Hello guys!
Here is the new chapter, just finished it a few hours ago! For you, for Valentine day. It's a gift, kind of. I hope you will enjoy it.
Thank you all for your reviews 3
And a special thank to Banryuu, you are the best!
Coffee.
Sleep was supposed to be a wonderful thing. For Van it was the daily opportunity to see his lovely seer, thanks to their connection, their own little time alone together when she was away from him. It was also the only moment of the day where he was alone, without anyone asking him to be the responsable king of Fanelia. But he must admit that even before the war, sleep had been something hard to get.
Losing his family, and assuming his duty as sole heir and ruler for his kingdom had rob him of countless nights of rest. Then the war happened, and between nightmares where he was living again, and again the death of his mentor, and sole fatherly figure, along the burning of his home and people, other nightmares had made him lose sleep. The battles, the countless deaths, the fear of losing not only his mind, and life, but also the life of the girl with impossible green eyes had made sure he would stay awake night after night, training with his sword to exhaust his body to the point his mind would fall into oblivion once he reached his limits.
Once the war was over sleep had still elude him, he had lost his brother a second time, he was supposed to build back his country, and Hitomi was going to leave him . Not forever, but letting her go was like wrenching his own heart from his chest.
The nightmares continues, battle dreams who left him shaking, and sweating abundantly. Some nights it was the bone deep fear of failing, his people, his friends, his family, and his love. It took him years to be able to sleep through the night with nothing more than a bad dream. Things were even easier when Hitomi was near him, may that be in her own set of room connected to his by a set of doors, or in his arms, both of them nested under the covers.
Alas, sleep was once again leaving him, and it wasn't his past haunting him, or one of the more explicit vision about his fiancée that kept him up now.
In a few weeks, an important fair was going to take place, the Haru no Kari. This festival was an old and important tradition of Fanelia, and it hadn't been celebrated since he became king. Before, he hadn't been wholly in charge of certain parts of his role as king, and hadn't been expected to participate in it. Things were different now, as king it was one of his duties to make sure this cultural part of his country was respected, it was also an excellent opportunity to boost the moral of his people after all the hard work they had done to built back the city. He know everyone was counting on it, on him, but right now it was going to kill him!
He hadn't slept more than two hours per night, in the last two weeks with everything he had to do :
Invite the lords of the country, and the neighboring kingdoms, he would have liked to let his friends out of this one, but they already respond they would come. Apparently they wouldn't miss this festival for the world. Especially since he was supposed to preside the blasted thing during the main event.
Making sure the city was being prepared, with all the alcoves, the stands, the gardens of the palace being accessible for the people, make sure there would be entertainment, with dancers, play, and swords and melef demonstration...
His advisors had their own share of work too, in fact they were doing a lot of the work, but as king he had to validate everything. It was long, tedious, boring, and unavoidable.
It was the first time he will take such an active role in the festival. It was strange to realise Balgus won't help him with this anymore, and that Hitomi won't be there to learn more about his country tradition… She will visit him after the festival was over, due to her own obligations on the Mystic Moon.
She won't see the chase, the feast, the rise of the moons in the sky, the fires beings lites, and the many dances. He know she isn't a fan of sword fights, or melef fights. She won't participate in the night festivities either, which were the main reason why his friends were coming, and the real reason the festival was known all around Gaea…
His tired brain caught up with him, and remind him that maybe the absence of his dear seer during the Haru no Kari wasn't such a bad thing after all.
He would have a hard time explaining this part to her anyway, because how does one explain to his betrothed that he will have to preside the infamous Fertility festival of his kingdom?
During the days of the Haru no Kari the men were hunting in the forest to bring back the meat of the wildfowl, whose flesh was reputed to be aphrodisiac during this period of the year. The fertility part, was taking place during the night, when couples would be blessed by him, and the high priest of the Dragon Church with the blood of the first game of the day, after which the couples would enjoy themselves, and since that night was considered to be the best one to conceive a child, a lot of birth take place during the next season.
As king, he was the one to preside the whole thing, drawing the first blood during the hunt, lighting the first fire at night, announcing the beginning of the night event, and as such allow the eagers lovers to enjoy themselves.
Normally he should also be the first one to enjoy the night with a partner, but had never done so, at first because of his age, as he was too young, and then the war had put a lot of things on hold, and the restoration of the city had been in the way for the last two years.
Not that he was going to partake in this part of the festival now, not after meeting Hitomi, and promised himself to marry her. After her return though, and if she agree, they will enjoy it together.
He was looking forward to it. Next year maybe?
A lot of his ancestors had participate with abandon to theses nights, with their queens, all kind of lovers, or concubines, or even one night stands. Leading to more than a fair share of bastards children, and a few succession problems, but also the assurance that there always would be someone of royal blood to access the throne when the dragon ritual was a failure. Or it had been like that a few generations ago, now not so much.
His own father had participate in the night part of the festival in his prime, but had rarely been wholy into it, for what he know, preferring the sword competitions to the allure of the flesh. That was before meeting his mother, after that...
He refuse to think about it, because he will be celebrating his birthday in exactly nine moons…
Anyway he was hard at work, overseeing the whole organisation of the festivities, and the only thing keeping him running was keopi. The strong beverage was keeping him awake during the nights, even if it was against his health, and it was paying, he was finally done with his workload, and what was left wasn't going to need his approbation until his advisor are finished with them. Which mean he could finally go to sleep!
His head hit the pillow of his bed, which he hadn't been in contact with for nearly forty eight hours, and he was happily falling asleep finally. No more festival, no more advisors, and no more paperwork!
He should have known he wouldn't be left in peace, even for a night.
He opened his eyes when the sound of laughters reach his ears, and put a stop an end to his rest, and the scent of food stroke his nose. It took him a moment to recognise his environnement, for it looked quite different from what he usually saw of it. He had seen Hitomi's school several times during different visions, and once or twice in the flesh when he had come to pick up his beloved after the war. But he had never seen it like that. There was all kind of booth all around the courtyard, and students along their families were mingling in a dense but merry crowd.
He must witness the school fair Hitomi told him about. He wasn't able to to attend it, not with the preparations for the Haru no Kari, but she told him it wasn't important, since she would be busy with her class project. They were both busy with their own projects at the same moment this year, and she was very understanding of his responsibilities. He knew she had been hiding something, but when he asked her, she had blushed and changed the subject.
Maybe this vision will offer some answers the her elusive behaviour… As usual the vision itself pulled him toward Hitomi's location, he passed booth after booth without really taking notice of what was exposed, even if he took notice of the many colors used in the decorations. The rest of the way was a blur for him, but he stopped abruptly in his track in front of his seer classroom, not believing what he was seeing on the panel next to the door.
What was THAT?!
Just before his eyes was a poster, advertising some random play, he had passed several of the same kind earlier, but what was making his blood boil, what had stopped him dead in his track, and his eyes widen in disbelief was the picture of the cast on the poster. The whole cast was present on the picture, and his attention was caught by the left side of the picture. Next to her now familiar redhead best friend, was his one and only love Hitomi...
Hitomi who was half-naked on this blasted picture!
Hitomi who hadn't told him about her exact participation in her class projects, now he understand why. This play and the other project of her class, had been kept secret from him, and she knew he would have refused to let her participate had he known she would play in front of a crowd dressed as a… a…
Dragon lord he couldn't believe it, but in front of his eyes was Hitomi, his shy, and beautiful fiancee, his lover, dressed like one of Egzardia harem dancer!
Thanks to the Haru no Kari, and the many dancer coming to Fanelia to show their talents, and a few diplomatic trips to Egzardia capitol, he was well aware of what theses women outfits look like. Hitomi make them look hideous with her figure, and her outfit was going to haunt him for months. She may not be the center of the picture, but he could still see every details of her half-clothed body.
She was wearing a silky green choker around her neck, encrusted with three teardrops red gems, and a fourth was dangling at the base of her throat. He was pretty sure it would caress her skin with her every moves. He want to rip it from her, and leave marks all over her neck. On her upper left arm a golden band was encasing her biceps, and no other jewelry. He had offered her jewelry, of course, but she wasn't allowed to wear them at her school, but he still gave her necklaces, bracelets, and rings. He haven't gave her the most important ring yet, but once she was finished with her school, he was going to give it to her. He was going to propose properly to her. But right now, his whole attention was on what she was, and obviously, not wearing on this stupid picture.
She was wearing a strapless bra in the same silky green material her choker was made of, and it was barely containing her breasts, he felt his throat close up thinking about how a full crowd had seen her chest barely bind by this flimsy piece of cloth. The upper part of the fabric of her bra was smoothed offer her skin, while the lower part was creased, to make her chest appear bigger. As if she needed this kind of things, he was well aware of this.
The upper border of the bra was rimmed with a golden chain of lace, and between her breasts, just above her heart, a red gem was gleaming just like a drag energist. From said gem, were dangling two rows of chains going to her her sides. The upper one was simple but the lower one was sprinkled with tiny coins, both chains, and coins would come into contact with the delicate skin of her ribs with just a breath from his seer.
Even if this was one of his guilty fantasy to see his beloved in such erotic clothings, knowing how ticklish she could be, it was hard for him to believe she was wearing such an attire, who would bother her in no time. In fact the whole outfit was out of his sweet lover character, even if it was for a play. Thank to this vision he was now fantasizing about Hitomi begging him to help her out of the annoying bra.
And it wasn't her low waist harem pants who were going to help him with his growing desire to find his seer to show her what he thought about her playing prowess. Said pants were a mixed of the now familiar green fabric around her waist, and another breezier one in the same color for the rest of the pants. Another red gem was at the center of her waistband, and he could see another set of chains running around her waist, the same as her the ones on her bra. Both set were probably meant to jingle as she walk, which was making his mouth water at the possibilities, and heavens she must be the greatest sight ever if she were going to dance in this outfit.
He was pathetic, getting himself aroused by a picture, within a vision, and he had yet to see the object of his desire. Oh he will have a long conversation with her once he had the opportunity, but right now he need to focus. Find Hitomi, get through this vision, make sure she never wear this outfit again outside of his rooms.
But first take his eyes off of the picture, and as he did, he got a strange feeling in his fingers. They were tingling with warmth, and it was rather pleasant, but he couldn't explain what had cause it.
He let the thought go as he finally faced the door of Hitomi classroom, sure that the sight of Hitomi in a belly dancer garb had been enough for this vision. At least it had been enough for his libido. If he had felt guilty earlier about his participation in the Haru no Kari, the knowledge of Hitomi part in her school play made sure he wasn't feeling like that anymore. A long explanation was in order between them, and maybe a rehearsal… Focus! He need to focus.
The door was opened, and he understood he shouldn't have been confident about the vision being done showing him new way to ignite his desire for the seer.
It took him a moment to assess what he was witnessing.
First of all, the whole room had been decorated to look like one of the fancy tearoom who was getting popular in Asturia. The tables had been disposed to offer seating for groups of two to four peoples, and white tablecloths were thrown over them. Flowers were disposed on the tables, and their perfume was mixed with other scents in the room. Sweet, and sugary scents from pastries were deliciously going along with something similar to keopi. This was nice, peaceful picture, one who should help him calm down after his encounter with the poster in the hallway. If only...
If only what was in front of him wasn't so devastatingly breathtaking!
The other people present in the room were forgotten, in fact they disappeared completely for his eyes were solely on the only person who ever matter to him during theses visions. He wanted to see her so badly after his encounter with her picture a few moment ago, now he wasn't sure it was a good idea anymore. His beloved Hitomi, his sweet, passionate, extraordinaire lover, wasn't dressed as an Ezguardian harem dancer anymore.
In front of him, was standing the love of his life in a maid uniform.
He was used to see the seer in a uniform, her school one was the main outfit she had wear during the war after all, and he was rather partial to the length of her skirt. Too short by gaean standards, but perfect to show her long legs, and their creamy skin. What she was wearing wasn't like that at all.
He wasn't innocent by any mean, and he was more aware than what other may believe in certain fields. That why he could recognise what Hitomi was wearing, and it wasn't the kind of uniform worn by the maids in respectable places. It was more the kind of things worn by the maids in pleasure houses, or when a lord want to show of the beauties in his service.
What was she thinking wearing that thing?! He was a gentleman, but it doesn't mean he don't have eyes! And that others men wouldn't indulge in the sight!
She may look like a innocent maid, but everything in him scream "temptress". He was hard just by looking at her, it was worse than her picture, because she was in the flesh in front of him, tending to her patrons requests, not his but after this this vision he will have than enough to ask her, and always with a smile.
Gods she was beautiful, and her outfit is rather fetching, partly cute, and mostly sexy.
With her white ruffled headband, tucked in her hairs she looked adorable. Her black dress was rather short, in fact it was barely reaching the middle of her thighs, he could feel his mouth water already, and her short puffy sleeves were cute. A white ribbon was ruffled around the edge on the top, and at the bottom of her dress and sleeves. She was also wearing black cuffs at her wrists, with the same white ruffles as her dress.
Her dress, which was off shoulders and exposing so much of her skin, was giving him a splendid view on her low neckline, it look like her dress was too tight around her chest, the material was pulled taunt on her breast. In fact it took him a moment to get that her white apron was part of her dress. Starting at her chest, just under the ruffled ribbon of her neckline, a tiny black bow was set at the center of her apron rim. Between the pink of her exposed skin, and the white of her apron, the little bow was the perfect eye catcher. On her lower back rest the large bow of her apron sash, and he just want to catch the swishing ends of it and pull, make the bow fall apart, and mostly pull toward him, make her notice him, and what he need and want from her.
Her apron ended a few centimeter before her dress does, with the safe ruffle as the rest of her dress. She was a true beauty, and she looked so polite, and demure with her hands broughts back in front of her. And she would be the perfect picture of an innocent maid, if he forget the large amount of skin this outfit was showing, if only she wasn't wearing black high stockings with high heels!
This was too much for him, he reach for her as she was removing the cups from a table, her usual perfume was mixed with the strong scent of the keopi of her world, it was mixed with something sweeter, maybe the pastry present in the room? He doesn't really care, what he want is to embrace his lover, and kiss her senseless.
Hitomi wasn't the only one dressed like that, her fellow classmates were wearing the same uniform, but he only had eyes for his green eyed goddess. Yet he wasn't blind, and saw how the men present in the room were looking at them. It was insulting to realise they were watching the girls in the same fashion he was watching Hitomi. On the other hand he could see some of them were not hoggling them like mindless beast, he could see love in their eyes, and just like him they were watching over their loved ones. And who would fault them?
Hitomi told him some of the girls could defend themselves, and some of them looked strong enough to knock him out with a well placed punch, but when you're in love with someone, no matter the strength of your partner, you want to make sure they are safe.
At the same time his lust was hard to ignore right now, he would prefer if he was alone with the seer, even if no one can see him, not even the object of his attention.
He didn't have the time to really calm down, or reflect more on his situation, because Hitomi was moving to the back of the room, he followed her behind a screen. The sound of her heels on the ground was hypnotizing, he felt a shiver running along his back. He had always admire her legs, when she was wearing pants, or skirts or any kind of dresses, but it was the first time he was seeing her in stockings and heels. It was extremely erotic the way it was emphasizing the shape of her legs, between the silky material of her stockings, and her heels… His mouth was watering.
His imagination was running wild with possibilities for their futures tete-a-tete as he watch her sitting down to remove her heels. Her skin must be so warm, and the silk look so soft on her smooth flesh… His hands were itching to feel her under them. So far this vision, this dream was a torture.
And to think he had been anxious about explaining the nearing Haru no Kari to her before the vision!
Her earlier outfit was forgotten for the moment, and her actual wasn't his main focus now. No what was, is what's going to happen when she next stay in his kingdom. The second she would land on Gaea she was his. If he need to, he was going to hunt her down, and he will show her just what the Haru no Kari imply exactly. Again, and again, and again. This was as much of a fact, as it was a promise.
His lover, his beloved Hitomi, was driving him insane with lust, and he know his feelings were shared. He was would protect her against everything, even himself if he had to, but at the same time he was pretty sure she wouldn't run out of fright if he were to chase her. She was good at teasing him. He took the few steps separating them, while she was massaging her ankles, she is not used to wear high heels for long periods of time after all, and at the same time she was exposing more of her shoulders. He knelt by her side, a little disappointed to not be able to help her, but he still kissed the bare skin of her shoulder as much as he could within this vision. He could almost taste a faint trace of cream and keopi on her.
He was delighted to see her shiver under the phantom touch of his lips, and as he kissed her again, he closed his eyes to feel her react some more.
The next moment he woke with the aftertaste of keopi on his tongue, his bed dreadfully cold, and empty. He could see the sun first rays peeking in the sky, and he was frustrated beyond words since he didn't get any real rest during his few hours of sleep, so he closed his eyes with a groan. He turn on his side, he could feel the effects of the dream on his flesh quite vividly, and even the contact with his bed sheet along his pants seem too much at the moment. As he reached for the pillow next to him he felt a different fabric under his fingers. There also was a faint sound of metal, like tiny chains...
He opened his eyes immediately to put an end to his suspicions, and he wasn't disappointed, for under his hand was now a familiar pair of crumbled green pieces of silky cloths, with tiny golden chains, and red gems. Hitomi belly dancer outfit was clutched in his hand. And just as he imagine it to be, it was soft, almost as soft as the skin of her owner, but it was cool without the warmth of her body wearing it. Yet her perfume was still present on it, and as he took a whiff of it he smiled, because the Haru no Kari was going to be exceptional this year.
And who knew, maybe Hitomi won't miss it after all.
Author's note; Done! Only one chapter left guys… I don't know how I feel about this yet. Anyway! "Haru no Kari" mean spring hunt, and keopi is the korean word for coffee. It was too tempting to use a fertility fair for this chapter, and the maid café is the ultimate cliché, I just had to use it. I hope you like the belly dancer outfit.
Let me know what you think of the chapter, and the story so far.
Have a nice day everyone, and again happy valentine day!
