Topic: The Nursery (Rated Teen)

Marius Longden

Date: 2006-07-15 18:13 EST
( Author's Note: Closed SL for the next few posts. I'll let ya know when you can reply, as you like. )

Marius Longden stirred in his sleep, then woke with a start. The nanny had put him down for a nap shortly after noon. Which one was he up to now? Number four? Ahh. Her name was Claire. Marius remembered now. He?d bitten her hand once and she locked him in his room for a ?time out.? Marius wondered why it was called ?time out,? because time still passed, albeit slowly, and accompanied by much shrieking on his part. It wasn?t long before Claire was going to get the chair?

He kicked off his covers and sat up, thumb in mouth. His brightly colored red hair had fallen over his eyes again. He would?ve brushed it through, had he the motor skills to hold a comb. But alas, Marius Longden was only a year old.

He took a look around his nursery. It was painted light blue ? newly painted, to hide the blood stains.

Oh. The blood stains. Yeah.

A servant had met a most unfortunate end when he got too close to the crib.

Well. Marius was hungry and Mommy was late.

The boy shrugged. Daddy was always saying he had plenty of servants.

Things were going well for Marius. He?d just learned to fly, though walking was somewhat harder. Speaking was the hardest, of course, but soon the boy?s catch phrase of ?mabada? made way for words like ?mama? and ?dada? and other silly infant sounds.

Marius stood up and gripped the bars of his crib. He was just about to shriek for Claire when something stopped the flow of sound.

At the far corner of the room, the dressing mirror, the one framed by lovely yellow ducks with sailor hats and other little boy designs, began to shake. Marius tilted his head and watched with fearless curiosity as the surface of the glass cracked in half, then in quarters, and then it shattered entirely.

Crystal pieces littered the floor as the thing stepped through.

Marius clapped his hands and bid it welcome.

Progeny

Date: 2006-07-15 18:34 EST
( Just to connect the dots: Costume Design 101, Deliverance, All Who Wander, and Motivations. )

Vyndra does not expect her return to be a welcome one, but for some reason, it is met with the unsteady rhythm clapping of human hands.

Glass cuts the soles of her feet, but she does not realize. No pain can rival that of starvation, when one?s stomach turns in on itself and begins to devour itself from the inside out. Vyndra is thankfully something else, and can survive such a miserable fate, but not for long.

She is in agony, and she has been in the Elsewhere for far too long in search of the Mother. She has found her at last, and her scent still lingers in this place, though she is absent. No matter. Vyndra will find her.

But first, Vyndra must feed, and fresh meat is but a few feet away.

Marius Longden

Date: 2006-07-15 18:54 EST
Marius? blue eyes gave a calculating stare. He had abandoned his clapping when the creature started to step toward his bar-like sanctuary. She did not intend to play with him. Pity.

Marius only needed to lift a single chubby finger and extend it over the edge of the crib. His other hand gripped the headboard. If he needed to levitate to get his point across, he would. If he needed to fly, he would.

In time?s constant march, Marius gave a chuckle. Come, said his true-blue stare and his crooked finger, come and see what I can do to you.

Progeny

Date: 2006-07-15 19:09 EST
Something stops Vyndra from devouring the child in one fell swoop. It is the way he stares at her. It is the scent he gives off. It is the protruding canines which appear to her upon closer examination.

Vyndra hisses a reply to his crooked finger. She has waited months to feed and her body is weak, too weak to overpower this boy, who is not quite a boy at all.

And he is laughing at her.

For a moment, shadows grow along the wall, but the baby?s gaze does not waver. Vyndra tries for a small display of power, and eight tendrils spring from her back, black as night, black as onyx, but the baby does not flinch. These extensions of her flesh snap about the nursery, knocking of chair and table and lamp. Vyndra is mad with hunger, but there is no other source of food here.

She cannot endure this place a moment longer. She must feed. She must have fresh blood and warm flesh. She reaches for the window with her extra limbs, and the tendrils latch onto its frame. She hurls herself into the glass, a cannon ball of skin and bone, and rides the air like a missile, heading for the line of trees which surround Longden Castle.

She will feed now, on everything that walks and crawls, that flies and swims. She will feed now and take up her search later. She will find the Mother. She will.

Marius Longden

Date: 2006-07-15 19:16 EST
( Author's Note: Okay. Open SL from here on. )

Marius watched the creature crash through his window with a look of mild amusement. It was the second time in a matter of minutes that broken glass had covered his floor. That was a record for his nursery.

The boy surveyed the damage with a thumb in his mouth. His room was in ruins. Claire would not be pleased.

Oh well. If worse came to worse, he could always just kill her.

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-07-16 18:20 EST
It was not exactly an unusual occurrence for Count Talomar Longden to hear his beloved wife screaming from the nursery.

She had screamed when Marius? pooh-pooh looked to her to be in the form of a turtle, she had screamed when Marius was walking on the ceiling, she had screamed when he threw up breast milk on her lime green tutu, and she had screamed when he peed in the mouth of the stuffed dragon because when she picked up the dragon, the pee soaked through and she thought the dragon was peeing on her.

There were countless other examples when the Countess would count on the Count to come running to the nursery on account of some countless number of innocent occurrences that might happen daily in any nursery in the universe.

The ?Talomar! Come quickly? scream nearly always meant that he was about to come face-to-face with normal child developmental processes (excluding the walk on the ceiling) that were being misinterpreted by his not quite so normal wife to be some form of ADD (Advanced Demonic Disorder) in their child.

?I?m coming, my angel,? he shouted out as he put down some legal papers and rose from his leather executive chair. Instantly he was at the door of the nursery.

This time it was no pee in the stuffed dragon, no strange looking turds, and no unusual Marius acrobatics. He could feel the lingering presence of evil, and he saw the shards of mirror and glass scattered across the floor.

His eyes grew dark as rage erupted within him. Who was it that dared to invade his castle and endanger his son?

?Tara, are you and Marius alright? You have any idea who is responsible??

Marius Longden

Date: 2006-07-16 22:26 EST
Marius didn't like it when the Mommy-thing and the Daddy-thing fought. Shouting was akin to dynamite blasts to his sensitive baby ears. It might as well have been dynamite, with the way things were headed.

Now she was telling him not to eat the throw rug. What rug? Oh.

The boy's mouth twisted. It was indeed full of wool. And how did that happen anyway?

Spitting it out, Marius began to crawl, knees first, then hands, because this was how it was done. It was passed down from baby to baby, for a good eon or so, and Marius had perfected the crawling art. He was headed straight for his mother's feet when she bellowed:

"TALOMAR! Answer me!"

Marius blinked, gurgled, and sat on her right foot. The boy had answers, but no one was asking him, and if they did, well, he didn't have that great a command of the English language.

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-07-17 00:28 EST
When Tara took Marius out of the room to pack, Talomar walked over to the mirror and laid his hands upon it, trying to sense something familiar. He did the same at the window. Each time there was nothing that he could sense that was familiar. He had assumed it might be the work of Lord Dupres or Lord Salvatore, but if either of the vampire lords were present, Marius would be gone and he?d sense them.

He moved his hands and the shards of glass slid into a corner of the room and mounded in a pile for the servants to clean up. Then he went to his office that was off the master suite. Once inside he closed the door and went to a bookshelf. He pulled on a book that only one with unnatural strength could budge, and the entire wall of books rotated, revealing a doorway.

Talomar stepped inside and red lights went on. Inside that secret room was an amazing array of technological equipment which would allow him to run S.E.C.T.O.R. from the castle if the situation warranted it.

He sat at a console.

His hands moved over the keys and the console and wall monitor lights came on.

It hummed to life.



"Longden, Commander, Sector H-1, Code 11-95352-1306."

His words were picked up, coded, scrambled, and sent via interplanetary relay.





"Open communications channel to Colonel Wil Savage."




?Savage, here. What can I do for you, Sir.?

?I just wanted to report a small hiccup in our plans.?

?Small hiccup??

?Yeah. Where are you, Savage.?

?On my way to Ares II to terminate General Jimar Sinarath, Sir, just as you commanded.?

?Yeah, well?there?s a new hiccup. I need you back here. Turn that prototype Class VI fighter around and get back here as fast as you can. I fear that Dupres and Salvatore can no longer be contained. Someone broke into the castle tonight. Marius was in danger. I?m taking Marius and Tara out of here.?

?What is it you want me to do, Sir??

?Patrol the planet and keep watch on this castle. I?m brining my digi-pad with me. Contact me if you see anything out of the ordinary.?

?What about the general, sir??

?I know he?s betrayed me. He doesn?t know that I know that. Let?s keep it that way for now.?

?Will do, sir.?

?I?ve got to go. I hear my wife calling. Remember, contact me if you see anything suspicious.

"Computer off."




"TALOMAR! Answer me!"

Dark eyes paused over the equipment as he thought about his next step. He then shut down the console and stood up. He slowly walked out of the control center and the door closed tight behind him, hiding the room.

He walked out of the office and into the main bedroom where Tara was waiting with Marius.

?Tara, I?ve decided it would be good for us to get away for awhile. Get your things packed.

"And where the hell did our throw rug go?"

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-07-21 23:38 EST
Count Talomar Longden looked at his wife and son, Marius, and was a little surprised that she had already packed. "It's nice to see that you are anticipating my commands, Tara. You've done well." His intention was to get his wife and child out of the castle, then to come back and wait in hiding, prepared to kick that entity's ass when and if it returned.

"I'll have a carriage brought around and we can inform all the staff that we're going on a long overdue vacation."

Tara Rynieyn Longden was holding Marius close to her, she smiled timidly at her husband and spoke softly, ?Thank you.? She looked to the suitcases and gestured to them so that they came close since she couldn?t very well carry them with both her hands busy holding the baby. ?Love, do you want us to wait outside??

"No, moonshine, I think we'll all go together." He held out his hands for the baby, "Let me take Marius and I'll have the servants bring down the luggage." He took Marius and held him cradled in one arm and held his other arm out for his beautiful and incredibly sexy wife to take. "Shall we?"

Tara lifted a brow as he took the baby from her arms. This was not something he always did and what a pleasant surprise it was. She curled her arm around his and brushed her cheek up against his arm. ?Aye. I do not feel safe here now that the nursery has been damaged.? She looked up to their baby and frowned, ?Oh, Talomar, I don't know what I would have done if he had been hurt.?

They walked out of the room and down the elaborately decorated hallway; its artwork was valued in the millions. "We can be very grateful that nothing happened to Marius, but if it did there are two things you must realize. One, it would not have been your fault. Two, I would do whatever it took to make that person or thing curse the day it was created."

?I am his mother; it is my job to protect him. He is our first child and I could never forgive myself if something were to happen to him, even if you wouldn't blame me. I love him as much as I love you.?

He would never have blamed her, but he would have made who or whatever entered the nursery wish it had never been created. He had unlimited resources and the best technology this quadrant of the galaxy could offer. He would track whatever it was down, string it up, and slowly slice its flesh from its body and dismember it while it slowly died. It was, after all, his preferred way of dealing with those who really disappointed him. It had the added benefit of providing much blood.

He smiled as they walked to the top of the stairs where he saw a servant waiting.

The servant bowed, head lowered. ?Good evening, Count?.Countess. Is there any way I might be of service??

?Yes, there is. We have luggage in our suite. Have it brought down to the drive immediately.?

?Of course, sir. Immediately.? The servant bowed and departed quickly to get the job done.

As they started down the main staircase, Talomar looked to Tara, "I think we shall go to a safe and very fun place. I was thinking maybe....a cave."

She watched the interaction with the servant, cutting off what she had said to him midway so he could speak with him and then once the servant went to do as instructed she continued, ?A....cave?! Oh, Talomar!? She giggled. ?You? In a cave? I'll believe it when I see it.

?You were upset over sleeping in the coffin, remember?? She swept her eyes over her prim and proper (yet very attractive) husband and giggled again.

Talomar just raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "It just so happens, my love, that with all this dreadful summer heat, short nights, and the humidity, I thought that the cool, dark, comfort of a cave would be just the thing for a few days. Besides, Marius would enjoy the bats."

They walked down the marble steps to the front entrance. There he ordered the doorman to have the carriage brought forward without delay.

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-07-22 10:54 EST
Tara suppressed further giggles over Tal mentioning the cave. She wanted to kick herself for mocking his idea, but it was a funny thing to think about, whether or not he agreed. She couldn't imagine that he ever slept in a cave before. Now, on the other hand, she had. She was looking forward to it. It would be like the old days, the "normal" way of behaving as opposed to trying to mingle and mix with the mortals they needed to feed off of to survive. She looked down respectfully and responded, ?Of course, my lord. It is a wise decision on yer part.?

Talomar smiled and put his arm around her, pulling her close to him. He knew when she was being patronizing, but he still considered it adorable. He would not tell her the real reason he chose a cave for their place of retreat.

As they waited for the carriage to come to the front of the castle, they noticed a messenger was coming up the walkway.

"Looks like we have mail coming, my love."

She set her sights on the messenger, zoomed in close, and gasped. He smelled delicious and he was type O, her favorite. She didn't make any move to do anything though, the mail he carried could have been extremely important and then the fight she had just avoided with Tal would resume and come to a head. It was a fight she'd lose now that he had handed down some new laws in the relationship. She snuggled close to him, trying to smile and fend off the urge to attack the messenger. She looked up at her husband and spoke softly, ?I do hope it's a love letter from you.?

Longden looked at her. "Tara, my angel, why in the world would I write a love letter to you when I can just tell you and show you how much I love you?"

Tara looked up to him, her expression blank and creepy. ?Because I would very much like to read how you feel on paper,? she said softly.

He looked at her as if she was truly daft, then gave his head a turn and conceded, "Okay, fair enough. But I doubt this letter is from me." Actually he knew it wasn't from him because he hadn't written any.

The postman approached very hesitantly. In fact, one would have sworn there was a pack of pit bulls standing there waiting to feed on him. He approached and held out the letter between two fingers. "It's for you...sir....Count Longden." He looked to Tara and bowed. "Good day, Countess Longden. You do look lovely." He started to back up. "The little guy is growing like a weed. Yes...a handsome boy." He continued to back up.

?That is good evening, letter carrier,? Tara said in a curt way and looked to the letter in her husband's hands. ?Aye, our son grows rather quickly, eh? Pretty soon he's going to be as big as the Count and myself.? Her eyes twinkled and she stepped forward to openly sniff at the messenger, wanting to scare the hell out of him.

She succeeded in spades. At the first sniff he excused himself with a, "Well I do have more mail to deliver. Good evening!" He turned and ran as fast as his legs would carry him.

Talomar looked to Tara, "Jumpy fellow, isn't he?"

?Aye, very jumpy,? she responded with an indignant snort.

He opened the letter with a fingernail, blew into the envelope and pulled out the letter. He read it out loud.

Dear Talomar,

You see that man with long dark hair and a camera that you might see lurking around your home in a corner or maybe out by the wall somewhere? Well I love him with all my heart and soul so please don't eat him. I will owe you big time if you can just see your way clear to ignore him just this once.

Thank you!
Des

Tara?s attention turned to the letter her husband was reading aloud. Her eyes opened wide as she knew precisely who it was referring to and she couldn't help but snicker. ?Honeysuckle, why is it that this entire town is so afraid of us, hmm? Are we not decent, taxpaying, law-abiding citizens??

Or, in the words of the genetically mutated and severely deformed residents of the Island of Dr. Moreau, ?Are we not men?? Yeah, sure, sorta, but it still does nothing to change the fact that you're scary, psychotic and deranged.

"I have no idea, honeybee. I'm just as charming as I can be when I have to interact with the cockroaches of this land. Maybe it's our wealth that scares them. Maybe they're afraid that they have to look and act as sophisticated as we do."

Or maybe the Couple Longden were both delusional.

?I think it's off-putting really.? She turned her face the other way with her snout pressed to the air. ?After all the things we do, the least the other citizens could do was treat us with some respect.?

He looked at the letter again. "Is Des talking about that Gavilean guy?"

She smiled and nodded to his question. ?Aye. I like him. He's very handsome, an' funny, an' sociable, an' kind, an' handsome...did I say that??

He again raised a brow and looked at her dryly. Before he could respond to the repeated "handsome" description the carriage arrived and the coachman, who was as usual dressed in black with no face visible, opened the door to the carriage without a word being said.

"I guess I won't have time to molest our handsome guest. You enter first, my love."

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-07-23 14:01 EST
?An' dun molest him, Talomar," she teased regarding Des' husband. "He's a very nice fellow. Des is jus' nuts about him as I am you. I wouldn't want anything bad happening to you.?

"For you, my sweet, I'll refrain from sucking the life out of Gavilean. Now let's climb inside this coach."

Tara moved to the door of the coach and remarked, ?Okay, but please hand the baby to me before you climb in, I dun want him to bump his head.?

Talomar just rolled his eyes as if he was really going to bump his son?s head on the coach door frame. Actually, come to think of it, it was quite possible because Tal handled kids as one would handle a football, even though he had no idea what a football was. He would have no trouble sending Marius a hundred yards in a perfectly thrown spiral. He would also very likely have damaged Marius? head on the coach door, turning him into even a more 'special child' than he already was.

Tara stepped up and into the carriage, paying no mind to the mute and shadow-obscured driver who had actually gotten out of his seat this time as opposed to the door just swinging open on its own. What a surprise that was. Once inside she sat down and reached out her arms to take Marius from her husband. ?This cave we are going to....you do realize it will not have any beds, yes??

He climbed in beside her and the door closed behind him. He heard the luggage being loaded onto the carriage. He smiled like he knew something she did not. "I'm sorry about the lack of beds, love. If it's too uncomfortable for you, I can have beds brought in, but I think it would be nice to rough it for a change on the nice hard, dirty, guano-layered, cold stone floor. It will help us really to the poor, common loons that walk the land of RhyDin and frequent that disgusting Inn."

Tara patted his hand, smiled and nodded once. ?Thank you. I do not ask for much, do I??

She was kidding herself if she thought she didn't. She settled the baby in her arms and looked down into his face. His little mouth opened, a yawn followed, and he was soon sleeping soundly. ?Oh, I will put Marius on some clothing so he will be comfortable an' I suppose we can sleep on the cave floor with no trouble.?

Her thoughts went back to Gavilean, ?I do wonder why Gavilean is going to be coming around our home though. Whatever for??

"He's a reporter. You know how reporters are. They snoop around and get into other people's business." He grinned remembering one reporter who will never again report or take a picture. "You know, Tara, I think I'd like to eat that Sharon Gossip. Perhaps we can enjoy her together."

The carriage started out and rolled down the castle driveway. Talomar reached for Tara's hand and brought her fingers to his lips.

?I suppose that's what he's paid to do. I know he's a fair man an' won't do anything that would be a detriment to our reputation unlike that Sharon.? She growled, thinking of what she had written about her and Luse and imagined tearing her into a million tiny little pieces; but when he brought her fingers to his lips, she gasped, the image of Sharon's demise in her mind being instantly replaced by thoughts of him, naked, on top of her, in their bed. It couldn't be helped. It was what he did to her.

?Whatever you desire, my lord,? she said in her soft voice.

Talomar sucked two of her fingers into his mouth and let his tongue play around them. When he finally released them, they had been thoroughly sucked and teased. He looked at his wife, "Do you know what I want to do to you tonight, my gorgeous, sexy wife?"

This was a new sensation, one that was strange but altogether exciting. Her belly quivered just thinking about where else on her body his tongue had been. If it wasn't for the fact that she was holding their child in her arms, who was now fussing a little, she would have attacked him right then and there. She shushed the baby, rocked him gently and grinned to her husband. ?No, but I do hope you tell me.?

"You'll just have to wait and see, my angel."

The carriage continued its journey for two hours, and thereupon came to a rather small cave entrance that would have gone unnoticed by everyone else. Talomar exited and held out his hands for Marius. "We must hurry. Morning will soon be upon us and we have to settle into our cave."

?I can hardly wait,? she said quietly, hoping the baby would fall back to sleep but he wasn't. He was crying now and she frowned. ?He's hungry, love. When we get inside and I get us unpacked, I'll need to feed him.? She handed the baby over once again and hurried out of the carriage.

"Marius, you have all the luck," he said to his son. He walked inside the entrance and saw that it was in as good shape as when he had last left it. Talomar was the kind of person who tried to think of everything, and it?s what has kept him alive for so long. He had long ago had this cave prepared for an emergency, so it wasn't exactly a cave in it's natural, native condition. This was a cave designed for comfort, and the further one walked into it, the nicer it became.

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-07-23 14:29 EST
Tara knew that Marius had to be hungry by now. ?I had gone to the nursery to feed him when I noticed the broken window, an' glass, an' screamed for you,? she explained softly. The kid was probably starving to death. During the day, Clair supplemented Tara's breast milk with some wild concoction Marius seemed to like that Tara personally thought was vile and repulsive. It had a strong odor, like goat's milk that she had once liked to drink (curdled, btw) but this was something different, and she never asked for fear she might vomit.

Now, walking inside the cave and seeing how comfortable it all looked, she lit up. ?You did all this, Talomar? But how?? Her eyes went all around.

The walls had oil sconces, and while there was no doubt that it was definitely a cave, it was cave that was quite clean. They came to an area that had a table and chairs. There was an out cove that was behind a drapery and contained a bed.

"I had this prepared many years ago when I thought that certain people from other planets who were not exactly my fans, might try to kill me. They were less than successful for they have long since been vaporized, but the cave remained and I've had it maintained for a time such at this. You and Marius will be safe here.?

?Oh!? She wanted to cry. Even though he had created this place before he had met her and for purposes other than a hideaway for her and their son, she still thought it was a sweet gesture on his part. ?I love it. Thank you! Ooooh look how cute, the bed is hidden.?

She was gushing, noticing all the little details and cooing but then something he had said brought her back to the severity of the situation which caused them to leave in the first place and she shook her head violently. ?What do you mean, Marius an' I will be safe here?! You won't leave us, will you?? This was her worst fears realized and she prayed he wouldn't leave.

?Well, I'll stay here during the morning, but in the afternoon I'm going to search out who invaded our family castle."

?No! Talomar you cannot leave! Please, you musn't! I couldn't bear it if something happened to you!? She went over to him to take Marius one final time now that exchanging him back and forth would be silly and walked over to the bed behind the drapery to lay him down. She began to cry just thinking about her husband leaving them all alone and the possibility of never seeing him again.

Talomar supervised the placing of their luggage, then the coachman departed. Talomar sealed off the entrance and walked to the out cove and pulled back the drapery. He saw his wife crying and his heart went out to her. He laid down on the bed next to her and his voice was soft, "Perhaps I can stay awhile."

She had busied herself with changing the baby's diaper and then when the luggage arrived, she took out a little sleeper that had blue bunnies depicted on the front and changed the baby into that. Then she sat on the edge of the bed, unbuttoned the front of her dress as he lay down next to her and brought Marius into her arms so she could feed him. She wiped her tears from her cheeks and squeezed her breast so that Marius would have an easier time of it.

Her voice was soft and sad, ?I'll be finished here in a few moments an' will unpack our clothing.? She didn't press the issue of him leaving because she knew that he would and there was nothing she could do to stop him.
He just removed his shirt and laid down on the bed and watched his wife feed his son.

It was while he was watching this feeding that the ground shook as if there was an earthquake and a low rumbled echoed through the earth.

?Talomar!? She hunched over, covering the baby's head with her body and hands and looked to him. ?What was that?!? She knew little of earthquakes even though a few weeks ago she had been begging him to let her be a volcanologist, acting like she had an in depth understanding of nature when she really didn't.

Talomar knew what the immense rumble and shaking was. He could feel it. He had seen those things before, usually from the giving end and not the receiving. He knew that they had seen the last of their castle ? their home and everything in it.

He also realized that if it had not been for the intruder, he and Tara and Marius would be disintegrated at this very moment. How dare they do this! He would have revenge. He'd kill them all.

He placed his hand on Tara's shoulder. "It's nothing, my love. Sometimes these old mountains make rumbling noises."

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-07-23 15:18 EST
With his hand on her shoulder she relaxed, although the rumbling noises worried her, not because they were so loud, but because she did not think it was the mountain they were situated in that was doing it but something else entirely. She could sense he was lying. She sighed, sat upright and finished feeding their son who was very upset to have been interrupted. Her fingertips light upon his little brow, she spoke softly, ?Shhh...there, there...Marius...it's all over now.?

She looked to her husband for a moment, ?Are you hungry? I suppose I could fix something for you. Is there a fireplace in here??

Talomar watched as his son fed on his mother, enjoying the site and trying not to think about what just happened. Tara's offer to cook reminded him of the last time she cooked some poor animal that turned into a volcano of hot, disgusting, internal juices. "I'm not very hungry at the moment, love. I think that once Marius is asleep I would just like to be with you. You are my nourishment, my angel."

All she can think about is pleading with him not to leave the cave, even though she knew he wanted to know who came into the castle, as did she. The thought of it worried her and now with the rumbling noises which sounded more like they were farther away than above them, if they were supposed to come from the mountain, she was all the more concerned. She knew there was much he wasn't telling her.

?I'm putting him to sleep now.? But where? She didn't see a crib. ?Talomar...where should I lay him down? He can't be in the bed with us.?

He got up off the bed and went to several trunks and pulled out blankets and pillows that were just being stored. He set them out on the floor at the bottom of the bed. "Here, love. He'll be fine here, and if he awakes, we can always bring him into bed with us." Talomar usually tried to avoid that. He was worried that he could roll over on Marius and smother his son. Talomar reached out and took Marius from her arms. "Here, let me put him to bed."

?Okay but I want to kiss him goodnight.? She handed him over, smiling. ?You think it will be alright if he's on the floor? What if there are more rumbling noises? What if the ceiling caves in? Maybe we should put him closer to us, on the side of the bed??

Talomar nodded and moved the bedding to her side of the bed, then took their son and set him on a bed of pillows and blankets and tucked him in. He then stood in front of the bed and began to slowly remove his clothes.

He stopped for a moment and thought. He had so many memories wrapped up in that castle. He thought of Dominique's spirit, and of the servants, those in the dungeon, his horses, all their wedding presents and valuables, and even their bed. He knew it was all gone. He looked at Tara and smiled, for the most important of his treasures had escaped - his wife and son. Talomar continued to get undressed.

Tara knelt down next to the bed and looked at their son. ?Daddy an' Mommy love you very much and won't let anything happen to you,? she said softly as she him on his forehead. ?Sleep well, my son.?

She then got to her feet and finished taking off her dress, the majority of the buttons already undone because of Marius and looked over her shoulder at her husband. ?Where are our clothes?? Her voice was soft, tired sounding.

He went out through the drapery and opened the luggage that Tara had packed. "Um...here they are, love. Just what you packed."

'Whatever the hell that is,' he thought as he looked at the assemblage of clothing that didn't make much sense at all. "You did a good job, dear." 'If we're going to change our occupations to clowns', he again thought. He just shook his head. Everything she did was so endearing. "What would you like to wear?"

Tara inched forward, hanging by the drapery to watch him. She was a nervous wreck. She didn't know where anything was, didn't actually know where they were, she had not packed much of anything because she had not been thinking clearly and so when he started looking through it and she saw the look on his face which did not match his words, she frowned. ?I don't need to wear anything for right now. I will unpack our things tomorrow, okay?? She went to turn the bed down, lost in the horrible thoughts of their desperate situation.

Talomar dropped the clothes back into the suitcases. "Good idea. Things will seem brighter when the sun goes down."

He walked up to his wife. He could see and sense that she was really quite upset, bordering upon frantic. Talomar took her into his arms, feeling her body against his. His voice was a whisper, "All that I need in my life is right in this little cave. I mean that, Tara. You believe me?"

She was fine up until he held her against him, which was when she started to cry again and cling to him so tightly thinking if she didn't let him go she wouldn't have to worry about him leaving because he would be unable to. ?Yes, I believe you, but I know that you aren't telling me something. Why do you keep things from me? Is it that you think I am young an' cannot handle it??

He didn't say anything at first. He just continued to hold her as he thought about what she had said. She was right. She deserved to know. She was not a child. His voice was soft and yet filled with a confident consolation. "Tara, I'm sorry. You are quite right. I didn't want to worry you but you'll find out soon enough anyway. Something terrible has happened, and it was only with the greatest of good fortune that we are still alive. Do you remember those two vampire lords you met in the Inn?"

Her eyes darkened and she nodded, ?Yes, I will never forget them.?

"They have turned against me, Tara. They want us dead and they want to take over S.E.C.T.O.R., and we have been betrayed from the inside. That explosion that you heard was a plasma blast that came from space. I am very certain that our home no longer exists. They tried to kill us, but we have beaten them, and now it's my turn to show them what we do to traitors." He kissed her forehead. "And don't worry about where we will live. We shall purchase another castle. It will be a better one that is just ours. There will be no chapel and no Dominique. All will be okay."

?Noooo.? Her voice was forlorn. Everything he had ever owned and collected in his long existence was decimated in one fell swoop. She fell back on the bed and put her face in her hands. It was bad enough for mortals when they lost their possessions in, say, a fire, because that was devastating but to a vampire, who lived for centuries, it was unthinkable. All the treasures...the memories...no longer there.

She felt ill. ?I did not mind Dominique so much, Talomar. She spoke to me when you were not there, you know. This is...? she looked up at him, ?unbelievable. I am so sorry. This is my fault. I know it! If you had not married me they would have never....oh God.? She shook and then hung her head.

"No, no, my angel. Do say such a thing. I don't care about anything in that castle except for our bed and your coffin, and they can both be replaced."

She wasn't upset about it but said it anyway. ?That was my father's coffin; and I care, Talomar. I care.? You have worked hard, this I know, whereas I have been pampered and lived a spoiled life.? She balled her fists and then went to crawl under the covers, wanting to vomit even though there was nothing in her stomach to regurgitate. ?Everything I have is because someone died an' willed it to me.?

He felt so badly but there was nothing he could do. "Tara, I care too, but I care more about you and Marius than all the possessions in this universe. Everything can be easily replaced. It will give me something to spend my fortune on. Anyway you have castles and lands and possessions. We'll be fine, my angel." He crawled under the blankets with her and put his arm around her to comfort her.

?What is mine is yers,? she said softly. ?They are our castles...our lands...our possessions, Talomar Longden, ours.? She snuggled close to him and sighed, ?I am jus' so grateful that I have you an' our son. I know that material things shouldn't matter an' they don't but in a way. I feel sorry because some things cannot be replaced, antiques that is. An',? she forced a smile, ?that Raging Bull statue of mine. It was one-of-a-kind.?

Talomar had to stop himself from shouting out, 'YES'. He acted sad and disappointed, "You're right, love. I will surely miss that statue. And it was indeed a one of a kind." He was so happy about that. Maybe losing all their possessions wasn't so bad after all.

She giggled and swatted him, ?Yer lying. You hated that statue from the second you laid eyes on it an' told me so!?

Talomar Longden

Date: 2006-07-23 16:15 EST
Tara looked around the alcove they were in and smiled. ?It is rather cozy, smaller than our master suite, almost like being in a tomb. I like it.?

He had to smile. He loved her so much, and the fact that she was taking this so well just made him love her more.

?You know,? she climbed on top of him and kissed him once or twice, ?this might actually be a blessing.? Her eyes twinkled as she gazed into his eyes. ?Now will you have to stay with me an' won't work so much. I can have you all to my little self,? she added in a whisper.

He laughed, "My love, you see the good side of everything. But I think you're right. It would be good for us to lay low for awhile and have our enemies think we are dead."

?Whatever will we do with all the time we'll have?? She bent down to kiss his neck as she wriggled on top of him.

"Well, perhaps we could make another child. What do you think of that idea?"

Her face just melted and she kissed him hard on his lips and for some time. ?Oh Talomar! I want another baby with you so badly.?

"Well, then, I guess we have our work cut out for us, don't we." He grinned and pulled her into a kiss - deep, loving, tilting his head to give him full access to her mouth.

She pulled away from his lips suddenly and moved her lips to his ear so she could whisper. There was still the matter of Marius sleeping right beside them on the floor and the last thing she wanted to do was wake him up. As it was he'd be stirring in a little while wanting to be fed again, but for now all was quiet down on the floor.

She whispered, ?Can we start tonight? Please?? She was obviously eager to grow their family and besides, it would take their minds off the fact that they were essentially homeless.

Talomar was surprised at her suggestion. "I thought that was what I was just beginning to try to do, my darling. Every baby should start with a kiss."

Tara giggled and responded in a soft voice, ?Yes, yer right. I am sorry. Please continue.? But she was too excited and decided to continue on her own, kissing him wildly, her hands roaming all over his body in a frenzied manner.

He wasn't sure how to react to that onslaught of affection, but went with it and turned Tara onto her back, and laid his body on top of hers, something that never failed to excite him.

Nor her. She loved when he was on top of her. She whispered, ?We must be quiet, musn't wake the baby.? She warned him as if he was the one that made most of the noise when they were making love and not her which was actually the case. She was worse than those cats outside in the alleys, caterwauling and waking up half the neighborhood.

Talomar stared down into her eyes. "We can go slowly," he said, his voice already breathy from his lust and desire for his wife.

- - -

He had been with many women, from rulers and dignitaries to those he would find on the streets who would please him for a night before he?d feed on them. No matter how young or old, how beautiful or not so beautiful, how infinitely exotic or rather plain, no woman in the entire universe so held his heart as did his wife, Tara.

Everything about her endeared her to him. When she was being rather "unorthodox" in the Inn and people thought she was infantile, crazy, or worse; Talomar saw something different. He saw an incredibly sexy, beautiful, affectionate woman who was his opposite in nearly every way imaginable. Even though at over 600 years old she was nearly twice his age, she made him feel young again.

She had a way of taking away all his concerns of the day away and putting things in proper perspective. While he was worried over negotiations of planets that had to be destroyed in order to open up new interstellar trade routes, she was bringing little play pools into the Inn and dressing in an itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny yellow pokadot bikini.

People wondered how he could live his life with one such as her; he wondered how he could live without her. Until Tara came into his life, his existence was nothing but black and white.

She came and colored it.

Not only did she color it, but she used an amazing array of crayons and paid no attention to the lines that others might have drawn to confine the colors to predetermined patterns. Lines of normalcy did not exist for her. She was unbounded by the traditional and proper. She took his life which had been so regimented and proper and in one fell swoop she brought in a delightful chaos.

Because of this, everything she did was endearing to him, from the raging bull statue to blowing up his Great Hall with gun powder in the fireplace, to coming into the Inn dressed in the most provocative, absurd attire that could ever enter the imagination of an intelligent mind.

All this was endearing and made him love her as no other, but it was their alone times that touched his heart in places he never imagined would be touched. She was so beautiful that he melted at even the slightest glance upon her naked body. Her long, red hair; her breasts that were full and perfect; her legs and thighs that were white, long and lithe, and lovelier shaped than any man?s dream could compose; her face that could be so angelic that it would put all other divine beings of the heavens to shame; her voice that had a way of melting and soothing his heart, no matter what his disposition might be at the time; all this was so perfectly packaged in the persona of his wife.

And the way she made love. She was the perfect lover, filled with lust and surprises, capable of giving as much as receiving, always leaving him so satisfied and so in love.

In spite of all this, perhaps it was the way she nurtured their son that touched his heart the deepest. Few would know this side of her. Few would see the way she cared for and doted upon their child. He supposed that was for the best. But he saw, and he appreciated his wife all the more for it.

If one were to guess that he loved his wife with all his heart and was fully devoted to her, their most complimentary thoughts would have only touched the surface of the depths of his love for the sexy, little vampire whom he endearingly called, ?my angel?.