Disclaimer: You guessed it. Garth Nix owns everything except for the characters I
invented. Which, how really can you invent a person? I mean, besides my maginary friends, how can you… Why am I talking to myself?
A/N: I'm sorry it took so long to write anything. Due to my recent re-obsession
with poetry, I haven't written much on my fics. (Oh, please review them too! I've become a little down in the dumps with my poetry because no one's reviewed!) I'm started a book for a contest too, (Kasey set a goal for me. I'm now entering a contest by the end of this year. Thank you Kasey! Now I have a reason to write!) and I'll post that on fictionpress.net under Shayley Rae (that's my other pen name, read my poetry, and a few stories too!) Read it if you like when it's up, it may be called Secrets of Learning... or something like that!
Anyway, I'm picking up where I left off. Romance, here we go. When you review (if you do, and I hope you do!) give me suggestions to help guide the story. I don't know exactly if where I want to take it is good, so as the reader.. HELP! (But I promise the little bits of romance will become chunks. I'm a romantic. ^^ Nothing R rated, I promise. Icky.)
Daman pulled Belyn closer to him, one arm fitting perfectly around her slim waist. He added his other arm to squeeze her tighter than before. His arms seemed to be perfectly made for holding her, like two pieces of a puzzle that completed the picture. Her body trembled at his touch and she shook inside the confines of his limbs. A gale of sea air blew her hair from it's resting place upon her shoulders and down her back, twirling behind her like a cape. Belyn steadied her hands and laid them on Daman's shoulders, letting them slide to wrap around his neck.
An angel, he thought to himself again. She's simply an angel.
Belyn studied his eyes closely, taking in his every feature. She wanted to stroke his cheek, feel the soft smoothness of his skin beneath her own. She traced a thin scar down the side of his cheek, bumping over the ridges of the tattered skin. Kiss me, she said to him inside her mind, praying he could understand her. Please, kiss me.
Daman could feel her breath against his cheek, the warm air tinting his cheek a sticky red. He brought one hand up to touch the bottom of her chin. He brought her closer still, until the tips of their noses touched. Daman tilted his head slightly to the side, and leaned forward. Their lips touched, shooting sparks throughout their bodies. Belyn's arms enveloped Daman's neck, holding him tight as though staying connected to him depended on the last strands of her life.
Slowly they separated, staying together even after the kiss had ended. Belyn's first, it had been something new for her, thrilling her as her lips tingled from the taste of Daman's tongue. Her tongue felt like it was aflame, burning from the touch of another's. Daman had kissed many a girl, but his eyes stated him as dazed as Belyn.
Belyn turned away from Daman, her cheeks a flaming red. She cursed herself for melting this way, hated herself for letting go of her holds. She hoped the Charter would forgive her for this one display of weakness. Daman looked at her, keeping his eyes fixed to her face. He bit his lip, savoring the taste she had left in his mouth, and he decided then he wanted more than a mere kiss.
"Belyn, I - " he began, but she cut him off.
"I've got to go," she said, and she hastened her walk as she hurried out the door..
Daman watched her rush into her room, close her shutters, and lock herself inside the wooden walls, a prison for her now. He maledicted himself silently for moving so fast. He would wait, quietly, for her return.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Sara lay flat on her back underneath Daman's windowsill, listening in on everything said, every move made. Listening intently, she could hear the sounds of the kiss, Daman moving his hands over he linen dress Belyn wore. There was a whole carved in the wall beneath his window, she could see perfectly the events, along with hearing them.
"Tramp," she said under her breath. How dare she kiss Daman? How dare she try and take him?
Sara watched as the kiss ended, watched as Belyn fled the room with flaming cheeks. She smiled maliciously. There was no way Belyn could have Daman. Quietly she stood, just as Daman had turned his back to the window. She straightened up her dress and took a few steps back , then walked forward, as to appear she was just walking by.
"Daman!" she called as she passed the window. He turned to her, and his frown deepened.
"Hello Sara," he replied glumly.
"What's the matter, Daman?" Sara asked, with a sugar-coated voice. Kiss me, just like you did her, you fool! she screamed, wanting to reach forward and press her lips against his.
"Ah… It's nothing, Sara. Nothing for you to worry about."
I'm worried alright. You kissed that tramp! "I understand," she smiled. "Um, have you seen Belyn?"
"Yes. She just went into her room." Daman's frown grew to a scowl, and Sara knew it was time to go.
"Thank you, Daman. See you later!"
He nodded, then caught himself. "Sara!"
"Yes?" she asked, cattily. She'd lured him in now, for sure! She smirked, hoping vainly to look attractive.
"Take these to Belyn for me please." He palmed the two tops and handed them to Sara. "Good day."
Sara smiled up and him and nodded, grasping the tops in her fist. She tried to crush them, but the solid Charter wood stayed strong. I'm coming, tramp, she thought, staring daggers into Belyn's door.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Belyn latched the door behind her, sighing heavily as she slumped back on it. She wasn't tired, no, she was ashamed. Daman's kiss still left its mark on both her lips and her cheeks. She found herself wanting to stay, wanting him to kiss her again. She tried to shake it off, but the memories were just too fresh in her mind.
She stood up as her breathing returned to normal, and she straightened her linen night dress. The fibers had already been worn, and her excessive use of the garment had stretched them further. Across from her was her mirror, and she caught a gimpse of her figure before the wind tilted it back.
Belyn walked forward, towards the looking glass, taking steps as slow as those she had used to get to Daman. More and more of her image appeared in the glass as she stepped forward, and finally she could see all of her upper-body.
"Goodness, save the Charter," she said aloud to her reflection. "I look like the jades walking along the streets of Belisaere late at night."
The dress was tight against her frame, exposing more of her figure than she wished. The cloth was damp with her sweat, the material wrinkled by Daman's body against hers. Her raven hair lay tangled now against her back, reaching, stretching, to her knees.
Slowly she coiled her hair into a knot at the back of her neck, securing it with a single pin. She pulled the dress above her head and folded it to lay on her bed. She looked at the mirror again for a moment. In the glass stood her naked figure, and, embarrassed, she quickly covered her parts with her hands. She searched for a dress inside the bureau holding her clothes, and she fished out a pale blue one. She tugged it over her head and onto her shoulders, pressing out the crinkles, and rearranging it neatly, just the way Sara had taught her. Belyn stared at the night gown laying on the crinkled sheets of the bed and she picked it up, tossing it to the bottom of her chest, slamming the doors in hopes to erase the memories just made.
"Belyn," she lectured herself outloud, "this is too soon. You can't be falling head over heels for the first guy who kisses you. Please, don't fall! Come back!" She bounced onto her bed, wrapping her arms around the legs she had pulled up to her chest. She burrowed her head in her knees. Tears silently streaked down her face, soaking her hair and puffing her cheeks up with the salty drops. They soaked the front of her dress, two puddles of ocean.
She sat there, trying to talk herself out of jumping, contemplating both sides of the cliff. Here on solid ground she had pain, but no love, and mass holding her up. But on the other side, she could have a possible love, care, and someone to lean on. Falling in love. She'd never had any of that before.
Suddenly, she heard a scratching noise a her door, and she looked up to see a thin metal knife sliding through the crack. The blade caught the latch and lifted up, and then the door swung out on its hinges. Standing in the doorway was Sara, and she held a smile on her face. She holding something in the confines of her left palm, and she reached back with her right hand to shut the door.
"Good morning, Belyn!" she said, the weariness under her eyes not evident in her voice. Sara unveiled her hood, exposing her long, chestnut hair. It hung down her back, serving as a coat of warmth.
"Good morning, Sara," Belyn replied. She sighed quietly and stretched her legs out in front of her, tucking the tearstains under the folds.
The maiden approached her, and unfolded her palm out to Belyn. Inside were the two yellow and red tops. The Charter marks for music were now obvious to the naked eye, glowing from the recent use, planted in the rings of age carved on the wood. Belyn smiled, but the expression lasted only moments. The birds hidden inside the tops brought back the memories she longed to forget, memories from only minutes ago. She could hear their song played the back of her mind, and she shivered it away.
"Daman wished me to give these to you. I do not to why though, Belyn, they're only spinning tops for children." Sara smirked as she spoke, laughing silently at the pathetic orphan she was being paid to tend to. Belyn did not catch it though, for her eyes were focused on the reeling wood.
"Thank you Sara," she said politely. "Did you sleep much last night? You sound tired."
"Oh, I had hoped it wouldn't be perceptible! I mean, I didn't think you'd be able to notice." Belyn rolled her eyes. She was as stupid as Sara believed. "As a matter of fact, I didn't sleep much last night. I was with Daman." Sara flipped her hair over her shoulder and giggled, and she forced a blush to her cheeks.
"Daman?" Belyn asked, sceptical of the maiden's words.
"Yes. We're very close now. Have you been with a man before, Belyn?"
Belyn shrugged. She didn't know what Sara meant.
"Oh, then you haven't. Belyn, I guess you're old enough to know this. It's when a man and a woman join because they love each other and want to start a family. I might be pregnant with Daman's child now!"
Belyn lowered her eyes and stared at the quilt. Was Sara being honest? And did Daman's kiss mean anything now?
"Belyn, what's wrong?"
"He kissed me just a few minutes ago."
Sara laughed. "That's why you're upset? Oh, Belyn, it didn't mean anything. Daman loves me, not you!" She flipped her hair again over her shoulder, and Belyn was reminded again of the jades who walked the Belisaere streets in search of men and money. Sara wrapped the veil around her head again and left only her eyes in the open.
"I must be going, Belyn. I'll visit again in the afternoon. Summon me if need be. I must go to Daman now. Good bye!"
Belyn watched her leave through the open door. Sara neglected to shut it as she left, and then she stood in front of Daman's. She knocked, several times in a pattern, and she wondered if her rapping identified her. She stood there, waiting, but Daman never answered the door. Finally she walked away from the door,
swinging her hips to the eyeing sailors.
Tears clouded over her eyes, blurring her vision. The frame of her door melted into Daman's, the colors of her patchwork quilt became a mass of sickly gray. Her own skin hazed a color of dreary gray, her raven hair indefinable in the sea of darkness. Rays from the sun glistened on the drops grouping in the corners of her eyes, blinding the darkness with light.
I'm a pawn, Belyn thought, releasing a lonesome tear to bleed down her cheek. "I was just a toy for him to play with, to confuse. Why would someone as good and kind and caring as Daman want someone as poor and wretched and dirty like me? Curse him!" she lectured herself aloud, quietly.
She sniffled, and rubbed her eyes clear of the salty tears. Her cheeks were blotched and swollen, her nose was red and runny, she knew. She shook her head, thinking of the only two men who had seemed to want to associate with her. First had been the hapless merchant, who had gotten her aboard this ship in the first place. Now Daman. She felt like the instrument of the Free Magic devils, used only as bait and toy.
Belyn crossed her legs in front of her and sat straight. She wouldn't let anyone aboard this ship know she was hurt. She'd hold her head up high, just like in the market, and refuse to bow down to their idiocies. Belyn reclined back on the bed, resting in the pillows with a smile on her face. She would be charming and delightful to all who passed, and they would be naive to what she felt.
A mask. A wall. Pride was an awful hard thing to swallow, even for an orphan.
A/N: *Sighs* That was long. Well, long for 10:00 at night! I've gotta go to school tomorrow too. Oh well. I like this story! More of Belyn's dreams coming up, more of the love triangle as well.
And again, sorry! This probably would've been up sooner, but I was gone for just about 4 days in all in Washington D.C. Great trip! All the memorials are amazing, and HUGE! The Smithsonians are cool too, but I only got to see 3. (Picasso was in the Art Gallery! Awesome!!) Ford's Theatre was itty-bitty, and it wasn't what I expected. The National Cathedral was GORGEOUS! I don't care if you don't believe in God, GO SEE IT! It's amazing!! Arlington Cemetery was cool too, but there are way too many little white gravestones for my liking. It was really cold, and the bus ride was LONG and we were rushed. But it was a great trip! (Especially cause my crush was with me a lot! ^^)
Anywhoo, yeah. I think I'm done now! I'll try to get the next chappie up as soon as possible!
Love y'all!
Rae
invented. Which, how really can you invent a person? I mean, besides my maginary friends, how can you… Why am I talking to myself?
A/N: I'm sorry it took so long to write anything. Due to my recent re-obsession
with poetry, I haven't written much on my fics. (Oh, please review them too! I've become a little down in the dumps with my poetry because no one's reviewed!) I'm started a book for a contest too, (Kasey set a goal for me. I'm now entering a contest by the end of this year. Thank you Kasey! Now I have a reason to write!) and I'll post that on fictionpress.net under Shayley Rae (that's my other pen name, read my poetry, and a few stories too!) Read it if you like when it's up, it may be called Secrets of Learning... or something like that!
Anyway, I'm picking up where I left off. Romance, here we go. When you review (if you do, and I hope you do!) give me suggestions to help guide the story. I don't know exactly if where I want to take it is good, so as the reader.. HELP! (But I promise the little bits of romance will become chunks. I'm a romantic. ^^ Nothing R rated, I promise. Icky.)
Daman pulled Belyn closer to him, one arm fitting perfectly around her slim waist. He added his other arm to squeeze her tighter than before. His arms seemed to be perfectly made for holding her, like two pieces of a puzzle that completed the picture. Her body trembled at his touch and she shook inside the confines of his limbs. A gale of sea air blew her hair from it's resting place upon her shoulders and down her back, twirling behind her like a cape. Belyn steadied her hands and laid them on Daman's shoulders, letting them slide to wrap around his neck.
An angel, he thought to himself again. She's simply an angel.
Belyn studied his eyes closely, taking in his every feature. She wanted to stroke his cheek, feel the soft smoothness of his skin beneath her own. She traced a thin scar down the side of his cheek, bumping over the ridges of the tattered skin. Kiss me, she said to him inside her mind, praying he could understand her. Please, kiss me.
Daman could feel her breath against his cheek, the warm air tinting his cheek a sticky red. He brought one hand up to touch the bottom of her chin. He brought her closer still, until the tips of their noses touched. Daman tilted his head slightly to the side, and leaned forward. Their lips touched, shooting sparks throughout their bodies. Belyn's arms enveloped Daman's neck, holding him tight as though staying connected to him depended on the last strands of her life.
Slowly they separated, staying together even after the kiss had ended. Belyn's first, it had been something new for her, thrilling her as her lips tingled from the taste of Daman's tongue. Her tongue felt like it was aflame, burning from the touch of another's. Daman had kissed many a girl, but his eyes stated him as dazed as Belyn.
Belyn turned away from Daman, her cheeks a flaming red. She cursed herself for melting this way, hated herself for letting go of her holds. She hoped the Charter would forgive her for this one display of weakness. Daman looked at her, keeping his eyes fixed to her face. He bit his lip, savoring the taste she had left in his mouth, and he decided then he wanted more than a mere kiss.
"Belyn, I - " he began, but she cut him off.
"I've got to go," she said, and she hastened her walk as she hurried out the door..
Daman watched her rush into her room, close her shutters, and lock herself inside the wooden walls, a prison for her now. He maledicted himself silently for moving so fast. He would wait, quietly, for her return.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Sara lay flat on her back underneath Daman's windowsill, listening in on everything said, every move made. Listening intently, she could hear the sounds of the kiss, Daman moving his hands over he linen dress Belyn wore. There was a whole carved in the wall beneath his window, she could see perfectly the events, along with hearing them.
"Tramp," she said under her breath. How dare she kiss Daman? How dare she try and take him?
Sara watched as the kiss ended, watched as Belyn fled the room with flaming cheeks. She smiled maliciously. There was no way Belyn could have Daman. Quietly she stood, just as Daman had turned his back to the window. She straightened up her dress and took a few steps back , then walked forward, as to appear she was just walking by.
"Daman!" she called as she passed the window. He turned to her, and his frown deepened.
"Hello Sara," he replied glumly.
"What's the matter, Daman?" Sara asked, with a sugar-coated voice. Kiss me, just like you did her, you fool! she screamed, wanting to reach forward and press her lips against his.
"Ah… It's nothing, Sara. Nothing for you to worry about."
I'm worried alright. You kissed that tramp! "I understand," she smiled. "Um, have you seen Belyn?"
"Yes. She just went into her room." Daman's frown grew to a scowl, and Sara knew it was time to go.
"Thank you, Daman. See you later!"
He nodded, then caught himself. "Sara!"
"Yes?" she asked, cattily. She'd lured him in now, for sure! She smirked, hoping vainly to look attractive.
"Take these to Belyn for me please." He palmed the two tops and handed them to Sara. "Good day."
Sara smiled up and him and nodded, grasping the tops in her fist. She tried to crush them, but the solid Charter wood stayed strong. I'm coming, tramp, she thought, staring daggers into Belyn's door.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Belyn latched the door behind her, sighing heavily as she slumped back on it. She wasn't tired, no, she was ashamed. Daman's kiss still left its mark on both her lips and her cheeks. She found herself wanting to stay, wanting him to kiss her again. She tried to shake it off, but the memories were just too fresh in her mind.
She stood up as her breathing returned to normal, and she straightened her linen night dress. The fibers had already been worn, and her excessive use of the garment had stretched them further. Across from her was her mirror, and she caught a gimpse of her figure before the wind tilted it back.
Belyn walked forward, towards the looking glass, taking steps as slow as those she had used to get to Daman. More and more of her image appeared in the glass as she stepped forward, and finally she could see all of her upper-body.
"Goodness, save the Charter," she said aloud to her reflection. "I look like the jades walking along the streets of Belisaere late at night."
The dress was tight against her frame, exposing more of her figure than she wished. The cloth was damp with her sweat, the material wrinkled by Daman's body against hers. Her raven hair lay tangled now against her back, reaching, stretching, to her knees.
Slowly she coiled her hair into a knot at the back of her neck, securing it with a single pin. She pulled the dress above her head and folded it to lay on her bed. She looked at the mirror again for a moment. In the glass stood her naked figure, and, embarrassed, she quickly covered her parts with her hands. She searched for a dress inside the bureau holding her clothes, and she fished out a pale blue one. She tugged it over her head and onto her shoulders, pressing out the crinkles, and rearranging it neatly, just the way Sara had taught her. Belyn stared at the night gown laying on the crinkled sheets of the bed and she picked it up, tossing it to the bottom of her chest, slamming the doors in hopes to erase the memories just made.
"Belyn," she lectured herself outloud, "this is too soon. You can't be falling head over heels for the first guy who kisses you. Please, don't fall! Come back!" She bounced onto her bed, wrapping her arms around the legs she had pulled up to her chest. She burrowed her head in her knees. Tears silently streaked down her face, soaking her hair and puffing her cheeks up with the salty drops. They soaked the front of her dress, two puddles of ocean.
She sat there, trying to talk herself out of jumping, contemplating both sides of the cliff. Here on solid ground she had pain, but no love, and mass holding her up. But on the other side, she could have a possible love, care, and someone to lean on. Falling in love. She'd never had any of that before.
Suddenly, she heard a scratching noise a her door, and she looked up to see a thin metal knife sliding through the crack. The blade caught the latch and lifted up, and then the door swung out on its hinges. Standing in the doorway was Sara, and she held a smile on her face. She holding something in the confines of her left palm, and she reached back with her right hand to shut the door.
"Good morning, Belyn!" she said, the weariness under her eyes not evident in her voice. Sara unveiled her hood, exposing her long, chestnut hair. It hung down her back, serving as a coat of warmth.
"Good morning, Sara," Belyn replied. She sighed quietly and stretched her legs out in front of her, tucking the tearstains under the folds.
The maiden approached her, and unfolded her palm out to Belyn. Inside were the two yellow and red tops. The Charter marks for music were now obvious to the naked eye, glowing from the recent use, planted in the rings of age carved on the wood. Belyn smiled, but the expression lasted only moments. The birds hidden inside the tops brought back the memories she longed to forget, memories from only minutes ago. She could hear their song played the back of her mind, and she shivered it away.
"Daman wished me to give these to you. I do not to why though, Belyn, they're only spinning tops for children." Sara smirked as she spoke, laughing silently at the pathetic orphan she was being paid to tend to. Belyn did not catch it though, for her eyes were focused on the reeling wood.
"Thank you Sara," she said politely. "Did you sleep much last night? You sound tired."
"Oh, I had hoped it wouldn't be perceptible! I mean, I didn't think you'd be able to notice." Belyn rolled her eyes. She was as stupid as Sara believed. "As a matter of fact, I didn't sleep much last night. I was with Daman." Sara flipped her hair over her shoulder and giggled, and she forced a blush to her cheeks.
"Daman?" Belyn asked, sceptical of the maiden's words.
"Yes. We're very close now. Have you been with a man before, Belyn?"
Belyn shrugged. She didn't know what Sara meant.
"Oh, then you haven't. Belyn, I guess you're old enough to know this. It's when a man and a woman join because they love each other and want to start a family. I might be pregnant with Daman's child now!"
Belyn lowered her eyes and stared at the quilt. Was Sara being honest? And did Daman's kiss mean anything now?
"Belyn, what's wrong?"
"He kissed me just a few minutes ago."
Sara laughed. "That's why you're upset? Oh, Belyn, it didn't mean anything. Daman loves me, not you!" She flipped her hair again over her shoulder, and Belyn was reminded again of the jades who walked the Belisaere streets in search of men and money. Sara wrapped the veil around her head again and left only her eyes in the open.
"I must be going, Belyn. I'll visit again in the afternoon. Summon me if need be. I must go to Daman now. Good bye!"
Belyn watched her leave through the open door. Sara neglected to shut it as she left, and then she stood in front of Daman's. She knocked, several times in a pattern, and she wondered if her rapping identified her. She stood there, waiting, but Daman never answered the door. Finally she walked away from the door,
swinging her hips to the eyeing sailors.
Tears clouded over her eyes, blurring her vision. The frame of her door melted into Daman's, the colors of her patchwork quilt became a mass of sickly gray. Her own skin hazed a color of dreary gray, her raven hair indefinable in the sea of darkness. Rays from the sun glistened on the drops grouping in the corners of her eyes, blinding the darkness with light.
I'm a pawn, Belyn thought, releasing a lonesome tear to bleed down her cheek. "I was just a toy for him to play with, to confuse. Why would someone as good and kind and caring as Daman want someone as poor and wretched and dirty like me? Curse him!" she lectured herself aloud, quietly.
She sniffled, and rubbed her eyes clear of the salty tears. Her cheeks were blotched and swollen, her nose was red and runny, she knew. She shook her head, thinking of the only two men who had seemed to want to associate with her. First had been the hapless merchant, who had gotten her aboard this ship in the first place. Now Daman. She felt like the instrument of the Free Magic devils, used only as bait and toy.
Belyn crossed her legs in front of her and sat straight. She wouldn't let anyone aboard this ship know she was hurt. She'd hold her head up high, just like in the market, and refuse to bow down to their idiocies. Belyn reclined back on the bed, resting in the pillows with a smile on her face. She would be charming and delightful to all who passed, and they would be naive to what she felt.
A mask. A wall. Pride was an awful hard thing to swallow, even for an orphan.
A/N: *Sighs* That was long. Well, long for 10:00 at night! I've gotta go to school tomorrow too. Oh well. I like this story! More of Belyn's dreams coming up, more of the love triangle as well.
And again, sorry! This probably would've been up sooner, but I was gone for just about 4 days in all in Washington D.C. Great trip! All the memorials are amazing, and HUGE! The Smithsonians are cool too, but I only got to see 3. (Picasso was in the Art Gallery! Awesome!!) Ford's Theatre was itty-bitty, and it wasn't what I expected. The National Cathedral was GORGEOUS! I don't care if you don't believe in God, GO SEE IT! It's amazing!! Arlington Cemetery was cool too, but there are way too many little white gravestones for my liking. It was really cold, and the bus ride was LONG and we were rushed. But it was a great trip! (Especially cause my crush was with me a lot! ^^)
Anywhoo, yeah. I think I'm done now! I'll try to get the next chappie up as soon as possible!
Love y'all!
Rae