Baby making, wise advice, protection from afar
Thorfinn's wish has come true, now to get Hermione to cooperate. Anthony plays peacekeeper, offering wise advice. Thorfinn plans an escape as he works to lose the shackles! Yaxley and Dolohov watch over the lovebirds from afar.
A/N 1: In case anyone wonders why the older wizards haven't made a move to help, our (sweet, lovable, STUBBORN) Thorfinn wants to rescue them himself.
A/N 2: Names of cannibals have been decided. Basically they will be the names Thorfinn was thinking as he fought them on his way to Hermione. He will have five 'trainers'.
TRIGGER WARNINGS: VIOLENCE! Mention of past violence, beatings! Mind the Triggers!
After the wedding, the old man came to speak to them. "Ye be starting yer trainin' soon, boy! Ye git a few minutes wit' Missy! Git to it, boy! We be waitin' fer tha' new babe. Pretty boy wants him a lil bruder or sissy!"
Thorfinn didn't need to be told twice. He scooped Hermione up in his arms and followed the old lady into the house. Hermione was squealing with anger and struggling in his arms. The old lady cackled as she pointed him to a different room than Hermione was used to. It was still windowless and not quite as small but there was a big bed against the wall and a potty seat in the corner, behind a curtain. Thorfinn closed the door behind him, took three steps and dropped her on the bed. Hermione scrambled away and bared her teeth at him.
"Stay back, Rowle! Just stay away from me!" she snapped. He rolled his eyes at her. Just to satisfy her, he took three steps back.
"Granger! We have to do this! They will kill us both if they don't hear us doing SOMETHING! Then where will that leave Radnor? In the hands of cannibals, that's where!" he tried to reason with her.
"No, that will leave YOU dead! I'm sure they can find another 'Pretty boy' out there!" Hermione seethed at him.
Thorfinn clenched his teeth. "There will be nobody but me touching you from now on, Granger!"
"Don't be so sure about that! If you displease them in any way, they'll put you in the barn! That old man certainly threatened me with that enough times!" Hermione wrapped her arms around herself. Thorfinn slowly approached the bed with his hands spread out. Hermione watched him warily.
"Granger? What did they do to you?" He sat down on the bed across from her. Now that he was closer, he could see faded bruises around her eyes and cheeks. "Granger, who has been hitting you?"
"They expect complete obedience. If you don't move fast enough, you'll be punished. If you drop anything, you'll be punished. If you refuse to do something, you'll be punished!" Hermione shuddered with fear.
Thorfinn reached out slowly. Before Hermione processed how close he was, he'd grabbed her into his arms. He held her against him as she struggled to escape. Her muffled screams were heartbreaking to hear. He closed his eyes and swore vengeance on this whole clan for hurting and scaring his Granger so badly!
"Anthony! What do I do? How do I undo the damage they've inflicted?" he whispered, knowing the ghost could hear every word.
"There's only one thing you can do right now. Take her to bed. You're already there. Undress the two of you and get busy! The old man doesn't hear those bedsprings soon, he'll be in here to see why! Once you have that done, then we can talk about how you're going to escape!" the ghost was suddenly in front of him. "I'll go keep watch. Get busy, Thorfinn! Now!" With that, Anthony floated through the wall to spy on the cannibals. Thorfinn rocked her as her screams slowly faded down into silence. He looked down into her wary brown eyes. Very carefully, he laid down, stretching out beside her.
"Hermione? I'm sorry, sweetheart. I would have been here sooner but we didn't get the letters in time. You have to know I'd never leave you in danger, especially not this kind of danger! I'm going to get us out of here! All of us, you, Radnor and me! I've got to plan it carefully but I WILL get us free!" he whispered into her ear.
"Why are you here? HOW are you here? How did you know where we were? How did you FIND us? Did you TELL them to kill Anthony? Get off of me! GET OFF OF ME!" she snarled, trying to get away from him. He sighed as he kept a good hold on her. This was going to be slightly more difficult than he'd planned.
He laid her hands on his chest as he kissed her. She was already terrified and he didn't want to scare her anymore than she was. He rolled her to her back and knelt between her legs. He kept on kissing her as he pushed the dress up. He quickly paused just long enough to pull his T-shirt off, unfastened and pushed his jeans down enough to free himself, then resumed kissing her. Remembering how he'd gotten past her defenses the last time, he took his time exploring all her weak spots again. He could feel her slowly relaxing under him. He raised her up enough to pull the loose dress over her head.
He looked down and had to fight the urge to clench his fists! There were more bruises littered down her body. Clear boot marks showed where they'd been kicking her around. She had rings of bruises around her arms where the old man and the women would yank her about. This, then, was what she meant by punishment! They'd been kicking and beating his witch! From the looks of her ribs clearly showing, they'd also been starving her! THE FUCKERS WOULD ALL DIE FOR THIS!
"Thorfinn! Damn it! Get busy! The old man is about to come in here! Get those bedsprings squeaking! Now!" Anthony popped in long enough to hiss at him.
Knowing she would hate him for it, but unable to give her a clear explanation yet, Thorfinn kissed her and sank into her at the same time. The girl turned into a wildcat, biting, scratching and yanking his hair! Her muffled shrieks and cries broke his heart but he had to save them right now. He could explain everything later, when they had more time to talk.
Anthony rolled his eyes and clenched his fists as he slumped in relief. 'Damn! That had been a close call!'
He watched the old man sink back down into his chair, Radnor held against him. He could see the satisfied looks as they heard the activities from the bedroom. Evidently this was something quite a few of them had been waiting for. Remembering the old man's words out front, he wondered if it was going to be as easy as Thorfinn was thinking, for them to escape from these people. Thorfinn was very strong and powerful but he was basically weaponless as he'd used both his knives and the spear getting to Hermione. The bow and arrows had been taken from him before the wedding ceremony. The only other weapon he had was Hermione's wand which had been left alone as they thought it was just a stick! When it came time to make their attempt, it would be five of them against Thorfinn and Hermione!
Curious about the little boy whose birth he'd missed, he drifted closer. The little boy he saw was a perfect mix of Thorfinn and Hermione. The Nordic coloring had come straight from his father and those curls were bound to be from Hermione! He saw the little boy was just trying to get the hang of holding his head up. He frowned in worry. The baby was silent and still on the old man's chest, aside from trying to hold his head up. As he watched, he realized nobody was directly interacting with Radnor. It was as if the baby was merely an ornament decorating the old man's shirt!
Hopefully, that would change with both of his parents now in the picture. As if on cue, the bedroom went quiet as Radnor let out a loud cry of hunger. Anthony smiled as he listened. The child had definitely inherited his father's lungs! The old man rose as the bedroom door opened. Hermione dashed out in Thorfinn's T-shirt, it being the first thing her fingers had touched. Thorfinn followed behind her, fastening his jeans back. He didn't seem too concerned about his lack of a shirt as he watched Hermione throw herself into the rocking chair, reaching for the baby with a pleading expression.
The old man handed the child over and motioned at Thorfinn. He followed him out reluctantly. On the porch sat the surviving members who had chased him through the woods. "These be yer new brothers, boy!" he was told as the shackles were placed back on him. Evidently he was only to be free when he was with Hermione. That would change, though, as he gained the old man's trust. He would work his way to freedom, get Hermione and the baby to a secure location, then he'd rein all hell down on this clan! Anthony was beside him, a calming hand on his shoulder.
He had to fight the urge to smirk as he stared challengingly at Butcher, Big Whoop, Little Shrimp, Long Nose and Spear Boy. He didn't know their actual names and, frankly, he didn't give a flying fuck about their real names! The fuckers would be dead soon enough! "Now, case ye was thinkin' a hightailin' it outta here, I gotta lil somethin' in the barn ye need to see. Worked real good on gitting lil Missy hushed up!" the old man said to him.
Thorfinn's attention snapped to the barn they were leading him towards. Inside, he was treated to the sight that had terrified Hermione. Girls chained to the beds, screaming helplessly as they saw the mountain men. Boys, hung up from the wrists, trying desperately to escape their bonds before their next beatings. The old man waved him towards the beds. "They be ready fer ye. Take yer pick." Thorfinn stared at the chained girls, all begging for mercy. He wanted to free them but that would be his death.
"Pass them on to the brothers. Flatter him. Tell him he has the only girl you're interested in. Make him think you'll do anything else as long as he lets you stay with her." Anthony told him.
"I'm honored, father, I really am. But I'll have to pass. I'm sure my brothers will enjoy them much more." He looked at the old man. "I've just left the only girl you have that I'm interested in. I'll do anything else for you but I won't take another girl in her place." The old man smiled, clearly pleased with his answer.
He guided him to the other side of the barn. Looking at the hanging boys, he pointed at one. "Anything, aye? Ok, here's yer next test, boy! This one here's been givin' a lotta lip!" he picked up a whip and a rope and offered both to Thorfinn.
"The rope, Thorfinn! Take the rope! It's thick and heavy. The right blow to the head at the right time will knock him out, then you can let one of them finish him. You still have Hermione's wand on your arm. Stupefy him with the last blow. That way, he won't feel it when they kill him. It's the most mercy you can show him, Finn." Anthony said. Thorfinn closed his eyes and prayed for strength. Then he reached out and took the rope.
Hermione cradled Radnor against her. The older he got, the longer he'd been nursing. She smiled at him tenderly as she stroked his soft little cheek. His blue eyes stared at her curiously as his little fingers curled around her finger. She lifted her finger and pressed a gentle kiss to his fingers. She tried to ignore the fact that she was wearing his real father's shirt or that she was now married to his real father, incredible as it seemed.
She thought back to the questions that had been swirling in her head since he'd shown up. How had he found them? She knew Anthony had sent the results of her scan to Yaxley. That should only have told them she and Anthony had been in New York! How had they traced them all the way down here? She didn't think either of them had let slip where they were going next. She thought about everything that had happened from that scan in Britain to the last scan in New York. There was nothing, nothing at all, that she could recall that would have given their location away! Which brought her back to the question worrying her, how had Thorfinn known where to find them?!
Then she thought of something else! Anthony! The ghost of her late husband hadn't seemed at all surprised at the sight of Thorfinn! Why was that? She thought back to THAT NIGHT. He'd told her Rowle would find her! How had he known that? Had he, Merlin! Had ANTHONY given away their location? Why would he do that?! He knew she wanted to stay away from Rowle! Why would he deliberately let the man who wanted his wife, know where they were going to settle down? They DID have some explaining to do, both a certain Viking wizard AND a certain ghost!
Radnor had finished nursing and the women hadn't noticed yet. Hermione kept him cuddled against her to disguise the fact he'd finished eating. If they knew he was done, they'd take him away from her. She pressed the tip of her finger against her lips and kissed it. Then she brought the finger to tap on his little chin. He reached up and touched her lips with his palm. She held it there as she kissed it. He seemed to know he needed to stay quiet in order to stay with her. Finally the women noticed and did indeed take the baby away from her.
Two of the younger women grabbed her arms and yanked her to her feet. They shoved her out the door, steering her towards the barn. She began struggling against their tight grips. "NO! NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I SLEPT WITH HIM! I SLEPT WITH HIM! JUST LIKE YOU WANTED ME TO!" She screamed in terror. They both began slapping and kicking her until she crumpled on the ground, sobbing quietly. The older woman grabbed her hair, dragging her back to her feet, and shoved her on toward the barn.
The door was pushed open and she was shoved inside. She was so scared it took a moment to process the fact that she wasn't being led to one of the beds as she'd feared. Instead she was being led to the men's half of the barn, where the beatings were administered. The old man turned to watch her approach. He shook his head at seeing the new bruises already forming on her face. 'Lil Missy was jest too stubborn fer her own good!' Maybe with her new lil hubby here, she'd finally settle down. He checked on hubby's progress. The boy was strong. He'd already almost beaten the troublemaker into unconsciousness. Hermione looked up then and registered who it was administering the newest round of beatings! Thorfinn! She gasped and shrank back in fear.
Thorfinn stopped as he heard that gasp. He looked around and found Hermione cowering away from him. He started to drop the rope until Anthony stopped him. "NO! Don't stop! If you stop, it'll be you strung up and beaten, Thorfinn! I'll talk to her. You keep winning their trust!" He turned around and continued beating the young man. One or two more blows and he'd pop him in the head with the rope and the Stunner.
Anthony was right. Strong as he was, at this point in time, if he tried to resist, he'd be signing both his own and probably Hermione's death warrants. That would leave Radnor in the hands of these people and he wasn't too sure Yaxley and Dolohov together could go against them enough to rescue the boy. He HAD to stay alive. For that, he had to do as much as he could to stay in the old man's good graces. If that meant giving beatings, learning how to trap human prey and allowing his new 'brothers' the final privilege of killing them, so be it. Hopefully between them, he and Anthony could get Hermione to understand it had to be done this way!