I was tormented throughout the long chilly night, no matter my attempt at rest, by nightmares. What were once my guilty pleasures forming dreams of silky sheets, warm embraces, and sweaty bodies were now a mess of confusion, anxiety, and pure lust.
I groaned, rolling away from the massive windows where streams of bright light pierced through the thin glass into my sleepless bed. I'd curse at the sun, but it wouldn't do me any good. After last night's events, I had much to contemplate anyhow. So, I ignored the protest of my aching body and drug my mass of skin and bones to the bathing pool. I stood, unmoving, under the waterfall at the center of the back wall, letting the water thrash atop my head. The water splashed all around me, jutting out in a spiral with me at its center. I controlled this moment entirely, and that is what I had lacked last night. I lost control of the situation and of myself, and I intended on getting that back. There, under the waterfall of my bathing pool, surrounded by the nutty scent of bath salts, I found my resolve. I took a deep breath before sinking myself under the steaming water and swimming to the pool's edge.
I didn't take much time in preparing myself after my long bath. I left my more than dampened hair to air dry and covered myself in only a thin silk nightgown and the fuzzy bathrobe I asked Von Mae to commission a local seamstress for. I left the room without shoes, but he had become used to that in the time I have been here.
"Von Mae!" I shouted cheerfully as I opened the door to my room abruptly. He jumped at the sudden sound before crouching over and gripping a hand over his startled heart.
"Miss Eve…" He panted. "You seem to be in high spirits today…"
"I am just ready to hold the reigns." I countered.
Von Mae raised an eyebrow before straightening his own posture. Unlike other mornings, I lead the way to the dining hall and allowed him to instead follow. But I halted at the top of the stairs, noting the many staff members carrying in various items. Some held baskets of fruits and wines while others filled their arms in bouquets of colorful aromatic florals. The entryway desk was covered in envelopes, each sealed with colorful wax pendants, some kind of design imprinted on each one. The staff made haste in organizing the items which were still arriving at the door, a long line of men stood patiently as one of our house's staff wrote inventory of the items in a little leather booklet. Their chatter filled the air of the usually empty ballroom under the staircase.
"As I said before," Von Mae whispered delicately into my ear from behind me, "Miss Eve would stir the hearts of all at the ball." I flinched at the gentle tingle of his breath circulating my ear before turning to look at Von Mae who had now taken a few steps back. He stared back at me, an innocent smile and tilt of his head. I decided to ignore it for now. I was probably still on edge from last night…
"What is all of this?" I asked, trying to compose myself.
"Many suiters from last night's ball have decided to adorn you with gifts this morning in hopes to catch your attention, miss Eve." He replied coolly, the innocent grin never leaving his features.
I decided that would be another thing I could think about later. I took gentle steps down the spiraling staircase and carefully trotted through the generous path my staff members formed upon noticing my presence, leading straight to the dining room. In his usual seat, near the head of the table, Assir sat quietly flipping through various papers. He wore his hair in a tight ponytail at the crown of his head and I couldn't help but notice a string of veins popping out under the warm skin of his neck. His body language told me he was immersed in whatever he was reading, so much so that he hadn't realized my entrance until I pulled my chair from the table. At the scrape of the chair legs on the marble, he finally looked up.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." I said genuinely.
"Not an issue, my lady." He said curtly. "You must be famished after last night, no?"
I nodded but mentally noted that I had not thought of food the entire morning. My stomach grumbled nonetheless as the subject of food was mentioned. I gave a sheepish smile and sat my ass heavily into my chair. It was barely a minute before brunch was served. A pale-yellow soup made of blended vegetables paired with jam and bread. The bread was green and at my hesitant expression Von Mae explained that this specific breed of wheat was known for its green secretions and highly sought after as a result of the vibrant color and taste it produced in baked goods. The soup tasted similar to any vegetable broth I had had before, but it was thicker and had a mushy texture that was actually quite pleasant in my mouth. I finished up my breakfast with the fruit I've named 'ball-nana.' Genius, I know. Then, I sat in unusual silence at the table as the empty dishes were taken to the kitchen. It isn't as if I did not notice that Assir has been distant since I got back to the ballroom last night, but I had other things I was dealing with internally so I couldn't really figure out what to say to him. Now that some time has passed and I found my resolve, I guess an apology was a good place to start.
"Assir," I started. He looked up from his own ball-nana and cocked an eyebrow, no other hint of expression to be witnessed. "I just wanted to apologize for running off last night." I paused and when he didn't say anything, I decided to elaborate. "I was feeling suffocated by all the people, and when I was on my way to you I was called to by that mossy-bearded old man so I turned and left the ballroom to avoid him, but then I decided to get some fresh air, and I guess the time just got away from me…" I was rambling.
"Did you go outside alone?" He inquired, still expressionless.
I thought for a long moment on how I should answer his question. I considered telling him I was alone the whole time as Caspian's warning flickered in the back of my mind. But then, I considered also why he might be asking me that question. Perhaps, he already knew I wasn't alone and lying would negate this whole apology thing I was trying to do.
"No, I wasn't." I decided to tell the truth, or at least some of it. "I ran into a man from the ball while I was on the balcony."
"I see…" We sat in a few more moments of silence as he processed. Then, he continued. "I am in no position to tell you that you may not be alone with a man, my lady. But I would have appreciated knowing where you were for safety purposes, nonetheless. Prospertinia is not riddled with murderers, but it is also not a safe place for a woman to be alone."
I nodded in acknowledgement to that notion. I did not really know everything about this world after all. If this were Earth, I would have assumed more caution out of habit, but I had become used to my idle safety in the short time I have been in this new world.
"I am sorry, again." I said. "I will be sure to keep you informed of my whereabouts next time we are outside the house."
He dipped his chin in a gentle nod before taking a deep breath and leaning back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head. "So," he went on nonchalantly "Who is the lucky male that has achieved courting status with our lady Eve?"
My brows pulled together at the center of my forehead, and the confused look I had about me caused Assir to stiffen in his chair. He dropped his arms to the table and leaned his form in my direction.
"Don't tell me you don't know." His eyes widened in surprise. Something about the way he looked at me was telling. There was information I lacked, but my pride got in the way.
I assumed a relaxed position, though my body was thrumming on the inside, and chuckled under my breath. "Of course I know…" I tried to sound convincing. "I just don't know what the meaning of 'courting' is here." I prodded.
Von Mae approached from the nearby wall to interject. Assir gave him a subtle nod, allowing his input in the conversation as he sat in an air of his own contemplation.
"There are three levels to a relationship status here on Origin." He said smoothly. "In Prospertinia we follow the laws of the Goddess carefully. The first stage of relations in a coupling is called the 'courting phase.' Then there is the 'mate bonding phase' and what follows is the 'coupling ceremony.' Goddess has created proof of each of these phases in the form of marking." I inclined my head up at the tall figure standing before the table and took in every word as if this information were something I could only be told once. "You achieve the first phase of a coupling when you kiss a male on the lips and the matching mark appears on the body of each individual as proof of that action."
I couldn't help but notice the hint of tease I felt as the words left Von Mae's tongue. His words were like whips that licked at me, taunting as if he were saying, 'We know what you did last night Eve… We know~.' I would have to reign him in at some point. He was becoming far too bold as of late, but that was a matter for another time. The information he gave was important and no doubt accurate as Assir had not chimed in to correct him.
"So, you're saying that the kiss I had last night has started the first phase of a coupling?" They both nodded in response, Von Mae's 'innocent' smile tearing into me and Assir still clasping his strong jaw in one hand, eyes locked on the floral arrangement adorning the table. "What does that mean though? And what mark are you talking about?" Was all I could ask. What significance does only the first phase of a coupling have? I hadn't noticed any marks on my body… Even the teeth marks were gone by this morning.
Von Mae continued, "The mark is apparent as day, miss Eve. Your long thin hair is beautiful, but it does not hide the black inked constellation decorating the back of your neck. And it means lord Assir must now contact your new lover so that you two may begin your courting. If courting goes well, a male shall hope for a mating to occur, and then with the lady's wishes, we will prepare the coupling ceremony."
"But what if it was an accident?" I muttered, using one hand to rub the back of my neck before pulling it towards my face to inspect my palm. Nothing came off in my hand.
The room went still and even Von Mae's annoying grin faded. The energy of the room collect all in one place, circulating Assir. Then he finally spoke.
"Are you telling me that the kiss was forced on you?" He spoke slowly through a clenched jaw. I had never seen Assir like that before.
A prickling shiver when down my spine and I barked a hurried, "No!" scared to say otherwise at risk of the careful image I had nurtured of Assir over the past weeks shattering in front of me. The energy dissipated, spreading calmly across the air in front of all of us, like mist over flowers. Von Mae broke the silence again.
"There are hefty punishments for sexual acts being forced upon a woman." He seemed to be enjoying this conversation despite what we both witnessed in the last few seconds. "It would likely end in the abrupt death of your new friend had it been a kiss that was forced upon you." Von Mae looked at me knowingly, that taunting smile returning to his mouth. "It would be a shame to lose someone as magically inclined as him because of a simple accident." He cooed, "Don't you think miss Eve?"
"You already found him?" Assir interjected.
"Of course, my lord." Von Mae cheered back.
"Then we must begin preparations. Send notice to the male's clan and notify the staff to arrange for a visit." Assir stood, facing Von Mae from across the table.
"There are some issues, my lord." Von Mae countered.
"What is it?" Assir asked in no mood to play any games.
"The male's clan is nonexistent." Von Mae stated. "He is the only one left of his species. And as for arranging a visit, it will have to be in the night."
The two men held each other's gaze knowingly. It was as if I were not even in the room, as if they both held onto some tidbit of information unwilling to share it with anyone for it would crumble the world. I stood abruptly, letting my chair scrape loudly across the floor beneath it, calling all attention to myself. Their eyes tore away from one another and laid cautiously on me.
"Is there some special party I wasn't invited to? Why the hell are you both speaking as if I have left the room?" I snapped. It might have been harsh, but it was how I was feeling. So much was happening, and I couldn't even wrap my own thoughts around it because I did not have enough knowledge to understand. It was like I was taking a college level math course having only been taught elementary level concepts.
Both men stared down at me in awe. Their statures towering over me as they both blinked in disbelief at this small girl, the one that is usually quiet and avoids most types of confrontation, as she herself initiated it and loudly. I noted in Von Mae's face, more than just stun, as pink crept under the skin of his cheeks and those large, pointed ears. He was excited. Was this what he wanted, to get a rise out of me?
"I apologize for any rudeness. It was not our intention, my lady." Assir bowed earnestly. Von Mae followed lead, using that minuscule amount of time to take control of his facial features minus the heat that permeated under them.
"Can someone just fill me in?" I sighed, sliding back down in my chair, and motioning a hand towards each of them to take a seat. Von Mae gracefully slid the nearest chair from under the table before taking a seat and crossing one leg over the other. Assir sat in his usual posture, leaning an elbow on the table in front of him.
"The male you've chosen to grace this house with…" Assir began.
"Caspian." I corrected. If I were to see him again, I guess we should all be calling him by his name rather than 'that male.'
"Yes, lord Caspian." Assir muttered before continuing, "His species is that which dwells at night. They are called shadow dwellers, and they have the deplorable…" He cleared his throat. "unfortunate… circumstance of finding their main source of sustenance in the sex opposite of their own. He may also find it hard to thrive in sunlight." Assir looked more unnerved than aggravated at that.
"It is the job of your sponsor and staff," Von Mae added "to arrange a meeting between houses to discuss the logistics of a potential coupling. Considering as how lord Caspian does not have a house to go through, however, we must discuss these matters with him directly."
"Lord Caspian is also a sponsor." Assir added. "So, his duties mixed with his inability to remain in sunlight might prevent you from experiencing a normal courting phase."
Both men remained quiet, staring at opposite sides of the floral arrangement on the table between them. I thought for a moment about what I should do. I had plenty of time to mull in the bath over the events of last night. I analyzed all morning. If I had thought Caspian had bad intentions with that kiss this would have been an easier decision. I could just tell the truth, that the kiss was not consented to. But I remember the men cursing each other under the balcony, and it becomes obvious to me that Caspian was trying to hide from them. Why? I did not know… And then there was the issue of that bite. I mean, I did bite him first, twice, but who swallows gulps of a stranger's blood like that and leaves them in such a humiliating state? I felt heat brewing between my thighs and thought it best to think of something else before that insistent throb returned once more. I supposed if I were to get answers to those questions, I would have to meet Caspian again.
"I suppose there is no use in replying to any of the letters and gifts sent to miss Eve this morning then?" Von Mae smiled. He was back to his usual puppy self, and Assir Nodded before excusing himself to go to work. Von Mae escorted me to the library at the back of this ungodly large house, which had become somewhat of a painting studio for me as the rain swept across Prospertinia in the last few days. I didn't have the ability to paint today, not even to read my recent smutty novel, so I just took a seat on the fainting couch under the sunny window and took a fat cat nap.
___________________ ___________________
These fucking dreams…
In the dusty library, surrounded by the smell of old books, wet paints, and stale unused air. Light streamed in through the windows as I watched unusual tiny birds swoop from the tree branches, catching unsuspecting worms from their homes in the wet ground. They just wanted air… They needed it to survive, but that is what made them weak. They became vulnerable to the predators who were waiting patiently, hungrily, for them to run out of air so that they could make their move.
The spring showers brought upon life… and death. I had never considered that before. What might be someone's fortune is also another's misfortune. Other small creatures drank from pools formed in the dips of the grass. The refreshing scent of dewy grass wafted on the wind through the crack of the old wooden window before me. It was as if the scent came to me of its own will. It fought with the scent of centuries old paper for my attention. I turned towards the bookshelves that called to me.
From the shadows between ceiling height bookcases, I saw a careful movement. My body moved on its own despite the thoughts of protest. I peered around the thick wooden shelving, wrapping trembling fingertips around the edges of the finished wood. To my surprise, Assir stood facing row upon row of books. He pulled a thick cluster of words on pages wrapped in dyed red leather binding and began flipping through its innards. Without lifting his gaze from the book, he smiled to himself. I wanted to know what words compromised the sharp features of his beautiful face. What did it take to summon that sunshine? I wanted to know, as he slid a gentle finger across the page flicking it over to reach more words, what it felt like. What did it feel like to have his fingers trail along your skin? He lifted that gentle finger to his lips, licking the slender tip before using the moisture to turn yet another page, and I wondered then, what his tongue might feel like on my…
"Are you going to continue staring at me all day, or would you rather come have a conversation my lady?" He looked up from under his dark eyebrows, violet eyes shining in the darkness created between tall structures.
"I'm sorry for interrupting…" I fought the heat threatening under my skin and took a few steps nearer.
"You are never an interruption." He said in a cool toned song.
I reached for a random book on the shelf to keep my eyes from wondering to the lips that create smiles made of daylight. We stood in silence, our arms only inches apart and only the sound of turning pages between us. From my peripheral, another gentle smile into the leather binding, and I melted. My insides quaked. He shut the book abruptly, placing it back on the shelf in front of him before turning towards me, leaning a shoulder into the heavy wood.
"I can't help but to notice how your eyes seem to follow me, my lady." He leaned his head gently on the shelf nearest his height. Without another word he motioned with that slender finger, a command. "Come to me." He coaxed.
I went, and what waited for me was exactly what stirred my lust, a clash between lips. Moans broke from the pit of my throat as Assir trailed his tongue along my lower lip. His tongue seduced and pleaded until my lips fell apart under the heat. As our tongues fought for dominance, his hands gripped my face between them in a gentle but firm caress. No words need to be uttered between us to know what the other wants. We tore at each other's clothes with no regard for decorum. Assir's hands pushed my dress into a tight mess at the small of my back, exposing my lower half to the dead library air. His pants fell by my hand with the thud of his belt, and my book, on the floor. His hands lowered from my face, gripping at my ass as he lifted me against the steady shelves and buried his full length inside me in one swift motion. A groan escaped from his strained throat as he thrust into me and his lips left mine only to cover my sensitive neck in sweet kisses, my hands tangling in his long-loosened hair. I peered over his shoulder as our bodies moved in synchronized primal rhythm. I looked to the bookshelves behind us, I wanted to remember everything about this moment. I let the pain of the hard shelves jabbing into my back seep into memory. I took in deep breaths of stale air mixed in the scent of lust and sweat. I seared the feeling of his broad shoulders beneath my arms and the tangled wads of hair between my fingers into my mind. I had been waiting for this, waiting for something to come from the gazes we shared and from the tension that brewed between us since I woke nude on this foreign planet. I focused on the beautiful pants and groans Assir let slip between thrusts and delighted in his pleasure.
We fell to the floor with shaking knees as Assir continued ravishing me. His gentle hands cusped my breast and thigh on either side, as his thrusts began to descend in flow. Assir looked into my eyes with that purple haze, and for a second I thought I saw more than desire in his expression. I closed my eyes relishing in the sweet surrender of my body to the gentle man above me, but when I opened my eyes, it was not a purple haze gazing back at me. Instead, cold ruby eyes peered into the depths of my soul.
"You are quite the imaginative dreamer, little devil." Caspian stroked a soft gloved hand down the length of my face, carefully tucking stray hairs behind my ear. He continued pushing into me in slow determined pumps, studying my every expression. Every hint of pleasure he saw caused a twitch at the corner of his mouth. I wanted to hate him. I wanted to fight him off of me, to bite him back and draw enough blood to match what he stole from me, but his lethal eyes remained studying me.
I did not say anything, knowing that this was only a dream, and allowed myself instead to indulge. As if he could read my thoughts, Caspian smirked before pulling out of me and throwing my small frame around in front of him, as if I were a doll filled with stuffing rather than a human filled with bone. He trailed a gentle hand down the spine of my back, training my hips to move upward with his other hand, gripping the bone of my hip tenderly.
"Stunning." He said amused. "I wouldn't have guessed you had such a mesmerizing posterior under that dress."
"Shut up." I groaned from the floor below.
He chuckled to himself, "So impatient, my little devil." He slid a generous length of his shaft ever so slowly into my slickened pussy. "Your phantom of a lover did well to prepare you for me, but he didn't give you the release you craved, did he?" He pushed further into me, and I cried a trembling moan into the ground. "Allow me to satiate the liquid burning you've endured."
And at that, he slammed into me. Caspian held my hips supported by shaky knees as he thrust his cock deep into me. I was powerless to fight the luring ecstasy he tempted me with. If he was a bird, then I was the worm having been devoured, though I had just been searching for my air.
___________________ ___________________
Caspian held his prey just beneath him in a vulnerable position as he filled her with equal doses of bliss and guilt. He taunted her body with empty promises of passion and love. It was something he was not capable of, love. Not anymore. He only knew the art of fucking as the skill was engrained in his bones from the moment of his creation. It ensured the survival of the species that must steal essence from sentient life. The woman he had barely known a day lie groaning under him, feeling true pleasure for the first time in her existence. He knew this, and though he could not love her, there was one thing he could bring to the coupling he forced upon her.
He lifted a hand from her soft hips to his mouth, prying a glove off with his teeth and spitting it to the ground. He noticed her almond hair spread across the floor and could not fight the urge to treat the beautiful woman roughly. He grabbed a fist full of hair at the nape of her neck, exposing the new tattoo that matched his own, the constellation Corvus of the raven, and yanked her head back. She came up from the ground with the force. She gasped, groaning like a mangey dog howling at the moon. He continued pumping into her as her bent knees quivered under her, threatening collapse. She was so close. He only had to maintain this rhythm and tease her a little further. He slid his still gloved hand up the length of her body cupping a breast, pinching her hardened nipples between the leathered fingertips. She cried little moans into his ear as she lay her heavy head back onto his shoulder. It was time. Her body was ready for release. The tension he had so carefully built inside of her, in this land of dreams, ached.
"Good girl." He whispered a hot breath into her ear before biting down into the nape of her sweaty neck. And with that, they came together in a raging pool of passion and lust.
He left her there on the floors of her dirty dream knowing that tonight, she would finally achieve sleep.