The two were careful to hide the growing strength of heir emotional bond, maintaining the same physicality as before. Ronon remained by her side in the fields and off, yet within a few days, his constant, intimidating presence had succeeded in annoying the driver in charge of overseeing the slaves in their barrack. One morning, without explanation, he stopped Ronon by pressing his un-ignited prod to the Satedan’s chest and ordering him to a new work detail in a distant field. Ronon had only spared Teyla a cautioning glance as he feigned compliance, stepping into the column of slaves headed for the far field. The driver smiled at his back before turning to Teyla with a knowing grin, his eyes lingering before he headed to his mount.
Her stomach curdled under the man’s gaze and she took care to bend low in the fields whenever he rode past, attempting to remain as unnoticed as possible. Yet the man later found her and he eyed her with an openly lustful gaze as she washed her face and arms off in a trough with the rest of the slaves as they returned from the fields for their evening meal. Her heart leapt when she recognized Ronon’s tall, tired frame returning with the rest of the slaves from his detail. Trying to remain inconspicuous, she resisted the urge to fall into step beside him and focused instead on the cook hollering out orders.
Her group was the first to eat and she nearly lost her appetite when she glanced up from her soup only to see the diver make a lewd gesture at her then laugh with his fellow drivers as they smoked off to the side. She narrowed her eyes at him as her cheeks colored, then took her empty bowl to a stack of dirty dishes before weaving herself into a group of other slaves returning to their quarters, not wanting to even walk alone with this man’s predatory presence near.
She crossed the barracks to her and Ronon’s sleeping section on the far end then watched the door each time it opened, waiting for the shoulders of the Satedan, but with each slave that entered hat wasn’t Ronon her anxiety grew. What if he had been assigned to another barrack? How would they manage to see each other, much less speak?
When he finally entered a half hour later she climbed to her feet, hugging him tightly the moment he was near enough. He tiredly wrapped his arms around her as she closed her eyes, burying her face in his chest. He simply held her against him, closing his eyes as well while their hearts began to beat in the same rhythm. She didn’t need to speak of the fear that had plagued and drained her all day for it had weighed a heavy toll upon him, as well. She did not let go as they lay down to sleep and he ran his fingers through her hair, kissing her forehead and resting his cheek against the top of her head as she pressed her forehead to his collarbone. Though they relaxed, neither’s grip faltered throughout the night.
Teyla managed to keep a low profile again the next day and Ronon attempted to find her in her distant filed whenever possible but the task was difficult. On the third day of Ronon’s separation from her, the driver strolled up to Teyla, tapping her shoulder and jerking his head towards a field in the distance. “I want you to come work over there.”
Teyla glanced at the green field of un-ripened grain, wiping her bangs off of her sweaty brow.
Noting her hesitance, the driver spat and casually began to uncoil his whip. Her eyes flicked to the weapon to the man as she set down her basket, nodding and following him out of her field, her mind racing through the many possible means she had of warding off this his advances, but her stomach gyred in anxiety as she equally raced through the consequences of resisting.
Ronon had paused to stretch his back, squinting in the sunlight when he noticed two figures making a beeline for a field not yet ready to be harvested. He clenched his jaw as he recognized the outline of the whip and hat of a driver and the powerful gait of Teyla. As the two slipped into the field he shrugged off his holding sack and raised a hand. When his driver noticed and nodded his okay, Ronon tried to keep his gait casual as he headed for the outhouse on the edge of the field. He glanced to the driver as he opened the door. The man’s back was turned and with another glance around to make sure there were no witnesses, Ronon swiftly strode to the un-ripened field, slipping into the tall grasses that nearly grew to his full height.
Teyla kept her eyes on the man’s shoulders, waiting for the first opportunity she would have to react. The driver spun about to face her after only about a minute of trekking through the tall grass. She tensed as he spoke. “Take off your clothes.”
She felt her muscles coil with adrenaline as she lifted her chin, her voice firm. “No.”
The man licked his thin lips with a small, hungry smile as he unbuckled his belt. “I sure picked you good. I like ‘em fiery.” Teyla narrowed her eyes, her feet inching apart, readying to kick in defense. He dropped his belt to the ground. “Want me to take ‘em off for you?”
She opened her mouth to respond when he hastily closed the distance between them, yanking her to him as he pressed his mouth to hers. She swiftly brought her knee up, smashing him in the groin. He cried out in her mouth, doubling over as she untangled herself from him but one of his fists remained in her hair. Her voice remained calm and firm as she grabbed his forearm. “Let me go.”
The man was still doubled over and she dug her fingers in painfully to try to make him let go when he suddenly lurched upright, clobbering her in the side of the head with a stone he’d grabbed from the ground. Her vision flickered for a heartbeat and in that instant he kicked her legs out from under her, toppling her over. He was on top of her by the time her vision cleared, rolling her over onto her back, pinning her wrists above her head with one hand and unbuttoning her pants with the other. She bucked against him as soon as she regained her senses, trying to knee him from behind and crying out as she struggled to free her wrists but he threw his weight behind his grip and slugged her in the side with his free hand. His voice was a growl as he grabbed her by the hair then forced her to look at him. “I’m gonna make you bleed.”
She spat in his face, shoving against him, nearly dismounting him then stilling when he raised another rock threateningly. Fear pulsed for a moment as he gazed at her with a manic expression as his arm came down to strike her again. But the blow never landed. The driver was flung off of her with a growl as Ronon hurled himself at her attacker, slamming him onto the smashed grass then righting himself to slug him in the face.
Teyla scrambled onto her knees, pausing as her vision swam again from the wound to her temple. The driver had unsheathed a knife from his boot as Ronon readied to hit him again. Teyla cried out his name in warning and Ronon rolled away so that the blade only nicked his arm. The driver rose and the Satedan once more hurled himself at the older man, grabbing his wrist and freeing the knife from him. When the slave driver screamed and slugged Ronon in the shoulder the warrior swiftly yanked the knife across the other man’s throat with a gurgle and a sudden spilling of blood as his artery gushed it out of the wound in his neck.
Ronon panted down at the man for a moment before tucking the knife into the driver’s spasming hand and turning to Teyla, panting. She locked eyes with him, shaking. Within an instant he was at her side, hauling her to her feet and guiding her by her bicep, fleeing the increasingly limp body of the driver. Her steps became steadier as they neared the edge of the field and he let go of her as they exited, hastily looking around, his arm pressing against her shoulder to guide her as they hastily strode toward the abandoned water trough in the eating area. He walked on her right side, concealing her bleeding head wound from any who might glance over, but for the moment they were free of spectators.
Once behind a building and out of sight he pressed a hand to her back and guided her to the trough, stripping off his shirt and dipping a corner of it in the water as he looked to her. She perched on the edge of the trough as he kneeled before her, reaching out to gently wipe away the drying blood from the side of her head with his makeshift washcloth. After a few light strokes he rinsed the fabric out then locked eyes with her before readying to dab at the wound again. Though her gaze maintained the strength of her perseverance, her lower lip was quivering slightly, as were her arms. He abandoned his task at hand and pulled her to him in a hug, kissing her uninjured temple. She wrapped her arms around his bare back and he shifted his head to whisper “It’s alright,” into her ear.
She shook her head, unable to still her shaking as adrenaline continued to course through her. “We killed him....”
“I know.” He pulled away, readying to clean her wound again, looking her in the eye. His voice was slightly higher pitched than normal, coming quickly. “But no one knows it was us yet. We’re gonna go back to work as quickly as we can and keep our heads low, you got that?”
She nodded then winced a little as he cleaned her wound again.
“It’ll take them a while to find his body. Hopefully we’ll be long gone by then.”
She looked to the cut on his arm as he rearranged her bangs to conceal her wound. “Ronon... your arm...”
He glanced to the wound then back to her hair. “I could’ve gotten it harvesting.” He rose, rinsing out the corner of his shirt once more before putting it back on.
She rose as well. “I will return to the field.”
He nodded. “Wait a few minutes after I go so we don’t head back at the same time. And try to look upset, like you were just....”
She nodded. “I will. I know several witnessed me leaving with him.”
He nodded, looking her over again, hesitating before leaving. Her eyes lingered on his for a moment before she forced them away. “I’ll see you tonight,” he whispered before slipping away, managing to sneak back into his field without much notice. She waited for a few moments then did the same, keeping her eyes downcast and allowing the shakiness to remain in her limbs as she returned to her work, willing the sun to set with every heartbeat.
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