Author's Note:

Hey guys! What a surprise!
Airbendergal is actually writing again!

No need to fear, for the next chapter is here.

I'll be able to upload now. Apparently there is wifi in this hotel, so I can finally update! Oh thank goodness!

I thought I would not have internet for weeks. Good thing I was wrong. (Happy Late April Fool's Day?)

Now here's a little seductive chapter for you guys.

It's a bit shorter than the others, but it is one of the high points of the story. Hope you enjoy.

Reviews would be yummy. :)

Chapter 10

The dazzling lights and sounds had faded away, slowly, like stars in the night sky. Leosandro and I walked through the antechamber, and down through a hallway. The colonnades casted long shadows on the floor, and at night the palace looked like a haunted house. There were busts of past Archadian emperors, which included a bust of Larsa's father, Emperor Gramis. I was scared that all the statues would come to life, and luckily they did not. As we walked, Leosandro glared at me. His eyes, which were once filled with so much life, was now devoid of any existence. They were grey and cold like the Paramina Rift. I glanced at him from time to time, but I did not look him straight in the eye.

He stopped; as did the world. We were far from sight, and the only light came from the full moon. There were silvery streaks on the side of his body, and embossed his perfect features. Leosandro looked in all directions and then said, "they are gone." He went behind me, and started stroking my wavy, raven locks. Leosandro sighed, and slowly he held my hair, then parted into two. He leaned closer…and pressed his lips on the back of my neck. His kissed it slowly.

At this gesture, I felt a bit disgusted. In my heart I had longed for my Leosandro to return. Now that he was here, and even if he had shown me a bit of affection, I felt no ounce of passion. I closed my eyes, and a chill ran down my spine. Leosandro then knelt down and kissed my hand, then looked at the ring on my finger.

"You're still wearing it, I see…" he said. He tried to slip it out of my finger, but before he could do so, I withdrew my hand and subtly wiped it at the back of my dress.

I found no words. "Lord Leosandro…I…" was all I could say.

His eyes dilated, and his voice became rusty and seductive. "Ah, Catalina…I have missed you…It seems that you do not feel the same…" And he stood up, straightening all the creases on his pants and vest. "It seems that, after a month that we were apart, that emperor has stiffened you."

"Nonesense," I smirked. "Larsa is not that way. Lord Leosandro…"

"Enough with the formalities," he snapped. "You've been influenced by these Archadians. Look at them, the sick lot of them. They are so strict and unpleasant! They are very lousy companions. Now look at you. You've become as petrified as they are. You do not even care to share a kiss?"

He pursed his lips and leaned in closer. I stepped back immediately, leaving him in a strange position. He pulled back his head, and frowned. "I see…"

"Leosandro this is silly…" I said, and I started to walk back to the ballroom.

The lord grabbed my wrist and tugged me. "Tell me why I am silly, Catalina."

I did not speak, and tried to wriggle my wrist out of his hand. I could not do it.

"Who do you think is better? Me or that Archadian?" He asked, and squeezed my wrist. "Do not tell me that you choose an Archadian over your own kind, Catalina."

"You speak ill of the Archadians," I hissed. I jerked my hand free from his grasp.

"And you speak of them like they are good people," Leosandro retorted. "Have you forgotten that those people were the ones who took away our main livelihood? They were the ones who put us in the sorry state we are in! Most of our oil, Catalina, is gone because of the Archadians. When they conquered Dalmasca, they took away the oil rigs we established, and our territory had decreased immensely. Now look at the Urutan-Yensa sandsea! It is long since gone. There's nothing left there except for a few rusted pipes."

"You cannot blame Emperor Larsa for the things that his predecessors have done," I looked at Leosandro with remorse, my wrists throbbed vigorously. "The man has done nothing."

"Yes! The man has not done anything at all!" Leosandro scoffed. "He does not even show you love! He never handled you with care! If you marry him, you will live a lonely life. If you become my wife, I will offer you a life of happiness."

My life…I want it to be filled with happiness.

"A rose, Catalina; that is what you are. Because of people like him, roses grow stiff and wither. Now tell me, Catalina, has he kissed you?" said Leosandro.

"N-no," I replied.

"Does he even want to marry you?"

At those words, I thought of what the emperor had been trying to tell me earlier.

Catalina, you have become very special to me…

I blushed, tried to change the subject. "And yet, even a man like you must take caution with handling a rose," I said. "For roses have thorns."

"Then allow me to cut those thorns," Leosandro said in his seductive voice. The rasp of his voice was like gravel. He sighed again, stretched his arms and caught my waist. The thin hairs on my arm started to stand. His fingers started to crawl up my torso, slowly, until I could feel something just under my breast.

Slap!

I whacked his hand and pushed it away. I turned around to face him, my eyes filled with hot tears. Did he think of me as some sort of whore? At once I could see his true form. He was no brilliant, scholarly lord, but nothing more than a perverted pig! The image of Lord Leosandro Fergaza, the man that I once loved, was now shattered and corrupted, like broken glass.

"You!" I yelled. "You are not the man I once adored!"

Leosandro groaned. "Catalina, please!"

"You sick, perverted man! How can you even expect me to love a man like you!" My voice was loud. I started to explode like the Roda Volcano. "Emperor Larsa is a kind and gentle man, and respects me like no one has ever done before! He is a just ruler. He is a lion! Noble and majestic! He is not some sort of pig, like you! You think you can win me back with your actions? I will not accept you! You used to be a noble man, and a brilliant one!"

"Is this your fate, Catalina? You are just going to stay here, and follow your father's orders? You told me once that one's life is based on one's decisions. And now you are eating your own words! You follow your father like a pet. This emperor cannot offer you a family, if he has none in the first place! He is a lion, as you say, forever alone. The only companions he has are Loneliness and Sadness. He will never make you happy. But I! I, Leosandro Al-Vibora Fergaza, can offer you a family! And you will be my queen, and rule by my side."

"This love of yours…is a physical love!" I yelled. "It is mortal, and weak. The love you give is a love that is ephemeral. If you continue to treat women like this, then you will never find a true lover. The love and happiness that I want…cannot come from your mortal ideas. It comes from deep within the heart."

"That Archadian emperor has poisoned your thoughts. He will tear you apart…petal by petal…"

"Be silent! Leosandro Fergaza, be silent!" I cried, as tears wormed down my cheeks.

"If you do not want to give me your heart, then I shall take it by force," he smiled. This smile turned into a frown afterwards. "If you continue with this marriage, Catalina, I swear on my own grave, that there will be war."

"What?" I gasped.

The lord did not respond. He had walked away and sooner disappeared like a phantom in the night. And I ran after him, leaving a trail of silver tears behind me.