(A/N: I want to thank all the people who gave me reviews!! I value all of your opinions! God Bless! Here's another chapter! Filled with sweet Ion and Esther moments. The poems in this story are not mine. Like Trinity Blood, I don't own them. They just seemed to be perfect for this chapter.)
Chapter 7
Finally, Ion started to stir awake. He had no idea how exhausted he was. The trip from the Empire, and the events of the previous night drained him of energy. Last night... For his first time, it was...he couldn't find the right words to describe how wonderful it was. Ion knew it was sudden to take Esther to bed, the first night of their reunion, and he seduced her. But he did not regret it all. Ion slowly opened his eyes, as he rolled over. There was something soft and warm in his arms. He smiled at the thought of Esther still being in the same bed as him. A blush crossed over his face as Ion, brought himself up and kissed the warm bundle in his arms. But something was wrong. Whatever it was in his arms, it wasn't moving. It was completely still, lifeless.
"Esther?" Ion whispered. No answer. He shook whatever was in his arms. "Esther?!" Ion shook harder, but still no answer. He got up and went to turn on the light. Ion was getting worried. "What's wrong with her?" he thought, as he reached the switch. Light poured through the room, and Ion looked over at the bed. What he had in his arms, what he kissed was a large pillow. Ion gave a nervous chuckle.
The door knob turned and opened, and Alice and a two other maid entered. The other two girls had some clean clothes for Ion, but once they entered the room, all three women noticed his complete lack of clothes.
"SIR!" shouted Alice, "PLEASE, COVER YOURSELF!"
Ion gave a yelp, and jumped back to the bed and grabbed a blanket to cover himself. "My apologies." he said. His face red with shock. The other two maids hid their blushing faces with their hands.
"No, Sir we are the ones who should apologize. Me, and my girls thought you were still asleep, and came to bring you some clean clothes." said Alice, she guestured at the other two. The girls placed the clothes down on the table for Ion.
"It's quite alright, ma'am." replied Ion. "How long have I been asleep for?"
"Most of the day. In a few hours it will be sunset." said Alice. "If you will come with us, we will draw you a bath, and I'm sure you must be hungry."
Ion smiled, "Ravenous!"
"Good. My name is Alice, and I am the mistress of the maids." she said. Ion was led into a room with a large pool with steaming, hot water. Once the ladies left him, he removed the blanket from around his waist, and climbed into the pool. Ion sniffed the water, "I am going to smell like a flower garden.." he thought to himself. Ion sat down deep into the hot water, and with a sigh he closed his eyes and relaxed.
After the bath, Ion put on a robe that was left for him in the baths. He then followed one of the young maids into another room, where he eat his first meal since arrived in Albion. A platter of fruit, fresh baked bread, and there was a goblet of blood for his drink. All the while his thoughts were focused on Esther. Where was she? Was she alright? Could she be angry at him?
Ion saw Alice enter the room, and turned to her. "Do you know where the Queen is?"
"She's in the gardens, reading one of her books from the library." she replied, clearing away the dirty dished from the table.
Ion stood up and went back to his rooms. He quickly put on the cleans clothes given to him, and made his way through the Palace until he came to the gate leading into the garden. The sun was under the mountains, but Ion could still smell the rays. He saw Esther sitting on the grass. She was wearing a light blue sun dress, her hair was done up in an elegant fashion, leaving little ringlets of red curls framing her face. She also held a book in her lap. Ion watched her for a few minutes, before going out towards her.
Esther was skimming through a book of poetry, unaware that Ion was coming up behind her. Esther jumped when she felt hands come on her shoulders. She turned around and saw Ion grinning at her.
"Ion! You scared the life out of me!" She hissed, then started to laugh in spit of herself.
"Forgive me, my Queen." replied Ion, as he continued to rub her tense shoulders. Esther turned her head away from his and closed her eyes. "Why did you leave our bed this morning, Esther?" Ion asked.
"Hhhmmmp..." mumbled Esther. She was not hearing him, he was now rubbing her back.
Ion dipped his head and kiss her bear shoulder, sending a shiver up Esther's spine. He reached forward and took the book from her hands. "What's this?" he asked.
"It's a book of short poems. Alice bought it for me last year. There's lost of great poems in there." said Esther.
"Will you read one for me?"
Esther smiled and took the book from Ion. She flipped through a few pages until she found one of her favorites. She was about to start reading out loud when Ion decided to make himself more comfortable. He laid down on the grass and rested his head on her lap. Esther arched and eyebrow "Cozy?" she asked, her smile still on her face. She wiped a few blond locks out of his eyes.
Ion winked at her, "Very much." he purred.
Esther began to read:
Night came on,
and a full moon rose high over the trees.
Lighting the land the land that let bathed in ghostly day.
In the strained of the primitive remained alive and active.
Faith fullness and Devotion.
Things born of fire and roof were his.
Yet he retained his wildness.
And from the dept of the forest,
a call was still sounded.
"I like it." said Ion. Esther smiled again, glad to have been able to share something with Ion, that she loved. He took the book from her again and flipped through it. He came across another poem and handed the book back to Esther. "Read this one, please?" he asked.
Esther looked at the title. A pink blush went to her cheeks as she started to read:
Passion
It lies in all of us.
Sleeping, waiting and though unwanted,
unbidden, it will stir,
Open its jaws and howl.
It speaks to us, guides us.
Passion rules us all, and we obey.
What other choice to we have?
Passion is the source of our finest moments:
The joy of love,
The clarity of hatred,
and the ecstasy of grief.
It hurts sometimes more than we can bear.
If we could live without passion,
maybe we'd know some kind of peace.
But we would be hollow:
Empty rooms,
shuttered and dank.
Without passion, we'd truly be dead.
Ion sat up and took Esther's hands in his. "Esther, do you regret what we did last night?" he asked. His red eyes bore into her sapphire ones. "The passion we felt was incredible. I want to feel you again. I want all of you."
Before she could respond, Ion brought his face to her's. He lightly brushed his lips against her's, then pulled away. The familiar melting feeling entered her once again. All of the ressolve Esther had running through her head all day vanished. She put down her book and took Ion's face into her hands. Gently she caressed his cheek before taking his lips with her's. She wanted to experience everything about love while she could. The sky was now completly black with a few stars. Ion kissed her back as he laid her down on the soft grass.
