Strays: A Romantic Fantasy Adventure

Ren listened to the descriptions of other lands, of countries and islands he had never been, some of which he had never even heard of. He laughed at the stories of people he would never meet. He watched the woman as her hips swayed, body spun, eyes taunting him as she did so, a silent challenge on her lips.

He plotted against her.

He wasn’t going to let her get away with this.

Not this time.

“There’s a lot of stories about you around here.”

“All very scary, I’m sure.” Ren smiled at his new drinking buddy as he held his mug in the air. He wasn’t sure how much he had already had, but what was one more in the grand scheme of things?

Lore held his mug out as well, unwilling to fall behind. “All those pretty angels sure seem to think so. I find them and their cute, little superstitions amusing myself. But, then again, I’m an ogre, and all those millions of years ago before all beings became civilized, my ancestors used to eat yours. Just gobble them right up. It’s hard to be afraid of someone when they look like a light snack.”

The angel chuckled. “Torg used to tell me that story when I was little. It was always my favorite. Especially when he made the bone crunching sounds.”

“Those were better days, but things are always changing. We may not eat them anymore, but there's not a single ogre that fears any angel. Not even the Fallen Ones.” The ogre’s confident grin faltered. “A devil on the other hand, everyone fears a devil. And yet, here you are, running around with one and treating him like he’s your precious little baby. If anything, that’s what worries me about you.”

“Oh, he’s nothing more than an innocent lamb.”

“He really does seem to be as docile as they come, and it’s clear as day that he’s head over heels for Ivy. But it’d be foolish to think that you can truly teach a snake not to bite. He might be a dream now, but deep down, he may just be a nightmare waiting to happen.”

Ren nodded his thanks to the barmaid and turned back to monitor the dancing woman, the amusement never leaving his face as eyes became murky waters. “With any luck, that’s exactly what he’ll be.” He sighed and shook his head in disappointment, the darkness clearing as quickly as it had come. “But lucks never exactly been on my side. Either way, I wouldn’t worry, especially over Ivy. Snakes can still be charmed, and she has that one wrapped around her little finger. If he bites, it’s not gonna be her. If anyone, I’m sure it’ll be me.”

Torg took a drink of his freshly filled ale, watching the dark-haired man giggle with his mug against his lips. “When I first heard what they call you, I didn’t believe it. Just assumed it was more of their fear mongering.” He leaned forward across the table as it creaked under her weight, his voice lowering. “But I’ve been wrong before. You know what they call you, right?”

“Hopefully something adorable that highlights my bubbly personality.”

“The Hundred Headhunter.”

“Huh.” Ren shrugged, having heard it before. “Not what I would pick, but I guess we don’t choose our own names.”

“That’s a tough job to take on. Not a lot of angels want to take that risk. Not even your uncle would touch that one. Being a Wing Clipper is a cake walk in comparison even though The Kingdom places a higher value on it. Funny, since it’s just chasing around a bunch of traitors, most of them afraid of their own shadows, and tearing up their wings. But Headhunter...” Lore leaned back and whistled before drinking. “That’s rough. You’re dealing with the worst of them. The angels that The Kingdom don’t even want to chance coming back with a body attached.”

The angel was silent for a moment, his eyes following the demon, their gazes meeting for an instant before she would take it away. Bring it back. Take it away. “I always looked at it the other way around. I’d rather just get it over with than make them suffer. I only took on Headhunter because it was the next quickest way to reduce my time in The Guard. I couldn’t bring myself to torture someone.”

The ogre chuckled lightly. “Too kindhearted, huh?”

Ren looked back at the man, a small, joyless smile on his lips. “I was afraid I’d enjoy it. I knew I didn’t like head hunting, too boring, predictable. You just find them and take their heads. Not a whole lot to it. But would I like wing clipping? Something that takes time and strategizing in order to bring about the maximum amount of pain possible while keeping them conscious throughout it all. I wouldn’t know unless I tried, and I didn’t want to find out, even if it could get me out sooner. Raz always warned me not to put myself in those kinds of situations, so I didn’t. I’m sure you know what they say about Fallen Ones.”

“Supposedly that they’re evil.” He scowled as he took another drink. “I never could understand that though. How a child who hasn’t even entered the world could be evil while these angels of The Guard brag and boast over how many men they’ve killed, all in the name of God.”

“Raz told me it was because all angel’s fear God. No matter what they do, how they sin, they still want His forgiveness. They still kneel before Him in the end. They still do what He wants.” Ren chuckled and brought his mug to his lips. “But not the Fallen Ones. They don’t fear God. They want what they want and will do whatever it takes to get it. They don’t care what God wants, and that makes them a threat. That’s what makes them evil. Raz also said there was a situation long ago where a Fallen One tried to overthrow The Kingdom, and since then they’ve nipped any potential problem in the bud.”

Lore’s brows drew together as he considered it. “So basically, Fallen Ones live for themselves and don’t kneel to God or to anyone.”

“Pretty much. It’s true that if I want something, I’ll do anything to get it. I don’t give a fuck what their god wants, I don’t fear Him, and I will never kneel to Him. He is no God of mine.” The angel followed along with the demon’s movements, his grin growing as their gazes connected and remained steady. “But that doesn’t mean that I won’t kneel to no one. That I don’t have my own idol to revere.”

“I think this is where I call it a night.” Lore downed the remainder of his mug, dug around in his pockets, and dropped the coins on the table. “I don’t know what’s more concerning.” He roughly patted Ren’s shoulder with a shake of his head. “That you see a devil as a lamb or that you worship that woman as a god. Either way, good luck with all that. And be careful with that god of yours, she gets mean quick!” He laughed and made his way to Sakura, grabbing her mug and downing it. “Tab’s closed!” he called before stumbling away.

Ren watched as the vixen continued to dance despite having lost her second partner.

She just never knew when to stop.

But then again, neither did he.

He finished his drink and went to retrieve the woman, emeralds peering up at him as he stood before her. “You ready?” he asked.

Sakura took his hands and placed them on her hips before reaching up and grabbing his shoulders. “Dance with me,” she demanded.

“I don’t dance.”

“You do now.”

The man complied, awkwardly shuffling his feet around as they slowly moved back and forth. “So… uh… is this as awkward for you as it is for me?”

“It is. You’re really bad at this.” She giggled as she stepped on a foot that shouldn’t have been there.

“I never claimed to be good at it.”

“Yeah, but this is… this is just awful.”

Ren smiled down at her, marveling at the curve of her lips, the luster of her eyes, the melody of her laughter. It would be a long shot, but it was as good as any time to try. “Does that mean I’ve finally succeeded in seducing you?” He waited for the slap, but it never came.

Instead, she looked away for a moment before glancing back up at him. “Maybe,” Sakura said quietly.

This fucking woman.

She wasn’t going to get him this time.

He ignored her. “Come on. Let’s go back to the inn. We need to check the library tomorrow, and who knows how long that’s gonna take.”

She was quiet as she hesitantly chewed her cheek. “What if we don’t go?”

“To the library? That’s the whole reason we came to this shit hole.”

Her fingers intertwined behind his neck; her expression shy but sincere. “To the inn. What if we get that second room you wanted? Or the third. Whatever one you want.”

He wanted nothing more.

Ren stared down at her, noting her barely glassy eyes and the only slight flush to her cheeks. She was feeling the effects of the alcohol, but not too much. She wasn’t slurring, her voice was clear, and she was steady on her feet. She was actually much more coherent than he thought she’d be.

She had drank, but only enough to make her brave.

But it was still too much.

Her senses and body would still be numbed, and so would his.

It would be fun another time.

Something he definitely wouldn’t mind trying.

But not for the first.

Not if there was a chance that she’d wake in the morning to regret it.

“No,” the angel said simply.

Sakura hadn’t been expecting that answer. “No? What do you mean no?”

“You heard me.” He raised a confident brow, self-assured in his resolve.

“Are you fucking serious?” She couldn’t believe it.

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“Because look at you. You’re drunk. I’ve never seen anyone guzzle down ale like you do. This whole time I’ve been trying to figure out where you’re putting it all. You drank more than both Lore and I combined. That’s not normal. I’m surprised you’re not curled up on the ground dying at this point.”

The demon pouted, knowing he was right but not liking the answer. She had swallowed all her nerves, which was not an easy feat, and put herself out there, only to be rejected.

And by Ren of all people.

How humiliating.

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him, attempting to salvage what little dignity she had left. “You probably don’t even know where to put it!”

Bewilderment dashed across Ren’s face. “That’s not true!” he argued. “It goes in here!” The angel stuck his finger in the fox demon’s ear and swirled the fine hairs around making her gasp and tear away from him, giving him the slaps he had expected earlier before she stormed off with him following after. “Oh shit! Was I wrong? It’s the other one, right? Let me try again! It’ll be better this time! I promise! You’ll love it!” He chased after the woman through the docks and back to the road before finally catching her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back to his chest. “How about I carry you back as a consolation prize?” the angel offered.

Sakura scrunched her face, pretending to consider it. “Fine.” She pulled away and hopped onto his back.

The pride that Ren felt as he walked back to the inn was insurmountable. It wasn’t the revenge he had planned, but it had worked out better than he could have ever hoped for. How convenient for the woman to set and fall into her own trap.

Now it was her turn to suffer.

But sooner or later, the mighty always fall.

And it started with the whispers.

There was no way to ignore the quiet words that slipped into in his ear, describing all the things that he had turned down, offerings that could have been all his.

“Where did you hear that from?” he asked, shocked at the things she knew. “How do you know about that?”

“The girls in the village would talk about it,” the woman informed with a sly smirk.

“You didn’t tell me all that. You left out all the good stuff.”

“Well, I’m going to tell you about it now,” as her whispers continued.

Most everything he had learned about the comings and goings between a man and woman had come from the demon, and most everything she had learned came from the village girls. They had taken a liking to the fox and would tell her their secrets which she would promptly whisper to him as they lay in bed at night. Together, they would bounce their questions and assumptions off of each other in order to draw their own conclusions.

They should have already known those things being that they were no longer small children and were closer to the verge of adulthood than not. However, Raz had always been less than helpful in that regard. When Ren was thirteen, he had asked his uncle how babies were created, and the man had glanced at the girl who was helping prep supper before smacking Ren in the back of the head, barking at him to not touch anyone with it. The boy didn’t even know what ‘it’ was in reference to until Sakura had discovered and explained it a couple of years later.

The man listened closely, regret building.

It was much too late to go back on his decision now on getting that room. Sakura was a woman scorned, and she was going to make him rue the day he ever crossed her.

Ren had a new plan.

He would take her to the beach.

Lay her body down gently in the sand under the glow of the moon.

Lean over her perfection.

And bury her ass alive.