We talked until late into the evening again.
"You know... when I first saw you, I was starstruck. I had never seen someone so beautiful," She admitted, as we sat side by side with only our feet in the water. "I thought you were a mirage." She added with a grin. I placed my hand on top of hers. Too nervous to reply. Even though that's exactly how I felt when I first saw her. "I'm discovering.... quite a few lovely things lately. Maybe living here isn't so awful."
"I'm glad I met you," I said finally... "I... am really glad you spoke to that boy by the lake yesterday." She laughed and laid her head on my shoulder.
"It's getting cold... I hope you don't mind." Aluma whispered.
"You could touch me anywhere and I wouldn't mind." I felt her temperature rising and looked up at the sky to keep my thoughts from becoming too impure. "You are beautiful too... like the red sky." She held my hand and intertwined our fingers. Once the sun had set completely Aluma rose to her feet and said,
"I need to go."
"Wait..." I beckoned, rising to face her. Her eyes met mine then they went down to my lips as if she knew what I wanted and was permitting me to kiss her. So I granted her wish. Our lips stayed locked for only 5 seconds, I had gripped a handful of her hair, while she clung to me with her nails in my back. Once we parted she whispered,
"I hope to see you again soon." Then she rushed off to where ever she had to be. I'm so glad I'm not crazy... She's interested in me too... it's amazing what a mere 3 extra years of growth can do. When that thought hit my mind I heard steps, I could tell they were soldiers by the sound of clanking metals. I hurriedly found the spot, I hid in last night and kept low, shrouded by trees and bushes.
"If we don't find him tonight the Glass King is going to murder us." One commented.
'I'm not going back, who knows where the prince is?! I don't deserve to die!" No sooner had he said that a glass shard erupted from his throat and another from his forehead, killing him instantly. The guards who witnessed this all went into panic mode and began searching for me more frantically. I sat still and masked my body heat so no one would notice me. They must have made a pact with my father to keep looking for me... so deciding to give up triggered an execution. This is getting more intense... I can't let them find me yet, though... I've barely gotten to spend time with her. Things got quieter and the moment I relaxed I felt my body shrinking down to my true size... the effects only lasted 12 hours. I waited till an hour before Aluma's usual arrival to draw the new Rune. Thankfully she came, she was wearing a silver halter dress, held together by 3 strings tied into a simple knot. It's hard to stop thinking about how easily the dress could be removed.
"Raijian! Were you waiting for me?" She called then she stood in front of me with a smirk, "You have a crush on me, don't you?" She teased.
"What?" I blushed, despite my best efforts to resist, and watched as she removed her heels. Her toenails were painted chrome, which made me notice her matching fingernails.
"I asked because I have a crush on you. I'm sure... the kiss made that obvious but I felt like I should still tell you." She said softly, making eye contact with me. I lost control of myself and kissed her passionately while undoing the strings that I couldn't keep my eyes off of just moments earlier. "Raijian...mmm... Rai." She kept saying my name for unknown reasons it wasn't until I lifted her legs onto my waist that she yelled "Wait!" I paused but my breath was haggard.
"I'm sorry..." I mumbled... ".. Me too... I've had a crush on you since the moment I laid eyes on you." She giggled then clasped her legs around me and held my shoulders to help steady herself. It was my turn to be surprised, I thought I had been too impatient and was losing her... but...this woman is impossible to read.
"That's not it... I... can't be with you... I.." She laid her forehead on mine and said "I want you... but..." Then she pulled herself from my grasp, got back on her feet, and started running away.
"Aluma wait! Why not?!... Talk to me!" I shouted, rushing after her but I didn't realize how close we were getting to the palace. My biological signature was recognized even with my transformation so I was dragged away, back into the prison I call home.
"I heard the thunder kid set you free." My dad noted from his throne and said with a laugh,
"You mean Zaikel, technically Rytem is the thunder kid." My dad frowned, he hates humor.
"I'm never wrong about anything." He announced, "... Moving on. I need to make an example out of him... We can't have him hatching any more escape plans, can we?" After saying this, he snapped his fingers and my brother, Zai, was dragged in.
"No! He didn't even mean to open the gate! I ran off on my own! If you want to punish someone, punish me!" I pleaded I could see Zai was shocked, his eyes stayed locked on me and his normal sadness waned slightly. When he entered it was clear he had already resigned himself for punishment, but that was changing, thanks to me... I can't stop now.
"He's already been punished but he's yet to learn his place. I merely want to ensure this mistake never happens again." My father reasoned with a sadistic grin, while staring Zai down.
"Loyalty is much better at controlling people than fear and if you keep down this path, NO ONE WILL DARE BE LOYAL TO YOU!" I yelled my statement annoyed him so he turned his attention to me fully, having Zai sent back to his room and me punished in one of the torture cells. I'm still grateful for that day though, because I finally managed to form a friendship with Zai who came to see me in my miserable state...
"Why did you stand up for me? He was going to let you off easy if you kept your mouth shut." Zai asked, standing below my dangling body. My wrists were held by power-suppressing chains. I could still feel the fire raging within my soul but it was weak in comparison to what I'd grown accustomed to.
"I wanted to piss him off." My response made him laugh.
"You definitely did that!" After he said that I laughed too. I'd never felt so warm, even in this situation my heart feels light. I must love him, this is what family is supposed to feel like.
"Also... because I want to be your friend," I declared, Zai looked at me, his expression suddenly serious. I hated that my statement sucked the joy out of the room.
"Friends?" He asked, suspiciously.
"I can't lie... so you should know I mean it," I assured. After I said that he replied,
"Fine, let's be friends... As your friend, should I get you down?"
"No... I'm expected to be chained up all night, it would put you in a bad position to get me down." He scratched his head after my answer, trying to think of a new solution.
"Well.. the guards outside your door are already dead." I almost burst into laughter again because of his nonchalant tone. And because those guards had personally abused me many times in the past, it was hard to feel any sympathy for them.
"Did you do that?" I asked and he shrugged saying,
"Maybe I did..." and then he reached up, placing his hand on my foot and using electricity to send signals to my brain which numbed the majority of my pain. "My first act of friendship... I'll talk to you more tomorrow." After saying that he left and locked the door behind him. At first when the corpses were discovered the King was furious, but after looking at the bodies in person his rage disappeared... it must be because of how the corpses were left, it was obvious that my aunt was the culprit, and because my cell was locked, I was free from any blame.
After being unchained and given a cold shower I was sent to my new room. Before I had a furnished room in another part of the palace, now I had to sleep with the others in a room with nothing but a bed, not even a door. This was supposed to be a punishment but I'm happy. I rather be closer to my real family, than have a comfortable place to sleep. I went to Zai's room. He was lying down, staring at the blank ceiling so I got in his bed and laid next to him, doing the same. He was uncomfortable for a few seconds but soon I could tell he was appreciating my company. I managed to confess that I consider him and some of the others my true family, to which he replied,
"Then we can be brothers and friends..." His tone was sincere but I wonder if he'd be grossed out if I started crying right now. Tana knocked on the wall beside his door which interrupted our bonding and then she gestured for him to come to her. This woman... is the reason my mother is dead, she's in some type of immoral relationship with the Glass King and now she's trying to dig her hooks into Zai?!
"It's time for your extra lessons." She whispered.
"He doesn't want to go, what the hell is wrong with you? Stop bothering him!" I shouted. I could tell by his disappointed expression that I was right. He doesn't like her, probably even more than I ever could. Even so, my outburst surprised everyone, including me. Zai tried to comfort me, then assured me he'd be okay before leaving with the venomous woman. When he returned I could tell something was different about him, his Chosen tattoo had spread onto his other arm. I asked if he was okay and told him I was glad to see him then he smiled at me weakly and said,
"I guess you were telling the truth... you can't lie." Just before lying in his bed and falling into a deep sleep. She called for him a little while after that but in the following days she came to speak to me. Telling me how she could unlock my potential through a power transfer... but it was only possible by being intimate with her. I refused at first, so she listed off the benefits: at level one I can detect all lies, at level 2 emotions become visible as colors and at level 3 I could read minds. That would require being with her on multiple occasions but it's a bit tempting to me...because if I'm ever to meet Aluma again... I want to know what she was afraid to tell me before. The other thing tempting me was the chance to piss my father off... even with those factors the thought of f**king her was still unappealing. My stomach churned just imagining it. But I managed to get through to level 3 by having her hips up with her face pressed to the floor and imagining that she was the woman I actually wanted to be with. I had no qualms about being rough with her and when she screamed or complained about the pain, I got a strange sense of pleasure. It might be because I hated Tana... or because of how angry I was with Aluma for leaving without explaining herself.
After the rituals were completed, a mole appeared under both my eyes and one in between my eyebrows. And most people's thoughts were so telepathed to me, oddly Zai's mind remained silent. His was one of the ones I was most interested in understanding... The disappointment didn't last long, since Zai allowed me to move into his room, so we got to know each other the old-fashioned way, through honest conversation. Tana came to see Zai a few times, I could tell she was enamored with him but now scared of me. He never went back to her room but sometimes, they'd chat in the hallway, or I'd leave his room to give them space. She'd flinch whenever I got close to her and avoided looking at me entirely... which made her seem alluring for the first time... I like this side of her...
No... there's something wrong with that line of thinking... something wrong with me, that I need to fix.