Love Among Slavery
Chapter Thirteen: The Kiss
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Black and dark...
That was how everything was to him... ever since that faithful day so very long ago... That day was supposed to be a glorious, successful and blissful day... but she got in the way. She got in HIS way.
He had not expected it... and still now he did not think that it was possible! She was on his side! Not theirs! Those people abandoned her! Those men tricked her! He left her for another!
Inhale...
Exhale...
Inhale...
Exhale...
Over these last centuries, he had been floating in a dark abyss. He would keep his eyes closed because it made no difference to his surroundings. He would breath in and out at an even pace. And he would plan... plan his next move in this game of chess... in this game of kings.
But every time he focused, every time he would get close and every time when he could almost touch it... she popped into his mind.
The lost innocent girl, dressed in pale violet in her purpled marbled room, sitting on her feathered bed, weeping her frail body away. Her legs drawn close to her small frame as she shuddered with every forsaken breath she took. Her ebony hair covered her face like a silken curtain.
No one would have guessed of what damage she could have done. No one would have known of what power she held. No one ever assumed that she was the very being that could tip the scale of the universe into an oasis of heaven... or to the fires of hell.
But he knew... Oh, he knew.
He was going to use her as his secret weapon to get what he desired the most. And what he most desired so long ago was the fair-haired goddess.
Oh, just thinking of that fair-haired goddess made him want to die... made him what to scream in agony... made him want to kill her over and over again.
He had assumed that once he snatched the ebony destroyer into his hands when she was cast away from her beloved, that she would dance to his tune... get whatever he wanted... and to bow to his every wish and whim.
However, it had not happened like that... far from that.
She looked at him with those violet eyes, those tear stained cheeks and soft pale skin... and he looked at her with cold black eyes and hard-set face... But she saw through that... saw through him to his very heart-wrenching desire...
The soft tone she used, the innocent stare she gave him and the small warm hugs she would bestow upon him made him waver. She would talk to him, she would listen to him and she would understand him... She was everything the fair-haired goddess was not to him.
Instead of her dancing to his tune, he found himself stepping to hers...
Instead of her getting whatever he wanted, he found himself giving gifts to her...
And instead of her bowing to his every wish and whim, he found himself creating miracles for her... right in front of her very eyes...
And for what?
Just to see her smile.
Oh, her heart-lifting smiles...
Her beautiful lips would lift, her deep eyes would shine and her pale completion would glow... all for him...
And it made him... satisfied... successful... and... happy...
But in the end, he denied her. He denied these feelings... these thoughts... He would deny this girl that he was to use to get the goddess. He thought of her as a setback to his one true prize.
And when that day came... that faithful day so very long ago, came. He sent her to them and she sliced his pathway to the goddess. She was so naïve... naïve to believe the sinful words he had told her... the lies he had fed her... the love he proclaimed to her...
She believed him as if he was god himself. Even if her family told her that they cared about her, even if her friends apologized, even if... her once knight in shining armour declared, right in front of the goddess, that he couldn't love anyone but her, the ebony destroyer... she did not stop in her rampage to his victory.
He remembered the fair-haired goddess looking at the knight in horror and he never hated the knight more than ever. For taking his goddess away from his reaching grasps, for turning his life into a living hell... and, somewhere at the back of his mind said, for hurting the ebony destroyer.
Then when the fair-haired goddess, Serenity, was in his arms at last... the destroyer awoke, as if from a dream, and she stared at him straight in the eye and realized what he had done to her... what he had done to her family, friends, home and, especially... to her.
His heart sunk. It plunged to the very bottom of the seven seas. It scattered among the endless space. And it became un-repairable from that moment on.
Her eyes shone, not from happiness like those many times with him, but with gathering tears of hurt from him. Her lips were halfway opened, no chance of forming a smile, but was shocked from his ways. And her pale complexion no longer shone... it became white and clammy.
He immediately pushed the goddess away upon seeing the hurt in his destroyer's face and called her name in desperation.
But she stepped back... terrified. And he... he almost collapsed from the force of her denying him.
His heart pounded in his ears as he saw, painfully, that fucking knight calling her to him in his pathetic loving voice. And to his utter horror, she turned around, hope evident on her face, and embraced that jackass lovingly... even after what he had done to her.
He couldn't breathe. He couldn't feel... He couldn't see.
That was his downfall. The moment she leaned into the knight's tender embrace, the moment she fell in love all over again with that man... the moment when he let those closed-up emotions fly and consume him...
Even though he knew it was too late... he had hoped that it was all a dream. He had hoped that he would wake up from this nightmare and open his eyes to see the ebony goddess holding a tray of breakfast, waiting for him like so many times before. He had hoped then that she would toss the food onto the floor and hold him in her gentle arms upon seeing him in such a stricken state.
But alas... it did not happen so. It had all been real...
He stood there numbly... unable to move until the knight landed a kiss on the ebony goddess... on HIS ebony goddess. He drew his hidden strength out from anger and planned to slay the knight when his beloved jumped into the blow herself... damaging her graceful body fatally.
He drew in a sharp breath... not believing what he saw. Surely his goddess would never foil his plans... surely she knows that what he was doing was for her own good... surely she loved him as much as he did her.
The knight, seeing his maiden toss away her life for his, suddenly struck him with a deadly seal before catching his fallen love in his strong arms.
He was too shocked, heart-broken and hurt to try to struggle against the seal cast upon him. He just stood there as happy events of his ebony goddess flashed before his eyes...
And the last he had saw of her, she was cradled lightly in the knight's arms. A thin line of red blood slithered from the corner of her mouth and dripped onto the marble tiles. Her half-closed dead eyes were looking at the knight. Her small and delicate pale hand was enclosed in a strong yet gentle hold of the knight.
And what killed him instantly was what she said next...
"I love you... Legolas..."
He opened his eyes and met with black. Her voice said those three words over and over again in his mind... if only it had not been accompanied by that accursed name!
He shouldn't blame her... No. He could never blame such a delicate creature for what the world had done... what Fate had done.
Yes. Fate was the one to blame.
Why couldn't Fate let him meet the ebony goddess sooner? Why couldn't she let him realize his feelings sooner? Why couldn't she let the woman of his dreams embrace him instead of that bastard!
Regret...
It still had him in its jaws.
If only he could have let his emotions go. If only he could have realized that she was more that an instrument. If only... If only he could have fallen in love with her in the first place... So many 'if onlys'... so little time left.
But soon... he could feel it in his blood... he would break free...
Soon...
"Hotaru..." he spoke into the emptiness longingly... desperately...
The cell stank of urine and sewerage. The stone floors were hard and cold. The barred windows were hardly letting in enough light or fresh air. Although he could see his people walk freely among the streets, he could not see why they have not rebelled against that bloody elf and save him from this hellhole.
"Your food, human," the elfin guard spat as he slid the pathetic plate of food through the bars at him.
He glared, not at the guard... no, he would never waste his precious sight on something so unworthy, but instead glared at the leftover food. It was soggy rice this time with some overdue meat. Immediately flies swam towards his food to consume such a sorry dish.
It has been a week and three days since the take over. From what he had heard from the guards, the elfin king has officially become king of his kingdom. At remembering that conversation, his heart pounded angrily at his chest.
He had had his kingdom, his palace and even...
Violet eyes flashed before him.
"Hotaru," he whispered, his heart wrenching.
The image of the pale girl lying unconscious in his arms still burned in his mind. He dug his head into his arms when he remembered her trembling arms reaching out for him, when her tired eyes closed shut and when she whispered a request from her cold, stiff lips... probably her last request.
He clenched his fingers into a fist, not caring if his nails dug into his palm. A simple tear in his flesh could never overcome the pain that weighted in his mind, heart and soul. It ripped at him from the inside every minute of every hour of everyday. It was terrible.
"Arg," he screamed in frustration.
"Your majesty?"
Heero turned his head to his left towards the hesitant voice and grunted, "Yes?"
"Are you alright?" the person asked.
"I'm fine, Duo," he answered.
Duo nodded, his eyes upon the faint stream of light coming from the small window. It had been a week and three days when he got tossed into this place. He even had the "honour", if you can call it an honour, of getting a whole entire cell by himself, right beside his fallen king, who also got a cell by himself too.
He sighed sorrowfully. He knew that even though the elves aren't doing anything to them now, they were going to kill them eventually. At the mention of the elves, his dieing anger quickly flared.
They've taken his honour, his home and now they were going to take his life. There was no way he was going to die without a fight, he finally concluded.
At the back of his mind, Hotaru's body lying in the bed with that elfin bastard over-seeing her caused worry to rush though him. What happened to her? Is she okay? Is she still... alive?
He was afraid of putting too much thought into it, afraid that he might jinx her future. Maybe... just maybe she was fine and healthy and safe. Just maybe...
'Or maybe not...'
His head perked up at the voice. He looked around, hoping to find someone sitting beside him, because he was sure as hell that that voice felt like someone had whispered it into his ear. Funny, cause there was no one around him. Was he becoming insane?
'No.'
"Who are you?" he muttered, his eyes moving to the corners of his cell.
'I am your savoir.'
"What?" Duo asked in a low voice.
"What would you both do if I saved you?"
"Both?" Duo and Heero both asked, standing up in their cells.
The two boys looked at each other in disbelief. Were they both insane? Were they both hearing voices inside their heads?
'What would you do if I freed you?' the voice whispered down their spines.
'Revenge' was what they were both thinking at once, as if someone put the thought into their heads at the exact same moment.
'To whom?' Its voice was becoming hypnotic and dreary.
"Legolas," they said aloud in sync.
'Do you promise?' the voice purred.
"Yes," they whispered, getting droopy
.
'Very well.'
There was a full minute of silence, the two men standing there in anticipation. Then suddenly, "Urg!"
They watched as the elfin guards clasped onto their chests desperately, as if something were intruding their hearts. All of them opened their mouths wide to scream but nothing came out as they fell down onto their knees in agony. Then death overtook them just as quickly as the pain had come.
Heero looked at the corpses unemotionally while the barred doors of the cells swung open soundlessly and swiftly. Already knowing his mission, he walked in an even pace out of the dungeon and into the forest undetected, Duo following his king dutifully.
"Violet eyes..." Duo whispered. "I'll be seeing you soon."
Hotaru felt a shiver run down her spine, even though it was a nice warm day. She unconsciously knew that the shiver meant something else... perhaps it was another "sense" developing inside of her?
'Something's wrong,' Death muttered warningly in her mind.
'I can feel it too... I think...' Hotaru spoke back, suddenly aware of the birds in the trees, the faint noise of the market, and the smell of home-cooked bread.
When she was finally sure that nothing was amiss, she lowered her senses to the normal degree.
'Good... you are learning...' Death said approvingly.
Hotaru smiled and thought, 'Thank you..."
"Hotaru..."
She spun around, the violet and white butterflies that were resting on her form, scattered away from her. They circled around and danced in the air to an unknown tune, creating an unearthly picture.
A soft gasp escaped his throat upon seeing her bathed in such tender creatures. His heart sped up when he saw her tranquil eyes matching her innocent face. He could not stop himself feeling more and more towards this nymph.
Hotaru struggled to keep her emotions in check, after all... the man was her King.
"Your majesty," she said, bowing.
'Be careful...' Death warned. Hotaru could feel the unknown being narrow her eyes at Legolas.
Legolas cleared his throat and began, "We need to talk."
She watched as he came up beside her, sat down and motioned for her to do the same. She hesitated for a moment before softly sitting down beside him, wondering what was the problem.
There was a brief moment of silence before he spoke, "The council is speaking."
Hotaru ran a blade of grass between her fingers, feeling the smooth yet resisting texture, and said, "And certainly you are troubled of what they are speaking of."
"How did you know?" he asked, turning his head towards her in surprise.
She turned her head to face him and said, "I've known you long enough to know when you are troubled."
He turned his gaze to the sky and said, "I see."
"What is it?" she asked, feeling concern creep into her heart.
"They are saying..." he began, his voice shuddering, "that I need a Queen."
She breathed in deep before asking, "Do they have a candidate?"
Legolas nodded somewhat sadly, "Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom..."
'That would be your future Queen, Hotaru,' Death said hollowly. The Firefly can tell that something about this "Queen" disturbed Death to no end.
Hotaru froze upon hearing what her King just said, her heart reacting along with Death's. She could feel her pulse jump in her veins and along her throat, "Th-that's... good..."
"No!" Legolas shouted, making her jump. "It's NOT... good."
"Why?" She looked at him with wide eyes.
"..." He was silent before saying, "Because they never considered the fact that maybe... I would have... feelings... for another..."
He was staring directly into her eyes. He looked at her with confusion and worry. Maybe he was lost on the path he had chosen? Maybe... he didn't want the Moon Princess, but another instead...?
She let an uncomfortable silence settle upon them. She didn't know what to do...
She looked at him and felt herself admiring his smooth hair... his enchanting eyes... his hypnotic lips... just him...
Perhaps it was his sad eyes that looked at her, or the compassion she held for this elfin man ... Whatever it was, it made her reach for his hand laying limply on the ground. But before their flesh touched, a painful jolt sent them apart.
'Death...' Hotaru thought savagely, accusing the unknown being for what had just occurred as she rubbed her hand soothingly.
"I'm so sorry, your majesty..." she apologized, not knowing what else to do as she blushed shyly.
He swallowed almost painfully, moved his hand away and looked away, "It's alright... Listen, the Princess... she and her people are coming."
"When?" she asked quickly, shocked. She had not been suspecting this.
Legolas felt his heart slowly shrink in dread, "Tomorrow morning."
Her throat was clogged, though she did not know why. Her heart was beating to such a strong beat that she thought she would die this very moment. She cursed the emotions she felt towards him.
"Oh," was the only thing she could say.
"I need to inform the others of the arrival," he said.
She could only nod as he stood up and walked away slowly, his steps unsure.
Hotaru watched him go... almost regretfully. He had been looking through her eyes to her wrenching soul. His lips had been apart, almost begging for her to move into him-
'STOP!' Death yelled, making Hotaru sway in dizziness.
'He-hey...' Hotaru said, forcing anger into her delicate body. 'Why did you do that?'
'To stop you from thinking more unnecessary thoughts of your King,' Death replied coolly.
'No, not that,' the Firefly said. 'I meant the hand thing.'
Death was caught off guard as she asked, 'What "hand thing"?'
Hotaru scrunched her eyebrows together first in anger... then confusion and then said, 'You know, when we almost touched...'
'I have no idea what you are talking about... but the fact that you two almost touched is bad enough!' Death shouted.
'Uh-oh...' Hotaru thought as she braced herself for another lecture from the voice inside her head about letting her emotions drift astray.
Milliardo nodded in approval. The little "jolt" had pulled the King away from the Ebony Goddess.
'If I can't have her, then I surely won't let you have her... AGAIN, you stupid elf!' was his last thought before he teleported away.
Legolas looked up at the starry sky and sighed deeply in silent pain. It had been a long day full of preparations of food, rooms and many other comforts and needs for the coming Princess and her people.
But, no matter how deep he put himself into the preparations, he always found himself thinking back to the afternoon...
It had been so very close. Her hand was just a few centimetres away. He had felt her warmth radiating off of her small, delicate hand. Her violet eyes stared back at him so filled with concern that it made him ache. Her lips had shone of moist and promise of... He didn't know of what. All he knew was that he wanted "it"... whatever "it" was.
This was all getting too confusing.
He sighed again. He was too tired and his legs hurt from walking all over the place non-stop. No one understood him or dared to even try to. He needed someone to confide his problems to, someone to sooth his aches and pains, someone to hold him while he slept-
"Your majesty?"
Startled, he turned around and found himself in front of the woman in his thoughts...
"Hotaru," he whispered quietly, afraid that he'll scare her off.
She had decided to go see him when she saw him standing on his balcony, face all in worry, concern and pain. So, ignoring Death along the way, she made her way to him unconsciously, as if attracted to him by some unknown force. Surely, standing in front of him now, she didn't make a mistake coming here.
"You all right?" she asked.
The moon was casting a glow off her pale skin, making her red lips and deep eyes blush irresistibly. And her soft lavender nightdress, swaying underneath her, made her look like a Goddess sent down to the land just for him to look at in this time of need... but that wasn't enough for him... he needed to touch her.
He couldn't stand any longer. Of what he couldn't stand was unbeknownst to him. All he knew was that he wanted something from her. No... not something from her... just her. He wanted her. He needed her so much that he began to ache and hurt all over. He needed her to run her fingers through his hair, to rub his skull, to touch his face, to lean into him, to kiss...
He moved forward and she took a step back, taken aback by his sudden action.
He drew in a breath, suddenly regretting his spur-of-a-moment intent. Certainly, a King should NEVER act this way. It was appalling! He dared to pause for a moment, but then damned his integrity before taking her gently by the elbows and moving his head downwards.
She froze, unable to think. She surely didn't have this in mind when she came to him.
She could feel uncertainness coming off of his strong, bold hands as his shaky breath brushed her cheeks lightly. His eyes were enchanting hers to slightly close. Then his lips, moist and eager, trembled a decent upon hers.
The effect was immediate.
A shiver ran up their spines, making them shudder in bliss. Reacting to such an event, she embraced his lips with her own and instinctively he deepened the kiss. He then unconsciously guided her arms to wound around his neck before settling his own hands on the back of her waist, drawing her ever closer.
Her mind was swaying, as if she were drifted upon waves. But she wasn't scared of being floated off course because Legolas was there, holding her steady. And he, he was unable to think clearly; his mind was too drunk on her.
She moved in, leaning into him. They moulded into each other's bodies, fitting perfectly together, as if meant to be. The heat radiating off from both of them was intense, driving them to the brinks of their sanity.
Death was drowned out...
Their senses were unstable as they pulled away to take breath. For a brief moment they stared at each other in half-disbelief and half-pleasure. They thought for a second on what was best for them: to pull away and never speak of it again, or-
Screw this, they thought as they met again.
Somehow dancing to a familiar tune, he gently licked her soft lips, sending hot then cold to settle upon them, and begged for entrance. She immediately granted him and his tongue shot in like one of his many arrows and went to her weak spot, the top of her mouth. In a conscious part of his mind, he wondered how he knew her so well... but when a groan erupted from her throat and spread to his heart, he didn't care to elaborate on the mystery anymore.
Hotaru held onto him tighter and wrapped her arms around him more surely when he began to trace shivering circles on the back of her waist. She responded by massaging the base of his neck as she ran her other hand against his skull. He was beginning to drift into insanity when he felt her hand soothing his head. This was incredible.
They didn't want to let go... they never wanted to let go...
Black...
Souichi, Setsuna and Gandalf came out from under the shadows. They had seen what had happened and was happy for a moment before remembering what their destined to do. Then, probably against their wills, they knocked them unconscious.
"I... don't want to do this..." Setsuna whispered to her beloved husband.
"I don't either..." Souichi replied, wrapping her in an embrace.
"It's not fair that we know love, but our daughter will never know..." she muttered into his chest.
"We can not stop this... we all know that..." Gandalf said regrettably, staring down on his precious granddaughter in remorse. If he could give his life for one wish and one wish only, it would be that Hotaru got her Prince Charming...
Without another word from any of them, they moved the two soul mates back to their separate bedrooms and hoped they'll never suspect...
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I'm sorry for taking so long to update, but I hope this chapter makes up for it.
Silver Author