a peek at her injuries. "Is she the reason why you overran Falkenrath then? To save her from her fate?" She snorted derisively and shook her head in disgust.

[Lion]

Roland just gave a chortle, and kept his lip between his teeth to chew on when she stuck him with that needle. He made no noise, and merely exhaled sharply through his nose when she set to work. He appreciated that she didn't dance around the task. Better sewed up then red.

"An enemy that's clearly a pawn has great potential to be an ally," was all he murmured after that, watching her hands work expertly. It was always strangely mesmerizing watching a wound close just like that. The skin around it still throbbed, and when Roland did taste blood on his lower lip, he released pressure and he licked it away.

Roland could tell in her crisp precise motions, however, that she was clearly displeased. And he frowned at her, watching her back and moving behind her. "No," he said adamantly. "I was going to march right into Falkenrath anyway. Killing me, however, would have been remarkably inconvenient."

He gauged her a second before his hands moved swiftly and unbuckled the straps of her vest, yanking it decisively off her and pushing up the side of her shirt to examine the slash at her side. Shit. "Move to the bed," he said and guided her none too gently that way, to lay her down on her front. "Goddammit, Alanna. Don't concern yourself with someone that tried to kill me. I'm here to take care of you."

And pulled out the basin that she'd refilled. "Stay put." That was an order.

[GoblinFae]

His actions caused her to grunt and grip the table in front of her bitterly before she was suddenly dragged away from it to the bed. "Bastard," she hissed through gritted teeth before falling painfully onto the bed. Her wound which extended across her torso and deep into the front of her hip and pelvis screamed at the rough treatment and forced her back up quite quickly.

"I can take care of myself, thank you," she spat while using the bedpost to steady herself. "You made damn well sure of that when you abandoned me." Grabbing the needle and thread from where she had last left it she began to attempt to sew herself back together just to spite him. If the son of a bitch was going to move on so quickly from his life with her then he could fuck off and leave her to her own devices.

[Lion]

"Gods be damned," Roland growled and grabbed her wrist when she snatched the needle and thread away from him. "Alanna! I'm here now! I'm still alive. In the flesh! Now you're not going to fight me on this." He stopped grinning and his eyes bored on hers, and he pried the needle from her grip, and the thread and he stepped away.

"Now, get comfortable. I'm doing this," he said levelly. "If you need whiskey, it's in the cabinet."  He gestured to the table beside the bed. For now though, he threaded the needle and tucked the point against the bed before taking the wash cloth and resting down on his knees in front of her.

"Why are you all worked up now!? After the battle? What you need is a hot bath, a good hard drink," he said matter-of-factly, like a doctor working on a patient, padding the angry wound, before pinching it and proceeding to administer the stitches.

[GoblinFae]

"It's your fault we're even in this mess," she reminded him, one hand still firmly gripping the bedpost while the other latched onto his shoulder and clung for dear life. "You were too busy trying to get laid to notice assassins impersonating your own staff. And then just to add icing to the cake, you've gone and found yourself another woman. Need I remind you," she grunted, digging her fingers into his skin tighter at the blinding pain, "that you left me. You were not even honorable about that. In fact it's worse than that! You're a coward! You ran from your responsibilities and then expect one dinner by the fire to fix everything and that I won't stay mad at you? How stupid do you take me for?" The only thing keeping her distracted from the movement of the needle was her own ire. As long as she kept the fuel to that fire burning then she would be able to stay conscious and keep from screaming and beating on him in pain. She hated healers but right now she hated him even more.

[Lion]

"I want you to be angry with me!" he growled and kept sewing and resumed on biting his lip to keep from jabbing her with that needle. He looked up at her, stopping midway at her sudden assumption. That. That was what was brought this on. The saltiness was there, of course, that was a given. Nothing was going to be resolved over one dinner, one day, one evening, one fucking battle!

But that he found himself another woman!?

"You think I found another woman!?" the incredulity in his voice was loud and astounding and he kept sewing, even a bit angrily, but he kept the stitches tight and neat, rather than haphazard like he wanted to. "You can't be fucking serious! Alanna! I told you I never slept with anyone else! I don't have anyone. You're jealous!? Are you seriously jealous of what you presume to be the beginning of some affair?"

It wasn't even a question and he had moved up her side, and reached in to bite the stitches off. He set the needle aside and he sat on the edge of the bed. "So fuck it. Be angry with me, Alanna. About something I actually did. Not because of some jealousy that is unbecoming of you. You have never been a silly woman, Alanna."

[GoblinFae]

"I am serious, Roland! How can I trust you when you've had me living a lie for five nearly six years? You were my husband!" The moment she was free, she was up and pacing furiously in front of him. "I was never jealous before because I knew you. I do not know you anymore." Sighing deeply, she shook her head and paused in her movements, her arms wrapping about her as she whispered, "maybe I never did at all."

Alanna pinched the bridge of her nose, her forehead wrinkling in thought. "Roland how the hell am I going to stop an army being sent here for you? How am I going to do my duty to my country and keep you safe? I don't know you," she said her voice cracking with tears. "I don't know you but I still love you." Harsh tears spilled forth finally in her exhaustion and Alanna did her best to turn away from him to hide them.

[Lion]

From the strain in her voice to the tears she tried to hide from him, Roland could see then the knife he'd jabbed into her heart. And here he was twisting it. Roland stepped back, watching her in silence. There was no excuse to forgive what he had done, nothing be could say that would give her the respite she deserved, for all the years she'd been clinging the memory of him.

Roland maneuvered around her and reached for her hands and pried them from her body, placing them instead against his chest, to where his heart is. "Then know me again, Alanna. I'm not asking for forgiveness. After what I've done to you. I don't deserve it. Know me again."

He let her hands go and braced her face between his. "The man I was then versus the man I am now, I would have given you a shadow, Alanna. You call me coward, and I will not protest it. Because I was a coward. And I couldn't face you. I was a corpse on that field. If I came home, I would have been a husk, a shell. I would have killed myself for all the quiet pain I had inside, unable to get out."

Roland kept her face steady and he pressed his forehead to hers, tilting his head in to kiss at her cheeks, still wet with tears, letting the salt linger on his lips. "Know me again," he whispered, voice begging. "Please."

[GoblinFae]

She allowed him to manipulate her against him even as her tears continued to flow and her shoulders shook as her heart bled out in front of him. Alanna felt the strong beat of his heart beneath her fingertips and the heat of his body warm against her skin. Her hands slid up his chest to rest comfortably on his shoulders and then she was pulling him in for a kiss. One hand moved to sink into his hair and anchor him close to her as she explored the experience of being with him again.

"I want to, but I'm afraid," she admitted painfully. Yet despite her words, Alanna's actions spoke louder. Her lips locked onto his once more as she backed them both towards the bed again. It was too long since she had been with this man and despite how confused her heart was over the past and the future, her body knew what it wanted, what it craved so desperately. So she clung to him as a drowning man would a lifeline in a storm. She needed this; she needed him and not even her own chaotic thoughts and feelings would get in the way of simply being with him.

[Lion]

The drum she'd feel in the cavity of his chest would be beating rapidly, heavily and the blood roaring in his ears. It was so otherworldly to feel tears streaming from her face, but there it was, her vulnerability now stripped from the shell she'd cocooned herself in. Her heart laid bare before him. What more could he say?

Any chance of words were robbed from him when her mouth stole his. Roland instinctively curled his body into hers, lips responding and parting to allow her access to the hollows inside. He moaned deeply in that passionate kiss, and his arms wound their way around her waist, either forgetting her wound or uncaring.

"Alanna," he breathed her name heavily and he sat down onto the bed, pulling her between his legs and his hands reaching up to tug at the hem of her pants, that military uniform that would be shed like a second skin to the ground. "Gods how I miss you," he panted and kissed her again, biting at her lower lip, and pushing up her shirt, tugging it off her torso, leaving her in a wrapping over her bosom. "I'm afraid too. Gods knows I'm bloody terrified," he said, looking up at her briefly before pressing lips along her belly, arms squeezing up over her spine.

[GoblinFae]

Alanna made no move to stop him undressing her but instead continued to run her hands along his shoulders and back as well as through his hair, just feeling him and knowing that he was alive and here and none of this was a cruel dream. She was hungry for him and took to climbing over him with her knees on either side of him on the bed instead of standing in front of him. Her fingers came to tangle in his hair as he pressed warm kisses to her torso and she pulled him flush against her.

"Love me then," she breathed, tears still decorating her cheeks like dew on grass. Alanna lowered herself onto his lap so that she could kiss him once more and try to force him to lay back. "Let me know you and be known in turn. Damn the consequences, I need this. I need you Roland and Ansgar help me, I can't turn back now."

[Lion]

If this was a dream, he didn't want to wake up. Roland never would have thought this day would come. But he relished her touch and it solidified to him that this was reality. She was here in the flesh for better or worse and he gravitated toward her like lightning to the rainsoaked earth.

As if from mere memory, Roland unpinned her small clothes, shifted them off her. He unfortunately didn't have as much opportunity to undress, as he was pinned underneath her. "I will know you," he purred, tone coming out in a half-moan, ignited from the fire of her touch. His hands were still calloused and roughened from years of war, and he reached up to squeeze her breast, thumb rolling over the point of her nipple.

For all her titles and battles won, she was still very much a woman underneath, with all the wants and needs that scorched inside. Roland never let himself feel vulnerable with anyone except her. So even as his hands found and kneaded her body to be pliable like clay, his whimpered and his body begged, guiding her hands down between them to free him from the confines of his trousers.

"Alanna. I love you. I never stopped," came out purred words as he breathed against her lips, pulling them into a kiss once more.

[GoblinFae]

She inhaled sharply, his touch igniting a fire within her that she had thought was long dead. No man after Roland had been able to make her feel the way he had, the way he still made her feel now. Her hands easily dropped to rub against him teasingly but it was not long before she was shoving him to lay back and dismounting from his lap. His trousers were removed a bit more eagerly than she may have intended as a faint ripping sound rent the air before she tossed the impeding clothing to the side and climbed back over him.

Alanna was starved for the kind of affection and adoration that Roland was lavishing upon her body. He knew how to please her, how to tease her, and how to torture her all with a single touch. She leaned over him, her hair brushing against their cheeks as she nipped lips and roughly kissed her way down his chin. Pressing in flush against him, the woman allowed herself to let go and just accept what her body demanded of her. Her lips latched onto his neck and kissed him hard enough to leave a bruising mark behind that would be slow to fade. "I missed this," she hissed against his neck.