Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Charade ❯ Another Place to Fall ( Chapter 6 )

Warning: semi-lime and lemon in this chapter. Lime is at the end of part two. Lemon is most of part four.

 

Chapter Six: Another Place to Fall

 

*****

1

*****

 

When Cerasus learned from his mother that Calcifex was not feeling well, his first reaction was to cower away in guilt, fearing he had caused the onslaught of illness. He wouldn't leave his rooms, not even to ride Amiculi.

 

Sidereus wasn't having it. Sneaking around the castle was a lot more difficult than he first anticipated, as one never knew when a maid or a butler would come around the corner. But twenty minutes of diving into crevices and floating high up in the ceilings as people passed below rewarded the light spirit with the sight of the prince's rooms.

 

Unable to open the door himself, he called out as loudly as he dared until Cerasus finally shuffled over and answered him. The prince looked shocked, even scared, at seeing the spirit before him.

 

“Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Jeez. Can I come in? I don't need some nosy guard seeing me.”

 

Reluctantly, Cerasus stepped aside, and Sidereus zoomed into the room. When the door was closed once more, the spirit turned to the prince and fixed him with a grave look. “Where the hell have you been?”

 

Cerasus looked away from Sidereus' angry eyes, opting to stare at his own feet. “I… I've just been… here…”

 

“Yeah, I get that. I mean why haven't you been coming to see Cal?”

 

The boy fidgeted and bit his bottom lip. “I didn't think he would want me to visit him…”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because of… what happened… When…” The rest of his sentence drifted off into empty space, but Sid knew what he spoke of.

 

With a sigh of exasperation, he said, “That's stupid. No, listen to me. Cal is worrying about you for the exact same reason. He thinks you hate him.”

 

Cerasus' blond head whipped up, and he stared at the spirit in disbelief. “I could never hate him!”

 

“Yeah, well, tell that to Calcifex.”

 

“Oh, no… I have to go to him and tell him that I lo-” But the prince stopped short, gasping and covering his mouth with both hands, realizing his almost-slip. He blushed hard, from his head to his toes, and turned his back on Sidereus, who looked only mildly surprised at the confession.

 

“You love him?”

 

The boy nodded rather miserably. It was the truth. During the hours he spent locked away in his bedroom after the kiss, things had come to light. Calcifex was smart, he was funny and kind, and he always looked at Cerasus like there was nowhere he'd rather be than by his side. He was also incredibly dashing, but the prince shoved that thought away, because it just made his cheeks grow redder. Somewhere between grooming his horse and eating a late lunch as the sun set, he had developed strong feelings for the wizard. And now he believed it was love.

 

“Well, you wouldn't be the first.”

 

Cerasus glanced at Sidereus, some shock and hurt in his blue gaze.

 

“Not to say he ever loved any of them, though. Cal isn't really that kind of guy. You know the story of his childhood; he told you. Because of that, he never learned how to care for someone properly. You should see him right now, all worked up over you.” The spirit smiled fondly, images of his friend coming to mind. “He's a horrible mess.”

 

“You mean… He cares about me?”

 

Sidereus looked back at Cerasus, grinning when he saw the cautious hope poking through the prince's expression. “Yeah, kid. He does.”

 

Cerasus didn't say a word, but his bashful smile told the tale well enough. Even if Calcifex wasn't in love with him, any kinds of feelings were cause for celebration, in his opinion. His heart was fluttering in an erratic rhythm, its irregular beat matching the pattern of his scattered, but happy, thoughts. The sudden desire to move, anywhere and any way, overtook him, and he dashed towards the door.

 

Sidereus glided after him, rolling his eyes. “Hold on a sec,” he said, just as the boy was stepping out of the room. Cerasus twisted around, impatient, wondering why the spirit would stop him.

 

“Hide me in your shirt or something, would you? I don't want to be seen, and it was hard as hell avoiding people on the way over here.”

 

The prince nodded quickly, pulling out the neckline of his tunic and allowing Sidereus to get inside. He was careful to hold the fabric out, away from his body, so that Sid wouldn't get extinguished.

 

Cerasus ran down the halls, his small frame allowing him ample speed, slowing down only when a servant passed him by. He could feel the light spirit pressed against his chest, and noticed that his rays were significantly tuned down so that no light would shine through the weave of his shirt. He was panting and sweating by the time he reached Calcifex's quarters, but smiling nonetheless.

 

“Just go right in,” Sidereus directed from somewhere by his pectorals.

 

And Cerasus obeyed, entering the parlor and taking a shy look around as though he had never been there before. All at once he was nervous and not so sure of himself. His instincts told him to make a fast escape, but the door swung closed behind him and he was trapped.

 

“Sid? Is that you?” Cal's tired voice called from the bedroom. He sounded somewhat irritated. “Where the hell did you go? You could have been caught out there!”

 

The spirit flew out of the prince's clothes and cast him an expectant look that said, `Go to him.'

 

Cerasus was scared, but his feet moved of their own accord, forcing him forward, step by step, towards the wizard.

 

“Sidereus!” Calcifex yelled. There was a creaking noise, then steady footfalls, and then he was in the threshold of the parlor, hands on his hips and green eyes on fire. But when he saw Cerasus, his indignant posture melted, like ice under the beating sun. “Oh…” was all that came out of his mouth. The prince met the taller man's gaze, albeit timidly, and clasped his hands behind his back.

 

Neither knew quite what would be appropriate to say, so Sidereus gave them a little push in the right direction. “I have concluded that you're both stupid, tiring human beings who are too thick to admit that you care about each other. But now that I've established this for you, please feel free to get on with the hugging and kissing and whatever other disgusting things you do, and leave me the hell alone.”

 

The information revealed in the spirit's tactless speech was not lost on Calcifex, who felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. An elated chuckle burst forth, followed by another and another until his laughter was filling the entire room, rich and beautiful. Several steps away from him, Cerasus grinned, secretly admiring the wizard's show of happiness.

 

When Calcifex stopped laughing, he strolled casually up to the prince, a wide smile gracing his charming face. He halted his approach a mere couple inches from the boy. If either of them took an exceptionally deep breath, their chests would touch. Cerasus found himself blushing again under the gentle scrutiny of those fathomless jade irises. He was all too aware of their close proximity, and the knowledge set all his nerves on end.

 

“So, Cera,” Calcifex began, voice smooth, running over the prince's skin like water. “Is what Siddy says true?” A soft touch of his wrist made Cerasus jump. The wizard chuckled again and asked, “Do you like me?”

 

The younger man's throat felt oddly constricted, and unable to make any sound, he just nodded. This seemed to do more than satisfy Calcifex, who dropped his calm composure to wrap his strong arms around Cerasus, lifting him in the air with a crushing embrace. He giggled like a little boy while the prince held on for dear life. After several rotations, he set Cerasus back on his feet, but didn't relinquish his hold. Instead, he held him closer and planted an affectionate kiss on his forehead. The boy flushed every shade of pink imaginable, and Calcifex buried his nose in his golden hair.

 

From a safe distance, Sidereus watched, smiling broadly. In his mind, he couldn't help but think about how much his best friend deserved this, to know the feeling of love and have it returned in full. If anyone could be the one to show Calcifex what true living was about, the light spirit thought, it would be Cerasus-dyn.

 

*****

2

*****

 

The next day, Calcifex was no longer feeling ill.

 

“Ooh, I just want to devour him, Sid! Can you believe how cute he is? Taking me out on a picnic... It's adorable!”

 

“Oh, please, Cal. You're going to make me sick. And besides, there can't be any devouring just yet. He admitted that he likes you, but if you jump on him it'll scare him off.”

 

Calcifex, perusing himself in the mirror, pouted. “I know. But still. He's so damn sweet. And polite! I swear, one of these days I'm going to ravish him until he forgets his manners.” The wizard flicked a nonexistent speck of dust from his silver and green jacket - a gift from the prince - and grinned impishly.

 

“As appetizing as that sounds,” Sidereus replied sarcastically, “If you keep fantasizing about it you'll miss your date with him.”

 

“Oh, you're right!” Cal exclaimed, whipping around to look at his companion. “I'd better get going, then. Wish me luck, Siddy!”

 

And then the excited man was gone, taking off through the castle to see his new boyfriend.

 

Cerasus was waiting patiently by the back door of the palace, a brown pack slung over his slender shoulders. He was wearing his riding clothes, and they had a devastating affect. The tight fitting garments showed off his lean shape, giving him a sharp, fetching appearance. Calcifex's heart picked up its tempo. When the prince saw Cal approaching, he smiled and inclined his head. Strands of his blond hair fell in front of his eyes.

 

“I thought we'd have Amiculi take us to the spot I told you about,” the boy said, shrugging his shoulders.

 

“That sounds like an excellent idea, love,” Calcifex said, making Cerasus blush, like he always did when the wizard used any kind of endearment.

 

They went to the stables where Cerasus' mare was already saddled up and ready to be ridden. The prince tied his knapsack to her saddle, then vaulted onto her back in one gliding motion, which was quite the feat when one considered his size. Calcifex followed with as much grace as his inexperience with the action would allow, requiring a little bit of help from Cerasus, who was kind enough not to laugh.

 

“Hold onto me,” Cerasus told the older man, and Cal secured his arms around the boy's waist. With a stern command from her master, Amiculi broke out into a fast, steady pace. The prince bent forward, bringing Calcifex with him. The sound of the horse's hooves beating into the ground in a solid rhythm was accompanied by the wind whistling past their ears. It made for a soothing sound.

 

Buh-duh-bump. Buh-duh-bump. Whoosh.

 

Calcifex let his eyes drift shut, reveling in the power radiating off the brown body under him, and the pale, smaller one pressed against his chest. Cerasus was in his element, and it showed. The sudden shift in his aura washed over the wizard as the prince's suddenly strong voice commanded Amiculi to the left. It was electrifying.

 

They were galloping hard into a small forest that set the border between the palace grounds and the poor farmlands of Laedel. It was midday, but even so, the sun could barely penetrate the thick canopy of centuries old oak and pine trees.

 

“It's just a little ways farther into here,” Cerasus informed Cal, turning his head slightly to provide the wizard with a better hearing opportunity. He pulled back on the mare's reins ever so slightly, and she slowed to a trot. Soon after, the sound of running water broke through the whispering silence that had occupied the wood. It grew louder as they moved on, until Calcifex looked down and saw its source: a shallow brook the flowed into some spot ahead of them. Cerasus urged Amiculi onward, stopping her when they had reached the water's destination. It was a small, mostly round pool that only looked knee-deep. One tall pine tree grew on its edge, but other than that, the area was clear of any vegetation except grass for at least fifteen feet all around its perimeter.

 

“This is the place,” the prince said. He slid off Amiculi and helped Calcifex down as well before tying the animal to the lone tree next to the pond.

 

The wizard looked around at their surroundings. The forest was quiet and beautiful, and the dim light it provided offered an intimate atmosphere that he delighted in. No doubt about it, he would want to come back to this place again.

 

“Okay, it's ready!”

 

Calcifex turned around to find Cerasus sitting on a white blanket, with a basket and several plates laid out in front of him. While Cal had been admiring the scenery, the prince had taken the sack off Amiculi's saddle and unloaded its contents. The older man smiled.

 

He sat next to Cerasus and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “This is wonderful, Cera,” he whispered into the boy's ear, eliciting a shiver. “Thank you for bringing me out here with you.”

 

“Y-you're welcome,” the prince stammered back, customary color flooding his features. Cal thought it was endearing.

 

They enjoyed a delicious meal - bread, cheese, beef, and fresh apples - and companionable conversation, punctuated with periods of chewing and swallowing.

 

“Are you going to finish that?” Cerasus asked, nodding at the other man's second, uneaten apple.

 

“Oh, no. Here, you can have it. You're hungry, aren't you?” Calcifex winked and handed over the fruit, making the prince laugh.

 

But the boy didn't eat the food himself. Instead, he stood and went over to Amiculi. He held the apple out to her, and the mare took a moment to sniff the offering before grabbing it in her immense teeth and eating the thing whole, core and all. “Good girl,” Cerasus murmured, patting her between the eyes. His show of affection tugged at Calcifex, who no longer wished to remain sitting by himself.

 

He got up swiftly and closed the space between himself and the prince with a few long strides. With his chest up against the boy's back, he gathered him into a close hug. Cerasus' sharp intake of breath indicated his surprise, but he fell into the embrace anyway. The top of his blond head only came up to the wizard's chin, so he rested it upon Calcifex's right shoulder and relaxed as gentle arms secured themselves just under his collarbone. He could feel the rise and fall of Cal's torso as he inhaled and exhaled, and the strong beat of his heart, somewhat quicker than normal, but not nearly so much as his own.

 

“You're beautiful, Cera,” the wizard said, his voice ghosting over Cerasus' sensitive ears. Calcifex had said these words thousands of times before, to almost every one of the people he had taken to bed. This was the first time he meant them.

 

“I want to show you how exquisite you are,” Calcifex whispered. His palms flattened against the prince's upper chest, fingers searching for skin through the barrier of a thick riding shirt. Ducking his dark-haired head down, the wizard pressed a soft kiss to Cerasus' neck, where it curved outward to join with his skull, just under his earlobe.

 

Cerasus whimpered and clutched at Cal's arms with small, quivering hands, simultaneously pulling them tighter and pushing them away. He was starting to feel dizzy, and incredibly warm. His knees were growing weak, and it took all his remaining strength not to collapse onto the ground. The sensation of Calcifex's lips on his skin was pulling him slowly apart at the seams. Breathing became an action he had to think about, to force himself to do. Bolts of lightning exploded from wherever he made contact with the wizard, shooting out from those points and disappearing somewhere below his stomach.

 

Calcifex gently pulled one hand out of Cerasus' grip to trail it in a downward path leading to the prince's bellybutton. His mouth mimicked the movement, distributing kisses over the arch in the boy's neck, stopping where it turned into his shoulder and the hem of his clothing began. Cerasus' answering moan was loud enough to rouse a response from Amiculi, who stood forgotten only a foot away. She whinnied and shook her great head, brown mane flying this way and that. The prince's legs finally gave way, but Calcifex caught him before he hit the forest floor.

 

An insistent pressure dug into Cerasus' lower back, and through the dense fog in his mind it took the young man a minute to figure out what it was. During that time, Calcifex continued his tender assault on his person. But when Cerasus stiffened and gasped, the wizard came to an abrupt halt with his actions. Until that moment, his thoughts had been driven by desire, fueled by his boiling blood, and he didn't have anything on his agenda except molding himself to every bare inch of the prince's skin. Now he realized, with a pained glance down at the evidence of his arousal, that he was taking things much too fast and much too far. He cursed under his breath and let go of Cerasus, who stumbled forward a little and steadied himself against his horse.

 

Calcifex could count on the hands of an armless person how many times in his life he had ever been embarrassed about his passion before. But now he found that he couldn't meet the prince's eyes, and was desperately doing anything he could to hide the cause of his shame. Cerasus shook ever so slightly, finding himself incapable of speech. Without a word or a single look, they packed up, climbed onto Amiculi, and rode home.

 

*****

3

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“You lost control of yourself, didn't you?” Sidereus hovered several inches over the cherry wood nightstand, eyeing his friend with pity.

 

“Mmf,” Calcifex replied through the pillow he dragged over his beet red face. The very moment he and the prince had returned, he'd mumbled out some awkward goodbye and run away, straight up to his room, where he collapsed on his bed.

 

“Did he yell at you or something?”

 

“Ungh.”

 

“Okay… So why do you look so miserable, then? Was he not enjoying whatever you were doing?”

 

“Mmnghm.”

 

“Hey, Cal, I know you're upset, but I can't hear you if you don't take that pillow off of your mouth.”

 

Groaning, Calcifex tugged the thing away from his head and threw it on the floor. “I don't know,” he repeated, coherently, this time. “I think he liked it… He didn't fight me.”

 

“So what made you stop?”

 

The wizard cast his green eyes to the side, staring at the sheets on his mattress with a dejected expression in place. “He got… scared… when…”

 

“When, what?” Sidereus was trying to be patient and help Calcifex out, but if the man was just going to beat around the bush all day, the spirit would not waste his time.

 

“When my… you know… Touched him…”

 

Sid couldn't believe what he was hearing. “Your `you know'? What the hell is that, Cal? Since when are you afraid to say `cock'? Gods, sometimes I'm not sure who I'm talking to anymore.”

 

Calcifex scowled, angry at being taunted. “Shut up, Sidereus. You know damn well it's different now. I'm different now, and you're the one who pointed it out to me in the first place.”

 

“Well… shit, Calcifex. You can be your old self around me, you know. Nothing between us has changed.”

 

The wizard frowned, his ire fading away. “No, Sid. Everything has changed. I can't be one person around you and another around Cerasus.”

 

“You used to be that way.”

 

“I know… But I'm not acting anymore.”

 

Sidereus looked hurt, and his voice was pained when he asked, “So where does that leave us, Cal?”

 

Calcifex didn't hesitate to answer. “We're still friends, Sid. That won't ever be untrue. It's just not going to be like it was before.”

 

The light spirit nodded. “So… still friends? That's where we stand, is it?”

 

“It is,” Cal agreed. “But technically, you don't stand anywhere.”

 

He couldn't help it; Sidereus laughed. “Bastard.”

 

Calcifex's reply was to smile. “That won't ever change, either.”

 

“No, I doubt it will.”

 

They shared a brief chuckle, but neither could forget what subject had gotten them into their conversation in the first place.

 

“Are you going to go see him?” asked Sidereus.

 

The wizard sighed. “I don't know if I should, just yet. Besides, it'll be nightfall in less than an hour, and now that I'm not stuck in bed, Flamma-regi will want to see me.”

 

“You're actually going to go to her?” the spirit asked, dubious.

 

“I have no other choice. If I decline, she'll have me locked up. If I tell her why I'm declining, she'll lock me up and then have me hanged. It's a lose-lose situation.”

 

“Then what are you going to do? You still haven't told Cerasus what you do with his mother, so it's not like you can apologize to him later for doing it. Which reminds me, are you ever going to tell him that?”

 

Calcifex gave Sidereus a look that seemed to convey that the wizard thought his companion was out of his mind. “Why the hell would I do that? I don't want him to hate me.”

 

“If he finds out you've been hiding it from him, he'll hate you anyway! At least if you tell him you get honesty points. Besides, one of these days he's going to get curious and ask why you were allowed to stay in the palace in the first place. What do you say to the kid then?”

 

“Ugh, I don't know, okay, Sid? And I don't have the time or energy to think about it now, for that matter. Let me worry over the whole damn mess later, after I'm finished with the queen.”

 

Sidereus gave up; he knew he wasn't going to win this one, so he let it go. But something nagged at his mind. What Calcifex was getting himself into was highly dangerous. He was risking everything - his heart, his freedom, his life - for this ill-fated adventure. A memory came back to the spirit, one of anxiety and ominous words.

 

The old woman traced one red fingernail over all the lines in Calcifex's skin, mumbling incoherently to herself the entire time. Finally, when several uncomfortable minutes had been spent, she looked up at him.

 

“You have suffered, and caused much suffering. But a bright future awaits you, if you can learn to repent. But beware,” her voice dropped a note in tone, and she spoke reverently. “Should you continue your dangerous ways, you will end up losing everything, and hurting the only one who will ever matter.”

 

Just the thought of Wilzelda the fortune teller, the woman who knew too much to be an imposter, made Sidereus' metaphorical skin crawl. He was certain that her croaking voice and portentous warning would never escape his mind, although his magical accomplice might already have forgotten them.

 

Calcifex got up from his bed to dress and prepare himself for his night with Her Majesty, Flamma-regi. After he had waved so long to the light spirit and left, Sid did something unexpected. He locked himself inside his silver pocket watch, the one that had been his traveling home for nearly two centuries. The thing was familiar to him, like nothing else in the vast Laedel Palace, and even though it had often been a source of frustration, he found comfort in the timepiece for once. He closed his spherical black eyes and hoped for a light to shine through the dark clouds that had gathered over their tumultuous lives.

 

*****

4

*****

 

Flamma-regi had deep reserves of patience stored in her body, although the majority of the time she expected not to have to use them. Waiting on people was not her style. However, she made a rare exception in Calcifex's case. He was feeling under the weather, so she allowed him the proper time to recuperate before summoning him to her chambers once again. When the word finally came that he was no longer sick, Flamma-regi smiled to herself. She had big plans for their meeting tonight.

 

She sent out word to the entire castle that no one was to disturb her after the sun had set. No servants, no messengers, no people at all. Satisfied that her orders would be observed, she set about preparing for the evening ahead. Calcifex seemed to like candles, he smiled whenever he saw one, so she lit every single one of the things that she had. She drew all the curtains, but left the windows open, so a cool night breeze could flow through the bedroom. On her bedside table the queen set a bowl of her finest wine, perhaps so it could be licked off of her later, if the wizard felt the need to do so. All of these things she arranged for herself more than his pleasure, however. She had been deprived of any sort of passion for the entire time he was out of commission. Now, she wanted to be fulfilled, and there would be no argument over it. Although she highly doubted he would need any convincing. When their normal routine was to have sex several times every night, it must have been rough on the lust-filled wizard as well, to be celibate for any length of time longer than one day. He was likely to jump on her at the first opportunity. The thought made her laugh.

 

To finish off the mood for the evening, Flamma-regi undressed and lay down on her bed, reveling in the feeling of her cool sheets sliding over her warm, bare skin. Admittedly, thinking of what was about to happen was causing her a great deal of excitement. No doubt about it, the moment Calcifex arrived, she would have him take her. They could go slower the second time around. And the third. And perhaps the fourth as well.

 

A sharp knock on her door - he always rapped on the wood the same way: two times in quick succession - signaled the wizard's arrival. Flamma-regi cleared her throat and called out her customary answer, “Enter.”

 

And he did, shutting the door behind him. “Your Grace?” he asked, voice surprised. He was expecting her in the parlor, and her absence was puzzling, to be sure.

 

“In the bedroom, Calcifex,” the queen answered, putting on her best sultry tone. A sinful smile of anticipation had surfaced on her lips, which she had carefully painted blood red. Her kohl darkened eyelids fell to half-mast, and when Cal pushed the curtain aside, revealing her posed form on the blankets, they blinked seductively. “I'm so glad you could make it, my dear man. It has been too long since our last… excursion.”

 

Calcifex had stopped dead in the doorway, quite shocked by the display in front of him. It was so unlike Her Majesty to do anything of this sort. However, just as it was incredibly shocking, it was, the wizard shamefully admitted, undeniably arousing. His body, still hypersensitive from his encounter in the woods with the prince, was reacting strongly to the carnal exhibit being put on by Flamma-regi. Lust, he knew, was a powerful thing. It had been the solitary possessor of his soul for the last two hundred years of his life. He had let it dominate his every action, and now after it had been denied such control for weeks, it wanted out. Desire for the lithe woman before him crashed over his head and poured into his blood vessels. It ran rampant in him, a beast unchained and hungry. Every inch of his skin tingled, his temperature rose, and in less than a minute he was so hard that he ached.

 

His heart was protesting. It screamed, cried, begged, pleaded… But the virile creature clawing at his loins was louder. His heart could not be heard.

 

Flamma-regi lifted one pale skinned, delicate hand and beckoned to him with her index finger. “Come here, Calcifex. I've waited long enough.”

 

And it was wrong, morally and fatefully, but the wizard went to her anyway. `I have no choice,' he told himself, over and over as he was cupping her supple breasts and pushing his knee between her legs. But guilt was a vice that refused to let him go, and even as he was plunging hard into her most intimate spot time after time, it gripped him by the chest, squeezing until he could scarcely breathe. When he finally emptied himself inside her, causing her to cry out in rapture, something she rarely did, the guilt became a tangible thing, rolling down his burning cheeks from his eyes in hot, salty rivulets, falling into his open mouth and landing on his tongue. He could taste it, and suddenly he felt like being sick. He pulled unceremoniously out of the queen, rolled over onto his side and curled up into a ball.

 

When Flamma-regi started saying his name and shaking his shoulder, growing increasingly irritated, he didn't even notice. He was too busy hating himself, hating what had happened, and even more, that part of him had enjoyed it.

 

*******

 

Disclaimer: This story consists purely of fiction and is a product of the author's imagination. Any person/place/thing/event contained within that has any similarities to something or someone in real life is completely coincidental.

 

Constructive criticism is welcome.