• Welcome to The Worlds of Katherine Kurtz.
 

Recent

Latest Shout

*

Bynw

December 08, 2024, 02:35:10 PM
i will be late to chat tonight
Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 29,903
  • Total Topics: 2,842
  • Online today: 100
  • Online ever: 930
  • (January 20, 2020, 11:58:07 AM)
Users Online
Users: 0
Guests: 48
Total: 48
Welcome to The Worlds of Katherine Kurtz. Please login.

December 11, 2024, 08:55:30 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Pages

Possessed--Part Six

Started by Evie, February 13, 2011, 11:34:51 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Evie

   Part Six—To Have and To Hold

   May 20, 1126
   Tre-Arilan


   "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."  Bishop Denis Arilan smiled at the new couple as he pronounced the benediction over them.  

   Javana glanced shyly up at her new husband, her blush growing as he drew her possessively into his arms for their first kiss before escorting her through the chapel doors for the nuptial Mass.

#

   Walter thought the wedding feast would never end.  He smiled and laughed through the well-wishing and the increasingly bawdy humor as the night wore on, but inwardly he was impatient for the public celebration to end so he could get on with the business he'd waited years for.  Not the consummation—well, there was that also, and he was certain he would enjoy that immensely—but that special completing touch that would seal his new bride as fully his own, to rule and to control.  That was important, for one thing that years of watching the Arilan family had taught him was that they were close-knit, despite their occasional spats and squabbles, and knew far too much of one another's business.  That would have to end in Javana's case.  He would brook no other loyalties in her life.  She was his prize possession now, the crowning jewel in his collection of rare works, and he would own her wholly.

   At long last their hostess stood, which was the cue for the other ladies present to join her in escorting Javana upstairs to the chamber which had been readied for their wedding night.   Finally!  As the women mounted the staircase, their joyful songs grew fainter until they could only be distantly heard, and then a door upstairs closed, shutting their voices off entirely.  Sextus stood, raising a glass in a humorous toast.  Walter, his mood improved, flashed his new brother-in-law a grin.  It would not be long now.

#

   May 21, early morning
   Tre-Arilan

   
   It had hurt.  A lot.  Javana had heard it might the first time, but after the bliss she'd experienced during that one brief encounter with Stefan those two years ago, she had assumed that any discomfort would be temporary, and quite overshadowed by the delights to follow.  But that wasn't the case tonight.  She'd thought at first that maybe it was just because she was so nervous still, and so new at all this.  Sophie had tried to prepare her, in her own shy and modest way, by explaining what she might expect from her eager bridegroom, but what Sophie had described seemed nothing at all like what Javana had just experienced.

   But odder than that to her were the questions.  The door had hardly closed behind Uncle Denis and the wedding guests when her new husband's questions began.

   "When was your last monthly flow?"  He sat on his side of their marriage bed, eyes caressing her greedily, but making no move to touch her, much less hold her close to give her the reassurance she badly needed at that moment, as she lay beside the near-stranger full of nervous anticipation mingled with trepidation.

   "Um...."  She'd been caught so off guard by the unexpected question, it had taken a short while to remember.  "I finished just a few days ago.  Two, I think?  My next shouldn't be for a while...."  Maybe he was simply concerned that this might not be a good time to approach her, that she might be feeling unwell?  That had to be it; Javana could think of no other reason why such a strange question would be the very first words to come from him as soon as they were alone together.  

   Whatever his reasons were, he'd seemed satisfied enough with her answer.  "So, you started, what, a week before that?  Hm.  Should be safe enough tonight, I'd think, though I suppose it's good we'll be traveling across the Kingdom for the next week and a half."

   This statement was, if anything, even more incomprehensible to her than his original question, though Javana trusted Walter would explain himself in time.  He hadn't, though things had gotten a bit better right after that.  He had taken her in his arms—finally!--brushing her unbound hair gently away from her face as if to get a better look at her, showering her with words of admiration.  "Javana...such a lovely dove...my most priceless work of art...precious treasure...."  The words had eventually had grown fewer and farther between, punctuated with kisses and caresses, which—once she'd focused on relaxing a bit—she'd found quite nice.  A bit awkward, still.  Not like kissing Stefan, which had felt so natural.  But at least her new husband's interest in her had now become unmistakable.

   Then the touches had grown more greedy, more grasping, and some of her initial nervousness had begun to return.  He'd torn her night-rail then in his haste to see more of his new bride, and she'd grown frightened, but then Walter had pulled back to look at her again, a faint smile on his face.  "Poor little bird.  You truly haven't done this before, have you?"  

   What a bizarre and, under the circumstances, rather insulting question to ask!  What, had he expected that his new bride would not come to him a virgin?  Javana had flushed at the question, looking away hastily, because in truth she'd come quite close to not being one anymore, had Seisyll not interrupted her tryst with Stefan when he did.  She'd carefully shielded the thought, painfully aware that the man beside her was also Deryni, and fearing that he might know more—or might somehow guess at more—than she'd wish for him to ever learn about that youthful mistake.  Most men, unless they were unusually forgiving, would not be understanding of such a lapse, and while she hardly knew Walter, she guessed instinctively that he did not fall in the category of unusually forgiving.

   "No, my lord, I've not," she'd whispered, pulling the tattered cloth closer around her for the illusion of modesty it provided, though indeed the fabric was so sheer there was little point in doing so.  

   "Good, good, of course you've not.  Of course, love," Walter had soothed her, his gaze never leaving hers as he continued to smile that faint smile.  "Tell me, dear, when you were in Andelon, did they teach you about how to establish rapport with another Deryni?"

   "Did they...?"  What a ludicrous question!  "Why, yes, my lord!" Some years ago, in fact, but perhaps he'd never had formal training, so maybe he didn't understand the usual order of such lessons.  

   "Ah, excellent!  So...."  He'd studied her as if the answer to his next question was of vital importance.  "Did your teachers discuss with you the marital training bond?"

   "The...marital...."  Javana was utterly baffled.  'No, my lord."

   Walter's smile broadened.  "No?  Ah, well, there's plenty of time for that later.  But they at least mentioned some of the...ah...more intimate aspects of rapport between a husband and a wife?"

   Ah.  That much, at least, she thought she could follow!  Her blush deepened.  "Yes, my lord," she murmured.  The ability to merge as intimately on a psychic level as on the physical level was one of the great advantages of having a Deryni mate.  Doubtless her new husband was hoping to establish a link that, in addition to forming a strong bond between them, would also make it possible to share sensory impressions mind-to-mind, thereby greatly increasing their chances of discovering mutual pleasure.  She quite understood the theory, even if she'd hardly had the chance to experience the phenomenon in practice.  Not since....

   No.  She mustn't think of him now, of all times!  She belonged to Walter now.

#

   She was an amusing little bird, and so very nervous, trembling before him in that ridiculously sheer gown.  He had regretted tearing the garment; it had been quite beautifully crafted, and Walter appreciated beauty in all of its forms.  But it was hard to rein in his passion, with her so close now.  Yet rein it in he must, for he could not afford to give in to it until he had established full control.

   So for now, he kept her off balance, asking the questions he needed to ask to determine what things she knew, what things she did not.  Ensuring she would not swell with his child if he slaked his desire for her tonight.  He thought it safe enough to take her this night, though she would soon approach the days when he must avoid her bed to diminish any chance of marring her youthful shapeliness.  It would be such a shame to have stalked and shadowed and pursued and finally won this prize of a woman, only to mar her irreparably on their very first coupling together.

   "My darling, forgive my impatience, but I have waited so long for you, and I can wait no longer.  Yet, if you'll permit me to link with you first, I hope I can make this first joining as man and wife a more pleasing experience for you."

   She had accepted his offer, of course, a look of relief in those amazing dark amethyst eyes.  Like a properly docile young bride, she'd opened her shields to him, and he'd responded in turn, extending his own to include her.  There was, of course, a secondary set of shields inside her primary ones, protecting her most private thoughts and memories, but he'd expected that, especially since she'd had formal training and was accustomed to the sharing of minds, at least on a superficial level.  In truth, the amount of sharing of his own mind would be little deeper than that—he was hardly of a mind to reveal his deepest secrets to the chit, after all!  She'd run screaming from their wedding bed!  He'd had to suppress a laugh, keeping the stray thought carefully concealed from her.

   Then, once her mind had fully, trustingly, opened to him, he locked the controls into place.  Oh, he'd been quite subtle in doing so, distracting her with strokes and kisses and his increasingly more ardent attentions, but eventually she realized he was doing something unexpected, something her Andelonian teachers had not prepared her for.

   "Walter?  What was that?"

   He'd sent wordless soothing comfort into her mind.  "I was just setting the training bond, my dove. It's normal."

   She'd pulled away slightly, her eyes filled with questions.  "That marital training bond you mentioned earlier?  But...what's its purpose?"

   Naïve little girl!  He'd kissed her brow.  "It will help you acclimate better to our marriage as we're getting to know one another.  Trust me, dearest."

   She looked slightly confused, but not suspicious.  He continued to set the controls until he was satisfied they would yield satisfactory results.

   "There we are, then!" He smiled down at her.  "And now it's time for us to get to know each other very, very well."

#

   It had hurt; one part of her mind registered that, even as her body was responding with increasing passion, as if she were now a puppet and someone else were pulling the strings.  She'd felt a surge of panic then, but when she'd tried to cry out, she'd discovered she couldn't.  At least she was unable to cry out in pain or in fear, though once she'd managed—through sheer force of will—to force the sound past the controls he'd set in her mind, but somehow they'd come out as moans of fevered pleasure instead.  Her eyes had filled with tears then, the fear pouring down her face freely, but that had simply seemed to inflame Walter's desire for her, so at the last she'd forced herself not to respond, not to react.  Simply to let her mind drift elsewhere until he was done with her.  Even that didn't prevent her from noticing that her body was still acting as if it were somehow fully disconnected with her mind, but her mind was simply in too much shock to care anymore.  Eventually he stopped, soon falling asleep, the look of sated satisfaction still curving his lips in a faint smile.  Javana lay awake a long while longer, her body her own once more, or at least seemingly so for a time.  But soon she discovered that any  attempts to send a mental cry to her brothers for help were futile, for she discovered any such efforts remained trapped in her own mind.  Nor would her body allow her to rise up from the bed and leave the room; the moment she tried, she found her steps bringing her straight back to Walter's side again.

   Help me! She concentrated on forming the words with her mouth, but her lips insisted on forming a happy smile instead.  At last she gave up her efforts, too exhausted to do more than review in her mind the events of the past two hours, trying to figure out what had happened to her, reliving the nightmare of discovering, too late, what Walter had done.

   It was nearly dawn now.  Javana eventually slipped into a restless sleep, filled with disturbed dreams.

#

   May 20, after dawn
   Tre-Arilan


   "Was our wedding night everything you've ever dreamed, my dear?"  Walter's ice blue eyes gleamed down at her as she awoke, appearing amused.

   Javana edged slightly away from him.  "Go to hell, you demon spawn," she growled, managing to move as far as the edge of the bed before the compulsion he'd set stopped her from retreating further.

   "Ah, angry, are you?  Well, that's to be expected, I suppose.  You've been given free rein far too long, but you'll soon learn what's expected of you."  Walter's smile grew.  "Did I please you as well as Stefan did, my darling?"

   The sound of her lost love's name falling from this man's lips struck her like a kick in the stomach.  "M-my lord?!"

   "Don't act the innocent, love."  He rose from their bed with a careless shrug.  "I suppose it matters not; what matters is that you're mine now, and mine you shall remain.  Pack your things, dear, if you've not done so already; we've a long journey home, and I intent to get a start as soon as the noonday meal is finished.  You may call your maids in to assist you if you wish."   He dressed, leaving her to make her preparations to leave her childhood home.  

#

   Javana moaned quietly as Seisyll helped her up into her palfrey's saddle.  He frowned slightly, looking up at her.

   "Wait...."  He flushed, glancing at Walter, then back up at her.  "I simply didn't think, but...well, last night was your wedding night...do you wish to borrow our coach?  We rarely have need of it, now that Mother is gone...."

   Walter nudged his horse closer, his charming grin flashing down at her brother.  "She'll be fine.  Surely you don't think I savaged the poor girl last night?"  He winked at his bride who, unable to respond as she truly wished, merely cast her gaze down demurely.

   "I'm fine, truly, Seisyll," Javana found herself assuring her brother.  "Just a little fatigued, and not looking forward to ten days of travel."

   "Ah."  Seisyll glanced back at his new brother-in-law, looking amused.  "Fatigued, hm?  Do go easy on my sister; the journey to the Kheldish Mountains will be arduous enough on her, having to ride all day, without having to ride all night on top of all that!"

   Her husband chuckled.  "No worries, that thought had already crossed my mind.  I've already made arrangements for lodgings at short distances along the way; it will take us a fair bit longer to get home than I'm used to, but hopefully it won't be too wearing on Javana."

   Seisyll glanced back at his sister, still a bit concerned.  "Are you sure you can't stay a day or two longer?"

   Walter shook his head.  "I'm afraid not.  I've been away from Caerdraig far too long already, and there's business there I shall need to attend to as soon as we're able to get back.  Say goodbye, darling; we need to make haste if we're to arrive at our first stop before nightfall."

   Javana said her goodbyes to her family and household, the smile on her face at complete odds to what she felt on the inside.  Jashana tucked a small parcel into her saddlebag.  "Don't forget to write!" she told her sister.

   "I will!"  Javana said. I'll try, at least.  The thought that maybe writing would prove to be a way around the compulsion gave her a ray of hope to cling to.

   You are happy, aren't you?  Jashana suddenly Mind-Spoke, startling her.

   Help me, he's set controls over me! she tried to answer.  Very much so, her mind found itself sending back instead.

   Walter and his lieutenant began to ride forth from Tre-Arilan.  Javana was able to spare a final look back before following in her husband's wake.


Part Seven:  http://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php?topic=662.0
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

AnnieUK

*braces herself*

It's going to be a bumpy ride for Javana from here on in, I fear.

derynifanatic64

Demon Spawn Walter definitely is.  Reminds me of Imre.
We will never forget the events of 9-11!!  USA!! USA!!

Evie

In some ways I can see the comparison between Walter and Imre--mainly in their self-centeredness--but Imre was weak-willed, undisciplined, and impulsive, whereas Walter (when not overcome by rage, at least) is more cunning, calculating, and more disciplined.  I can't see Imre scheming fot years to attain something or someone he wants.  Now Ariella...maybe.  She was the strong partner in that relationship.  To me, Ariella is the more Walter-like of the two, once you look beyond gender differences.
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Alkari

Poor Javana.

* goes off to plot suitable tortures for Walter*  :D


Jerusha

A very frightening scenario - being a prisoner in your own mind and at Walter's mercy.  I so hope Walter gets what he deserves in the end, delivered by some very angry Arilans!
From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggity beasties and things that go bump in the night...good Lord deliver us!

 -- Old English Litany

Elkhound

Quote from: Jerusha on February 13, 2011, 03:48:33 PM
A very frightening scenario - being a prisoner in your own mind and at Walter's mercy.  I so hope Walter gets what he deserves in the end, delivered by some very angry Arilans!

I think an angry St. Camber is more likely.  Camber is usually depicted as a spirit of healing and reconciliation, but in life Camber was a warrior and knight as well as a scholar and judge.

Elkhound

Whoever gets him should leave enough of him to bring him before the Camberian Council.  Part of their job is to punish Deryni who abuse their powers, and if this doesn't count I don't know what does.

Evie

Denis would certainly agree, Elkhound.  Kelson may have certain reasons by then to want it handled more "in-house," though.  But for exactly what ends up happening to Walter, you'll all have to just wait and see.  I can assure you, however, that it will be quite well earned, and not at all what anyone is expecting, including those sent to deal with him.   :D
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Elkhound

Quote from: Evie on February 13, 2011, 08:04:13 PM
  I can assure you, however, that it will be quite well earned, and not at all what anyone is expecting, including those sent to deal with him.   :D

Will it involve her standing over him clutching his still-beating heart in her hand?

Evie

Quote from: Elkhound on February 15, 2011, 08:57:24 PM
Quote from: Evie on February 13, 2011, 08:04:13 PM
  I can assure you, however, that it will be quite well earned, and not at all what anyone is expecting, including those sent to deal with him.   :D

Will it involve her standing over him clutching his still-beating heart in her hand?

Heh.  Well, Walter's just reward won't be quite that much like a scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but if you're really that bloodthirsty, hopefully you'll approve nonetheless.  ;) 
"In necessariis unitas, in non-necessariis libertas, in utrisque caritas."

--WARNING!!!--
I have a vocabulary in excess of 75,000 words, and I'm not afraid to use it!

Tags: