Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice, nor some of the characters used in this story.
(A/N): I realize I probably shouldn't be starting another story. But I just couldn't help myself. Again, rated M for: rape, gore, and (consensual) sexual content.
Once more, the shadow savagely kicked the form on the ground, hissing their fury.
After everything they had gone through, and the bitch had nothing on her. Not even a single coin. Again, the shadow swung a steel shod shoe into the body's ribs, making the body roll across the floor. The woman moaned, and tried to wrench her arms from underneath her body, trying to sit up.
Taking its advantage at seeing her raise her body, the shadow hooked its foot, and slammed it into her underside, straight in-between her ribs. Her scream was cut off as the foot was raised back up, and smashed into the back of her head, crushing her face into the ground and pulverizing what the attacker had left of her face. They had already mutilated it earlier, when they had taken her for theirself. She hadn't wanted it, but they had, so the shadow hadn't bothered to listen to her.
Grabbing the collar of the fallen woman, they once more began dragging her through the dust, towards the ominous cylinder in the distance.
The woman was still, until they came upon the well.
She must've seen it out of her one good eye, for she started to struggle harder, pulling against the shadow's grip. They let go, watching the woman struggle away, trying to save the ruins of her life. It was a futile effort. They swung again, adding as much force as they could, beating their foot into the side of her body.
Her cracked ribs gave out, crunching in on her, impaling organs. She collapsed without a sound, a simple, startled look on what was left of her face.
"I'll have to choose more carefully for this not to happen again, Beka, darling," they murmured, grabbing her underneath her armpits with both hands, and dragging her back to the well's edge. Even as the person hoisted her up, and over the edge, she didn't moan or struggle anymore. A trickle of blood rolled down from the corner of her mouth.
"I hope you won't mind the company down there. They can be mean sometimes, but once you get to know them, you'll fit right in," the shadow told the woman, Beka, assumedly. "You'll have plenty to talk about, mostly me, I guess, but that'll take up your time. Until you die, that is."
Slinging her over their shoulder, they started to lean over the edge to drop her in.
One last try, she must've thought. Her elbow came back, hitting the shadow in the back of their head, cracking painfully behind the ear. She was dropped to the ground, and she attempted to get to her feet, but her damaged insides cramped, and she fell down onto her bloody face instead. Beka began to crawl away once more, hoping that her blow had incapacitated her attacker.
Except, their blow came sooner than she expected.
The steel toed boot slammed into the side of her head, splattering blood across the ground, and up onto the stones of the well.
"You have got to be shitting me," the shadow growled, kicking around in the dust and sand to make the blood clump up and disappear.
They grabbed Beka's feet, completely limp. As far as they could tell, her pulse no longer beat, and her lungs stopped processing air. She was dead. Even so, they still had to get rid of the body.
Whistling a jolly tune, they once more hoisted Beka up onto their shoulders, and carried her a short way back to the well. They glanced down into the depths, wondering exactly how many souls stared back up at them. Smiling, they shouldered Beka's body, and let it tumble down into the void.
They waited to hear the splash, the crunch of the body hitting the pile of bones, before walking away, dusting off their hands on their pants.
Alyss shifted in her seat, bringing her clasped hands from atop Will's sternum, to just below his bellybutton. The movement pressed her against his back for a moment. Being married for three years, Will's natural instinct was to settle back against her, and enjoy their close proximity. But the character he was supposed to be playing, a newly married young man, would do more than just settle back and smile if someone were watching.
Will let go of the reins with one hand, and settled it on her thigh comfortably. He pulled her closer, so that her chest was once more pressed against his back.
Giggling, Alyss let her hands drop a few more centimeters.
The caravan that was making their way towards them got closer. The people in the lead smiled uncomfortably when they realized how much fun the young couple they were passing were having. Awkwardly, they looked away. As they passed each other, Will waved happily, not-so-stealthily nudging his wife to wave as well.
A woman broke away from the end of the caravan, approaching Will and Alyss. To be polite, Will pulled Tug to a stop, and waited for the young woman to come up to them. Alyss moved her hands to Will's hips, smiling as she rested her chin on Will's shoulder.
"Good day," Alyss said, appraising the woman. The newcomer wore trousers like a man, and a dusty white shirt. The courier watched as the woman glanced at Alyss' dress, which was her normal courier dress disguised with a green corset and trimmings. Will smiled as the approaching woman's smile faltered at seeing young, and apparently reckless, couple.
"Good day, friends," the stranger said, raising her hand in greeting. "I don't mean to intrude, but may I ask where you're heading?"
Will smiled, and patted Alyss' thigh with his hand. "My wife and I are headed to Seacliff for our honeymoon. We've heard that it's beautiful there, and very little crime."
The woman nodded, a tight smile transforming her face. "Will you be riding through, or stopping for the night?" Seacliff wasn't too far from their location, although it was far enough that some people would stop for the night. On a standard Ranger trip, Will would have continued all the way through.
"We were going to ride through, although Allison here is famished, so we were considering on stopping. Why?" Will had made up the name from nowhere. They knew their roles, the stereotypes they were supposed to fall into, but they had never decided on names. Alyss' was now Allison, apparently. Eventually, she would end up making up a name for him, and both would be stuck with those aliases.
"Just recently, a few women went missing and came up dead and violated in the forest near Kaister," the woman explained, "and none of the town watch has had any luck catching the bastard who did it, and no Ranger seems to be coming. My advice is to ride through, even if you are hungry. And don't spend the night there, or you might not leave the next morning." She looked pointedly at Alyss, who made a point to bite her lip and scoot closer to Will.
She seemed serious, her eyes flicking between the couple in front of her, the receding caravan, and behind her—supposedly towards the mentioned town, Kaister.
Will nodded, "I appreciate the warning, thank you. My wife and I would prefer to make it to Seacliff in one piece," he added the last piece as a light joke, looking back and smiling at Alyss.
The stranger nodded. "Stay safe, friend, and enjoy your honeymoon." She turned her horse's head down the path, and kicked it's side, causing it to break into a gallop. As she and her horse sprinted back to the safety of the caravan, Will and Alyss turned to watch her go, leaning forward.
The shadow licked its lips, seeing the blonde's dress ride up as she watched the other whore ride away. The wind pushed it up even more, revealing her bottom. Her white panties hid nothing from the shadow's eyes.
"Think she's serious?" Alyss murmured, turning back to face Will. "I thought we were just dealing with a murder or two."
The Ranger shrugged, and turned back around. Without him needing to signal Tug, the little horse continued to plod on down the road, towards their destination. "Probably. Depending on how they turned up, it could be obvious that they were raped, or they could have checked."
Alyss wrinkled her nose, knowing what her husband meant by 'checked'. Once more, Alyss wrapped her hands around Will's chest, leaning comfortably against his back. Feeling a breeze against her hip, she realized that her dress had ridden up. Discreetly, she released a hand from Will to pull the dress back down to cover her bottom.
A few minutes passed in silence, the young couple falling back into the rhythm of traveling.
"How many people were killed?" Alyss asked out of boredom, her cheek pressed against Will's neck. Previously, she had been trying to get some shut eye, but something kept bothering her, itching at the back of her skull. A sixth sense, the one that told you that you weren't alone. Unable to fall asleep, she decided to see how else Will reasoned through their current mission.
"Two women, both found naked and bruised in the forest nearby," Will said, his voice colored with a streak of sadness. "Another one has been missing for a few days, but no body has turned up."
Sitting up, Alyss ran a hand through her hair, which had been sheared short for the trip. Instead of going down her back in waves, it curled in on itself just underneath her chin. It was an elegant style, but one easy to maintain—and one that was now the norm for the young adults of the middle class. "That's part of our mission, right?" Alyss straightened her back, looking over Will's head to see how far they had to go. "To kill or detain the murderer and find any missing persons?"
Will nodded, "If we can."
The shadow smirked, knowing that the couple would never find Beka. Remembering the woman it had taken a few days before, the shadow's hand drifted towards between it's legs…
"That's the town up there?" Alyss said, pointing to a small building visible through the dimness of the forest. It was smaller than she had expected, seeing only three buildings. The Inn on one side, two stories high as was custom. And then on the other side of the road they traveled was what looked to be a blacksmith's and a general store.
"Kaister is mainly compiled of multiple, small groupings of public buildings and sellers like this. Kaister more or less refers to an area, not a town." Will shifted in his seat, falling back into the persona of a young, horny man, waiting to get to an inn room with his wife. He smiled, wondering if people would expect them to be loud that night. Maybe, he thought to himself, they could still have a little fun with this trip, despite the dreadful circumstances that brought them here.
Alyss looked around, peeking through the trees to a few fields that could be seen. "And basically the farmers go drink at whichever Inn is closest?"
"Basically," Will confirmed, once more patting her leg. A few women stood outside the blacksmith's, who seemed to be waiting for a man who was arguing inside.
Behind him, Alyss waved happily to them, laughing as, on the side away from the women, Will's hand drew up her leg, underneath her skirt.
Slipping down from Tug's saddle, the courier held a hand beside her dress skirt to keep it down, cursing the shorter cut. Before, it had been down to her heels, and she could have easily ridden double in a dress like that. But her modified dress was cut to the knees, forcing her to have to readjust it every few minutes.
Will slipped down beside her, and hand-in-hand, they walked into the stables. Together they chatted, about random things they could think of that a young, newly married couple would talk about after their wedding. Will handled caring for Tug, taking off the saddle and brushing him down and giving him oats and water while Alyss, still struggling to keep her dress at a comfortable length, leaned against the stall's wall watching him.
Eventually, Will was satisfied that Tug was comfortable, mainly when the small horse craned his neck to look at Will, and snorted as he shook his mane. "That's our cue to get the hell out of here," Will said jokingly, wrapping his arm around Alyss' waist. As another patron of the Inn walked in, probably to collect the black mare that had already been inside, Will dropped his hand a few centimeters, so his hand was firmly placed upon her butt.
They smiled to the man as they walked out, and he smiled back, albeit, uncomfortably.
Taking the long way, Will and Alyss went around the side of the Inn, towards the back. The yard behind the Inn stretched back a few dozen yards before a wooden fence separated them from what looked to be the start of a farm's grazing area. A few cattle could be seen in the distance, munching on some grass at the top of the hill. In the middle of the dusty area between the fence and the door, a well stood by itself. A worn wooden bucket laid discarded beside the stone cylinder, some of the mortar between the stones crumbling down around the bucket. Wooden sticks stood up and across to where they met above the well, with a small crank with rotted string wrapped around the handle. An old well, probably no longer used.
They stood there for a good hour or so, watching the cows go up and down the hill, looking for grass they hadn't eaten yet. In the distance, just over the top of the hill, they could see the top gable of a farmhouse. The gable cut a small piece of the sun out like a cake, the rest of it shining orange as it descended from the sky.
"Let's go inside," Alyss murmured, "I'm actually hungry this time."
Will snorted, wrapping his arm back around her waist and drawing her against him. "And I want to make sure we won't have to sleep with Tug for the next few days," he murmured, smirking.
Walking back around to the front, Will held the front door open for Alyss, and followed in after her.
The barroom had about ten people within, most around the same table near the fire. They were loud and rowdy, probably half way gone from when Will had seen a few of them walk in as he and Alyss walked around the side. None of them looked up as the couple walked in, half of the table guffawing at something a woman at the end said, and the other half either slapping their heads or banging them on the table and groaning.
At the bar, a rough looking man looked up. He wore the stained white shirt that was nearly uniform for any and all innkeepers, and brown pants tucked into mud covered work boots. An even more stained apron was wrapped around his hips, folded down so it only covered his pants. Seeing the newcomers, the man set the glass he was cleaning down, and flipped the rag over his shoulder. Dusting his hands on the apron, he smiled agreeably. Dimples appeared on his thin, tanned face, showcasing his deep green eyes. Whoever he was, Will considered, he was probably a likable man, a friend to everyone. And, judging by the way he appraised them, drinking in their appearances as if to copy them down for later note—he was a gossiper.
Well, actually, Will could tell that from the way he'd been whispering to the boy who stood beside him, who had grinned and laughed at the table of drunk farmers.
"Hello there, travelers," the innkeeper nodded, putting both of his hands on the bar in front of him, "what can I get for 'ya?"
Will smiled at hearing the rough, Scotti accent. The man didn't look Scotti, but he definitely sounded like one. "Hello, sir," he said, tilting his voice so he sounded as if he were from further south than he was, "my wife and I would like a room, if one is available. And some dinner would be nice, too."
The innkeeper nodded again, turning around and motioning to the boy behind him. "Well, my wife just took some lamb off the fire, if you're interested. And we have plenty of vacancies, if you can pay, that is."
As Will and the innkeeper settled the pricing of the room, in addition to a quick meal before they went upstairs, Alyss looked around the Inn, knowing she should get to know the place. She hoped her curiosity looked just as it was—curiosity—and nothing that would make people suspect that they weren't who they said. Someone opened the door from the outside, bringing in a gust of wind. Instinctively, her hands went down to grab at the hem of her dress to keep it down.
When she looked up, however, there was no one new in the room. And no one had left, as no one had been at the door to open it. She swallowed, narrowing her eyes as she studied the corners of the large room for any oddly shaped shadows. Anything new.
But that was a futile effort, and she knew that. She had barely glanced around the room when the door opened, she couldn't pick out minor differences seconds later.
"Allison, sweetie," Will said, drawing her attention back to the bar. As she walked back up beside him, smiling as the barman appraised her, she glanced towards the stairwell, seeing thick shadows in the area.
"This is my wife, Allison, and I'm Ben Rivers. We're heading to Seacliff for our honeymoon," Will finished, smiling to himself that he got to choose his own name.
The innkeeper nodded, holding out his hand, "Name's Augustine, though most people just call me Gus. This here's my son Gideon, and my wife's name is Helen. We run the Inn, although sometimes we have to take over the general store because Jon gets sick a lot. Half the stuff in there is our stock anyways," he said, shaking his head.
Will eagerly took Gus' hand, shaking it as if they were good friends.
All in one moment, the boy Gideon came back from where ever he had disappeared to with two plates of steaming lamb, Will pulled Alyss down to sit in the barstool beside him, and the drunkards behind them once more broke out into loud guffaws. Glancing behind her, the courier once more scanned the room, knowing that there was one more person than previously. But there was no sign of an extra person.
"So, honeymooners, huh?" Gus said, eyeing the two of them with a smile. "How long ago were you two married?"
"Little more than a week," Alyss said, leaning onto the bar with an elbow. She looked over to Will, and smiled—which came easily, considering it wasn't an act.
Will returned the genuine smile with the like, and reached down to lace his fingers with her's.
To Gus, he probably had no suspicions if they were or weren't who they said they were, Will knew. He knew because every time he looked at his wife, it was like he saw her for the first time. And it amazed him every time that she was his, and he was her's.
"Well, that's a cause for some celebration, ain't it?" Gus said, reaching below the counter, and drawing up a large bottle of red wine. It wasn't the expensive kind that Will was used to seeing in Redmont and Araluen, but it wasn't the cheap kind either. Feigning surprise, Will reached out and took the bottle in hand, studying it in awe.
"Ah, Gus, I can't have you open this for the two of us," Will started, trailing off. Before he could say more, the innkeep took it back, corkscrew in hand.
"Well, I've been holding it for a while, and there's been no reason to open it quite yet. Helen and I keep putting it off, so why not just open it now. Glasses for both?"
Looking down on the meal that Gideon had placed before them a few minutes before, Will knew that he shouldn't. He was on duty, and he didn't like wine anyways. He didn't like alcohol in general, but he'd had to stomach it before to fit the bill of whatever character he was playing. But he'd never have to do it with expensive wine.
"Oh, don't think I should," Alyss suddenly said. She meaningfully dropped one of her hand's to her lower abdomen, and looked away as if she were embarrassed. "I've been feeling iffy in the mornings, and I don't think alcohol would help that."
Gus, seemingly understanding, looked to Will. "Well, Ben? How 'bout it? A toast? To you and your family?"
Will dropped his head, grinning sheepishly. Alyss got away from drinking, but she also somewhat cornered him into doing it. "Why not? Pour me a glass."
The innkeep once more ducked below the bar, his thin frame disappearing completely. A moment later, and he was back, holding a few fancy wine glasses in one hand, and the bottle in the other. He poured a cup for himself and Will, and told Gideon to run back and collect his mother and then to wait on the table of farmers behind them. After Helen made her appearance, the four of them toasted to the newly married couple, Ben and Allison. Alyss held only a cup of water, whereas the others held the glasses of the semi-expensive wine.
Helen disappeared back into the kitchens with barely saying a word, her face grim. Alyss had tried to talk to her, thinking that the womanly connection would be to her advantage. All she got was a grumpy stare. She assumed that the wife wasn't too happy with the event her husband chose to open the wine for.
Then Will and Alyss finally got to dig into their meals. It was a delicious cooked lamb with buttered mashed potatoes, cinnamon raison bread that was lightly toasted and was spread with a cherry jam, and some boiled carrots. A plain meal, but satisfying all the same for the traveling couple.
By the end of Will's first cup, he knew something was wrong with the wine. Looking at the bottle, even as Gus continued to try and have a conversation with him, he noticed the rim of red along the top, as well as what looked like dregs floating at the bottom. Glancing into his cup, which Gus had refilled without him asked, to Will's dismay, he noticed that the color wasn't as thick as it should be. Taking another sip, he realized what was wrong—it was watered down wine. Probably three quarters of the bottle had been water, judging from what his cup looked like.
Not believing his luck that someone had been taking sips of Gus' prized wine, he glanced over at Alyss—Just as he tipped the glass over like a shot glass, and downed the whole cup of wine.
Alyss covered her mouth as she grinned. Gus broke out laughing, before once more grabbing the wine bottle by its neck, and pouring Will another glass.
The Ranger didn't even feel tipsy.
"So, Gus," Alyss said, covering her mouth as she yawned. The bottle of wine was empty, Will no longer holding back from being the excitable newlywed that he was supposed to be, and Gus trying to keep up with him. Her husband didn't look drunk—in fact, he looked quite satisfied with himself—but she still couldn't believe that he had downed that many glasses. "So, Gus," she repeated, "we ran into a caravan today, just before making it here."
Gus' eyes darkened, and he frowned. "Let me guess," he broke in, "they told you to continue through here, and not stop?"
Will nodded, drawing his finger along the rim of his empty glass. "Told us to ride through to Seacliff if we wanted to survive."
Alyss broke in, her eyes growing serious. "They said that women were being kidnapped and raped, and being left for dead in the forest. They looked at me like I was next," she shivered, adding to the feeling.
"And you still stopped?" Gus asked, looking at her with sympathy.
"We didn't believe them," Will said, slurring his voice partially. Gus wouldn't notice, but Gideon would, who was sitting on a crate behind his father, munching on a roll.
"Well, those caravaners do tend to spread rumors," Gus muttered, finally sweeping Alyss and Will's plates off the bar, and handing them to Gideon. "No smart man would believe those bastards." The innkeep's voice slurred as well, but not that much. Will wondered if the man had noticed that the wine wasn't even as potent as the watered down beer he sold.
"So what they said wasn't true?" Alyss asked, finishing off her water.
Augustine paused for a moment, looking at both of them before sighing and pulling a stool underneath him. Before, he had been standing the whole time, but Will had seen a small stool for him to sit on pushed in the corner. "I won't lie to you two," he started, "there has been some trouble. But the rumors that they've been raping these woman is just horseshit, in my opinion. Yes, it's tragic that these two woman have died, yes, they were taken from this world too early. But, in my honest opinion, miss," he looked pointedly at Alyss as he continued, "you have nothing to worry about. In fact, it's probably just a wild animal."
Soaking that in, Will glanced over to Alyss, and took her hand as if to comfort her. He opened his mouth to say something, figuring now would be the prime opportunity to extract them from the situation.
Someone walked up from behind them, slapping a hand onto his shoulder. "You talkin' 'bout those ladies that were butchered out at the Sombra's?" Will flinched at the hard voice, looking up in surprise at the woman who towered over him.
Dark skin, probably tanned from working outside day in and day out, with black hair and blacker eyes. She would have been intimidating, except for the smile that seemed to come easily, the type that crinkled her face. When she sat down beside him, Will noticed that there were lines on her face, and as her smile got wider, he realized that the skin wasn't as tanned because of how the smiles wrinkled her face. Will smiled nervously, not liking the way she said 'butchered'.
"Amanda," Gus said, bringing out a mug and what looked like a bottle of whiskey. Alyss' eyes widened along with Will's, not believing how much expensive alcohol this man had in store. "What did I say about not bothering new guests?"
"Well," the woman started, looking exasperated, "I overheard your conversation, and heard you add your two cents." Amanda turned, squinting an eye and looking pointedly between Will and Alyss. "My two cents—Gustine here is wrong. Those wounds weren't made by a pack of savage animals, oh hell nah."
Will was tempted to ask what she thought it was, but decided it was probably best to remain in the position he found himself in—leaning back, nearly in Alyss' seat, with wide eyes focused on Amanda. He tried to smile, and make it seem like he was comforting Alyss, but his groping hand couldn't find her's.
"Well, then, why don't you tell us what you think it is, Manda!" Someone yelled from the table, proffering a mug of ale into the air, and splashing it onto the men and women sitting around them. That startled the majority of the people back there to start a chorus of agreement, yelling for Manda to say her piece, yelling for Gus to say his, and yelling at each other to say theirs.
Apparently, Will realized, this problem is a source of competition and amusement to the locals. They don't care about the women who lost their lives.
"I believe," Manda started, spinning in her chair and leaving her cup of whiskey on the bar, "that we are being invaded by a hoard of demons set on punishing us for our sins."
Alyss gagged on the water in her mouth, causing Will to turn around to see if she was okay, urging her to spit out the water into the cup before she actually choked on the water.
"That makes no sense, you loony bitch," someone yelled out, the slurring in their voice probably matching with how much alcohol they had consumed.
"OH YEAH," Amanda called back across the barroom, "WELL WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS, GERALD?"
"I think it's about time we go to bed," Will whispered to Alyss, a hand on her back as she coughed. She hadn't taken his advice, and tried to swallow the water. It hadn't ended well.
Turning to Gus, who was obviously annoyed that this happened, but seemingly used to it, Will tapped the bar in front of him to catch his attention. "Sorry 'bout this. I didn't think it would start something like this. We just wanted to know that we'd be safe."
Gus shook his head. "This happenes every night, prompted by one thing or another." Seeing Alyss standing, still holding her chest, he reached underneath the counter, and brought up a key. Will was glad to see that it wasn't more alcohol. "Here, you two get some rest, and I'll try to get them to calm down."
Will nodded, accepting the key. "Thank you," he said, before turning around and leading Alyss by the arm up the stairs.
At the top, Will released her arm, and Alyss dropped the hand from her throat. "You going to stay a bit longer?" she whispered, gesturing down the steps. So far, from what they could hear, Gus was unsuccessful.
"I just want to hear what others think," Will murmured back, already slipping down the stairs. He went silently, not looking back to see if Alyss waited at the stairs. He had handed her the key before he went down the steps, so he assumed that she would go to the room. Sitting in the corner of the steps, hidden in the shadows, Will leaned forward, trying to discern plausible causes from what the patrons said.
"It's the demons!" he heard Manda yell, in response to someone calling out: "Werewolves! Vampires! Chupacabra!"
"What the hell is a chupacabra?" someone else spat out, smacking the head of the man beside him, presumably the person who had yelled it.
"It's those damn Sombra sisters," another woman cut in, "All of us 'as been hearing those wailings and screamings coming from their property, don't deny it. They hidin' something, and I bet they cutting up those ladies for their soup!" A few people nodded at that, surprising Will with how easily they accused their neighbor of something.
"Are y'all nuts? It's probably just bandits, or, as I said, wolves!" Gus snarled out, snatching some ale off the counter away from a customer's reach.
Multiple people burst out laughing, taking their cups of alcohol in hand before Gus could take it away from them.
"Bandits can't take out large groups of people as large as the one that disappeared of the Sombra's property!" Amanda said, "DEMONS!"
"If bandits can't take out large groups, then who says the Sombra's can?" someone countered, pointed at Manda with the mug, more alcohol splashing out.
Large groups of people? What're they talking about? Will narrowed his eyes, wondering what he was hearing. Only three woman disappeared, not a whole group. As someone yelled out the Sombra name again, Will tilted his head. Most people seem to think they have something to do with it. We'll have to check them out tomorrow, figure out their part in it.
"The Sombra's own the chupacabra, people!" the man yelled out, "They feed it with the meat of those women, only caring to protect their pet and not their neighbors!"
Hearing enough, Will slipped back up the stairs, his head pounding with a headache. There was so little information with this case, and it seemed like the local opinion was either blame it on someone they know, or blame it on mythical creatures.
At the top of the stairs, Will brushed his hands, dusting them off. And he felt no ring on his hand.
His wedding ring was gone.
Cursing, Will turned, hoping that it had slipped off when he had walked up the stairs, and not when he and Alyss were riding there or out back. Going back down the stairs, he searched each one carefully, knowing he would never live it down if he lost the ring. At the bottom two steps, Will paused, thinking he saw something underneath one of the empty booth tables near the steps.
"Gideon!" he heard Gus yell as he inched down the steps, "why don't you get outta here, I don't want you hearing all this. Go clean up that red paint on the well out back, and sleep at a friend's house, got it?"
"Pa," Gideon whined, "we don't even have red paint, what're you talking about?"
As he got closer, Will was relieved to see the small band of silver under the table. Staying to the shadows, Will crawled forward, cringing because he was in full view to anyone who decided to look towards the staircase. Luckily, everyone was still arguing with everyone else, and Gus was too busy ordering Gideon.
"Kid, someone in this town must have red paint, because those rocks keep turning red. Go wash them off, and then get outta here." Gideon groaned, and stomped through the door to the kitchen, supposedly walking to the back.
Will reached out, snatching up the ring of silver, and darting back up the stairs.
Remembering that the key said they were in Room 1, Will looked to the first room, and tapped on the door quietly. A moment later, it opened, Alyss peeking out the crack. Upon seeing him, she opened the door completely, letting him in.
She had already undressed, probably wanting out of that corset. She wore nothing except a thin shift, which barely covered her to her knees. She laid back down on the bed as Will undressed, watching as he slipped out of his shirt and pants.
"Should we drown out their arguments?" Alyss murmured, staring at him as he set his clothes beside one of their bags. They had carried them in, and before their food had come out, had carried them up the stairs and left them at the top. Alyss must have grabbed them when they separated.
Will smiled down at her, a grin forming. "They might be expecting it, us being newlyweds and all."
With that, he rolled into the bed with her, his hand going underneath her shift as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Kissing each other tenderly, they let their pleasure drown out the arguments downstairs. They ignored the fact that both still wore some pieces of clothing, letting the other take them off as they moved along. With their bodies pressed together, moving in a rhythm only they would ever know, the couple was able to drift off into the night, with little semblance as to what was to come.
. . .
. . .
. . .
The shadow grinned, happy that they finally found the window to Room 1. They watched through the curtains, glad to have found that there was still a crack to watch through. Seeing the motions the couple was going through, the shadow found themselves at an impasse.
Which did they want more: the lithe and muscular Ranger, whose body was toned to perfection—or the curvaceous and sleek Courier, whose body looked warm and soft?
