The Harem- The Burning Beauty

Chapter Three- Just A Taste...

[A/N: to the right you will find a video of the man to play th erole of Julius]

"Shriveled and dry; this tongue bids you mercy.

A salted savior it wished to be flood.

By thy kiss, my lover has cursed me

A wanton creature in love with his blood."

-London

How long had it been? How long had she laid there suffering with the flames that never consumed her? Perhaps the more important question was, how long would she have to suffer. Cassandra was praying for death. She wished that he would rare his evil head and snatch her by the throat with his cold hands, and kill the flames even if it killed her. She’d suffer for what felt like days with not even one visitor to give her a meal. Naked, shivering and whimpering in the darkened room she had awaken in, that was were she was left. She’d thought that if not the master and the friendly O'lyn, at least Yara would come and visit to do as she had planned before. But after the warning she’d gotten, Cassandra didn’t expect the woman to come.

“Please…” She pled to know one present. Her voice was gone and nothing but a dry croak was left to replace it. They’d probably realized by now that she had gone quiet. So why wouldn’t they come after hearing she’d calm down? Why were they being so cruel to her? Cassandra couldn’t think what she’d done to deserve this type of treatment. Who had cursed her at birth to allow her a happy childhood and then a sorrow filled adulthood? Had her parents done something horribly wrong that not only resulted in their death but left her to bear their faults? There was just no understanding it. Cassandra wasn’t sure if she would be able to even if she had the answer, because the sever burning in her throat was stealing her senses. She wanted to know this pain no more.

“Anything…please…” She cried softly. Her bones felt dry and brittle, her skin felt tight and cold, but they burned at the touch of even the silk sheets. Her body was just one big lump of aching flesh that seemed to have no other purpose but that.

“Any…one…” She said as she rolled to her side and pulled her legs up. She laid in a tight ball on the cold stoned ground, hard against the wall. She couldn’t stand; it was already an effort to move her limbs. At this point, she was desperate. She simply wanted anything cold or hot and liquid to run down her throat. Just a drop, just a small taste would suffice her.

There was a sigh of fabric from behind the door. Someone was coming. She opened her eyes and rolled up in a sitting position. Her body cried out with throbs of pain that felt out worldly. She bit down and groaned as she pushed her back up against the wall and pulled her legs in. The sound of the lock sliding out of its chamber made her breath caught. She nearly choked on the pain but managed to swallow it down again. Her arms, though they screamed in pain, trembled uncontrollably as she wrapped them tightly about her legs. She watched the door and waited for it to swing open. Something was crawling through the cracks and from beneath the door. It was a sweet aroma that Cassandra knew but couldn’t place a name to in her head. The scent drove her senses crazy and she felt delirious to know just what it was. No…she was more eager to know if it tasted just as sweetly as it smelled. Just a taste, nothing more and she would be suffice. She kept repeating the words in her head until they came on their own. The words were like a continuous whisper in her mind that danced around the sound of the knob turning slowly. They caressed the tantalizing scent that scratched holes in her head and filled them. She was about to go insane.

“Just a taste…” She said softly. Her thoughts were rimming over onto her lips. She was silently chanting the words, even as the door was pushed ajar. Light seared her vision to a white haze and she hissed in pain for it. Cassandra threw her arms over her face and tried to bring back the darkness. She whimpered and tried to shrink into a tiny ball. The door closed but sudden light came from somewhere in the room. Cassandra pleaded with the person who was doing this and hoped they’d have mercy. The light dimmed a bit and she heard different noises about in the room. She heard bare feet patting on the stoned floor and then the light groan of the mattress as someone lied upon it. She peeked her eyes open from behind the safety of her arms and felt them adjusting to the dim light. She lowered her arms slowly and gasped when she saw him leaning on the post of the bed with his arms folded over his chest. He was even more breath taking in the light. Cassandra closed her mouth and tried to swallow. It wasn’t as bad as it had been when she was alone. He looked so clean and crisp, just as his linens did. She knew she looked a horrid mess and must smell it too after being trapped in her room for who knew how long. His eyes were a honey-brown that looked as thick and rich as the sweet substance. His hair; just as long and black as a cold night in winter, fell to his shoulders and cascaded in deep waves to frame his pale skin. He was beautiful.