(Took a small break to plan the story. Thank you for sticking with me through it <3)
--- Orion ---
Rain battered the coastline without mercy.
Wind tore through the narrow streets hard enough to rattle closed shutters and flood larger roads into shallow rivers beneath Orion's boots as he stepped out of the inn. His cloak snapped sharply behind him, while a group of knights followed several paces behind in tense silence.
She was late.
The irritation had settled deep within him nearly an hour ago. By now, it had become colder, harder. Because Lunivette knew exactly where he had expected her to be. There wasn't any room for argument or denial.
I expect to see you at the Inn tomorrow morning.
Those were the last words he had spoken to her before leaving her behind the previous day. And yet, she had not arrived.
No carriage.
No messenger.
Absolutely nothing.
Orion's jaw tightened. Part of him almost admired the audacity of it, considering how she acted yesterday. The other part, however, was already deciding how unpleasant their next conversation would be. He could count on one hand how many people were still alive. Orion only hoped that whatever excuse she had, it was a good one.
Lightning split across the sky overhead, and thunder shook the ground to its core. A door slammed open further down the street, catching his attention quickly. A woman stumbled out into the rain, clutching a little girl tightly against her chest. Orion recognized them immediately.
The woman and child from the bakery, Lunivette shielded from him at the bakery the other day. Both looked terrified of their surroundings. Rain soaked through the woman's dress as she struggled to keep hold of the girl clinging tightly to her shoulders, the heavy curve of her swollen stomach slowing her movements through the flooded street.
She was heavily with child.
Far enough along Orion immediately understood no woman in her condition would be running through a storm like this unless something had gone terribly wrong.
"Please-" The word barely left her mouth before-
CRASH
The violent sound of something breaking exploded from inside the building behind the woman, alongside another powerful thunder strike. The little girl screamed instantly, burying herself against her mother as the woman nearly stumbled trying to hold onto her. Every trace of irritation vanished. Orion stopped moving, not because of the noise, but because of the panic in the woman's eyes.
But because she was still inside.
"Where."
The single word cut through the rain like steel. The woman visibly shook.
"The bakery."
Orion was already moving before she finished speaking. The knights followed instantly, flanked by the very shadows he asked to watch over her. Rainwater splashed violently beneath his boots as he crossed the flooded street toward the shattered storefront.
One shutter slammed wildly against broken hinges beneath the storm winds. The front window had been destroyed. And the moment Orion stepped inside, the smell hit him first.
Burnt pastries.
Rainwater.
Broken wood.
Flour.
Blood.
Shattered tables littered the floor alongside overturned chairs and broken glass.
And Lunivette...
Her feet slipped beneath her as a man twisted a fist into her hair hard enough to force her onto her knees.
"You want this piece of paper?" The man snarled into her face. "Beg for it."
Orion watched her struggle to regain her footing. Watched her fail, and the man laughed. Not angry, not frustrated. Amused. As though watching her struggle beneath him was entertaining. As if her pain was something he enjoyed. He watched the bastard's expression carefully, stalking him. The way his grip tightened when Lunivette winced. How the ugly satisfaction spread openly across his face.
Something about it turned Orion's stomach cold.
The first kick landed hard enough to fold her inward with a cry. The man's smile widened. Not normal. Not sane. No. The sound she made pleased him. Something ugly flashed openly across his expression- then something almost eager. Like her suffering was not merely useful to him...
But enjoyable.
Lunivette tried to breathe through the pain, one arm wrapped instinctively around her stomach as she struggled to push herself upright again. That's when the second kick landed against her chest.
"Help me, please." Her voice was small and cracked apart at the end.
The bakery fell silent. Not gradually. Instantly.
Shadows flooded into the room as the knights entered with weapons drawn. The man froze.
Slowly-
Orion drew his sword. The sound of metal leaving its sheath cut through the storm louder than the thunder outside. The man released his grip on her hair immediately. Lunivette stumbled hard against the ruined floorboards at the sudden loss of restraint, scrambling backwards desperately across broken glass and scattered flour. Two knights moved forward at once, placing themselves between her and the unknown assailant without hesitation. Only then did she fully look towards the doorway. Toward him.
Rainwater dripped steadily from his cloak as Orion fully stepped inside. And for the first time since entering, he saw her expression clearly.
Fear. Pain. Humiliation. Then relief struck all at once. As if she had been waiting for him to appear.
Something cold and vicious settled beneath Orion's skin. It wasn't anger anymore. It was something far worse.
The blade lowered toward the man's throat with terrifying certainty.
"I wondered," Orion said softly, deadly quiet despite the storm raging around them, "when my wife intended on arriving at the inn."
The man shook at the realization.
"Y-Your Wife?"
Orion did not look at him, not once. His gaze remained fixated on Lunivette. One knight had crouched beside her now while the other remained standing protectively in front of her, sword ready to draw at a simple command.
Debris and flour streaked across her dress. One arm wrapped around her stomach. Her hair half fallen loose from his grip.
Wrong.
All of this was wrong.
She looked wrong like this.
The blade pressed slightly closer to his throat. "Seems like you do have a thought in that head of yours."
Lunivette tried to push herself upright without any help. Pain flashed across her face. His gaze shifted briefly toward the entrance where the woman stood half sheltered in the doorway, one hand braced protectively beneath the weight of her stomach while the little girl cried quietly against her shoulder.
A pregnant woman had run through a storm for help.
The order came sharply and left no room for anyone to object. "Take her back to the Inn."
Another crack of thunder shook the sky. He stepped slightly aside without lowering his blade from the bastard's neck. One of the knights carefully helped Lunivette to her feet. She winced the moment the weight settled fully onto her legs. Orion took notice of it.
Of course he did.
Something dark flickered behind his expression, only for a second before disappearing beneath cold restraint once more. Lunivette hesitated at the doorway, looking back at him.
At the bastard trembling.
At the bloof beginning to bead where his blade rested against skin. And Orion understood something very clearly. If she stayed any longer, she would see why the kingdoms feared him.