The stuffiness of the jungle began to smother her. Her feet staggered to a stop and fell from beneath her. She clawed for something to grasp and found a hand. She pulled herself up with help from the unseen person, but gasped in horror when she saw the hand belonged to the bloodied body of a laughing man.
She fell into the dark and landed on something that pinned her down. Her world spun and flipped over. The familiar shadow loomed over her and she fought desperately to get free; her feet kicking at the shadow but causing no effect.
Just as the scream rose in her throat, she fell into darkness once again.
She whimpered as the cold drowned her and darkness fought to claim her again. She clung to the ice desperately, but in the end she met the same fate, and was swallowed by the jaws of darkness.
The dagger felt comfortable in her hand. As though her hand had always known the strength of a blade. She stared at the reflection and watched, frozen, as it moved and thrust into a body.
She gasped and shook. The blood drenching her skin and lungs.
"No.." Her voice came out as a whisper but elevated with each breath, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"
"Hydrangea. Hydrangea."
She felt a force pull her from her dreams and she breathed deeply before gathering enough strength to open her eyes.
"Shh… it's alright. It's alright."
She sighed and shook her head.
"It will never be alright, Bastian."
"Bastian? My Queen, I'm not Bastian."
She reared back and came face-to-face with the bloodied features of Lord Gaul.
She jumped and awoke with a start. A shriek sounded from her before she felt arms pull her into an embrace. Cocooning her in warmth. But she could not feel it. Her thoughts still swam in the frightening dreams.
Bastian began stroking her shoulders, her back was pressed to his torso. Her head pounded and she felt ill. She turned her head to make sure it was truly him.
Her heart began to race and she struggled in his grasp, begging, "Don't touch me."
She felt a hand ensnare her around the waist as she tried to get out of the blankets and run away.
"No, Hydrangea." He turned her to face him on her knees. He sat opposite her, his legs crossed. "You are my wife, and I will touch you. I understand that you need to think and that you need time. But.. but Hydrangea-"
She looked up and saw his Adam's apple bob in his throat. He still looked tired, but his eyes were awake. His growing hair was plastered to one side of his face, the rest was tossed about in a disorderly fashion. His chest was bare, and his scars were still visible in the dim moonlight.
"Hydrangea," He continued, "Don't… Okay, this may sound prideful, but hear me out." She smiled internally at his words. He closed his eyes, almost in a wince, "Don't.. punish yourself. Or make it harder on yourself, by telling yourself that you can manage this without help."
"And what is this?" She asked in a rough voice.
"This, is life, Hydrangea. No, death and killing should not be apart of it. But it is, and it's not easy to handle it alone."
"I don't know-Bastian I've never had anyone. I've only ever.." She rolled her shoulders. She wasn't accustomed to admitting such personal things. And right now, her instincts were telling her to hide them and not to ever voice them. "I've only ever had my siblings and I couldn't talk to them. I don't-I don't-"
His hands slowly raised to her cheeks and he leaned down to kiss her gently, stealing her breath.
"Hydrangea." He muttered as soon as their kiss broke. "The vows we took were false. I want to.." He sighed and she saw the frustration in his eyes. She placed her palms on his chest, brushing the curls of hair there. He moved one of his hands from her cheek to hold one of hers on his chest.
"You want to what?" She asked patiently; calmed by tracing the intricacies of his eyes.
Anxiety entered those eyes and she shook her head. He had nothing to be anxious about. She scoffed internally at herself when she realized he was likely thinking the same thing in regards to her.
"Hydrangea, I… wish we could have a new Union."
Her chest warmed, "I would love that."
"I would too." His lips spread into a smile and revealed his teeth. He took her hand again and held it as though weighing it, "Hydrangea.." He whispered in that tone that sent her skin flushing and goosebumps emerging across it. "I vow to be loyal to you as a husband, and to love you with all my heart." He swallowed, "I vow to protect you and to be yours till death do us part."
Her lips had parted as soon as his first sentence had finished and now her body was filled with a warmth. A blush crept into her cheeks but she swallowed and did her best to arrange her thoughts.
"Bastian," She attempted to hold his eyes that hung on her every word, she let out a quiet nervous breath, "I vow to be a loyal wife, and to love you. I vow to be by your side while we weather these storms and to be yours, forever."
"Forever…" He echoed.
She raised her sore hand to the back of his head and he took the hint. The next instant his lips were on hers, his hands trailing down her sides and igniting a fire within her.
She fell back onto the bed and he crawled up to meet her lips. His hips grinding against her own. He groaned against her lips as she gasped from the heat so suddenly rushing to her most intimate places.
His hands held her thighs and began separating them. His fingers stroked her slit through the fabric.
"Ah, ahh-ah." Her fingers flew to his shoulders and dug into his skin.
He chuckled and she wanted to kiss him to wipe that smirk off his face. But his fingers continued stroking the dampening fabric and her mind spun. Her hips began thrusting and jerking for more.
"Bastian." She whimpered, her voice lost in a moan as he began rubbing where the throb seemed worse.
"Oh! Oh!" A part of her mind was telling her to close her mouth, but the other part won; the part that was blank from the pleasure shooting through her.
She felt her climax building and she gripped his shoulders.
He continued stroking the sensitive part of her body that sent her legs twitching and her back arching.
Sooner than she thought, her climax came and she was on the bed, a glow still residing in her eyes.
Bastian began to strip her of her clothes and she gladly let him. It was getting to hot.
Before she had a chance to fully recover from her climax his hands grabbed her breasts and sent her entire body alight again.