by GR Griffin
With a push of her hands, with a snapping open of her eyes, Lenneth then jolted completely awake, finding a fitful sound was escaping from her throat. New feelings and sensations assaulted her, the provocative glide of her body against his, the soft whisper of fabric rustling, some light gauzy material brushing a reaction into the very tips of her breasts. There was expensive silk against the palm of her hand, a kingdom’s wealth upon his shoulders. That only helped confirm Lenneth’s earlier assessment that this man was a being well acquainted with luxury.
As she pushed at his shoulders, Lenneth tried to reel back against the bed. He wasn’t fully on top of her, the man more twisted and bent over from a sitting position besides her. It left her with only his torso to contend with, his torso and those ever so ardent lips, the soft smack of them against hers a downright suffocating pressure. Lenneth felt light headed from the kisses, her entire world spinning around dizzily. If she hadn’t already been laying down, her knees would have buckled for sure, Lenneth desperately inhaling. With it came his longing sigh, the fingers on her back trying to stroke reassurance against her skin. Rigid in response, Lenneth voiced her displeasure, a deep grumbling sound that might have almost pass for a snarl. It was that sound that the man reacted to, the kiss slowly breaking, as he let her shove at him one last time. Lenneth found herself not only breathing heavily, but blinking rapidly in response. In that precise moment, red faced with anger, and thinking her hands the only thing that might keep him back, Lenneth looked up into his eyes. That deep amethyst color, so dark with his arousal, seemed to pierce Lenneth from deep within. Her lips parted on an unvoiced gasp, the enchantment trying to take hold of her heart. An entire rush of overwhelming feelings went through her then, their leash tightening around her as Odin’s spell tried to force Lenneth to love this man.
She attempted to fight it, Lenneth refusing to melt for him, for ANY man, so completely. The beat beat beat of her heart thundered in her ears, an unfamiliar, unwanted, unneeded ache birthing inside her. Warmth filled her cheeks, and her eyelids fluttered, Lenneth’s hands no longer trying to push the man away. She was simply there, touching him, but the man didn’t press the advantage. Those soft feelings now inside her, Lenneth had to fight to harden herself against them. Against him, the woman withdrawing her hands from his shoulders, so that Lenneth could instead dig her own nails into her palm.
A sharp pain spiked within her at that, Lenneth having pressed hard enough to break flesh. She didn’t care, the pain such that it helped to clear her mind of the troubling feelings that were being forced upon her. To hold back the worst of her love, Lenneth feeling it’s ache in her breast, the enchantment still keeping a tight hold on her. She pushed it back, but not enough, Lenneth aware of the man, of the uncharacteristic attention that she was paying to the most striking of his features.
His eyes, that bright blaze of color, that vivid jewel like shade, the amethyst, were a stark expression of sexual intensity. She shivered under that focus, Lenneth caught by the beauty of his gaze, and the heated emotion within it. Nothing could detract from that beauty, from that or the look that he was giving her. A passionate reverence, a look of such immense longing, that Lenneth could almost think that this man was the one affected by the enchantment.
She had no experience with kisses, and even less so with passion. Lenneth simply wasn’t used to being looked at as a sexual being, as a person to be desired. It made her face grow hotter yet, Lenneth trying to look away, to look down. His hand on her cheek stopped her, Lenneth’s eyes darting upwards. This time when she looked into his eyes, Lenneth noticed that her face was reflected in that jewel like gaze. It might as well have been that of a stranger, the blush on her cheeks, and the startled look of her eyes not anything that belonged on the face of a proud warrior maiden.
The enchantment at fault for the change in her demeanor, Lenneth found a dozen compulsions birthing to life inside her. Her fingers itched with the desire to touch him, to caress over his pale skin. Her lips tingled with the memory of his kiss, the compulsion urging her to press her mouth to his for yet another. She positively yearned to feel his body’s weight on her, to feel the press of his flesh against hers. Lenneth even wanted to stroke fingers through his hair, to add further to the rakish mess it was already styled in.
Other desires were upon her, unspeakable passions bringing to life the parts of her that were the most female in nature. THAT unsettled her the most, Lenneth fighting against that needy ache, her thighs pressing firmly together to stem the flow of a tide within her. Again her nails dug into her flesh, Lenneth fighting against the compulsions, against every last one of them. She almost looked away from him then, but the part of her that still remembered being a Valkyrie first and foremost was suspicious.
It was the Valkyrie in her that insisted that this man was her enemy. That this man was her punishment. But more than that, Lenneth instincts screamed at her to remain wary, to not leave an opening for him to get into her heart, or into her bed. That steel determination flashed in her eyes, Lenneth staring at her opponent with an icy cold glare. She still felt the enchantment, still felt it’s pull like a whisper in her ear, urging Lenneth to pull this man down on top of her. She actually trembled with her need, with the desire to kiss him, with a violent want to do more than just kiss. Lenneth barely managed to stop herself from opening her arms in invite, the Valkyrie not wanting to fall in love with this man.
As she fought the compulsion, she tried to focus on other things. Tried to notice something beyond the opponent in front of her. He was all that she could see, all that consumed her, Lenneth instead noticing other details about him. Like the fact his hair was colored so dark a brown as to resemble the sweet chocolate that Lenneth had sometimes favored on occasion. Or how his gold pane glasses complimented similar flecks of that color in the center of his eyes.
Those eyes did a slow blinking, the man betraying his shock at the venomous look that Lenneth was trying to keep giving him. It was clear that he hadn’t expected any sort of defiance, and in truth, Lenneth wasn’t sure how she was managing what little she had left. She could feel it wavering in her heart, the ache there going from soft to hard and then back again. It affected her, played havoc with Lenneth’s mind, body and her emotions, the woman again trying to push the man away from her.
A tilt of his head in response, the man still bent over her with that intent look on his face. He wasn’t trying to kiss her, wasn’t trying to do anything more than study her face in turn. The look in his eyes had brightened to a curious kind of wonder, his lips crooking in a sort of half smile. She tried to maintain her glare, but that half smile was her undoing, Lenneth unable to keep from noticing how soft and sensually shaped his mouth now appeared to be.
The feel of his kiss branded onto her, Lenenth’s mouth trembled with it’s own need, the woman licking nervously at her swollen lips. The man took that as an invite, pressing into her staying hand. Lenneth first gasped in protest, and then instinct took over, the Valkyrie shoving hard. With that near violent push, Lenneth managed to topple him off and away from her. She slid on the bed in the process, hearing fabrics rustle and feeling the glide of them against her skin. Lenneth then practically threw herself off of the bed, pleased that her legs were stable enough to support her steps away from the man.
Legs strong and sure, it was the skirt that nearly brought her down. The very heavy skirt that fell down nearly past her ankles, Lenneth actually tripping over it’s length. This was no Valkyries' uniform, no lightweight skirt made for battle. This was some velvet and silk contraption, all frills and lace that molded tightly to her waist. She felt confined in it, noting the skirts even trailed out behind her, ever ready to snag on any and all inconvenient outcroppings.
As annoyed as she was with the dress, Lenneth was still intent on the man. The room itself remained a mystery, Lenneth managing to get only the briefest of impressions. That of open windows and a closed door, that of a cage that held the songbird that she must have had heard singing earlier
. The little creature continued with an excited chirping of it’s voice, flapping it’s small wings in the cramp confines of it’s cage. But nothing that the bird tried, could set it free, the sweet tiny creature remaining as trapped as Lenneth herself now felt.
That comparison made was almost bitter, Lenneth fighting Odin’s enchantment, and the effect that this man was having on her as a result. He had stood up off the bed seconds after her push. Lenneth was tensed for a fight, not sure what else to expect from him. Would he hurt her, would he try to force her any more than he had already done?
Right now he seemed content to do nothing, instead turning to just study her. There was no mistaking the surprised look in his eyes, the man cocking his head to the side in response to the defensive posture of his bride to be. A long silence followed that look, the only sound in the room that of the bird’s excited flapping and it’s high pitched squeaks. It reacted as though it knew of the tension in the room, as though it was mirroring the unease that was in Lenneth’s heart.
Such was the upset beating of her conflicted heart that Lenneth at first didn’t understand the words of the man’s voice speaking to her. But there was no missing that sound, that rich throaty purr of a voice that made Lenneth’s insides quiver and cramp with need. This voice wasn’t just commanding, it was sexy, holding a distinct accent to it. She couldn’t place it, couldn’t get her mind to work past the compulsion enough to think of just where he might have come from. But Lenneth wanted to hear it again, wanted to listen to the man speak in that velvety voice all day and night long.
It didn’t matter what he had to say, just so long as he kept on talking, the love compulsion would be satisfied. That soothing, charismatic tone didn’t lose one ounce of it’s charm, not even when the man’s comment made Lenneth’s blood run cold.
“Lord Odin boasted that there was no coming back from his enchantments. No fighting it’s hold." Was that disappointment that he was voicing, or was the man merely marveling at her strengths? Lenneth wasn’t entirely sure, the only certain thing that she did know was that even with that possible disappointment, he still sounded sinful, that voice trying to lull her into a false sense of security. But no voice could sound THAT nice, the compulsion surely at work here. It’s enchantment wasn’t just trying to make her fall in love with this man, it was trying to drive her to distraction, making everything about him seem wonderful and worth admiring.
“Lenneth?” Her name was the sweetest of sighs on his lips, the man looking concerned. He’d repeat her name, that questioning look alight in his eyes, but he also made no real move towards her. Instead he waited patiently for her answer.
The chains of love trying to tighten around her, Lenneth feared that too big a distraction would settle the love spell all the more firmly on her. She shook her head to fight it’s effect, to shake free of her more affectionate thoughts. Instead of being flattered that he already knew her name, Lenneth chose to be angry, letting the displeasure of it sound off in her voice.
“You know my name.’ She said. “But I know NOT of you.”
Another steady blink of his eyes, that amethyst gaze never wavering from her. Not even when the man began a slow, respectful bow, the man begging for her forgiveness. “Ah forgive me.” He said, and Lenneth fought her blush, the compulsion leaving her far too pleased by this simple show of his regard. "My name is Lezard Valeth. I am Lord of this castle."
His name a whispering echo in her mind, Lenneth swore the enchantment only grew stronger. She could barely think to ask questions, let alone speak most of them out loud. Who was he, and why had Odin deemed him a suitable punishment? But those words wouldn’t form, Lenneth instead stating, “It was you that broke my sleep.”
The man, this Lezard, nodded, looking quite pleased with himself. Lenneth found herself frowning, the words all wooden on her tongue. “That means you are to be my husband.” The statement came out flatly, and if Lezard took offense to her tone he did not show it, instead smiling brightly at her.
"That I am." Came his agreement. "It is a pleasure to meet you, my lady." He was already stepping towards her, hand reaching to take hold of hers. She didn't let Lezard complete the action, Lenneth sidestepping him with a purposeful avoidance.
“I cannot lay claim to feeling that same pleasure.” The words cold and haughty, the truth didn’t entirely run through them. It was Odin’s enchantment at work again, the spell trying to seduce Lenenth into liking everything about Lezard, and that included the situation that she now found herself in. It still couldn’t quell the resentment that lived on inside her, but that anger was tempered somewhat by Lezard himself. Gratitude birthed inside her, Lenneth relieved to note that this man wasn’t trying to pursue or persist in touching her.
With his eyes meeting hers, the man used the same hand that had reached out towards Lenneth, to instead run fingers against his own scalp. It upset the balance of his bangs, brown hair falling messily in place over an eye. Again it was her fingers that itched, Lenneth fighting the impulse to approach him and set to rights his hair. Her fingers instead curled against her palm, Lenneth taking comfort in the pain that sparked at her nails’s pressing touch.
“I must admit, this situation is not exactly like I had imagined.” Her voice strangled inside her, a rude kind of scoffing sound escaping Lenneth at Lezard’s words.
“I’ll just bet it isn’t.” The enchantment couldn’t keep the words from sounding sharp, Lenneth almost birthing to life bitterness as she thought and remembered just how she had been awakened. The touch that had been upon her, the liberties that this Lezard had taken. The heat of that memory, brought color to vivid life on her skin, Lenneth upset and unable to hide it. It was the enchantment at work again, the spell such that if it couldn’t make her love him, it would instead settle for exposing Lenneth’s every secret to him.
If Lezard was offended by her tone, by the upset in her eyes, he did not show it. His fingers stopped their almost skittish play against his scalp, the man letting out a sigh. “I was well aware that this type of situation is not one most Valkyries can enjoy.”
“Then you understand, right?” The enchantment tried to stop her, tried to lessen the impact of the words that Lenneth then delivered. “I do not love you.” She said. “Nor do I WANT to.”
There was a quick blinking of his eyes, but other than that betrayal of expression, Lezard showed no other reaction. Again she wondered if he was disappointed, the enchantment looping chains about her heart, almost making Lenneth want to reach out to him. The urge to comfort versus the necessity of being cruel waged battle inside her, Lenneth making fists at her side, as she leveled him with another stare.
“I also have NO desire to be HERE.” It wasn’t outright cruel, but neither was Lenneth in any way prepared to feign at enthusiasm over the situation her failure had put her in. Her voice didn’t waver, Lenneth pleased at the strong, determined sound of it that was mismatched against the conflict going on inside her.
“It took a King’s decree to bring you here.” His looked had turned serious, the man still staring at her. “”I am under no delusions when it comes to your wants and desires. Of that you can be assured of.”
She wasn’t happy with that, Lenneth not liking nor needing the reminder of the fate Odin had decided for her. The punishment, Lenneth’s failure such that she had not been given a single courtesy or choice. It wasn’t just that she had been given away, that the woman had been stripped of her godhood, that Lenneth had been denied the chance to try and set right her sister, Silmeria’s fate. It was ALL of it, and it was him, Lenneth wondering just how much Lezard knew of the situation. Did he know of why she had been chosen, or why she had been brought here? Did Lezard have any idea of why HE had been chosen in turn, why Odin had deemed him a fitting punishment for Lenneth’s failure? Such questions only brought with them a sharp pang to her heart, Odin’s love enchantment working to poison her line of thought, to force on her a love that would strip away any and all other concerns. Nothing wo
uld remain of Lenneth then, nothing but a slavish devotion to this Lezard.
The pain of her nails tearing at her skin had Lenneth making a sound before she could stop herself. The Valkyrie’s lips then thinned into a flat line, the woman hardly happy with this betraying sign of the inner struggle that waged on inside her. Without even realizing it, she then breathed better, Lenneth free of some of the worst of her suffocating emotions, when the man, when Lezard, glanced away from her face.
“You’re hurting yourself.” His eyes were trained on one of her hands, Lenenth realizing that she had done enough damage for thin trickles of blood to have seeped out past her clenched fingers. Lenneth opened her mouth, prepared to tell this Lezard that she was fine, when he LOOKED at her once more. That amethyst gaze stole all protests from her, Lenneth almost numb inside, as the man approach her, the lacy white cravat at his throat being unraveled, and pressed against her injured palm.
It was such a soft gentle touch, a reverence that left Lenenth shaken, the woman actually trembling in place at Lezard’s hands. She was held frozen by the look in his eyes, by the feel of that exquisite cloth of the cravat being wound about her hand. Lenneth wouldn’t be entirely free of the spell, until Lezard glanced down to knot the cravat into it’s place, and then all of her upset flooded forward, her anger over the helplessness of her situation wanting an outlet of it’s own.
“I KNOW what my King has commanded of me.” She told Lezard, quickly biting out the words before he could look up at her with that beautifully colored gaze. “I will not do him OR you an insult, by refusing to do my sworn duty. But neither will I take any pleasure from it.”
Combatant as she was, there was still a melting of the iciest recesses of her heart, Lenneth taken back by the sight of Lezard’s smile. What began as a slight quirking of his lips bloomed outright into a confidant expression, the man hardly bothered by Lenneth’s bluster and bravado.