Rage and Rebellion (Histories of Havenhearth)

5.6 Cerys

When morning meal time rolled by, she accepted her aunt's offer to dine on the food that her servant had prepared, but Cerys found she was not hungry, her nerves and excitement about seeing Floren again getting the better of her.
"It is unusual for you not to eat," Yarazhenya remarked.
"I am still tired, auntie. All of this excitement in a new land," Cerys replied."I will rest after today's outing," she added, hoping that her aunt was not suspicious of anything, and did not know what she was going to be doing with Floren- she could not believe she would be going to a public house, and possibly to his room.
"Enjoy your outing and then rest well my niece."

After the meal, as Cerys sat staring at the table, she started to wonder if Floren was actually going to come, and was beyond relieved when she heard a man speaking Tainish in the courtyard.
"Follow me," he said simply, when she emerged.

The Birds of Paradise was organized similarly to how her aunt's hotel was, with rooms surrounding a main courtyard, although one of substantially greater size. It used to be a castle, Floren explained, and was converted into a hotel and public house after the woman who built it died. The main entrance to the courtyard however, was through an indoor entertaining space at the front. Floren took her an alternate route, however, pulling her by the hand through a side door from the street, a dark corridor, and into his room.

The floor was covered in a deep red heavy cloth of some kind, quite a contrast from the bare floors of her aunt's lodging. Cerys took off her cloth boots, thankful that she had washed and put on clean undergarments that morning. Her eyes surveyed the room. There were curvy chairs made of a smooth, dark wood which had polished to appear as if it had been covered with a layer of glass. The bed was the centre of the room: the most luxurious bed she had ever seen, surrounded by gauzy silk curtains and with inviting Bedclothes. There was a dresser and an armoire. Tapestries hung on the walls, depicting well-known places in Cassion famous for their scenery. Cerys recognised the Herb Hills themselves in one.
"You live here? Where do you prepare your food?"
"I take meals at the pub, or bring them up here to enjoy by myself. Speaking of which, I'm hungry,"
Floren went into the hallway and called out in Cassioni. A quick exchange occurred and Floren returned in the room, flopping onto the bed.
"Cerys, have you ever been in love before?" Floren propped himself up on one elbow, looking at her. Floren said things for shock value sometimes, perhaps not always intentionally. This, Cerys felt, was one of those.
"I'll let you guess on that one. Have you?" She moved over to sit in the chair, turning her body to face him.
"And I'll let you guess on that one."
"Would you like to?"
"Had you asked me that question even one week ago, I would have said yes. That I was desperate to,"
"And now?" His ice blue eyes softened in the dim light of the room, even though it was still daytime.
"Now I feel like I don't need anyone at all. That there are a lot of other experiences I can have. Why do you ask?"
"Don't know, just asking. Have you ever smoked before?" Cerys shook her head, scratched her fingers across her palms in nervous anticipation of what was happening.
"Just give a minute." Floren got up off the bed and stretched his arms above his head. He walked to the wardrobe and pulled out a small black pouch, which he brought over to the dressing table, near where Cerys was sitting. He opened the drawer and removed some tools and a small tray. He used the tiny metal spoon to remove some dark blue paste from the pouch, and put it into the pipe. She watched him intently.
"You sure about this?" He asked. "It's addictive."
"You're not addicted though." She tried to sound relaxed although her heart was thumping in his chest.
"No, but other people are different to me."
He took the tools to light a candle, and then warmed the paste. He took a deep toke on the pipe, bringing the smoke into his lungs, holding it in, and then exhaling gently. He passed her the pipe and she tried to do exactly what he did- she inhaled, and promptly experienced a coughing fit.
"Try starting to breathe in, and then putting the pipe to your mouth," he instructed. She did as she was told and this time felt some of it go into her lungs. She tried to hold it in, like he had, but ended up sputtering again.
"It's ok. It takes some practice. Relax and try again," Cerys did the same thing again, inhaling a little, placing the pipe on her lips, and breathing in as much as she could. This time she felt a tightening of her muscles all over his body, as if she were a spring that had been squished down. When she exhaled, the spring was released, letting out a burst of energy all over her, and she felt that if she had jumped, she would have hit the ceiling. When she tried to shift her position in the chair though, her legs wouldn't budge, as if they were stuck to the chair and her feet blocks of stone on the floor.
"I can't move," she said.
"That'll go away in a minute," he took another long draught of the pipe, handed it back to her and walked over to the bed, lying down again and looking straight up at the ceiling. "How do you feel?"
She paused, taking in the sensation. "I feel like... like... like I'm underwater, like I'm floating in the water." After a few moments of silence, he whispered, "Come here."
Cerys got up from her chair and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to him.
"I'm going to touch you. Is that ok?" She nodded. Floren placed his hand gently on her leg. A flash of lightning spread through her body. She stared at his hand, the beautiful, strong fingers. He softly stroked her knee with his fingers. She closed her eyes, letting the pulses of warmth travel all the way through her.
"Have you kissed anyone before?" She gave a slight nod, her eyelids hooded over glazed pupils.
"I'm going to kiss you, is that ok?" Another soft nod, her eyes now closed. Without moving his hand, Floren leaned in towards her very slowly, that she felt warm breath on her face before his lips touched hers. And when they did, an explosion of warmth inside her. Tingly pulses on her lips turned to waves of pleasure travelling along her body. He put a little more pressure on her lips, and just when Cerys was going to pull back because of how sensitive she had become, his lips opened slightly, allowing his tongue to reach out gently, against her lips. Time stopped and she knew nothing but Floren. She was kissing him.
She pushed his lips apart further and she felt her tongue leave her mouth to meet his. Her tongue retreated from his, for one brief moment, and then returned, causing the waves of pleasure to resume. And she did not know how long this lasted, just that she had never imagined anything in his life could feel like this did. She had no idea how long this continued.
She woke up, gazing up at herself in a reflecting glass placed on the ceiling. A breeze ruffled the curtains around the bed. Floren was breathing the breaths of one who sleeps, deep and rhythmical. His face, a pale orb in a pool of black hair. What a strange place for a reflecting glass, she thought, catching a little smile from the reflection. Perhaps the reflection was the real Cerys, the one who smiled at her situation, rather than worry about what her aunt was going to say when she returned home.
So, she lay there, she couldn't say for how long, just looking at the two of them, her blood racing around her, as if she had never been alive before this moment. Floren stirred and opened his eyes.
"You ok?" he asked.
"Beyond ok." She propped herself up on her elbow, "I didn't even know one kissed with tongue, I thought it was just lips."
"You have much to learn, as the Cassioni say." She sat up on the bed, crossing her legs under her, looking over at him. "Make sure you try to do so." He exhaled, stretching his arms over his head. "Yes. Try everything. You'll see Cerys," he moved towards her and Cerys thought he might try to kiss her, but instead there was a huge crashing noise followed immediately by shouting.