He may not be human, I thought to myself, but he sure is male.
He rushed back over to me and covered my shoulders with with the dirty blanket from his bed, the material hard and uncomfortable. He smiled under his mask as he started smoothing his hands up and down my arm, almost seeming like he was trying to warm me. It was almost human-like how he had wanted to comfort me, yet something something about the way he made love or the way he was trying to comfort me seemed almost forced. It was like something he had read it out of a magazine or like something he had witnessed in a porn - he was just trying to copy what he had seen. His movement were very deliberate and well thought out, like he was programmed when it comes to pleasing a woman.
But in that moment, I really could have cared less. I was just glad that I had found one that had taken pity on me for reasons beyond my understanding. I was glad to have been pulled away from the screaming crowd, glad that he had wanted to ravish me, that I seemed to have pleased him.
He stroked my hay like hair out of my face, while he was still moved his hands up and down my arms. He looked at me with his big, gray eyes, and almost seemed like he was trying to console with me, to connect with me. I stared back at him, trying to make my big blue eyes as pitiful as I could, blinking slowly, and making them look dewy. I tried to maintain eye contact with him, but there was something about his inhuman glare that made my skull burn. It was almost as though I was having an allergic reaction, I looked away and at the floor, my eyes still burning. He continued to run his fingers through my hair and I leaned my head on his broad leather clad chest, running my fingers up his uniform. I felt his hard muscular body underneath my fingertips, I let out a sigh. He embraced me further, drawing me in closer to him. He put his arm around me, I could hear his breath become shallow and his heartbeat slow underneath his hard leather uniform.
I decided in that moment that this may have been my opportunity to survive in this new land. This creature, whatever he may be, was obviously fond of me. I would use that to its full potential; even if it was just only to save my own neck.
Then I began thinking of Izzy and I felt the tears begin to well up into my eyes.
Izzy you moron, I thought to myself. She always had to do that kind of shit, always thought she had to be my savior. She had always been the one to protect me, and it had almost gotten us into trouble on earth, now who knows what it was going to do to us here. The last I had seen her, she was getting dragged off by her hair by one of these things, they took her beyond the castle walls and….Oh god, what had they done to her? I thought to myself.
Tears had begun to roll freely down my face and I clenched the guards’ massive waist tighter and drew him closer into me, wanting to be held.
“She’s dead,” I whispered to myself so soft that only I can hear it.
“She’s dead and it’s all my fault,” I moaned as my voice broke.
My shoulders began to heave with the weight of my crying when I felt the guard pull away from me. He cupped my chin in his hand and seemed to smile.
“It is all going to be ok,” he said, stroking my hair, “I will protect you, you not be frightened,”
I gasped and jumped up in shock.
“You speak my language?!” I yelled, making him chuckle.
He put his arms around me again and drew me in, placing his head on mine. He inhaled with his nose, taking in the scent of my hair and held me tighter.
“Little bit, not as well as others, but little bit,” He whispered into my hair, his breath warming my scalp.
“Where am I?” I dared ask, my voice quivering.
“You are with me in Azure, I take care of you,” he whispered, his voice firm as masculine. “You no cry no more.” His hands made their way to my eyes and pushed away a tear.
I wanted to keep asking him questions; What the hell is the Azure? How are you going to keep me safe? How did we get here? Who are you.
I decided to hold my tongue and just be happy for what had in that moment. If I were to ask to anymore questions I might have risked insulting him. He seemed like such a proud, masculine creature, I dared not even consider questioning him further.
I had begun to shiver in the cold stone room, he pulled away from me and walk towards the door, his boot heels kicking up dust and making me cough. He opened the heavy wooden door and stuck his head out into the hallway.
“ETINAS MARITA!!,” He bellowed into the hallway his voice echoing.
He stood back and four human girls came rushing in like frightened field mice, their hair tied up into messy buns, their skin pale with fear, their shivering bodies dressed long, tan, linen dresses. Their eyes darted around the room, obviously terrified. They looked around trying not to look at the guard or me. They trembled and ran their dirty fingers up and down their bodies, as if they were trying to protect themselves, trying to shield themselves from something.
The guard sauntered over to a large chest which sat underneath the window and took out two towels.
“You must bathe,” He said handing them to me, smiling. “Then, you work, I come tell you what to do,” He stroked my face with his large hand and looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes.
Oh my god, I thought, a bath. If there was anything in the world I wanted in that moment it was to get the dirt off of my body. I wanted to be baptized in it, have warm water wash away my sins of the day. I wanted to soak in warm, hot water, the way I used to do after a bad shift at the diner back home. When I would come stumbling through the door of my shitty apartment and immediately rush into the bathroom and start the warm water. I would have my shoes and clothing off before the water even got hot. I would make it scorching, almost painfully hot, so that when the tub was full I almost had to ease my aching joints into the bubbly water.
“AMAS!” He screams at the girls, who all nearly fell over in fear.
One of them took me gently by the arm, her hand quivering. I look over at the guard, who reclined himself in a wooden chair and nodded at me approvingly.
The one girl began to lead me out into the hallway as the other girls followed suit in a single file line behind us. The one girl reaches for the towels and takes them from my arms, never making eye contact with me. I could see through the dark that she had a large scar running down her face from her forehead to her chin, she had tried to hang a bit of her hair in her face to hide her mutilation, but it did no good, even in this darkness I could see it.
We walked down a long, stone hallway, its grey stone was illuminated by candlelight that danced off the hall walls and flickered on to the floor as our hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor. I looked above us and saw that the ceiling hung high above our head. I could see that it was in fact not made of stone, but was in fact painted, like one of the buildings I had seen in one of Izzy’s art books.
I squinted my eyes against the darkness trying to make out the shapes and symbols on the roof over our heads, but we had been moving too fast and the darkness skewed my vision almost completely.
One of the girls produced a large, silver ring of key from a pocket on her linen dress. She struggled in the darkness to find the right one. She found it, and with a shaking hand she slipped it into the metal lock of a large, wooden door. She shuffled inside and the other girl led me in by my arm.
Chapter 4
The room had looked like the one I had woken up in; Stone walls and floor, a desk with a mess of papers on it. One of the girl pulled up an old wooden chain and sat me in it. It creaked and wobbled beneath me with a broken leg. The room felt warm as the last embers of sunlight danced through the open window. The sunset was brilliant royal purple that illuminated the rolling mountains around us. The periwinkle clouds hung low among the hilltops and in the distance I could see what was a heard of snowy white horses grazing on the emerald grass of the foot hill. I heard them whinny and neigh in the distance, their voices carrying on for miles. Their long creamy hair streamed behind them when they ran, looking proud and wild. I suddenly realized what this new wor
ld had looked like; it looked like heaven.
Three of the girls ran back out of the room, their backs arched and their faces hidden, looking like rats in the subway. The one girl produced a large brass lamp and set it on the table near the door. She produced a short match and lit the wick, placing the protective glass ever so gently around the flame.
I heard a crash from beside me and saw that the girls have pulled up a large, cooper, bathtub. It looked like one I would have seen in a museum. They began scurrying out of the room, their cloth and sack shoes squeaking on the stone floor. Their eyes darted about looking like wild horses as they almost ran into each other in a panic. It was almost comical to see them all scattering about like the three stooges. The way they ran in a panic reminded me of the way the roaches would run when I turned on the lights in my old apartment. Pathetic creatures.
The girls began to bring wooden, steaming pails of water. Two by two they emptied them into the bathtub, and the smell of fragrant lavender filled the air. I crossed my legs and watched them, I could feel them wince as my eyes moved over their bodies.
What had they been so scared of?
I supposed that they had probably seen me arriving with the guard. Perhaps they thought of me as their superior, they were certainty acting like it. I never would have acted such a coward as they were, I had my pride. I would have died before I would have ever taken commands as they did; jumping around like little church mice, afraid of their own shadows. I always had more respect for myself than that, and even if I was in some new, strange land, that would continue to make no difference. I thought of the Guard, how tender he had been to me; offering me a blanket, carrying me back to the castle, then ordering these mutes to fill my bathtub.
He must find something very special about me? I thought to myself.
In a way I had felt bad for the poor servant girls, how frantic and scared they were, not even looking me, another human woman, in the eye. But, I also wondered what they had done to perhaps anger my guard. If it seemed as though he had a problem with them, then I should as well, lest I fall from his good graces. It seemed like an evil thing to do; to not be concerned for my fellow man, or girls in this case. But I needed to watch out for myself, and if that meant having to go along with my guard’s charade, so be it.
The girl with the scar on her face tries to pull me up by my arm and I rip out of her grasp and raise the back of my hand to her in a hitting motion. She cowers slightly under me in fear, whimpering softly, and I felt my heart break. I heard her crying gently, like a whipped little whipped dog and I lowered my hand, immediately feeling ashamed of myself. I looked closely at her and in the sunlight coming through the window I could see that she had much more than just a scar going diagonally across her face. It was deep and wide, as if someone had taken a red-hot pipe to her, the scarring reaching from her scalp to her neck. She looked up at me, only catching my gaze as one of the other girls lifted her to her feet. I saw that one of her eyes had been partially burned closed, her eyeball was white and cloudy beneath her eyelid. I recoiled as I saw her deformation and felt my heart sink; I may have to be a monster to them, but only in front of my guard, I promised myself. I would not lower myself to their standards, to allow them to turn me into a monster because, I too was scared. I would not let that happen to me, if I was going to come out of this strange new land alive, not only had to keep up appearances, but also had to remain what I was; human.
I extended a hand to the young girl and helped the other girl steady her to her feet. Holding each other, they left the room almost crying.
The other two girls remained in the room with me. The taller one came over and removed the dirty blanket from my shoulder and handed it to the other girl, who scurried out the door and down the hallway in the same direction of the other slaves. With her head lowered, she took me by my hand and lead me up to the bathtub. I looked down into the water and inhaled the sweet air, that smelled of spices and lavender. I looked down into the dark tub and saw a tincture of herbs floating in the water, their scent was a symphony. I lifted my dirty foot and eased it into the hotness; it was just the right temperature; the exact temperature I would have made the water back at home. The only difference being that this water didn’t come out of dirty pipes that clanged in the winter. This water looked clear and sparkling, almost as if it had come out of a fresh spring itself.
I eased my leg to the bottom of the tub as I steadied my hand against the girl. The warmth sent soothing waves up my aching joint. I brought my other leg up and slipped it in and eased my entire body in the hot pool. I felt waves of relaxation come cascading over my body as I relaxed deep into the water and wondered if this is how those rich women on TV had felt when they went to a salon to get pampered over the weekend. I, in my earthly life, had never experienced such luxuries. The only luxuries I had been able to afford was my small bathtub, a cheap bottle of wine and cable TV. I let my head slip completely under, letting a small amount of the water seep through my lips, it tasted like unsweetened tea I had gotten once around Christmas time in the city; sweet and spicy.
I wanted to remain under the water, listen to the quiet hum of nothingness, tasting my sweet bath water and letting the warmth wash off all of my sins of the day. I wanted to let everything fade into the background, pretend for a moment that this was truly where I had belonged my entire life. I felt the air in my lungs begin to grow thin as I held by breath, not wanting to resurface. I felt the patter of the slave girl’s feet leave my side and heard the door closed.
Finally, alone, I thought to myself.
I held my breath until I was sure my lungs would burst then resurface to the top, gasping for air. I took a few deep breaths and the relaxed my head against the metal of the tub. My joints tingled and my senses burned. I leaned my head back and took in deep the air around me.
I didn’t know what this place was, but they sure do know how to make a girl feel happy! I thought to myself with a smirk.
Chapter 5
“Enjoying Yourself?” A voice asked from the corner of the room.
I jumped up in surprise, suddenly being pulled from my ecstasy.
I looked around the room as I wiped the water from my eyes and my hair out of my face. Then, I saw him; a towering man standing in the corner. He looked like one of the guards, but better, regal, and much, much bigger. I stared at his long cloak that dragged on the stone floor and made my eyes slowly over his body and up to his un masked face, his head topped with a tall leather crown.
I was shocked at what I saw; he looked like…like a man! Though his features were bigger, his eyes wider and his shoulders broader underneath his leather uniform. He sat himself atop a wooden table in the corner, his feet sitting on the chair I had just been in. I stared at him in awe, stumbling over my words, trying to find the right ones, but remained in silence.
I knew this was not my guard, he was much bigger, and stood much prouder, making the room seem tiny around him. I wiped more of the water from my eyes and got a better look at him.
He was the most beautiful man-not just man-thing I had ever seen in my life. His shoulder length filthy blond hair caressed his angular cheeks, his soft lips came together in a crooked smirk. His pale blue eyes danced in the candlelight of the room. He looked every inch a warrior man, looking tired and toughened by the battle.
“I said, are you enjoying yourself, young girl?” He said again, his English was almost perfect.
I nodded, still at a loss for words.
He got up as the table creaked beneath him and nearly floated across the floor. He was huge, yet his body seemed almost absolutely weightless.
“I hope you are,” he said, producing a small washcloth from underneath his cloak.
“Those are some of the finest herbs in all of Azure, I’m sure you’ve noticed their rather pungent scent, haven’t you my dear?”
I nodded nervously. He knelt down to the side of the bath tub and removed one of his massive leather gloves and threw it on the floor next t
o him. He leaned in over me, his massive body casting a shadow over me. He closed his eyes in inhaled deeply with his nostrils, taking in the scent of the herbs.
“Smells just decadent, does it not?” He said exhaling.
I nodded.
He dipped the washcloth in the tub and swirled around the floating herbs with his other hand.
“Well, turn around,” he chirped, motioning with the washcloth.
I hesitated for a moment, then moved my back towards him, exposing my shoulders. He began to softly wash my back with the cloth, dipping it into the water whenever it got cold. His touch was amazing. He seemed to almost be massaging me in circular motions. On my shoulders, down my back, up to my neck and chest, just caressing my bosom. I inhaled to try to expose my naked breast, eager for this new one’s touch, but he simply ignored my motioning and lifted up my arm.
“I see my favorite guard has taken some likening to you, hasn’t he?”
I said nothing as he moved the washcloth up and down my arm.
“Come now, no need to be shy, its ok to talk my dear,” He cooed in my ear as he turned my body around to face him. He lifted my other arm and continued to wash.
“A little shy are we, don’t tell me you’re as meek as one of the girls who brought you in here?”
“N-N-NO SIR,” I almost yelled, not wanting to be associated with one of them.
He laughed, dipping the washcloth and began washing behind my ears.
“Well, that’s what I though! He me told about your little encounter in the woods and was a little bit more than pleased with you, and I like when my guards are pleased. It puts them at ease and makes them work better, makes my job easier.”
Into the Azure: A Fantasy Bad Boy Romance Page 5