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Mediterranean Exterior - Exterior

[distant--shadow]

The Witch and the Widow – Chapter One – The Lake

Laudna Bradbury had murdered her husband.

Maybe murdered. Apparently. That is what brought Imogen here - indirectly, at least.

Not that she's with the law enforcement or anything. Not that, definitely, though ironically being an officer - an interrogator - would suit her well, at least on paper. Passion and enthusiasm would be a different question - and that's why she's here. Sorta. Indirectly, again, for a different question. Words travel, by means of mouth or ink or thoughts (apparently, she had found out), even though thoughts should not travel past the head that they were made in. But they did, and continue to do so, and Imogen had heard enough accounts about the man himself (the Lady’s husband, when he was alive and after the fact), had seen enough women squashed under the boots of the men they were tied to to intimately know and understand a flash decision made in a moment for self-preservation-

all too often women tempered their instincts to allow themselves to become the soil underfoot rather than the sole of the shoe

so much as to say that Imogen does not care much if Laudna Bradbury had murdered her husband.

She cares more about what the words whispered and weaved and waded in the time after wrote:

Laudna Bradbury had used witchcraft to murder her husband.

The only utterances of magic Imogen had heard of, had seen, had unexplainably received taken telegraphed by inner voice and grey matter before that rumour, were her own.

Imogen needs answers, desperately, as though a necessity purely imperative like breathing and eating, and so she brought herself to the source of the lake before it divided and weakened and meandered from river to muddy stream to drink directly from her-

(it.)

Laudna Bradbury is a widow, a widow who continues to live on the estate her husband’s heraldry and wealth had afforded them, company kept by a small team of housemaids and gardeners and the like.

and it is a large estate, a lot to look after, for sure, certainly, with its couple hundred maybe more years in age and just as many acres. There's hairline cracks in the stucco, a missing roof tile here and there

but there is no denying that it is a fine example of architecture, certainly was the highest of fashion at the time. A grand country house with an East Wing and a West, bay windows and towers and pleasing ratios between alcove and doorways and arches and walled topiaried gardens that extend from north to south, illustrations in stained glass ornately framed with flowering climbing ivy

statues that step out from domesticated bordering jungles, now appearing more as gargoyles thanks to the decay of time, noses eroded like they have rotted off, birds’ nests of briars thorned crowns or horns

rosemary bushes skirt the main building’s façade, perfuming the sometimes hot-and-humid, more often brisk-and-grey air carried through the opened lead-lined boiled sweet coloured window panes into the dark mahogany-panelled and silk-embroidered tapestried interiors.

Off of the West Wing there is an extension nearing the height of the gargoyled walls that surround the estate. This is the wall that fortifies the Lady Bradbury’s private garden; with doors adjoining directly to her study - both of which are off limits. Imogen doesn't know much of pretty and imported flowers, but she knows local common sense, knows what berries to pick and which weed’s sap causes a blister that will never heal again should it brush her skin.

Through small cracks in the masonry delicate tendrils curl out; leaves crawling, surfacing, small purple flowers with yellow tear-drop centres blooming.

Deadly nightshade.

She wonders what else grows behind the wall, patiently biding its time until the decay of such allows it through. 

It is in the stables that Imogen spends most of her own time; her years of experience working under Master Faramore awarded her an earnest recommendation, and it sure helped that a couple of the Lady’s mares and a stallion were from his own livery, that they had been raised and trained by Imogen's own hands before they left them.

She needs answers, so she has taken herself to them, to the lake to drink from. She observes from a distance, listens to any whisperings and wonderings that bed with her in the servants’ quarters.

The days are long, mostly spent between mucking and feeding and exercising and grooming the horses and watching the Lady Bradbury taking a walk around the herb garden with knees as muddied as the kitchen staff’s, or cutting bark segments from off of the trees that dot the grounds as if she were operating in front of an amphitheatre of flora and fauna students whilst Imogen brushes down one of the horses or shovels hay

and despite the distance and Imogen's best efforts to remain subtle, the Lady Bradbury’s eyes would sometimes catch hers observing (staring, admittedly), and she would smile, and perform a barely perceivable curtsey (one of many behaviours outside of expectations), and Imogen would tip her brimmed suede hat in return, and would think of how despite the fact that the Lady’s practices of class and boundaries and what is proper were different, a bit odd, nothing of the woman's behaviour suggested that of a killer - only the situation that she stood in - the peculiarly beautiful widow with a walled off poison garden. And so maybe the same is to be said of her magic, should she even be harbouring or practicing any (although admittedly her appearance certainly is bewitching…)

and it's like the instances before but unlike them - Imogen stealing glances of the Lady Bradbury as she potters about her estate (she probably really does potter, she fills so much of her time with crafting and making. Imogen wouldn't be surprised to see her pale skin elbow-deep in caked-on terracotta pigment digging out clay rich soil into old whisky barrels to have carried by willing hands to a throwing room with a secret kiln.) but on this day, when their eyes in new routine now inevitably meet across the wildflower-speckled field (that in itself is unusual, highly out of vogue, it isn't the acres of well-kept uniform lawn and paths laid with talking-point pebbles imported from the coast that the other estates boasted and Imogen had glanced when ferrying Master Faramore’s horses elsewhere) the Lady Bradbury takes pause, before she starts to make her advance towards Imogen.

shit.

She's been brushing the same patch of short thick hair on Foie Gras’ shoulder for so long that she's surprised there isn't a bald patch. Maybe the Lady Bradbury is worried as such. Maybe Imogen has been too obvious in her observing (admitted staring). Maybe she has been found out.

She feels her brow start to perspire, the muscles in her limbs wishing to move erratically and awkwardly and restlessly and to carry her to stand out of sight hidden behind the thick neck of the horse like an obvious child playing hide and seek behind a tree trunk, or to flatten the creases in her breaches and her linen tunic and pick out the strands of hair and hay that have lodged themselves into their weave, untwist the grasp of her suspenders over her shoulders - but she practices restraint - is trained and cautious and intentional and thorough she was only being thorough with the mare, casts her gaze in iron like the blacksmith hammering the horseshoes and steels herself for the Lady Bradbury’s approach.

Her skirts are full and structured and plumed by many layers of petticoats that hide the movement of her feet across the wildflower lawn, causing her to appear to be drifting like the bees do from petal to petal, pollen dusting her pleats though ghostly her skin in contrast to the fine fabrics that she dresses for the part, black in mourning, still, bodice tight and sleeve leg of mutton, an ornate decorative layer of black lace laying over each yard of textured textile like spider webs on porcelain patterns, her husband's tableware collecting dust in the kitchen cupboard.

real impractical for how tending towards practical the Lady dares to be, hands on, too busy for errant hairs in piano key ivory and ebony windswept and loose from the high bun she pins in place with a cameo broach, a memento mori engraved in silver and inlayed with ruby eyes and tied with red ribbons. Her skin also proudly displays the age and perhaps trauma that her hair does, lines from laughter and furrowed brows and the feet of the crows that cry from the top of the chimney pots

Imogen has heard her call them her children (the birds that is, not the wrinkles) - has heard her talk to them as if they are responding, oftentimes giving her own tampered voice to do so (and to Imogen’s amusement)

The Lady never had children of her own; those are their own rivers of rumours within themselves. Imogen did not care for that stream of gossip at all.

The Lady steps closer, and the yet-to-be familiar fog of her mind cocoons Imogen, water transmuted into mist against jutting rock at the plummet of rapids, relief from the laborious work and humidity, her previous restraint to keep her body in check breaking as she visibly swallows and licks her lips, suddenly aware of how dry they had been.

The Lady Bradbury rests her hand on the back of Foie Gras’ neck, fingers long and pale and decorated in black lace like mother of pearl inlay and marquetry on a lacquered curious curio cabinet that perhaps Imogen had eyed through a stained glass window standing in the corner of the out-of-bounds office.

“Good day. It's Imogen, correct?” her delicately veiled fingers comb through the mare’s mane, her dark mahogany eyes seeming to look over the gloss of Foie Gras’ coat to inspect the way the late morning sunlight rests upon its sandy hues before turning her attention back to Imogen with a smile.

She hadn't spoken much to the Lady since she was hired a few weeks back - not much being that this is the third time, after her interview and a brief acknowledgment when being shown around by one of the housemaids the day she started.

The Lady Bradbury’s lips are painted a deep purple, an unusual colour for sure; Imogen had only seen illustrations and paintings of the dignitary from era’s passed in shades of peach and pinks and reds, stencilled in exaggerated shapes, and as with the landscaping of grounds, to wear such obvious make up itself is frowned upon, old fashioned, conveniently equated with providing false fronts.

The Lady’s teeth are bright, especially in comparison to the purpled dark lips.

and sharp

especially in comparison to how soft-

“You must pardon me, have I got it wrong?”

shit, fuck-

“Oh! n-no-” Imogen was staring, definitely “I apologise m’lady. You are right, it is Imogen.”

God dammit - she’s gonna get herself fired, fired for daydreamin’ and giving the horses receding hairlines and ignoring the Lady of the Manor when she addresses her-

The Lady chuckles to herself delicately, an act displaying a markable absence of frustration and bewilderment.

��From Master Faramore’s, yes? How are you finding the new environment? I am sure the stables here pale in comparison to his, but I do not believe that they afforded such space and the opportunity for frequent walks around such a beautiful lake…”

“Certainly, m’lady. There are less of them so they get more attention, they can be well looked after-”

“Indeed, plenty of grooming at the very least-”

Imogen can feel the hot blood rush to the surface of her cheeks, unable this time to wrangle her body’s motor reflexes.

“I have yet to visit the lake m’self, I am sure they enjoy bein’ taken by you though, they always seem happier when they come back.”

“Is that so? Well, I must insist you see the lake for yourself, if not only to relish the fact that you took great part in an amount of their contentedness.”

The Lady Bradbury looks to her expectantly, Imogen expected to have a reply for the unexpected.

“Would you accompany me this afternoon?”

Imogen can read thoughts. She can read thoughts but what if the Lady Bradbury can too? Or what if she can tell that she is imposing? Would she find herself in the bottom of that lake on her very first visit? A drink more filling than what she had wanted, her lungs full and void of buoyancy. Imogen can read thoughts but she dares not to read the Lady’s.

She can feel them, though, that first and second and now third time in her vicinity, feel how they are different, an audible silence amongst the swarm of bees wings and small talk and anxieties

At some point the Lady had stepped around Foie Gras’ head to stand beside Imogen

She smells like sage and gunpowder

On the day of her interview she had smelled of eucalyptus and raw animal fat-

“You’re quite the thinker, aren’t you?”

Of that she is guilty, though usually she can argue that the majority of the thoughts that weigh her down are not her own.

“Apologies m’lady, I wasn’t sure I had heard you right. Did you want a horse saddled for you for this afternoon?”

Imogen had never thought that her accent sounded particularly thick or clunky, but it felt as heavy as her mind tends to be around other company when speaking with the Lady, her tongue all thick tangled muscle swelling against the roof of her mouth and her teeth.

Perhaps this is some sort of witchery. She waits for the molasses to take a hold on her muscles and limbs, for the her skull to be crushed concave from the inside

But it doesn’t happen.

The Lady smiles (again)

“Almost. One for you and one for me, if you would accompany me around the lake - there isn’t a cloud in the sky today and it would be a shame to keep the clear reflections of the mountains to myself and Foie Gras here.”

Imogen is thrown. Yes, y’all could argue that this is exactly what she came here for; time alone with the Lady Bradbury, the opportunity to form a rapport or to subtly pluck at her brain but there is something in the way that she carries herself, how she talks to Imogen with ease and lack of formality that is alarmingly disarming, and leaves Imogen cloudy on why she came here in the first place-

“C-certainly, if it’s what the Lady wants-” she chuckles (again, again) waving her hand dismissively before catching herself and laying it over the patch of hair on the mare’s shoulder that surprisingly hasn’t thinned from all of Imogen’s enthusiastic (distracted) brushing.

“I will take Ceviche; you seem to have formed quite the bond with Foie Gras.”

Imogen can only nod with lips parted in silenced protest as she feels her cheeks flush again.

~

The walls of the stable are thick and stone, absent of windows save for the upper halves of the handful of wooden doors that allow for the horses to pop their heads out in eager greeting to Imogen as she walks towards them with their buckets of feed.

It is a clear day, as the Lady Bradbury has said, hot and humid and Imogen is grateful for both the surroundings and the company of the stable.

As she rakes the trodden-in and dirtied hay across the flagstone floor she allows the earthy scents of the dried grass to remind her of the smell of the sage, the crumbling mortar imitating gunpowder.

She wipes the back of her shirt sleeve across her brow, skin also sweating at the wrist where the gloves wrap work-beaten leather over shielded skin

Soft skin, mostly - save for where her fingertips appear to be frost-bitten.

A fairly visible reminder of why Imogen is here, should she forget again in the Lady’s presence-

Not that she would dare to take off the gloves.

That would only lead to questions.

‘Jammed in between horse-drawn carriage and stable door’ - she used to say, before the purple bruised tips started to migrate further, splitting out like surfaced capillaries that encompassed her fingers one knuckle at a time

They mark half-way over her palms now – like someone had dipped fine dense vegetable roots in an inkwell and struck them in lashings across her hand, punishment obfuscating her palmistry.

She hears one of the horses whinny – Ceviche most likely, a little restless, the black stallion not having been let out onto the fields yet today, as Imogen was now preparing him for his ride to be taken shortly.

The Lady’s saddle is very ornate, the leather finely tooled and decorated with organic flowing arrangements that resemble leaves and petals and insects with patterned wings or many many limbs

Its material and stitching is kin to the other saddles, the ones for notable guests and stablehands alike, brands the same maker’s mark

After a short amount of time observing (staring), Imogen suspects that the Lady tooled it herself.

~

The Lady does not ride sidesaddle – she straddles the stallion proper.

Imogen can only assume that she changes from her garden-strolling undergarments to allow for this, having never worn a crinoline herself - that would both be out-of-class, and, more importantly (to Imogen at least) - real impractical.

She had noted as such about the Lady on the first day she had seen her taking one of the horses (it was Carpaccio, a black and white paint) out of field.

It was the first instance of out-of-expected behaviour that she had witnessed.

Imogen can admit to herself that such a small thing had ignited her warming to the widow.

~

Imogen allows the Lady Bradbury and her steed to take the lead, pace set by the older woman’s enthusiasms making themselves known in short enough time from pointing out ‘notable’ forms in the sloping rock faces lining the well-worn path, covered in blankets of moss and ferns and tall stems of bell-shaped pink and white foxgloves and pomanders of wild thistles.

“I just can’t help but imagine what tiny creatures would love to make home between the cracks in the rock and the tree-stumps.”

“’lotta mice and rats I imagine, probably squirrels-”

“Well, yes, certainly…”

Ceviche’s slow walk carries on ahead of Foie Gras’, and the Lady sways with his gate in the saddle, though despite this Imogen could just about read the slight deflation in her shoulders when she had replied to the Lady’s statement.

Her head turns over her shoulder, gaze searching and challenging Imogen’s, caught staring (again), dark eyes hollows of homes burrowed in rocks, the high sun exaggerating high cheekbone architecture, pleasing ratios of brow to bridge of nose.

“…I refuse to believe that there are no imps or fairies when the land is so perfectly carved for them.”

“I can only say I’ve heard stories…” Rumours, rivers.

“Certainly, else you would not be here, would you?”

The Lady holds her gaze a moment longer, as if expecting Imogen to have an answer worth vocalising for that. Imogen feels her pulse begin to thud at her temples, the sweat returning to her hairline and underneath the cuff of her gloves.

The Lady giggles melodically and dismissively, returning her attention to whatever catches its fancy on the path ahead.

“How ugly it is that we must quarry and build. I have thought more than once about leaving the manor to the animals and the girls and making my home in the cave by the lake- oh, I am so very thrilled to show it to you.”

Her excitement cuts the atmosphere, spring back in her step transposed through the steed’s, one hand off of his reins and gesturing in the air.

“You can see it from the upper floors of the house – though that is rather rude of me to say, isn’t it? If you will allow that injustice to fall upon the architect and how societal structure seems to love its walls and assigning basement dwelling.”

Imogen finds herself inadvertently allowing Foie Gras to fall at a pace beside the Lady and Ceviche.

“That’s alright, most nights I tend t’lodge in the stables; eases my mind that I’ll be near the horses should anythin’ happen.”

“Plenty of wild animals around, yes? They do get spooked so easily.”

“I like how you’ve named ‘em – it’s fun.”

“Oh!, You do? I am so glad! You are the one who has to be calling their names most often after all.” Imogen may be in early days (hours) of learning the Lady’s tells, but the smile that creases the skin around her nose and mouth and deepens the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes feels genuine.

“It does often make me chuckle, I assume you’re fond of raw meats?”

“I suppose you would think so, wouldn’t you?”

“Are y’not?”

The Lady takes pause, her look introspective.

“Have you ever eaten horse?”

“w-what? Of course not – do people actually do that?”

“Mmhmm, across the waters – in all directions. It is certainly a common custom. What makes horse any different from beef?”

“I could never – we share a bond, they let us- they give us-” Imogen's tongue is too thick and heavy again, blubbering with words that do not come easily to it as they do her head. She allows herself a deep breath, collects what little face she has, remembers the presence she is in (a Lady regardless of murder or witchcraft) “-in all honesty I rarely eat any meat, the more time ya spend with animals the more guilty ya feel about doing so.”

“How peculiar…maybe you need to spend more time around carnivores.” The Lady laughs at her own joke this time, hand patting at the side of Ceviche’s neck, the horse unaware of what words have been said. Imogen is thankful, in this instance, though she will admit she has tried more than once to see if her mind reading extended to her four-legged friends.

“But they’ve got no choice, that’s how they were made.”

She mimics the Lady’s movements, lovingly patting Foie Gras at the same spot on her neck.

“Made…yes…You have incisors don’t you? Canines?”

“I do, but I don’t have a mouth full of ‘em. Most of our teeth are as flat as these fellas over here…” she ruffles the mare’s mane “-though I won’t deny that gettin’ bitten still hurts something fierce.”

“Makes you wonder what sort of damage you could do if you so chose to, after all, your eyes are not on the sides of your head.”

~

The lake is beautiful.

Of course it is. It displays itself naturally basined, wrapped in the embrace of the mountains surrounding draped in forest cloak, walls both man-made and much older obfuscating its view from the ground floor of the estate.

The lilac and blue hues of the pebbles are familiar, lining the vegetable patch borders in the garden, larger stones used for holding stable doors open.

It is quiet over the lake. The terrain raised around it shutting out the winds, only the quiet breeze that drifts through the canopies on the mountain crests giving a gentle whistle to the waters below, an enjoyable confusement between what is wind and what is the crashing of the tender tides.

The waters are clear blue with a hint of turquoise, green given by either the surrounding plant life’s reflection or by the ones that live underwater.

It reminds Imogen of the lakes in the mountains from her childhood. It is something else new.

Their horses slow to a stop, on the Lady’s cue.

“Magnificent, isn’t it?”

“It really is - no wonder why the horses come back so happy.”

“And will you be as such on your return?”

“Certainly m’lady, thank you for allowing me such a privilege”

“It is not mine to give, though I will make it explicit that you may come down here whenever you wish – providing the horses are happy, of course. That is what I ask of you.”

Imogen thinks she is blushing again, but the feeling is further inside her than her veins, a warmth radiating.

“You take good care of the servants at the estate, don’t you?”

For the first time, the Lady seems thrown by what Imogen offers, a step behind instead of two larger-horsed paces ahead.

“They take better care of me.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone wish to leave their home to the help.”

“It would be the very least I could do.”

“You give ‘em food and a roof over their heads-”

“They sow the seeds, they tend to the animals, they butcher their meat and harvest the wheat to bake the bread. I have been so lucky that they have yet to poison me.”

“I can only say from ma short experience that I’d find that hard t’understand.”

Her face softens again. It feels both comforting like a blanket but then uneasing like having the lights blown out.

“Funny thing, perspective…”

Lady Bradbury slides off of her horse, heels of her fine boots falling into the gaps between the pebbles, though her footing remains certain, experienced.

On the surface of the lake the trees grow downwards, the birds fly with their bellies exposed to what lies in the waters.

The Lady halts, dropping to one knee as she makes short work of the laces on her shoes.

Imogen isn’t sure if she should be offering to remove them for her, jumps down from Foie Gras and jogs clumsily on uneven surface towards the Lady regardless. 

“There are old stories of this lake, you know-”

Lady Bradbury confesses a little breathlessly, lung capacity limited by the press of her thigh into her stomach. She swaps her knee for the other on the ground, starting on the other lace.

“I won’t tell of them just yet, I would hate for them to be off-putting.”

She stands straight again, the sieved remnants of harsher winds that have made it over the mountains’ embrace wishing to make field mouse nests of her hair, spiderwebs of the lace collar around her neck, footprints of birds’ feet fossilised in the marble cornering her eyes.

She looks at home at the lake, certainly a natural thing - flesh and blood and bones cocoons to silk cotton to yarn to lace – Imogen wonders what a marvel the Lady could paint and chisel into the mouth of an open cave.

Balancing, she pulls each shoe free, grin knowing, slightly manic, intensely catching Imogen before she gathers the length of layers of skirts into one hand and steps into the clear waters.

Imogen swears she sees something conjure beneath its surface to greet her.

Laudna Bradbury had (maybe) murdered her husband – (maybe) with witchcraft, most importantly - but Imogen has bigger questions that require her answers, and so she follows the Lady into the lake.

[resist-and-disorder]

Another sleepless night (Luigi Mangione/Reader)

Unable to sleep, the Reader wander through the house, feeling disconnected and adrift. But when the sound of shattering glass jolts her from her haze, she realizes she's not alone.

Luigi Mangione/Reader TW: dubcon, chronic pain

This was written around december. I made him smoke for some reason.

The rhythmic patter of rain against the window deepened the room's pall. A faint glow from scattered streetlamps painted uncertain shadows on the walls and floor, grazing a bed, a desk, a heap of clothes draped over a chair, and a small wardrobe. Beneath the covers, the Reader shifted and stared at the ceiling. Another sleepless night.

From the living room, the muffled hum of a television lingered, left on for company. She sat up, stretching with a crack of her back, arms reaching above her head before she slumped softly to the side. The cold floor against her bare feet pulled her back to reality—a gradual, jarring sensation. In these nights suspended between sleep and wakefulness, reality felt tenuous, a blend of the tangible and the imagined, shaped by her weary, disoriented mind.

And then, the sound—a distant window shattering. She froze, her senses sharpening. Was it real? Or another trick of her exhaustion? Her fists clenched, gripping the sheets tightly. Yes, there had been a noise. Or maybe... probably. Adrenaline rushed. The Reader sprang to her feet.

She moved quietly from the bedroom into the hallway, guided by the faint white glow of streetlamps outside and the touch of her fingertips against the cold, textured stucco walls. Her breaths came in short, uneven bursts, like she'd been running. Despite the chill of December, a feverish heat clung to her, dampening her back with sweat and dotting her forehead with moisture.  

Reaching the hallway, she slipped silently into the living room. It was empty, save for the television casting a harsh, blinding light into the room. She paused, exhaling slowly, and switched it off. Silence. The noise must have been something distant—a neighbor, perhaps. Or maybe it was nothing at all.  

Her breathing steadied, but now the cold crept in, amplifying the discomfort of her sweat-soaked skin. She shivered slightly. A sip of water, she decided. Then, maybe—just maybe—she could finally rest.

The Reader sipped her glass of water slowly , the cool liquid grounding her. It wasn’t until she placed the empty glass in the sink that she noticed the icy draft behind her. Turning, she saw it—the kitchen window was shattered , shards of glass glittering faintly on the floor.

Then the scent hit her: cigarette smoke, acrid and unmistakable. Her chest tightened. She wasn’t alone.

Heart pounding, she turned back toward the room, and there, sitting in a chair by the refrigerator, was a man. His silhouette was cloaked in shadow, but the faint red glow of his cigarette outlined his lips.

The Reader froze.

The man rose slowly, his movements deliberate, and exhaled a dense cloud of smoke. It swirled in the murky light from the city outside, almost solid in its weight.

"Quiet," he muttered, his voice low and steady.

The stranger took a slow drag from his cigarette, the ember flaring briefly in the dim light. Without a word, he crushed it against the kitchen table, leaving a dark, smoldering mark. Then, he stepped toward the Reader.

Her breath caught, and a terrified gasp escaped her lips. Panic surged, and she turned to run, her feet barely gripping the cold floor—but he was faster. In a flash, his hand shot out, grabbing her arm with unnerving precision.

With a swift motion, he clamped a hand over her mouth, muffling her cry.

"Don't scream," he said, calm but edged with danger. "I won't hurt you if you behave."

The weight of his words hung in the air , heavy and suffocating, as she stood frozen in his grasp.

His face hovered just within view, the faint light sharpening the angles of his features— a strong nose, lips tightly pursed as he held her firmly. But the Reader couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze, her terror locking her focus anywhere but on him.

"I'll let you go now," he said, his voice low and measured. "Promise me you'll be quiet."

She nodded quickly, the movement almost frantic, a silent plea for release.

True to his word, he slowly released her, his hands lingering for a moment longer than she wanted, their weight unsettling even as they let her go.

The Reader drew in a shaky breath and managed a faint, almost whispered, "Thank you," though her heart still thundered in her chest.

"I'm on the run," he said plainly, "I need a place to lay low for the night."

The Reader's breath hitched, her eyes welling up with tears of fear.

"What have you done?" she stammered, her voice trembling. "Who are you running from?"

"It doesn't matter," he snapped, the sharpness of his tone cutting through her question like a blade. Then, as if realizing the impact of his words, he softened slightly, his voice lowering.

"Can I trust you?" he asked, his gaze steady but illegible.

Trust him? She didn’t even know who—or what—he was running from. If it was the police, she could end up in trouble. If it was criminals, she might end up in a coffin. Neither option seemed like a winning choice.

She faltered, instinctively stepping back, but he was still too close.

"You can't stay," she stammered, her voice barely steady as the dryness in her throat made it hard to speak.

The stranger didn’t hesitate. He reached into his backpack, pulled out a gun, and aimed it directly at her.

"I have to stay," he said, his tone cold and unwavering.

A sharp sob escaped her, and she raised her hands above her head in surrender, trembling.

"Can I trust you?" the man repeated, his gaze locked on her.

"Yes, yes!" she cried, the words spilling out in desperation.

"Good."

He tucked the gun back into his bag and slung the backpack over his shoulder. The silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating. Finally, she cleared her throat, her voice hesitant as she broke the stillness.

"Can I at least ask your name?"

"That's not important either," he replied curtly.

Her frustration flared, cutting through her fear. "Can I ask you something about yourself, then? You're in my house, running from who-knows-what. You could be a murderer, for all I know!"

A soft, unsettling laugh escaped him.

"Would it make a difference if I were?"

Before she could answer, he took a step closer. Then another. His presence loomed over her, forcing her back until she felt the cold, unyielding wall press against her spine.

Heat flared under her skin, and her breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling as her heart pounded like a drum. His face was inches from hers, his nose brushing against hers, paralyzing her in place.

"It would make a world of difference!" she hissed, turning her face away, desperate to escape his piercing gaze.

The stranger’s gloved hand moved with unsettling softness, brushing against her cheek, then trailing over her lips. The coarse texture of the wool was jarring against her skin, a stark contrast to the unsettling intimacy of his touch.

"What would you do if a murderer touched you like that?" he asked, his voice low, almost mocking.

The Reader didn’t know how to respond. Words tumbled out in a panicked rush, and she turned her head sharply, trying to avoid his touch. Her pulse raced, her skin crawling with unease.

"Does it frighten you," he continued, his tone shifting, "knowing a stranger can do whatever he wants?"

Her heart pounded in her chest, the question hanging in the air like a weight she couldn’t shake. The room felt smaller , the air denser. Every part of her screamed to escape, yet she stood frozen, trapped in the tension of the moment . He leaned closer, his lips brushing against hers—light at first, almost hesitant, but then with more pressure, as if testing her response. His tongue traced the curve of her lower lip, a soft, deliberate motion that sent a shiver through her.

The Reader inhaled sharply, her breath catching in her chest.

"Call me L," he murmured, his voice barely a whisper, his face only inches from hers.

She hesitated at first, but then, almost involuntarily, she returned the kiss. Her body seemed to move of its own accord, and before she realized it, she was on tiptoe, her arms reaching out to steady herself. One hand brushed lightly over L's chest, and his palm settled there, his fingers tightening just slightly. The air was thick with unspoken tension. Soft sighs and quiet breaths filled the space between them, their bodies drawing closer, as if tethered by an invisible pull.

"Wait," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Silence." His command was sharp, but not unkind.

He gently cupped her face with his hand, his touch surprisingly tender, and leaned in close. His breath brushed against her ear as he whispered, his words soft yet heavy with meaning.

"I've been running all night," he murmured. "I want to be comfortable."

The Reader understood, her fear tightening in her chest. She couldn’t shake the thought that he might pull the gun again. Hesitant but knowing she had no choice, she reached for his hand and led him into the bedroom.

Once inside, L dropped his backpack beside the small closet, the weight of his presence filling the room. He turned to her with a stern look.

"Go near that, and you’ll regret it."

She nodded, her heart pounding in her throat.

"On your knees."

She froze, confusion and fear mixing in her gaze. She looked at him , but he didn’t soften. Instead, his eyes held hers, and he repeated the command with a sharp, curt nod.

She obeyed, her body moving without thought, her mind struggling to keep up with the rapid beat of her heart.

The man lowered the zipper of his pants with deliberate slowness, his eyes locked on hers, a feral smile curling at the corners of his lips. The light from the street lamps outside spilled into the room, casting his features in a harsh glow, making him seem both distant and dangerously close.

The Reader felt a cold tremor of fear, but there was something else—a tension in the air that she couldn't ignore. It pulled at her, tangled with the dread, leaving her confused and unsure of herself. She held his gaze, her breath quickening, her lips parted as she tried to make sense of the swirl of emotions inside her.

L freed himself from his pants with deliberate ease, his eyes fixed on her with an unspoken command, waiting with a quiet intensity.

The Reader hesitated, her hand trembling as she reached out. Her fingers brushed against his member, tentative and unsure, before she began to move, her touch growing more deliberate. Slowly, she worked to draw a response, her uncertainty mingling with the unyielding tension that filled the room. When he was hard in her clasp, she leaned forward, her breath catching as her lips met his skin, the moment heavy with both fear and concealed excitement. She began tentatively, her tongue brushing over the tip in soft, deliberate strokes, tracing its outline as if testing her own resolve. Slowly, she parted her lips and took him in, inch by inch, her movements steady and measured. She matched the cadence of her actions to his faint sighs, each sound fueling her focus.

"That's it," he hissed through clenched teeth, his voice low and insistent. "Don't stop."

A muffled moan escaped her, her cheeks flushed with lust as she moved with rising intensity. A hand shifted to her head, fingers threading through the hair with a firm grip, guiding her movements with an unspoken rhythm. His eyes were heavy-lidded, fluttering with pleasure as a quiet intensity washed over his face. His teeth pressed into his lower lip, holding back a groan that threatened to escape. After a few moments, the stranger let out low, frustrated hisses under his breath, though she seemed oblivious to them.

"Enough," L said abruptly, his voice cracking in a way that caught her off guard.

The Reader froze, her worried eyes searching his face, uncertain if she had done something wrong. His half-closed eyes now carried a shadow of discomfort, his expression briefly twisting as though battling an unseen pain.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly, her voice hesitant.

"Y-yeah," he replied, his breath uneven. "I'm fine. I just… I need to lie down for a moment."

L zipped up his pants with a quick, almost jerky motion, then dragged himself to the bed, stumbling slightly as he collapsed onto the mattress. He winced as his body hit the surface, his movements slow and labored.

The Reader touched his forehead gently, her fingers brushing his skin. He was sweating, his face twisted in pain.

"What’s going on?" she asked, her voice soft with concern.

He sighed, his breath shaky. "I have a back problem. It causes chronic pain, especially when I try to... you know ."

She nodded, her face softening in understanding. "Oh."

"I haven't had sex in months," he muttered, his voice tinged with frustration. "Every time I try, it’s agony."

"I'm sorry," she responded, her words soft, almost instinctual.

A wave of discomfort washed over her. She was trapped in this surreal situation—alone with a fugitive, a man in pain on her bed, someone she'd just… well, she wasn’t sure how to categorize the events. Hours of sleep she desperately needed seemed like an impossible luxury now.

She didn’t know what to do, so she instinctively said, "I’ll go get you some ibuprofen."

"It wouldn’t help," he murmured, his tone heavy with resignation. "But thank you."

Then, his voice grew more wary, as if the question had been simmering beneath the surface. "You’re not going to call the police while I’m knocked out, are you?"

The Reader’s lips curved into a soft, knowing smile in the dark.

"Then you’re running from the police," she said quietly.

"Oops."

"Who are you, L?"

"A murderer." His voice was flat, unflinching.

"Hm." She hissed, a small, knowing smile tugging at her lips. "I thought so."

"Do I look like a bad guy to you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly, almost challenging her.

"Why did you kiss me in the kitchen?" She was still trying to make sense of it all.

L grinned, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes, a faint flicker of pain betraying his otherwise carefree demeanor.

"Because I wanted to be with a pretty girl before the cops catch up with me."

She snorted, unable to hold back her laughter. "What a cringe thing to say," she teased. "And cliché, too."

"I'm just going to rest my eyes for a minute..." he whispered, his voice thick with pain. "Craving McDonald's... I'll grab some tomorrow."

The Reader watched him, her eyes tracing the way he drifted into a troubled sleep. She wouldn’t call the police—they’d find him soon enough.

The first light of dawn slowly filtered through the bedroom window, casting pale shadows across the room.

It had been another sleepless night.