The next two days, they spent letting the fire burn. No one was satiated yet, no one could stop them, no worries could bother them. On the third day, they finally stepped out to get some cool evening air and some groceries. "Everything feels different, better," she spoke as they walked into a store together, their rented car parked outside. They were in Tanzania. They rented a lone beach house which required a twenty minutes drive to get into town. It was perfect, just what they wanted. "And why is that?" He teased as they perused through shelves, hands locked. "Because we are finally finally together and my expectations of you in bed was superseded..." "Isabella!" He whisper shouted, wide eyes fixed on her. She laughed, pressing a quick kiss to his agape mouth. "What?" She asked with a smile, "do I not get to compliment my husband's bedroom skills?" He shook his head, looking around to make sure no one heard. He looked back at her, "Isabel, seriously?" "We should expect a baby
A soft knock on her door had Lady Aurora looking up."Come in," she called out.A timid maidservant entered and bowed deeply."The king wishes to see you.""My father," Aurora corrected with a sigh, "the king is my father. You say my father wants to see me.""My sincere apologies, my lady. Your father wishes to see you.""You may leave."Aurora shut the leather-bound book she had been reading and rose. Her right hand lazily untied her hair as she walked out of her room. Long tender blonde curls cascaded down her rigid back."Father," she greeted, walking in through the doors held open for her, into her father's private quarters.He was lounging by the pool, his legs in the clear water. She knew instantly that something was wrong. He was only ever in that position when he needed to think about dead important matters."Trouble outside the borders?" She placed a kiss on his cheek and lowered herself down to sit with him.He sighed deeply."I'm afraid not, dearest Aurora, I'm afraid not.
"Here, put this on, darling."Aurora received the piece of jewelry from her godmother."Thank you, Celine."She looked at herself in the silver hemmed mirror as she put the earrings on."The servants could have done a better job for your hair. Look at this tendril," Celine spoke, displeased. Aurora dodged her anxious hands, laughing softly."No need to be so nervous. It's just a casual meeting.""With your to-be husband. Not to mention, the successor to the throne of Jaresh. I wonder what the king was thinking when he made them visit.""Father is father.""Of course."Aurora watched her godmother leave, her gold embroidered gown trailing behind her. She looked back at her image in the mirror. She was nervous.*Loud music and dancing ushered the Jerash royal party in. Their golden horses dazzled in the sunlight and their silver carriages glistened in the late afternoon heat. It was a sight to behold.She stood at the entrance to the palace, along with the emperor, her godmother, and
Her mother was dead and had been for a long time so it was Lady Celine who tied the knot of Hercules around her waist on her wedding morn, over her long white robe. Lady Celine also escorted her to the palace grounds where the wedding was taking place. The people were all present in their numbers to witness not just the wedding of the King Janus's beloved daughter to the great warrior Sebastian of the Jerash empire but to witness the bonding of the two rulers.Sebastian was already at the altar, dressed in all his princely glory."Jupiter's blessings," Lady Celine murmured as she placed her hand in Sebastian's.She took one last long gaze at her godmother, her freedom before facing her to-be husband.The priest of Jupiter arose. Sebastian cut off her locket given to her by her mother and threw it in the purifying fire."When and where you are, I then and there I am; when and where you will be, I then and there I shall be." Sebastian recited slowly, his sharp gaze locked on hers."When
"The rag, get me the clean rag," The little girl fetched the needed item and handed it to Aurora. Sebastian stood to the side, hidden in the shadows. Aurora dabbed the forehead of the emperor gently, her other hand massaging his temples. Fire touches lit up the room and provided the heat needed. "Asclepius, help us. The emperor needs your healing. Oh, Asclepius, help us," she murmured, massaging his hands and feet with the healing ointment.After several minutes, she straightened, handing the used materials to the servant girl."He is stable for now but we'll have to get him proper treatment when we get home," She informed her husband. A knock followed and Sebastian's brothers ventured in."What happened to our father?" Lucius questioned immediately, narrowed suspicious eyes aimed at her."He was poisoned, he said so himself. I've done a bit to…""And I am to trust your spoken word with no proof?" He eyed her and peered down at the emperor."You have eyes. See for yourself." She pi
He looked in the mirror, pressing his face close to hers but his face still appeared blurry compared to hers."What… Your honor, your face…" Aurora gasped, sharply looking at him."I know," he muttered, straightening up and walking away. She watched him sit on the bed and place his head in his hands. Her palms grew sweaty."It might take some time but I'm sure the treatment is working. The poison's almost entirely gone. Better still, we could pay a secret visit to a priest outside our kingdom and we could ask if…""Not necessary. You have to be prepared for my death, Aurora," he cut her off sharply, lifing his head, "I'll set everything in place for you to live a comfortable free life afterwards if you do not wish to engage any of my brothers.""Sebastian!" She shouted furiously, "it's been only a week since our marriage and you dare talk about death so casually. Isn't that a tad shameless!""You…"A sharp knock on the door cut him off abruptly."Your honor, my lady, dinner is ready."
Aurora lay in Sebastian's arms, late that night after the customary night ritual to the sun god. The oil lamps were lit and burning and cast red shadows on the brick walls."We'll leave tomorrow night, right?" She asked, breathing in his musky scent."Yes," he answered, placing a kiss on her hair. It was a deep struggle for him not to sink his fangs into her neck right there and then and satisfy his crazed desire for her blood. He could hear them all, all the sleep sighs and steady drum of the pulse. He could imagine it all, sinking his fangs inti their necks and draining their blood until they were simply a sack of bones.He forced the thought out and focused on calming his breathing. When he came back to focus, Aurora was fast asleep in his arms.He stared at her beautiful face, her rosy cheeks and her plump lips. It would have been an absolute joy to get to know this resilient woman better, to protect her abd grant her her heart desires but now, she would be better off without him,
"Look!"Her eyes snapped open and fixated itself on the grave."It's moving! It's moving!"Sure enough, the earth covering the grave was trembling; rising and falling."Oh merciful Zeus," she murmured, scared for her fate and that of her husband at the hands of their people."Watch out!"The grave burst open and a clawed hand flashed out."Blood suckers! The emperor is a blood sucker!"Another clawed hand, then a leg and in a flash, Sebastian leaped out the grave, his skin pale as a corpse, his eyes bloodshot and dangerous.The crowd screamed, horrified."He is a bloodsucker, kill him! Put him to death!"She looked to Lucius in time ti catch him signal to his soldiers."Lucius, no!" She screamed, pulling at her chains, "don't touch him!"Her voice was barely heard above the crowd's loud noise but Sebastian snapped his head in her direction and just like that day, over a week ago, their gazes met and clashed."Sebastian," she whispered in a hopeless attempt to get him to remember. He t
The next two days, they spent letting the fire burn. No one was satiated yet, no one could stop them, no worries could bother them. On the third day, they finally stepped out to get some cool evening air and some groceries. "Everything feels different, better," she spoke as they walked into a store together, their rented car parked outside. They were in Tanzania. They rented a lone beach house which required a twenty minutes drive to get into town. It was perfect, just what they wanted. "And why is that?" He teased as they perused through shelves, hands locked. "Because we are finally finally together and my expectations of you in bed was superseded..." "Isabella!" He whisper shouted, wide eyes fixed on her. She laughed, pressing a quick kiss to his agape mouth. "What?" She asked with a smile, "do I not get to compliment my husband's bedroom skills?" He shook his head, looking around to make sure no one heard. He looked back at her, "Isabel, seriously?" "We should expect a baby
"I think you have done really well for your first week. You should be able to do things without supervision now... I guess that's the person that's been picking you up since you first arrived. Your boyfriend?"Isabel's lips twitched. "My fiancee," she answered with a smile. "Oh, wow, that's great. When's the wedding?" Isabel opened her mouth to reply just as Ezekiel rounded the car with a big smile in her direction. "What?" She heard Irene gasp but her mind was clouded with too much love for it to register. Her legs carried her across the road to him. "I love you," she mumbled as he enclosed her in a hug. "I think our engagement is making both of us jelly," he laughed, kissing her cheek, "I didn't even realize I was smiling so wide." She kissed him lightly and stepped back a little. Oh heavens, she laughed internally, remembering she abandoned her supervisor. "Irene?" She heard Ezekiel mumble. She turned around, seeing the dazed look on Irene's face. "Don't tell me..." she mu
Ezekiel whirled laughing Isabel around. She was clad in a purple graduation gown, her cap hanging loosely in her right hand."I'm dizzy," she forced out between laughs, holding unto him tightly. He set her down on her feet and kissed her loudly."How does it feel?" He asked, beaming."I don't know," she laughed, "you are rubbing your excitement all over me and I don't even know how I feel.""Exactly," Lily intervened, "you are acting like you have never experienced a convocation before. Get off her."His entire family came to celebrate her, his cousin and his beauty wife included, with their baby."She's not your girlfriend, Lily, mind your business," Ezekiel eyed her playfully.They moved off to a little spot they set out for a picnic and they spent the rest of the day being happy for her. The group stayed an extra day before leaving. It was just two of them left now.When their relationship was a year old, they sat down for a serious conversation. They rented a beach house for the w
Sebastian was just bringing the car around when Isabel and Aurora walked out of the airport."You must be Isabel," the man she recognized as Ezekiel's cousin spoke when he got to them."Yes," she replied with a warm smile, watching how he casually put an arm around Aurora's waist and kissed her hair, "it's nice to meet you."They shook hands. They definitely had good genes in their family. Ezekiel was her boyfriend, the man she loved but she couldn't confidently say he was more handsome than his cousin."Ezekiel is bringing the luggage, we can wait in the car. You don't mind, Isabel?""Of course not, he left me with the luggage in the first place," she answered with a roll of her eyes. Their little group chuckled and they moved to the car. Sebastian hovered over his fiancee as they chatted heartily about school, life, and anything else. Ezekiel arrived soon and Sebastian assisted him in getting the luggage into the trunk.Aurora and Sebastian's wedding was a week away so the atmospher
Ezekiel knew that there was a Supreme Being helping him to restrain himself because it was a miracle he didn't lose control after what she just said. Was she so oblivious that men were easily triggered sexually or was she doing it on purpose? She worked at a bar, she had to know."Your body belongs to you," he said slowly, blowing out a breath, "and to the God who made you. If we are married, you can say that but your body will belong to me and mine will belong to you only because we chose to let it be so. Do you understand?"She clicked her tongue, laying her head on his chest. "Let's get married then, you won't have any excuse to deny me what I want.""Oh heavens," he laughed in disbelief but somewhere deep within him, he began to consider it.*Weeks flew by and Isabel didn't think she had ever lived life so happily before. She woke up happy and blushing, she was much more interested in her boring classes because he always praised her when she performed well in the tutoring session
When she awoke bright early the next morning, he was still asleep and she was late for class. She stood at the entrance to his hospital room at a loss for what to do. She could rush to class and return after school to take care of him or she could stay and be with him throughout the day. She wanted to do the latter as she was the cause of his accident but on further reflection, she decided to choose the former, he'd prefer that.Ezekiel trudged into his apartment, burdened with a load of emotions. Drugs, really?"Stan found me, he sent me threat notes and has been stalking us."Was that true? He sighed, lowering himself unto a fur-covered couch. He didn't even know what to believe. What was her deal? Was it just the aftermath of the rape incident? It scared him that she would go as far as drugging him, how much damage did the incident cause her?If Stan was secretly stalking them then she wasn't safe. The police needed to be alerted and they needed to move away from town for some time
"Are you mad at me?"Isabel said nothing instead she focused on stabbing the potatoes on her plate."Have I ever refused you anything?"She blinked, thinking of an answer to his question though she didn't plan to reply, she discovered he always did what she asked and did more except for a few nos here and there but... He was always there."No," she answered curtly, guilt nagging at her. "Then you must know I have a very good reason for refusing you this one thing. Trust me, Isabel, please."She stared at her meal, fighting with her emotions. She thought of the drugged wine."Ezekiel," she began, looking up. Her eyes widened in horror seeing him bring down his glass from his lips."What?" He questioned, cleaning his mouth with a serviette.She opened her mouth and shut it. "I drugged your wine," she croaked out."What?" His eyes bulged out and he looked into his glass, "what are you talking about?"She kept silent, staring at him with wide eyes. He stared at her, his eye size matching
She was awfully alert the next day, constantly looking back and sideways, being suspicious of every male she came across, staying in open places where there were a lot of people. She didn't realize she was so on edge and tensed up until Ezekiel came to her at the cafe and she almost stabbed him with a fork.He dodged, his eyes wide. "Watsup!? Do you want to kill me!?"She sighed, her tense shoulders falling. The fork landed with a clattering sound on the table."I am sorry. I was... I thought it was someone else," she said apologetically.He raised a brow, sitting next to her, "is someone stalking you?""Don't worry about it," she sighed again and relaxed back in her seat. His presence was immensely comforting. She didn't know whether to be pleased or irritated, he was her boyfriend now."You could really have stabbed me if I didn't have quick reflexes. You wanted to harm the person. Why? What's going on?" He inquired.She kept silent. Why was she keeping it a secret?"Isabel..."She
"You're my girlfriend now," he murmured into her hair, "so you can't cheat on me ever again, you hear? You can't go kissing another man or letting another man touch you because you feel like getting down with someone. You are mine now and I'll tell you, I am very possessive and I get easily jealous."She blinked. What did she just do?"You forgot the second part," she mumbled, not sure of what she was feeling."No, it isn't enough to make me sleep with you."She groaned, surprisingly not feeling annoyed. "Why?" She whined."It only makes me want to protect you more, keep you clean and pure. I'll be your god and I'll keep you away from any filth," he replied.She fought the smile that crawled its way up her cheek. He pulled away a little and looked at her with so much tenderness, she felt she could melt from it."Do you still feel like getting down with me?" He asked, smiling.She shook her head."Good," he grinned, "I'll call your father now and tell him you're safe with me. I'll call