Rogue Made

Chapter 4

I woke in a tent, surrounded by strange people chanting and praying. I bolted, letting my legs tear me from the odd scene. I was in the middle of the Rogue camp. I didn’t hesitate as my legs took me to the trees. People shouted after me in foreign accents before I heard Ellery.

“Cricket!” Ellery was in the Rogue camp. My heart stopped, but I didn’t stop running. I had no idea what was going on, but stopping was a surefire way to get myself killed.

"Cricket!” Chief Loïc was also after me.

"Stop!” Ellery yelled. His voice was closer, a sign he was chasing after me. I cursed my bad luck to be chased by the only person in the village faster than me. I scrambled up a tree, climbing as far up as was safe. The cracking of branches beneath me told me Ellery was still on my trail. I looked around, trying to find some other escape. Those people had done something to me and it was freaking me out. I threw myself into a neighboring evergreen and Ellery shouted in surprise.

“Cricket Serannas! Halt this nonsense!” Loïc called, approaching Ellery’s tree. I dropped to the ground in front of him and he jumped.

"Nonsense?” I spat. “What about kidnapping?”

"I had your husband’s permission.” Loïc retorted. A small brown hedgehog was perched on his shoulder.

“Ellery is not Cricket! She has her own voice! She can speak for herself!” Loïc looked both shocked and pleased at my words.

“Not if you were unconscious.” Ellery slide down the tree and approached me from the side. “Be reasonable, Cricket.”

“Cricket was surrounded by strangers and chanting.” I said, taking a step back from Ellery as he stepped towards me.

“I had to convince the other chiefs I wasn’t there to kill them.” Ellery said. “And they wouldn’t let me in the tent.”

“Your majik loosed itself upon your body.” Loïc said. “We had to protect you from tearing yourself apart.”

“Cricket, I promise,” Ellery looked me in the eye; “There was no other way. You were clawing your eyes out. I didn’t know what to do.” He was begging me. He was begging me. I tugged on my shirt, hugging my limbs close and shifting uncomfortably. The way Ellery said my name sent shivers of desire down my spine and it was scaring the hell out of me. The weight of his words and gaze cast my eyes down to the snow.

“Don’t worry.” Loïc said, misreading my silence. “Your clothes haven’t moved an inch from your body. Ellery saw to that.”

“Cricket, we should get you back.” Ellery was blushing. Why had he protected me? Why was he embarrassed about it? I sighed before nodding. I wouldn’t get any answers this way.

“This way.” Loïc led us back toward the Rogue camp. The snow crunched under our boots and I glanced sideways at Ellery. I slipped my hand into his and he jumped in surprise. He didn’t let go, though. On the contrary, he grasped my hand tighter, pulling me closer to him and farther from Loïc. Good, he didn’t trust them either.

“How is Ellery walking? And running?” I asked suddenly.

“Rogue Healers.” Healers were the most common of majik users, but it took a lot of power out of an individual to heal even the most basic of bruises and it took days for the person being healed to recover from the process.

“How long has Cricket been out?” I asked voice quiet.

"Four days.” Ellery said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. His fingers didn’t loosen from mine, however, and my arm ended up across my chest.

“We can teach you how to See, Cricket.” Loïc said as we approached the camp. “We could even find you a familiar to help focus your majik. Like Papadopoulos here.” Loïc scratched the hedgehog that lounged on his collar. It stretched and purred lightly.

"Cricket doesn’t want more majik.” I replied, inadvertently smiling at the fluff ball. “She is already strange enough.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t get more majik. The amount of majik an individual has is designated at birth, like what color your eyes are.” Loïc corrected me gently. “You already have more majik than my most powerful warrior, even more than me. However, you do not know how to harvest that majik; how to turn it into a useful tool.”

"Why does Cricket have majik at all?” I asked. Loïc stopped in the middle of the camp, thinking. Rogues surrounded us, either to keep us from running again or to ogle the strangers, I wasn’t sure.

"I suspect Rogue blood in your veins.” Loïc said, finally. “At least one of your parents was a full-blood Rogue. You wouldn’t have so much majik any other way.”

“Impossible.” Ellery said, confused. “The Janjua family has the straightest ancestry in the whole village.” Somehow, that was the wrong thing to say. The whole camp erupted in fury in an instant and Ellery and I were ripped apart. I was dragged through the crowd, hands pulling at my hair, clothes, and limbs. I screamed for my husband as I was tossed into the snow.

"Wait! Let the chiefs decide their fate!” I was dragged through the ice and slush to curl up at Loïc’s feet. Ellery was shoved next to me. Instantly, his arms were around me, as if he could protect me from an angry mob. Loïc looked shocked.

“You are… Janjua?” He whispered. I nodded, shaking in cold and fear.

“Ellery is not. He is Serannas.” I begged. “Do not hurt him.”

“I must meet with the chiefs.” Loïc announced, abruptly turning away from me. “Take them and tie them up.” I was yanked from Ellery’s arms and dragged across the snow into an empty tent. It wasn’t the village that had done something, it was my family. What had my family done? Ellery was pulled in behind me and we were tied up back-to-back and left alone.

"Cricket’s family did something terrible.” I said, softly, trying to calm my shaking nerves.

“And they’re going to kill the whole village for it.” Ellery added.

“Cricket won’t let them.”

“We’re tied up, what are you going to do?” Ellery snapped. He was scared, which was the only reason his words had any bite. He tended to verbally attack people when he was scared.

"Ellery forgot already?” I smiled. My fingers began to tingle as my sparks flew out of my skin.

"Ow!” Ellery hissed. “Oh.” His voice colored with realization. My sparks soon set the rope on fire. I failed, however, to set the ropes tying me up on fire.

“Ellery needs to be careful.” I said as he shook off his ropes.

“I’m not leaving without you.” He said, tugging at the ropes around my wrists. “They’ll kill you simply for being a Janjua.”

"No,” I sighed, “The rope is still on fire.” Ellery glanced behind him and jumped.

"So it is.” He finished untying me and helped me to my feet. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Where will Cricket and Ellery go?” I asked.

“To the village. We can stop at the house for Xiu and Resa and some provisions and weapons.” Ellery said, lifting the bottom of the tent up and peering beneath it. “We’re at the edge of the camp.”

“Good.” I said, rolling underneath the lifted edge. I grabbed it and Ellery followed me quickly. He grabbed my hand and we started running. “The tent might catch on fire.” I said.

“Or someone will check on us before then.” Ellery shrugged, pulling me along faster. “Either way, we have to get to the house before they notice.”

"Where is it?”

“Not far.”

"Cricket will saddle the horses. Ellery should pack provision and weapons.” I said.

“Agreed.” We ran. When the house came into view, he let go of my hand and we sprinted into our separate destinations. Xiu and Resa were unharmed and unsaddled. They fidgeted restlessly. Obviously Loïc had them unsaddled since Ellery and I had no plans to leave the house any time soon. I murmured softly to them, keeping them calm while I saddled them up. I led the horses over to the house and ran inside. Xiu was too well trained to go anywhere and Resa would follow his lead.

“Ellery?” I called.

“Help me with the food.” He replied from the kitchen. His voice was far too calm and bored sounding for someone on the run. I ran into the room to see two Rogues, arrows trained on my husband and me. Instant fury swept through me. The Rogues were driving me insane and they kept trying to kill Ellery and me and I was sick and tired of dealing with the crap…

“Leave.” I growled, feeling my skin erupt in sparks and my senses sharpen. I could feel my majik flare into life around me as I unconsciously took in every detail of the room. The Rogues looked startled at my display of power and amused at my defiance. Ellery was on the ground in front of them. He had a growing bruise on his cheek and his hands were in the air in surrender. Power flowed through me, growing the sparks and focusing them. Without quite knowing what I was doing, I shot my hands forward, shoving all my power at the Rogues. It felt right.

Instantly, their bows, arrows, and clothes sparked, setting them aflame. It took only a moment before they started screaming. Ellery threw himself away from them as they stumbled around, trying to stop the unnatural fire. The man threw himself out of the kitchen window; probably hoping the snow would help. The woman ran out the front door, still screaming. I focused on the burning table and furniture and… I pulled the fire to me. At once the fire was quenched.

"Cricket,” Ellery’s voice was gentle, “its okay.” I turned to see him approaching me, cautious and more than a little freaked out. “They’re gone now.” He spoke to me like I was an animal. “They can’t hurt us anymore. It’s okay.” I touched the bruise on his cheek, letting my power flare out around me. He gasped and shuddered. His bruise disappeared at my touch. It was only then that my conscious mind took over again.

Panic and terror welled up inside me. How could I do these things? How could I kill two people without thinking? How could I heal wounds with no training? Why could I do these things? Why couldn’t control it? Why was I so powerful without any semblance of control? What if I killed Ellery? What if I –

Ellery kissed me and instantly my mind and majik stopped.

“Cricket,” Ellery held my face in his hands, “its okay. Everything’s okay now.” The fear was gone, replaced by determination, respect, and some foreign emotion I couldn’t name. I swallowed and my sense of self returned. Tears tracked down my cheeks and I was shaking.

"How did Cricket do that?” I asked voice hoarse and dry. I swallowed past the urge to vomit.

"Don’t ask me.” Ellery was grinning. “But it was amazing, whatever it was. I didn’t know you could Heal.”

“Neither did Cricket.” The panic was still deep in my chest.

“You’re remarkable, you know that?” Ellery smiled at me. “Come on, let’s go.” I helped pack the rations while Ellery got weapons from the cellar. We packed the horses together, ignoring the burned remains of the Rogues. We left the house behind, beginning the three-day trek that would take us back to the village.

We rode the horses hard all day. We didn’t stop to rest, but walked the horses until we hit the small stream that ran down the mountain. The stream ran directly past our house. The water was ice cold, but the horses still drank the water gratefully.

"We’ll walk them through the stream for about a mile before crossing.” Ellery said, tearing into some jerky. He handed me a piece.

"To keep the Rogues off our trail.” I nodded, chewing the jerky numbly. I needed to make sure Ellery understood that I was just as smart as he was.

"They probably won’t fall for it, but still it’ll keep them occupied.” Ellery said. “We’ll make camp in a couple miles.”

“Cricket and Ellery should move on then.” I suggested.

“Stay close.” Ellery warned. “We don’t want any surprises from the Rogues or the mountain.”

"Is this to protect Cricket or to protect Ellery?” I asked, trying to break the tension.

"Hell if I know.” Ellery said, seriously. “You are probably the most dangerous thing out here right now.” True to his word, we traveled a mile downstream before hurrying the horses onto the crisp snow. We galloped a good mile and a half before night fully set in. Ellery set up the tent while I tethered the horses close by. We worked in silence, trying to conserve our heat. I took the bedroll from Resa’s pack and slipped into the tent. I rolled it out and sat down, facing Ellery. The wind was completely gone, but the snow still buried cold deep into my bones. We didn’t dare build a fire in case the Rogues were on our tracks. Ellery handed me a cold roll followed by a hunk of cheese and more jerky. We had filled our water skins at the stream, but we’d hit the river by midday anyway.

"Warming it in Ellery’s hands first will work better.” I said, eyeing Ellery as he tried to eat the cold bread. He looked at me in surprise. I put the cheese and jerky inside the roll and held the sandwich tightly in my grasp.

"That might work better if you used your sparks.” Ellery pointed out. I stared at him, eyes wide. I couldn’t use my powers again. Not after I killed two people. Panic flared in my chest. I… “Cricket!” I looked down at my hands and saw that the cheese was melting and the jerky was softening as my fingers sparked. I yelped and dropped the sandwich I had made, scooting as far away from Ellery as possible. I stared at my hands and watched the sparks slowly die.

“Hey! This is pretty good.” Ellery had taken a bite of the makeshift sandwich and grinned at me, chewing happily. “Nice and warm.” I glowered at him. I was panicking and he took my sandwich! How was that fair? I pointed at the cold, hard sandwich in his other hand and sparks flew out of my finger. Ellery yelped and dropped the roll. He pouted at me.

"Ellery took Cricket’s sandwich!”

“Well, excuse me if I can’t heat food with my majik.” Ellery rolled his eyes, chuckling. He handed me the sandwich he dropped and I took a bite. We ate slowly, savoring the warmth of the food before going to bed.

We slept curled up together, conserving all the heat we could. I woke before dawn and got up, deciding to make a quick breakfast before Ellery got up. I heated more cheese between the bread, adding dried bacon instead of jerky. Ellery emerged from the tent as I finished, yawning sleepily. His eyes brightened at the sight and smell of food.

“Well, I’m glad we didn’t freeze to death last night.” He said, digging into the sandwich.

“Cricket is glad the tent didn’t cave in.” I pointed out the thick layer of snow on top of the tent. The tree we had slept under had dumped all the snow in it branches. It was the first sign of winter ending.

“True.” Ellery laughed, watching me begin to put up the tent. “Here, let me help.” Together, we packed up our small campsite and saddled up the horses. We mounted Resa and Xiu with practiced ease and Ellery set a trotting pace. We had ridden in silence the day before, but the threat of immediate death was gone and it made Ellery much less stoic.

"Why did your father beat you?” He asked.

“He said Cricket’s majik was dangerous and couldn’t be controlled.” I repeated the words long ago memorized. “Every time he caught Cricket using it, he beat her. Every time the punishment got worse.”

“What if you couldn’t help it?” Ellery asked. “Sometimes you spark on accident. Like last night when you were annoyed at me, or the other day when we were…” He flushed and coughed.

“He knows accidents. He wouldn’t hurt Cricket without cause.” I said, choosing to ignore Ellery’s comment.

"No cause is worth beating a child.” Ellery snapped.

“Cricket is not a child.” I reminded him gently, not wanting to fight. I don’t know when his comments stopped bothering me, but I’d somehow gotten used to his tactlessness.

“Well, no,” Ellery blushed again, “Not anymore.” I couldn’t figure out what was so embarrassing. “But your talents should be rewarded, not punished.”

“Obviously Da comes from a different mind.” I replied, easily.

“Obviously.” Ellery was still angry at the idea of my father beating me, but he seemed tired of fighting about it, too. “Why is your name Cricket?” He asked, before the silence grew too long.

“Cricket is the smallest and the oddest of her family. She is also a pest, born at the time of the destruction of crops, but it light on her feet.” I spoke the fond words Da had spoken to me as long as I could remember. However, they only served to make Ellery angrier.

“You’re not a pest!” He snapped.

“Isn’t Cricket?” I replied. “Ellery has expressed many words of frustration about her.”

“Let me guess.” Ellery sighed, ignoring me. “Your father told you that.”

"Yes.”

“Cricket, have you ever wondered if your father tells you the truth?” Ellery snapped.

"Does Ellery ever wonder if Iain is his brother?” I replied. It was an insane idea. Da would never lie to me. Ellery hesitated.

"I did once.” He admitted. “My father was quite the ladies’ man in his prime. As chief, he could have any woman he wanted. The story of Iain’s birth was repeatedly told, but no one seemed to want to mention my birth. I assumed that it was because I am his illegitimate son. My mother died giving birth to me, so I never met her. It took Iain and several of the older women in the village to convince me I was legitimately born. My father was embarrassed and furious at himself for it.” Ellery spoke slowly and quietly, admitting something to me he had never told anyone. We sat in silence for a minute.

"Cricket sometimes wondered if she was related to her family at all.” I admitted. “She is smaller and doesn’t look like them, but she was informed that she is the spitting image of Da’s mum.”

“Who told you that?” Ellery asked voice still quiet.

“Da.” Ellery snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Your da isn’t the most trustworthy of men.” He said, kicking Resa into a gallop.

“Da is one of the most powerful men in the village!” I called after him, hurrying Xiu after my husband.

"My da is the most powerful man in the village!” Ellery called back. I urged Xiu into a canter, passing Ellery smoothly.

“Ellery is a jerk!” I called in a singsong voice.

“Cricket is obnoxious!” Ellery laughed, kicking Resa faster and meeting my challenge.

“Ellery is an idiot!”

“Cricket is immature!”

“Ellery is a meanie!”

“Cricket is stupid!” I gave a shout of mock outrage as Ellery caught up with me.

“Ellery is a butthead!” Ellery roared with laughter as I giggled uncontrollably. I slowed Xiu when I caught sight of the river. Ellery stopped next to me, still laughing. I attempted a straight face. It didn’t work. Ellery couldn’t even stop laughing.

“I can’t believe you just called me a butthead.” He breathed. I started laughing at the word again and he followed my lead. “Stop!” He chuckled, clutching his sides. “It hurts!” I grinned and hopped off Xiu, letting the stallion calm down from the exertion of the race and drink from the cold, clear river.

“Ellery is a butthead.” I commented, refilling my water skin. Ellery grinned and hauled himself off Resa. He copied my movements exactly, bending down to the river to fill his water skin. He smiled at me from over the heads of the drinking horses and I felt my stomach clench. I smiled and looked away, feeling nervous at the unanticipated warmth Ellery’s smile had given me. I struggled not to think about all the unnamed feelings warring in my gut as I washed Ellery’s long dry blood from Resa’s coat.

We continued our trek, after I made sandwiches, downstream along the river. The village was built along the river with all the farmland on the opposite bank. When the rains made the river overflow, if flooded down the mountain and over the crops, making irrigation easier. However, Ellery and I were at least a day and a half up the mountain. We stopped, just after dark, and set up our tent. I coaxed out a small fire while Ellery hunted wild hare. We ate and drank quickly, but laughing the whole while. I didn’t realize how much fun it would be running for our lives.

“You’re such a smart-ass.” Ellery grinned, digging in the snow to reach the dirt.

“Cricket has been informed.” I said, helping Ellery. “On many occasions.”

“No doubt.” Ellery chuckled.

“Cricket has an idea.” I said, pulling up clumps of frozen dirt.

“What?” Ellery asked as we threw the clumps on the fire to dampen it. Fresh dirt would have been better, but winter had long since frozen the ground. And we didn’t want the Rogues to track us too easily, for undoubtedly they were tracking us, or else we’d let it burn out or shovel snow onto the embers. Spring was only a few weeks away. The snow would probably start melting in the next week.

“Cricket’s sparks create heat.” I said. “She could use them to dry Ellery’s and Cricket’s clothes and keep them warm for a while.” We hadn’t spoken of my majik and I was glad for it. I didn’t want to think about the two Rogues and what horrors I had put their families through.

“That’s a good idea.” Ellery looked surprised, which annoyed me.

“Cricket does have those.” I snapped. Ellery frowned suddenly and I didn’t know if it was my tone of the words that had caused it.

“Wait a second,” He looked at me, “You don’t intend to stay up all night creating sparks so we’ll stay warm, do you?” My mind blanked out. Of course I was thinking that. That was my whole idea. He actually didn’t want me to stay up? Not even to ensure his comfort? I opened my mouth, unsure of what I could say.

“No.” He looked at me with a glare. “Cricket, you can’t waste your strength and energy that way. You can dry our clothes and warm the bedroll, but that’s not fair to you if I sleep in comfort and you stay awake.” He took my face in his cold hands and I abruptly realized how close he actually was.

“Cricket, no.” His golden eyes didn’t waver. I thought of words I could say, jabs I could make, or backhanded comments that would surely shadow that gold with annoyance. I opened my mouth, but decided against it. How could I hurt my husband like that? I swallowed tightly and made up my mind. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to Ellery’s. He froze in shock and I pulled away. It was the first kiss that wasn’t initiated by passion or by him.

“Ellery is right.” I whispered. I gave him a small smile before standing and walking towards the tent, shaking all the excess snow off my body before settling down inside. I felt Ellery’s eyes on me as I moved, but I didn’t acknowledge him anymore. I had to focus. I was more than a little frightened of my power and much more than a little reluctant to use it. Warming food was fine; it was small and required only my hands. Drying clothing would take all of my very limited skills and I would have to use all the skin on my body to dry everything. I took a deep breath and looked down at my hands. They shook violently and I felt panic envelop my senses. What if I messed up and set fire to our tent? What if I set fire to Ellery? I barely knew anything about this power and why had I offered to do something I would never be able to do?

Cold hands clasped around mine and I looked up to see the gentle gold of Ellery’s eyes. He didn’t say a word as he knelt in front of me and hugged me tight to his chest. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. His hands rubbed gentle circles on my back and his heartbeat thumped loudly in my ear, a steady metronome that lulled me away from my growing hysteria. I felt my body relax into his and my panic completely dissipated.

“You don’t have to.” He murmured in my ear. Suddenly, white-hot fury flooded my mind. Who died and gave Ellery the right to pity me? I didn’t want pity! I didn’t want to have panic attacks all the time! Hell, I didn’t want these powers!

“I want to.” I heard the rage in my voice. I would not let my power control me anymore than it already had. Ellery let go of me instantly and my sparks surrounded us. Warmth filled me and the dampness of snow slid away as my clothes rapidly dried. I didn’t know what I had done of how I had done it, but Ellery’s hands were like fire on my arms and how had I ended up straddling his hips with my hands buried in his hair and my tongue down his throat and why, dammit, did he make that growling noise, did he know how that made heat pool between my legs and…

My brain stopped functioning as Ellery’s hands pulled me closer and began to roam in a curious frenzy.

“Cricket…” He breathed, holding me close even while breaking away. His eyes had darkened to an inky liquid gold and his hands shook as he pulled me down so my chest was pressed against his. My breathing shuddered at the contact and he shut his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, some semblance of control lingered.

“You’re impossible.” He said. “You are my own personal demon, I swear.” He rolled us over, pressing my back into the bedroll. I didn’t even feel the cold of the snow. How could I with the heat of his gaze firing up wants and desires I didn’t even know existed? I shifted underneath him, trying to force my voice back into existence. But what was the point? I didn’t want to talk…

“You are far too tempting.” His voice was barely audible and his heart pounded. I heard a whining sound and realized it was coming from my throat. The little control Ellery had gathered snapped and he growled deep in his chest.

And nearly three months after our marriage, we had our wedding night.

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Everybody thank kittykat and maialia for their reviews, because they're why I posted chapter four.

YAY THEM! Reviews and I post faster.

~LP