A/N Sorry this took so long to put out. My phone crashed and I lost everything, so it took me a while to get re-motivated.
...
"A..." I leave her to comprehend what I've just said, biding my time by reacquainting my self with her body. I flick my tongue against the fine, smooth skin of her throat and watch her swallow with a fond fascination. I'm predisposed to spend the rest of the day doing such impulsive things, but unfortunately my companion seems less content to wallow in the moment.
"...God." She mutters. Pulling back I think I see a light bulb flicker on above her, but my hallucination quickly morphs into ticking gears. "If you're a god, what does that make me?" She asks hesitantly, like shes afraid of the answer.
I sit up, taking a comfortable place on her hips. I seek out her hands and bring them up to my lips, where I kiss them before responding. "My Victoria." I continue holding her hands up and she gets the hint, taking my face in them. "My paramour..." I say turning my cheeks this way and that in her soft hands, their gentle hold. "My face that sunk a thousand ships, made immortal with a kiss..." The words flutter out against her fingertips as her hands come alive, respondent in my need to feel her.
"Immortal." She gasps, and when my eyes open hers are focused on me intently. Then a jaw breaking smile takes over her face. "So the dreams are real?" I nod, and she pulls me down to kiss her. Softly at first, but then shes pulling me tight against her, kissing me harder each second until we break apart with stuttering gasps. "I love you." She breathes out against my lips. "Who are you?" I smile and taste her again.
"I thought you'd never ask."
...
"Power. That's the one word that could be applied to every aspect of my life. As a child, it shaped me. I had none, and the people around me horded it, abused it, and used it to oppress me. So as I grew and my mind was molded, powerless became synonymous with helplessness. With struggle, with pain." She frowns but I ignore it, theres much more unpleasantness to come.
"My adult life became a quest for the strength and control that eluded me then. I had no time for the distractions of those who attempted to sap my power with their cavalcade of sly means. Obedience, societal roles, acceptance...love. All ploys of varying attractiveness that I never once fell for." Victoria's hand tightens around mine and I shrug. "I was a different person back then."
"Instead, my sights were set on accomplishing feats of darker natures. Ones that most people
were too afraid to even attempt. But fear meant weakness, so I had long ago rid myself of the emotion. Freeing me to grasp powers just waiting to be claimed."
"I spent years learning how useful death could be. What words to whisper over it, what to sacrifice to it, and finally, how to conquer it." Her eyes widen.
"Fully realized, I moved to a village where my defection wasn't known. Instead of kindness my skills lied in secrecy, illusion. Aided by my supernatural abilities I easily avoided detection for many years, manipulating the primitive society to my liking." I state proudly.
"I married, as women in my time were expected, but I made no exception for my husband. I was as apathetic towards courting, lovemaking, childbearing and raising as I was in all the parts of life that didn't fuel my power." Shes frowning again, but I can see an adorable twinge of jealousy in her eyes.
"Until my reign, as all things do, ended." I sigh. "My coldness had betrayed me, and I believe even if I wasn't a witch I'd've been punished." I theorize. "Either way, they cited my carelessness as a mark of the devil and accused me of being a demon. My husband and children, having no love for me, didn't deny the accusations and I was taken by a mob." Tori's clearly upset but she still doesn't interrupt. She just keeps squeezing my hands, trying to heal things that never hurt. This part is always worse on her.
"They dragged me into the forest where the men had been chopping down trees. In the midst of a dozen stumps was one lone tree, which they tied me too. I pleaded and begged, feigning fear and casting as many glamours of innocence as I could produce."
"It didn't matter. The fire lit up quickly, and I wont lie, it hurt." Her hand squeezes mine desperately and she looks away, so I give her a moment before continuing. "Oh, Jade..." She buries her face in my shoulder. "I did lose consciousness, though. Eventually." I recall bitterly. I let out a calming sigh and lay my head against hers.
"A long sleep." She seems to relax too, sensing the worst is over. "I don't know how long it took me to heal, but when I woke up the landscape had changed. In my time it had been lush and green, but now it was tan and thirsty. Even the sky seemed paler." She listens curiously.
"Despite the dryness, certain vegetation still thrived. Over the small bushes that surrounded the me, I spotted the head of a young woman approaching." I say looking down at her, and she smiles.
"A wicked grin captured my features. Finally I'd be able to carryout the desires I had neglected in my life. And who better to sate them than the beautiful girl before me." I whisper in a spooky voice, making her laugh.
"Come closer, I thought." I say, wringing my hands evilly and earning another chuckle. "Heeding my unspoken whim, she stumbled into the brush. Her eyes raked my torn form, not fully healed, and she let out a bloodcurdling scream!" Tori watches with rapt attention, slightly bemused by my overacting.
"A kind soul, she refrained from fleeing lest I need her help." Victoria blushes at the compliment. "She walked towards me hesitantly, hands outstretched in a calming manor. But as soon as she was in reach I lunged for her!" I shake Tori in my arms and she playfully chastises me, ordering me to get on with it.
"The girl quickly turned to run but my grip was strong and she fell. I slithered up her back, soaking her pretty clothes my blood." I say creepily, and she cringes. "I pulled her hair to the side and buried my nose in her neck, inhaling her sweet scent." I do the same to Victoria, her body tense but compliant.
"She let out a terrified whimper." She swallows. "And I felt an unfamiliar twisting in my gut. I lay there for a moment, trying to give this new emotion a name. A tear slid down her cheek, suddenly illuminating the abhorrence the sound had caused in me." I say as I release her and she faces me again.
"Guilt." I look into her eyes, hoping they convey the regret I felt that day. "I...I didn't want to hurt her." She takes my cheek in her hand and nods. "I rolled off you and you quickly stood, ready to escape your attacker. But... You cast a look back at me. And my injuries, combined with my sudden benignity, compelled your sweet soul to help me." I smile fondly at her.
"You took me home with you. You took care of me for months. A complete stranger speaking a foreign language who tried to attack you. Yet everyday you dressed my wounds, fed me, spoke to me." Her eyebrows quirk. "What did I say?"
I smirk. "Well I have no idea mostly, except our names. You taught me yours, repeating 'Vik-Tor-E-Yah' until I got it. But no matter how many times you tried to tech you, you always called me Yade." She blushes and looks away for a moment, embarrassed.
"I loved it." I tell her sincerely. "And, sometimes..." I begin to whisper, leaning in close and darting my eyes left and right before locking with hers. "When your father was away... Or dead, dead asleep..." I keep leaning in until our lips are a centimeter apart and I can feel her quick breaths. "You would kiss me." I state, and lean back a bit to see her reaction. Shes blushing again, but she looks kind of proud too.
"It was during quiet moments, when you were tracing my face and watching me with this look of... adoration." I recall. "Or after a fit of laughter brought on by the language barrier," I smile. "but it was always sweet and slow. I think you were afraid to hurt me, and I kept it gentle. I
didn't want to hurt you either. Never again." I swear to her.
"I found something in you that couldn't live in myself, so that's where I kept it. You're where I protected it, fed it, felt it. My love."
I kiss her, needy and hot. I rest my forehead on hers and breathe her in again. "Is that why were connected?" She asks. I open my eyes to see that hers are still closed. I sigh and close mine again. "No. That was not enough." She pulls away and stares at me, confusion written all over her face.
"What happened?" She asks desperately. "He found out." I smile sadly. "He went for you first, and I was too weak to react fast enough. The blood just... poured out of you." I lament. "My dad?" She asks, horrified.
I shake my head. "You can't blame him. It was another life, another time. Things were different." She nods despite the frown on her face. "I couldn't take it. You were my everything. My maiden, my knight, my redemption. I couldn't-" I take in a ragged breath.
"I couldn't just let you go. So I split the bonds of my immortality, dividing it amongst us with a powerful conduit: Sacrifice. As my blood joined yours in a puddle on the floor I wailed an incantation of my own design."
"The infinite years I had stolen became two infinite lives. Bound to each other, we were reborn. But every time we met you had no recollection of our past. On more than one occasion my attempts to force the collective memories of all our lives inside your brain was the cause of your death." I look at my lap and swallow the memories. "I quickly learned to stop."
"But, I found that a sliver of my conscious could safely live within you, returned when you learned to love me again. Only, spells require a more...literal interpretation, as love is rather abject and not easily defined. So I figured, if you loved me enough to love me, you'd be ready."
She blushes and rolls her eyes. "Okay, I guess that makes sense. So you didn't remember me because your...consciousness?" I nod. "Was in my head?" I nod again, and smile at the look of understanding she has. "So, how many times have you had to explain this to me?" She asks.
I sigh and lay back on the bed. "Too many times..." I say wistfully, motioning for her to follow. She complies and hovers above me, pink lips fixed into a pout. "Whats wrong?" I ask, reaching out and tangling my hands in her soft hair.
"Its kinda not fair." I look at her curiously and she huffs. "You get to remember everything now! You can speak Latin and play piano! What do I get?" I laugh and bring her down to me. "You, my little mortal, can earn the love of a God." I brush my lips against hers sensually, and when I pull away her eyes have closed.