Been some time since I’ve written something on the Tale … That’s for various reasons, many of which shouldn’t have had a bearing on why I haven’t done so … others more so … Still, it is a new year, at least when this story appears in the grand scheme of things and so, perhaps, something to, as it were …
Break the Ice
By TeraS
The winter hadn’t, at least as yet, quite turned fully towards it’s expected wintry self in the Realm. That’s not to say there wasn’t a certain chill in the air, a dusting of white powder upon the ground, that there weren’t the glowing embers seen in fireplaces as entwinements of various numbers came to be. Even if the expected storms hadn’t rolled over the mountains, there were things that just happened regardless of nature’s choices.
After all, with winter comes the so-very-long nights, the days when idle comments are made about the weather being a bit frightful outside and that, perhaps, it might be more prudent to remain indoors and see what events transpired therein. Heat doesn’t just come from a stack of wood burning in a hearth or a furnace hidden away to keep one warm, after all. Sometimes the heat which comes from the friction of skin against skin gives other sources of warmth some stiff, in many ways, competition.
Amidst the winter’s chill, where the winds blew impetuously, a certain ebon-maned Queen of the Realm peered through frosted glass and mused about the scene outside. Flakes of snow netted in a whirlwind outside caught her attention, the mug of tea warming her hands as she pondered in consideration.
Her thoughts for a moment considered something she’d heard in the past, something about the dark tea time of the soul. Pursing her lips, she wondered about that, if, possibly, she’d come to her own encounter with that moment in time. It was after all, something to think about, regardless: a change in one’s soul was not unexpected, it was the way of things, how time passed, and such a thought needed to be given its due. A movement beyond the glass caught her attention now, her lips curling towards the bemusement that was at the core of her being. It was, after all, amusing to watch the scene outside.
He’d been working on something since just before the seasons changed and the cold winds blew. The first inkling had been when she’d noted a sign that had been staked into the grass beside a path leading away from the Palace between two very tall hedgerows. The sign read, surprisingly, “No Tera allowed.”
Now, Tera being Tera, this sign was a terrible temptation. What possible reason could there be for her not being allowed into a part of her Realm? What was Keith up to? Most of all, how did he expect her not to have a look? He really did know better than that …
…. and he did.
She’d started to move forward when his voice startled her: “Naughty!”
Turning about she smiled innocently: “Whatever do you mean?”
She noted that he was carrying a bundle of plans under one arm and what appeared to be a roll of string in the other as he replied: “You did see the sign, didn’t you?”
Tilting her head to the left, she allowed a light purr to pass the distance between them: “Oh … but I’m sure that my Eternal won’t mind if I take a peek.”
His smirk caused a slight shiver to travel up her tail: “My naughty Eternal might find herself being spanked if she’s not good.”
Of course, this was a promise that Tera wasn’t about to miss teasing about. Turning slightly to the right she caressed one hand over her hip, batting her eyelashes: “Promise?”
Keith’s so-blue eyes were warm as he came close: “Always … but … please, Tera … just this once?”
Sighing in exaggeration made her answer a bit of a wine: “Oh … fine. I won’t; I promise. But you are so going to make this up to me.”
If the shiver in her tail was delightful, his telling smile was more so: “I might … if you’re good.”
She kept her promise, not going past the hedges to see what he was up to, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t find a perch to watch what happened. Tera knew there was only one way into that part of the grounds about the Palace and, whatever Keith was up to, she’d be able to see what that was from the window where she now peeked out, seeing and yet not seeing.
Tera hadn’t seen the plans, so she didn’t have an inkling as to what Keith was up to. The mystery settled into her thoughts: no matter what else was going on, there was always that little nagging thought wondering about what he was doing. On more than one occasion, the distractions took her attention from other things that should have been given more consideration.
Over the course of a couple of weeks, she’d caught him carrying what seemed to be rolls of plastic and long, thin wooden boards beyond her sight toward whatever purpose he was about. Once, she’d been reading a treatise written by one of the more learned scholars of the Realm reporting upon her attempt to translate a text from ages past—though how it was that RediWhip had been in existence long before the wheel was beyond her. She was just turning the page towards the scholar’s chief revelation when she noted Keith carrying rolls of what seemed to be garden hose into the temptation calling to her. That evening, she attempted to “convince” Keith to reveal his secret with her own liberal use of RediWhip. Tera wasn’t, all things considered, that upset when he didn’t spill the beans. Going through twenty-four cans of creamy ecstasy didn’t leave anything to be upset about, really.
When the weather turned cold and the frost came calling, she was surprised when he slipped out of bed at four in the morning the first time. Keith had tried not to wake her, but when an Eternal’s tail rubbed as it was wont to do, being a sneak wasn’t quite going to work. Tera watched him quietly leave, and was tempted to follow him, in the nude, assuming he was going to visit someone in the middle if the night—there were a lot of fantasies about that which certain succubi, one specific silver tail in particular had. But she’d seen the toque he’d set on his head, and the heavy clothing upon him, and knew better.
Tera was, nonetheless, nude as she stood by the window, seeing him bundled up and going off to his plan in the darkness and cold. Whatever his scheme was, Keith was determined to see it through regardless of what needed to be done. That said, when he came back to bed and his cold tail twined with her own … there was a lot of heat the two of them created to warm up again.
Christmas came and went, the New Year arrived and then departed, and still her Eternal continued to get up far too early, to work away at whatever he was devising. His beloved had, on more than one occasion, nibbled, both in words and actions, upon his willpower, trying her best to have Keith cave in and reveal what he was up to. Surprisingly, not even her most seductive plans would pierce his secret, whatever it was. That, of course, only made Tera’s love burn that much more brightly for him. Keith knew her so dearly well, after all.
The past ebbed from Tera’s thoughts as the scene outside the window continued to bemuse her. The sign, the barrier which proclaimed “No Tera allowed”, had a little bit of red paper pasted on it, now reading “Tera allowed”, Keith standing beside it, waiting, expecting her temptation to egg her to come running. Oh, how Tera wanted him to wait—that would be so delicious, of course, carrying with it a certain amount of proper teasing—but darn it if she didn’t rush out of the room, leaving her tea behind and bundling up to go stand beside him, her tail wrapped in its cozy, twisted in a question mark.
The sight beyond the hedgerow was quite unexpected, as he’d meant it to be. It really wasn’t much, it wasn’t the grandest of things by far. A simple pond of ice, white plastic sheeting beneath and wooden planks holding in the edges to mark the boundaries. Not something amazing, nothing that anyone couldn’t find in one’s own backyard if inclined to make it appear.
There was one single hesitation, Tera’s so-green eyes gazing to Keith’s so-blue ones: “You know I can’t skate.” His assurance was everything: “So? That’s never stopped us before.”
The Queen of the Succubi soon found herself wobbling on her skates, holding Keith’s hands and trying not to fall. The ice made light sounds as they moved slowly, a brisk wind picking up and lifting snowflakes into the air.
That wobble turned into a shriek of surprise as Tera fell to the ice, Keith joining her there a moment later. The Eternals looked at each other for a long moment before breaking out into giggles and struggling to their skates once more.
That question about the dark tea time of the soul was answered by the brighter time of two souls being together and laughing in joy rediscovered.
The Queen of the Succubi and a very hugglely one at that...
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