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It had to be close to 2 am when Sarah heard the knock on the door. That in itself wasn’t exactly odd, she was expected to be available at all hours. What was odd, however, is that this knock wasn’t on her office door, but instead on the door to her bedroom. A room only a very select few even knew how to locate. Her room was heavily warded and located deep within the walls of Fort Salem, impenetrable. She could count on one hand the people with access to her most private location, aside from the Biddies of course who slept in a suite off of her own. She closed her eyes and focused on the connection with each of her Biddies, they were all accounted for, all fast asleep in their beds.
The knock came again, a little more forceful this time and Sarah reached for the scourge on her bedside table just in case before approaching the door. She threw it open just as the visitor was preparing to knock again which led to the visitor losing her balance and tumbling through the door landing awkwardly in Sarah’s arms.
The General took a deep breath, she should’ve known. No one else would have the audacity to barge in on her at near 2 in the morning, in her bedroom no less.
“Craven.” Alder sighed using her arms to steady the younger witch who immediately stepped back several paces her cheeks blushing an intense shade of red that rivaled even her hair.
“G-General Alder I’m so sorry.”
“For falling on top of me or for boldly deciding that you have the right to be here in my room in the middle of the night?” Alder quirked an eyebrow at the cadet, disapproval apparent in her stony expression.
“Both?” Tally said, weakly. “I had to see you.”
Alder groaned but stepped to the side. “You may as well come in, Cadet. It doesn’t look like I’ll be getting much sleep tonight anyway.”
Tally walked into the room and couldn’t hide her smile and her eyes lit up with wonder as she took in every detail. Her eyes roamed from the General’s bookshelf to her dresser and finally to her bed with its personalized quilt before directing their attention back on the older witch.
Alder bit her cheek to suppress a smile at Tally’s reaction to being in her room. It was actually kind of adorable not that she’d tell the cadet that. She went to sit on the edge of her bed and motioned to Tally. “Come, sit. Tell me why you had to see me.”
Tally’s eyes widened to a comical degree as she considered the command. Her brain felt like it short circuited. Her eyes finally registered that the General was dressed in a blue nightgown and that her hair was down in waves that fell over her shoulders. Suddenly she felt impossibly more nervous.
“Tally, sit. I don’t bite…Often.”
Tally laughed at the General’s attempt at a joke and visibly relaxed. Finally, she sat down on the edge of the bed but left a respectful distance between herself and the older woman. “I had to see you,” she brought her eyes hesitantly up to meet the General’s icy blue ones, “The bond is making sleep really hard. I keep falling asleep in my classes. I can’t stay asleep at night because I’m always waking up from these horrible nightmares but they feel so real. Rae and Abi are worried about me. Even Major Verger was concerned because I didn’t do as well in class as usual.”
The General’s eyes flashed from intrigue to concern. “Tally, why didn’t you come to me sooner? You can’t be sleeping through your classes, Cadet. You’ve only just begun War College.”
Tally flinched as if Alder had slapped her. “You’re GENERAL ALDER. I didn’t want to bother you over some bad dreams. And if these dreams are really memories, you actually had to live these horrible events. And I’m too weak to just see them.”
Alder’s face contorted in disbelief. “You, Tally Craven, are NOT weak. I never want to hear you refer to yourself in that way again, do you understand?”
Tally just nodded.
“With your words, Craven.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Alder’s gaze softened and she moved closer to Tally on the bed. “I’m sorry my memories are plaguing you like this. In the morning, I will speak with Izadora, there may be a way to dampen the connection to remove side effects like these. I meant what I said before, this process is difficult and in some way our bond will remain forever.”
“I still meant what I said, General. I’m glad we are connected. I still miss you, all the time. I know you said it would fade-“
Alder reached her hand out and cupped Tally’s cheek. “I miss you too.” She said simply.
Tally blushed and looked taken aback but also a bit hopeful. “You- you do?”
The older witch smiled and carded her other hand through Tally’s hair slowly, reveling in the full body shudder and shaky breathing it drew from the cadet. “Very much so. I just have a lot more experience with controlling and masking my emotions. And of course, I have the Biddies.”
Tally leaned into the General’s touch. They now sat so close that their thighs were touching on the bed. “You said you’d talk to Izadora in the morning?” Tally left her real question unstated, still too embarrassed to voice her desire.
Alder smirked knowingly. “There’s nothing that can be solved right now, Tally. It’s very late darling.” The sentiment slipped passed her lips before she could really think it through, a rarity for the General, but the look on Tally’s face and her sharp intake of breath made the slip worth it. Alder chuckled low and stroked Tally’s cheek. “Stay here tonight. Perhaps if you sleep by my side, you will avoid the nightmares. I can’t be sure this will work, but if you are comfortable to try-“
“Yes, General, please. I’d like to stay.” Tally interrupted, unable to contain her excitement at the idea of spending the night with the older witch.
“You may call me Sarah, darling. This setting feels a little too informal for the titles don’t you think?”
Tally’s heart leapt in her chest and she was sure she stopped breathing for a minute. Alder allowed the girl a few moments to calm down and then was pleasantly surprised to hear her bravely repeat her earlier words, “Yes, Sarah. I’d like to stay.”
Sarah allowed her eyes to track down Tally’s body and realized she was still wearing her uniform. “You can borrow a nightdress.” She stood and crossed to the dresser, pulling open a drawer and removing a white nightgown, soft linen with a little red bow at the collar and bell sleeves. Tally studied it with a shy smile before surprising Alder yet again as she stood and began to strip right there in the bedroom. Sarah didn’t know where to look, she tried to look away in an effort to give the young woman some privacy but her eyes kept slipping back to steal glances at the redhead as she shucked off her uniform and slid into the nightgown. Tally caught Sarah’s eyes on her and bit her lower lip, eyes caught on Sarah’s as the dress slipped into place.
Sarah cleared her throat and deflected with another attempt at a joke, “Everything really is where it should be, I see.”
Tally laughed, a bright bubbly laugh that Alder felt deep in her soul. This girl was going to be a problem.
Sarah gestured back to the bed lamely. “What side do you prefer?”
Tally tilted her head and regarded the bed. “That depends.”
“On what?”
Tally smirked, “On whether you’re the big spoon or the little spoon.”
Sarah’s eyebrows quirked up to her hairline. She couldn’t believe she was in this position right now. How was it that a cadet was talking to her like this…and she was liking it? She shook her head trying to clear her mind and formulate words that wouldn’t completely betray her thoughts.
“I don’t recall saying anything about spoons, Craven.”
Tally’s face fell and Sarah felt her resolve crumple with it. “But I suppose, since you’ve had such trouble sleeping, it may benefit you to be the little spoon tonight.”
Tally gasped and Sarah smiled, she had successfully regained control of the situation. She winked at Tally just to see the cadet’s reaction and was not disappointed when she saw the younger woman visibly shudder and bite down a whimper. Her desire was so loud and Sarah was having a hard time ignoring it when it made the remaining bond between them throb just enough to bring her attention to another throb she felt within her. She breathed out heavily through her nose and maneuvered around the bed to get in on Tally’s left.
The redhead was quick to throw her arms around Sarah and nuzzle into her neck, inhaling her scent deeply and pressing her entire body incredibly closely into Sarah’s side. She sighed in contentment and her breath ghosted against Sarah’s neck causing her to shiver with her own barely concealed desire. She felt Tally’s racing heartbeat and her own heart answered in kind. After a moment of fighting herself, Sarah decided to give in, she was too tired for fighting it right now. She let her arms close tightly around her Cadet and started to trace comforting circles against her back through the thin material of the nightgown.
Sarah gazed down at the girl in her arms and couldn’t help but move to place a whisper soft kiss on her forehead. Tally let out an insanely adorable little sound at the feeling of Sarah’s lips against her skin and Sarah focused on committing the sound to memory. She smiled, her lips curving upward against the soft skin of Tally’s forehead. “Sleep now, darling. I’ve got you.”
Feeling at ease and wholly safe for the first time in weeks, Tally at long last fell asleep.