She had to go back. She had no choice. That heavy presence followed her wherever she went, haunting every doorway and lingering in each step she took. When she slept, it was always in the background of her dreams; never quite visible, but always there. It whispered to her; never in actual words, but it fleeting images and sensations that instantly disappeared the moment she tried to focus on them. Sometimes she would get a flash of heat flowing down her back, or the sense of warm breath on her neck. Other times she would get a vision; a glimpse of a hand - her hand - fisting in luxurious crimson sheets, or it would be her naked back with a set of claws pressing her into those same sheets. Each of such visions was accompanied by a fleeting feeling of ecstasy. The more time went by, the stronger the visions became, and the more aware she grew of their underlying motivation: she couldn't escape him. Try as she might, she'd ignored him for long enough; the Count would have his prize.
It had all begun when Ophelia had followed that haunting voice up the stairs on the first day she arrived at the palace; that voice that had coaxed her along through the dark hallways and into his chambers. As soon as she'd entered those rooms, she had felt his eyes on her, roving over every inch of her body as if he were peeling away her layers of clothing. His words had been mocking and harsh, insulting her in every way possible, though the intensity of his attentions told her that he would have kept her there in that room had he been able; and as much as his insults infuriated her, she couldn't help but be slightly curious about the nature of the spirit.
As little as she knew about Count Lucio, she was positive that this ghost had to be him. "That painting in the dining hall doesn't near represent what a large creature he's become." she said to herself, remembering how he had towered above her when he had finally revealed himself "The top of my head barely came up to his waist" she thought with a shiver; of either fear or delight, she couldn't tell. To be sure, Ophelia was by no means of impressive stature; most of the time she lied and claimed to be 5'2", when the reality was that she was just shy of 5 feet exactly.
As soon as she'd gotten out of range of his influence, Ophelia had no trouble brushing off the encounter as a trifling inconvenience "What a creep" she said to herself - out loud because it made her feel more confident - doing her best to cast the occurrence from her mind. Instead, she told herself that she needed to focus on ways in which she could aid Nadia in the Countess' investigation of Julian Devorak.
"Who's a creep?" Portia had seemingly popped out of nowhere and was ready to continue showing Ophelia to her room.
"Oh!" Ophelia replied, slightly startled by her sudden reappearance "I, uh, I was just talking to myself, it's nothing!"
Portia just smiled indulgently "Alright! Well let me show you to your room, I'm sure you're exhausted."
Ophelia collapsed into bed almost immediately after Portia closed the door behind her on her way out. She knew she should change into her sleeping clothes and perform her pre-sleep rituals, but she had no energy for it. Instead, she wiggled out of her clothes without even bothering to climb out of bed; rolling this way and that while shimmying her hips, and eventually kicking them off her legs, she got out of her clothes in the laziest way possible. It turned out to be more laborious than if she had merely stood up, and by the time she was down to her lacy panties and sheer camisole, she was panting rather heavily and lay there on her back catching her breath.
"If only that damned spirit could see me now, heh." She thought to herself with a smug look on her face "I swear he wanted to devour me." her mind wandered to the possibilities of such a union "I wonder if it's possible to fuck a ghost." she pondered "What would that even be like? Does he even have a cock in that state?"
Burdened as she was with such weighty dilemmas, Ophelia soon drifted off, the cool breeze from an open window ghosting over her bare skin. She must have drifted off somewhere other than sleep, because she was soon aware of an intense heat surrounding her body; at first it felt like strong sunlight, but there was an essence of darkness to it, something sinister. Sleep paralysis, or some spell of the immobilizing nature, must have crept in because try as she might, Ophelia couldn't so much as lift a finger to try and escape the heat.
As she lay there, wracking her brain for ways to escape, Ophelia was suddenly aware of being watched. She could feel the whisper of two eyes, raking over body in her helpless state, taking in every detail of the scene. A large presence soon joined the watchful gaze, positioning itself where Ophelia's legs hung over the edge of the bed, never actually touching her, but projecting a heaviness that made her feel like she was being touched all over.
As she was running through her mental index of spells that Asra had taught to her, she was jolted back to reality by the feeling of a claw dragging across her skin from just under her jawline to down between her breasts, only halting when they reached the edge of where the lace of her camisole lay against her cleavage.
"Ah, so you were hiding some attempt at finery beneath those boring rags." A familiar whisper rasped into her ear "It's cheap, but you do have good taste. Shame." The next instant there was a light tearing sound, and Ophelia's camisole was in two parts, sliding over her skin and falling into the bed on either side of her.
"Well, if I had known I'd be having the honor of the ghost of Vesuvia's Count disrobing me, I might have made more of an effort." She shot back at him, her brashness the only weapon she possessed as the claws continued their journey downward over her skin, coming to a stop over her stomach and remaining there as the voice spoke again.
I realized something after you left my chambers," he continued, ignoring her sarcasm "a kind of epiphany, really. It occurred to me that I had it backward: it wasn't Asra's scent all over you at all." The claws began to slowly drag down her skin again "Rather, it was your scent all over him that I mistook as his for so long. He was hiding you from me, and I never once questioned it until you stumbled in to my palace."
Although she was still desperately looking for a way of escape, Ophelia couldn't help but be curious about his words. Asra was notorious for keeping secrets, and she wasn't surprised that he hadn't told her anything about Lucio. As it always was with her, curiosity won out over fear, and she dropped her attempts at verbal contention "Why would my master feel the need to hide me from you?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly (whether with fear or anticipation, again, she couldn't say).
His low laughter echoed around the room "Why indeed? Asra's presence always left me feeling refreshed in my sickened state. Now, in smelling your essence, I see that what I sensed in him was merely a shadow. Why would the magician want to hide that from me?" His claws had reached her low abdomen by that time, and he began to draw slow circles on her skin, making it stand out in goosebumps "You notice I can touch you now? It's been so long since I had the pleasure of sinking my teeth into such soft skin. I believe I have your power to thank for that."
As he spoke, he slipped a claw under the lace of Ophelia's panties, running along the seam where her thigh met her hip, drawing a little gasp from her lips. Her breath was coming fast now; all fear and hesitation were swiftly being banished from her mind as she felt the heat building in her belly. "Oh well," she thought to herself "I suppose I can't very well say no. He's not really giving me a choice, after all."
Ophelia's eyes slipped closed, and just as the claws were beginning to draw her panties off her hips, there was a pounding at the door.
"Ophelia? Ophelia! It's time to get up! Are you in there?" Portia's voice called out cheerily.
Ophelia's eyes popped open; sunlight was streaming through the floor length curtains that covered the window, bathing the room in a rainbow of light. "Dammit." she thought to herself "I really wanted to know what was going to happen next." No trace was left of the heat and miasma that had filled the room just seconds before. Looking down, she found that her camisole was in one piece without even so much as a frayed edge; though, on further inspection, she discovered an array of red lines across her chest and lower abdomen and the upper part of her left thigh, as if a set of dull claws had been dragged across her skin.
"Shit." she muttered out loud, slightly worried at how easily she had almost given in to Lucio had Portia not knocked on her door at such a serendipitous moment.
Hastily snatching up a dressing gown and tossing it around her shoulders, she ran to the door and yanked it open, greeting Portia with a disheveled smile "Good morning, Portia! I'm sorry, did I over sleep?"
The petite redhead threw up her hands incredulously "Goodness, yes! How tired were you? The sun has been up for hours!"
Ophelia just smiled sheepishly and tried to apologize as Portia waved her explanations away. "Come now! We have to get you ready for the day! So much to do!"
It was a full day indeed, as the Countess insisted on showing Ophelia the entire palace grounds, as well as dragging her all over Vesuvia to give her an idea of what the kingdom was like under her husband, though Ophelia suspected it was more for Nadia's own benefit in helping her recover her own lost memories.
It was late in the day when Nadia finally brought Ophelia back to the palace, and allowed her some time to herself for the evening. "Nadia is wonderful, but she's so intense!" Ophelia thought to herself. As much as she admired the Countess' desire to improve the lives of her subjects, Ophelia couldn't muster equal passion within herself for the same causes. She'd never been rich, and had in fact been through quite a few lean years herself, giving her a rather apathetic view on the subject; she found the promises of change from someone who had never known hardship or want rather tedious if she was truly being honest with herself. But She knew the Countess meant well, and she had made a pledge to help her, so she kept her feelings to herself.
Feeling stifled amidst the great halls and finery, Ophelia crept out to the gardens and wandered by herself until she found herself in a small meadow of flowers. She always felt the most like herself in a garden, and her magic reflected that. The flowers ranged in every color on the spectrum, and grew to be all sizes from her thumb to as big as her face. As the strolled through them, she came to an area that appeared to be affected by some kind of blight; the flowers in that area were withered and dead, leaving the ground around them quite barren.
Sinking to her knees, Ophelia closed her eyes and laid her hands on the ground, reaching out with her magic and feeling it flow from her hands and into the soil, spreading throughout the blighted area. Opening her eyes, she smiled as she watched the disease clear and the flowers spring to life again, bigger and healthier than before.
"Ah, so that's it."
Ophelia started a little at the sound of the voice, the hair on the back of her neck standing up as she felt a familiar heat fall around her shoulders.
"This is your power: healing and giving life. Tsk, tsk, it's no wonder Asra wanted to keep his prized possession to himself."
Ophelia could see him now, clearer than ever: Lucio in his ghostly goat form was drifting toward her from across the meadow, his red aura hanging around him like a cloak. She could feel a fluttering in her stomach at the sight of him; so large, and threatening in appearance, but the way those red eyes stared at her made her stomach twist itself into knots.
He came close enough to bring his mouth down to her face and whisper in her ear, his hot breath buffeting against her cheek "And yet, Asra isn't here," he continued "Who will protect his precious little Ophelia while he's on his mysterious journeys? What could be so important that he would allow you to be left in such a vulnerable state?"
Ophelia felt the sting of his words; she had wondered quite the same recently, and she could come to no satisfying answer.
Lucio's breath was hot on her neck "Come to me in my chambers. I'm strongest there, of that you are well aware. Come to me there and let me show you what we are capable of together." And then he was gone, evaporated on the wind.
Ophelia spent the next few weeks trying to keep herself as busy as possible in order to avoid being alone in the palace for too long, knowing that Lucio was less likely to corner her if she was accompanied by any other people. She couldn't say exactly why she was so conflicted about how he made her feel. On one hand, she was incredibly intrigued by his offer, but something held her back; some fear lurking in the back of her mind told her that if she did this, there would be lasting consequences, not only for her, but for everyone around her. This was something that she wouldn't be able to take back. So she resisted; and while she was mostly successful in her efforts, she had to sleep sometime, and that was when she was at his mercy.
Her nights were plagued by dreams of a tortuously seductive nature. Sometimes she would only get an overwhelming feeling of wetness and heat between her legs; other times she would see herself, naked with her hands anchored behind her, and one of Lucio's claws sliding into her mouth; still others would depict her from the waist up with her head thrown back, a hand desperately clinging to one of the horns that grew up from between her legs.
One sunny afternoon, Ophelia felt particularly overwhelmed and isolated amidst the bustle of palace life, and decided to sneak away while Nadia was busy reviewing the shipping manifests of her fleet of ships that brought goods to and from Vesuvia.
Feeling the need to be surrounded by nature, she crept into the gardens and slipped out of the rusted gate she had discovered while chasing after the deer guard when Nadia had challenged her to find the emperor card. Knowing the city streets quite well by that time, she was passed the walls and out in the surrounding fields in no time.
Ophelia quickly made her way to the forest, her heart yearning for the trees to shield her from the sun's piercing glare with their boughs. As soon as she stepped past the treeline, she felt a wave of relief roll over her; the cool breeze of the forest swept through her loose robes, soothing her exhaustion and seeming to beckon her deeper into the woods. Continuing her aimless path through the trees, Ophelia soon came upon a crystal clear pool of water, fed by a spring that flowed over several large rocks, forming a tiny waterfall. Stifling a sob of joy, she made he way to the water's edge and stared down into its depths, finding that she could see all the way to the bottom as if there was no water at all.
Climbing not one of the rocks that bordered the pool, Ophelia untied the laces that held her skirt around her hips and let it fall to the ground, leaving her in just her top and underwear as she made herself comfortable, letting her legs hang over the side and skim through the water.
As Ophelia sat there, taking in the beauty all around her, she felt her fatigue creeping over her again; she couldn't remember the last time she'd slept through the night, and the water and the breeze, and general ambiance of the forest was soothing. Leaning an elbow on the rock next to her, she let her chin rest in the palm of her hand, her eyes falling closed as she swept her feet slowly back and forth through the cool water.
If she felt that the tranquility of the forest would shield her from Lucio's reach, she was sorely mistaken. She had soon slipped into a sleep-like stupor, drifting aimlessly through her mindscape without much thought as to the passage of time or whether she was safe in that place. Before she knew it, her sky had turned red and a heavy heat had fallen over her body like a thick blanket. Turning her head, Ophelia found that she was resting against something solid; her eyelids had grown heavy, and it took some effort to open them, but as she struggled to do so, she became aware of soft, downy fur brushing over her cheek. Finally getting one eye open, she found that it was indeed fur that she had felt on her face; white fur so fine and curly that she wanted nothing more than to run her fingers through it for days on end, but for now, all she could think about was sleep.
"Yes," a silky voice drifted through her thoughts "You're so tired. Just let yourself rest."
She sorely wanted to obey; every fiber of her being was begging her to just let herself drift away. Letting her head rest against that soft fur was so enticing that she allowed herself to remain that way "Just a little while can't hurt" she told herself. Though she was aware that her sense of alarm was tingling in the back of her mind, it felt so far away that she easliy brushed it off.
"There's a good girl" came the whispered encouragement "Just for a little while."
As Ophelia drifted deeper into her dream state, she felt a clawed hand slide lightly down her side and over her hip, coming to rest on the outside of her mid thigh. It remained there for a moment before moving inward and beginning to creep up, its nails scraping softly over her skin.
As the claws grew closer to their goal, the alarm bells going off in her subconscious grew louder until they were ringing in her ears. Her body felt so weighed down that she could hardly move, but, taking a deep breath, she wrenched herself free, her movement so strong that it carried over into her waking body, and jerked her off her seat on the rock, toppling her into the pool she had just been trailing her feet in.
Floundering to the water's edge, she hauled herself out, rolling onto her back in the grass next to the water as she gasped for breath, her exhaustion threatening to overtake her. "I'm never sleeping again" she thought despairingly "I'm going to fucking die of sleep deprivation, and I don't know a single way to stop it...besides THAT." She rejected the thought outright "No. I can handle this. I never needed that much sleep anyway." Struggling to her feet, she snatched up her skirt and made off for the palace, doing her best to hold firm to her resolve.
The lack of sleep was beginning to wear sorely on Ophelia, and she drifted through her days looking more and more wan and waiflike as time went by. No one seemed to notice the change in her; Nadia was too busy in her efforts to hunt down Dr. Devorak, and Portia noticed little else outside the needs of her mistress. Asra was still gone and although Ophelia missed him terribly, she was used to his absence and didn't look to him for help.
Despite the toll placed on her health, the fatigue did little to lessen the vivacity of her spirit and, though she felt like she could keel over at any moment, she still joked with Portia and gave Nadia every second of her attention, determined to fulfill her side of the bargain they had made.
Ophelia reached her breaking point one day as she returned to the palace from an errand at the shop, and found Nadia waiting for her in the room where she hosted her courtiers. They were all there, looking self important as always, though it was clear that they were weighing on the Countess' patience.
"Ah, Ophelia, there you are." Nadia called to her as she entered the room, gesturing for Ophelia to join her on the couch she was seated on. Stifling a yawn, Ophelia obliged and dutifully sat down next to Nadia, absently taking an offered cup of tea. The conversation prattled on, covering an array of political and economical subjects, none of which Ophelia had any knowledge of, or interest in.
Nadia seemed to notice her magician's lack of interest, and called her by name, shaking Ophelia out of her reverie "Ophelia, how do you feel about that?"
Ophelia's head jerked to attention as she inwardly cursed her inability to ignore her fatigue and pay attention to the discussion. Doing her best, to seem as if she was well informed on whatever subject had been discussed, she babbled out a hasty "Yes, I believe that's fine."
The presence of her courtiers always put Nadia on edge, but that day must have been especially taxing, because, rather than ignore Ophelia's mistake, her eyes narrowed at the magician, scrutinizing her as Pontifex Vulgora began to screech.
"Is that all you have to say?" they raged "After the Countess has been kind enough to bring you here off of the street, you can't even be bothered to discuss the very purpose you were brought here for? Unacceptable!"
As the courtier continued ranting, Ophelia could feel her own ire rising; lifting her eyes to The Countess, she looked for some kind of reason for her silence, but by then Nadia had looked away, and was staring at the opposite wall, an impassive look on her face.
Ophelia knew that Nadia was under extreme pressure to please her people as well as the nobles, but the way she was allowing Vulgora to attack her struck Ophelia to her core; especially how Nadia had made such a show of becoming close with her.
Ophelia had been unconsciously clenching her jaw as Volgora's screeching increased in volume and intensity, and had finally had enough as the courtier advanced on her and began shaking an armored finger in her face. Slamming her cup and saucer down on the side table with a bang, she stood to her feet in the resulting shocked silence.
Turning to Nadia, she spoke in low even tones between her clenched teeth "Countess, do you mind if I retire? I seem to have developed a sudden and piercing headache."
Nadia merely nodded and dismissed her with a wave of her hand, at which point, Ophelia nodded to each of the courtiers, giving Vulgora a pointed glare, and swept out of the room.
Upon exiting the entertaining room, Ophelia made straight for the staircase shrouded in shadow, her mind and purpose set like steel. Consequences be damned, she was done considering the needs of people she couldn't rely on. At that point, only Asra could have stopped her, but where was he? Not there when she needed him, that was for sure.
As soon as she set foot in the room, she could feel his presence.
"I see you have come to me at last, little magician. It certainly took you long enough. "
The voice seemed to be coming from behind Ophelia, and she spun around to catch him, but found nothing.
His laughter echoed around the room and he spoke again "Oh you'd like to see me, would you? Well then, I grant you your desire."
He materialized directly in front of Ophelia and she immediately saw that he was more corporeal than she had ever seen before. He was towering over her, a solid being, and all she could think about was the heat between her legs. "You like what you see? I don't blame you. Even in this form I'm quite a sight to behold, though I do wonder at how you would feel about my human form if we had met before all of this. I have no doubt that you would be melting at my feet." He drew a small gasp from her as he reached out with his one arm and slid his claws around her neck, tipping her head back slightly.
Ophelia could hear her own blood pounding in her ears; she couldn't explain why she felt so profoundly drawn to Lucio, especially in the body he now inhabited, but of one thing she was sure, and that was that she wanted him to fuck her until she couldn't see.
"Perhaps I would," she replied, matching his fiery stare and doing her best to keep her voice as steady as she could "but I like this form quite well and I'm curious to find out what you can do with it."
Leaning his head in close, he breathed in deeply, inhaling her aura "Your magic," he almost moaned "It's just pouring off of you. You're like a ripe peach just begging to be bitten."
It was all Ophelia needed. She decided that she'd fended him off and denied her own curiosity for long enough. Reaching into her hair, she pulled out the single pin she used to keep it in place, letting her dark emerald tresses fall in waves reaching down past her hips. She then unlaced her bodice and let her silken robes slip from her shoulders, and pool at her feet, leaving her completely bare, all the while staring deep into Lucio's crimson gaze.
"You knew this was coming" his voice whispered as the heat of his gaze roved every inch of her skin "I would have thought you would have made more of an effort with your undergarments, but...nothing at all. Hmm. It is most efficient, I suppose." He reached out with his single set of claws and gripped her shoulder, turning her away from him. He then lifted her up and deposited her on the bed, face down and legs dangling off the side. She felt him slip his claws in the crease of her hip before he pulled her hips up so her face was still buried in the bedding but her ass was in air, propped up on her knees, completely exposed to him.
While Ophelia was wondering if he planned on plowing into her right then and there, thinking of how long it had been since she'd had her brains properly fucked out of her skull, Lucio's claws wound themselves around one of her thighs, and she felt something wet and fleshy, but rough across the surface, probe between her legs and slide against the outer lips of her pussy.
Wincing slightly at the slightly abrasive texture, she let her head fall to the side, and opened one eye; catching sight of herself in the smoke-blackened mirror that stood to the side of the bed, she nearly choked on her own gasp. Two horns rose up from behind her ass and bobbed occacionally with each stroke of the strange appendage acros her sex. "So his goat tongue feels like THAT?" she asked herself silently, slightly scandalized at herself for enjoying it so much. Ophelia soon grew accustomed to the rough feeling of Lucio's tongue as it slid through her building arousal. Her body was responding anyway, as she could feel her inner walls clenching, and lifted her hips to express her approval.
Lucio was also paying close attention to every one of her body's responses, slipping his tongue into her entrance as she lifted her hips in desperation "You taste divine" he said in a whispered growl "I can taste your power in your essence."
His words made Ophelia press her legs together, yearning for more friction, but she was denied as he removed himself fully from her heat, leaving her a quivering mess, and making her whine in disappointment.
"You've made me wait this long, tiny magician, you can surely stand to wait a little while longer yourself."
This, time Ophelia felt something slick and smooth slide between her legs and against her outer pussy, resting heavily against her clit, the pointed tip of it pressing against her belly.
Her heart dropped as he began to move; "It's so fucking BIG" her panicked thoughts rose in her mind "How the fuck am I going to take the whole thing?"
He seemed to sense her thoughts and laughed darkly as he continued to slide his cock in between her legs and out again "Oh we'll get there," he whispered between gritted teeth "We have to."
As Lucio continued to thrust himself between Ophelia's legs, she began to feel herself relax, becoming less tense as each swipe of his cock rubbed against her clit.
Those movements also came to an end too soon for Ophelia, and much to her dismay, he once again withdrew his attentions. He wasn't gone for long, because she soon felt the tip of his pointed cock press against her opening as his claws found their way to her thigh again, and pulled her back to the edge of the bed, her feet once again hanging over the side.
As Ophelia was pushed face downward into the blankets, she curled her fingers into the silky bedding "Just like my visions" she thought to herself with a shiver. While she was contemplating her current situation, the claws were removed from her back, but we're replaced by the feeling of hot pressure that threatened to increase in temperature each time she tried to rise up.
The claws returned once again to push in between Ophelia's thighs, working them apart before a hoof was planted on the inside of each foot, completely exposing her once again.
She jumped a little when she felt brush fleshy protuberance brush against the inner lips of her pussy. By no means a virgin, Ophelia was still shocked by the feeling, as it resembled no cock she'd encountered before. This...thing that was touching her felt more pointed than a normal cock and, even more oddly, felt quite moist. Raising her head, she again glanced in the smoke-stained mirror that faced the bed to take in the sight behind her: the tall, goat-like creature that she had only caught glimpses of before, was looming above her, the claws of his remaining arm dug solidly into her hip as he teased his cock against her entrance.
Catching her eye, Lucio's crimson gaze held her transfixed for a heated moment before he began pushing slowly, easing into her little by little.
Ophelia gritted her teeth together at the feeling of being so greatly stretched, convinced that he was going to run her all the way through.
He was soon fully seated inside of her, both of them breathing heavily, anticipation thick on both sides, though hers was tinged with apprehension.
Lucio soon began to move within Ophelia, making her bite down on her fist at the ache from the way he stretched her, but also because she'd never felt so incredibly full before.
When the waves of pain had subsided, Ophelia was able to get a feel for the appendage that was now inhabiting her pussy. Though its tip was rather narrow, it expanded considerably at its base, filling her up quite thoroughly, with still some length to spare. She had also noticed the ease with which this strange cock had slid inside of her, almost as if it provided its own lubrication.
She didn't have much time to continue her inspection, when Lucio began to thrust in and out of her with long powerful strokes, their mutual arousal filling the room with the filthiest sucking sounds, combined with the moans and gasps they made in their coupling.
Ophelia was soon shuddering around Lucio's strange cock, having quickly lost the ability to even lift her hips to meet his thrusts. He noticed this and she felt a claw grip her hip, and haul her up once again, this time to her hands and knees, and spreading her even further for him before filling her once again.
Letting her head fall, between her arms, she gasped at the sight of the way her stomach bulged out slightly every time Lucio pressed his cock deep inside her.
As his thrusts came faster and faster, Ophelia could feel the upper portion of his cock swelling considerably until the girth of its tip was thicker than the base. Panic flashed in her brain "What if it gets stuck and he can't pull it out of me?" She thought wildly. As much as it frightened her, the thought of this cock being stuck inside her, filling her up, stoked Ophelia's arousal even more, and she was soon trying her best to lift her aching hips to meet his every movement, mewling cries falling from her lips.
With several last ferocious thrusts of his hips, Lucio pressed himself into her with one last movement, a guttural moan escaping his lips as Ophelia felt the hot liquid shooting deep inside of her and triggering her own orgasms.
Collapsing onto the bed, Ophelia lay there gasping for several minutes, the sweat on her forehead making the wisps of hair framing her face, stick to it. She felt Lucio's cock slowly shrinking, having drained itself inside her and served its purpose. Unconsiousness slowly overtook her, and she soon slipped into darkness, still aware of being filled to bursting with Lucio's hot, sticky cum.
When she awoke, Ophelia knew instinctively that she was alone. Her previous activities coming back to her in a flood, she leapt out of bed and onto her feet. Reaching between her legs, she was shocked to discover...nothing. No trace of her coupling with the ghost remained.
Dashing to the mirror, she twisted and turned in front of it, inspecting herself for any bruises or abrasions; anything to indicate what she had just experienced. Her skin was perfect and unmarred by even the slightest abrasion. However, one stark difference that was immediately apparent to her was that she looked like she had just woken up from a full night of restful sleep; her eyes were bright and her cheeks were glowing. She even found that she was in an excellent mood.
Sinking back down on the bed, Ophelia passed a hand over her face "Holy shit. What just happened to me? What did I just do?" she thought incredulously. She looked around the room for any further evidence, but found nothing save for a few silken white hairs. As strange as it all was, she could help but feel slightly pleased with herself; all thought of consequences were gone from her mind and all that was left was a supreme feeling of self satisfaction"That was insane, but I feel amazing now." She told herself "Shit, have to tell Katz all about this!"
After she had spent the remainder of the day and then that night laughing and catching up with her sister-apprentice, Ophelia felt that she was emotionally and mentally able to return to the palace.
As she hurried through the streets, it struck her that rehearsal for the masquerade would be starting that day, and even though she was probably not in the Countess' best graces, she had made an agreement to continue helping Nadia, and part of that help included being involved in every even that had to do with her investigation. Realizing the need for haste, she picked up her pace, anxious to get the ordeal over with.
As she dashed through the halls of the palace toward the ballroom where rehearsal was to take place, Ophelia noticed a marked lack of people; where there were normally servants scurrying in every which way, the halls were now vacant. Ophelia encountered not a soul until she drew near the grand ballroom. Rounding a corner some small distance away from the entrance, she was shocked to see what appeared to be every servant in the palace packed tightly around those doors, chattering and straining against each other for any glimpse they could get inside.
Once she was finally within earshot of the uproar and could discern what they were saying, her blood ran cold.
"The Count! It's Count Lucio!"
"What about him?"
"He's alive!"