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Post by Ruby on Jan 28, 2013 19:19:28 GMT -5
The cloak was new, as was the horse. Red, as was common to her, had fled, instead of fleeing for an eve... or perhaps a few days she had left even the borders of Aledon itself and vanished into the unclaimed territories for what she had assumed was roughly two to three months. Out in the wilds, it was a touch difficult to keep track of time. Her old dappled mare had been killed a scarce week into her journey by a pack of dire wolves and Red had taken her death hard and with just a touch of vengeance she had slaughtered the entire pack... not that anyone was complaining, dire wolves were nasty intelligent creatures that did more harm than good, sneaking off with children, killing travelers... no one would be aiming for her head for taking out a few.
She had traveled by foot to some of these more rural villages, sharing in their stories and helping when she could, it had been far too long since she had been somewhere that she could walk the streets and receive smiles rather than hateful glares and whispered murmurs of monster. It had done wonders for the peace that had settled in her soul. One particular village, she had brought the carcasses of the dire wolves too, for them to make warm clothing from the fur and food from the muscle, one of the older woman had thanked her with a stunning cloak of shinning red and she had been powerless to tell her no. Another she had saved from a small band of orcs and its leader had presented her with his greatest horse, a gorgeous black Andalusian and while she had felt awkward accepting the magnificent creature he would not take her denial and so she had procured a second horse.
The rest of the time she had spent alone, no contact with anyone or anything, she wasn't sure she really wished to return to Aledon... but it was her home and if nothing else they deserved to know she was alright...especially Granny. The guilt of up and leaving her beloved grandmother gnawed away at her like a starving rat. As for Dorian... she tried not to think of him too terribly much, it hurt her too bad. It had been difficult not to turn around at the mere thought of his eyes. She had forced herself to stay away, at least until she had distanced herself from him for a period of time. She still loved him and she highly doubted that she would ever stop, but she had proven to herself that he did not have complete control over her, she was not so weak as to bend to his every whim. She was not sure if she looked forward to seeing him again or if she dreaded such a reunion.
"Ruby Red! Why I live and breathe! Where have you been gorgeous?" The shout came from high above her and she smiled up at the old man, chewing her lip thoughtfully, she had missed Lenny, the old man was never shy to compliment her. The Andalusian danced beneath her and she tugged the hood from her head, her hair had gotten considerably longer and her waist a bit thinner, food was not so easy to come by in the wilds.
"Lenny! I've just been away breaking hearts and saving lives! The usual love!" She laughed up at him and his laughter was a sound that made the homesickness fade in her chest, perhaps she had chosen right returning. "Are you going to let me in or shall I freeze to death?"
With laughter, a few more swapped insults, and a promise to stop by his house at the end of the week she lead her high spirited horse through the gates of Aledon. It hadn't changed much, her horse got a few longing glances and people still glanced at her wearily but it was good to finally be home.
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Post by Dorian Gray on Jan 28, 2013 19:43:11 GMT -5
One, then two, then three months passed. Time was a terrible thing.
Hours ticked like years. Minutes like the slowly turning gales from the North. Seconds like the sweeping changes of the tide from one week to the next. Hell. That was what it was. Purgatory must have been a dreadful place to reside, if it was so that it could end up being an eternal wait for nothingness. Dorian knew nothingness. He knew darkness. And above all, he knew the profound loneliness of the soul, the one that would bite at even the one whose soul lay in ruins at the bottom of the endless pit of the ocean, beside the ruined gods and heroes of Atlantis. He was one of them. A forgotten soul. A lost man with no cause, whose life and lessons had been bargained away long ago for the control of his young life. There were so many things. So many that had he learned them, retained them, he would be a real man, but there had already once been a time when he'd been broken open to reveal a deep pit of despair--and just when he thought he could feel the wicked threads of love being sewn back into his pathetic soul, they frayed and fell away. His past was his present and his future. His curse was not that of a human. It was that of an absolute monster. He was a monster. He was the worst thing that had ever graced these lands, and his curse would never befall any others but so far it had done a great measure of harm.
And reflect on it as he pleased, nothing would ever make it go away.
He would not dare bargain with Gold for that one. It was too risky and surely he'd lose something even more important in the process. Were lessons a suitable reward for the pain that having his soul back would sear into him? No, he thought. He was too weak for such things. He was a coward in good standing, one who would never venture to any painful realms. He would rather have pleasure. He was a hedonist, a faithful one. But an unfaithful lover. Infidelity coursed through his coarse blood, his fool's head. He praised folly like a true narcissist. He loved himself and when he'd felt the love for someone else, it'd been torn from him, added to a painting like it was a vile sin. Like it was murder. That raised a question. Would love kill him? Would anything outside his naive bounds of pleasure be his tyrant? Should he venture to find out such things he risked his life, but sometimes it occured to him to wonder if it would be worth it. What had he left to live for? Himself? Selfish, as always.
His head ached. He could think no more. By the morrow, he would forget it all again.
What a terrible curse. He thought he heard a familiar voice as he sat there, on the back of a steed that he did not even know, but his back was turned and he would rather think it a dream. She was not coming back, and he knew it. She should rightfully hate him for what he'd done, but he had prefaced all his actions once. It was up to her, really. She had to stop loving him to have him to herself. Or she could keep loving him and he'd keep being unfaithful. Simple choice, really. He just sat there, facing the wind, and eating the last of an apple, and wondering. It couldn't really be her. He hated the thought of it, actually, because she'd probably try to kill him. Should he hide his face from her? Keep away from her own monster? Or should he give in to the lust that ruled his body at any thought of her? He kept hoping it wasn't even her. He was too afraid it was.
One, then two, then three minutes passed. Time was a terrible thing.
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Post by Ruby on Jan 28, 2013 20:12:03 GMT -5
The horse beneath her was tense, its gait uneven, but powerful, it had never been crowded by so many people, such adjusted to farmlands and open spaces, it would take some getting used to, to break it of its fear, but it would learn. The creature was a thing of beauty, but Red yearned for her stubborn dappled grey. It would not have lived a great deal longer even if it had survived, the poor creature had been in its late twenties, ancient for a horse of this day and age, eventually she would have succumbed to time, but that didn't mean she hadn't grown fond of the beast. She missed it dearly but alas, such things could not be bartered with nor toyed with, and she still owed Gold one deal, he had sought her out...twice to remind her of such. he was letting her know that she could outrun everyone else but not him. Showing off more than anything. the arrogant ass. He was the only familiar face she had seen, the horse whinnied and she shushed it, but as it weaved nervously, frightened and unsure an all too familiar face caught her eyes. A bright red apple at his lips and impossibly black eyes trained on her with an intensity that she did not wish to read too far into. Time, it seemed, was never on her side.
She guided the beast beneath her away from the throngs of people, debating for only a moment on what to do, she was not so callous as to ignore him. Happy to be moving the young stallion broke into a quick trot, breaking through the sea of people with obvious relief and gliding easily up to Dorian's own horse. She pulled him to a stop and he snorted his frustration. She could never simply have a well behaved horse could she? For a long moment she stayed silent, content to be beside him. They had chemistry, that much, at least was obvious and if the intensity in his eyes was anything to go by, even he understood that there was something between them, she wanted him, even after all of the pain he had caused her, even after his hateful words had scarred her, she still loved him, she always would. Slowly... she smiled, a brilliant smile that was filled with light and love and happiness, none of the dreadful emotions that had colored her the last time they had spoke.
"You were the last to see me, and it seems you are the first to have found me. If I did not know any better, I might claim you a stalker Dorian Gray." Her voice was light, soft, airy, it held no anger, no hatred. Seriousness was rarely something that adorned her, and perhaps she should hate him, perhaps she should curse him, throw a fit and never speak with him again. But she could no sooner leave him than he could let her go. They were doomed, or so it seemed to circle one another until the end of her days.
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Post by Dorian Gray on Jan 28, 2013 20:40:56 GMT -5
A hundred years of solitude and repentence could never make up for all the things Dorian had done. Sometimes, when he had the capacity and sobriety to think about it, he knew that. He watched Ruby knowing that he would never be able to be what she should have. She should have, like once he'd thought for poor Sibyl Vane, a faithful husband who would love her for everything she was, who would sing her to sleep and make her presents. Who would offer her more than night of pleasure and lusty whispers of things that were only half true. Sher deserved love, because she could love, and that was absolutely the last thing he'd be able to offer her. But she loved him anyway. Or did she still? He could not tell for a second, by her eyes, but slowly she seemed to warm up to him.
He admired, for a second, her new mount, once she was beside him. It was stronger, younger, more fit for her. A... queenly mount. He smiled at her with what he could find in him to do it. Dorian swallowed hard at seeing her face, and knew that his lust was fast approaching, on the verge of overtaking him upon seeing her for the first time in too long. "I've not the slightest of ideas as to where you've been, sweetheart," he answered pleasantly. He would not tell her what he'd been doing since she'd left. Mostly... many other men and women.
Why was she suddenly so forgiving? Did that time away really do this to her? She... still loved him, it seemed, and he was cursed to be forever indifferent to that emotion. He would care for her, he kept telling himself, but every day he seemed to mess it up again. He was, to be honest, damned. But he thought of something good. He had a ribbon in his pocket, one he'd bought for... well, no good reason. It was green, it matched her eyes, and maybe it had jsut reminded him of her. He pulled it out and offered it to her. "Ruby," he said, "I do not understand you at all." He was not angry or frustrated now. Just curious.
"What is it in you that disallows you to stop loving me?"
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Post by Ruby on Jan 28, 2013 21:07:55 GMT -5
The young stallion beneath her shifted, he was young, powerful, beautiful, not meant to be kept waiting, he reminded her of the male that sat beside her and for a moment thought her mount better suited for Dorian. The creature would look fabulous beneath him, but then again she doubted much of anything would look drab beneath him. He was a predator, attention was demanded, expected. He was flawless and he knew it. She had scars, dimples that appeared when she smiled. She was beautiful, but there were many that far exceeded her and yet... she held his attention. His eyes did not stray to the beauty of Aledon nor too its civilians, he remained locked upon her and she almost sighed.
"I suppose then... I would do well to keep my mouth shut lest you delve into what darkness has befallen me these last few months. Such dreadful things should not be for your ears." Not a complete lie but it would leave him curious all the same, he wished to know a great many things, expected to know, he was, after all a duke, but such titles meant little to her. Never had she asked him for anything not a drink, not a dress, not a diamond, such trinkets had never impressed her. She much preferred a day traipsing through the wilderness than spinning about a ballroom.
She watched as he produced a fine emerald ribbon, the color of her eyes, her own curiosity eating at her from where...or why he had purchased such a trinket. It matched the color of her eyes perfectly... well at least when she possessed control anyway. She pulled the stallion closer to Dorian's, he had presented her with a gift and who was she to deny such a thing? His leg brushed against her own and she was acutely aware of that heat even through the fabric of their clothing, it sent a spark, a shock shooting through her system.
"I am afraid I cannot courtesy to thank you properly from a top my current mount. So perhaps I should scandalize the good people of Aledon just to express my gratitude." She lived to scandalize the good people of Aledon. With that in mind, she shifted in her saddle, leaned forward, and placed the softest of kisses upon his cheek, delighting in the muttered gasps of the few passer-bys, a playful laugh escaped her as she pulled back, green eyes glittering in her amusement, her attention, as always was quickly returned to her duke and she shrugged with such carelessness at his question you would think they had been discussing the weather.
"The same force that keeps you from loving me I suppose." With that she urged her black beauty into a steady gait, careless laughter pouring from her vocals as she called back to him. "Coming?"
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Post by Dorian Gray on Jan 28, 2013 21:53:46 GMT -5
Dorian grinned at her, all his troubles apparently fleeting for a bit as she seemed perfectly content. He would let himself, then, be untroubled and pleasured by her presence. He smiled to himself, still curious as to whether or not this was just a trick of hers, or if she was genuinely okay with him. He knew that she could be a little devil when she wanted to be, and that she had every right to hate everything about him. All he could hope for now was that she did truly still love him. Hell, he was practically hinged to her body as it were.
His eyes grew a little more and Dorian shifted atop his mount. She knew he hated to be kept from the truth, from secrets. "I think on the contrary. Tell me." She knew his darkest secrets. Why not tell him this? "For heaven's sake, Ruby, I'm your... your Prince Charming--" those words hurt him a little bit, reminded him of Sybil Vane, "--and you won't even tell me what you've done in all your time apart from me. Och, sweetheart, I haven't had you in months. I miss you." His charm had been activated by his mind's piqued interest in her prior whereabouts, and now it was not going anywhere. He would even threaten her with himself, something he knew that she would be unable to ever resist. If nothing else, Ruby was one hell of a lover. He grinned mischieviously at her, eyes sparkling with wicked intent.
The physical contact between their legs was enough to remind him, and he yearned for her. It had been so long... Scandal. Oh, he loved that. She kissed him, like any good temptress should, and when she was done his face was lit like a candle on a dark night. Hell. She was a demon herself. This was why, and now he recalled, they were so perfect for eachother, lovers or fighters. "I'm sure they love scandal."
Her eyes sparkled as if with malicious intent and Dorian narrowed his own at her, challenging her. Was she going to race him to the estate? Or simply leave him again, when he'd just come to realize how much he wanted her? Or, maybe, she was going to drag this out until his desire for her was shameful to anyone in the public eye, and he had to ride away himself so as to not tarnish his repute as a duke. Hell. But he grinned as she called to him, and he answered, to the horror of the commoners who heard him, "There'll be plenty of that." His wordplay was lost to the wind once he rode off after her
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Post by Ruby on Jan 28, 2013 22:19:46 GMT -5
Her stallion was a high spirited and excitable thing, unpredictable, uncontrollable, she had no desire to change him. Normalcy would never be for her. A white picket fence with a dog and a bunch of small spawns of herself running about was nice to daydream about on occasion but she could never picture it for herself. Such fantasies were for humans, mortals, not monsters. She was never content in one place, never content to lie still, her mind always raced before her, tempting and teasing her with alluring thoughts of not so civil things. Monsters and their madness... or so the more respected civilians whispered about her. It no longer ate at her, in fact, she more often than not fueled the rumors.
"I think, that you shall have to earn them. No Prince Charming has ever won his Queen of Snow by bribery alone." She shot back quickly. He would not win her stories just by his silver tongue. She was not so lost within his love to fall so idly to his whims. He would have to do far better than that. Her time apart from him had been fairly uneventful... but she had taken no soul to her bed, not even she, with all of her wicked charm had worked up the nerve for such an act, it felt as though she was betraying a part of herself when she only thought of such things, she was loathe to think what she would feel like if she actually committed the act... but it was quite fun to let him spin a little while. "Oh come now love, don't tell me you could not find my wit, my charm, my beauty in some other dark haired temptress? Be still my beating heart at the thought of you being chaste!" Even now there was no anger in her tones, only laughter and gentle teasing. The words, were not meant to wound him. Her eyes glittered wickedly with delicious sin as he mentioned a scandal, and she was unable to stop her runaway tongue... yet again a reoccurring problem in her life.
"Scandal? A mere kiss upon your cheek? Oh dear... I'm afraid I have left you to your own devices too long, since when has such an innocent act been considered so devious to your standards? Now if I would have divested you of your clothes and mounted you on horseback, that I could see of being worth such a word... but alas, how the mighty have fallen." Oh... she was playing with fire. She knew she was toying with something that she more than likely would feel the burn of much later, and yet he was so fun to toy with! She could scarcely resist herself and why try? He had never complained of her wicked tongue before? In fact she could recall quite a few pleas about her tongue that required no talking. She kept her thoughts to herself, and urged her mount forward, unwilling to bend to him first. He would win her... he always did, but that would not mean she would make it easy for him.
Her laughter was carried with the soft wind at his ease at wordplay, her wicked mind had twisted it to sinful desires before the last of his words had left his mouth. She had no destination in mind, merely let the horse guide her. She had missed him more than she cared to admit, and she wondered vaguely if he had missed her too, or just merely her body.
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Post by Dorian Gray on Jan 29, 2013 19:24:47 GMT -5
Dorian's unfamiliar mount was getting restless beneath him, and he reigned the beast in as best he could so that his focus might stay on Ruby. He watched her carefully, his dark eyes easy, and continued to admire the new stallion she'd conjured up. He wondered where she'd gotten it. Had she gone to some other place, been gifted by another duke or count or even a king? He scowled at the thought, not sure why. He was, if nothing else, very possessive of his prizes, and Ruby had been his so many times. He bit his lip in thought but then snapped out of it.
Dorian's eyes flickered for a moment, as the second comment caused him to regret a little what he'd done in her absence. More specifically, who. "You know me too well," he told her a bit darkly, but then she was gone and he had to ride after her, it being always his duty to catch a woman. He would damn her if he could, but he wouldn't permit it.
He rode to catch up to her, grabbed her reins, and halted both of their horses just outside the town. And then, with a sly smile, Dorian moved his hand to her lower back, gently caressing, before he pulled his horse too close to hers and using the strength in his arms to drag her over to his horse. He knew she wouldn't fight. When he had her there, as he'd had her the first night they'd met, he kissed her neck gently but then answered soberly, "If not bribery, then, I know how else to win you." He grinned but he knew she couldn't see it, for it was only to himself. He had her again, finally, to himself, and he had not realized how much it'd taken from him to spend so long without her. She was, if no more, his most talented lover.
With her in front of him, he was more content, and he let her take his horse's reins while he led on her stallion behind. He touched her waist, remembered her, and nearly groaned. This would not be lasting long, this play. He whispered to her from the seat at her back, "Where are we going? I can go little farther without accosting you." His words were very forward, but that was as always. He was too eager for her to be back in his daily routines, too ready to have her grace his bed every night. He'd grown weary of others.
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Post by Ruby on Jan 29, 2013 20:12:20 GMT -5
"I am the only one who knows you at all." Her laughter caught the wind, trailing back to him, her new stallion did not stride off fast, nor far. Despite her seemingly random bout of playfulness she made sure he could keep up, this game was fun to play but only if she had her prize in the end. If he vanished behind her, nobody won. The horse beneath her, whom she had yet to name weaved through crowded streets, scattered curses being met with a wicked grin and soft apologies and all the while her duke trailed after her, and somehow that made her smile. Perhaps... perhaps he had missed her, if only the slightest of bits. She had played through such a reunion a thousand times but it all ended the same, he would have his wicked way with her until he grew bored and decided it was time to move on and she would be hurt once again. It was, the bulk of the reason why it had taken her so long to return. It was a struggle to come to terms with and eventually she had caved, better to live in fleeting moments of ecstasy than have none at all, she was snatched from her thoughts as Dorian appeared to her right, obviously fed up with her teasing.
The hand against her back, she felt the pressure, but not the warmth and still it burned her, she caught her bottom lip between her teeth to bite back the moan. No one had touched her, not even a friendly pat on the back in months. Human contact was not something she indulged in often but now she wished she had, if she was that sensitive through a thick winter bodice... He pulled her to him, forcing her to abandon her gift as he seated her before him. She groaned softly, his reward for the gentle kisses bestowed upon her neck before a gentle smile curled her mouth and she leaned back against him, relaxing into the familiar warmth of his chest.
"What if I have already been won? What if that gorgeous beast behind you is an engagement gift and I wear a ring thick with emeralds to match my eyes beneath my gloves?" She held the horses reins loosely in one hand, not really caring where the creature moved too, while she purred into the soft underside of his chin. She felt his hand at her waist and she smiled, lips curling against his soft flesh. She ran her free hand along his thigh, her thumb tracing circles into his skin, she remembered he liked being tortured almost as much as he loved the actual act. "And if I told you I was taking you to meet this man who has tamed my heart... I wonder what it would be that you might say, or better yet... what you might do?" Her words were spoken between her soft bites and her gentle kisses, meant to cause pleasure, not pain. But oh if he could see the wicked gleam in her glimmering green eyes or the tricky smile that played about her mouth... oh but she hid them. This was all simply too much fun! Her fingers darted for only a moment to the apex of his thighs, before skittering away, back down his leg.
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Post by Dorian Gray on Jan 29, 2013 22:09:07 GMT -5
Dorian took his time joining her, though he'd highly anticipated time with her, just for teasing. He was never more than five lengths behind her, always grinning, and by the time he'd swept her over to his own saddle, his body was already beginning to react to her presence. He knew all too well what it meant to have her around, unharmed and in one piece. She seemed to know anyhow that he could never be faithful, but the thought did not even seem to faze her, so he dropped it and forgot of it altogether. He would never push her to speak of things like that, he hoped, even when angry.
The noise he produced from her mouth was nearly enough to spill his restraint. He had forgotten her. Dorian elicited a smile, and was enjoying the comfort that he always seemed to find in her presence. This was a curious thing, always. The way she was around him and the way he was around her was always tense except that they always wanted to get at eachother. Their relationship was an absolute contradiction, and it had led him to the extremes of mind before, one way and then the other, one day wanting to slice her throat and then the next day wanting to beg for her hand. But he kept his composure, his dignity. He could never marry her and she knew it.
He looked behind him, admiring the horse once more. Into Ruby's ear, he answered, "I certainly did not give him to you.... So I deem you a liar." He nipped her ear then and chuckled. They simply did not know how to keep their hands from one another.
He listened again and frowned. This game. She was such a good player of the game he'd often reigned over, and it pushed him into a terrible predicament. He had to beat her. His competitive edge yearned for victory. "And should that be so, what if I stole you away and told you I'd take you all myself? For I know I am the only who has tamed your heart whether I like it or not. And you should never be engaged otherwise." He grinned. Oh, her touches! How he wanted to take her now! Dorian stopped the horses, pulling the reins from her hands, and pulled them both off the saddle.
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