by Beth Wright
black and gold are the colors of the leader guards." He pauses as more food is brought to the table. "Red and black are the warrior colors. Black and silver are the colors of us leaders’ bloodlines."
Wooden cups are then placed on the table in front of all who are sitting at it. I let my eyes explore the village more. Small and large building type structures are all about the left side of the village. Dead center in front down below us is a bunch of long rectangular tables like the one I am at. Except the one I am at is bigger and more beautifully crafted. To the right of the other tables is. What!? This can't be. It's a giant waterfall with a medium size pond at the base of it. It's so beautiful and something else catches my attention. I look all the way up to see nothing but stone. We are in a giant cavern? Wow! I doubt they have to worry about the weather down here. More voices start to filter into the area. I look back towards the other tables. All the women are sitting at the tables on the right side. Children are all at the center tables, and all the tables on the left are filled with warriors and guards now. Realization of who I am sitting with comes to me. So black and gold are the leaders, and I am the only one here not wearing black and gold.
Turning my head slightly I find Vultar's wonderful smile looking down at me. "Why am I sitting up here with all of you when all of the others are down there?" I ask quietly while directing my eyes towards all the other women.
"Setiana,” I turn to our right to see which leader is now talking to me. "This is how your mate wishes for it to be." He then grins. "He is most defiantly protective of you."
"That he is Montral," the one on his other side states. "He refused to let you be placed in his dwelling while you slept." He then laughs softly, "It seems this beautiful young mate has a strong hold on your heart, Vultar."
I feel Vultar’s laugh before I actually heard it. "That she does, Roctra. I would have it no other way," he says as he places a soft gentle kiss on the top of my head.
Everyone is now done eating but I find myself still eating more of these delicious purple fruits. I soon find myself feeling very tipsy. Great, the one food I find so wonderful is now kicking my butt. I start to giggle for no reason what-so-ever. Oh, no. Soon all the leaders are looking at me with amusement written all over their faces. Crap, first they read my thoughts now they are spiking my food. Laughter erupts all around us. I am so frustrated, but I cannot stop giggling. "Stop laughing," I try to say it seriously but fail. I am soon able to control myself a little better. "Why are you getting me drunk?" At least that is what I try to ask. Whether it came out that way or not, I am not quite sure. Soon laughter engulfs me once again.
"I did not know the Voxiton would have this effect on you, Love," he replies with a grin on his face. "Although, I must admit it is very cute what it does to you." He laughs once more as I cross my arms and give him a look of disbelieve. "Honest, Dear." he bends down and kisses my cheek.
His kisses are always so gentle, warm, and delightful. God, I don't think I can stand them too much more. Without realizing what I am doing, I stand and turn to him. I proceed to do something I doubt any of his people will ever forget. Without thinking I look deep into his eyes. I place my hands on his shoulders for support. Not a single word escapes our mouths. So I go for the ultimate plunge. I place my lips to his and start to kiss him as if this was the last kiss we would ever have between us. Mouth to mouth, tongue to tongue, I hear him growl softly. His hands start to drift up and down my back. Oh my god, I forgot where we are. Dang it, I just gave his whole village a show. Pulling myself away from his warm embrace and hot kiss I say, "Ok, I better stop now. Before I give your people a show that will make their jaws drop."
He grabs my hands into his, then smiles and says, "You already have."
I slowly turn to face everyone and realize he's right. The looks on all their faces; some smiling, and others have their mouths open with disbelieve. "What? They act as if they have never seen anyone kiss before."
Vultar pulls me to his chest. "No, Love, we have never seen any kiss as such." He grins down at me. "I have never felt anything so amazing in my life."
Then without the slightest bit of warning his lips cover mine. This time he's the one pulling me in deeper. I soon pull myself away from his mouth just enough to whisper, "We really need to stop. I honestly can't handle much more."
"Yes, Love, nor can I." He stops and stared, then grins. “We have visitors, dear."
"We do?" I look around the village and leaders. "I see no one new here." He still has me held hard and gently against his warm body. This is so not helping with clearing my mind with what I really want to do with him.
Bending his head down towards my ear he softly whispers, "You will have time to show me everything later, in our dwelling, Beautiful." Hearing this makes my heart race and a blush blossom over my face.
Soon there are men not like the Mongoeliliens coming towards us. Okay… I have had nightmares of snakes as a child but these guys are not helping me forget that. Light black skin covers their bodies. Black shining armor with red trimming covers their buff, manly forms. The top half is a normal looking male appearance with wavy, long, beautiful, black hair, but from their waist down is one large, black snake tail. The one with gold trimmed armor seems to be staring my way. A chill of terror flows down my back. These guys are making all of my childhood nightmares come back to me at once.
Of course my mind reading mate catches every bit of this. He keeps his hold on me as he positions himself and lightly lifts my body into his strong, yet warming embrace. He is now stopping in front of the new guests. With a gentle, strong voice he proceeds to talk with the one closest to us. Once Vultar stops talking and Roctra takes over the conversation, I decide this is the best time to ask a question. "What are they?" Without looking away from them Vultar starts to talk once more to the newcomers.
Roctra turns his eyes to me and says, "They are Blackthorn Cobracons, Setiana." He smiles then adverts his attention back to the Blackthorn Cobracons and joins the conversation once more.
Vultar's chest muscles start to tighten under the palm of my hand. Looking up to his face, shows exactly what I thought is true; he's getting very pissed off. His voice starts to deepen and soon after I hear Roctra's voice deepen as well. Their faces show that their anger is rising with every word the Cobracon speaks. Soon Vultar covers my body with his cloak. Hissing and growling all around us starts to grow louder by the minute. Vultar is now moving faster than I have ever felt him move. He removes his cloak from around me and gently places my feet on the ground by the leaders’ table. "Stay here love. Tronarc will keep you safe." Bending down he gently places a soft kiss on my lips. Turning his head slightly he says something to Tronarc. Tronarc answers him while walking with some of the warriors. Without another word Tronarc then looks to me.
Tronarc is now walking towards me as Vultar goes off towards the Cobracons once again. "Don't worry mother," he says as he approaches me. He turns his head towards the warriors that accompany him and says a few words to them. "Some of the warriors will help keep you safe." We both turn our attention back to the fight starting to break out at the caverns entrance.
"They did not seem like enemies when they showed up." My voice came out so quietly I started to wonder if anyone even heard me at first.
The warrior to my right side glances at Tronarc then leans down and whispers, "They want something, and we refused to give it up."
"What is so important to be starting a war over?" I slowly turn my eyes to Tronarc, and his are now burning into mine. Turning towards the others I come to notice they are now all staring at me. "Wait!" I can't believe this. "They are fighting over me?" I am now dreading the answer.
"Yes mother, they saw you and decided their leader should have you as his mate." Gently grabbing my arm he soon positions me behind him.
I watch in horror while blood starts to coat the ground. All of the Cobracons are now trying to fight their way through the cavern's entrance. I flinch and hide my eyes while holding onto Tronarc's
arm from behind. With remorse I soon come to realize my actions are not helping me feel better at all. I cannot help but to look up every now and then to see if I can find Vultar amongst the bloody battle. After a few attempts I soon see a glimpse of him off to one side only amongst a huge group of Cobracons. Their swords are drawn and slicing through the air as they attempt to kill him. The Cobracons’ long claws slice through his skin and muscles. I watch in horror as he gets clawed and stabbed over and over again. A sudden movement from the corner of my eye catches my attention. A high pitched scream emerges from the depths of my mind, as one of the Cobracons is now making his way towards us, his long, slithering tail flowing behind him. His eyes are now pinned directly on mine. "Stay behind us mother," Tronarc shouts as he and others try to block the approaching enemy. Eight of the warriors charge at the Cobracon. He laughs as they approach him. With one quick movement he pulls out a large sword from behind his back. The warriors' hand blades slice through the air in attempts to hit their mark. A smile over flows him as he sends them swirling into the air from one strong blow from his tail. My heart skips a beat as I watch him take all eight warriors down with very little effort. As they try to
