The Red Witch

Chapter 7

“Come to bed.” Greyson urged as he climbed in under the thick blankets. “You’ve had a long day. You should rest.”

“I would prefer to remain here.” Karin said from his chair near the fire. She curled into it, pulling a smaller blanket over her.

“I won’t ask you again.” Greyson told her firmly.

“Then don’t ask me again.” She replied.

“You’re angry with me.” He said, shifting up the pillows a little. He rested his hands behind his head and crossed his ankles under the blankets. “You think I’ve stolen you from your family.”

“You don’t know what I think.” She told him calmly but coldly. “You know nothing of how I am or what I feel right now.”

“Then tell me.” He said.

“What I have to say should be kept behind my teeth.” Karin told him. “And not uttered to a Lord of the house.”

“All the same,” He said, “I wish you to say it.” Karin looked up at him from the chair, her eyes still filled with tears. “So say it.” He encouraged.

“You are a …..” She started.

“Go on.”

Karin took a deep breath, “You are a callous, calculated and self-centred beast of a man.” She said finally. “You care nothing for the people around you unless they are of some benefit to you and you care nothing for the harm you cause so long as it pleases you. You’re selfish and cruel to people who may have not wronged you but you despise nonetheless and you play with people for your own personal amusement. You have no right to break a family apart like you’ve done to mine, nor to humiliate a man just because he….”

“Threw his piss all over you?” Greyson offered, finishing her thought. Karin firmed her jaw and looked down again. He sat up further in the bed and folded his massive arms. “I care for you, do I not?” He asked. “And I have kept my word and done everything you have asked of me, have I not? Fergus Tilling does not deserve to be a father. His sons do not deserve to be brothers. They have no right to treat someone I care for in the way they have done. They may not have wronged me personally but they have wronged you. I humiliated them tonight as they have humiliated you your entire life Karin.”

“I never asked you for any of it.” Karin told him sharply. “And I certainly never asked for your charity. You promised me freedom to be and do as I please, yet you would shackle me here under the promise of a thousand pieces of gold a year and a castle. You would even insinuate to my brother that you would consider yourself a suitor to me now I have wealth.”

“Is that not a good thing?” He asked.

“My father was a cage.” Karin told him sadly. “And now you’ve made me another, gilded with gold and perceived comfort but a cage is still a cage, Greyson and I am still just a prisoner in it. So no, it is not a good thing.”

“Is that how you truly see me?” He asked carefully. “Another captor? Another Fergus?” Karin looked away again. “As you wish.” He admitted, “Yes, I am selfish and I am callous and I can be very cruel to those I deem less than myself but tell me this, Karin Menoda.” She looked up at him. “What would you rather have? A gilded cage with a man that might actually mean something to you, or a rundown farmhouse, knee deep in s**t with a man that would literally put you in an early grave, or drown you in piss every day of his miserable life?”

“What I want no longer matters.” She told him quietly. “You took that choice from me when you forced Fergus Tilling to disown his only daughter. I have nowhere else to go now. You have ensured I will remain forever at your mercy. And I hate you for it.”

“If that is what it takes to keep you with me, I will gladly pay the price.” He replied. He then patted the bed and pulled the blankets back for her. “Don’t make me come over there and get you.” He said. After shedding her dress, Karin lifted her slip and crawled into the bed in silence. She laid down immediately with her back to Greyson and curled up against the pillows. She pulled her growing braid over her shoulder, robbing him of the pleasure of playing with it as he seemed to enjoy and she closed her eyes.

Morning arrived with Karin still curled up tight to her pillows. Greyson had travelled some in his sleep and was laid up her back with his arm over her hip and his head tucked in tight to her hair. As he snuffled some, she woke instantly and flinched. The movement caused him to pull her closer but she pushed him away. He refused to let her alone and quickly threw his arm back over her. Karin squeezed her eyes shut and hunched her shoulders right up as she carefully moved him back a second time. She made to flee the bed as quickly as she could but as she pulled the blankets back, he grabbed her again and pulled her right into the centre of the bed. “No.” He said gruffly.

“Let me go.” She demanded softly. She didn’t want to shock him to anger or give him cause to wake more than he’d already done.

“No.” He said again, tightening his hold on her.

“Greyson.” She said a little louder.

“I heard you.” He said as he buried his face in her luscious hair. “I’m not ready to get up.”

“But I am.” She said.

“You will stay here with me.” He ordered quietly.

“I will not!” She snapped and literally threw his arm back then. She threw the blankets back and shuffled towards the edge.

“Yes you will!” He boomed back and he grabbed her again, forcing her back into the bed and he put his full body over her, pinning her on her front. He gripped both her wrists in his hand while supporting his weight on the other and lifted them above her head so she couldn’t strike him.

“Get off me!” She shouted. “I’ll scream!”

“Scream all you like.” He told her, dipping his head right down until his braid fell over his shoulder and landed on her face. “But you will stay in this bed until I am done with you.” His voice remained calm but firm. “Am I clear?” Karin offered a small nod under his braid and she whimpered, burying her face in the pillow. He kept his hold a moment longer before letting her hands go but he kept his weight on her enough that she couldn’t move but not enough to hurt her.

“Please Greyson.” She whimpered softly, “Don’t do this, I beg you, please.”

Leaning down again, Greyson put his lips to her ear. “I told you before.” He whispered, “I would not bed you until I decide otherwise. I have not decided otherwise yet but if you continue to fight me, my resolve may wane. Do you understand me?” She nodded into the pillow quickly and forced her body to relax again. “Thank you.” He said quietly, keeping his lips to her ear. He kissed it softly, making her flinch a little. This was the first time he kissed her at all and it shocked her but also terrified her. “Now you listen to me, Karin Menoda.” He continued as he shifted his weight some on her. “I do not regret what I did last night, not to you or your father and I meant what I said. I am willing to pay the price to keep you with me. You can hate me for a lifetime if you wish but be under no illusion, I will do and continue to do what I deem necessary to keep you safe and cared for. You may see this life as another cage to be kept in and paraded around for my amusement but the way I see it Karin, you now have a life free of the burden of your father, you have money and standing in this home that you would never have enjoyed otherwise.” He breathed deep her scent before growling under his breath. “And you have me. I will protect you and I will continue to do so as long as I live and breathe, understand?” Karin nodded again softly and whimpered into the pillows, trying not to struggle so he didn’t become angry again. “And all I ask in return.” He continued, his voice softening and his weight lifting slightly. “That you continue to be your passionate, opinionated self and never again doubt that you are powerful, beautiful, strong and wise beyond your years.” He leaned down again, breathing her scent and he growled once more. “You have no idea how much you mean to me, Karin.” He told her, pressing his weight on her just enough. “How much these last months have meant for me to be in your company. To have your honesty and loyalty.”

“But you hold me captive in your bed.” She whimpered softly. “If you value my honesty and loyalty so much, why do you keep me under you like this?” She tried to shift her body a little but it only pressed her backside tighter to him, making him growl again deep in his throat. “Greyson please.” She continued, her voice fading somewhat into whisper as she pressed her belly deep into the bed. “You’ve made your point. Now please let me go.”

“I want you to stay.” He told her, letting his head rest on her shoulder. “I want you to stay here until you see in yourself what I see in you and to understand what you mean to me. Only then will I let you go.”

“Greyson.” Karin protested.

“Only then, will I let you go.” He repeated. “I suggest you get comfortable. This may take a while.” Karin had no choice but to obey and let her shoulders drop right down.

The morning grew late but still Greyson refused to let Karin go. Emily came and went despite Karin’s protestations and Magnus was forced to leave without saying goodbye. By mid-afternoon, Karin had all but given up hope Greyson would ever let her out of the bed, leaving her to reel in her mind about what had happened over the last days and weeks, and months. Everything Greyson had said he would do he had done and he’d been a perfect gentleman in almost every way to her since her first visit to the main hall. In company, Greyson was a lord. He represented the reputation and honour of his house and he was expected to act a certain way of which he succeeded and often excelled. However, behind his door, alone and without expectation, he presented as any man would she supposed though still selfish in many ways. She understood she held great value to him and not just as a woman to show off and enjoy but a friend of equal mind and someone willing to call him out on his selfishness. She wondered if it was more than simple value and gratitude of her honesty and loyalty as he put it. He called her powerful and beautiful, wise beyond her years and strong. He said that about no other woman in the entire castle, not even Betty whom he admired greatly. In her time there, Karin had learned that Betty had practically raised Greyson and as she remembered that conversation now, he began to make more and more sense.

“Greyson?” She kept her voice low, thinking he might have nodded off again but as she shifted some under him, she felt him move also.

“Hmm?”

“Why do you value me so highly?” She asked carefully. “You have said I mean much to you for my honesty and my loyalty but you won’t say why.”

“You have forgotten already.” He mumbled with a sigh. He pushed his face deeper into her hair and tucked his hand right under her until she could feel his fingers press into her belly. His move pulled them ever closer together if that was possible.

“I haven’t forgotten.” She protested quietly. “I remember everything you’ve told me.”

“Then you shouldn’t need to ask why.” He told her. “For such a wise person Karin, you are so very naïve about so many things. Why is it so hard for you to understand the truth?”

“Because my truth and yours are very different.” She returned quickly.

“How?” He asked, lifting his head briefly. “How are they different?”

“You are the son of a great lord, born into privilege and wealth.” She told him, turning her head a little to look at him. “You have been told all your life that you are the master of your world and all must serve you. You need only snap your fingers and your every whim and desire are catered to without question. I was born into an entirely different world Greyson.” She put her head back down again. “My whole life has been spent being told I was an unwanted, worthless, useless and cursed daughter of a farmer, blamed for my mother’s death, his crippling and every hardship my family has ever suffered since. I know you are aware of what the people of this valley say about me and how they view me. I am a witch, a servant of Death that has bewitched you and turned you from your rightful path and many do honestly believe I am your w***e as well. I hear them in the chapel, I feel their hate burning me as they listen to the priest reminding them how close evil is to them and how they must banish it. They wish to banish me.” She curled her finger around the end of his braid and then coiled it over before letting go and repeating the action.

“People are sheep Karin.” He told her quietly, “They will believe whatever they are told because they know nothing else. You are merely a scapegoat for their ignorance and jealousy and I know full well what you are. I have told you many times. You are my most trusted and respected companion, a moral compass to remind me that I am as much a servant to this valley as this valley serves me. Yes, I have wealth and I have much privilege but what does that buy me?”

“It bought me easily enough.” She said.

“It bought me your flesh.” He corrected. “It did not buy me you.”

“Is there a difference?” Greyson finally moved, lifting his weight enough that Karin could turn fully on her side. She recognised the opportunity to finally flee the bed and his grasp but he did also and quickly rolled her onto her back.

“Of course there is a difference.” He told her quickly as he loomed over her. His amber orbs glistened with many emotions and Karin couldn’t help but stare back at him as he tucked his hands under the pillow by her head. He put his knee between hers, pulling her slip tight over her legs to hold her down again. “There is always a difference.”

“Explain it to me then.” She urged. Instinctively, she put her hands to his ribs but just as her fingertips brushed along the muscle under his nightshirt, she flinched and withdrew her touch again. She clasped her hands to her chest tightly and hunched her shoulders.

“You already know all of this Karin.” He said with low growl as he felt her finite touch. He turned his head away some and she could see the tension in his neck and across his shoulders as the shirt pulled tight. The end of his braid brushed over her cheek, making her shudder a little and she turned her head to it. He balled his fists under the pillow, gathering up the sheet beneath between his fingers. She thought for a moment he was becoming angry again but it was soon clear he was anything but angry. Frustrated definitely but not angry. The tension in his neck remained but his face and eyes softened again as he gazed down at her. “What I have wanted from you is not what I paid my father for.” He said at length. “I paid for your body to rob him of it. I didn’t pay for your soul Karin, or your mind, your intuition, the glint of curiosity and emotion in your eyes when you look at me.” She levelled her gaze with him again and he smiled. “Those are what makes you who you are and that is what I have wanted from you but you have to give it. I cannot take what is not mine but you can give what is yours. The night I robbed my father of you and the pride I have felt these last months at the attention and pleasure you have commanded of those around you, it has made my soul ache.” He shifted his weight a little and she felt him press tighter against her.

“I fear I have made more than just your soul ache.” She told him as she finally began to understand him better. “I do not claim to understand you entirely Greyson, or your motives for keeping me to yourself but I have learned what it means to walk with you at your side and perhaps in time, I will also learn to feel as you do, to perhaps align my truth with yours and find the common ground needed to understand you as you wish me to.”