Stepping Up

"Damnit! I couldn't beat him. How are we supposed to join the guild now?" Cordain paced around their small rented room, frustrated by his defeat. He couldn't believe he had lost to that brute. He thought he was a decent fighter, but Gaius was on a whole different level.

The coin they had left was only enough for the night. The price of a room in the eastern capital was even more costly that they had expected.

"Cordain... It's okay. I'm going to join the guild. We can't survive here if I don't. She didn't want to leave him, but they had no other choice.

"What? No! I'm not letting you go near that creep. He'll... He'll do unspeakable things to you!" Cordain grabbed her shoulders, his eyes wide with worry.

"I know... But he said I could join if I wanted to. He won't harm me, as long as I... Please him. It's the only way we can stay here and earn a living." She looked down, ashamed of what she was suggesting. She had no intention of enjoying even a second of the time apart from her lover, but it was a sacrifice she was willing to make for their future.

"Illyana, no. I can't let you do this. I'll find another way. I promise." He hugged her tightly, feeling helpless and angry at himself.

"You will. I know you will. But for now let me take care of us until you find a way to defeat him and free me from his clutches. I won't let him break me." She kissed him softly, trying to ease his fears.

"I love you, Illy. I'm so sorry I can't protect you from that monster." Tears welled up in his eyes, his heart breaking at the thought of her being with that brute.

Afraid of the inevitable next day, Cordain held Illyana close, touching and feeling every inch of her body. They spent the night making love, trying to cherish each moment as if it were their last. Cordain wanted to memorize every curve and every freckle on her pale skin.

Then, a darker thought clouded his mind.

Illyana in that man's arms. A misogynistic bastard's hands all over her body. Eyes filled with hate, not love. The desire to conquer, not to cherish. His beautiful lover's face filled not with sadness and pain, but with greater lust than ever. She was his, but would she remain his?

He tried to shake off the images, but they lingered in his mind, haunting him. He held her tighter, trying to convince himself that she would come back to him unscathed. But deep down, he knew that once she left his arms, there was a chance she would be changed forever. That somehow that brute would manage to win her over.

But he would fight, with all his might.