A/N: Thanks so much for reading!
Some shout outs:
'Annybelle', 'Abyss', 'Jeralee', 'freckles123', 'Sophia Kay', 'jan-rayne', 'LittleGreenEyedGirl', and 'Hawx94'. Thanks for your reviews!
Chapter Eleven: The Outpost
I woke up just before sunrise. My body had been trained after many years when it was time to wake up. My eyes blinked the sleep out of them quickly, before I looked down at the quietly sleeping blonde on my chest.
She looked peaceful as she slept, and happy. I reached my fingers towards her hair, and ran my fingers through the strands.
I could not find the words to describe the anger I had felt when I had been commanded to take her with me. At the King's words, I had instantly imagined all of the horrible things that could happen to her out here. I imagined her being ridden down, just like my last wife. I heard her scream my name in terror, pictured her face as she ran for her life.
The sounds of her death echoed in my head now. The fear of losing her had added one more voice to the list of my tormentors. I heard them, as clear as I heard her slow breathing. I had to squeeze my eyes shut and focus on the feel of her skin to convince my mind to quiet itself. She wasn't dead, she was right here. And I wasn't going to let any of those things happen to her.
It had been a long time since I'd held Jessie in my arms. Very long. Her voice tortured me, but it was beginning to become more of a memory. I loved Jessie, I knew I had loved her. But it had been a very long time since I had felt her touch, heard her kindness. I touched Sapphire every day, as much as I could. I saw her everyday. She inspired me.
Hearing her voice screaming in terror was much more real to me than Jessie's was, now.
I felt my heart rate quicken as the thoughts crowded my head again. I took several deep breaths to calm myself. To let myself grow so close to her was pushing my mind. If I lost Sapphire-
I couldn't even bear to think through to the end of the sentence. At best, I would probably become a shell of a man, what I was before I'd met the wives. At worst I'd be dead.
The amount of and anxiety and fear I felt over her wellbeing almost made it unbearable to be near her.
On my last assignment, I'd had plenty of time to think. And I had been thinking a lot about the word love, and why I thought of it every time I looked at Sapphire. When I had come back home and found her on the couch, and then when she'd made love to me. I had known then that I was falling in love with her.
It wasn't until the moment I knew she was going outside that I realized I was completely in love with her. When the voices had hit me harder than they had in years, when I'd imagined her screaming. It had torn daggers right through me. I realized then how deeply I really felt about her.
I felt bad that I didn't speak to her after we left the throne room. She was clearly confused and rather hurt. My reaction had given her good reason to be. I tried to make her feel better as we were leaving, but I wasn't good at talking. I hadn't spoken a word in almost two years before I met the Wives. I was still learning how to be good with people.
I'm lucky she's patient. If she wasn't this would've never worked.
I knew for certain that I had hurt her feelings when we had finally stopped for the night. It bothered me that she was upset because of me. She was changing me. I could've given two shits about her feelings when I had first met her.
Now she was the most precious thing in my life.
Loving her was the most difficult thing I had ever decided to do to myself. The mind games I played with myself, the fear of losing her. It was like torturing myself every day.
It was worth it to hear the words from her mouth. I would put myself through that torture every day for her love, without blinking an eye.
I had no idea how or why she had come to love me. But I was glad as hell that she did.
The bed we were sleeping on was a large air mattress, just sized enough to fit comfortably into the back of the war car. Normally I didn't bother with such things and just slept in one of the seats. But I had a Princess with me.
She stirred in my arms and her eyes fluttered open. She looked up at me, smiled softly, and sat up. As she did, the sheets fell away around her shoulders and puddled about her hips and legs. Her silver hair flowed down her body, brushing ever so lightly against the pale skin of her breasts. She gathered the pillows, and moved them behind me. I laid back against them at her command, now propped up slightly.
Her blue eyes met mine, and I felt the fear I'd been feeling minutes ago ebb away from me. I felt soothed as she looked at me.
When I had seen her last night, standing there in the desert as night fell slowly, I had never been so taken by another person. I was certain now that she was starlight. I had seen her standing underneath the vastness of the universe. She surely belonged up there, with the stars. Not down here with me.
She leaned forward and pressed her lips against mine. I immediately pulled her toward me, my thoughts caught up in the image of her in the stars.
I felt her smiling into our kiss, and the next thing I knew she was pulling away from me. I couldn't help the twinge of disappointment in my chest. But the next thing I knew, she had climbed on top of me. I saw a familiar mischeiviousness in her eyes, and as she reached in between my legs I knew what she was up to.
I moaned as she slid down onto me, and grabbed her hips desperately. She leaned down to me and kissed me, and as she did she grinded against me slowly. When she pulled away from our kiss, she leaned over and whispered in my ear as she continued to pull her hips against mine.
"I love you, Max." She told me.
I didn't give her any warning. She should know better than to just say that to me and expect no reaction.
I pulled her off of me, flipped her onto all fours, and was back inside of her before she could protest. I hooked my hands to her hips, and thrusted inside of her again. I heard her cry out, and heard her whisper my name. I ran one hand down the length of her spine, marveling at the feel of her skin, before my hand found its way into her hair. I grabbed a fistful of it, my other hand still held tight to her hips. I pulled her against me mercilessly.
As I did, I heard her cry out my name. I released her hair, and my hand moved to her shoulder where I used that as leverage to bring myself deeper into her.
I heard her desperate cries as she told me she was about to cum, but I held back my own orgasm. She was going to feel what it meant to really make love to me.
I didn't relent on her, and soon she was screaming and I felt her tighten around me as she climaxed. When the last of the shudders had rolled through her body, I flipped her over and climbed on top of her.
"Max!" She whispered in surprise before I silenced her with a kiss. I felt her nails dig into my back as I continued to make love to her. I captured her hands away from mine, and held them above her head, pinned down. It took everything in my power to hold myself back and wait for her second orgasm, but when it finally came I didn't fight mine anymore. I finished inside of her, pulling my body against hers desperately and growling deeply as I did.
I rolled off of her, exhausted, and panted heavily. She laid next to me for a moment, before she crawled back over to lay on my chest. I could feel her tiny body shaking, and I smiled slightly, pleased with myself.
"Good morning." She finally whispered out.
"Good morning." I replied. "We need to get moving soon."
She exhaled heavily. "You don't honestly expect me to move after that, do you?"
I chuckled softly at her words. "Not just yet, love. We can stay like this for a little."
She tilted her head up to kiss my neck softly, before she nuzzled down into me again.
"I love you." I told her quietly. I stroked my fingertips along her back gently. I didn't want to leave where I was, but duty called. I just wanted to keep her safe in my arms forever.
We'd gotten out of bed shortly after, and the first thing I did was put a gun in her hand and teach her how to handle it. Nothing of a large caliber. I gave her a .22 to start her out. It wasn't a gun with stopping power, but people don't usually like getting shot. I wasn't giving her anything more powerful just yet. Once she'd had a handle on how to work the gun and had fired a few shots with me, I set out some empty cans for her to shoot at. I began to work on the radiator, trying to see why it had started getting hot before we'd stopped yesterday.
I kept an eye on her as I fixed the radiator. She was trying her luck at shooting the targets. She was a decent shot.
When I had repaired the radiator, I called Sapphire over and opened the car door for her. Once she was in the car, I climbed in myself and started it. I continued headed east, the same direction as yesterday.
"Where are we going?" Sapphire asked me.
"The Outpost." I replied. "It's the closest neutral town. They would've stopped there on their way out. Unless he's been hoarding rations, which I doubt, they would've needed to stop here for some. He'll probably have traded some of the gas for supplies, since he left unsupplied. And if he wants to cover the city symbol that's on the side of the car, he might've been able to here."
"Do you think they're still there?" She asked me.
I shrugged. "We'll find out when we get there."
We continued to travel into the early afternoon. I parked the car just outside the city, next to rows of other vehicles.
No one was around when we got out, and I climbed out before she could. I let her out of the car, and as soon as she had climbed out I spoke to her.
"Put your hood up." I commanded her immediately. She obliged quickly, and I spoke again. "And put your veil up. This place is lawless."
She lifted the veil into place, and it covered her nose and mouth. Her bright eyes and some of her fair skin was still visible. That made me anxious. But there was nothing more I could do.
"Good." I kissed her forehead affectionately. "Stay close, ok?"
I didn't have to tell her twice. She immediately clung onto my arm, and we began to walk.
We entered into the city through a set of steel gates. The city was surrounded by a steel wall as well, but was above ground. So different from the Stone City. This place reminded me of Bartertown.
It was packed as usual. People yelled about their wares, and a slave auction was occurring across the market. I began to walk quickly over the packed dirt, in the direction of the inn.
I noticed people's eyes on Sapphire. Even covering her she looked different. Her clothes too clean, her face too pale, her skin too smooth, her eyes too bright. They were looking at her. I hated it. But there was nothing more I could do.
We wouldn't be able to stay here very long at all.
We walked into the Inn, and even though it was only the afternoon the place was filled with drunken revelry.
Sapphire immediately clung closer to me, and while I appreciated the feel of her I hated that she was afraid.
"Well what do we have here?" I heard the drunken slur behind me after we had been inside for only a few minutes.
I stopped dead in my tracks, and turned to face the man. He was quite large, taller and wider than me. He was leering at Sapphire. I had expected this, but not so soon.
This would not do.
"You're not going to lay eyes on her again." I told him simply.
"And if I do?" The man sneered.
"You'll never see again." I answered without hesitation.
Sapphire immediately looked at me urgently, but I didn't break my gaze with the man.
He scoffed. At this point, the people around us had quieted and started to stare.
"I'll take my fucking chances." The man shot back.
He was a confident one.
He reached forward and grabbed ahold of Sapphire's arm. I heard her cry out in pain, and as soon as she did I saw red.
Time seemed to slow, and I closed the distance between the man and I quickly. He lunged at me like he was going to grab me, but I shifted out of his reach. He was taller than me. So the first thing I did was grab hold of his now extended arm and then proceed to kick his knee out.
He immediately screamed and released Sapphire. He fell down to one knee. By now everyone was looking.
I punched him clear across the face, and his eyes flickered as I did. He slumped to the side, but I pulled him up and grabbed his head.
"Turn around, love." I told Sapphire. She turned obediently.
I pushed my thumbs into his eyes.
He immediately let out a blood curdling scream. As soon as he did, I saw Sapphire flinch and she quickly covered her ears. Her reaction wasn't enough to stop me. Before I released him, I wiped both of my hands on his shirt to rid myself of the majority of his blood.
He immediately fell to the ground and sobbed. The whole inn was silent.
"Anyone else?" I asked the onlookers. As I spoke, I grabbed a pitcher of water and poured it over each of my hands, ridding myself of the last of his filth.
The only sound in the entire room was the water hitting the ground.
I nodded once, tossed the pitcher in front of the man on the ground, and wiped my hands on my pants. I then spoke to Sapphire.
"Come along." I told her.
She turned, and her eyes darted briefly to the man on the floor before she looked up quickly and deliberately set her eyes on me. She walked up next to me quickly, and we walked further into the inn.
The inn's noise level returned to normal, and everyone continued in their afternoon enjoyments. They just gave me, and now Sapphire, a wide girth.
I walked up to the innkeep, who I figured might have information on Sapphire's runaway sibling.
"Slate." I called the man's name as I walked up to his desk. He had been facing away, fiddling around in a drawer. He was a short, older, wispy looking man.
"Max." He immediately replied as he turned around. "I thought that was you. Did you come to cause some trouble at my inn?"
"I like to think I was making it safer." I countered.
Slate smirked slightly at my words. "What can I do for you?"
"I need to know if you've seen a man from the Stone City here. He would've gotten in last night with a pretty girl."
Slate hesitated, before he leaned closer to me. I leaned against the counter to listen.
"They got in late last night. I thought it was odd, they rode in on a Stone Warcar with no backup. They stayed here overnight. Ran into some trouble early this morning with a group of bikers and had to skip town."
"You know where they went?" I questioned further.
"I overheard something about the Citadel." He answered.
"Thanks." I replied. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I reached into my backpack and pulled out a handful of tokens. They were currency used in the Stone City, used to get rations for supplies like food, water, and fuel.
"Always a pleasure." Slate answered. He began to turn around, but stopped himself and leaned forward again.
"As a friend, Max," He began. Slate and I had known each other for a long time. "Those bikers left after them about three hours ago."
"How many?" I asked.
"Six." He replied.
"I appreciate it, Slate." I answered. I extended my hand to the man, and he shook it before I turned quickly and grabbed Sapphire by the arm.
This wasn't good at all.
"Who's after them, Max?" Sapphire whispered to me urgently.
"Not here." I growled back.
She nodded, and I led her out of the city quickly. As soon as we were both safely in the vehicle, she spoke again.
"Max, are they in danger?" She asked me.
"Yes." Was all I answered.
I reversed quickly , and headed in the direction of the Citadel. It was a solid two days ride from here.
"Are we going to get there in time?" She asked me.
"I'm going to try."
She cast her eyes anxiously out of the window, and I saw her began to fiddle anxiously with the hem of her shirt.
We drove in silence for a long time before Sapphire spoke.
"That man in the Inn…" She began.
My grip tightened on the wheel. I didn't want this conversation. Maybe taking the man's eyes out had been a little unnescessary.
But he'd wanted to rape Sapphire. He would have if he had won the fight. In my eyes he was as guilty as they come. My jealousy and protectiveness did nothing to help him.
I didn't say anything to her.
"You broke his kneecap. You just took his eyes." She stated.
"Yes." I replied.
"Don't you think that was a little-"
"Unnescessary? Excessive? No, I don't think so. He would've raped you if he'd taken me down. Probably in one of the room's in the very same inn. He might've kept you as a sex slave, or sold you to the highest bidder. Did you want that?"
She shook her head.
"No. Of course not. I made an example out of one man, and as a result I only had to fight one man. And you were kept safer for it."
Sapphire looked over at me apprehensively, and I slowed the car to a stop. I looked over at her, and leaned toward her. I removed her veil and then her hood before I kissed her gently. I pulled away, and ran my fingers through her hair.
"I need you to trust that I'm doing what I need to keep you alive and safe. Do you understand? Nothing else matters to me."
After several silent, anxious moments, she nodded her head. "Yes, I understand."
"Good." I stated. I pulled away from her, and put the car into gear again. I didn't know that she really understood. She seemed apprehensive, and as I watched her in the seat next to me she seemed to be retreating into herself.
Maybe breaking his knee cap and gouging his eyes out had been a bit excessive.
I sighed heavily and gripped the wheel tighter.
I wasn't used to having to hold back. I didn't want to have to. My methods had been working in my favor for a long time, and I didn't want to change them. But if my methods were making Sapphire afraid…
Goddmanit. I didn't sign up for this. I already had enough of a conscience. Now I was going to add hers too.
Her pain and fear were mine, now.
We drove in silence for a long time. I wanted to find the words to comfort her, but I couldn't think of them. Language and I dont't mix well.
"I just want to protect you." I finally managed to get out.
She looked over at me, surprised I had spoken.
"I thought about what he would do with you, and I saw red. " I finished.
She reached toward me, and I offered her my own hand. She lifted the back of my hand to her lips, and kissed it softly.
"It's ok." Was all she said as she pulled away from my hand. She lowered my hand but didn't release it.
I continued on, in the direction of the Citadel. I didn't even remember the last time I had held someone's hand while I drove.
I didn't know if we'd need to go into the Citadel. But I couldn't help but to wonder how my past was going to interact with my present. Furiosa and I... We had never been together. But she was the closet I had come to loving someone in a long time. I glanced over at Sapphire, and realized that I couldn't have found someone more different.
This should be interesting.
A/N: Thanks, please R&R
