Reluctantly Rogue Pt. 02 Ch. 09

(Note: This is a long, ongoing story. It is a story with sex. It's a sexy story. It is in many ways a story about sex. But, it is not strictly a sex story. Many chapters may even be SFW.

This chapter is slightly NSFW.)

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CHAPTER NINE

Two Types of Tension

Kella shut the door to the little room firmly and leaned her back against it, slumping into the wood and laughing. "Well. Just how we planned it, sneaking quietly in the back!"

Atyr sent a tense little smile her way. She might be comfortable with the folk of Woodstead through long familiarity, and so not worry about their little dramas, but as a visitor, raising anything close to suspicion put him on edge.

She threw herself dramatically across the bed now, limbs and hair sprawling attractively on the rough blanket. "Oh, fae woodsman, what tales of deadly import weigh so heavily upon you that you simply must grace my ears with their fateful words?" Her voice took on the quality of a poet, only slightly belied by a stifled giggle.

Atyr looked at her curiously in the dark of the room, the moon silvering the strands of her long hair. He opened his mouth to speak, but then realized Pesky hadn't followed them in. Pleasant though the solitude was, she should probably be here for this. He shut his mouth again, and went to the door to check. An irate sprite buzzed in so fiercely through the crack of the opening door that he felt the harsh breeze of her passing on his face. He shut the door, and started again.

"I've thought about this all day." He paused, and Kella broke in.

"I'm sure you have." She was suppressing a knowing smirk. Her shift in demeanor from this morning was starting to unsettle Atyr. What did she know that he didn't, that she could find such delight in the situation?

"Kella... I spent a long time trying to figure out how to approach this, and I think..." He trailed off again.

She sat up on the bed, and her face melted into an expression of gentle concern. "Atyr Bracken. Tell me true. Have you never done this before?"

"'Done this before?' What is 'this'? Explaining everything? Of course not! I'm just finding out about all of this. I swear I didn't know anything about any of it until our walk the other day."

She stood then and stepped close to him, taking his hands. She was barely apart from him. Her hair and clothes still reeked of that fouled-wine smell, but it hit him now with the intoxication real wine brings. He almost forgot why they were there. She stepped back, pulling him gently with her towards the bed. "Just follow." Her smile was soft and caring. "I can show you."

Atyr took two steps with her, his head a mess of confusion and desire. He felt himself stiffening swiftly. He halted. Kella looked down at the protrusion, then smiled up at him. "Don't be nervous. You'll know what to do."

He squeezed his eyes and jaw, forcing himself to remember why he was in this moonlit room with this dark, beautiful woman. He pulled back, freeing his hands and turning away.

"Kella, this is really important. It's... Bird's life could be in danger." He looked back at her. Her mouth was still smiling, but her eyes weren't. "And also your soul, I think."

She dropped onto the bed again, snorting. "Look, you have fully won me over. You don't need to pull this whole "fae" thing anymore. Once was endearing, twice is getting kind of weird."

Atyr stood stunned. Her face, looking at him, had lost its gentleness. She was annoyed. "Kella, is that what you think? I'm just making something up to get you alone with me? Why would I need to do that? Want to do that?"

She shrugged. "Men have tried stranger. I don't really know." She squinted at him in the moonlight. "You really want me to believe that Bird's "fae man" is real, and you met him, and it's somehow really important that you get me alone in a room in the inn to talk about it?"

He breathed out in disbelief, and looked around him at the rough beams and posts of the room. "All that to get you here? That doesn't even make sense. This morning you were scared, worried, as I am. Now..." He stopped, the obvious question left hanging in the silence.

"Sure, this morning you really spooked me. You did. You were really acting strangely." She threw up her hands. "But I had all day to think about it, and... I mean, it's really pretty obvious what you were up to, trying to lure me in me with stories of mystery and danger."

Pesky, flitting over from the window where she'd been sitting, hovered behind Kella's head. "You're doing great. Perfect explanation so far, dummy."

Atyr didn't know what to say. He just stood, hands limply beside him. Then he remembered.

"What about the door?"

Kella looked blankly up at him, and glanced at the door to the room. "The door? What about the door?"

"When it slammed and wouldn't open. What about that?"

Pesky shook her head. Kella shook her head.

Kella stood up, beginning to look annoyed. "I don't know what you're talking about. Look, I think this was a mistake, maybe we can talk tomorrow, but I shou--"

"This morning." Atyr cut in sharply. "This morning, you were about to go get Bird to talk to her. You opened the door, and it slammed itself shut. You tried again and it wouldn't budge. You don't remember that?"

Dark eyes narrowed slightly, full lips parted, and her soft brows drew in. She looked suddenly uncertain, almost frightened. "I... I suppose I forgot about that, somehow. It was all so..." She shook her head, just a brief movement. "I think maybe you kicked it shut, and held it with your foot?" She blinked, looking at the floor.

"No, Kella, I wasn't anywhere near it."

Pesky tapped him on the ear. "She won't remember it, not really. It's how we are."

Kella was wavering now, fear, anger, and confusion all mixing in her expression. At least he wouldn't have to worry about her distracting him with lustful advances anymore. Luck in luckless times.

"Kella, will you just let me tell you the story? Please. You don't have to believe what I say, but at least trust that I mean it. Please?"

There was a long silence. Even Pesky seemed unwilling to break it. Eventually Atyr did.

"Hey, and the other thing, it wouldn't be my first time, alright? Just to be clear." His cheeks reddened at his own boldness. The young healer blinked, sighed, and let out a short breath that might have been intended as a laugh. She looked him in the eye.

"Alright, Atyr Bracken." She sat back down on the bed. "I'll listen."

He breathed a long, quiet sigh as the tension faded slowly from him. Pesky hovered beside her and grinned impishly at Atyr. "Fine, but hear me out, she'd probably still let you fuck her first." He choked.

---

He began at the beginning, with hearing Pesky's voice, which he described as merely 'distracting in a fae way,' and then took her on through his feverish trip to town. His experiences with Elatla in the pool were summed up as 'then a kelpie grabbed me and dragged me under.' Pesky protested every instance of sanitation and expurgation, but he willed himself to ignore her entirely. When he got to the part where he woke up in the Birdhouse, Kella spoke for the first time.

"That's why you woke up? Why you healed so quickly? It was fae magic?"

"As I understand it, yeh. I heal fast now. Overnight, pretty much."

Kella looked down. "I suppose our efforts really didn't matter at all then?"

"No," Atyr protested, "no, Pesky didn't come to me until the third day I was there. You two must have been what kept me alive."

She nodded. "I suppose. I'm not saying I believe it, mind you. Just to be clear."

"Fair. Anyway, I got a good test of the healing right after I left town."

He took her through a brief overview of his encounter with the wolf. It wasn't really necessary to the story, but he couldn't resist telling the tale. Kella, of course, asked to see where he'd been mauled, but in the silver light of the moon, there was nothing visible. She raised her brows skeptically at him.

He moved on swiftly. "Anyway, it was when I got back to town that things really got weird."

He had just started in describing his introduction to Helliot, where the devil had interrupted the two of them as they left the Birdhouse, when Kella cut in again.

"Alright, hang on. So you can really see all these fae, but no one else can? I didn't notice him popping up right in front of us?"

"Well first off, he's not fae. He's a fiend, which is different. I think it's basically... bad fae?" He raised a brow at Pesky, questioningly.

She made a disgusted face and wagged her head back and forth, but eventually she threw up her tiny arms and shrugged, accepting his description.

"But yes," he said, "basically I think that's about right. I can see them now because I'm what I guess is called 'fae-marked.'"

"Fae-touched." Pesky interjected.

"This is starting to sound like a whole bunch of ways to make yourself seem mysterious and special." Kella looked at him flatly. "Rather than just some boy out of the Brookwood."

Atyr's stomach took a dive into something hot and unpleasant, but he kept his face as unaffected as possible. "I understand that. Just bear with me a little longer. I promise I'm not playing at anything just to get you to..." He looked away. "You know."

She took a deep breath. "Yeah, fine. I mean, it's really obvious you're not just trying to get me in bed since... I mean I was there, wasn't I? I just don't think I really believe any of this." Dark eyes caught his own.

"Fair. Let me tell you just a little more of the story? It's important."

Slowly, she nodded her assent.

"Thanks. So anyway, this devil stopped me as you and I were headed out on our walk, but you couldn't see him because you're not fae-touched. Then he basically stopped time, so we could talk abou--"

"Look, Atyr, I'm sorry to keep interrupting, but you're telling me a devil stopped the world, the entire world, just to talk to you, right in front of me? It's not even a believable story, and honestly--"

"Kella. If I wanted to make up a story to impress you, I promise I could come up with something better than this. And technically, he didn't stop time, he... well I don't really understand it, but I guess he borrowed some of my time from the end of my life to talk to me." He looked at the frown on her face. "It's not important. What's important is I agreed to meet with him that night, and that's when he told me about everything to do with Bird."

Kella held up a hand, and stood up off the bed. "You could see the fairie before you were fae-touched."

Atyr paused. "Sprite. But yeh, I could. Apparently that's because I "invited" her. Honestly, I don't even know what that means."

"You could see the kelpie too. You "invited" her as well, I suppose?" She crossed her arms now. "This story of yours doesn't really hang together."

"I know this all sounds crazy. As I understand it, bleeding into the pool was considered an invitation for the kelpie. None of that is important though, what's important is what Helliot--"

"I want to see her."

"... What?"

"I want to see her." Her voice was firm. Her face was set. "You were able to "invite" this faerie--"

"Sprite."

"Sure. You invited this Sprite. She's with you, here in town?"

"I am!" said Pesky brightly.

Atyr nodded slowly. "She is, yes. But, I don't even know how I invited her, it just kind of happened."

"Well, if you did it by accident, it must be really simple, right? Go get her."

"Kella, she's--"

"Go get her. I want to see her. I won't listen to one more luckless word of your completely nonsensical tale if you don't go fetch her right now and make her reveal herself to me." She was glaring, eyes drilling deep into his own. "I mean it, I'll leave right now and I'm not sure if you'll see me again, Atyr Bracken."

"Kella, she's right here. She's in the room."

Her expression switched briefly to one of surprise, and her eyes scanned swiftly around the bare walls, but then she settled the look of grim determination back on her face. "Right then, sprite. Show yourself to me!"

Atyr looked at Pesky helplessly. The Sprite laughed and shook her head at him. "Oh, you are not going to like this. But I am!"

He looked back to Kella. "Listen, this is going to be weird, but I'm going to have to talk to her, alright? Just... you won't hear her."

A long, slow blink answered him. "Of course I won't." She smiled tightly.

Atyr chewed hard on his lower lip, teeth nearly breaking the skin. "Aaaaalright. Pesky. How does someone invite you? You've never given me a straight answer."

Kella snorted in derision and turned away, looking out the single window at the darkened road outside.

Pesky flew in close, glee written across her tiny features. "You're reaaaaally going to be unhappy, my favorite little dummy. You reaaaally are."

"Pesky, please, just tell me."

"Atyr, you have about a moment and an instant before I head out this door." Kella's back was still to him.

His voice was desperate now. "Pesky! This is important to you too, I can tell! Please."

The sprite flew in close, placing both palms on the tip of his nose. She leaned in, and whispered, "Orgasms."

Atyr closed his eyes. He didn't open them. His jaw worked back and forth, teeth grinding. "Right. Of course. Exactly how does that work?" He glanced worriedly over at Kella. She had turned partway around and was watching him now, distrust lurking on her shadowed face.

"It's easy, dummy. I just have to watch you come." She giggled and did a little backflip in the air. "You should probably tell her soon, she looks ready to run."

"And when would you have seen me..." He trailed off, as through his mind ran several dozen times she could have seen him, as he enjoyed himself, secure in the remote solitude of his forest clearing.

Pesky said nothing. There was no need. She batted minuscule lids over her white eyes.

"Fates leave you if you are deceiving me..."

"I'm not."

"That's the truth?"

A swift nod. "It's the truth."

Atyr took a long, deep breath. He stood. He let the breath out. "Kella."

She looked at him, expression blank.

"Kella, the only way to see her is... look I really don't want to say this. I promise this is real. It's the only way. I promise what I'm going to say isn't a ploy."

"Atyr Bracken. If you say that I have to fuck you to see your luckless little faerie, I will leave this room."

"No! No. It doesn't have to be..." He glanced at the sprite. She shook her head. "No, that's not it, but..."

"But what? I'm waiting Atyr."

"But..." His throat closed and his cheeks burned. "But she does have to watch you... erm... have an orgasm."

The silence that followed felt longer than the entirety of the day that had preceded it, from the morning with Helliot and the glass, through the trolls, the witch, and the walk back to town.

He looked imploringly at Pesky. "Isn't there some way... can't you do something to show her you're here?"

Kella began to head to the door once more. Panic welled in Atyr's chest, and he acted. Thought played no role in it, he just moved, drawing his belt knife and slashing it deep across his wrist. He snarled against the pain and held it out towards her, blood coming fast.

"Kella! Look!"

She turned slowly, then gasped and moved instinctually forwards, hands reaching for his arm. But then she caught herself. "What are you... what fae-cursed..." Fear was on her face once more.

"Please, Kella. Just watch. Please."

She was backing away from him in the room now, still moving towards the door. He took his sleeve and wiped the blood away, revealing the deep wound, no longer bleeding.

"Kella." His voice was quiet now. "Wait just one moment. Just one moment. Watch."

She had frozen in place. He should still be bleeding, he should be bleeding a lot, and he knew she knew it. The moment passed and he held out his arm. She hesitated, but then walked haltingly over to him. She looked down. The wound was already knit over; new, tender, red skin having formed to seal the cut against the outside world. Her eyes were wide as she looked up into his face.

"Kella. Believe me."

A second silence fell, the two young people stood facing one another, the wounded arm held up between them, with the dim, slanting beams of moonlight casting their shadows like ink on the bed beside them. Kella touched the wound with two fingers, still staring up at him.

"I still want to see her," she said, glancing quickly away.

A tiny mote of experience sped, glowing, from her eyes and snuggled its way warmly into Atyr's chest. He knew he had convinced her.

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Apologies to everyone who thought Kella was going to successfully distract him. :)

Hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway!

-ScryBells