Desa was still trembling all over in the water when her brain started to clear of the haze of desire.

Aksel had made her come.

The feel of Aksel's power all over her body, playing her like an instrument was still fresh, making her blush. She could still hear her wanton cries in the tiles of the bathroom as she'd come apart. How quickly had she lost of where and who she was with? She had to consciously hold her arms in the water to not cover her flaming face or worse, jump out of the tub to run out of the room.

No matter how embarrassed she felt, Desa still couldn't bring herself to regret it. This tiny breath of pleasure Aksel had given her had been the single most greatest gift she had ever received, momentarily losing herself in the orgasm, forgetting her trapped life and tasting freedom like never before. She wanted to chase after that feeling of being untethered even if it led her to her doom.

"Come on let's get you out, the water's getting cold." Aksel's voice cut through her thoughts and renewed her blush. She still couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with him. She desperately wanted to, to look at his face and try to decipher if he regretted anything or to see what he was feeling after what had transpired between them but she was way too out of her depth in the topic of sexual encounters that her fight or flight instincts was a hair's breath away from kicking in.

High fae, the last thing she'd need to die of mortification would be to attack him naked. That would definitely top the cake. Shaking her head, she looked and saw that there was a towel by the edge of the tub Aksel had previously placed for her before she got in. Desa knew that Aksel had felt her body to some extent with his water bending but she was still conscious about showing just how bad her body was to him.

With a small voice she said, "Can you turn around again please?" Out of the corner of her eye, Desa saw him make a notion like nodding before getting up from the stool and taking his place once again by facing the door. Once she was sure he was turned away, Desa gripped the edges of the tub and started to push herself up. She once again had to bite her lip to minimize her groans at the pain shooting through her left broken leg. The rest of her bruises and wounds hurt too but they weren't as unbearable as the useless burnt limb.

She bent her right leg to get a footing underneath her and then pushed from the tub as the slosh of the water leaving her body sounded in the quiet tiny room. Being careful not to put too much weight on her left leg, she slowly got out of the tub and reached over to grab the white towel.

Desa finally found the courage to look at Aksel's turned around body as she worked to dry herself off. His tunic did nothing to hide the wide expanse of muscles his shoulders and back had. She bit her lower lip at the overwhelming desire to just close the distance between them and run her hands across his shoulder blades, feel his body for herself. Why did she have to be a freak and turn into a murderous puppet whenever they got close?

Wrapping the towel around her body like a strapless dress, she saw that it only came down to mid-thigh. She tried to pull on the end like she could magically will it to lengthen in size to cover her horrible left leg, but it stayed the same. Now that the bandages were off, she saw her left hand riddled with many more red fresh cuts that stung every time her skin stretched across her bones, but her biggest concern wasn't her left arm.

Her left leg had been ugly, now it just forced a bile to rise in her throat when she looked down at it. There were old burns and on top of them, there were fresh ones covered in blisters and charred skin, the water had helped clear some of it but compared to her right leg, which was also covered in old scars, it was unrecognisable. She held back her tears and lifted her chin. She was not going to cry over some issue with her vanity. Still, her chin felt a tiny wobble coming on as she looked forward and saw the turned around form of the elf she probably felt the need to be pretty for.

She had hid her body in the water and under the bubbles during the bath, she couldn't hide anymore, what would he think or say when he saw just how horrendous her body was? She could survive another week with Freyt and Zekla but she wasn't sure she could survive Aksel's disgust.

Taking a deep breath, Desa cleared her throat to capture Aksel's attention. He turned around to see her standing there half naked with the towel wrapped around her body, doing a very poor job of hiding her body.

She watched as his gaze roamed over her from top to bottom. She felt like fire ants had burrowed under her skin, itching to make her sprint away as she forced herself to stand still under his scrutiny. His eyes finally landed on her left leg and she almost congratulated him for not showing any emotions. Except his eyes felt like two icy tundras as he saw the extent of her injuries.

Desa averted her gaze to the floor once again, uncomfortable with watching his reaction, of course he would be repulsed by it, maybe he even regretted making her come in the tub now. Aksel turned the knob of the bathroom door before Desa could further dig herself a grave with her thoughts.

Aksel opened the door and stepped into the hallway and then turned to the right, giving her space to move without triggering the enchantment.

Desa stumbled her way out of the bathroom, being careful with her leg as it shot waves of pain whenever she accidentally leaned too much on it. Then she turned towards the living room, to follow Aksel but he stopped her.

"No go to my room, I'll be there in a second." He said and turned around to walk down the hallway into the living room. Desa just stood there for a second trying to digest his words. He wanted her to go to his room? Why? Her brain came up with nothing for an answer but she didn't want to call after him or follow him into the living room in case they ran into each other again.

Not stabbing him again won as Desa turned around and slowly made her way down the hallway, taking a deep breath she turned the knob for Aksel's room and opened the door. She stepped into it a few steps so if Aksel came, she wouldn't attack him and then stood still as she took in the room. The walls were painted a light blue like a beautiful cloudless sky and there was a large comfy looking bed in the middle of the room. A desk with connected shelves for books stood on the far right side with papers and notebooks covering the wooden surface.

There was a wooden chest by the end of the bed and also a dresser by the window that looked the same to the one in the living room. A nightstand stood by the right side of the bed with a book on it that was turned downwards so Desa couldn't see it's title, it was a simple and ordinary room but had a cozy appeal. Inhaling deeper brought in the scent of Aksel into her lungs, making her chest expand with warmth. She could burrow into those comfy sheets and sleep for a thousand years with Aksel's perfect scent to accompany her.

As she was letting her eyes take another look around the room, she heard a crash coming from the living room. She immediately got defensive, and the hairs on the back of her neck rose. Was Aksel okay? Did someone come to check if he was really dead? Just as she was about to run as much as her leg would allow to the living room, Aksel's voice carried in the house.

"Nothing's wrong. That was me, I'll be there in a second." He said, making Desa relax a bit. She still wondered what that crash was but she trusted Aksel so she held still and looked around, trying to soak up everything from the room to learn more about Aksel. She saw something sticking out by the desk so she stumbled a step sideways to see a bit better as to what it was and almost gasped when she realised it was a fiddle.

With its curvy shiny wooden body, it called out to Desa, making her fingers itch to reach out and run through its tightly wrung strings. Did Aksel play? She never had time to learn instruments, she didn't know if she even had the talent for it but she knew at once that Aksel must play. It just seemed too perfect for him not to. A gaping hole in her chest opened up and she knew that it could only be filled by witnessing Aksel play the instrument even once. A thin layer of dust seemed to cover the instrument though and she wasn't sure she would get that desire filled anytime soon.

She heard Aksel's footsteps as he came closer and then walked into the bedroom, he closed the door with his elbow as he was carrying a white box and two long wooden sticks in his arms.

He walked over to place them by the foot of the bed and then turned around to look at Desa standing there, probably looking out of place.

"Lie down Desa." Aksel said as he opened the white box and started to rummage around in it.

"Lie down? O-on your bed?" Desa stuttered nervously. There was no way she had come in the tub just a few minutes ago and now she was going to lie down on his bed. No she would probably die there and never get back up again.

But Aksel simply said, "Yes." As he didn't raise his head and started taking out what looked to be creams and bandages from the box.

"No." Desa said as she just stood there, like she was a tree that had placed down roots. There was no way she could survive this.

Aksel finally stopped his work and straightened up to look at her. She squirmed in her place at his hard gaze but refused to cave in. "Desa I'm tending to your wounds whether you willingly let me do it or not. Now lie down." He said.

Desa tried to swallow the sudden dryness at the back of her throat and look around to room like she could find an escape out of this.

"Don't even think about it. You're not going to get very far with your leg." Aksel's deep voice warned. He had stopped with the box and now watching her intently as he gripped the wooden footboard of the bed. Desa was certain he was not joking when he said he would drag her back. With a defeated sigh, she staggered over to the bed and looked down at it.

The white sheets and pillows looked very inviting but the last thing she wanted to do was to give in and crumble to her exhaustion. "Are you sure I can't just go back to the couch-" Before she could finish her sentence, Aksel cut her off with a frustrated noise that sounded like a growl.

"Desa don't push me right now." He said, his knuckles white as the wood groaned under his grip.

Desa immediately turned and sat on the bed, not even daring to release a sound in pain as her leg bent. She looked up at him to check with him and he just nodded for her to lie down. With jerky, awkward movements, as she gripped the towel to her chest, she lied down on the pillow. Her still slightly wet hair sure to soak the pillow as she lied there still as a log and looked down at Aksel at the foot of the bed.

He finally seemed to be satisfied as he made a small noise and stood back. Then he went around the bed to come to her side. Before he could come any closer Desa made a movement to get up and scoot away to escape, her movements making Aksel stop. His fists clenched and unclenched as he seemed to remember he couldn't get close to her without her attacking him.

She couldn't blame him, Desa had spent most of her life like this and she still sometimes forgot to keep her distance. She watched as Aksel turn with a purpose to stride back to the end of the bed and crouch down to open the chest at the end of his bed. Desa couldn't see what he was doing from her position on the bed but a nervous anticipation started to roll around in her stomach. Whatever it was, it certainly couldn't bode well.

Aksel closed the chest and stood back up as he walked around to once again stand by the bed. Desa looked down to see a coil of rope in his right hand. Her eyes snapped up at his, seeing how his jaw was tensed, the tension rolling off of his body. She already knew what the rope was for but it did nothing to stop the apprehension from taking over her body at his words.

"I need to tie you down so I can look at your injuries." He ground out. He didn't seem to like the idea either but he wasn't backing down. She hated this, hated that she needed to be physically restrained to get close to Aksel.

Forcing her muscles to relax she just nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Put your hands above your head and try to keep them there." Aksel's deep voice commanded. Desa could feel her chest rising more rapidly as her breaths increased. Her hands were gripping the towel wrapped around her like a lifeline.

She could do this. She trusted Aksel. She could definitely do this. Desa kept repeating to herself as she loosened her hold on the towel and without breaking eye contact with Aksel, she raised her hands slowly up and above her head. She crossed her wrists over so it would be easier for him to hold them down and tie, releasing a shaky breath. She felt like a sacrifice being presented to a predator as she lay down with her arms up above her head.

Aksel's gaze burned with an intensity that made Desa's core heat as his eyes roamed over her body.

Then, before she had any chance to back down from this, Aksel moved at once, closing the three steps between them as he held down her hands from the wrists as he straddled her waist to hold her still.

Her body started to struggle at once at his close proximity, taking strength from her legs to buck and throw Aksel off of her, but his weight on her held her down as he worked fast to bind down her hands, sure to tie down rigs on a ship just as fast like the seasoned sailor he was.

Desa groaned as immense pain fired up her spine at having her left leg twist and struggle to get out from under him. Aksel seemed to realise this as he finished tying off her hands to the headboard and quickly turned around to hold down her legs from the ankles, careful not to brush any blisters as he tied down her legs to the foot of the bed as well.

When he was finished, he got off from her and stood by the bed, looking down at her. She was tied down and feeling more like a sacrificial lamb by the second. She was just glad her towel hadn't come off during the struggle as she worked on calming her racing heart.

"Are you alright?" Aksel asked. Was she? She didn't really know with her heart beating like ominous drums inside her head but she gave a small nod in yes nonetheless.

I think we all knew things were going to come to this.

I blame everyone who commented bondage, especially Akeelah_Nox and emchu0920
The next chapter is going to be on your heads too :)

❤️