Straniera

by Daniela Jackson

  “How is Arnau?” I ask.

  Her eyes bore through me. “Don’t ask about him. Ever.”

  I nod as she squeezes my hand in hers.

  “It’s for your own good,” she says.

  “I know.”

  We hurry to Vahan’s kitchen. Vosgi piles two plates with food and puts them on a silver tray. She adds two mugs filled with hot herbal tea and two glasses filled with pink liquid and hands the tray to me.

  I huff out. “Where—“

  “Across the hall, through the burgundy door, and then along the corridor. The door with a curved golden punnica.”

  I pull the tray to me and walk out of the kitchen. My knees feel like they’re made of sponge as my heart hammers in my chest. Coldness penetrates my naked feet.

  It takes me about five minutes to reach the door adorned with a golden animal that looks like a cheetah.

  I huff out again and the door creaks open. My heart stops beating.

  “Come in,” Vahan says.

  I notice droplets of moisture on his naked hairy chest. He has a pair of black satin pyjama pants on.

  “I said come in,” he says impatiently. “I’m hungry.”

  He takes the tray from my hands. I roll my fingers into fists and step in. My eyes roam over the interior. It’s not what I expected. It’s not a king’s bedroom. The crude simplicity of stone walls forms a perfect background for the oriental furniture. An enormous bed stands on some kind of platform with four steps. White tulle curtains rustle in the arched windows, bringing an impression of a ghost castle to my mind. Four thick candles burn on a bedside table, exuding a musky scent with hints of cherry and rhubarb.

  Vahan puts the tray on the bed then moves closer to me and grabs my hand.

  “Eat with me,” he says.

  I suck in a breath then crawl onto his bed and sit on my heels. He settles himself opposite me with his legs stretched out, and he eases his weight onto his elbow.

  “Eat, Alyssa.”

  I hesitate. It’s as though I’m a rodent that’s held captive in a cage with a lion as my companion. My stomach tightens but Vahan’s dark glance urges me to obey him so I reach for a fruit that looks like an apple and bite into it. It’s a bit sour in taste.

  “Yasen will start teaching you from today,” Vahan says.

  “Thank you.”

  “Do you need anything else?”

  “I’d like a few pairs of trousers.”

  “Trousers?”

  I nod.

  I need them in case I found a way to get out of here.

  “I’ll order them for you,” he says. He bites into a piece of bread and washes it down with tea. “Drink.”

  I hold a mug and sip my tea.

  “Are you happy, Alyssa?”

  “No.” It just pours out of me, and I stiffen.

  People have something called a self-preservation instinct, which I don’t have apparently.

  “Why not?” Vahan’s eyes flicker with anger. “I treat you well.”

  My brain heats up. “I… I still don’t understand a lot of things. I was a student…”

  He straightens and sits with his knee bent. “Are you educated?” He props his elbow on his knee.

  “I just started my first year at law school.”

  “Law school?” He tears the mug away from my hand. “Come with me.”

  He jumps off the bed and pulls me behind him. We go towards a red curtain that obscures one of the niches and he pulls it away. I see a double door. Vahan opens it and coldness puffs onto my face. We immerse ourselves into the dark scented with dust and damp as thin streaks of the light filtering through the tiny holes in the wall mark our way.

  Vahan opens another door and we start climbing a spiral metal staircase. Then he shoves me into a room filled with leather bound books and scrolls. They lie on the shelves of high bookcases and are scattered on the stone floor. An old man is sitting at the desk.

  “Yasen,” Vahan says with excitement. “I have brought you an apprentice.”

  Yasen raises his warm eyes to me. “Very tiny that apprentice of mine.”

  “But very smart,” Vahan says. “She’s a lawyer. Teach her so she can take over two thirds of your duties.”

  Yasen nods and waves his hand to me. “Come here.” He tips a glass to his lips and takes a sip.

  Vahan smacks my ass and I shoot forward. “Learn, Alyssa.”

  I look over my shoulder and he glances at me like he wants to hurt me and then he walks off.

  I drop into the chair beside Yasen and a sense of peace and safety wafts through me. He reminds me of my grandpa who passed away a few years ago.

  “We will study the alphabet first,” he says and shakes.

  “Can I ask you about something?”

  “Ask, dzie’ta.”

  “How can I get out of this planet?”

  He strokes my head. “You can’t.”

  “But—“

  “I tried and I couldn’t.” He grins at me, and something boyish flickers in his eyes.

  “Are you a foreigner?”

  “No, but my grandmother was. She told me stories. I was curious so I went to the mountains where they say the gate is, but I found only hunters.”

  My heart flutters. “Teach me your language. Teach me your customs. Teach me your geography.”

  I’ll fucking read all those books around me. I’ll find someone like me to help me. I’ll go to the mountains one day. I’ll escape from this hell one day.

  Yasen spreads a piece of paper on the desk, hands me a pen and a bottle of ink and we start our lesson.

  Vosgi delivers a meal for us later this afternoon. Yasen goes to have a nap on the sofa by the window and I explore the library. The dust gives me cold-like symptoms, but the knowledge in the books gives me strength and hope. Soon, that knowledge will be mine and I’ll regain my life and freedom.

  Vahan

  She hasn’t returned from the library yet so I go to check on her. She should study, but I don’t want her to get ill from exhaustion. I enter the library and see my little bird covered in ink and sleeping on the floor. Scrolls and books are piled around her like she’s a princess in a citadel.

  I hear Yasen snoring from the farther end of the library. I go to check on him first. The smell of alcohol circles around him. I throw another blanket over him and correct the cushion under his head. Vosgi will have to prepare herbs for his hangover tomorrow.

  Then I lean over Alyssa and scoop her up into my arms. She weighs nothing. Her eyes flutter and she sighs and wiggles as her glance meets mine.

  “I’ll put you to bed,” I say.

  I want to take her to my bed, but I know she’d hate me even more if I did.

  She makes me soft.

  This is my right to take her, but I want to see love in her eyes, not hatred.

  I carry her out of the house and she shivers so I draw her closer to me. Her body is so fragile, so petite. So pleasantly soft to touch. She smells of jasmine and wind and ink. Of her own musk. Zaria’s women don’t smell like her.

  Her cunt must smell even more delicious. It must taste divine. I imagine my tongue penetrating her, and licking her. My dick awakes at that thought.

  I walk into the house, and Kohar greets me in the corridor. Her eyes sweep over Alyssa’s arms stained with ink.

  “How am I going to remove all that ink?” she mutters and shakes her head.

  “I don’t know, woman. That’s your job, not mine.”

  I step into Alyssa’s bedroom and lay her on the bed. I kiss her forehead and walk out. The cool air scented with vanilia and roslis envelops me as more fantasies flash through my head. I’d have Alyssa on all fours. I’d fuck her virgin cunt then I’d fuck her in the ass. She’d whimper then she’d moan her ecstasy.

  My dick is so hard I want to go back to Alyssa and fuck her raw, but I don’t.

  As I enter my bedroom, I can’t recall my way. I pull my shirt over my head and toss it onto the floor then I lower my t
rousers and hold my throbbing cock.

  “I can help.” This is Dardana.

  I raise my eyes and see that she’s sitting on my bed.

  “I bet you can.” I stroke myself as she crawls from the bed and saunters towards me.

  She kneels in front of me and flashes me a flirty smile.

  I pull her hair together on the back of her neck and hold her in place as she opens her mouth eagerly and crosses her wrists behind her back.

  “Get out,” I say. “If you enter my bedroom without my permission once more, I’ll serve you to the mountain hienasas as their dinner.”

  She looks at me like I have just put a dagger into her heart and she storms off.

  The door of the bedroom slams shut. I stroke my cock up and down, thinking of my precious little gem.

  Her name rolls off my tongue as I cum violently and sway.

  Soon I’ll have Alyssa’s mouth wrapped around my dick.

  Soon.

  Alyssa

  I deliver his breakfast to his bedroom; we eat and I go to the library. Yasen teaches me the numbers then I study the maps. All of them feature a continent that resembles Europe and Asia. I was good at geography at high school. My finding both intrigues me and scares me. I need to learn more. I need to learn faster. A crazy theory sprouts in my head. What if this is another dimension; what if this is something like multiple universes. Multiple Earths but each of them in a different stage of development. Theoretically, you can travel between the universes.

  I’m shaky.

  I’m frightened.

  I’m determined to figure this out.

  Later, Yasen shows me an account book, and I learn about taxes. I even catch an error in his calculations. I hesitate to tell him about it, but finally I spill it. He is so excited with my discovery that he pours us two glasses of wine. He smacks his lips and pats my shoulder.

  “Now, this is your responsibility,” he says.

  “But—“

  “You’re a perfect accountant.”

  He disappears behind the bookcase and soon I hear him snore.

  Vahan comes in the evening and walks me to the house.

  “Yasen is very clever,” I start.

  “He’s very old. He should retire at last.”

  Well, apparently he just did. He’s only interested in drinking wine and reading poetry books.

  I take a deep breath. “Why won’t you employ someone else?” My tutor thinks I know everything I should know, but the truth is, I know nothing. Vahan needs a professional to work for him.

  “I just did.” His arm shoots to me, and he wraps it around my back, pulling me to him.

  His mouth touches the top of my head.

  “I will go through all the account books,” I say as my voice stirs.

  “Alright.”

  “I learned something about taxes when I was at high school. Maybe you do this in a similar way.”

  “Alright.”

  I have the impression that he’s not listening to me at all.

  I enter the house, and he follows me to my bedroom. His back rests against my chest as his arms encircle my waist. I feel his hot mouth on the back of my neck.

  I yelp as he moves me forward and we bend over the desk. His hips rest against my ass and I feel his massive erection.

  He grunts into my ear. “Alyssa, my little flower.”

  I feel his hand gathering the hem of my gown up and he massages my naked ass cheek.

  My heart jumps up to my throat. Almast said he’d ask whether I want him or not. I don’t think he will. And I don’t think I can refuse.

  “Vahan,” Kohar says in a sharp voice behind us.

  Vahan straightens. “Not now.”

  I slip out of his embrace and pull my gown down. My thighs quiver. My heart pounds in my chest.

  “Are you going to break your own rules?” Kohar puts her hands on her hips.

  Vahan raises his finger at her then shakes his head and waves his hands in a warding gesture. “You’re always right, woman.”

  He backs up, disappearing behind the door as I fall into Kohar’s embrace and sob.

  “Why are you crying?” Kohar grips my arms and pushes me gently away.

  “He…” I gasp. “He…”

  Kohar strokes my head. “Go to bed. You’ll smile tomorrow, you’ll see.”

  “He…”

  “He’s good to you.”

  “I—“

  “Go to bed, dzie’ta.”

  I nod at her even though I want to run out of the house and vanish.

  I make myself ready for bed and dive under the duvet.

  I’m his whore. I should make peace with that at last.

  Chapter 8

  Vahan

  She doesn’t deliver my breakfast. I wait for her for a bit longer, but nobody appears in the corridor. Maybe she’s sick again. An unpleasant flutter goes through my chest. I pull on a shirt and rush to her house. As I walk across the garden, the echoes of music and laughter drift to my ears. I pick up the pace, passing my favourite pergola and my eyes travel to Alyssa and Almast twirling around the fire. Vosgi is playing a guitar. Alyssa pinches her gown and spins. She spreads her arms, turns her face towards the sky and looks like she’s somewhere else. I stride towards her. She drops her head, bouncing off me.

  I grip her arms to steady her. “Why aren’t you delivering my breakfast?”

  Her eyes widen at me and her jaw drops. “They said… This one day… You said… One day every moon cycle, we are free to do whatever we want to.”

  Now, I remember. Yes, this is my own rule.

  Relief washes over me then I grip her waist and lift her off the ground. I spin and her arms jerk down as she grips my neck.

  “You’re dancing with me,” she gasps as her eyelashes flutter.

  “Yes, I am dancing with you.” Euphoria fills my mind. I sway with my little flower in my arms then I stop and let her slide down. “You’re going to move into my house. Into my bedroom. Now.” I need to have her as close as possible—beneath me every night.

  I’ll go mad without her. I need to have her thighs wrapped around my waist. I need her lips to whisper my name.

  She pulls away from me, her face white with a greyish tinge. “No.” Her voice is coated with rebellion.

  Not with repulsion. Not with hatred. With passionate rebellion.

  Anger boils inside of me. “I said something, Alyssa.”

  “No.” She brings her fists up to her chest and looks at me fiercely.

  “Are you defying me?”

  Silence layers my surroundings, and everyone looks at us.

  “I’m not going to end up in your fucking bedroom as your fucking lay,” she hisses.

  I leap at her and grab her wrist. “That’s enough.”

  I allowed her to have too much freedom. She has to obey me. She has to respect me in front of my people.

  Alyssa

  He’s gripping my wrist with one hand while removing his belt from his trousers with his other hand. Silence envelops me. Panic strangles my throat.

  He drags me inside the house and then to my bedroom. I yank my wrist in a desperate attempt to free myself, but he’s holding it like it’s immobilised in a concrete block. He sits on my bed and yanks me to him. His hand squeezes the back of my neck and he bends me over his lap so I face the floor. I feel his hand gather up my gown and he smacks my ass with the belt. I wail like an animal. I wriggle, but he immobilises me with his leg and arm. Another smack. My ass feels like a real fire has seized it. I cry hysterically. Another smack.

  “Please,” I beg.

  Smack.

  “Fuck you,” I yell.

  Smack.

  “I’ll fucking kill you,” I yell.

  Smack.

  I wail.

  My ass is as one burning hell.

  Vahan massages my ass cheek with his hand. I feel his erection against my stomach.

  I want to kill him. I want to swear at him.

  I want him to�
� kiss me and fondle me. My core pulses.

  “You will obey me,” he says.

  “I will, I promise.”

  Smack.

  “I promise,” I sob.

  The belt lands on the floor, the buckle clatters, as he grips my waist, rises to his feet and throws me over his shoulder. Then he carries me to his house. I don’t move so I don’t piss him off more. He enters his bedroom and lets me slide down to the floor. I sway as his lips slam on mine. My knees bend, heat floods my tummy, and I jerk my body back, but he buries me in his embrace and kisses me deeper. Harder. My mind whirls. His facial hair scratches my cheek as his teeth scratch my lower lip. His tongue thrusts in and he fucks my mouth.

  I push at his chest. The kiss breaks, and I sweep my hand. I freeze.

  I just slapped him across the cheek.

  He will kill me.

  His eyes darken as I suck in a breath. It’s like I’m facing a demon. He leans over me and rips the front of my dress open. It slides down to the floor with a rustle. I’m naked. Petrified. At his mercy.

  Aroused.

  Vahan palms my breast then circles my nipple with his thumb. I shiver. My nipples harden. He lowers his head and draws my breast into his mouth. My fingers roll into fists, but a tingle runs down my spine. He grasps my waist and throws me on his bed. I manage only a sigh as his massive body crushes mine. His lips are on mine. So greedy. So possessive. As hot as fire.

  I wriggle then I melt.

  My pussy throbs. I feel myself getting soaking wet between my thighs.

  My mind rebels, screams to kill the bastard, but my body craves, obeys, and burns for his touch.

  My hands free themselves from my authority and land on Vahan’s head. They belong to him. They want to taste the sleekness of his thick hair. They want to taste the power of his muscles.

  I run my hands down his back and gather his shirt. He shakes it off and latches his lips on mine, growling into my mouth. I stroke his muscular back up and down. He is built like a Greek god. My fingertips discover scars—thin, thick, oval, and linear—at least six of them.

  I want this man. I want his strength and dominance. I want to taste what physical love is. I want Vahan to show me what being with a man is and to carry me into forgetfulness.

  He wraps my thigh around his waist, and I feel him open his trousers. He holds his thick stiff cock and guides it into my entrance. His hips move against mine, and he buries his whole length inside me in one thrust.