GOT: Solider Out of Time

The morning sun filtered through the trees, casting dappled shadows across the small camp. Ben sat by the fire, fully dressed and examining his shield for any damage from the previous day's adventures. Maeryn sat across from him, wrapped in the black cloak, watching him with an expression that had shifted from fearful calculation to something approaching reverence.

The aftermath of their encounter had left its mark on both of them. Maeryn moved with the careful deliberation of someone whose world had been fundamentally altered, while Ben felt the familiar satisfaction of an itch thoroughly scratched.

"That was..." Maeryn began, then trailed off, apparently unable to find adequate words.

"Yeah," Ben said, not looking up from his shield. "It usually is."

"I've never..." Maeryn shook her head, her voice carrying a note of wonder. "The men I've been with before, they were nothing like you."

Ben had heard variations of this conversation more times than he could count. Women who thought one night of exceptional sex meant something more than it actually did. He'd learned to manage these expectations early and directly.

"Look, Maeryn," he said, finally meeting her eyes. "Last night was fun. You helped me work off some stress, and I hope I returned the favor. But that's all it was."

Maeryn's expression flickered, disappointment, then consideration, then acceptance. She nodded slowly. "I understand. You're not the sort of man who stays in one place for long."

"Exactly." Ben stood, slinging his shield across his back. "I need to keep moving, learn more about this place. Figure out how to get home."

"Home?" Maeryn's voice carried a note of loss. "You would leave this realm entirely?"

"If I can figure out how, yeah."

Maeryn was quiet for a long moment, staring into the dying embers of their fire. When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Take me with you."

"What?"

"I know what you think of me," Maeryn said, looking up at him with those calculating green eyes flecked with gold. "You think I'm just another woman who got carried away after a good fuck. But you're wrong. I've been surviving on my own for years, and I know an opportunity when I see one."

"What kind of opportunity?"

"You're not like other men," Maeryn said, rising and moving closer to him. "Last night proved that in ways I never imagined possible. You have strength, power, the kind that could reshape kingdoms if properly applied. I could help you navigate this world, help you understand its politics and customs. In return, I ask only to serve at your side."

Ben studied her face, looking for signs of the usual post-coital delusions. Instead, he saw the same calculating intelligence that had impressed him the night before, now sharpened by personal experience of what he was capable of.

"You really think you can just tag along on whatever quest I'm on?"

"I think you need me more than you want to admit," Maeryn said boldly. "You're a stranger here, Benjamin. You don't understand our customs, our laws, our politics. Without a guide, you'll stumble blindly through a realm on the brink of war."

She had a point, Ben admitted to himself. The information she'd given him had been useful, and there was clearly much more he needed to learn about this strange medieval world he'd found himself in.

But bringing her along would complicate things. It always did. Emotional attachments had a way of becoming liabilities, no matter how practical they started out.

"I work alone," he said finally.

"So did I," Maeryn replied without hesitation. "Until yesterday."

Ben looked at her for a long moment, weighing the potential benefits against the almost certain complications. She was intelligent, resourceful, and had local knowledge he needed. On the other hand, she was also a woman who'd just experienced the kind of physical pleasure that could cloud judgment and create unrealistic expectations.

Yeah....no.

He shook his head. "Sorry, sweetheart. Find yourself another protector."

Maeryn's face showed a flash of pain, quickly suppressed. She nodded with as much dignity as she could manage. "I understand. Will you... will you at least promise me something? Before you go?"

"What?"

"When they sing songs of the man called Soldier Boy," Maeryn said, moving closer until she was standing directly in front of him, grabbing his forearm and chest.. "remember that I was the first to see what you truly are."

Ben paused, something in her tone making him look at her more carefully. "What makes you think there'll be songs?"

"Because I've seen what you can do," Maeryn said simply. "Men like you don't fade quietly into obscurity, even in a place like this." She stepped back, releasing his arm. "I just want to be a part of something... something greater than just surviving."

Despite his better judgment, Ben found himself smiling. There really was something appealing about her other than those tits and ass...certainty, her absolute conviction that he was destined for greatness in this strange new world.

It's obvious. But who wouldn't like hearing that..right?

Ben turned to go, then paused. Some part of him, a part he usually kept buried, felt reluctant to leave her alone in the wilderness with nothing but the clothes on her back and the bodies of her dead companions.

He couldn't tell if he was thinking with his cock or his heart.

"You'll be all right on your own?" he asked.

"I always have been before," Maeryn said, though her voice carried a note of uncertainty that hadn't been there the night before.

Ben nodded and walked into the woods, not looking back. He had work to do, mysteries to solve, and a way home to find. The last thing he needed was a lovesick woman complicating his mission, no matter how useful she might be as a guide.

....

...

..

Behind him, Maeryn watched until he disappeared among the trees. Then she sat down heavily by the fire, pulling the black cloak tighter around herself. Her body still ached in the most delicious ways from their night together, constant reminders of pleasures she'd never even imagined possible.

"An absolute monster," she whispered to herself, one hand unconsciously moving to her pussy. "But I'll have more of you soon enough, Benjamin Gillman. One way or another."

She looked around at the camp, taking inventory of what remained. The bodies of her former companions, their weapons and gear, enough supplies to last several days. She could make her way to one of the nearby towns, try to start over yet again.

Or she could follow him.

Maeryn smiled, a expression that would have made Ben reconsider his decision to leave her behind. She was a bastard daughter of House Wylde, raised to survive in a world that had no place for women like her. She'd learned early that the key to survival wasn't just adapting to circumstances...it was shaping them to your advantage.

And Benjamin Gillman, whatever he truly was, represented the greatest opportunity she'd ever encountered.

She wouldn't go looking for any moon tea... that's for sure.

She began gathering supplies, humming softly to herself. The game was far from over.