Elizabeth left the room and descended the stairs into the main room of the house where the family sat silently. William sat in a chair facing windows that faced the same western direction that she had been looking through upstairs. He hadn't needed to see the men from the window to know they were coming. They were nearly upon them now. Elizabeth's older nieces avoided looking at her, as she was sure their mother had instructed. She was trapped in a tortuous period of waiting, and alternated in her mind between wishing she could stop time, and wishing she could just speed it up.
Elizabeth knew that everything was about to change, again. She took in everything in the small room and knew that it would be etched in her mind for the rest of her existence; the golden light that diagonally traversed through the windows over her brother's daughters, the illuminated particles of dust that danced through the air, the warm brown hues of the wooden floor and furniture throughout. Though
"Such a sharp-witted witch, with an even sharper tongue." He moved impossibly close, his face now a breath from her own. In her restrained position she had no way to move away from him, she found that she was not dissatisfied with the choice being taken from her. Elizabeth did not trust that she would have retreated from him if she had been able. His large hands moved up to frame her jaw, tilting her neck up to look at him. She found her eyes locked in on his lips, his smirk had been replaced by an intense expression of what had to be lust that made her body quake. His mouth descended to catch her bottom lip between his teeth, he bit down gradually increasing his force. Her eyes instinctively fluttered closed as all of her focus moved to the sensations being experienced by her mouth.His teeth opened to release their captive only to have his lips insist on prying her own apart. His tongue demanded entry to her mouth before she had any idea what was happening. She had never be
John moved his chair back to the table and shook her awake gently. She hadn't felt like she had been asleep, her eyes felt dry and scratchy. "Come witch, they will be here soon." He pulled her gently from the table by her still restrained hands, back to the ceiling hook. Her muscles were stiff and sore as he extended her arms back above her head to the hook. This time she was unable to hide her tears. "Shh, my sweet, be strong." He wiped the tear from her cheek with his thumb and kissed her, melding his lips perfectly to hers and gently exploring her mouth with his tongue. It had the intended effect of distracting her, but ended much too quickly as noise came from the hallway. John moved away back to the chair near the table as the large iron door creaked open. She took a deep shaky breath and tried to take John's advice and be strong. She didn't feel strong, she felt beaten, but she knew that the battle was just beginning.Jonathan's uncle Gerald entered the cell with the mi
"This is true." Gerald seconded."Stay," she heard John say from the corner of his mouth as he released her to stand on her own, still with her back to her audience. John walked behind her and she felt infuriatingly bereft in his absence. He was quick to return, although she could not see him as he remained behind her. She felt the presence of his large body. Suddenly she felt a sharp prick in the area John's finger had lingered on before above her buttocks. She made a hissing sound more in surprise than actual pain. She realized that he had poked her blemish with a needle as she felt a drop of what she surmised to be blood tickling her skin in its slow descent."It bleeds." John said with what sounded like a hint of annoyance."Search her again, make sure there are no other marks, be thorough." His uncle ordered from across the room. She was sure this was part of the facade to convince the minister of their legitimacy. She rolled her eyes openly as her face was
"I'm sorry lass." Gerald said as he untied the gag from around her mouth followed by pools of drool that it had caused. She was beyond feeling humiliated at her appearance, she just wanted to sleep and forget. There were no windows in the cell but it had to be late afternoon by now, and she had been allotted minimal sleep and sustenance, with an exuberant amount of stress being placed on her mind and body, she was exhausted."The alternative tests the minister proposed were much worse." He continued, as he took a clean cloth and some water from the table and gently dabbed her back, where the worst of the scratches were. She winced out despite his lack of pressure. He had a large bag in the corner of the cell that she only noticed when he walked over and pulled out a small pot from it."This will sting at first." He said as he applied some kind of oily salve from the pot with his fingers over the welts. She hissed through her teeth at the pain the salve caused but once
Her body was shaking in the aftermath of the pleasure he had given her. His body sank into hers and she revelled in the feeling of his weight on her. He groaned and grabbed her body and quickly flipped onto his back pulling her with him to lay on top of him while pulling out of her. She laid her head on his chest and tried to recover her breathing."Are you okay?" He finally broke the silence, his deep voice vibrating her ear laying over his chest.She chuckled. "You've already asked me that, repeatedly.""I'm serious, Elizabeth. I'm sorry, I -""I'm not, John." She sighed. Thankfully he didn't insist on continuing his apology. She didn't know how, nor did she wish to explain the tumultuous emotions that had been happening within her throughout the day. She wasn't sure what she thought about John Davis, but she did know how she felt about him. Hearing his voice after a day of being physically and emotionally drained made her feel a warmth in her chest tha
Surprisingly they both slept soundly, jolted from their slumber by the unlatching of the heavy cell door. John tensed his arm around her and relaxed when Gerald came into the cell, closing the door behind him. He arched an eyebrow in their direction but didn't speak of them lying together indecently. Elizabeth sat up and scooted to the edge of the table quickly, her legs dangling down over the edge. John sighed in annoyance at the interruption as he got up off the table slowly, feeling very stiff from the cramped sleeping position. At the loss of John's body heat she noticed that the temperature had dropped drastically overnight, the heat wave finally having passed. She pulled the thin blanket, still warm from their body heat, around her shoulders."I hate to bear bad news, lass, but today we go swimming." Gerald snarled in disgust at the suggestion that had clearly been the minister's."What does that entail?" She asked as John clenched his jaw and went still.
"Just breathe, Elizabeth" John said as soon as they were out of earshot, he looked down at her with concern, the harsh look from the river had melted completely."Will they believe me now?" Her voice came out as a barely perceptive croak, it burned her throat to speak. She sincerely hoped that nearly drowning would be worth something to this corrupt town she'd found herself in."I'm not certain." He answered sadly.She nuzzled her head into his broad chest, closing her eyes, as he quickly walked her back to her cell. When she opened her eyes she realized she'd dozed off in his arms. They were in a cell, but it wasn't the original one that they'd spent the night in. This one had a fireplace and it was blazing high as John fed it. Her whole body, which she'd been sure would never be warm again, finally began to thaw as she sat on his lap in front of the fire. He took the damp, cold blanket from her shoulders and pulled the edge of the saturated shift to remove it
The progress was slow. Alicia had become used to the pace but it was still bothersome. She had already scoured through her spellbooks twice already but maybe it was time to look for a third time. There were countless wonders she could accomplish with her magic but something as mundane as moving a pile of dirt wasn't one of them. All she wanted to do was plunder the treasures from the crypt and be done with it. It seemed like such a trivial task but it wasn't the sort of work that her magic was made for. Potions, charms, and illusions, yes, manual labor no.It had been a simple thing for the witch to enchant this part of the graveyard and to keep the people from the town from coming near while the word was done. It had been just as easy for her to link a pocket dimension back to her cottage so she could keep her home nearby. When it came to moving dirt though the only thing that would do was manual labor. Not hers, of course, Alicia couldn't even recall the last time she had r
Her father was not home when Alison arrived, which for once she was grateful for. She was in desperate need of some quiet time to contemplate what just happened. Not even bothering to go inside the house, she took the small stone pathway that twisted around the back of the main house and headed straight for the gardens. She loved her father's garden. Tall green hedges sectioned off different areas that all had their own unique theme. Her favorite section was the lily section and whenever she visited she made sure to stop by and take a nap on the cushioned bench that was found there. It was luxuriously relaxing to simply lay there and breathe in the scent of flowers and fresh air.Today, however, her mind was in a whirl and even meditating on her favorite bench didn't seem to be helping. The men she overheard in that room wanted to keep her around for whatever they were planning, but what was it and how did she fit into that plan? She felt incredibly vulnerable and wished that
Braden had not been able to sleep that night. Thinking about Alison facing the king made him feel like he was just punched in the stomach. He was well aware of the interest that Medeas had in Alison's work, and he knew for a fact that the king had not just recently taken interest in the biomagical field. In fact, it had been about two and a half years since the king first heard about it. Whether Alison knew it or not she was about to be horribly exploited, and unfortunately there was nothing Braden could do to stop it. He had been called to the capital earlier in the week so that he could be told to his face that if he warned her at all he would never see the end of their harassment. This arrangement was the reason he had never pursued Alison before, but eventually he just couldn't take it anymore and he had to be with her.He had been instantly smitten with Alison the very first day they worked together. While she was classically beautiful, she also had a penchant for making
So early Saturday morning had found Braden and Alison standing in an empty field that was surrounded by trees and sectioned off from the rest of the nature reserve that was near Braden's apartment. They had decided to spend the night with each other because Braden's lack of control over Fire made it too risky for him to stay by himself. That, and the intense fear they had felt earlier had them both hesitant to leave the other's side.The morning began with them taking turns walking each other through the basics of their elements. They quickly discovered that they had all the abilities of advanced Air and Fire elementals, most likely because Braden and Alison were each advanced in their own element and the stuff they were exposed to was extracts of their own magics. The problem facing them now was control. Braden could easily produce fire balls, but if he wasn't extremely careful they would grow too large in size and Alison would have to step in to contain it. Likewise, Alison
Alison woke to a weird sensation pooling around her back. It was both cool and hot at the same time and caused her skin to tingle. She slowly opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of Braden gloriously stretched out next to her. The image of Braden's naked chest immediately made her forget about the annoying sensation.We need to get moving; we can't stay on the floor all day long,she thought to herself with regret.Braden hugged her closer and slowly opened his eyes."mmm, I wish we could stay just like this all day. That would be spectacular." He said as he slowly stroked the skin of the thigh that was thrown over him."Yeah until the janitor comes to empty the trash and finds two naked people on the floor.""Ha, Steve could use a good pick me up. I hear he doesn't get much as home."Gross I never want to think about Steve having sex.."Even an guy like Steve deserves to get some lovin' every so of
"God that was fucking incredible." She said to herself after awhile. But while she wasn't expecting a response, she got one."I'm glad you thought so little one."Her eyes flew open at the sound of the familiar voice."Braden?""Yeah it's me Ali." His voice was raspy and husky sounding. She bolted out of her lab chair and began to pace back and forth in front of the desk."This is so embarrassing." She said meekly, looking down at the floor and playing with her fingernails. "I can't believe you just saw that." Even though she knew that Braden had been responsible for the air-induced orgasm, she was still embarrassed at being caught in such a position.Braden waited for her to pass by him again and then reach out for her arm, pulling her so that she stood in front of him. He ran his fingers along her temple before tucking a stray hair that had fallen from her pony-tail behind her ear."You have absolutely no reason to be embarrassed. Y
To be a warrior, you must make friends with pain. It is a constant bedfellow who hung around just to say hello every so often. It lived as a reminder of the hazardous nature of the profession. It was a hazard that Aneesa knew about from a young age. The spirited woman was raised a fighter and proud warrior, one who shook off the occasional stabbing or attempt to decapitate her with a smile on her tanned face. In fact, she took pride in them, treating each scar as a new trophy to add to her collections of war stories. So Aneesa was no stranger to pain. Usually, she would grin and bear it, but this time it was different.The poor woman's arms hung over her head, extending slightly behind her as they were chained to a point on the ceiling. It was a slow-burning pain as she had been in that position for what felt like hours. The chain gave her no slack as she fought to keep her body upright, leaning forward would only tire her more. The bind that she got herself in was ingenious
Her eyes followed the red liquid as it flowed through the coiled plastic tubing and entered the glass collection beaker that was sitting on her laboratory table top. She needed 5 more milliliters of the stuff and then she could analyze its magical content and complete her thesis. Alison was a 24 year old master's student at the University of Sunderland and was apart of the first wave of bio-magical researchers that the kingdom of Sunderland had ever had. Wishing to stick to the traditional view that magic was a deep seated ability inseparable from the soul, most of the population refused to believe that there was a biological basis for their special abilities or that magic could be analyzed, quantified and experimentally manipulated.But Alison was about to prove them all wrong. The red liquid that was painstakingly dripping into the glass beaker was what she called Potion de feu, and was actually an extract of her own Fire magic. It had taken her four years to determine the
The Ancient lowered her cup."Of course, there is more to this particular tea ceremony than merely drinking tea," she whispered, her kimono parting to allow Taiju a quick glimpse of her spotted but seemingly firm brown breasts.Taiju suspected as much. That was the reason he had climbed for five brutal days through the unforgiving mountains to reach the witch's aerie. It was told that Ancient had uncovered the secret of life and death. Some said she was 200 years old. Others said 1000. Most people of course said she didn't exist. No one who returned had ever been able to find her.The deep creases surrounding her eyes seemed to twinkle as she pulled the kanzashi from her hair, spilling her silver tresses down her back."If you wish to gain eternal life, then we must drink each other," she whispered and shrugged her shoulders, spilling her silk kimono onto the floor. She stood, shameless before him in her nakedness.His eyes were drawn to the white
"Even if you do, you'll never make it out again. The others will tear you to pieces."Ean smiled grimly."That's my plan. Now let's go."They walked towards the mansion, Ean holding Adele in front of him. There was no one else in the garden, but as soon as they stepped inside the house they were noticed. Surprised shouts and yells of "Tenumago!" soon had them surrounded by vampires. Ean grinned at them."Come any closer and she's dead!"He pushed his claws in even deeper in her throat making blood trickle down her skin. The vampires backed away, knowing that he could tear her head off if he wanted to."Good. Now where's Percival?" he growled."Don't tell him!" Adele croaked."He's no match for Percival, Adele!" one vampire shouted. "In his office. Down that hall, last door on the right.""Much obliged. Now, all of you: get out!"The vampires hesitated, then did as they were told, reluctantly filing through the doo