Fan Fic and More

he said it first. that totally rocks. i love these too characters. and now we have the introduction of earth or whatever its called. the parent's are a riot. is it a real treasure or is the treasure them finding each other...well thats real as well, but you know what i mean.

A zwiddle! :D Sounds interesting! And it also looks like Rath and Marianna are getting to know each other pretty well! :D

Chapter 19 A weird treasure and a extremly hot night


The path they choose to walk on turned out to be the most scary they ever stepped foot on. Althrough it was bright daylight it was getting darker and colder the farther they went into it. The plants seemed to be more creepy, the trees looked like they were living and they could hear strange, eerie noises. Rath and Marianna observed the surroundings with each step they took. They didn´t want to be surprised from something dangerous or deadly. When they were really deep in the forest, Rath couldn´t stand the silence any longer. He decided to do it like Marianna and share some of his life with her. If she could be open with him, so could he. So he told her his best pranks he ever played on someone. Like when he hid a few harlegmos (spiders) in Vilandra´s bedroom. He still had to laugh about the loud scream and her horrofied expression when she ran through the halls in the castle. Too bad that someone saw him and he was punished from his father. For two weeks he had to dust the old books in the library. Althrough it was not so bad to do it. After all he discovered his interest for some of the history books there. For hours he would sat on the old couch in the corner and read through them. He still did it after his punishment was over and nobody was in sight. He didn´t want someone to know that he had a passion for reading. Furthermore it was something that he wanted to do alone, like a little vacation from all his responsiblities and his family. Marianna could relate to it. She had something like that. She didn´t read a book, but she sang when she was sure that nobody was near. It was a escape from the dark vibes that were always floating through the rooms at the castle. It was the only time she could really be herself and let her guard down for a few hours. Rath just wanted to tell Marianna how he almost destroyed the whole palace at his tenth birthday, when he noticed that something had changed around them. He turned his head and watched Marianna, who seemed to have noticed it also, because she was facing him, too. They both turned to the path at the same time. Then they saw it. The path was at its end and a sunbeam fell through a little opening. Immediately they ran as fast as they could to it. Never in their life they were so relieved to see the suns again and feel the heat on their bodies. Rath kneeled on the ground and started to pray while he lifted his arms. Marianna only watched him with a smile on her face. Sometimes she wondered about his sanity and how he made it to so far in his life. Althrough she was happy that they made it out of the scary wood she didn´t make a show about it like her companion. While he was still kneeling on the ground infront of her feet, Marianna took the time to observe the scenery around them. They seemed to be near the sea, because it were almost no trees there. And despite the heat from the suns a light breeze was blowing. Then she turned her head to her right and discovered something that she apparently had overlooked the first time. A little cabin was standing on a little clearing. It looked really old. The grey paint was slowly coming off, a few roof tiles were missing and there were absolutly no windows anymore. The cabin was obviously not used for a few decades.

“ Hey Rath. Whose the owner of this thing”, Marianna pointed to the cabin. Rath had to know more about it. At least he grew up here and knew more people than her.

Rath paused in his praisings and starred at the place Marianna was pointing at. He had absolutely no clue who would want to live there. He couldn´t remember ever seeing this cabin before. Ok he wasn´t that deep in the forest before, hence he couldn´t have seen it. “ Don´t know”.

“ Do you think we should maybe check it out?”, Marianna hoped not. She could imagine how much little crawling creatures where living in this dump. For the second time a shudder went through her body. Everything with no feet or more than four was scaring her.

Rath arose from his position on the ground and faced Marianna. “ What´s up? Are you scared of a little cabin?”.

“ Not of the cabin, but the things that could be inside”.

“ What do you think is in there?”, Rath couldn´t imagine that something dangerous could be in the little cottage. “ I think the only thing living there will be harlegmos”, he noticed that Marianna made a face at that. “ Don´t tell me you´re scared of harlegmos?”.

Marianna couldn´t understand why Rath was smiling. Many people were scared of insects. “ I´m not scared. I just don´t like them”.

Rath was really enjoying that. Finally he found out that Marianna wasn´t that perfect. She had flaws like everybody else. And that made her more attractive as she already was anyway. “ Don´t worry princess. I´ll protect you”.

“ I don´t need anybody to protect me”, Marianna knew she should have shut her mouth and keep that secret to herself. Now Rath thought she was a little princess who needed somebody to look out for her. But not with her. With a glare she headed straight to the cabin and let him standing behind.

Rath smiled after her. His plan worked just fine. He knew how much Marianna hated to be treated like a little girl and that she would overcome her fear just to show that she could hold her own. One of the many reason why he was so attracted to her. When Rath saw that Marianna was almost by the cabin he finally followed her.

Marianna was slightly faltering in her steps the closer she got to the cottage. Maybe she shouldn´t have said anything. Now she had to swallow her fear and go in there. She could imagine what sight she would see. The dust was propably already so high that somebody could write something in it, harlegmo webs everywhere and a smell that would blow away the strongest man on this planet. Just as she wanted to put her feet on the first stair, an image of a huge harlegmo popped in her head. It had eight, long, hairy legs, many little eyes, which were all directed on her and a body that was as big as the cottage itself. Marianna tried to banish the picture in her head, but the fear had embraced her in a tight grip. She was frozen to the spot and didn´t dare to move any muscle.

“ Hey. Is everything alright with you?”, Rath was a tad bit worried about her condition. For a minute now she was just standing there. Her face was white and her eyes seemed to be starring through something. Until he laid a hand on her arm.

Immediately her stiffness dissapeared and she turned her head to Rath. “ You were right. I´m absolutely terrified of harlegmos”. Now it was out. She observed his reaction at this revelation. But instead of laughter, like she expected the only thing she got was understanding.

“ It´s alright. Everybody has some fears”.

Marianna faced the cabin again. Why couldn´t she simply go inside and took a look around? She survived worse and she was still there. No she wouldn´t let her fear overtake her. She escaped her fathers army and then a little cottage shouldn´t be a problem at all. Besides this time she wasn´t alone anymore. She still had Rath at her side. “ Ok let´s get inside”

“ That´s what I wanted to hear”, Rath gave her arm a reassuring squeeze, before he realesed it.

Marianna took a really deep breath, all her courage and stepped on the first stair. The fear was slowly ebbing away and at its place was just this calmness. Not even the scary noise of the stair could frighten her now. But just as she arrived at the last stair the door to the cabin flew open. Shocked Marianna let out a piercing scream and tried to take a step back. However she missed the stair and she fell backwards directly on Rath. Together they both crashed to the ground.

“ Finally you´re there. I already thought you weren´t coming at all”, Larek stepped out of the cabin ready to take his frustation for waiting so long out on Marianna and Rath. Didn´t they know that it was rude to let someone wait that long. Then he noticed that they were laying on the ground. Marianna right on top of Rath. “ What are you doing down there?”.

Marianna rolled off of Rath and checked if he was hurt in any kind. After she was sure that nothing was broken or injured she faced Larek with a glare. “ What are we doing? What are you doing here scaring the shit out of me?”.

“ I was told to wait here for you”, what was her problem? He should be pissed for sitting in his filthy dump for hours. Not the other way around.

Rath stood up from the ground and helped Marianna back on her feet. He was glad that she had kept her knees in the other direction or he could have said goodbye to his future children. “ I´m assuming you´re here to give us the treasure?”.

“ That, my friend is correct”, Larek excused himfelf for a moment and went in the cottage. A few seconds he came back with something that looked like a book in his hand. “ That´s the treasure”

Marianna and Rath both stepped forward to take a closer look it at. It really was a book. It seemed to be pretty old, because the brown cover was slightly worn. There was a strange symbol in the middle. Instinctively they both stretched their arms out and touched it. Immediately a white light shot up and illuminated the entire area around them. Marianna and Rath felt that the book regnorized them as their keeper. After a few more seconds the light dissapeared as fast as it came. Now the book looked like it did before again.

“ Holy Shit! What was that?”, Larek had never seen something like that. He thought he witnessed every strange thing by now, but now he knew that he had still more to see.

Marianna ignored him and turned to Rath with a frown covering her face. “ Did you feel it, too?”.

“ Yeah. What do you think it means?”.

Marianna shrugged her shoulders. She was as clueless as Rath. But the feeling was incredible. She never felt something so warm and beautiful in her life. She saw the same thought reflecting in Rath´s eyes. He was equally moved from the emotions that were coming from that light.

“ Hey! I asked you something!”, Larek waggled with his arms to get the attention from at least one of the both. They seemed to be in a conversation without speaking with each other. It was strange to look at. Yeah there was nothing between them my ass. No matter what they both said, they had a deep connection.

Now Rath and Marianna both faced Larek at the same time. It was like they just noticed that Larek was still there. The spell that connected them was instantly broken. Marianna was the first to recover from it. “ Did you say something?”.

“ Actually yes. But you both were to busy to stare at each other to listen to me”, Larek was at the end of his patience. At first they let him wait for hours in a cottage that was the collecting point for all harlegmos and then they don´t listen to what he said. No he had enough for today.

Marianna stepped closer to Larek. She couldn´t think straight if she was near Rath. “ Alright. I´m sorry. I swear you have our undivided attention now”.

“ Forget it. It´s unimportant anyway”, Larek saw on his timer on his right wrist. Judging after the way he cursed it seemed to be later than he thought. He squeezed the book in Mariannas hand “ You should go now. You don´t have much time left”. With that Larek blinked with his eyes and was gone.

Shocked Marianna saw to the place, where Larek stood a few seconds ago. How could he do that? “ Where is he gone?”.

“ He´s probably at the castle and complaints about us”, Rath said that like it was nothing unusual. But for Marianna it was something new. She didn´t know anybody who could do that. Rath noticed her baffled expression. “ Didn´t you know that he´s a space shifter?”. After he received a raised eyebrow he explained it to her. “ He has the power to shift from one place to another with a blink of an eye”.

“ Wow. That´s what I call a useful power. He has to show me how he does that when we arrive at the castle”, and she would bug him until he agreed to teach her. Althrough her powers were more dangerous than Lareks it was never wrong to pick up new things that could help you survive. Especially if you´re part of the royal army.

Rath rolled his eyes. Damn Larek and his stupid powers. “ We should go now”.

Marianna, who was in the process to open the book to look what was standing inside it, faced him at that. “ No. I want to know what is written in there”.

“ You can do that later”.

Marianna tried to send him a nasty glare. But Rath wasn´t even looking in her direction. He was too busy staring at the sky. “ But I want to know now!”.

Rath glanced away from the sky and turned his head in her direction. Now he knew that she was a princess. He heared that tone that Marianna had in her voice and he knew from where. Ava used this tone as well when she wanted something from him. “ We don´t have time for that!”.

Marianna put on her sad face and pouted. “ Please”.

Rath intented to stay strong. He wanted to just win for once against her. But it was hard when Marianna looked so absolutely adoring with her pouting face. No he couldn´t get sidetracked. “ I said no”.

Marianna saw that Rath was slowly weakening. Now she had to put in the big guns. Seductively she snuggled her body against his and stroked his hard chest with her forefinger. Then she looked up, directly in Rath´s eyes “ Pretty please”.

Rath had to swallow at that. He could feel his constancy crumbling. She was so near he could smell her unique scent and if he would bent his head a little lower he could kiss her. For a moment he forgot that they didn´t have time for this dwadling. He even forgot where he was and what they had to do. The only thing in his mind was the strong urge to throw her to the ground and have his way with her. No stop that. He had to be hard. And how hard he was. Even she had to feel it. So he put on his mean face.” We´re going. And that´s final!”.

Marianna was shocked about the commanding tone in his voice. But then a smile broke out on her face. Oh boy that tone in his voice was a total turn on. Suddenly she noticed that her body began to tingle all over and heat was arising from strange places. “ Alright. You win”.

“ Finally”, Rath was glad that this topic was closed and they could at last continue their track again. He didn´t know how long he could have withstand her torture. “ Now get your cute little ass in gear”, with a final slap on her butt he started in the direction of the dark path, which would bring them back to the camping place they slept the night before. Hopefully they made it before the suns would be going down.

Marianna gawked after him with her mouth wide open. Did he just order her around? And what was yet more bad, she liked it. A lot. Quickly she put the book in her backpack and followed Rath. On her way to his side she noticed that he walked a bit strange. “ Did I hurt you after all when I fell on you?”.

Rath stopped his walk and looked back at her. Was that a trick question? “ No. Why you´re asking?”.

“ It´s just that you´re walking funny”.

Now Rath seemed to be embarrassed. A little flush graced his face. He couldn´t tell her that he had slight problems to walk with a hard on. He was just trying to find a position so that his pants wouldn´t rub at his penis all the time and make it worse for him to put one foot infront of the other. “ It´s nothing. Let it go”.

“ I could help you”, Marianna felt a tad bit bad about that. After all it was her fault that he had problems.

Rath´s blush got deeper when she said that and the image that popped in his head didn´t help his problem either. “ Thanks for asking. But no”.

“ Alright. If you´re sure”.

“ Absolutely sure”, Rath turned around and started walking again.

Marianna tried to hide her laughter. Like she didn´t know what his problem was. She had felt it pressing against her stomach. And boy was it big. No wonder that he couldn´t walk straight anymore. Pleased with herself she trailed after Rath with a light bounce in her step.

All the way back through the dark path their were coming from, Rath was curious why Marianna was so happy. She wasn´t even scared anymore, althrough nothing had changed since they went through it an hour ago. But her cheerfull mood was contagious and he caught himself smiling at her antics. She was definitely a strange girl. A strange girl he loved more than his own life. The planet was doomed, because Rath found his soulmate. He was startled at that thought. Where was this coming from? He didn´t even believe in something like soulmates or true love? What was happening to him? And why just now? Rath was so deep in thoughts that he didn´t notice that they came out of the scary part of the forest and into the lighter one. Then he registered out of the corner of his eyes that Marianna was in the process to eat a berry that was poisonous. Immediately he stormed to her and snatched her hand away from the bush.

“ Don´t do it. They´re poisonous”.

Marianna was shocked for a few seconds. Geez did he have to scare her to death? Her heart almost stopped beating. Carefully she laid a hand on her chest where she could feel her heart beating really fast now. “ You almost gave me a heartattack”.

“ I´m sorry. But believe me when I say that you don´t want to know what happens when you eat those things”, Rath tried them when he was younger. It was a bet between Larek, Zan and him. He won the bet, but to a price. For a few days he couldn´t keep his food down, on both ends. It wasn´t a pleasant experience.

Marianna eyed the wonderful green berries again. They looked really tempting and because she skipped the breakfast she was pretty hungry. Thankfully Rath stopped her before she could put them in her mouth. “ Thank you”. And she really meant it.

“ All right. Let´s get going. I want to arrive at the camping place before it´s to dark to see anything”, Rath didn´t wait for a reply before he began to move again.

Marianna slowly followed him. The thoughts about the book were forgotten, but now they were replaced with Rath´s behaviour. Ok for any other person it wouldn´t be such a big deal that he stopped her from a painful experience, but for her it was a big deal. Every other male she ever came in contact with wouldn´t have done that. They would have watched her how she stuffed her face with those berries. For the first time she really believed that Rath cared about her. It was easy to say that you loved someone and even if you didn´t mean it. But to show it was a little harder. And Rath just proved that. Maybe she should finally release her past, her bad experience and create new, better memories. Maybe it was time to let go of her fears and just live for the now. It was slowly time to stop living with ghosts and return back to the real world. Althrough she knew that she still had a long way to go to achive the goal she was putting on herself, she was sure that she would make it someday. For now she did the first step in the right direction. The next step was to show Rath that he wasn´t alone with his feelings. And she already knew how she had to do it. Just as she finished that thought she bumped into Rath, or rather his backpack.

“ What´s up? Why are we stopping?”.

“ To strike our camp here”, Rath took his backpack from his shoulders and put it near the fireplace. “ I don´t know about you but I´m rather hungry”.

“ I didn´t realize that we´re already that far”, Marianna must have been so deep in thoughts that she was unaware how long they were walking. Was the time really gone that fast? Oh my. Either she was a slow thinker or they were faster than she thought. But the path seemed to be longer when they went from it.

“ Yeah. I noticed that”, especially because he observed her the whole way. She seemed to come to a conclusion about something. He tried to use his powers and take a look in her feelings, but then he decided against it. He shouldn´t do that. If she wanted to share her emotions with him, she would do it.

“ Sorry about that”, Marianna finally took her backback from her shoulders and threw it on the ground, too. “ Why don´t you look for a few branches we can set on fire and I will take care of anything else?”.

“ Does that mean you will cook without insulting me?”, Rath just wanted to be sure, before he went to bring fire wood. Not that she started to call him names again, just because he let her make the meal.

Marianna had to smile at the reminder. Ok she was out of line the night before. But she made her point clear to him and he at least asked now if she cooked. “ Yes. Now go”.

Rath saluted quickly and then wandered deeper into the wood to go hunting after branches. Marianna watched after him and when she couldn´t spot him anymore, she sat on the ground and started to spread out the sleepingbags, which where hanging on their backpacks. Then she found a cane of bospe ( beans with bacon), a cane of lineinto ( stew ) and two big kafflen ( potatoes ). What should they eat? That was a tough question. Either this or nothing. She absolutely hated stew, no matter with what. Hence the cane of lineinto went in the backpack again. Before she began to eat that, she rather would hunt down an animal, kill and gut it. How anybody could it this was out of her imagination? But now she had to choose between the kafflen or the cane of bospe. After she couldn´t make up her mind what they should eat, she gave up and decided that they would eat both. So now she only had to wait for Rath, who would bring the needful fire wood with him.

A few moments later Rath appeared with an arm full of branches. He must have been lucky, because he wasn´t gone that long and yet he had many fire wood. “ Did you know how many creature are living in these woods?

“ Don´t tell me, I´m begging you”, it was bad enough that she had a good imagination about it, but to really know it. No thank you. She still wanted to sleep tonight.

“ On my way I saw this thing. It had at least twenty little feets and it smelled really bad”, Rath loved to tease her. And since he knew how scared she was of harlegmos and probably other crawling creatures he had to use the opportunity.

Marianna took a stone that was lying beside her and threw it at Rath.” Shut up. I don´t want to hear it”.

Rath laughed about her. She was just to easy to tick off. And it was a pleasure for him to see her shuddering. “ Alright. You don´t have to be violent”.

Marianna eyed him warily when he kneeled besides her and put the branches in the fire place. She hoped that he let everything that was living in this forsaken forest where it was and didn´t think he could bring something with him, just to scare her. That would fit him. Just as Rath wanted to set the branches on fire, Marianna remembered the kaffeln and quickly snatched two of twigs away. After she received a raised eyebrow she pointed at their meal. While Rath could finally make a fire, Marianna stuck the kaffeln on the branches.

After they stuffed their bellies and were sated, both were still sitting around the fire and watched how the flames danced in the light breeze. The suns were long gone now and the night was a bit chilly, but not cold. The silence which was surrounding them was not uncomfortable. They were just too lazy to talk and too awake to sleep. But then Marianna stood up and went to her backpack.

“ What are you doing?”, Rath wouldn´t have minded to just sit there a little bit longer and enjoy the quiet.

“ I want to know what´s standing in this book”, Marianna finally pulled it out of her backpack and threw it on the ground. Shortly after that she laid herself with her belly down on her sleepingbag. She took the book and opened the first page.

Rath wouldn´t say it loud, but he was curious as well. Therefore he put himself beside Marianna. “ And what´s standing in there?”.

She was browsing through the whole book. But everywhere was the same. “ Absolutley nothing. The pages are empty”.

Rath couldn´t believe that. But when he saw that the pages where indeed blank he was a bit confused. Why did they have to go to this mission, if the treasure they had to retrieve was just nothing more than a book with blank leafs? That made no sense at all. “ Maybe it´s a diary?”.

“ No. A diary has a lock on the outside”, Marianna didn´t possess that, but she saw that Vilandra and Ava had one of it. She would never entrust her deepest and darkest thoughts in a book. She would probably be to scared that someone might find it.

“ Alright. Then it´s really a piece of crap”, Rath took the book out of Marianna´s hands and threw it on his sleepingbag. They didn´t need it, if it didn´t give them any information.

Marianna rolled on her back and starred at the sky above. She was a little dissapointed about the book. Ok she knew that nothing really interesting would be standing in there. But nothing at all. That was simply whacked. Why should they find it then? Definitely not because it was important, that was for sure. She turned her head to Rath to ask him what he was thinking about all this, when she noticed that he watched her with a strange expression on his face.

“ What are you looking at? Do I have something in my face?”.

Rath stretched his right arm out and touched her face softly. At first he caressed her cheek and then he stroked her hair out of her face. “ No. I just notice how beautiful you look in the moonlight”

“ The light must be shining on my good side then”, Marianna was slightly nervous. Never did someone look at her like that. With so much longing and desire. And Rath could probably see it mirroring in her own eyes.

Rath smiled at her. He wanted to take her nervousness and give her the feeling that he wouldn´t hurt her. “ I want to kiss you so bad right now”.

“ Who´s stopping you? It´s not me”, Marianna wanted it as bad as Rath, if not more. She was finally ready to do what they both wanted for a long time now.

Without a word Rath slowly bend down until his lips touched hers. For a few seconds he waited, that was actually always the moment he woke up and detect that everything was just a dream. But when he realized that Marianna was still there he enveloped her face with his hands and fully kissed her. At first they went slow, but when Marianna opened her mouth and let his tongue enter Rath couldn´t detain himself any longer. He let all the passion that was building since he knew her flow into this kiss. It was rough and yet still gentle, powerful but not painful. It was just everything. Slowly Rath kissed his way down her throat. When he hit a really sensitive spot right under her left ear, Marianna moaned extremely loud. Encouraged through the noise Rath softly bit the spot, but not to much to draw blood, just enough to let her feel it. Meanwhile Marianna´s hands found their way to Rath´s neck. Carefully she tried to caress him, but when he bit her she almost lost it and unfortunaly for him she was digging her fingernails in his flesh. However he seemed to like it. At least she thought so after the strange grunt he made. She was just in the process to let her right hand trail down his back, when she felt Rath´s hand was making his way under her shirt and he started to stroke her left breast tenderly. Now she was thankfully that she didn´t wear something underneath her clothes. The sensation that broke out in her whole body was unbelievable. She never felt so lightheaded and open like now. Oh shit. She died probably and this all was just an imagination.

“ I want to feel you. All of you”, Rath whispered in her ear. He wanted her to know that they wouldn´t do anything she didn´t want.

Marianna wanted to scream that he should do whatever he wanted. But she was too far gone to utter a complete sentence. “ Me too”.

That was all Rath needed. With trained skills he took her shirt and her tanktop off and threw them away. He didn´t care if they got dirty or not. All that mattered right now was just Marianna and her absolutely stunning body, which was laying there for him to take. He almost destroyed his shirt with his effort to get rid of his shirt and his tanktop. After that he laid himself on her. He propped himself on his hands, so that he didn´t crush Marianna under him. She was looking with so much lust in her eyes at him, that he was on the brink to lose everything in his trousers. Strange she didn´t even touch him in any way. He watched as her tongue came out of her mouth and wet her lips. Judging after the little twinkle in her eyes, she knew what she was doing. Slowly her hand snaked over his chest to his belly until it dissapeared in his trousers. With ease she took his manhood and caressed it.

“ I hope that´s not your weapon”, Marianna breathed out. Her nervousness was almost gone. Now she was in the mood to play.

“ I don´t know. Maybe you should check it. Just to be safe”, Rath wanted to see if she would do it. Besides he wanted out of his pants or he would make them dirty. Her hand was softly stroking up and down his shaft and it was hard for him to restrain himself.

“ That´s a brilliant idea”, Marianna beamed at him. Quickly she rolled them around that she was on top of Rath. Now she had better access to his pants. And she had the control.

Teasingly she let herself slide from his body until her face was hovering over his crotch. Even from there she could smell his lust and it was arousing. She opened his belt from his trousers in slow motion and made sure that she came often in contact with his penis that was captured behind the zipper. When she came to the pants she had enough from all the teasing and with one swift move she used her powers to let it dissapear, together with his underwear. Now that´s what she called to use her power properly.

“ Eager, are we?”, Rath didn´t have anything against it. He waited too long already to come to this stage in their relationship. If it would have gone after his mind, they would have had sex a long time ago. But he was glad that they waited, because now it meant something.

“ I can go slower if you want”, Marianna threw a glance at his cock. He was standing proud in the air, waiting for action. “ But I don´t think you can hold out any longer”.

“ Do what you want. You´re in control now”, and that was big for him. After all he didn´t give up his control for anybody. But with Marianna he wasn´t scared or insecure.

Marianna eyes were lighting up at that. “ I´m in control? I like it”, that was the last words that were spoken between them. Without a word Marianna ripped her remaining clothes off of her body and pounced on him. It was wild, it was pure lust and it felt groundshattering. They didn´t care that it was cold, because the heat they shared was warming them, or that they were in the open, where anybody could see them. The only thing that mattered where their bodies who craved after another. A few hours and two explosive orgasm later Marianna and Rath were lying side by side in the sleepingbag. Her head was resting on his chest and Rath was softly stroking her arm. Both were played out, but satisfied.

“ Are you alright?”, Rath was a little concerned, because he wasn´t exactly tender to her. Ok she wasn´t, too , but he was a guy he could stand it.

Marianna turned his head so that she could look him in the eyes. She knew why he was asking that. But she wasn´t made out of glas. “ Yes. More than alright actually”.

“ Good to know”, Rath yawned really loud. “ I don´t want to be a jerk, but you tired me out”.

Marianna felt really sleepy, too. “ Yeah. We should probably sleep now. We had a long day”.

Rath bend his head and gave Marianna a kiss on her temple. “ Good night”.

“ Good night. Sleep tight”, Marianna closed her eyes and made herself comfortable on Rath chest. It was a pretty comfy place to lay your head on. And she could listen to his heartbeat. It was the most beautiful sound she ever heared.

Rath smiled at the back of Mariannas head. This was how he always wanted to go to sleep. Without worry and his lover in his arms. “ I love you”. With that Rath closed his eyes.

Marianna opened her eyes for a moment. He said it again. And the urge to tell him the same was there, too. But she couldn´t. Not yet at least. “ I love you, too”, she whispered really quite so she was the only one who could hear it.

tbc

Authors note : The lyrics in this chapter are only borrowed from the go go dolls and the song is called " Iris"

Chapter 20 Newfound Happiness

Rath was the first who woke up that morning. Ok to be exactly he was woken up, because given the opportunity he would have slept a little longer. But something was shining in his face and it was a tad bit annoying. Slowly he opened his eyes to look what was disturbing his sleep. At first he had slight problems to keep his eyes open, because one of the suns was blinding him, but after his eyes got accustomed to the light he could finally regnorize his surroundings. The sky was clear with no cloud in sight at this morning. There was a slight breeze blowing, a few vogly (birds) were happily singing their songs and and the unmistakably smell of nature was waving through the air. Rath never noticed how beautiful a morning could be or he didn´t want to acknowledge it, because he didn´t have the time for it. But that would change from now on. A smile broke out on his face at that thought. Damn he was turning into Zan. Soon he would pick up blum (flowers) for his lover and recite poetry for her. A few weeks ago he would have slapped everyone who would have told him that he was turning to mush because of a girl. But now he everything was different. He didn´t know at that time that there was someone who could evoke feelings inside him he didn´t know existed. No wonder his sister was always smiling and floating through the halls in the palace. Now he understood Zan and Ava better, why they were always so damn happy and in high spirits. Because he felt just like that right at this moment. Rath turned his head to his left, where the head of Marianna lay. She was still sleeping peacefully with her face turned in his direction and a hand under her cheek.


And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now



Rath touched her flawless face tenderly with his fingertips, not to strong to wake her, but enough that he felt her skin. She was so damn beautiful that it took his breath away everytime she was near him.



And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight



He would never understand how she could go undetected through his walls and straight into his heart. He didn´t even know when he fell in love with her or the reason for it, just that it happened.




And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am


And after last night the emotion ran deeper than he could have ever imagined. She was now part of him like he was a part of her.


And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything seems like the movies
Yeah you bleed just to know your alive



They were bound to each other and nothing could break or destroy that bond. And the strange thing was that he wasn´t even scared or terrified. Just this feeling that this was like it should be.


And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am



“Why are you smiling?”.

Rath was startled out of his thoughts. He didn´t notice Marianna waking up or that he still was smiling like an idiot. He let his gaze wander to her eyes, which were looking at him right how. He never noticed how the suns were reflecting the green in there. “ Am I smiling? I didn´t notice that”.

“ It is my hair, isn´t it?”, Marianna touched the top of her head. Just like she imagined, her hair was in total disorder. Great she must be looking like a freak right now.

Rath stopped caressing her cheek and stroked her hair instead. Why was she suddenly worried about her appearance? It wasn´t like he saw her in that condition for the first time. “ No. I like that out of bed look on you. It´s a turn on”.

“ You´re just saying that, because I let you in my pants”, Marianna enjoyed Rath´s caress. It felt great and it gave her the feeling that it wasn´t just a one time deal. Now she knew that she made the right decission.

“ Actually you were in my pants”, and he didn´t have anything against it. In fact he wouldn´t mind something like that right now. He was ready for the the next round. But that was nothing new since Marianna came into his life.

Marianna rolled her eyes. He was such a guy sometimes. “ Technicalities”. She made a devaluing gesture with her left hand. “ And I didn´t hear you complain last night”.

“ How could I? You didn´t let me”, Rath teased her. Althrough when he thought about it, she really gave him no room to say something. She was all over him and touched him in places that let all his blood pool in another region.

“ Poor baby. What can I do to make it up to you?”, ok she knew that she was a little wild and admittedly violent. But he was not that different. He could dish out more than he took in.

“ How about a good morning kiss?”.

Marianna smiled at him. That was a new side of Rath she really liked. Althrough she liked it more when he was stubborn, pissed off and on the brink to strangle her. Hopefully he didn´t start to recite poems to her. That would probably scare her for life. “ I think I can do that”. Marianna bend slightly forward with her torso and pressed her lips on Rath´s.

Immediately the connection they both shared now sprung to life again. They both could feel what the other felt. The kiss was much more intense than every other they shared so far. What started as a innocent kiss was fast becoming a need for more. It was like a hunger that needed to be sated or a spark that evolved fast in a wildfire. Marianna and Rath could feel their souls melt together. It was one of the most beautiful emotions on the planet. Neither of them wanted to let go in that moment. Suddenly a noise to their right startled them and broke the connection instantly. Rath was the first who came out of his trancelike state. For a few seconds he was confused what just happened and why. Then he watched as Marianna opened her eyes. She seemed to be equally confused.

“ What was that?”, oh boy if every kiss would be like that she didn´t want to do anything else anymore. She had slight problems to bring her breathing under control and her heart seemed to want out of her chest. But it was the most intense feeling she ever received.

“ I don´t know”, and he didn´t really care about that. Althrough he felt like he just run a hundred miles it was the best feeling ever.

Marianna just wanted to ask if that would always happen when they kissed, when the noise, that broke the connection between them, came again. Rath was turning his head in all direction and tried to find the reason for it. But he couldn´t detect anything, they were absolutely alone right now. When he faced Marianna again he saw her smiling at him.

“ What?”, did he miss something here? Why was she smiling like she knew something he didn´t?

“ I found the cause for the noise”, Marianna pointed behind him. There was a big tree standing and in the crown there was a tiny, brown, furry thing crawling. At a closer look Marianna regnorized it as a crissle ( squirrel).

Rath flipped his body to the other side and then he saw it too. That little thing disturbed his good work for a second round? Just a crissle? Couldn´t it have taken another tree? “ Hey furball stop the noise and look for another place”.

Marianna had to laugh when the crissle looked at Rath and started to make strange noises. It sounded like the little thing was raving at him and tried to tell him that he should find another place. Mariannas laughter got even worse when Rath turned around and looked at her with a perplexed expression. “ Is this thing mocking me?”

“ I think so”, she just brought out through her laughter. It was just too funny how Rath got agitated because of a tiny animal.

“ I´ll show him what it means to piss me off”, Rath was in the process to stand up. He didn´t care that he was nude. Nobody mocked him and got away with it. Animal or not.

Marianna gripped his arm and tried to keep him under the covers. “ What are you trying to do? It´s just an animal”.

“ I don´t care. I have to defend my dignity”.

“ I think your dignity can bear to lose this fight”, Marianna had pity with the crissle. It just did what the nature provided. Besides it didn´t bother her at all.

Rath seemed to think about it. Then he shrugged his shoulders and ignored the crissle, which was already gone anyway. He started smiling and leant closer to Marianna. “ So. Where were we just now?”.

“ I think you wanted to make breakfast, while I go to the lake to make myself presentable again”, and before Rath could protest or say anything Marianna kissed him quickly, climbed out of the sleepingbag, took her clothes and went down to the lake.

Rath looked after her naked butt for a while, before he leant back with his hands under his head and a silly grin on his face. No life couldn´t get better than that. Nothing could destroy his good mood ever. Even if a meteor should smash the planet, he would die as a happy man. Pleased with himself he closed his eyes and enjoyed the nice weather.

When Marianna came back a few minutes later, fully clothed and her hair bound to a messy bun, Rath was still laying on his back and let the suns shine on his naked chest. Marianna shook her head and wondered why she was so surprised. After all she knew him rather well by now and he had never done something she told him to do. “ Hey lazybone. You have to get up”.

“ Don´t wanna”, Rath had no intention to move for awhile. He was quite content with his position. Just one thing was missing in the picture. Marianna at his side, preferable naked and ready for action.

“ You have to. It´s still a long way we have to go and I don´t want to walk in the heat again”.

The only response Marianna got from Rath was a grunt. She didn´t know if it was a yes grunt, a no grunt or shut up grunt. Sometimes it was hard to understand what he wanted. But she wouldn´t give up now. Slowly she kneeled beside him on the ground and bent her face until she was near his. “ If you get up now I have a surprise for you tonight”.

Rath opened his eyes at that. “ Really? And what?”.

“ If I tell you than it´s not a surprise anymore”, Marianna knew she had won. She could see it in his eyes.

But before she could congratulate herself, Rath jumped to his feet and almost run her down. Then he took his clothes and whizzed away. Marianna watched his naked form run out of her sight, before she broke out in laughter. He was such a guy. With that thought in mind she prepared the breakfast, which they would eat during her walk back. If they wouldn´t have wasted so much time they could eat extensively. After she made two groggles with shami (sausage) and Rath wasn´t back again she decided to clean the campside. She was just in the process to tuck away the sleepingbags, when she discovered the book. She almost forgot it. Slowly she bent down to pick it up and put in it her backpack, when she notized that something was different about it. Carefully she took it in her hands and opened the first page. To her surprise this time there were no blank pages, instead they were full of strange words. Words Marianna couldn´t read nor understand. She turned to the next page and found five pictures staring back at her, five really well known photos. The first ones where of Rath, Zan, Vilandra and Ava. And the last one under them was of hers. How could that be? Why wasn´t it in there when they checked it yesterday? How could suddenly stand something in this book when it was blank the last time? And most important, why couldn´t she read the words?

“ Hey I´m back and ready to go”.

Marianna was startled out of her thoughts. She turned around and shoved the books in his hands. “ What does that mean?”.

Rath, who was confused about the behaviour towards him, took the book and eyed the page. Surprised about the thing he saw he took a closer look. How did that happen? It was blank last night. And why couldn´t he understand a thing that was written in there? “ How is this possible? I mean it was blank, or did I dream this?

“ No, it was blank. But what I want to know is, why is there something now and not yesterday? What triggered it? And why are there pictures of us?”, Marianna had the feeling that it was important. For what she didn´t know, but it seemed to be important nontheless.

Rath looked at Marianna. Why was she asking him that? He was as clueless as her, if not more. “ How should I know that? I´m seeing this for the first time, too”.

“ I know”, Marianna rubbed her face. She didn´t know why she reacted so strongly about this book. Maybe it was the fact that her picture was in there or that her feelings told her that it was needed in the future. “ I´m sorry”.

“ It´s alright”, Rath closed the book and put it in his backpack, which was lying at his feet. Then he watched Marianna closely. Why was she so overreacting over something trivial like a book? It didn´t make sense. Slowly he stepped to her and laid his arms on her shoulders. Immediately she embraced him tightly and pressed her face on his chest. “ We´ll get on the bottom of this. Maybe the scientist know more about it”

Marianna breathed deeply in and smelled the unmistakable scent of Rath. It was really calming and cleared her head a little. “ You´re probably right”.

“ Then we should finally get going. It´s still a long way”, Rath released Marianna. After that he packed the remaining things in their backpacks, smeared their tracks and shouldered his backpack. He wanted to be quick. The sooner they made a move the sooner he got his surprise.

Marianna tried to help him, but he was too fast for her. So the only thing she could do was to strap her backpack on her shoulder and wait. A few minutes later they both continued their trek through the forest towards home. The path they walked back seemed to be a another one, because the trees and the bushes were looking kinda different. And Marianna should know that, because she watched her surroundings when they came by the last time. Rath didn´t seem to notice it or else he would have said something. But he just marched beside her with a small smile on his face. Marianna shook her head, he was probably wondering what the surprise was and if it included her. Preferable naked or barely clothed. She had to admit that she was a little scared when she woke up that morning. She didn´t know how she should act after last night. If it was just for one night and then he would do like nothing happened. But when she opened her eyes and saw the awe on his face, which was directed at her, she had no doubt that it wasn´t the end of their friendship, but rather the beginning of something more. Something so beautiful that there were no words to describe it and even if she had all the time in the world she couldn´t put in words what she felt. The strange this was, she had loved Lykus also, but now she noticed that it was more a love you feel towards your best friend than a lover. Still to an extent she still loved him and Marius and she missed them both. Maybe someday when everything calmed down she could contact them and explain what really happened. At that thought she noticed that something was grasping her hand. Surprised she looked at it and saw that Rath was holding her hand firmly in his. Then she turned her face to him and smiled. He returned it shortly and then looked straight ahead again. This time they didn´t talk much on their way. They didn´t need to, they were linked and could communicate with each other without speaking. It was a really comfortable silence. When the suns were in the process to go down, Marianna and Rath arrived at the boiling spring near the castle. They both were really happy to see something familiar. Althrough they thought it would take longer to get there. Marianna wanted to start running towards the castle, where her comfy bed and real food was. But Rath gripped her arm and stopped her.

“ What are you doing? We´re almost home”, Marianna could already smell the dinner and the scent of her pillow.

“ They´re expecting us not before tomorrow”, Rath didn´t want to go back yet. He wanted to enjoy their last night alone, without anybody who could disturb them.

“ Yeah so. Then we´re just a little earlier. What´s the big deal?”, Marianna couldn´t understand what Rath was doing. Didn´t he want to finally sleep in his own bed? Take a real shower? Or eat something someone else cooked for them?

“ It´s our last night alone”, Rath pulled Marianna closer to his body. Then he put his arms around her middle and kissed her thoat tenderly.

Marianna had to do everything in her power not to moan too loudly. Rath knew really what he was doing and where he had to do it. Damn him! One kiss and she was jello in his hands. “ I like where your mind is going”.

“ I know”, Rath pushed Mariannas backpack off of her shoulders and let it fall down on the ground, while he still worked on her throat. Marianna in contrast did the same to him.

“ I have an idea”, Marianna breathed in his ear. She had to say it now, because she didn´t know if she could utter a word if Rath didn´t stop what he was doing. “ Let´s do it in the boiling spring”.

Rath stopped instantly with the kissing and faced her. His eyes were sparkling mischievously and his whole face seemed to glow at the mention of the boiling spring. He licked his lips in anticipation. “ Watersport? I like that”. Rath started immediately to shred his clothes from his body. First his shirt and his tank top fell to the floor, then his shoes and lastly his pants. After that he made a show for Marianna and flounced all manly into the boiling spring.

Marianna laughed about his antics. What did she get herself into? She must be braindead to get involved with him. What was she thinking the night before? Oh right, she didn´t think at all. Besides he was absolutely hot without clothes. And boy was he endowed. Nobody would have said no to that. Marianna shook her head to get rid of her thoughts. She was turning into a male, just thinking with her abdomen.

“ What are you waiting for? The water is really warm”, Rath called to her. His ellbows were lying on the edge of the spring to hold himself up and the rest of his body was hidden under the water. If Marianna wouldn´t be already turned on by his earlier action, she would be now.

Slowly she kicked her shoes from her feet. Then she started to move her body to a rhythm only she could hear. She would give Rath a show he never forgot. Seductively she let her hands wander over her throat down her breast until she stopped at the hem of her tank top. Teasingly she lifted it a bit and showed Rath a piece of her belly before she pulled it down again. She wouldn´t pull it off all the way yet. She wanted him to wait a little longer, just until he begged her to take it off already. And after Rath heating gaze it wouldn´t take long before that happened. Encouraged through the response she got from him she took her time to open her belt and pull it out of her pants. Before it landed on the ground with a thud she was already working on her zipper. The whole time Marianna never took her eyes off of Rath, who was intensely watching her. After the smirk on his face he liked the show and the smirk grew bigger when the pants fell on the bottom. Now all Marianna was wearing were her panties, her tank top and a smile on her face. And it would be still awhile before she would lose one of the things. Besides she wanted to know how long Rath could endure the torture. With a wicked glimmer in her eyes she toyed with the straps of her top. She pulled them over her shoulder and back again.

“ Marianna!”, finally a reaction from Rath. He was obviously very frustrated. Neato! Just what she wanted. One more push and he would break.

“ What? Don´t you enjoy the show?”. Marianna put on her innocent face. Althrough she knew that Rath didn´t fall for that. He knew her better than that.

“ Hell yeah! But if you don´t stop it I can´t guarantee for anything”.

“ In that case”, Marianna ripped her tank top off of her body along with her panties. Then she joined Rath in the boiling spring. She couldn´t let him suffer that much.

Immediately Rath pulled her close to his hard body and started kissing her furiously. Marianna didn´t know what hit her, but she liked it. A lot. No wonder that she couldn´t enjoy the sex with Lykus, because he didn´t have any passion. It was just a in and out. Nothing more and nothing less. But here with Rath she could act out her wildest phantasies without being afraid to step over a boundary. Strange that she didn´t notice that she didn´t like nice that much. In that moment Rath found that sensitive spot right under her ear again and Marianna stopped thinking for the next hour.

After they both were spent and satisfied they decided to go out of the water. After all they didn´t set up their camp and they hadn´t eaten since this morning. So when they pulled their clothes on, both worked on their duties. That meant Rath would take care of the wood while Marianna did the same with their sleeping arrangement. Sometime later everything was set and Rath brought enough branches so that they didn´t had to freeze. Together they snuggled in front of the fire and enjoyed the last meal they would eat alone. From tomorrow on everything would be different again. No kissing, no touching and definitely no sex anymore.

“ You know I could get used to this”, Rath was stuffed, he had ingredible sex and the woman he loved at his side. What more could he want?

“ Yeah, me too”, Marianna wished that everything was different. That Rath wouldn´t have to marry another woman or that she wouldn´t have learned what it felt to be loved so unconditionally.

Rath heard the saddened tone in her voice. Why was she so sad all of the sudden? “ What´s the matter?”.

Marianna hadn´t notice that her frustration was hearing in her voice. “ It´s just that tomorrow everything will change between us”.

“ How do you mean? Nothing will change”, where did that thought coming from? And what did she mean by that? Rath slipped closer to Marianna and pulled her in front of his body so that her back was at his chest. Slowly he laid his chin on her shoulder and entwined his arms around her.

“ We both know that´s not true. You have your obligation towards your family and I don´t want to destroy that”. Marianna put her hands on his. She would love to continue what they had, but she was realist and knew that they couldn´t do that. Even if she was certain that Vilandra had nothing against it. Someone would get hurt and she didn´t want it to be her.

Rath couldn´t believe what he heard. Was she for real? “ Then tell me why you started something in the first place when you knew that?”.

Marianna breathed deeply in. How could she say him that she wanted to stop her attraction to him. She thought if she would finally bring it over her and sleep with him that her feelings for him would disappear. Too bad that her plan backfired and her feelings were only increasing after that. Now she didn´t know what she should do. “ I just wanted to know how it would feel to be really loved by someone”.

“ Great and how does it feel?”, Rath pushed Marianna away and jumped to his feet. He couldn´t be near her anymore without doing something stupid. Angrily he started to pace.

Marianna watched his movement. She knew that she hurt him and she couldn´t blame him. Not really. She would probably react the same way if the roles were revearsed. But she had to think about the consequences. “ Rath. Don´t be mad”.

“ Who´s saying I´m mad. I´m not mad. Because mad doesn´t describe what I´m feeling right now”, Rath´s eyes were twinkling with fury at Marianna. He didn´t scream but the ice in his voice spoke for itself.

Marianna had to do something or she could bury the progress they were making on this trip. She never wanted to hurt him or make him feel that she didn´t share the same feelings he had for her. “ Listen. I didn´t say that it this was just a short fling. It meant a lot to me. You mean a lot to me. But we have to think about the others and not just us!”.

Rath laughed at that. Yeah he meant a lot to her, but she didn´t love him like he loved her. He was so stupid to even think she could feel something for him. Usually he used this line to get rid of his conquers the next morning. He didn´t know how hurting it could be or that something like that would happen to him. “ I have to give you credit. You played the woman in love pretty good. I really believed you”.

“ How can you say that? I didn´t fake anything”, Marianna finally jumped to her feet and stormed to Rath. You could say anything about her, but she wasn´t someone who would simulate something she didn´t feel. If he thought so about her, then he really didn´t know her at all.

“ Yeah. Just like you didn´t fake that you lost your memory”, he should have known that he couldn´t trust her. His mind was telling him to play it save, but no he jackass had to listen to his heart. He should remember to never do that again. Ever.

Marianna was close to scream. Why couldn´t he stop with that? It was something complete different at that time. She didn´t know him or his family and she just survived the attack of her father. How would he have handled it? “ Fine. Believe what you want. I´m through with this shit”

“ Ha, I was right!”, he just won his first verbal fight with her. And she unintentionally admitted that everything she said and did was a lie. But why didn´t he feel better? Why did it hurt so much?

Marianna didn´t bother to reply something at that. She could say the same thing a thousand times, but he still wouldn´t listen to her. So without a word she went to her sleeping bag and hit the sack. Maybe she had more luck to talk with him more mature tomorrow.

Rath watched her lying down. He didn´t expect her to give up so simply. Maybe he was too hard on her? Ok he knew that he was a bit out of line. But what she said had really hurt his feelings and he reacted the only way he knew. Old habits die hard. Rath rubbed his face with his hand. Why was life so damn complicated? With that thought he followed Marianna and went to sleep. Maybe tomorrow everything would look different.

Undetected from Marianna and Rath, a dark figure, who witnessed everything they both did in the time they arrived at the boiling spring, creeped quietly away. With a scrowl on its face and a plan to destroy that happiness. Forever.


TBC

Okay, that doesn't sound good! Who or what is this dark creature?

I knew that sending them into the woods together was going to bring them closer...

Rath smiled at her. He wanted to take her nervousness and give her the feeling that he wouldn´t hurt her. “ I want to kiss you so bad right now”.

“ Who´s stopping you? It´s not me”, Marianna wanted it as bad as Rath, if not more. She was finally ready to do what they both wanted for a long time now

.

I loved that!

Authors Note : Thankx for the reviews.

Chapter 21 Hurt feelings and girl talk


Marianna was the first one to wake up the next morning. That was probably because she couldn´t sleep well. The fight she had with Rath was still fresh in her mind and bothered her more than she let on. She didn´t know why he reacted so strong about her statement. She only vocalized what they both were thinking or at the very least her. How did he think their relationship would continue when they came back to the castle? Just like it began? Even he had to know that this was impossible. After all his parents arranged the engagement between him and Vilandra. Did he thought that they would be happy when Rath would announce that he fell in love with her? Or that they would realize their mistake and go all “ Of course we break the engagement so that you can love Marianna”? She knew that this wasn´t the case and she accepted it. Now the only problem would be to get Rath to accept it without starting a fight again. Yeah fat chance of that happening. Marianna knew that she was facing a hell of a challenge. Rath was the most stubborn person she met in her life and to get him to listen to reason was slim to none possible. But she wasn´t someone who shied from a challenge because it seemed to be impossible, no she was the exact opposite. And she would get Rath to listen to her, no matter if he wanted or not. He should dress himself really warm, because he just found his master when it came to who can get one´s way better. Furthermore she had one advantage on her side, she was a woman and woman could talk as long as they didn´t get tired or bored. She should know it, because she made arguing an art form. Well that was the opinion of Lykus at least. He told her once that if babbling would be a weapon she would be leader of all armies in the whole universe. Until today she didn´t know if it was an compliment or an insult. Thinking of Lykus, she wondered how he was doing, if he was sad about her death or if he didn´t think about her at all? Did he believe that she would kill her own mother or did he really know her to not believe such a thing? Lykus was harder to read than Rath and that meant something, because Rath was like a closed book sometimes. Marianna turned her head to Rath and watched his face for awhile. He really hurt her last night. The things he said to her were more painful than the injures she got from her escape. How could he think she would fake her feelings for him? How could he think she was capable of that, considering her experience with unrequited love and how painful that could be? He as an empath should know better. You can´t fake feelings, either their there or not. End of story. Marianna stood up from her sleeping bag. She walked a few steps to the boiling spring and sat on the edge of it. Carefully she touched the water surface and watched how the water moved under her hand. She should stop thinking, it did her no good. The only thing was just that she got more confused the more she thought about everything. Suddenly she saw the reflection of another person in the water and startled. Until she regnorized the face of Rath. He was standing behind her with an sad expression.

“ Hey”, He seemed to feel guilty. Good, he deserved it.

“ Hey”.

Rath planted his butt next to Marianna. He was a little scared, because she was obviously still angry at him. And he couldn´t blame her. He acted like an ass the last night, he knew that. He said things, he regretted now. Of course he knew that she didn´t fake anything and that she felt exactly like him, even if she didn´t say it out loud. “ How much do you hate me now?”

Marianna breathed deeply out. Hate was such a strong word and no matter what Rath would do in the near future, she could never hate him. “ I´m angry with you, but I don´t hate you”.

“ I´m sorry for the things I said last night”, there it was out. Rath wasn´t used to apologize to someone. But it was important for him that Marianna didn´t think badly of him. He was not someone who hurt people because he was in a mood. Ok she would say something different about him, but in reality it wasn´t so.

Marianna slowly faced him. She didn´t expect a earnest meant apology. It must have taken a lot for him to admit that he made a mistake. Not everyone had the guts to do that. She had to give him credit for it. “ You should be. You really hurt me, you know”.

“ I didn´t want that. Honestly. You´re the last person I want to hurt. But I heared that you wanted to end things with us and I overreacted”, and now he had a bad conscience because of that.

Marianna thought about last night and the things she said, but she couldn´t remember in all the time to say anything about breaking up. “ That´s not what I said. I just said that things would change, nothing more”.

Rath nervously scratched his right eyebrow. Now he felt stupid for making a scene about nothing at all. After he heared the word change he assumed that this was the end and he didn´t bother listening after that. “ Yeah, but change is the same like breaking up”.

“ Maybe in your twisted little word. But I meant that we have to be careful from now on. We can´t act like a couple in front of a few people, like your parents, King Salem and Queen Lutezia. We have to keep our relationship to us”, Marianna had thought about it the first night they made love. She imagined how they could make their relationship work without nobody knowing it. And all she came up with was they had to act like usual and if they were alone they could do what they wanted.

Rath was a bit disappointed about the fact, that they had to hide their feelings in front of the others. But he understood Mariannas thinking, ok at least the important things. He may not happy about it, but he could accept it. “ And how should we do it?”.

Marianna smiled inwardly. It was not that bad to get Rath to listen to reason after all. Of course only if he wasn´t insano boy. Marianna arose slowly to her feet and looked down on him. “ I´ll tell you on the way to the castle. I don´t know about you, but I´m starving”.

“ Since your talking about it. I´m starving, too”, Rath rubbed his belly. Then he jumped to his feet and followed Marianna, who was already on the process to put away their things.

Both worked fast to get the sleeping bags in their backpacks and cleared the place where they put the fire. Within a few minutes they had everything in order and were ready to get back home. Both with their heads already in the dinning room and at the table full of food. That was all the motivation they needed when they started walking again. All the way back Marianna told Rath about the things she thought about and how they could make it work.

The same time in front of the gate

The whole royal family was eager awaiting the arrival of their homecomer. Mael and King Salem were curious if the both had found the treasure and if the plan about trusting each other was working. Zan, Ava, Vilandra and Larek were placing bets if Rath and Marianna would come here peacefully or if they would bicker like usual. Ava and Zan wagered for the last, while Larek and Vilandra were holding against it. Queen Lutezia was holding the hand of Abidale, who was still worried that something happened to her son and Marianna.

“ Something bad happened. I can feel it”.

Queen Lutezia squeezed Abidales hand reassuringly. “ Don´t worry. Nothing bad happened. Rath knows this forest and they have a map. You will see, in a few moments we´ll probably hear them coming”.

Abidale send a mean glare in the direction of her husband. It was his fault that his son and Marianna weren´t where they should be.” I shouldn´t have listened to you. I knew it was a bad idea. But no you thought it was for the best”.

“ And I still think it was a great idea. It was necessary to do that”, Mael didn´t understand why his wife made such a fuss about the whole thing. It wasn´t like he send them into something deadly. It was just a little trek through the forest and back. How dangerous could that be?

Abidale just wanted to open her mouth to fling an angry curse at her husband, when Queen Lutezia gave her a little nudge in her ribs. Immediately she looked ahead. And there she saw her son and Marianna walking in their direction. Obviously still alive and relative unharmed, as much as she could see at the moment. Finally the knot which had built in her stomach when Rath and Marianna left her sight was dissolving. A smile broke out on her face at the sight of her son deeply in a conversation with Marianna.

“ There you are! We thought you weren´t coming back at all”, Mael didn´t want to admit it, but he was relieved that his two protegees were back again. He was a little worried after all.

Marianna dragged her body the last steps to the others and let herself slump to the floor there. “ We would have been sooner if someone would have known to read a map!”.

“ Hey! You couldn´t read it either. So don´t try to put all the blame on me here!”, Rath pointed with his finger at her and tried to send her his meanest glare.

Marianna lifted her head to look up at Rath. “ Why you´re getting your boxers in a twist? I didn´t say you couldn´t read it, I said someone. That means we´re both were incapable”.

Ava and Zan turned to Larek and Vilandra and stretched their palms out. “ We won. So Pay up”.

Reluctantly they both fetched two silver coins each and passed it with a barrel of some antarian cusses. How could they lose that bet? Vilandra was so sure after Larek told her what he had witnessed that Marianna and Rath would be closer now? She should have never listened to Larek. What did he know anyway? He was a guy and wouldn´t regnorize a amorous couple even if it bit him. But when she watched Rath embracing his mother she noticed a big hickey on the right side of his throat. She turned her head to Marianna and discovered she had one, too? Concidence? Absolutely not.

“ Are you alright? Did you eat enough? Are you cold?”, Abidale checked her son for injuries or other indication that something wasn´t right.

Rath, who hated to be mothered, tried to get away from his mother. She was doing like he was gone for a year and not just three days. “ I´m okay. Really”. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed the smug smile on Mariannas face and swore to wipe it away. “ But you should check Marianna. Some animal bit in her finger”.

“ Oh dear. Let me look at it”, Abidale turned away from her son, who was obviously alright, and went to Marianna. She grasped her hand and took a look at the fingers.

Marianna mouthed a bad word to Rath without anyone noticing it. He did that on purpose. “ It´s ok. Nothing hurt. See all fingers are still at their place”, to prove her point she wiggled every finger on her hand.

“ I´m so glad that your here. Both of you”, Abidale kneeled on the ground, which was a little difficult because of her dress and huged Marianna tightly. And for the first time Marianna huged her back as tightly. For a moment she let herself believe that it was her own mother embracing her so lovingly.

Rath observed the scene with a grin on his face. He didn´t know why Marianna was so upset about her parents knowing what happened between them? They loved her like she was their own child and she was part of the family. His mother didn´t hug just anyone or was worried about them. That was only reserved for people she loved or were close to her.

“ I don´t want to appear like I´m not happy that Rath and Marianna are back, but my stomach is growling and he wants to be feed”, Zan rubbed his belly for emphases. Besides he wanted to prevent that his aunt would squeeze Marianna to death.

Ava and Vilandra turned both to him at the same time and were throwing him a angry look. “ Zan!”. Ava even hit him at the back of his head.

Zan rubbed the spot were Avas hand made contact with his skull. “ What? I was just saying”.

“ No. I think Zan is right. We should go inside”, Mael was hungry himself and now that he knew that his son and Marianna were save and sound home again he could stomach something solid. Then he saw that his wife was still clinging to the poor girl. “ Honey, release Marianna. I think she´s slowly turning blue from all your squeezing”.

Abidale let Marianna go immediately. Like she noticed just now that she was still holding onto her. A little embarrassed and with red glowing cheeks she arose from her position. Instantly Mael took her hand and led her in the castle. King Salem and Queen Abidale followed them, with Zan and Ava in tow, which where in a discussion about proper attitude. The last were Larek and Vilandra, who smirked at Marianna and Rath with a knowing twinkle in their eyes, before they although made their way back.

“ Did you see that? Do you think they both know anything?”, Marianna jumped to her feet, ok she slowly stood up, because she still had her backpack on her shoulders and she was wasted. Maybe she was imagine things, but it looked like they knew something.

Rath faced Marianna with a interrogatory glance. Why did she ask that and why would it be so bad if it would be the case? “ How should they know something?”.

Marianna turned to Rath and just in that moment she noticed the big hickey on his throat. No wonder Vilandra and Larek smiled like that. Rath had the evidence that something happend at a place everybody could see. “ Because you have a hickey, right there” Marianna touched the spot tenderly.

“ What? Really? Cool”, Rath was glowing over his whole face. He was marked as taken and damn proud of it. Everybody would see that he had a girl and was very much off the market. Maybe he should mark Marianna, too. Just as he wanted to work on the hickey, he saw that it wasn´t necessary. There was already one. “ But I´m not the only one”.

Shocked Marianna touched every part of her throat, like she would feel the hickey there. No that couldn´t happen. How should she explain that? It wasn´t like she could excuse it with a imaginary boy, because there was just Rath. Sooner or later everybody would add two and two together and know what they did. Damn men and their urge to mark their terrority! “ Oh no. What should we tell everybody?”.

“ Nothing. Maybe nobody noticed anything”, Rath wasn´t concerned about the situation. It wasn´t the first time his family saw him with love bits or other things that would indicate what he was doing. Besides they both were mature enough to do what they wanted.

Marianna glanced at Rath like he was stupid. Yeah nobody saw that thing that covered almost his whole right side of his throat. Nobody was blind and the hickey was too eye catching to overlook. But before they would start to fight again, Marianna let him believe that she had the same opinion. That´s why she just nodded a okay at him and walked to the castle, before anyone would question what was keeping them so long.


After breakfast in the dinning room

Everybody was sated and the dishes were just cleared. Now all were calmly sitting in their chairs and tried to digest the wonderful meal. Marianna ate so much that she felt like she would puke every moment. She never was so hungry that she scarfed down her food, but now she regretted it. Hopefully nobody was expecting her to stand up the next few minutes, because then she couldn´t garantee for anything. Judging after the position Rath was sitting in his chair he felt not that different. Well it was no wonder, because he seemed to swallow everything without chewing. Marianna wanted to laugh about the face Rath was making, but she knew that every wrong move would have bad consequences. So she tried to prevent every movement and rubbed her stomach. Thankfully they already told everybody what they did in the last three days and what happened on their way to the treasure. Ok not every last detail, they skipped the part where they made love and all that. But apart from that they knew everything what they had to know. Even the funny story about the little accident at the cottage, where Marianna fell on Rath. Larek couldn´t keep his big mouth shut and anybody had a good laugh about it, except of course the two people that were the reason for the joke. Marianna just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her, it was so embarrassing. Contrary to Rath, he found it just hilarous, because afterwards he was finally rewarded for all the waiting.

“ Can we get up now?”, Vilandra was bored and curious. She wanted to know how it came to the hickey and if she didn´t do it quickly she was going to burst out with the question in front of her family.

King Salem regarded every member of his family. When he was sure that there was nothing else to tell anymore he turned to Vilandra. “ Of course”.

Immediately Vilandra jumped to her feet, something she never did, because she knew that a princess had to behave properly, but in that moment she didn´t care about it. “ Great”. Then she grasped Avas hand, pulled her off of her seat and dragged her without a word out of the dinning room. She wanted to be in Mariannas room before her. At last she couldn´t avoid her and Ava there.

The others watched the scene with a smile on their faces. Vilandra changed so much since there was another girl in the castle, besides Ava. She was more happy and not so snobby anymore. Actually all the children had changed. Especially Rath, which was a mystery, because he told once that he wouldn´t change for anybody. Either they accepted him like he was or they could screw him. Strange how that could shift when you´re in love.

“ I think that´s our cue to leave too, don´t you think Larek”, Zan finally noticed the hickey, with a little help of his friend. And now they both wanted to know if Rath had more at other places and how far he went with Marianna.

“ Yeah absolutely”, Larek slowly arose from his position and waited for Zan to get his butt in gear. When he saw that Rath didn´t seem to stand up in the near future he faced him. “ Aren´t you going with us?”.

Before Rath could reply that he wanted to sit a little longer until his meal was finally digested, his father spoke up. “ No. He and Marianna have something to do with me. He will join you and Zan later”.

“ Alright. We will be waiting in the library”, with that Larek and Zan were gone.

Marianna and Rath were looking at each other when Mael said that they had something to do. Hopefully it didn´t implicate exercise or moving, because they wouldn´t endure it for sure. All they wanted to do right now was resting and nothing else. For anything more Mael had to wait another time, preferable the next day, when they felt more like themself again.

“ Oh Lutezia look at the time. Didn´t we mean to do what we spoke about?”, Abidale was probably the worst liar on this planet. Everybody could see right through it or maybe she wanted it to look that way.

“ You´re right”, Queen Lutezia gracefully arose from her chair and went to her husband. “ We´ll be in town for a few hours. We´re back before dinner” quickly she gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked out with Abidale, who had done the same with Mael.

Marianna and Rath got more confused by the minute. Why did everyone act so strangly today? What was lying ahead of them? And why did they all disappear so suddenly? The confusion got worse when King Salem left the room with the excuse that he had something important to attend and Mael smiled frightening at the two. Oh Oh that smelled of trouble.

“ So now that we´re alone, I´ll show you something”, Mael stood up and glanced down at Marianna and Rath, who were looking a little green around the nose. They were probably thinking that it was something bad. “ Move it. I don´t have all day”.

Instantly they both were jumping to their feet, thankfully without puking their meals out on the floor and followed Mael. He was making his way through the long corridors with long quick steps. He seemed to be in a hurry. Marianna and Rath were trailing a little slower behind him like two criminals who were on the way to the shambles. Both had the same thought : Damn! It didn´t look really good for them right now. After they passed the training room, the library and the bedrooms they went down where the laundry and the dungeons were. There they walked through the slightly lit path, who was more scarier than the little piece of forest. Marianna started to shake, because it was just like in the castle of her father. Cold, lifeless, dark and terrifying. But it stopped the second Rath took her hand in his and squeezed it. Marianna smiled gratefully at him, before her view fell at Mael again. A seemingly endless while later they finally came to a stop in front of a wall made of stone. Puzzled Marianna and Rath watched Mael wave his hand over it and suddenly the wall was disappearing. And what they saw behind it let them lose their breath for a moment. Althrough Rath was growing up in this castle and he knew almost every room there, he never was in there before. The armoury.

“ Wow”, Marianna was twirling around trying to see everything at once. She had never seen so much weapons at once. There were laser swords, laser guns, cross bows with the fitting bolts, normal bows with arrows, shields and of course the armaments. All cleanly stacked side by side.

Mael smiled at the glowing face of Marianna. She was reminding him of his daughter when she went into a clothes shop. They shared the same expression of awe and happiness. “ It´s overwhelming, isn´t it?”.

“ That´s a understatement. I want to move in here”, Marianna stepped closer to a rack where many laser swords were hanging. Carefully she took one in her hand and tried to get a hold on it. She missed her own sword. It was handmade for her and a gift from Hewlik. It was the most precious present she ever received. Too bad that she had to leave it behind.

Rath, who was busy with a laser gun the whole time, finally found the time to watch what happened around him. He saw his father eye Marianna with so much pride that he got jeaulous for a moment. But the feeling went away as fast as it came, because he knew that his father felt the same way with him. Besides it was a sign that his father considered Marianna as a full member of the family. “ So, why are we here for?”.

“ To get your reward for the successfull mission”, Mael pointed at the wall behind them. He used the time the kids were away for finishing a few things he thought were necessary for their future.

Marianna and Rath turned around simultaneously and noticed for the first time the two armaments hanging on frames. One was large with a chain mail shirt, a bronze breastplate with the royal sign on the front, the matching leg and shoulder armor, a black belt for the weapons and metal boots. Except for the size and that it was silver the other armor looked like a exact replica of it. Slowly Marianna and Rath moved in the direction of them and took a closer look. They were both touched deeply and it could be seen on their faces.

Mael was relieved that his surprise had worked so good. He would keep this picture of his son and his almost daughter with so much joy on their faces forever in his mind. “ Don´t be so shy. You can touch it if you want”.

They didn´t need to be told twice before they started to examined it carefully. Marianna was impressed with the detailed work on her breastplate and the royal sign that seemed to be burnt in it. Then she noticed the chain that was hanging at the shoulder armor. Nosily she took it in her hands and eyed it particularly. On the chain were two tags with her initals, her age and the position she held. Surprised she read the words Leading Commander on it. Judging after the holy shit she heard beside her Rath found the dog tags, too. Now it was as good as official that they would be the second most important people after the king. Marianna couldn´t fight her tears any longer and with a quick movement she hugged Mael tightly.

“ Thank you. You don´t know how much that means to me”, could be heard through her sobs. Usually she wasn´t someone who would cry in front of others, but since she came into the castle it changed. She was a completely different person now. A person with people who loved her, a boy who meant a lot to her and friends who cared about her friendship.

Mael had to blink his tears away. He didn´t expect such a emotional release with Marianna. She wasn´t like that normally. But if he was honest, he liked her much better that way. “ You don´t have to thank me. You deserve it. Both of you”. At that part he looked to his son, who was remarkable quiet.

Then he saw something that was more unusual then his quietness. For the first time he saw Raths eyes shining with unshed tears. Before he knew what was happening his son was threwing himself in his arms or rather the arm, because one was already occupied with Marianna. For a few minutes the three were standing in the armoury tightly interwined with each other, before they noticed how it must look like.

Marianna was the first to detach herself. Quickly she tried to wipe away the remaining tears on her face and destroy any evidence that she cried. It was one thing to open up to someone who understood you, another to show your weakness to people who thought they understood you. Meanwhile Rath was rubbing his eyes furiously with the sleeve of his shirt. He wanted to hide the fact that he cried like a girl. He didn´t get emotional with other people around, but it was save here, because he saw his father brush something wet from his face.

Mael noticed the look from his son. “ I just got something in my eye”.

“ Yeah right”, Rath didn´t believe it one bite. His father had to be smarter than that. He laid an arm on Maels shoulder and leant closer to his ear. “ But don´t worry thats a secret that stays between us”.

While Rath and his father were teasing each other, Marianna had discovered a door at the far end of the room. It had weird symbols on it, the same she saw on the book. The book that everybody said it didn´t mean anything, althrough Marianna had the feeling that they were lying about that. Why else did it react so strangly when she and Rath touched it? Or why were they words nobody could understand? Question over questions, which nobody wanted to answer them.

“ What´s behind that door?”, she pointed at it. Maybe it was one answer she would be getting.

Mael turned to Marianna and then to where she was pointing at. “ Oh. There´s our newest weapon. It´s still in the making. But when it´s finished it will be the most powerful weapon on this and probably any other planet”.

Now Rath was curious. He didn´t even know that his father was building something new. “ Can we see it?”.

“ I´ll show you when it´s done”, Mael went to the armaments, took the dog tags and gave it their rightfully owners. “ I think it´s time for us to go”.

Marianna and Rath attached the chains around their necks and followed Mael out of the armoury. The way to their rooms was relative quiet, which had probably to do with the fact that Marianna and Rath were starring proudly at their dog tags the whole way. Both deeply lost in their thoughts. When they walked by the training room, Mael took off without a word. After all he had still a job to do, his men weren´t waiting for him, or rather they would make trouble like usual when he wasn´t around.

Mariannas room

Vilandra and Ava were sitting excited on Mariannas bed. They wanted to know what they weren´t told about the adventure. Actually Ava didn´t know about the hickey´s until Vilandra told her about her observation. Now they were waiting for the owner of this room to appear. Just as Vilandra wanted to stand up, the door flew open and Marianna came through it. For a moment she was shocked to see that she wasn´t alone.

“ What are you doing here?”.

Vilandra smiled over her whole face. “ We´re waiting for you”.

“ And why?”, Marianna could picture the why, but she wasn´t in the mood to tell them anything. She was bodily exhausted and her mind was almost in the same condition. She just wanted to lie down and rest for a few hours.

Vilandra arose from the bed to get a better look at Marianna. “ You know why. Don´t play dumb with me”.

“ Can we do it later. I promise that I will tell you all the details another time. Just not now”, maybe they would be indulgent with her and respect her wishes. But after she saw Vilandras stubborn face she knew that they wouldn´t leave her room before she told them everything. Ava didn´t say much, she was just sitting there and let Vilandra talk. However she was as curious as her friend beside her. Defeated Marianna walked to the cosy chair near her bed and sat on it. “ Ok. What do you want to know?”.

Vilandra made herself comfortable on the bed again and started preparing for a hell of a story. “ Everything”.

“ And don´t leave the good stuff out”, finally Ava opened her mouth. It wasn´t like she had problems with communication to other people. She was just a person who only talked when she had something to say. And she respected the privacy of other people, usually.

Marianna groaned inwardly. They would be here for awhile if they wanted to know every last detail of her trip. But on the other hand she could give them the highlights. The same information in less time. That meant she still get a few hours of rest until dinner was served. Neato! So Marianna started to tell them how everything began. At least the part where she let Rath see another side of her.


Library at the same time

Larek was pacing the floor like a trapped animal. From one side to the other and back again. Zan was trying to follow him with his eyes, but at one time he got dizzy and stopped it. Now he was reading the title at the side of the books. Some seemed to be really interesting and others were just plain boring, or at least according to the cover. He didn´t understand how someone could spend hours with the nose in some book and read what a person wrote. Except the book was about important things that were nesecarry for their future.

“ How can you be so calm? I´m on the brink to climb up the wall and you´re reading the titles of books!”, Larek was acting like they were criminals and waited for the verdict for their crime. He was extremly nervous and played with the ring on his forefinger all the time.

Zan turned to his friend and eyed him carefully. Why did he act so strange? They just wanted to know about the love bite Rath got from Marianna. They wouldn´t learn the mystery of life, dammit! “ Relax will you, your driving me insane”.

Larek lifted his arms like he wanted to strangle Zan when the door to the library opened with a squeaking noise. Immediately Zan and Larek turned to it and saw Rath with a big smile on his face standing there. He finally realised what just happened and what it meant for his future.

“ Who put the smile on your face?”, Larek pushed Zan aside and went to Rath. Finally he would the answers he was waiting for so long. Ok since a few hours, but to his defence he had no patience at this things. Maybe he could charm a few dirty details from his friend and learn some new tricks by the way.

Rath faced his old buddy. “ My father”.

Larek and even Zans eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Either they would hear something kinky, which they didn´t want to know or they misunderstood him. “ Ewwww”.

“ Not like you think, morons. I just got my new armour as the leading commander of the army”, it sounded even better when he said it loud.

“ That´s great”, he was really happy for his friend, but they weren´t here to talk about something trivial such like a promotion. “ Now tell us how you got the hickey”.

Rath should have been surprised that Larek just wanted to know what really happened in the three days alone with Marianna, but he wasn´t. Contrary to Zan he had no patience and no tact. One of the many reasons why he was one of his best friends. “ Why do you think I will tell you anything?”.

“ Come on, old buddy of mine. I have no love life and I want to know what it´s like to be with a woman”.

Now Zan felt a tad bit insulted. After all he was with a woman and Larek seemed to have no interest to know anything about that. “ Hey. I have a girlfriend and you never asked me about some details”.

“ Yeah, because you´re boring. If I need a few tips to get rid of my food then I´ll ask you”, like Larek wanted the details of their sweet and happy relationship. It was bad enough to see, but to actually hear everything. No, that was a nightmare he wanted to prevent.

Zan glared at Larek. “ What do you mean by that?”.

Before he could open his mouth to say something indiscreetly, Rath jumped in. “ What he meant is that you and Ava have a relationship that makes us all sick just by watching you two” Ok that was not better than what Larek would have probably said.

“ We´re not that bad”, what was wrong with showing their affection towards each other? They were in love and didn´t need to hide that. Besides they were almost husband and wife.

Larek rolled his eyes. Not that bad! He just said that because he couldn´t see himself. They were scary at times and other times it was just disgusting. “ Alright my bad. But we´re not here to discuss your love life”, Larek turned to Rath. “ We´re here to discuss yours”.

“ I don´t have a love life”, after he received two unbelievable looks from his friends he continued. “ Really. That mark on my throat is just a bite from an animal”.

Larek wanted to laugh out loud. What kind of story was that? He was bitten by something! Who was he kidding? “ You have to show me that animal, because I want to be bitten by it too”.

Zan nodded in agreement with Larek. It was just to impossible to believe. Besides what animal would leave such a big red mark without hurting the spot? It was definitely a hickey and he knew who left it there. “ Give it up. You´re not fooling anyone with your lame story. Tell us the truth”.

Rath sighed extra loud. What could he still say? “ Ok. But you have to promise me that you keep that to yourself”, Zan and Larek both nodded eagerly”. Alright. It all started with the treasure.....”.


Mariannas room after dinner

Marianna was standing at the window and watched the scenery outside, at least the part she could still regnorize. The suns were in the process to disappear completely behind the big mountains and just a orange glimmer was illuminating the land. The dinner tonight was different than every other she had so far. It wasn´t bad, absolutely not, but for the first time she really felt like part of the family. Abidale was asking every few seconds if she and Rath were alright, Mael was loudly talking about the things he would do when he wasn´t leading commander anymore, King Salem and Queen Lutezia just listened and made a few suggestion here and there, Ava and Vilandra giggled everytime they looked at Rath, while Zan was blushing when his view met Mariannas. It was like a normal dinner with a normal family. Something she never had with her own family. Suddenly she saw movement out of the corner of her eyes. It looked like Vilandra was speaking with a boy. It must be this ominous Davico Vilandra was always talking about. But she couldn´t be sure, because he was in the shadows and hard to identify. Marianna tried to look closer, when a strong feeling hit her. A feeling she always associated with her father. It felt like all the warmth was gone instantly and in its place was just this coldness and hate. Her heart started beating fast and her whole body shook with fear. Just when she thought it would crush her, two strong arms was embracing her from behind.

“ What are you looking at”, Rath had sneaked in her room and saw her looking intently out of the window. When he was near her he could feel a strong vibe of fear coming from her. But why?

Marianna startled for a moment. She didn´t notice Rath coming into her room. “ Just Vilandra with someone”, she turned around in Raths arms and saw in his eyes. “ What do you actually know about the guy she´s seeing?”.

Rath was surprised about the question. Why did she want to know that? “ His name is Davico and he´s new here. Why you´re asking?”.

“ I just want Vilandra to be safe, that´s all. I have a bad feeling about him”, and her feelings never let her down so far. Except for the thing with her father, but that wasn´t entirely her fault. After all it was her father and no matter how cruel he was, she had loved him.

Rath was sure that it wasn´t all. There was something in Mariannas eyes that bothered him. Something that said there was more to it than she let on. But he knew that she wouldn´t tell him what was bothering her if he asked, that´s the reason why he dropped the topic. After all he wasn´t here to talk about Vilandra and her new boyfriend. “ Don´t care about Vilandra. She´s old enough to know what she´s doing”.

“ Maybe you´re right”, Marianna knew that it wouldn´t bring anything if she worried about everything. She just hoped that Vilandra was smart enough to be careful. Sometimes there was more than meets the eye. And she didn´t want that someone hurt her, she was like a sister now. “ By the way. What are you doing in my room?”.

Rath pulled her tighter to his body and gave her his come hither- look, which Marianna had to laugh about. “ I can´t sleep alone anymore. My bed is so cold without you to warm me”.

“ Oh poor Baby. Maybe you should sleep in mine then”, Marianna took his hand and lead him to her bed. Carefully she threw the cover back and waited till Rath was comfortable lying on the mattress, before she joined him. Within a few minutes they both fell asleep. Tightly interwined with each other.


TBC







Chapter 22 Calm before the storm

The next morning the whole castle was a madhouse. Servants and other attendants were fast speeding through the corridors, suppliers were bringing boxes of food, drinks and decorations. A handfull of gardeners were trimming the garden outside and the greens in front of the palace. And in the midst of all that stood Queen Lutezia together with Abidale. There were barking orders or pointing at places they wanted something to stand. Marianna, Rath, Ava, Vilandra and Zan took shelter when they heard the first order being yelled at someone and were now hiding in the library. Despite the distance between the the ball room and the library they could still hear the voices of their mothers. Everytime they gave a ball it was the same. One day before the event everything had to be delievered, the furniture moved and the decoration at its place. The garden had to look pretty, which was kinda stupid, because nobody paid attention to it. And the kids were trying to get ouf the way or they had to help in some form or another. They tried to avoid that since they helped one time and everything ended in a disaster and many yelling. Marianna could understand that in a way, because her mother was like that, too.

“ Why are they starting today? The ball isn´t until tomorrow after all”.

Vilandra smiled at Marianna. The girl had still a lot to learn if she wanted to survive here. “ Because my mother and my aunt have a tendency to change their minds in the last second. Therefore today everything will be set and tomorrow they still can fix the things they don´t like or want at another place”.

“ And why are we hiding in the library?”, not that she minded, but it was a little weird.

Rath shook his head. She was just asking that, because she lived her not that long. If she would have been here longer, she would know it. “ We tried to help one time. It wasn´t good”.

“ A total disaster”, Zan agreed. He could still picture the whole fiasco. They started really optimistic and then everything changed for the worse. “ Rath destroyed a expensive statue”.

Rath glared at his friend. Like he was the only one. “ Larek broke a few chairs”.

“ And Zan broke a table”, Ava smiled at that. They were all klutzy that day and they still could hear the lecture they received after they cleaned up their mess.

Zan pointed a finger at her. “ Hey. The table was not my fault. Vilandra shoved me and I fell on it”.

“ Great. Now that´s my fault. I just nudged you. It´s not my fault when you can´t stand on your feet”, Vilandra wouldn´t admit it, but she really pushed him. She was angry that she had to do hard work and Zan was standing in her way.

Marianna saw that Zan wanted to threw something nasty at his sister. But before a war broke out between the siblings she jumped in. “ Alright. I get it now. Helping bad, hiding good”.

“ Be quiet. I think I can hear steps outside”, Rath gave everyone a sign to shut up for a moment. Then he listened really intently at the door. Yeah like he expected, someone was coming their way. “ Hide everyone”

Immediately the others tried to find a place where they wouldn´t be seen. But it was a little difficult, because the room was big, but not fully furnitured. Ava and Vilandra were fighting for the spot behind the armchair, Zan and Rath almost knocked over a rack with old books and Marianna was calmly standing beneath the door, so when it opened she would disappear. When they saw the doorknob going down, Ava and Vilandra agreed to share the spot, Zan hid behind a old statue and Rath found a hidden place far away in the back. Everybody held their breath when the door finally opened and a person entered.

“ Hello. Is anybody here?”.

Vilandra was the first to look over the armchair and regnorize the intruder. “ Larek dammit. I almost got a heartattack”.

Larek watched how everyone was coming out of his hiding place. What did he do? He was just coming inside for godness sake. They were doing like he was the enemy. Geez, what was up with them? “ Why are you hiding?”, Then he seemed to remember something and his face changed to a grimace.” Oh shit. Don´t tell me it´s the day before the ball again”.

“ No we´re just hiding because we discovered the joy of playing hide and seek with our parents”, sometimes Larek was a little forgetful or he wanted to appear like that. Rath didn´t want to elaborate on that too much. But when it came to a beautiful woman, then he could remember everything to the smallest detail.

Larek wanted to tell Rath were he could put his sarcasm, when he changed his mind. It wasn´t worth to go in a fight right now. Besides Marianna was standing there and she wouldn´t like it. He didn´t want to hang in the air again. Instead he turned to Zan. “ So what are we doing? I mean we can´t just stay here the whole day”.

“ I thought we could try to sneak out of the castle and go into town”, maybe they would make it out of here without anybody noticing it.

Vilandra and Ava began to smile at Zans idea. They wanted to look for some accessoirs for their gowns anyhow. And they could introduce Marianna to the world of advantages for royalties. Rath however didn´t look convinced. Besides he didn´t want to waste his time with his sister and his friends. He looked at Marianna with a raised eyebrow. At first she didn´t know what he wanted from her. But then she noticed the passion in his eyes and everything cleared.

“ Oh damn. I just remember that me and Rath still have something to discuss with Mael”, Marianna slapped her forehead. Hopefully they would believe her lie and not ask too much question.

Rath stifled his laughter behind his hand and tried not to look too surprised about the smooth lie. “ You´re right. We should probably go or we´ll be late”. With that he took her hand and together they left the room.

The others watched after them with a knowing smile. Yeah they wanted to talk with Mael alright. Like they would believe that. Wherever they would go, there would be no talking at all. Not with those two judging after the hickey´s they got. They just wanted to find a private place where they could it. Larek and Vilandra saw to each other and nodded. Maybe it was time for another bet. A bet they would definitely win.

The training room

Marianna and Rath had finally found a room in which they would be alone for a while. They avoided the parents and no guards had seen them. Sometimes it came in handy to learn to be sneaky. Carefully they watched the corridor in every direction for the last time and then disappeared through the door.

Marianna felt like a kid that was trying to do a prank and was scared that someone might see it. “ Do you think it´s safe?”.

“ Absolutely. Nobody will disturb us here today”, Rath should know it. There was no training when a ball was the next day. His mother was worried that somebody could be hurt and she just wanted everybody to look perfect that evening. Hence the no training rule.

“ Alright”, Marianna didn´t waste more time and pulled Rath closer to her body. Then she gripped his face in her hands and kissed him.

Rath liked it when she was more aggressive. It was a turn on and he could say that she started it. Not that anybody would think he took advantage of her or something. She was a demanding little thing for such a small creature. She could fool anybody with her doll like face and her slender body, but inside she was a true warrior. That was what attracted her the most to him. They were more alike than it seemed on the outside. She just took what she wanted. And oh my was she taking him. Her small hands were slowly making her way into his pants and her mouth to his ear.

“ What do you want me to do?”, she breathed out and nibbled at his earlobe.

She was expecting that he could still phrase a sentence? Didn´t she know that he even forgot his own name at the moment. She was good, all his blood was pumping in another region, not where it was supposed to be. And her hand massaging his hard member was not helping either.

Marianna seemed to notice that he wasn´t in the position to answer her question. Poor boy, the male body hadn´t enough blood to provide for two working organs. Just when she wanted to suggest that she could give him a blowjob, the door to the training room flew open and Mael stormed in.

Immediately Marianna and Rath jumped apart. Both a little red in the face and with a guilty expression. Thankfully Marianna was standing in front of Rath and Mael wouldn´t notice the tent in his pants. But he didn´t seem to witness anything out of the ordinary anyway. “ Finally. Abidale is looking for you”.

Marianna´s eyes grew wide at that. Why was she looking for her? Hopefully she didn´t need to help out. “ For me? Why?”.

“ To adjust the dress she brought for you”, Mael saw it already and he knew that it would fit her perfectly. It looked like it was made for just her.

Marianna made a face. A dress? Why did she have to wear a dress? Why couldn´t she just wear the uniform like every other member of the royal army? Dammit, sometimes it sucked to be a girl! “ I don´t want to wear a dress!”.

“ But you have to. You´re a princess”, why did Mael knew that she would make such a fuss about it. The girl was as stubborn as Rath in some things and he shouldn´t be surprised, because Rath was the same when it came to dressing up for a ball.

“ I´m also a soldier”, nobody could force her to wear a dress. She would probably look like a nightmare in pink. She hated pink and lilac and every other colour that was associated with a girl. Now black, that was her colour.

Mael knew that he wouldn´t get far with the rational side. Maybe he should try the emotional. “ Can´t you just do it? It would mean so much to me and my wife, please”.

“ Alright. But I can´t garantuee for nothing”, damn conscience. She couldn´t resist such a plea. Also she could always say that she didn´t like the dress and wear something else instead.

“ Thank you”, Mael was glad that she caved in and he knew that she would like the dress. “ Now shoo. The others are waiting in the dressing room”.

What could Marianna do, besides obeying the order she got. With a wave of her hand she went out of the room and let Rath alone with his father.

Mael faced his son, now that they were alone. “ What where you two doing in here?”.

“ Eh nothing”, yeah like that was conviencing. He was stuttering like an idiot. Oh for godness sake he was a grown up and not a teenager anymore.

Mael laid his right arm around the shoulders of his son. It wasn´t like he didn´t know what happened here. After all he was young and in love too. “ Don´t worry, that stays between us”.


On the westside of the planet

King Khivar stood before his soldiers in the war room. He and his second in command had finally found out how they could outsmart the enemy. Now they were explaining their plan to their mens, in hope that they would understand the importance of the attack they wanted to do. Khivar had sent a few spies to the castle of King Salem so that they could snoop around and collect valuable information for them. So far they did their job expectably and nobody noticed that there were traitor amongst them.

“ Our spies informed us that there are two guards who keep a close watch at the outer wall, two at the gateway and at least 5 in the castle itself”, Khivar pointed with a stick at the corresponding places on the drawing from the palace of King Salem. “ Furthermore there will be traps at the entrance, the garden, the windows and the dungeon”.

A man with black short hair was lifting his arm. “ What kind of traps?”.

Khivar looked at his second in command and made a gesture that he should continue. At that a middle aged man with dark blond hair and light green eyes was stepping forward. “ The traps at the entrance and the garden will be shields, which only appear when they feel the aura of evil. The traps at the windows and the dungeon react simultanous. As soon as someone tries to forcefully open a window or destroys it, the path down will be blocked through heavy steel grids”.

“ That means you have to be sneaky and careful to not attract attention until it´s too late”, Khivar smiled over his whole face. Finally his victory was within his reach and nothing could stop him now. King Salem wouldn´t know what hit him. “ At least for them”.

The commander didn´t like the excitement in his kings eyes. It was one thing to fight against a enemy in a battle, but another to attack someone who didn´t even know what was happening. If Khivar wouldn´t have something on him he wouldn´t be here at all. But if he didn´t play after the rules he would lose his head and that literally. He just had one secret, which Khivar knew and now he had to pay for it. “ Ok. Here is what we do”.

While the commander talked about the tactics and who went which way, two guys in the back were talking to each other. One had light brown hair and brown eyes, the other black hair and grey eyes.

“ How are you holding up?”, the guy with the light brown hair asked.

The other guy looked straight ahead. What should he tell? That he was still sad and hurt. That was namely what he was feeling right now. “ Like expected”.

“ It happend weeks ago. Let it go and try to move on. I´m also sad, but we can´t do anything to change it”, the lighter one replied.

“ Marius, you don´t know what it feels like to lose your soulmate, so I suggest you keep your oppinion to yourself!”, the darker one whispered angrily. Why could nobody understand what he was going through at the moment? He lost his fiance and the love of his life. And no matter what the others told, he would never believe that his Marianna would kill her own mother.

Marius was taken aback from the intensity of the words from his friend. What did he think he was feeling? After all he grew up with Marianna and they were insearably. “ Hey, I lost my best friend. She was like a sister to me”.

“ Yeah I noticed your misery. You´re doing like it doesn´t matter to you”.

Marius was slowly getting angry. “ She´s dead Lykus. It´s sad and we´re all suffering, but life goes on and so should we”.

“ I´m sorry. But I can´t do that. Not as long as I can still feel her”, with that Lykus jumped to his feet and left the war room.

Marius watched after the retreating back his friend. A part of him understood Lykus, because he felt the lose of his best friend very deeply and he upbraided himself that he wasn´t there to help her. But he also knew that he couldn´t change anything, if he would mourn after her. Besides what should he do? If someone would notice that he didn´t believe the lies that was spreading around, the king would probably kill him like he killed his own wife. No he didn´t want to end this way. Someday he would see Marianna again and then he would apologize to her. But until then he did what was expected of him. Marius looked around to see if someone realized that one soldier was missing. Thankfully nobody noticed the dramatic exit of him. The commander was just finished explaining his formation for the attack, which would happen soon. The king was standing beneath him and seemed to be happy, because usually he never smiled like that. When the commander gave the order for dismissal Marius was the first out of the door. He needed to talk with Lykus, after all they were friends and they were facing a war. He didn´t want to do that with his friend mad at him.

Khivar, the commander and a young boy with a hardened expression on his face, the same hair colour and eyes like the king were the only ones who stayed back.

“ Do you know what you have to do?”, Khivar wanted to be sure that his son was grasping the importance of his work. He was the trump card in this battle.

Nikolai smirked cockily. Who did his father think he was talking to? Of course he knew what he had to do. “ Don´t worry father. You will be proud of me”.

Khivar patted the shoulder of his son lovingly. “ That´s what I wanted to hear. Now I want to have a word with Hewik. Alone”.

Nikolai nodded at his father and made his way out of the room. Soon his day would come and he would be celebrated like a hero. Everybody would bow before him and kiss the ground where he walks on. Life was slowly starting to go his way.

Hewik was a bit confused. What did Khivar want to talk about with him? He said everything already. The plan was ready and everyone knew their duty. What more could he want from him?

“ I just want to be sure that you´re absolutely certain about the attack. You know that it wouldn´t be healthy for you if you fail”, Khivar didn´t care about that. Hewik would die one way or another. It didn´t matter if the attack would be successfull or not. He betrayed his king and he had to pay for it.

Hewik noticed the look in Khivars eyes and for the first he was afraid of him. He knew that twinkle and it wasn´t good. It meant he would die anyway. “ Of course, your majesty”.

Khivar, satisfied with the answer, went out the door without a word. After all he still had to prepare a speech when he was ruler of the whole planet. With what should he start?

While Khivar was trying to find the right beginning for his speech, Hewik went to the window and watched the scenery outside. And like always when he was alone, his thoughts were drifting to Marianna. He still couldn´t believe that she was dead and would never come back. It had been a shock when he heard of her death and what she was accused of. Marianna was much, but no murderer and everyone who really knew her wouldn´t believe that crap. She had loved her mother above everything and she would have never harmed her. No, she was the kindest soul he ever came in contact with and she was always friendly to everyone. Slowly Hewik wiped a few tears from his face. It still pained him that she was gone. He had loved her, more than his own life. And he wanted her to be his follower someday. But he could forget it, now he had to look for another one. However hard it would be, because nobody could replace his best soldier. Not Nikolai and not any other of his men.


King Salems palace

The whole castle was finally quiet again. The servants and the attendants had done their work, the suppliers brought all their things and the gardners were finished with the garden. The ball room was really nice decorated and the furniture was stowed away in another room. Everyone was tired now and on their way to their bedrooms. Marianna successfully survived the fitting of her dress. It wasn´t as bad as she thought. At least it wasn´t pink or any other feminin colour. Actually it was a beautiful green and matched the colour of her eyes. The others were all in awe when she tried the dress on. Thankfully she had almost the same measure as Ava and the dress didn´t need to be changed. Ok she whined because it was a bit too tight, but everyone told her that it had to be that way. How anybody could wear something like that everyday was a mystery to her. She liked her clothes perfectly fitting, but it shouldn´t squeeze her entrails together. Ava and Vilandra had the same dress, only Avas was blue and Vilandras was red. That made her feel better, that she wasn´t the only one who had to suffer tomorrow. Althrough they were used to this getting dolled up, in contrast to her. But she would be a good girl tomorrow, even if it was just for a few hours, which wouldn´t kill her. At least she hoped so. Marianna wondered how Rath would react when he´ll see her dressed like a princess and behaving like that, too. He´ll probably ask who she was and what she had done to the real Marianna. Yeah that´s sounding like Rath. Ava and Vilandra teased her the whole time about him. They even tried to copy his reaction and what he would say when he saw her in the dress. It was hilarious to watch these two with their dramatics. For a few hours she forgot the feeling she had all day long. But that changed as soon as she stepped a foot in her room. Immediately the feeling was there again and it seemed to be stronger than before. When she first noticed it, she thought it was an upset stomach or she didn´t stand something in the food, but after a while she realized that it couldn´t be it, because her head was spinning slightly and for a moment she thought she saw a flash of her fathers war room. Something was going on, but she had no idea what or what the flash meant actually. All she knew was that it wasn´t good and it would bring pain and even death. Marianna went to her window and opened it. Maybe the fresh air would clear her head a little and the bad thoughts would disappear. Slowly she bent her torso forward and propped her ellbows on the ledge. Then she laid her head on her hands and watched the sky.

“ Everytime I´m coming into this room, you´re looking out of the window”.

Marianna turned slowly around. This time she wasn´t so surprised that Rath was in her room. In fact she expected him already. “ It´s calming to watch the course of nature”.

“ And I thought you were trying to get a look at Vilandras new boyfriend again”, Rath was a bit worried about Marianna. Her emotions were such a chaos that even someone with no empath powers could feel them.

Marianna smiled slightly at him. “ No. That´s the least of my worries at the moment”.

Now Rath got really curious. The least of her worries? Why did she worry at all? “ And what is your biggest worry at the moment?”.

“ The storm that is coming”, Marianna turned back to watch the sky again.

Rath stretched his head out of the window and observed the sky. But as far as he could see, there were no indication that a storm would be coming. “ What storm? I don´t see anything”.

Marianna sighed really loudly. “ Because I didn´t talk about the weather”.

“ What is bothering you? I felt so much fear coming from you last night and now I got the same, only a littler strong this time. You know that you can tell me anything, even if it sounds crazy”, Rath embraced her and pulled her tightly against him. Slowly he stroked her head with his right hand while the other kept her trapped in his hug.

Marianna relaxed instantly when she felt the strong arms of Rath holding her. It was strange that he just had to be near her and she felt safer. “ It´s probably nothing. But since this morning I got the feeling that something bad is coming. And I don´t know what it is or what it means or even if it´s something to worry about at all”.

“ Maybe you´re just nervous because of the ball?”, that was a thought that had to be considered to. After all if something dangerous was near them, wouldn´t be he the first to notice anything? He was an empath and most of the time he knew things beforehand.

Marianna had thought about that, too. And to an extent it was possibly true. But if that was the case, why did her mind tell her a different story? “ Maybe. But what if it´s not? What if this feeling should tell me something and I don´t realize what it means? Or if I ignore it and something happens? I couldn´t live with myself if I could have prevented it.”

Rath took her face in both hands and made her look into his eyes. “ Nothing bad will happen. I promise you. Not under my watch”.

“ I wish I could be so sure of that like you”, Marianna laid her head against his chest again and listened to his heartbeat. It was soothing her soul and her mind.

Rath smiled at the back of her head. She was finally calming down a bit. But it had probably to do with the fact that she was sleepy now. Carefully he lifted her off the ground and carried her to the bed. And strangly she didn´t say anything or complained that she could walk alone. When he put her down on the mattress, he shred his own clothes and laid himself besides her. Then he took the blanket and covered them with it. Within a few minutes Marianna was sound asleep. Rath held her close to his body and caressed her face with his index finger, before he kissed her forehead.

“ Don´t worry. Nobody will harm you as long as I´m near. They have to go through me first before they can hurt you. I swear”.


TBC