Chapter 14

Spiders.

Spiders everywhere.

Ornella could feel their hairy legs spinning her as they spat out their web. Trapped in an infinite and torturous loop, she would somehow find a way to escape and at the last minute be dragged back across the rocky ground. Dust clouded her vision, rocks cutting her skin as she clawed the ground in a desperate attempt to escape. She tried running one last time time but the spiders were done playing games.

Desperation filled her, crying out for help as she was once again cocooned in darkness. She screamed for Beorn repeatedly but he would not come. No amount of regret would bring him to her now. He hated her and it was all been her fault.

She sobbed apologies out loud, confined in the webbed coffin. She began to hyperventilate, breathing becoming impossible. She began to convulse as she willed herself to fight against the white mesh that kept her trapped.

"Let me out, let me out, let me out!" She screamed until her voice became hoarse, her throat burning.

Then she felt something on her shoulders. It felt like someone was gripping them, shaking her. She fought against it until the faint found of their voice became clearer.

"Wake up, Ornella."

"No, please let me out!" She demanded, fighting against the voice.

"Wake up!"

She leapt up with a choking gasp, her head nearly colliding with Beorn's as he pulled her out of her nightmare. He kept a firm grip on her shoulders, searching her eyes to convince her she wasn't dreaming. She stopped struggling, pausing at the sight of his face. She continued to pant, staring up at him speechlessly.

The fear in her eyes pained him so. He couldn't imagine how frightened she must have been and would no doubt be plagued with nightmares for many nights to come.

"Hush," He murmured, sliding a hand from her shoulder down to her neck, "You are safe now, little clover."

"I thought I was dead," She mumbled throatily, the feel of his thumb stroking her cheek felt as real as the dream spiders.

"A moment sooner and you would have been," He reprimanded her benevolently, "What were you thinking?"

Before she could answer, the sound of a kettle whistling reminded him of the tea he left brewing. He released her to rush to the kettle. She immediately missed his comforting warmth. Despite her fatigue, she followed after him, legs trembling as she shyly walked to stand by a wooden pillar. She eyed him quietly as he placed the cup of tea on the cracked wooden table. When he noticed her standing, disapproval immediately lined his stern face.

"You should rest."

"I am fine," She lied, dropping her gaze downward, "Beorn, I am... so sorry."

The skin-changer studied her knowingly for he knew what she wanted to say. She found her bravery soon, forcing herself to look him in the eye. Her voice wavered, very clearly ashamed and remorseful for running away. Beorn pitied her but decided to let her find her own words. She pushed through the lump in her throat, attempting to speak steadily and failing miserably.

"I should not have been outside when you returned from aiding the dwarves... I should have listened," She admitted brokenly, "There is no excuse for it nor for what I said. My words were as untrue as they were insensitive. I... I..."

"You what?" He pushed gently.

She swallowed the lump in her throat but couldn't hold back the half-sob as she finished her sentence.

"I left because you once asked it of me and you were right to do so. I cannot continue to distract you from protecting your home and animals."

That had been the last thing he was expecting. Before, he would have accepted her apology and left it at that. Now, he wanted to gather her in his arms and take full blame. If it meant she would stay, he would do so in a heartbeat.

He slowly moved nearer as she gave into her tears, turning her back to him to hide her face in her hands. She was unable to stand him seeing her in such a pathetic state. Her shoulders shook, tears flowing heavily. She could feel his presence behind her.

"I am afraid that is no longer an option," He informed her matter-of-factly.

"W-Why?" She asked into her hands.

Beorn pressed his chest against her back, reaching around to grab her wrists and pull her hands off her face. He hugged her tightly against him, his lips in her ear.

"Because I fear I could not live without you."

Ornella felt winded. Had she heard him correctly? He ran his hands from her wrists slowly to her shoulders, goosebumps trailing her soft skin, an involuntary gasp exiting her lips. Her tears subsided into nothing but sniffles, blinking slowly as she savored his touch. She felt him move her shoulders, forcing her to face him. There was insecurity in her eyes but it would soon be forgotten.

His lips quickly found hers, still holding her shoulders. He kissed her hungrily, his large hands slithered to rest on either side of her neck. His thumbs rested on her cheeks, taking her lower lip in his mouth. He gave it the gentlest of bites, drawing a quiet gasp from the shaking woman who submitted to his embrace. He forced himself to tear his lips away breathlessly, pressing his forehead against hers.

There was no going back now; they were in love and nothing, not even an army of Orcs, could tear them apart.

The weeks that followed would prove to be difficult for Ornella. She was plagued with nightmares almost on a nightly basis. She would wake up screaming, sometimes having to be shaken so hard that her head bobbled like a rag doll. She never lingered far from Beorn when he was around, trailing after him like a wary duckling. When he was gone, she would catch herself anxiously peering out the window for his return. She had built a habit of grabbing onto either his trousers or vest as they walked almost as if she feared he would disappear. Beorn, however, didn't mind this fixation she had to be near him.

Truth be told, he secretly enjoyed it such as he was now.

She walked with him to the clover field where he intended to collect the honey from his bee pastures, gripping his vest as usual. He had promised her to show her how he collected the honey so that they may bake more cakes together that night. She initially reacted with excitement but it seemed to have faded.

"You are quiet today," Beorn commented gently, looking down at her inquisitively but she kept her eyes on the ground.

She tightened her hold on his vest, prompting him to take her hand in his. She finally looked up, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear as their fingers laced together. Even a gesture as simple as hand-holding managed to fluster Ornella. He continued to look at her expectantly, enjoying the flushing of her cheeks.

Aside from the occasional loving touch and sweet embrace, neither made the effort to repeat their kiss from weeks prior – Beorn too afraid of his carnal desires and Ornella too shy. Normally, he would have made himself scarce when overcome with sexual desire for her but Ornella wasn't allowing him any time alone so long as he was within her sight.

"No more than usual," Ornella finally forced a smile up at him but he knew better.

They never spoke of Mirkwood Forest, the memory unpleasantly for them both. Just as she would have visions of being back in the spider-ridden forest, Beorn would be tormented with awful images of her violent death. If Mara had not pushed herself to warn Beorn as she did and reached him in time, Ornella would have been another corpse hanging off webbed trees. It was a traumatic experience for everyone involved.

"If you insist," He let the subject go, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Ornella didn't want to let him know how tired she truly was. Her ongoing anxiety was growing worse; she was afraid to sleep or be alone. She would manage to grasp onto a few hours of sleep here and there, only managing to do so when Beorn was inside the house. She wished she was brave enough to ask him to stay beside her as she slept but couldn't. The audacity of such a request set her cheeks aflame.

When he would sit beside her at night, he would stroke her hair or rubbed her back until he heard her gentle snores. Then he would leave again and the nightmares would begin, forcing him to return to her side repeatedly. She felt guilty for it but he never showed any signs of irritation, only concern – it only made her love for him grow each time she awoke to his comforting face.

"I hope I do not get stung," She suddenly frowned, receiving only a smirk.

"Not by my bees," He assured her.

She flinched at the sudden buzzing near her ear as they drew closer to the pastures. She nearly protested when Beorn released her hand, leaving a cold emptiness in her palm. Crossing her arms over her chest, she observed Beorn open the wooden boxes containing the honeycombs. Many large bees came buzzing out, Ornella waving them away guardedly as they fluttered around her curiously.

"Come," He beckoned her, sliding a single frame out of the box.

She did so with hesitation, trying her best to ignore the tickling of the flying bees as they wisped around them. She kept her eyes on Beorn who grabbed his beekeeping scraper, gently waving away the bees who lingered. She heard him utter a soft buzzing noise, shooing them. Her eyes softened as they did each time he spoke to his animals.

Her mouth watered instantly as he gently scraped honey out of the combs attached to the frame. He scooped a generous amount before holding it above her face.

"Open up," He ordered, pouring the honey over her face.

He chuckled as a protest died in her throat, her mouth opening in an attempt to catch the honey he purposely overpoured. She released a half-scream, half-giggle as it entered her mouth but dripped down her chin. She swallowed the honey, bringing her hands up to keep the rest of it from oozing further down her neck.

Beorn's eyes followed a single trail of honey she missed as it flowed like liquid gold down her neck and to the upper swell of a creamy breast. To his horror, she merely wiped it off with her fingers before sucking each digit with an unaware sensuality.

"Mmm," She moaned contently, "Delicious."

Indeed, you are, my hellish little clover.

Hellish was an understatement when describing Ornella. The little minx tormented him with acts she was blissfully unaware of doing. A simple biting of her lower lip, a slight reveal of her soft skin, the pants and gasps she released in her night terrors, the soft feel of her hand cupped in his – it was beginning to be far too much for the Beorning to bear.

How he longed to kiss her once more. The knowledge that she wanted it as bad as he only made it more difficult. It took every ounce of strength to leave her side at night after he would coax her back to sleep but he knew he couldn't stay. He was weak – weak when it came to Ornella. She deserved patience, a slow courtship and the right to decide when, and if, he deserved her body.

She deserves more, he had once told Mara and he still believed that.

He would remain patient... even if it meant battling with his excruciating desire for the silver-haired maiden.

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