Chapter Eight

 

The instant they stepped foot in the castle, Clair’s new maids whisked her away from Cleto to the bathing chamber. As she walked up the steps, she looked behind her and saw Cleto talking low to Kalena, who happened to come along with them. Her stomach dropped at the sight of them together. She saw how perfect they were and how her own little fairy tale was starting to come to an end. But as she kept telling herself silently, while walking up the steps, all dreams have to come to an end at some point and this dream has been a damn good one.

In the bathing chamber, her two maids took her now dirty and slight ripped dress off of her body. Naked, they took her hands and led her into the bathing room where a fragrant, hot bath awaited her, as well as refreshments.

The maids entered the water with her, kneeled, and washed her body and hair, and checking her over for any cuts and bruises. She had a few bruises and a mark on her throat where Rodas had pressed the knife.

Once they were finished, they left her, at Clair’s request, to be alone. In the quiet of the room, she could finally think and wonder about things. When the big question came to her as to what now, she didn’t have an answer, after all, you just wake up from a dream and go on with life, right?

She soaked in the warm water until she could soak no more, yet she didn’t leave. Her mind refused to let her relax and it kept thinking about what Cleto and Kalena might be talking about or doing. Were they going to get back together now that his brother was dead? Would Kalena take her rightful place by his side now that it’s all over? Lord, the idea had her feeling sick and so tired.

When Cleto came into the room, she felt his presence. She kept her back to the entrance and waited for him. He came into the water, said nothing, placed his hands on her shoulders, and started to rub gently. It felt nice and seemed to be just what she needed to relax and make her mind shut down for a bit.

Gently he turned her around and not even thinking she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. Again her head started to hurt, reminding her once more that the dream was about to end. She ignored it.

“Are you alright?” he asked, “Truly?”

Clair pulled back enough to look him in the eyes. Such eyes he had. Eyes that said they cared for her deeply, but did they love her? Could he love her, or was he still in love with Kalena?

Clair put on a smile, a fake one for him. After all, he went through, he didn’t need to hear her worries about what might be going on between him and Kalena. “I am now.” She sighed. “I’m always fine when I’m in your arms.”

Cleto lowered his head and kissed her gently. “Come on then. Let me tend to you as you should be tended to.”

She stopped him. “First, let me clean you.”

He went down to his knees and she began to wash his cuts. Gently, she took a cloth and brought it up to his face, cleaning away the dried blood. She then tended to a cut on the edge of one eye and one next to his lip. With his face clean, Clair then started to wash all the mud from his hair. He seemed to enjoy it since he kept his eyes closed the whole time she cleaned his body. Once finished, his eyes opened and they looked at each other

Saying nothing, Cleto took her hand and led her from the water to the side where he picked up a very large drying cloth the maids had left. He went to his knees and commenced with the simple job of drying her off.

Clair watched his every move, and stored them in her memory. She wanted to remember everything, every small detail. Every way he touched her, took care of her, and loved her. Even the small taste of bathing her right now she wanted to remember.

Once he had her dry, they went to the bedroom. Clair went to the bed and got on top of the covers. She started to lie down on her back, but Cleto shook his head and moved her to her stomach. Before she could ask him what he was planning his hands landed on her legs and his large, strong hands massaged her softly, yet firmly.

Heaven! No one had ever massaged her body before, so this was a special treat. He moved his hands from the bottom of one foot all the way up to the underside of her ass, then back down again stopping when there might be a tight spot. He spent a good amount of time on the right leg before moving to the left, giving it the same amount of attention. Then he started on her lower back. He rubbed his fingers into muscles that were tense and a bit sore. He worked each kink out, each knot all the way up to shoulders and neck. Hell, Clair feared she might fall asleep from the way he rubbed her body. Even her arms and hands got a bit of attention before those hands moved back down to her waist, pulling her back up on hands and knees.

She sucked air into lungs when he kissed her backside, starting in the middle of her back and moving his way down. He kissed each cheek of her ass then moved to the inside of each leg. Hot breath teased her pussy and clit, and it didn’t take long before she was wet and throbbing for a bit more attention between her legs.

Cleto kissed her backside again, before finally turning her over to her back. He picked up one foot and brought it to his shoulder. He kissed her foot; each toe got special attention, a kiss then a suck. He kissed and nibbled on one ankle, then made his way up the leg to her hip. He gave the other leg the same treatment.

He released her leg and she lowered it, and parted her legs with the hopes that he might finally give her throbbing clit some of that attention. He didn’t. Instead, his mouth started a burning trail over her stomach, over the scar and up to the underside of one breast. He didn’t touch her breasts, only used his mouth, moving toward the nipple, which strained for the same attention from his lips. A light kiss to the tip of one nipple nearly drove her nuts with need. When she reached up for his head he grabbed her wrists, stopping her with a shake of his head and pressed them down on the bed.

His lips traveled over the top swell of each breast, across her collarbone, pausing to nibble on her neck. He moved to her jaw then, and around an ear, then, quickly, he ducked his head between her legs, tongue plunging deep inside her.

Clair was almost in shock over the sudden movement but soon found herself fisting both hands into his hair and moving her hips to the motion of his tongue. God, he fucked her good with his tongue and it only seemed to build the hunger inside of her instead of quenching it. She wanted more. Wanted to be filled up by him and fucked hard and fast.

His tongue left her and he closed his lips over her clit. He pulled and sucked hard, which triggered the orgasm which had been slowly building. Clair cried out, her legs wrapped around his head as she encouraged him to push him harder into her pounding sex. Before she could come down from her high, Cleto was gone and she once more found herself on her hands and knees.

One hard thrust and he buried himself so deep she cried out again. Thrust after thrust built up the pleasure so quickly she didn’t even know if the first climax had finished before the next came crashing over her.

He never lost the rhythm, even after her second climax came. When the third started to build up, she marveled because he hadn’t come, but guessed it would happen soon. When she cried out, the contractions of this orgasm so much more powerful than the last, Cleto gave her one last hard thrust and stilled. She felt him pulsing inside her as his climax came with her own, leaving them both drained and unable to move.

An hour after their intense lovemaking, Clair lay on her side, her head resting on his chest, staring at the window, at the strange blue moon that shined brightly in the sky. Once more, her head began to hurt, and her thoughts ended up taking her to a place she didn’t want to go.

“You’re time is short Clair, I’m not going to try and sugar coat it this time. The tumor is fast growing and we can’t remove it.”

Clair sat in her doctor’s office, stunned as she listened to her doctor’s news. Brain cancer. Two years free of any previous sign of it and now hit with this bomb. A death sentence.

“How long?” Her voice sounded like it belonged to someone else.

“Maybe six months with the meds.”

“Wow, six months.” She didn’t cry this time. Didn’t feel the need to break down and ask why this was happening to her. Strange how everything inside seemed to go numb right then.

“I’m sorry, Clair. I wish I had better news to give you.”

She smiled at him. “Yeah, me too.” Slowly she reached for her purse and stood up. “Anything else I need to know?”

“You’ll start to get headaches as the tumor grows. Take the meds and the pain should be minimal. If it gets to a point where you can’t handle it then call me and we’ll go to the next step.”

“Which is?”

“I’ll admit you to the hospital and give you a morphine drip for the pain.”

“I see.” Without saying another word, she left the office and went home, only to get another happy ending there on the answering machine. She was fired. Then the icing on the cake—her boyfriend was leaving her after she’d called him to tell him the bad news. It just wasn’t her week.

Clair snapped out of those thoughts and slowly pulled away from Cleto. She picked up a sheet from the floor, wrapped it around her body, and walked to the window. Already the land had changed, brightened, the damage from his brother, diminishing. What would happen to it once she was gone? Would Kalena be able to keep the bright colors? Would he love her body as he did Clair’s?

She didn’t sleep at all that night. Between being worried about what might happen and her head starting to hurt, Clair ended up watching Cleto sleep instead. When the sun started to shine, she left the bed again and dressed herself. The moment Cleto woke and couldn’t see her, he panicked, until she came out of the shadows with a smile on her face.

“Please, don’t do that,” he sighed, a hand going to his chest.

“So what happens now?” she asked.

Cleto pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently, lingering on her lips for a few moments. He pulled back but didn’t let her go. “I must prepare my brother for his funeral.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Cleto. I didn’t mean to bring that up.”

He stopped her by pressing a finger to her lips. “It’s alright. I forgave my brother for what he did, and now I must send him on.”

“When will it happen?”

“Tonight.” Now he let her go and snapped his finger. Instantly he was dressed.

“Is there anything I can do?”

He gave her a smile. “You’ve done more than enough for me and my people. Just being at my side is all I need of you.”

She smiled in return, then went up and kissed him. “I think I can handle that.”

“Then let’s begin the day with food. I’ve got lots to do for my brother’s funeral.”

Hand in hand, they headed down to the great hall. People were already busy at work fixing things and cleaning up messes. Once the staff spotted them, they readied a table and had food for them in an instant. Half way through the meal Kalena showed up and Clair felt her gut drop at the beauty the woman possessed. It also seemed that Cleto brightened up. He stood when she entered and had her join them at their table, positioning her across from them. He finished his meal quickly, gave Clair a kiss on the top of her head, and excused himself. Once he was gone, Clair tried to do the same thing, but Kalena wouldn’t let her.

“You’re bothered by me being here,” Kalena stated. “I can feel and see it.”

“I’m just bothered by a lot of things.” Clair tried to smile but couldn’t. Her headache had returned and she sat down quickly because this time a slight dizzy spell hit with the pain.

“Your head still bothers you,” Kalena said. “Have you told him of the sickness?”

“He has enough to worry about and doesn’t need to worry about me.”

“He will crumble if something were to happen to you. He loves you, you know.”

Again, Clair stood up and ignored the headache. “I don’t think so. I think he still loves you.”

She didn’t give Kalena a chance to say more. As fast as her feet would carry her, Clair left the dining hall. Where to go? All she knew was that she needed to get away from the woman as fast as she could. It seemed that every time she saw Kalena she felt a flaw in herself.

For the rest of the day, Clair spent it outside. The sun shined bright. People worked hard in the yard. Some built a platform. Soon Cleto found her in the rose garden sitting in the grass, looking up at the sky. A feast in the honor of Rodas was about to start and then the funeral.

It looked as if the whole kingdom was now inside the castle, sitting at long tables with huge amounts of food lining them. In the center of it sat Cleto, with Clair on his left and Kalena to his right.

Cleto stood up with a cup in hand. “The people of Eltora,” his voice rang out, silencing everyone. “My brother Rodas has done things for which many cannot forgive him. I myself thought that I could never forgive him for banishing me and stealing my home. However, I stand before you now, humbly, and say I forgive my brother.” Some of the people started to talk in low tones. “I forgive him because by his wrong-doing, he has given me the most special gift of all—my heart.” He took hold of Clair’s hand and had her stand with him. “Without the banishment we would not have Clair here to free our land of the curse.”

“To Clair!” someone cried out, and others joined in.

“I ask that you all drink not only to the memory of the man that use to be my brother, but to drink to Clair and her courage, for without both I would not be the man that I am now, standing before you all.”

Glasses went up in the air then all took a drink. When Cleto finished his he brought her hand up and kissed it, and then together they sat down. The feast went on, but the desire to eat left her. Another sign that her cancer was getting worse. She remembered what happened the last time and how the cancer had sapped her of her appetite.

“Does the food not taste good to you?” Cleto asked, noticing how she hadn’t touched her food.

Clair put on a smile. “It’s fine. I’m just not that hungry.”

The feast lasted almost two hours. When done, everyone started to make their way back outside and positioned themselves around the platform that had been built. Clair saw that Rodas’s body now lay upon it, ready for the torch.

She hung back, watching everything that went on. She saw how Kalena got close to Cleto and how he put his arm around her. They spoke low with their heads together. One of the servants came up with a burning torch in hand. He handed it to Cleto then left as the two took hold of the torch together. A strange hush went around. With Cleto and Kalena holding the torch they walked up to the platform and together, they set fire to it, then hand in hand walked back to the rest of the crowd and watched the burning of Rodas. Another memory that Clair would store away and never let go.

Clair left the group and headed back up to the bedchamber. At the window, she could see everything going on and tried to talk herself out of watching. But her eyes found Cleto still with Kalena, watching the fire that burned a strange black color. How late it was when Cleto walked in, she didn’t know. She felt him crawling into the bed gently as if he was afraid he might waken her.

“How long have I been here?” she asked.

“You’re awake.”

“Can’t sleep.”

“So I’m starting to notice. Is there anything wrong?”

“I feel that if I sleep then I’ll miss something really cool in my dream, and I don’t want to miss anything.”

His hand came up to her face. “How many times must I tell you that this is no dream? You broke the spell in your home and it opened the door to my own. I brought you here, Clair. This is real.”

Clair sat up in the bed. “How long have I been here?”

“Months in my world, days in your own.” She didn’t know what to say to that. His hand left her face and he didn’t move. “There was a meeting after the funeral. The people want to crown me king.”

That snapped her out of the shock to know she’d been here months. “King? That’s great!” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him.

“I never thought ever that I would be king. My father split the kingdom between us so that neither would have all the power. Rodas had so much trouble with that.”

“This is a big deal. When will it happen?”

“Soon,” he sighed and lay down, pulling her into his arms. “The people don’t want to wait. They said the kingdom had been without a king long enough.”

“That’s good,” she sighed, snuggling closer to him. “Can’t wait to see you crowned.”