After the Rain: Lust
I will go mad if I stay here...
Curiosity had won the best of her and, quietly, she had sneaked out of her room intent to explore the vast dark halls of the citadel. At first, it had been easy to find her way around, for there was a single hallway that seemed to span for miles, but her wandering had eventually taken her to a crossroads, corridors on all sides, each identical in appearance. She had chose the one to her left, which proved to not be welcoming, for she was met with a dead end that seemed quite out of place. It was like something was trying to keep her out. That was the prime reason she hated the palace and felt the need to venture out into the uncharted waters. There was something sinister about the place, as if it had a mind of it's own. It was playing with her, or so it felt.
Turning the corner to go back the way she had come, a devil of a thought snuck into her mind. Where was Demando's room? She shook her head in an effort to shake the question out of her mind, but to no avail. In fact, it had ingrained itself even deeper into her thoughts. She found herself unconsciously searching for it, going down the adjacent hall which was not blocked off, to her relief. Every corridor was the same, room after room with an even amount of space between them, every so often a roman column breaking the pattern. The floors, opaque white, occasionally glittered as if they were alive and winking at her. Darkness hung like a cloud overhead, obscuring the ceiling, the only visible thing being the flickering flames of the candles lighting the space. The hallways seemed to get darker and darker with each passing step, foreshadowing what was to come probably. The halls were strange; different than they had been. They captured her interest now for some reason and she couldn't help but notice every little off detail. She had paid attention to the hallways before, but in the hours of the day they were somnolent, brought to life only by the black night. Her curiosity was being fed only causing it to grow larger and making her desire to go forth sky rocket.
Hours of walking had occupied her sleeping hours, hours of delirious confusion, hours of searching for something she was unsure of. She had gone down countless corridors, walked hundreds of steps, before she had come to the most frightening of them all.
The one hall that was immersed in black with not a single light was no doubt the one that she had been searching for.
Without so much as a second thought, her curiosity teased her, forcing her to walk forward and see just what lay at the end. In a trance, she stumbled forward, her steps choppy and halted, partially from fatigue, and partially from fear that had taken root. There were things much more frightening, right? Surely she wasn't going to let some stupid hallway get the best of her.
She had finally gone far enough to see the end of the corridor. A large set of doors, standing tall and piercing the darkness overhead, no doubt stretching all the way to the ceiling, lie at the end, daunting yet alluring all at once. Two silhouettes, one on each side stood guard.
She had found Demando's quarters.
She had journeyed into the darkest recess of Hell.
Her feet were stuck to the floor, pinning her in place while she thought over her options. She could turn around and hope no one had seen her and crawl back into her velvety cage, or she could appease her curiosity and face the possible danger head on. Her throat ran dry as she thought about her second option. What did Demando do behind closed doors?
"Come forth, intruder!"
Too late to turn back...
On command, she entered their line of sight, her eyes widening as the tips of two sleek, cool blades prodded her throat.
"What business do you have coming to the Prince's chambers at this hour?" One rasped.
She had no answer to the question. Her silence was taken the wrong way.
"Answer him!" The guard's companion growled and pressed the sword against her throat with more force, drawing blood. He assumed a defensive position as if she were dangerous.
Usagi hissed from the stinging pain bestowed upon her neck. Was this all that she would experience here? Pain, loneliness, a broken heart?
"What the hell is going on out here!"
The door was cracked open, a head of disheveled silver hair poking out. Demando glared daggers at the two guards, barking at them to drop their weapons and leave. Dropping their swords, the shiny metal weapons clanging at contact with the ground, they hurriedly bowed and disappeared in twin puffs of grey smoke, traces of their apologies lingering in the air.
She was left to face him alone.
"Why are you here?" He asked, his tone gradually softening. "You should be in your bedchambers, asleep."
"I-I..."
Her words fell off of her tongue, nothing left for her to say as Demando dragged her into his room by her wrist, shutting the door behind them. With no time to react, he embraced her, smothering her in a tight hug.
"Feeling the desire to visit your Prince?" He chuckled darkly, gently kissing the tip of her ear.
"After your beating in the dining room, I would never want to be in your arms."
"You didn't get the roses? My heartfelt apology? Or perhaps you did and you want a little...more." He teased.
Using all of the force she could muster up, she pushed him away, not expecting for him to release her. With so much force, she fell back only for Demando to swoop down and capture her in his arms. He smiled seductively at her. This was all a game to him, a tease; she hated it. Why had she ever thought it would be a good idea to come here? She didn't actually want to see him...right?
"I don't want anything from you."
She peeled his arms off her waist and fled to the corner of the room. He didn't follow.
"Do you think I don't notice, Princess? Do you think I don't see why you reject me so harshly? Why you run from me?" He smirked, crossing his arms. "You like me."
She snorted; a very unladylike gesture, but the moment well deserving.
"You think I like you?" She asked incredulously. "How arrogant can you be?"
She turned her back to him to hide her flushed cheeks.
"Just enough." He purred sultrily, appearing behind her.
Blood rushed to her cheeks. There was a small part of her that was incredibly attracted to him and was bathing in pleasure from his close proximity and obvious flirting, but most of her was desperately trying to reject him. Multiple times she had challenged him and he had risen to the occasion with a fist full of power and malice. He beat her, and still he expected her to go running into his open arms.
"Sit down and have a drink with me."
She was ready to say no, she had all intent to, but her hidden lust for him won her senses over for that split second and she took his hand, letting him lead her to his bed. For some reason it didn't occur to her that she was about to be put in a spot where he could take advantage of her. Secretly, she wouldn't have minded anyway. Drunk with euphoria, she sunk down onto the bed, sitting just a out of arm's reach. She was still slightly on edge with him. She watched with curiosity as he fetched two crystal glasses off a silver tray and uncorked a tall, slim bottle. A reddish purple liquid trickled from the bottle and into the glasses. When they were each halfway filled he scooped them up and walked over to her.
"What is this?" She asked, sniffing the liquid.
"Wine, of course. It is the only fitting drink for royals such as ourselves."
Wine...
"I can't," she squeaked and pushed the glass that was being held out to her away. "I can't drink."
"Of course you can," he pressed and shoved the glass into her hand, annoyance starting to appear on his chiseled features.
She knocked the glass aside, watching as it tumbled out of his hand and shattered to the ground into thousands of tiny, wet pieces. Her glance flickered over to Demando who took a sip from his own glass and made a tsk sound.
"That was a waste of perfectly good wine."
He took another sip.
"I believe I should get going." She popped off the bed, stepping over the remnants of what had been her wine glass.
Demando didn't agree apparently, for he yanked her back in his direction, sending her toppling onto the bed next to him. Her mouth opened in protest, but her words were cut short by his ferocious, lust-charged kiss. Startled, her eyes were wide and she gasped as his tongue slipped into her open mouth. She felt the gentle dribble of warm liquid enter her mouth, cringing when she realized that it was wine. Involuntarily, she swallowed, the alcoholic liquid caressing her esophagus in a rich embrace. She felt the low rumble of Demando's growl, her stomach fluttering in response. His hands wandered to her waist and she was pushed back against the numerous pillows piled on his bed.
She yelped as his hands roamed over her body, gently skimming over her thighs. The sensations she felt were strange, foreign, but sent electric charges pulsing through her. Part of her mind nagged at her that this was wrong and she needed to get away, but she ignored it, choosing to delve deeper into her pleasure. This was what love felt like, that kind of love. She hadn't felt loved for a very long time. That part of her that was still devoted to Mamoru agreed. She hadn't felt anything pleasurable for what had seemed like an eternity; she longed for this, she deserved this, even if she didn't love the man on top of her.
The gentle vibrations of Demando's moan made the nerves in her neck tingle as he nuzzled her. Judging from his movements and his very voracious sounds, she knew he was losing control. He would want that very soon; expect it.
She gently nudged his body off of hers with the palms of her hands.
She wasn't ready for this. She was only a teenager. This wasn't what she wanted to do, not at this age. No matter how good it felt, no matter how much a part of her secretly lusted for him, she would not give into his desires. She owed that much to herself and those who she cared about. And besides, there was another reason.
She didn't want to give herself to him; she didn't want to betray Mamoru.
Not understanding her intentions apparently, Demando dove back in, gently nibbling on the skin of her neck with teeth. His hands tugged at her dress, his way of telling her that he didn't want it on her anymore.
"Stop..." she said, pushing him again. "Stop!"
His eyes were clouded with confusion.
"I can't do this. Not now." She whimpered and crawled out from underneath him and off of the bed.
She could feel the pain of her rejection radiating off of him. She had been so close, so close to letting him take her.
She had been so close to betraying the love of her life. She had been so close to betraying herself.
Her heart ached as she fled his room. It ached from its torn state. From what she had just experienced, she knew that there was a part of her that wanted Demando way more than she loved Mamoru, and that scared her.
An ominous feeling trailed closely behind her, warning that something bad would come from all of this. Nothing good would come from the dark lust she was starting to experience.
She had been right about one thing.
She was going mad.
End
This spiced things up a little! Would you kindly review?