Isolde.
She could sense his presence in the dark. He loomed like danger, prowling close to her like a predator. She squirmed on the bed, clutching the sheets as if they'd keep him from coming an inch closer to her.
"Go away! Don't come any closer!" She murmured, fear leaking from her expression, but regardless of her words, he prowled closer like he always did whenever he lurked in her dreams.
He'd never shown his face to her since he began plundering her dream. She'd always imagined what he looked like. Did he look like the danger she felt oozing from him?
Isolde had never been so torn in her life, wanting something yet so afraid to see it.
"You always say that, don't you, little bird?" Chills festered across her body at the sound of the shadow's voice. Since he began lurking in her dreams, this was the first time the shadow ever spoke.
She dreaded his voice, but the cleft between her thighs moistened at the sound of it. She felt the moisture trickling down her thighs to stain the sheets.
"I mean it. Go away! Please...don't hurt me," She curled in on herself, pressing her knees to her chest.
The shadow glided closer. Something pearly white shone from his face. She knew he was sending her his crooked smile like he always did.
"No, I can't promise you that, little bird," He responded, his voice dense. Croaky.
She stared at the shadow as it loomed toward the edge of her bed. Her heart throbbed as she gathered the words together and asked. "What are you going to do to me?"
Dark, bottomless eyes looked at her, pearly white teeth flashing in the dark. He pulled his hands up to the beams of the bed frame, growling. "I'm going to fuck you...so hard it hurts. I'm going to brand myself into you. You'll bear my mark. My scent. I'm going to make you scream my name..."
"W...why?" She stuttered, equal parts scared and excited.
"Because...I'm your God and your worst nightmare."
Immediately after that, the shadow glided its face down, slipping from the darkness for the first time to reveal its face.
The moment she saw it, a thunderous scream flew out of her mouth.
____
"No!" Isolde screamed and leaped up from the pillow, her hand pressed against her chest as she panted for breath, sucking it greedily. Her wild raven hair lay in tousles around her shoulders down to her back, and she abruptly ran a hand through it.
That dream again. It had been haunting her for years, even before she became a Blossom in Kalingrad.
Isolde began to recollect how the dream had started with the shadow lurking in the darkness, watching her. He had never spoken at all until this recent one. Isolde's eyes trailed up, scanning the room, taking in the furnishings again.
And it dawned on her at that moment that she was in the same room as the one in her dream. It was the same sheet. She wore the same dress. Everything was the same.
Upon that dreary realization, she yelped. A loud, ear-splitting sound that rattled the birds by the window. She leaped out of the bed, screaming.
"It cannot be." She shook her head, trying to disband the images in her head and the one she was seeing, but it didn't change.
Was she in her dream or reality? Nothing made sense anymore. While she kept screaming at the top of her lungs, the door banged open and in strutted a man.
"My lady!" The masculine voice, firm and steady, called out to her. Still struck with shock, she hardly heard the male until his firm hands clutched her flailing ones. "It's okay, my lady."
"W...who...are you? Are you real? Am I dreaming?" She spluttered, eyes blinking.
"I am real, my lady. It's okay." He coaxed.
"No. No. It's not. It's all happening. I'm in the same place. Everything is the same!" She hissed.
"Because it is real, my lady." The male pulled at her, halting her jerky movement. "Here, take two breaths in. Out." He instructed, which Isolde did, and her frayed mind settled.
Finally, she blinked the male into focus, taking him in. He beamed at her, but Isolde didn't return the smile as she took him in. He looked almost like Roga, the only female she'd set her eyes on.
Brunette hair, a long face, and a crooked nose. Almond eyes and round, pink lips. He looked innocent and calm. Unlike the danger, the lord and Alfos oozed.
For the first time since being in Abbator, Isolde's heart warmed.
"Who are you?" She asked.
The male quickly straightened, bowing. "I am Carldo. Your assistant,"
My assistant? Why would I need an assistant?
"You seem very friendly, Carldo." She hummed, and Carldo blushed.
"I'm pleased to hear that, my lady." He muttered, still flushing. "Please, my lady, you need to take your bath. I was instructed to escort you to the training room for Luna's training."
Oh, that. Isolde remembered Roga saying something about the training. She wondered what they were training her for.
"Okay, I'll do as you say, Carldo." She said, a sinister smile curling her lips. The male looked innocent, and Isolde would rather prey on it. Considering what she'd witnessed, very few had seen a female's naked body.
At that, Isolde clamped a hand on the straps of her nightdress, the one Roga had carefully placed on the bed for her the night before. Losing the knots, Isolde began to undress.
Noticing that, Carldo tugged his face away, cupping a hand over his eyes to block them.
"What are you doing, my lady?" He rasped, breathing heavily.
"What does it look like, Carldo? I am undressing," She emphasized by losing the other strap.
Carldo practically shrieked. "The lord will have my head if you do that before me. No servant is authorized to see his females naked."
Ah, Isolde groaned. She thought as much. And Draco was a man who acted on his word. Maximizing that opportunity, she stepped close into Carldo's back, blowing air on his ear.
Carldo shrieked, jolting and calling on the creator to save him from temptation.
"I'll stop undressing before you if you agree to do something for me, Carldo," She hummed, trailing a finger up his nape. Isolde began to draw teasing circles.
The male squirmed, shaking. "I can only take orders from the lord, my lady. I do the things he instructed me to do for you, my lady." He turned around, hoping Isolde had stopped undressing.
However, his comment pushed her again, and she let the dress slither down her shoulders.
Carldo gasped. Just before the fabric glided past her chest, he gushed abruptly. "Okay, okay. Whatever my lady wants, I'll do it. Please don't undress anymore."
That had Isolde grinning. She'd gotten Carldo where she needed him.
Pulling up her dress, Isolde leaned into his ear and whispered.
"What!?" Carldo gasped, his face turned scarlet. "He'll punish me, my lady,"
"Will it be as severe as seeing me naked? Make a wise choice, Carldo," Isolde gritted out in frustration. Carldo seemed to weigh the options and finally nodded.
"Fine, I'll do it." He declared.
TBC.