Jude:
"Rhydian, I can't help but feel like something is missing in my life now that I have met Nola. I have never felt like I wasn't completely fulfilled in life until now." My mind was completely overwhelmed, "There's something about her that makes me feel things I have never felt before and I don't understand!"
Rhydian was perplexed, "I wish I could help you, Jude. As someone who is more like a brother than anyone else I know, I would give you advice if I knew what to do, but I am as clueless as yourself. Well, not AS clueless. I could give you advice on the bedroom stuff, not that I have done it anymore than to just want to experience it in life, but I know a little."
I ruffled my hair with a smirk on my face, "I told you I had no interest before, but that's only because my experience with those conversations revolved around my married parents, who are madly in love. That's another thing, what's love, and why does my stomach tingle and tickle when I think of Nola, and why do I feel the urge to kiss her, and hold her close to me. Her smell is absolutely intoxicating."
Rhydian now smirked at me, "I think you might know the answer already, bro, I just wish I had experienced the same feelings before so I could help you out."
"Yeah, but Roselia is on her way over here, let's drop it for now, because you and I know she has been love sick for most of her life. Don't want to upset the female who could throw a thorn from a mile away." I spoke to Rhydian as I waved at Roselia from a ways off.
Roselia ran towards us, looking more excited than normal, "Have you seen her!? What is she like, do you think she would want to be friends? What if she has friends she can introduce us to!?"
I didn't want to break her heart yet so I mustered a response, "you never know Rose, maybe your prince charming is out there somewhere waiting to meet you?"
She grinned sheepishly, "I was excited for a friend, so don't get my hopes up talking about boys. You both know my thorns have a bite to kill. I can dream, but that's all it will ever be, and I'm ok with that. I'll tell you a girl doesn't live several centuries and not get over her hurts and neglects as far as her creation was concerned. We both know the creator was not generous with my DNA."
Rhydian scratched the back of his head. He and I both knew I had way to much to catch up on in my daily duties. There was basic disputes to manage, a food supply that needed to be entered in to the books and accounted for, and Rose could rant for hours about DNA and her bad luck with the venom running through her veins. No one enjoyed listening to a Rose rant, but we still loved her the same.
Rhydian and I excused ourselves so we could move on to our duties. I didn't realize the issues we would have to address today when I woke up though.
It didn't take but a few moments for the villagers to completely swarm me with questions about Nola and where she came from. Only our most trusted people new where she came from, but we had given out vague answers to everyone before dinner the other night and warned everyone to be on best behavior as to not startle Nola with questions. They had respected our wishes then, but now they wanted answers.
Questioning shouts came from the building crowd, "Where did she come from?" "Did Awenasa create her?" "Why does she look so human?" "What's her name?" The most infuriating, and frequent asked question of them all though, was, "Is she fertile?"
My blood began to boil as my skin felt like it was turning a new shade of green. A feeling I had never felt before crawled up my skin and enveloped my mind like a tangle weed. A look of knowing came of Rhydian's face as he saw me. He quickly hushed the crowd, attempting to push them back to give us space. He was my hero of the day as I took deep breaths to calm myself.
Rhydian responded to the crowd, "Prince Jude will answer all your questions with time, but bombarding him first thing in the morning will accomplish nothing. Please form a general line and we can address your concerns one at a time."
I added to Rhydian's speech, "Please save all questions of Nola for another time. The royal family and I would like to address the entire village at once, rather than answer 2-3 questions and let the rumors spread like wildfire. Please be orderly and allow us to handle this, and give Nola time to adjust."
The people calmed considerably, rearranging themselves in an orderly fashion. Our people have not had anything this exciting happen since my birth, and I had never visibly witnessed them in such an excitable commotion.
One of our advisors greeted me from behind, "Good afternoon, Prince Jude, your presence has been requested by your father. I was instructed to help you finish your duties with Sir Rhydian while you are away."
My Father was normally the last person to summon me away from duties, I was perplexed by his sudden message. I mouthed, "see you soon" to Rhydian and took off to the castle.
My father was pacing back and forth when I arrived, mumbling under his breath. He looked up at me when he realized I was present, the emptiness in the room was deafening as I waited for him to speak.
"Jude, we have an issue, and I need you to keep this between us." Father stated, "As you know, when Nola awoke inside the lily bud like your mother did all those years ago, we suspected there may be more people out there. It was considered a great thing, that maybe our world could be rebuilt with all the new members to our community. Unfortunately we were dissecting the buds that were left after returning to where Nola came out. There were three more buds fallen over, with no sign or trace of anyone else."
I thought about what he was saying before replying, "Are you implying we have three humans running out there with our people? Or are you saying Awenasa culled those three lilies?"
"That's why I called you in, we aren't sure, and Awenasa has not revealed anything to us. She has almost gone in to a dormant state. Her tunnels are almost all opened, and some have been sealed off. We can't get to some of our main rooms, and..." He paused for a moment, "Nola is missing."
My mind was racing. Missing? How would Nola be missing after I've only just found her? My insides filled with rage and anguish at the thought of losing her so soon. I almost lost control as my father pointed out the ground where I stood. Rot had started to build under my feet. Never in my life had I ever felt a negative emotion strong enough to change the ground I walk on.
"Heed your emotions son. I understand you have developed feelings for Nola, but you also have to know that with romantic intentions, sometimes darker feelings emerge. Hurt, jealousy, and even anger can surface if you lose control in the wrong situation." Father stated, "But even with this all happening, I need you to keep a hold on yourself. I need my prince, my son, by my side to help me figure all of this out, not falling in to a lovesick rage."
The only problem with this, is I have never dealt with being lovesick, nor the feelings that can come with it. I wanted to find Nola, wrap her in my arms and never let her out of my sight again. We have 3 strangers roaming free, and now Nola is missing. In two days, the peace we had built up over lifetimes of memories was suddenly crashing around me.
"I need some space to think, can you give me some time, dad?" I suddenly felt exhausted and all I wanted was my bed. My father excused me with a reminder again to keep myself, and my emotions, in check.
I walked the halls of Awenasa, our home tree castle, lost in thought. Coming to my room, feet shuffling, as I threw my clothes to the ground and climbed in bed. An afternoon nap sounded amazing to clear my mind and get back on track.
My covers were piled against the far side of my bed and I let myself collapse on the mattress and sink in to it, pulling the covers over me. What I wasn't expecting was the body that was going to come with the covers. I startled for a moment before realizing who was in my bed.
A very groggy Nola wrapped her arms around me, nuzzling in to my chest. My heartbeat pounded through my chest at this sudden turn of events. I froze in place, afraid to disturb her sleeping form. My body slowly relaxed as I realized she wasn't moving, and I allowed myself to hold her.
She looked up to lock eyes with me as she said, "Can we just forget everything going on around us and just be?" At this, her hand reached up to cup my cheek. Her eyes were a sultry shade of green, staring into my soul. Nola leaned in, her forehead touching my own as her eyes started to close.
This beautiful girl leaned in to brush my lips with her own.
No mind projection could have prepared me for the burning passion Nola had lit in my abdomen. A pleasant burning from my mouth came from where she delicately parted my lips with her tongue. She tasted of honey and lemon, an herbal blend even Awenasa couldn't come up with. Soft and gentle kissing turned into a ravenous hunger I'd never felt before. She was mine and now that I had her I wouldn't let her choose anyone else. Nola was the princess I never knew I needed in my life.
A soft moan escaped her lips as I started to lose control. I rolled over on top of her, not allowing my full weight to crush her. Vining tendrils were releasing from both of us, wrapping around us in each other's embrace. I couldn't tell where she ended and I began, only that Nola was unknowingly tapping in to the dormant plant goddess she had yet to discover in herself.
I deepened the kiss, only going as far as I thought Nola was comfortable with. Her arms pulling me nearer suggested she wanted more. Unfortunately, this was not my area of experience and only my hormones had been leading me up to this point. All I knew was that I couldn't pull her any closer. Our skin was flush against each other, beads of sweat trickling down her silken face.
As her eyes slowly fluttered open, and her gaze lifted to mine, I suddenly became painstakingly aware of myself. It was clear that I was naked, on top of the most beautiful woman I had ever met. Every part of me was pressed against her, and my cheeks burned from this realization. I was caught between the embarrassing state of my hard, naked body, and the passion that had enflamed from within.
Engulfed in my own thoughts, I didn't hear the foot steps nearing outside my room.
"I left her on the canopy, she was in such a gray mood, but when I went back to check on her later, she was gone." Lascella was panicked, "I shouldn't have left her alone in the mood she was in."
Ash rubbed her arms as he attempted to comfort Lascella "There's enough activity going on around here, I'm sure she just lost her way in the chaos." Dad suddenly paused in the doorway as he locked eyes with me.
Trying to urge mom back down the way they'd come, mom's instincts caused her to push past him towards my bed. The slap that hit my cheek caused the vines that had knotted us together to entangle us further.
"Aaaaahhhhhh," the bloodcurdling scream that emitted from Nola was earthshattering. "Get me out of here, what did you do to me Jude!?" Nola thrashed her arms as mom and dad rushed over to help us out of the awkwardness. Four sets of arms and hands were grabbing everywhere to unwrap us from the tangled vines.
Green. The color of my tangled confusion.
Nola:
Lascella pulls me out of the messy green residue of vines. I have no clue what just happened or how I got in Jude's arms in the first place. Jude looks hurt and ashamed as he franticly pulls on clothes over his naked body. The naked body that was just pressed flush against my own. Thank Heavens for the thin layer of clothing I had on, soaked in sweat though it was. My cheeks heat as I thought of what just happened.
Lascella urged me to walk out the door with her, and I followed without question. She walked in silence, a perplexed look upon her face until we arrived at the baths. Lascella started undressing me, wet clothes sticking to my every crevice. I was grateful for her and the silence between us, that is until she broke it.
"I suppose you don't know what happened based upon the ear shattering scream you let loose. My ear drums are still ringing." To make a point, Lascella stuck her index finger in her ear and wiggled it back and forth.
"I have no clue, to be honest. One moment I was laying down in the canopy, then I was having a vivid dream. All I could see was green, then, I was entangled with Jude kissing him. Did that really happen?" A green tinged blush crept up my neck as I thought of being in his embrace again.
"Tell me about your dream?" Lascella asked guiding my arm towards the hot baths. I climbed in, attempting to recall everything that happened.
"Someone shook me awake." I rubbed my eyes, "They told me I was the future of the world and it was all up to me." A shadowy figure paced in front of me in my dream. "The person is blurry, and I can't even tell if it's a boy or girl, only that they're speaking to me. They told me I knew what my job was and to stop pushing him away."
"Pushing who away?" Lascella was sitting at the edge of the bath, leaning in. "What were they meaning."
"I can only assume they meant Jude, as that's where I ended up, but everything became blurry after they said that. I remember my head felt like it was splitting and I thought I was dreaming about Jude, but apparently it was all real. I felt like I wasn't acting with my body, but rather like I was observing myself from behind my eyes." Fear flashed before my eyes, and the warm water suddenly felt cold as chills ran down my arms and legs. Arms and legs that suddenly looked greener than before. The air that I breathed felt thicker. My chest was heavy. I felt strangled. All I saw was green.
Green. The only color I see.