The Royal Flower

Chapter 9 - Different Worlds - Their World

Daniel

The door creaked loudly, and I sat up on my bed. Alert. I did not have enemies, but I had always slept lightly. It got worse when Carolina went home with me. I was very aware that she was there with me, somewhere in the house. Then, I remembered that I had left my door open. I started doing it so that she could come and call me if my guest needed me. I did not know why I thought that way. It was probably the wind, I thought, but I saw a flash of brown-red hair peeking through the crack.

“Carolina? Is that you?”

She opened the door a little wider. Sure enough, it was Carolina, barefooted and wearing a nightgown she probably bought on one of her shopping trips. It made my breath hitch as its hem only reached her upper thighs. Knowing her, she probably did not think about how it would look.

“Daniel, may I come in?”

I sighed. I had already taught my guest not to be too trusting when it came to men, but here she was. I thought that we were over this, but she must have forgotten or ignored what I said. I could not call her a coward because she braved empty, dark alleys at night, against my advice. Okay, she was not the sort who would obey anything you tell her unless she wanted to do it, as well. Her stories were also full of adventure. I believed all of them. It was probably the sparkle in her eyes or the tears that came whenever she talked about her family.

“Was it a nightmare?”

“Not like that.”

“Was it about the discovery?”

She nodded, looking like a child if not for a body like that. I suddenly cursed in my head, which was not typical. My mother thought that her mouth was fouler than mine and wished I had never entered the monastery. Looking at her tonight, I could not even remember why I became a monk.

Would I have met Selina if I had not been a monk? Would I have met Carolina? The latter already approached and sat on my bed. I found myself automatically lifting the blanket to let her in. She gladly went to her familiar haven, resting her cheek on my chest as if she had always done that. I hoped that she could not hear my heart hammering in my chest. Even Selina had not been like that. She would not even talk to me sometimes, I remembered in hindsight, then leaving me after s*x. Maybe I should have offered her marriage? Perhaps that was what she had been waiting for? It was too late to look back now because the woman I used to love was soon to be married.

“What if I am not here tomorrow? What if I disappear like that mermaid in the fairytale, becoming bubbles?”

I chuckled. I remembered that Carolina had been interested in the books that I had. One of them was a book of fairy tales my mother had left in the guestroom.

“You are not Ariel. Did you sell your soul to lose your fishtail?”

“I did not sell my soul, Daniel, but I became a wildflower because –.”

“Because why? Didn’t you transform yourself to escape?”

“Yes, I believe so. But I have never done that before. Transform so completely. What if I was punished, and I deserved it?”

“Punished for what? Are you secretly a criminal from centuries ago?”

Carolina liked it when I tried to make jokes. She thought I was too serious. This time around, it was her who did not laugh. She did not answer. Instead, my little guest had pressed her lips on mine, and I found myself responding to her kiss.

I desired her. I could admit that, but it did not mean that I should act on it. I had fallen in love not too long ago and ended up regretting it. I would not jump into that rabbit hole again. Even if I could not return to being a monk, it did not mean I should sleep around. But it was not sleeping around if you care for the woman right in front of you?

It took me all my inner strength to pull away from her.

“Carolina, you are my guest. I cannot take advantage of you this way.”

“Who says I am the one being taken advantage of? I am the one who came to you,” she whispered.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked, remembering that I was with a virgin from centuries ago.

Then, she kissed me again as an answer. I kissed her back, more deeply now, slipping in my tongue to tangle with hers. My hand went over her chest, tentatively at first. But she wanted to show me that she was ready as she arched towards me, filling my hand with her breast. Her eyes closed as if savoring her pleasure.

“Open your eyes,” I told her. She did as I continued to squeeze her breast, with my thumb rubbing her n*****s. Slowly. Her eyes were glazed with desire, but they managed to meet mine. I did not know much about making love. The only things I knew were learned from Selina and my body’s responses. The little I knew I had to teach Carolina.

So, I bent my mouth to suckle her, and she moaned. I somehow knew that she would be this responsive. I settled there as if I would not stop. She was a virgin.

Shit! That reminder almost made me get up and leave her there, but I didn’t. It only gave me a slight pause to take a condom from my bedside drawer. She watched me with open curiosity as I sheathed myself. It was that small advantage of having been Selina’s lover. I always had to be ready. The monastery would be glad to know that they banished me for good reason, but it was not time to think about Selina or the monks.

I placed my thigh between hers, opening her up. Then, I kissed her mouth again as I prepared to enter her. First, I rubbed the top right at her wet slit, testing her readiness. Then, I began to enter her. I did it slowly, torturously, controlling myself to avoid hurting her. Then, I went and did, inch by inch and finally to the hilt. I saw her eyes were wide open now, a little pain registering on her face. Her body had gone rigid. I tried to coax her out of the pain by moving slowly inside her. Then, she started to relax, which made me move a little faster. Carolina’s moans were getting louder as I thrust into her tight core a little more. She held me tight against her, as close as she could get. Finally, she shuddered, gasped, and went limp under me. It was my cue to give in to my climax.

As I rested on her body, I could swear she whispered, “I love you.” It brought me back to the reality that I had just had s*x with a maiden from the medieval ages. Regret washed over me, but it was difficult to untangle myself from her.