Chapter Twenty Eight

Melanie slid into the tub, a belly full of deliciously cooked rice, chicken with a side of salad and potatoes. The warm water that filled the black oblong tub reflected the glowing spheres of energized bulbs that hung from the ceiling. Candle light flickered across the dark surface of the water.

She stayed in the water, sinking down to her neck as she let her mind wander. The day itself had seemed longer than what she was used to, and yet she felt as though she had done so much. She had gotten married, though it was a ceremony of privacy rather than publicity. They had seen only a fraction of the city which was by far, larger than any city she had ever seen.

She had also found out that her lord was an immortal dragon.

'Lucian is a dragon.' She thought to herself, sliding further into the water which remained a perfectly warm temperature.

Melanie touched the collar at her neck and smiled softly. For years she had wondered what it would be like, feel like, to be an owned woman. Best part of all was that she was owned by a King who respected her and was caring on multiple levels. As Melanie soaked in the comfortably warm water, something Lucian had told her came back to her.

'I am an immortal by extension' she repeated in her mind. It was a bizarre notion. To think that she was immortal now. Granted it wasn't the recover from death itself immortality, however it was the remain young forever kind. It had only been a day since she had left her home...her world.

Melanie had to remind herself that she was no longer on earth. It seemed and yet it wasn't.

*****

Lucian stood in the darkness of the basement palace, one floor above the prisons. The darkness of the room was absolute. No light got in from any crevice or any passing lantern from the hallway beyond. Wearing black pants and a thick black rough sewn top, the only part of him that was visible through the darkness was his skin.

The pecan tone of his skin was too bright not to see in the darkness. Lucian drew in a deep breath, calming his mind and body. His pecan tan skin darkened to a purple before shifting to all black, then his presence vanished all together. All that would have been visible, were his eyes. His dark garnet irises were like smoldering embers in the dying light of a fire.

Closing his eyes, he focused his mind outside of himself. The darkness of the room vanished as the entire layout of the stone space came to life in his mind.

Lucian could hear the soft, nearly inaudible breathing and the shuffle of footsteps.

'Two...no, three pairs of foot steps.' He thought, counting the shuffling sounds.

Without warning, the sounds vanished for a brief moment. Lucian withdrew his wooden replica sword from his back. A five foot long, double edged broad sword. With the slanted guard of a claymore, and the hilt of a Jian, it looked strange. In the hands of Lucian though, it was a deadly weapon.

He slid to a knee and spun around. The sound of air rushing over his head let him know just how close he had gotten. Keeping his sword tucked to the side, he pivoted to the right and swung around. His wooden blade hit only open air. A shuffling behind him forced him to roll sideways before shifting stances and raising his sword up.

The sound of wood on wood echoed through the room. Before he had a chance to counter attack, his nearly invisible opponent vanished into the darkness. Lucian would have given chase, if it had not been for the third pair of foot steps closing in from his left side. He shifted stances, lowering his wooden sword to his hip and widening his legs.

Lucian paused, exhaled and pivoted. The length of his wooden blade caught the near invisible enemy on their abdomen. Lucian stepped forward and leaned into the strike throwing his enemy across the room. A second pair of foot steps followed by the first, rushed in from opposite directions.

He rolled to the right and as his feet flattened out onto the stone floor, he dashed to the left. The flat of the blade struck the opponent and pushed them to the side. Lucian turned to face his last opponent. The room fell silent. No sound of movement or footsteps. Not even the sound of breathing, just absolute silence.

Lucian closed his eyes and drew in his surroundings. The room became as clear as daylight to his mind. There was an opponent in the corner and another off to his left. To his astonishment, his last opponent was already at his back. He felt the tip press against his spine.

The darkness quickly lifted and the orbs of light that hung from the ceiling lit up up the room illuminating Lucian and his three opponents. They were all dressed in complete black. Even their wooden swords were black. The two on the floor stood up and removed their hoods. The first one was a young woman with short walnut brown hair and matching eyes.

The second was a middle aged man with a receding hairline and hard dark eyes. The one at Lucian's back was slightly older than the first. His once brown hair had started fading to grey. He smiled up at Lucian, sliding the single edged sword back into its wooden sheath.

"You must conquer your mind before you can conquer your enemies." The man said. "Few have ever sensed my presence amidst the shadows. Your father was one of five."

"Who was the first?" Lucian asked.

"A woman I met many eons ago. She could see through any disguise and walk through total darkness without pausing for concern." The man smiled, remembering the woman fondly. His eyes flicked up to Lucian and he nodded. "We will train again later. Go rest."

"Thank you master." Lucian bowed, right hand clasped over his left fist.

*****

Kelly stood out on the open air patio from her room. The massive room seemed so empty with just her bed and a few belongings. For her, the necessary things to fill up her space would have been a few pieces of equipment mixed in with a couple dressers for her collection of toys.

She had packed all that with her but without dressers to put them in, they had to sit in boxes. With the cool wind blowing in her hair and the moon lighting up the ground around her, she enjoyed the feeling of solitude. Looking up above her, she stared up into the night sky filled with stars.

Trillions upon trillions of stars. Some glistened and others pulsed. To her surprise she saw different colored stars too. A smile graced her face as she drank in the beauty. Out from the corner of her vision she saw a pair of guards roaming the grounds. Dressed in silver and black, they walked by her patio which was still more than twenty feet off the ground.

Her insides ached for something that she had already gone far too long without.

"Hey! Hello?" Kelly shouted down to them. The guard closest to her looked up and furrowed his brows beneath his helmet.

"Good evening madam. Is something the matter?" He shouted up at her.

"Not really but I was looking for some...entertainment tonight. Do you know where I might find some?"

The two guards exchanged words before the other one walked off and the closest one to her moved toward her patio.

"What sort of entertainment are you looking for?" He asked.

Kelly smiled and opened her cleavage.

"Want to join me?" She winked