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Post by Ruby on Jan 21, 2013 13:29:08 GMT -5
Red was not a sneak by nature. She had too bold of a personality to make a good spy. Antsy, impatient, eager... sitting and waiting had never been something she was particularly good at, but she crunched down hard on her bottom lip and she forced patience into her veins as the familiar servant paced up and down the familiar stone way. Her eyes drifted to the creeping sun which was just now illuminating the earth. She had been here countless times, the servant would be more than willing to let her in but she had no desire to be announced, it was so very rare that she got to surprise Dorian and after this morning's hunt when the idea had crept into her brain she simply could not resist such temptation, and so... she waited.
She had not seen him in a little over a week, since that day at her Inn, in fact, but she missed him. She missed his smell, she missed his taste, she missed the rich sound of his voice... among other parts of his anatomy and whether it was her confession that had kept him away or perhaps he merely wished to score some distance between them, he should have known better than to try to best a werewolf. Red would not be so easily deterred, and she would not let him go without one hell of a fight, so when the servant turned and his mansion lay bare, she darted. Letting her nails grow to claws, she climbed the stones of his manor with seemingly little effort, her hunting attire made such a task simple, free from petty skirts and such. Swinging over the edge of his balcony, she plastered herself to the wall and waited for the servants retreating footsteps before slipping inside. She grinned at his sleeping form, in such a state he did not seem like a man damned, he seemed so peaceful, so quiet, she was tempted to let him be... almost.
He lay on his stomach, blankets pooled around his mid-back which lay bare to her feasting eyes, oh he should not tempt her so if he wished to stay asleep. Riding herself of daggers, arrows, and her own set of clothes she stalked forward. Placed one knee as gently as she could on the edge of the bed and slowly crawled up his body, doing as best she could not to rouse him from sleep. She dipped her head laying kisses and gentle licks along his spine, slowly working her way up his back. With a gentleness uncanny she moved his hair away from the back of his neck and kissed even that bit of flesh. Slowly she lowered her body to rest a top his and nudged his ear with her nose.
"Good morning Dori..."
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Post by Dorian Gray on Jan 21, 2013 14:12:53 GMT -5
Dorian had spent a night in the most terrible discomfort. He had not been able to procure a meeting with Mr. Gold yet and he feared what could come about should he not. He'd so much as promised his whole self to preserving the life and beauty of Ruby, and though he'd already told her that he could not and would not admit any love for her, his heart always throbbed at the memory of her face. Nothing had pained him this much in a long, long time.
He'd drinken a lot last night. Two full bottles of brandy and more of several other liqueurs. He'd tried to read books and poetry and analyses of the nature of good or evil, or on the theory of religion, or on dark magic, but nothing soothed. Nothing filled the void that felt deeper with every drink. He had to have the woman that meant so much in his life, that had ruined his every thought since the day he met her. Hell, did she make him miserable, but och, how much she meant to him! How wonderful, how beautiful she was! She was his siren, his weakness, and his soul had already paid a hefty price for it all. Not that it was any more mangled in the pciture; it always just looked gruesome.
He'd fallen asleep in a melancholy state of unrest, still not having eaten in a long time. By what he supposed subconciously was nearing morning, though, he felt something at his back. For a time, it was his opinion that it was all a dream, that he was taking a lover in his mind and feeling it externally, but the more he was aware, the more real it felt, and he had to explore what was going on...
Dorian's eyes opened slowly, but all he could see was his pillow. He felt terribly sick at his stomach and out of touch with everything around him... until he heard a voice in his ear that shook him. His head moved slowly round to see the face--and the body--of the woman over whom he'd been at war with himself. She did not seem to understand his implications, then, that he be left alone and given time to think about what he had done to her and to himself. Why was she here? His head hurt, but he flipped his thinning body just enough to answer her, "Ruby Red, you damn me."
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Post by Ruby on Jan 21, 2013 14:34:56 GMT -5
She hummed into his skin. Her heightened senses easily detecting the scent of alcohol and still she did not cease her roving kisses. Along the strong cords of his neck, fingers diving into his inky black locks and gently massaging his scalp. Her lips ventured along his jaw line, tasting the flesh with delicate care a smile curling her mouth as he groaned and finally came awake, she had almost feared she would have to take him while he slept to rouse him from his slumber. She nipped gently at his chin, he was not drunk enough to think her some other woman. Playfully she kissed the tip of his nose and caught his bottom lip between her teeth, sucking gently before she released him.
"Hmm... so you have said I seem to make a habit of damning you." She returned to her gentle caresses. Memorizing the feel of his face beneath her lips. Only after she had lain a kiss on every inch of his face did she retreat back to his ear, her soft laugh was lost in his skin. "Good morning Dori..." A sultry purr this time and she released him, raising her body up to rest on his lower back. She was bare, bare as the day she was born, but he had obviously not had sense enough to realize as such yet. Such a treat to catch her lover so thoroughly off guard. A wicked smile curled her mouth and she dragged her fingers along his back.
She leaned forward, digging her thumbs into the thick muscles on either side of his spine, loosening and freeing them of their tension. With every upward motion she would let her chest drag along his skin, following the path her lips would make and then back down again. She had not intended on a massage, nor his obvious drunkenness, she had come here merely to see him, she had needed to feel his skin and taste his flesh in any way he would let her... a sensual massage was just all the better. She was intent on driving him mad. He had helped her forget her problems if only for an hour or so and she hoped to do the same to him. Even if all he choose to do was curse and damn her.
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Post by Dorian Gray on Jan 21, 2013 15:27:59 GMT -5
What a strange sensation to awaken to, Dorian had been thinking, but when he finally realized that it was Ruby, he half-snarled. He didn't want to see her until he'd sorted out his feelings, lest he share with her something that he did not need to let out. He'd been in solitude for a week or so, but he still hadn't worked up the strength, fortitude, or appetite to consume more than a morsel of bread and some tea each day. The brandy, even, had been more than he'd had in a while. Now, somehow, she had snuck or tricked her way into his bedroom, and she wanted to play. But Dorian was a weak man, who reserved all his strength for thinking. He had to sort all of this out, he knew, and he had to figure out to what extent he would agree to make a deal with Gold, to give up something else in his own life.
That was the other thing--he did not want to see her until he had struck his deal and his fate was absolutely sealed. But, he supposed, she was here, and the sensations along his flesh were coaxing him to act out in ways that he knew he did not have the strength for. He wanted to sleep more, he wanted to read more. He wanted to see right done to her for once, and he knew that this wasn't it. Eyes still half-closed, he answered gently but strongly, "Leave me, Ruby." If she left, he wouldn't have to tell her how weak, how feeble and broken down he was.
He felt her on his back, and then it struck him that she was as bare as he. What was this wicked woman doing to him? He did want her, he did, and he loved all the things she was doing to... awaken him. But he could not take much more before he had to send her out of his house and tell her that he could not love her, that he could not have her around until he knew what he was going to do. All he wanted was to protect her, really. But it was far too much work. He gave in and turned himself onto his side, using the pillow and his arm to prop him up. Now, in this position, she'd be able to see how thin he was.
"We cannot do this today," he told her smally. He had to be strong enough to resist her charming.
...(I wonder if this thread will have to be moved to the other board anytime?)
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Post by Ruby on Jan 21, 2013 16:22:32 GMT -5
She hummed against his flesh, willing him to relax, to give into her, she cared little if he wished to play, she had not come to dominate him or to be dominated, she had merely come to see the man she loved, regardless of his moods. She understood that her confession would weigh heavily upon his heart, she knew she was the cause of a great deal of her turmoil and she never wanted to be. She wanted only to chance upon that wicked smile and eyes as dark as a ravens wing. She wanted to help him, thank him, love him. It was all she desired of him. She paused at his strong command, it had wounded her, more than she cared to admit, but she would not be brought to her knees so easily. She loved him yes but she would not bend to his every whim.
"No. You are suffering, I will not leave you until you regain your fire love." She whispered into his flesh, her fingers trailing along his sides, working the heavy muscles, she frowned against his flesh as they caught on his too thin sides and drummed against his rib cage. "You still refuse to eat... you suffer for my sake." She did pull away from him now. Guilt clouding her eyes and her teeth digging into the sensitive flesh of her lip. She moved herself from his back and laid beside him, her fingers trailing across his cheekbone, concern heavy and fierce in her eyes.
"You wound me worse than any demon ever could. It kills me to see you so thin and know that I am the cause. At least allow me to make you something before I leave. Eat something Dori... please for me?" She begged, her eyes a storm cloud of mixing guilt and concern. She wanted only to see him better, to see him healthy once more. Even if he never glanced her way again and demanded that she leave, at least she would not fret knowing his death and slow deterioration was her fault, having his hatred would be better than having his death.
(Perhaps? We shall see where this leads... xD)
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Post by Dorian Gray on Jan 21, 2013 17:39:48 GMT -5
As moody and as troubled as Dorian had lately been, nothing had been going right. Of course, he never had to worry about his finances; he did not buy much but he had plenty of funding, as he was a duke. But that didn't even matter right now. Not drink nor drug nor dainty women could buy him the feelings he needed right now, and he was, for the first time in his life, well aware of that. All he wanted was to go back to being the man he used to be, who did not care to have three girls in a day and drink bourbon and brandy till his throat burned with intoxication. He wanted to indulge and be indulged, but now the tables had been turned and he felt like it was all up to him to fix. This was what he pondered in his study, late into the nights. This was what kept his mind from simple survival tools, like food and drink. He was so distanced that nothing else mattered to him.
He'd gone out twice to find that damned Mr. Gold, with no luck either time. And now, his anxiety was on an all-time high, making his every move falter. He felt hopeless and though perhaps not truly alone, he also felt that. Looking at her eyes, he could tell that Ruby had gotten his first message: no lovemaking today, or anytime in the near future. Not until he got better. Was this a disease? Was this depression? What was this Hell that his carefree side had been dipped and tormented in? "My fire's gone," he told her flatly. It seemed true enough. Right now, it felt like something he'd never get back.
"I suffer for my own sake. For yours too, I suppose, but more for my own. It helps me think." Pain was the only real feeling in life, wasn't it? Everything else was not even worth remembering.
He coughed a little and closed his eyes in despair, anger, sadness, disappointment, failure, hopelessness, giving up. He did not enjoy living like this. It was the most emotion he'd ever felt and now he remembered what Henry had said to convince him to induce the curse. We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind and poisons us. What mockery! What... a terrible influence! Dorian was sick with it. Once, there had been a time where he never thought of any of it, because it did not matter to him. Now he had someone else to care for, someone else to protect. Hell, this sounded like he was married. No! She didn't belong to him..... But he could not help himself. "As you like, then," he answered passively, still deep in thought.
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Post by Ruby on Jan 21, 2013 18:12:24 GMT -5
She was at a loss, it seemed nothing could bring him out of such a stupor... perhaps the time it took to cook him something she could formulate a plan. Vanishing from his side, she slipped on the large puffy undershirt and disappeared into the depths of his hollow manner. If there was one thing she could do correctly... it was cook. She had run an Inn almost her entire life in one form or another. Back in Storybrooke, when time had ceased for all of its inhabitants she had cooked for twenty five years... but wait the reminded her. She dug into the hidden pocket of her white shirt and smiled as she pulled out the small bag of pills. Aspirin.
When they had all been transported to that wretched world called Earth... they had had these, it was a pain killer and while she had not been able to transform on that planet crippling migraines had often seized her when the moon was high and she always kept a few spares, she had found them scattered about her clothing when the curse brought them back... perhaps they could help Dorian now? She dropped them on a ridiculously ornate serving tray and vanished into his kitchen. It took her several long minutes, but in the end she had sliced a gorgeous green apple and had a rack of lamb seasoned and sizzling on the platter. She couldn't recall him ever sampling her cooking before and while she was no serving wench, she was fairly decent at her trade.
Silent and soft she vanished up the staircase and back into his room. She set the tray momentarily off to the side and brought the glass of water too him and held two of the small pills in her other hand. She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully as she waited for him to take them, knowing that both would require an explanation.
"This world is fueled by magic. A long time ago a curse was set upon these lands. It destroyed everything, wiped us of our memories and transported us to a place called Earth. They had strange technologies, medicines... but we all had no memory so we adapted and made a life there. It froze us all in time we were unable to move forward... for twenty-five years we remained this way. I was unable to transform and migraines would cripple me every new moon. This was given to me for them. It's called Aspirin. It's not present here in this realm... but it cleared my headaches so perhaps it would help your hangover." She dropped the pill in his hand and reached over for the tray, folding her limber legs beneath her and pulling off a thing slice of meat and willing him to sit up and eat it.
"Eat Dori... I promise it isn't poisoned." She laughed lightly hoping he would smile, hoping that witty charm was not so far lost, it broke her to see him so weak, so troubled. He was not supposed to be so broken."Talk with me, tell me what I can do to make you better? I miss you love, but not like this."
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Post by Dorian Gray on Jan 21, 2013 19:04:09 GMT -5
When Ruby left his side to make him food or whatever she meant to do--he hadn't really been listening--he felt himself release a great sigh. When he was asleep, Dorian thought, he was the most happy. Lord Henry and Sibyl Vane filled his dreams, but it was with good memories, times better than these now. But now that he was awake, he'd gotten to thinking, and thinking was dangerous. Once, he'd set limits on himself, that he would spend his time indulged in society and others, and never think about what it had taken for him to get there. But this rule had been broken, and it was now taking a toll on his heart and mind to know how awful he'd really been for all this time. He'd been wretched and awful, had let everyone influence him but himself. And that was exactly what Henry had wanted, wasn't it?
Dorian was the work of many others, all pieced together in terrible, selfish pieces. Of course, this realization wasn't anything he didn't truly know somewhere inside, and it wasn't about to change who he was. Now, he was defined by his sinfulness. And forever would he be. He shook his head and laughed pathetically at the idea. What a piece of work was a man!*
Ruby came back, finally, and she did indeed have food with her. Far too much food, Dorian noticed, as he knew that to gorge oneself after a starving time was bidding oneself death. He would eat a little, to appease her, but he was not about to eat everything clean off that plate. And had she brought tea? Och. Just water. He sighed but his eyes, lustreless as before, were unchanged. "Are you trying to say that these hold some sort of magic? It's not a foreign concept to me. Perhaps they're opium?" the last question was very hopeful. The drug had been missing from his life for too long.
He'd once been very addicted. Every day, accompanying the drinking and the dames. And here he had yet to find that wonderful, magical drug. It did wonders for the mind, the soul, the pain... Everything. The opium dens of Victorian London had been his second home. "Really though, I just want more brandy," he said stubbornly, but eventually took the food and began to eat very slowly, one bite at a time. What was Ruby doing to him? He would not be able to think now. And he would much rather feel the hunger, pain, and melancholy than the nothingness that seemed to be his only other choice.
"What can you do?" he scoffed. "You could lift that curse of yours and find a way to get my emotions back into my painting. I think that would about do it. I haven't dealt with anything like this since... since I was immortalized. Never had to feel pain. Just pleasure. Now I feel no pleasure, just numb. And I'd rather feel pain than nothing."
*credit must be given to Shakespeare. From Hamlet.
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Post by Ruby on Jan 21, 2013 19:30:08 GMT -5
She was trying, and she was running out of ideas. Ghosts from her own pasts began to make her doubt herself. Her previous playfulness gone. She was desperate to see his smile, hear his laugh, she missed the never ending stream of passion and confidence that always seemed to radiate from him. Had she truly taken so much from his countenance? Had she ever been so cruel? She wished she could take back each and every one of the sins she placed upon him, she wished she never would have agreed to a second night with him, she wished he never would have discovered her dark secret and she wished she had never discovered his because at least then, he would not feel the weight of her chains and he would not be this hollow shell of a man.
"I do not know what they are made of. Doctor Whale merely handed me an entire bottle and sent me on my way. I have more if they please you." Her voice was soft barely a murmur into the sunlit room. She watched him, attempting and failing miserably to hide her contempt for herself and her anguish at seeing him so distraught. "You need to eat protein Dorian, lest you become naught but flesh and bone. She did not dare touch him again, did not feel she had earned such a right. She knew not what would make him feel better, she knew not how to make him laugh and smile once more, her heart was plagued by guilt and sorrow and it was all she could do not to plead and beg until he cracked. But his words came vicious and harsh wounding her worse than any blade.
"I can do a great many things... but it seems all I do to you is cause you more difficulty and more pain. It twas not my intention when I came here this morning... forgive me." Feeling utterly useless and rather distressed she removed herself from his side, to leave him be. She had a tendency of screwing everything up, and even this would prove to be no exception.
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Post by Dorian Gray on Jan 21, 2013 19:49:45 GMT -5
Such a glum place. Such a terrible place, one that was befitting of a dying man. At least, that was what Dorian felt like. Ever since he'd spared Ruby her life he did not know if it had been the right thing to do. Apparently, it was ruining the both of them. Why was he so bad? Why were his sins such deep rivers? Could he really not find any way out of this Hell? Ruby was about to cry and it was his fault. Oh, great! More pain to bestow upon him. His sarcastic mind cried out, 'Heavens send me more pain! More! More! Drown me in pain, if you'll take my pleasure! Please, oh please, gods, send me more pain!'
He scoffed at himself. He was pathetic. With every bite he took, he was feeling stronger, and the anger for himself that was rising in his chest was also powering his strength. But his pride was also swollen beyond what it should be, and he didn't want to talk. He did take the pills and they did not feel like opium. But maybe something would happen with them later. Maybe he shouldn't be so pessimistic. But that, he apparently couldn't help. He was addicted to his cynicism and melancholy.
Dorian ate what he could eat in silence and then laid the plate aside. He looked her over, his eyes dull. His strength gathered more and more and he answered laxly, "That's all I am anyway. I don't have a heart to answer to." It was a stab at humor but did not even sound like such. It was pathetic, as was he, and that made Dorian mad too. Too many things were going on that he was absolutely displeased with, and he was finally beginning to feel more than nothing. She was leaving, and he couldn't let her. He was going to force himself to feel something more, to feel like maybe he was actually loved or at least to let out his anger.
Ruby departed from his side, and he was silent until she'd opened his door. "No," he told her quietly. "You must stay." his gaze softened only a little bit, but his voice was gentle. "Come over here, join me." She had to oblige. His words and his state bid her do so. When she was there, he sighed, and in a swift movement rid her of the shirt she'd been wearing.
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Post by Ruby on Jan 21, 2013 20:15:49 GMT -5
Such guilt, such disdain, she cursed herself and every last one of her damnable actions. She had never been able to do anything right lest you count tending to the bar. Lack of control over her demon and her emotions, wild and untamable, far to passionate a creature for anyone of this era to love. She was both dominant and submissive, she loved too much, she felt too much, she desired too much... she was a beast of a creature whose only sin was ever letting herself survive so long to let her greed effect others. Dorian was just the perfect example. He was a being designed for pleasure untold, his immortality, his curse had bred him for such a purpose and look what she had done to him. She had reduced him to a thin, shell of a man and for what? She paused at his bedroom door as his angered words reached her.
"No... you are far more. You are powerful, beautiful, cunning, destructive, you see beauty in a great deal of things, and you find pleasure in all of them, but you are none of these things now, because you tangled with me. Look at our states mine and yours. I am fine, strong healthy. But I have chipped away at your youth and have somehow managed to destroy you. It is not you that is a monster Dorian. It was never you." Despite her words so dark and cold as soon as he beckoned to her she returned to him, forever his slave. She should set him free, vanish into the woods and not be seen again, she could do so. She had lived in the woods for years. She could leave and his greatness would be restored upon him. It's what she should do.
He tossed her shirt across the room and while she trembled, her eyes clouded only vaguely with a thin film of lust she made no move towards his bed, or to join him. Her eyes remained distant and cold and she shied away from his eyes, her gaze lingering on the discarded cotton.
"You don't want me Dorian, I bring you nothing but pain. It's all I've ever brought you."
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Post by Dorian Gray on Jan 21, 2013 20:56:38 GMT -5
The look in her eyes was killing him. He was on the bed of a dying man in a place repulsive enough to belong to one, and Hell, he was over fifty years old. He could not bear to see her like this, and as hard as he was on the outside, inside he was crushed and broken, hurting for her to come and fix him. But he knew he was not letting her do it and if he did... he would damage the little bit of his pride that he upheld in front of her. He had on his strong front, the facade that tried and failed to tell the world that he was okay and he always would be. But that was the biggest lie, and he knew it.
She couldn't leave. No, no, no! He'd have his servants stop her in her haste to leave him, and drag her back to his bed. "You don't know. My soul has crossed its bounds. I feel like I've never felt before, and all the sins of my life are haunting me--in particular, the ones that tell me I've been so influenced by others that myself is not me. I am not my own. I belong to a society of the world." He said it with the tinge of sadness in his black eyes, finally admitting something to her. She had to know, because she had to stay. He would not let her go, not even in his anger. He had to hold on.
Holding on was all he could do.
"I am a monster. I've always been," he whispered coldly. She joined him, bare and obedient, and though she would not come to him he would have his way. He moved himself beside her, hovering over her face, and shook his head. "You're absolutely wrong. You're the only thing I want. Nothing else could ever make me whole. Come here. Let me have you again." He forced a smile but she did not look convinced. She almost looked... scared, vulnerable. No. It didn't matter. He wanted her and he would take her, like it or not. She was at his home now, she was his to protect and to... love... he hated that word. But he would have her.
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