reunion [Vance & Notte]

[Vance]

Sioban MacMurrough was anxious to see his distant family again and refrained from lingering on the cobbled road to take in the magnificent vista of his cousin's stronghold. A few paces from the trail a small clear stream cascaded down to provide the surrounding lushly green countryside of water. Strangely enough the surrounding lands had been quite deserted.
The young impoverished nobleman let a hand trace through his brown hair and urged his steed onward to climb. His cousin had been married to the local lord for less than two years but in her last letter she claimed he had died and as such Sioban's father, the head of the family, had dispatched his youngest son to investigate and check if everything was allright with the daughter of his sister.

The young man arrived at the portcullis gate and found it locked. Therefore he cried out to the watchmen who grumbled something unkind at him. Sioban was a rather timid, if not shy, person and frowned as if he didn't comprehend something. Luckily he carried his family ring and after showing it to the guardsman, the gate was pulled up and he was granted access.

A small and thin boy appeared from the stables, clearly underfed, to tend to his horse. Sioban ordered the lad to take good care of it and warned him of the consequences. After all, his niece was the duchess of these lands now and he a scion of a powerful noble house of Eire. With a proud look on his face he entered the castle grounds and ascended the grey stairs that led to the great hall. Hopefully she would meet him there or at least have a message waiting for him. The donjon seemed almost deserted and it was dimly lit. With only eighteen years, Sioban had not been tested yet in a melee or battle and he absolutely didn't mind neither.

In truth, he had had a crush on his niece since they had both reached the age of adulthood, but then she went off with some other man. Far older than both of them together. Sioban had dressed for the occasion as well: black leather riding boots with silver spurs and an expensive fur cloak, underneath he wore a dark red tunic decorated with bronze clasps and gold embroidment. Nervously he fiddled around with his elk gloves and looked around the room with exotic tapestries.

 

[Notte]

Aislin O'Conner had heard the noise outside from deep within the keep and she readily prepared herself. Her raven hair was braided in a crown around her head and hung down the length of her back. She placed coal under her eyes to try and give herself a more colored appearance from her unnaturally paled skin. Picking out a light blue dress, she shifted into it with the help of her maid, placing a crios (belt) at her hips and fastening it with a dealg (brooch). She looked in the mirror over her appearance to make sure that all was set to rights.

No one in the castle knew what she had become and she claimed that it was over the sickness of losing her husband. When they tried to encourage her to go outside during the day and enjoy the sun, she refused, her mocked deep depression and state of mourning stopped them from questioning to much. Although she was supposed to wear black during the mourning period, she begged off, telling her seamstress that it made her look even more sickly. The food that they gave to her was carefully hidden and then given away under the cloak of night to those who needed it more. She had, after all, need of healthy subjects to quench her needs.

At the sound of the great hall doors opening, she made her way to the top of the grand staircase and looked down at the man who stood there. She made a small smile and began to descend the stairs slowly. When she stood at the bottom of them, her eyes deepened to a deep honey, "Sioban! It is a pleasant thing to see you after all of this time. Welcome to my home, please, follow me to the sitting room. Did father send you to retrieve me or to be a guard?"

 

[Vance]

The young nobleman startled at the clear but full voice of his niece. He turned his head to Aislin, standing at the top of the wide staircase. A smile crept on his lips as he let his blue eyes take her in; she was looking a bit pale but aside from that looked everything like the attractive woman he had known. Though it appeared to him her eye colour had changed, but he dismissed the thought as folly. "Indeed it is, lovely niece of mine," he answered while starting to move towards the stairs, decorated with an expensive carpet and flower patterns in the wood. Aislin gracefully descended them and Sioban bowed before his niece. Her hand running down alongside the wood made Sioban think of an erotic image. "Everyone was worried about you, despite the fact you wrote a couple of letters." He erected himself again. "You look enchanting, my dear niece." A boyish grin adorned his handsome face.

Once at the same level as himself he took hold of her at her elbows and placed two curtly kisses on each of her cheeks, as was customary. Though he wasn't supposed to enjoy the moment, he did so nonetheless. He offered her his arm while clearing his throat. Her faint perfume tickled his fantasies and he let his eyes linger for a while on her laced chest. In truth he wasn't really happy why he had been sent here. "The first part of my 'orders' were to see if you were alright, and the second part was to notify you of the plans made for you..." he said while they made their way to the salon. "I'm afraid you are to remarry." A stern look on his face told him he wasn't pleased at all about that fact. Therefore, he would do everything he could to prevent that. Maybe on account of the mixed feelings he had for her. Though it wasn't unheard of that niece and nephew married, it wouldn't happen in this case...

 

[Notte]

A small smile tugged at her lips, "Sioban, you are such the gentleman." As he kissed her cheeks, she returned in kind, "You have grown so much since the last time I have seen you, even more handsome."

Her ruby lips down into a frown and she looked to the side, "My husband has been in his grave for less than a month and yet they expect me to remarry so soon?" She looked back at him and let her eyes brim with tears, when one went tumbling down her cheek it was entwined with blood, turning away from him, she made a sob sound and wiped her cheeks to be rid of the evidence. "I am sorry, I do not mean to be a mess in front of you, it is entirely unhostess like. I miss my late husband terribly and his passing had not been easy on me. I fear as if I am fading away without him, I have no one, and even the prospect of remarriage does nothing to appease my broken heart." While she spoke she had turned back towards him and buried her face into his chest to muffle her voice and hide her face. Her husband had not just died, she had murdered him in a fit of hunger after she had awoken from her changing. "Sioban, please, do not let them do this to me. There must be away out of it, I do not want to marry a stranger, I do not know if I ever shall want to marry again - it would feel like the biggest betrayal."

 

[Vance]

A light blush appeared on his lips at her complementing his good manners and looks. He felt her touch through the luxurious garments as they roamed the halls of her castle.

Aislin's grief made Sioban feel sad in turn. Maybe she had genuinely loved her husband, or at least had cared for him? "I know it's soon, I told them that as well. But I'm just the youngest of sons, so my words don't carry as much weight..." the young man said in acknowledgment. She made a sob and he saw a tear escape her big eyes, though she was quick with wiping it off. As she apologised about her griefstricken appearance he wanted to tell her everything was alright, but then she added missing her late husband and Sioban's mood soured like old cream.

They were standing in the salon, an equally richly decorated room with tapestries from abroad surely worth a fortune. A large divan faced a small coffee table and fireplace. As much as Sioban wanted to take in the room, there were more interesting things he had on his hands. Aislin turned towards him and put her head on his chest, talking to it so it seemed, by now he was a full head taller than her so her raven black hair just reached under his stubble covered chin. This felt rather pleasant, he thought.
Sioban smelt in her scent as he gingerly placed his hand on her back in an effort to comfort his widowed niece. "I...I..." He stuttered, honestly he was at a loss for words. "I wish I could, Aislin, but you know your father. We're just pawns on his political chessboard." Dared he caress her hair? Apparently he did, for he found himself doing it as soon as the thought had hit him.
"Fortunately he only expects word in two weeks, I will send a letter asking for postponement once those weeks are over but for now you needn't worry... We'll figure something out, Aislin." Her name rolled sweetly of his tongue.

 

[Notte]

As she felt him caress her hair, she remained silent, her mind working over a way to get out of another marriage that she did not want. An idea struck her mind and she pulled away from him and turned, wringing her hands together. "Father cannot marry me off, not yet, he has to wait at least a year." She turned back towards Sioban and grabbed his hand, placing it over her womb. "My minuses have not come since he has been gone. So, surely, father will allow a waiting period to see if I am with child?"

Her eyes looked up into his beseeching him to understand and agree with her. While in her own mind thoughts plagued her of how she would be able to pull this off. She doubted greatly that a being such as she would be able to carry let alone give birth. She knew that her father wouldn't think it such a far fetched idea, for she remembered that before her attack and her husbands death that she had sent word that her husband was trying to beget an heir. If only she had someone here that was like her to teach her what she was and what it had meant. Where had her maker gone?

On the other hand, she also wondered what she would do with Sioban if he stayed with her and how she would go about falsifying her growing belly if she had no choice but too. Although, maybe, she could confide in him and plead with him to lie to her father, if it but be in letters or in person. Honestly, the idea did not sound that bad to her and she knew that with just a little push she could bend him to her whims and dark desires.

 

[Vance]

It regretted him to let her go from his embrace. "He surely can, as the pater familias..." he started, trying to make her see he was in control of their lives. But then she grabbed his hand. She felt soft as silk but not as warm as he had expected her to be. Still, he didn't think nothing of it for he retracted his hand as if burned by what was growing inside her. She was pregnant? Sioban's mouth dropped but he hastily closed it again. A pang of jealous pain shot up his vertibrae but he tried to conceal it.
"I... I am sure he will. If it's a boy he can claim these lands of your late husband." Politics always came first with his uncle. He cleared his throat. "I shall write at once to convene him this... interesting development." One of his hands was clenched and the young nobleman was feeling a bit angry. Though her big eyes locked with his made him feel somewhat responsible to take good care of her.

 

[Notte]

Aislin could feel the pounding rush of his blood as his anger grew, even though he tried to hide it without showing a physical reaction. Her body flooded with need at the sound and her fangs lengthened down. Before he could leave and write the letter to her father, she grabbed his arm, and her eyes flooded with hunger - although he would never realize what type of hunger it was. "Wait, Sioban, what happens if it is just from the stress of losing him? What happens if I am not with child? Then would I have to marry someone else? Would you tell father?" As she spoke, she moved her body closer to his, into his.

The hunger was making her whole body ache and her eyes gleamed with it as she looked up into his, before they settled onto his lips, and then went down to his neck. She remembered the last time she fed that her body also wanted to find a sexual release, she had to take care of it by herself, but she remembered the feel of having her husband deep within her, or the feel of his mouth against her womanhood. A dual need ensnared her and she had to turn away from Sioban with a moan that boarded somewhere between pleasure and pain.

 

[Vance]

Aislin forcefully grabbed his arm, with more strength than he would have thought her to have in that slender figure. The looks he gave him boosted his confidence but also made him wary. Was she just playing a game or did she genuinely want him? The words flooded from her ruby lips when she outed her fears and Sioban's anger melted away when she pressed her petite body into his. Stunned he stood there, "That's something we'll figure out when we are sure you are not with child. And as long as he does not come here himself, he will be forced to believe what I write in our correspondence." His hand graced her raven hair again. "No, I wouldn't tell uncle." Determination grew inside of his chest.

Sioban blinked his blue eyes as he stared down at her, her face and her cleavage, she was looking up with clear desire and he smirked. But then she broke free and moaned in a strange fashion. His desire was clear as well, but he still maintained control, despite these recent signals of his cousin. The young man extended his hand and put it on Aislin's creamy white shoulder. He didn't notice the low temperature of her skin, only the silky smoothness. "I'm here now, we'll find a solution." He hoped his voice sounded reassuring.
Then he closed in on her and wrapped his arms around her so they held hands with his arms crossed over her chest and -for now- slender abdomen. "I will not allow them to mary you off once more to some old man that doesn't know how to take proper care of you, my dearest niece..." He whispered in her ear as she was far smaller than him. Once again he smelled her hair as if they were lovers, his heart was racing.

 

[Notte]

With his arms wrapped around her, Aislin's body rubbed against him like a cat in heat. How easy it was for her to manipulate the minds of men. "I cannot wait to long to find out, if I am not with his child, then I have only but a week to become with one. If it will keep me free from marrying another man, then I will do just about anything." As she spoke, her arm raised up and wrapped behind his head, with each word, she brought his head down, closer to hers. At the last word, her lips settled against his, and she purred at the feel of it. Running her tongue over his body lip, she whispered "Anything", and turned in his arms, pressing the length of her body against his. Surely he could not deny such a bold move on her part, that was if she were reading his emotions correctly.

Standing on tip-toes she kissed him deeper, before nibbling at his bottom lip and down his jaw. Her fangs were sharp and she had to be weary and careful of making sure not to let him feel them, at least not until she had them in him. Kissing and licking her way down his neck, she all but made love to the vein but pulsated there and her fangs ached with the need to bite in deep. Yet, she knew that she couldn't do it, needing him to be completely devoted to her before she showed him what she truly was. She ran her hand down his covered chest and felt the heated skin beneath his shirt burn away the coldness of her own. "Tell me, Cousin, how I should be taken proper care of? Or better yet..." She paused and licked her lips, "show me."

 

[Vance]

Slowly he was being reeled in until their lips touched. Hearing and feeling her purr and lick his lower lip, raised his bloodpressure as he was getting aroused. Though her rubbing against him was also responsible. Her tongue was wet and practiced and when she repeated 'anything' it sounded deliciously wicked. Then she was kissing him, and he her in turn and though it was wrong -and dangerous at that- it felt great. Aislin started to nibble and lick away at him and Sioban arched his neck as to offer her sufficient space.

He ached to feel her touch on his bare skin and not just on his clothing, he even shuddered at simply the thought. Aislin asked how she should be taken care of, but then corrected herself into asking to show him. Sioban blinked at her for he was a rather uncertain person. Nonetheless his hands had found their way to her firm derriere while she spoke and he felt something stirring in his pants; the... equipment needed to give her what she wanted. When she licked her lips his chest rose up and down with exitement and somehow he found himself rubbing against her in expectation.
"I... I'll do anything you want, Aislin." Anything to help her and keep her free from the clutches of his uncle.
Sioban was shaking as one of his fantasies was about to come true, he had always cherished feelings for Aislin and now he would seize the moment and take advantage of her need. He burned his lips on hers and took hold of her in an even more intimate manner, one hand on her tight behind and the other in her raven black hair where he removed the pin holding it up.

 

[Notte]

She felt his groin harden against her stomach and a wicked smile touched her mouth. She knew the dangers that could come of it, especially here in this place, where anyone could walk in and see. Excitement raced through her at the though and she knew that even if they were caught, that she could just take care of whomever saw. Her hair fell down in a waterfall at her back when he removed the pin and as he did so, she pushed out of his arms and moved backwards, watching him with eyes hazy with lust. Slowly and to have him watch, she removed the crios from her hips and let it slither its way to the floor. Lifting her arms, she took hold of the laces behind her back that held it in place and once freed, her dress pooled at her hips. Bringing her arms down, her hands caressed the ample weight of her corseted breasts and down her slim torso. When she came to her dress hanging at her hips, she pushed and it glided down her frame, revealing everything. She wore nothing to cover her womanhood, but the garters from her corset held up clear stockings.

She ran her hands over her body once more, then lifting one hand, she beckoned him closer, a slutery look gracing her face. "Would you really do anything, Cousin? Anything I asked you too?" She purred the words, her eyes watching him like a predator. Waiting to see what his reaction would be. "Sioban, my sweet, dear, Soiban, come to me..."

 

[Vance]

Like a precious gem falling, she quit their embrace, slipped through his fingers. As she undid her buckle and belt Sioban felt his member grow rock hard with desire and carnal lust. The sight she treated him on as she stripped down was almost too much to handle for poor Sioban and he staggered forward a bit. Unwillingly he rubbed his groin while she stepped out of her dress. Though her skin seemed unnatural pale it still shined with silk smoothness, longing to be caressed and touched. He had always had a thing for garters and stockings and seeing her wear this as if she had read his mind was wondrous.

As she caressed her own devine design she beckoned for him to come closer and purred at him. sioban was bewitched and indulged his cousin's whim as if in a trance. "Yes... I would," he mumbled as he slowly crossed the distance between himself and the object of his desire. "Anything you say," he gasped for air already. His mind was slowing down as more primitive and primal instincts began to take over. The air was heavy with pheromones and lust.