PART ONE

NIGHT OF THE AUTUMN FAE

CHAPTER SIX:

Faerie Moon

The Faerie Moon was like a silver, shining coin to me, perched high in the sky. I’d witnessed it rise and fall countless times, drank in its eerie silver glow, but never felt I’d never felt its call. And it never would. But tonight, as the sun began to dip and twilight crept its way into the sky with purple and pink clouds stretched across the horizon, I was excited nevertheless. It gave me this feeling, this tingle at the tips of my fingers I hadn’t felt in a long time outside of sex. I had always yearned to run and dance beneath the light of the Faerie moon amongst the Fair Folk. From the stories, from both mortals and Fae – it was exhilarating. Pure feeling. Utter euphoria, every action based upon pure instinct. I think I needed that. Badly. Besides, I had an idea to propose to Keisuke, an idea I felt needed an educated opinion.

Things needed to change here at the Sanctuary. It’d taken a forced transformation into Venus, the struggle to get me under control – the way Yokomi forced me beside Sinclair to be his piece of candy for the night – to be licked and fondled whenever he saw fit – that needed to change. There was no more blindly accepting her will in exchange for the home she’d given me here. And Venus. I’ve been afraid of her for so long, afraid that I had next to no control but – she deserves freedom. To a degree.

Venus had always been a part of me, but she had never been me. She was her own self, but lived within my flesh. Despite the time I’d spent sunken, out of control of my own body with her in control – I didn’t blame her. Maybe it was time to embrace a part of me I’d been so scared for so long to even look to.

I ran a thumb down the crumpled, tea-stained letter I’d kept in my desk for far too long. There were few things that kept me entertained in the Sanctuary, few things that occupied my time outside of playing about with my fellow neighbours, afternoons sinking into two bottles of red wine or re-reading letters from distant friends in the garden. The twilight glaze of the rippling sun filled my room, and I couldn’t help but sigh. I’d had few friends all my life. But I wasn’t the only one to survive the Obsidian Wars as a soldier on the losing side. The people of Tyllith had found sympathy in their hearts for the few demon puppets that had survived. Enough that the Kind and his court had allowed for homes such as Sanctuary to survive – a gesture of peace after the long and tiring years of war.

A friend of mine, a banshee I’d grown close to during the campaign had sought refuge on one of the isles of Skyfold. Months ago, she’d sent a letter I hadn’t had the heart to respond to yet.

Dear – well I’m not sure who to actually address this letter to. It’s funny, isn’t it dear one? I grew close to Venus, but I understand why you’ve put her to sleep for now. It still brings me a swell of sadness for my friend, for I know neither of us had a choice when it came to the harm we brought upon others. That last bit there – I suppose that wasn’t for you Celeste, but for Venus. No matter how many days it is until she wakes. It the meantime I must address what I can only call a new friend! Celeste, you are a kind soul, but with all the strength of Venus and your own. I have been offered a position of officer at the Moontorium. With this new position they’ve tenderly extended to me I might just be able to make a difference here for the others – to help ease their guilt. To build something anew. I hope they offer the same to you Celeste. I’m not sure what it is you want, or what it is you strive for. But I know at least what Venus wanted, at the end of it all. Change.

Yours eternally, Delilah

Instead of crumpling the letter back up, I folded it in half, careful as I could and left it on top of the desk. The desk I’d barely used. The desk I’d used to house bottles of wine and read the same books over and over. There’s a lot that needs change around here. But first, we’re going to run beneath the Faerie Moon.

***

There was an unusual silence that had settled over Sanctuary. A silence that had come in the form of winding shadows, the twilight pushing them like the hands of a clock until finally they cloaked the halls and the forest surrounding all of Sanctuary. It seemed all the residents of Sanctuary were resigned to their quarters and offices, no-one willing to run into me. But I knew Yokomi would corner me eventually to handle what happened, to tear me apart about it, really. But I think I had plenty of things to say back this time.

For this night unlike any other night I’d pulled flowing white dress from the very back of my closet, a gift from long ago. A gift I hadn’t ever thought I’d wear. But it sat on me so lightly, I scarcely felt the fabric on my skin and I knew it was perfect for tonight. I choose a pair of lamb-skin boots, hard but light enough for me to flicker through the trees. Fast enough to keep with a Faerie. I avoided the clutter and low murmurs from the kitchen, only briefly tempted by the smell of freshly opened wine and walnut soup. The Green House greeted me with the sweet kiss of the cool nights’ air, the window panels left open by whoever was here last. I found it surprising how well the flowers were going, having survived this long. When I first arrived the labourers all the way from the Illfort province had the sweet grace to plant a lovely array of flowers in the twenty trestles of the Green House shelves. Under my keen eye they died within a month. Maybe if I’d cared enough then, they would have always looked like this. Roses, tulips and snow-drops lined every shelf, a groove in the centre of the House that had collected a still pool of water, the reflection of the glass and moon-light making it look like a distant dream I’d once had. Caught in this dream, I ran my finger-tips across the poppy leaves that sat below the shelf. I felt oddly offended, that such beautiful flowers were forced to hide in the shadow of other such beauties.

Instead of a tap on the shoulder, Keisuke rubbed my bare shoulder in his way of greeting. The warmth from his palm spread all through my back and down my spine, causing a shiver to curl down my back. “Ah, hey you,” I said with a tempered smile. It made me happy to see him, despite all that was happening. It felt like things were simple with him. We shared a simple pain and the simple need for pleasure. It made me curious, though. Who had been the last woman to touch him? Maybe it was all the way back when he lived in the city. Maybe he ran into an old lover, only for her to fall into his warm, strong embrace once more. Maybe she found herself craving him so badly, she couldn’t help but shove him against wall of the apartment they had once shared and taken him then and there, right against the wall. Maybe he’d let out the same groans as he had when he spilled his seed onto my face and tits, soaking me. A part of me craved to hear those moans again.

“I have a proposal, for you,” I said, a playfulness in my words. “A proposal within another proposal?” Keisuke chuckled, lips curling into that familiar smile. There was no other smile like that around. No one else in Sanctuary had that easy going feeling to them, even Yeren was hard to open up to. But there were certain things I felt I could share with him, because we shared a deep, lost kind of pain. I dared to trace the same finger-tips that had stroked the flower petals just moments before over the chest of his cotton shirt. His bottom lip twitched in reply, small but telling. Even after the lightest touch I could tell, he was tight as a fully drawn bow. Stiff as a string between two fingers. Simply waiting to be loosened. “You have a unique way of looking at things, thinking me asking you to meet here as a…proposal of some sort? Now tell me, what kind of proposal do you think I was suggesting?” I asked, my fingertips tracing lower to his hover over his waist.

“The sort of proposal I haven’t had in a while,” Keisuke said, hunger on the tip of his tongue and burning in his eyes. He took my wrist, gentle and firm all at once and pushed my palm over his crotch, encouraging me to rub, slowly, teasingly. I enjoyed how much larger he was than me. The stupid width of his shoulders, the rocky plains of his rippling chest. The kind of muscle and broadness that shouldn’t belong to a scholar, and yet…He wasn’t simply a scholar, was he? He was an outcast with a charming smile and a warmth to him the left my knees weak, a kind of warmth that Sinclair had never had. I had half a mind to protest, to tell him the truth, to confess my curious need to run beneath the Faerie Moon. But…he already knew it was the night of the Faerie Moon, didn’t he? Maybe it was even affecting him, may-

I was interrupted with a sudden, but welcome thrust. He pushed my hand that had been lightly rubbing against the fabric of his pants harder and with a playful passion that sent a familiar pulse through my stomach, right into my pussy, earning a small twitch as blood began to rush. My breath quickened in response, and I obeyed his silent command and obediently unlaced his linen pants and threw them down to the floor. Despite myself, a fire began to burst beneath my skin. Huh…even last night he didn’t make me feel like this…it feels like she’s waking up…but maybe it wouldn’t be all that terrible if I let her…As my thoughts swam, Keisuke pulled me close and bent over to kiss me. And Gods, all they did was fan the flames inside me, just below the surface. Biting his lip, Keisuke glided a hand up my soft thigh until he reached my uncovered pussy. He greeted her with two fingers, pushing gently past the folds to rub his thumb on my clit. Lightly, but enough that he earned a small moan from me. Faster, faster, harder. He liked what he heard and craved more. More moans, to make my legs tremble – to shake so hard I collapsed into the safe recess of embrace. I wrapped my arms around his neck in desperate need of support, my legs now traitors, and rewarded his touch with my moans right in his ear, my hot breath sticking to his neck.

“You like that, don’t you?” He said with a low rumble, baring his canines with a snap.

“I-I…” I began to try and collect my melted mess of a mind, but he didn’t let me finish. With a soft grunt he pushed two fingers into my soaked, waiting pussy and began to slide in and out. Again and again. Again and again. Fuck he’d good with his hands. I shuddered and clenched his shirt, before stumbling back and away from his reach. He gave me a confused, almost hurt look. But as I began to undo the strings of my dress holding back my tits, that hunger returned. Almost within an instant I stood naked in the moonlight, my dress now a crumpled mess at my ankles. But I had no plans to be putting it back on tonight. My clit twitched, insisted that I have him inside me.

It was my turn to show him what kind of hunger awaited inside of me. Quicker than I’m sure I expected I darted forward and yanked him by the dip of his collar. “Keisuke, under the light of the Faerie Moon, symbol of the wild and keeper of the gateway of our world and theirs, I ask that – no I demand that you take me!” I said, a wild smile on my lips. His cock hard and ready Keisuke simply blurted a fierce, “yes!” He took my upper arm and twirled me around, and again I listened to his silent commands and got to my knees, and then further down until all I could smell were the scent of the flowers beneath the wooden shelves. My ass arched upwards so that it looked like I was in some form worshipping the great moon hanging above me, its light making the small stream of water below me glow silver. I could even see the forest from here. The line of trees, beckoning me.

But all thoughts dissolved when Keisuke grabbed my hips, and thrust his way into me with his impatient cock.

“Fuck!” I moaned, pleasure rippling all throughout me at the undeniable pleasure of his member inside me, the head rubbing that perfect spot that left me close to drooling. Keisuke’s breath was strained, barely able to contain the guttural sounds of pleasure that rose from his throat as he thrusted in and out of me, hard and fast enough I could feel my ass jiggle and slap against him, shaking harder when he gave it a hard slap. In all honesty, I was already looking forward to the red marks I’d find there tomorrow. I moaned with every thrust, every slap of my ass against him and could scarcely hold myself together when the head of his cock would rub against me just right. Just enough that I shook and gripped even tighter around his length.

“You like that, don’t you?” Keisuke growled into my ear, lifting me up as he continued to fuck me, grabbing my bouncing tits. The pleasure burnt an unrelenting path through me, the fire burning hotter and hotter with every thrust, my moans growing louder and louder, more wild until I simply – without warning my climax overtook me, pleasure planting a vice over me as I cried out. Keisuke’s own moans rose in tandem, so harsh and primal that I knew what was coming next. With those two large hands of his he held me upright still, gripping me on my middle as his thrusts grew faster and faster until with a low growl I felt him release, his cock twitching inside me as his cum spilled out. It seemed only a second after he came Keisuke realised his error and pulled out, pulling out more cum from my dripping pussy. “Ah, shit I’m sorry Celeste,” He stammered, panic replace his voice that a moment ago had been so low and full of hunger.

I laughed, flipping back around to sit on my haunches casually. “It’s okay big guy, I can’t get pregnant to your kind. In fact I probably can’t conceive with most species, but hey, nothing to worry about for either of us,” I assured him. He let out a sigh, head rolling back in relief. I tapped my fingers on the cold cement.

“There’s a lot of things my species has always held me back from doing. Like for example,” I pulled him closer, grabbing his chin and pointing it down to the reflection in the water and right up into the sky to the silver disc that seemed to fill the whole sky with its rippling light.

“I’ve always wanted to dance amongst your kind beneath the full light of the Faerie Moon,” I said, my voice no louder than a whisper.