Even if the room had been dark I still would not have been able to escape. It's my understanding that dragons had once hunted exclusively at night. I swallowed the urge to run but it became a lump in my throat. I carefully let go of the paintings edge without opening the secret door. Praying silently that there wouldnt be a click or a thud to give away my escape point. Hoping he didnt know about it being a entrance to a tunnel system.
"Enyeem where were you hiding?" The voice asked in a daze. I felt sharp nails scrape against my scalp as clumsy fingers tousled my long brown hair. I pulled away from the hand, probing the painfull spot with my fingers. When my hand came away, traces of blood were left on my hand.
My hand was grabbed so violently i thought my wrist might snap, my voice raised In suprize. His brown hand looked delicate but his grip was vice like. I was lifted up by my hand, and dangled helplessly off the floor. His face was framed by long dark locks. I tried to pull my hand out of his grasp when golden slitted eyes, and feminine features stopped my weak struggles.
This was Talon. This was bad.
What had Cerastes said about Talon? Theres got to be some way out of this situation!
He kept odd hours..
liked luxuries, women
and wine..
I felt his breath on my hand as I dangled. Smelling the blood that had rubbed off from my head, he licked my palm. I cringed feeling the wet warmth of his tounge against my bare skin. No no no no no no I thought.
"What a novel taste." He mumbled he flashed sharp teeth.
His eyes lacked focus, and his body lacked clothes. He wore a gold wrap around his waist, the fabric stopped at the knee and circles of gold dangled from his long pointed ears. My feet finally returned to the ground after what seemed like a life time. I could feel my heartbeat hammering in my kneck. I swallowed with difficulty but the lump remained in my throat.
Dont throw up. Just breath.
"You'll be my companion tonight." Talon said pulling me along by the hand. I glanced dismally back at the painting and my only escape route.
Breathe just breathe.
There was a mist of strong smells, the scent saturated every inch of air to the point that I could taste it.
Talon took large steps while he dragged me along by the hand. The tops of my toes skidded against the floor when I slipped trying to keep up with his long gait. His light brown tail trailed behind him occasionally assailing the side of my legs.
The hallway past several open rooms, there were no doors only curtains to cover doorways. Each room was filled with something different.
A room for jewels that sparked.
A room only for barrels of wine.
A room for fabrics.
A room for piles of coins.
We came to a room that was inhabited with women.
Plants and colorful fabrics draped the walls and ceilings, while pillows and rugs littered the floor. It was warm without the dank feeling that usually came with being in a cave. Talons body hid my existence from the others but I still peaked at the women inside. The women ranged in color from the darkest black to the palest white. Some wore dresses, some only wore skirts like Talon, and others wore nothing at all.
He only stopped in the door way.
"Retire for the night." He ordered the women. He closed the thick curtain and continued to drag me along the hallway.
He occasionally wobbled as he walked pulling me off balance with him. His wings stretched out and flapped as if to help him maintain balance. I ducked to avoid being hit by them. We stumbled through an open doorway into a wide stone room, the farthest wall was a balcony open to the night.
It was the first glimps of sky I had seen in months, but I couldnt enjoy it because i came to realize this room had a very large bed. Talon released my hand and collapsed onto the bed with abandon. I felt blood rush to my hand, it was accompanied with the feel of tiny pin pricks. I looked at the stranger lying face down in the bed, he was entirely careless in the presence of an unknown woman. But why wouldnt he be? Even with my increased strength, there was nothing I could possibly do to actually harm him. A bear does not worry about the strength of a rabbit.
"Enyeem, pour me a drink!" His voice muffled by the blankets. Those black horns were dangerously close to impaling the pillows. They could easily impale me. I shook my head to remove the idea from my mind.
I looked about to find the drink he spoke of. The bedside table sported an impossible large goblet and pitcher. He seems to have mistaken me for someone named Enyeem in his stupor. I glanced at the door but knew if I ran for it now I would be caught before I reached it. I memorized the way to get here from the painting, but to return to the painting I had to outsmart him.
I walked from one side of the bed to the other with even shakey steps. Trying not to give away that I was not the Enyeem he spoke of. With trembling hands, I lifted the pitcher and poured the dark liquid into the goblet. My right hand was sore from Talons abuse causing me to spill some of the pitchers continents on myself.
Scared I looked up to see if the beast in the bed had noticed my mistake but he continued to lay face down in the sheets. I breathed a small sigh of relief.The goblet was made of polished stone and bore numerous scratches. I carried the goblet back around the large bed.
"Here you are..lord." I said quietly. He grumbled as he propped himself up on one side and reached out his hand. More of the dark wine spilt on to the bed as he forcibly held my hand to the goblet and drank loudly. Gold earings swayed from his long ears moving with each gulp.
When he downed the wine he tossed the goblet away from the bed, it hit the wall and then the floor with a loud clack clack.
"Now.. Entertain me." He said wiping off the wet residew with his wrist.
"What would the lord like, I could tell you a story or maybe.." i stammered.
"Your clothes. Take them off." He said tilting his head to one side.