FORBIDDEN FRUIT

The first time I realized I wasn’t like everyone else, I was only a child. I was playing in the town square of my hometown. We were all playing as children did, quarreling and such. It wasn’t until a mother came out of her house to call her child in for dinner until it was noticed. I’d only glanced at her briefly, hand in hand with her daughter until she screamed as if I’d committed a truly heinous act-as if I’d already killed her daughter, years too early.

It was because the second she looked at me, she knew I had the curse. My eyes were a neon red violet, I was the worst afflicted cursed child, and most of the empire knew except myself and some children in the rural areas. My family had been cursed two generations ago, dating back to my grandmother who’d taken me in. My mother had died from its power as it, the curse was too powerful to control and it killed her.

I wasn’t aware of how detrimental the curse could be until years later but it didn’t change the intent of today. I was here, having my arms chained together behind me. My head was being pushed into the carriage as I stepped in. I was to be brought to the castle on the night of the ball and to repay my debt, I would be the castle mage until I inevitably died. Tonight, I would mingle. Make powerful friends for when this deal went awry.

My mission was to kill the Prince, finally destroy the line that’d arranged me and my family’s destruction. Our curses went hand in hand. Me and the Prince’s. The more I’d interact with him, one of our lives would go to hell unless we died and the other would live a most prosperous life; it was the way the curse worked.

Decades ago, my grandmother had only been a maiden. She was the child of the most powerful mage and sorcerer in the entire empire and she’d been betrothed to the Prince at the age of five. They’d been set to marry and fell in love as two young lovers would. She had a friend however, one she’d come to the castle with from her hometown. Unfortunately, she and the Prince at the time began an affair, she told my grandmother that she was pregnant, but never who the father was until my grandmother found out by catching the two in the act. She fled and her best friend and ex fiance married the day she was supposed to be married. Disguised as an elderly woman, my grandmother went into the wedding ceremony and killed the entire family. She fled with no trace of who she was until her father had seen her. He placed a curse on her and everyone who would come after her.

Red-violet eyes. Each descendant would be as powerful as the last at time of birth and their power would only grow but what happens when something is lain too thin? It shreds. Every descendant after her would have such unimaginable power that they would die unless they could halt their aging power, in effect halting their mana as well. The curse would go in with the Royal family’s curse. Every generation was doomed to interact with each other and as soon as the curse was fulfilled, our eyes would return to a dimmer shade and the next generation would begin. That way there was nowhere we could run or hide. The entire world would know what we were, what we were capable of. What we have done.

I would be brought to the castle now. Brought to dress and then go to the gathering. My goal was at least to find who the Prince was, and then mingle with the rest of the attendees and find people who I could build a relationship with.

I rode in the dingy carriage for too long; I must of fallen asleep at some point because when I awoke it was the guard waking me. His appearance was terrifying. Piercings everywhere, too toned features. He could kill me in a second if my guard was down but he seemed very gentle. Perhaps fear?

I took his hand gently and yawned before he put a hand up cautiously for me to stay in the carriage, “Wait here, Ms.Andellion. I need to retrieve someone quickly. For your contacts.”

“Contacts, is that what they told you?” I sighed before I closed my eyes and felt my body burn. A needle like feeling went through my eyes before I sighed again and looked at the guard, “Do they appear normally?” Last time I’d only gotten one eye and the spell had gone horribly wrong. It should have been a blue color. My hair was a mint green but with blue eyes it should have gone well together. If I was right, they would be a pale blue, a nice contrast.

He took a deep breath in and nodded his head, “Y-Yes. They appear siren-like.” He put his head down and motioned, “After you, we will bring you to the dress. It has been picked by his majesty’s fiancee. She found it very lovely.”

“Yes, I’m sure she has exceptional taste.” I answered before stepping my way down the small row of stairs. I looked at the castle, mesmerized before I continued my walk towards where my quarters would be. I promptly opened the box that was brought to me before I tried to fit the dress over my bust. After a few minutes, I peeked my head out the door, “Hello?”

“Yes?” There was a woman outside my door, thank god, not that I needed her but the security was nice.

“The dress. It doesn’t fit.” “It should-oh, let me find you something more suitable. There should be some gowns in the closet. Choose one of those. Make sure it would be appropriate for the ball.”

Once I found the closet, I looked through it, skimming all of the floor length ball gowns until I found one. It was a sort of pale blue. Long sleeved with unbloomed flowers at the bottom. After it was zipped up, I realized it hugged my features nicely. The neckline showcased my breasts slightly and went slightly up to my shoulders in a low neckline. I let my hair down for once and it fell to the bottom of my back in curls. I put some light makeup on before I set the mask on and promptly walked out, “Is this suitable?” I ask, looking down at myself.

The woman, another mage I presumed, looked at me with wide eyes before she nodded, “Yes, of course. Let us go.” She muttered before we both left, our identities concealed.

“Keep your head high.” I ordered, “It doesn’t matter if you’re an apprentice or not, if no one thinks you mean business, no one will listen to you or care for your opinion.”

She was quiet but as we walked she slowly began to crane her head upwards, “Mind that you cannot speak to other attendees this way, Ms.Andellion.”

“I am to be the Royal families personal mage, correct? That is what I’ve been training for?”

“Yes, Ms.Andellion, you will be.”

“There’s your answer.” I muttered before I immersed myself into the crowd. It was loud, far louder than the village I’d grown up in. There were at least over a thousand people in the room, not that it even filled this sector. People were outside as well, walking the halls. It was impossible to identify anyone in this mess, especially as I’d grown up on the other side of the Empire. I only knew vague descriptions of everyone’s ancestors, not them as their own.

I walked around and made my way to an orange haired woman. She was a waitress with a white button up and black jeans. She had a long lanyard on with a card on it to show she was with the royal staff. Her bangs fell in front of her eyes and I admired the eyeliner I could barely see through her bangs. She had a large braided bun that puffed itself out beautifully in spirals and I took a drink from the tray.

“I like your makeup.” I muttered, sipping from the glass of red wine.

“Thank you, Miss. You look quite uncomfortable here. Far from home?” She asked with a light and graceful smile. If everyone was like this; so robotic and manneristic, I don’t know if I’d be able to handle it.

“Something like that.” I answered truthfully, “What about you, did you grow up here?”

“Surely, you’d like to know something more interesting than that?”

“No. I wouldn’t.”

She coughed, “Uhm, well I really must get going now.”

“What the-what the hell is-” I stepped to the side before I bumped headfirst into someone’s chest. I craned my head to look up at him and visibly recoiled. I wasn’t a tall woman but I wasn’t horribly short either. This man had to be over six foot.

“My apologies, I didn’t see you there.” He joked, almost a mocking tone in his voice. He held his own glass to his lips, “With you harassing the waitresses, I thought you were glued at the hip.”

“Wouldn’t you fucking wish.” I hissed, “I was trying to get to know people here better.”

“Not from the area?”

“Does it look like it?”

“No. Anyone here wouldn’t wear something like that, not unless they were unmarried, and you look around that age?”

“Are you married?’ I countered.

“No, but I will be one day. When my family deems it fit.”

“Awh. You’re waiting on your Mommy to tell you who to start a life with? How cute.” I rolled my eyes before I took a few steps away.

He grabbed my hand and put the both of our empty glasses on a tray, “Have a dance with me.”

“I don’t dance with losers who depend on everyone to tell them what to do.”

“Then why don’t you help me figure that out?”

I was quiet and then there was a spotlight directly over us as it was over other dancers in the vicinity, “One dance.”

He grinned and crooned his head down to my neckline, placing a gentle kiss on it. I sucked in a breath before whispering, “Don’t fucking do that.”

“It’s cordial for this Kingdom, did you grow up under a rock?”

“Yes.” I whispered breathlessly, before he spun me, “What’s your name?”

“Call me Darren.” He grinned, his canines glinting against the lights. His beautiful brown eyes gleamed with mischief as I dipped my head back, exposing my neck for all to see.

“Call me Lia.” I sighed against his neck, my head directly underneath his chin at the side.

“Then will you have my last dance as well, Lia?” He asked, kissing my hand as if it were a delicate flower.

“The ball is almost over?”

“No, it’ll be over in hours, but I won’t be dancing longer than this. I like to keep my partners short in number.”

“As do I.”

“Then we may have many things in common.”

“In your dreams.”

“Won’t you have dinner with me?”

“God no.” I laughed, “I’d scare you with a sneeze.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I’m a mage.”

“I can do that.”

“I doubt it.” I laughed, twirling until my back was closely pressed against his chest, my head craned up at his to stare in his eyes for a slight second, “You couldn’t take it.” We were both red with the amount of shots we’d taken in between conversation.

“Couldn’t I?”

“You couldn’t.” I confirmed with a grin.

“Come with me.” He whispered as the two of us walked down the halls, both with glasses in our hands. We walked the halls and talked until we tired of it. We went quiet for a while before we went to the top of the stairs in the left wing of the palace. We sat there, finally in a space quiet enough to speak our thoughts clearly.

“You think I can’t take a mage?” He asked, a grin playing against his lips.

“I know you can’t, you impudent man.”

“So now I’m imputent too?”

“Yes.”

“Doesn’t that make you foolish as well?” He asked with a chuckle before I realized how close the two of us actually were. We were so close and his lips looked so soft.

“Maybe.” I whispered, looking back into his eyes before my eyes flickered back to his lips, “Kiss me.” I whispered, tracing my fingers along his jaw.

He leaned in slowly, “I can’t give you anything other than this.”

“Neither can I.” I whispered before my lips met his. The kiss was gentle at first, new and inexperienced before my lips molded into his. I felt like I was being consumed as he craned my head upwards with his fingers, his lips at the side of my neck.

I let out a breath, one I hadn’t even realized I’d held before he picked me into his lap and stood, still kissing hungrily at my neck. As soon as we went into one of the rooms and he locked the door, I let out a stifled moan and he threw me onto the bed.

“Take off your mask.” He ordered, loosening his.

I did as instructed, looking up at him obediently, my breathing labored.

His mask fell onto the floor as he stepped towards me and unshielded my face, “You’re fucking gorgeous.” He kissed along my jawbone before he kissed down my neck and caused another shudder.

It felt as if knives were going deep into my skin.

“You like this?”

I nodded my head, “Are you..?” Mages could feel it. Other supernatural beings, we knew what they felt like and he felt as if he were the most deviled kind, “You want it, don’t you?”

“Yes.” He whispered as he bit his lip, “If I take this, you will never get it back. You might not be able to live without it.”

“Fucking do it.” I begged, baring my neck to him before he shook his head, “Not yet.”

I sat up on the bed and threw my heels off onto the floor before pulling him closer to my waist and kissed him again, “Don’t be a pussy, Darren.”

“You don’t know how fucking careless you’re being, little mage.”

“Then show me.”

He kissed down to my breast and ripped the fabric down the front until the dress was only a shred of its prime and I was left in my undergarments. I looked him in the eyes and bared myself to him, on display for his eyes to wander.

“Do you let others see you like this?”

“Do you?”

“Very few.” He bit his lip as he looked down at me, his eyes now void of any mischief he’d previously had.

I began to unbutton his shirt and pushed it off of him until we were both bare to each other, only skin to skin. Our clothes were littered to the floor like trash. There was no excuse I could come up with for this but for once, I wasn’t going to be careful. After tonight, I would have to be on my guard. It was better than never letting myself go at all. If I could just have this once, I would never ask for it again. I wouldn’t beg for it, I would know it, I’d be able to deny it.

He kissed his way down my navel and I moaned softly before he placed a hand over my mouth and one on my neck, “Quiet.”

I nodded before he slid a finger into my folds. I bit my lip before I forced him to look me eye to eye, “No. I want the real thing. Fuck me, and don’t fucking drag it out. Not now, not tonight.” I begged, forcing his hands to my hips, “Tonight. This. This is yours, tonight you are mine.”

“And you’re fucking mine. No matter what you think you will always belong to me after tonight, fuck what anyone else tries to tell you about anything. I will fuck this beautiful cunt when I want. Do you understand?” He asked, his voice barely a whisper right behind my ear as he squeezed my nipples with his fingers.

“Agh, yes. Yes sir.” I barely mumbled, shuddering at the feeling as I felt him line himself up just at my entrance. Suddenly, I’d understood why he’d wanted foreplay. He shoved himself in slowly as I felt my legs constricting together. I almost squeezed them shut before he shoved them back apart.

“Open them.”

“You’re not going to fit.” I uttered in between moans as I craned my neck back, “Fuck, just fucking do it.” I changed my mind, grinding against Darren’s dick as I whimpered.

“Still.” He ordered, struggling to ease his way into me. I dug my nails into his forearms, biting my lip as my eyes begged for this before his lips graced my collarbone and he bit down, suckling the blood that came through. The two of us moaned into each other as he thrusted into me, the bed promptly creaking. The sound of body to body filling in the air with the scent of sex. Both of us were moaning now, no stopping it as he reached the back of my cervix, hitting it so hard I was sure he’d bruise it. We were up til early hours of the morning, position to position, nothing halting for a second until we were finally sober and asleep in each other’s arms.