Chapter Sixty Two
A Night of Passion
Author's Commentary:
Halfway through the chapter, we'll be seeing a long overdue love scene. But nothing too overtly explicit. Mostly very suggestive and a little physical, so whenever you're uncomfortable you can skip to the chapter break. This chapter is meant to be a payoff after a rather long two-story arc that began in Book 2, The League of Sorcerers, and I must admit it was awkward but also gratifying to write. Enjoy!
ELSA
As Elsa walked down the long corridor to the guest room Janus had been given, her heart thumped hard in her chest like the kick of a canister loaded cannon going off in rapid succession. Anna had given the Warriors suites that were usually reserved for the nobles or visitors from foreign countries. Since at this point there were none in Arendelle, they were free for the taking, and Anna had figured that her friends should have a night of relaxation before being plunged back into a bloody war again.
Elsa stopped in her tracks and hesitated. A part of her was screaming for her to go running back to the safety of her own bedroom on the third floor and to retreat back into her usual shy shell, but she tried her hardest to ignore it.
Anna was right. There was really no time like the present. Three times already circumstances had gotten in between her and Janus sharing their first kiss. The first she had backed out of fear, the second they were interrupted by Tracy, and the third she had just been kissing the cloth of his mask. She resolved that there wouldn't be a fourth. With the impending war looming ever large, Elsa felt that she deserved to be happy, if only for a little while.
All this time, she had been entertaining the idea that she would find a rare someone out there that she loved that would feel the same way about her. And now she had found him. No, she wasn't going to let this opportunity pass her by. Not this time.
She stopped outside Janus' room and took a deep breath, checking the corridor for anyone who would spot her. The corridor was empty and silent. Here goes nothing. She rapped on the door of the suite.
Silence.
She tried again, the beating of her heart resounding louder than the knocking against the wood, at least to her.
Still silence.
When she could no longer resist the temptation, she opened the unlocked door and slipped into the room cautiously, quietly shutting the door behind her. Surveying the room which was blanketed in darkness, she concluded that Janus wasn't in. Where could he be at this hour?
She found his blood-stained jacket cast over a leather chair, but apart from that, there was no hint that he had been in here. The room was pitch black, apart from being illuminated weakly by the moonlight in the night sky which streaked with lightning at erratic intervals. She walked out to the balcony of the suite to await his return.
"Elsa."
She nearly jumped out of her skin, and spun to see Janus standing in the doorway, his figure silhouetted by the candles out in the corridor.
"I didn't hear you come in." She glanced down at a new recurve bow in his hand. He had returned Oliver's bow before parting ways.
"I went out to the marketplace to gather new supplies. A nice little shop called Oaken's Hunting Goods." He indicated the recurve bow and a new longsword as replacements, and a fresh set of arrows in a quiver on his back. "For the battle to come."
Elsa nodded, her throat suddenly feeling tight. Now that he was here, she didn't really know what to say to him. She looked at his face. It was almost impossible to see his features in the shadows, but she could roughly make out that he was unmasked and was in a fresh white shirt, with the sleeves folded up to his elbows.
He too was very quiet and seemed awkward, not knowing why she was in his room.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, indicating his arm. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness and she could see his brown eyes returning her gaze.
"Holli healed my shoulder." He walked past her and set down his new weapons on a writing desk at the corner of the room.
"That's good." She said, relieved. In the chaos of the mission, they hadn't gotten a chance to properly speak to each other ever since they had split outside the west wing of Denmark's castle, apart from a few passing remarks here and there. But now that they were in private, Elsa felt she could finally speak her mind freely in his presence.
"And your arm?" Janus returned.
Elsa glanced at her left arm which was concealed by her coat, but she knew that the bayonet cut on her upper arm was barely visible at this point, apart from a thin brown scar which stood out in contrast to her pale skin. "My magic helps to speed up the healing process. I'm alright now."
"May I see?"
She allowed him to come closer, her heart hammering sporadically in her chest as he drew nearer with every step. He smelled like he had taken a hot bath too, and the fresh scent laced with local Arendellian cologne made her heart lurch for a brief second before she got it under control.
Suddenly, she felt rather embarrassed and shirked away as Janus reached out to touch her arm. He hesitated when he saw her flinch, almost as if he was uncertain of himself. She finally relented, and slowly shrugged out of her lavender coat for him to see her bare arm.
"See?" She said in a small voice. "I'm fine."
He gently took her arm in his ungloved hand. "You should have asked Holli to help."
"She's had a busy day."
"And you haven't?"
"I think you know the answer to that." Elsa placed a hand on his flank, and this time it was his turn to recoil a little from her touch. His face, though shrouded in darkness, betrayed a hint of surprise, which would otherwise have been concealed by his stoic mask.
"I'm sorry." she flushed. "I-"
"No, don't apologise." Janus had regained his composure in a split second. "Please. It's just that…I've never…"
"Me neither, Janus." Elsa said gently. "Me neither."
"I'm just not sure how these things work." Janus avoided her gaze. "Love isn't a luxury for mercenaries like me."
"If it makes you feel better, I don't know how love is supposed to work either. I guess we can find out together. That is," Elsa added quickly, fidgeting with her blouse. "If…you want to."
"I…would like nothing better." He flashed an uncertain smile. "But I'm not sure I deserve you. Not after everything I've done."
"I know what you've done in the past, but that's what you were back then." She inched closer to him, and took his hand. "I love you for who you are now, and that's all that matters."
He remained silent, but squeezed her hand.
"I just feel that," Elsa felt the need to justify herself. "We don't know what tomorrow holds. And I don't want there to be any regrets between us or anything. I'd always known that there was something more between us since Swynvort, and I don't want us to miss out on anything. I want us to be happy…at least for one night. We deserve this much."
"I know." Janus ran a hand tenderly through her braided hair. "I feel the same way, but I wasn't sure how to-"
"It's okay. We'll figure it out as we go along." Elsa drew closer to him, her hands exploring the hem of his shirt, moving upwards slowly. "I just don't want to wait anymore. All my life I've held back, and whenever I'm with you, I'm feel like I'm finally free."
His coarse, calloused hand rubbed her cheek tenderly as he drew closer still, bending forward slightly. "Likewise."
Heart lurching, Elsa could feel her face grow increasingly hot as she too leaned in, standing on her toes. She felt Janus' breath warm on her face as they both hesitated. Astonishing herself yet again, she inclined herself forward quickly to initiate the kiss and followed through before she could change her mind.
A new sensation rocketed through her, one that was entirely foreign, pulsating in her veins and travelling up and down her body and making her feel like she was exploding into a million tiny fragments of ice. Her fingers and toes tingled pleasurably, and her heartbeat accelerated. This was different from anything she had ever experienced before, and it thoroughly amazed her at how disoriented yet excited it made her feel. This was…something new entirely.
They disengaged briefly, staring into each other's eyes. His brown eyes locked with her blue ones, even as their hands explored each other's body.
"Have you been drinking?" He asked as his face hovered close to hers.
The scent of whiskey was probably still strong on her, she guessed. Either that, or she was still flushing red, though not from the drink. "Just a little." She giggled. "But don't worry, I'm not drunk. It's just that I flush easily."
"Tipsy?"
"Maybe just slightly." She whispered hoarsely. Elsa wrapped her arms around his back as he did the same around her waist, and gave a surprised squeak as her feet left the carpet and she was lifted up into the air. Nonetheless, she went with it and wrapped her legs around his hips, hands gripping his shirt tightly.
Janus pulled her closer to him and their lips locked again, and this time they held there longer, engaging in a long, steamy kiss that Elsa was very sure paid off after three failed attempts. This is certainly worth it.
As their faces pressed against each other, she could feel the slightest bit of his stubble rubbing against her own skin, and it felt prickly. His fingers shifted on her back. A surge of heat rose through her body, starting from the tip of her toes up to the crown of her head, the surging tide like a warm ocean wave cascading and rolling over her.
Her hands drifted up his shirt, sliding up his collar, and stopped to caress the nape of his neck. His arms remained wrapped around her waist and his grip tightened, and she found herself enjoying every single moment in his embrace.
Pressing her body closer towards him, Elsa leaned forward more into the kiss and Janus was forced to backpedal to keep his balance. His back hit the wall, but his lips remained passionately interlocked with hers. And finally, they pulled apart slightly, though their faces were still close to each other. But the moment her lips left his, she found herself craving so much more.
"First time, you say?" Janus whispered.
Elsa couldn't help but giggle as she pressed her forehead against his. She wrapped her arms tighter around the back of his neck. She had thought that she would have felt helpless in the act, but to the contrary, she felt…strong…sexy…empowered even. Who would have imagined that?
"What were we even fighting about the first time we met?" Janus asked rhetorically.
"No idea." The fact that they had once been enemies seemed so alien and distant to Elsa. They'd certainly come a very long way since then.
His arms shifted till they were positioned firmly under her thighs and she felt a tingling sensation swell between her legs and sweep up her body as he did so, goosebumps appearing on her skin.
"Is that all?" She whispered, her mouth hovering near his ear and she nibbled at it playfully. It still amazed her that she was suddenly feeling so bold, daring and sexy, unlike anything she'd ever displayed before.
Carrying her, Janus edged away from the wall, and walked towards the bed. Then, still holding on to her thighs, he raised her higher into the air and passionately threw her onto the queen sized bed harder than she had expected. Slightly taken aback, she sank into the soft, marshmallow like mattress and let out a soft groan upon impact.
She almost burst out laughing even though it was such an awkward moment, and had to work hard to stop herself from ruining the atmosphere. It was almost as if Janus had thought he was in a fight and not engaging in a more…intimate act. A force of habit, as it were.
Mortified, Janus backed away from her when he realised what he had done. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"No, no, it's alright." She let out a giggle as she eased herself up on her elbows. Truth be told, the little roughness he had displayed hadn't turned her off. No, to the contrary, and this she was a little embarrassed to admit out loud, but it aroused her quite a fair bit.
"Are you hurt?"
"No, not at all." She beckoned him forward and began to undo her braid, letting her platinum blonde hair fall loose around her shoulders and back.
Elsa tugged off her boots and watched him do the same. Inching backwards, she swung her legs up onto the bed to make space for him while tugging off her lavender coat and blouse, tossing them aside and felt the cool air on her bare skin which was beaded with sweat.
With bated breath, she watched as Janus crawled into the fresh sheets with her, and her heart thumped in her chest loudly. It was going to be a night to remember. She curled her toes in pleasure as she gripped the sheets tightly. The night she had been waiting for.
###
Elsa didn't know how much time had elapsed, but she knew for a fact that she was well and truly spent, and above all, content beyond measure. Lying motionless in bed, she breathed hard and fast, while Janus lay beside her, though she wasn't sure if he was equally exhausted.
She found that she was sweating profusely, and was genuinely elated with the experience. Elsa wanted more, for him to hold her for hours on end, though her body was too physically exhausted to continue any longer. Another time, maybe.
Rolling over on her side and gently kicking the sheets away from her, Elsa stared at Janus who lay quietly beside her. She wasn't even sure if he was asleep.
"Janus." She whispered.
"Hmmn?" He rolled over to look at her.
So he was awake. "I…I really liked that." She said quietly.
"Me too." He flashed a smile and put an arm around her side, pulling her closer and pressing her against his body. "Not too bad for a first time."
She laughed, burying her cheek into the side of his neck, her sweat mingling with his, though neither of them really bothered at this point. "I wasn't expecting us both to be that adventurous on our first go."
"Honestly, me neither." He agreed.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"We have to try that again." He chuckled and gave her a light squeeze. "But after we deal with the Empire."
Being pulled back to reality, Elsa sighed and snuggled up against him. Janus was right. We have to get through the battle first. But at least she knew that she didn't regret tonight. No, it was a stormy night to remember.
"Promise me something." She said after a long silence.
Janus shifted to face her.
"Promise me that after the fighting, after the battle is over…" she bit her lip. "…that you won't leave again."
He looked guilty and then gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I won't let anything separate us again. I promise."
And that was the last thing she remembered before she faded into blissful sleep.
Author's Commentary:
Well. That was awkward to write, and a really interesting experience, if I'm being honest. This is my first time writing such a sexually-charged scene, and I hope I delivered. We're building up to the final battle of the story now, so get ready, the tension and stakes are ramping up to a heated climax soon.
