The Search

Three days had passed and with them two more deaths where poison was the suspected culprit. The soldiers were obviously keeping the murderous woman inside the city but they could not stop her from killing more people. The 2 that were poisoned had no relation to the royal family but to the rest of Edoras, the city was in danger of popping like a pricked bubble. Already there had been altercations between townsfolk who tried to leave and the soldiers who would not let them. Tensions were high and obviously the murderer was going to continue to create fear and panic until she either completed her grisly task or people were allowed to leave as they wanted.

Boraden has just finished exercising his large black warhorse when Kressara saw him bring him into a stall next to where she was currying down her own with handfulls of straw. Obviously he’ like everyone else had not been able to leave the city. He nodded to her in greeting as he passed her but didn’t engage her in conversation though he honestly wanted to. Stubborn as he was staying away from he hadn’t stopped his dreams. She was there in vivid detail in every one. He still didn’t know why this was happening to him but if anything they had become more troubling and more powerful as he worked to avoid her more and more. Obviously that line of thinking was not going to get them to stop but he also didn’t know what else to do. In his dreams he knew her like he knew himself. He could feel her emotions and her desires. Smell her scent and feel the heat of her body when she made love to him. It was like he was living some kind of alternate existence each time he closed his eyes. And, if he was being honest. He much preferred the life where she was there as his companion and lover then the one where she was not. The one he lived each time he woke.

“I see everyone picking at what they have on their plates and in their cups as if everything has been poisoned. Whomever this woman is, she knows what she is about. “Take a care Kressara of Gondor, your blades can not protect you in this battle,” Boraden said in a softer voice than he usually spoke. Others were here in the stables as well as they going about their duties.

Kressara had barely slept or eaten in the past three days. That woman was still out there and two more people had been killed because she couldn't find her. The tension inside the city was rising and her aunt had dispatched a letter to her husband telling him of the situation. She was working tirelessly to find her, but always felt a few steps behind. Raihn and the guards were helping, but she felt as if...there was someone who was supposed to be helping her instead. Because she wasn't really sleeping she had not had any more visions of Boraden, but instead any dreams she had were plagued by thoughts of every member of her family being poisoned and she was helpless to stop it. She was afraid to eat or drink anything and felt herself becoming weaker as a result.

Needing a break, she had gone to visit her horse in the stables. His presence had a way of calming her. As she was currying him down she heard someone else come in and looked over to see Boraden. As she looked at him she felt confused. Everything had pointed to him being the one from her visions, but he was pushing her away. Inside, she felt as if there was a terrible storm of emotions, thoughts, and fears. As he looked at her Boraden would be able to see how deeply affected she was becoming by what was happening.

"I don't know what else to do," she told him, the weary obvious in her voice and in her eyes. "I have tried everything I can think of to catch her but she continues to evade me. I fear for my family and what she might do if she is to get away." She paused and wiped away a few tears from her eyes. She never showed weakness in front of someone, but she couldn't help it here and deep inside of her she knew that she could be weak in front of him. "I'm so thirsty."

Boraden sighed then patted his large horse on the neck as he left him and moved over where Kressara and her horse were in its stall. He removed from his belt a hardened hide flask then unstoppered it with his teeth. As he did that he uncinched another pouch made of softened hide and held it to his side as he took a swallow from the flask. “Come then, let us have a bite and a drink and talk awhile,” He said kindly. He could see how exhausted she was. A sign that she was not taking care of herself. He didn’t know how he felt about Kressara but he didn’t like seeing her this way. He settled himself on a bench that sat on the side wall of the stall and proffered his flask toward her. As she took it he opened his pouch and removed several large pieces of dried meat. He bit off a small piece of one then handed her several large pieces of the jerky. “It is lightly spiced, like the Miruvor,” he said then leaned back against the stone wall behind them. “I can not get you out of my thoughts Kressara. My thoughts and my dreams,” He admitted and crossed his large arms across his broad chest. He spoke in soft, clear words and appeared unaffected by the recent happenings.

Kressara looked over at Boraden as he stepped over to where she stood in her horse's stall. A small look of relief came over her as he removed a flask from his belt. Her mouth felt like cotton and her throat was dry. She could not refuse his kindness. She followed him over to a bench and took a seat beside him. She gratefully accepted the flask and took a big swallow. She didn't care what it was as long as it was something she could drink. It tasted wonderful and she had to stop herself from gulping down the entire flask. She closed the lid and then spotted the jerky which caused her stomach to grumble with hunger. She took a bite and savored the intense flavor. At this moment it was the best thing she had ever tasted.

As Boraden began to speak her eyes glanced over at him. She could tell that he was uncertain of everything and she didn't blame him. She felt the same way. "You are in my thoughts and dreams as well Boraden," she said gently. "It is a strange thing that we are experiencing. I doubt that anyone else in the world but us can know what this is like. It...frightens me, but at the same time it has always given me some comfort to know that perhaps I may not always be alone in this world.

Boraden sighed again and thought long on what she had just said. He shook his head warring with himself to speak or to stay silent. “Kressara, in many ways you are quite selfish. Not for what you give of yourself, but of what you really have. A family who cares for you. A nation that looks up to you, friends you can truly trust. So many people do not have so much as that,” He said plainly but not in a mocking tone and he hoped she understood him. He had nothing of that. Not a yard nor an inch. The Northman part of himself had been tempered with the other parts of who he really was. Unlike most Northman, who tended to be brash and full of ferocity, he plied strategy and a tactical calm. He tried to see all sides of a battle not just those that were in front of him. It has served him well in the past and he saw this challenge for Kressara as an opportunity, not the hardship she was seeing it as.

“I wish to cleanse the way between us Kressara. A debt for a debt. I will help you find this assassin though it will mean that I would never again be able to return to the North. I will do this thing if you ask it of me,” he said though it was obvious saying those words were not easy for him.

Kressara considered what Boraden said and realized he was right. A look of guilt came over her face and looked at him. "I didn't mean to imply...I...I'm sorry Boraden," she finally just said and she truly meant it. She then thought about something and she reached over and gently touched his hand. "I would be truly honored to be your friend Boraden and I hope that in time I can gain your trust."

She slowly drew her hand away and sighed at what he said next. "I'm not sure I could ask that of you Boraden. I feel you must make the decision. However, know this. If you help me find this assassin who seeks to kill my family then I will do everything in my power to help you find out who your parents were."

Boraden shook his head and chuckled. “Stubborn woman!” He said but his words had a tone of fondness to them. ‘She’d have to be stubborn indeed to put up with me for very long’ he thought and a grin formed upon his lips. He took the skin back and took another swallow then handed it back to her. “Take your fill and get back your strength. I suspect you’ll need it to catch this fox,” he said. And that would be what this hunt was going to be like. However he wasn’t certain if they were the hunters or the prey.

In all of a few minutes all of the mead and meat were gone. Kressara had obviously regained her appetite and look hail as she stood chewing on the last piece of dried meat. He listened intently as she brought him up to speed on what they did know and the steps that had been taken to keep her holed up in the city.

“Well, what this fox needs is a hole to crawl into for escape maybe. If there was a way for you to allow people to leave, a controlled exit point but only one, she might try to take it,” he suggested but even that was a long shot by his tone.

Kressara couldn't help but grin as Boraden called her a "stubborn woman." She actually took it as a compliment. Her mother and her grandmother were both also considered to be rather stubborn and she looked up to them both greatly. She ate several pieces of the jerky and then took a few more swigs of the mead before handing it back to Boraden. After filling him in on everything that they had done so far she listened as he suggested that they open up one exit and hope that she would fall for the bait.

"It's risky, but it may be our only chance at this point. Besides, I don't think we can leave all of the gates closed much longer. The people may begin to riot. Should we go look at the options and consider which gate would be the best one to open?"

Kressara wanted to include Boraden in on this decision.They were a team in this and she valued his opinion.

Four soldiers looked carefully over the carts contents and thoroughly checked the contents of each barrel that was on the cart. There were no places for a young women with blonde hair and blue eyes to hide that hadn’t been checked save for a trunk that had been vouched by the man driving the cart to contain his wife’s personal items and clothes. The guards were instructed to make such allowances and there were a team of soldiers several hundred yards down the road out of the city that would be stopping each cart that made it out of the city and checking them again without orders to allow anything to go unchecked. The soldiers had been schooled on what to look for but so far they had not seen anything suspicious. Once the word was out...thanks to Raihn blabbing about it openly in several taverns, that the road east was allowing people out of the city and it didn’t take long for people to start lining up to leave. Indeed they were mostly merchants whose trade had been severely hampered by the decree to not allow anyone to leave but it was hoped that the assassin would make an attempt to leave by stowing away on one of them.

To go along with this measure though Boraden did not agree with it, Kressara decided that she would use herself as bait. She had dismissed her guards and began frequenting Inns and taverns around the city in hopes the assassin would find her a tempting target. After two more days and one more murder the assassin was still at large. The only change was that the most recent murder was by stabbing. Poison was used as well but this was the first time it was deployed via a weapon. They all agreed that the sudden change could mean the assassin is running out of her poisons. Consuming it took far more of the substance than having it entered directly into the bloodstream would. The weapon was actually a throwing knife. If having an assassin in their midst wasn’t bad enough, she was also a skilled combatant.

It was late but Boraden had decided to have a drink down in the common room of the Golden Boar where he was staying. He fingered the throwing knife that had killed the latest victim, a soldier, though it had been cleaned since then. Clearly it was made here in Edoras and there was nothing particularly special about it. His mind was not on the murders though. Not really. What ‘was’ he going to do about Kressara? Over the past several days they had been working together. Getting to know her as she was getting to know him. He balanced the dagger tip down upon his palm as he thought about her. They had only just met in truth but he felt as if he had known her for years. She was a Princess and a hero to her people. What could he be compared to that if he told her how he really felt about her. Could he be satisfied to remain in her shadow? He wasn’t certain if she’d ever see him as an equal so the real question was. ‘Could he live with that?’ Let her be who she needed to be and just be there for her? Be the man she could trust and count on to do what she needed done. She had told him about Havan and Gowen and of her trials in the Harad. There was so much to consider which in no small part included who her parents were. He knew nobles had certain...expectations for their sons and daughters but somehow he was certain that if they had not managed to put a bridle on Kressara by now that the had chosen not to live under that yolk. And that was an encouraging thought. He took another long sip of his ale and bounced the small blade into the air with the intent of catching it as it came down again.

Kressara had known that she could count on Raihn to get the word out about the opening of the east gate. Her plan was to make sure that this murderer knew that there was an escape. Guards continued to keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious, but Kressara knew that there was only one way to really ensure that they finally caught this woman and that was to use herself as bait. Clearly, her intended targets were the royal families and these past few victims had probably been in desperation to try and escape the noose that was tightening around her. Something that surprised Kressara though was that the last victim had been stabbed in addition to being poisoned. Evidently, she was running out of poison. That may make her only more dangerous. Boraden didn’t like the idea of her using herself as bait, but Kressara didn’t see any other way to end this…and she needed to end this. Her family’s lives were at stake and this woman had nearly killed her mother. She did away with her guards and made herself more available to this woman. She frequented taverns and inns and ensured that her name was out there among the people and that they were talking about her. This was extremely dangerous, but she felt that it would work.

Despite the dangers to herself, Kressara could not help but continue to think about Boraden. She was open and honest with him and told him about Havan and Gowen. She wanted him to get to know her and for her to get to know him. It was a strange feeling having only just met and yet feeling such a deep connection with him. She had often heard about the bonds between her parents and her grandparents and she wondered if that was what she was experiencing with Boraden. It was both a comforting and yet terrifying feeling.
Kressara stepped into the Golden Boar, having not seen Boraden all day. Her eyes fell upon his now familiar form and she couldn’t help but think him extremely handsome. She watched as he played with the dagger that had been used in the stabbing of the latest victim. He was sitting alone drinking an ale and she began to think that he could use some company. He never heard her step up beside him. As he flipped the dagger into the air she reached out in the blink of an eye and grabbed it. When he looked up at her in surprise she gave him a little smile.

“Mind if I join you?”

Normally Boraden would have been on alert when someone did what Kressara had just did. He had been surprised by her and he had not heard her come up behind him at all. His face held no expression as he gestured toward the chair to his left. Not at all a proper invitation for someone of her station but he was being himself, not some trumped up peacock of a gentleman in brocaded silks and finery as he always put it. He was in a very relaxed posture somewhat slouched down in his chair with his right leg up on the chair to his right. As she sat he lifted up his hand and held out 2 fingers. The Innkeeper nodded to him and he lowered his hand back down to the handle of his mug. It was extremely late and the few people besides them were hunched over their mugs barely able to keep their eyes open. The rest of the Inn’s custom were likely in their beds already. The ales came quickly and the Innkeeper yawned sleepily and shook his head as he stepped away from them.

“I thought you’d be asleep by now. I think even Assassins need to sleep as well as Princess’s,” He quipped and chuckled at himself. Obviously he had had a few mugs of ale and was in a good humor tonight. He glanced over at her and found her looking at him. ‘Light she was beautiful,” He thought.

Kressara took a seat next to Boraden and placed the knife back down on the table. The tavern was fairly quiet as it was rather late, but there were a few stragglers hanging around. Before she could get the innkeeper’s attention to order an ale Boraden did it for her. She gave him a little smile and relaxed back in her chair. Their table was situated near a back corner, giving them an overall view of the room. The fire was slowly dying in the fireplace but continued to give a soft crackling and popping sound. Kressara thanked the innkeeper as he brought over their ales and she took a sip, finding the flavor rather refreshing.

“I can’t sleep,” she responded with a little shake of her head. “I doubt I will be able to sleep until this woman is found. She nearly killed my mother and several innocent people have now died because of her.”

With one last long pull of his mug he set the mug down then slid it past the new one in front of him. He took a shallower sip then just held it as he spoke. “Yet you slept in the Desert during your fight with the Harad. Enemies all around you. I can’t say I would like such a warm climate. Hot, barren waste and desert sand as far as the eye could see,” he said and shook his head. “If I had a choice I’d take the frigid weather in the North over that kind of heat in the south,” Boraden said. “It makes no difference if you worry about being attacked or killed. When it’s your time, it’s your time. There is nothing that can be done to change that. It's nothing any of us can hide from though I know you do not,” He added. He didn’t want her to misunderstand him. He didn’t think her the kind of person who did worry like that but sometimes, when you had alot to lose, people tended to fear death more than at other times.

Kressara was not afraid of death. She had long ago come to terms with the fact that her life was likely going to be shorter than that of her other sibling. She had been lucky thus far to not have been seriously injured, but she knew at one point her luck was bound to run out. She couldn't worry about it though. If she did then she would likely never fight again. It was just one of the risks and she was more than willing to take it.

She took another sip of her ale and then put the mug down. The only other person who had been left in the inn had left, leaving just the two of them. "So, what about you? Why aren't you sleeping?"

Boraden did not answer Kressara’s question right away and he considered, for a moment to change what he was thinking of saying right then. He shifted his gaze over to her face and, in the flicker of the lanterns that dimly lit the Inn he looked deeply into her perfect, blue eyes. Boraden had no tongue for lying and usually spoke truth regardless of how blunt his words might be. It was the Northman way of speaking that had been long instilled into him. However he was quite capable of softening his words as well, a gift his mother had taught him.

“When I close my eyes you are always there waiting for me,” He said honestly. His cheeks felt as if they were warming but stubbornly he continued on. “Now that you are here in the flesh...I find myself having ‘thoughts’ about you,” he said plainly and then shifted to sit up in his chair. He removed his leg from the chair it had been resting on and he pushed his mug of ale a few inches away from him. He never broke eye contact from her though and he deeply drank in her eyes.

“I want to take you to my bed Kressara and put an end to the dream,” Boraden said as if she were just a woman. Not a daughter of the most powerful man in middle earth, not a Princess, not a hero, just a woman he fancied though his feelings went far deeper than that. He knew and likely she did as well that this was not a good idea. They still had ‘work’ to be about and filling their heads and hearts with ‘other things’ was likely to distract them. Still he would not take back his words. If she did not dissuade him or put him off he was going to stand then offer his hand to her. That much was certain and he felt she knew that as well.

Kressara felt her heart begin to beat faster and harder in her chest when Boraden looked deeply into her eyes. She felt weak at his intense gaze and knew that had she not been sitting that her knees would likely have given out from under her. Though she had been in love with both Havan and Gowen neither of them had made her feel this way. Her cheeks began to burn at his words and her mouth nearly went dry. No man had ever been bold enough to speak to her as Boraden was, but then again nothing was ordinary about this situation. She felt deeply connected to him and she felt she might go mad if he wasn’t with her.

“You haunt my dreams as well,” she replied quietly while continuing to look deeply into his eyes. “It’s like I can feel your hands on me...smell your scent...taste your lips. I want to actually feel, smell, and taste you.”

Boraden’s eyes softened at her words and at the same time his cheeks bloomed with color but only for a moment. Without saying anything more he stood stepped around her as if to leave her there then slowly turned aside and held out his large hand toward her. He felt her take it and his thick fingers intertwined themselves between her, smaller, lither ones. His grasp was surprisingly gentle yet firm at the same time. She stood and he pulled her toward him and together they moved toward the stairs. Within a matter of moments the large, wooden door was closed behind them and it was unclear who attacked who first.

Nimbly Kressara head jumped up upon him. He felt her legs wrap around his hips and her arms around his neck and she pressed her lips upon his. He felt her breath in his mouth and tasted her tongue as they kissed one another passionately as he moved toward the large bed. Already his breathing had increased and his heart wanted to pound out of his chest and he felt hers beat almost in time to his as she pressed her body against his as she kissed him furiously. With her firmly attached to him he paused and managed to pull out of his large, black boots. As he reached the bed he leaned forward and the full of his weight was atop her as they kissed one another deeply. With her arms still around his neck he shifted his arms so he could create enough space between them in order to untie his vest and his shirt. He was thankful she loosened her grip on his neck but she did so only to grab at his vest and shove it back off of his shoulders then pull up on his shirt. With them both pulling it went up over his head and fell onto the floor behind him. Then he began on her jerkin as her hands went to his belt. Before long there was nothing but her pale flesh against his darker and there had hardly been a break in their kissing.

The fire roared warmly in the hearth and the only other light was the oil lamp on the desk and end table. He felt her pull hard on his hair as he attacked her breasts and her moans only egged him on as he held them tightly and nipped at her nipples with his mouth and tongue. “Light, your beautiful,” He murmured as he moved even lower until he found her middle and availed himself of her sweet meats there as well.

Kressara had thought she knew what his arms would feel like around her...and what his lips would taste like against her own but it was nothing like actually experiencing it. The passion between them was palpable and they furiously worked to get one another's clothes off. Kressara's heart was beating wildly in her chest and she was thankful to know that Boraden's was beating just as quickly. His musky scent filled her nose and only made her want him more. Their kisses were furious and passionate and her nimble fingers worked quickly to relieve him of his clothing until there was no cloth left between them.

Kressara's body was lean, but toned from years of training and fighting. She was less curvy than some of her other sister's with medium sized breasts that fit perfectly in Boraden's hands. She moaned as she felt his mouth upon them and she began to writhe in anticipation.

"Stop teasing me," she groaned out before looking down at him with a flirtatious grin.

Her flesh was like silk and cream against his calloused hands and against his tanned body. Her words had an urgent tone to them and, seeing how she was ready he abandoned his present endeavor and shifted up her sternum. He felt her legs , lithe and strong and her feet press in on the sides of his thick, powerful legs as if urging him where she wanted him. That made him smile for he liked a woman who knew what she wanted and so she gave himself to her. He felt her tongue and mouth on his neck as they began to move together. His large arms and muscled shoulders flexed as his body shifted back and forth atop hers. Their moans quickly filled the room and before long they orgasmed together in a crescendo of noise that likely woke the entire Inn. Laughing together he shifted off of her and they worked at getting the sheets and quilt over them as they settled together with her in front and he behind her with her head rested upon his arm. After their bodies cooled and their hearts slowed they cuddled together to keep one another warm.

“I was married once you know...years ago,” Boraden said in barely more than a whisper. He leaned forward and kissed the ball of her shoulder softly. “She and the babe died at childbirth,” he said. ‘Though I was away when it happened. I had sworn then that I’d never give my heart like that again...until I began seeing you in my dreams,” Boraden said. He felt her rubbing his forearm that held her tightly up against his chest. She felt quite good there like this. He had missed this. Missed the warmth he had gone without all these years. Her hair smelled like rose petals and herbal soap, oils and sweat and he took in her scent audibly. “Mmm,” He murmured softly in her ear.

Kressara lay perfectly content and sated in Boraden's arms. Feeling his arms around her brought her comfort and she felt as if she could lay within them forever. Not with Havan or Gowen had making love felt like what had just transpired between Boraden and herself. It had been...perfect. Her soul felt whole now and at peace.

At first there was a peaceful quiet between them as their bodies cooled and their heartbeats slowed. When Boraden began to speak she listened closely to what he said. She understood the pain of losing someone you loved, but she could never know what it would feel like to lose a child as well.

"Even when I was with Havan and Gowen I felt as if something was missing. I thought I knew what true love felt like, but I now know that I never really experienced it until you and I were finally brought together. My soul feels whole now because of you and I swear I will do whatever it takes to make you as happy as you've made me. You are my soul mate Boraden...my one true love and my love for you will burn brightly as long as I still draw breath."

Boraden’s own feelings mimicked hers and he kissed her neck and then her shoulder once more. “I’ve never had as much as now Kressara,” he said and then smiled. “Hmm, I love that name...Kressara,” He said with more than a little avarice in his voice. Avarice and desire which Kressara felt up against her back. He didn’t move though, he wasn’t certain he wanted to move. He was content, probably moreso than he ever had been before.

“I think we should just get married and be done with it,” He said and his own words even surprised himself. “I’m not going to let you get away from me so it only makes sense,” He added.

Kressara could feel up against her back how much he loved her name and she couldn't help but smile because of it. Happiness emanated from her and she couldn't remember the last time she had smiled this much. However, when she heard Boraden suggest that they just get married a look of surprise temporarily replaced the smile. Once she realized he was serious though the smile immediately returned. She looked back over her shoulder at him, her eyes twinkling under the candlelight glow.

"If that was a proposal then yes...I will."