Lethal Love. ((S/F))

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Yuri Mizu

"Sore wa odoroka reru kamo shiremasen,"

Yuri had been watching the newcomer sadly, from a distance. Like most of the slaves, she avoided talking to new girls because it depressed her. But when Nina went over and spoke to the girl, and the woman began crying, she felt her conscience p***k her into going over. She knelt beside the red-haired woman and brushed away her tears. "Sore wa daijobuda, imouto-chan,*" she whispered in a gentle tone.

(*It's okay, little sister.)

"Demo anata wa basho no kurai no ai o mitsukeru koto ga dekimasu."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Dr. Sirrah Tayashi

"Love is like the wind..."

Sirrah looked to her left, where another young lady had seated herself. This girl smelled like a clean, fresh mountain spring... A dryad. A Japanese dryad, judging by the language she'd spoken in. She was dressed in a beautiful Geisha outfit, her long black hair pulled up in an elaborate style. Her skin was pale, and her eyes a surprising shade of purple. She was chained just as heavily as Nina.

"Arigatou," Sirrah replied awkwardly, embarrassed at being caught crying. "But I'm pretty sure I'm older than you, dear. I'm nowhere near as young as I look," she said in an attempt to lighten the mood, smiling slightly.

"You can't see it, but you can feel it's there."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Yuri Mizu

"Sore wa odoroka reru kamo shiremasen,"

"Forgive Nina... She prefers to see her stay here as one large cosmic joke." Yuri smiled lovingly at Nina and winked. "Ah, well, we all must cope in our own ways, I suppose... Your name is Sirrah? Unusual... How did you come to be in Lord Shadow's service, exactly? Did he pick you at random, like Nina?"

"Demo anata wa basho no kurai no ai o mitsukeru koto ga dekimasu."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Dr. Sirrah Tayashi

"Love is like the wind..."

Sirrah was distracted from the question by what happened next.

"Well, looks like the new girl's already popular," came a snide, high-pitched voice from above Sirrah. She looked up and saw three girls standing over her. The one who had spoken had shockingly pale skin, and the unmistakeable scent of a demon. She was dressed in a lacy maid outfit. Her hair was white with black streaks, and her eyes were a startlingly bright blue in her pale face. She had no chains, not even a collar. The girl gave a contemptuous sniff. "I don't know what Ryuu-sama sees in you.... You look perfectly ordinary to me... Half breed."

Sirrah bristled, but responded calmly. "Perhaps you could tell him that, then... Get him to let me go?"

The girl snickered. "Not a chance, Mutt. Once Ryuu-sama has you, you're never going back. One of his many wonderful qualities; he's extremely protective of his 'treasures'."

Sirrah stared at the demon in bewilderment. Not because of her words, but the tone in which she spoke of Shadow. Adoring. Worshipful. This girl loved Shadow. 'That would explain the lack of chains... She's here of her own free will!'

"He must think you're pretty or something," said one of the girls flanking the unfriendly demon. She only had a collar on, like the other girl with the demon, and was dressed in a light blue showgirl outfit. "Although I think Maria-sama is much prettier than you." The way her eyes darted to the middle girl, Sirrah could tell that Maria was the demon's name.

Their assumptions that Shadow's attention had been based solely on her bodily proportions was beginning to annoy her, even though Sirrah knew it didn't matter. "Actually, he demanded that I marry him," she said in an offhanded kind of way.

All five girls gasped, including Nina and Yuri. Apparently such a thing was unheard of.

"You can't see it, but you can feel it's there."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Maria

"You dared to refuse him?" hissed Maria, her eyes murderous. She despised reminders that Shadow preferred other girls over her, and this half-demon had been foolish enough not to want the throne?! "You really are as stupid as you look, then, Mutt..."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Dr. Sirrah Tayashi

"Love is like the wind..."

Sirrah snarled and leapt to her feet, ready to tear Maria's head off. Maria simply stepped out of reach and glared. "You're the fool, Maria," she said in a voice that was calmer than she felt. "I'm in love with someone else, and was smart enough to see Shadow for what he is; a cruel, arrogant, evil tyrant. And apparently, the tyrant does not take 'no' for an answer."

"You really are an idiot," muttered the other girl with Maria. She was obviously a vampire, also restrained only by a collar, and dressed in a skimpy nurse's uniform. "You should have known it was either marry the man or become his slave. You should have known him well enough to see that. You deserve whatever you get now, since you had the chance for a better life and turned it down." She took the other girls' hands. "Come on, Maria. Hester. We shouldn't associate with these fools." With that, the three wandered a ways off.

"You can't see it, but you can feel it's there."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Dr. Sirrah Tayashi

"Love is like the wind..."

Sirrah looked out of the balcony. Night had fallen; a few stars were visible in the black velvet of the sky. "I hope Shadow just forgets I'm here," she muttered softly. "At least until I can escape from this place..."

"You can't see it, but you can feel it's there."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Yuri Mizu

"Sore wa odoroka reru kamo shiremasen,"

Yuri winced when she heard Sirrah's quiet statement. 'Oh, no... No one's told her how it works here...' "You did not know, onee-chan?" said the girl slowly. "Every slave is 'initiated' their first night..." Yuri went pale and fell silent, her hand going to her left side absently as she remembered the pain of her own first night.

"Demo anata wa basho no kurai no ai o mitsukeru koto ga dekimasu."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Dr. Sirrah Tayashi

"Love is like the wind..."

Sirrah felt panic threatening to smother her and began pulling at the chains with all her might. "No! No!! I can't let this happen! No!!!"

"Don't fight it, chica, you'll just make it worse..."

"Calm down, onee-chan..."

"Shut up, Mutt..."

But Sirrah refused to be calmed or silenced. "NO!!!" she screamed, nearly wrenching her arms out of her sockets in her desperation to escape. She heard the doors nearby crash open, and heard the heavy footfalls of guards coming closer. The nerve cluster on the back of her neck was once again assaulted, and she knew no more.

****

Sirrah woke reluctantly. Her head was really aching now. She was lying on a soft surface this time, and it was warm. Someone's strong arms were around her, and a gentle hand was caressing her face. "Kevin?" she murmured hopefully. Could it be possible that she'd just been having an awful nightmare?

A dark chuckle made her open her eyes and gasp. Shadow was there, holding her. But the expression on his face made her pause for a moment. She knew that expression so well... A combination of tenderness and triumph. She'd seen it on his face many times, when they'd still been together. Her breath caught as she remembered those times. She'd been happy...

"You can't see it, but you can feel it's there."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Shadow Knight Ryuu

Shadow smiled at Sirrah as she woke, seeing the expression on her face change from fear to... What? Sadness? Nervousness? He couldn't read it, exactly. But it wasn't fear. That was a start. Perhaps she would now listen to reason. He just had to be smart about phrasing it.

"Sirrah... I'm sorry I've treated you like this. It's not how I want things to be between us," he said softly, touching her face with a gentle hand. "I do love you, Sirrah. Please. Don't make me keep you like this. I want you to be happy. I want you to be my Queen." He kissed her lips lightly, sweetly. "Marry me, Sirrah. Please."

 

[Dreaming_Drifter]

Dr. Sirrah Tayashi

"Love is like the wind..."

Sirrah shivered when he kissed her. For one moment, she was tempted. A part of her still wanted Shadow; that part of her that cared for him as Artemis' father. Wouldn't it be right, to marry her daughter's father? Try again? How bad could being a Queen really be?

Then she thought of Kevin, and the girls in the harem, and laughed softly. "I pity you, Shadow... You can't possibly know love. How could someone as selfish as you possibly understand real love? That burning, hopeful, impossibly powerful sensation that makes you want to live and die for someone? You, a kidnapper, a rapist, a tyrant... You cannot know it. You may never know it. And I pity you for that. But my heart belongs to Ke... To someone else. And none of your sweet falsehoods will change that. I will not marry you."

"You can't see it, but you can feel it's there."