Tel\' Lindar (The Bard)

Chapter 6

The Prisoner of your soul or Bruising of your heart

***

The place had all the makings of a water-front dive. It was smoky, the reek of spilt ale and sea sweat was strong. All eyes, all attention was aimed at the back of the room.

The Woman stood on a table, guitar slung around her abdomen and was making quite the spectacle of herself. Her shoulders were bared and one corner of her skirt was tucked into a low-slung belt, with her petticoat ruffle framing a shapely bare leg.

\"A Master of Music came with intent
To give me a lesson on my instrument
I thanked him for nothing and bid him begone
For my little fiddle must not be played on...\"

The Voyeur felt himself harden. Merlin\'s Robes, he wanted to take her into a room, throw her skirts over her head and bend her over...

\"You must watch over her.\"

The Voyeur\'s mind jerked from his nefarious thoughts. He rolled his eyes in surliness and spoke contemptuously to the Big Elf. \"You again? What must I watch for now?\"

The Big Elf snarled back at the Voyeur. \"Only for your heart\'s deepest desire! It would all be yours, if you would just stay your hand but a little!\"

The Voyeur turned to glare haughtily at the Elf. \"She does not listen; watch over her; stay your hand..\" he mocked. \"Small wonder you are dead and I am stuck with this... Merlin\'s Garters!...\" His attention was snatched back to the display she provided.

The Elf chuckled.

\"Oh cabin boy! Oh cabin boy!
You naughty little nipper
You lined your ass
With broken glass
And circumcised the skipper!\"

Oh, did the crowd enjoy that one! Money poured into her tip bowl until it overflowed. The Voyeur could still hear the Elf chortling.

\"My personal favorite is ‘Orc on the Run!\' \"

In the blink of an eye, the Woman was at the bar, her bowl in hand and her guitar slung across her back. The bartender slid a flagon of what looked like sweet fruit juices towards her and moved on down the bar. The Woman\'s eyes slid sweetly over the Elf, not seeing the dark Voyeur on the other side. She took a deep drink from her mug and smiled.

\"You venture far from home, Elf.\"

\"I am seeing the sights.\" the Elf answered, his gravelly voice, rasping on the nerves of the Voyeur. \"Wander some before returning to the Wood.\" He took a pull from the frothy stein of ale that had been set in front of him. \"You are an interesting sight. You are...?\" The Voyeur as well found a mug of ale in his hand and he was pleasantly shocked at the smoothness of the taste.

She downed her beverage, belching in a most unladylike manner. She set her glass down and stuck out her hand in greeting. \"I am Morgan. Morgan la Fay.\" The Voyeur snorted in his beer. Morgan la Fay. That was rich! \" Pleased to meet you.\" She was suddenly shoved into the Elf\'s arms.

A tall, rangy man wearing a sword picked up her bowl and dumped it in a bag attached to his belt.

\"Excuse me, but that is mine, you son of an Orc.\" the Woman made a grab for her bowl and the bag. Greasy, meaty hands grabbed her wrists.

Within a heartbeat, the filthy man found himself looking down the blade of a long, broadsword.

And everything froze.

\"She is my greatest treasure, my most precious jewel. You must watch over her.\"

The Voyeur rubbed his eyes. The headache plaguing him even here in this land of nightmares. \"Watch, watch, watch. Must you repeat this performance, every night?\"

The Elf grabbed him by the arm, jerking the Voyeur\'s fingers from his face. \"I will if I must! You will learn to understand! In her zeal, she can cause scenes. In her ebullience, she will not realize she causes heads to turn, bring notice upon her. She is as bright as a freshly cut diamond. She is not quiet, she has no stealth. She will fix on her goal, and work towards it, regardless of who or what stands in her way.\"

He released the Voyeur, his attention, his gaze returning to the scene frozen before them.\"Almost, I was arrested for rescuing her. Almost.\" For several moments, the Elf stared longingly at the Woman, love filling his eyes. The Voyeur\'s fingers returned to his throbbing temples.

\"She could help you with your headache.\" The Elf\'s gaze was full of concern.

The Voyeur snorted through his nose. \"Why is everyone so dead set on her putting hands on me?\" he gritted through clenched teeth, his fingers rubbing harder.

\"Because, silly Wizard,\" her voice was a shock. He jerked his eyes open to see her standing a breath away, her hand stroking an inky lock of hair behind his ear, \"the Valar, with their bizarre sense of humor, not only made me the cause of your headache, but rests in me, the cause of your relief.\" Her smile was one of compassion.

\"Let me help you, silly Wizard... \"

Silly Wizard...silly Wizard...silly Wizard...silly... silly... silly...

***

I often fantasize the stars above are our jail
They move my heart and speak to you as only lovers do
If I could wear your clothes, I\'d pretend I was you
And lose control

Don\'t let go (Love) - EnVogue
Organized Noise; Andrea Martin et al

***

Bronwyn jerked from her reverie, shocked to find herself, writhing on the ground, her hands...

Oh man! Her hands...

\"Madam, I asked a simple question. What the hell are you doing?\"

Her eyes flew up to his glittering pools; steaming pits that reflected the starlight from God knew where. She flew to her feet, her hands, jerking from her leggings and shirt, and quickly moving behind her back. Self-consciously, she furtively began to wipe her sex dampened fingers on the back tail of her shirt.

\"What the hell am I doing?\" She immediately threw the question and the action back towards the Potions Master. \"What the hell are YOU doing? How dare you sneak up on a person like that!\" She attempted to nonchalantly arrange her clothing, straighten her hair. What on earth had she been doing? \"You scared the bejesus out of me!\" She looked around nervously, trying to discern if only he had caught her in her dream.

Snape moved towards her, pressing her slowly against a darkened wall. He could smell her climax on her, on her fingers, on her body. He had seen the mist, the fog, how it had enveloped her and realized that she probably was not aware that what she had been doing, she did alone. He squashed the small iota of compassion he felt for her plight and horned in on his anger; his anger for being dragged from his bed at this hour, his anger at her for fleeing her safe haven - safe because he had created it; his anger that she... desired the Elf so badly, she had created him from air.

Anger because she did not desire him.

He squashed that thought as well.

He had backed her into the wall, the stone biting into her skin. Almost lazily, he braced his hands over her head, his cascading cloak encasing her in total darkness.

He heard her startled intake of breath. He could smell her fear.

Good.

He bent down, his lips against her ear. Again, he was overwhelmed by her scent; sweat, leather, roses.

Sex.

Sex oozed from her pores. It took every ounce of self-control he had to keep from ravishing her on the spot. He forced himself to speak, whisper silkily in her ear.

\"I scared you? I could have killed you, silly chit! Or raped you, but considering your...previous activity, that might be your cup of tea.\"

She struck him for that. Unable to see within the gloom cast by his cloak, the blow landed clumsily on his ear. He grabbed at her hands and pinned them to the stone wall behind her. Out of sheer perversity, he nuzzled the skin of her neck and felt her shudder. He grinned, perceiving the tremor to be one of revulsion. He nipped at her earlobe, quickly licking the small hurt with his tongue.

She nearly collapsed in his arms.

\"Would you like that?\" he breathed. \"Do you like it rough?\" His tongue continued to flick at her ear, her body shivering wildly. \"Do you like to pretend you are being forced?\" Severus pressed his body against her; she could feel his need, his desire.

Yet, she was not quivering in aversion to his touch. The slide of his tongue along her skin, the scalding air that moved over her flesh as he growled dangerously into her ear, caused her to quake with need. She hated her body\'s betrayal, betrayal to herself.

Betrayal to Haldir.

He felt her stiffen in rage, her voice coming from behind clenched teeth.

\"Either put up or shut up! Take me or leave me be. But do not think to start something you have no intention of completing!\" she hissed. Her eyes climbed, fiery rays searching his out in the dark. \"Or is it that you can\'t?\"

By the Gods, she was calling his bluff. But she was a feisty one. What was it the Elf called her... Baraermin... My Fiery One. Ah, he had named her well. Snape allowed himself to smile in her ear, before releasing her and coiling back within himself.

\"I have never enjoyed taking a woman against her will.\" Bronwyn heard the implied confession in his voice. Never had enjoyed, meaning he had done it. She grabbed her wrists and rubbed the indentions. There would be bruising again by morning. She forced herself to breathe deep, quell the desire rising within her. \"Do you have any idea what you have done?\" The angry voice was back. Her hackles raised and she allowed herself free reign.

\"Well let me think...\" she tapped her finger in her lip. \"Yes! I have many ideas about what I have done. I have flouted your authority, broken free of the prison you set for me, managed to have a rip-roaring good time on the lawn here, aaaaall by myself!\" she smirked. \"Turning you on is a major plus.\"

\"Silence!\" His hand snaked out, grabbing her by the wrist and quickly, he dragged her from the hidden alcove into the main yard, under the moonlight. As they passed the entrance to the grotto, he flung her into the moon-washed yard. They faced each other, circling like well-matched fencing partners.

Two pairs of glittering eyes glared at one another. For several minutes, nothing could be heard but the sound of insects and other night creatures.

His very posture dared her to attempt to explain herself. She was not forthcoming. He pulled into his robes, arms tucked in tightly.

\"Now, I have now asked twice. What on earth were you thinking?\"

\"Ah-ha!\" She shook a single finger under his nose. \"You asked what I was doing, not what I was thinking.\"

He stared off towards a tree, over her right shoulder, doing everything in his power to not use an Unforgivable on her for her cheek. After a moment of calm, he brought his gaze back to hers.

\"Do you realize the danger you could have put yourself in?\" he inquired hotly. \"These grounds are not totally safe.\"

\"It\'s a school! It damn well SHOULD be safe!\"

\"Silence.\" It was the second time he had demanded that of her.

\"Make up your mind! I cannot be silent and explain what I was doing at the same time!\" Her bottom lip came out in a classic female pout.

\"I am not impressed, Madam. Surely, you can do better than that childish expression!\"

Bronwyn exhaled angrily. Without realizing it, she mimicked his stance, that look of bored impatience. She pulled herself up taller, ignoring the fact that her pants were once more drooping dangerously low and tucked her hands in the crook of her elbows.

Snape could see her jaw twitching as she pushed down hard on her anger. Her lips barely moved as mumbling fell forth like dust. He could barely make out the words, but they sounded faintly like...

\"... locked out...\"

\"Come again, madam?\" he inquired, drawing out her embarrassment. \"I did not quite catch that.\"

\"I couldn\'t get back in.\" she gritted between clenched teeth. The crevices of his eyes crinkled in malice as Bronwyn snarled, \"I got locked out, ok? There! Does that make you happy?\"

\"No, it makes me correct.\" His exhaled breath fluttered an errant lock of hair that was lying across his eye. \"You are obviously incapable of caring for yourself and you will require constant monitoring...\"

\"What? WHAT?\" Her screeching woke up a bird and it flew off in terror. The distance she had craved to keep between them, she herself eradicated as she got in his face. Her hands remained tucked tightly inside the folds of her elbows. \"I am not a child and I will not be treated as if I am!\"

Severus leaned over, never removing his hands, his face scant inches from hers. \"You should have never attempted to get out.\"

For a minute, they were nose to nose, the two in a stand-off.

She cracked first. Her face splitting into a wide grin, a deep chuckle emanating from the back of her throat.

\"Well, aren\'t we two peas in a pod! A couple of regular Bobbsey Twins!\" She continued to laugh until she took in his look of bored confusion.

\"The who?\"

\"Oh, come on! The Bobbsey Twins! Don\'t tell me you have never...\" By the look of consternation on his face, he apparently hadn\'t. \"Oh, Severus! Come on! You haven\'t read the Bobbsey Twins? There was a series of books! Movies! Snape! I can\'t believe you haven\'t even heard of them! A family with eight kids, two sets of twins...\"

\"You mean they could not figure out how to stop procreating? Was birth control beyond their meager attention spans?\"

\"Professor Snape! I can\'t believe... I bet you haven\'t read Louisa May Alcott either!\" His facial expression never changed. Her hand went up in the air and she began to circle around him, her finger punctuating the words; a diva performing her solo aria.

\"But of course you haven\'t read Louisa May Alcott! She writes for girls! And by golly, you aren\'t a girl, never have been one, never will be. Which means you have missed Little Women and Little Men and Jo\'s Boys and we mustn\'t forget Eight Cousins!\"

Snape turned in a circle, - where the hell was she going with this? - following her; coiling, coiling, ready to spring...

She continued her tirade, blissfully unaware of the tightly wound professor, waiting to explode. \" I wonder if you have read Shakespeare or Poe. But then...\" she stopped and playfully however rather firmly punched him on the arm, \"no, you haven\'t because they were Muggles and God forbid, you should have anything to do with them, because,\" her index finger was conducting rhythm patterns in the air, \"they aren\'t Wizards!\" She hiked her leggings back up.

\"Are you quite through?\"

\"Maybe! Maybe not!\"

Despite it being summer, the night air was chilly and Snape could sense eyes not friendly watching them. He grabbed her by the arm and slung her towards the door he had come from.

\"Pull yourself together. You look foolish!\" Bronwyn guiltily turned her back to him and began to tie the lacings on her pants, as he prodded her, none too gently, towards the door. He could hear the laces whipping angrily as she pulled her clothes together. The door ahead opened, allowing a dim light to shine upon the courtyard.

Amadeus was waiting inside.

He was most distressed.

Whining and chuffing quietly, he circled Bronwyn so tightly, she could not move. He ran his muzzle over every inch of her, checking her scent. He spent an enormous amount of time... there... Amadeus sat, first looking at her dejectedly, in disappointment, and then facing Severus, growling.

\"Amadeus!\" Bronwyn gently chided the beast.

\"Oh, give over!\" Severus growled back. \"Your mistress had herself a grand time in the alcove. She was finished when I found her. I did not touch her!\"

\"Now, that ain\'t quite true...\" Bronwyn mumbled.

Whatever argument was brewing, between Bard, Wizard and Beast was forced to wait, as Severus grabbed Bronwyn by the elbow and proceeded to force her back down into the dungeons. She struggled for some time, finally giving up when she realized his grip was tight and fighting for her appendage only caused him to propel her faster down the darkened corridor. Within minutes, she found herself pushed through her classroom and into her chambers.

\"Lumos!\" The lights in the living area and foyer came on brightly and he shoved her towards the couch. Upon his release of her arm, she quickly moved to the back of the couch, hands griping the support of the low slung furniture.

\"You are willful and disobedient!\" Snape spat.

She shrugged elegantly, a trait learned from Haldir. \"Tell me something I do not know.\"

Snape\'s eyes narrowed to black, angry slits. \"I should thrash you within an inch of your life!\"

Her eyes widened and the most wicked smile lit her features. She... Merlin\'s Robes, she LICKED the plump bow of her lip with the tip of her tongue in anticipation. \"Promise?\" her whisper was like smooth, warm brandy, gliding down. \"I would sooo enjoy that!\"

The wolf made a very rude noise, almost as if he were snorting through his nose. He had been standing behind Snape, as if to align himself with the Potions Master, but he now moved in between them, stepping up on the couch and laying across the cushions as if to mediate, separate them. He turned unblinking eyes towards Severus.

Severus fought to keep his temper under control. Fingers grasped his hair by the roots as he raked the long locks back behind his ears. ‘Small wonder it looks so oily all the time.\' she wondered to herself. ‘He cannot keep his fingers out of it!\'

\"It is after two in the morning, madam!\" he gritted through clenched teeth. \"What or where was so important you risked your foolish neck to climb out?\" His gaze pierced her smart-ass attitude and she felt herself unconsciously back down.

\"I... I... wanted to go the library.\" Bronwyn fidgeted, her fingers playing in the back of her waistband. He was mindful of her bare feet curling in like a young child caught doing something naughty.

\"The library?\" his whisper was hoarse. \"You do not have enough of your own books?\" He gestured towards the upstairs where stacks of books lay about her room.

\"I\'ve read all of those!\" She waved her hand dismissively.

Oh, like that was supposed to explain everything!

\"Why do I not believe you?\"

Bronwyn drew herself up, prideful bearing in full evidence. \"I don\'t care if you believe me or not! I\'ll not be interrogated like a...\"

\"I asked you a question, madam.\" Severus slid around the couch, challenging her personal space and backing her yet again towards the wall, the glass doors. His voice was velvet. \"I expect a truthful answer.\" Slowly, under the watchful guise of Amadeus, she retreated back, back, back against the cool panes of the patio doors. \"What was so important that you felt the...\" she felt her back press flush against the glass, effectively hindering her flight, \"need to endanger yourself to escape this pretty, glass cage?\" His hands gestured to the beautiful apartment. For the second time in under half an hour, Bronwyn found herself pinned neatly by his body, unwelcomed desires rising quickly to the surface. She squashed them, cruelly, and did her damndest to go nose-to- nose with the tall Wizard.

\"That\'s the ticket, isn\'t it Severus?\" She spat each word. \"A pretty, glass cage! I am tired of feeling trapped! I am tired of having no freedom of movement! I am tired of being a prisoner to your whims! I am tired of being a prisoner, period!\"

Her body pushed against his, not budging it, but he felt the pressure of her, as her chin jutted upwards. He felt the heat of her anger, the fire of her passion, and he would have reveled in the glory of her long-smoldering eruption.

Except she was saying the wrong things. Completely.

Her hands were smacking against his lean, but well-clad frame, punctuating her outburst, unsuccessfully attempting to push him back.

\"I will NOT be a prisoner in my own so-called home! I will NOT be locked in like a common criminal and treated like someone so dangerous that they must be watched around the clock, with a locator band attached to their person. I certainly do NOT want to be guarded by you! Do you have any idea what it is like to be locked up? Imprisoned? It\'s loathsome! It\'s... mpff.\"

Snape\'s fingers were lightly across her lips, effectively putting a cease to her tirade. What scant centimeter she had gained in pushing against him, she lost quickly as again, she found herself pressed to the wall, his hands framing her face, his fingers caressing her cheeks, thumbing the tears that had begun to fall.

His voice was deceptively gently. His words, however...

\"Do I know what is like to be a prisoner? Yes, I do. I was one for many months.\" She stiffened at the admission. \"And you know, I deserved every moment I spent behind the bars of Azkaban.\" His hands moved to her shoulders, pressing against her, pinning her back to the crystal doorway. \"Madam, do you truly know what it is like to be a prisoner? I spent eight months in a tiny room, furnished by nothing but a metal bed and a hole in the ground for a toilet! Do you know what it is like to have guards, whose only function is to inhale the very happiness from your soul, that you cannot even dream about the joy of escaping? So you cannot fantasize about the joy of holding or being held by someone you love? And there is no escape, madam, no books to read, no music to play to aid in your defense from them. There is no defense. Your mind is no longer yours.\"

He leaned in, his mouth hovering scant centimeters above hers.

\"And when you can take no more, and you beg for death to release you, do you know who, what they send? They send a being that will suck your soul from your body with a kiss so abhorrent and filthy that you wish you could go back in time and change everything, even die in whatever battle you escaped from. Anything, to escape the hell you are living in. And many times, they will not send that. They take perverse pleasure in listening to you beg.\" He crushed her into the door as he pushed himself backwards and released her.

\"The price I paid for freedom was dear, but I would do it again. Therefore, you will not whine to me about being a prisoner. You truly have no idea. Grieve your husband, but get on with the business of moving on with your life so we can complete this infernal task of yours and I can be released from the prison of your need.\" He turned and strode to the stairway, putting his hand on the iron banister. \"Go to bed, madam.\"

\"But I...\"

\"I said go to bed!\" His voice brooked no disobedience. \"I do not care if you sleep or not. Pile the thing with books, stack up mountains of your husband\'s clothing and masturbate until the sun comes up for all I care, but get in it and do not leave it until I come for you at breakfast!\" He looked over his shoulder, seeing clearly the tear-filled eyes of Tel\' Lindar and the baleful gaze of her familiar. \"If you ever cause me to come and hunt you on the grounds again, I will attach you to that bed like I attached you to your chair when you first came. Now go!\"

\"Severus, I...\"

\"I said GO!\" He had turned his face back towards her door, not seeing, but sensing her approach. He felt her touch his back. Electrical heat emanated at her touch and he almost gasped at the shock, as he felt her mind race through his, sharing his pain.

He remembered his dream of the ... Dead Marshes.

‘You are forgiven. Go. Go search for the light...\'

Albus had said her magic was different from his. Her hands jerked from his back.

\"What did you just do, madam?\"

\"Nothing, I didn\'t mean to..\"

\"What did you do?\" He enunciated each word through clenched teeth.

\"I... I... it is difficult to explain...\" Her voice faltered; he could sense the tension, the abstruseness of what had happened.

\" Figure out a way to explain it in the morning. Go to bed. Now!\" He heard her move quickly up the stairwell and listened to her fling herself sobbing into the bed.

There was a low growling behind him.

\"Oh, shut up. She needed a reality check and she got one!\" Snape turned to the wolf. \"Either go to her or take out my throat. Personally, I would prefer you take out my throat, then she can be your problem again!\" Snape waited for a moment, waited for Amadeus to make a choice. He did neither, just growled.

***

Peaceful sleep again eluded Severus that night. He ran through the forest of huge, golden trees, being pursued by a ghostly, Elven Warrior, who finally pinned him to a tree, arrow at his throat. He could feel the sharp point nicking his skin, pricking blood...

\"You will let her come on her own. You will not force her. You will not use her. You will not tease her...\"

Peaceful sleep also eluded Bronwyn, who dreamt that while being held in the arms of Haldir, could feel the cool strokes of another\'s hands on her back, her hips, the dark one\'s kisses at the nape of her neck, her ears. She dreamt of looking deep into Haldir\'s indigo blue eyes, questioning, fearful and hearing his voice...

\"Trust him Baraermin. Please, give over. Help him. Teach him. Trust him.\"

Amadeus curled tighter to his mistress\' body and tenderly, like a lover, licked her nightmare-induced tears from her face.

***

Come to me now
And lay your hands over me
Even if it\'s a lie
Say it will be alright
And I shall believe.

Sheryl Crow - I Shall Believe

***

She awoke to him standing over her bed. She quickly rolled away from him and swung her legs to the floor.

\"I\'ll get up. Just don\'t touch me.\" She was still in the clothing she had been in the night before and she winced in pain as she leaned her weight on her bruised arms in order to lever herself up.

\"Let me see.\" Snape came around the bed and reached out to grasp her hand. She shrank back away from him.

\"They are bruised.\" she told him, tucking them around her waist. \"They will heal in a few days. I will just have to wear long sleeves so no one will see.\" She attempted to maneuver around him, only to be blocked by him.

\"Let me see.\" He held out his hand. \"I will not harm you.\" He closed his eyes and motioned for her to give him her arms. Reluctantly, she placed her wrists gingerly in his large hands.

Bruised was an understatement. Her fair skin was blackened and Snape unconsciously winced at the force he must have used in his fury, his lust the night before. He was furious at his loss of self-control; that he had allowed himself to exert so much barbaric power too that she was willing to cover the marks, as many women in abusive relationships hid their shame. There were many other ways he could have exerted his will without laying a hand on her, without harming her physically. Holding both of her wrists in one of his hands, he reached deep into his pocket. \"I was afraid this would happen. I have brought you a potion to heal these.\"

\"No thanks, kind sir.\" The sarcasm in her voice was thick. \"I think I would rather go to Madame Pomfrey if I can find some excuse to explain these.\" She held up both wrists and waved them at him.

He pulled out a vial with a yogurty looking liquid inside. \"Madam, who do you think brews her potions?\" Using his thumb, he quickly unstopped the vial and handed it to her. \"Drink this.\"

She took it distastefully and turned to Amadeus, who was still stretched out on the bed. \"If I die, or get ill, you will kill him for me, won\'t you?\" The wolf snorted and rolled over on his back, paws waving in the air. \"Lump of drool!\" she muttered. She quickly knocked back the liquid, which slid like a thin mayonnaise from the vial to her throat.

She immediately went into what many children called ‘the bad taste dance.\'

\"YRCH! Oh GAD!\" Her face screwed up and she bent over double, stomping a foot. \"Cripes, that is vile! It\'s disgusting!\" Bronwyn looked up at him from her bent over position and gagged. \"Eeew!\" She could have sworn he was smiling. \"You beast!\"

Severus shrugged and held out his hand. \"The taste will pass soon enough. Let me see your wrists.\" Her face still scrunched, she laid her wrists back in his large palm. Using his long fingers, he gently began to stroke the bruises, his movements calming her. She became hypnotized by his sight of his fingers, caressing her arms, circling, the pain slowly fading. So entranced by the movement, she almost missed the question he asked her.

\"What did you do to me last night?\" His voice was very soft, almost a whisper.

\"Severus, I don\'t understand. What do you mean by what did I do?\"

The fingers continued to brush along her skin, the bruising fading. \"Last night, before you went upstairs, you touched me, using a magic I have never experienced or seen. You said - and it felt like - you ran through my head.\" His eyes stared into hers. \"What did you do to me?\"

\"I... I... didn\'t mean to. It happens. I have no control...\" Her eyes flew down to the stroking fingers, lost in their graceful movement.

\"What did you do to me?\" Although still quiet, the voice was becoming steely. She took a deep breath, still mesmerized by his gentle motion.

\"Sometimes, when emotions are high, when they are very volatile, I can touch someone and feel those emotions, the things that caused the hurt, the fury, the anger. Sometimes... if someone has... died violently, I can see their life, their final moments, help them to move...\"

\"The dream.\" His voice had become a deceptive whisper. \"The dream of you with the bodies in the bog.\" His fingers had now moved to the other arm.

\"It was no dream for me. It happened.\" Her voice was equally soft, far way. Severus looked at her and saw her eyes, distant, unfocused. \"So many bodies, so many dead. I couldn\'t release them all. I tried, all day I tried. Men, Elves, Orcs. It did not matter. Haldir... Haldir carried me out.\"

\"He worried for you.\" The fingers had stopped caressing, the bruising, gone.

\"Aye. Worried for me, worried for the babe I was carrying... Beckett... oh Beckett...\" her voice trailed off. He allowed her her silence for a few minutes.

\"What did you do to me last night?\" His whisper hung in the air. \"What did you see?\"

Her answer was almost lost in that same heaviness.

\"I walked through your memory. I saw your cell, saw those... things. I saw... all of that.\" Snape realized he no longer held her hand; she held his. \"I did not mean to. It was unintentional. I am sorry.\" She turned his hand over, her index finger, running along the lines of the palm in his hand.

Music rose in the air. Gentle. Exotic. Very... erotic, yet heartbreaking.

Ar sindanóriello caite mornië
Ar ilyë tier undulávë lumbulë

Her hand closed around his. Bolts of electricity shot through him...

@@@@@@@@

Snape found himself standing on a boat. It was night and she stood at the back, draped in the red cloak, the breeze whipping its too long length around her. The Elf, Celeborn, stood by her side, his arms about her. Severus watched as she put her arms through the Elf\'s and clasped him around the waist, burying her face in his chest.

\"He grieves, Celeborn. He grieves the leaving of Beckett and Anselm. He will not allow me to comfort him, will not allow me to see his pain. What do I do? How do I help him?\"

@@@@@@@@


Snape blinked.

And found himself back in her room, her hand still on his.

\"It would seem you and I have something in common.\" Her hand reached up and in motion straight from his nightmares, her fingers stroked his jaw line.

\"What would that be?\" he gritted between clenched teeth. He did not move back from her touch.

\"We need to comfort each other.\" Bronwyn\'s voice was low, so soft he had to strain to hear it. \"Pity. We are clueless on how to do it.\" She stepped back, the spell broken. \"I need to change. Do you trust me enough to do it by myself or would you like to watch?\" she asked, teasingly.

\"Do you think you can manage it on your own?\"

Bronwyn chuckled, trying to lighten the weightiness, the seriousness that had descended on them. \"Oh, I think I am grown-up enough to change my own clothes.\" Her fingers reached and gently tucked an errant lock of hair behind his ear. \"Severus?\"

\"Yessss?\" His answer was a whisper. Her touch was feather-light, stroking to his throat.

\"You have a nick,\" her finger gently brushed his Adam\'s Apple, \"right here. It looks like an....arrow?...\"

He had been surprised to see the mark himself that morning. \"I cut myself shaving.\" he lied smoothly.

\"Ah.\" She lowered her hand from his face. \"I will be down in a few minutes.\"

Severus was almost loath to see her hand return to her side. She turned her back to him, going to her dresser.

\"Madam.\" He captured her attention in her reflection in her mirror. Her eyebrows acknowledged him. \"The song, a moment ago. What are the words?\"

She smiled wanly.

\"Out of a grey country darkness lies
And all paths are drowned deep in shadow\"

She watched from the corner of her eye, as he seemingly floated down her stairs.

***

TBC

***

\"My Thing is my own\"

Words Traditional
The Wilson Sisters
Rennasaince