Winterfall

Marcel left me sitting in the middle of the grand hall. My mind was spinning as his mind games had gotten to me. I stared at the half empty pitcher of the Bloody Mary drink that we were drinking.

Maria! Don’t. I need to focus on work and not worry about you being drunk. Théoden begged me through the bond not to drink. It was understandable considering if we consumed alcohol it affected the both of us. Well, that is if he siphoned it through the bond.

To be fair, I was already feeling a slight buzz. I don’t know how strong Marcel had Roland make these drinks but one more couldn’t hurt. Right?

Maria, I beg of you.

Why shouldn’t I? I cried through the bond. He’s tortured me both physically and mentally. Why can’t I get a bit of enjoyment out of this?

You know as well as I do why.

Just because you have guard duty doesn’t mean I can’t have any fun.

Maria, as your sworn protector I-

I let the telepathic communication go silent. I didn’t want to hear his two senses about why I shouldn’t have another drink. Why it would be wrong of me and why it was this or why it was that. I mean honestly, he was my protector not my parent.

Though I also knew cutting the communication off like that would piss him off. Eh, I wanted a drink more than worrying about if he was angry with me.

Yeah, I ended up taking the pitcher and grabbing my glass and pouring it to the brim. I sat in the hall and slowly sipped on the Bloody Mary until the first glass was empty.

“Oh…” I said when the realization hit when I wasn’t getting any more out of my glass. “I guess I will just take the rest of the pitcher and…” I attempted to pour what was left in my glass but managed to get more on the table than in my glass. “Fuck’s sake. Roland!”

Roland came in shortly after I yelled for him. What a good chef he is… “Maria? What is it?”

“My drink-” I held up my glass to show him that the drink was half full. Or half empty?

“I’m under order not to give you any more right now. I am sorry.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, “Let me guess, Théo?”

He nodded, “He sent me a message as soon as you dropped the communication. I’m surprised he hasn’t started siphoning yet, Marcel had me add double the vodka.”

Huh…that explains why they were hitting harder than normal. “Can I have something else to drink then?” I asked as I stuck out my lip and batted my eyes. Yeah, not my proudest moment.

“I can give you water or coffee. Alcohol is prohibited.”

“Pretty please Roland?”

“Sorry Maria, I'd rather have you mad at me right now, than deal with the aftermath of Théoden.”

He did come over and clean up what I split and took the empty pitcher and my half glass and left me sitting in the grand hall.

“Ugh!”

Well my fun was killed, and to make matters worse Théo was starting to pull some of it from me. And what's worse than being drunk…the hangover.

Considering I was slowly losing my buzz, I decided it was best to make the trip up the stairs and sit in my room. Once in my room and once I became more aware I decided to hop into Théoden's vision.

~Théoden Point of View~

Damn the devil likes strong drinks, I thought to myself as I started to siphon the alcohol away. The poison effect from the drinks didn’t bother me too much as I did have immunity to poison. However, if I intake a lot I still get the effects of the alcohol. To be honest, it’s a bit of a weird sensation. To be drunk but not to have to worry about poisoning.

Don’t get me wrong, I want Maria to cut loose every once in a while but when I have work and can’t protect her from herself I prefer it if she doesn't drink.

I leaned back and rested my head against my chair. Solely focusing on siphoning the alcohol away from her bloodstream. That was until a voice echoed through my office.

“Captain?” Quinn questioned as I opened my eyes to her, looking at me concerned. “Are you alright?”

“I’m not late for our round am I?” I questioned her.

“A couple minutes late.” Quinn responded. “That didn’t answer my question.” She crossed her arms and studied me. “Are you drunk?”

I shrugged, what the hell, she already knew about the bond. “Not by my doing. And I wouldn’t say drunk. I say buzzed?”

“Is Maria alright?” She questioned me.

“Yes, well she will be soon.”

“And what about you captain? We do have a round to get to.”

She had a point there but thankfully for me I had spells I could utilize to get rid of the effects. “I have spells. However, Maria doesn’t quite know how to utilize these types of spells yet. Though, then again I am not sure if she can cast them.”

“Well, if you are almost done siphoning, we should probably get to our round?”

“Of course. Give me one more moment.” I paused as I took the last bit away from Maria. I knew she was annoyed with me, I however did not want her wandering around the castle drunk. That wouldn’t look good on either of us.

Sorry love. I want you to get enjoyment out of life but I still have to protect you. Theoden said.

I know…and I shouldn’t have but he just makes me so damn frustrated. I couldn’t help it. I responded.

I get it. Get some rest as the hangover may not be that pleasant since I took it all at once.

Yeah…I am already feeling a headache. I groaned as I began to feel the pain of drinking too much too quickly.

I’ll take a little but I do need to focus on work now. Theoden responded as I felt him begin to siphon what he could from me.

I understand. I said as I already had started to feel the pressure lift.

I love you. Theoden said as he turned he tried to turn his focus back to his job.

I love you too.

“Alright, now to cast restoration.”

Once I had cast it Quinn and I left my office to begin our round.

~Maria Point of View~

I forced myself out of his vision as the throbbing in my head grew and faded as Theoden tried to remove as much pain away as he could. Hell, as frequently as he had to remove the effects I couldn’t help but wonder if it was more than a double shot of vodka in those drinks. Well, whatever the case, I did get a bit of enjoyment out of the buzz before it became too much to bear, before Theoden took it away. It might not have been much, but the rush I got from drinking the Bloody Mary did bring me the smallest amount of enjoyment.

I can say this, Théoden taking away the buzz and the headaches made my day easier. And even though I hated to sometimes, staying in my room today seemed like a good plan after all.