Mature: Desert Moon

[Emora Deen]

The loud roar of a crowd was ringing in Atul's ears as he chugged another pint down. He peered over the wall at the fight. "What are you betting, sir?" a man asked, holding all the money he'd collected from around the room. "Anything?"

"No," Atul sighed. "I don't bet."

"Aw, come on!" The man slapped him on the arm. Atul cast him a dark glare. "Ah, alright."

The King's attention returned to the fight. Here, dressed in commoners garb, with his hair loose and free, no one recognised him. If they did, they didn't mention it or draw attention to him. He often liked to escape here when he needed to forget who he was. Tonight felt like a good night to be someone other than Atul.

"Down!" shouted the referee, checking the pulse of the man the fighter had knocked out cold. The winner, a demon, circled the small arena, snorting and huffing, with his chest puffed out. Atul wanted to smash his face in and knock the smug look off him.

"Winner!" the referee cried, lifting the arm of the demon. "Blockade remains undefeated. Will anyone challenge him? Are you brave enough to face this beast?"

Atul rolled his eyes, now he REALLY wanted to knock his smug look off. He grabbed the railing and hopped into the ring. "Aye," he told the referee, pulling his gossamer shirt over his head and tossing it to a barmaid. He gave her a wink. "I'll face him."

"Forgive me, sir, but..."

Atul held up his hand commandingly, too used to it silencing people. "I know what I'm doing."

Blockade chuckled, running a hand over his bald head. His coal black skin glistened with sweat. His lips drew back into a snarl, revealing sharp silver teeth. "He knows what he's doing... Let him fight. I'll teach the human to respect those greater than him."

The referee nodded reluctantly. "We aren't responsible for loss of life," he advised, edging away.

"Good," Atul sighed. "I won't owe his family anything."

The referee jumped up onto a post and began ringing a bell. Two seconds after that a hard punch struck the King across the face.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad waited a minute, then pushed the door open and walked inside. He knew in an instant the room was empty, but he checked the bed anyway. Odd, it was kind of late at night. He let himself out Atul's door and made some rounds about the castle, checking the king's usual places of business. He even checked the roof and the library, just in case. In the end, he wound up returning to the king's room, at a loss. He sat down on Atul's veranda and watched the moon crest the sky.

He thought of going back to Tenele, but the longer he waited, the more uneasy he felt. He kept a pulse on Tenele through their link and drew comfort from her restfulness while he waited ever longer for his king.

[Emora Deen]

"You won," the woman gushed, touching his face with a rag. Atul looked back at the unconscious demon lying on the ground. People rallied around him, congratulating him. Free drinks came from all over and the woman tending to the cuts on his face was extra attentive to other areas of his body too.

After enduring their celebratory spirit, he took a drink and sauntered off to a quieter end of the room. He leaned into the corner, drinking from the mug and watching the rest of the room. This place was skuzzy. Women and men were fucking out in the open, some women on women. Drinking, debauchery, drugs. What the fuck was he doing here?

"You left your shirt," the woman who had tended to him after the fight sauntered up. She pressed into him, holding his shirt next to her. "You don't want to leave without it, do you?"

Atul smiled, reaching out for it. She snatched it away, twirling off to a dark hall, with a finger beckoning him to follow. The King stayed where he was, watching the beautiful woman as she backed off to a darker part of the building. He thought about the hard shove on his chest. The door slamming in his face. Tenele's seduction, and the fact she really didn't want him. He wasn't wanted in any aspect of their intimate lives. The pain crushed him. It was just sex, he thought. Desperate and wanting and needing to be wanted. Really wanted. Not being wanted for the sake of deceit.

He finished his mug and dropped it on the dirty floor before following the woman into the darkness.

* * *

The King returned near dawn, dirty, dishevelled, and still very drunk. He ported into the room, stumbled, and began stripping off his half-open clothing. He didn't even notice the vampire there as he headed to the bathroom, his pants hanging low on his hips.

"Fuck," he groaned, running a hand through his tangled hair.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad jumped up as he heard Atul's entrance. It had been all night. Was he hurt? Had something happened to him? He turned and walked into the bedroom. The smell hit him as soon as he crossed the tile. Alcohol, and blood, and sex. It might be okay if the king was coming home from a night out with him, but in any other circumstance....

Had he been raped? What...he couldn't even think of a theory as he pursued the drunk man into his washroom. He caught sight of his torn clothes and bruised skin. "Atul!" he stared, concern written all over his face. "Are you okay?"

[Emora Deen]

The King glanced up, for the first time noticing Vlad. He stripped down in front of the vampire. "I'm fine," he sighed, looking at his dirty body. "It will heal. Just got into a disagreement." He turned to the bath and began running the water as hot as he could get it. The need to scald off everything was heavy in his mind.

"How is Tenele?" he asked hollowly, wondering what level of hatred she'd grown to now. It was useless, this wedding thing. It wouldn't work between them. He'd known all along. She'd never love him, and it would only ruin her relationship with Vlad if he was only ever with the vampire. She had to grow jealous.

The King laughed to himself before falling into the still-filling tub.

[Soran Nightblade]

"She's fine. Fast asleep. She didn't even notice you there," the vampire murmured, kneeling next to the tub and stroking the king's hair back to look at his cut up face. "Who did this to you?" he demanded. Someone was going to die for this.

[Emora Deen]

Atul moved his face away gently and took hot water in his hands. He rubbed it over his skin. The water washing pink. "I got into a fight on purpose, at a pub that hosts fights for betting," he sighed. "He was beating up all the little guys. I felt it my civic duty to break his bones. He looks much worst, trust me."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad would have smiled, if that explained the whole story. "Atul...did someone take advantage of you? Are you sure you were hurt fighting? No one manipulated you?" The image of Atul being drugged or seduced against his will pervaded his mind.

[Emora Deen]

Atul glowered. "No one took advantage of me," he replied. "I was definitely hurt fighting." The king took up the soap and cloth and began to wipe the dirt away from his body. The soap stung the skin, but it wouldn't be long before the wounds healed. He would just take the day off. He could use a day off.

[Soran Nightblade]

"Were you fighting them with your cock?" Vlad demanded, confusion and concern lining his eyes.

[Emora Deen]

Atul sighed heavily. "I did smack him around with it a little bit, just to further humiliate him." Atul laughed. "No, I did not fight him with my cock. But, I'll smack you around with it, if you like." The king grinned.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad smiled weakly, soothed by his lover's apparent willingness to joke around. "I'd probably enjoy that a little too much. I've still got the door open," he gestured at the passage to his own room. "And silence is not one of my virtues. Speaking of doors, we need to work on your knocking skills."

[Emora Deen]

Atul sighed. "I did knock," he justified. "You didn't hear me." He closed his eyes, settling back in the tub. The hot water felt nice against his skin now that the cuts had adjusted. "You were too busy screaming, and Tenara's room is sound proof. I wouldn't have heard you tell me whether it was okay to enter or not."

He thought back to the image of the vampire taking his wife. Her beautiful voice calling for more. His eyes clenched shut until the cuts on his face hurt. That voice had once called to him. No more. He had missed the softness of a woman's body so much.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad saw the man wince, and assumed he understood why. "I'm sorry I shoved you. I'm worried about pushing her too fast. She is making a lot of progress, and seeing you there when she didn't expect to could have thwarted it." He stared at the water thoughtfully. "We fantasized about you. Together, while we were joined. She embraced the memories I showed her."

[Emora Deen]

Atul nodded slowly, not sure how to reply to that. "That's good. That's something, I guess," he sighed. He thought back to the woman in the bar, and immediately shook the thought from his mind. "Its hard to tell, though, isn't it, if she was wanting to fantasize about me because she wanted to, or because you wanted to. When we're connected, its often hard to discern what we want from what someone else wants."