Love (Sky)

I used to think no one deserved to be loved. And good Lord, I acted upon it. I do not regret those actions. Bygones are bygones after all. I do wish I had had different ideas upon the subject earlier. People should be loved, it is only natural. It comes natural to us. It comes natural to me.

Love

Bloom's POV

"Miss Elliot, to assure you of my good intentions..." Sky burst into my room unexpectedly while I was trying to figure out how to do my hair for the ball. I jumped up abruptly.

"First this." He pulled a silver necklace out of his pocket and glanced at the neckline of my evening dress. "Okay." He cleared his throat. "This will suit your ball gown very well." He moved away from me until he stood behind me. He was so close that I could feel his breath quiver on my skin. It made me tremble.

And all my vengeful feelings and hateful plans dissolved in the moment. He let his hand glide across my neck. I felt the pendant drop between my breasts.

"Prince Sky?" I turned around cautiously. "Why are you really here?" I asked softly. He searched in his pocket again and retrieved a small red velvet box.

"I know you might think this is silly, but I want to do this properly." The flame of revenge was rekindled. Oh yes, very proper. Giving up my virginity before a wedding was very proper, indeed. Then why did he seem so honest? Because he wants you in his bed, you dumb goose. Alright.

Concentrate, Bloom.

"Will you marry me?" For the first time, he posed the question so sincerely, that even I had not anticipated my next move. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. He reacted instantly by locking his hands around my waist, pulling me closer.

This was wrong. His lips were wrong. His tongue was wrong. His hands were wrong.

Then why did it feel so heavenly? I pulled away suddenly. Was this kissing-Sky included in my plan to make him feel more respect for me? Surely not.

"Why did you do that, miss Elliot?" He asked hoarsely.

"I..." I stuttered helplessly. Because I am attracted to you? Because I was frustrated? "I don't know." He gazed at me blankly.

"Then don't." He finally said roughly.

"I'm sorry." I picked up the ring that had fallen on the ground during my temporal.. frenzy. "Here." I offered it to him gingerly.

"What the...?" He cursed under his breath. "Why are you returning this to me?"

"I cannot accept it, can I?" My mind was whirling turbulently. Was I refusing him now? I felt as if I was on a very unsteady boat, rocking back and forth, never being able to remain at the same place. I gazed at him. Very unsteady.

"Damn it, woman!" He cried out vehemently. I backed away from him slowly, but I had seemingly forgotten that my room had walls, so when he suddenly gripped my wrists angrily, I collided with the wall behind me. His eyes turned into a stormy blue and glistened dangerously. He sighed warily and our eyes locked again.

"You could make this a lot easier, if you would only bend a little." He seemed to realize that my swooning period was over. However, his words made me terribly angry, because he wanted to control me again.

"I apologise, but I am not interested." I tried to quench the evident anger that was rising again.

"Why the hell not?" He almost growled. He had released my hands, but now he placed an arm next to my head threateningly.

"When the reed bends, it does not get up again. It breaks, Prince Sky." I lifted my eyes to look up at him, but I could only stare at him wide-eyed. He showed... guilt? Remorse? He cut off my thoughts by pressing his lips on mine in a demanding manner. Of course, I thought as we battled for dominance, he always needs to have the upper hand.

"Wait." I pulled away, panting. I was unsure if I had actually formed a word. "Why are you doing this?" I wanted to know. I purposefully ignored the obvious lust in his eyes because it made me waver.

"Because I wanted to." He replied simply.

I wondered to myself if that was enough.

"Get out." I ordered in a whisper.

"My pleasure." He stomped off childishly. I felt something cold in the palm of my hand. The engagement ring.

After he had so very ceremoniously left my room, I had lunch with Diaspro. I did not put the engagement ring on. Diaspro was chattering throughout the whole meal, but I could tell something was wrong because she acted too agitated. She did agree enthusiastically to decorate my hair and promised to come up to my room at six o'clock.

I fingered the tear-shaped emerald pendant dangling on my neck and glanced at the matching engagement ring on my night table. I picked up the ring and fastened it around the lock of the necklace, rendering it invisible for everyone. But I knew it was there. It scared me that I had thus actually accepted his claim on me. Nonetheless, he did not have to know already. I only wanted to know how it would feel like to be his, there was no harm in that, was there?

I headed for the library in order to find a book to divert me for the next hours. I was relieved to find the grand room empty. There were two comfortable, large chairs by the fire and three facing the window, away from me. I plopped down on the chair by the fire and started reading 'Lorna Doone' for the fourth time, until I was positively startled by a voice speaking up.

"It wasn't your first kiss, was it?"

Sky's POV

She looked as though she had seen a ghost. She had been so absorbed in her own thoughts – I doubted if a romance of Exmoor could hold her attention so- that she failed to notice me. I had gotten up from my chair that had a view over the park and posed the question.

"How... did...I.." I had rarely seen her speechless, but today was a grand exception.

"It wasn't your first kiss was it?" I repeated my question patiently.

"How would you know?" She snapped petulantly. That was an obvious sign that she was recovering her stoic composure. Although, today she had been impulsive, passionate and anything but stoic. What power did that engagement ring hold?

"Because you did not start defending your virtue and all the good in the world when I kissed you." She blanched at my sarcastic explanation. "And because you assaulted me first." As I had expected, she found this offensive, so she jumped up indignantly. I reacted faster and grasped her wrists – that always seemed to work- to pull her onto the other sofa by the fire.

"Release me." She twisted and squirmed, seething. "Prince Sky! Release me this very instant or I..."

"Or you will what?" I spat menacingly. I noticed that her face was only two inches from mine. She must have felt it too, because she ceased her movements altogether. We were in this room, but it was timeless. Before I would lose myself in her serious gaze, I broke the spell.

"Answer me." I demanded softly.

"Everyone had a sweetheart at the young women's boarding school in Linphea." She grinned sadly about something. "Diaspro had six, of course." She paused and stared at the fire. "I was naive, but I had read too many novels and I desperately wanted to be a romance heroine. The headmistress' nephew showed a genuine interest for me." I felt my hand clench over the soft fabric of her dress, but she did not notice. "It was enough for me. Stella was not around to make him change his mind... we flirted. Love letters and two kisses: one in the school's hallways and the second time out in the rain."

"I do not want details, you know." I scrunched up my nose.

"That is because you are jealous." She smiled at me and fixed her gaze upon the hearth again.

"Kissing in the rain." I mused out loud.

"I thought it was sensible. I mean, our faces would get wet no matter what because he was not exactly skilled. " I snorted at her practical nature. "Andrew Newton." She said his name very softly. I knew that guy! He was me, but in lower social circles. Randy Andy. I preferred 'Spawn of Satan'. It had a certain cachet.

"I do not believe in fairytales, Prince Sky. And I am very sorry to have shattered your illusions about my virtue. In my defence though, I find that there is nothing intimate about kissing." My ears perked up unbelievingly.

"You did not just say that." I voiced my thoughts.

"Yes I did." She wanted to explain, confused, but I cut her off by kissing her left cheek. And then her right. I put her luxurious her behind her shoulders – I loved it when it was free from ribbons- and pressed my lips behind her ear and down her neck and up again. She was trembling underneath my touch. And I, I could only enjoy that exquisite feeling of power. She looked up to me in wonder.

"That was..."She whispered breathlessly, fingering my face tentatively. I did not wait for her to finish her sentence, but captured her lips with mine. She did not protest as my tongue explored her mouth unabashedly. She did not scream murder when I put one arm around her waist to pull her closer.

Then she let out the tiniest moan.

And I just lost every control over myself. My kisses turned more ardent as I gently pushed her down on the sofa, letting my hands travel over her upper body. She whimpered softly when I traced the neckline of her jade green dress. As I reached behind her neck to loosen the rigid bodice of her dress, she abruptly stiffened when I accidently touched the necklace I had given her. She lay there as a corpse for fifteen seconds, and then she fled, murmuring unintelligible words.

Bloom's POV

Everything was wonderful, I was simply floating in a stream of bliss. Then he touched the necklace. He had almost reached the lock on which the ring dangled. I was unsure what to do, I froze as he sat there watching me questioningly. I did not want him to see that I held any affection for him until I knew how he felt about me. I was someone who did not jump until she was sure to have a net. I did not have the luxury of certainty. Consequently, I did something I had become very proficient at.

I ran.

I had danced two times with Prince Sky. I was also about to accept Avalons's proposal for a dance, but Sky had showed up and whisked me off to the opposite corner of the room. I was somewhat irritated by his actions, but in a certain perspective it was quite endearing that he wanted to protect me against other men. On the other hand, I had been shy of a dance partner for six dances now because he did not find it necessary to entertain me.

Thus I was currently wandering around in the magnificent palace the Countess of Gardenia had rented, seeking a library. I had heard Sky speaking derisively of a book written by a man named Adam Smith. The wealth of nations. I was fairly certain that the fashionable and revolutionary Countess would own this tome.

"Miss Elliot!"

When I heard someone call my name, I turned around naturally, only to see William Doone. My breathing accelerated unintentionally. Sky appeared behind him, waving his arms at me, aggravated. I understood that he wanted me to run away from Doone. Without any further questions or hesitations, I obeyed him. I had absolutely no desire to discuss my sad situation with Tool Doone. I lifted my skirts slightly to quicken my pace. I heard that Sky started talking to Doone.

I retired into the first room I found. I walked over to the chairs near the window, irrationally hoping that Sky would be in one of them. He was not. Someone else was, though. And her look went right through me. My hand clutched the arm of the chair anxiously.

"Stella?"

A/N: Okay, I am mean, I know : ) But I wanted to give you an update, and I am not sure yet where exactly I am going with Stella. Plus, I only intend this story to be about 4 more chapters, so I want it to be good. However, my exams are coming up, so I am very unsure about how things will progress from here on. Sometimes I get very inspired, sometimes I just forget about everything (except studying of course : )) Oh yeah, I am going to post some small previews for my next story on my profile, so check it out if you wanna. I'm thinking about making it a Sparx-shipping. Also BloomxSky of course, but you know.. a triangle would be quite fun, I reckon ;) Oh yes, 'The Wealth of Nations' was written around 1776.

R&R

Lots of love!

II

Prettycurefan: The story is loosely inspired by a book by an authoress named Georgette Heyer, but that was only for the first three chapters, so the rest is all my imagination : )Thanks for the review!x

Loveablebunny: I am not sure. They would in real life. But I am not sure if my readers expect such a thing. I think the kissing the scenes in this chapter were fairly interesting already ; )

Firefairy219: AN ABRIDGED VERSION? BLASPHEMY! Utter blasphemy. So Bloom kinda did the whole 'Oh my gawd ur so hot I'm gunna kiss ya' –thing :p I had wanted to do that for quite some time. It seemed appropriate for the first heartfelt wedding proposal that she would kiss him, even though she hasn't even accepted him technically :o I am sure she'll slap him once or twice more in the following chapters. I hope everything is going well (exams and all that stuff), and seriously, who airs a show on Sunday afternoon. Idiots.

PS : oh yeah, I recommended I Spy before I had found out they made H pregnant. That was so stupid. I mean, I know unsafe sex can lead to babies, but come on, they did it once! After that, the story became pretty mainstream, though it was nice how the other worked around the storyline, when he included Draco's involvement.

xSapphirexRosesxFanx: haha, love it: 'put some brains in that empty space in his head'. I am quite sure he has brains, he just doesn't use them very often. He prefers to think with other body parts, I presume : ) Thanks for the review, it made me laugh : )

Darknessbandit: Hey! Thanks! I am glad you like the story so far. Hm I am not sure if Stella will go down without a fight though ;)