Of Darkness Chapter Two
Damon awoke slowly as his eyes battled with the blinding rays shining on his face. He sat up and groaned as the arm of another body slipped from his chest. His head turned to the side and he saw a sleeping Bonnie snuggled against his body. "Bonnie." He cleared his dry throat and nudged her. "Bonnie." He tried louder. Bonnie frowned and one eye snapped open, revealing a swirling mass of blackness. Damon blinked and her normal dark eyes now stared up at him. That must have been a trick of the morning.
"Why must you be so loud in the morning?" She buried her head back into the makeshift pillow. Damon's lips twitched upward before he smoothed a palm against her thigh. Bonnie draped her leg across his waist.
"It is my duty as a soldier to get up and train for my king. If you yearn to be my equal so much, you will have to do just about everything as I do." Bonnie's head lifted up, showing Damon her knotted locks. An eyebrow rose.
"Just about everything?" She challenged. Damon rolled on top of her and gripped her core. Tracing a horizontal line on her mound with the pad of his thumb, he studied her face.
"Bonnie, know that there are just some things better suited for a man to carry out." She kicked him off of her and straddled his hips.
"As should you know, likewise with women." Damon laughed while Bonnie frowned.
"The only thing you women can do better is birth our children. And the only reason that is, is because we cannot bare children at all." Bonnie huffed and slapped him before quickly getting off of him and his cot. She should have left him on the floor. Damon blushed before chasing after her. "W-wait Bonnie, you can not expect me to defend your honor for you, when everything I say is the truth!" Bonnie abruptly turned and stared hard at Damon. She slowly crossed her arms.
"Damon, do well not to burn your bridge before you even have finished crossing it. You could drown in the depths of the unknown." And with those ominous words, she turned to leave, her freshly new forest green gown like dress whooshing after her. Damon squinted in thought. He wondered how she got that dress when he could swear she took not a stitch of clothing along with her, except what she had on her back. And he was sure those were still shreds lying carelessly on the floor. Shaking his head, he quickly threw on a clean tunic and rushed out after her. Her clothing had its own time to be discussed, more so when he was ripping them off as he-
Damon shook his head once more for good measure. He ran out into the bothersome humidity of the morning and caught sight of the trail of her dress dragging around the corner. "A-Athaila, wait for goddess' sake!" When he finally caught up, she was standing stock still in front of a burly man. The man reached out to her and she slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch me you despicable creature!" She shouted at him angrily. The man's face turned red and he growled. Damon cursed and ran toward Bonnie.
"No!" He slid and blocked the man's fist from connecting to Bonnie's body. Bonnie sneered at the burly man and Damon pushed forward, causing the man to stumble back. The man looked at them in surprise, as did Damon at his hands. He never had this amount of strength before. Bonnie snaked an arm around Damon's waist and glared heatedly at the huge man.
"Off with you, you disgusting heathen!" The man stumbled back, and then turned to run away. Bonnie smirked and pulled away from a stunned Damon. She went to walk away when a hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her back, slamming her into a hard chest. She looked up into the panicked eyes of Damon. "What-"
"Something is wrong with me! I never could do this before!" Damon started to breathe heavily and his chest heaved rapidly. Bonnie yanked herself from him.
"Get a hold of yourself Damon, you should be glad you have this gift, maybe you could actually get somewhere in this miserable time you call a life." Damon glared at her, then stalked toward the king's palace. Bonnie dusted invisible dust off her gown and followed after him.
...
Bonnie watched as yet another man fell to the ground, unconscious. Damon ran to the man and squatted, checking to see if he was all right. Bonnie scoffed. "If only he would stop being so sensitive. He would make a great warrior..." A general approached Damon, who had yet to break a sweat or show any sign of fatigue.
"Boy, who are you?" Damon looked up, stumbling to acknowledge his chief.
"Z-Damon." He stuttered. The general looked him up and down.
"Go over there to those men and begin training with them from now on." He pointed to the archers and Damon nodded excitedly and sprinted over to them. The general then glanced over to Bonnie. She jerked her head to the side and he stiffly walked off.
Blowing out a breath, she got up from a wayward rock and strolled over to Damon. Standing at the edge of the training field, she cupped her hands around her mouth. "Damon! Is it time for you to train me?" She shouted. All the archers turned to stare at her, Damon included. He cursed and stormed over to her, trying his best to ignore the stares in his back. When he got within range, he spoke heatedly.
"What are you doing? Trying to soil my name when I just moved up ranks?" Bonnie cocked her head to the side in innocence.
"But you promised to train me to become your equal." He narrowed his eyes.
"You're evil." Bonnie grinned sardonically. The other men looked at each other then at the pair in confusion, a woman was not seen in the practice area, but no one dared to approach her and tell her so. There was a certain aura around her that repelled their usual viciousness towards women.
"Oh, you have not the slightest of an idea." She laughed, running her hand up and down on Damon's chest. He involuntarily leaned in, closing his eyes. With the corner of his lips turning down, he sighed, and turning, he began to walk away.
"Hurry, before I change my mind." Bonnie followed him, reveling in the hungry stares aimed at her. Damon moved away from the archers and pulled out his newly acquired sword. "Come at me now." He taunted, already imagining his victory. Bonnie looked around. The men around them now seemed unable to clearly focus on them, as if a haze surrounded them.
"Where is my weapon?" Damon laughed.
"A weapon? Women can't even hold up a weapon!" Bonnie glowered and ran towards him, Damon lifted his arm to block her, only to have her match his arm and ram her foot into his chest. He coughed and Bonnie knocked the sword out of his grip. She turned and slapped the back of his kneecaps, causing him to fall on his knees. Raising the sword swiftly, she gently placed it against his neck and sighed mockingly.
"It seems as if you are the losing participant of this duel, sire." Damon fell forward and covered his face, groaning. He was absolutely mortified at losing to a woman. He could never show his face again. Bonnie noticed his distressed state and laughed, maybe that would teach him to respect women. She squatted down next to him and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look into her deep, dark orbs.
"Lesson one: Never underestimate or disrespect a woman. We may look small, but we can also destroy you." Damon grunted. "And calm down, no one saw us." She helped him up and checked him for bruising, but Damon slapped her hand away.
"I am fine." He ground out through gritted teeth. Bonnie stepped up close to him.
"You do well not to cross me the wrong way Damon, I will help you, just as you help me. Now, go finish your barbaric training. Oh, and straighten your posture when firing an arrow." And with that, she turned, hitting Damon in the face with her long locks. The haze surrounding them lifted. He looked after her, noticing the sultry sway to her hips, hips that would be all his-
He looked around, wondering where that possessive thought had come from. Yet, when he saw many other men staring at her with eyes filled with lust, he embraced the thought fully.
...
Damon led Bonnie into a quaint little tavern, with an elderly couple as its owners. Bonnie eyed the place suspiciously and Damon pinched her bottom. She jumped a bit and stopped her looking around. They sat at a table in the back, to avoid too much attention. Though that was in vain considering everyone was already staring at them. Between Damon's lithe build with black hair and intense eyes and Bonnie's bronze silky skin and her cat like eyes with dark coal surrounding them, they didn't know where to stop looking. Not to mention the demonic snake staring out at the world with dangerous eyes, around Bonnie's neck.
Damon smiled at the elderly woman as she waddled her way over to them. "Damon my boy, what can I get you and your lovely?" Damon ordered ale and bread, and then turned to Bonnie.
"What do you want?" The elderly woman looked at them in shock; men usually ordered for their women, if they even let them out of the shack. Bonnie smirked at the woman.
"The strongest ale you have here, and some meat." Damon almost had to push his eyes back into their sockets. How were they going to pay for that? The elderly woman offered them a weak smile and scuttled over to her husband. Damon watched the woman whisper something excitedly to her husband and point to their table. Her husband looked at them and his eyes narrowed at Bonnie. He pushed passed his wife and stormed over to their table. Damon got Bonnie's attention.
"Bonnie, her husband is coming over here, and he doesn't look too pleased." Bonnie offered a look over there and shrugged.
"Let him come, he looks like he has something to say." Damon sighed shakily and looked away from the impending danger. He heard boots scrape against the dirt floor.
"Listen you ignorant whore, you have no right to waltz in my tavern with this high and mighty attitude!" He turned to Damon. "Boy, do better to pick a more smarter one next time." Bonnie stood up so suddenly that her chair fell back. The whole place quieted as she slowly looked up.
Placing both hands on the table, she took a calming breath. "How dare you... How. Dare. You. " She finally looked the elderly man in his eyes, causing him to stagger back in fear. "How dare you come to me and call me such a degrading term when you know nothing of me! I am not a whore you bastard! I am an honored and well-known princess from lands you've only heard in oracles! I will curse you and this decrepit place!" Her voice boomed with vile evilness and she slammed her fist on the table. It broke into two slabs and Damon jumped up. He acted quickly, grabbing Bonnie and dragging her from the tavern.
When they were back at his humble place, Bonnie would not cease her pacing. Damon fell onto his cot and watched her endless going of back and forth. She finally stopped and stared blankly at him. "You did not defend me." Fearing another episode, he quickly got up and wrapped his arms around her. Nuzzling his head into her neck, he deeply breathed in her spicy scent.
"You did not give me the chance to Bonnie. If you want me to defend you, you have to actually need to be defended. You obviously took care of yourself today. I just hope I can still visit the old hag there." Bonnie pushed Damon's face away and glared at him.
"Hag?" Damon fiddled with the string of his tunic.
"Believe me when I say I call her that with the up most affection. She took care of me when my mother died." Bonnie inwardly gagged at the vulnerable expression on his face. She sat on the cot.
"And what of your father?" Damon's features took on a darker look. His fist clenched.
"He stole my younger brother and ran into the night when my mother died, he wanted nothing to do with me..." Bonnie's eyes widened.
"H-he left you?" She sputtered. Damon scoffed and pulled the string to his tunic; it fell to the floor.
"He was not my real father, my real father died in the war of Rez." Bonnie nodded somberly. That was the bloodiest battle the world had yet to see. She held her hand out as Damon bent down and grabbed the dirty clothing. A flicker of a flame danced along her palm for a second before dying. When Damon stood back up, Bonnie was standing there in front of him, eyes smoldering. The hand that created the flame caressed his cheek. She studied his face for a moment.
"You must have gotten your features from your mother. I have never seen a more feminine man before." Damon's hand covered her own.
"Yes, I was told I am a male version of my mother." Bonnie chuckled.
"Is that why you try so hard to fit in with the other men? So they won't think you soft?" A pink tint brushed Damon's cheeks and his eyes slid away from her gaze. "Don't lie to me." She breathed. He heaved a defeated sigh.
"Yes..." She nodded in understanding, looking down. Her eyes danced with mirth.
"If only they could see what you are packing underneath that tunic, then they wouldn't doubt your manhood at all." Damon stepped closer, his other hand brushing against Bonnie's waist.
"Who are you?" He asked, remembering her claim from earlier. All emotion and warmth died in her eyes. She pulled her hand back as if he had burned her.
"I will tell you when I feel you are ready." Damon stepped back up to her.
"Why are you always so cryptic? Can you not just tell me a little about yourself?" He pleaded. Bonnie bit her lip.
"Fine, three questions." Damon grinned and threw her on the cot, she gasped as he plopped down beside her, trapping her between his legs. She laughed and wiggled out of his grip. When he finally lay down beside her, she got her bearings together.
"First: Why are those symbols tattooed all over your body?" He asked, brushing a thumb over the twisted symbols on her arm.
"In my clan, we had special... signs that told us what our destiny would be, not wanting to forget what the signs told us, we carved them onto our bodies." Bonnie closed her eyes in thought.
"I get it, mostly. Where is your clan at now?"
"Dead, they were all massacred brutally because they refused to become puppets for a greedy king." She gritted out bitterly.
"I am terribly sorry-"
"If only that could bring them back, I would still be with them right now." She cut him off. Damon treaded away from that sore spot wisely.
"Last one... what do you think off me?" Bonnie gave an unladylike snort. Damon laughed, his hand massaging her thigh.
"Out of all men, I can tolerate you the most. You have treated me like a queen compared to other men out there. And you are alarmingly handsome, from your looks to your bravery and determination. I would love to see you as a king someday. You would make a great one indeed. The woman who takes your heart will be the luckiest." Damon's grin slipped away, replaced with a look of awe. His hand traveled up her thigh and disappeared into Bonnie's gown. Her hips lifted and she gazed at him as she let out a moan. Damon's fingers played with her and her head pressed into the makeshift pillow. He crawled on top of her and leaned down to press his lips against hers. Her back arched and she grunted into his mouth. He slowly pulled away and a fierce passion roared in his eyes.
"Thank you..."