Blissa nodded. “I was trying,” she said with a half-smile. “I wanted to give you peace. People think better, clearer, when they’re calm and their heart isn’t filled with distress.”
Perhaps there was a certain logic to that. Thinking clearly was good, but were people really better off when they were calm? She wondered. “Mother,” she said. “I thought you gave up your fairy powers. How do you have them back?”
Blissa smiled. “Dear, I always have my powers in our dreams. Remember when I used to levitate you and send you swaying around the wood?”
Rose nodded. Of course she remembered that. Who wouldn’t? They were some of her best memories of her mother. They were times of peace and happiness. Powers in her dreams. Rose turned and looked at a tree on the opposite edge of the clearing. She concentrated, and with a long whoosh, a swish of wind cracked the tree in half.
“Rose,” her mother shouted. “Why? Why would you do that?”
Rose stared at the tree. A moment later, the broken half raised up, stood fully upright and mended itself to the lower half. The tree was fixed.
“I wanted to see if I could do that,” Rose answered. “Mother, what if the powers in my dreams aren’t real? What if I don’t have them when I awaken?”
Blissa stared at the tree, which now sat there, still and whole, and then looked at her daughter. “No, I don’t think that’s the case, Rose. For fairies, when we dream, we dream with the powers that are ours. I think, my dear, you have more powers than even I imagined.”
* * *
As Eldred slept, he journeyed to her. In his dream sleep, he found Maurelle in her bed chamber. She wore only a tight leather frock that accentuated her ample bosom and clung to her feminine shape, hugging her hips and highlighting her perfect, round ass. He swallowed and took a step back, uncertain. Though he’d longed to, he had never seen her like this. He felt such strong urges of the flesh, even though he knew it was merely a vision in dream sleep.
“Why are you here, Maurelle?” He only managed a whisper. He was so distracted by her. She smelled of pine. Like she did when they were little and they would play together in the woods. Surely it was his imagination, some repressed fantasy of his bubbling up into this dream. He tried to clear his head, but he couldn’t concentrate with her wearing so little. He felt his loins stiffen, as he watched her spread her legs, and lift a finger beckoning him to come closer.
She could only want one thing, coming to him like this. But why now? Had his leaving made her come to her senses? He took a few steps closer ‘til he stood at the edge of her bed, which was adorned with gold-colored silky sheets. Her skin took on a golden glow, almost as if she were a light at the end of a tunnel designed solely for him.
“Why are you here?” he whispered again, unable to say her name. He knew all too well the power of names, both in the realm of magic and in the human world. Names meant things. Titles meant things. It was why Maurelle was so angry at what Blissa did, naming Briar Rose the heir to the throne of the fairy realm. Eldred, as anyone who had studied the magic surrounding names and oaths would have, understood how Maurelle felt betrayed. He’d tried to reason with her. For nearly twenty years, he’d tried and he’d failed. And finally, he’d left. But he still loved her. And saying her name again would make him give into her completely. Give in before he understood her purpose. Here, even in this dream state, in a dream that he’d had on his own so many times, he knew that he should be wary.
Maurelle reached out and her soft fingers touched his hand, setting loose fiery tingles on his skin that seemed to travel through his body, making everything alive. “I want you, Eldred,” she said, her voice soft, throaty, and filled with yearning. “I didn’t realize until you left that I couldn’t do this without you.”
She dangled her long, silky legs over the edge of the mattress, her dainty feet making a soft thud as she set them on the marble floor. She stood, pressed herself against him, and wrapped her arms around him. Everything about her body screamed that she wanted him to take her. He tried to remain still, not to react, but he had a heart and he was only flesh. His heart still loved her and his flesh yearned to take her.
Maurelle spoke into his chest. “I’m sorry,” she said, and the words felt magical, as if they’d lifted years of burden from him. They made his heart light. “You are a Halfling, yes, but you are a fairy, a good fairy. Strong, brave, and wise. I want you to be with me, to rule at my side. I want you. Please come home. Please be by my side.” They were words he’d longed to hear for so long, that he said nothing, just stood there savoring the way they sounded, replaying the words in his mind.
He finally allowed himself to wrap his arms around her, to feel, really feel the softness of her skin, to touch her, gliding his fingers down her arms, feeling the shape of her rump, enjoying the smoothness of her long, silky legs.
He said her name, “Maurelle,” with all the love he had ever felt for her, and she tipped her head up and smiled at him. And not just any smile — that coy, sexy, slightly lopsided smile she used to give him when they were teenagers and she wanted him to do something to help her. It was the smile that always drove him wild, and it hadn’t lost its effect.
He pressed his lips to hers, taking her mouth rapidly. She was sweet, even to the taste, and those lips were everything he’d ever dreamed they would be: delicate, soft, supple, perfect. She stepped to the side, and turned him, moving him gently so his back was to the bed, and then she pushed him down on the mattress. She smiled down at him, a voracious hunger in her eyes. “I have denied myself too long,” Maurelle said. “I’ve kept myself from what I wanted.”
He swallowed the lump in his throat, as the nerves in him melted away, as the words that he had longed to hear had finally been spoken. It filled him with confidence. “And so have I,” he said as he watched her above him, towering in command. She always enjoyed her control, and he yearned to yield to her, because she was truly beautiful. Her beauty was in her power, in her grace, in her desires, in the way she knew exactly what she wanted. She was best when she unleashed herself, rather than held back, and in this moment, he knew she intended to hold nothing back.
“You’re wearing too much,” she said, as she raised her eyebrow and flicked her wrist. The clothes he’d been wearing pulled free of his body, shredding themselves as they zoomed away to wherever she’d sent them, and he smiled as he stared at her, the leathery frock she wore clinging to her body.
He had a good mind to magic it away himself. Only, he’d waited too long. He had no intentions of rushing his moment with Maurelle. He would savor every lingering touch she bestowed upon him. She spread her legs, and climbed atop his naked body, her knees and arms supporting her as she dangled just above him. “I want to touch every part of you,” she whispered. “The parts I’ve seen, the ones I’ve only dreamed about. All of you, Eldred. All of you tonight.”
She kissed his naked body, starting at his neck and roving down his muscular chest, using her hands to hold his arms at his sides. She nipped at his nipple, a feeling that sent warm tingles down Eldred’s spine, and she continued down his belly, past the tuft of hair, to find his long rod had already stiffened in anticipation of her. Though, truth was, her very presence was enough to make him hard. He’d wanted her way too long.
She glided her fingers slowly over his thickness, the feel of it sending tingles through him. Then, Maurelle smiled at him and said, “I’m going to take you. I want it to be filled with fury and passion everything you’ve been holding back.”
She edged down his body and gently ringed his cock with her tongue. Just enough to get him ready. It was his turn for magic now, though. He certainly wasn’t as powerful as a queen, but he knew a trick or two.
The sound of ripping fabric startled Maurelle, as she looked down just in time to see the black leather straps she’d been wearing fly away and land on the floor. In a quick move, he sat up, scooping her in his arms, so she wasn’t too jostled by the move. Then he lay her down on his back and he
was on top of her, straddling her.
“I know what you need,” he said to her. “And you’ve got plenty of passion. You need simmer.” It was the hard, dark parts that Maurelle showed the world, but he knew that she was really fragile and loving, that she had splintered a bit when her mother died that horrible, horrible death. She said she wanted hard and fury, but that’s not what she needed. She needed the loving touch she’d missed for most of her life. A touch he’d wanted to give her and could now.
He pushed inside her, feeling her tighten around him, her slick walls a canvas for him to paint with deep caring strokes. She closed her eyes, as he pushed into her, and caressed her skin at the same time. He wanted her to feel loved, to feel alive, so he kissed her neck, the soft supple skin that seemed to glow with warmth as his mouth glided across it, down her collarbone. The sound of her gasp, made his heart bound, and he continued, loping across her, his tongue gently sweeping across the delicate areas that he knew would make her flesh tremble and her mouth pant in joy.
“We shouldn’t have waited,” he heard her whisper, and she was right and wrong at the same time. They shouldn’t have waited for so long; she shouldn’t have been stubborn and prone to anger for so long. But this, this was glorious, and there was something to be said about an event being worth the wait.
“I’d wait all of eternity for you,” he whispered back. She smiled, one of true joy, as she clasped her hands on his ass and pulled him deeper inside of her. She closed her eyes and her mouth opened in a rasp as he forged himself into her. It was like coming home to the place he’d always known he should be.
Leaning in, he kissed her forehead, and decided to ramp up his pace. Their slow dance had undone her as he’d hoped, but now she deserved, after the wait, more of what she wanted. His hips danced in a steady motion, increasing his speed as she let out gentle moans and coos — the sound of her voice, strangled with passion, drove him wild. He planted his arms firmly on the mattress, gaining purchase so he could pump harder, firmer. She arched her back, leaning into him, giving herself over to him and he offered a crooked smile in return
Though, he was pretty sure she hadn’t noticed his smile. Her mouth hung open, panting with his every stroke, her head tipped back, her mind focusing only on the feel of him in her, on the warm, tingles that seemed to be spreading through her.
He looked down at her glorious breasts, the nipples erect, and found himself saying, “You’re glorious,” without even realizing
Her hands reached up, grabbing him at the back of the neck and pulling his face close to hers, for a deep, strong kiss, a kiss of fulfillment, fulfillment of a years-long desire. He felt the heat in himself rising and knew it was time, that he and she needed to come together. He pulled free of her kiss, and continued to plunge inside her, a deliberate, but rapid pace, feeling the torrent building inside him, the warmth that was her wrapping itself completely around him, and then, he came. The sweet release as he sputtered inside her, and felt her body’s soft spasm’s beneath her as she cried out a primordial sex call that he was sure could be heard in the waking realm as well as this one. With that, he pulled away from her and lay next to her on the bed.
Eldred closed his eyes, realizing it was a dream, and yet it was real at the same time. These types of fairy dreams were the best kind, when two souls had found each other in the realm between wake and sleep. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. He couldn’t believe his good fortune. It was like a dream. Well actually, it literally was a dream. But rather than a dream come true, it was a true dream. “Thank you, Maurelle,” he said. “Thank you for coming to me like this. I thought,” he said, blowing out a breath and squeezing her tighter. “I thought you were lost to me forever. I thought that your obsession with Blissa’s daughter was our end.”
Maurelle leaned over and kissed his chest, sending a shiver of joy through him. “Blissa’s daughter sleeps. As does Blissa,” she said. “They are not our concern anymore.”
“But Maurelle, you can wake them now,” Eldred said. “You’ve come to me. Surely you don’t want this to continue.”
“The magic is clear,” Maurelle said. “I can’t break it.”
“You don’t want to break it?” he asked with a frown.
Her fingers found his belly and twisted in the tuft of hair there. “I don’t want to break it,” she admitted. “Blissa sleeps. Edmund sleeps. The whole castle sleeps. I’ve had the wood fairies grow an entire bramble of thorns and vines around the castle. It will remain untouched while they sleep, and when they awake, they can be a happy family again. And I think Briar Rose, if she is interested in the fairy realm, will be a better ruler with her hundred years of slumber.”
Eldred shook his head and laughed. “Maurelle,” he said. “I admire your rationalization. It is truly fantastical. It is one of the things I love about you. That everything you do is grandiose. You go big or you don’t go at all. But this idea that Blissa or Briar Rose should be thankful to you for this slumber is even a bit much for you to believe, isn’t it?”
Maurelle scooted closer to him, resting her body on his, and then kissed him, a sultry, slow one where she probed his mouth, her tongue playing with his. When she pulled away, she’d taken his breath with her. “I don’t want to talk of them again. Just us.”
“Well, then we have a problem,” he said. “We will need to talk of them, for Briar Rose and Blissa will awaken soon.”
Maurelle sat up, her eyes widening, a scowl setting in. “That’s impossible.”
“Rose has a true love, and Dwennon and I are taking him to her.”
She shook her head. “You can’t.”
He stroked Maurelle’s cheeks. “I can. I should, especially after I gave you that trace stone. This is what I must do. I have seen it. It is my destiny.”
Her eyes turned to slits, the blackness in them more present than he’d ever seen it. “You said you were my destiny. That you and I should be together.”
“We should,” he said firmly, his hand sliding down her face, to her neck, and then across her shoulder blade to land on her shoulder. “We will be together in a land where Briar Rose is awake.”
Maurelle sighed and took a deep breath. Then she nodded. Eldred knew he hadn’t won this argument. But she didn’t want to fight with him, and that was a start. He’d be more adamant when he saw her. He’d be able to convince her, he knew. She needed only to open her heart the way she had tonight. They had connected in the way he had wanted them to connect for so long.
“Do you love me?” Maurelle whispered.
It was a stupid question. “I have loved you for almost two decades, and I continue to love you. I will love you for all eternity, Maurelle.”
She smiled at that, and a small blush formed on her cheeks. She was pretty when she blushed like the sweet girl he used to steal glances at.
She kissed him and swept her fingers across his back, in a happy circle. “Do you promise me and me alone your heart, your mind, your soul?”
“A thousand times, yes,” he said. “I love you and promise you all of me, Maurelle. Now, do you love me?”
She pulled away from him and looked at him sadly. “I do love you, Eldred. You are the only man I have ever loved.” She looked toward the window, then back at him. “It is why it pains me to do this to you, and I hope you can forgive me.”
His eyes widened and his heart dropped, as her words sank in. As he looked at her, his future flashed before him, and it was a vision that so shocked him, he almost couldn’t speak. But he knew it was set now. She had made her decision and he wouldn’t be able to change it. Though, he’d still try. “Don’t do this, Maurelle. It won’t turn out how you think.”
“You have promised me your heart, your mind and your soul, and as your queen, I invoke the sacred use of Proxy magic. You will do my bidding, as asked, whether your own mind wishes to or not. You will do my bidding. You are bound to me.”
He grimaced, hating that he had been so stupid, that he hadn’t seen
it. She knew exactly what he wanted: her heart. And she had pretended to give it to him, knowing full well he would declare his undying love to her. Only, words mattered, especially words of love, words of love declared to the queen. There was sacred magic in such declarations. He had always viewed her as the woman he loved rather than his queen. He shouldn’t have. He turned to look at her. She smiled as if she’d won something, but all he felt was betrayal.
“Please don’t be angry,” she said.
“If you love me at all, if you meant anything that you said, you won’t do this,” Eldred said, desperate for her to relent. Though, he knew she wouldn’t. He’d seen enough futures to know when a path was set and unchangeable. Hers was set. Therefore, so was his.
“I do love you,” she said, her eyes pleading with him to understand. “I just understand about the realm, about my duty as queen, about my duty to protect the throne. I understand it better than my mother did. She was fooled by love and ended up dying to protect the kingdom.”
“So you just decided you would be the one to fool someone else instead. That is how you correct your mother’s mistake?”
She frowned. “Your sneer isn’t necessary. I do love you. And once you do this, we will be together.”
“You know I won’t be with you if you make me do this.”
She sighed and bit her lower lip, contemplating whether he was telling the truth. And for a moment, he felt a ripple in the future, as if things might actually shift, and then her eyes hardened. “You have always loved me, as I have always loved you. This will not change things.”
Eldred closed his eyes. It was done.
“You will accompany the prince on the journey to the castle. But on the way, you will murder the prince. Do you understand?”
Eldred had seen as much. He didn’t wish to agree to this, but he’d sworn an oath of love to the ruling monarch, an oath of fealty. His brain was shouting no, but he opened his mouth and said, “Yes.”
Maurelle smiled. “And you will tell no one that you are my proxy and in no way warn Dwennon or the prince.”
Dream Trysts: A Sleeping Beauty Story (Passion-Filled FairyTales Book 4) Page 12