The Ward

Thanks, Rumpole, for your knowledgable encouragement. Thanks readers, for being so nice. Hope you like this one x.

***

By the time Nicholas reached the front doors, they were already open. His mother stood at the doorway, wrapped in a red silk gown.

"Delighted to make your acquaintance, Lord Jaromir," she thinly smiled, her blue eyes watchful as they took in the visitor's appearance and moved beyond him to the quiet yard. "A peculiar hour to call upon us without escort."

Aleksis shrugged sheepishly. "I was clumsy with my mount, Ma'am," he confessed with a boyish grin. "A most humiliating spectacle. If it would not be an imposition, might you accommodate me for the night? My servants will come at daybreak."

"Presuming they would know where to find you," Mary replied, glancing to Nicholas as he came to stand beside her.

Though the timing was inconvenient, Nicholas was quite pleased the impressive visitor from Edmund's ball had found his way to their abode. The estate was certainly large enough to keep a gentile guest ignorant of the more sinister proceedings. "Well then, Lord Jaromir, won't you please-?"

"Nicholas!" Mary sharply warned, narrowing her eyes at Aleksis' calm demeanour as though seeing him for the first time.

A courteous smile still played about Aleksis' lips, though the warmth in his eyes vanished.

"I have seen you before tonight," Mary said slowly. "Haven't I?"

"You are so esteemed in society, I believe our paths must have crossed," Aleksis bowed.

"It should not depend upon my verbal invite for you to pass this threshold," Mary concluded, keenly appraising Aleksis' unusual appearance; his magnetic black eyes and shining gold hair.

"I would never be so audacious to enter a respectable home without invitation," Aleksis lightly protested.

Dressed in a beige riding outfit that seemed more appropriate for a midday expedition, only his black cloak was suitable for the night. He was confident, entirely alert and hardly unsettled by arriving on foot unaccompanied by servants.

Nicholas glanced between Mary and Aleksis, thoroughly puzzled but not daring to enter the conversation, as it was clear his mother was captivated by some mystery.

"And you might hesitate for reasons beyond propriety," Mary said shrewdly, her astonishment quickly melting to an exuberant triumph as her suspicions began to unfold.

"Other reasons?" Aleksis lazily queried. "Ma'am, I am quite fatigued-"

"And likely famished, too," she interrupted, her deep cobalt eyes fixed on his perfectly shaped mouth. "Your behaviour and appearance bring to mind a strange legend..."

"Am I to be tasked with disproving superstition at this hour?" Aleksis politely inquired with a weary tone to suggest he was being unfairly teased. "It is hardly kind of you."

"I am not known for kindness, my Lord. Indulge me," Mary challenged, showing her teeth in a sinister smile.

Silence fell for a time, only offset by the hoot of an owl from the forest and the gentle rustling of trees.

Aleksis' relaxed stance slowly straightened to an intimidating height. All frivolity dissolved from his expression, which was overtaken by a surreal severity unsuited to such a young face. At last, it seemed an unspoken understanding had been established.

Both Mary and Nicholas unconsciously shivered when his chilling gaze passed between them. Without another word, he briskly turned on his heel and strode from the property.

"That man..." Mary trailed off, watching Aleksis' imposing figure sweep through the gate entrance and into the dark. She briskly shook her head and fixed a piercing gaze on her son.

"There is more to the girl than we anticipated," she said sharply, dismissing the servants with an abrupt wave of her arm. "Make her talk to my satisfaction, Nicholas, or I will."

***

Nicholas took a moment to gather his thoughts before entering Sage's prison. Her eager expectation touched with surprise at his return confirmed she was acquainted with the strange arrival.

"A pleasant visitor," Nicholas remarked, his eyes drawn to her lovely breasts. "He has fascinated my mother, and I must caution you now that she is running out of patience with you."

Sage snorted.

Nicholas sighed deeply, toying with Sage's hand wearing the blue diamond ring, stroking her dainty fingers. "She will break you, kitten, or worse. I will do everything in my power to prevent it, but there is only so much I can avert without your cooperation..."

Sage fell into cautious silence, mulling over her disappointment and fear. Aleksis had not rescued her and she knew exactly why. Powerful as he was, that power would not extend far if he could not cross the Stiles' threshold. He was lucky to make it through the gate entrance.

Lost in her troubled thoughts, Sage jerked with surprise when the lower end of the platform slipped to a decline with her still secured to it. Nicholas went about attaching a new set of cuffs to her wrists, the shackles connecting to a chain looped through a ceiling beam. He steadily pulled until she was completely upright, her toes just brushing the ground, then fiddled with the fastenings on her wrists and ankles and the X-platform fell away from her.

Horrified, Sage stared down her body, her breasts exposed with the thin strings attached, her unfastened gown slipped down to the floor. Her arms were completely extended above her head; she was almost completely suspended.

Nicholas quietly considered her beautiful figure; her firm, youthful breasts and smooth, flat belly. Flawless fair skin and long, graceful legs. Lustrous, shining dark hair that was like the finest silk to touch.

"I never intended to treat you this way," he admitted, "not before I could train you to enjoy it. But there is no time. My mother is determined."

Nicholas paused by the opulent bed, considering the wall holding a strange assortment of sinister implements and selected a small whip. When he stood before Sage, he was solemn.

"I do not want to do this, Sage," he warned, using the butt of the whip to force her chin up. Staring into Sage's unique sapphire eyes, his other hand carefully threaded through her hair, affectionately holding her in place. "Do not force my hand."

Sage wisely bit back a savage retort, but Nicholas registered her mood.

"Ah, kitten," he said regretfully, releasing her hair.

It happened so quickly, Sage barely registered a sudden swish and ear-splitting crack through the air. A searing pain flashed up her back, and she screamed.

***

Alekis circled the entire estate, with no new discovery that might allow his trespass. In a rare show of frustration, he buried his fist into a sturdy tree; the ancient, thick oak broke apart, no match for his strength.

Still breathing heavily, he froze and keenly listened. He sniffed the air curiously.

"Impossible," he mused, immediately tracking the scent. In the blink of an eye he rounded the corner and pulled up with surprise.

Simon cried out and scrambled back, falling into a hedge. Twisting onto his front to crawl away, the boy became aware of being airborne.

Aleksis tightened his hold on the scruff of Simon's tunic, lifting the lad higher to look into his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Aleksis sharply questioned. When Simon continued to gape at him, the vampire gave him a little shake. "Answer. Why are you near these grounds?"

"Sage left with Lord Stiles," Simon rasped, shaking with fear. "I cannot believe she would do so willingly. The others would not help without Lord Bard's permission. I stole a horse and-"

"I knew it was too soon to expect Edmund," Aleksis muttered, gently releasing Simon, who sank to the ground and remained there. "And what did you expect to achieve alone, boy?"

"I don't know," Simon stubbornly kicked his foot into the dirt. "More than you have, thus far. I know you are here for her."

Despite his frustration, Aleksis found himself grinning at the boy's impudence, yet another quality he missed about Sage. As he continued to stare at Simon, the mirth slowly faded from his face.

"When Edmund and his loyal Steward arrive, they will have no authority here," Aleksis stated, his fine brow contracted with a foreboding thought.

Simon cowered as Aleksis thoughtfully circled him, his gleaming black boots seeming to skim across ground without touching it, he moved so lithely.

"Neither you nor I, alone, can aid Sage as things stand." Aleksis paused and looked to the sky. "But I could take a route that would be dangerously effective. It would bring into question my longstanding notions of responsibility. I would be fully accountable for what ensues." He sighed harshly. "They will torture Sage, or worse, unless she speaks. I cannot allow it."

"A-Are you going to k-kill me, to strengthen yourself?" Simon stuttered as Aleksis ceased pacing and crouched before him.

"Only if you choose," Aleksis answered, ruffling the startled boy's unruly curls with a sad smile. "You are witchblood, Simon."

***

Nicholas laid the whip aside, removing his gloves to wipe sweat from his brow. "You are uniquely defiant, Sage," he said curtly, not without admiration. "But you cannot win this battle. My hand was not heavy, and I chose a kind lash. You won't even scar."

Sage weakly lifted her head, cheeks damp with tears, her eyes still filled with withering contempt.

"Did you know," Nicholas continued, "My mother has a lash that draws a strip of flesh with every blow?"

Sage merely raised her eyebrows in a silent dare. Nicholas irritably smacked his lips at her courage.

"I suppose you have discerned that you are more valuable to us alive," he added, turning to the door as a servant knocked. He bade them enter, and a manservant quickly placed a bowl of steaming water with a cloth on the table before bowing out.

"Well, since you were so unaffected by the lash, you'll hardly feel this sting," he remarked, soaking the cloth before applying it to the welts on Sage's upper back.

Sage hissed as the saltwater sharply reacted against her raw wounds. Nicholas quietly chuckled behind her, his free hand smoothed around her belly and up to gently cup a pouting breast. A groan passed through Sage's grit teeth when he found her nipple and pulled, rolling the hardening peak between his fingers at the same time he pressed the damp cloth into a particular sore point with unnecessary force.

"Do you enjoy pain?" he murmured by her temple; his tongue traced the shell of her ear.

Casting the cloth aside, he stepped close again, grinning when she moaned at the contact; his clothed chest flush against her back and both hands roaming her body, her breasts, down her inner thigh...

"Urgh!" Sage snarled her displeasure as he fondled her, unwilling to waste words on him. He would ignore her pleas, and she had no intention of giving him the information he wanted. It was a hopeless case.

"Perhaps a more pleasurable pain, hm?" he breathed.

Sage clenched her fists, taking deep breaths as she felt something hard and warm seemingly spring from nowhere and rub her buttock. Nicholas stepped away for a moment, only to return to face her, rubbing his slickened member between her legs.

"If you still insist on preserving your virginity..." he said thickly, thrilled by their perfect positioning and the glimmer of real fear in Sage's eyes.

Holding her steady with one hand on her breast, he lined up with her pussy and tensed his hips, sighing with pleasure as his cock slowly slid into her, just a little.

Sage couldn't wipe the horror from her face, until Nicholas seized her jaw and forced their lips together. Being joined at two ends seemed the worst thing thus far, and she'd much prefer he whipped her again.

Nicholas groaned with delight and frustration, eager to bury himself completely and fuck the untried girl as she hung helpless for his pleasure. A girl who rejected him at every turn. And still, she offered nothing.

Nicholas quickly withdrew his cock before causing reckless damage, then stepped closer, re-angling, his hands squeezing the taut flesh of her buttocks. Then his fingers slid inwards, already oiled form applying to his cock, and began to pry her back passage.

"No!" Sage broke her silence. "Nicholas, please, no!"

"Who was the visitor you expected?" he slurred, struggling to speak through a distracting mixture of lust and triumph. "Who is that man to you?"

"H-He...he..." Sage managed, but it was clear to them both she had no intention of answering.

"Kitten," Nicholas ground out, working two fingers inside her. No matter how she strained and struggled, she had nowhere to run. "It is too late for you, now."

Sage bit her lip, silently weeping as he eased his fingers out, and moved to stand behind so he could caress the front of her body. Sage squealed with discomfit when his hand cupped her sex, and began to toy with her soft, warm folds, still wet from his actions before, his fingers dipping in. For a while he continued to simulate her as she futilely squirmed, her smooth, delicate skin perspiring beautifully by the glow of candlelight.

Nicholas smiled as her breathing accelerated from anger, frustration and arousal. He wrapped an arm about her, lifting her slightly to guide his cock where he wanted it. Then his hand returned to the apex of her thighs, fingering, rubbing, pinching and circling her swollen nub, finding it easily despite her hips jerking to avoid him. Gently relaxing his hold on her waist, he let her slowly descend, feeling the initial resistance against his cock, until Sage's body inevitably yielded and the tip of his cock pushed through.

Sage yelped and pulled on her chains, using them as leverage to stay above, but Nicholas' arm increased pressure, his hand worked more urgently on her pussy.

"Stop! Stop!" she sobbed, arching against his chest to disengage him.

"Shh," Nicholas crooned. "I've hardly entered. Relax, Kitten, and it will hurt less, I promise." So caught up in the act, all thoughts of interrogation had left his mind, which was now hazed with ecstasy.

Crying angrily, Sage closed her eyes with disgust and succumbed to the inevitable, forcing herself to stop tensing and adjust to his size.

Nicholas shuddered with delight, feeling her obey, her unused channel indignantly spasmed around the invasion. He held position and continued to toy with her more gently, then slowly lowered her some more.

"Stiles!"

Sage shrieked. After kicking out in a panic, she quickly stopped struggling; it only aided his entry. The initial burning sensation eased, she was uncomfortably impaled, but at least the pain subsided. She could feel his unyielding girth embedded inside her, pulsing with delight. It was currently the worst violation she could imagine experiencing.

"Breathe deeply," Nicholas kindly advised. "Relax and breathe, Sage. It is not so bad if you are mindful..."

Sage heeded his direction, Huffing and forcing her tension to dissolve. It wasn't easy, but it helped, and the fact it both made the act more endurable but was also cooperative on her part, only further enraged her.

"Gods, Kitten, I cannot remember an experience as divine as this," Nicholas panted, slowly sinking a third inch which wrung a strangled whine from her throat. "When we are married, I will have an artist portrait this moment...one of many..."

Lost in sensation, his fingers delved into her front, feeling his shaft through the soft barrier. His cock twitched impatiently as it partially slid out, and he breathed the scent of her hair, licked her neck, kissed her turned cheek and slowly pushed back into her.

Sage began to feel delirious, suspended in the air, naked in the arms of the man she hated most. The forced the rise and fall of her body, his cock working in shallow thrusts while his fingers tormented her most sensitive place. There was pleasure, pain, and no dignity for her. The act would appear slowly erotic to any viewer, which only made it more hateful.

"My little virgin...you are all mine now..." Nicholas bit her shoulder, groaning into her skin. Sage arched, her head fell back on his shoulder, heavily frowning. The unusual back penetration, the rude touch to her front, the bite...

"Good girl," Nicholas cooed, his voice unsteady and strained. "I never dreamed we would finish together our first time...."

"N-No!" Sage's pretty face constricted as a powerful sensation began to build, it was unpleasant and seemed to burn, surging from her aching sex and tremoring about his cock gently working inside her.

Sage groaned desperately and the chains rattled; her clit painfully stimulated, somehow accentuated by the violation as a harsh pleasure streaked through her body, like a defence mechanism to cope with the unnatural act.

"Yes...Yes!" Nicholas grunted, feeling fresh juices coat his fingers as Sage seized up in his arms with a loud cry. He gasped, holding her tightly to his chest and emptying inside her tight warmth, enjoying her chest heaving under his supporting arm, knowing perfectly well her nipples were hard.

With her head still lolled back against Nicholas' shoulder, Sage continued to draw deep breaths, fighting to regain composure in the wake of her most horrible life experience thus far. Nicholas held position for a while, both of them panting and exhausted, before carefully sliding out of her aching behind and almost staggering to sit on the bed. He smiled lazily, watching his cum drip down her thighs.

"You took me at a mere half-length," he mused. "I do not know what motivates my kindness with you, kitten. Perhaps this is true love, after all." He hoarsely chuckled when she ignored him. "I will teach you pleasures of which Edmund has no knowledge. That strait-laced do-gooder would bore you to death, believe me. I will make a far more interesting husband, Sage. Your life will never be dull."

Sage glared with such speechless rage; Nicholas laughed heartily.

"I've preserved your virtue," he reminded her. "You might thank me." Considering the time that had passed, he sobered.

"I whipped you, you divulged nothing, and we both took our pleasure," he summarised, as though it balanced all grievance between them. "Games aside, Sage, you must give me something to tell my mother."

"I would love to tell her many things!" Sage spat.

Nicholas impatiently shook his head, tucked his cock away and worked at the fastenings on Sage's wrists and ankles. Once free, she was too weak to offer much fight, and ended up on the bed under Nicholas, her hands and feet tied with rope. He pulled her hair, holding her to the soft duvet.

"How can I make you understand?" he insisted. "The difficulty you present is not worth the cost. You can still live a very comfortable life with me, Sage. I desire to make you happy."

Sage spat in his face, and his grip on her hair tightened painfully, his fierce gaze did not waver.

"My mother will not be denied. If you refuse to yield, she may determine you a lost cause and act accordingly. There is no middle ground." His eyes hardened and he wiped her saliva from his cheek. "There is no middle ground, Sage. Understand?"

"I'm not simple!" Sage sneered at him, twisting angrily in his arms. "I take your meaning, and I don't care. The sooner the better, if it means I will be free of your presence. Let her dispose of me."

"That is my fear," Nicholas answered, clawing a hand through his dark hair with frustration. "You are too foolish, kitten."

"All your fixation and schemes and tricks will amount to nothing!" Sage taunted through her teeth. "All this effort to merely discard me!"

"You won't be discarded," he said quietly. "You are witchblood. She will have uses for your body."

Sage shuddered and tried to roll him off her, but it was pointless. "They will come for me."