The Chalshin
It was my second night staying in Blackwood, it definitely was a pyrio house. The lycan household is more hunter lodge meets grandeur whereas a pyrio home is really just flashy meets grandeur. I had been told by my father that of all the duchies, Blackwood was the one most well regarded throughout the kingdom by almost every race. Some amongst the pyrios have not felt the same way and this is why I am commanded by my King to be here in Blackwood. When I first heard of this assignment, I had really not been pleased. I was a Citadel knight in training, and I didn’t appreciate being asked to serve as bodyguard to the only daughter of a pyrio duke. On top of that, they had made her out to be so special because she grew up as a human and she was supposedly touched by a goddess. I figured she would be some pretentious stuck-up girl like Melody. Sure, I had my fun with Melody, and it was easy to ignore her attitude since almost all the noble women were a little stuck up. I figured Lex would have more of an attitude because she was special. When I met her at the ball, I was pleasantly surprised that she was nowhere near the same as the other noble women in Vellum. She was slightly shy, humble and had a warm and kind smile.
Up until the ball, I hadn’t bothered to get to know who she really was. After I had met her, I felt that maybe a little reconnaissance on her life wouldn’t be totally out of order. It was easy enough to ask someone who was close to her about the details of her life before Vellum. I had written to Darren Batiste since the King had told me personally that he was amiable to sharing what he knows with anyone who would help his granddaughter. Darren had filled me in on the fact that Lex was raised as a human which was widely known. He said that the human children had bullied her due to the suppression of her ability. It had sometimes taken a toll on her, and he said you could tell when she had bad days. She wasn’t very open with her feelings at those times, but Darren could tell because she would shut herself away and create poetry. I had wondered what her poetry was about, but Darren said she never revealed it to anyone. He said that she learned to fight back though which would often get her into trouble at school but that otherwise she was a sweet girl with sarcastic and witty attitude. I found those three things to be true of her just from observing her today.
When Melody had approached her, I had worried that she would be hurt by bite of the one I called the Viper. Melody had a vicious attitude and the tongue to match so I was unsure if Lex could handle any above a human attitude, but she surprisingly stood her ground. As her bodyguard though, I couldn’t allow Melody to strike my charge, so I stopped that dead in its tracks. Melody probably couldn’t handle that I flirted with Lex in front of her either. It wasn’t that I was trying to get under her skin by using Lex, I honestly couldn’t help myself from doing so. I didn’t like to do anything to make any woman uncomfortable around me so when she asked me to tone down the suggestive flirting, I respected that. Lex was very intriguing, beautiful and had a lovely personality. Any man would be enchanted by her and from the looks thrown her way throughout the day be all races in Vellum, I would say that was true. She also carried herself confidently although that wavered to a kind of adorable vulnerability. She was what I would call perfection and from what I hear I’m not the only noble man to think so.
Prince Blake had been instrumental in finding out that Lex had a hit put out on her. If I wasn’t doing my part by guarding her, I should have loved to be the one on the investigative team to hunt down anyone who would try to hurt such a beautiful and delicate woman such as Lex. Thinking about guarding her sprung me to action on my nightly routine. After dinner, I would go for a run which I had just gotten back from. Then I would do sit ups and push-ups to keep my core and arms strong, these were what I started to do. I would take a shower after so that I could wash the sweat away. Luckily, every room in Blackwood had its own bathroom so I wouldn’t have to share like in a dorm or back home. My room was right next to Lex’s and Jess’s was right across the hall from hers. We thought it would be best to surround her this way so that if anything happened, we could hear and be close by. Lex hadn’t objected to the arrangement as I thought she would but then again it isn’t every day where your life was almost taken. She was likely still dealing with the shock and trauma of going through such an ordeal.
When I had heard from the Citadel that Lex had been attacked, I wanted to go to her right away but my father had told me that I could not report until the next day. He said, “It would be wise for you to properly prepare for your first assignment rather than just jump into the action with no plan in place.” He had been right, and I would often take tactical advice from him since he was second in command to Talon Esperanza. Talon had taught him everything he knew so I trusted that my father knew best. It still pissed me off to think that I couldn’t just immediately spring into action. I pissed me off more that someone would do such a thing. Even worse, I had found out the King was the one who rescued her. Thankfully that information was not widely known throughout the kingdom. The rumor was that it was Prince Blake himself who sprang into action through his spies. The King had preferred to keep the rumor that way to avoid drawing unnecessary conclusions on the nature of the relationship that he and Lex had. She didn’t need more attention and especially not in regards to the Queen competition.
I had brought a sword and bow with me so that I could spring to action quickly. Lycans can shift any time we needed to, but it was a lengthy process and wouldn’t do us much good in an emergency. I was more proficient with a sword, so I kept that under my pillow, and I was allowed to carry a dagger on my hip at school too in case I needed it. The Headmaster said he would consider allowing me to have my sword on the premises, but I was not holding my breath. I had focused on knife combat during my combat courses during the day. I wanted to ensure with being proficient on knife to make sure Lex was well guarded during her school hours. I hopped up to go take a shower but before I could make my way all the way to the bathroom, my door opened. I turned to see Lex standing there in the sweatpants and tank top she wore to dinner. She was staring at me and giving me a seductive looking once over.
Something seemed rather off about this shift in her demeanor. Being a man who just had a beautiful woman enter his room at night and the looks she was giving me; I didn’t really think about this shift. She quickly crossed the room to stand in front of me and she pulled her finger to my chest. She traced a line on my sweat-soaked skin from my chest through the crevice in my abs and stopped just above the waistband of my sweatpants. I closed my eyes and spoke, “Lex, what are you doing?” She giggled, “I am just appreciating you for your brave service to me.” She looked up into my eyes as I had opened them and there was a spark in them that was never there before.
I wanted to question her but my throat became dry at the touch she was giving me. She then hooked her hands around my neck and pulled me down into a kiss. I didn’t want to pull away from her because it felt so good and so right. She pulled away slightly and grabbed my hand and led me to the bed. She then pushed me down on top of it and straddled me. She started kissing me again and started to trail her kisses down to my cheek. She nibbled at my ear and then whispered, “I hope you’re enjoying my full appreciation of you.” She then pulled up and smiled at me and I smiled back, “I’m not complaining but…are you sure you want to do this?” She smiled and wordlessly started to kiss my neck on the right side and kissed down to my collar bone. She traced her lips across the right collarbone down to my left and up to the left side of my neck. Her kisses were trailing up and down my neck until a felt a small pinch, a warm sensation and then an overwhelming feeling of pleasure. I didn’t know what she was doing but it felt so good that I hadn’t wanted her to stop. Fortunately, her father had entered the room just in time to pull her off of me. As I looked up at her I found myself looking at fangs and a red substance on her lips. She had bit me.
