Sweet Reprisal

Within the curls of fog I walked, oblivious to those that might have watched me. Brown robes dragged behind, an erring slippered foot often stepping on the too long hems, a muddied torment I usually spent several ahns trying to repair. Fingers swept over the fabric of arms, trying to dispel the chill that not only lurked over pale flesh, but in the cusp of my soul as well. How much would I tell Aiden? Where to draw the line, for safety's sake? The bell over the front door rang merrily at my entrance, a cheery sound that I was in no mood to hear. Once, a lifetime ago, I had wished to buy this inn. Had that really only been yesterday?

The constant timbre of flames roared within the hearth of the common room, a fire that sought to consume all within its path, so much like the man I had just left. Hands washed down over my face. I would have to lie, or at the very least, avoid. Words were practiced over and over, the story perfected in my head and on my tongue, before I moved towards the steps and up. If I was lucky, I could perhaps find my room with out quarrel and save the untruths for another day. But I was not so lucky.

As I walked by open door, Aiden shot out of his room, both hands set upon my arms before he hastily let me go. He’d been sleeping when I left and I had not left him a note, the look of worry clearly etched on his face. "Are you alright? Do you need anything? You look as though you've been crying."

Everything I’d thought to say had been lost, gone as soon as he had spoken. His touch sends no vision through me, no telling of past, no glimpse future, nothing that would disrupt the frantic escape I sought. I smiled, one forced upon lips, a breath held and released, counting to five before I spoke. "No, I'm fine. Today is my youngest sister's birthday and I was merely.. missing her." A sharp pang clutched at my heart the lie unfolding, a seed that would soon take bloom as it grew. How easily I had planted it. "Did you sleep well? You were sleeping when I went out for a walk and I didn't wish to disturb you."

"Does she live e in Ar? We can go to see her? We can even stop by the Avenue Del Turia and get her a gift. Is she like you with pretty red hair? Maybe she would like a new set of hair pins."

How sweet the sound of innocent mockery, one so believing without qualm or question, and I a woman clutching desperately at my deceit.

We decided to eat in,

"I did. It was deep and I dreamed of Heav.. Heavy things.. like lifting whole bosks by myself." He paused as if thinking better on his words.

"If you are hungry I could change and we could go to dinner as well."

"No, none of my family is in Ar." Truth would melt into falsities, auburn curls reflecting the streams dull gleams of light from hall. "Heavy things? Perhaps we could eat in tonight? I've no wish to leave the inn so soon after only getting back. Why do you dream of bosk?"

"Probably because I was hungry! Your room is bigger than mine, would you wish me to call dinner to yours or would you like a few moments to freshen up and meet me in mine? I must admit when I found out how late it was I .....did not do so myself."

"Yes, a few minutes to change and brush my hair. Then we may meet in my room. Would you mind calling a slave to serve? I'll have whatever you're having." One more smile, a lingering one at that, and I turned away, though I did look back over my shoulder to offer yet another forced smile. My door was closed behind me, a necessity in privacy so I could change, the borrowed robe immediately shucked and tossed to the floor. I would, of course, have it burned at first opportunity. My face was washed, new garments donned, my hair brushed and curled around my finger. Robes of dingy brown gone, replaced by something I hoped would better my mood, an icy green that complimented my eyes.

The slave arrived at my door with enough food for two, though there was only a plate for one. It seemed he had changed his mind about joining me, something I hoped to rectify. I knocked on his door, and though he did open it, he did not open it enough so that I could see in. "Are you not going to join me?" Perhaps he didn't want to keep me company. Wasn't it enough that he followed me around, day after day, protecting me from harm? But not today. "There's plenty enough for both of us, if you're hungry." Which I knew he was.

"I wasn't hungry. You looked as though you might not need me tonight.. I mean, you might not want a man in your room... I mean Me.. in your.. I mean.. I think I 'll just stay in here. Sleep well Lady Astraea and dream of only the sweetest things."

I stepped back, as not to crowd, unsure of how to react. Until.. recently, I’d had very little contact with men as a whole, this leaving me at a loss for words. "I.. " Leave, he doesn't want to dine with you, you were mistaken. "Well, if you're sure, I mean... " I bit my lip, then nodded as humbly as I could, before turning away, the rustle of green satin beneath the robes heard as I tried to make my escape. "Sleep well Aiden." Fool, you protect a man who doesn't even like you enough to have dinner! Rence chastised me, one hand gripping at the fullness of fabric at my side, pause made in midstep, I turning only a small bit to look back at him. "But if you decide you're hungry after all, just knock."

His door closed as did mine and for some time I just sat looking at if from where I sat.

"LADY ASTRAEA!!!!!!!!!! HELP! HELP! THERE'S A MAN OUT HERE!!" It was a loud whisper, my blood running cold.

"NO! He promised!" It was a gut reaction, a knee jerk response, the door instantly opened, my eyes wide with the telling of what was to come. But when the door was pulled to reveal the entities outside, only he was visible. Did he know? Was this his way of making me tell him the truth? Arms folded just beneath breasts, I still looking past him, just in case Castor lurked in a shadowed corner. My fear was palpable, not for me, but for him. "Who? Where?" Only now did I realize it had been just a game, a prank played upon the unwary. One that would have been cruel had he been privy to my day.

"Who is starving half to death." He retrieved my hand and made me turn a circle, walking me back into the room.

"Did you see all the things I had them bring you?"

"I wasn't hungry enough to dine alone, so I'm grateful you decided to keep me company."

"I am grateful you were willing to have me in your room. I mean ..for dinner.. Not that you eat people.. I mean I wouldn't think that of you. Not like my opinion matters.. I mean.. I am no one.. but I am someone.. I.." He was babbling and I found it quite endearing. I had done right to protect him, he was a good man. One of the few.

I could end all this madness by way of offered body, one that would leave me without resources and without the gift I so treasured. I could end the betrayal, end the lies and end the gift.

And when he took my hand, I had leaned in and kissed him soundly on the mouth. My fingers lifted to touch his face, only then realizing he was hot, a fact I was sure wasn't brought on by the meshing of lips.

"You're ill, fevered. Why didn't you say something? Here, lay down." Without his consent, I was pulling his legs up so that he could lay back comfortably on my couch.

"I am alright, just a little run down."

"How long have you been fevered?" He had come to eat with me, even though he was sick. That small little fact had brightened my smile from one of masquerade, to one of sincerity.

"Here let me make a place on the floor.. before I infect your bed."

"I hardly think you can infect my bed anymore than you just did with the kiss. And I shall be sleeping here, next to you, on the couch, not on the floor. That way, I can see to your needs if you should want something during the night."

At first I was unsure what I should do about my clothing. I could, I suppose, sleep in the full regalia of gowns, though it wouldn't be very comfortable. My decision made, I stripped out of them, leaving only my shift. He had promised not to look.

"Would you like to get more comfortable?" An innocent question on my part, really.

"I am as comfortable as I am going to get around you. This is your chambers I am a guest. If I need comfort I will return to my room."

"Aiden, I want you to see me, turn, please, look at me. Do you not wish to see me?" Desire, so pure, so innocent, so bold in its simplistic form. "Do not look away." My voice was barely a whisper, but one that held the fever of words, even as his body held the fever of flesh. Over bared hips the fabric slid, revealing the slender body that only only ahns before, been revealed to another. "Do you wish to touch me?" One step closer, now within arm spanning reach, I lowered to kneel at the edge of the couch. "Look upon me, touch me, know that I am real, that I exist."

He didn't understand. And could I blame him? I knelt there still, in all my glorious bounty of naked truth. The only truth that might ever be between us. No move had been made to cover myself, not yet, though I was now looking at the floor near my feet instead of directly at him. The one man I wanted to gaze upon me and he had refused. He had tried to cover me, the robes taken in hand. It was then he kissed me, but in his fevered state he had passed out, tumbling over both of us over on the floor. The fur was drawn down from the bed, covering them both, with me naked and half sprawled beneath him.

"Rest well dear innocent Aiden." Whispered into his ear, my arm wrapping around him. It seemed we were destined to sleep together after all.