by T L Harty
Rick slowly leaned down, putting his lips on mine, while parts of me tingled. It was the first time I’d been kissed with such yearning and desire. He had wanted this for a long time. We embraced, while never letting our lips part.
Time was lost to me at this point. Rick’s lips started traveling up my neck after a bit and I knew all resistance had escaped me. He tenderly released me and looked into my eyes, gaging my reaction…not sure if he was allowed to continue.
“And when I had kissed you to the point where I could no longer wait to be inside of you, I would slowly unbutton your shirt.”
Rick watched me as he methodically did just that, dropping my top on the floor. He gathered from my expression that there would be no objections to his efforts. He reached around to unclasp my bra and his body leaned into mine, ready for the possibilities.
I stood there topless, no longer cold or shivering, but feeling hot to the touch. He removed my shorts and underwear and when he stood up again, I loosened the towel around his waist and felt it touch my toes as it dropped to the floor.
The kissing resumed, while our hands explored the newly exposed skin. We made our way to the floor, breathing heavy. Goose bumps covered my body and I desired Rick more than I ever thought possible. I wanted him inside of me immediately. Instead, he kissed me from head to toe, until I was begging for him, clinging to him with longing.
When thinking about losing my virginity, many different scenarios crossed my mind, but pleading for a man was never one of them. My imagination failed compared to reality.
“And, when you were ready,” Rick said, hovering over me, “I’d slowly…”
I quickly inhaled, watching his eyes for as long as possible until mine could no longer stay open…my head tilting back with pleasure.
Chapter 12- The Ball
The doors to the ballroom were opened by two gentlemen that I had never seen before. The inside of the room was beyond expectation. The textures and colors boasted grandeur, truly inducting me into a realm of royalty.
Everyone in the room bowed to welcome their queen, as I arrived last. This wasn’t dress up- this was my new truth. But, looking at my daughter made me realize this path meant that she is required to fall in line, producing future generations of leaders. The responsibility would directly contradict her independent spirit.
Tables were set up around the dance floor and I quickly made my way to the familiar faces of the council. Some people in the room were strangers to me. These strangers smiled and frolicked about the room. Each table was staged with wine and cheese platters. A small string quartet played in the corner, rotating the music selection with both classical and modern fare.
After an hour, I had consumed enough wine to negate both physical and emotional pain. Strangers became friends, while a castle transformed even further into a home. There hadn’t been much laughter in my life after the events of the last couple of weeks, but life’s resilience had a small offering tonight.
Out the large window, at one end of the room, I stared at the stars, getting lost in their beauty. Not long ago, Bruce and I stood here together. A soft touch on my shoulder made me turn around. Those hazel eyes from my youth were unmistakable. I accepted the outstretched hand and let him lead me around the room in a dance, as we stared into each other’s eyes. The cliché was too much for my sensibilities.
Throughout the dance I saw the king from my visions. He called for me. “Scotia,” he pleaded. With each turn on the dance floor, my world cycled from past to present. When the music ended, we were left in the middle of the dance floor, unable to remove our gaze from one another. People around the room clapped, but it was merely a backdrop. We were transfixed.
After a time, he pulled away and bowed. I looked around the room, smiling at the gesture, trying to compose myself. Deidra, Owen and his mother approached from one side, while women from the council approached from the other.
“Danu,” Owen’s mom announced, “I’d like you to meet my boyfriend. He flew in this evening for the ball.” She forced a smile, not sure what to think after witnessing such a display.
He knelt down before me, took my hand and kissed it.
“My name is Douglas and I am at your service,” he said. Then he flashed that familiar smile that affected me as much now as it had when we were teenagers.
“Please stand up. That’s not necessary,” I said. “Thank you for the dance.” I then addressed Owen’s entire party, “Please make yourself at home and help yourself to whatever you wish. My home is your home.” I made eye contact with Owen and his mother, avoiding Douglas’ face altogether.
After retreating to my table, Bridget asked if I was OK. Nothing could have prepared me for that chain of events. I excused myself from the table and left the ballroom. The air in the castle seemed thin, unable to accommodate my deep breathing, so I fled outside.
One of the men that opened the ballroom doors followed me outside, but kept his distance.
A few moments later, a voice startled me out of my thoughts. “Do you remember what you told me about the stars?” Douglas asked, pointing upwards.
“What are you doing here?!”
He ignored the question, still looking upward. “You told me that you hoped no life existed on them because their beauty would stop shining if introduced to humanity’s darkness.”
“I didn’t say it quite like that,” I corrected.
“Close enough.” Douglas put his coat jacket over my shoulders, quite proud of his gesture.
“I’m in no mood for your kindness,” I said, returning the jacket. “Thank you, anyway.”
“Have I upset you? Is this not supposed to be a happy occasion?”
“Don’t take my mood personally. I haven’t had the easiest of times lately.”
“Are you seeing anyone?”
“Your girlfriend is inside, so my relationship status should be of no consequence to you.” His question irritated me much more than I let on.
Macy could be seen walking through the grass toward us. She chose not to wear a dress, instead donning a beautiful leather pantsuit ensemble that perfectly suited her.
“What are you doing out here? The guards came to get me because they were concerned,” Macy explained.
“We have guards now?”
“Two at the moment, but we are vetting others, so we can implement shifts and have complete coverage.”
I looked back at the man near the rear door. The size and menacing demeanor of the guard went unnoticed by me only minutes earlier.
“You hardly have to protect Muriel from me,” Douglas said. “We’ve known each other for a long time.”
This comment put Macy on edge. She lifted her arm and gave the guard a signal to take Douglas away. The guard grabbed him by the arm and escorted him back into the building.
“Tomorrow, we’ll question him, but this evening’s purpose is the beginning of Deidra’s courtship. Shall, we go back, my queen?”
We smiled, and then joined the festivities until late into the evening.
The next morning, sunlight slowly prodded me awake. Attending the ball had left my body sore and tired. I was thankful that it would take a while to clean and redesign my new apartment after Bruce left. The stairs up to the bed would be difficult.
Thinking about Bruce still made me angry, but the knock on the door diverted my attention. Bridget and Tina stood in the doorway.
“Come in, I was getting ready to head downstairs for breakfast.”
“Once you’ve eaten, we need to go see Douglas,” Tina explained.
“Won’t we see him at breakfast?” I asked.
Bridget gave me a strange look. “Douglas has been in a…he was taken to, uh…Macy had the guard detain him for the night. She deemed him a safety concern.”
I hid my smile, trying to imagine how angry Douglas must be at the moment. With a serious tone, I asked, “So, we invite people here to our castle and lock them up? Is that what I’m hearing?”
“No. We’r
e going to interrogate him after breakfast,” Tina explained.
“Let’s go talk to him now, so he can join us for the meal,” I said, putting my hand out for them to lead the way, as I had no idea where we were going.
Bridget and Tina walked down to the same level as their rooms. They chatted as though we didn’t have a man being held against his will.
Once we reached the ground-level of the castle, we followed a curved wall around to the right where a small door opened. The door looked much like the wall, which is why I’d never noticed it before. That and the huge window, at the base of the stairs, let in so much light that it could be quite blinding.
Tina opened the door. One of the guards from last night was seated in a chair half asleep. The narrow hall we stood in led to an outside door on the other end. On the right of this hall, it looked like there were stalls to house horses or other animals.
The first two stalls had been modified into impressive cells. In the first cell, Douglas slept on a wooden bed. At least he was given a nice bed and fresh sheets. A plate of half-eaten food lay at his bedside. I imagine he stayed up most of the night, trying his best to find a way out, whether by charm or ingenuity. He proved unsuccessful at both.
Bridget nodded at the guard. To that, the guard handed her the keys and left his post.
“When he puts his hand through the cage, I need you to lick it, please,” Bridget told me.
“Excuse me?”
“We need him under your spell temporarily and the hand will be sufficient.”
“You would have me lick him somewhere else?” I asked.
Tina laughed, which roused Douglas.
He became more cognizant of his surroundings, and Bridget calmly waited for him to get his bearings and remember the events of last night. Tina, being a bit of a chicken, slowly positioned herself behind Bridget and me.
“Why in the hell would you lock me up like this?!”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea until this morning, just 5 minutes ago.”
“Please put your hand through the bars, so we can release you,” Bridget instructed.
Douglas did what he was told, eager to be freed. Bridget looked at me and nodded at his hands, to which I leaned down and licked one of them.
“What are you doing?” Douglas said, retracting his hands through the bars.
Bridget fumbled with the keys, getting ready to unlock the cell. We all watched as Douglas’ expression changed.
“Ask him to do something strange or out of character,” Bridget whispered.
The barn-like atmosphere prompted my demand. “Act like you’re riding a bucking bronco.”
Douglas immediately put one arm in the air, the other on fake reins and starting whipping around madly. He shouted “yee-haw” at one point, before I asked him to stop.
Bridget opened the cell, mumbling something unintelligible under her breath.
“Let’s go to the patio. We have some questions for you,” Bridget said.
We all walked down the long corridor until we came to the patio doors on the right. Tina slid a door open and we sat on the chairs outside. It reminded me of the last time Bruce and I were out here and he was so seriously injured. I shook the memory of that day from my mind.
“What brings you to Danu Castle, Mr. VanMeter?” Bridget questioned.
“I came to help my girlfriend with her son’s introduction to Deidra.”
Bridget glanced over at Tina and Tina shook her head no.
“I see,” Bridget said. “Muriel, would you kindly tell Douglas to speak the truth?”
The fact that Douglas must have lied annoyed me a great deal.
“Douglas, only speak the truth!”
Bridget asked the same question again. “What brings you to Danu Castle, Mr. VanMeter?”
“I wanted to see Muriel.”
Bridget didn’t even glance at Tina for her lie-detector skills, but asked him why he wished to see me.
“I’ve loved her since we were young kids,” he smiled. “We saw each other recently and it rekindled some feelings in me that I thought were gone. Now that she’s divorced, I thought I might come to see if I had a shot.”
Concern crossed Bridget’s face. “Muriel recently got divorced from her husband since she’s been here. How could you possibly know that?”
“My cousin told me that this might be my opportunity, but that I’d have to align myself with one of the suitors. I sought out the suitor’s mom that was unattached and here I am.”
“Who is your cousin?” we all asked simultaneously.
“Lorrah VanMeter,” Douglas replied.
“Stay right there,” Bridget said, as she motioned for the three of us to take a couple steps back to confer. Once we were out of earshot, she asked me if I understood anything that was going on.
“This is the first time I heard her last name. I’d never made the connection and no one shared with me the familial relation.” I inhaled deeply. “Lorrah read the letter from my Grammy and saw Douglas’ last name in it. But, why wouldn’t Douglas have told me they were related when he came to Lorrah’s house to see me?!”
Tina answered, “He may not have known until recently. We all have many cousins we know nothing about. She probably hoped that you two seeing each other would be enough to rekindle a spark. The visit gave her an opportunity without having to reveal too much. She’s smart.”
“How do we not know we have cousins!?” I wondered.
“We can explain that later,” Bridget brushed the question off. “More importantly, how do outsiders know about the suitors? This is most concerning…most concerning!”
The three of us broke our huddle, returning to Douglas. Bridget told all of us to go up and join the others for breakfast.
“Tina, can you let Clio know I’m not feeling well?” Bridget asked. “I’ll catch up with everyone a little later.”
As we walked away from her, I wondered if that could be coded message for something…healers never got sick.
We traveled to the table and seated ourselves among all the chattering. When I noticed that Douglas pulled a chair out for me, I thought that he may also want to sit by me. So, I whispered for him to sit by his girlfriend, to which he dutifully obeyed.
The staff rolled out the breakfast on carts. It was a family-style meal, so the talking died down as the platters were passed.
“Muriel, can I get you anything on this side of the table?” Douglas asked.
Between the special attention last night at the ball, him missing during the night, and this kind offer…Owen’s mom had politely tolerated enough.
“Would you rather be sitting next to her? Am I getting in the way of that?” Owen’s mom asked Douglas, through gritted teeth.
Even though she had lowered her voice when she made the comment, everyone heard and stopped whatever they were doing to await the rest of the uncomfortable confrontation.
“Yes, I’d much rather be sitting by her. When I was sixteen…”
The rest of the table did not need to hear what came next. Douglas met me when he was sixteen and whatever left his mouth after those words could sever his relationship with this woman permanently. Their situation may not be as real as Owen’s mom had hoped, but it couldn’t be ruined like this.
I realized that when I had instructed Douglas to be truthful earlier, on the patio, that direction was still in effect. I quickly interrupted him mid-sentence, right after he said “sixteen.”
“Douglas!” I half-yelled to stop him from being foolish. “You should probably apologize to her for passing out in the stable area. I’m sure she’s angry that she couldn’t find you last night. Also, start over. Please tell her what she wants to hear. If she didn’t know you at sixteen, there is no reason to go on about your youth. If you want to please your queen, please tell your girlfriend what she would like to hear.”
I said it twice, hoping that this instruction would erase the one from before. Speaking the truth is rarely what a loved one wants and, in
this case, the truth would harm. Macy had eyed the guards, so if Douglas didn’t heed my instructions, he’d be bound for the cell again.
“She is right,” Douglas began. He took both her hands in his, lovingly making eye contact. “Let me start again. I would like to be sitting by Muriel because we are only here for a short time. Owen may be marrying into this family and I have questions and concerns.” He smiled. “It’s said that to sit by royalty is a place of honor, but I have never been more honored to be beside anyone, like I am you. I choose you every time…in every situation. And the fact that you would put up with my failures and shortcomings as a man, makes me appreciate the woman of abundance you are, for which I am eternally grateful.”
He poured it on much too thick for my liking, but she blushed, lowering her head. He lifted her chin with his hand and kissed her long enough to make the words stick. Macy looked like she could barely keep her breakfast down, but when the kissing started, the meal resumed. Plates were passed and conversations came and went. During the course of the meal, Douglas made eye contact with me, lifting his brows as if to say “how was that.”
His cunning encouraged me that he would be of use to the council. But, I also knew that if he faltered, his intelligence would not be enough to save him. I lifted my glass in a far-away toast, signifying his display of affection impressed me.
When breakfast came to an end, Owen asked for permission to walk with Deidra out by the lake. I nodded to which Deidra flung herself in my arms, thanking me. Macy didn’t summon a guard this time. I nodded at one of the men and he understood his chaperone duty during the walk. Deidra knew what was happening, too, so she turned to glare in my direction before leaving the dining hall.
“Owen really fancies your daughter,” his mother spoke.
I smiled and nodded, not wanting to let on how smitten Deidra seemed to be with Owen.
When I returned to my room to rest, Bridget stood outside, waiting for me.
We walked into the room and shut the door. “We need to have a bonding ceremony tonight,” Bridget said.