So, it's come to my attention that it's been a while since our OT3 had any, ahem, 'quality time' together, and with Bo needing all the energy she can get to make it through the Dawning, it provided the perfect setup for this story to once again earn its M rating. Consider yourselves warned.
Gwaine woke up later than usual the next morning, extricated himself from the tangled limbs of his bedmates, located most of his clothing amid the jumble on the floor (he couldn't find his socks, but luckily the man whose room he was in had plenty of extras that he was willing to loan him), then made his way down the corridor to his own room to wash up and dress properly. At this point, he found himself facing a disruption in the routine he'd fallen into while waiting for Bo and company to return with Balinor; after breakfast, he usually went down to the training field with Dyson, but his customary sparring partner was currently sequestered with Elaine, receiving instruction on whatever he was meant to do as Bo's Hand, which left Gwaine at loose ends.
He spent a few minutes pondering his dilemma while munching on some bread and fruit he'd scavenged after missing the regularly scheduled breakfast hour, then made a decision. Heading back to the guards' wing, he knocked on Vex's door. After a long moment, the mesmer answered, cracking the door open just enough to peer out. "What're you doing here?"
"Well, Dyson's off with the priestess, getting ready to do whatever a Hand does, so I thought I'd see if you'd care to come down to the training field for a bit of exercise."
"Sorry, but I've never been one for banging bits of metal together." Vex started to close the door, but Gwaine leaned into the small opening, blocking it.
"Maybe you should start. As I told you in the Perilous Lands, you never know when you might meet someone who can still use magic even if you're controlling their body."
"Then it's a good thing we have your sort around to stick swords in them, isn't it? Personally, I prefer other pursuits."
"Is that why you never train with the rest of the guards? It has nothing to do with how they're all scared of you?" Gwaine asked quietly. Vex froze; he had no comeback for that, but his silence was as good as a confirmation. Seeing that he was no longer getting brushed off, Gwaine pressed on. "It can't be easy, everyone always watching you out of the corners of their eyes like they expect you to go berserk and attack them at any moment, but you won't change their minds by spending all your time skulking in here. The only way you'll do that is by getting out there and showing them you're not what they think you are."
"Right, because that worked out so well for my father."
Vex spun on his heel and stalked back into the recesses of his room, but he didn't slam the door in Gwaine's face. Taking the open door – as well as the fact that Vex hadn't used his power to forcibly remove him – as an invitation, Gwaine followed him inside. "Who was your father?"
"To me, he was nothing but a drunken brute, but apparently he used to be a general in the Blood King's army during the Great Wars…not that it mattered. He was still feared and ostracized for being a mesmer, so he retired to the family estate and became the bitter shell of a man that we all lived in fear of, until an angry mob broke in with their pitchforks and torches and killed everyone except me. Now here I am, probably heading down the exact same path. At least our princess and her inner circle are all right, although the Goddess only knows what'll happen to all of us if she doesn't come out of that Temple with her mind in one piece."
"I'm sorry." For once, there was no spark of humor in Gwaine's eyes, no devil-may-care grin playing at the corners of his mouth. "Being an outsider is never easy."
"What would you know about it?" Vex retorted, his tone half belligerent, half reluctantly curious. "Everybody loves you."
"They do until I wear out my welcome. I've been run out of more places than I care to remember," Gwaine admitted with a wry twist to his lip. "You could say I lost my family too, although at least mine are still alive so far as I know, except my father." He then shared his own story, which was surprisingly similar to Vex's, at least in regard to both their fathers having been knights who fell from grace and both having endured difficult childhoods before being forced to grow up, perhaps sooner than they should have, when their families' respective circumstances caused them to end up on their own.
"It's funny," he mused when he finished, "I thought I had you pegged as someone who came from privilege-"
"I wouldn't have thought it of you, but apparently that's you too," Vex pointed out.
Gwaine acknowledged the truth of that with a shrug and a bob of his head. "-But even after Merlin's comment about you having to steal in the past made me think there must be more to your story, I never imagined we'd end up having so much in common."
"Nor did I," Vex admitted. He wasn't sure how he felt about that; all his life, he'd struggled to connect with others, and now, to find an unexpected sense of commonality with a human of all people… It was unsettling to say the least.
A slightly awkward silence descended over the room, until Gwaine, feeling that the conversation had become more emotionally fraught than he'd intended or wanted, made a rather unsubtle attempt to steer things back into lighter territory. "So, about that sparring session…"
It took a moment for Vex to recall what had brought the human to his room in the first place, and when he did, he wasn't at all sure if spending more time with the man who had somehow breached his defenses more deeply than anyone else had managed so far was something he really wanted to do, and yet… Unsettling as this new feeling of solidarity that had sprung up between them was, he couldn't say with total conviction that it was entirely unpleasant. Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't hurt to explore it a little further. After all, what harm could an hour or two on the training field do?
"All right," he sighed, as if he were making a huge sacrifice, "I'll let you show me how to stick people with sharp, pointy things. Lead the way."
###
Bo and Merlin spent most of the day with their respective family members; Bo gave Trick a detailed account of her adventures, while Merlin (with Aithusa perched jauntily on his shoulder) took a walk near the lake with Balinor, the two of them talking about dragons and anything else that came to mind as they tried to make up for the twenty-odd years that they hadn't been part of each other's lives.
Meanwhile, Morgana, who had no family in the castle, sought other company.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite seer," Evony said sardonically when her maid escorted Morgana into her room. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I need to speak with you," Morgana replied in a not-quite-terse tone intended to convey that she wasn't there simply to socialize. "Privately."
"Privately?" Evony repeated, arching her eyebrows. "My, my, what would people say?"
Morgana clearly wasn't in the mood for her games, though, merely fixing the leanan sidhe with an intense stare that a lesser woman might have described as boring holes in her. With a sigh, Evony told her maid that they were going to step out onto the balcony for a moment, then led the way out and seated herself on a small chaise positioned against the stone railing, gesturing for Morgana to join her. Morgana perched on the edge of the brocade-cushioned seat, then withdrew a cloth-wrapped bundle from beneath her cloak. "I've brought you something."
"A present? For me? You shouldn't have."
Without a word, Morgana removed the wrapping, revealing the dagger she had pulled from Balinor's chest.
Evony's face contorted into a grimace when she saw it. "Ugh… Really, you shouldn't have," she repeated, more emphatically this time. "You couldn't at least clean it off first?"
Morgana's eyes flashed gold as she rolled them, and the dried bloodstains vanished.
"That's better, but still, why should I want this?"
"When Merlin and I asked you about the assassins who accosted us in the Perilous Lands, you said you needed more information to narrow down who might be behind the attack. They struck again as we traveled back from Engerd, and I retrieved this after the fight. There's some sort of symbol or crest on the pommel here…" She held it up for Evony's inspection.
The fae noblewoman leaned in, peering curiously at the dagger while Morgana watched her with bated breath. At last, when she could bear the suspense no longer, she demanded, "Well? Do you recognize it?"
Evony raised her head, meeting Morgana's eager gaze with a guarded look. "I… I'm not sure. It looks vaguely familiar, but I need some time to confirm where I've seen it. May I keep this?"
"Of course." Morgana rewrapped the dagger and held it out to Evony, who took it carefully. "Thank you; I appreciate your help, truly."
Evony accepted her thanks with a nod and carried the bundle into her room, holding it as if it was a priceless treasure, or perhaps what Bo would have referred to as a ticking time bomb, and stowed it in a drawer underneath a stack of shifts and stockings, where it wasn't likely to be found until the next laundry day. She would have to find a different hiding place then.
Morgana wasn't quite sure what to make of her secretive behavior, but maybe she didn't want to be found in possession of evidence from an attempt on Bo's life. To the wrong person, Morgana supposed that might appear incriminating.
###
She chatted with Evony a while longer, not wanting the woman she'd come to view as something disconcertingly close to a friend to think she had only visited her because she wanted something, but Evony was noticeably distracted – probably due to the mystery Morgana had just dumped in her lap – so the seer soon excused herself. Deciding to get some fresh air, she went out onto one of the walkways leading from the main part of the castle to its many smaller towers and offshoots, where she spent several minutes admiring the panorama of tree-studded mountains and cascading waterfalls below before closing her eyes and simply leaning into the light breeze, enjoying the sensation of the crisp mountain air caressing her face. It's good to be home…
Then she stiffened, startled to catch herself thinking such a thing. When she left Camelot, she had assumed it would always be home to her, even though, between the inhabitants' attitude toward magic and Uther's determination to force her into an unwanted marriage, the place had begun to feel more hostile than hospitable… Now she realized that a new feeling had slowly taken root in the months she'd spent in Trick's kingdom, no doubt spurred along by the discovery of her part-fae heritage – a feeling that she belonged here more than she ever had in Camelot. It was a surprising realization (though perhaps less surprising than it should have been), but not an unpleasant one.
As she ruminated on the unexpected turns her life had taken, a hand landed on her shoulder, jolting her out of her thoughts, and she whirled around to see Elaine standing right behind her.
"Forgive me, Morgana; I did not intend to startle you."
Refraining from pointing out that startling people was the typical result of sneaking up on them – she was certain the priestess would deny purposefully employing stealth anyway and say it wasn't her fault Morgana had been too preoccupied to hear her approach, which wasn't a totally invalid point – Morgana only said, "I thought you were with Dyson."
"I have already done all I can to prepare the wolf for his part in aiding Bo through her final test. Now we must discuss yours."
Morgana frowned. "My part? I thought only her Hand was permitted to enter the Temple with her."
"True, but you and Merlin can still help her in the few hours that remain before the doors open at midnight. Bo has elected to face her trials unarmed in order to preserve her neutrality, so she will need all of her strength tonight – and yours."
Morgana's frown deepened. "Are you saying Merlin and I should use the time we have left to…feed her?" It wasn't that she didn't want to – on the contrary, she quite liked the idea – but there was still something off-putting about being told when to be intimate with her lovers.
"If you wish to give her the best possible chance of success, yes," Elaine replied frankly. Then her pale eyes lit up with a sparkle of something that, in a less dignified personage than a priestess of the Old Religion, might have been called mischief. "I wouldn't have thought you would find it an unpleasant proposition."
"Of course I don't find it unpleasant," Morgana said quickly. "And I do want Bo to have every advantage when she faces this test…" Her mind made up, she squared her shoulders and set her jaw, eyes flashing with determination. "I suppose I'd better find Merlin, then; it seems we have a busier evening ahead of us than I'd anticipated."
###
As the sun started to dip below the mountaintops, its sparkle fading from the lake's surface and the glittering spray at the waterfalls' bases, Bo returned to her chambers in hopes of spending the last handful of hours before the Temple opened for her enjoying some quiet time, hopefully with Merlin and Morgana. When she entered her bedroom, however, she found that while she might indeed get some quality time with them, it wasn't likely to be quiet.
Her lovers were sitting on the small chaise at the foot of their bed, which was hardly unusual; nor was the fact that they were kissing. Seeing that Merlin's shirt was missing, however, while Morgana had stripped down to her shift, gave Bo pause. As she stood there enjoying the show, they soon became aware of her presence and broke apart, their heads swiveling toward her in perfect unison.
"So nice of you to join us, Bo," Morgana purred as they got up and moved to flank her, almost like a pair of mountain cats closing in on their prey.
"We've been waiting for you," Merlin added.
Then their hands and mouths were all over her, fingers working at the ties and fastenings of her dress while they took turns kissing her lips and neck. As always, their touches thrilled her – and stirred something dark and primal deep within her, something that had been coming out with increasing frequency of late. These two might be trying to behave assertively, but she was the real predator here; despite their magic, they were still just humans, which made them her prey. She would tap into the wellspring of power in them and take it for herself, drain them until…
Horrified at the turn her thoughts had taken, Bo abruptly tore herself out of their grasp and retreated; her dress, which they had already loosened, fell at her feet when she moved, so she stepped out of it and left it behind. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry, I can't." Her hands came up to her face, pressing against her closed eyelids as she desperately willed her glowing sapphire eyes back to brown, struggling to wrestle that wild, bestial part of her that seemed to come out more and more easily now back into submission.
Merlin and Morgana swiftly closed in on her again, but this time they were much gentler as they tugged her hands down.
"Bo, look at us. What's the matter?" Merlin asked in a soft, worried voice.
"Why can't you?" Morgana wanted to know. "You must be hungry; we weren't able to be together during our travels, and last night you said you were too tired."
"Is it because you're nervous about the Dawning?" Merlin guessed.
"But that's precisely why you need to feed now," Morgana insisted. "Elaine says you'll need all your strength to face whatever the Temple has in store for you."
"Elaine says, huh? What, did she put you up to this?" Bo snapped, latching onto the excuse. "Sorry, but I don't do sex on demand." She tried to move away again, but they refused to let her go.
"Bo, you know neither of us need to be ordered to sleep with you," Morgana chastised her, the look in her jade-green eyes halfway between disapproving and wounded. "We've both done it plenty of times on our own volition, haven't we?"
"We just want to help, to do everything we can to make sure you come back to us," Merlin chimed in. "Why won't you let us?"
Bo looked from one to the other, and felt her resistance crumbling in the face of their obvious concern and love for her. "Because I can't, okay? It's getting harder and harder to stay in control, and if I give in to a no-holds-barred feeding session…I'm afraid I won't be able to stop. I'm afraid I'll hurt you," she confessed in a near-whisper while peering up through her lashes, unable to meet their eyes directly.
Merlin and Morgana exchanged raised-eyebrow looks, but they didn't react with the fear or disgust she was so terrified of seeing in their faces. Instead, unbelievably, they appeared almost…amused.
"Really? That's what you're worried about?" Merlin asked – and yes, it definitely sounded like he was trying not to laugh. "I don't know if you've noticed, Bo, but Morgana and I aren't exactly helpless."
"I think the two of us can keep your dark side in check," the seer agreed with a wicked little smirk. "Why don't you let us worry about control for the next hour or so?"
Bo opened her mouth to say it was too risky, but before she could get a single word out she somehow found herself on the bed, lying flat on her back with her arms stretched above her head while the filmy swaths of fabric mounted on the wall behind the ornate gold headboard, which she had never paid much attention to except to marvel in offhanded bemusement at Aife's penchant for over-the-top decoration, came to life and snaked around her wrists.
"Hey!" Bo let out a startled exclamation and yanked at her bonds, only to find that – no doubt thanks to her captors' magic – the gauzy stuff had become as strong as a steel cord. She gave one more experimental tug, confirming that she really was powerless to extricate herself from the decorative hangings, then looked up to find Merlin and Morgana watching her, apparently highly entertained by her predicament.
"Uh, you guys do know that nonconsensual sex with someone you're in a relationship with is still rape, right?" she asked, half-jokingly. She wasn't sure what made her say it at all, because it wasn't like she really minded them tying her up that much – stealth attack notwithstanding – and she certainly didn't feel as if she was in any danger. Still, there was the principle of the matter to consider.
Despite her light tone, they both froze, suddenly finding the situation a lot less humorous.
"She's right, you know," Merlin pointed out uncomfortably. "Even if we're only trying to strengthen her for the Dawning, we can't force her to feed if she doesn't want to."
"Of course not," Morgana agreed, momentarily stymied. Then she grinned slyly as inspiration struck. "Oh well, if she doesn't want to participate, she can just stay there and watch." With that, she pulled Merlin in for a kiss, fingers tangling in his hair as her other hand curled around the back of his neck.
"What-? Oh, come on, that is not fair!"
Bo's protests went unheeded as their kiss deepened, with Merlin's arms wrapping around Morgana and crushing her to his chest.
"I know what you're doing, and it's not going to work," Bo said petulantly. "I'm not even looking." She stubbornly turned her head toward the opposite wall and tried to convince herself that the intricate gold patterns outlining the carved wooden panel that opened to reveal the nearest window (closed now since it was nighttime) and the space above her dressing table were the most fascinating things in the world, but the sexual energy radiating from her partners was impossible for a hungry succubus to ignore. Before long she found herself squeezing her thighs together in a fruitless attempt to quell the burning need that intensified with every sigh and moan from the other side of the bed, and biting her lip to keep from whimpering in frustration at her inability to gain any relief. Eventually she couldn't help sneaking a peek at her accursedly devious lovers, but of course that was anything but helpful.
Merlin's left hand had worked its way down to Morgana's hip, caressing the flesh there through the thin cotton of her shift while his lips sucked and nibbled at her neck. Her grip on his hair had to be painfully tight now as she pushed and pulled at him, guiding his mouth to just the right places while the hand that had been on his neck now clutched at his shoulder and upper arm, her nails leaving red marks on his pale skin as she wordlessly urged him on.
Obeying her silent command, he slid the hand on her hip down to her thigh and pulled her leg up to hook around his waist, her shift bunching up in his grip and riding up to expose her creamy white skin and lean musculature. Her back arched in pleasure at the increased friction between them, and as she threw her head back, she cracked her eyelids open just enough to peer at Bo out of the corner of her eye.
I think it's working, she said smugly upon finding the succubus' bright blue eyes riveted on them, her mouth practically watering. Shall we see if she's ready to cooperate now, or should we torture her a bit longer? She has been awfully recalcitrant…
She has, Merlin agreed, and I'm rather enjoying what we're doing right now… He punctuated this remark with a hard nip to the pulse point in Morgana's throat that made her keen sharply. Still, we don't have all night.
You're right as usual, unfortunately. Reluctantly tearing herself away from him, Morgana crawled up the mattress and stretched out beside Bo, propping up on an elbow so she could look down at her face. "Are you all right, Bo? I do hope we haven't bothered you too much."
Bo glared at her in response. "You," she said sourly, "are an evil, evil woman."
Far from being offended, Morgana smiled as if Bo had paid her a flattering compliment. "You do look a bit frustrated. I can help with that…" She trailed her free hand upward from Bo's knee as she spoke, pushing her shift up with tantalizing slowness that left Bo breathless with anticipation… Then, just before her fingers reached the place where Bo wanted them most, she stopped. "Of course, you do need to feed first."
She leaned in so her face was directly above Bo's, which was all it took to obliterate whatever shreds of restraint Bo was still clinging to. Raising her head to close the last inch-wide gap between them, she eagerly devoured Morgana's luscious lips, as well as the electrifying stream of energy she pulled from them. Morgana rewarded her capitulation by finally using her fingers to relieve the ache in Bo's core and her magic to unwind the succubus' bonds, and Bo in turn used her newly freed hands to grasp her girlfriend's upper arm and the back of her head, holding her in place while she savored the taste of her for a long moment before suddenly pulling back.
"So you want me to feed, huh? You might've bitten off more than you can chew here, witch." Growling playfully, she flipped Morgana underneath her and attacked her neck while sliding the straps of her shift off her shoulders. As she worked the undergarment down further, she touched and kissed the freshly exposed skin a bit more roughly than she normally would, though judging by the sounds Morgana made, she didn't seem to mind.
Merlin joined her on Morgana's other side, removing her shift completely with one sharp tug when she lifted her hips. His and Bo's fingers then went to work on her center, and he lowered his head to kiss her stomach while Bo moved back up to her mouth, taking in another long drink of her chi while Morgana gasped and arched into their touch.
When she went still, falling back onto the mattress with an expression of dazed ecstasy, Bo stopped feeding on her, then slowly lifted her head to eye Merlin appraisingly. Morgana's chi was temporarily tapped out, but his…
Correctly reading the look in her azure eyes, he smiled encouragingly. "If you're still hungry, I've got more."
That was all Bo needed to hear. Climbing over Morgana's legs to get to him, she captured his lips in a heated kiss that was only briefly broken as she raised her arms so he could slip her shift off over her head. Thankfully, he had already finished undressing himself while she was occupied with Morgana, so without further ado, she positioned herself on his lap and recommenced feeding.
Morgana, meanwhile, took several minutes to recover from the combined attentions of her two lovers, coupled with Bo feeding on her more intensely than she ever had before; then, once her breathing returned to normal, she looked around to see what they were up to, though the noises they were making had already given her a pretty good idea. Sure enough, there was Bo straddling Merlin on the other side of the bed, riding him in an almost frantic rhythm while greedily drinking in his energy.
Morgana was pleased that she had decided to stop being ridiculous and let them give her what she needed, but less pleased at being left out. Shifting onto her hands and knees, she came up behind Bo, then moved into a kneeling position and wrapped her arms around the other woman's torso, pulling them together so that her chest was pressed flush against Bo's back. As her lips latched onto Bo's neck, one hand trailed down the other woman's ribs, over the flare of her hipbone, and down to where her body joined with Merlin's. With the added stimulation of Morgana's nimble fingers, it wasn't long until their passion hit a peak that left all three of them gasping as they collapsed in a tangle of sweaty limbs.
"Wow," Bo panted once she'd taken in enough air to form words. "That was definitely worth getting tied up for."
"I'm glad you think so," Merlin replied, pressing a kiss to her temple, "but let's not make a habit of it."
"Aw, why not? Of course, next time it'll be somebody else's turn…"
"Well, tying you up was mostly Morgana's idea, so she should go next," Merlin said quickly while the sorceress in question scowled at him from Bo's other side.
"Thank you, Merlin," she said acerbically. "I won't forget how eager you were to… What's that phrase you and Kenzi use, Bo? Throw me under the carriage?"
"Close enough." Bo leaned her head back on her pillow and closed her eyes, grateful for the playful banter that allowed her to pretend for a little while longer that this was just another night and what they had done together was purely about sharing pleasure and intimacy, rather than fueling her for an unknown ordeal that could very well cost her, if not her life, then her sanity. If this might be her last night with the people she loved most – or at least the last night she would be able to appreciate it as the person she was now – she wanted to make it last as long as she possibly could.
###
Sadly, they couldn't escape reality forever. With only an hour left until midnight, the lovers were finally forced to abandon the private bubble of warmth and safety that was their bed, get dressed, and make their way down to the throne room, where all royal ceremonies of great import were held. The room was normally an impressive sight, with its high domed ceiling, gold-inlaid columns, multi-tiered chandeliers, and the mirror-like sheen of its floor that could only be achieved through extensive polishing, but tonight the chandeliers were unlit; without their light, the gold accents in the columns and ceiling didn't shine, and instead of a mirror, the floor resembled nothing so much as a huge pool of black ice. A ring of braziers had been set up in the middle of the room, where a small group comprised of Trick's closest advisers and Bo's personal friends had congregated, each individual holding a candle whose flickering light, combined with the torches' flames, cast wavering shadows into the darkened recesses of the cavernous chamber and turned what was usually a shining display of fae power and wealth into a mysterious, slightly eerie place.
"Well, this isn't at all creepy," Bo muttered as she, Merlin, and Morgana made their way toward the group that had gathered to witness the final trial of her Dawning. With the room so much emptier than usual, she found that their footsteps echoed weirdly on the black-ice floor, and even her hushed voice sounded disconcertingly loud. "Did they have to go for the candlelight vigil setup, like somebody died? Because that doesn't exactly inspire confidence."
"They do it to mark the solemnity of the occasion," Trick explained as he came forward and took Bo's hand, leading her to where Elaine waited in the center of the circle of onlookers. Merlin and Morgana, meanwhile, drifted off to take their places in the circle alongside Balinor, Dyson, Gwaine, Evony, Vex, and Aithusa. Even the little dragon seemed to be affected by the 'solemnity of the occasion', since for once she wasn't making any noise or trying to draw attention to herself, but merely watching the proceedings quietly from her vantage point in Balinor's arms.
"Isabeau," Elaine said gravely once Bo stood before her, "tonight you will face the greatest test of your life. Succeed, and you will take your place among our ranks as a fully mature fae. Fail, and you will devolve into a monstrous shadow of your former self. Are you prepared to undertake this trial?"
Bo wasn't sure how prepared she felt – mostly, she just felt like she had a writhing ball of snakes in her stomach – but she was pretty sure saying no wasn't an option, so she nodded. When Elaine stared pointedly at her, indicating that a verbal response was required, she swallowed hard and said, "I am."
"Do you affirm your choice to remain unaligned, and thus to enter the Temple unarmed?"
"I do." She was pleased to note that her voice sounded stronger this time.
"And you have selected the fae who will serve as your Hand?"
"Yes."
"Let the Hand come forth."
Dyson stepped forward, and Bo noticed for the first time that he was dressed in a plain white shirt, without his customary leather vest or array of weapons.
"Do you accept your duty to guide the initiate through her trial, and to give your life for her if necessary?" Elaine asked him.
Bo's eyes widened – Elaine had mentioned when she made her choice that her Hand had to be willing to make sacrifices for her, yet somehow she hadn't thought Dyson would have to risk his life – but he didn't seem surprised, and there was no trace of hesitation as he replied, "I do."
Elaine nodded, a satisfied smile forming on her lips. "Then all requirements have been met. Let the Dawning begin!"
At that moment, the bells began to toll the midnight hour, and the air in front of them, in the center of the gathering, started shimmering. The shimmer grew and solidified, taking the shape of a golden set of double doors. Bo craned her neck to peer around them and found that she could still see the people on the other side; there was nothing behind them, just the doors sitting there by themselves. Okay, that's weird.
"You must open the doors, Isabeau," Elaine said patiently.
"Oh, right." Bo cautiously reached out for the handles, finding to her surprise that they felt perfectly solid even though the doors appeared to be made of light, and pulled. The doors swung open, revealing an abyss of impenetrable darkness beyond. "Well, here goes nothing." She took a deep breath, then turned to look at Dyson. "Shall we?"
He nodded and moved to stand beside her at the threshold; then, together, they stepped forward into the void.
Well, I hope you all enjoyed that extended naughty scene; I don't do them very often, so when I do, I like to make it worth your while. Just to be clear, though, this is a fictional story involving circumstances you're not likely to encounter in real life (e.g. a succubus refusing to feed) and their actions don't necessarily reflect my own views. In other words, if your partner says no to sex, I would definitely NOT recommend tying them up until they change their mind, as that will likely get you arrested.
