A fortnight passed and the winter storm returned with a vengeance. Snow continued to pile. Jellal knew the forest outside of the walls would be more treacherous now than it had been when he and the princess made their journey up the mountain. This knowledge didn't comfort him. The ronin would strike again, winter storm or not.
Jellal had given up on the thought of attempting a second misogi. He couldn't stomach the thought of tainting the ritual with his stubbornly ruptured focus, so instead he clung to the things that made him feel stable. He'd memorized every inch of the stone wall that surrounded the safe house and its courtyard, but he still kept vigilant watch. Every day, and sometimes late into the night and early morning, he watched. Sometimes his thoughts strayed to the princess and he questioned himself mercilessly. Perhaps he was wrong! Perhaps the princess simply lusted after him and he'd only imagined seeing the tenderness in the way she smiled. The core of him knew that to be untrue, though.
Jellal stood at the precipice of surrender every day he spent with her and he could feel the wind of the coming freefall calling to him. When they were alone, her endless questions slowly transformed into a merging of personal space. Nights when the fire burned low, she sat close enough that her robes pressed into his side and the citrus scent of her hair invaded his senses. Erza loved books, and though the selection in the row of cases was limited, she browsed through them all the same.
"Do you not read, Jellal?" she asked from beside him.
"I've read many books, Princess." He glanced over at her and smiled. "Though probably of a very different genre than what you're reading now."
"Let me guess," Erza said, inching closer into his side. "War manuals and weapons maintenance? Perhaps chivalry and other care of horses?"
"And what is wrong with all that?"
"Nothing," she said, glancing back down at the pages of her novel. "It's just very specific."
"My duties are very specific."
"And what of reading for entertainment? What raises your eyebrows and piques your imagination?"
"I admit I don't read much for entertainment. When I find myself presented with free time, I like to spend it on horseback."
"Do you have your own mount, then?"
"I do."
"A brutish warhorse?"
Jellal laughed. "No, Princess, my lady is much too old to be ridden off into battle. She lives a sheltered life and is probably pining for me as we speak."
"Oh? A lady, is it?" she teased with a gentle nudge. "I'm not sure how she'd feel about you revealing her age so callously, Samurai. That isn't very respectful of you."
"I will beg her forgiveness when I return home, though I doubt she'll hear it. Age isn't something she concerns herself with, Princess. I have a feeling she will want to gallop with the spirit of Fujin until her lungs fill with breath for the last time."
"She is a vivacious animal, then?"
"Yes. I acquired her from a disgruntled farmer who hadn't the skill to earn her trust."
"Was that a lengthy process?"
"Lengthy and painful... for me. I've lost count of how many times she's thrown me." Erza's eyes went wide. "I still wouldn't venture to say she belongs to me, rather, she tolerates me more than anyone else and enjoys her grooming."
"You clearly care for her well being," she said softly.
"I do. Is it so obvious? Perhaps it's materialistic to have such concerns for a horse."
"Horses are creatures with emotions and beating hearts, Jellal. They aren't material possessions." She tilted her head to the side and her hair fell over his shoulder. He couldn't stop himself from touching a red strand. Her fingers traced the characters on the pages of her book. "I admit I'm jealous."
"Jealous? You have an enviable mount of your own just outside, Princess." She gazed up at him and caught him with her hair between his fingers.
"I don't desire your horse, Jellal. Only the affection in your voice when you speak of her." Erza's words were bold, and struck another crack in the wall he fruitlessly tried to keep between them.
"You shouldn't want broken things, Princess," he whispered, still touching her hair.
"Tell me why you hold yourself in such low regard. It pains me to see your flagellations." She canted her body toward him and brought her fingers to the V of his robe. "I would not speak of it again if I didn't feel the heat from your eyes as often as I do. Why do you hold back? The samurai are not a celibate sect, and many have wives."
Jellal released her hair and angled his face to the fire. Her persistence would be the end of his control – not that he had much left. He could still feel the silk of her hair between his fingers.
"Perhaps there is something about me –"
"No," he interrupted and turned back around. "No, Princess. There is nothing about you that is imperfect in any way. It is me who is unworthy. I'm not... whole."
Erza touched his arm. "Forgive me for spying, Jellal, but I have seen all of you in the moonlight, and you are not in pieces."
"My body may be intact but other parts of me are not." He didn't stop her when she crawled over him and settled on his thighs.
"I have never not been capable of making my own decisions, Jellal. If you truly do not want me, then push me away and I'll pester you no further."
Jellal's palms itched. He wanted to touch her and close what remained of the gap between them, but his nagging sense of better judgment held him back. Erza's lips curled into a grin at his inaction. She leaned forward to brush her lips against the shell of his ear.
"Push me away, Samurai. That's all I'm asking you to do."
Something inside of him crumbled and his hands clutched at her hips. He brought her fully against him, and when she pulled away from his cheek Jellal took her lips in a kiss. Erza's fingers traced along his neck and she returned his kisses with an urgency that stirred a fire low in his belly. Though her body was covered in layers of kimono she still burned him with her heat.
"Erza," he murmured experimentally. Her name sounded unfamiliar in his mouth, but tasted sweet. She smiled against his lips and kissed him again softly before pulling back.
"You've never said my name before."
"Is it okay that I do?"
"Yes," she breathed before kissing him again. Jellal's hand found itself tangled in her hair once more, and the feel of it still intoxicated him all on its own.
The onsen had a flow of fresh water that had been cultivated and cordoned off from the rest of the hot spring that lingered in a separate area before meandering into the mountain. Smooth rock lined the edges and floor of the pool. He didn't understand all the intricacies of the onsen but he didn't need to.
Jellal leaned back with a sigh. Every moment of his day was spent at Erza's side and the space between them had collapsed to nearly nothing. As much as he enjoyed the feel of her skin and the taste of her kisses, Jellal knew their time was limited. The fatality of the deepening emotions he felt for her ate at his heart. He could see their end, but couldn't put a stop to the indulgence. She smiled at him and treated him with a gentility that he'd never expected from any woman. He could pretend for a bit longer that he'd be allowed to have her.
For half a second he thought the hand sliding over his chest was part of the fantasy, but her lips against his jaw were definitely real.
"Is this the hour you bathe? When I'm asleep and at my most vulnerable?" she purred into his ear.
"It is also the hour when you are least likely to make a reckless decision like visiting the stable without my escort." Jellal said gruffly, bringing a hand up over her bare arm.
"I suppose that's fair." The princess sighed and settled her body over him. Her knees came to rest on either side of his hips and he couldn't help his reaction to the feel of her breasts pressed against his chest.
Jellal finally opened his eyes and regarded her. "You should be sleeping, Princess."
"Do you truly wish for me to go?" she asked, pressing herself down onto him and creating a delicious friction. Droplets of water fell onto his shoulders as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His eyes strayed to the pile of hair pinned to the top of her head. He pulled the comb from the knot and a cascade of red fell to swirl around them in the pool.
"No," he said quietly. Erza smiled and pulled him in for a kiss. Jellal's fingers slid through the floating strands of her hair and settled on her lower back. Her skin was the softest, smoothest thing he'd ever had the pleasure of touching.
Erza's legs tightened around his waist when his tongue touched her lips. Jellal's fingertips moved from her back to her thigh and she gasped when he grazed the place between her legs that burned even hotter than the spring. The symphony of sounds that fell from the princess's mouth sparked his darkest delight. Her lips parted and a breath rushed out. Jellal hid his grin in the skin beneath her jaw. He was always careful not to mark her body, but he wanted to.
"Jellal," she muttered as her fingernails dug into his shoulder. He slid two fingers inside and drew circles with his thumb. Erza arched into him and rose out of the water enough for her breasts to come into view. Her teeth dug into her lip and her eyes squeezed shut.
He took the opportunity to kiss the enticing swell of her breasts. Jellal had already discovered the secrets of Erza's pleasure, but chose to rake her across the trembling surface of desire before pushing her over the edge anyway. He knew every inch of her, and could picture perfectly the flushed pink skin he caressed under the water.
With just the right amount of pressure and a twist of his fingers, the tension broke across her face. She pressed her cheek to his. Jellal pulled his hand away and gathered her hair over her shoulder. He planted soft, wet kisses on the bare side of her neck.
"I never tire of the way your heart races when I touch you, Erza," Jellal whispered.
"Perhaps you should never stop touching me." She kissed his cheek and ran her fingertips over the tattoo that marked the side of his face. "I would always have you close."
"Princess –"
"Don't," Erza pressed a finger to his mouth and smiled sadly. "Just take me to bed."
Water droplets slid from her body when she stood and offered him her hand. Erza accepted a towel and allowed him to blot her hair dry. In a bold display of coquetry she left the towel on the floor near the entrance to the baths. He'd have been lured without her nudity, but he certainly appreciated the view. Jellal dropped his own towel once they were safely in her room with the door shut behind them.
Erza stretched out on her futon and held a hand toward him. Her damp hair spread over the pillows and blankets. Jellal marveled at its brilliance as he hovered above her. Erza smiled up at him and reached between them to grasp his erection. Her legs slid over his hips and crossed at the small of his back. He took a possessive kiss as she guided him into her. Erza's skin was still warm from their time in the onsen, and he melted into the heat of it.
Jellal's head fell between her breasts and one hand cupped the soft mound of flesh in his palm. She angled her hips upward and the gasps of pleasure she released into his mouth clawed at his self control. The hand at her breast slid down below her back to grasp her thigh and bring her bent leg into her chest. With all of his remaining stamina he aimed for the spot inside of her that made her thighs quiver and nipples tighten. Jellal followed her climax without delay and exhaled heavily into her neck.
"Will you stay with me tonight?" she whispered. Jellal slid off her body and propped himself on one elbow. Even in the low light, she glowed. He traced his fingers over her cheeks, shoulders and the silky skin of her breasts. "Please?"
Jellal leaned down to kiss her softly. "I will stay until sunrise."
Erza pulled him against her and kissed him. Her sadness tasted like the fleeting scent of cherry blossoms in the spring. He knew she felt the same hard edge of their finite time together. Both the pleasure and the pain were part of the bargain they'd agreed to before she ever invaded his space and pressed her lips to his.