Mannequin

"What did you think of her?"

"I've never seen anything like her."

Morden's voice held a note of reverence, and the other speaker must have noticed, for he continued in his hoarse whisper, "Be on guard, my son. She seduced all of us, once a upon a time. Do not allow yourself to be blinded by her charms."

"Yes, Father."

"We have a purpose here, Morden. Do not forget the mission."

This time, there was a note of annoyance in Morden's voice. "*Yes*, Father."

The older man sighed. "I know you are impatient and hot-blooded; I was like you, once. But now is not the time for haste. Continue your work with her; see where she takes you."

"Yes, Father."

````````````

DG awoke slowly, feeling herself being held. She liked the feeling, the strong arms around her, the heat of another body. Her own was sore and weak, as if she'd just gone running, or...

Or...

DG's eyes flew open with a gasp as she remembered the events in the spring. She lay in Wyatt's bed in his cabin. His arms were around her and he was staring at her, a mixture of worry and guilt etched into his lightly lined face. "Oh..." she said breathily. "You're good."

"How can you be so calm?" he demanded, steel eyes flashing with anger.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Cain released her and sat up. "You passed out. I... covered your mouth and... and you... and I... dammit, DG, I fucked you unconscious!"

DG laughed. "I know, isn't it great?" The look of shock and disgust on Cain’s face sobered her. “Wyatt, what’s the problem?”

“What’s the... what’s the problem?” He got out of bed and began pacing. “What’s the problem?! DG, I could have seriously hurt you!”

“But you didn’t,” she protested, panic quickly setting in. -Oh, Gods, he’s going to run. He’s going to run away from me.- “Wyatt, you can’t - “

“I mean, what the hell is wrong with me?” He wasn’t even listening. “Why would I do that, why would I *enjoy* that?!”

“You were *suppose* to enjoy it,” DG said, crossing her arms. She was angry now. “But I don’t know, Wyatt, why *would* you enjoy making love to me? Or maybe that’s it, maybe it’s not love.” Tears sprang to her eyes as she stood, grabbing her clothes off the bedside table. “Maybe you don’t even care.” DG tried to maintain control, but it couldn’t be helped. A single tear rolled down her cheek, and once it began, there was no stopping it.

Forgetting her clothes, she sank to the floor, sobbing. They’d been wrong, everyone was wrong, she was sure of it. Cain *didn’t* love her, didn’t even like her, and now he was going to leave her.

Strong arms wrapped themselves around her. She tried to push them away, but Cain’s grip was too crushing. He pulled her into his also-bare lap and held her. “You got it all wrong, beautiful. I *do* love you, so much it hurts, but I’m disgusted with myself.”

“Why?” Dg asked through her sobs.

“Because of what I did to you. I covered your mouth, I pushed you into those rocks, I mean... look at your arms!”

DG obeyed. Her arms where they’d connected with the rock wall were covered in scrapes and scratches which Cain had obviously cleaned up himself. She was no longer crying now, was in fact experiencing a strange new sensation. She really liked those marks. She traced a finger down one particularly large scrape, where the skin had turned red and had bled some. It hurt, but that sensation was... arousing. She’d never been aroused by pain before. “Wow,” she whispered. She covered the wound with her hand, suddenly very fond of it.

“You see?” Cain demanded. “You see what I did to you? And the worst part is... I enjoyed it. I *loved* knowing you couldn’t breathe, knowing that I was hurting you.” Cain lowered his head, and he suddenly sounded much younger. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing,” DG said firmly, ideas swirling around her head. She thought she knew what was happening between them. To be honest, she’d always held a fascination for the idea of masochism, had always held a secret desire to be dominated. Now she knew why. “Cain, where I come from, this sort of thing isn’t that uncommon. There are actually a huge number of people who like that sort of thing.”

“What sort of thing?” Cain asked.

DG sighed. “In my world there are couples who... get off... on the idea of dominance and submission. Pain and pleasure are sort of intertwined for them. She took a deep breath. “For me.”

Cain met her eyes. She saw a pleading there, a pleading to be told he was normal, that he was not a monster. So she did the only thing she could think of. She kissed him.

She felt Cain moan lightly against her lips as he deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her back.

He pushed her away. “Are you sure about this? I mean, I can’t imagine how you could trust me still, I’m - “

“Wyatt? Shut up.”

````````````

Azkedellia sat in the marble gazebo with her mother, the swing having been magically extended into a bench. She was gazing out at the water, trying to contain her discomfort. She would go through periods where she was completely uncomfortable in her own skin, as if it were a shade too tight.

“Copper for your thoughts, Azkedellia?” came her mother’s soothing voice.

“No thoughts, really. Nothing specific anyway.”

“May I ask a question, then?”

Az turned. “Of course, Mother.”

The Queen took a breath, gazing at her daughter. “Mr. Cain, our new Chief of Security... tell me, why did the two of you suggest such a post?”

-Crap, she’s onto us!- Az thought, using slang her sister had taught her. “Was it not a good idea, Mother?” she asked.

“It was, in fact, a quite brilliant idea, which is why your father and I immediately agreed.” Az smiled at her mother, who returned the gesture. “However,” the Queen continued, “I couldn’t help but sense ulterior motives in the suggestion of Wyatt Cain. Why him, if I may ask?”

Az cleared her throat. “Well... he saved Deej’s life so many times, and he was a Resistance Fighter against... against the witch, and he’s a good man, so -”

“And his obvious attraction to DG played no part in your decision?”

Her mother was just too intelligent for her own good. Az sighed. Time to come clean. “DG is in love with Cain,” she declared flatly, stamping down a surge of jealousy. “And Cain is in love with her. He sort of... told her on her birthday, but then he left. He doesn’t think he’s good enough for DG.”

“I see.” The Queen was silent for several moments. Az waited, nervous. She and her sister hadn’t told their mother for fear the age difference between Cain and DG would upset her. Finally, her mother looked at her, lavender eyes meeting black, and said, “So how will she set him straight?”

Az let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “We’re working on that. Hopefully the ball will help.”

The Queen smiled. “Did I ever tell you how I met your father?”

“Not... that I can remember,” Az said quietly. She hated how much she and her sister had missed, the time wasted.

“When I was young,” her mother began, “a bit younger than DG is now, I was living here at Finagua. My parents were interviewing suitors; in their minds, it was high time I married. I was here, at this very spot, staring out at the lake, dreaming I would find a man I loved, not just a man to marry. In the water, there slowly appeared the reflection of a balloon.”

“Father’s balloon!”

The Queen’s smile widened. “Yes. It was brightly colored, and in large letters, it said, ‘AHAMO’. Or at least, it’s reflection did. When it touched down, I met your father. He was so handsome, so different from any of the Ozian nobles. I asked if his name was ‘Ahamo’. He laughed, and my heart melted. Apparently, the word on his balloon was ‘Omaha’, the town he was from. But he smiled, and said to me, ‘If you wish to call me Ahamo, then Ahamo I am.’ I fell in love so instantly I hardly knew what to do.”

Az smiled. “I think it must have been that way for DG,” she said. “Though she didn’t realize it at the time.”

“Mmm,” her mother nodded. “Love can sometimes surprise us from the most unlikely of places.”

“Your Highness?”

Both women turned at the sound of the voice. The young Miner’s Guild Emissary was approaching. He made quite a picture, his hands clasped behind his back, a smile gracing his full lips, his hazel eyes sparkling.

“Hello, Morden,” the Queen said warmly. Az was finding it difficult to breathe all of a sudden, and she wondered why the temperature seemed to have risen several degrees.

“Your Highness, if I may be so bold,” Morden began, his voice smooth and sweet, “may I request the company of the Princess Azkedellia? I wished to take a walk around the lake, but I am unfamiliar with the area. I would humbly ask the Princess to acquaint me with her family’s land.”

The Queen turned to Az, who was rendered speechless. Why would anyone want to spend time with her? DG was the one everyone loved and admired. “She would love to,” the Queen answered for her, turning back tot eh young man.

“I am your humble servant, Princess.” Morden smiled, bowing low.

All Az could do was smile weakly and think, -Good Gods, he’s handsome!-

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Hey, guys, sorry for all the delays on all my stories! We moved recently, so I'm just now getting caught up on them all. Let me know what you think! Luvs, Jane.