BXBX NOVEL Chapter 55
Then her thoughts were lifted from thinking about Artemis to Visera, or as she liked to call her Babushka. Aurora asked herself several questions, but the most important one was “Where was she taking me?” and she also questioned her grandmother’s loyalty and where it lies. Was she a good person or perhaps her mother was right, she was ought to stay away from her.
Slowly and carefully Artemis woke up from his deep slumber, he yawned more than once and then sat on the bed. He had a smile on his face after catching Aurora looking at him. Her eyes sharp, sleepy and still weak but sharp. A minute passed where they didn’t talk but gazed at each other.
The moment of inhaling each other’s aroma, as usual. Their foreheads came closer and both of them closed their eyes, Artemis bit his jaws at how much he loved Aurora that it actually hurt. The way he was terrified of losing her is something Aurora would never understand, even if he would attempt to explain.
A kiss on her forehead secured that glancing moment, and Artemis slowly whispered “I thought I lost you...” and he placed his head on Aurora’s chest. Aurora embraced him tight between her warmth, she felt his and he felt hers. Both of their skins so close to each other, again another minute passed of silence.
Then Aurora whispered back “You’ll never lose me, I promise you” and then she kissed Atemis’s hairs and held him tighter between her breasts. They were both naked underneath the sheets, it had been a week since they last saw one another, but none of them were in a hurry for intimate sex, besides not even Artemis thought about having sex.
Sex was just a physical touch, what he really craved was to be touched mentally. To have his soul understood and taken care of especially in such turmoil times where he was conflicted whether to go to war or remain neutral. And, Gandalf making a a step towards what Artemis called “Aiming for the throne”
“Something is troubling you my king. What is it?” asked Aurora still rubbing Artemis’s hairs as he rested so peacefully between her breasts. It was like a mother – son bond, and Artemis was the infant ready to be breastfed.
.....
“My sister told me something very strange last night, I now question her worth”
“What did she say?”
“She asked for my hand in marriage”
Now this was new and it did shook Aurora. She paused rubbing Artemis’s hairs and asked “What?”
“Don’t be troubled my love, we Arteides’ have been marrying off sisters and brothers for centuries. Dating back to the great King Corlys, said to be the conqueror. He wed his sister to keep the line pure... and all his successors did that for generations”
However, Aurora was still troubled by this news “Is this why she hates me? Because she wants to fuck you?”
“Language, please...”
Aurora got pissed off and pushed Artemis to the side of the bed. She stood up and grabbed a sheet to cover her nakedness, then she walked away from the bed and went on to stand against the window.
Artemis scoffed “Are you angry at me for telling you this?” he asked playfully.
“I’ve always asked myself what could I have possibly done to make her hate me this much. And now...”
Artemis hoped up to his feet fully naked “There’s nothing that will stop me from marrying you” he said hugging Aurora’s back and placing his head on her shoulder “Not even the gods themselves”
“Why would she ask for something like that?”
“She’s scared perhaps, of Vaith. He made a pledge to want to marry her, she definitely don’t like him and Lord Balrus is threatening her with a letter she wrote to our uncle”
Aurora was caught off guard. This was something Artemis never told her before, and right there Artemis knew he made a mistake. “I should have told you... my apologies”
“She wrote a letter to Lord Aethelind?”
“No, the way worse uncle... the one who was banished”
“Good heavens, where is this letter?”
“I don’t want it, but she said Balrus has it and he threatened her to wed Vaith or he will hand the letter to me”
“Well, aren’t you curious to see what she wrote to your uncle?”
Artemis replied quickly “No” and then he walked back to bed.
“No? Why... if she’s capable of hating me what makes you think she won’t plot against you?”
“My sister would never do anything to harm me” This was said with a straight face by Artemis. He was making it very clear to Aurora that no matter how much he loved her, there are boundaries she shouldn’t cross such as making accusations about his sister.
“I meant -”
“Nor would she attempt to murder me and take the throne”
“I know... it’s just that”
The air inside the room was getting heavy for Aurora even though the windows were open and the sun was shining. The early breeze of the half a day blew hard in such a way even the window shutters were closed.
Artemis noticed how his early sentence made Aurora unrest, hence he pulled her to the bed and from there stories of who wanted who, or who had claimed to what stopped. They made love and it was so passionate and so strong that it caught both of them by surprise.
Unlike the usual soft, passionate and tender way of making love that they were used to. This one was different, it was Aurora being in control and Artemis the submissive. Ropes were used to tie Artemis’s hands, and Aurora even bit him while he was on top. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of switching up roles that fixes all the things.
It turns out not only the king’s chambers was blessed with hot sex that morning, Lord Balon’s too was on the verge of releasing his seeds to his paramour when his wife Princess Sansa barged inside his chambers.
“Have you no shame, you bastard!” Princess Sansa screamed loudly while holding a knife. Then she went after the woman and stabbed her in the stomach, Lord Balon hoped up to his feet and quickly reached out for his clothes.
“What is wrong with you?” He shouted at his wife went after his paramour and laid her close to him, at that moment maesters and servants came running to the Lord Hand’s chambers after the fiasco. “Take her away, and make sure she lives” screamed Balon giving instructions to the maesters.
Then he closed the door and paid attention to a real problem at hand, his wife who apparently was supposed to be in Nemphis but somehow she found herself back at the Hand’s castle.
“This... is how you treat me Balon. I was exiled from my home because of you” cried Sansa and then she dropped the knife and kept crying more. “I bore you two daughters, two! This is what I get, being humiliated?”
“Oh stop being hypocrite Sansa. You started this, I am only finishing it”
“I never laid with my whores in my husband’s chambers”
“Oh, so that’s supposed to make me feel better? That you didn’t lie with any of your men in my chambers?” replied Balon and then he shook his head. “If that girl dies, you will be hanged for murder”
“She will die... and so will you”
“Is that a threat? To the hand of the king?”
Princess sighed, she stopped crying and stood up. This time she stood so close to Balon, zero distance from one another “I doubt it you will be the hand of the king for long. War is coming Lord Husband, and during war people die” she finished and walked away.
Just the sight alone made Lord Balon anxious, his wife stressed him out and he was looking for any way to be freed of her. He did send her away but so it turns out Sansa wasn’t a woman you just send away, she had allies at court, not to mention she was a huge friend of Lord Balrus.
Well perhaps if his friend King Vaith would be at the capital then Lord Balon wouldn’t be so worried about his wife, but with him gone Balon had no friends nor allies at court. Even for a hand, he needed to have his own house and lands, and almost everything as a hand he’s ought to get.
But he was young and had more to learn. Even if there was a war coming it was one Balon intended to fight, doesn’t matter what will happen he pledged to himself that he will stand beside his king.