The Inner Beast

Cloella awoke finding that she’d been wrapped tightly in the quilt. The dawn was very gray, and the snow that had started last night was still falling. She smiled, reaching out, but finding that the Hessian was gone. Her heart sank as she sat up, scanning the room, listening for any noises that may have been him elsewhere in the house. Nothing. No, he couldn’t have just left! Please don’t let him have just left her! She got to her feet in a frantic passion, there was a sharp, piercing pain deep within her hips, for her body had been modified by last night’s activity. Now, the pain just mocked the torment of finding herself alone. She limped slightly due to the soreness, and her foot caught the edge of something heavy, a large black breastplate; the Hessian had not left! She sighed; then beamed, could have danced in joy.

Outside the window she heard the sound of a horse trotting at an easy pace, whinnying and snorting after something, or someone in a playful sort of way. She walked to the window, pulling the quilt around her naked body and looked out. She smiled, for there was the Hessian, with the great black horse that had brought him into her life the night before. He and the horse matched one another so perfectly. Both were very tall and strong, and while the figure of each would have easily dwarfed an average man or horse, when the Hessian stood by the big black animal neither seemed out of the ordinary. They appeared to be playing some sort of tag, at least the horse did, for when the Hessian would turn his back and walk away from the horse, the steed would nudge one of his master’s broad shoulders, and when the Hessian turned to face him, the horse would gallop away, shaking his head and swishing his tail. Cloella laughed and stepped away from the window to dress.

“Is that your mood this morning?” The Hessian said with amusement to Daredevil as he turned to chase him. His long strides almost matched that of the horse, and he soon caught up to the animal, grabbing a handful of black mane and swinging up onto his bare back.

Daredevil bucked and kicked playfully, full of the exuberance he could sense his master also felt. It was something new to them both. He galloped a few steps, tossing his head in the wind as he heard the Hessian laugh. His dark ears pricked up at the sound as he slowed to a trot, and then a walk, finally stopping in front of the pile of hay that had been put on the ground for him the night before.

“Ja, eat your breakfast,” said the Hessian as he lifted his leg over the horse’s neck and elegantly slid off Daredevil’s back. He stood by his horse as the animal put his head down to nibble at the hay. He patted his strong black shoulder, “I owe you much, mein kamerad,” said the Hessian. “Much more than you could ever know.” The Hessian broke a few small twigs off of the nearby tree, bundling them together in his hand and using the makeshift brush to smooth Daredevil’s coat.

There was no use in trying to steel himself against what he felt anymore where the girl was concerned. She had the amazing influence to shear away the ugliness that had enclosed him for so many years. Besides, he could feel that nothing about his warrior demeanor had been sacrificed. His love for the girl had not caused him to go soft, nor was it a side effect of having gone soft. He knew this because he now had taken on another duty, another reason to fight so fiercely and monstrously; he must protect the girl, for if anyone around her knew she had befriended the horrible Hessian demon, she’d be killed. A few years ago, in France, the quarrel he’d had with a man had become an arm wrestling match, during which the Hessian not only broke the arm of his opponent, but also twisted and pulled until the tendons, ligaments and skin tore, and he ripped the arm off of the horrified man’s man elbow. The Hessian smiled, the memory still appealed to him, even this morning, and he would look forward to doing such a thing, and much more, to anyone who threatened the girl, in any way. He was as full of bloodlust as before, perhaps even more so now.

Oh, but to just think of the girl gave him double the pleasure of the memory of tearing off limbs. She’d looked so stunning this dawn, asleep, still smelling of vanilla and cinnamon, her red hair fanned out on the pillow, ruby lips awaiting his gentle kiss, fair skin beckoning his caress. He didn’t want to wake her, but couldn’t walk passed her out the door to see Daredevil without touching her. God, how he wanted to make love to her again! But, he would understand if she didn’t feel up to his size and strength again so soon.

Daredevil suddenly brought his head up from his hay in the direction of approaching footsteps in the snow. The Hessian took notice and turned, to see the girl, relieved that she was able to walk, and warmed all over, despite the frigid temperature, at seeing her.
“You and he seem very fond of each other,” Cloella smiled. She was amazed at how she smiled, for it was just last night that she’d seen, touched, felt every part of the man standing before her, but still she could have been gazing at his hulking figure and “V” shaped torso for the first time. She noticed the wild black hair, fierce blue eyes and nightmarish teeth, but none of them inspired the terror they were meant to, not anymore.
The Hessian beamed, holding out his hand to her. “Come to me!” He groaned, pulling her into a tight embrace and pressing a kiss to her forehead, temple and then finally her mouth.

He held her so tightly she couldn’t really move to return his kiss, so Cloella just enjoyed his embrace and let him kiss her. The weather was cold, and the flakes of snow fell upon her hair and cheeks, but she was kept warm by his strong arms. She hadn’t woken up with such happiness in months, and to find it now, and all owed to someone everyone else considered a bloodthirsty maniac, only seemed to make it more precious.
The Hessian broke their kiss, but not the embrace. “How do you feel?” He asked, stroking her hair.

“I am not damaged,” she smiled up at him. “Just a bit tender.” There had scarcely been any blood last night. She was surprised, but relieved.

“Hmm, broken in?” He said with a grin. She blushed a bit and he couldn’t resist pressing it further. “You do look well. It must be because of me!”

Cloella rolled her eyes and shook her head at his conceit, even though it was only playful. After all that she’d done with him the previous night, she couldn’t understand how he still had the power to make her blush with his words. Actually, her happiness was because of him, not only because of the chance encounter, but because of what he’d told her about not thinking ill of her for showing desire. He’d given her a sexual liberation that most women were never in their lives able to attain. “It is because of the fair treatment you’ve shown me,” she said looking up into his ice blue eyes and again marveling at how tall he was.

“Nein, do not credit me with that,” he said. “It is your own ability to trust me that should be noticed.”

Cloella smiled again, it was hard to imagine he made his living separating heads and bodies. Yet, she accepted the old saying about the coin that has two sides, and perhaps the Hessian was that coin. She laid her head on his chest as his big arms closed around her again, she felt safe and content, something she had not been in months. “Does he have a name?” She dared herself to ask about the big black horse which stood beside them eating hay. She hoped she hadn’t said something that would cause the Hessian to be angry again, for he did seem to have some grievance about names. He hadn’t even said her name.

“This is Daredevil,” he said proudly. “And I thank you for seeing to him as well last night.”

“It was no trouble, the hay and grain are left from our horses, when we had them,”
Cloella’s voice trailed off, getting a bit nostalgic for the former grandeur her family’s home and farm had been.

“You raised horses?” The Hessian seemed interested to hear the rest. “That has long since been a dream I’ve had.”

“Tis a pity we didn’t meet sooner,” Cloella sighed. “You would have liked it here, for we had over thirty horses. There was scarcely anyone in Sleepy Hollow that didn’t own at least a grandson of one of our horses.”

The Hessian gathered her tighter into his arms as the wind blew, resting his cheek on the top of her head. “What kind of horses did you raise?”

“A few Shires, but mostly Percherons; gray and black, big and black, like him,” she smiled pointing to Daredevil, who was more interested in the hay and grain than her story. “My favorite was a big gray mare who always threw the blackest foals. She was such a sweet soul.”

“What was her name?” Asked the Hessian, elated that they had a love of horses in common.

“Dragonfly,” Cloella answered with a smile. “But, we had to sell her, and the others after my brothers and father took ill and died. My mother and myself couldn’t work the farm by ourselves, and then she became sick…”

“Why have none of your neighbors come to help you? You said your family sold many horses to them.” The Hessian had done some looking around while he was out with Daredevil. The girl truly had nothing, her house was in disrepair, so were all the out buildings. There were no signs that crops had been in the fields, and even the chicken coops were disheveled empty lean-tos.

Cloella sighed heavily and looked away from him. Why did he have to ask that? “I am the only survivor of a plague that killed my entire family, I never even became sick…” She shuddered, not wanting to say the next few words. “No one dares to come near me, or even near the Western Woods anymore, they believe this place is cursed.”

“Cursed?”

“Yes, by me. They say I am a witch.” She braced herself to be flung into the snow and cast out of his arms. If anything could suddenly disgust him, this was it. She waited for the angry tirade to come.

“Nein.”

That’s all he did, just said the word and kept her in his embrace. Cloella was shocked.

“What?”

“Nein, you are no witch. I have been to Hell and back again, and I did not see you there.” He turned her head up to face him, looking directly into her eyes. “And if anyone dares to dispute this, their head will spin upon their necks and the look of horror be forever frozen in their sightless eyes. Know that I mean what I say, I am normally given to very few words, but I never lie.” Both his voice and his eyes were sharp, protective, as he held both her hands in his.

What he’d said and the way he’d said had it chilled her, otherwise Cloella would have smiled, for she’d found the champion she thought she never would. Her heartbeat rapidly and memories of the previous night swirled in her head. He was her Hessian, her champion, and he was tall and strong, and in his own way, even just and fair. A tear appeared at her eye and trailed down her cheek, she loved him, and he loved her. She must show him this! She stood on the very tips of her toes to kiss him, pulling him down to her by wrapping her arms around his thick neck. Their tongues touched again, the kiss becoming furiously passionate, until the Hessian swept her up into his arms, and carried her back into the house.