PLANE
Chapter 6
"Hi, Castle, ready for dinner?" Kate was hungry. Since she had started having that much sex with him she was using up a lot of calories and realized that she was actually starving.
"Let me wash and I'm all yours." Rick headed for the bathroom.
"All mine, huh?" Kate thought about that as well even if he hadn't meant anything by it. It was just a comment that didn't really mean all that much but her mind had been on him all day.
Rick came back into the living room. "Have you been to any of the restaurants in the city?" he inquired. "They do serve different food than the cafeteria."
"No, I haven't. Never really thought about it. I'm happy with the cafeteria even I don't know what some of it is." Kate didn't see the need. Except his questions gave rise to one of her own. "Are you asking me out on a dinner date?"
That left Rick with the same problem he had since they had started having sex. She was leaving and if he allowed his heart to be too involved he would be crushed when she left and never came back. Though… Maybe more dates would help her fall in love with him and get her to want to stay.
Rick made up his mind. He would try. "I'll find something. Is tomorrow night too soon?
"Nope, tomorrow night is perfect," Kate told him. "See, I didn't say fine," she pointed out then smiled at him.
"No, you didn't." Rick leaned toward her and kissed her for it. They were still walking hand in hand everywhere they went. They stepped up to the door, pressed a button and then voila, they were just outside the cafeteria.
Kate pointed at what looked good to her. "Do I want to know what some of this meat is?"
Rick gave a quick shake of his head. "Probably best not to ask."
"I was afraid you would say that." Kate led them to a table. "Alexis knows we were at her show. She said her song was also part spell. It caused people to clap and applaud her performance. Not that I wouldn't have applauded her performance anyway but I've never had a spell cast on me. I didn't even know she was doing it."
"That sounds like a spell, alright," Rick said. "It's not like there's this big sign that says I'm casting a spell on you. There could be one being cast on you even now."
"Oh, I'm pretty sure there is a spell being cast on me." Kate smiled at him meaning he was casting a spell on her and it looked like it was working. "Can I ask a question?" She had asked Alexis who might look into it but maybe Castle had an answer.
"Ask away." Rick stopped eating to listen to her question.
"Well, back home I'm a homicide detective. Basically, when someone kills someone else it's my job to catch who did it so they pay for their crime. I don't think you have a police force." Kate started there.
"We don't. There are arguments and there might be a punch thrown but no one here kills another or steals knowingly from another. That doesn't mean you don't try to pay less for something but to actually just up and steal it?" Rick shook his head. "Doesn't happen."
"That's what I thought. I don't do well with boredom. It isn't me. So, say I found a reason to stay or come back if someone came and got me. What would I do here to keep me busy? I already don't have a lot to do save for searching this place and learning about it. But that's not a job. I can't keep this up for long. I'll get bored and you don't want to see me bored," Kate told him. "I'm already well into my withdrawal from no coffee. I need caffeine and a lot of it."
"Caffeine." Hmm. Rick couldn't think of anything. "Let's find out." Rick got up, walked over to the closest panel, and asked it her question. He got an answer then came back and sat down. "Something called Verba Mate has 80 mg of caffeine per serving. So how much does coffee have?"
Kate opened her mouth to answer him and then closed it. "You know, I don't actually know. Where is it and can it be drunk hot?" she asked somewhat eagerly.
"I didn't ask those questions." Rick began to get up but Kate stopped him.
"Stop. I can find out later. But back to my question. What do I do here to keep from losing my mind?"
"How to not get bored." Rick smiled at her. "I can tell you my job is boring so that's out."
"Ha ha, funny man." She was betting his job was anything but boring. If anything his job was full of stress and that was something she didn't need more of.
"The most exciting and challenging job is to do what Alexis is doing now," Rick offered.
"Train to be a warrior?" Kate was more than a little surprised. "Do you have guns? Oh, and I'm going to need my gun back when I go home."
"No, we do not, and I have your weapon. You can have it back when you leave." At that moment Rick felt his heart fall into his stomach. She was talking about leaving. She was trying to talk about why to stay and then she was leaving. "Most of our weapons are more personal. Various types and styles of swords. Bows of all types and kinds. Alexis's whips are something I don't know of anyone else using.
"Learning to be a Wizard can take years and years, so that's out. Cleric is just as bad. We don't have any thieves, so that's out. There are actually a lot of different warriors. Did you know there's a warrior that rides a colossal Eagle and you both actually fight? You'll be mostly using a bow."
Kate's eyebrows shot up. "A colossal Eagle? You mean like riding a Dragon?"
"Pretty much, but there's one of those as well. Let me think. Riding an Eagle is called… Skylord. That's it! Don't know of any though, so I don't know who would train you." Rick shot that one down himself.
"Windrider. That's another one that rides a huge Eagle but I don't know of any of those either." Rick knew he was shooting himself in the foot here but he needed to find something or she would leave or not want to come back.
"Master Thrower! I know we have one of those. You can talk to him and see if it's for you."
"There's Dragon Disciple. I could get Setheldath to see if she would teach you. But there's something you need to know about that skill. It will slowly add Dragon to your blood, meaning you may eventually grow wings. Your nails will become longer, naturally. Basically, you'll be trying to change yourself into a Half-Dragon. A good Silver-based Half-dragon isn't all bad." Rick looked at her expectantly.
"Wings!?" Kate looked and sounded shocked.
"I don't know much about it but Setheldath could tell you everything, I'm betting. It will change your life and trust me, as a Dragon Disciple your life will never, ever be boring."
"Better keep thinking, babe," Kate said.
"You liked riding her brother. You could learn to do it for yourself." Rick kept trying to sell it.
"I'll let her talk to me but I'm not sold." Riding a Dragon was one thing, being a Dragon was totally different if that was even possible.
"I'll see what I can arrange. Let's see, what else is there? Monk, learn to fight with your hands and feet. Be fleet of foot, flying kicks, be a flying whirlwind. We have lots of Monks that can train you. A few are true Masters at it. Several different types with a few actually using weapons.
"Let's see, what else?" Rick needed to think. "That's about it for me. Maybe Alexis knows something I don't. I ride a desk now so I don't know everything that's cool now."
Kate broke everything down. "So I can learn to ride an enormous Eagle, work on turning myself into a Dragon, learn to throw nearly anything or learn to fight with my hands and feet, that you call a Monk."
"So what do you think a Monk is?" Rick asked her.
"For me a monk is a priest who hides away in his monastery and never sees anyone," Kate responded.
"Ooo, definitely not. Stick with our Monk," Rick nodded. He didn't want Kate to do that. His reaction had Kate smiling at him.
"So you would love me if I was part Dragon?" She didn't really know if he loved her now, let alone if she did that.
"Kate." Rick reached across to take one of her hands in his. "I've been falling in love with you from the second you showed up. In case you haven't noticed, I'm the Commander. Most women around here that I know are intimidated by that. He's married to the job and not capable of loving me. He doesn't want to share himself. I don't want to be thought of as THAT woman. You're not from here. That automatically makes you different.
"If you choose Dragon Disciple if it's even possible since I know so little about it, you would have my full support. You want to be a Monk and cover parts of your body in magical tattoos, I'll still support you. If or when I fall completely in love with you, you can grow Dragon wings all you want. I'll even caress and kiss each and every tattoo."
"I already have a tattoo," Kate pointed out.
Rick smiled. "I noticed. A little tiny, though, and definitely not magical."
"There are such things as Magical Tattoos?" Kate really didn't understand this place.
"This is not the Prime Material Plane, Kate. A lot of things you've never even thought about are seriously possible here. Go talk to Alexis. Have her point out a Monk Master and talk to him. Let me call Setheldath and talk to her. You could always try to be a Ranger like me. Be an expert with a bow." Then Rick told her more about how he lost his leg. "Though that might be a contributing factor to me losing my leg. He got in too close and I couldn't shoot him." He shook his head, "So, maybe not that."
"I've never thought about trying to turn myself into part Dragon before. Dragons don't exist, you know. At least not where I live, they don't. I promise to talk to Alexis." Kate squeezed his hand because she was slowly falling in love with him. For now he was a really good lover and she was learning to really like him.
.x{O}x.
Rick was already naked and in bed and she was exiting his closet after dropping her clothes in the dirty clothes hamper; she would clean them later. She got in bed and snuggled up nice and close to him.
"Do you want to be tied to the bed?" Rick questions her.
That question had Kate snapping her head to look up at him and felt her heart rate increase to new levels. "You found some?" Kate watched him point and sure enough, she saw something that looked like it could be used to tie her to the bed.
"Castle, I'm not afraid of trying it, but are you up to the challenge? Our love making has all be sweet and loving and I love it. But tying me to the bed means you have to be far less gentle with me. You'll have to be someone you're not," Kate warned him.
"You mean like play that I'm someone else. Be more in charge. Whip you if I choose to. Call you names that are demeaning. Order you to do things you haven't yet done. Treat you something like more the opposite of what I have been treating you?"
"Yes to all of that." Kate was sure he could feel her heart trying to beat itself right out of her chest. "But don't get used to it. It's just play." Kate didn't want to turn herself into some slut who called him Master all the time.
"Spread your arms and legs, Kate. We're about to find out if you like being a slut for one night." Rick got out of bed to retrieve the restraints. When he turned back he saw her in the middle of the bed with her arms and legs spread wide, exposing herself to him. He really hoped he was up to it. This wasn't really him, so he was telling himself that this was just play. Maybe a little rough, but still just play.
.x{O}x.
Rick was up and gone to work and Kate was standing in the bathroom looking her body over. She had what she was sure were going to be a couple of welts. She had marks nearly over her entire body. Most of it concentrated on her breasts and inner thighs.
He had called her a filthy slut. Told her she had to beg him to whip her again. To use his hand and slap her core. To beg him to take her while still tied to the bed.
Kate could see she was smiling wide and she looked herself over. All of the marks were on her front. He hadn't touched her ass probably because it was unreachable since it was always pinned to the bed.
He had asked her if she wanted her tits pierced, if she wanted her clit pierced. She had told him yes to all of it, but as she stood there she wasn't sure if she had been telling him the truth or if she was just playing the game.
Kate did know that if she stayed here or came back later, they would be trying this again.
Once showered and dressed she went down the hallway and into his office and sat down carefully.
"Did I hurt you?" He hadn't really meant to. Playing was one thing, but what he had done last night just wasn't him.
"Yes and no. Yes, part of that was painful, but did you hurt me? No, you didn't hurt me." Kate looked around before saying anything more. "I liked it, babe. I don't mean I want it to happen every night. I'm not actually turning myself into a slut. But as play, I loved it."
"So… It wasn't just fine?" Rick asked with some uncertainty.
Kate smiled wide at him. "No, it definitely wasn't just fine." She kept smiling.
Then Rick asked about something she had started doing. "Why are you calling me babe? That's not my name."
"Have I? I hadn't noticed. 'Babe' is a term of endearment. It basically means I'm proud to be your lover and that I like you and have feelings for you." If she was saying that and hadn't noticed, she must be a little past just liking him. She really was falling in love with him.
"I have strong feelings for you too. Babe." Rick tried it out and wasn't so sure about using the word himself. He noticed that she did start smiling. "Do I call Setheldath so you can talk to her?"
"Thanks for offering, but no, I think I'll talk to Alexis first. I'm not sure I want to try and turn myself into part Dragon."
Rick still tried to interest her, though. "Dragons are some of the strongest races I know about. They have tremendous strength. They don't just live a few years, they live for hundreds of years. Setheldath will still be here after we are both long gone."
"How old are you?" Kate wasn't sure it mattered to her but she should probably know.
"I don't know what age is on the Prime Material Plane, but here you can be a practicing Wizard that can take years to achieve at just 15 years of age. I was only 21 when I lost my leg." Rick was almost hesitant when he said, "I'm 36 now which around here can be almost called old."
"That is not old, babe. I'm only 29 and where I'm from you can usually live to be 80 or longer if you're lucky and careful."
He smiled at her. "I thank you for the compliment." Rick glanced at the timepiece on his desk. "I have somewhere I have to be, so you're on your own. Go find Alexis if you like or your friend, perhaps."
"Talia. She's dating a Centaur. Something about loving his size." Kate shrugged. "She seems quite taken with him."
"Centaurs. The Centaurs were descendants of King Ixion of Thrace, who lusted after the goddess Hera and was tricked into sleeping with a duplicate named Nephele. She sired Centaurus, the first centaur, whose progeny were conceived from Magnesian mares.
"To my knowledge a Centaur is not really a horse or a man. They can't get a horse pregnant or the other way around. Could a Centaur get a human pregnant?" Rick thought about that. "I tend to doubt it but only a Centaur would know for sure. Can a human get a Centaur pregnant? Again only a Centaur will really know for sure, but I still doubt it.
"But this isn't the Prime Material Plane, so anything is possible. If it's possible, will it be a Centaur baby? Keep in mind all the reproductive organs are located on the horse side. But are they 100% horse reproduction organs? Back to asking a Centaur." Then Rick told her what he knew about Centaurs.
1 Centaurs have difficulty climbing which makes it impossible for them to build tall buildings or other works that require the use of ladders or ropes.
2 Centaurs cannot dig in mines due to their size so metal availability should be minimal.
3 Centaurs cannot use sailboats because of their size and inability to move properly on a boat. Rowing a boat might still be possible but difficult to use even if the boat is designed for them.
4 Centaurs can travel faster than people, enabling them to chase prey better and move their homes that are usually tents better.
5 Centaurs' need for animals as labor is less severe because they can do the most of those jobs themselves. There are no rules that say Centaurs are 100% vegetarian, which means that they can still have cattle for meat, meat, and milk, et cetera.
6 They might still be able to grow food, but they would be more careful so that they do not trample the crops.
"What their actual society is like? I have no idea. Back to asking a Centaur. Personally, if she learns to like him and wants to love him and they both understand the limitations, I say go for it. There really is nothing stronger than love. It can make your heart soar or it can crush it. However, even a crushed heart is more than capable of being repaired with love.
"Now I need to get going. Have a really great day and not one of these fine days." Rick got up, walked over to her, leaned down and kissed her. To his everlasting joy he felt her kiss him back again.
"I'll try." Kate watched him leave. That left her with what to do so she went to his panel and asked for Alexis. She got a map. This trip meant using a transport wall and some walking. It didn't look like she was anywhere nearby. It also had her thinking what he had said about wounded hearts. Could finding love fix hers?
