Faline

It's almost like I float over what's happening, being unconscious yet looking down over myself. Everything is soft-edged and fuzzy, not quite in focus. Sound is also altered, as if trying to listen with cotton stuffed in my ears.

I think the healer's next to me, someone's moved me to the bed. Don't see her expression but I get the feeling of puzzlement, the vague impression of her shoulders rising and falling. Lady is nearby watching on, also with a feeling of confusion, but hers is mixed.

Mixed meaning more than what she's letting on. She has an idea of what's happening but doesn't share it with anyone. Not too surprised.

Nicolaus comes storming in, Avina behind him. He tries to order everyone out, but the only ones in here are the three women, myself, and him. That I can see anyway. The two submissives look to the Mistress of the house before getting the nod to go.

She's fuzzy and blurry, but Nicolaus is clear as day. Why? His orange eyes are glowing to me as he looks at the remaining woman. Shrugging, she leaves. The feeling of being deserted wells up strong.

After she leaves my area of view, it's like everything focuses on the male walking towards me. Glowing eyes are bright as he looks over me lying nude under a thin sheet, his pale skin also has a faint halo to make it look marbled. Pulling the tie from his hair and his shirt over his head, shoes are kicked off before he climbs up next to me in button-up jeans, the top one undone. A defined male body presses to my side as he moves close. I still don't understand what's going on, but I get a small clue as I hear him whispering to me. Laying semi over me as his upper body covers mine, his head tucks close while lips breathe into my ear, his will and intent clear to see, but not its focus.

"She will not have you, my love, I have made sure of it. You will finally be rid of her chains."

At first I thought he was talking about Lady, but no. He's sent another after Kierra and is sure this one will succeed. Sorrow fills my very being. Not that she will fall, but because he still thinks she's running my life, that no matter what I tell or give this man, he will always go after her. Nicolaus's sickness runs so deep that he can't let go. I'm not even sure if my bringing his past up twice before now has helped or just made things worse.

Think it made things worse, for he's become calm, easy to be around with, oblivious. He's been steadily declining since he learned of my connection to her, his conviction that she's what's keeping me from him. I want to scream, to cry, to rage. But I wouldn't even know where to start.

The knowledge hidden within me of loving this man feels so wrong, yet I'm still tied to him and always will be. Not only because he's the one who made me, but because in a messed up way, he helped me find myself. To have a feeling of self-worth as well as the realization of what's important to me, and by some fucked up quirk, he is.

He's holding my prone body tightly to his as if afraid to let go, it just now dawns on me that he's been avoiding me because of the very reason he wants me. Not for my body, that's secondary. No, he's been avoiding me since Lady had put voice to the fact I have a calming effect on others. He loves me, this I know, but he also hates me. Not sure if Nicolaus even realizes that he does.

Can try reasoning it out as that's why he was so rough with me in the beginning, but that wouldn't make any sense. I see his hand sliding over the sheet, heading down. Fear shoots through me as he moves the covering from my side closest to him.

My right.

Tossing away the material, his glowing eyes are directed at my hip, the one he almost destroyed. Fingertips actually shake as they graze over it. He rotates, moving down my body with soft kisses straight to the visible scar.

The shape of it from this angle almost looks like how stars are portrayed, not the five-pointed ones, but the elongated four tipped ones. His fingers hover over it before coming down to cover the mark, forehead laying over his hand. I can hear his heart stutter before moving his hand away, leaning in to place a soft kiss on it, then lave his tongue over the mark slowly.

The warmth of it is shocking, even more so when I feel it in this state. I can see tears form in his eyes before they close, his tongue bathing over and over. His whispers of almost losing me are heart-wrenching to hear, yet nowhere near the wrench I felt when it had been happening.

This scene seems familiar to me... As if I've seen it happen before. Nicolaus has done this before, the continued attempt to heal it happens each time I've been unconscious. Not sleeping, but actually passed out, since he knows if I'd felt it when normally sleeping, I'd have pulled away.

I see his eyes blaze one more time before everything starts getting fuzzier. The last visual I get of him is his nose touching down on the bed itself, confusion on his face.

Oh, no...