A/N: I've already said this in my other story, but In case you don't read that I'll repeat it here; This and the next week will be insanely busy for me and I won't get much time to write, if I get time at all. Hopefully things will get better around Christmas break, but if this story won't get updated for a longer period than usual don't worry, I definitely will be back ;)
Also I have started on that SuFin side story but it will be posted, when we have progressed a bit in the story. If anyone wishes to have a side story to any other of the character pairs just let me now and I'll see what I can do. Have fun with this admittedly a bit pointless chapter that doesn't help the story's progress that much. At least there are steamy times ahead 3
I returned to my rooms to think about what I had learned and to plan my next steps. It was late in the afternoon and the place Eduard had written down wasn't anywhere close so there was no point of going out today.
We entered my room and I locked the door behind us. It was unlikely that anyone would try to enter without my permission but I felt safer that way. I didn't want to get killed in my own four walls like my parents. Of course, what protected me was not the door, the door could easily be broken, but Mathias' vigilance, still I slept better with the door firmly locked.
But it was far too early to go to sleep, so I decided to eat dinner in my room, and afterwards pay a visit to the hot springs that lied underneath the castles and were reserved for the Emperor and the nobles. In ancient times the hot springs had warmed the castle above, but nowadays its main value lied in its recreational properties. But only few found the muse of using them in times of war. I always went there when I needed to think and couldn't find the necessary tranquility in my room.
There was a network of servants catering to the needs of the inhabitants of the palace, some nobles preferred to bring their own servants but I had to rely on the palace staff whenever I needed something that I couldn't fetch myself. There was a telephone system installed in most rooms, the reception wasn't very good but enough for crude communication. So called the kitchens to order something to eat, before I sat down at my desk and took a good look at Eduard's note.
Mathias, who knew when he had to better leave me alone, disappeared into the adjacent room that functioned as his room whenever I needed time for myself. There was not much information on the note aside from a city name and an address, so I unrolled a map to pinpoint the exact location. It was a town in the northwestern mountain range, small and isolated the perfect place to hide and still close enough to the capital to be reached in less than a day's flight.
It didn't take long for the food to be delivered, a soft knock on the door and Mathias went to fetch the food while I was clearing some space on my desk. I didn't have a real dining table; I avoided it to host guests so only a desk was enough for Mathias and me.
"So, where are we going next?" Mathias asked, with his mouth full of half cooked bloody meat, about the only dish he ate. I had long given up on teaching him some manners, he knew them well enough but he only used them if we were in company. After arguing that he only let his guard down like this in front of me, I couldn't find the heart to press the matter further, even though I realized that he was only playing me.
"North." I answered, chewing carefully on my crispy cooked meat, "You'll like it, the place is pretty remote and surrounded by mountains." Mathias chuckled lowly as he continued to tear into his meat, even though they were technically carnivores, dragons didn't like raw meat, they preferred it cooked or grilled, when hunting they used their flame breath to barbecue their prey, often burning it to a crisp, in human form it was mostly the same, albeit Mathias liked his meat almost raw and only lightly cooked.
A trail of meat juice ran down Mathias chin and I couldn't withstand the temptation and reached forward to take the fluid up with my finger, resting my hand there a moment longer than necessary before I licked my finger clean. A low growl was my reward and a certain glint ignited in the eyes of my partner, but for now he contended himself with eating his meat and watching me with promising intent.
"I want to go to the bathhouse afterwards." I said casually as I weren't aware of his staring. Now Mathias was licking his lips in expectation and I couldn't suppress a shudder as his gaze bore into me. He was quite aware of all the implications that simple statement of mine held. This was proving to be more than promising.
We finished our meal quickly and while I was putting the dishes away, Mathias gathered everything we needed for our trip to the bathhouse. Actually there was no real need to go there; I had a shower in my bathroom, but after the busy past few days I felt like we could need a break. And it wouldn't hurt to relax a bit before our trip tomorrow, I had the slight feeling however that Mathias wouldn't let me truly relax, but that was fine with me.
Mathias held open the door when we were finally ready to go and since the corridors seemed empty I grabbed his hand in mine, a gesture of affection I couldn't use in public. His hand was warm, almost burning against my skin but I had learnt over time to not only rely on this hand but also to cherish its touches.
The palace never slept, so we had to let go of each other as soon as we entered the main part of the building where more people were still buzzing around despite the already late hour. But the corridors emptied again as we reached the lower levels, and soon we were alone again.
Mathias slung an arm around me, engulfing me in his radiating warmth, making my breath hitch as I felt his hand on me. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" He whispered into my ear, voice hoarse and his breath hot against the sensual skin of my neck. I could instantly feel my heart rate increase and I let out a deep breath that sounded more like a moan. The compliment had come completely out of the blue, Mathias never was the type for sweet talk, he much rather preferred to shake my composure with dirty talk or just tease me, but this had caught me even more off guard.
I was not used to being complimented.
A light chuckle and a kiss was pressed to my temple, "I should tell you this more often." Mathias mused and I briefly pondered if I could deal with more compliments like this, it felt not bad after all.
We reached the entrance to the underground bathhouse, a big sturdy wooden door, built to keep the heat from the hot springs inside the chambers. The access to the area was restricted, and to make sure that no one disturbed the privacy of the bathing nobility a lonely guard was posted outside the door. He cast a non-curious glance at our intimate contact to each other before he opened the door. The guards of the bathhouse were used to unusual sights and as part of their duty they had been sworn to discretion. As much as most nobles wanted to get dirt on their rivals they all preferred to keep what happened behind those closed doors a secret.
To my utmost pleasure the bathhouse seemed to be empty upon entry and I left orders with the guard to keep it that way. The bathhouse was frequently used by some of the nobles and especially during the war the interest in a nice relaxing bath had significantly increased but another silent agreement among nobles was that no one would interfere if one decided to occupy the bathhouse, as long as they didn't abuse the privilege.
The first room was a small one, only meant to separate the changing area from the entrance, the second one was bigger, stone tiles covered the floor and there were compartments embedded in the wall to store one's clothing. The bathhouse was big enough to accommodate quite a number of people and there were even a few private changing rooms behind a side door but most preferred to get undressed in the changing room. The behavior inside the rooms was regulated by a strict code that everyone abode to, else he would be dispelled from ever using the bathhouse again. That was enough to prevent stealing or other illicit actions and so the bathhouse had become an island of peace among the scheming snakes nest that was the Imperial palace.
Mathias and I quickly undressed; storing our clothes in one of the compartments, since we were alone there was no need to put on one of the bathrobes that laid out for public use. Then we entered the main area, where all the pools and hot spring basins were situated, the room was warm and full of steam, the tiled walls were wet with condensed water.
Before I could decide though which basin to enter first, Mathias had already lifted me up into his arms and carried me towards a large yet shallow pool full of what appeared to be very hot water. I doubted that my system would like the sudden confrontation with a too hot environment but then again my connection with Mathias had made me more robust than the average human and so my system should be able to handle the drastic temperature change.
Carefully as not to slip on the wet floor, Mathias stepped into the pool lowering himself down until he sat on the bench like structure that lined the inner walls of the poor, placing me on his lap and burying his face in my neck. The hot water stung a little at first but to my surprise the water didn't feel that much different than Mathias' body temperature which I was used to by then.
Since we had just taken a shower before I went to meet Eduard, there was no need of cleaning up so I simply leaned my head back against Mathias broad chest and relaxed in the soothing warmth of the water. It felt good to just let got for a while and not think about politics and intrigues for once.
"I like that blush on your face." Mathias whispered close to my ear while he began to stroke my sides with his hands. My face was indeed warm, but not from embarrassment like so many other times but from the heat that surrounded me. "You're more the cold type, you know." He continued, his lips nipping at my neck and sending light shivers down my spine. "You have a cold heart, and yet you are the most radiant creature I have ever laid eyes upon. But maybe that is because I have melted your heart a little…" I gasped as I felt his teeth on my earlobe, grazing ever so softly against the sensitive skin.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, voice showing slight hints of huskiness as the effect of Mathias' ministrations reached my lower body. Sometimes Mathias would show almost poetically prowess in his words and at times I found it hard to follow. His words stemmed from a time that was mostly ignored by human history for it was a dark age where the sky was aflame with terror and the art was tainted with blood, and even now, when the Empire had resurrected parts of those old times, people preferred to keep a veil on the ancient idea of art.
"Back in my days it was believed, that only a person with a hot disposition could tame a dragon since he would be able to withstand his heat. A cold person like you was believed to either quench the flame of his dragon or be consumed by it." Mathias hand played with my hair, entwining his fingers with one of the longer strands. "And you would have been considered a cold person; you are cool and level-headed and most importantly show rarely any emotions. I however…" His voice trailed of as he played absentmindedly with my hair.
"And you?" I asked, curious what he was about to say.
He chuckled, "If I were human I would be considered hot, I used to be much more volatile and would anger easily, but at the same time I was cheerful and carefree." I remembered him telling me about his past, about his wild days and I also had always had the feeling that this brooding moody personality wasn't his true self and his words now had confirmed my assumption.
"Do you miss it?" I couldn't help but ask. "The good old times you know?" I added after I got only a confused glance from Mathias. Mathias scoffed and lowered his hands to wrap them around my torso, before he answered my question: "Not really, the times back then weren't at all good for a dragon, we had much less freedom than nowadays and the death rate due to your human wars was also higher. And besides, there was no you there." With that he affectionately nuzzled the top of my head, pulling me closer to his chest.
"But now they have far more advanced machines and other weapons that are more dangerous than anything they had a thousand years ago, I have seen what those wired planes do to a dragon so you can't really say that times got easier." I argued, remembering the gruesome image of a dragon that had been torn apart by one of the Federation's fighter squadrons.
"That is true, but believe me when I say that there is nothing worse to be pitted against your own kin. And back then almost every dragon could trace his lineage back to one of the big ones so we all felt like kin. Humans didn't care about that though so they would force members of the same brood against each other when they happened to end up on different sides. " "But you told me dragons would fight all the time, even in freedom?" "Yes, for alpha position and sometimes because of territory struggles, but usually we never aim for the kill, there are only a few occasions when a dragon would kill another one out of free will. And that is the important thing here, free will. That is something that the dragons nowadays don't remember anymore, they are weak and used to the guiding hand of a human. I would not have a problem with killing them, there are nothing more than dirty inbreeded bastards."
I flinched at Mathias harsh words, I was never aware of how far his hate for his degraded kin went. But then again he had made it clear that he hated almost everything human and since it was the human hand that bred the current generation it was only natural that he would hate them.
"No, I don't miss the 'good old times' as you called them, but I do miss my life before that, when I was still free. But even then our time was already nearing its end; all of the true dragons were dying, their magic tainted by humans, and I am nothing more than a forgotten relic out of that time." Despite the hot water, despite Mathias' burning skin against my back, I felt cold at his heavy almost lifeless words.
"I'm sorry." I whispered, voice drowning in the plumes of steam that swirled around us. "Sorry for what? It wasn't you who brought the doom on my race." Mathias' voice was still bare of any emotion but his hand had resumed its caressing of my hair.
"But it was my ancestors who captured and enslaved you." I knew that there was nothing I could have changed about that but I still felt as if I needed to say it. "That might be true, but if that was what let me meet you it was worth it." The air caught in my throat and I didn't know what to say to that. "It was worth it," Mathias repeated, voice hoarse and suddenly filled with an almost desperate passion, "every spell that was driven through my flesh, every punishment I ever received, every year I was locked up under your home, it was all worth it, because I got to meet you, the person who finally gave my life a meaning." I blinked and to my surprise there was moisture in my eyes, that hadn't been there before. Was I crying?
"I was nothing," Mathias whispered and placed a tender yet firm kiss on the top of my head, "and now I am everything." My heart was beating faster and I felt incredibly whole and happy, yet all I could think of was a somewhat teasing reply: "Since when have you become so cheesy?" My eyes were still wet, but I was smiling as I was once more encircled in Mathias embrace and I heard his light chuckle. "Says the one who's crying."
Both of us laughed, and I felt truly at peace for the first time in a long while. "I love you." I breathed after our laughter had subsided, leaning my head back against Mathias' chest. "And I promise that as soon as this is over I will free you." Mathias entwined his fingers with mine and hummed something unintelligible, but I could clearly feel his approval.
"I'll show you the world." Mathias said after a short period of silence, and I sighed in complete bliss as he began massaging my head.
And after another longer silence, Mathias voice once more echoed through the wide empty chamber: "I love you too."
...