06

CAUTION: This is a completely unbelievable, profane, fantasy romp. All characters are unfortunately fictional, as are all the events. DISCLAIMER: These are plot laying, story building chapters, with unfortunately little nudity or even profanity. For all those in favor of rampant sex, tough, this is it. As always, enjoy!

*Sheepish author comment: Sorry this installment took so long, but I've been battling with work deadlines! (whimper) However, I shall persevere (!) and more will be on the way soon.

Chapter 5

1

Unlike much in my life, this situation was entirely unique. I had never had one of these before. Yes, I had woken up in a bed before, yes, I had been sleepy and befuddled before. Yes, I had dreamed before. But, while I had dreamed of nasty things, such as running naked down my high school corridor with the principle standing at the end, or of being entered into a beauty pageant, or of loosing one of my favorite books, or of my parents not getting divorced and me having to hide in the attic again to escape the fighting; oh yeah and my personal favorite, all my teeth dropping out, this one I had never had. So yes, I had had nightmares, all the time and especially when I was stressed; but I had never, never, never dreamed of killer corsets squeezing the living breath out of me. I mean, when does something like that ever happen? Maybe I should have classified that, when does something like that ever happen to me?

It is true that many experiences in life are unpleasant. It therefore follows that many new experiences in life must also be unpleasant. I had come to terms with this. I had expected life, at unfortunate twists and turns, to creep up on me and slap me in the face with new, unprecedented, unpleasant experiences. However, I had fully expected that life would follow the rules of my life, and slap me with something understandable. Like my favorite bakery re-locating to the other end of town, or a dog biting my leg, my best friend snogging my date on the dance floor or other unfortunately painful but not deadly events. If the event in question had to be deadly, I had always reasoned that the most probable circumstance, would be along the lines of being flattened by a runaway bull. Tragic, but would still have people laughing, especially as I never expected anybody to miss me.

As I woke up, with groggy reluctance, I swore I would never underestimate life again. I figured, with all the things that had been happening to me, that life had taken me as a personal affront and was making it her mission to spice me up a bit. Whether this was to make me look better, or to prepare me for consumption, only time would tell, but I figured I was game for whatever was in store. After all, I could definitely be expecting a more interesting time of things, right? Uhhh, early morning optimism really, really, made my head hurt.

"Oh, Lady Alice, you're awake! I'm so glad, would you like some breakfast? Orange juice? Tea, muffin, scone, brioche, coffee??? Anything?"

I must have groaned and Myra, being the attentive girl she was, must have heard and decided for me that I was awake. Considering the pounding taking place in my head, I didn't want to agree with her, I just wanted to croak. I felt like I had invited a party of jack hammers to partake of my head for a jamboree, in other words, I felt like hell warmed over. This I concluded, somewhat spastically while pressing my fingers delicately to my eyelids, must be what the aftermath of sin sex and too much drinking was infamously supposed to be like. I had always wondered why anybody partook of that particular concoction, I concluded that I still didn't know, especially when all it took for me to feel this bad, was a little bit of sex and only a smidgen of sin.

I waved my arms around pathetically trying to defend myself from a passionately enthusiastic Myra and the sensory overload that was making my head swim like a pack of rabid Pomeranians. I did not want to know the things that I was knowing. I mean, who would want to feel the deep guilt of a completely innocent Myra, the desperate cold loathing of a sulky Rosalia, while listening to the heated conversation of the three men in the adjacent sitting room? Wasn't that taking spying just a little too far? Besides, I didn't want to be a spy! And... apart from knowing that nobody in the near vicinity wanted to kill me, which was mildly comforting, what did I need all this information for? Not to mention, how in the holy f-ing heck was I getting it? I had managed to ignore my budding weirdo senses the day before, but now, oh boy were they making me wake up and smell the garlic. Which I did, cook was definitely a lover of garlic, chilly and cayenne pepper. Oh, and we were having some kind of pork for dinner, basted in red wine sauce and something or other.

I groaned, trying to muffle my super-irritating senses in my pillow, my arms clamping protectively round my head and my body shuddering delicately under the covers. I must have made a pathetic picture, for I could feel Myra's worry, she was in the process of wondering if I was going to conk it while in her charge. No small wonder she was worried and scared.

"Myra," I mumbled, my head still obstinately buried in my pillow, "for the love of all that's dear, please stop hovering!"

My failure to play nice was adding heat to the simmering pot that was Rosalia and I could feel how much my comment had upset Myra. Sometimes I hated myself for not being more sensitive, and sometimes, like now, I hated everyone else for being so blasted sensitive. Couldn't a girl be grumpy when having just woken up? Couldn't a girl be grumpy when someone had just tried to kill her, she was experiencing worrying symptoms of weirdhood, and she had just woken up? I felt like getting really grumpy and upset, but unfortunately, my head just hurt too damn much. So I settled for groaning under the covers like a wounded fluffy monster.

"I'm not just going to stand and take this, any longer!"

Uh, as if I needed her to vocalize her feelings in that irritating tone, Rosalia-my-love strikes again. I wondered if she really was the only one that mattered in her world. She certainly behaved like it, it made me feel sad for Cesar, and angry at the stupidity of my feather-brained paladin. Couldn't the boy have had taste that was a little more discerning? Weren't there any nice and gorgeous girls were he came from?

"You," she screeched, the decimal was impressive, but I was wincing too much to appreciate the effort involved "are the most infuriatingly rude person..." she chocked "ever!"

I wondered why people in Angel's Peak seemed to find swearing at and maligning people difficult to do. Anybody worth their salt and past the age of twelve could do a better job than that. Maybe Rosalia felt she was just too high and mighty to give me a good cussing out. With my head pounding like a jackhammer to a woodpeckers dance, I felt no compunction to curb my tongue; I would say what I wanted and fuck the consequences. My resolve lasted all of thirty seconds, speaking would require energy and movement, two things not high on my to-do list; so I flipped her the finger instead. I heard her gasp, speechless, and then smirked into my pillow as she stomped out of the room. Served her right for looming over a person in my condition and what a condition that was. My body was starting to send me status reports and the news was not good. I hadn't damaged anything or more correctly, I had fixed what had been damaged, but in doing so I had knocked out my energy reserves and was now running on empty. I seriously needed to recharge, and that meant going and basking in the sun while devouring vast quantities of cherries. I didn't bother wondering why I suddenly had an energy level, let alone one that needed to be charged in such a peculiar manner, I was too tired to mount an investigation and so decided to just accept things and get on with it.

"Myra," I gasped, "would you be a love and give me a hand?"

I felt a soft breeze as she rushed to my side, concern still tinting her aura unpleasantly. Still, she was as gentle as always, her hands helping me lift my body up into a sitting position. She brought me a robe, without having to be asked, and then helped me into it. She didn't seem to mind going at a snail's pace, but displayed unending patience with my slow aching progress.

"Myra," I sighed, as I stood, valiantly trying not to just collapse back onto the bed, "outside would be good, the balcony... no the other one, the sun is brighter that side."

She glanced at me, curiosity in her eyes, but I refused to answer. I wasn't going to do anything until I got myself to a nice patch of sunlight. I knew I was displaying worrying non-human tendencies, but I could just not bring myself to care. I would answer her questions once we were outside, if she asked and if I knew the answer.

My tottering progress outside was a blur, a blur that instantly cleared the moment the streaming warm sunlight struck my skin. I felt like some kind of vast car battery, my body soaked in the energy of the sun, drawing it through my skin into a little golden ball that hung suspended at my core. A ball that was starting to grow and glow once more.

"Myra," I sighed, languorous now, as I felt so much better, my arms stretching wide in that welcome warmth "the corset was nothing of yours. I know this, and I shall tell Ray of it too, you have nothing to fear of and no need for guilt or personal recriminations."

I felt her shock at my calm words, then her relief which washed over us both in waves of green and orange.

"My lady," she gasped, gratitude in her tone " I thank you, I confess, the time is a blur in my mind and I did not know if perhaps I had..." at that she choked slightly, emotion bringing her almost to tears.

I turned and faced her, taking her hands in mine. I gently soothed her, calming her fears and re-enforcing what I had told her. She was not to blame. I knew this. I knew it as I knew the sun shone, and that it spoke to me, or that the grass grew and that it spoke to me, or that water ran and that it spoke to me. My mind was clear now, now that I stood in light, and I could see the innocence in her soul just as I could smell time on the breeze. I did not fully comprehend yet, what my senses were telling me, but I knew to trust them and I welcomed them back like old friends. They were familiar to me and much beloved, and instead of panic at the newness inside myself I glowed in delight at the restoration of what had been lost.

"Myra," I smiled, wiping away a solitary tear, "trust yourself, you did nothing of which to be ashamed. Besides, no harm was done, I think it will take more than a bespelled corset to bump me off. Now," I grinned. "you don't think you might rustle up some cherries for me, would you? I must confess to feeling rather peckish."

"Indeed my lady!" she beamed at me, delighted to have something to do, energy whipping around inside her like a little monsoon. She was not a spirit to sit still, but one who needed to be constantly on the move. Her enthusiasm made me smile, as I stood, face lifted towards the sun, surveying the sky. I wondered vaguely if the Kings of the sky flew anywhere near here, tasting the wind for their flavor, and then wondered who they could be; for my mind still kept some doors closed to me. It was mildly frustrating not being able to access parts of me, but I was too content to mind much, and instead concentrated on the gossip of the wind.

By the time Myra returned, bearing with her a truly vast bowl of iced cherries, I knew much about Angel's Peak. I knew it was a city of light, built so that the sun could stream in, in great sparkling arcs, even in the innermost halls and courts. It was a vast construct, despite its humble appearance, and ran many miles beneath the surface of the hill, with secret entrances and doorways leading outwards. It was a city constructed as one vast house; one roof to all who lived here, for everyone at Angel's Peak shared a cause. The news of the wind was not all good, for it brought the stench of both death and sadness. There had been disappearances, deadly fights, peculiar occurrences and mysterious happenings. It seemed that I had come upon Angel's Peak at a time of war, and as I breathed in the bitter smells of swirling emotion, it occurred to me for the first time, to wonder at my arrival.

"Here you are my lady! One bowl full of our best cherries, will you be needing anything else? Shall I ready your bath perhaps?"

I smiled at Myra's eagerness, as she set a floating spell on my bowl so that it would stay respectfully by my elbow, and considered her words.

"Hmm, I believe I will have a bath, but Myra, no complicated primping this time, hmm? I think it would be best if I were ready for action sooner rather than latter." I selected one of the cherries and popped it into my mouth, ahhhh, perfect succulent delight. They were deep velvety purple, so ripe the juice threatened to spill down my chin, as I dug in with relish.

"Although," I mussed, "just between the two of us," I grinned rather wickedly "your primping was very effective, for which I am, very very grateful."

Myra giggled along with me, some of her confidence coming back to her, as we chortled over the effects a nice plunging neckline will have on one's man. This time when she left me, her aura was much more settled and I could tell she was well on her way to her normal self.

I lingered out on that ledge, looking at the sun move, taking in my surroundings and the beauty of this world. It wasn't much different to my own plain drab little world, but back home I had never really stopped to either sniff or really look at my surroundings. I had always buried myself in books instead. Here I suddenly felt a freedom I hadn't thought possible and a desire to feel, smell and look at this world till all its little intricacies were know to me. Besides, I sighed softly, I could hear enough of the argument that was taking place two rooms away, and I did not want any part of it.

2

"How can you be so calm! Somebody tried to kill her, somebody wants her dead! We should be mounting an investigation, doing anything, something! Devil take it Ray, don't just sit there, this is your mate we're talking about!"

Ray sat in an angry silence on the low sitting room couch, trying hard not to erupt into heady flames of fire, trying to control his runaway emotions. He was chaos, emotions swirling in dark black inside and around his core, he needed to control them or lord knows what he would do. He avoided the gaze of his brother, dark brows furrowed in concentration, he couldn't fathom the depth of this. She was just a girl and yet at the idea that she had been threatened his whole body flamed in anger and his beast rose. He wanted to kill any who tried to threaten or take her away from him, he wanted to brand her, mark her, protect her and ravish her; there was no reason to be affected so, so he did the only thing he could, he fought it. Fought her.

"Cool it Cesar," even the doctor's normally calm voice betrayed inner tension. "this is an unusual situation and one that needs a cool head, especially if we are to come to any solution. Myself, I cannot see what immediate action could, prudently, be taken. We don't know definitely that she was even the target, or that this was a professional hit. I hate to say it, but it would have been better for us if the spell had not been dissolved, then at least we would have some evidence."

"And she would be dead!" Cesar paced along the floor, going from wall to wall and back again. Finally his loner brother got himself a mate and look at him, the lout! Sitting there so calmly! If she were his, if anyone had threatened his Rosy like this, he would be hunting the bastards down and damn rational thinking.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before, right in the centre of Angel's Peak, in our midst and we didn't even notice anything was wrong!"

"To a civilian, you mean, no harm has yet befallen a civilian within these walls. But well you know that our warriors have been wounded or gone missing, right under our very noses. These are dark times."

"I still don't understand it, she's human! Who would want to kill a mere human, it isn't as if she has been publically introduced as Ray's mate and she's only been here a short while. Who could act so fast?"

"I don't know, but what worries me is who undid the spell. Such spells are hands on, except for the most advanced and powerful of mages. We're looking for a major player and for such a one to be here without us noticing, is worrisome indeed."

Ray stared at his hands, his anger boiling, building up hotter and hotter. The more they talked of the danger she was in, the closeness of the call that she had had, the chance that she might still be killed. That someone wanted her dead... He wanted to scream his anger, his wrath, his pain at the thought of her loss, he wanted to tear apart this city, hunt down her attacker and suck the blood from his body, tear him apart and throw him to the four winds. He could feel his demon rise in blood lust, his nature urging him to violence and destruction, no one threatened what was his, no one.

"Are we sure she's even human? Ray, Cesar, what do we really know about her? Are we even sure she isn't a spy..."

"Don't be ludicrous Janus... Ray, Ray, say something. She's as human as they come, right? I mean she saved you, she saved him, why would she save him if she were a spy? This is preposterous, she's Ray's mate, he would know if she wasn't human!"

Ray felt something in him snap, he couldn't understand his own feelings and there was his know it all brother calling her his mate, his mate, his mate. What did Cesar know? He had Rosalia, the perfect mate, their childhood friend, his childhood sweetheart, so what did he know about it? He had had it easy. His Alice could be the devil incarnate, if the confusion she created in him was anything to go by. She was a snide, caustic, temperamental, disobedient, hard-headed harpy and he was fed to the eye-teeth of the turmoil she created in him. All they did was argue and ...!

"She's not my mate." He snarled, trying very, very hard to keep his mind on her disagreeable attributes and not the way she screamed his name while cumming on his cock.

"What!"

"!!!"

"Ray you marked her! You bedded her, bit her, claimed her; she smells of you for the love of bedlam!" Cesar was flabbergasted. He didn't know what Ray was thinking. It was obvious she adored him and the cad had taken her. What was he playing at? Treating a lovely lady like her in such a manner? It took him all of his self control not to punch the daylights out of his little brother. What could he be thinking of, saying such callous, outrageous things!

"My Prince Rathinon Ramnick," Janus's voice dripped with poison, his eyes hard and cold as he stared Ray down "you both bedded and marked that girl, in the tradition of the royal family and of the black paladins, a bite to the shoulder during copulation is a bonding ceremony declaring the participants mated. According to law and to your own instincts, Lady Alice and you are now formally mated, all that remains is the wedding so that the people may celebrate your union."

Ray felt the truth of Janus's words and the deep pleasure his beast took in the notion, snarling that she was his and only his, but still he fought it. He didn't want her, he hadn't chosen her and she hadn't chosen him. He would be damned if some chit of a woman burst into his life and took over his heart, his mind and his beast. He knew who he loved, the devil take it!

"I didn't chose her! It was a mistake, a moment of passion, so for the last time, we are not mated!"

The two other men stared at him in astonishment. They had never seen Ray get so angry, for now he stood, his body looming threateningly in the small sitting room, his face contorted, his eyes wild. Black paladins were notorious for their short tempers, their blood-thirst, for their love of war; their beast drove them to acts of violence and they would often self destruct, taking with them those they loved and who loved them. It was this that made them so rare and why they were looked upon with awe and called the Devils of War; but Ray had never been like that. He had superb control, for he had found a way to be at peace with the beast within him.