by Klara Raškaj
Soon enough, someone approached her from behind.
"We need to talk," said Krampus in a stern tone.
Her heart jumped into her throat. Slowly, she took another sip of her drink, keeping still and trying to appear calm even though her heart only beat faster with each passing moment. "We have nothing further to discuss," she told him. "I've already spent all of my words for you yesterday."
He moved beside her and glared directly at her. Unlike the other Khazarassi, he was wearing a dark-green coat with a golden floral pattern, and a black shirt underneath with long black tights on his legs that managed to conceal all of his fur. Even his hair was neatly combed and tied with a red ribbon into a low ponytail. "I said, 'we need to talk,'" he repeated.
"I'm begging you...please... I'm trying to do as you asked. Don't make this harder for me than it already is," she added, closing her sorrow-filled eyes. "I have six suitors who wish to dance with me, and I mustn't make them wait."
Krampus shook his head and let out an angry sigh. He got down on one knee and extended his hand towards her. "May I have this dance?"
Geli turned to him with a puzzled gaze. "W-what?"
"Every suitor is entitled to at least one dance," he told her. "May I have this dance, then?"
She looked him straight in the eye with a look of sadness and disappointment. Nevertheless, she had no choice but to give him her hand as he stood back up.
They then made their way to the center of the ballroom together.
"How can you even call yourself my suitor if you want nothing to do with me?" she asked him.
"Because the world is yet to discover the cure for an aching conscience," he told her as he turned to face her and bowed to her.
She placed one hand in his and the other on his shoulder as he held her by her waist.
"I didn't realize you had one," she told him.
He glared back at her as they began slowly twirling around to the melody of the music. "I wish I didn't," he added. "You should be honored. No one's ever driven me to such madness for which I would go to these lengths to cure."
"I only hope that you will then come to understand the pain you've brought me," she uttered.
He roughly pulled her closer. "The pain I've brought you?"
Her body trembled for a moment as she gasped lightly.
Krampus then sighed and calmed himself. "I know you've already figured it out."
Geli's eyes opened wider as she looked away. Her chest heaved and her heart beat faster and harder, though she tried to keep it still. Her glaring eyes turned to the floor. "As a matter of fact, I have. You despise me. You wish I would hang. Weren't those your words?"
"What was I supposed to do?" he growled. "You caught me off guard! I didn't know what to say!"
"Anything!" she argued as she faced him. "Why are you like this? Just tell me what you want from me!"
"I don't know!" he replied. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "The only thing I do know is that...I can't stop thinking about you..."
Geli looked away, her body leaning closer to him as if it had a mind of its own. Her heart skipped a beat when she remembered the moments they shared.
"And I know you can't either," he told her.
"Stop...please..." she whispered.
He turned her head back to face him. "Forget about all of this. Come with me," he said. "You've sacrificed enough for these people."
She looked him in the eyes with a cold, sharp glare. "Last night, you told me you spoke nothing but the truth, no matter how harsh it was. What am I supposed to think of all your hatred and shunning, then? Tell me."
He let go of her and took a few steps back, staring back at her with an enraged look in his eyes. "You want the truth? Fine. I'll give it to you." He walked past her as he was heading out, but stopped to say one last thing before he left. "Just know that I never meant to make a fool of you," he said as he turned his head back to look at her for a brief moment before turning back around. "I was trying to fool myself."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Krampusnacht
GELI FOLLOWED THE large cloven hoofprints in the snow to a round wooden caravan with beautiful flower carvings surrounding the entrance, and an orange light sighing softly out into the night from within. She knocked on the door.
Moments later, it opened seemingly on its own.
As she entered, Krampus slowly walked away from her, towards the other end of the caravan.
It was a tight, but cozy space filled with colorful furniture, candles, and various trinkets. However, what stood out the most was the huge piles of sticks neatly tied into bundles with satin ribbons.
"You have a nice home," she commented with a relaxed expression on her face.
He sat down on the bed facing her with one hoof on the floor and the other on the thick, fur covers as he laid one elbow onto his knee. "Thank you," he said.
Geli continued to look around as she was slowly making her way towards him. "I hope it's not too heavy for the horse to pull."
"He's used to it," said Krampus. "He was bred for that sort of thing."
"I don't think what you were born to do is something that necessarily defines your abilities," she added. "I was born to be queen someday, but I'm very much struggling to keep up appearances."
He gave her a smirk. "And yet, you make it seem so easy."
She looked away as a coy smile surfaced onto her lips.
"However, people shouldn't expect so much of a single person," he continued as he leaned back onto his elbows, his gaze wandering. "But I suppose that's why God created love. We all have weaknesses that can only be corrected with the virtues of others to inspire us to become better people."
Geli shrugged. "Love can't decide what it wishes to be. It is in constant contradiction with itself," she said as she sat down beside him. "You can hate someone you love..." She looked him in the eye. "...and you can love someone you hate."
Krampus sat up and turned to face her completely. "Hate is not love's opposite. It's indifference," he explained. "If merely doing something against another's wishes is the opposite of love, then no mother has ever truly loved her child."
"Does that mean my father's treatment of my family and his people is justified, then?" she asked him.
"I do not doubt his love and devotion," he said. "Merely his sanity. Though he may be wrong, he truly does believe that what he is doing is best. I'm not trying to justify him. I'm only saying that I understand him." He took a deep breath and averted his gaze. "We both have a talent for hurting the people we love and thinking it's the right thing to do. In that regard, I am just as mad as he is. But...unlike him, I had every intention to hurt you. I wanted to make you pay for what you did to me ten years ago."
"I tried to be your friend. I kissed you," she argued. "I don't understand what was so wrong about that."
He turned to her with glaring eyes. "You forced your way into my life regardless of how many times I tried to push you away." He moved closer, looming over her as he clutched his clawed hand into a fist. "Not for even a moment did you stop to think what would happen to me...when you'd steal my heart and take it with you to the one place I could never reach... You couldn't even begin to fathom the torment you put me through when we parted that morning. My chest felt like it would burst. My arms couldn't stop shaking. Nothing I had ever experienced before or after came close to the pain you caused me." He grabbed her by her hair and pulled her closer, their faces almost touching.
Geli gazed into his eyes as her heart was stricken with fear and anticipation, beating faster and faster.
"I can't stand the sight of you. I want to make you suffer for what you did to me. I want you to know the pain I've felt because of you," he told her, pinning her to the bed and gripping her hair tighter as his voice began to tremble. "Why did you make me love you?"
She closed her eyes and moved her lips closer to his, sealing them together into a deep kiss. She could barely breathe anymore. All she wanted to do was help h
im release all of that torment and anger he'd been holding within because of her. She couldn't bear to see him in such torment because of her. She wanted to help him, regardless of what would become of her.
He slowly pulled back as he gazed at her, puzzled.
She removed her tiara and placed it on one of the shelves, then glided part of her dress off her shoulders. "I'm not going to admit that it's my fault you were too much of a coward to lock me in when I was throwing myself at you," she said.
His lips formed an agitated frown.
With a focused gaze and a coy smile, she slipped out of her dress and shoes completely while he loomed over her. She then took one of the chains from beside the bed into her hands. "But I'll let Master punish me if it will please him."
Krampus gave her a sly smirk as he took the chain from her and wrapped it around her wrists, then tied it to the end of the bed. He took off his clothes and threw them onto a small, narrow divan as he walked over to his collection of stick bundles. He took his time looking them over and inspecting them. Once he'd finally made his choice, he returned to the bed with one of the sticks and took off the red ribbon that tied his hair together.
Geli's heart raced as her loins caught fire. She couldn't help but smile while eagerly awaiting his return.
He used another chain to tie her ankles together and the ribbon to blindfold her.
"What are you doing?" she gasped in excitement.
"I can't bring myself to hurt you anymore if I have to look you in the eyes," he explained.
"B-but...it will hurt more if I don't expect it," she said as fear seeped into her veins. "What if I can't take it?"
He kissed her softly on the lips and stroked her cheek. "You needn't worry about that, Princess," he told her. "Driving you away is the last thing I want. If you leave, I'd have no one to play with." He then lifted her tied-up feet onto his shoulder and proceeded to stroke and massage the outer walls of her pussy with his clawed fingers as clear liquid oozed out of her slit.
She arched her back and moaned. "Oh God..."
He then quickly pulled back his hand and struck the pale, soft skin of her cheeks and pussy with the stick he'd picked out from his collection.
Her body jerked from the sting as a loud yelp escaped her lips.
"God won't help you here," he told her. "I'm the one who decides your fate. You may curse or pray to me."
"I'm sorry, Master," she whimpered. "I--I didn't mean to upset you."
"No, of course not." He chuckled and brushed her hair from her face with his fingers. "You would never do anything to hurt your master on purpose." He traced over her lips with the tip of his thumb and gently pushed in into her mouth.
With muffled moans, she sucked on it and caressed it with her tongue. Her body was already close to bursting with pleasure. Her pussy lips ached so much it was unbearable. "Please fuck me, Master," she told him as he pulled his finger out of her mouth and before he was about to place another inside.
Then, he moved his hand away and struck her with the stick again.
"A-ah!" she yelped.
"You dare give me orders?" he growled and leaned over to her ear as he pulled down her hair violently. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear. Your chains are mine. You belong to me. You will smile when I fuck you, and you will thank me when I fill you with my seed."
His words sent shivers down her spine and into her loins. The thought of carrying his child made her breath escape her lungs and the walls inside her pussy contract. She couldn't think about what would happen to her if she really were to conceive. The only thought filling her mind at that moment was how desperately she yearned for him to destroy her pussy with his fat cock. She smiled. "Yes, Master."
And with that, Krampus proceeded to stroke her pussy lips and wet slit with his fingers. "I want to hear you beg," he told her.
"Please," she moaned, "it hurts..."
"Where does it hurt?" he asked.
"I--I want to feel you inside me...Master," she confessed.
He chuckled. "I know you do. But I'm not finished playing with you." He spanked her with great force as a loud moan escaped her smiling lips.
"More!" she exclaimed.
He spanked her again, sending sparks of pleasure flying through her wet pussy lips.
"More!" she repeated.
He continued to spank her several more times as she grunted and moaned. Then, he pressed his lips against hers as he wrapped a chain around her neck, panting. "I'm going to destroy you." He chuckled and tugged on the chain, forcing another grunt of discomfort out of her. "I'm going to fuck you until you scream for mercy."
"Master..." she moaned.
He undid the chains around her ankles and spread her legs as he nestled himself between them, holding onto the chain he'd wrapped around her neck like a dog leash while he caressed her stomach. "Here... This is where my son will grow."
Geli smiled at the thought, taking short, shallow breaths.
"Are you ready to receive your blessing?" he asked.
"I've never wanted anything more in my life, Master," she told him.
"Oh, Geli..." He sighed. "I don't deserve you. You've been so good to me...it almost makes me feel bad for what I'm about to do to you."
She paused for a moment to try to calm her breathing, but it was no use. Her body and her mind were no longer hers to command. She couldn't control herself anymore. With her chest heaving and her lips trembling, she asked, "W-will you marry me?"
Suddenly, it was as though time itself had stopped. There was no other word uttered.
"Krampus?" she called for him.
But the only response she received was the undoing of the chains from around her neck and wrists.
Finally, Krampus removed her blindfold and pulled her up. He sighed as he averted his gaze and picked up her dress from the floor, handing it, and her tiara, back to her. "Put these on," he ordered her.
She stared at him with puzzled and worried eyes. "What? Why? I-is something wrong?"
"Put them on," he repeated.
Slowly and reluctantly, she did as she was told as her mind spiraled into a state of panic. Why was he like that all of a sudden? Why didn't he want to say anything?
The moment they were both clothed, she in her gown, and he in his traditional Khazarassi fur loincloth, chains, and cape, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the caravan and back towards the castle through the field of snow.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Why did you stop?"
There was no reply.
"Please, say something!" she shouted. "Why are you acting like this?"
And still, he said nothing. Just continued to face forward as he dragged her to the castle entrance.
Violently, she pulled her wrist out of his grasp. "Answer me, damn you!"
He looked back at her with a furious glare and grabbed her by the wrist again.
"No!" she screamed as she struggled to free herself once again. "Let go of me!"
He pulled her closer. "Quit it!" he growled. "I'm taking you back to the castle."
"I'm not going anywhere!" she shouted. "Not until you tell me why you stopped!"
Without another word, he wrapped his arms around her and carried her through the door.
"Let me go!" she screamed as she kept lashing out at him with her arms and legs, struggling to push him away.
The music stopped. All eyes in the ballroom turned to them.
Krampus then finally let go of her as she shoved him away, panting and glaring at him with eyes wet from tears.
King Maximilian, Queen Adelaide, and the Dowager Queen Barbara all gather at the front around Krampus and Geli as the rest of the crowd crept closer.
"What in God's name is going on here?" asked the king in a stern, agitated tone.
The crowd's prying eyes were piercing through Geli's head like icicles. But she didn't care anymore. To hell with them. To hell with everything. She couldn't hold back her emotions any longer. She didn't even care if her parents dis
owned her after tonight. Her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces, and not even the loss of her honor and dignity could be worse than the pain she was feeling at that moment.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked Krampus.
He averted his gaze.
"Answer me!" she screamed.
Barbara grabbed hold of Geli's arm. "Child, what has gotten into you?"
"I thought this was what you wanted!" Geli continued. "You said you loved me, didn't you? Why are you doing this to me now, after all that's been said and done?"
"You don't think I know how you feel?" he shouted at her and took a step forward. "You don't think my heart is breaking all over again? We can never be together! Not with you being the future queen and not with your people looking at us like we're dogs! I'm trying to spare you from having to make the most difficult choice in your life! Why can't you fucking see that?"
"You think you're doing me a favor? You think you're doing good by me?" she protested. "All my life, I never got to choose anything! Not the kind of clothes I could own and not when I could smile or frown! For once, I want to be able to make my own choice, and I choose to be with you, damn it!"
Maximilian rushed over to his daughter. "Geli, what are you talking about? Did you sleep with that pig?"
She turned to him and looked him dead in the eyes. "Yes! We made love, Father! I pledged myself to him! I chose him to be my husband and the father of my children!"
Whispers echoed through the hall.
Maximilian shook his head and covered his eyes with his palm.
Adelaide placed her hands on his shoulders. "Please, dear...we must try to keep calm."
He shook her off and approached Krampus, his fists trembling with rage. "You...come into my home...you drink my wine and eat my bread...you insult and defile my only daughter... You and your kind are all alike. Nothing but pigs, leeches, and vermin." His glaring eyes opened wider as he stared at Krampus with burning rage. "My father was right about you. All you ever do is take. You take our food, you take our women, and now you are trying to take over our very legacy. If my daughter gives birth to your child, I will be the first to smite it the moment it rears its demonic head into this world. I won't allow you to take from us ever again."