Anonymous asked: 17. Needing to kiss to hide from bad guys

Notes: This got Way longer than intended whoops.


Now that Santana's talked—or, rather, kissed—some sense into her, she manages to actually relax enough to get more than just a couple hours of sleep each night despite the worry eating at her after her uncle tells her that the messengers he sent to the king have all disappeared. She stays just as vigilant but she stops jumping at every little thing, and she's not as afraid of them leaving the relative safety of the castle, and she stops pulling away from Santana, which actually does wonders for her ability to sleep at the end of the night (the sweet kisses Santana gives her don't hurt either).

Which is how Santana manages to convince Brittany to head down to the village at the crack of dawn, wanting to stretch her legs in the surprisingly warm spring air and get some new fabric to practice her embroidery on. She'd never been the best at it, more likely to be tumbling around on the grass with Brittany and the other children of the castle staff than learning her way around a needle, so Brittany has no clue why the sudden interest, but she finds herself yawning as she buckles her sword belt around her waist regardless. The sound of metal on leather is comforting as she slides her sword into its scabbard, adjusting the belt on her hips and turning to put her cloak on next but finding it gone from her bed.

"Santana?" she calls.

There's no answer and panic bites at Brittany's heart despite the fact that she could hear Santana getting dressed not a minute ago. She spins around only to find Santana standing in the middle of her chamber, dressed in breeches and one of Brittany's loose shirts with her own cloak tied neatly around her neck, holding Brittany's missing one up with a smirk.

"Sneaky," she says even as her heart refuses to slow its panicked pounding.

Santana just tilts her head, her smirk widening as Brittany closes the distance between them. She wraps the cloak around Brittany's shoulders, nimble fingers knotting it at the front before smoothing the fabric on her shoulders down. "Ready to go?" Brittany sighs in dramatic reluctance and nods. "Oh hush you," Santana scolds, bouncing up on her toes to softly kiss Brittany good morning.

Brittany hums and chases Santana's lips for a moment before relenting and pulling away so they can leave. Finn and Puck are asleep at the door and Brittany rolls her eyes. Santana accidentally kicks them awake as they pass, and they startle and jump to attention but Santana and Brittany are already around the corner and out of sight.

They spend the morning looking through all the vendors set up in the market, taking their time and enjoying the warm morning sun and each other's company. Even though Santana's dressed not to draw attention to herself, the villagers all know exactly who she is; luckily, they all keep quiet, though both women already know they're going to be the centre of the village gossip by by sunset.

It's when Santana is in the middle of reminiscing on terrorizing the village as children that Brittany notices them first. She quickly takes stock of their slight unease, the strange bulge under their cloaks, the calculating glint in their eyes as they study the village.

The storm Brittany's been anxiously anticipating ever since her uncle first warned her finally breaks, and she takes half a second to inwardly curse before she's springing into action. She quickly grabs Santana and shoves her against the nearest wall, pressing her body tightly against Santana's to pin her there and leaning in to kiss her forcefully enough that Santana has no time to react. Brittany's eyes remain wide open as she watches the two men's gaze pass over Brittany's back with a small snicker before they continue cataloguing the village layout. Santana's hands clutch at Brittany's hips, her protests muffled by Brittany's mouth, before she manages to get a little space between their bodies and tear her lips away from Brittany.

"What in God's name are you thinking?" Santana hisses indignantly, her eyes darting fearfully all around them for villagers who might have seen them and who might, more terrifyingly, spread rumours that her parents might hear.

Brittany's hot breath hits Santana's ear as she leans closer, pressing them both further into the wall and hiding Santana with her body. "Those are Athian scouts walking past us," she hisses. Santana tenses against her, fingers digging painfully into Brittany's hips as her fear morphs into something entirely different. "The fact that they're here is not good," Brittany continues, "Not good at all." Unmoving lips are on Santana's before she can respond, and Brittany quickly tilts her head so that Santana's face remains hidden as she listens to the footsteps behind her. She trails kisses to Santana's jaw so she can watch the scouts walk out of sight.

She shudders out a breath of relief and pulls away from Santana, her blue eyes dark and calculating, tugging the hood of Santana's cloak up until her face is partially hidden in shadows. "We need to get out of here," she says urgently, not even waiting for an answer before grabbing Santana's hand and dragging her in the opposite direction of the scouts.

"We'll be okay as long as we make it back to the castle," Santana manages to say, stumbling after Brittany. After a long moment of silence she swallows thickly and squeezes Brittany's hand. "Right?"

Brittany takes a deep breath but doesn't answer, just mutters a quiet c'mon as she hurries them onward. She escapes to the eastern tree-line and drags them into the cool shadows. She casts her glance over the path they just walked. She spots another—different—scout heading south, towards the other tree-line there, and follows his intended path with careful eyes as her free hand grips the hilt of her sword.

There's movement in the trees.

And a lot of it.

She curses loudly, not caring that she's right beside Santana, before turning on her heel and dragging them a little deeper into the woods. She hurries them along a game trail and quickly starts planning the best route for what she knows she's going to have to do.

The first scream makes Santana jump and gasp, her nails digging into Brittany's arms as she stares in the direction of the village. Brittany barely reacts other than to pick up their pace. "That was—" Santana starts with a wavering voice, but cuts herself off as more screams join the first, the sound of fighting growing loudly as they walk. "The village— My family—"

Brittany can't think about that, so she stays silent instead. She has one job and one job only, and that's to keep Santana safe.

No matter the cost.

Their destination is the stables which are, thankfully, on the outskirts of the castle grounds—so that the horses are closer to the blacksmith—which means that it's practically abandoned by the time her and Santana reach it, everyone else having already fled or joined the fray. The sound of metal clashing on metal at the castle is distant, but the screams of panicked villagers is still ringing in their ears as Brittany tugs them inside the stable.

The horses are all tense and on alert, their ears twitching as watch the two women pass them. Brittany ignores them all and heads for the farthest stall where her uncle's Andalusian gelding is calmly regarding them. "In there on the left is a pack I need you to grab," Brittany quickly directs Santana as she points to a door a couple feet away, "It's impossible to miss. Take it and the leather pouch and the black bag beside it, okay?"

Santana's frozen to the spot, and Brittany quickly steps forward and rubs her palms up and down Santana's arms, waiting until wide, horrified brown eyes meet hers. Brittany leans forward and kisses her on the forehead. "Okay?" Brittany repeats quietly. They don't really have time for this—comforting Santana will have to come later—but having Santana in shock will make things so much harder and more dangerous.

Santana's eyes desperately search Brittany's for a moment that feels like it lasts hours with the adrenaline pumping through Brittany's system, but eventually something shifts in those brown eyes and Santana nods. Brittany quickly moves to grab the tack outside the stall, opening the door and saddling her uncle's horse quicker than she's ever done before, untying her scabbard and strapping it to the saddle. Santana, weighted down by the packs she just retrieved, appears in the door of the stall just as Brittany tightens the last strap. She grabs the supplies without saying a word and straps them to the saddle before swinging up onto the horses back and offering a hand out to Santana.

She hesitates, glancing back in the direction of the castle even through the stable walls. The sounds of fighting has gotten closer in the time they've already taken in the stable, but Brittany knows exactly what Santana's thinking. "My ma and my sister are— And my uncle's probably—" she swallows thickly and shakes her head almost violently, "But we can't think about that. Not right now. We have to get you to safety." Santana starts to protest but Brittany just shakes her head desperately again. "I know how cowardly it feels right now but you have to survive. We have to make it out so we can get to the king and warn him of this attack. This isn't just a small border tiff or anything we've seen before. This is much, much bigger."

Santana finally nods and takes Brittany's hand. "Keep your feet as far forward as possible," she says as she tugs Santana up, "And just let your body balance. Don't try to fight it."

Santana lets out a startled noise as Brittany kicks their mount into motion, throwing her arms desperately around Brittany's torso. She allows Santana to cling to her because, even though she knows it's dangerous to their balance, they both need the contact right now.

They burst from the stables to the surprise of some enemy soldiers making their way to the castle. Brittany cuts a path through them, taking advantage of their shock to trample as many as she can before fleeing the village.

Luckily, the thick trees surrounding all sides of the village and castle meant that their invaders couldn't bring a calvary force in, but Brittany and their mount know the land well, and they've been trained for this terrain unlike the enemy soldiers. Brittany urges her uncle's horse along, weaving through the trees until they've left the village and pursuing enemy soldiers far behind, but she still doesn't slow.

"Where are we even going to go?" Santana shouts above the wind.

"I have no idea," Brittany admits, "But wherever we end up I swear on my life that I'll keep you safe."

Santana doesn't answer, but she tightens her arms around Brittany's torso and buries her head in her back as the only home they've ever known rush past them in a blur of greens and browns.