Ran Fan's Lament
Ran Fan never pictured herself as the type to have a lover. From the very beginning she was raised to protect, defend, sacrifice, all in the name of her Master. At age five she began shadowing her grandfather, at age 9 she learned to throw kunai and read chi, and at age 11, she met Ling. Ling was a young, overly energetic boy who ate absolutely everything in sight, and Ran Fan absolutely hated him. She was affronted by his complete disregard for her 11-year-old attempts at protection, and was positively mortified when he tried to hold her hand. Didn't he understand that he was her Master? Didn't he understand that she was there to guard, to give everything to protect him?
Clearly, Ran Fan thought idly as her Master rained kisses down her neck, he's still having trouble understanding. She wasn't sure when she had started blurring the line as well, only that by the time she realized it, the line was completely and utterly gone. It might have been at 14 when she noticed that when he grabbed her hand it was surprisingly strong and warm. Or it might have been when he shared his most private dreams with her, of being a great Emperor who would bring prosperity to all of Xing and abolish the harsh clan rivalries that tore at his siblings, his dream to be a great Emperor who was loved by his people. Then again, it might have been at 16 when he seized her round the waist, kissed her silly, and told her that he'd wanted to do that since he was 11.
Ling began to pull at her shirt and she decided to stop thinking so much.
Ran Fan never, ever, pictured herself as the type to have two lovers. However when one's Master is possessed by the Homunculus known as Greed, it seems that anything and everything is fair game. Greed roughly tugged her belt off, and Ran Fan thought that she really shouldn't enjoy this. Ling was always gentle—passionate, certainly—but attentive and sweet. Greed was none of those things. He was calm, rough, and seemed to take pleasure in merely the conquest of 'someone else's woman.' It was true too, that Ran Fan never would have agreed to this had Ling not told her to do so. (Apparently Greed had threatened to remove her other arm, and Ling absolutely refused to let this happen, despite the fact that she was supposed to be the one protecting him.) So here she was, being handled by a monster disguised as her Master, on the receiving end of pleasure to which she had no right.
She took pleasure in this act, not because of any particular affection she held for the Homunculus, but because these moments allowed her a brief respite from the crushing guilt she felt. She had so utterly failed in protecting her Master. Every minor threat from an outside source was eliminated instantly, effectively, and with all her might. However, Ran Fan had not expected having to protect Ling from himself, and powers she simply couldn't control. What kind of bodyguard was she? A lousy one, she thought, as Greed laid her over her Master's strong thigh.
"You've been a bad body guard haven't you, Ran Fan?" he whispered harshly in her ear, as though reading her thoughts. "We can't have that now, can we? I need you at peak form to protect me. You'll have to be punished for this." And with that, Ling's hand came down hard on her bare backside. Ran Fan didn't bother trying to stop the tears. This was her punishment, and her grieving, the only way she could get it. The real Ling would never hit her; never treat her like anything but the goddess he thought her to be. But Ran Fan was no goddess. She was a failure. A failure as a protector, as a friend, as a lover. So she took the spanks, she met Greed thrust for thrust in penance for her sins against her clan and against her love. And when Greed was finally sated, and it was Ling, her Master, who held her in his arms, she cried for what she feared she might never have again.
Author's Note: So this story idea just popped into my head a few hours ago and I just had to write it out. Thank you, muses! Anyway, please review with any comments you have! I'd really love to hear from you! Also, I'm thinking about writing a corresponding LingxRanFanxGreed lemon, any thoughts?