Reynold runs out of the house and skids to a stop. He looks this way and that, trying to see even a glimpse of Madara. His eyes finally land upon Nanesti. He runs over to her and tries to untether her. She kicks up her head and whinnies at him.
"I don't have time for this, Nanesti. Madara," he says taking her chin and looking into her eyes.
"Madara is in trouble, can you take me to her?" Nanesti seems to calm down. She looks to Reynold, then to her back. Reynold nods and pats her.
"Good girl, Nanesti, good gir-" he says as he mounts and before he can finish she is off and he struggles to even stay on her.
The ground seems a blur as he gets his bearings and finally gets back into the saddle, and they ride into the forest.

Madara is a flash running through the forest-- slapping away the branches at first, but then letting them whip at her face and body when she ceases to notice her physical pain...the emotional pain being so strong that it overrides all else. At first she sees the trees, but then all she can see is that image playing over and over in her mind of Amalia's beautiful body pressed against Katerina's...that body that she thought only she knew! That she thought only she had touched that way..."AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!" The scream tears out of her throat, and fresh tears stream down her face. Where can she go?? Where?? Not the clearing...never the clearing again. NEVER the clearing agai-- Madara suddenly remembers the cliff. Lone and overlooking the kingdom...the pack of wolves that have made the base their den. That is where she will go. She changes her course slightly, and again breaks her way through the trees and brush.

Nanesti continues her mad dash through the forest-- almost careful of her passenger-- as she dodges the trees and branches. Suddenly she stops nearly dead as she picks up something...a scent...Madara!
Reynold is nearly thrown as Nanesti stops. He catches himself and pats Nanesti.
"What is it girl? You get her scent?" He asks looking around in the darkness. Nanesti stomps on the ground with her hoof. Reynold gets down and touches the ground with his fingers.
"Blood, Madara's blood. She must be running so fast she is cutting herself on the leaves!" He mounts Nanesti and she is off turning wide right. Her speed picks up as they near an old familiar site to her. Reynold keeps scanning left to right looking for her. Looking for any trace of her when suddenly Nanesti stops. He looks behind him and then to the front of him and makes something out in the moonlight.

Madara begins to slow as she approaches the wolves. They are milling about uneasily instead of laying or sitting and basking in the moon's glow. She wipes at her eyes as she pads over to them. She crouches down and calls to them quietly in their own language between sobs, and a couple of them get up on all fours and walk over, answering her. They wonder why one's energy is so low, and she answers that she is badly wounded. They sniff her and say that they see no grievous wound. She answers that this is because the wound is to her heart. She begins to move up towards the cliff, and then starts climbing it. The wolves watch her, feeling her pain but not quite understanding it. It is like the pain one might feel if they lose a mate, only much deeper, it seems. The wolves return to the pack and begin murmuring about the great evil they can feel approaching.

Madara's soul becomes so heavy with grief that she finally falls to her hands and knees and crawls the rest of the way to the edge of the cliff. She sits-- fingers digging into the soil-- and looks up at the moon. She wishes she could be a wolf and escape with the pack when the storm comes.

Reynold blinks, assured that he saw something move. He reins in Nanesti towards the cliff. He sees more shapes move in the shadows. He gets down, taking the reins, and begins to walk towards the cliff when he sees another shape move.
The wolves begin to pace back in forth in front of him, protecting the hurt one. But there is something about this man-thing...it is with the one's companion. This one hurts too, hurts almost same, but different. This one has hurt a long time. The wolves, unsure of what to do, finally feel very calm about the man-thing and let it pass.
Reynold tethers Nanesti and walks up the cliffs when he finally sees her in the moonlight. She is sitting upon her side, her hands splayed in front of her. He walks over to touch her shoulder but freezes. He squats beside her and looks into her face.
"Madara?"

Madara feels his presence even before he speaks her name. One of the wolves spoke to her mind-- asking who the man-thing was who had the trust of her riding-beast-- and she told the wolf that he was her pack-leader. She waits, and when she hears her name called, she closes her eyes and another tear slides down her cheek. For her Sire...for Reynold...to see her like that, with no explanation as to why she was reacting and running away like she did...and now he will want an explanation, and how can she put it into words?? To describe what she wishes she would never remember again?? She finally opens her eyes and turns her head slowly to face him. She tries to say something, but feels the sobbing threaten to come up again, and keeps her lips tightly together.

Reynold touches her shoulder and sees her tears. He sees the pain written on her face. He opens his mouth to speak, then closes it. He wraps his arms around her bringing her to him, holding her comfortingly.

The wolves come to join them and sit looking at the two. The two different waves of hurt wash over them and they slink down to their haunches not understanding but wishing they could help.

Madara feels him wrap his arms around her, and it is as if the line that separated them into Prince and Vassal for so long has disappeared, and he is now a friend and...equal...and she is grateful for his comforting presence, and turns to wrap her arms around him in return. She holds him tightly, and the sobbing bursts forth uncontrollably once again. She shakes in his arms, and the misery only magnifies when she hears Giacova also weeping...weeping of the Beauty who might be lost to her now because of what was seen. Weeping because of the Beauty that lay in the glass coffin who she will never experience again. All the misery of both women coagulates into one painful throb, and Madara holds her Prince tighter.

Reynold holds her tight and feels her wracking sobs and no longer can even he hold his world together. His tears come silently and quietly without sobs, without convulse but the pain is very real. He stops himself before Madara can tell he, too, is weeping.
'This is her pain,' he thinks to himself, 'Strength and compassion is the way now.' He dries his tears ever so slightly, hoping she does not notice.

Madara feels Reynold move and lifts her head to look at him-- her cheeks stained with red rivulets...as...are his. She reaches her hand up to touch his cheek, and her fingertips come away wet with blood. She looks back at him-- her eyes softening with worry. "Reynold...why do you cry? You do not even know of my pain, yet you cry." she asks in a quiet voice.

Reynold sighs, wishing he had been a bit more deceptive in wiping his tears. He smiles gently at her and his lip quivers only barely. He opens his mouth then closes it and forces himself to look away. "I cry only because you do, Madara. That is all." He suddenly realizes they are in the woods. He looks back down to Madara.
"We...can't stay out here...it's not safe. We must go to the castle, you'll be safe there."

Madara feels the crying threaten to well up in her again when she hears that Reynold's crying is because of hers, but then it quells when she hears him describe this haven as "not safe." She laughs a quick laugh. "Oh Reynold-- I believe that we are safer here than anywhere in the city..." She pauses. "But if you wish us to return to the castle, then I will go." She stands and looks out over the city as he gets to his feet, also. She looks up at the moon as a cloud passes from over it-- leaving the orb to shine freely in all its splender-- and feels her breath hitch in her throat. The last time she remembers being entranced by a full moon like this was when...when...Madara closes her eyes and brings her hands up to cover her face as the image of Amalia standing in the clearing, bare and flawless, flashes before her eyes. Oh how she worshipped her!! Madara has heard of jealous gods before, but never a jealous worhipper! She never wants to share her goddess...her Amalia...with anyone...but it is too late! Too LATE!!

Reynold stands from his knees and touchs her shoulder with one hand.
"Madara, I...I want you to be safe from all this..." he takes the tether and walks Nanesti over to her. He looks out in the woods and constantly scans as he stands near Madara.
"You...you must feel at home here. I wonder what that is like."

It takes Madara a minute to compose herself, but when she does, she drops her hands and looks over. "Ah, Nanesti!" she walks over to rub her horse's nose. "You were a good girl to bring the Prince here...good girl..." She looks up at the Prince, her hand still on Nanesti's muzzle. "There are times when I still feel completely at home out here, but over the years the city has become more and more my element. I come here to think and look at the beauty of the city from afar." Madara pauses. "When you see it from this distance, you only see the beauty-- none of what goes on down below." Madara sighs, her eyes looking sad.

Reynold joins her in looking at the city-- he sighs at the creation he thinks of as theirs. All of them. The war was so costly, and as he looks at the lights flickering through the trees he can see the castle. He thinks of all the times he and the others sat in the meeting room talking business, or laughing at the grand balls that were held there.
"Nothing will be the same anymore," he says quietly. He turns and mounts Nanesti and holds out his hand.
"Let us go where we are safe, from Rustovitch's spies at least. I need you to protect me, Madara."

Madara's eyes clear and she instantly snaps into her role as royal bodyguard. "Reynold-- if you please-- it would be safer for your royal person for me to ride behind. Nanesti's neck can block enemy fire from the front, and I will block from the back."

Reynold smiles a little smile and nods, "Whatever my protector thinks is best." He waves his hand to her to take it and ride behind him.

Madara takes the Prince's hand and swings up behind him. She puts her left arm around Reynold's waist, and places her right hand on the pommel of her sword. With a quick chirping noise and the flick of Madara's heels, Nanesti begins to trot carefully down the incline of the hill.

The wolves watch as the hurt ones mount their companion, and look at each other. Too hurt they are to go on alone. Too hurt to notice. The wolves spread out and follow them for a safe distance.

Reynold looks about the ground as they trot to the city. He turns his head, "Too slow, there could be terrible things out here. Hold on," he says as he clicks his tongue and Nanesti-- eager to run again-- tears off towards the castle with Reynold at the reins, carefully avoiding the trees and branches.

The wolves follow along unbeknownst to the two hurt ones.

Madara laughs. "You are a quick learner, my Pr...Reynold!" she calls in order to be heard over the rushing air as they practically fly through the forest. She tries to disguise her frustration that after these 10 years, she still has to remind herself to call her Sire by his Christian name. "I believe Nanesti likes you very much! The last stableboy who tried to immitate my special call to get her to move ended up with a hoof to the-- " Madara pauses in embarrassment, and then laughs again. "Well, let us just say that he never tried it again!" Madara can feel Nanesti's excited energy surround them as she carries them off into the night, faster and faster.

Reynold smiles hearing her laugh. 'There it is,' he thinks and nods. As the two finally reach the edge of the city the wolves cease following them and turn to head back to the cliff.
Evil is coming, they feel.
They make their way to the castle in silence, and once there, Reynold enters after Madara. As she begins to walk towards the stairs, he turns and points to a guard.
"No one is to enter the castle! No one, not even the Pope himself until the morrownight! And no one is to come to my chambers!"
The guard salutes and Reynold jogs to keep up with Madara.

Madara feels her heart stop when she realizes that the Prince is not just behind her, and turns with relief to see him jogging up to her. She leans in with a worried expression on her face. "What happened? Is all well?"

He turns to her and shakes his head, "All is well, Madara. I promise. Let's go to my chambers-- we must speak." He says, climbing the stairs by her side. They reach the door and he opens it, allowing her to go first, and the closes the door.

Madara looks around the room with eyes narrowed and sharp. She runs over to peek under the bed, behind the curtains, in the closet-- over, under, and behind anything and everything by which an assassin could secret himself. When she is satisfied that the room is secure, she turns to face the Prince. "Reynold, I have been wondering something that I keep forgetting to ask. Ten years ago you changed this room around-- had your old bed replaced-- and I have been curious as to why you did that. I admit that I am not as good an interior decorator as...Giacova was...but was it that bad that you were just waiting for the chance to alter things?" Madara twists her hands together waiting for the Prince's answer.

Reynold smiles as he pours two glasses of blood and warms them.
"No, no. I just needed the change. It is good to do that from time to time." he says as he hands her a glass and motions for her to sit. He sits once she has and smiles.
"Honestly, I believe I was a little homesick, so I purchased a bed more like the one I had in York."

Madara smiles, looks at the bed, and raises an eyebrow. "What-- did you used to sleep with your horse?" She laughs and gives Reynold a knowing look.

Reynold laughs and leans back smiling. "You've caught me. You must have realized my punishment was no more than motivation for you and Amalia-- well I am glad to realize you needed no such motivation."

Madara's smile freezes, and then quickly fades from her face. She looks over at the bed to hide her eyes from the Prince, and suddenly has a vision of Reynold laying in the center, with Amalia on one side and Katerina on the other, and she brings her hands to her mouth. She stares at the bed without seeing it as she is tormented by this vision...this vision which is not entirely false. Her eyes shine with sorrow, but no tears fall. Her eyes are too tired to produce any more.

Reynold leans forward, "Madara, I'm sorry I should not have...I was wrong to upset you," he gets off the chair and kneels by the arm of her chair.
"I beg your forgiveness, lady Madara. Whatever I have done, I meant no harm by it."

Madara turns and smiles sadly at Reynold. "I was just thinking about...all the people Katerina has...taken to her bed." Madara adjusts the angle of how she is sitting in the chair so that she is facing Reynold, and sighs. "Was she worth it, Sire? Was she?" She blinks quickly, and realizes that maybe her eyes are not too tired to create more tears, after all. "Was she that good that Amalia would...would risk our relationship to have her?" Madara suddenly stands and turns her back to the Prince, bringing her hand up to bite the knuckle to keep from screaming. Then she turns back. "IS she that good?? Giacova did nothing but rave about her!! Nothing...I have NOTHING! HOW can I compare with the skills of a magic-user??" Madara suddenly walks forward and grabs her half-empty glass and throws it into the fire with a shriek of anger and defiance.

"Madara!" He says walking over to her and grabbing her shoulders and pulling her around to face him. His face is a mask of anger and pain.
"Katerina was...I was lonely-- do you understand, I had nothing and no one! Not one soul! The one I truly..." his face relaxes and the anger is gone but the hurt is not.
"The one I truly cared for was...gone. And..." he suddenly understands as what she has said sinks in.
"Oh dear god. Amalia? Slept with her?"

Madara looks at Reynold with hurt eyes. "Lonely...you were...lonely. Perhaps Giacova and Amalia were, as well. I..." Madara closes her eyes. "I take my duties so seriously that perhaps I...neglected those I should have been caring for..." She opens her eyes and looks at the ceiling, trying to calm herself, but it doesn't work. She looks back at the Prince. "You were lonely, and look what it cost the kingdom! You brought that whore back into the city...back to where she could get at the next love of my life!"

Madara starts pacing with her hand to her forehead. "It is like she is a crouching gargoyle-- waiting and watching from the shadows! Waiting to see who I will fall in love with next before she spreads her wings and flies down to snatch them up!" Madara stops pacing and looks at the Prince as if she just suddenly rememebered something. "Who did you 'truly care for,' Reynold? Were you expecting them back anytime soon, but could not stand the wait?" Tears spring up in Madara's eyes again. "How long was she gone before you looked to a demon to warm your bed! Was your bed even cold yet??" Madara realizes that she's being cruel and flinging hurting insults at her Sire, but at this moment her sorrow has turned to anger, and the Prince is but the unwitting recipient of that anger.

"No," he says calmly with hurt in his eyes, "She went to another's bed as well, before I could even speak a word. Lost to me for...good it seems." Reynold closes his mouth before anything else is said. He turns his back to her and nods. He turns and opens his arms and sighs sadly.
"You may hurl your anger and sorrow upon me, Madara. It is all I deserve. I have no excuses. I failed in my judgement, and every day since then I have tried to make it...make good on what I had done."

As Madara listens to the Prince's words, she feels her anger slowly melt away until her shoulders sag. Mercifully, Giacova has kept completely silent through all of this. Perhaps...she did not know how much she hurt Madara. Madara looks at the Prince-- her eyes filled with regret-- and she walks forward and puts her hands on his arms-- pushing them back down to his sides.

"No, Reynold...my Prince...my Lord...my Sire. I-- you did not deserve that. You who have shown me nothing but kindness, trust, and compassion. We have all been tricked...we have all failed in our judgements about others..." Madara finishes in a low voice looking into the Prince's eyes. We..." Madara suddenly feels her pulse quicken and her breath come quicker as she realizes...realizes...slowly her face moves forward...so slowly. "I was wrong about you, Reynold. I was wrong about YOU..." and she presses her lips against his, kissing him.

Reynold wraps his arms around her, returning the kiss, and suddenly he pushes her away and turns his back to her so that she cannot see the tears filling his eyes and running down his cheeks. "I...I cannot take what...will be...taken from...I have wronged you so much and I should have...I tried to make good on what I had done wrong. You must believe that. Silence is worse than any word that could be spoken. And every day for the last quarter century I threw myself upon it day in and day out. Seeing it bit by bit lost to me, yet gaining so very little that seemed so much! A touch, a smile, a laugh it all meant the world but all of it! All of it was given unknown! Unknown of the bittersweet currency that was spent upon me! And now," he says turning his head to look at her. She can see the tears now gleaming in the fire light.
"And now I am given what I most desire and I am supposed to take it and enjoy it for the short time I will have it and when the the dust clears I will be left in this lonely castle surrounded by brick and stone as cold as my heart will be when it is gone! It is too much! I cannot suffer that, best not to know what could have been than what it was once!"

Madara can feel Giacova's presence strongly in her mind, but once again Giacova is completely silent. Madara's mind is torn..."Reynold is completely right," she thinks with heavy regret. What will happen when she sees Amalia again?? But then Madara remembers Giacova choosing to be with Michael...craving his beauty. And then there is Amalia and her fascination with magic...and Katerina laying as if alive...preserved in Amalia's catacombs...and Madara thinks of Vashira and the other Ushabti figures, and her face blanches. Amalia...must have been trying to figure out how to...to raise Katerina from the dead! Like her failed attempt with Dominique! Didn't Amalia, herself, say that she was getting better, and soon she would find the secrets of life and death? Weren't her Ushabti figures getting better and more complex year by year??

Madara staggers back against her chair, clutching the back for support. Amalia wanted to...bring Katerina back from the dead in order to learn about magic from her...and to be with her as Giacova wanted to be with Michael! "Be happy for me Madara, for I have finally found happiness!" Giacova had said. Giacova had found her perfect god to worship, and now Amalia had found her perfect goddess!! And oh how guilty Amalia had looked when Madara and the Prince first told her they wanted to find Katerina's body!! How she had tried to stop them from finding it!! And then there were the words that she had heard echoing in her mind that Amalia had spoken...about how Madara was nothing to her...how Amalia was using her love to get what she wanted from her...how Amalia thought the demon might like to put Madara into his service, as well...Madara tries to stifle a sob with the heel of her hand pressed against her mouth as she stares into nothing.

Finally she looks back at the Prince and walks towards him slowly until she's standing right before him. She reaches out and takes his hands in hers. "I...am a fool. All the words of love you caressed me with...all the compliments...all the things you noticed about me that no one else saw...your eyes so full of love and pain-- and I KNEW you loved me. I have known it for 10 years, and I have done nothing. And the whole time I was being deceived when I could have been yours!" Madara chokes on a sob and takes a breath. "My gifts to you were not given unknown...I...I think a part of me has been beating against my breast trying to tell me something...something that was felt when your fingers caressed my hair in passing...something when you would touch my skin, look at my face, take my hand..." Madara squeezes Reynolds hands tightly. "You...once said that you would rather lose your kingdom than see me given to Jurgen..." Madara closes her eyes and a tear forms and suddenly rolls down her cheek. When she opens her eyes, another tear spills down the other cheek. "I would rather lose my life than lose you, and I do not want to see you suffer anymore. I have been cruel...CRUEL to let you go on like that...when a part of me has loved you all along!"

Reynold looks at her his eyes widening as she says the things he wished he had heard so long ago. His mind whirls almost if he cannot believe he has heard or seen these things. He wants to run, he wants to take her in his arms, he wants to kiss her and show the beauty of all the words he ever meant to say. His mouth opens then closes. His tears continue and he is not sure if it joy or sorrow. "You once said," he says when his voice returns, 'I respect your courage,' after I had told you about the color of your eyes. If you only knew how frightened I was and always have been of you discovering my feelings. I have been a terrible example to you. When I...I first knew I should have left, I should have gone away to live by myself and now...now I was weak and have brought such great pain to you. It is my fault and...and..."
He takes the sword from her sheath and plunges it into the floor kneeling. He bows his head to touch the hilt of the sword.
"I would wander this earth alone for all time if, I knew that in the end when I returned, you would be with the one who would make you the most loved and beloved creature on earth."

Madara looks down at Reynold's head-- suddenly finding herself in the position she had placed Amalia in within the clearing-- and she KNOWS...she KNOWS Reynold's heart as well as she knows her own! A kindred spirit! One who would rather die than betray her! One who loves her so much that he could subsist for years and years on mere scraps of her kindness. Here they are...two hearts who only want love...honesty...an eternity of each other. Suddenly her heart bursts wide open-- all the restrictions she placed on it...the wall she errected to keep men away from it...all crumble away, and she feels...reborn. Lighter than air. And when she kneels down in front of Reynold to raise his chin with her fingers and look into his face for the first time, she feels herself grow dizzy and melt. His eyes overpower her with their love and intensity, but the look she returns is equally so.

She places her hands around his hands that hold the hilt of her sword and continues to bore into his eyes with hers. "Then you will never leave to wander the earth, because when you finally returned, you would discover that you had been with me all along. I said that I respected your courage, but I also thanked you for...being strong enough for both of us when I was weak. My dearest Reynold...I kneel before you, telling you that I was only weak when I pulled away from you. I beg you to take up this sword and kill me swiftly if ever I am weak again. I will be here-- with you-- tomorrow...and the next day...and the day after that. Amalia cannot fool me with her deceptions any longer, and no woman shall turn my head again." Madara clenches her hands around Reynold's even tighter. "If you still do not believe my sincerity, I will understand. Let me have another decade to prove myself to you, and I will. Let me have another century to prove myself to you, and I will. Just keep me at your side evermore and I will be satiated. After making you suffer and prove your sincerity to me for a decade, it is a small punishment to endure."

Reynold looks into her eyes and sees her truly now. Sees her walls gone, her eyes now seeing him as he has always been to her. His heart melts and he falls in love with her all over again. Slipping his hands out of hers and onto her cheeks he brings her face within a millimeter of his.
"All your life you have been punished. I could never punish you, not without punishing myself first as I did ten years ago being without you for just months. My heart broke every day when I opened that door only to find Gregor there instead of you," he looks deep into her eyes and nothing is holding him back, a wellspring has been opened and he can longer leave the unspoken within him.
"All those things I gave you were only little pieces of my heart. All I ever wanted was your time, and now as I look at you I want so much more from you. Do I dare ask it, My scourge, my protector, my heart's fondest wish? Do I dare ask you to love and be loved? I want it so! I cannot stop! All the things I have ever wanted to say...it is a flood, like my heart is now!" He says and he takes her hands and holds them tight against his chest.
"I have never loved, never! But these last tortureous twenty-five years watching you through the window ride off to...if it meant not knowing you, I would rather centuries pass thusly than not to have seen your face, or the way your eyes twinkle when you gaze upon a dress, to hear your laughter or to see you smile. I would miss those things like I would miss the very breath of my body and it would kill me just as likely!"
"Madara, in all the chaos that has come and gone, you...you have been the light of my existence and the rock upon which I rely and I cannot take it anymore! I love thee, I love thee, I love thee my Madara!"

Madara feels the force of those words hit her like a powerful wave, and she allows them to absorb into her flesh...her mind...her heart-- she has to close her eyes to contain that much power! And then she is holding his face in her hands and giving her own power to him...a power she does not think could be as strong as his, but is sincere and devoted and true, and will last until her ashes are finally blown away. "I love you, Reynold!! I love you, I do! I love you!" And then she's crying again and smoothing the hair away from his forehead-- waiting this time for him to decide where this love will take them as he is the wounded one between the two. His pace is the one they will go at-- as much as she longs to finally feel his lips kiss hers without stopping...to finally be able to hold him without any reservation or restriction. She waits for him, much the way he waited for her...and she hopes.

Reynold closes his eyes, hearing the words he had never dared to believe he would hear, and it is all he needs. He takes her face in his hands and kisses her passionately, pouring his love through it. All the years waiting...all the heartache are in that kiss.

Madara kisses him back-- wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself to him-- with equal passion, if not more. This is a kiss filled with no fear. She knows him...she knows he will never hurt her, and she knows that because of the honorable natures that they share, that this union of souls can result in nothing but beauty and goodness. Nothing...nothing can take that from them now. Her first impulse is to tear the clothing away that keeps them from truly holding one another, but again she stays her hand. Again she lets this be his decision, although she fills her being with the answer she wants him to sense if he is looking for it.

Reynold continues the kiss as he stumbles to his feet, bringing her up with him. He puts his hands behind her waist. He presses her to him almost painfully, crushing her to him. His skin is hot to her touch and she can feel him react to her underneath all the garments they wear.
He breaks the kiss and looks at her eyes and bows his head so that his forehead touches hers. His breath comes in a pant.
"Where this will lead us now..."

"...there is no returning from." Madara answers breathlessly. Her own body has instantly responded to his, although she has never experienced a man's physical expression before. She kisses him again so deeply that he will not doubt her desire now, and then to prove that she will not stay his hand as she always has in the past, she moves for him. Madara unbuttons the first couple of buttons on his shirt, and then tears the shirt open. She bends and places her lips on his neck, gently pricking the skin with hungry fangs and sucking with thirsting lips. She uses both arms to pull his coat down-- letting it drop to the floor-- and tears his shirt the rest of the way off. Still sucking-- but only a drop at a time-- she fumbles at her own jacket and throws it off, and then pulls her head back to look in his eyes with eyes that lust for him, and she bends her head to the side-- her shirt not obstructing his access to her throat-- and gazes at him panting.

Reynold feels the heat of the embrace leave, and staring at her neck his fangs begin to protrude-- he almost snarls as he lunges forward.

Madara lets out a cry of desire and grabs his head, forcing his mouth to her throat all the faster.

His fangs plunge into her neck, and Reynold lets out a moan nearly drowned out as her blood begins to pour into his mouth. He continues to crush her to him feeling lightheaded as he drinks.

Madara moans with him, and then falls limply in his arms as she is overwhelmed with pleasure so strong that thought disappears and there is only sensation. After a few moments, she is able to move her limbs again, and-- still being supported by his arms-- she pulls open the ties of her shirt until at last it falls from her body. Their chests bare, Madara wraps her arms around Reynold's body-- pressing herself to him and finding his throat with her lips and teeth to return his kiss.

Reynold's drinking nearly stops as Madara begins to drink-- the pleasure so great he nearly falls to his knees. He can feel their blood mixing now combining into one, their hearts beating in unison.
When he feels he can drink no more he pulls back from her, staring into her eyes licking the blood from his lips.
"Madara..." is all he can manage to say.

Madara smiles at him-- eyes half-lidded with desire-- and steps back from him. He watches as she kicks her boots off while undoing the fastenings of her breeches. She bends as she slides the breeches off and steps out of them, and then stands before him naked. Taking a deep breath and standing up straight, she speaks.

"So many times have I stood clad in nothing but my own skin in your very bedroom...and every time I asked you to avert your eyes. Well...fasten your eyes upon me now, and take what is yours at last." Madara holds her arms out to Reynold with eyes that flash like lightening.

Reynold can only gaze upon her, drinking in her beauty. But mostly it is her eyes he gazes into, her eyes so filled with love and desire. Those eyes he had seen before but not for him. When finally he can move he unclasps the button on his breeches and steps out of them.
He steps to her and takes her in his arms.
"Not what is mine, Madara, what is ours." He kisses her once more with the same passion and longing she felt just moments before.

Madara presses herself against him now, a thrill of excitement and nervousness running through her when she feels against her skin how arroused he is. Her breathing gets heavier as she kisses him, and she begins to pull him towards the bed out of sheer instinct-- although she has no idea what to expect or do once she gets there...hoping he will take charge so she doesn't look like a fool.

He feels her nervousness, and he relaxes knowing that he is the one to initiate this. This is something she has never experienced and he swells with love for her.
He stops her from leading them and picks her up in his arms. He breaks the kiss looking down upon her. He walks towards the bed holding her gently.
He reaches the side of the bed and lays her down upon it. He stands up straight looking down upon her.
"Such a beauty that I will forever spend my life to become worthy of it."

Madara blushes, and a look of sheer happiness yet uncomfortableness passes over her face. As much as she has beautified herself over the centuries, she has never grown used to having her beauty praised...nor has even considered herself worthy of such compliments. It was merely a talent she had to work such improvements, but she was never satisfied. She looks at Reynold's face, and then dares herself to look lower...to let her eyes caress his body. She leans up on one elbow and reaches out her hand to touch his chest and let her fingers trail down his stomach. She looks back up at him and smiles. "It seems there is no work for me to do on this body..." she says, and then lets out a shy laugh. "Reynold, it is I who will try to become worthy of you. Now what are you doing standing there when I want you to..." she lowers her eyelashes shyly and takes his hand, pulling him towards her.

Reynold squeezes her hand and kisses it as he lets her bring him down onto the bed. He lays over her, their chests together. He kisses her lips, her eyes, her neck and leans up to look into her eyes. He brushes the hair from her face.
"I have waited for this moment for such a long time, that now I can hardly believe it is here." He kisses her once again and moves lower to the nape of her neck kissing the mole there. He moves lower kissing the valley between her breasts. All the while his hands move and caress to explore her body.

Madara sighs and closes her eyes. This is so different from what she's used to...no, not different...just...well, different...somehow. Having someone larger than her...no, having a man...touch her is like...well, she doesn't know how to put it into words! With Giacova and Amalia, they had the same body-structure as she did, so she was always a little worried that they were comparing what she had to what they had, and in her eyes, what they had was far superior to what she had, and that made her a little self-conscious. But here is a man-- his body naturally much different from hers-- admiring and kissing and caressing hers, and it's so EXCITING to her! They're able to explore each others' bodies and always find new things, and be fascinated with what the other has that they don't have!

Madara gasps and arches her back as Reynold illustrates just that type of exploration. She grabs his head and clutches his hair in her fingers, and when he moves back up her body, she lets her fingers roam across his shoulders and back-- trailing down the crease in the middle of his back, and then down across his buttocks. So different, and so...perfect. She finds his mouth with hers again, and clutches his back as she kisses him slowly at first, and then more frantically. She bites his lip lovingly, and lets the blood slowly fill her mouth as she sucks on his lip.

Reynold kisses her back letting the blood fill her mouth and brings his arms underneath her arms, his hands upon her shoulders, and rolls over to bring her on top of him. Her hair cascades around him and he continues to hold her face to his, not wanting to break the kiss.
The kiss does end after an eternity, and he looks into her eyes, then lets his eyes glance down to her chest...to her heart. He lifts himself and kisses the spot over her heart. He extends his fangs a bit and gently bites her there, letting her heartsblood flow into him.

Madara wraps her legs around Reynold's waist and holds his head to her chest-- first placing her cheek on top of his head with closed eyes, and finally throwing her head back and letting out a long moan. She feels like she can sense everything in the room at once-- the soft wind somewhere outside...the colors of the room suddenly 10 times brighter...the scent of a servant's perfume as she hurries by...the sound of her own heart. She falls backwards onto the bed, pulling Reynold with her on top of her, and lets out a long, soft sigh.

Reynold lets himself be pulled down with her. He licks the wound and moves up to kiss her, this time softly, almost whispery. He leans on one arm and moves himself towards her, gently looking into her eyes.

Madara sees what he's doing and knows that the time has finally come. Her skin prickles with apprehension and excitement mixed, and she closes her eyes as the heat of her arrousal washes over her. When she opens her eyes again, she nods quickly at Reynold and wraps her arms around him. "I am ready, my love..." she whispers.

Reynold moves gently, his eyes never leaving hers. He feels the final wall between them break and he gasps as their bodies are finally one. He doesn't move, savorying the moment and the intimacy of it all.

Madara cries out in pleasure as the moment that can be so painful and frightening for mortal women holds nothing but sweet ecstasy for her. At last...at last...it is truly as if she were at last free of everything that had stood between she and Reynold. She holds him as all of this sinks into her mind. How GLAD she is that she spurned the advances of all men before Reynold...that she had put those barriers up! To be able to share something so coveted by many men with the one man who deserves it...all she can feel is relief and contentment.

The rest of their lovemaking is thus as if time stood still and nothing waited outside the castle walls to disturb them. The walls they had erected came tumbling down and in their one tiny moment together twenty-five years apart seemed to be nothing to the eternity this moment was.

******

Madara has been laying like this for-- she doesn't know how long, but sunrise must be soon to come on by now. She's on her back with Reynold resting on top of her-- her arms around Reynold's shoulders, his head on her chest, and his arms curled around her. She reaches up with one hand to stroke his hair, and a takes a deep breath into her lungs, releasing it slowly. What will happen tomorrow? Will Amalia be relieved when she tells her that she is free to make her way in the world with Katerina now? That Madara understands, and will gladly take her bow so the two of them can be together free from guilt or secrecy? She hopes so...she hopes there won't be a scene. Madara sighs and looks down at the Prince.

"I am sorry, Reynold-- I hope that there will not be tension amoungst the Primogen after tonight. I know that Amalia wants to be with Katerina now, but I do not know how the others will react when they learn of that." Madara pauses. "As for me, I would like to flee with you from this place to some secret place. I have had far too much pain here...I am sick of the Kupala and what he continues to do to our land and people...sick of Katerina and her insatiable lust...sick of the Tzimisce and their attacks on us-- perhaps we could go to your island?" Madara's brow furrows. "Oh, but we have put so much work into this kingdom, and it is yours! I am sorry, Reynold-- I will stay or go...whatever you command. First and foremost I am your Scourge, bodyguard, and Primogen, and I live to serve and obey you!"

Reynold lifts his head, he carefully rolls to his side and takes Madara in his arm and looks at the ceiling.
"No, no you are right. We will leave tomorrow. You will speak with Amalia and then we will be off. You are all that ties me here, Madara."
He sighs and looks down at her.
"I want to show you my isle, and my sire Ivan. We shall go to York for a time and then I will show you the world, Madara."

Madara props herself up on one elbow and looks down at the Prince, trailing her hand across his chest. "You really mean that? You are ready to leave your kingdom behind and start a new life?" Madara thinks. "I am sure that Jurgen will not mind suddenly inheriting another kingdom...I do not think Sister Florentia or Amalia have the desire to be princes. Florentia travelling so much...she probably longs to take her Childer to Rome, or some other church-dominated place." Madara pauses again. "Yes...yes, I think this is the right decision. I have been to France, but no further west than that. I am excited to see your land and Sire!" Madara laughs bitterly. "I am sorry that mine was such a disappointment! My land, I mean...not my Sire! My Sire..." she says, giving Reynold a sly grin, "...was definitely NOT a disappointment!"

Reynold smiles and touches Madara's lips with his finger tips. He gives her a serious look.
"I would leave here gladly. We have tried all we can, and now that we are together I would rather be a scullion in a small town with you than prince of all the world without."
He chuckles a moment at the thought of her land being disappointing.
"Hungary is very beautiful, it is the Tzmisce who make it so ugly."

Madara sighs and smiles, closing her eyes. "What a romantic man..." she thinks, and suddenly wonders if he's a good dancer. She opens her eyes again. "This may sound odd, but I will very much miss being your Scourge...and calling you 'my Prince.' But I am sure that it will be no time before you are prince of an even greater city! Will you still allow me to be your bodyguard until then?" she asks seriously.

Reynold smiles and leans on his elbow so he can look into her eyes.
"I do not believe I could ever refuse you that. Of course I would trust none other than you with that," he says smiling.
"I will miss this city, but we will leave regardless. I do not want to be here-- it is not safe and I could not bear losing you."

Madara nods. "Nor I, you." She closes her eyes and traces his hairline with her finger, and then opens her eyes and looks at him with intense eyes. "We will stay at one anothers' sides for all time, then." She leans forward and kisses him, and then notices that the room is starting to grow lighter. She quickly jumps from the bed and runs to the windows, pulling down the panels and locking them into place, and then fastening the curtains tightly to the wall. She gets back into the bed and snuggles up to Reynold with her back pressed against his chest-- pulling his arms around her to rest across her waist-- and closes her eyes. "Tomorrow will be a great and terrible day...but for now let us enjoy what peace and solitude we can."

Reynold watches her close the drapes-- drinking in her beauty once again-- and is rather disappointed when she gets under the covers. He smiles when she pulls his arms around her. He watches for a moment as she falls asleep in his arms. 'How long have I waited for this,' he thinks. He kisses the small space between her shoulder blades.
"We will stay at each others' sides...for all time."
He closes his eyes and dreams the dreams of lovers with nothing to lose and all the world to gain. He dreams unknowing...

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