Caught in the Middle

The first thing Richard did as soon as he was alone was remove his wet clothes and soak in the prepared bath. Even though their little detour wasn't a part of his original plans, he was glad that the trip had gone well, nonetheless.

He happily sighed, hopeful that things would be able to work out with Maya, after all. She was so fascinating to him, and not just because she had come from a different world. He was beginning to grow attached to her in a way that he couldn't explain. What he felt for her was different, deeper, than what he had felt for Elizabeth. He found himself wanting to protect Maya at all costs, not just as her legal husband, but as someone who truly cared about her. If possible, he wished to be able to keep her all to himself, away from the eyes of every man in his kingdom, for fear that they, too, would come to have feelings for her.

Stepping out of the bath, Richard laughed at himself, wondering when he had become capable of having such desires. He knew that Maya found him intimidating. She never let herself get too close to him, and in his presence, she never laughed or smiled as much as she did when he would catch her interacting with Mille or Cedric.

As much as Richard wanted to confide in Cedric about his insecurities concerning Maya, his pride would not allow him to do so. But still, it hurt him to see his best friend act more comfortable around his future wife than he could. It hurt to see her smile more around Cedric than she would around him. He trusted Cedric, completely, but he was still man. Jealousy was a new feeling to him, and he didn't take to it kindly.

Richard decided to go talk to her. All of their one-on-one interactions were generally business related. He figured that a cozy room at a nice inn would be the perfect atmosphere to help push their relationship further. While he was very happy with how much he'd been able to learn about her that day, he was feeling particularly greedy.

He dried off, slipped on his nightshirt, and slowly opened the door. Feeling resolved, he walked off towards Maya's room, unaware that he was being watched.

***************

Maya stirred in her bed when she heard a knock at the door.

"Maya? Can I come in?" she heard a masculine voice ask.

She mumbled something that must have resembled granting permission for the man to enter her room.

Richard let himself in and shut the door as quietly as possible. He walked over to Maya's sleeping form, and stood over her, observing the outline of her body through the loose clothing. Taking a seat on the bed, he reached over a tucked a stray curl behind her ear. Her body shifted, and her eyes slowly opened to meet his, struggling to bring his blurry figure into focus.

"Richard?" she grumbled, obviously still half asleep.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he whispered.

"S'okay," she yawned, turning her body to face him.

"I thought that we could talk for a bit. But if you wanted to sleep I can go ahead and leave." He turned away from her, ready to leave the room. Maya reached out and placed her hand on his wrist. "It's fine. Please, stay," she said in a tired voice. "What did you wanna talk about?" She pushed her upper body up and rested her back against the bed's headboard.

"I just wanted to make sure you had a good time," he said, "and apologize for getting us caught in this storm."

The dim candle light in the room emphasized Richards chiseled, masculine features, which Maya couldn't help but observe as he spoke. "I had a great time. And no worries about this storm. You can't control the weather. Besides," her gazed shifted to the window, "it's kinda relaxing, don't you think?" They sat in silence, listening to the rain outside.

"I hope you know," Richard said suddenly, "I really can't thank you enough for what you've done, or rather, what you've chosen to do."

"Why? I'm doing it for myself, not because I want to help you," she stated.

"I don't think that's entirely true," he retorted, "but I can understand your desire to find a way back to your world." He paused, thinking of how best to phrase the rest of what he wanted to say. "I've decided, I want to help you get home."

Maya couldn't believe what she just heard and turned her head to face him. "What did you say?"

"I can't guarantee anything, but I want to at least try to help you find a way back. My aunt Rosa, and the other past sources- at least they were all from Esfalda. I've never even heard of the country you're from Maya. I was thinking...maybe there was a mistake, or something."

"Yeah, maybe..." she said, turning her attention back to the storm.

"But, if we really can't find a way for you to go back to your world, I want to give you a good life here. I love you, Maya."

"Richard, I...I don't know what to say," she suddenly felt dizzy, and couldn't bring herself to look at him this time. The weight on the bed shifted, and Maya felt a strong pair of arms wrapping around her. As badly as she wanted to say something, any words she had were caught in her throat. Her body grew stiff as she felt warm lips pressing against her neck. Rather than words, she managed to let out a weak moan.

"You don't have to say anything," he said as he gently guided her body back down on the bed. The behavior was so unlike him, and Maya didn't know how to react. His touch was gentle, though, and it felt good. He undid her nightgown, button-by-button, slowly revealing her breasts and the length of her torso. "You're beautiful," he whispered, before leaning down to capture her lips in a kiss. She responded, bringing her arms around his neck and drawing him in closer. Laying naked beneath him, she felt vulnerable, and a little embarrassed. But that wasn't enough to make her want to stop. On the contrary, these feelings made her want to keep going.

A large hand trailed slowly down her body, stopping between her thighs. Maya cried out in pleasure when one of his fingers slipped between her folds and found her swollen nub.

"Richard...that feels so good," she said in between moans, her voice husky. He observed her expressions, feeling more possessive over her with each passing moment. He leaned in for another kiss, his tongue moving past her lips, while his free hand moved to her breast, pinching and pulling at her sensitive nipple. Maya's hips moved on their own, her body begging Richard for more. His finger continued stroking her clit, drawing cries from her that were only muffled by his mouth over hers. He went a little lower, allowing his finger to lightly roam over the rest of her pussy, coating it with her juices.

Maya broke the kiss, breathing hard. "I'm so close Richard...please."

He brought his mouth to her other breast, flicking the nipple with his tongue before wrapping his lips around it. His middle finger, now well lubricated, slipped inside her with ease. She arched her back and squeezed her eyes shut, fighting not to scream in pleasure. He could feel her squeezing around his finger as he pressed against her warm, wet walls, while his thumb moved in circles around her clit.

A hot, powerful sensation was coiling up at Maya's center, growing tighter and tighter, until it finally burst. Her body became enveloped in pleasure as she came, furiously humping Richards hand. His strokes grew slower and gentler, as he coaxed her down from her orgasmic high.

Still trying to catch her breath, she sneaked a hand between their bodies, reaching for Richards erection.

"Maya, wait." He grabbed the hand and stopped her. She looked up at him, confused. "I'm sorry. I want to, I really want to. But we can't. If I don't stop here, I don't think I'll be able to control myself. I should go." He gave her one last kiss before getting off the bed. "I'm sorry Maya. Good night." Without looking back, he shut the door behind him.

Walking back to his room, he knew that it was going to be a very, very long night. He had no regrets though. It hadn't been his intention to touch her like that, but once he confessed his love, he found it difficult to refrain himself. Even better was the fact that she didn't reject his touch! He felt like the luckiest man in the world. Still, with the image of her expression as she came fresh in his mind, he knew that he would be spending the night...relieving him self of his frustrations.

*******

Once she was alone, Maya slumped back down on the bed, feeling more exhausted then before. However, she found herself unable to go back to sleep, and decided it would be a good time to try out the bath.

As her body relaxed in the hot water, she couldn't help but turn bright red after thinking about what had just happened between her and Richard. In fact, her image of him was completely different now. She had no idea he could be so dominant, so masculine! Her body was heating up again, just thinking about it. It was a good thing though, she thought. It helped her realize that he was more than just an uptight, stuffy Prince. And, although she would rather die before saying this to another soul, she actually looked forward to their wedding night.

After her bath, Maya dried off and patted her body down with some rose scented oils she found near the tub. Still naked, she walked back into her room while drying her hair. After making it past the doorway, she heard a whistle behind her, and turned to see Cedric standing there. She wrapped her towel around her body as quickly as she could. "I, uh, don't think you should make a habit of sneaking into my room," she joked nervously.

"I only came here to apologize about what happened earlier. Didn't expect to get an encore," his eyes slowly roamed over her body. Maya could tell that something was off about him.

"I just got out of the bath so...I'll go back to the bathroom to get my clothes and the we can talk," she moved to run into the bathroom, but Cedric grabbed ahold of her forearm, pulled her back into the room, and slammed her body against the wall in front of him. The altercation caused her to lose her grip of the towel, which was now pooled around her feet. Before she could make another attempt at escaping, he brought his arms up to corner her, trapping her between his body and the wall.

"I don't understand," she choked out, feeling confused and scared.

Cedric lowered his head, prompting her to face him. "I saw Richard walking back to his room. He looked pretty happy," he smirked as he watched Maya's face turn red. "But more important than that, I could feel your energy from my room."

"What are you..."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," he told her sternly. "So, tell me, what did he do to you?"

Maya genuinely struggled to understand why he was suddenly acting like this, and why he wanted to know what she had done with Richard. She couldn't bring herself to answer him.

"You know," he leaned in, letting his breath tickle her ear, "I could always tell him what I saw at the beach today. I could tell him what I'm looking at right now."

"He only touched me," she said. He could tell from her voice that she was fighting to hold back sobs.

"Where?" he asked.

"Cedric, please! Why are you doing this?" she let her tears stream down her face. He scowled at her, annoyed.

"Did he touch you here?" His hand went in between her legs.

With all the strength she could muster, she slapped him as hard as she could. That gave her enough time to grab her towel and run to the other side of the room. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but I want you to leave. Now."

He looked at her, hurt. As thought she had wronged him in some way. "Fine, I'll leave. I just thought maybe there was a chance that you..." his voice trailed off, leaving the rest of the statement unsaid. "Never mind, I'll see you in the morning."

The moment she heard the door shut, Maya fell to her knees. He was acting perfectly normal earlier. She decided it was best not to tell Richard what had happened, but she went to bed with an uneasy feeling.

The next morning, the trio all woke up early and met in the hall, ready to head back to the castle. The weather was beautiful, and the trip went smoothly. Richard and Cedric would occasionally say something to each other, but whenever Maya was spoken to, she only had enough energy to smile and nod.

Back at the castle, they were immediately reprimanded by Mille, who said that she stayed up all night worried sick about them. They each took turns apologizing to her, saying that it wouldn't happen again. After that, she visibly lightened up, and asked them how the trip went. Maya gave a generic response, then asked to be excused, saying that she was tired and wanted to go to her room to rest. The other three exchanged nervous glances as they watched her run up the stairwell.

***************

Another uneventful month passed. A few things had changed, though. Richard decided to make an effort to spend more time with Maya. Almost every night they ate dinner together in his study, chatting and getting to know more about one another. For Maya, that became her favorite part of the day. She found herself genuinely falling in love with Richard. He hadn't tried to touch her again, like he did when they stayed at the inn, but she understood why. They would be married soon, and these times, where they could just sit and talk, made her much more comfortable with her decision, and with their relationship. She was, of course, looking forward to their relationship becoming more intimate. Not only because she wanted to sleep with Richard, but because she wanted to develop a more intimate bond with him. Luckily, she knew she wouldn't have to wait much longer.

Things, however, were different with Cedric. She began to see him even less. Not on purpose, though. Maya never went out of her way to avoid him, but instead she had a sinking feeling that he was the one attempting to avoid her. There were times when they crossed paths while walking in the halls, in which case he would give a slight bow and continued on his way before she could say anything. If she happened to go to the library while he was there, he would pack up his things and leave. She thought about mentioning the strange behavior to Richard, but that might end with her telling him about what else happened that night at the inn, and that was something she preferred to keep to herself. As the day of the wedding drew closer, Maya found herself too busy and distracted to continue worrying about the issue.

With the whole castle preparing for the wedding, Maya rarely had any time to herself. Having to go over clothing measurements, memorizing names of important guests, and the continuous, never ending etiquette lessons were quickly wearing her out.

The day before the wedding, she was able to spend a good amount of time speaking with Richard in his study. The Alsthorians seemed to not have a rule about brides and grooms not meeting 24 hours before their wedding, so she chose not to think too much of it. Maya watched fondly as Richard spent most of the evening talking about how excited he was for their future, and for the future of Alsthior. His eyes were bright, and his gestures were lively. Maya was a little jealous that he could be so energetic while she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Actually Maya, there's something I wanted to give you tonight," he said, walking towards her from across the room. "I know it's a little late for this, but..." he reached for a box on his desk and brought it before Maya. Inside the box was a gold ring, with diamond accents on the band, and a beautifully cut emerald at the center. "This ring belonged to my aunt Rosa, and my uncle and I both agreed that you should have it."

Maya was speechless. She reached towards the ring and looked to Richard for approval. "May I?" After he nodded, she took the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger. "Oh my God, Richard. It's beautiful, thank you so much!" She stood and wrapped her arms around him, finding comfort in the warm, secure feeling she got from being near him. "I love you," she said, just barely a whisper.

Richard put his hands on her shoulders and took a small step back. "What did you say?"

She glanced to the side, embarrassed, "I said I love you."

He embraced her once again, lowering himself slightly to trap her lips in a playful, lighthearted kiss. "I love you, too," he finally responded. The two stayed pressed together for what could've been hours, neither wanting the moment to end. Eventually, Richard was the first to pull away.

"Before you go to bed tonight, I want you to stop by Cedric's room. I asked earlier if he could see you this evening," he told her.

"But why? I'm fine."

"I know these past few weeks have made you anxious, and Mille told me that you've been complaining about feeling lightheaded. I asked if he could give you a quick check-up and get you something to help you feel better. Tomorrow's a big day, I just want you feeling your best." He gently kissed her forehead, "You should head over there now, and then go to bed."

She knew there was no use in arguing. "Alright," she said, walking towards the door. "Thank you, again, for the ring. It really is beautiful. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight." She continued walking, with a growing knot in her stomach, towards Cedric's room.

On the way there, she realized the only other time she'd been there was during her first week at the castle. After that day, any other check-ups happened in her own room. She reached the familiar door and knocked.

"Come in," she heard from the other side. She opened the door and stepped into the room, and saw the Cedric was turned away from her, looking over some documents. "You can have a seat right there," he turned only to motion to a chair, before turning back to the papers. Maya did as she was told and waited silently for him to finish up whatever he was doing. Looking around the room, she thought it was really a shame that she couldn't have her check-ups there more often. She remembered how relaxed she was the first time she was there. Now, despite the room being the same, she was anything but relaxed.

After ten minutes of her sitting in the middle of room, literally on the edge of her seat, she was grateful to hear to hear the sound of papers being shuffled and put away. Cedric turned to face her with a stoic expression. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he said before proceeding to ask her a series of questions, things about how well she was sleeping or how much she was eating. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the appointment, but Maya felt uneasy about Cedric's continued cold attitude towards her. Over a month had passed since what he did to her at the inn, and she desperately wanted to move past it, so they could go back to being friends. She observed his tall, slim form as he stood at his counter preparing her medicine and found herself unable to hold back any longer.

"Have you been avoiding me?" the words slipped past her lips before she could think to stop them. She heard him stop what he was doing but couldn't see his expression.

"I'm ashamed of what I did that night, Maya. I thought you wouldn't want to see me again after that, so I've been doing my best to stay away from you."

"Cedric, I just want to know why you did what you did. You're my friend, and I don't want to lose you," she said honestly. Cedric turned around to face her, resting his palms against the counter to support his weight.

"From the first night you came here, Maya, I've wanted you," he said. "I remember seeing you cry and thought that I would be happy if I could just support you." Maya could sense that he wanted to say more and remained silent.

"You remember the first day you came to this room, right?" he asked. She nodded. "Well," he continued, "do you want to know something funny? It's so easy to tell when you're aroused. Not just because of the way your chest begins to heave, or because of the rosy tint of your skin. I can feel trace amounts of your power. It's small, but it's definitely there."