Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness ❯ Night ( Chapter 17 )

Rhyan sat on a chair brushing his long hair. Darkima watched him for a moment then pushed back the blankets on the bed. It was perhaps ten at night and Darkima was looking forward to a real night in bed. He wanted to show Rhyan just how fun sharing a bed could be. He watched Rhyan brush his hair again then began taking of his clothes. He glanced at Rhyan and frowned.

"You're not sleeping in that are you?" he asked and Rhyan looked at him.

"I always sleep in a nightshirt. Why?" Rhyan inquired as he lay his brush on the desk.

"It's not very exciting."

"It's meant for sleeping, not excitement."

"Take it off."

"What?"

"If you want to get good at what we do then you've got to take it off."

"You're not talking about magic now, are you?"

"Absolutely not," Darkima said as Rhyan stood up. He reluctantly pulled up the bottom of his nightshirt and Darkima watched with interest. The shirt raised higher until Rhyan's upper thighs became visible and Darkima licked his lips. Rhyan paused, suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable with the whole thing, and lowered his shirt. Darkima sighed and folded his arms. Why wouldn't Rhyan be more open with his body?

"I feel strange doing this," he said and watched Darkima take his undergarments off.

"Why?" Darkima asked and Rhyan shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't normally take my clothes off in front of someone."

"Then I'll help you. You've got to let me see your body. I love you. Besides, you should be proud about what you have."

Rhyan protested slightly when Darkima walked up to him and began unbuttoning his nightshirt. He felt Darkima's hands on his skin and closed his eyes. He was much more receptive to touch now but he hadn't meant to close his eyes to excite his senses. Actually, he had closed his eyes to stop himself from seeing where Darkima was touching him. He was still slightly shocked from the incident in the clearing and he didn't want a repeat performance. He opened his eyes slightly when he felt Darkima pinch him.

"Let's go to bed," he said and took Rhyan's hand. “I want to have some fun and you seem to be entirely too tense. I need to relax you.”

"I wish I wasn't so ignorant of so many things," Rhyan said as he walked over to bed.

"It's not your fault. Being cursed is not an every day occurrence."

"Thank you."

They sat on the bed and Rhyan awkwardly kissed Darkima. Darkima forced Rhyan down onto the bed and passionately kissed him. Rhyan grabbed onto the sheet for support as he felt his emotions rise. Darkima was doing it again and Rhyan wasn't exactly sure just what Darkima was doing. He gasped in excitement and Darkima smiled. Rhyan's mind was just as dirty as he hoped it would be. He just wished that Rhyan could be a little more open about his intimate feelings. Rhyan pushed back and Darkima sighed. Rhyan's resistance was really a problem. He wished he could do something to make Rhyan more open with his feelings.

"You need to stop that. You really need to express your inner feelings," Darkima said and Rhyan sighed.

"I guess I'm still afraid," Rhyan replied as Darkima sat beside him.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. I won't hurt you. I didn't hurt you the first time, did I?"

"No you didn't but..."

"I love you."

He kissed Rhyan's lips and Rhyan sighed. He didn't know why he was so afraid. He wanted to be open and emotional but he didn't know how. Darkima drew away and kissed Rhyan's neck. Rhyan ran his fingers through Darkima's hair and sighed.

"Is it possible that you're worried about tomorrow?" Darkima asked and Rhyan sighed again.

"I guess I am a little. I don't know what to expect. I want to go but I'm also afraid. Death might be out there."

"Death is a way of life."

"I know that but I still don't like it. I can still remember smelling the blood on your hands the first time you came to me. It smelled terrible," Rhyan said and Darkima sighed.

"There are just some things about me that you're going to have to accept. Why don't we get some sleep? We need to get an early start tomorrow. Besides, I don`t want to force you into doing something you don`t want to. I sort of did that the first time and that was wrong of me," Darkima said as he pushed back the blankets.

"I'm sorry to be such a chore."

"You're not but you need to be honest with yourself and your feelings. It's extremely hard for me to stop myself when I get close to you. I'd love to stroke your…forgive me. I'm letting my passion get the best of me. Just get some sleep, all right? There will be a lot to see tomorrow."

"Thank you for freeing me," Rhyan said and closed his eyes.

Darkima sat for a moment, gazing upon Rhyan's body and wondered what sort of strength this gentle lord had. He then turned his attention to a few fireflies who had found their way through an open window and watched as their tiny bodies lit up with a muted yellowish light which served as a mating call to the females of the species then sighed. They reminded him of his home. He remembered how Tairan used to chase after them with an open jar and then when the jar was filled, he would take it back and show it off to their younger sister. She was a frail child and she was closely looked after by his mother. Darkima pressed a hand to his chest and tightly shut his eyes to refrain from crying. It was true that he was closest to Tairan and he was most upset when he found him dead but he had been devastated at his sister's death. She had been completely helpless.

He tried to drive the image from his mind as the fireflies flew gently over the bed, their lights causing yellow splotches to appear momentarily on Rhyan's body. Darkima turned away and stared at his hands, almost seeing the frail body of his sister in his arms. Was he being punished? Was this some sort of spiritual retribution for not being around to protect her?

You had protection, Darkima thought as he lowered his hands. There should have been enough magic there to protect all of you but I let you down. I let all of you down. The blood on these hands will never be clean. Unfortunately now I can do nothing to right my wrong. Nothing will bring you back to life. All I can do is free your restless souls from this world and make sure that I never make the same mistake again. I have found someone who means a lot to me and I will not easily give him up. The past is what it is and I can do nothing to change it. There is no spell known to us mortals that can alter the past.

He gazed at Rhyan's body for a moment then smiled. It was quite true that he regretted his mistakes but he certainly wasn't going to make them again. He had someone he wanted to keep. He was not going to let death take him.

You know as well as I do, spirit of death, that my deal with you will be done soon but you will not take him before his time. I will not allow it, Darkima thought as he lay beside Rhyan. He ran a hand through Rhyan's hair and Rhyan stirred. Rhyan glanced at Darkima and Darkima smiled.

"What?" he asked and Darkima shook his head.

"Nothing," he replied. "Go to sleep."