trials par 1

-It will be safer to stay in the village, Cassie. I can let the men know where I am. The crew needs guidance regarding the work that needs to be done.

The attempt to regain command of Gaia felt like a dream.

He didn't say anything about the village and that there he could order dresses and warm clothes for her with the temperature that was getting cold or so little explained about the gipsies who knew the ancient traditions very well. They in Scarlet didn't know anything about half-bloods.

Cassie looked up at him with a groan in her throat. Ride a horse? Compassion! Her entire body ached miserably and a strong, insistent cramp was bothering her lower abdomen. She wanted to just lie there and curl up. It wasn't just the abdominal cramps that were punishing. Worse was the painful cramps. She was irritated and tense. She would love to have Faith there to talk to.

Of course, she wouldn't ask the man beside her anything. In the last two years, her body had taken on changes that at first brought problems. Her breasts. A little boy couldn't stand on the quarterdeck showing off her breasts, and she'd opted for the sash attached tightly to them to disguise the contours her body assumed with puberty. She also had hopes of gaining a few more pounds from the astonishing growth in recent months, but she seemed to have made little difference. There was hair growth in places that bothered her no matter how often she tried to shave it.

Only that day she felt the will to die. She wouldn't be able to ride to the village the way her body was sore and it wasn't just the disastrous experience. Worse than that. She started to panic. It was a mortal sin to lie with a man who was not her husband.

She was sure he would burn her in the fires of hell for her indecency in accepting her lover's caresses before so willingly. She had never been religious before, but perhaps it was time to confess to a priest seeking absolution. Horrible nightmares of eternal torture had made her cringe all night.

At that moment, she would love to have even Katie by her side to clear her doubts. She had woken up alone and scared to see the bloodstained underwear. Her nervousness only increased. At first, it had been just a smear of blood that had made her give up on another escape attempt. When the blood had begun to descend in a lively and larger stream, she was finally sure that her hours were numbered. She was going to die!

Forgive me, Madam, for I have sinned terribly. My mind is full of impure thoughts. Let a man who wasn't my husband touch me. She shouldn't have….Taken pleasure from his caresses when she was pure.

-Are you sure you're going to the village to file a complaint about Philip?

Was she simply dying slowly and the soulless man expected her to be willing to gallop a horse? Compassion. How long could a person bleed like that? She also didn't know how to act with him. It was true that the caresses had an uninteresting end.

But of course, I was. Woe to him if he decided to file a complaint alone!

It was a frustration to compete in a male-dominated world where she couldn't falter or show inexperience. Damn coffee! Had she simply told him who she was? Naturally, he wouldn't even approach her. It was an aberration. She could sense his annoyance at everything that had happened.

-And why wouldn't you go? If you can prove that...

Furious might be a better word. She was holding back the urge to confess that she had always loved him. His virility drove her completely mad. She could almost convince herself that she was a girl like any other. He aroused her with the words whispered in her ears during the endless kisses that left her breathless. The same desire clashed with the need to run away from him or as far away as possible to escape the wave of her magnetism. Her emotions were contradictory.

The ordeal was hell. Everything was difficult. Philip got in the way.

She was still very young. She had a whole life ahead of her. Everything was suddenly over.

-But of course, I will.- she replied seriously.

Would it take a few hours? She was going to die. Of course, she would naturally complain about Thalagar's schemes. She expected the unhappy man to feel guilty for the rest of his days.

-Do you think you can ride? Or maybe you could travel with me. It doesn't take more than three hours to reach the village because of the rain. He's looking kind of downcast.- Richard commented uncertainly.

He was simply uncomfortable in front of a woman. It was ironic. He was used to women who were delicate, feminine and always eager to please a man. That creature that rode away was none of those things. She was different.

A free and rebellious creature. Hecate, those eyes... They expressed feelings with such intensity and naturalness that they made him suffer. They were stormy and filled with resentment. He shook his head, conjuring up the image of her bruised and bruised in his arms without being able to resolve his miserable lack of care. The whole delicate situation. Hell, Philip was still his brother. And the Armada was increasingly pressing after the execution of the accused midwife.

-Hell! Richard cursed angrily.

Cassie just stared at him from afar. Maybe three hours to go.

Three hours? He intended for her to wait three hours atop a horse while she lay there dying in irritating slowness. It was another ordeal. He'd seen men die faster losing blood as fresh as she did. But of course, it would.

It was no doubt heaven's punishment and his place in hell was guaranteed. He was going to lead a line of the damned that was taken to hell. Before that, he would bleed to death in an agonizing slowness that would surely take an endless eternity. He would rather atone for all sins and then face the eternal flames. The swaddling clothes she'd gotten in hopes of staunching the bleeding hadn't helped at all. Ah, worst of all was the shame.

It could be a curse.

Hecate had mercy on her. She had taken pleasure in the forbidden caresses at first. No pure or decent woman should have such thoughts. It was clear that he had no intention of going through with the decision to recognize her as a wife after he had shared a bed. A decent woman couldn't tolerate that. Everything was her fault. It was unnatural the life she led disguised as a little boy. Her desperation was so great that he didn't notice that she had gathered it in a small walnut cloth bag to disguise the smell.

He was looking at the mount with absolute certainty that it was the vilest of creatures for such a punishment. It was then a deadly disease that he had contracted.

.. forgiveness because I have sinned. Shouldn't have liked it...

Compassion. In ancient traditions...

- Cassie! Is everything OK? - Richard used a soft tone of voice. - If you think you can't... Honey...

Everything is fine. I will bleed to death by punishment and suffer an eternity of torment. I'm great. Is there any reason not to be?

The thought made her swallow hard, cursing the urge to cry. She had committed a mortal sin and was being punished with exquisite cruelty. Why didn't she just die soon? Ancient rituals of celebration of nature cults. She had done it all wrong. Virginity was always consecrated to the Goddess...

- Of course, I'm fine. Why shouldn't I be? she-she managed to reply sullenly and gritted her teeth to hold back a groan as she put her foot in the stirrup and mounted.

On second thought, I'm dying. You resolved to increase the suffering.

She was dying of embarrassment as she resolutely pulled the horse's reins. She should get away from everyone she knew because of the shameful curse she now brought upon her body.

I will cry. I will cry non-stop.

-We'll be fine in the village. You'll feel better sleeping in a warm, comfortable bed. - Richard tried to start a conversation without understanding the reason for so much silence.

He had been tiring the testimonies and complaints. And many explanations to be given to the council. The authorities investigated everything. Complaints about Gaia's activities. They searched Jackie's life mercilessly for any loopholes to make trouble.

She managed to nod, forcing a smile. How much longer was it to arrive? Every time the horse moved she gritted her teeth in pain. After an hour at that point, she was pretty sure she would never be able to walk or sit up again. Her hips and knees ached and her biggest misfortune was her inner thighs.

- Is there still a long way to go? she asked with all the calm she could manage after another half hour of torment.

Richard was staring at her frowning features, cursing the woman's stubbornness. From then on, she would learn to obey his orders and not keep pushing herself beyond her means.

-If you're sore, you can share a mount with me ...- he said feeling heating in his groin as he imagined her proximity. She could have used the ladies' cell and...

She took a deep breath. The brute did not intend to discuss matters as intimate as that! It was absolutely none of his business whether she was sore or not. It didn't do anything to stop the bleeding as the cramps are concentrated in the lower abdomen to an intolerable extent.

Another hour of torment and she was pretty sure she had no more legs. She would never stand again if she ever managed to survive that long. They never arrived at the village. Maybe with luck, he wouldn't make it to the village alive.

Richard's enthusiasm when he arrived at the village was not shared by her. The horse stopped motionless to her relief and she felt for a moment almost like crying. She was more than ready to let herself fall to the floor in tears. This wasn't going to last that long, was it? She had been cursed for her lust. Burly men aboard the Star had already died much faster with minor bleeds.

A hot bath. All she could think about was a hot bath to ease the hellish pain in her body. She was almost startled when she heard excited laughter while still mounted.

-Welcome to my house. I thought the trip to the town village would take longer. Glad to have you in our village, Morgan. A strong, rough voice echoed in her ears.

-I thank my friend for the hospitality of his people to me and my wife. - Rick returned the greeting and Kassuim widened her eyes in surprise.

It was no doubt punishment from heaven. He had been admiring this man for many months and now he was bleeding to death. The urge to cry came back redoubled with the certainty that she would not be able to dismount.

- Cassie?

She heard the surprise of the man in front of her, unable to hide her nervousness.

-My wife is not very... - Richard didn't quite know what to explain.

Something happened that her stubbornness didn't count on.

Cassie nodded, forcing a smile. Ah, it was quite right a curse had befallen her. It was the shortest marriage the wolf clan would have known about. Married for a day! Wasn't it fantastic? For the first time, the idea terrified her. She couldn't be pregnant, could she?

Her smile was shy and unfunny. A woman in this situation would most certainly be put away by her husband. She would just take a shower and... She didn't know what to say or explain... Of course, he would complain about her imprudence.

Her feet didn't find the ground. She didn't even feel her legs to steady herself and reluctantly she clung to the man beside her in a low groan that didn't escape her attention.

-Stubborn.! Why didn't you say...

She recoiled in embarrassed horror. Had he noticed? Compassion!

-I am tired. - Part of that wasn't a lie. - I'll rest and take a shower if you don't mind...

Richard stroked her hair, noticing the girl's tension with a sigh. Something was bothering her.

- Follow the women and I'll be back as soon as I can, okay? You sure...

-I am fine. Very good.

I will just die. There's nothing much to it! the thought struck her with enormous despair.

She had undoubtedly committed an unforgivable crime.

Merciful Goodness! What did I do....?

The fall and all the rush in the village with the guards fighting...