I do not own Chaotic nor anything related to it. It belongs to TCDigital.

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The Waking Night

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The fog in my mind is clearing up... I can feel fabric on and below my body, and I can hear soft breathing beside me. I try to open my eyes. Ugh, it's difficult, my eyelids feel heavy. I try harder and force my eyes open.

With great difficulty, I sit up and look around. It's dark, though the moonlight coming in through the window is enough to let me see the shapes of my surroundings. I look to my left to see Isis's sleeping form, covered in a blanket.

Wait, window? The room we'd been in had no windows. I stroke my hand across the mattress. This isn't the same bed either. I push the blanket off myself. I'm clean. Had we been bathed while we were asleep, then put into a bed in a new room?

That's a little creepy.

I flip the blanket off, and I shiver in the cold air. I look around for my clothes. There, on a table. It's my robe. I slip it on before heading for the window.

I look out, and I see the courtyard. The tables and benches are still there from the celebration, illuminated by torchlight and moonlight, but there's nobody sitting there. Just like any other night, really. The only difference if which window I'm looking out at it from.

The quarter moon is low in the sky. It will still be several hours before the sun rises.

I hear the sound of a mattress shifting. I look over at the bed to see Isis is sitting up and holding the covers to her chest. "It's not morning yet," she says.

I head back to the bed and sit down, turning my body to face Isis. "I know, Princess. I just wanted to look outside."

"It's not 'Princess' to you anymore," Isis huffs. She leans forward and presses the covers closer to her chest.

"Sorry, Isis," I correct myself.

Isis glances at me. "Michael or Osiris?" she asks.

"Huh?" I'm a tad slow right now.

"Which name do you want me to call you?" Isis elaborates. "Michael or Osiris?"

Wow, I really should have been able to figure that one out on my own. "Just Michael," I say. "It'll be a long time before I'll get used to Osiris"

I see half a smirk appear on Isis's face. "You've heard the name Osiris before."

"How'd you guess?" I ask. It's going to be something obvious, I know it.

"Your reaction when Sobtjek said the name," Isis says. "How do you know it?"

I wonder how Isis will react... "In the mythology of ancient Egypt, an empire in Earth's past, Osiris and Isis were the names of two of their gods. Osiris was the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead."

"The Underworld?" Isis asks with wide eyes.

I shake my head. "No, not what you're thinking. The Egyptian underworld was a place spirits traveled through and... well there's a lot more, but I'm getting off track."

Isis nods, eyes still wide. "And you said there was a god named Isis?"

"A goddess," I correct. "She's a little more difficult to figure out, but she was probably the goddess who protected the dead. She was Osiris's sister and wife."

"Sister and wife?" Isis asks incredulously. "That-"

I start laughing. I can't help it. Isis silently stares at me for a few moments.

When I can breathe again, I say, "Sorry about that. I'm just reminded how screwed up royal marriages in Earth's past were."

"I see," Isis mutters as she looks down at the blanket. It's too dark to see any patterns that might be on it.

We're silent for a while, then I turn to Isis. "So... what happens tomorrow?"

Isis turns to me. "We probably get paraded through the streets, then taken to various major cities so the other Humans living in Mipedian lands know what's going on."

"Sounds pleasant," I mutter.

"Was that sarcasm?" Isis says.

I nod.

Isis chews on the inside of her cheek. "You're right. It won't be very enjoyable." She puts her feet on the floor and slowly stands up, still clutching the blanket to her body. Her movements are stiff as she walks to the window.

I also get off the bed and head for the window. I stand beside her as we look out.

"Does the sky look the same on Earth?" Isis asks.

I frown and shake my head. "In general, yes, but Perim's sky is brighter, clearer. There aren't many places on Earth where you can see quite this many stars at night. There's usually to much light on the ground or pollution in the air for starts to shine through." I decide not to mention how our sunsets differ. Though Earth's are more colorful, I've grown to love the sunsets here more.

"Ah," Isis breathes, her voice shaking as she shivers.

"Let's get you back in bed," I say.

Isis nods and turns from the window. She heads for the bed, sits, then lies back down. I take off my robe, hang it from a chair, and lie beside her before pulling the blanket so it covers me as well. Isis rolls over and drapes an arm over my chest before rolling me on my side and pulling me closer to her. I can feel her breasts press against my chest. I can smell that enigmatic desert flower perfume on her scales. I can feel the smooth scales of her hand rubbing my side.

Isis lightly kisses my lips. "I've spent the last five days worrying about who I'd marry. So many possibilities were crowding my mind, I started to have nightmares about them."

"What kind of nightmares?" I ask.

Isis cringes. "Well... the worst one was that I'd be married to someone who enjoyed hurting people..."

Right, I will not tell her how close that was to happening. "Sounds awful..."

"It was," Isis agrees.

I pinch my eyebrows together. "What if we'd chosen a woman as a leader?" I ask.

"Then Father would have married her," Isis says as if I should have already known that.

Yeah, let's not imagine that, Michael.

Isis runs a hand through my hair, then closes her eyes and presses her lips to mine again. I close my eyes as well. I feel my heart race.

Isis pulls away and breathes heavily. "You have a strange smile on your face. What are you thinking?"

Was I smiling? Well, if I was, I know why. "It's kind of amusing, actually. This whole relationship is flipped around on its head."

There's a confused look in Isis's eyes. "I'm not sure I understand."

I let out a small laugh. "We're a husband and wife spending our first night as a couple getting to know each other. This wouldn't happen back on Earth. We would have already known each other very well before marrying, and we'd probably be spending the night testing how much punishment the mattress would take."

"Human euphemisms for having sex are so odd sometimes," Isis sighs as she rolls on her back.

"Yes we do," I mutter as I copy her.

There's an awkward silence. After a while, Isis asks, "Was I ever in that show or game Humans say Perim is similar to?"

I shake my head. "Not at all, neither were most civilians from any tribe. If you weren't a fighter, then you didn't have a card." Then I remember Bodal. "Well, you usually didn't have a card."

Isis turns her head to me. "I sense an amusing story behind that, but it will have to wait. I'm exhausted... but..." She yawns. "...But I don't know if I can go to sleep again tonight..."

Maybe I can help... I roll on my side and place a hand on Isis's stomach. "I can help you relax."

I feel Isis shiver as she closes her eyes. I slide my hand up her body, then caress the underside of her breasts.

Isis takes a deep breath, then slowly lets it out.

I massage her bosom with my hand for a while, then slide my hand down again. My hand passes her waist, her hips...

Isis gasps and pulls away from me. My hand recoils. "Is something wrong?" I ask frantically.

"No," Isis breathes. "I just want to wait before you... put yourself inside me again. I'm still hurting from our first time..."

"Oh." I move so I'm lying on my back again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Isis sits up and turns to me. "Michael, don't apologize. You did what you were supposed to, and the only reason it hurt was because-"

"Okay!" I say a little louder than I meant. "I get it!" Gah, this turned awkward fast.

Isis lays back down with her back facing me and folds her arms.

...I feel awful. "I shouldn't have freaked out like that... sorry."

"We'll try again later," Isis mutters. "I just want to sleep right now..."

I spend the rest of my time awake staring at the ceiling. Eventually Isis's breathing lulls me to sleep.

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Up next: The Tour

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Like I said before, Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

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