Tom Builder and Ellen are characters created by Ken Follett in his book 'The Pillars of the Earth' and in the TV series of the same name. They belong to him; I have just borrowed them for a little while.
In the TV series Tom and Ellen were played by Rufus Sewell and Natalia Worner and it is their faces that I saw and their voices that I heard when I was writing this story.
I have given it an M rating, though it is not as steamy as some I have written.
WITCH
"You came." she said. "I thought that perhaps you wouldn't."
He stood in the doorway of the cave filling it, the firelight catching the rain on his cloak making it sparkle. He nodded slowly and just as slowly dropped the cloak onto one of the stools. She poured him some applewine, and left it on the table. He moved at last to take it. The silence stretched on. He took a mouthful then put the cup down again.
"I thought... when they accused me. When Alfred accused me to Remigius and the monks took me to Waleran. When you persuaded Philip to help me escape... you both helped me, I should have gone.
I couldn't go. I had to stay. I still taunted and mocked and cursed Waleran and defiled him. Even though they might have taken me again, I would have gone on. Till you and Philip pulled me away and pushed me out."
"I thought it... I ... had driven you away. I am what they say. I am a witch, Tom." He came further into the cave and sat on the low bench that along the side of the hearth that served her as a bed. The flames from the fire lit his face. She watched him, her face in the shadows.
"I am a wicked woman."
"Are you?" he said at last in his soft West Country burr that she loved.
"Yes, yes," slowly and defiantly. "I'm bad." He waited for her to go on.
"At fifteen, I took vows; vows to God, to the Church, vows of chastity and obedience. When I was seventeen, I broke them; broke them wilfully and joyfully and bore my lover's child out of wedlock. When I was eighteen, when they killed my love, I cursed them, Waleran, Remigius, the priests and monks, lying cruel hypocrites and their Church. I cursed and left them and their Church. They drove me out of the town into the woods till we had nowhere to go, me and my child."
"I stole. Food. To feed us, when we needed it, Jack and me. More than once, but never from those with less than us. An old woman found us, they called her a witch. She was kind and wise and she took me and Jack in. She fed us and gave us shelter. They found us and drove us on, out into the wildlands. Again and again. Each time, it was a witch woman who fed and sheltered us.
I learnt about plants and herbs from them, the wise women; and I used their knowledge with the knowledge from my father's books, used it to cure, to ease pain.
And when young girls ...and tired weary wives came to me in trouble, I gave them herb potions. I gave it to them to help them. You know what for, Tom Builder. I gave it to them to help them, to lose their babies And they called me witch. Knowledge, the Church says, that women shouldn't have, things they shouldn't do. And I don't regret it!" She raised her voice. "I don't regret it."
She stopped.
"When the grief subsided, when my body needed the things my lover had taught me, I took men, no, not for love, never loved any of them. For need, I needed them for ease, for relief; and they taught me more. Knowledge, that gave me power over men, knowledge of what made them lust after me.
And they called me a witch and shunned me for it. Again Waleran or his spies would find us and drive us on, till I found this place. Here in the woods, it was all I ... we needed and if they knew..."She shrugged. "They let us be. I was content. Till this man came through the woods"
She looked at him. The silver in his black curly hair and his beard glinted in the fire light. He hadn't looked at her since he sat down. He looked at his hands turning them over and over, looking at the broken nails, the cuts and scratches, scars and calluses that were the marks of his trade. Now and then, in the flickering of the flames she caught glimpses of the green eyes and the movement of the eyelashes that any girl would covet. His beautiful mouth.
"You, Tom Builder ! I saw you in the woods before that snowy day. I saw you playing with Martha. I saw you and I wanted you. I watched you for three days making your way slowly through the woods, though you didn't know it, till Agnes fell and I helped you. Helped her to birth your son. I saw you so gentle with her. I wanted you for my own, but you belonged to another woman and you had no eyes for me.
When we met again in Kingsbridge and Martha told me Agnes was dead, I wanted you still, like I've wanted no man since my dead lover and I was going to have you whatever it took.
Oh yes, yes, I did want an apprenticeship for Jack and I did want him to be with you because I trusted you with him, to care for him. I could have left him and come back here to my cave but I was going to have you and so I made that story about staying and helping with the children. I knew that when your grieving time for Agnes and the baby was over, if I was there, I could make you want me.
I knew that if you had me once, I could make you want me more and more. I could teach you things you had never dreamed of when you were loving your Agnes. Your sweet, gentle innocent Agnes. Three babies in how many years? How many years were you married? How many times did she say no because she was afraid of more babies? How many times did you turn from her for the same reason?
Your sweet innocent Agnes, did she not know to go to the witch woman and learn about the herbs to stop babies? Would she have gone to them if she did? Or would she say the Church says it is wrong? Poor Agnes, she missed so much. And so did you. Years of loving!"
She watched him lace his fingers together, lace them and unlace them and still he did not look at her.
"So we lived together, slept in the same loft. 'Let them talk. We are pure in heart.' you said. You were! I was not! I waited and waited. I laced my bodice lower and looser and let my breasts move against you when I gave you your supper. And when I took your dinner to you where you were working up on the scaffolding, I held out my hand for you to pull me up and brushed against you as you did. I rubbed lavender flowers on my arms and shoulders, and washed my hair in rose water.
I did everything I knew to witch you till you came to me.
I witched you, till you lay on me and put your cock in me, Tom Builder. Then I taught you every dirty lovely secret thing I knew. I showed you how to touch me till I moaned and begged for you to fill me. I kissed and touched you, places you never dreamed of till you shuddered and groaned with the force that was driving through you.
They were right, Tom Builder! The priests and monks and Waleran!" She spat his name out. "I witched you till you fucked me every night. And I am not sorry. If I burn in the fires of hell as they say I will, then I will shout 'I am not sorry. Tom Builder fucked me.' "
"I am a bad woman. I witched you,Tom Builder." she said in a low voice.
He stood, moving so fast, taking her with him, till she was crushed between him and the cave wall; his hand slid up her throat forcing her jaw up so she was looking up at him.
"Have you done woman?" His face was in the shadows now, "Have you finished your prattle?" His voice was quiet but fierce.
"Now you listen to me! I loved my Agnes and she loved me. Yes, we were young when we were wed and we knew little of making love. We learnt together. Not much maybe, we were both innocents. And yes, after Alfred was born, and after Martha, we often turned from each other for fear of making more babies, but what we had together was good. I will not have you belittle it. Do you understand me?"
She closed her eyes and nodded, a tiny nod.
"As for you Ellen, I may have been married and a father but I was aware of you from the day my Agnes fell. You are a very beautiful woman and men will always want you. I loved Agnes and needed to grieve for her. When it began to lessen, I wanted you. Oh I wanted you, every night you lay only feet away and my cock was hard for you. I ached for you. I lusted after you in a way I had never known before."
His face was nearer now, his mouth so close. His voice still low and hard.
"But this is what I want you to know. I had you because I wanted you. I wanted to take you. I did. It was what I decided not some witchery nonsense.
I believe in God. I believe I am right in working to build Him a Cathedral. I believe in the teachings of the Church, if not always what some of his priests say."
"This too, I believe Ellen, knowledge is power. Great knowledge is immense power, and great power can corrupt but it is not witchcraft!
I do not believe that one human has power for evil over another."
"I do not believe in witchcraft!
You did not witch me.
What I do, I do!
You are not a witch, Ellen.
You are not a wicked woman! You are not bad. No bad woman would have knelt in the snow to help another. A bad woman would not have helped others in their sickness and pain; would not have used her knowledge without benefit to herself even though it could bring the might of the Church down on her; would not give her love to another woman's child, as you gave to my Martha.
You are a wilful, demanding, impertinent woman, and maybe you are in need of a slapped arse but that does not make you a witch.
And hear me Ellen! I love you, but I didn't ride all this way in the wind and rain to listen you prate on about being a witch."
He slid his hand down her throat to her breast; it was cool against her warmth.
He was moving away from her undoing his belt.
"Are you coming to bed or do you want it there against the wall?"
She could feel the rock face pressing into her back.
"Yes"
He looked back at her in surprise his eyebrows raised and his lips parted slightly. She put her hand on the back of his neck
"Fuck me, Tom Builder, fuck me here, against the wall."
"Do you know Ellen, I have worked on building sites since I was twelve years old, and I have never heard any man use that word as much as you do."
"Does it excite you Tom Builder? Does it arouse you?" She was taunting him now
"Everything about you arouses me. Your mouth, your throat, your breasts, your thighs. Do you know what excites me the most! Excites and astonishes me? Your tongue and what you do with it."
She tilted her head and ran her tongue down from the edge of his beard to the hollow at the base of his throat.
"Like this Tom? And like this?" A hard sucking kiss. "I waited for you, waited and waited for days for you to come to me." She tucked up her skirts, pulled at his tunic, his britches to find his cock, cupped his balls, stroked and caressed them until he groaned with desire.
He hooked his arm under her thigh lifting her and thrust into her. Breathless, she gasped and moaned with each thrust till he came.
He let her slide gently down and they stood together shaking, their legs trembling, waiting until they could move to the bed to lie holding each other.
"Will you wed me Ellen?" he said softly." Wed me, and live in Kingsbridge with me. I will build us a house. Wed me Ellen. Philip has said he will help us. I will keep you and Jack safe. I love him as my own already, you know that."
He rested his head on hers, waiting.
She whispered, "No." She paused."I will take your hand here in the woods and vow to take you as my man, be your woman. But I cannot go to Church with you. Not to their Church." She closed her eyes feeling the slow beat of his heart against her face.
She could feel him sink against her in his disappointment . She bit her lip.
"Will you still come here to me?"
Then on a long low sigh he said, "How could I not come to you?" and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "If you will not wed me, so be it! I must come here to you but I am telling you Ellen, I will not waste what little time we have together listening to you telling me you are a witch, when I know bloody well you are not."
"Am I truly a wilful, demanding, impertinent woman, Tom Builder?"
"That you are and well you know it."
"Am I truly in need of a slapped arse?"
"That too, but not by me, never by me!"
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