Crimson Black

by C C Morgen

  “Did you choose?” She looked as if she was listening to a suspenseful story.

  “Humm… I kissed them both.”

  Her eyes widened. “Awe,” she played. “Alphard has two suitors.”

  “Not really. I didn’t choose either of them.”

  It became silent between us.

  “You didn’t see them that way,” Amphis spoke for me, since I had a tough time saying it.

  “That’s right. I didn’t love them the same way they loved me. I don’t really know what that kind of love is, anyway. But at least I gave them the chance they wanted. In the end, coming here made the choice for me. I never had the time to tell them how I truly felt.”

  “I’m sure they knew,” she tried to comfort me. “It’s difficult handling the truth. Love for another is something only known here.” She grasped her chest referring to the heart. “Over here will light the way to the one for you. Without it you become lost wandering from lover to lover never genuinely feeling content. So, it was the right choice to not choose them. Because you never know when love enters. You're never prepared for what will happen or if you will accept them. Love is complicated like that since we are talking about our polar opposites.”

  “Have you ever found true love?” I asked curiously.

  “I have not,” she admitted honestly. “Only romance from lovers that only lasted for a brief time. I envy the mundane sometimes and how they can find love so quickly and pass on from the world and start over again through reincarnation as someone else; finding love all over again; living countless different lives; and experiencing everything differently through different eyes. It’s amazing how well the mundane life can be. Immortals living the same life for eternity is rather boring when you really think about it.”

  “You don’t seem bored right now.”

  “I’m not, but only because I’m here with you.” She gazed deep into my eyes, approaching closer.

  “We should get going.” I stood up and away from her. My intuition told me she wanted to kiss, but I couldn’t get passed the assumption that she might not look at me the same if she knew my secret. She said love is about accepting your other, but my insecurities clouded my judgement. Besides my racing thoughts, what was the point of falling for her when soon enough I’d lose my ability to love? I could tell Amphis sensed my insecurities from afar. She must never know, or I fear these pleasant moments will end along with our friendship.

  ***

  The months became harder to find time to see Amphis. My mother had me for some days to accompany her to dinner and lectures. She shed light on our history with the mundane and how there is a severe deception on our actual appearance. They described us as ugly and bird-like more than a woman. Pictures depicted us mostly bird with a female head. Some described us as bird-like head and female body. Either way, many described our kind as being overly hideous, which I found amusing, looking at the overly alluring woman before me.

  Our conversations made it hard to understand what it truly meant to be her daughter; learning of her deal with Hades and their close friendship was boring to listen to. Her affairs with Hades disturbed me a great deal.

  Luna and I still trained and when we did, I caught glimpses of the rage in her eyes. Then I understood what Amphis meant by love never being returned. I’m sure my mother knew of Luna’s desire; however, she was cold in that way, ignoring one's feelings as she ignored mine when I asked if I could visit home. Mother denied many times for me to see my family, which weakened my will and hope of ever seeing them again.

  To pass the time in the castle, I learned about my mother’s habits and how she kept beautiful women around her at all time. They were all gorgeous of many races from Elves, Sirens, to Fox Spirits; and they were all my mother’s toys to do as she pleased with. I even peeped one evening in her chamber where she took rest in a colossal size bed with all of her servants lying around her, creating a circular barrier for my mother’s protection. Only Luna would stand near the entrance and watch my mother through the night until dawn. I was always curious when did Luna ever sleep and how did she have so much energy to toss me around in training?

  Luna was just an unstoppable force with regenerative abilities, always restoring her body back to full health without help. As once a Werewolf, it was a common trait, but as hound her ability had doubled. Her power gave her infinite strength to protect and serve my mother for eternity.

  ***

  My mother taught me a lot about our clan and how her and her sisters separated into three clans when they produced offspring. I and my mother represented the Dark, we can control the darkness by conjuring it into solid matter like a weapon. My mother could bend the shadows to her will; rendering victims paralyzed by constricting their shadow; then controlling their body like a puppet. She also used the power of the Dark to create portals to enter from one place to another; misting through walls and dropping through floors with ease. It was the reason my mother was the most powerful of her siblings and the most feared. She was deadly in every conceivable way.

  Her sisters, Aello and Ocypete, represented the Swift Storm and Swift Wing clans, respectively. Each had their own strengths that correlated with their title. Aello brought chaos through storms of destruction; lightning and whirlwinds that decimated villages and kingdoms. Ocypete had strength in her wings to fly swiftly in the night without being seen, which it considered her clan the silent killers and had vast experience in assassinations.

  One night, I witnessed the swift wing clan in action as they raided the castle in the dead of night to find me. Most of the servants were fast asleep and too deep in their dreams to realize the castle was under attack. When they found me in the tower, it was the first time I ever saw Yuna show her true self. She was not the frail girl I thought her to be. Her magic activated, forming a barrier around me. Then she created an air shield that glowed a green pentacle, like the color of her dress. The energy from her shield had so much force it burst from her hand, knocking my foolish cousins out the balcony window. It was only then when I saw the wings of a Harpy for the first time. My mother later explained we keep them concealed until needed. They expanded outward, Angelic-like, with a mixture of black that glimmered like silk in the moonlight; and a deep crimson red that appeared to look like blood.

  After that night, I wasn’t allowed to leave the castle on my own, unless escorted. It had been weeks in the least and months at the most before my mother felt secure again to let me have freedom to venture on my own. I either trained with Luna or I was back in my room with Yuna as my bodyguard. She kept a close eye on me as per my mother’s orders and I couldn't see Amphis for a long time. During that time, we’d write notes back and forth to each other. I wrote apologies and lied I was on duty ever since the families made an assassination attempt on the Queen. I even produced a story that everyone was on duty for days on end. Our notes were delivered by a Fairy every other day to the cove and back.

  “I miss you, Solitary One. It’s been lonesome for once without you here. When will the Queen finally let you free? –O.P.”

  Amphis sent a letter I’d never expected to read, somehow, I found it surprising she was lonely.

  I noticed as time passed; it became much easier to lie, and it wasn’t hard to keep my emotions from spiraling into something Amphis felt. I had gained a sense of control but was slowly losing who I was and the innocence that gave me purity.

  “I miss you too, Ocean Princess. I have no sense of when it will end. Hopefully, I’ll visit you soon. –S.O.”

  More days passed and still I didn’t have my freedom. Then I received a note from Amphis. Having it in my hand was like salvation to my secluded life in the tower. I opened the small rolled note to read.

  “To my dearest, Solitary One. I’ve been desiring to ask you this for a long time now. So please don’t avoid my question like I’ve known you to do when you’re insecure about answering. I understand even after all these years, you have a hard time opening up. I’m well aware you do
n’t trust me enough to express your feelings even though I don’t understand what I’ve done to make you feel that way in the first place. Just know I’ll always have patience with you, but it’s only fair I know. Why did you pull away from me that day when I tried to kiss you? I 've sensed something more than just a friendship between us. I can see it in your eyes the way you look at me. That day I longed to kiss you because I had the same desire from you. Did I assume wrong about you feeling something more for me as well? -O.P.”

  The note made my heart sink deep in the pit of my stomach. I did not understand how to respond. And she was right, it was only fair to give her a proper response.

  “You are special my charming, Ocean Princess. I will give you the honesty you deserve by saying, yes. I desire you the same. Although, it scares me, these feelings swelling up inside me. I’ve never felt this way before about someone. That spark, I never had before with my friends ignited deep inside my chest when you caught me staring at you on the beach. I couldn’t help staring at how alluring you were to my sinful eyes, I immediately wanted you all to myself. All this time that feeling never faded. It kept growing stronger. I pulled away because there are things you don’t know about me and most of all you are the reason my life has become bearable on this island. It would pain me more than anything if our friendship ended. It’s what I fear the most. It terrified me back then with my friends and it terrifies me now. I wanted to kiss you too, but not at the risk of losing you one day. –S.O.”

  Within the same day, I received a response in the evening. Curiously, I read it, knowing Amphis was eager to respond.

  “Alphard! I have a gift for you. When you are released from your obligations, please come by. I promise, you will love it. –O.P.”

  Eventually my mother gave me freedom once again to wander on my own. My mother was acting more unusual as if she was preparing for something. Then I realized she acted strange when I turned twenty years of age two months ago. It was different being more mature. My body filled out and my muscles were lean from all my training with Luna. Every step I took in the sand had confidence. I wanted to see Amphis, so I ran the rest of the way; impatient and thinking of the surprise she had for me.

  She waited for me on the beach by the Cove. As soon as she saw me she had a grin the size of a crescent moon on her face.

  “Someone is excited to see me,” I spoke playfully.

  Amphis wrapped her arms around me. “I’m thrilled you’ve finally come.” She let go and held out her hand. “And to give you this.” In her fingertips was a handmade leather choker with a blueish green stone embedded in the center.

  “It’s beautiful.” I reacted to the shine as it gave off a magical glow in her hand.

  “This stone was hard to get. But finally, it arrived.”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t have a name. It’s a special stone, made by Mermaids.” Amphis tied the choker around my neck and made sure the stone was touching my skin. “It’s enchanted with the power to breathe underwater. Wearing this you can follow me to the depths of the sea.”

  “You’re taking me today?” I gazed at her in excitement.

  “If that’s what you want to do—yes,” She answered.

  I took off all my clothes and sprinted into the ocean nude. I dove my head under, realizing my lungs could now breathe in the saltwater as if it was air. Amphis rushed after me; swimming naked beside me. I loved watching her under water, with how her body glided with grace in her movements.

  I handled the stonework on my neck. It had to touch my skin at all times to keep the enchantment flowing through me. I followed Amphis, swimming out to sea, where I could see and touch the coral reef beyond the cove. A school of fish went passed us; grazing their scales against my skin while swimming by. The colors were bright with sea life that made it seem like a paradise.

  We swam further out to sea where a family of dolphins came to meet us. They moved smoothly through the water and quickly around me. They leaped in and out of the water from above playfully. Amphis grabbed my hand and guided me to a sandbar where we could submerge from the water and rest. She gave me a look, and I knew what it meant.

  “I can feel it in my heart the dark space that clouds you even though I know deep down you wish that nothing will change.” She moved closer with intentions in her eyes I couldn’t help but to swim into her soul more than the sea. “I’m not going away. I’ll never stop wanting you here with me even if you are afraid to tell me what you keep locked up so tight.” Her body proceeded even closer to mine until she was a breath away. “All I ask is for a chance.”

  My will caved in as her lips touched mine in a gentle kiss. She tasted salty from the sea water, yet it was sweet like berries. Her hands grasped my waist and pulled my body closer to hers until I felt her soft breasts press against my chest. Her tongue touched mine in sheer passion, and I too held her in my arms, and I felt how soft, light she was and delicate in-comparison to my hard exterior. Her back arched as I ran my hands down; fondling her thighs. I easily lifted her legs around me, and she locked it tight around my waist. My blood boiled, with the heat rushing to my head. Her lips still overwhelmed mine with a deep embrace; taking my breath away.

  A fire burned in my abdomen as our kisses became more intense. Suddenly, I suffered a jolt in my core, and I pulled away from her. Her lips continue to graze my cheek and trailed down to my neck; her other hand grasped the back of my neck, making sure I did not pull away.

  Something in my body was reacting to the heat that burned hotter and hotter as she touched and kissed down my neck. I didn’t want to stop, but my skin shifted like last time and I could see the snake-like skin form and shimmer up my arm.

  “Stop,” I uttered in a soft tone with barely any energy to say it louder. I pulled away her arm. She noticed me struggling and shaking.

  “Are you all right?” She released her legs from around my waist and held me close.

  My skin became heated like being burned by fire in her arms.

  “You’re burning up,” Amphis expressed concern. “We need to get you back.”

  I held her wrist as she tried to break apart from me. “Please.” I panted and tugged her back. Then I slowly leaned my head on her chest. “Let me stay like this for a while.” I breathed heavily with my heart still racing fast against my chest. “It will pass.” I breathed again. “It will pass.”

  I noticed her heart, throbbing on my forehead. She was just as excited as I was. However, this uncontrollable emotion of desire was unknown. The lust I underwent occurred with an insatiable hunger for something as if I were a predator seeking prey. What could it be? What did I need to satisfy this hunger?

  CHAPTER VIII

  Truth of Monsters

  THE THOUGHT OF AMPHIS STILL LINGERED on my mind. I brushed my lips, still having the sensation of our kiss even the next day, waiting outside the dining room after receiving a message from my mother. She had summoned me to supper as expected, yet it seemed strange this evening when my mother had the servants bring an Amphora to the dining space. It was her best aged wine. A nine-tailed fox spirit, her tail and hairstyle as white as snow, brought in two golden chalices to the dinner table and topped it with wine, ready for my mother’s arrival.

  The Queen strolled with delight in her loveliest attire, with even less clothing covering her skin. The rear of her dress displayed her curved back, her cleavage clearer with the front-line cut, opening down below her pelvis. Her dress was shorter than normal, and it hardly concealed her tall legs. She wore no shoes tonight, so she swayed barefoot down the hallway and into the dining area.

  Yet then, I could never interpret my mother’s charm and style as modest, shy, nor discrete, because she was the absolute opposite of any sophistication. However, she had dignity and ego limitless as the midnight sky. Her mood was cosmic this evening with a rare sense of enjoyment as she grinned at me while she sat at the dinner table.

  “You look happy today,” I noticed her exciteme
nt. “What’s the occasion mother?” I inquired specifically and rested in the chair closest to her, where a chalice was set for me.

  She sipped from the sweet reserved wine. I even took a sip tasting the ripened grapes on my tongue and it soothed its way down my throat with a pleasant finish.

  “What a refreshing taste for such a marvelous evening,” my mother countered with satisfaction in her manner. “I’ve kept this wine only for a particular celebration. It has matured for twenty seasons.”

  “Twenty,” I recalled, recognizing the age matched mine.

  “Yes dear,” She expressed delight to my reaction. “I had this prepared the day you were born. It’s only meant for the day when it’s time for you to join the clan. To obtain the absolute sovereignty of the dark, and your wings.”

  “So, you assume I’m ready,” my attention drifted elsewhere from my mother. Am I ready to become the heir, to become a Harpy like my mother?

  “What’s wrong my child?”

  “I don’t think I’m ready or worthy,” I thought about my love growing for Amphis. “The clan's so fierce.” I looked my mother in the eye. “I don’t know if I’m capable of such darkness… Or if I can deal with the burden of murdering someone and serving more misery into the world like you, mother.”

  My mother’s eyes enlarged with devastation after I declared my thoughts. She scowled at me with a dumbfounded expression of displeasure, and I realized suddenly that my words upset her.

  “Murder you say… Pain…” A dark mist appeared around her body like a black aura. She clamped her hand hard with fury until her nails dug into her skin causing it to bleed. “Do you think what I undertake is just to spill blood?” She wavered for a moment taking a deep breath. “I understand a woman you assumed raised you was comparable to a saint. Yes, she was sympathetic to you and took care of those two unfortunate boys.” She leaned into the table looking dead into my eyes. “Have you ever asked, why that woman was in my debt? No doubt I’m grateful. She took care of you well. I’ll only allow her that, especially after what she did. Ask my sweet child… What contract did she make with me?”