Chapter Sixty-One
Full Loop
Alone with each other for years still, before they must rejoin their people at Vampire Mountain, Juliet and Mika lived on a bliss-filled, nigh-endless honeymoon. That first day, Juliet awoke in Mika's arms, tangled together in the late afternoon. The dull ache radiating from her deepest place reminded her with every heartbeat of their marital consummation, and she shivered with the memory and anticipation of the next act. Carefully she crawled out of his embrace, looking down at him fondly and noticing the sunlight dotting the bed, playing a hazardous game with her Vampire husband's welfare. She stood, walked over to the window on the left-most side of the room, and readjusted the blinds and curtains until the soft afternoon glow could no longer be seen filtering in. Satisfied, she carefully gathered their strewn wedding clothes from the floor and placed them delicately over the beaten chair in the corner to be hung at a later time. She then procured a change of clothes from the closet, mentally noting to move Mika's wardrobe inside, and left to shower.
Clean, smelling fresh and clothed in a simple white crinoline skirt and deep blue blouse (that she noted with a smile matched the glittering sapphires on her wedding band), Juliet entered the kitchen to prepare a meal for herself and her slumbering husband. She set the coffee pot to brewing, pulled out some plates and cut potatoes, carefully and expertly, setting them to sizzle in a deep, cast-iron skillet with butter and rosemary plucked from her small garden a few days prior. From the fridge, she pulled out six eggs, cracking them into a clean mixing bowl and beating them with a bit of milk. Potatoes, fried to perfection, she pulled them out of the skillet and onto a plate, set aside and steaming, before pouring the eggs and more butter into the same skillet, turning down the heat. She sprinkled salt, and pepper over the eggs and turned them slowly in the pan with a wooden spoon. Juliet was not startled at all when strong arms wound around her waist and she felt Mika's broad chest against her back, his soft manhood swinging against her soft clothes, still naked from the night before, but she smiled, feeling him rest his chin atop her head and inhale wistfully.
"I'm grateful to have married a woman who can cook." He grumbled, his voice thick with sleep.
"Be grateful you married a woman at all." Juliet laughed, and his embrace tightened around her as he kissed her hair and inhaled her scent.
With the eggs done, Juliet wiggled out of Mika's arms to slide the onto a plate next to the slowly cooling potatoes. She then set the hot skillet in the sink, running water over at as she carefully cleaned the sizzling iron. Mika pulled out a fork and walked over to the piping hot eggs, taking a portion off the plate and eating it happily.
"Well you could at least grab a plate," Juliet chided, turning to him whilst rinsing the skillet. Mika didn't say anything, he simply walked towards her as she pulled the skillet out and set it on the counter. This time he startled her as he turned her to face him, hefting her up and setting her on top of the counter. "Mika!" Juliet gasped as Mika's lips trailed kisses from her neck up to her face. His hands worked their way under her blouse, trailing the long scar that stretch down her abdomen, and up towards her breasts, swinging free under the thin blue fabric.
She felt his hands move to the small of her back, pulling her body closer to his as his lips danced, tantalizingly, with hers. Mika's confident touch relit the passionate fires from the night before, and Juliet moaned as his tongue found purchase within her mouth, twirling privately with her own. Swift enough he had pushed back her skirt, pleased to see she had neglected to put on panties, and entered her in one swift motion.
Juliet fell forward, wrapping her arms around Mika's neck, at the sensation of her husband's hardness slipping easily inside her pleasantly sore folds. She sighed his name into his kiss, their lips never parting, as he pinned her hips to the counter and thrust into her over and over. Her nails raked at his shoulders and his neck, and he flicked his tongue in time with the rocking of his hips. Soon, she was rocking against him, unable to hold back her need to feel him deeper, more fully, surrounding her inside and out.
Their mouths, their tongues, their bodies cores, locked in a fervent dance, Mika finally broke away from the kiss to groan his need for release into Juliet's neck, she moaned her approval as she felt the hot jet of his seed break free deep within her, Mika's muscles tensing and releasing in time with the pulsing of his ejaculate. He kept her pinned to the counter, still deeply seated inside of her until the last of their shaking subsided, and even then he was reluctant to pull from Juliet until she chided him, wrinkling her nose.
"You need to brush your teeth." She breathed out, laughter following. Mika growled, shaking his hips and reminding her of his semi-hard length still buried within her, eliciting a shaky, choked gasp from her lips. "You won't break me…" she sighed, leaning back on the counter and facing him with hard eyes, laughter still sparkling in them. "If you want to go another round, you can't be smelling like hot ass and last night's sex."
As if in retort, Juliet felt his length pulse deep within her, and, still looking into Mika's face, groaned as he wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. "Get off, you big oaf." She laughed, pushing at him playfully. He obliged, but even she could not mask her hiss of breath as Mika pulled away and slid out of her wet folds.
Mika lifted Juliet off the counter and set her down on the floor, noting how her legs shook and witnessing the milky white trail that flowed down her inner thighs before she fixed her skirt. His chest swelled with pride.
"Wipe that look off your face and get your damn breakfast." Juliet snapped, slapping him on the shoulder, a blush on her features. Reaching up on her toes into a cabinet by the sink, she pulled out two more plates and handed one to Mika, who immediately filled his plate with potatoes and eggs. Juliet scraped the remaining eggs and potatoes onto her plate before grabbing the coffee she had made for herself. They sat, then, at the small country table by the window and ate quietly, stealing amorous glances at each other. When all the food was eaten and dishes piled in the sink, Juliet watched Mika slink off down the hallway. As she washed the plates and set them on the rack to dry, inserting the skillet in the heated oven to keep it from rusting, she heard rustling from the bathroom then the bedroom, shortly followed by Mika returning with the cake plate and fork from the previous night. He handed it all to her at the sink and she washed them quickly, setting them to dry with the other dishes.
The moment she had finished her task, and before she could even dry her hands on a nearby dish towel, Mika had pulled her up against his still naked body and locked her lips in another breathtaking kiss. Juliet groaned, but softened in his arms, tasting mint on his breath and tongue and realizing he had brushed his teeth. Before he deepened the kiss anymore, Juliet pulled away from him shaking her head and smiling.
"You still stink." She said simply, moving out of his embrace and walking past him. He stood there, frowning for a moment before Juliet turned back and said, "So let's take a shower."
Her eyes were mischievous, and eagerly he followed her to the second bathroom, with the bigger rainfall shower. It took seconds for Mika to catch up to her, pick her over his shoulder and deposit her into the shower, clothes and all. Once the water turned on Juliet laughed at Mika trying to remove her wet and clinging clothes. His hands were desperate to touch her everywhere, while still pulling the soaked fabric away from her slick skin. She laughed into his kisses, felt tickled by his ministrations and eventually whispered seductively in his ear 'Just rip them off'.
No other words were needed, small tearing noises were heard and the wet clothes were thrown from the large stall onto the tiled floor. One of Mika's large, rough hands traveled downward to the crevice between Juliet's thighs, feeling their intermingled fluids trickling down into his palm. The other tilted Juliet's chin up for his lips to meet hers, crashing into her like a wave, pouring so many feelings over her. His thick finger slid inside her throbbing core, sore from overuse after such an extended period of neglect, and she hissed against his mouth in pleasure and pain as he twirled the digit within her. A single placement of her hands on his shoulders was the signal, and he lifted her up, pressing her against the wall of the shower stall, and impaling her on his manhood whilst water fell all around them from the ceiling in heavy drops.
Wet kisses against her neck, his neck, their lips meeting constantly, Juliet was smiling up at him, eyes closed from the warm falling water, as he drove into her like a piston and she cried out her approval, tangling her fingers in his hair. She desperately tried to pull Mika closer to her, even as the slick water creating a suction between their bodies, so firmly pressed together, and Mika's length was buried into her deepest spot. She swore his grip on her bottom was like a vice, and knew he would have broken any other item in the room had he not been holding her, when his release came and he howled his pleasure and his passion into dark space around them, his member convulsing deep within her for the second time in less than an hour, shooting thick ropes of his life-giving seed into her core. Juliet's back arched, a silent scream bursting from her upturned mouth, her head against the cool tile, pressing her breasts ever closer against his broad chest as her climax pulsed in time with his, her muscles clamping and shivering in time with each passion fueled pump from Mika's hardness.
They stood there for what felt like eternity, eyes closed, shaking from the weight of their passions. When Mika finally opened his eyes, gazing down at the panting beauty in his arms, water cascading down both their bodies, matting her hair to the side of her face, he could not contain the re-hardening of his member inside of her. Juliet gasped feeling it happen, and Mika took the opportunity to capture her mouth, beginning the whole ordeal again, slowly this time, building up their pleasure until Juliet was writing against him and he was gnashing his teeth at the intensity of it all. Again he filled her with his seed, again her inner muscles shook in appreciation at his gift, welcoming each jet of hot liquid with a squeeze for more, and she screamed her release for the first time, seeing stars and colors from the strength of it and making Mika growl his approval and his pride at his work.
Slowly he sank to his knees, Juliet was limp, sated and defeated against the wall and he licked her flesh idly while his manhood shrank inside her.
"I take it back," she croaked, and Mika chuckled asking her 'what?'. "You broke me. I'm broken. You win." She sighed, the water now falling cold against their hot bodies. "I won't fight it anymore, do what you want with me."
Mika caught her eyes and saw the intense satisfaction within them. He smiled, bringing her towards him again, finally feeling his member fall out of her slick folds, followed by a trickle of warm liquid. "Juliet, you should have known," he kissed her neck and she sighed contentedly against his firm body. "That you would give me what I wanted."
In the month that followed their wedding night, most everyday fell into the same pattern as the first. Mika looked for any opportunity to take his beautiful wife, the creature of his life-long adoration. Again at the counter of the kitchen, interrupting her as she put away dishes, many times in the showers as she tried in vain to wash away the scent of the previous day's multiple sexual encounters, but he would only replace the scent with a fresh one. Or perhaps they were sitting together on the couch, reading or dozing off and he would find himself so enraptured by her beauty that he would pick her up and lay her on the soft rug and make love to her as she mewled her approval.
She would wake early to tend to her garden while the sun sat in the sky, and Mika would wake right as it set, and watch as she sweat and toiled in the dying light before coming inside, ready to make their meals, and he would stop her before the large glass doors and take her from behind on the ground, barely pulling down her pants, and pulling her breasts from her flowy shirts. He adored smelling the sun and the earth in her hair and on her skin, tasting the sweat from her toil, growling at the pleasure it brought him to hear her throaty grunts and moans from this position, that he learned she loved in the most sinful of ways.
When they went to pick up Juliet's car and their (expertly doctored) marriage certificate from the chapel, Mika had been so insistent in his need for her that she'd had to pull over and he took her, under cover of darkness, in the lush grass of the forests surrounding the small town. He'd taken her from behind against a tall tree, his sharp nails digging into the bark and leaving large gouges as he'd howled his release into the night. The drive back afterwards had been fraught with the urge to pull over again and relive the experience.
And of course every morning, before they retired to bed he would lay her on the soft mattress and shower her with his affection and make love to her softly, like man and wife, silently begging her to accept him for all he was and knowing she from the way she wrapped her arms and legs around him, kissing his chest and shivering each and every time he spilled himself within her with urgent need.
Things would have continued in this desperately passionate fashion if not for one wrench thrown in. Mika woke one evening to find Juliet had exited the bedroom. He assumed she was in the kitchen cooking like he could so often find her, but was surprised to find her on the couch in the living room, a cool rag on her forehead and a warm compress on her abdomen.
"What has happened?" he asked, worried, sitting himself beside her and helping her rest her head on his thigh.
"Mother nature. My aunt Flo. Satan's bloody waterfall." She scoffed. "Whatever you want to call it. It's here and it's here in force. I was really hoping it would skip this month…"
Mika frowned down at her, not quite understanding, but then the familiar scent of blood wafted to his nose and he realized what she meant. "You are… having your woman time?" he supplied.
Juliet snorted, nearly choking on her breath, she looked up at him pointedly. "If that's what they call it where you're from, yes. Has it really been that long since you've experienced this with me?" she shook her head and they both recalled the few times Mika had been present for her 'woman time' in the past. "Well, regardless, it's never been this bad. It's always been a toss-up on whether or not I'd even GET it each month, but, well…" She winced, sitting up and Mika tried desperately to make her comfortable, placing the thick couch pillows behind her. He sat on his knees before her, stroking her hand.
"I'm sorry Juliet, I wish there was something more I could do." He muttered, looking at the heating pad over her abdomen.
Juliet winced, frowning at him. She cleared her throat lightly. "Well… maybe we could not have so much earth-shattering sex?" she said.
Mika blinked up at her. "You believe-"
"Yeah…" she sighed, readjusting to face him better. "No offense, but it feels like my uterus is not so happy with all of your… prodding as of late."
She was blushing, but Mika nodded solemnly. "I have always been afraid of how my… size could affect you. When we were younger I never worried about it, so sure of my capabilities to please you without harming you. I suppose we were not so… ardent in our youth." His eyes blazed at her face and Juliet continued to blush, sure that they had been amorous enough, but not so frequently as they were currently. "And yet, now I realize that we have bypassed the possibility of you conceiving." Their eyes met, and Juliet cast hers down, unsure of what to say, but Mika continued. "We did not speak of it before we wed."
"We didn't speak of a lot of things before we… ah… wed." Juliet agreed. "I just… didn't want to give myself a reason to change my mind and say no." Her words caused Mika to stop stroking her hand and instead squeeze it affectionately. "I wanted to be with you, without debate."
"And I you, and we are, together." Mika said. "But perhaps this is the right time to talk about all of those things. Let us start with the current situation."
"Well I'm obviously not pregnant." Juliet said, rolling her eyes. "Aaaaand I also don't have any contraception. I never got the pill or anything since I wasn't sure how my body would handle it…"
Mika was unsure what this 'pill' Juliet spoke of was, but knew of contraception. "You haven't any prophylactics?" He asked. The word caused Juliet to guffaw, immediately wincing at the pain that shot from her abdomen.
"Condoms? No. And even if I did they'd be pretty expired by now." She shook her head.
"Then we have no options?" Mika questioned. Juliet looked at him pointedly.
"Well it's not the best means of contraception, but you could always... you know… pull out?" she said, gesturing with her hands lamely.
"As I said, we are out of options." Mika repeated.
"Mika," Juliet said, a warning in her tone.
He looked at her, pained. "I'm sorry, beloved, but if you only knew how hard it was to remove myself from you at all…" he trailed off and Juliet felt heat on her cheeks and between her legs, ebbing at the pain permeating in the same area.
She sighed. "Well," she gave a small smile. "If you're really so stubborn… I guess we're leaving this one to fate. Here's hoping we don't have a toddler to explain to the other Princes when we get back to Vampire Mountain." She laughed sadly. Mika leant forward, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Juliet inclined her head into his rough palm, feeling his warmth and strength. "What are we gonna tell the other Princes, Mika?" she asked, her voice a whisper.
Mika sighed now, unsure himself. "Your lineage is my secret, Juliet. Not only as the friend whom you told, but also as your husband." She smiled into his palm at the word and he felt his heart swell. "Our marriage is also a point of question. How could we explain the time it took for us to reconcile within the space of a few hours?"
"You're right," she said. "if we get back that same night after we left, we'd have at most four hours to ourselves, accounting for when we would be 'asleep' and you needed to reunite with the Princes the next evening." She considered the time factor for a moment and then said, "We'll just say we had sex. Crazy wild sex that pushed away the doubts in our minds and drew us together."
Mika looked directly into her eyes at her words, her stoic face as she nodded in approval of her idea, and then he burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" she asked as he howled on the floor.
"Juliet, do you really think, in the state that we started this journey, that you would have shared your body with me?" he asked her seriously, and she considered for a moment.
"Well it's not that I hadn't thought about it or anything…" she grumbled.
Mika laughed again. "Of course, each time I saw you it was a very prominent thought that crossed my mind. You've always been the most alluring woman to me, wife." Again he was stroking her cheek affectionately. "But I simply don't think that's an acceptable explanation."
"So we keep our relationship a secret as well?" Juliet groaned in exasperation. "All we have are secrets!"
Mika nodded solemnly, hefting his large body to his feet and walking to the kitchen. Juliet watched him with a frown. She heard him open the refrigerator, and then some cabinets and finally he returned with some sliced fruit and cheese on a plate, and sat behind her, rearranging her pillows so that the allowed her to lean against him. He offered her the small assortment of food.
"I wouldn't mind keeping this a secret." He sighed, "If only to keep it precious." Juliet nodded in agreement to his sentiment, though still annoyed by their lack of progress.
"I suppose we'll just have to wait for enough time to pass for this" she gestured between them, "to have happened naturally. I still say crazy wild sex will work. Maybe we wait a week before telling people. I'll put on the act of softening around you and then we let it slip…" she trailed off, muttering ideas to herself and Mika smiled softly.
A knock resounded at the door, and Juliet looked toward the entrance inquisitively. Mika moved to stand but Juliet stopped him. "Let me get it," she said. "Sometimes walking stops the cramps." Mika allowed her to stand, but as she crept towards the door, slightly hunched, he could tell nothing was helping her pain, and silently cursed his large frame, his impressive member and his insatiable sexual appetite for the woman.
Juliet opened the door and picked up the large but light box that sat on her doorstep. She glanced around, not expecting any deliveries and looking for the small truck that the groundskeeper drove to drop off packages. Seeing nothing she warily stepped back inside and closed the door behind her. As she carried the package into the living room Mika rose to stand and assist her, but she shook her head and set the package before them on the floor.
"I have no idea what this is." She said, gesturing towards the box.
"Be careful." Mika said, ready to leap in if the package was dangerous.
Juliet bent down towards the cardboard box, and gingerly began pulling at the folded top. One tug onto a tucked flap and the box as opened. Inside was a neatly folded note and three brown paper-wrapped items. Juliet pulled out the note and read it aloud.
'Juliet,
Having encountered you again, I can see you, and it warms me to know you are well.
Congratulations on your marriage to Mr. Mika ver Leth. May you both be eternally happy together. We have a rather skilled artist travelling with us, and I commissioned him to make you a few mementos. Please accept them as my wedding gift to you.
Love,
H. Tall'
Juliet set the note on the coffee table beside the couch and pulled the larger of the three brown packages from the box. She looked to Mika and he gestured for her to unwrap it. Underneath as a painted canvas and the image brought tears to her eyes. Nearly two feet in width and a foot in length, it featured Mika and Juliet, in the small chapel, dressed in the wedding attire, surrounded by candlelight and sharing their first kiss as newlyweds. Juliet angled the painting to Mika, who's eyes widened at the realistic quality of the image. He stood and came to where she stood, reaching for another package. He found the smallest one and opened it. It was another painting of Juliet and Mika, this time of them in bed, sheets barely covering their modesty, holding the tiny wedding cake. Juliet was shoving a piece into Mika's open mouth, ready to smear it all over his face. Mika smiled at the painting and Juliet 'oohed' over it. She set aside the largest painting and reached for the last item, surely another painting. Slightly smaller than the first but larger than the second. This painting, upon its reveal, was not from their wedding day, but a few days before. The night Mika had proposed. In it Mika and Juliet were dancing under twinkling stars, bathed in the soft glow of the moon. Juliet wore the blue strawberry dress, and Mika a dashing white shirt and black vest. She gasped at the imagery that perfectly captured the moment of complete bliss she had felt in his arms as they swayed to imaginary music, remembering how secure she had felt, and her resolve at telling the Vampire her truest feelings.. In the painting, Mika had just pulled Juliet toward him from a twirl, and she was looking up into his handsome face, her hair failing around her, and he looked down at her with adoration on his face.
"These are wonderful," Mika remarked, drawing Juliet's gaze from his painted face to his live one. "Where shall I hang them?"
Juliet smiled up at him from where he stood behind her, and she reached her arm up to caress his face, pulling him in for a kiss. Her eyes closed in bliss, feeling his warm breath and strong hands on her face. Suddenly the unknowns of their return to Vampire Mountain didn't frustrate and terrify her, for she was secure in knowing that Mika ver Leth, her husband and companion, would be by her side throughout the entire ordeal.
Juliet instructed Mika to hang the largest painting over the fireplace, indicating to him where the small home toolkit was stored. Successfully found and hung expertly, she then directed him to put the other two over her baby grand piano. She carefully critiqued his placement of the paintings, reminding him of something called 'feng-shui', as well as 'contemporary use of negative space', words the Vampire Prince rose his eyebrows too, shaking his head as he followed her instructions. Satisfied with their mementos hanging upon the walls, Juliet returned to the couch, groaning at the ever throbbing pain from her lower body. She nibbled idly on the fruit and cheeses Mika had brought before falling backwards into the pillows.
"We have a lot of secrets, Mika." She said with a sigh.
Mika sat next to her, lifting her legs and allowing them to rest on his strong thighs. "Yes," he agreed. "We will be keeping quite a few for the next three years and four months."
Juliet pondered the exactness of his time-frame. Yes, they'd spent about eight months at the Cirque, a full year at the cottage before Mika proposed, and it had been a full month since then. "Oh Mika!" She gasped, turning to him. He looked at her with inquisitive eyes. "It's our one-month anniversary!"
Mika blinked blandly at her words. "Anniversaries are reserved for a full cycle of the seasons, are they not?" he asked. "Has the meaning of the word changed?"
Juliet sighed, propped up on her elbows. "Semantics, Mika! We've been married for a full month! Isn't that exciting?"
Mika studied her face, the sparkle in her eyes, that winced from the pain coursing through her. "Exciting?" he said. "Exciting is knowing I will wake to your face every day for the rest of my life. I care not for special days each month or year, Juliet. Every day I spend with you is one-of-a-kind."
Juliet sighed, all at once elated and annoyed at his words. "Leave it to you to make me feel I don't appreciate you enough." She groaned falling back again. "Why must you say such wonderful things?"
Mika chuckled, absently rubbing his hands along the smooth skin of Juliet's legs. "I only say what I mean, my love."
Juliet considered the immensity of the day, regardless of Mika's nonchalance. A full month of marriage to a man she had been pining over for decades. She felt immeasurably lucky, as well as moderately guilty for all the times she'd tried to forget him, only to find purchase in his heart and arms once more. "Mika, I have a secret to tell you. I'd rather tell you now than when we return to the mountain," she sounded hesitant yet determined, propping herself up again. Mika's eyes met hers, his look telling her to 'go on'.
"I kissed Darren Shan." She winced, waiting for his reaction.
Mika let out a single breath, and Juliet realized he'd been holding it. "Really?" he asked, looking at her pointedly.
"Well, more like… I made out with Darren Shan." Again she winced, her words nearly a whisper at the end of the admission. "It was while you were away… hell maybe it was today! He was having trouble concentrating in our sessions, so I offered him a massage to calm his mind in the bathing hall… I had these bath beads that I crushed in my hand and I used them to rub his back and then… well he kissed me first but- oh and we were naked because we were in the water- but then I pushed him away, but then I kissed him again and it was all very strange and I was so, well, horny and if I hadn't been sober I probably would have taken the little Prince's virginity- oh shit I need to stop talking…" her words poured from her and she was tapping her fingers against the side of the couch in anticipation of Mika's inevitable outburst.
Mika did not cry out in outrage, in fact he did not say a single word. He stood silently and walked away from Juliet, back towards the bedroom. Juliet called after him, feeling shame creep into her stomach. She let him go, realizing he probably wanted to be alone.
She sat, sadly alone on the couch, feeling idiotic for bringing up her indiscretion with the young Prince. Her ears and eyes were clouded with grey noise and she pulled her knees to her chest, ready to cry. Before she could begin to wallow Mika was standing above her.
"Come," he said, extending his hand. Juliet took it with a look of confusion and uncertainty, the heating pad falling to the floor. Mika pulled her up and released her hand, then set to work divesting her of the over-sized t-shirt covering her smooth skin, tossing it onto the couch. He then knelt down and tugged at the simple soft black cotton panties she wore.
"Mika, what are you doing?" Juliet demanded, pulling away from his hands, he shot a look up at her and she stopped in her tracks, his eyes were hard and commanding, the same look he would give unruly Generals to force them into silence. Juliet froze and allowed him to finish removing the offending undergarment. She watched as he huffed the scent of her menstruation, noting the dangling string of a tampon between her thighs. Satisfied, he stood and removed the only piece of clothing he wore, soft black pants, tossing them with all the rest. He then offered Juliet his hand again, and led her to the master bathroom.
Inside, the lights turned low, Mika had filled the great sunken tub with cold water. He turned to Juliet. "Show me." He stated simple. Immediately Juliet understood what he meant. He walked into the frigid water and waited while she dug out some bath beads similar to the ones she had used on Darren.
"Sit down," she instructed, walking into the water, which was not nearly as deep as the hall in Vampire mountain (her paltry tub rose just above her knees), and positioned her body behind him. Using a bit of water, Juliet moistened the bath bead until it turned into a liquid, then proceeded to rub Mika's back.
Mika groaned in appreciation as her hands, with forceful delicacy, found and worked on knots. He grumbled, "What did you say to him?"
Juliet focused on her work, trying not to read into the entire situation poorly. "I told him that by the end of this massage he would be in love with me." She said, blushing.
Mika grunted in response. "And then?"
"Then…" she said, leaning into Mika's back, her taut breasts, nipples aching from the influx of hormones due to her cycle, pressed into his back as she moved her arms around Mika's massive frame to lightly massage his abs. "I did this."
As she worked, her fingers dancing against his hard muscles, Mika could feel her nipples budding into hard peaks against his back. Unmoving he said, "I suppose this is when he kissed you,"
Juliet paused, unsure how to answer. "He- uh- he asked me not to laugh and told me he would." She said.
"Did you?"
"Nearly…" she gave a small smile into Mika's back.
Mika stood, nearly knocking Juliet off balance as he turned and pulled her up to face him. "If I were to kiss you now, would it erase the memory of his from your mind?"
Suddenly it clicked in Juliet's head, the full extent of Mika's actions. "If I were to compare the two moments, yes, this one would be my go-to bathing massage memory." She sighed, looking into his hard eyes.
"Why?" Mika asked, leaning his face toward her, his lips dangerously close. He expected to hear some fluffy words about how Juliet loved him, but was shocked by her response.
"Because in this scenario, my loving husband who knows how much he means to me is jealously trying to improve upon a moment I spent with a young, inexperienced vampire against which there is no contest." Juliet crossed her arms and stepped away from Mika. Her eyes were full of humor, but her pose was annoyed. "Are you really so cross with me over this once indiscretion?"
He ran a hand through his thick, dark hair in frustration. "Why did you keep it a secret if I was not to be upset?" Mika demanded.
"Because I didn't want to be known as some Prince-posturing floozy!" she snapped. "I was unsure of my feelings for you, at the moment, and it was spontaneous! I never dreamed I'd find the boy attractive! I mean, honestly I can't help it with how all you Vampires end up filling out your shirts and pants…" she trailed off, somewhat seductively, but still annoyed.
"Juliet," Mika growled in exasperation, "I do not wish to know of other men you have invited to your body. I wish to be the only one."
"Well tough cookies, your highness. You're not the only one." She hissed. They stood in the cold water, staring at each other, faces and bodies hard with agitation. Finally, Juliet's eyes softened and she dropped her arms. "Mika, you're not the only person I've slept with, or even considered sleeping with. You're not the only man I've ever kissed, you're not the only man I've ever seen naked. I'm not some sort of prude."
Mika nodded his understanding. "I know this," he sighed. "But you don't understand how upset it makes me to know that I could have been…"
Their eyes met and Juliet tsked. "Again we find ourselves in the past, though our wedding vows swore we would only look towards the future." She groaned, again feeling the throbbing pain of her cramps, and sank to the floor of the tub. Mika, alarmed, was by her side instantly, his arm over her shoulder as she slid down to as sitting position in the cold water. Juliet looked up at him, at the concern on his face. Though pained she smiled, splashing him with cold water.
"What?" he snapped, shocked.
"Mika, look what you've done to me!" she sighed. "This pain is all because you failed to knock me up." She leaned back and laughed at the dumbstruck look on her face. "And here we are arguing about who I kissed and who I'm no longer sleeping with. I married you, idiot!" she splashed him again, then groaned as another severe cramp wracked her body.
Mika sank beside Juliet, the harsh look on his face disappearing. "Juliet, beloved," he began, she cut him off with raise of her finger.
"As my body punishes me for your inability to fertilize my eggs, I want to say something," she glared at him "Before you ruin my mood again." She scooted herself closer to where he sat and lifted her hand to his face. "I love you Mika ver Leth. I said yes to you. I'm never again going to kiss any other lips but yours, or share my body with anyone else but you. Do you understand that?"
Mika nodded, and Juliet smacked his face with a ferocity he hadn't known she was capable of, sending him reeling backwards. Again he stared down at her, rage on his face.
"Just a little taste of what's in store if you DON'T IMPREGNATE ME NEXT MONTH OH GODS IT HURTS SO MUCH AND I'VE BEEN RAN THROUGH WITH A LONGSWORD." She was doubled over in pain, and Mika quickly forgot about his throbbing cheek, quickly grabbing a towel and lifting her into his arms, carrying her to the bedroom and depositing her delicately onto the bed. "Oh Mika…" she groaned, and he was by her side. "Being a woman is so awful, Mika…" she swore heavily, grabbing for his hand. "Pain if we're not pregnant, pain if we are…" another groan and she rolled herself into a ball.
"How can I help?" Mika whispered. Juliet was about to yell at him for being unable to secure his seed inside her when he continued, "I promise, my love, I will double my efforts to place a babe within you in the next month!"
Even as he said what she was going to berate him for she screamed "No! Too much sex got me into this mess. Ugh I've half a mind to never sleep with you again."
The Vampire Prince looked down at her aghast. "You don't mean that-" he stammered.
Juliet looked up at him, her eyes pained but a smile on her lips. "Oh, gods no. You're too good…" she groaned. "But… oh hell. I'm damned either way." Her muscles tensed and Mika stroked her cheek.
"You said it is not often like this, perhaps next month it will be better?" he supplied, placing a soft kiss upon her forehead.
"If I don't die from this I'm going to research a spell to prevent cramps, or periods, or uterine pain of any sort. Or else I'll just have the whole thing removed, or maybe you'll actually succeed during one of our late night rutting sessions." She hissed the final words out vehemently, again overtaken by a heavy surge of pain. "It's like animals are devouring my insides…"
Mika looked truly worried. "Are you sure it is only your cycle that causes this pain?" vainly he looked her over for any sign of outward distress.
"The same shit I've been dealing with off and on for the last sixty years, Mika…" she sighed, feeling the pain lull for a moment. "You're seeing it firsthand now. This is what it means to have a wife."
"For one week of each month I must fret over you as you infuriate me, berate me, attack me and writhe in pain?" he asked, inhaling sharply. Juliet looked up at him, eyes warning him against continuing. Mika, however only chuckled and pushed a stray hair from Juliet's face. "A small price to pay for a lifetime with you, my love."
"That better be your answer," Juliet ground into the pillow beneath her head. "Mika fetch some wine." She snapped. "And the baking chocolate in the top cabinet, you know the one. And bring that cheese plate in here. And my heating pad! It's the least you can do for being a stupid, jealous man."
With a sigh of contented resignation, Mika rose from the bed to see to his wife's commands, counting the hours until she would be back to her normal, only slightly less demanding self.
The day came soon enough for Mika and Juliet to begin the long trek back to Vampire Mountain. The weeks leading up to it had been full of quiet moments for the couple; full days in bed trying to forget their cares, stolen moments in front of the blazing fire curled together and listening to each other's heartbeats.
Juliet summoned Mika to the large master bathroom and cut his hair, trimming the locks that had begun to grow out and down his back in a rugged, albeit feminine wave. She then trimmed her own hair, only a few inches off, before setting the scissors down. Afterwards, in the living room she asked him, "How long will the trek to Vampire Mountain take?"
Mika could give no definite answer, even with the maps Juliet had provided him lain before him on the short coffee table. "I cannot say for sure, only that we should leave by the end of the week to allow ample time for our trip and ensure our timely arrival."
The day of their departure, she was organizing items for the trip into a large duffel when Mika relayed to her the most complicated part of their trip.
"We have to WALK?" she hissed, tossing the rock climbing accessories into the pack. "The whole way?"
Mika nodded his head, "The entire way. And we must wear light clothing and subject ourselves to the elements."
Juliet looked down at the items she had packed, the boots and hiking gear nearly identical to the ones she had used on her first trip to the mountain. "Is this some sort of Vampire custom?" she asked. Again he nodded.
"The journey is much like a pilgrimage, one to clear the mind and hone the bodies of those who undertake it. We are not permitted these heavy coats, or even shoes."
"Mika, you're crazy. I'm not making this journey barefoot." she snapped. "Besides, for all intents and purposes, I'm not a Vampire. I shouldn't have to do this."
Mika looked at her pointedly. "If you travel with me, a Vampire Prince, you must see to our customs. I know what you are, Juliet, and as I promised I will keep your secret, but you must learn to follow our rules, for one day your lineage will no longer be a secret."
"But Mika, this time has already happened. Right now there's another you making this trip the customary way, why do we have to do it now when no one will ever know about it?"
Mika's eyes were hard, his mouth set in a line. "I will know."
Juliet considered his words, eventually sighing in resignation and tossing the bag to the side, opting to stand with her arms crossed. "Since we'll be trying to arrive the same night you originally did, I suppose we'll need to approach the Mountain in a different way, to avoid crossing your path." Mika, pleased at her lack of argument, nodded his agreement. "And even more so," she added. "We'll need to avoid the normal routes Vampires take, to make sure nobody arrives at the mountain expecting you because they saw you along the way, or some other such nonsense."
Mika was surprised by how she had thought it out. "You're right, Juliet. We must take, how do you say it? The 'scenic route'" he smiled at her, but Juliet looked pained. "What bothers you, my love?" he approached her and ensnared her in his arms.
"Well…" she sighed. "It's just… five years. So much has happened. We've been married for nearly four of them," she smiled up at him and he leaned down, capturing her lips in a light kiss. She sighed against his lips, pulling away. "I'm going to miss this." She looked around the living room, the warmth their co-habitation had brought her once lonely home was startling. From the paintings that captured the full moments of their love, to the books strewn about from Mika's incessant studying. Her home had turned into their home, and they were leaving it. Juliet explained to Mika as much and he nodded sadly his understanding.
"Only in my dreams did I imagine I would take a wife, and only seldom did I allow myself to luxuriate that my wife could be you, my dear," he nuzzled into her neck and she sighed happily. "To have all of this around me, to have you with me, it has been a surprise. A waking dream."
"But dreams have to end…" she said sadly, pulling from his embrace to sit sullenly.
Mika shook his head and caught her hand, pulling her to him again. "Not end, Juliet, but change shape. We will make our home again, at Vampire Mountain. And when things are settled we will return here," He looked down at her with such adoration that she blushed. "Perhaps to start a family."
Juliet smiled up at him sadly. "How are you ever going to pull away from your work long enough to start a family with me?" she chided, picking at the black cotton of his shirt.
"I will take my leave from the sitting Princes. As is my due, since I have been a sitting Prince for a far longer stint than any of the others." He frowned. "I will not be denied."
At his confident words, Juliet smiled for real, sure in her husband's abilities. "I trust you." She said,"Just don't forget about your poor wife who will be languishing in the halls like a pariah, unable to tell anyone how she bagged the most handsome and strong Prince that ever sat in that dull hall." She snickered.
Playfully Mika slapped her bottom causing Juliet to whoop in surprise. "I will not forget you. Know that every chance you get I expect you in my quarters."
"Oh is that how it will be?" she asked, slyly, not stopping her packing. "I'll be your secret lover, hmm?"
Mika turned and moved to sit on the couch he had become so comfortable with. "Did we not agree one week? A weeklong secret is not so hard to keep, and then all will know that you are mine and I yours. I will declare it to them myself. We will be mated in the Vampire tradition." He stated.
"Oh, should I pack my wedding dress?" Juliet laughed.
"Juliet, I am serious." He said, looking over at her as she chuckled. "it is no light matter for a Vampire to take a mate, since we live so long. We would be committing to each other for a period of five to ten years."
Juliet stopped, turning to him, hand on her hip. He lifted her left hand in front of Mika's face. "I believe this commitment already called for a lifetime." She wiggled the sapphire ring in front of his face and Mika looked down at her in exasperation. "My next five to ten are booked solid."
"You realize I am offering to make our commitment legitimate before the Vampires?" he asked.
"Yes, I do." Juliet said. "But I've already gotten my commitment from you before the eyes of some old man's god. Really all that matters is that we promised each other forever. Unless your Vampire ceremony can do that, I'm not looking to re-up every few years."
Mika considered. "It is not heard of, but I'm sure nobody would deny us-"
"Deny a Vampire Prince?" Juliet feigned shock. "You could just change the rule, tack it on there. Who's really going to care. If there's already two options why not a third?"
"You're right." He said simply, and the matter was settled. He would look into altering the rule upon their return, and after the week of scripted romancing, he and Juliet would be wed again in the eyes of their people.
"But Mika, you realize we must pack at least one bag with a change of clothes?" juliet said, pulling the pack back towards her and emptying it on the floor.
"Why?" he asked simply.
Juliet sighed in annoyance. "Well, I don't know if you remember, it was so long ago, but when we started this journey I was in the most darling leather outfit and it is simply not travel worthy..."
The time finally came for them to make their departure. Juliet had already called and conversed with her groundskeeper and the head scientists, letting them know of her departure, and the house would be in good hands. As the sun set upon the green fields and forests they had called home, Juliet's eyes saddened, again focused on what they left behind. Mika's hand reached for hers, the small duffel bag that housed all of her leather and a bit of clothes similar to what he had worn swung over his shoulder, and his reassuring squeeze reminded her that there would be time still for them to make their home again. For the lifetimes of Vampires were long and nigh unbearable in solitude, but Juliet had Mika, and Mika his Juliet.
Days turned to weeks and the trek gradually became harder as Mika and Juliet continued their long, barefoot journey to Vampire Mountain. The weather was pleasant, but Mika assured her at her comment, that the closer they were to Vampire Mountain, the colder it would become.
"You forget, my love, that I have made this journey before." She chided him, though barely keeping up with his long strides.
"Not from this side." Mika sighed.
Juliet wanted to reply to his words, but bit her tongue, sensing the Prince's apprehension. Jogging to him, flipping her duffel to the opposite side of her body, Juliet caught his hand in hers, startling him. She looked up at him and gave that small, reassuring smile she reserved for his moments of brooding. Her fingers found the bump of his wedding band and she rubbed it idly.
"You aren't thinking of running away, are you?" She asked, eyes straight ahead.
Mika was silent. The thought had crossed his mind a few times, seeing Juliet's apprehension in the weeks leading up to their departure. Their intimacy had waned seemingly in anticipation of how they would have to act upon their return to the Mountain. But Mika knew, without a doubt that he would have returned no matter what, though he refused to consider what it would have been like if Juliet had begged him for them to stay. "No, I must return. It is my duty." He said, squeezing her hand.
"Good," Juliet replied. "I'd hate to think that you left me all those years ago for a sense of duty towards your people that you no longer held. I didn't come to love you because you were weak with your convictions."
Mika looked over at her and his chest swelled with pride. Juliet had truly come to accept his duty to the Vampires, and it reminded him over again how he loved her and how she suited him.
Though they had prepared for the worst, the journey back to the mountain was surprisingly uneventful. They camped in dark caves, wary of creatures that may live there, and ate a single meal at the onset of each night, desperate to keep the pace that would bring them back at the moment of their departure. It was with extreme surprise that they found themselves at the base of Vampire Mountain a full day before their anticipated arrival.
Unsure of how to proceed, Juliet took the lead and ushered Mika toward the entrance of the cavern where she had hidden before their reencounter.
"It wasn't as hard as you said it would be," Juliet joked, setting her pack against the rough walls of the cave. She was only half-kidding with her words, as her body ached in ways she hadn't experienced since her early days of training. Mika was leaning against the wall with her pack and after stretching her back out, Juliet joined him, lying her head upon his lap.
"We should keep this down here." He whispered, motioning to the bag. Juliet nodded.
"I'll steal down here at some point and collect them." She sighed, letting her aching bones melt into the floor.
"You should rest," Mika said, stroking her cheek affectionately. "In a few hours we will need to make our entrance.
"We'll have to change clothes." Juliet mumbled. Indeed, they wore thin, flowy clothes. Soft linen pants and shirts. Juliet had opted for a tank-top out of habit, though Mika had chided her for the lack of sleeves, knowing they would be trecking through snow for a good portion of their journey. The lack of shoes had bothered Juliet only at the onset of the trip, eventually the soles of her feet hardened into callouses that she complained about only for how they felt rubbing against her smooth legs and ankles. Now Juliet's eyes were cast towards Mika's outstretched legs, his obviously sore feet rested on the cool stone floor.
"I don't understand why you couldn't break the rules this one time. Technically this trek never happened." She reiterated her earlier point, yawning. Mika chuckled
"Were I to disregard custom for the sake of comfort every day as Prince, very little work would be completed."
"Yes," she whispered, her eyes drifting closed. "But you'd be a helluva lot happier."
Mika glanced down at his wife, who now dozed in his arms. "I am quite happy as I am, Juliet." He mumbled, a smile tugging at his lips.
Hours later, Mika woke Juliet, telling her it was time they made their entrance.
"Okay," she said, ruffling through the duffel bag and pulling out the leather pants, boots and corset she had worn when they'd first left. She looked at them hopefully. "You know I haven't worn this in five years. What if I've gained weight?" Mika scowled at her from his spot, slipping into a black outfit similar to what he wore that night. Juliet scoffed at his look. "What? All your clothes look the same Mika, but I can't get away with not wearing this!"
Clumsily she began to change into the outfit, shimmying into the tight pants and expertly buckling herself into the corset. "Like a glove." She mumbled before strapping her daggers to her thighs. Satisfied they approached the exit and headed toward the part of the stream where Mr. Tiny had summoned the door that had started their journey.
Only yards away, they ducked behind the tree line of the surrounding forest and watched the exchange of their past selves and Mr. Tiny. Juliet frowned at the way she looked at Mika, who fought to keep her from charging headlong into the door. She found the hand of her husband and squeezed it gently. "I won't apologize for how I treated you… because I tried." She whispered and he looked at her in understanding. "But I will apologize for the awful thoughts I had about castrating you."
In a poof the scene had ended, and Juliet and Mika rose from their spot behind the trees, approaching where they had seen themselves only moments before. The sun began creeping its way heavenward, and as Mika and Juliet walked toward the entrance to Vampire Mountain, Juliet felt a wall begin to build between them. Their act began the moment they stepped foot inside the halls. She locked eyes with him and for one last time he looked down at her with adoration that she returned.
"One week. One week to put on the performance of our lives, and convince everyone in the mountain we've fallen in love naturally." She said.
"One week." He agreed, stroking her cheek. They entered the hall and instinctively Juliet began to pull away from him.
"I'll see you in a week then, sire." She said, sarcasm dripping from her words, before stomping off into the quiet halls of a slumbering Vampire Mountain.
-End Part 3-