...53...
I AM THE LINK
When his fangs sank into her neck, her eyes opened instantly, a deep oxblood.
The light came then, stronger than it ever had been, oxblood.
It grew and grew in intensity, in opacity until it had cocooned them properly.
She let out a soft moan as his teeth sank deeper into her neck.
Her hands rose and curved around his neck, tightly, drawing him closer, urging him to go as deep as he could.
And then he let his essence run extremely slowly into her, and she in turn embraced it.
She welcomed it so wholeheartedly without any iota of resistance, chugging it all down like some sort of starved beast, hungry and ravenous for that which made her feel alive.
She moaned louder as he continued to let her slowly tap into his demon essence till she was nearly drunk on it, nearly high on the beautiful life giving substance.
And then he stopped, drawing away from her as slowly as he had allowed her to take from him in order to be able to stare down at her.
Her oxblood eyes fixed on his as a shaky smile graced her wonderful rosy lips.
The light gave way to thousands of rose petals, falling at the disappearance of the bright oxblood light.
'Izhxel,' she said to him in a small voice. 'Izhxel,' she whispered yet again, her palm going to caress his smooth face.
He welcomed her touch without any problem.
'Yes, yes my sweet Rose? What is it that plagues you?' he asked her.
In that moment, she felt to his as of she were heavily hypnotized.
In a sense, she was just as he had described, unable to remember anything thereafter but doing it all the same because she meant it, because it was what was embedded inside of her heart, undoubtedly.
'Izhxel, I love you. I live only for you. Did you know that?' she demanded to know.
He chuckled rather softly.
'Yes, yes I know that my sweet Rose. I know all that because that is exactly the same way I feel.'
He smiled down at her with weary eyes.
'If it is like that, if you feel the same way that I do, then why on earth do you look so sad? Is there something that you aren't telling me?' she asked as her hands once again began to caress his handsome face.
'I am not sad about that sweet Rose and I do mean what I say to you,' he assured her.
'Then tell me, tell me that which bothers you like I told you what bothers me,' she urged.
'I am truly sad sweet Rose. You are right. What you see in my eyes right now is the truth.'
His confession caused her hands to still.
'Do I make you sad?' she asked. 'Is that how it is Izhxel?' she continued in a voice that was pained.
'No, it is not you that make me feel so. It is something else I assure you.'
His reply soothed her.
'Then, tell me. Please tell me Izhxel,' she pleaded in a voice that was smaller than before.
He knew then that she was beginning to fade away, like she always did after such a thing as this.
His heart constricted, left in pain at the realization.
'What on earth is it that bothers you and saddens you so? Whatever is it that causes darkens to hide behind your eyes?'
'It is not you but it is you.'
'How so?' she asked in a sleepy voice as her eyes struggled to stay open to listen to him.
'I am only sad because you will not remember this when you rise at the morrow. And even if you do, you will dismiss it as a dream or a passing memory,' he explained.
'I s-see,' she stuttered incoherently, led by drowsiness, the one that always followed such high on demon essence. 'But, I will not. And if I do, I am sorry Izhxel. I do not mean to do so and you know that right?' she asked him. 'I do not ever wish to make you sad, wether directly or indirectly and you...'
She was quiet for a long time and he stared at her.
Her eyes had long since closed out of drowsiness and she has only been hanging unto this false consciousness by only but a thread.
'Sweet Rose?' he called out her name when she lay unmoving in his arms with only her chest rising and falling rhythmically.
And when she did not answer him, he knew then that she had actually fallen asleep.
The smell of fresh roses filled the bedroom, inadvertently filling him too with a kind of closeness he sort deep down.
He said nothing else, only holding her in his arms and cradling her softly as she slept soundly.
He caressed all of her with his eyes and his arms, afraid he would not be able to do so for a long time.
'You are Mine,' he whispered. 'You will always be mine. Therefore, come back to me, please.'
He stayed like that with her, watching over her for a very long time, unable to sleep.
However, sleep still managed to conquer him about a few hours before the hour of dawn.
He gently straightened her in bed, clearly avoiding not to wake her up and he actually succeeded.
Then he joined her on the huge round bed -which were now filled with thousands of rose petals, wrapping all of her with his hard body.
He finally surrendered to the sweet peace and tranquility that the act brought to him.
It was three hours later that she awakened from the slumber that she had fallen into.
She felt weird when she arosed.
Her mouth tasted like blood although she didn't remember having any injury in the organ of speech.
She closed her eyes, reopened them and yawned.
Then, she felt his presence behind her, domineering, possessive and unmistakably male.
He was lying just behind her, her back to his chest and she was all but tucked into the protective cocoon of his hard body.
His hands were planted loosely but firmly around her waist.
She wondered just how they had ended up like that in that huge round bed, all tangled up with each other, him cuddling her or rather spooning her.
How ridiculously funny!
She also did not know why or choose not to admit why she liked it so much, the development.
She snuggled closer to him, wanting to feel all of that warmth, to bask in all of the warmth that he offered her.
She also felt completely safe and secure in his arms though it should not have been so.
He was the enemy.
He was her enemy.
One must not feel this way for such a person, right?
'You are awake?' His voice as usual startled her, almost to death, jolting her back to reality in an instant.
'Yes I am,' she whispered to him after several ages. 'I am awake.'
'How do you feel?' The question shook her memory.
She instantly began to remember it all.
She remembered going out for a ride sometime ago, just before dinner she supposed.
She also remembered bumping into the Xing Princess, Zoë at the stables.
She remembered also Zoë's challenge and how they had then proceeded to the riding arena.
She also recalled the race and how she had fallen of her horse.
That's right!
She had fallen off her horse and blacked out.
What had happened next?
Also, something was amiss.
She did not feel any sort of pain.
She did not feel like someone who had taken a hard fall.
Was it because she had rested far too long?
Maybe, or maybe not?
Or maybe the fall had not been as acute as she was remembering it to be.
'I feel great,' she finally answered his question with a smile.
'That is good then,' he said as he breathed a small sigh of relief, his hands around her tightening a little bit.
She smiled again at his gesture and snuggled closer to him, wanting to utilize the opportunity while it was presenting itself.
At this point, they were like two piece of toast bread, together, with nothing in-between.
'It feels really good,' she murmured softly. He smiled at her words and acknowledged it with a small nod.
'Yes, it sure does,' he acknowledged orally. 'Now, rest,' he urged her. 'The royal physician will be here to check on you soon. It is past dawn.'
'Hmm,' she answered with a small nod, took his advice and actually went back to sleep.
Only he did not, unable to do so anymore.
He was still awake when Hyeera came.
He heard her come up to the door of the bedroom.
'Come in,' he said just before she could knock.
She quietly made her way into the bedroom.
'Good morrow My Lord,' she greeted him with a smile. 'I trust that you and the Lady is quite copacetic?'
'Yes Hyeera, thank you,' he said just as he left the bed.
The lady made a small sound of protest in her sleep but a few strokes to her hair stopped her unconscious whining.
'The royal physician shall soon be here. I am here to prepare her medication. I shall watch over her when you leave.'
'Thank you Vandodara,' he said to her with a grateful smile and silver eyes. She gasped.
'My Lord, you are transitioning,' she pointed out.
'That woman keeps calling me subconsciously. My code knows to respond to it,' he placated her.
'Oh,' she said. 'I have had your bath prepared in the Lady's bedroom.'
'I shall go get ready then.' He began to walk to the door.
Then, he stopped and turned, returning to the lady.
He planted a slight kiss on her forehead and then he was finally gone.
Morning met one of the empress candidates still in her bed, unable to go to sleep because she had murdered it with her wickedness.
She turned to her side for the most umpteenth time before she suddenly sat up.
She called out for her escort who came running into the room.
'Good morrow My Lady,' her aide greeted her with a bow.
'Any news on that bitch? Is she dead yet?' she asked.
'I have actually yet to receive any concerning the matter. Everything has been quite in the Emperor's quarters since hours ago.'
'The bitch had better die!' she announced with a sneer. 'I will not have my efforts go to waste. Keep your ears in the ground for even the smallest crumb of news.'
'Yes My Lady,' she answered again with a bow.
The lady dismissed her with a wave of her hands and started to turn away.
'My Lady?' she called out in a voice that hesitated.
'Yes?' he mistress answered without returning her eyes to her.
'I... I umm...'
'Will you speak up and stop doing that rubbish?!' she snapped irritatedly at her.
Her escort bowed.
'I'm sorry My Lady. But I do not know if I should inform you of this or not,' she elaborated.
'Open that mouth and tell me what it is or keep it to yourself!' she snapped at her once again.
'I-I received something strange My Lacy,' she finally said to her after the snap. Her mistress turned to her then. She bowed her head.
'And that would be?' she asked, still irritated.
It wasn't actually her fault.
She needed to sleep but the thing wasn't coming to her and she felt utterly frustrated.
'Someone slipped a letter under your bedroom door.'
'And where were you when thus intruder did so?' she demanded. 'If that had been an assassin, I will be dead by now, you know?' she said in annoyance.
'My Lady, it must have been when I temporarily dozed off. I am sorry My Lady,' she apologized.
Her mistress boiled in fury.
How dare she sleep when I can't, she thought.
'What does it say?' she said after a long while of trying to keep her anger in check.
'It only has "I am the link" written on it My Lady.' Her mistress stared at her for a moment.
'Where is this letter? Let me see it,' she demanded with an outstretched palm.
Her aide nodded and produced the letter from her inner pockets.
She handed the folded yellow paper to her mistress who opened it and studied it.
Truthfully, it only had those words written at the top of the paper.
The rest of the big yellow paper was completely blank.
'Hmm.'
'My Lady?'
'Light a candle,' she requested in a voice that was more curious than frustrated at the moment. 'This must be some sort of hidden message.'
Her aide quickly left to do as she had been ordered.
She returned soon with a lit candle in her hand.
'My Lady, here it is.'
'Hold it up,' she told her.
She did as she was asked.
Her mistress held the yellow paper against the light, just a little too close to it, close enough for soot to form.
Words began to take shape on the yellow paper.
It was indeed a secret message.
Her aide gasped softly in surprise.
'My Lady, it is... it's-' she began to say but was interrupted.
'It was slipped under the door you say?' she inquired again.
Her aide nodded.
'Read it,' she commanded giving the yellow paper to her.
Her aide took it, both their fingers now stained with faint black soot.
'I saw what you did,' she began reading in a loud whisper.
She looked up at her mistress with wide eyes.
'My Lady it's-'
'What are you waiting for?! Get on with it!' she snapped impatiently at her.
The aide nodded.
'I'm sorry My Lady,' she offered an apology with a bow.
'Keep it to yourself!'
'You cannot get away with it,' she instantly continued. 'Doom awaits you.'
Both stared at each other with angst.
'That is all?' her aide nodded.
'My Lady, someone, someone saw what we did,' she said.
'That means only one thing,' her mistress said to her.
'What does it mean My Lady?' her aide asked as she stared at the yellow paper in her hands.
'We have an enemy.'
...OmaPhinaPhire