The Unusual Guardian

Chapter 10: Change of Rules

Under no pretense, no warning, just from the rudeness of nothing, my eyes snap open. I blink, then squint. It's difficult to see. As a cat I find that hard to believe. I should be able to see everything in the dark.

I give a slight murmur. There are brilliant moonbeams illuminating from the window. Maybe I'll stand outside for a while. I use my hands to...

Wait.

Hands!?

Fully awake, I see I am still propped on Erik's body. Well, half of me, anyway. My torso is on his legs, the other half of me... I got legs?! In thirty seconds I complete a full evaluation: hands, hair (not fur), legs, no tail, no paws or claws. I'm human?! Again!?

Golden rays of joy filter through me. I'm human! I gently caress my skin, my bare skin. I-oh! I don't have any clothes.

I jerk in shock, trying to bolt up from Erik's lap, only to slip onto his stomach.

"Oof!"

I freeze, staring at his eyes. Damn, he's blinking! My body curls, trying to conceal my nudity as much as possible. I feel my body turn red. Erik is going to see me naked! I should move into a dark corner, but his keen eyes would spot me instantly. This is not how I wanted to meet Erik as a human for the first time!

Maybe he won't notice I'm no longer a cat. Oh, who am I kidding?

His eyes adjust to the dark; the only light is from the moon. Two golden orbs land on me, and I feel him squirm in surprise. The orbs bare down onto my body, caressing me like a gentle breeze.

It's silent for a long time. Did he fall back asleep? I slowly turn, my hands covering my chest. I gasp when our eyes connect. My human eyes and his cat-like crescents meet for the first time. Needles prick my skin in pleasing manners as goosebumps crawl down my arms. With a calm indifference, Erik's eyes wander up and down my body. I start to shiver, and not from the cold-I'm actually burning!

"This has to be effects from the morphine. I need tell Nadir to get something less intense tomorrow," Erik mutters. "Otherwise why would a beautiful-" he lets out a burst of air "-naked woman be on my lap?"

If he thinks he's still affected from the morphine, that could mean he would disregard this encounter entirely.

"It...is a rather odd predicament."

His eyes flash, whether from amusement or suprise, I don't know. "Ah, the illusion speaks! I wonder what else she'll say."

I take that as an offer to talk more, so...will do. "Um..."

"Not a good start."

My eyebrow jerks. Is he teasing me? Erik!? Two can play that game. (I've only waited for this moment my whole freaking life!) "Back at you, sir. A young naked woman is on your lap and you haven't introduced yourself."

"Well, wouldn't the fault be yours in partial? How did you end up on my lap?"

I shrug. "I'm only apart of your imagination, you tell me."

He exhumes with confidence, and he has a slight hint of arrogance in his posture. I am in his imagination, so he does not need to fear me fleeing from him.

"A poor, desolate woman, you are, you had no choice but to wind up at my feet to beg for money or food or clothes."

"That's plausible."

"If you're really a figment of my imagination," he muses sinfully, "then you won't mind if I remove the mask, even though your subconscious may reject to it." His hands raise to his head in a threat. "But, as part of my darkest imaginings, my disgrace would not matter to you, and you would have made sweet love to me."