章 7: Ask Me Again
It had to be that dream again!
Lorelai tried to focus her vision but her hazy mind refused any form of perception. Only that distinct, absolutely astonishing pair of amber eyes was as clear as ever and it was looking down at her with almost unbearable intensity.
"Help the girl get home, will you?"
The old woman's voice seeped through the thick fog inside the princess' head, forcing her to turn her head back to her. Before she could object to those words, a strong pair of arms lifted Lorelai from her chair and cradled her carefully, enveloping her body with a strong yet warm and soothing scent of something both woody and leathery.
"But... I came here to buy––!"
Suddenly, Lorelai's mind became crystal clear and she realized what was happening––a tall and undeniably strong man was pressing her against his broad chest, marching resolutely out of the tent.
The princess wanted to object once again but as she raised her eyes to see the man's face, she found herself speechless.
He was gorgeous.
The type of gorgeous she only read about in books. No one she had ever seen in her entire life could compare to him.
Long, strong neck, sharp jawline, full lips and perfectly sculpted nose, slightly narrowed amber eyes, framed by long and thick black eyelashes, and dark eyebrows, slightly furrowed, forming a tiny crease of annoyance between them.
His shoulder-length dark-brown curly hair was tied loosely behind his neck, complimenting his smooth and flawless tanned skin.
Two small gold earrings shone almost blindingly as they reflected the dimmed lights of orange lanterns, and little red rubies shaped like tears reminded her of tiny drops of blood.
His frame was wide and strong, muscles bulging underneath the light black summer attire, and every time he took a shallow breath in, his big chest rose, adding to his already intimidating demeanor.
Lorelai was stunned. Were all Gypsy men this handsome?
They could not be. She had seen some of them dancing; most of them were tall, but none looked nearly as strong. Or nearly as beautiful.
"Where do you live?"
His low, slightly harsh voice snapped the princess out of her trance, and she suddenly realized that the hood of her cloak was down, exposing her appearance.
'Does he not recognize me?'
Lorelai felt weird to be in the presence of someone who did not know who she was. It was a relief, of course, and quite refreshing at the same time.
But if the man did not know who she was, it meant she could not tell him where she really lived. Even if the rumors were true and Gypsies did not care for the royal family, she could not risk any mistakes.
In the moment's confusion, the princess wanted to tell him to just let her go and go back to his people, however, the annoying throbbing in her hip was beginning to bother her again, and she had to admit that it would probably be impossible for her to get back to the palace on her own.
There was no helping it; she had to resort to another solution.
"Could you take me to the nearest inn, please?"
"Why?" The man's frown deepened, "you don't have a home?"
"I-I do!" Lorelai stammered as his intense glare met her eyes again. "But I can't go there now... I have to wait."
The stranger sighed but still complied, wrapping his strong arms tightly around the princess. Fastening his steps, he made a couple of turns away from the Capital Square, and soon after, the two of them were in an old town inn, shrouded in the darkness of a small, but somewhat comfortable room.
Slowly lowering Lorelai's body onto the bed, the man took a good look at her tiny form, before letting out another sigh. "Lock your door. It is not safe to stay here alone at night."
With that rather cold warning, he turned around to leave, but before he could make the first step, the princess suddenly grabbed him by the sleeve of his loose black shirt.
Startled, he turned around abruptly, his burning gaze intensifying again, and although Lorelai flinched from his sudden movement, she did not let go of his sleeve. In fact, despite a visible tremor in her entire body, she tried to remain composed. With her big green eyes firmly fixed on his, she blurted out almost desperately,
"Will you sleep with me?"
For a few seconds, the man remained completely silent and motionless; only his strong chest was rising and falling slowly as he breathed.
At last, his amber eyes flickered with something wicked and his lips stretched into a grin.
"What?"
The momentary confidence Lorelai possessed mere moments ago vanished completely and she felt her heart jump up to her throat.
Clutching the man's sleeve tighter as if scared that he would run away if she let go, she averted her eyes for a moment but then looked back at the man, and decided to press on.
There was no going back. She had already come this far, she could not go back to her hellish life without nothing at all.
"I... I will pay you! A lot!"
Lorelai detached a small silk pouch from the belt of her dress and threw it on the nightstand next to the bed, the sound of gold coins colliding echoed loudly through the quiet room.
"I need to... I need to do something! I cannot go back like this!"
"You need to do something?"
The man looked at the silk pouch, then shifted his eyes back to the princess, curling his lips into a wider smirk as he stepped closer to her.
Recoiling slightly, Lorelai nodded and this time, her voice sounded more sad than desperate. "They did not give me what I came here for, but I... I just... I want to do something for myself. Something of my own. Something... they cannot take away from me, no matter what."
The tone of her voice as well as the hidden meaning behind her words made the man frown again.
Just what was the meaning of all this? Was she still drunk? If so, he did not want it.
He leaned forward, placing his arms at the princess' sides, almost trapping her under his chest. Suddenly, his expression changed, and the intense frown disappeared from his face completely, turning into a look of bewilderment and perhaps even shock.
For a few long moments, the man was just looking down at her, her burning amber eyes unblinking, but his breathing deepened as if he was trying to fill his lungs to the brim with each inhale.
Lorelai was at a loss. The stranger, leaning over so closely to her, now looked utterly intimidating and she was scared that he was thinking of doing something dangerous to her, but then, all of a sudden, his lips parted with a heavy sigh, and he whispered almost pleadingly, "If you really want to do this... then ask me again."
章 8: Dangerous Allure
It had to be a dream. Or at least a drunken haze.
Otherwise, why would she be so brave? Perhaps it was not bravery but complete madness.
No, she was not brave at all.
Even tonight, when she got ready to leave the royal palace and visit the Gypsy tribe, it was not the poison she wanted to get. She would never kill herself. She could never do anything.
After having that unsettling dream last night, Lorelai woke up––she really did; she felt as if she finally woke up and saw everything clearly for the first time in her life. And once she had learned that she was to marry Duke Kalder, it hit her like a freezing ocean wave.
She was sold into this marriage, traded like cattle.
Lorelai had nothing of her own. Even her life did not belong to her.
It belonged to the king, to the queen, to the crown prince, and to her kingdom... but it did not belong to her.
Nothing belonged to her. She had nothing at all.
So tonight, Lorelai wanted to get something entirely hers. Something that no one else would be able to know about. Something that no one else would be able to take away from her and trample before her very eyes.
Tonight, she wanted to rebel and be free. And this man might just be able to grant her this wish.
It had to be fate. The same pair of bright amber eyes she had seen in her dream might save her once again. Even if only for one night.
"Will you..." she finally parted her lips, complying with his request. "Will you sleep with me tonight?"
There, she did it. She asked him again. There was no going back from here.
For some reason, the man swallowed dryly, and the princess noticed something almost animalistic glisten in his eyes.
Although Lorelai had already noticed how powerful the man's build was, now that he was leaning so closely over her, facing her in all his glory, the ample difference in their sizes was impossible to ignore.
His strong, wide shoulders and broad chest cast a shadow over the woman's petite body as if she were sitting under a mighty tree.
For some reason, the princess felt embarrassed by the stark contrast in their frames. The man must have noticed, as his lips slowly twisted into a faint smile again.
Then, he moved his hands slightly forward, leaving only a few inches between their bodies, and intentionally placed his face under the wide strip of moonlight, making sure the woman before him could see his face more clearly.
What Lorelai saw was glowing, tanned skin, dark brown hair, and deep yet fierce eyes.
In that cold moonlight, his piercing amber glare remained clear and bright, reflecting the wildness of that incomprehensible animalistic trait that slept deep within him.
The more Lorelai looked at him, the more fascinating he seemed. Though angular, his features were brutally beautiful. His beauty was almost exotic and possessed a dangerous combination of a harsh masculine aura and a surprisingly warm and even affectionate look about him.
Suddenly, her heart raced like a wild horse. Her throat dried as a realization hit her.
The man leaning over her was not entirely human.
'Could he be..?' She thought unconsciously to herself.
Her lips trembled so slightly as that thought rushed through her already confused mind. Dark skin, huge physique, and that unique amber glow inside his eyes with intensely colored pupils... He had to be one of them. Lorelai was sure of that.
But how was it possible?
Humans were unique creatures in their nature. They were born with different colors of skin and hair, but there was only one distinct trait that signified that they were entirely human––their eyes.
Humans could inherit any eye color. Their eyes could be as blue as the clear ocean wave, or as green as the fresh spring grass; they could be as dark as the fertile garden soil, or as light as the morning fog.
But there were only two colors that human eyes could not inherit unless their blood was mixed: red and golden.
Red eyes were a feature that only vampires and ghouls could possess while golden eyes... belonged only to beast shifters.
But the man before her was not a beast. He did not have golden eyes, his eyes were clearly amber, even though there was a sharp golden glow within them.
But if he was not one of them, who was he? Mixed blood? A Gypsy mixed with a beast?
Lorelai had been lost in her thoughts for so long, that she failed to notice that she had stayed quiet while staring intently into the man's narrowed eyes.
Perhaps tired of waiting, or maybe even slightly amused by her stupor, the stranger raised his dark shapely eyebrows and offered the princess a light nod as if he knew exactly what Lorelai was thinking about.
"So? Are you scared?"
He wasn't entirely human. Now that Lorelai was thinking about it, even his voice sounded different than others.
'Yes,' she finally admitted to herself internally, 'I am scared.'
Humans did not like anything that was different. Especially if they knew it could pose a threat to them.
The beasts' blend of mixed––or even pure––blood coursing through their veins was perceived as an anomaly—a dangerous fusion of human guise and predatory, animalistic strength and instinct.
Their lineage was rumored to carry the blood of wolves, foxes, and cats, rendering them with an inhumane and incomprehensible nature. For centuries, they had been viewed as impulsive, indulgent, and perilous creatures, guided solely by their primal instincts.
Yet, amidst these descriptions lay an envy-inducing trait: their unparalleled physical strength and beauty. No human could rival their allure, despite the monstrous tales whispered about what lurked beneath their bronzed skin.
This allure ensured that, even in their marginalized state, the beasts remained objects of tabooed desire.
And now Lorelai, too, was subjected to that dangerous allure.
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-- 贈り物
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