Chapter 10
Tears streamed silently down the young woman's face as she filled her glass with wine from the bottle at her side. She would drain the cup, then refill it again as she thought over whatever it was that was bothering the woman. Gabby was sure she already knew, but she will never know for sure until she asked and found out, but her legs wouldn't move. Finally, she forced herself to walk up to the crying woman and Gabby felt Dinah's heart breaking. Feeling that made her own heart start to break. She knelt next to the woman, but still Dinah didn't look up. The seer had just refilled her cup again and was about to bring it to her lips when she thought the better of it and put it back on the table. "Y' wanna hear a secret, Gabriel?" Gabby stood up, then slowly sat down next to her, almost knocking over an empty wine bottle she hadn't seen before she sat down. She hastily moved it, then checked the table for more, but only saw the two, the one she had finished, and the one she was working on draining at the moment. It was obvious that the seer was trying to drink her troubles away, and whatever secret she was prepared to tell her was possibly the key to these troubles. After a while, Gabby got tired of waiting patiently for Dinah to continue talking. Finally, she sighed.
"Tell me a secret, Dinah." she whispered to her.
"Care'lyn's not gonna make it. S he's... not..." The seer started to sob. 'No no no, Don't do that. I am starting to yearn.' Gabby thought to the girl in front of her, surprised at how true the statement was. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to see the girl smiling. Dinah drank back her goblet of wine, slammed it onto the table, and reached for the bottle. She pushed her hair away from her reddened face before she filled her cup again. "She- She..." she rubbed her face to rid it of tears. "She knows this and wants me to care... for the child as my very own if the baby survives. ME! Me, Gabriel." She finished in a whisper. She looked at her cup and took a drink. "I can't-"
"Whatever you were about to say, don't. I know you can." the knight interrupted.
"But a child, Gabriel? I'm not sure I am ready for that."
"There are monks you can take it to. Tell them the situation, and they will care for it."
"I can't do that, Gabby." She whispered so softly. Gabby tucked some of the girl's blond locks behind her left ear. "This baby's going to be special. I can't just walk away from a baby like that knowing what I know of it. Knowing what it can become."
"It can't be too bad, Dinah. I mean, I do not know much about children except for the fact that we all were one once, but I will help you in any way I can." Gabby said softly.
"What about feeding?" Dinah asked, blushing slightly. "I have no milk for the baby." Gabby thought on this for a minute before smiling softly.
"When I was at the Manx household for but a season, a man had come to the house asking for Thadius. 'Said his cow had a calf and that the calf wasn't feeding... It wasn't getting milk from the mother. So the mother was slaughtered, and Thadius made a pouch. The pouch, from then until the calf was old enough, was used to hold goat's milk. Thadius still has it in the house at home. We can put goat's milk inside and use that for the baby. There's always a way. Let's not give up before we have the chance to find one." Gabby said, stilling the hand that was raising the goblet to soft lips. Dinah sighed.
"You're right, Gabriel." She murmured loud enough for the both of them to hear.
"Come on, let's get you to bed. You look like you need sleep, Dinah." Gabby said, standing up and extending her hand to help the seer up. Dinah grabbed onto it and the knight let her lean her body onto her for support. Together they walked to their quarters as the storm outside blew an icy draft throughout the corridors, blowing out torches and darkening their path. Gabby felt a chill on her spine and tried to hurry them a little bit more to get them into a more comfortable place. "Looks like I will have to start a fire in the fire pit when we get into our room. It is quite cold tonight." Gabby said more to herself than to the seer. With a little bit of difficulty, the knight juggled the girl (whom was by now dragging her feet to the point that Gabby decided it would be quicker to just carry her) at the same time she tried to get the door open. The knight saw the familiar cage on the t able next to an unlit candle with Diable' Blanc inside looking frightened, sitting in the far corner of his cage. She set the satchel of her winnings and the deed down on the table, helped Dinah into the bed without dressing into her night gown, took off her shoes and covered her with all of the linens, including the ones on the floor that must have been placed in there by Kafka, whom had obviously put Diable' Blanc in there as well. Gabby was to use them for sleeping, but after the events that had happened , she wasn't sure she would be able to sleep, even though she didn't get much rest the night before. Gabby went out into the corridor and took the torch from the wall and went back into the room and lit the candle and the fire pit before returning it and tend to the fire, which was slowly growing. The knight took the rabbit out of his cage and stood in front of the fire, deep into her thoughts. When the skies roared again, Diable' Blanc jumped and Gabby did her best to calm him. She stroked his fur and watched the fire.
After a minute, Diable' Blanc had yet to calm, so the knight figured that bringing the cage might make him feel better. After replacing the latch, Gabby crouched next to the fire and watched the flames as she listened to Dinah's breathing through the rumbles of the skies. "The light of flames upon your face is proof that you are beautiful." Dinah said, making Gabby look up at her. In the light that reached Dinah's features, Gabby caught sight if a small smirk. The seer got up from the bed an d took a few steps towards the knight. Gabby stood straight up, which was a relief to her aching knees, and faced Dinah.
"You should be resting. There will be no mercy on your head come morning." Gabby told her. The seer stood inches away from the knight, and the closeness made Gabby a little uncomfortable, yet she didn't back away in case the seer stumbled as she had on their way to the room.
"Y'know? You're the only one whom has never called me Seer. I was always Dinah to you, and you always respected my wishes to get away from the Pennyworth kingdom from the very start." she said in almost a babble. "You have always been kind to me even when I needed a good kick in the head on the way over here."
"Just doing what any knight should." Gabby said, hoping that the slight tingle in her body couldn't somehow be heard in her voice. Dinah's lips touched hers, and Gabby immediately backed away and looked at the seer with surprise. "Don't." The knight said, though her heart reached out for the girl.
"Why not ?" Dinah whispered. She strode to Gabby and placed a hand on her chest. "I feel that your heart beats for me, Gabby." she said in the same hushed tone. The knight knew that the words spoken were correct, but she dared not speak, dared not to look into the seer's eyes in fear of telling her all of her heart's secrets.
"You're drunken, Dinah." Gabby felt the younger woman's hand move from her chest to her cheek, slender fingers tracing the knight's jaw and enflaming the skin. The fingers on her neck were replaced by lips. A presence was felt inside the knight's head, not unlike the first night they'd met in the Pennyworth kingdom.
"Such smooth skin..." the seer murmured against Gabby's neck.
"We-" Gabby gasped, and whatever she was going to say was forgotten as she felt Dinah's teeth slowly scrape against her skin. The knight felt she couldn't breathe correctly, it being erratic with the seer's touch. As the lips left her skin, Gabby slowly opened to her eyes to see flames flicker within the Dinah's. All was silent save the crackling of the fire and the downfall of rain that was just barely heard outside. Gabby's heart felt heavy, filled with emotions she wasn't allowed to feel, yet here she was, wanting the woman before her. She leaned in and was surprised when Dinah met her halfway, their kiss somewhat clumsy, but still soft, becoming sensual in the end.
Gabby found that Dinah couldn't be any closer to her without becoming apart of her, yet the knight felt she wasn't close enough to the younger blonde. She wrapped an arm around Dinah's waist as the kiss deepened, Dinah's tongue tasting of the wine she had consumed. 'With you in my arms, I can't get any closer to heaven.' Gabby thought to the girl. With that thought, Dinah broke away. 'Did she hear that? Have I frightened her away?' the knight asked herself. Dinah studied Gabby for a moment, wondering if what she'd just heard in Gabby's head meant. She'd hoped with everything that it was true, and that thought alone both surprised and frightened her. Dinah then took the knight's hand and led her to the bed. Gabby started to panic. She didn't know much about intercourse except for the talk the men did when they speak of the sometimes many different women they've bedded, except for the married men. They tend to stay quiet, but the unmarried men talk of they sexual satisfactions as if they didn't care of the woman's feelings as long as they got what they'd wanted from her. Gabby had once asked Irene about sex, and she found that the older woman couldn't seem to give the knight a straight answer.
"Irene?" Gabby asked the woman whom was baking bread at the moment for their supper that night. She turned towards her and asked with her eyes why she wasn't training with Thadius.
"Yes, Gabriel?" The squire fidgeted. How was she going to ask her this, and why was it so hard to speak to Thadius about it?
"I have a question to ask you... about sexual intercourse." she said, looking down with embarrassment. She hadn't the courage when she was younger to ask her own mother and father, but the more Thadius was with his knightly friends, the more the topic came up, and Gabby hadn't the slightest as to what they meant when they asked her half of the question thrown her way. Irene stopped kneading the dough, and showed the then squire that her full attention was hers.
"H- How is it done? I mean, I know that because of this act women get pregnant and have children... but I don't know what they do, a man and a woman." Gabby said quickly, trying to get it all out before s he lost her nerve and ran away embarrassed. Irene seemed to think about it, then she gestured for Gabby to come closer to her.
"Come here, Gabe." Gabby did as she was told and walked closer to the taller woman. "I honestly do not know a good way to explain it to you that won't make either of us blush like mad, but let me tell you this. When the time comes, your body and your heart will be ready, and it will know what to do. Your heart will guide you, alright Lad?" she asked. Gabby nodded, feeling a little bit better, but at the same time more confused. 'How will my heart know what to do when my mind doesn't even know how it's done?' she's asked herself.
'Please heart, don't lead me astray.' the knight silently pleaded. She wasn't sure even now what she was to do. All she knew was that she wanted to give this beauty before as much pleasure as she possibly could- if she could without that one necessary organ.
"Are you scared?" Dinah asked softly, her lowered voice breaking into the knight's thoughts.
"Yes." Gabby admitted. "I have never... I have ever done this before."
"Nor have I. Let's learn together... teach each other." the seer whispered into her ear, melting all of the knight's insecurities and objections. Gabby could feel herself blush as Dinah's fingers undid the knot to the in the front of her dress, the corset that shaped her figure. As the corset felt to the floor, the material started to slip, and Gabby was slightly frozen by the sight. Her throat became suddenly dry as Dinah continued on, taking off her undergarments until she stood before the knight completely naked.
Gabby could only think to say "You're so beautiful."
Dinah kissed the knight, then whispered, "So are you." This somewhat surprised Gabby, having not been referred to beautiful in so many years, and it seemed foreign to her, as she had become used to being called handsome instead. The seer's lips claimed the knight's as her hand found the older woman's. "It's okay to touch." she said, bringing Gabby's hand to her right breast. Gabby paused for a second, and her insecurities flooded back. Then she thought, 'My heart says this is okay. She said this is okay, so this is okay, right?' She slowly let her hand move, hearing a sharp intake of air, telling her this was indeed right. Though she wasn't fully sure of what to do with her hands, Gabby knew that she didn't want the seer to stop kissing her. She continued to touch Dinah, caressing her breast.
After what seemed like only seconds (but Gabby knew it had to have been much more than that), Dinah pulled away again and reached down and loosened the knot on the strip of leather that held her pants and her shirt to her. Gabby's shirt was easily removed after that, and Dinah gently touched the fabric that wound tightly to her chest, fastened with a pin. "You've been concealing yourself." Dinah said, somewhat shocked.
"I have to." was all the knight could think to say as a reply. Her mind raced as Dinah unfastened the pin and unwrapped the fabric around her chest, freeing flesh that only the knight had seen in over 20 years. Dinah continued to undress Gabby, and within moments both of them were naked and under the many blankets. Both of them were silent, listening to the storm. Gabby heard the rumbles of thunder, and it seemed to give her just enough courage to touch the seer's hair and position herself so that she hovered over the younger woman. "I heard it hurts the first time. Something that one of the men had once said. I have a little bit of an idea as to what to do. I don't want to hurt you, so promise me that the moment something hurts you let me know and I will stop." Gabby said softly. "Promise me." She repeated when the younger blonde didn't say anything.
"I promise Gabby, but I know you wouldn't hurt me." Dinah replied in an equally quiet voice. Gabby swallowed the lump in her throat. She awkwardly touched the seer's bare skin with both hands, slowly moving downwards. She kissed Dinah's shoulders, her neck, her chest and her stomach at the same time she let her finger explore the younger girl's forbidden curls. When her thumb slipped between her folds, she felt a slickness surround her finger. She looked at Dinah quickly, then her thumb ran over a nub that made the younger blonde twitch. She did it again, and once more, the seer twitched, letting out a small moan. With that, Gabby let her thumb move in a circular motion.
Dinah's breathing sped up. "G-Gabby." she breathed as she squirmed beneath the knight she called for. Gabby let her pace quicken to stay with the rhythm of Dinah's breathing, her whispered name from the seer's lips being encouragement for her. "Oh god." She finally said as Gabby felt the younger blonde's hips leave the bed. She was silent after that, and Gabby stilled her movements
"I- I didn't hurt you , did I?" she asked. Dinah shook her head, and Gabby silently sighed with relief. She ran her hands over the seer's flesh. She felt she just had to touch the girl. Dinah's breathing began to slow down, and the two women just stared at each other as Gabby's hand stroked the seer's waist.
The knight jumped when she heard thunder roll. 'I hope it isn't I that God has become angry with.' she thought. 'Though I wouldn't be here in this bed tonight if He was so vengeful with me.' Gabby pushed those thoughts out of her mind as she leaned down and kissed Dinah's neck, now covered in perspiration. The knight pulled away for a split second and inspected her hands. She took a deep breath, then kissed Dinah at the same time she slipped her two largest fingers in length (her middle and ring fingers) within the seer slowly. When she heard a pain filled gasp, Gabby started to withdraw. "Don't. Please. Just... give me a moment." the seer pleaded.
Gabby was taken aback, but she didn't move. She just lay motionless watching the younger blonde until she nodded a minute or two later. Slowly, Gabby thrust the fingers in and out of the girl. "Faster." the seer demanded after a while. Gabby did as she was told, quickening her pace. Her other hand balanced her body over the seer. As the younger girl's breathing quickened again, the knight licked a slow trail along Dinah's jaw tasting the sweat that rolled over her skin. She tried her best to maintain her rhythm, but her wrist was starting to ache. Still, the knight didn't stop until the seer growled out in unison with the thunder.
Gabby lay next to Dinah and listened to her breathing as she held her as close as she could. "I love you." she whispered so softly that she doubted the seer heard her, which was just as well because Gabby wasn't allowed to love her, yet she did.