Fawn paced the length of the redwood desk, her short hair clinging damply to her neck. Despite the warm bath Thomas had drawn earlier, her nerves were still tight, head ringing from the chaos that had erupted only hours earlier in the banquet hall. She'd known something was wrong the moment she heard the rising clamor of voices, her body instinctively shrinking towards the powerful wall of Thomas's arm. What she could have never imagined was the cold shock of seeing John Higglesby burst forth from the crowd, howling her name.

A prick of cold fear shot down her spine at the mere thought of it, a vestige of the horror that had eviscerated every muscle in her body. The moments after had been a whirlwind of confusion, bodies surging forward as the room spun sickeningly in her terror. Then her world went dark, Thomas' hand snapping shut around her like steel trap.

He wasn't gentle.

In his urgency to grasp her, Fawn's arm had been caught askew, twisting sickeningly as his hand plummeted into his trouser pocket. The force of the vertigo and the hot, white burst of pain made it impossible to struggle, fear cloying her throat. Mercifully, his grip loosened after several moments in the dark fabric, and though he kept his fingers pressed possessively around her, she was able to shift herself past the pain.

Fawn cradled her arm, moving it gingerly in the heavy hush of his empty chambers.

He could have snapped her bone clean in half.

How was it...she thought, how was it that those hands that touched her with such impossible tenderness were the very same that could cause such devastating pain? And even that, unintentionally. Fawn swallowed heavily. How thin the line was between his tenderness and his cruelty...nothing but love separating her from some ghastly fate. Love...that fragile fleeting thing...

The screech of a distant nighthawk pierced the quiet, startling Fawn with its plaintive cries. She found herself making the sign of the goddess, as if to ward off a bad omen. Shaking the thought away, she glanced nervously toward the candle perched beside the basin. The wax was low, the flickering flame and the harvest moon the only light in the dim room. It must have been hours since Thomas had left her here trembling. He would have gone earlier, except that she had been in such a state of fear for her discovery that he hadn't dared leave. She'd been so shaken by the events that she let him soothe her without question, let his rumbling whispers and gentle kisses blanket her.

There's nothing to fear, my love.

You're safe with me.

I'm going to take care of it.

She felt a pang of embarrassment as she recalled how tightly, how frantically her hands had grasped his fingers as he tried to leave, her body desperate to meld into the warmth of his hand. How weak she must have seemed...

Now that he was gone, a terrible uneasiness gnawed at her. How had she not noticed the tightness in his voice as his fingers stroked her softly? The low, growling threat of his words? How could she have let him convince her all was well, without voicing even a single doubt?

She turned abruptly toward the door of the inner chamber as she heard the familiar, muted thud of Thomas' approach. Her heart leapt to her throat as the door creaked open, revealing the rugged, weary form of her lover. Stepping forward, she made to call out when she caught the stark outline of a silhouette grasped in his hand and framed by the blue moonlight.

He wasn't alone.

In a moment Fawn was scrambling back into the shadows, blood pounding in her ears. Crouching down behind a stack of enormous books, she peered outward tremulously.

"Fawn?" he called out, his eyes scanning the desk for her presence. When she made no sign of movement, his voice dropped to a low rumble. "Where are you..."

The wood beneath her feet trembled as Thomas reached the desk, the gust of his movement snuffing out the candle. The figure he held was visible only for a moment before Fawn's world was plunged into darkness, the mountain of his torso obscuring the paned windows and blocking out the moonlight.

"You can look around," he spoke roughly. "I'll be back shortly."

In a moment, all Fawn's fears crystallized. He must have brought back one of the guard. Of course they were out searching for her. Thomas would have to play along, encourage a sweep of his rooms to quiet any doubt. But why hadn't he given her more warning?

Fawn hardly dared breathe as Thomas retreated, the dim blue light falling back onto the desk and partially illuminating the figure standing there. She tilted her head as the stranger staggered forward a few steps, looking around in stunned bewilderment. Then the guardedness in her face slowly fell away, her eyes widening into the shock of recognition.

"Josie...?" Her voice pitched hysterically. "Josie!...Jose!"

In a moment, Fawn was sprinting into the open, Josie whipping around frantically to meet her.

The two women launched themselves into a crushing embrace, Fawn's tears flowing fiercely now as she grasped her friend to herself with reckless desperation. She breathed in deeply through her sobs, face buried in the familiar, sweet honeysuckle scent of Josie's hair. For a few brief moments, it was as if the world had gone still, the swirling storm of chaos falling like sifted dust at their feet. How good it felt to be held by someone her size again, to be encircled with loving arms.

Then Josie pulled away slightly, her hands grasping Fawn's face as if she was still in disbelief. She looked almost wild as she looked her up and down.

"You're alive" she choked. "Goddess bless us, you're alive."

Fawn nodded tremulously, laughing through her tears. "You're  here! I can't believe you're really here! By the gods, you don't know how happy I am to see you Josie. But – but I don't understand - how did you -"

Fawn's words were cut short as Josie buckled suddenly in her arms. She was barely able to support the slack weight.

"Jose? Jose what's wrong?"

"I need – I need to sit..."

Fawn helped ease her friend to the ground, a knot of worry tightening in her stomach. In her excitement she hadn't even noticed how pale Josie was. Her usually rosy complexion was ashen and drained, her body trembling. Never in her life had Fawn seen her so weak.

She gasped in alarm as Josie grabbed her wrist tightly, eyes beseeching hers.

"Did he hurt you, Fawn? Did he lay a finger on you?"

Fawn's mind went blank at the unexpected question, her mouth parting without a sound. There was a moment of hesitation as the implications set in, her eyes darting toward the door of Thomas' chambers. 

"No! No, no, Josie, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, we need to take care of you now. What happened..."

Josie didn't drop her gaze, the concern in her face intensifying.

"Fawn, I was at the banquet. I saw how he treated you...how you shrank from him..." She coughed roughly, hands cradling her ribs as she sucked in a pained breath. "I -I know how frightened you must be Finny, but I promise you he can't hear you from here. You must tell me the truth."

The clamor of Thomas' movements from within the inner chambers interrupted the exchange, Josie's body coming sharply alert at the sound.

"Fawn listen to me" she urged, "We don't have much time. He'll be back any moment...this may be the last chance we'll ever have to get you out of here alive."

Fawn's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about, Josie?"

"I tried to stop it," she stammered, "the banquet...everything happened so fast...I never meant to betray you, Fawn. You must believe me. I thought I'd die before that day. But he made me confess. He - he promised he'd spare your life..."

Josie hesitated for a moment, her face conflicted and pained.

"He knows, Fawn. He knows who you really are."

Fawn's body instantly relaxed.

Josie still thought she was the Godking's prisoner. So, their plan was working then. Everyone at the banquet had bought the ruse. Even her closest friend had believed it.

"There you are." The deep tenor of Thomas' voice thundered through the room, startling the women into silence. Fawn stomach tightened as he passed through the doorway, sharp features glinting in the half-shadows. For a split second, he seemed to tower over the room like a terrible vision, the fear in Josie's words almost palpable in the air. Then the soothing familiarity of his presence washed over her, his handsome face illuminated by the fresh candle he carried.

As he made toward the desk, Josie staggered shakily to her feet, instinctively shielding Fawn with her body. She looked like she'd collapse again at any moment.

"Easy, little one." Thomas rumbled, his movement stopping abruptly. 

Fawn rose quietly to her feet, placing an equally reassuring hand on her friend's arm.

"Jose, Josie, it's alright. You're safe here."

Josie's head snapped back toward her, a look of such violent distrust there that it made Fawn's stomach clench. She didn't move from where she stood, still blocking Fawn from Thomas' view. It was only then, that she noticed how tightly her lover's hand was clenched, his face hardened as stone. It seemed as if all the air had been sucked out of the room.

Fawn's eyes darted between the two, her mind racing to piece it together.

"What's going on," she demanded nervously. "Somebody tell me what's happening."

She could feel her nerves tightening as the silence stretched uneasily.

"Thomas?" she whispered.

Thomas exhaled deeply, breaking the tension. He resumed his approach slowly, placing the candle onto the desk with practiced care. Crouching down slowly to his haunches, he brought his eyes almost to their level, his powerful forearm moving to rest against the desk. Josie flinched backward at the gesture.

"Fawn...after you were outed tonight, your friend here declared herself in your name before the whole court." He glanced toward Josie, the girl tensing just from his look. "It was a brave act, albeit very foolishly done. Riots erupted. She was taken as my prisoner. The kingdom will now have heard that Fawn Braegon is finally in my possession. They will demand blood."

He held up a hand for silence as Fawn's eyes widened, her mouth opening to speak.

"Many unfortunate mistakes were made this night, on both sides. Things that can't be undone..." he paused, his eyes straying over Josie. Her jaw was squared, but trembling. "I think perhaps it's best I leave you two alone to speak...I fear my presence here would not bring any good."

"Please," he gestured. "don't be afraid to talk freely. You need not fear my punishment. Besides," he sighed. "I think we're all beyond secrets now."

He stood up almost reluctantly, looming over them for a moment as his gaze lingered on Fawn. His eyes seemed clouded with pain, but perhaps it was only a trick of the shadows.

"It's past 2 already. I suggest you try to get some sleep while you can. Tomorrow will not be kind to us...we will all have to face the consequences of this night."

With that he turned away, his footsteps echoing through the dark as he disappeared back into the inner chambers.

Josie's defensive posture didn't relent until the great redwood door closed with a soft click. She turned slowly toward Fawn, her face etched tightly in stone.

"Thomas?" she accused.

Fawn chewed her cheek. She hadn't even noticed the slip.

"I watched you cower before that, that man at the banquet, flinch at his every move. Now he knows who you really are, has you trapped and at his mercy, and neither of you so much as blink."

Fawn felt her chest clench with guilt. She'd never wanted to keep this a secret from Josie...but now a nagging fear overtook her. What if she didn't understand?

"Tell me the truth, Fawn," Josie hissed. "Why doesn't he want to kill you. Why are you the only person in this whole forsaken Kingdom who isn't trembling before his power."

"I know you must have a lot of questions..." Fawn stammered, trailing off weakly. She'd wanted to unburden herself for so long, but now that it came time, she could feel her resolve weakening under doubt.

"Fawn I gave up my life to save yours tonight. The least you can do is tell me why."

Fawn took a deep breath, steeling herself even as she stared at the ground. "Jose...do you remember the man I spoke of...when I came back home this summer..."

"Of course I do Fawn," she snapped. "You were hysterical for weeks. What does that have anything to do with –" Josie's face went gradually slack, her eyes widening in horror.

"No." She shook her head slowly in disbelief. "Fawn, no. Tell me, no."

"Jose, please listen to me for a second. It's not what you think. He's, he's - 

"He's a monster, Fawn!"

Anger flared through Fawn at the word, her cheeks flushing with heat. "Don't call him that!" she yelled. "That's not true!"

"Not true? Not true! Which part, Fawn? The one where he's a bloodthirsty tyrant or where he shattered your heart into a thousand pieces, then disposed of you like garbage!"

Fawn's heart smarted, the memory of her abandonment all too fresh in her mind. 

"He didn't dispose of me..." she choked. "It was a misunderstanding..."

"Oh a misunderstanding!" Josie threw her hands up in exasperation.

"It's true, Josie! I had it all wrong. He was just trying to protect me!"

"Protect you? Fawn, you're his slave."

"I'm not!" she protested, her voice thickening with tears. "It's just a ruse to keep me safe!"

"Keep you safe?" Josie cried incredulously, all restraint dissolving in the heat of their argument. "By what? Dismissing you, enslaving you, humiliating you before the whole court...keeping you trapped in his pocket like some – some trinket he owns? Do you even hear what you're saying? Have you gone utterly mad?"

Fawn's vision began to cloud over with tears, blood pounding in her ears as the whispers of her own doubts rose into a clamor.

"Listen to me, Fin," Josie's voice turned pleading. "I know what men are like, how convincing their promises can be. He probably made you feel special, like no one else ever had. Singled you out. Showed you favour? I – I don't judge you for falling for him...he knows exactly what he's doing. But you're a peasant, Fawn. And he's the Godking. Someone of his rank, his power...you're just a plaything to him...and not his first. A man like that could never want anything else from a girl like you..."

Fawn went pale, a flush of icy heat streaking through her at Josie's words. She remembered herself lying naked and powerless under Thomas' all-encompassing gaze; his smile lazy as his fingers explored her leisurely; expert kisses reducing her to ecstasy without any effort. 

"You're wrong" she choked. "He loves me..."

Fawn's stomach plunged as Josie's face softened, all her anger dissolving into pity. "Oh, Fin..."

"Don't look at me like that, Josie. Don't you dare look at me like that."

Josie's mouth was a soft frown, her head shaking slowly. "He's done it already, hasn't he. He's taken your honour."

Fawn flushed deeply, a mixture of fury and shame.

"Fawn, listen to me, there may still be hope. Ask him to marry you off to one of his servants, someone who won't mind the stain on your honour. You're pretty enough. There's bound to be someone. Do it before he casts you aside, poor and sullied. We all know what happens to women in that station..."

It was as if a gaping pit opened before Fawn, her stomach sinking as if she was free-falling into its fathomless depths. In that moment, she was struck with a sickening clarity. Thomas would never marry her.

She no longer held back her tears.

"You're just jealous!" she screamed. "Admit it! Josie, the beautiful, Josie the fair," she mimicked mockingly. "You're so used to being courted, so used to being favoured. You can't abide the thought that the Godking chose me! That someone more powerful, more wealthy, more important than anyone could actually love me over you!"

Anger flared in Josie's eyes, Fawn's words hitting their mark.

"At least my engagement is real!" she spat. "You always did live in a fantasy world! Love...as if he's even capable of the feeling! He's an abomination, Fawn. He's not even human."

"Don't you dare talk about him like that!" Fawn seethed, tears staining her cheeks. "You don't know anything about him!"

"I know he's a murderer and a tyrant! He watered the fields with the blood of our people! Tortured them, mutilated them for sport!"

"No, no, that's not true!" Fawn grasped her hair at the roots, shaking her head frantically. "Men died in the war, yes, but he never took pleasure from it! It haunts him Josie! He repented, he's a changed man!"

Josie laughed, a hollow, bitter sound. "Changed man? Is that what he tells you?" She took an unsteady step forward, grimacing as she clutched her ribs. "Why don't you ask your lover what he was doing tonight while you were waiting for him like a good little slave. Ask him to tell you what he did to me."

It was as if Fawn had been struck. 

"You're lying," she whispered.

She could barely choke out the words, the air in the room crushing inward around her as if the entire world was imploding.

"You want to make me hate him. You want to hurt me."

"Hurt you?" Josie took another step forward, their faces almost inches apart. "Fawn, I came all the way from Windemere to save you. I almost died for you tonight."

Fawn could feel the ground spiraling out beneath her, the truth threatening to crush her whole world into oblivion. She could hear her own voice beginning to rise, the words surging forth in an uncontrollable torrent. 

"I never asked you to come here, Josie. I never asked you to save me. You think you know me, but you haven't a clue. I have my own life now; someone who loves me for exactly who I am. I don't care what you think. Thomas is a good man, a kind man. He could have done anything with someone as weak as me, but he chose to care for me, protect me. He needs me just as much as I need him, and I will never leave his side."

Fawn's chest was heaving by the time she finished, her hands clenched and trembling with emotion. Before her, Josie's ice-blue eyes were narrowed and sharp as arrow shafts.

"Tell me Fawn. If your Thomas is so good and kind, why did he order the starvation of our people? Why did he order innocent maidens wrenched from their families to serve as his slaves? You see, I'm sure it must burden you heavily, how deeply our people will suffer, how they suffer already."

Fawn stood stock still, her mouth welded shut. She felt physically incapable of speech, like she had been punched hard in the gut.

"Oh, but fear not, Windemere! Fawn has the Godking's favour. Surely if he loves you as dearly as you think, he will release our people if you ask him to? Or is that privilege only reserved for you."

Josie let the accusation linger until it cloaked the room like a vile fog.

"You see, the Fawn I remember would always put the suffering of others before herself, cared about the poor, the sick, the weak. The Fawn I remember would have never let a man lead her astray from righteousness. The Fawn I love would have made her parents proud."

She backed away slowly, her face darkened by a contempt Fawn had never seen before.

"But then...perhaps you're right," she hissed. "Perhaps I don't know you at all anymore."

***

Author's Note

Hey folks! I can't believe how long it's been since the last update. There's been some tough times and I wanna thank you all for your patience and support while I wasn't able to write. I hope everyone is safe and healthy and taking good care of themselves and others around them who are more vulnerable. I don't think any of us could have imagined the kind of crazy world we'd be living in right now. 

I'm sorry this chapter is so light on the GT after such a long wait, but it was long planned this way. The next chapter should come out much sooner! (Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the only one that has been dying for someone to talk some sense into this crazy-ass couple...)

If you enjoy, don't forget to like, comment, follow, fund 

www.ko-fi.com/auroraboreale

Much love, Rory xxx