So, here's yet another chapter...I think this is definitely the last chapter before the epilogue! I promises!
warning: will have some...tension...in the air, very horrid nightmares for poor Alana...and Richard being the bold boy that he is on the inside...or at least when he's with that special someone...oh, and a sprinkle of references to...'polishing the scepter' (please tell me you got that!)
disclaimer: I only own the story, so *blows raspberry* to you!
Chapter 8: an unconventional therapy
While Alanna was trying to sleep, she kept tossing and turning in her bed, trying to get herself tired so she could be able to sleep, but every time she did, she had nightmares of Thomas killing Richard in front of her and she being punished mercilessly and brutally for leaving him for his older brother.
"Look at all this, none of this would have happened if you hadn't left me for him! Now, you will be severely punished, you will carry my child and he will fulfill mother's legacy!" Thomas, the taunting 'demon' King he was, threatened her as she was trying to remain strong for the sake of her lost family and the man she truly loved. "No, you would have made my life a misery to where I would rather soon end my own life than even think of having your evil spawn!" she screamed in her dream as she was desperate about waking up.
She sprung up from her bed, awake as she was frantically looking around the place, wondering if her nightmare had come to pass, but as she got to what was Thomas' chambers, desperate to verify that it was naught but another nightmare, she heard what sounded like moaning and she heard her name being called out before she turned bright red and ran for the library, trying to collect her thoughts. As she had gotten there, she took deep breaths before moving to sit at the table, wanting to get those dreams of her evil ex-husband out of her head. "Damn him….even in my dreams, I'm not safe….gods above, what do I do?!" she asked herself, desperate for something to help with combating her former 'husband' in her dreams. She had her hands on her face for a few minutes before she felt a touch on her shoulder, which caused her to jump and frantically look before she noticed it was just Richard, with his nighttime robes on, allowing a peek of chest hair to show along the top of the sternum, which did fierce things to Alana's somewhat growing arousal. "Oh, it's just you…." She sighed, greatly relieved, but she noticed a worried look on his face, his eyes wearing a concerned expression and his eyebrows furrowed together. "What's bothering you, my dearest?" he asked gently moving his thumb back and forth, she sighed before explaining what happened, nightmares and all.
"I keep having these dreams…of Thomas coming back, killing you….forcefully staking his claim on me as punishment, never stopping until I have his demon spawn…sometimes it ends with me taking my own life….I know they're just nightmares, but they never seem to stop…no matter what I do…" she felt like she was going to break down crying from just even explaining that to him alone, Richard mustered everything to hold back his growing rage….he didn't know just how horribly his bride to be was damaged psychologically until that moment, she seemed so happy and bubbly when she accepted his proposal for marriage, all of what happened to her was his bastard brother and his evil stepmother's fault….though his father could have treated Thomas as his rightful son, he kept looking at Thomas with pure shame as if he greatly regretted not killing his second wife sooner before she had even gone into labor with Thomas. "How long have these dreams been going on?" he asked, his voice deepened with anger as she looked down sheepishly, embarrassed for not telling him sooner. "Since…..since after Thomas was executed…I should have told you sooner, but with you restoring the Kingdom, I felt it would burden whatever was already on your platter." She reasoned, though it was a bit childish in her eyes, it was the best truth she could get out of her mouth. A few moments passed before Richard pulled her up from the chair she was sitting on and held her tightly as if they had already been married, but in secret. It was as if the embrace itself was a way to drive out the constant nightmares plaguing her month after month for a year, as she was relishing being in her future husband's embrace, she felt him tremble a bit as if he was trying not to shed a tear when he was supposed to be the strong one for his fiancée. He pulled away before making her look in his intense icy blue eyes.
"You listen to me very carefully: any concern of yours is never a burden to me. If you had nightmares, why hadn't you gone to me earlier?" he asked with conviction before she gulped, blushing red. "I was going to see if Thomas was still there, but I heard….moaning, Richard…" she explained, still bright red in the face, she knew about sex as the female help in the household when she was a teen had explained to her the aspects of sex and what it does for married couples. He chuckled before it turned into loud, rich laughter before he looked at her with a mixture of love, tenderness and passion in his eyes, much to her confusion. "Is something wrong? Have I said something humorous?" she asked with an eyebrow raised before he kissed her, releasing some of his more intoxicatingly dangerous passion on her as she squeaked a bit from the shock of this intense kiss before he pulled away. "No…far from that…" he panted from how soft and sweet his future Queen's lips were, "I think you may have caught me in a rather…delightfully compromising state." He explained vaguely before she continued looking confused. "Before you assume anything, I was completely alone…I'm not my demonic brother who brought women to his castle and chambers by force to use as his concubines….what did you hear before you got to the library?" he asked in a husky, passionate tone before he held her to him so that she'd feel prominently how much he desired her as the bulge was throbbing against her stomach, causing her to flush red and tremble a bit in excitement more than nervousness.
"I only heard my name being moaned out…oh gods, I'm not sure how to feel about that…" she explained, getting gradually flustered as the chaste side of her was appalled and horrified at the idea of someone wanting her to that kind of extent, but a more sensual side of her was flattered and pleased that someone wanted her that much. "You know only fragments of how much I want you…." He replied before kissing her again, she relished this, this should have been what Thomas was supposed to do, but he couldn't hold a candle to how much Richard had displayed his feelings for her. "I can't sleep in those chambers I had…I feel like it's….infected with his presence…or is it my being alone in that room at night that really enhances my nightmares…" she wondered, panting slightly as he kissed along her neck, occasionally nipping at her pleasure spots. "Funny you should say that…because you're sleeping in mine tonight…beside me." He said as if it was a plead more than a command, which made Alana gather her senses and look at him in shock as he looked at her with a firm resolve. "Despite my saying so, I'm not sure sharing a sleeping chambers with someone who's not my husband is a grand idea nor proper at all." She was flabbergasted by such a request, yes she couldn't bear sleeping in her old chambers anymore because of her nightmares, but that didn't mean that she was going to sleep beside a man she wasn't in the slightest married to, much less intimate with. He growled lowly, annoyed that she was thinking of proprieties, if his mother had been there whence he made that request, she would have boxed his ears for letting the proprieties of a King slip out of his mind, but he'd suffered enough to discard propriety altogether.
"To damnation with propriety….I've been through too much, fighting fruitless battles, losing my throne to a demon brother desperate to please his gorgon of a mother…I need you with me, so I know this no dream conjured by the holy deities above to ease the pain and suffering of being away from everyone, away from my kingdom, and besides…you never once slept in what was my brother's chambers with him, I already know this for a fact, the fact that he never consummated the marriage means he only saw you as a possession…another stolen piece of property for his infamous treasure horde, which my mother always regarded as the worst insult to a woman, worse than disputably words, whereas I see you as someone who needs to actually feel not a King's love, but a husband's love for his wife." He explained, his face wearing a stern resolve that wasn't going to be bashed away with something like propriety….Alana's father would be rolling in his grave as her mother would be wearing a shocked expression on her face. She was in a tizzy of emotions, one part wondered what Richard's chambers even looked like, while another was virtually drowning in emotions of nervousness and shock upon such a daring request from the King himself.
A few moments had passed until she nodded her consent to sleep in his chambers for hopefully one night before the wedding, but Richard secretly hoped to have her in there for more nights, even before they were married, as if he was relishing the ideas of the forbidden, bending and disregarding customs of proper etiquette before he'd enjoy his life with his future Queen via his wedding to Alana. He grinned such a boyish grin before he swept her off her feet, making a squeal come out of her before they went from corridor to corridor, hallway to hallway, until they reached the very same chambers she ran from when she heard her name being moaned out. He pushed the door open with his foot and sat his future bride upon his big canopy bed, she heard him close the door as she looked and noticed that his chambers looked very different in person, spell books lining the shelves, a door to what looked to be the washroom, wardrobes lining part of the walls on the left side, the room was fit for a King indeed. He pulled on the cord for the curtains along the bed so they'd have privacy from the servants, but with sunlight shining opaquely on their faces. She saw him get his outer robes off before he saw on him what looked like a lace up shirt and trousers, which she couldn't in the slightest deny made him look very attractive. She got under the soft and warm covers before putting her head on the pillow. She heard him whisper a charm that made a slight wind blow the candles to where the room was darkened before he climbed into bed next to her, the bed groaning a bit with the weight he put on the bed. He positioned himself to where he was facing her before giving her a kiss on her lips, nose and forehead before saying 'goodnight' and shutting his eyes completely, she kissed his regal and sharp nose before saying goodnight herself and falling asleep again…she hoped that this unusual form of helping her sleep better would help give her a more fruitful sleep for the next morning. The dreams she was having this time around were much more pleasant, consisting of her in Queen's robes again, but hearing the sounds of children squealing and giggling and a rich, deep laughter ringing from the halls as it indicated playtime in the courtyard.
"Avast! You shall be defeated, scurvy pirate!" Richard playfully vowed as their son was once again playing pirate with him yet again while their younger daughter was playing with the dolls Sophie had gotten her as a birthday gift days before. She walked towards her little family, apparently sporting a slightly growing belly, indicating she was pregnant with their third child as the father and son duo stopped and the little boy ran to her. "Mother!" he cheerfully called out as he ran to Alana's side, hugging her legs as she chuckled.
She woke up the next morning as sunlight was shining opaquely on her face from the curtains shielding them from the harsh sunrays, she stretched her arms and tried to move away, but found she couldn't quite do that as she felt arms around her waist and warm puffs of air hitting the nape of her neck and dark brown, almost black hair covering most of her clothed shoulders. She blushed scarlet red when she noticed a bulge nudging against her clothed bum, now knowing fully how much he wanted her….particularly under him as he would caress and kiss her while fully staking his claim on her as his wife. She heard him stirring a bit, groaning in his sleep a bit before he heard the servants come in the chamber bedroom, causing him to grumble words that would never have been allowed to be said around his mother had she still been alive before he got up fully, causing her to hold back giggles at his drowsy state, his hair all over the place and his eyes a bit hooded as he raised a playfully challenging eyebrow at her before she fully laughed. "You think that's funny? My servants waking me up from a rather enjoyable sleep with my future wife?" he asked, poised to tickle her as her body shook with laughter. "It's more of your 'bedhead' hair that's amusing to me, dear!" she got out as she tried to stop her giggles. He pounced on her and attacked her neck with kisses, causing her to laugh harder and occasionally yelp when he nipped on her neck. "You must have been a terrible little boy!" she yelled trying to get him off, but he was too strong for her. He pulled away before looking at her with an incredibly seductive and playful smirk. "I was a lovely little boy….as our son will be someday." He winked before kissing her…if her newest dream was of any indication, it was someone's way of saying that Richard wanted children…she knew that from the festival yesterday when he asked her if she wanted children. She smiled before putting her hands on his stubble face, gently dragging her nail along the growing facial hair prickling his cheeks, mouth and chin, along with some on his neck…when she got her finger to his lips, he caught her finger with his teeth gently as she giggled yet again as he grinned with his victory. "We need to get up from this bed, unless you don't plan on hosting your own festival for the next few days…" she pleaded with humor as he charmed the drapes along the canopy to be risen and tied to the canopy railings. "As much as I'd love to stay in bed with you all day, you're right….I want you in this bed every night, even before we're properly married." He looked at her with love in his eyes as her eyes widened at such a request, one night of banishing propriety was enough, but even before and after they were married was stepping along a thin line of being a devious, lewd, and passionate man, and a loving, caring and genuine man.
"Richard…" she wasn't sure what to even say, on one hand she could remind him that to spend another night in bed with him would raise questions with the servants and guards of the castle, and gods forbid, the townsfolk, but on the other hand, she knew that he suffered for so long, from childhood to adulthood, losing both parents, the throne to a brother who was vengeful, manipulative, as well as cruel and vicious, his childhood tainted by blood and treachery. "I know, propriety must be even maintained by the King…but those were the words of an ancestor who wouldn't know true passion for someone who completed them…one that they couldn't bear to be parted from….my father even told me those words from whence I was growing up in these halls, but even he can see how much his true son had suffered from what his bastard son from that bitch had done to his own kingdom…destroying it, starving the villages of their coin and food, beating them at the first sign of disobedience in his eyes…" Richard reminded her with conviction before he laid on Alana's body, his head nestled on her bosom as she wrapped her arms around his head, hoping it'd protect him from the ever lingering nightmares of his past. She kissed his head before rubbing her hand up and down his back in a comforting way, she couldn't think about the proper manners of a man and a woman when he was even now still recovering from his tragic and bloody past. "Then if it will soothe your nightmares of the past…I will go to bed with you every night, even after we're married, I will be in your chambers, waiting for you at night for respite." She told him with genuine resolve as she felt him sigh in relief before he looked at her with adoration and a tinge of lust as he didn't want to take advantage of her gentleness and kindness towards him. "I think you're forgetting something here…." He began, kissing the tops of her breasts when her cleavage was revealed from her rather risqué nightgown, unleashing a raging blush on her cheeks, loving secretly the surge of desire that brought her, "This will be our chambers…even after we're wed…" he explained getting himself up on his knees before pulling her up with him, as she was quite surprised at how bold he was with such a request.
As she looked at him, her heavying breasts pressed against his clothed chest, she knew that somehow, someway, the man of her dreams was here….having reclaimed the throne from a man she'd never consider her 'husband' even after he'd died by their hand. "Our chambers?" she asked before he kissed her with wild, unbridled passion, tongues dueling for dominance before he got the upper hand, his arms wrapping around her before they pulled away, needing breath from the intense kiss. "Yes, this is our chambers now…I don't want you in those other chambers anymore…" he confirmed with her before he went to her ear, pressing butterfly light kisses on the shell before nibbling and sucking her earlobe, causing her to pant and tremble from the warring sensations before they stopped again. "We'll need to be at the festival…the townsfolk will grow suspicious of why we're not there…" she explained, catching her breath before she noticed a red wine colored dress with bell sleeves, gold accents along the waist, neckline and the ends of the sleeves. "What's this?" she asked picking it up and feeling the soft, velvet fabric. "A dress…for you to wear to the festival, my love…" he explained, kissing her shoulder. "It's certainly lovely…I think I will wear it today." She really did love the dress, which was why she'd gotten up from bed and changed from her nightgown to the dress in the washroom, as much as Richard wanted to see her probably beautiful body, he needed to be patient.
They'd eaten their morning feast before heading towards the town square to continue the midsummer's festivities, where more people came out to celebrate, have jolly fun, and be themselves once again. Eventually, as Richard was overseeing an archery tournament with Alana in the chair next to him, he noticed Ben running to him with a scroll in his hand. "Stay here." He told her before he went to see Ben about what he'd brought to him, as the advisor had panted and huffed from looking for him everywhere. "What is it?" he asked as Ben gathered himself, handing him the scroll. "It's from the center city of Olympianas….they're gathering the Kings and Queens of the surrounding lands to have their yearly discussions…as well as plan for the upcoming battle against….them." Ben explained as Richard unraveled the scroll, reading the words for himself as he knew that there was no avoiding a meeting with the other royals, no matter the circumstances, he looked at the date for when the meeting will happen and he knew that he still had time for a wedding with Alana, they needed to be wise about decorations and food for the guests attending. "Ben, see if you can find a way to speed up progress for setting up the wedding, the meeting will be a few weeks after likely the wedding will take place." Richard had gravely commanded before Ben nodded, rushing to the wedding planners about speeding the progress for the ceremony up.
He went to sit back in his usual spot, looking gravely and concerned, which alarmed Alana. "Is something wrong?" she asked putting her hand on his somewhat clenching hand, causing him to lightly clasp the hand holding his before looking at her. "There is a meeting which only the selected highest ranking royals must attend in Olympianas….I'm afraid we'll have to speed things along in regards to the wedding….I'm so sorry, I would never have told you if it wasn't urgent." He explained in a disappointed tone, she only smiled before kissing his cheek. "As long as the wedding is to the man I'm going to marry and love for all time, I'm not disappointed." She explained before laying her head on his shoulder, how he'd gotten so lucky to have someone like Alana as his future wife and Queen, he didn't dare question…not even he was willing to look the gift horse in the mouth in regards to many things.
I think we have the makings of a sequel! that is if I can work out a sequel to this!
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and for those in America, Happy Thanksgiving! Try not to get wildly hammered, please and thank you!
X3
