like honey but poisoned

like yin & yang

"I found something." One of the guards shouted, I hurried to get to him.
What he had found, made my heart stop.
Next to a tree there was a bag and Hercules layed on the ground.
"Oh God". I covered my mouth with my hand.
I was too late, they had taken her, whoever they were.
"What's wrong princess, do you recognize these things?"
Slowly I nodded.
"T-this is my teddy bear, but Lissa has taken it with her. This must be her things, well my things, as she stole them, but, oh my God!"
I could feel tears build up in my eyes and that meant a lot, the last time I had cried, was when my parents died.
"Excuse me for saying this, princess, but it seems, that we are too late, whoever was after her seems to have found her first."
"N-no." I shook my head. "It can't be! We have to continue our search! Maybe it's not what it looks like !"
"But it's pretty obvious," he stated.
"Well not everything that seems to be obvious, is automatically the truth!" I shouted while wiping away my tears.
"Sure, but this could prove to be more dangerous than we initially thought, we cannot risk your safety."
I gave him a furious look.
"I appreciate your concern, but stop talking, damnit! I am your princess and your future queen, I make the commands and you obey me! Now get your ass back on that horse - all of you and help me with my search!" I stared them all down, until they agreed to continue.

All I could see was green and brown, leaves, leaves, more leaves, plants, trees, earth, animals. I didn't feel anymore, I was running on adrenaline and determination.
In my head I kept on repeating the words "please don't be dead, please don't be dead"
But slowly dark patches were crawling into my mosaic of feelings. There was a low voice in the back, saying "you've stretched your luck, you should've never let her go, if she's dead it's your fault."
Then I came to a point where I was almost sure she'd be dead, I just couldn't stop searching, because it'd feel like giving up.
When I had reached my inner zero point, the lowest of lows, the state of complete hopelessness, I noticed a silhouette in the distance, walking through the woods.
Great, now I started hallucinating.
But the figure became clearer and I could see a girl with honey curls, in a dirty sky blue dress - it was Lissa!
I made my horse ride into her direction.

"Lissa!" I yelled.
She finally tilted her head up.
When I had reached her, I climbed off my horse in a hurry, ran towards her, picked her up and spinned her around.
"You're alive! Oh God, I can't believe it!"
I inspected her and noticed some blood.
"Are you hurt? You look like you might be hurt? Are you in pain?" I asked her in a panic.
"It's not my blood. I think I'm okay. But please, put me down, I feel nauseous."
"Uh, sure." I put her down, 'though I was a bit reluctant, as I felt the need to touch her to make sure she was real and in fact standing right in front of me.
"But, uhm are you okay with riding? I mean it's the fastest and easiest way to get home."
She grimaced.
"Rémont, if I've survived what I've survived until now, I'll survive riding a horse as well, even if I'm not exactly thrilled about it."
I looked at her in awe, still not used to the thought that I had her back.
"Right, okay, right, good, that's good."
I ran a hand through my hair, smiled at her, then pulled her into a tight hug.
"Not so tight, please, or else I might throw up," she said in a weak voice and I let go immediately.
"Right, uh sorry." I laughed awkwardly. "I'm just glad you're back."
"Really? You seemed so mad I thought you'd be glad if I never returned?"
Softly I caressed her hair.
"I did some thinking, which I should've done before, but I didn't, I made the mistake to act before I thought. Let's talk about everything later."

When we reached the castle, I could see Vanessa sitting on the front porch, reading a book, then she spotted us and walked across the lawn.
"You're back!" She spoke in relief and cupped my face.
"And you're also back," she said, looking at Lissa suspiciously. "But you're not going to kill us, right, Lissa?"
"Now's not the right moment, I think, Vanessa, Lissa's been through a lot obviously," I said.
"But, I mean, it's a reasonable question after all," my aunt continued.
"I have no intention of killing you," Lissa said quietly. "I never had."
"I knew it!" Vanessa said. "My feeling about people never lies!"
"Sure," I said dryly.
Somehow I had a feeling, that if my aunt was ever to be in a horror movie, she'd be the first to get killed, because she'd totally run upstairs instead of heading for the front door.
"I'd like to be alone with Lissa for a bit, is that okay?"
"Of course, honey, if you need me, I'm here." She smiled at us and I took Lissa's hand, while heading inside.

We agreed to going into the library, because we both liked its calm atmosphere.
Then Lissa told me everything.
What had happened with her mother and about her cruel intentions.
"I- I just cut up her face you know, I can't believe it. I felt so out of mind, like I wasn't myself anymore, like I was possessed." She said with a broken voice and I could tell she was close to crying, so I hugged her.
"Lissa, it's okay, she's the epitome of evil, she had it coming."
Lissa pushed me away.
"You don't understand, Marie! I actually enjoyed hurting her, I enjoyed it, you hear me!" She screamed.
I gave her a serious look.
"But I do understand, Lissa, before you came around I made a sport out of hurting people, I saw it as a game, that left a bitter taste, but as a game nonetheless. I didn't hurt people physically, but that doesn't matter, I still know what you mean. But other than you I did it without reason and that you feel bad about it now is completely normal, it's human to feel this way, but you need to understand that what you did was necessary. It was the right thing to do at that time. And I actually think of it as brave."
She looked up at me.
"Really? You think I was brave?"
"Yes, I do. I don't know if I could've done it."
She traced her index finger across my hand.
"I still don't think it's something to be proud of", she said with a glum expression.
I took her hand.
"I think it is. A really wise person once told me that if you acknowledge your fears, but face them, that's a brave thing to do."
Lissa smiled and I felt my heart melt.
"A wise person?" She asked with a raised brow.
"Yea, a very wise person." I kissed the back of her hand.
"Are you trying to seduce me or where does all this charm come from suddenly?"
I stared deeply into her eyes.
"Maybe. But actually no, that's just me appreciating this miracle of a girl sitting in front of me."
"Stop it, you make me feel weird."
She blushed and covered her cheeks with her hands.
"I think I like making you feel weird" I said watching her squirm in her armchair with amusement.
"Would you like some tea?" I asked her.
She shook her head.
"I think I might need something stronger than that to deal with the recent events."
"You're right, I'll get us some absinthe then."

When I came back, I saw Lissa stand on her tiptoes trying to reach a certain book.
The rim of her dress was lifted up a bit and I could see the lace on top of her stockings. The shape of her legs made me forget to breathe for a moment.
I filled 2 glasses with absinthe and handed her one.
"Here, mademoiselle."
"Merci." She smiled at me shyly and I felt the urge to close the gap between us.
"Sh-should we not at first...." Lissa pointed to our glasses.
"Uh, right, cheers."
"Cheers."
I drank some of my absinthe in a rush.
Then I trailed my fingers along her jaw line. Her pupils dilated a bit and I noticed her staring at my mouth while biting her bottom lip. I tilted her head up and connected my lips with hers. I felt pure lust take over me, as I started to explore her mouth with my tongue. And even 'though she had been shy at first, our kiss was a bit like Yin and Yang, a constant battle for dominance, as always. Then I started to kiss down her neck and she whimpered quietly.
I stopped for a moment to look into her eyes.
"Now I am trying to seduce you."