"Only if you are sure My lady." She nodded and took her nightgown off. Such a beautiful sight. She is perfect in every way. I look away, embarrassed myself that I was watching her undress. I hold out the towel to her, and she giggled and took it. The next moment she says "Ok You can turn around." When I do, she has her hair down and the towel wrapped around her. I knew her hair was long, but I didn't know it was this long. It is a beautiful russet brown with auburn highlights when you look at it just the right way.
I walk over to her and ask "Ready My Lady?" She is pink from head to toe. It is an alluring vision wrapped in terry cloth. I gently pick her up and place her in the bathtub.
She smiled up at me shyly and says "Would you mind staying with me?"
"For always My lady." I sit in the wooden chair she was just in, using all of my willpower to not stare at her luscious body. Even glancing would be my undoing.
Chapter Nineteen
Terra
The warmth of the water feels so great on my body. I glance over at Enre, and he is obviously trying not to look at me. His face has a red hue to it. Is he embarrassed about sitting with me in here? You can't see anything; the tub is full of fluffy bubbles with the scent of lavender. I guess that he added it to the water to calm me down some. He is such a thoughtful man, always thinking about others. Always thinking about me. My heart flutters when I think about him. I want to stay with him forever, but is that something that he wants as well? I am just about positive that I have fallen in love with him, this warm feeling I have inside is something I have never felt before. I mean, I admit that I have been infatuated before, but it never felt nowhere close to this.
When he kissed me earlier, it made my head swim and heated my body to the core. The passion in his lips is almost overwhelming, But I could get lost in that feeling alone, forever and never look back.
My face must be red because he says with a concerned look on his face “Is the water too hot My Lady?" No, He is too hot. That's the problem.
"No no, it feels fantastic, thank you,” I say back to him, the tension leaving his face. So attentive.
He then looks away and says "It is my pleasure, My Lady." I finish washing up and am ready to get out of the tub. How is this going to work? He is going to have to pick me up naked. I can feel the heat rise in my cheeks as I look down at myself and back up to him. Ok, I can do this. It's not like a man has never seen me in my birthday suit before. Why am I so nervous? What if he doesn’t like how I look? I think to myself.
Oh well, it cannot be helped. I breath in deep and say to him "Can you help me get out of the tub... please?" My voice only shaking a little. He instantly blushed and hesitated for a moment.
Then he said with a smile "Yes My princess." He stood up and bent down, scooping me up with ease. He is trying not to look down at me. I know he is just trying to be modest. I gather up my courage and reach up and kiss him on the cheek. His eyes widen, and he gets a small smirk on his face. "Are you trying to tempt me, My Lady?" He says in a husky voice.
The phrase is out of my mouth before I could stop them "Maybe I am." Why did I just say that? This man has me all messed up in the head.
"Mmhmm. Anyone ever tell you not to it is not wise to feed a hungry lion?" Then he reaches down and playfully bit me on the neck making a growling sound deep in his throat. I couldn't help but giggle at the tickling sensation he was leaving on my skin. He whispers in my ear "You are so Beautiful." I instantly blush from head to toe. My heart beating wildly. Why does he affect me so much? As he carries me to his bedroom, the door swings open and I let out a screech "Shhh."
Enre quickly turns us around so that whoever is there can't see my naked body "GET OUT!" he hollers.
Thegan then says "I am so sorry." Then I hear the door shut quickly. I can feel Enre's heart beating hard against his chest/
I tell him "It's alright, he is gone." I am glad that Enre turned us around so that Thegan couldn't see me.
He says to me in a low possessive voice "It is not alright, I do not want anyone seeing your luscious body but Me." Hmmm... really.
"Are you staking a claim on me Dear Prince?" I ask him jokingly. Trying to lighten his mood.
He looked at me with seriousness in his eyes and said "Yes. If you will have me” Wow I wasn't expecting that. My heart reacts to his claim. Beating wildly. It is all a bit sudden, but as much as I think about it, I cannot find a reason to not want to be with him. I want all of him and everything he has to offer.
So I say to him "Of course I will have you." He tightened his arms around me and buried his head in my shoulder. Planting tiny kisses across it.
He whispered, “Really, you will have me?" I would be crazy to say no to this man. At this point, I don't think I could if I wanted to. I am too far gone for that.
So I whisper back to him "Yes I will." With that, my heart beat uncontrollably. He raised his head and kissed me with such ferocity that my head was swimming. We stayed like that for a few more minutes, then he says to me “I think I need to go apologize to Thegan" he started laughing.
"Yea, that would probably be a good idea,” I say to him snickering. He set me down on the bed and helped me get dressed in a pair of sweatpants and one of his loose t-shirts. It smells like him, a hint of lavender and leather. A strange combination, but very intoxicating. Enre grabs a brush and starts to brush my hair. "You don't have to do that you know," I say to him.
"I know, I want to," he says, flashing a dazzling smile at me. I just smile back at him. After he finishes brushing my hair, he sets the brush on the nightstand and turns to pick me up "You ready My princess?" he asks.
I look at him and say "Yes my Prince." My Prince? I guess he is now.
We head to the living room where everyone else is, and Enre looks at Thegan and says "I'm sorry Brother." I know he feels bad for yelling at him. I think it was more shock than anger, though.
He gestures with his hand in the air dismissively and says "No need for that" with a wry smile. We sit down, and he says "The Haruspex have the protection spell done when you are already."
Apparently, the protection spell consisted of us drinking this awful tasting mixture, marking on our temples, and them chanting a spell in a language I had never heard before. "That should protect all of you from whatever harm that befalls you in your dreams," Crios says. After our protection spells are in place, the Haruspex look over at me and say "Now to try and return your powers My Lady." Ok um....
"Is it going to hurt?" I ask Crios. Not sure if I am scared, Or possibly excited. Both, I am pretty sure it is both.
"I do not know My lady, but once we start, we will not be able to stop it. Are your positive you want us to do the spell?" I'm not sure what to say, or what to expect. What if the power is too much to handle? What if I can't control it?
I need to ask, "What if the power that you release is too great?"
Dazna says back to me "We will not know until it is released." She isn't very nice. She has a very harsh attitude for some reason.
After thinking about it for a moment, I say "Alright. Let's do it." I am just glad that the Haruspex are there, just in case something does happen.
Enre squeezes me tight and says "I will keep you safe My Princess."
I put my hand on his and tell him "I know you will." It came out a little more nervous than it was supposed to. But he just kisses me on the forehead and smiles at me.
They have me sitting in the middle of the living room floor, with strange lines drawn all around me with symbols for all the elements and then some. Crios puts his hand on top of my head and starts chanting in that strange language again. Dazna pours a warm mixture over Crios's hand and my head. Then tells me "Clear your mind My Lady" I nod to her and then close my eyes. She starts walking from side to side of the lines and starts chanting a different set of words from Crios. My body feels like it is warming up. It's really is getting hot. My skin tingles from head to toe. Then the most unimaginable pain I have ever felt ran through my body. It fe
lt like all of my muscles were cramping and being ripped from the bone. I scream out in pain.
I can hear Enre yelling far off "Stop this, it is hurting her, you have to stop, Brother let me go."
Then I listen to Thegan say to him "You cannot stop this now, it will hurt her worse." After what felt like an eternity of pain, it starts to ease up and slowly goes away.
The chanting slows as well, then Crios removes his hand and leans down to my ear and says "It is done, My Lady." I slowly open my eyes, and the first person I see is Enre, the look of worry, shock and pain across his face.
I say to him in a weak voice "I am alright." Thegan lets go of him, and he rushes over, kneeling just in front of me.
"Do not touch her yet My Lord. We do not know what power she holds yet" Crios says to him. Oh, that's not scary at all. Thanks for that, I think to myself.
Enre looks at Crios like he could run him through and says "I don't care what powers she has. Only she can tell me not to touch her." I am afraid of what I may do to him if he touches me, but I don't really feel any different than I had before. I'm sore all over, but no different. He reaches his hand out and cautiously cups my cheek.
He immediately jerked his hand back and says "You are scalding hot." I look at his hand, and he has a small burn on him.
I start panicking and say in a shaky voice "What have I done?" and I start crying. "I am so sorry," I say to him.
He looks at me and says "It is ok My Princess, we will figure out how you can control this ok, it will be alright" the look on his face was sadness.
Thegan asks the Haruspex "Do you know what essence she has acquired." I would like to know that too. They could have warned me that I would hurt someone. Now I am stuck between pissed, and sadness because I hurt Enre. Wonderful.
Crios answers "She could very well have more than one. I believe the one she just showed was of the Sun. Only those with God or Goddess blood can acquire such Essence." So I have the power of the sun. What am I supposed to do? Tan everyone. I burnt Enre, how would he want someone he cannot touch. I do not want these powers if all they do is hurt the people around me. I can feel hot tears running down my face, and a single tear drops to the floor scorching the wood. Dammit, now I can't even cry safely.
Dazna seems to notice and says in her usual grouchy tone "It seems her powers are affected by her emotions." If this happens when I am sad, what will happen if I get angry or upset, or happy even? Not knowing is more terrifying than anything.
I do not want this "Take them back" I say to Crios. I am not sure if I can handle this.
"We can not do that My Lady, it is much harder to bind a Goddess's powers than it is to release them. But there may be a way that we can help you control them." He walks over to Aiden and whispers something to him and hands him a key. He then looks at me and says "Aiden is going to our dwelling to fetch something that may help you." I just nod my head.
Dazna then says "You need to calm down, that may help till he gets back." Calm down she says, easier said than done. I just burned my Princes' hand with a single touch and scorched a hole in the floor with a tear.
I look at her and say sarcastically "I will try that" My hands shoot to my mouth. Why did I say that? "I am so sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that."
What she did next surprised me. She came over and squatted down beside me and says in a calm nurturing voice "My Lady it is alright, I know you didn't mean it, all of this is overwhelming and hard on one's nerves, so no worries alright." I nod at her. She gets up and goes and sits on the couch with Crios.
Enre sits down on the floor beside me, taking care not to touch me. He says with a wry smile on his face "It seems that I have acquired my very own Sun." This makes me laugh a little.
"So it seems, how is your hand? I am really sorry I burned you" I say to him. Feeling awful about what had happened.
"It is fine, how are you holding up My Princess?" He says holding his hand up for me to see. I start giggling and he looks at me with his head cocked sideways and says "What is so funny?"
Still laughing I tell him "I'm Hot." We both start laughing. Leave it to me to find the funny side of this awful experience.
Thegan says smiling, "I know what happens when she is happy." Pointing to the floor around us. It is covered in beautiful blue and gold flowers. Where did they all come from? I ask myself.
"That's amazing," Enre exclaimed. Looking all around us, he picks a blue flower and brings it up to his nose to smell it.
"Did I do that?" I ask. It is kind of startling, having these powers and not knowing what is going to happen next.
"While you were laughing, they started sprouting up all around you." So I burn like the sun and grow flowers. Great. At least the flowers are pretty.
"What’s going to happen next? Am I going to sprout wings?" I ask sarcastically. Enre snickers beside me.
Crios then says "That is very possible, Bohyne has wings." Great. I could be a flying sun that grows flowers. It's like I'm in one of my fantasy books back in the book shop. I wonder what Enre thinks about my powers. I wouldn't blame him if he were scared of me now. He can't even touch me. I am a freak of nature now. I bet he is thinking to himself that he doesn't want to deal with me now- now that I am like...this. I look at him, and he is sitting calmly beside me.
We sit in silence while we are waiting for Aiden to return. When Aiden does show up, he is carrying a small wooden box. He hands it to Crios and then looks over at me. "Flowers Hmm," he says.
I look at him and smile and say "Yea. Apparently, I grow gardens when I am happy." Waving my hand around the room.
He laughs and says "It could be worse, I had a friend back in Aelmere that would turn invisible when he was excited." He is right, it could be a whole lot worse.
"That must be awful," I say back to him.
"Yea his wife could never find him." We all laughed at that. The next thing I knew, there were more flowers popping up everywhere.
"You said you might have something to help with this," I say to Crios, waving my hand towards the overflowing garden that now resides in the brother’s loft.
"Yes my lady, these pendants are used to help our young ones control their powers, it does not stop them, just makes them controllable. We will have to add more spells to them, to make them more powerful for you. It will not take us long" With that, they get started on the spells.
Enre looks over at me, and I look at him and say in a whisper “I would understand if you were to change your mind about me."
He looked me right in the eye and says "Never. Do you really think that something like this is going to stop me from loving you?” He loves me? My heart starts to beat wildly, and this warm feeling inside ignites, but it is not hot like the burning feeling I had earlier, this is a calming effect.
Thegan spoke up and says "That's a splendid power." What did I do now? I look around and see everyone smiling, but nothing else is different. I cock my eyebrow up, not knowing what he is talking about. He looks at me and says "Whatever Enre was saying to you, caused you to make everyone in this room...Happy" Well that's a good one. Here I thought that all these powers were going to be bad. Come to think of it, if I could learn how to use these powers, then I could use them to help us. Couldn't I?
I smile at Thegan and say “At least I didn't blow anything up." Everyone snickered.
Enre whispers to me over my shoulder saying "So Being loved not only makes you happy but everyone around you as well. Makes me wonder what all those 'other' feeling would make you do." I blush instantly, knowing exactly what he means by 'other feelings.'
"The flowers, they are changing colors," Aiden said. I tore my gaze from Enre and looked around. He was right, all of the blue and gold flowers start turning to pink and red. Well, that's great. Mood Flowers, if all of this wasn't embarrassing enough.
"I think it's cute," Enre says to me very quietly. He would. He is not the one that's a walking visual emotion.
"The pendants are done," Crio
s says his eyes wide as he looks at the color-changing flowers.
"Thank God,” I say, and everyone tries to hide their laughs. Mind you they are failing, miserably. Thanks, guys.
Crios comes closer to me and sets the box down beside me and says "There are multiple pendants in this box. We did not know which powers to cover, so we made them for all of them. I would advise putting them all on a chain until you know which ones you are going to end up with My Lady." I open the box, and each pendant was a different design. The good thing is, they are small and won't be too heavy if I wear them all. I pulled off the silver chain that was my mothers and start putting them onto it. When I get the last one on I, slide the chain over my head, and it rested around my neck with the charms basically in my cleavage. Well, at least I can hide them.
"Now what?" I ask the Haruspex. Not knowing how these tiny pieces of jewelry are supposed to help me.
"My Lord, if you don't mind could you touch her?" They say to Enre. I flinch when they say that.
I spun around and tell him "No. You can't. I don't want to hurt you again." What are they thinking, asking him to touch me again? He is going to get burned again.
"You are not going to hurt me, My Princess," he says as he reaches out to me. I try to scoot away from him to protect him, but he reaches me before I can. He grabs my hand, and His eyes go wide. "Your skin is cool My lady." Then he wraps his arms around me tight and says, "I'm so glad that they worked, it would be misery to not be able to touch you again." He says in a relieved voice.
Crios then says "You will still be able to use your powers My Lady, but with the spells that we put on them, you will have more control over them. You have to practice until you have a good grasp on how to manage them. And you should not remove the pendants until then." If these little trinkets keep me from hurting someone, then there is no way I will take them off.
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