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Meldric gently massaged his nose. It had been a month since The Dark Lady had broken it and dislocated his jaw. For the most part it had healed well, though the nose was still slightly crooked. It hadn't bothered him but he'd been gloomy ever since it happened. He knew why.
Tessaine.
He stretched out on his small cot inside the sleeping quarters, staring up at the coarse stone ceiling. Where could she be? She had gone missing the same day he was punished and none of the staff officers knew where she was. At first he thought she might have requested a new partner and was filled with jealousy and rejection. Later his fear was proved false by one of his contacts in the city. Tessaine had been recorded as off-duty this whole time. He couldn't go a minute without wondering where she might be. Gods, he missed her.
Never in his two lives had he met a woman so hard to get. Those irritated glares and soft rejections of his advances just made his blood turn hot and his still heart palpitate. He didn't even hold anything against her for his broken face. What he had done to her at Tarren Mill wasn't something he would forget.
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They strolled into the crowded inn and threw their heavy packs off by the door. Meldric carefully removed his ankle-length leather coat and hung it up on the rack. Tessaine undid the strap of her scabbard to pull her chain mail vest over her head, which she tossed in with the rest of their belongings. Scanning the crowd, she fit the scabbard back on.
"Feeling edgy, Lieutenant?" Meldric asked playfully, appreciating the view of her upper body now only covered by a figure hugging wool shirt.
"General Malanos is here," she replied without answering his question, "as well as his lackeys." He followed her eyes to a small group by the hearth, drowning themselves in drink and laughing heartily. At the center of them stood the lanky man with his trademark hairstyle, long spiked stalks that made his head look like the business end of a mace. Tessaine walked to the counter and made a brief transaction with the eyeless innkeeper for two rooms and two meals.
"Only one room open tonight I'm 'fraid, love," he apologized as his butcher's knife cut crudely into a thick spider leg, "though one bed is big enough for two." Silently fuming, she paid the man and turned to find a dark corner she could rest in alone. When Meldric moved to follow her, she turned to cut him off.
"I'll prefer my own company for the night, Meldric. We're in room three, take the bed and I'll sleep on the floor. Your meal is paid for." With that, she swiveled around towards a small, empty table to wait for her food.
"Yes mam!" he replied derisively with a salute that she didn't even turn to see. Creeping over to the bar, Meldric occupied a stool between two robed men already engaged in quiet conversation. Their tabard bore the sign of the Royal Apothecary Society. "And what might you gentlemen be having tonight?" he asked them amiably. The one on the left put down a mug of the dark liquid and belched before answering.
"They call it, "Goblin Rocket Fuel", he told him, his voice heavily slurred, "or maybe that's what it actually is." The man raised a hand to the air with a finger out as if to say something, then slumped forward head slamming into the counter.
"You'll forgive my colleague. He knows nothing of restraint when it comes to drinking," the bald man on the right spoke in a refined fashion, "I'm enjoying a goblet of my favorite, Pinot Noir. It had it shipped here from Kalimdor, very expensive as you might imagine. Ah, but where are my manners? I am Brother Stanton of the Apothecary Society," he stuck out a hand with two severed fingers. Meldric shook it firmly and introduced himself, "Guard Meldric".
"Yes, of course! A brave soldier of the Queen's Army," he spoke smarmily of his position as he requested another goblet, "please, sample this wine on my behalf." Meldric tried it and suppressed a sour face. All wine tasted bitter to him. He half-heartedly listened to the man talk about his fascination of fine wines from distant lands, glancing furtively at Tessaine frequently as she ate her meal while looking over reports. He made modest small talk with the man, claiming to lack the sophistication to enjoy the things he did which probably was in some ways the truth.
The next time Meldric's eyes wandered to the far corner of the inn, Stanton investigated. "You seem to have taken a great interest in that young woman, Guard Meldric."
"She's my commanding officer."
The man smiled, his mouth filled with a perfect set of white teeth. "Ah, but there is a unique way in which you gaze upon her. The signs are all there, my friend. You wish to bed this woman." Meldric set his goblet down and laughed despondently.
"I wish to bed her as much as I do the Dark Lady, both seemingly impossible tasks."
"What would you give for the chance," the man asked him purposefully and Meldric considered cautiously.
"Are you proposing a deal?"
Stanton gently set a quaint little coffer down on the bar. Pulling a key from his robes, he opened the box and removed two phials from the many held within. He presented the glass tubes, one filled with a dark violet liquid and the other a sickly green. "I believe these will suit your needs."
"What do these do exactly?" Meldric asked suspiciously.
"It drags an angel down from the heavens to your bed with her legs spread," Stanton laughed, "and ever so willing to please." The swordsman wrinkled his face in disgust.
"I am not so depraved as to resort to some chemical trickery for-"
"Well now, Lieutenant Tessaine?" Malanos sneered drunkenly as his men crowded around the woman's table, "and how many officers did you have to ride for that promotion, bitch?"
"Every single one of them, except you," she answered calmly as she dropped the report in her left hand and rested her chin on her knuckles. "Do you have anything important to say to me Malanos or are you just being a dullard like usual?" Malanos' men sniggered and elbowed one another at the insult.
"Watch that pretty little mouth of yours princess before I stick something in it to shut you up," he growled. She smiled, amused at how fast he lost control of his own anger. Meldric watched the scene unfold, tense and distraught. This wasn't the first time he'd seen the bitter rivals clash. Most times it simply ended with an exchange of insults and threats. However, this time there was no supervisor and Malanos ranked above her, not to mention he was drunk. The man couldn't bear the idea of a woman holding a position of authority, save the Queen. The inn was quiet now, all patrons watching intently. Meldric turned to Stanton and excused himself.
"I'd like to see you try without your little posse", Tessaine challenged him though she knew it was risky here. When his snarl was replaced by an evil grin, she knew this wasn't going to end well.
"I wouldn't want to be selfish and keep you all to myself, now would I?" he snapped his fingers and three men were on her instantly. Two grabbed her by the arms and another wrapped his fist in her hair and pulled her down to the ground, slamming her head against the wooden floorboards. Dazed, the men took advantage of her temporary weakness and hammered their fists into her. Malanos straddled her waist and looked down at her struggling form with glee. He roughly pushed up her shirt and ran his hands under it, feeling for her breasts. Her struggles doubled but they kept her firmly planted on the ground. She fought to calm herself, her exertions fruitless and only tiring her. She tries to give him a defiant glare, but falters when he harshly squeezes her chest. His men watching from behind hoot and cheer him on as he pinches a nipple between his fingers that causes her to yelp in pain. The general stands and works the buckle on his belt. "Pick her up."
The thugs haul her up and kick out her legs, presenting the woman to their general on her knees. Malanos smiled wickedly, pulling his leggings down to his ankles. He slapped her harshly several times before grabbing her by the jaw and smearing his hardening member across her face. She growled and tried to twist out of his grip but she could hardly move with his men locking her in place.
"I know you'd love to suck me off you little whore, but I worry about those teeth." Malanos placed his other hand over her nose as he prepared to dislocate her jaw. The men leered with anticipation, as the woman was about to be broken and tamed, when a morning star caved in the skull of the man holding her right arm. Tessaine reacted instantly with her free hand and drew her dagger, slashing through Malanos' groin and stabbing backward at the soldier holding her hair. She wrenched the blade out the side, disemboweling him. Meldric heaved the morning star once more and smashed it into the remaining attacker, caving in his chest and sending him crashing into a wall. Malanos lay curled up on the ground clutching at his crotch, which was bleeding profusely. Tessaine took a menacing step towards him and his remaining five men jumped in clumsily. Three men for Meldric and two for her, all carrying crude sabers.
Tessaine parried and blocked both men's attacks with her superior weapons with ease. One man foolishly attempted a deathblow, throwing himself off balance. She slashed the man down from shoulder blade to hip as he blundered past her. The other soldier, filled with the fear of death, dropped his weapon and turned to run, but a well-placed throwing axe in his back ended that idea.
Meldric made short work of his attackers with the longer reaching weapon and plenty of room to wield it. He circled the crude ball and chain above his head and advanced, backing his opponents into a corner. One tried to leap in for a quick slash but realized his mistake when the blunt weapon tore into his shoulder and sent him stumbling to the ground, where Meldric ended his life with an overhand smash to the back of his head. The remaining two men froze and Meldric smiled at them, his face specked with blood.
"Do you really plan to waste your life defending this whoreson?" he asked nodding his head toward Malanos, who was now squealing in pain in a pool of his own blood. They glanced at each other and lowered their weapons. Tessaine stood over him, her eyes holding an unnatural glow of white-hot malice. Her steel boot smashed down on him, making him cry out and attempt to crawl away, streaking blood over the wooden floor. She continued stomping him, relishing the howls of pain and the sound of steel against flesh. Then she focused on his bloodstained hands, gradually applying pressure with her heel until the bones snapped. Kicking him onto his back, she kneeled down. Her fists, packed with the dagger handles, took turns pummeling his face until it was unrecognizable. Everyone watched the gruesome scene in hushed silence. She stood and tried to wipe the blood from her face, which only smeared it across her pale cheek.
One man began to clap. Slowly, others joined in until the noise filled the gloomy inn. Tessaine didn't seem to notice them. Meldric approached her slowly and lightly grabbed her arm. She went tense and her eyes snapped to him, her face a mask of bloodlust. He looked down at her hands that still held the daggers tight and called her name softly, " Tessa".
She flinched hearing her nickname, but then relaxed. Her features softened and suddenly looked exhausted. He took her bloody hand in his and gently loosened her vice-grip on the blades. Setting them down on a table, he brought her a cloth from their packs to clean off some of the blood that hadn't already dried to her. The patrons had gone back to their usual business now as if nothing had happened, but Stanton eyed the pair with interest.
Meldric sat her down on the bench and toweled her face. She stared at him blankly and he couldn't help but think how beautiful she was; calm as a kitten smothered in blood.
"Go rest, Meldric," she whispered to him and picked up her daggers once again. To his relief, she simply sheathed them and continued to look at her reports.
"No show of gratitude for sparing you that embarrassment?" he asked her.
"You should've intervened sooner," she said to him without looking up. He scoffed and shook his head.
"I'm a fool," he chided himself as he returned to the bar. Stanton chuckled as he pulled the stool up. "What?" he snapped at the apothecary. The man continued to laugh as he took another sip of his wine, as he held the two phials between his fingers, clinking them together
"I think the girl needs to be taught a lesson in humility Sir Meldric," he beamed and lounged against the bar, "my offer starts at one hundred gold coins."
"That's half a year's pay," Meldric muttered angrily.
"Six easy payments would suffice. Wouldn't it be worth it to tame the woman that slaughtered a general with her bare hands? To have her writhing under you in ecstasy and begging for you to be inside her," Stanton cackled and clapped him roughly on the shoulder, watching his words erode Meldric's resolve.
"I won't take advantage of her."
"Come now soldier, you would take a life in cold blood but you refuse to take a woman to bed?"
"It is not the same!" he whispered through clenched teeth.
"We are Forsaken, brother. Nothing more, nothing less," Stanton spoke severely now and forced the concoctions into his hand. "One for her, one for you. Compensate me only if you find the night was worth it. Now, if you'll excuse me I will be retiring for the evening." He tucked his hat under his arm, paid the bartender, and hauled his coffer with him upstairs to his room leaving Meldric to contemplate the decision in his hands.
He saw Tessaine move to pay the innkeeper, for the mess made no doubt. Then she rummaged through their packs for more cloth and a clean outfit. Then she left; he guessed to the river to bathe. Sighing, he studied the phials in his hand. He began to wonder if they were some cruel joke for Stanton's personal amusement. At the same time, rumors of the Apothecary Society conducting unscrupulous experiments weren't unheard of. He was torn in whether he was justified to use them. Stanton's words clung to him now, gnawing away his conscience. Why not, he asked himself, I save her and all she can do is criticize; The nerve of that woman.
His frustration got the best of him and he made his choice. He ordered two drinks and emptied the strange fluids into each. Somewhat dismayed by his own lack of principles, he took the drinks and headed out to the river. He followed the footprints in the tall grass and roughly pushed his way through the weeds into the riverbank. Meldric froze at the sight of her chest-deep in the water, her breasts just barely showing. She saw him and ducked down slightly to conceal herself. A full moon glowed above her, completing an entrancing view for the warrior. A needless breath caught in his throat as she turned her back to him and waited.
"Well?" she spoke finally when he said nothing. Meldric blinked and broke out of his reverie. Clearing his throat, he tried to calm his nerves.
"Well… I… was wondering if you would… share a drink with me," he mumbled. She half-turned to give him an odd look.
"You expect me to come out stark naked and have a drink with you. You know I don't drink," she replied coldly as she wrung the water from her hair. The simple gesture made his pants feel tight but her tone brought back the feelings of frustration.
"It really kills you doesn't it? That you wouldn't have gotten out of that dank in one piece if I wasn't there... Just a drink Tessa, that's all I ask."
An insignificant part of him wanted her to refuse so that this wouldn't weigh on his conscience, but the feeling was squished out as she moved towards him. Water trailed down her naked body as she came out of the river and stood a mere foot away from him. He struggled to keep his eyes from wandering and was relieved but at the same time disappointed when she wrapped the long cloth around her chest. She seemed to be enjoying his obvious discomfort as she simply stood there looking directly at him, her hand pinning the cloth against her chest. Snatching the drink from his hand, she gulped it down in a matter of seconds. Tossing the mug behind her, she brushed past him and slipped into her clean outfit. "So drink, Meldric."
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