Just One Golden Kiss

by M. A. Thomas

  Never mind her outlandish, yet tasty time with Xavier she centered instead on reaching the castle, a task which was beginning to become quite arduous. With so many trees down, she had to either climb over them or find another way around them.

  As she climbed down from the other side of a tree, she noticed something shining through a pile of leaves. Bending, she moved the leaves aside and upon taking a closer look at the shiny material, she gasped. It couldn’t be! She was staring at gold. She stood so abruptly she fell backwards and into the fallen tree from which she had just climbed down. Pointy branches dug into her back. Using her arms to push off the tree, she yelled, “Bloody hell!”

  When she was once again standing, she quickly scanned the area. Please don’t be here, please, leave me alone. She didn’t see the golden ball which gave her some comfort. Taking in a deep breath, she sped through the forest, jumping over branches and puddles and more than once nearly colliding with a fallen tree.

  Ahead, the castle came into view. From what she could see so far, nothing looked out of place. She flew toward it. As she got closer, her stomach began to ache and she considered turning and running back to Eldrich’s house. No, she was not a coward. And besides, despite her apprehension, her most important concern was to know her father was safe.

  Clearing her throat and swallowing, she reached the castle’s grounds. Everything appeared as she had left it. It was as if the storm had intentionally bypassed the castle. Relieved, she exhaled a deep breath and massaged her brow. Then it hit her. How did she not notice it sooner? The silence, the absence of people, the castle was deserted.

  Her heart in her knees, Lela ran through the castle’s halls yelling, “Father! Father! Where are you?”

  She stopped and listened. She heard nothing. Not possible. Flinging the doors open to her father’s bedroom, she yelled again, “Father! It’s Lela!”

  He was not in his room. Sinking into a chair, she pleaded with her mind to bring her answers. Something awful must have happened to cause her father and the rest of the people to leave. No wonder her father hadn’t come looking for her. Whatever transpired must have occurred soon after she left, as soon as that same night. Vampires!

  Blood rushed to her brain; if she had not been sitting, she would have fainted. Sitting still for a moment, she let the dizzy spell pass. Then she dashed into the hall on her way to the castle’s kitchen. She’d gather as much food as she could carry, hustle back to the house, formulate a plan and wait for Eldrich to rise from his sleep.

  Scanning the kitchen, she held her nose. The smell of rotting food so strong, she nearly hurled. Flies flew about as if humans had gone extinct and it was now their time to rule the land. Barrels of rotting vegetables and fruit sat on the floor and on tables.

  Quickly, she searched for any food that was still edible. Ah, yes, the cooks always kept dried salted meat and jars of preserved fruit in the pantry. She spilled a bag of grain and then used the bag to collect as much meat and preserved fruit as she could carry. Throwing the bag over her shoulder, she made for the kitchen’s exit door and then walked through the short hall which led to the animals’ pens.

  But when she was outside she didn’t hear any sounds coming from the enclosures. The animals were gone, too. Madness!

  If the people of the castle were in immediate danger, her father would not have ordered they also take the animals. But then she had been gone for two months and couldn’t be sure when it was that her father and the rest of the people left the castle. Nothing made sense. How was it possible that everyone, including the animals, had simply vanished?

  Trying to understand what could have happened, Lela thought of the gold she had seen in the forest. Perhaps the golden ball had made it out of the sea and was now searching for her. But, if the ball was once again following her, why hadn’t the vampires come for her? Why would they have attacked her father instead? Maybe vampires had nothing to do with this. But who else could have gone after her father? Questions, nothing but questions and no bloody answers!

  “Lela!” a woman screamed.

  Lela turned in the direction of the voice. Coming out of the woods was a familiar face.

  “Lady Rema, oh my beloved Lady Rema!” Lela yelled, setting the bag of food down and running to meet her.

  Crying and disheveled, Lady Rema embraced her.

  “I can’t believe it’s you,” Lady Rema said, looking her up and down.

  “What happened here?” Lela asked.

  “You’re so skinny,” Lady Rema said, hugging her again. “Oh Princess, I thought you were dead.”

  “Focus, dear Lady Rema. Tell me what happened. Where is my father?”

  Lady Rema started to cry again. “They disappeared.”

  “How?” Lela asked, putting her hands on Lady Rema’s shoulders and lightly shaking her. She wouldn’t hesitate to slap her.

  “The day you left…when the hours passed and you still hadn’t returned, I went looking for you. I was afraid the King would find out.”

  “You went into the forest, alone?”

  Lady Rema had never left the castle’s grounds. Not that Lela was aware of anyway.

  “I had to bring you back. You told me the golden ball had made itself known to you. That meant vampires would be coming after you,” she said, wringing her hands.

  As much as she loved Lady Rema her reason for going into the forest gave Lela doubt. She was the only one who hadn’t vanished. Why? There was something Lady Rema wasn’t telling her.

  “I once asked you if you were an honest woman,” Lela said.

  Nodding, Lady Rema said, “I am.”

  “Then tell me the truth.”

  “I couldn’t find you. I didn’t know where to look. I got lost,” she said, inhaling and exhaling. “When I found my way back to the castle everyone was gone. I swear. They were all gone.”

  “You’re not telling me everything. A few weeks ago, I was a silly, naive girl. I’m no longer that same ridiculously sheltered, stupid girl who chased after a golden ball.” Lela took Lady Rema’s hand. “I will only ask you one more time. If you do not answer me with the truth, I’ll know it and you will be out of my life forever.”

  Lady Rema gazed at the ground and then back at Lela. “I’ve taken care of you from the moment you were born. I swore to your mother the night she walked into the forest and gave herself to the vampires, wretched, despicable beings, that I would protect you,” she paused for a moment, “when you didn’t come back, I knew your father and everyone else here would suffer a painful death because of your decision to live with a vampire. At first, I tried to wave the thought away. You couldn’t possibly have fallen in love with one of them, not after what happened to your mother.”

  “How cruel of you to say something like that to me,” Lela said, tears beginning to form.

  “It’s not my intention to be cruel.”

  “How did you know about Eldrich?”

  “I knew something happened to you the night you spent in the forest. You came back different. Your focus on when the sun would set gave me pause. Your questions about vampires…”

  “Finish your words,” Lela said, massaging her forehead.

  “I did go after you. I was not lying about that. I knew exactly where he lived, the vampire with whom you had fallen in love. But I never made it to his house. Halfway there, I decided to visit my sisters instead. I flew high into the mountains, seeking their help.”

  Lela tried to maintain her composure. Every part of her wanted to strangle Lady Rema.

  “Are you seriously kidding me? What do you mean you flew? You’ve gone mad.”

  Lady Rema cleared her throat and sighed. “You asked for the truth. Here it is. I’m a witch.”

  Lela snickered and put her hands on her knees. “Oh, right, sure, of course you’re a witch. Why wouldn’t you be? After all, I’m a princess in love with a vampire. Oh, and by the way, angels exist and did you know that there was a war hundreds of years ago between vampires and angels?
What else? Oh, yeah, I’m pretty sure the angels lost and now they all live in the Kingdom of the Lost and oh my, unknown Kingdoms, yeah, they also exist but then since you’re a witch you probably already know that. And lastly, please tell me you don’t actually fly on a broom? I shall fall dead.”

  “This is no time for mockery and humor. I’m a witch. Of course I use a broom to fly. How else would I have reached the mountains so quickly?” Lady Rema said, blushing.

  “I do apologize,” Lela said. “How very rude of me to poke fun at your revelation and your broom.” Hysterically laughing, she held her stomach. She considered picking up the bag of food and heading back to Eldrich’s house.

  “Lela! Compose yourself. I have more to tell you.”

  “Oh yes, by all means, please go on.”

  “My plan the day you left was to bring you back, even if I had to cast a spell on you. I was afraid that once vampires learned the golden ball was hidden and that you had left the castle to go live with one of them, they’d come after your father and everyone else in the castle. Vampires are vicious, but they do respect rules. And without the golden ball, they cannot harm you nor can they attack your loved ones provided you remain in the same household. Do you understand what I’m saying?” She gritted her teeth. “You left the castle, leaving the door open for an attack. They would have killed your father and anyone else who dared cross their path. I would not have been able to stop them. They would have tortured your father, drained him slowly and then cast him into the sea where he would have endured further agony. They are despicable, soulless creatures who care nothing for humans or any other beings.”

  “If what you’re saying is true, why didn’t you come after me?”

  “Because of him,” she said.

  “Eldrich?”

  “He’s not what you think he is. I was afraid.”

  “Don’t hold your tongue, now, old lady!”

  “I was afraid he would rip me apart if I tried to take you. Most of our spells don’t work on vampires and the few that do require special ingredients and a wise hand. I have neither. I’ve never traveled outside of Barmoth. I’m a pathetic witch.”

  “Eldrich is not like that. He would have never harmed you.”

  “I know you love him, but he’s hiding something from you.”

  “Enough! I want to know where my father is. I swear I’ll strangle you right here and now if you don’t tell me.”

  “My sisters cast a spell on the castle, making it invisible and impenetrable. They helped me protect the people I love. But another witch, a powerful and old one, cast a different spell. She sent everyone to one of the unknown kingdoms. She hates you and Eldrich. She wants nothing more but to see you both suffer. I tried to bring them back. My sisters and I tried, but we could not break her curse.”

  The same witch who turned Eldrich into a frog for not lying with her; the same witch who cast a spell on Zel sentencing her to death unless Lela lied with her lover, Xavier; the same witch who was now bent on forever hurting her and Eldrich. Curse you, witch! Curse you!

  “What must I do to get them all back?” Lela asked.

  “You’ll need to travel to her. She demands that you and Eldrich come to her and beg her for forgiveness.”

  “Forgiveness?” Lela bit her upper lip.

  “For the hurt you and Eldrich have caused her. Eldrich for not lying with her, and you for breaking the curse, and worst of all because Eldrich fell in love with you. For all of that, she demands you ask her for forgiveness.”

  “And if I do that, will she return my father…everyone to the castle?”

  “She has given me and my sisters her word.”

  If Lela was to beg anything from anyone she needed to know that person’s name. “What’s her name?”

  Lady Rema shuffled her feet. “She goes by the name of Stiltz.”

  “I know that name,” Lela said. She’d heard her mother and father whisper it when they thought she wasn’t around and whenever she asked them about it, they’d shoo her away and tell her to go play and never speak of it.

  “She’ll try and trick you.”

  “Did my parents know her?” Lela asked, frowning.

  Lady Rema covered her face with her hands. “The day after you were born she came before your mother and father to claim you. Stiltz had helped your poor mother after her father told a terrible lie to the King. He told your father that his daughter, your mother, could spin straw into gold and when your father found out that she couldn’t, he sentenced her to death. Bless your father, he is kind but he’s no one’s fool. He’ll not tolerate disrespect or treachery. Ah, but the wretched witch, Stiltz, helped your mother and in return for her help your mother offered her, her firstborn. You.”

  “I have absolutely had it. How many more secrets are you keeping? And spinning straw into gold? Absurd, ludicrous! Gold has not existed in Barmoth for an eternity,” Lela said.

  “When Stiltz came for you, your father and mother tried to dissuade her, offering her treasures and a noble position in the castle. She finally consented to one thing. If they could guess her name in three day’s time, she’d pardon your mother. Witches are secretive. We do not disclose much about ourselves and certainly not our real names. But Stiltz was careless. She thought she had won and so on the third night she walked through a remote village yelling her name. A villager, I’m convinced it was a fallen angel who was passing through Barmoth, traveled to the castle and told your mother and father. Stiltz swore she’d hurt you someday. She stormed out of the castle swearing she’d find a way to hurt you.”

  Lela could not absorb the information she had just heard. It was all too much. She’d think about it later.

  “If you have any other secrets, hold them. Tell me how to get to the witch.”

  “She lives in the highest point of the tallest mountain.”

  “Even with Eldrich’s speed and strength it will take us days, maybe even weeks to reach it. I’m not a climber. It’s impossible!”

  “I will give you my broom. It can carry you both. Go to Eldrich and be back here at sundown.”

  Lela wrapped her arms around Lady Rema. “All is not well between you and me. We will someday sit down and finish this conversation. But I know you did what you did because you wanted to protect me and my father.”

  “Come back at sundown,” Lady Rema said.

  “Wait for me here,” Lela said.

  “Go.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Lela made it back to the house in less than an hour. She raced up the stairs and into her room. Exhausted, her stomach full from dried, salted meat, she fell into her bed. She needed to sleep, if only for a few hours. Drifting into slumber, she prayed to the Gods to give her courage.

  A whisper awakened her.

  “Sweet Princess, I missed you,” Eldrich said into her ear.

  Still groggy, she said, “I have so much to tell you.”

  Kissing her neck, he swept his hand down her arm. “Tell me afterwards.”

  His heat was driving her crazy and she felt guilty for wanting him inside of her.

  His lips touched hers. She opened her mouth to him, her hand sliding down to his hard cock. She gripped its head and moved her hand up and down on it. He continued kissing her sending shivers down to her toes.

  Moving her hand away from his stiffness, he said, “I have a surprise for you.”

  “What is it?” she asked, moaning and squirming.

  “Will you do as I say?” he asked.

  She’d do anything he asked. “Command me.”

  “Sweet delicious, Princess, I missed being inside of you, thrusting into you.”

  “Then do it, my love. Plunge into me, hurt me.”

  “Not yet. First I want to show you my surprise. I think you’ll be pleased.”

  “Tell me what to do. I’m yours.”

  He sat up in the bed and leaned against the headboard. “I want you to play with yourself. I want to watch you touch yourself.”

  He
had never asked that of her. It struck her that she had never thought about putting on that kind of display for him. She suddenly felt prudish.

  The sconces on the walls shimmered light into the room. She got up and glided to the end of the bed.

  Grinning, he winked at her.

  “Undress for me,” he said.

  She let the top of her dress fall to her waist.

  “Touch your breasts.”

  Slowly, she fondled her breasts.

  “Yes, slowly, that’s it,” he said. “Now squeeze your nipples.”

  For goodness sake, what was wrong with her? She was behaving as if this was the first time she and Eldrich had had sex. As if she had never used her own hands to arouse herself. Ah, the difference was that she had yet to put on a show for Eldrich and she was suddenly terrified. What if he didn’t like what he saw?

  Breathing in, she pinched her nipples.

  “Are you enjoying what you’re seeing?” she asked. I’ll die if he says no.

  “Love of mine, I want you to give yourself pleasure as if I weren’t here. I want to see what you do when I’m not with you.”

  Ah, yes, that she could do.

  “Then don’t give me anymore commands.”

  He nodded.

  Stepping out of her dress, she widened her legs. She then stroked her belly button and lowered her hand to her vagina. Using two fingers, she spread her vagina’s lips.

  “Sweet, delicious Princess,” he said, moving his hand to his swollen cock.

  “No, you’re not allowed to play, yet,” she said, winking.

  “You’re mean,” he said, smirking. qct

  “And you’re not supposed to be here, remember? I’m to do what I do when you’re not with me.”

  He blew her a kiss. “Apologies.”