The Last Luna’s Desire

The sounds of the dense dark forest surrounded me as my bare feet padded on the floor. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I would not let myself be captured by the beasts that sought to kill me like they killed my parents. The area was so dark that I could not see a thing that was in front of me, but I kept running blindly. Tears streamed down my face, wetting my skimpy dress. My feet struck a large stone and I let out a whimper of pain as I fell to the floor. Screaming out my pain would attract the attention of my pursuer. “Foolish girl,” His voice echoed around me and I was startled. “Did you think you could outrun me when your powers have not even awakened?” His silhouette emerged from the shadows, darker than the darkness of the forest. I let out a shriek of sheer terror as he reached out to touch me. “Clarion!” A voice echoed. “Wake up it's show time!” My eyes snapped open and I looked around frantically. My heart still thundered in my chest and my skin was coated with a light sheen of sweat. “Are you okay?” one of the dancers in the changing room asked. They all looked at me with concern etched in their brows. “It was just a bad dream,” I said, forcing a smile as I grabbed my sparkly dress. “I am fine,” I added to reassure them. “Well you better be, the King is in the audience tonight and you know how much he loves your performances.” I let out a chuckle as I threw on the dress. The fact that the dress I had just worn was the same dress I had on in that nightmare bothered me to an unnatural extent, but I chose to ignore it. The stage was large and bright as usual, the flashing lights danced on my skin that glowed like silver under the moon. My dress shimmered and reflected the lights as I moved my hips to the rhythm of the music. I wrapped my legs around the pole and watched the hungry eyes of the men that watched me. They looked like they would die for me at that moment if I just uttered the words. The King of the kingdom himself had the same expression. That was what I loved about being a stripper. Well, that and the freedom it made me feel. “Maybe if you were loved by your parents you wouldn't have to suffer this much under our care, but then you can never be loved, because you are a spawn of the devil.” A sudden remembrance of the words of the high priestess struck me like a lightning bolt. I froze in place atop the pole. The audience let out gasps of confusion and even the music stopped as I stopped dancing. My heart suddenly grew heavy at the stark reminder that I was utterly worthless. I slowly came down from the pole, grabbed my things, and quickly walked backstage, leaving the audience shocked and confused as to what had happened. Tears streamed down my face as the other dancers consoled me. I grabbed my full priestess regalia, it was time for me to go back to the temple, I couldn't dance anymore for the night. “Clarion, a gentleman has requested a special dance session,” one of my closest co-dancers, Vida said to me. “Tell him I am closed for the night,” I said, wiping my eyes. “I know but he is offering a hefty amount,” she stepped in closer to whisper, “Fifty thousand gold coins.” The entire room fell silent, the dress in my hands slipped from my fingers and landed at my feet. My eyes were as wide as saucers. I had only heard that amount of money being uttered about once in my life. With that money I wouldn't need to work again, I could get myself a beautiful estate in the city and I could move out of that hellhole of a temple filled with fellow priestesses who hated my existence, solely because they knew I was different. I rushed to the private rooms where the mysterious rich man waited for his dance. Despite hating the temple, I was still a priestess and my body was to remain pure and untouched. So if this man paid that hefty sum in return for my body then he had something else coming for him. When I entered the room, his back was to me, the red lights made his grey suit appear a shade of burgundy. He was tall, much taller than the average man, his frame was massive as well. He had an unnatural aura about him, something was different about this man, I could tell. When he turned to face me, the music started. Inhumane, that was the only way I could describe his beauty. His face was perfectly chiseled, carved from marble, and framed by chin-length hair. I could not tell the color of his hair and eyes, but they must have been a very bright color. His hard eyes raked my body thoroughly and I had never felt so unnerved by the eyes of a man on my body until that moment. He took a sit on the sofa, lounging without a care in the world. He crossed his legs, placing one ankle on one knee. I hated to admit the fact that I thought of him as attractive, I had never been attracted to prideful, cocky men. My fingers wrapped around the pole and my legs followed afterward. The strange man had a bored expression on his face throughout my pole dancing session. I decided to use my last card in an attempt to make him impressed or at least get a reaction from him. My knees hit the floor as I crawled towards him. A small smile played on my lips as I watched the lines of his body tighten. He leaned backward as my fingers touched his chest. “How would you like to have your fingers removed?” He asked suddenly, from the tone of his deep sultry voice I knew he was not playing around. This man was dangerous, a memory of the nightmare I had earlier flashed in my mind. “Now, if you are done with your little dance, we can move on to a more important discussion.”