by S E Zbasnik
“What makes you think that?” Hayley lifted her eyebrow at him and dramatically shrugged away his grip. While she stepped towards the geese scrounging through the dirt for any spilled millet, Finn’s arms collapsed towards his thighs.
It took him a minute to restart his brain, his lips falling lower as he stuttered, “Gravy just said…”
“That I was free to do as I wished,” Hayley answered with a smug shrug. The word ‘train’ rattled around in her brain, but there was no chance he’d even remember ordering her to. He was the epitome of mentally elsewhere at that moment. How easily a woman could upend the stalwart knight brought a blush to her cheeks. It was a mystifying and forbidden power the mystery woman seemed to yield.
She heard a gurgle from Finn and raised her chin to stare deep into his turbulent grey eyes. The boy looked like a pup that had been kicked away from its dinner. Hayley knew it was all pomp, but she felt both sympathies for the look and also — strangely — pride from causing it.
Finn quickly shook it away, the arrogant one never far as he cut fast over the grounds. Ducking under the door beam, he stretched to plant a hand to the wall and slightly pinned Hayley into a corner. “And you want me to think you’re gonna spend the whole day, an entire afternoon with no knight screaming himself hoarse at ya, playing with the honkers?”
Shrugging with her shoulder, Hayley moved to excise out a handful of dried beans for the honkers, when Finn gripped onto her wrist. She froze, instinctively wanting to tug back when he folded his fingers with hers — interlocking into a tight hold. Watching the sway of their grip, Hayley asked, “Was there something you wanted me to do?”
“Who, me? Nah, I mean,” despite holding her hand, Finn danced around the subject, his head raising up high to stare at the rafters, “it’s your life, you can do—”
Lashing her palm for his cheek, Hayley shut him up by planting her lips deep to his. The arrogance evaporated, Finn melting below her fingers as he returned the kiss. His hand, which had been waving madly around, curled around the back of Hayley’s neck. Just as she moved to lean away, Finn pulled her back in.
A foreign heat sloshed around in her guts, making her want to dance back and forth from how Finn’s lips sparked against hers. Even when they weren’t kissing, she’d feel it pooling. Sometimes, if she caught sight of him in his thin, sleeveless tunic, she felt a throb emanating out of her loins as if she wanted more.
Finn’s pert nose graced against Hayley’s cheek as he twisted his head and something weird happened. Like a snake poking its nose out of the burrow after the end of winter, Finn’s tongue lashed back and forth against Hayley’s pursed lips. She had no idea what he was doing, and was about to ask, when that dancing snake found its way inside her mouth. The wily tip knocked into her teeth before bounding against her resting and confused tongue.
He tasted of sweetened lemongrass, which was being rubbed all over her palate. Seeming to have finished the sudden tongue inspection, Finn slipped away. His grey eyes were heavy, the lashes at half mast as he stared at her. “What…was that?” Hayley sputtered.
Smiling, Finn said, “Fancy kiss. Did you like it?”
No. Well…kinda. It felt like there was a finger trying to dig out her tongue. But then, some of it was nice. The later part when he calmed down and just sort of rolled his heat with hers. Oh god, he was staring at her expectantly.
“Yes,” Hayley said, doing her best to not wince and make him feel bad. Sort of. It hung in her brain rather than wedge its way out into the real world. She didn’t want to tell him it was all bad, cause it wasn’t, but…
“Let’s do it again,” he lunged for her, but Hayley leaned back. There came that sudden cloud at losing his prize, and she smiled brightly.
“Can I try this time instead?”
Finn shrugged, but the grin returned and with his lips slightly open he waited for Hayley to give her go. She pressed a petal-soft kiss to his bottom lip, uncertain exactly what she was supposed to do. “If you’re not sure…” Finn began when Hayley dived as deep as her tongue could reach. Okay, too much. Way too much. Finn’s fingers dug into her skin and she pulled back to lightly rubbing her tongue against the sleeping edge of his. It was nice-ish.
He moved as if he intended to teach her better how to do this when a goose lashed its long neck forward and bit deep into Finn’s shin. “Ah!” he cried, whipping his head free to glare at the bird already waddling away like it did nothing wrong.
Hayley snickered, her fingers patting at her cap as she stared intently at the evil goose. Sensing eyes on her, she looked up from under her brow right at Finn. His stare turned her legs to jelly, her spine already sliding clear off to plop into the ground. Blood gushed into her cheeks, nearly spiking them a pulsing red and she tried to shift on her feet.
“Come on,” Finn picked up her fingers and gave a tug.
Her feet fumbled forward, the squire easily succumbing to a barely there yank as Finn guided her away from the geese. “Where are we going?” Hayley asked even as the two broke into a run. She was close on his heels, despite having no idea where they were heading. With their hands locked the pair giggled together.
Hayley expected him to take her to the stables, but it was the wooden bathhouse he turned to instead. Rising up the steps, Finn’s suspicious eyes darted around the farm before he cracked open the door and dashed inside. Hayley was quickly behind him, barely squeezing into the tight fit where there was floor but no tub. It was maybe a foot or two of wood before the metal tub took over. Below the floorboards were the coals for heating the water, Hayley taking a quick peek to see they were all white and black instead of a blushing orange-red.
At the sound of Finn sliding the wooden lock into place, she smirked. “What are you doing?”
“Making certain we’re not bothered,” he oozed, his entire body suddenly crawling like a slime mold over the floor.
Hayley laughed at the idiocy, but when Finn locked his hands around her waist, she happily put hers on his shoulders. Trapped in the intimacy where both of them would get naked to bathe, the heat in her gut boiled. It rampaged through her veins causing Hayley to pitch forward and greedily steal another kiss.
This time Finn’s tongue was more gentle, both of them figuring out how to match each other. Finn’s fingers slid back and forth against the nipped in waist of her tunic while he whispered, “You’re fun to kiss.”
She grinned in response, her chest swelling at the compliment. “You’re not so bad at it, um, either. With kissing, and…” Damn it. She meant it to be a light laugh but Finn’s face flinched. “I like kissing you!” Hayley shouted, her voice trying to stampede over her mistake.
The damn thing ricocheted over the wooden walls, her ‘like’ landing back on Finn a dozen times over. His smile oozed into place as his eyes darted from her face down her chest a moment. It wasn’t more than a beat, but Hayley frowned.
“Lose the hat,” Finn said as if he was ordering around a horse.
“Why?” she gripped tighter to her cap, nearly hauling it down to her ears.
Finn leaned closer, his fingers ruffling through the edge of sheared hair on the side, “I want to play with your hair.” He sounded sincere and almost sweet about it. Still…
Aside from bathing, Hayley never was without her cap. She felt wrong with a bare head. Not like naked, she knew what naked was. But like she was a kid again, trapped in the pine tree, legs frozen to the ground.
Finn’s fingers darted over to the blue hem of the cap and he gently plucked at it. When Hayley didn’t actively resist him, he brushed it further away. Before her hat could fall on the floor, Hayley yanked it off and stuffed it safely at the back of her waistband. Piles of blonde hair stained the same color as a weak tea tumbled to her shoulders.
“It’s not…” Her nose twitched, Hayley thinking of all the lovely plaits in other girl’s hair. The beautiful updos Ania would manage below her scarves. Even just a symmetrical cut one trip to a real barber would offer. “I kno
w it’s ugly.”
Finn drew his palm to her cheek then skirted it higher to tousle against the roots of her fine hair. A sigh broke from Hayley’s lips, her skin tingling at the gentle contact. “It’s pretty,” he whispered, his hand drifting back to the nape of her neck in order to return her lips to where they belonged.
Both their tongues tussled, almost as if they were wrestling together on the lawn. Finn pressed his body tighter to Hayley’s, the girl stumbling in the narrow space until she bounced against the wall. The entire time his hands kept brushing through her hair, causing a calm to swell through her body. But lurking underneath the waves was the boiling heat, its bubbles almost reaching the surface.
Hayley shifted, trying to wiggle the pipe cap out of the small of her back. Finn’s hands fell from her hair, but his lips didn’t fade away long. They returned to suckering around hers, Hayley flexing her fingers into his shoulders and locking her forearms to the sides of his head. She was about to suggest they try sitting in the dry tub away from the pipe when a palm glommed right onto her breast.
Her entire body locked in tight, shocked at the fingers trying to dig under her minuscule bounce. It kinda stung, Finn gripping as if he was trying to unscrew her tits. She shifted, wanting to shake him off, when his haphazard twisting knocked into her nipple.
“Ah shit,” Hayley gasped, her brain flooding with memories of Gavin and the mystery woman on top of each other. Her body filled quickly with a pulsing throb between her thighs. She instinctively clenched them together, finding a joy in the pressure, when Finn paused in his kissing to look at her.
He seemed uncertain, almost fragile, as if one cross word from her would shatter him. Nodding her head, Hayley smiled weakly and Finn lashed both his palms to her chest. His hot breath wafted near her cheek, “You like this.”
She took it as a question and bobbed her head. When the fingers weren’t digging into her flesh it made her hair sing. “Especially, the way you…” Hayley began, but the boy interrupted her.
“What about this?” Like petting the conical head of a cat, Finn drew his fingers up towards the points and teased her nipples out even further. The gentle sway nearly brought Hayley trembling to her knees. She gasped, her forehead landing against his great one when his lips returned to hers. The heat from their conjoined lips and the one burning off her chest threatened to consume her.
This was nice. Better than nice. It was great. No wonder everyone was always sneaking away to do all of it. Hayley turned her chin, trying to cup her lips about Finn’s bottom one when both of his hands dropped off her chest. She was about to ask why, when cold fingers drew under her shirt and began to raise up high.
Hayley leaned back, both her hands snapping over her shirt to pin Finn’s to her stomach. “What are you doing?” she asked, her breath still bounding in spurts.
“Trust me,” Finn purred, walking even closer to her. She tried to keep away, but her spine flattened to the wall — trapped. “You’ll really like it without your shirt on.”
“No,” Hayley whipped her head back and forth, her hands trying to shove his out from under her shirt, but he had a tight grip.
“What do you mean no?” Finn rolled his eyes high. “Don’t go full frozen church prude on me now, Hayseed.”
Her lip sneered, Hayley digging her hands tight into Finn’s. “I don’t want to.”
“How will you know until you let me?” He was in full obstinate mode. “It’s no big thing. You’re acting like a baby.”
Narrowing her eyes, Hayley locked her hands together to form a bridge and smashed both into Finn’s forearms. He didn’t expect that, his hands finally breaking off her bare skin. The boy skittered away, staring at her as if she went full feral. “Damn it,” he hissed, rubbing the area she struck hard, “what is your problem?”
“I don’t…” Hayley began, her eyes darting to the locked door. Had this been his cruel plan the whole time?
“You don’t what? You’re such a fickle pain in the ass, ya know that?” he ranted, his hands hanging limply at his side. “One second it’s all, oh yes Finn, let’s make out in the straw of the barn. Next, you’re smacking my ass around. What do you want?”
She didn’t want to do that. Not all of that stuff. Just some of it. The kissing and… Her brow clouded as she glanced down at his resting fingers. She let him touch her, it was her stupid fault for not stopping it then. “I’m sorry,” Hayley muttered, turning away from him to glare at the door. She wished Gavin would suddenly need her and come rushing in. But he was busy doing all that stuff, the stuff that thinking about would cause her throat to clog.
“It’s…fine,” Finn sighed in exasperation, “just, trust me. Okay?” His hand extended limply towards her and Hayley took it. With barely any tug, Finn pulled her to him. “I don’t want to hurt you. I ain’t evil.”
She swallowed and nodded as the boy cupped her chin and tugged her for another kiss. Greedy to move on past the moment, Hayley fell into it. He tasted as sweet as before, gentle whispers dancing against her tongue. Which was when his grasping fingers snatched onto the hem of her shirt and tried to tug it upright.
Rage combusted inside of her, Hayley grabbing both her hands onto Finn’s and yanking the cursed things off. “I said no!” she screamed. He moved to latch onto her shoulder, but on instinct, Hayley lifted her leg and kicked into his gut. Finn, not having been trained to dodge such an attack, flew backwards. His legs struck the lip of the tub and, in the momentum, he fell flat on his back. A great oomph and groan erupted from him, but all Hayley could see was a burning red.
Indignant beyond broach, Hayley wrenched the lock off the door. She cast one last look at the boy cursing under his breath at her and slammed the door. Her cocksure attitude lasted for all of three steps until it crumbled into a puff of panic.
What did she do?
She kicked a boy, hard. A boy she led on, that she’d sneak kisses from without recourse. And she slapped and kicked him. Oh god.
Grimy betrayal clung to Hayley’s skin and tears burned deep in the back of her eyes. She began to run, fear trailing her steps. What if Finn told on her to Gavin? To the Order? To Bernadine? Told them all that she couldn’t be trusted, that she was fickle and crazy. Liable to snap at a moment’s notice for no reason.
What if…? Hayley skittered to a halt, her knees bounding against the well’s stones as she stared deep into the black abyss. What if he told the whole truth? Her head whipped back to the bathhouse, terror’s sharp fingers snatching all of her innards and wrapping the offal around its neck like a scarf. If they found out, if any of them knew she was a…?
She wanted to sink to her knees and scream, scurry off on her belly anywhere that was safe and never come out. Drown in the frozen ditch water, her skin ripped away in pieces by vultures. Panic kept her on her feet, kept her moving. She cast a look to the little house. It was supposed to be safe, to provide an oasis but her knight was in there with her.
The mystery woman didn’t pause for a moment at disrobing, why did Hayley? Why did she have to throw a fuss and ruin everything?! She didn’t want to do it because…because she didn’t. That doesn’t make any damn sense!
Breath hitched high in her throat, Hayley kept running down the lane, past the stone gates and onto the road. She nearly made it to the cross where the King’s highway would sweep travelers off on their destination when Hayley froze.
There was nothing for her either way. Left or right, the hunters would come. They always came. And they’d know. Finn would tell them to not bother with her wrist. Hayley rubbed at the both of them, remembering the bite of manacles that sliced through her weak flesh.
With nothing but nothing before her, Hayley crumbled into a heap. She scooped her knees tight to her chest and buried her head. Sobs tried to reach her eyes and throat, but they were all chained in deep. Don’t let them know, don’t let them see or else. Or else they cut you deeper, they bleed you longer, they take everything and leave behind nothing.
&nbs
p; Darkness was her only salvation.
“Miss?”
Oh god, what now? Hayley raised her head to find the dancing flank of a horse mere feet away. She cowered deeper into her shoulders, terrified that Finn brought out a monster to drag her back, but the voice kept on asking for a “Miss?”
Finally, raising her head, she spotted the concerned face and gasped, “Devon.”
“Is there something the matter?” he asked, his eyes darting to her fingers dug into her thighs and how tightly she clenched her jaw.
“No,” Hayley leapt to her feet, shaking her head rapidly. There was no way she’d explain any of this to the messenger. To Gavin. To anyone.
“I see,” was all he’d say, watching her carefully.
“You,” she tried to distract him, “you must have something for me or my ma... knight.”
His head bowed towards his chest, “I do indeed.” Hayley extended her palm for the usual bundle, but the boy shook it away. “I’m afraid I have to deliver it to only his hands.”
“Oh.” She scrunched her face up in confusion, then turned back to the estate and the little house of naked stuff. It shocked her smoke wasn’t pouring out of the chimney or the walls weren’t rattling in place. “He’s, um, busy at the moment. I think.”
“It is of an utmost urgency I deliver this promptly. Please, Hayley.”
The tone struck her to the core. Devon was pompous at times, but he could joke around when needed. Now, he almost looked scared. Nodding her head dumbly, Hayley led him and the horse towards the last known whereabouts of Ser Gavin. Before the door, Devon dismounted, his hand clutching tight to a scroll.
He looked about to head in when Hayley grimaced. Last thing her knight needed was to be caught with his pants down. “I’ll…” she scampered before him, “Let me go first, see if he’s in there. And all…”
“Very well,” Devon bowed his head, though he seemed confused.
Taking a deep breath, Hayley dashed into the house and shut the door tight behind her. There weren’t any loud sounds echoing from inside. Her eyes swung towards the fireplace grateful to find only the empty armchair and a pile of ash she was supposed to clean up. That could only mean…