Illuminating the Dark Prince

Tongue Tied

I nervously cleared my throat, then gently pointed at the book. "Earth? Yes?" I was extremely curious to know if this was apart of how he was going to get me home.

Please say yes... Please say yes...

"No." He softly replied.

God fucking dammit.

He pointed to the book while saying something, then began motioning as if his hands were talking to each other in an unintentionally humorous way. A small giggle chimed out of me, but he didn't join in on my laughter. An apologetic smile flittered across his lips, as he carefully placed the thorns between us. 

I stopped giggling and warily watched as he ominously lifted his hand over the thorns, and began chanting some sort of harrowing sounding incantation from the book. His voice was insanely deep and dark, shaded with an otherworldly inhuman ambiance. The harrowing words themselves made my skin crawl, and bile rise in my stomach. It literally sounded like he was trying to summon the devil or something... What in the world? 

A ghostly crimson mist began creeping up from the soil and around the thorns. It eerily swirled as it wisped into them with a whispery sounding whoosh. I watched with wide frightened eyes, as Valarafiki carefully picked up one of the misty thorns between his fingers, then said something to me and pointed to his dark grey tongue. 

He placed the thorn on the very tip of his tongue, and the thing literally latched onto it. It looked as though he had some kind of bizarre tongue piercing. The crimson mist began creepily pouring from his mouth, then to my horror, he picked up the other thorn, and held it out for me to take.

Oh fucking hell no! I want absolutely no part of this diabolical ensorcellment!

"Oh no, no, no! There's no flippin' way that I'm doing that!" I stubbornly shook my head in refusal. Then I pathetically tried to leave this accursed eldritch ritual, and crawl back to the friendly zombie horse who was happily munching on some ferns. The only other creature in the miserable place that didn't completely terrify me.

"Lucilia..." He warily drawled with a look of reluctance.

My hand wrapped around a particularly slimy root, while I actively ignored him. "Nope, nope, no- What the!?."

He suddenly crawled right on top of me, and carefully flipped me over so that my back was firmly pinned to the ground. He looked both penitent and determined, as his legs swiftly imprisoned mine. The crimson mist was still swirling out of his sharp-toothed mouth, making him seem incredibly redoubtable in the misty darkness.

"Holy shit!" I screamed, while frantically trying to wiggle away. "No, please, no! Valarogerick, please!"

"Valarogerick?" Confusion briefly contorted his features, then he quickly shook it away. "Okay, Lucilia, okay." With furrowed brows, he held the other thorn up to my mouth, trying to get it in. I pinched my lips as tightly closed as I possibly could. "Lucilia..."  With a few muffled pleas, I wildly thrashed my head from side to side. "Okay." 

My eyes widened in horror, as he quickly shoved two of his fingers into my mouth, breaking the seal of my lips. "No, please, what are you doing!? What are you doing!?"  I tried to say, but it sounded more like the gargled squawk of a strangled guinea hen.

He gently spread his fingers apart, forcing my mouth to open, then he slipped the misting thorn between my lips. I hissed in both displeasure and fear when I felt it latch onto my tongue with a slight pinch and prickling sensation. 

"Good." He calmly said.

Crimson mist was now pouring out of both of our mouths, as he slowly lowered his head to mine. I thought for sure that this otherworldly voodoo freak was about to kiss me, but his lips stopped mere millimeters over mine. His entangled hair cascaded down beside us, as he looked into my eyes with compunction in his scarlet gaze.