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Enchanted Night	By : EmpressMoonchildOfFantasia Category: M through R > Neverending Story Views: 3814 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The names, people, places, etc of The NES are all owned by the late Michal Ende & Warrnor Bros. Copyright � 1984. I'm just borrowing them for fun. I do not own anything but the plotline of this fic.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
Chapter Rating: Hard T/Soft M: [for Atreyu and Moonchild 'daring to interact with one another on a forbiddon level'. :wicked grin :): & Suggestive Dark Theme woven into the chapter.]

Author's Note: If you, dear reader, are having trouble understanding the native language that is being mixed in with the English AKA High Fantasian that Atreyu is speaking, I would advise you to PLEASE FINISH reading the chapter FIRST, BEFORE you scroll down to the list of 'native' words & their translations I have painstakingly typed up and posted [in order of appearance] at the end of the chapter [this suggestion applies to chapters 6-10 as well as the chapters that are to come in the future]. This way you do not have the frustrating task of scrolling ALL the way to the bottom EACH time you want to know the translation to a word in Atreyu's language. Thank You and I hope this little tidbit helps! ;)

DISCLAIMER: The names, people, places, etc of The NES are all owned by the late Michal Ende & Warrnor Bros. Copyright © 1984. I'm just borrowing them for fun. I do not own anything but Brijatte and the plotline of this fic.

The view of the hot springs nestled in the back of the cave was just as breathtakingly beautiful as it was the first time they saw it. And the roar coming from the waterfall was near-deafening.

Atreyu glanced at Moonchild, still standing behind him, as she stood unmoving, looking up at the magnificent sight of the falls and the hot springs, her mouth slightly open in an awed O and her gaze transfixed on how the heavy whiteness of the gushing water flowed steadily downwards to the deep, dark pool of heated water below. He saw how she was spellbound by the sight of the ever-rising steaminess of the mist and the white frothiness of the bubbles that were made from both the stillness of the pool and the heaviness the waterfall made as these two elements of water collided then somehow blended into one element to create an enchanting spectacle of steamy mist and frothy bubbles that resulted in a bewitching symphony of sight and sound. He saw how this visual mixed in with the sparatical sparkling thin rivers of silver embedded throughout the walls, ceiling and floor of the cave would stop a person in their tracks and capture their attention for an innumerable amount of time, for it too had taken his breath away the second he'd stepped into the cave and been captivated by its alluring beauty.

Gingerly, so as to not break the captivating silence of the moment for His Empress quite yet, Atreyu eased the straps off his shoulder and quietly lowered the two bags he was carrying to the ground next to him. He turned ever so slowly around and, nearly on tiptoe, approached his he lightly touched her shoulder and spoke softly to her.

"Moonchild?"

The Empress's body jerked and she broke her gaze from the hot springs and the waterfall.

"Atreyu!... Oh, Gods..." She put the tips of her trembling fingers to her forehead, lowering her gaze and her head in nervous embarrassment. She could feel her cheeks turning a pale rose as she began blushing. "I'm-I'm sorry...I-I didn't see you in-in front of me..." Her rosy blush deepened as she realized how odd she must've looked standing there as though rooted to the cave's floor. "The-the waterfall...it-it...I-I couldn't help it...it-it's so beautiful..."

Atreyu slipped an arm around her shoulders then the other 'round her waist, drawing her into his arms. "Shhh...shhh...there's no need to apologize Ogliglewakan...I understand..." He removed her trembling fingertips from where they were and began to place featherlight kisses on her temple. "For a moment I too, was mesmerized by the sight of the springs and the falls when we entered the cave a few moments ago. So hau, Ogliglewakan, I understand why you were standing SO still for so long..."

The feeling of his nearness and the realization that they were now IN the cave with the hot springs MERE feet from them made the butterflies in Moonchild's stomach go into a frenzy. For a moment the dazzlingly beautiful sight of the shimmering cave walls and the hypnotizing sounds of the roaring waterfall made her forget WHY they had come here in the first place.

Now she remembered.

They had come not to explore the cave but to swim in its bewitching and enchanted-looking hot springs.

Her heart wanted to stop beating and she fought back the urge to gulp nervously.

But she couldn't do this. It would reveal to Atreyu just HOW perturbed and apprehensive she REALLY was.

And she did NOT want her warrior-lover to see this side of her. Already he'd caught a glimpse of it right before they went to pick up their picnic lunch. From the tone in his voice along with the look he'd had on his face she could tell he DID NOT like what he saw.

Looking back on it now, Moonchild had a funny feeling about that concerned look he'd given her... From the way he'd been staring at her for that fraction of a minute it was almost as if he could read her mind... And as ABSURD as such a thing was, Moonchild KNEW in that split second she HAD to think fast on her feet before he'd figured out the REAL reason behind her apprehensiveness.

Instead of giving into her anxiety and nervous apprehension, she let her forehead rest upon the part of his chest that was exposed by the openness of his sleeveless ógle. Lightly placing her still trembling fingertips upon his smooth, exposed torso Moonchild allowed her eyelids to flutter half-closed as she stood there in the sanctuary of his embrace.

She didn't know WHY, but for some odd reason she felt a sense of security being locked in the circle of his lean, strong arms.

"Moonchild?..." Atreyu's voice was soft and sounded far away. "Ogliglewakan, are niye toka sni?" His hands lightly stroked her hair as he spoke.

Moonchild forced herself not to tremble. Instead she answered in a voice that was equally quiet. "I'm-I'm fine My Atreyu... I-I just need a minute to gather myself now-now that my senses are no longer being hypnotized by the sights and sounds of the waterfall and the surroundings of the cave..."

He placed a kiss on the top of her head and went on stroking her hair.

"I understand..."

They stood like this for the longest time, each lost in their own thoughts.

After what seemed like endless minutes Moonchild lifted her forehead from its resting place. Her eyes opened all the way and she placed a gentle hand on her lover's cheek. There was a soft smile upon her lips even though there were butterflies in her stomach. [though she did not let this be known through her eyes or her expression]

"I wastelake niye mitawa akicita... I wastelake niye so very, very, very much..." Her soft smile widened even though there were now tears in her eyes.

"I wastelake niye too canteskuye. More then anything in this world I wastelake niye..."

Their lips met in a sweet reminding kiss of just HOW special their love was.

Moonchild's trembling lips parted as this sweet kiss turned into a second kiss that was as featherlight as its predecessor, but much more lingering. Two tears slipped down her cheeks and she could feel the hot dampness of the equal amount of tears beneath her palm as they slid down Atreyu's cheeks. They both could feel the trembling body of the other as they each traced the outline of the others mouth with their own. Their tongues touched and teased one another but did not engage in their normal passionate dance. That would come later. For now there was the soft intoxication of simple teasing, taunting and sampling of what the other would give when the time came to come together in their erotic dance this pair of tongues shared whenever they met.

In these few precious moments shared between a warrior-hunter and an Empress, not a sound could be heard over the roaring of the hot spring's waterfall. Not even the sound of two beating hearts could be heard as two lovers became lost in the addicting kisses they shared one after the other.

Then, as if in a trance, the kisses between Atreyu and The Empress began to taper off. Slowly, gradually, as if the spell they were under would break if they parted too soon or too quickly.

They stood close together as if they were one being, gazing at one another though half-lidded eyes and barely parted lips. Gazing at one another as if they were the ONLY two people left in their world. As if anything AND everything outside this cave OR outside this secret haven they shared didn't exist.

It was as if they were suspended in time. In a place where nothing and NO one could reach them. In a place where NO one could harm OR stop them from surrendering to carnally sinful interactions or forbiddon indulgences.

In a strange way, without speaking, it was as if they KNEW they were once again TRULY safe within the walls of this Secret Garden.

When the two lovers became aware of this knowlage inside their own minds they exchanged a pair of slow smiles.

"Are you ready to go in the water?" Atreyu whispered, still afraid to break the spell they seemed to put themselves under in moments like this.

"Do-do you mind going in by yourself for a little bit first?" Moonchild whispered in return. For reasons known ONLY to her she didn't feel quite ready to go in the springs and be THAT near him in ONLY her undergarments. She needed a little more time to gather her courage to take SUCH a brazen step as to be SO near Atreyu wearing NOTHING but her paper-thin sleeveless shift and underdrawers. But IF she SAW him in the water FIRST and swimming around on his own for a little while then MAYBE that would help quell this swarm of butterflies fluttering madly inside her stomach.

"Hiya, hiya I don't mind going in by myself for a little while."

"Forgive me Atreyu for not being quite ready yet." She shyly nuzzled his chest with her nose.

"It's fine Ogliglewakan. Take your time cantkiya. I'm in no hurry."

"Pilamayaye Atreyu."

He kissed her forehead. "You stay here, I'm going to go behind the pile of boulders on the other side of the springs. The ones that are closest to the falls."

"W-what are you going to do there?" Moonchild's heart skipped a beat.

A soft laugh reached her ears. "Well, I certainly can't go swimming in mitawa ógle na uzogis now can I?"

Moonchild blushed and her heart skipped several beats. "N-no you-you can't..." she murmured, feeling as if she was going to pass out from the mental image she had in her head of Atreyu stripping off his ógle and uzogis. She forced back another hard gulp. 'My Gods he wasn't going to go swimming in nothing but his bare skin was he!? No of course not!' her mind rationally told her. 'He's smart enough AND kind enough to realize you are not ready for THAT just yet. Don't worry, your warrior knows what he's doing.'

As if he could read her thoughts Atreyu's gentle, reassuring tone broke the silence between them."It's toka sni Ogliglewakan. I'm wearing something underneath mitawa hayapis to go swimming in."

'What would THAT be!?' her frenzied mind wondered. 'A breechcloth!?'

Atreyu chuckled when he peeked down and saw the shocked look on His Empress's face. "It's NOT what you THINK it is Ogliglewakan. Relax cantkiya, I'll be wearing some old ozoges that I turned into a pair of haske maheluzoges by cutting off the lower part of the legs until they reached four inches past my knees years ago when I wanted to go swimming because the pair of haske maheluzoges I owned at the time I had already outgrown."

The shock went out of The Empress's face and she laughed nervously, feeling ridiculously mortified at herself. Of course he would do something like that! It wouldn't be like him to shock the hell out of her by stripping down to nothing and going swimming stark naked not even a week into this new stage in their relationship.

"What did you think I was going to do?" he asked, smiling down at her pinking cheeks, "Go swimming naked!?"

She nodded, the pink in her cheeks turning into a deep red.

"Oh!" he hugged her tightly and kissed her head again. "I'd NEVER do that to you! Not without asking your permission first." he added with a wickedly seductive tone in his voice.

This made Moonchild turn SO red her cheekbones hurt.

"I-I thank-thank you for-for wearing something to go swimming in." she stammered, unable to look at him.

"Nitawa Taayaayahi." He gave her one last kiss before releasing her. "Now, you stay here and watch me swim. I'll come see if you're ready to join me in a little while."

"All right." Moonchild agreed nervously.

She watched as he trotted over to the far side of the waterfalls on the opposite side of the hot springs and disappeared from her view.

'Might as well get ready to join him...' she thought nervously as she stepped backwards into the darkest part of the shadows closest to the cave wall behind her.

With trembling fingers Moonchild reached up behind her neck and unfastened the single set of buttons holding the bodice of her simple loose dress closed. Taking a deep breath, feeling as if she was about to go far underwater, she squeezed her eyes shut and tugged off her dress with trembling hands as fast as she could. Just as quickly she sat down on a jutting rock-ledge and removed her soft shoes and summer stockings.

Feeling a tightness in her chest she let out the breath she was holding and stepped out of the shadows feeling vulnerable and VERY exposed. No one but her handmaidens had EVER seen her in her undergarments in the daytime. [or at ANY time for that matter]

And ESPECIALLY no man.

Yes, this was CERTAINLY a WHOLE new level of her relationship with Atreyu she was in this time.

And part of her was scared to death.

Not of him-NEVER of Atreyu. But of the unknown. The sinful unknown.

She was scared of this particular kind of unknown. She was as scared of the unknown sinfulness that could VERY well take place between her and her warrior-lover as she was of Cairon and Brijatte's wrath should the truth of their relationship be discovered.

Yet...yet there was another part of her-a MUCH BIGGER part of her-that was surprisingly titillated about WHAT Atreyu could DO to her-to her body once she was in the water with him with both of them being clothed in next to nothing.

The nervous anxiety she was feeling started stirring the butterflies up in her stomach faster then ever.

On trembling bare feet [and hopefully steady legs] The Empress made her way across the smooth rock-stone floor as if in a daze.

Before she knew it she was standing less then five feet from the edge of the hot springs. With Atreyu just out of view on the other side of the falls.

She had been standing there less then five minutes gazing almost glassy-eyed at the heavy white wall of the waterfalls in front of her when a movement on the other side of the hot springs caught her eye. She blinked, as if she was slowly coming out of her daze. Then she saw it again, another movement. Her heart beat faster, the tightness in her chest increased. She KNEW it was Atreyu whose movements she saw. And this knowlage made her heart pound harder. She swallowed, her lips felt dry. She KNEW she should look away. The 'Cairon-influanced' part of her TOLD her she SHOULD look away, she SHOULD avert her eyes. But she could not-she could not look away. It was as if one of those things humans called a magnet was keeping her gaze fixated on the VERY place Atreyu was at this very moment.

No. She could not avert her eyes. Not for ALL the wrath that Cairon and Brijatte would bring down upon her if they knew. She could not look away.

As if under another kind of spell-a spell Atreyu had woven over her-she kept looking straight ahead. Waiting, watching...

Another minute ticked by and then another and then another...

And still, she did not move. Still, she did not avert her gaze from what-and WHO-she knew was to appear before her at any moment.

And there he was. Appearing, like she'd always envisioned he would in those sinful dreams she had of him, behind the rocks and the waterfall. Adroit, nimble, and SO utterly handsome it took her breath away.

As though locked in another kind of trance, Moonchild looked on, feeling a swarm of nervousness like she'd never felt before swirling around in her belly, as the blurry figure of Atreyu slowly emerged from behind the waterfall's rocks where he'd respectfully gone to remove his outer clothing. She watched as he climbed atop a small boulder, She watched as he raised his arms above his head, pause, as if he was taking a moment to fill his soul with the energies of the watery elements, then launched himself forward, headfirst into the misty, steamy pool of dark, heated water. There was a splash! and his figure vanished from sight.

She looked closer to see how far down in the pool he had gone. But the steamy mists created out of the waterfalls made it difficult to make out anything but the shimmering onyx mounds of rocks dotted here and there around the edge of the hot springs.

Then, out of the mist, amidst the sparkling falls, he slowly appeared, rising like some water god, guarding these great mystical falls.

Moonchild's breath caught in her throat.

Never in all her life had she seen ANYTHING as beautiful as this hunter-warrior, standing nearly waist-deep in the pool, surrounded by nothing more then steamy, cloudy mist and shimmering walls of hot, hot water.

She stood there transfixed, unable to take her eyes off of such a beautiful male.

And he WAS beautiful.

What she was seeing was someone who did NOT possess the sort of beauty that came from a man who was cultivated, refined and educated like SO many of the men Cairon and Brijatte expected her to associate with.

No.

What she was seeing was someone who, for once, held a kind of beauty that was FAR removed from ANYTHING she'd known or seen before.

What was here before her, what Atreyu possessed, was a masculine beauty that was rugged, raw and untamed.

Moonchild continued to watch, with awed fascination, as this warrior, this man she loved, waded around in what was very close to the deepest part of the hot springs. Slow, graceful, like the darkly handsome panther he reminded her of.

She couldn't take her eyes off him. Couldn't take her eyes off of how the near-transparent smaller streams of water-hidden behind the heavy whiteness of the falls-flowed down from their rocky crevices, hidden admist the greater cliff of these magnificent waterfalls, to cascade over his broad shoulders and stream down his body like miniature waterfalls themselves.

Oh, Gods, was he beautiful... How in all of Fantasia could Mother Nature create something SO beautiful? So naturally perfect?

The Empress of Fantasia stood at the edge of the water, clad in nothing but her thin navy-blue shift and even thinner tight knee-length underdrawers studying the profile of this warrior the Gods had presented to her so many years before.

His body on the whole, catlike-sinewy from eating nothing but wild buffalo, seeds and grasses of the vast prairies he lived on [with the occasional fare of fish, forest game, and berries that could be found in the nearby woods on the very outskirts of the Plains], was strong and well-built. His shoulders were broad, and his arms, like the rest of him, were lean, the upper halves hardened with muscles from a lifetime of hunting with nothing but bows and arrows. [along with the concealed leather-handled fifteen-inch bladed-knife made out of buffalo bone he kept sheathed on one side of his wide leather belt at all times-except when he was not hunting or when he was with her] His hands, clasped behind his head, were NOT silky soft from the many ointments and creams so many elite Fantasian men liked to use. Those hands-Atreyu's hands-were the hands of a hunter and a warrior. Smooth, [from drinking so much water and bathing twice a day-morning and evening-as was his tribe's custom] firm, the palms tinged with roughness from years and years of frugal, hard work in both the blazing, torrid heat of summer and the bitter, frigid cold of winter, the fingers callused here and there from nineteen years of releasing arrows from a taunt bowstring. [The Empress remembered Atreyu telling her how a child received his or her first toy bow and arrow set at the age of three] Both his torso and abdomen were flat, hard, smooth, like the rocks of this cave they were in. The Empress couldn't help from letting her gaze wander to where his lower body disappeared beneath the misty surface of the water. She couldn't help herself imagining [though she was fully aware she was committing a carnal sin for thinking such wicked thoughts] what the lower half of her warrior-hunter looked like now he had momentarily discarded his uzogis and hamikcekas. Did the lower half of his abdomen along with his waist and hips taper flawlessly into one another? Were his legs and feet devoid of hair like his arms and upper body? Was 'that part' of him-"

No, no! She mustn't let her mind go there!

'Oh, Goddesses, help me!' Her mind frantically cried, 'You mustn't let yourself think such a sinful thing! It's wrong! WRONG!'

Moonchild raised her eyes to the cave's ceiling, to the heavens, thanking the Gods the cave was dim enough to hide the blush on her cheeks as she forced herself to rid her mind of such a wickedly sinful thought. Her hands balled into fists, the fingernails digging into her palms as little by little she shoved the thought of 'that part' of Atreyu back into the place of her soul where she kept her MOST secretive thoughts and feelings under lock and key. Thoughts and feelings she KNEW were sinful AND forbiddon.

For as long as she could remember, Cairon and Brijatte had told her that when and IF 'she came of age' there would be a chance that her mind would start to conjure up 'certain' thoughts and feelings that were 'inappropriate for a proper, chaste and moral young lady' such as herself. ' "You are different." ' They told her. ' "You are not like 'other' Fantasians, other females. You are special. You are The Empress. Therefore you MUST set yourself apart from everyone else. Even your thoughts and feelings must be controlled. And... there... are certain...'things', thoughts and emotions, My Empress, that must. AT ALL times, MUST be denied! Even when you are wed you must NOT, under ANY circumstances, let yourself be drawn into carnal wonderings such as a man's 'most personal male area'-even your husband's. You must NOT let yourself feel those emotions known as arousal, desire and lust. Such things are wicked, unnatural, immoral and sinful! Those 'things', those thoughts and emotions we speak of, My Empress, are for a man alone to feel. They are NOT for a female-unless she is 'loose' to begin with-and these carnal, immoral thoughts...feelings and...'things'... are ESPECIALLY not for YOU My Empress! You must always, ALWAYS keep yourself pure and innocent in ALL things and in ALL ways. For YOU are The Empress of Fantasia and MUST stay innocently pure in both body and mind until the day you are a 'proper' man's wife. Even then, you must NEVER, EVER let yourself succumb to a 'loose woman's' morals, actions, thoughts or feelings. Remember to NEVER let a second of a day pass where you forget WHAT you are in terms of morality. You are NOT an ordinary person-OR a whoring harlot whose sole purpose is to take and give 'sinfully physical 'pleasures' to men' You are The Empress of this world. Remember that." '

'Oh, Goddesses, please forgive me,' she prayed, "I cannot help it. With him, with Atreyu, I cannot help myself giving in to such things as desire and lust... I KNOW I have been told it is morally wrong to succumb to such wickedness... But how in Fantasia can something that feels so right be SO wrong!? I KNOW I have sinned these past few days by letting this warrior, this man whom I love more then my own life, hold me, touch me, kiss me in ways that should be reserved for my husband only. I KNOW I have sinned by letting myself lose control, by allowing myself to give in-even a little-to wanton, sinful feelings and actions that I have been told are forbiddon to 'The Empress of Fantasia'... But Goddesses, oh, Dear Goddesses, please, please, I beg of you... Please, forgive me, for succumbing to such immorality. Please, please, try to understand these few pleas I beseech of you: For in my mind, in my heart, in my soul, he, Atreyu, IS my husband. Though I KNOW in reality he is nothing more then my 'lover' and can and may never will be my husband. For Cairon and Brijatte would NEVER allow such a union. So please, please, Goddesses be merciful on me, Please forgo and forgive whatever carnal sins I have committed and, most likely, will commit in the future and let me continue to indulge in these precious moments with the man I TRULY love. For WHO KNOWS HOW long we may have before I am forced to wed a man I do not want or love.'

As if the Mother Goddess and ALL the Goddesses that were with her could hear the desperate pleas of The Empress, Moonchild felt a sense of calmness sweep over her. In one single moment, nearly All of her nervousness had been taken away-save for a sliver of lingering nerves that had nothing to do with 'her actions being sinful.'

Then she thought of Jazeminya's words: ' "Just let whatever happens, happen..." '

Well, then, she would do as Jazeminya advised: She would let whatever happened between her and her warrior this day, happen. Even IF that 'Cairon-trained' part of her conscience DID do everything 'It' could to make her feel guilty, self-conscious and ashamed of ANY and ALL carnal actions that could possibly occur between them, she'd do her best to try and ignore the echoing shouts of the 'Cairon-influanced' part of her conscience that she KNEW would take place within her mind as 'It' tried to bring upon the self-doubts, the shame and the chastisements in 'Its' attempt to KEEP her under Cairon and Brijatte's stifling, chaining control, by going forth and allowing whatever interactions-sinful or otherwise-that might take place between her and Atreyu in the hot springs today.

She trusted Jazeminya's judgment-and she trusted Atreyu's.

Both were wise and gentle in their own unique way.

Who knew? Maybe if she joined her lover in the water she'd stop feeling so self-conscious around him half the time. But then again, maybe not. Cairon and Brijatte's fanatical-religious influences about carnal sin had always weighed heavily on her mind. Such a thing as this wasn't so easy to dismiss or let go of.

'You never know something until you try it...' the 'honest' part of her conscience told her. 'You never know... this might be good for you...'

The Empress swallowed and drew in another deep breath. "You never know until you try, you never know until you try...' she silently repeated to herself, trying to give herself courage to overcome her nervous anxiety AND drown out the sound of the 'Cairon-influanced' part of her conscience that was ALREADY starting to get ready to scream echoingly in her head.

She was SO nervous and anxious she wanted to cry. To burst into tears. To turn and bolt from the sinfully tantalizing scene that Fate was beckoning her to participate in.

But she didn't.

She didn't give in to her fearful trepidation.

At least not yet.

Pushing aside the last of these fearful nerves for the moment, Moonchild turned her attention back to Atreyu. She felt her cheeks burn as she took in the sight of him wandering in and around the waterfalls, his hands still clasped behind his head and hidden beneath his long hair. Hair that was so drenched with water it could have easily blended in with the ebony rock formation of the cave. In spite of the anxious butterflies flapping around in her stomach she found that she was smiling to herself at the sight of water streaming down his upturned face, his closed eyes, his parted lips before it dripped off his chin like rainwater dripping off tree-leaves. Moonchild's heart thumped louder and she could feel that strange hot liquid sensation that she'd felt that morning, when she found herself being seductively pinned to the stone wall of the hidden alcove by Atreyu's body, start to stir itself in the pit of her belly all over again. She swallowed and took a deep breath as her gaze took in the alluring, mesmerizing sight of her half-naked warrior whom was not even twenty feet away from her. She couldn't get over what she was seeing... He looked absolutely gorgeous standing beneath the wall of water that flowed SO heavily off the rocks above that the water had a foamy whiteness to it. After a few moments, he was no longer standing admist the falls, but was underneath them, swimming like a fish. Moonchild's smile broadened and the strange feeling in her belly intensified without her even knowing it. She loved how her warrior could disappear without a trace, without a sound, under the water. She loved how all she could see was a blurry shadowy form moving gracefully, silently beneath the hot spring's surface, his movements barely making a ripple as he swam around. In moments he had resurfaced, grinning as he relished the feeling of being in relaxing, hot, hot water that soothed away the leftover soreness his poor muscles surely must have been been feeling since finishing their intense morning workout a little over two hours ago. She'd seen how slowly her warrior had moved when he had sunk down upon the flannel blanket. She knew from watching him how stiff and aching he still must have been...

"Hau!"

Moonchild's musings broke apart when she heard his voice. She hadn't realized she'd allowed her thoughts to drift off again. She prayed he hadn't caught sight of her watching him SO intently. Her burning cheeks felt as if they were on fire.

"Hi." Suddenly she felt somewhat shy around him-the way she had been the first few months he'd come to see her. Moving behind a small boulder at the hot spring's edge, she leaned over it, resting her trembling hands flat on its smooth, warm surface. He was looking over his shoulder at her, grinning. Moonchild swallowed nervously. His smile always had a way of making her legs feel like they were turning into melting jelly. She leaned more forward against the boulder in an attempt to keep him from catching a glimpse of how her knees were shaking.

Gods, what was wrong with her!? She felt like she was eleven all over again!

'Get a grip on yourself!' She chided herself, 'You've been going swimming with him for seven years now!-one year after he started coming to see you on a regular basis.' 'I know,' her heart told her mind, 'but we weren't lovers then. We were just good friends. But...it... It's all different now. NOTHING'S EVER going to be like it was in the past. Not now that we've openly admitted our love for each other. It's like my handmaidens said: Fate brought us together for a reason. We were MEANT to be MORE then 'just very best friends.' We were MEANT to be lovers. We were MEANT to be one another's life-mate AND each others soulmate. THIS is what Fate has had written out for us LONG before we knew of each others existence... It is the path we KNOW we must continue on...NO MATTER WHAT 'duty' or 'proper society' say. Sinful or not, right or wrong, THIS is what we were destined for. Now that we know what we know, we each have accepted our fate and the gift It has given us.'

The Empress's anxious-hidden smile softened as she watched Atreyu duck under the water again. A moment later he resurfaced, this time in not-so deep water, away from the falls and the mist surrounding them. Treading water, he swam over to where she stood before straightening up completely.

"Niye toka sni?" His own expression was relaxed as he folded his arms and leaned on the opposite side of the boulder.

"I'm fine." Moonchild tried to hide her nervousness with a laugh.

"Lier." He teased, running a wet finger across the bridge of her nose. "I know something's up, You can't fool me."

Moonchild ducked her head, laughing shakily. "I'm telling you I'm fine."

"Then why won't you look me in the eye? Why do you hide your expression from me?" His finger left the tip of her nose to bring her head up so he could look in her eyes. "What's going on Ogliglewakan? What is it?"

"It's...it's nothing..." She stammered.

"I KNOW something's troubling you Ogliglewakan. I can ALWAYS tell." He let his fingertip run over her lower lip. "Why are you acting shy and nervous all of a sudden?" His finger moved to brush along her upper lip.

Moonchild swallowed for a fourth time. She wanted to look away but for some reason she couldn't. His dark almond eyes were hypnotizing, Her heart began to pound more rapidly, her pulse began to race.

"It's stupid..."she managed to say.

Atreyu grinned, brushing a kiss across the tip of her nose. "Nothing you say to me is stupid..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "It's toka sni cantkiya...I won't laugh."

Moonchild could feel the heat creeping into her cheeks deepen. She dropped her gaze, her lids half-closing so she wouldn't have to fully look at him as she spoke.

"It...it's different this time Atreyu... Us, going for a swim..."

"How is it different?" Their foreheads were against each other. She could feel the tip of that lone finger of his caressing her cheek, her jawline, her chin, her lips.

"I...I don't know...it...it just is...I...I can't explain it..."

"Hau you can..." He coaxed, " She could feel his warm breath on her face, his gentle gaze, so full of compassion and understandment, boring into what he could see of her half-hidden eyes. "Explain to me why you're feeling like this around me today... Canlwaste Ogliglewakan...I want to know so I can ease these feelings of nervousness and shyness that I sense you have from your inner being."

"I...I...I don't think I can find the words to describe the reason behind all this...this nervous shyness..."

"Is it because it's our last day together?" He decided to try the 'question-and-answer' tactic. [it usually worked]

"Partly..."

"Is it because of what we found out the night after the Ball?"

"A little..." She shivered. She could feel his breath on her cheek as he nuzzled it with his nose.

"Does what you're feeling have to do with what we've admitted to each other when you found me here in the Secret Garden for the first time?" He murmured as his lips brushed her cheek.

"That's...that's half of it..." Her eyes closed as that forbiddon sensation called arousal started to take place deep within her. She could feel her senses start to shift, as they gave way from something that was 'proper' to something that was improper, sinful...wicked... This sensation...this arousal...creeping up on her, revealing itself from someplace locked away...was something she'd never experienced before... It was enthralling...and forbiddon...

Ah, NOW he was getting somewhere...

"What's the other half?" His lips trailed sideways across her cheek until she could feel that warm breath in her ear.

As MUCH as she wanted it to continue, Moonchild knew she should head off this feeling of arousal before it could get too far."I...It...We're..." She struggled to find the words but her thoughts were all jumbled. "We're not who we were five full days ago... Our...our relationship has changed..."

"I know..." His lips grazed the inner rim of her ear. "and that's a good thing..."

"Yes...but...but...it also complicates matters...it's... it's becoming more and more difficult as the days go by to hold back my actions, my feelings towards you..."

"I know cantkiya...I know all too well..."

"How we feel about each other...what we're doing...is...is scandalous..."

"I know that too Ogliglewakan and I don't care..."

"Neither do I but still... Still, I'm scared...I'm scared of what'll happen if we're found out..."

"Shhh...don't be...Everything's going to be toka sni...I won't let anything happen to you or us...and neither will your Staff..." His mouth closed on top of her ear. She nearly gasped at the titillative feeling she felt coming from the damp heat of his lips gently sucking on her ear's outer edge. Her fingers dug themselves into the boulder in an effort to keep her arms from giving way. "Tell me more cantkiya..." His mouth left the top edge of her ear and, with his lips, nuzzled the back of it, sending multiple waves of shivers that felt like tiny flecks of lighting flashing throughout her entire body, their shocking tremors electrifying her from within, making the hairs on her arms stand up. His teeth tugged gently at the skin of her neck before swiftly lapping at it to take away the dull stinging sensation following his loving bite. "It's toka sni...there's nothing to be afraid of...There's no reason to be ashamed of whatever you are feeling physically or emotionally Moonchild...Whatever it is you can tell me. I'm not Cairon canteskuye, I won't berate you for speaking openly of your thoughts or feelings..."

"I...I feel..." Moonchild felt as if her mind had gone blank. She knew the explanation was there, but the words had jammed themselves in her throat as if they didn't want to be released.

"How do you feel when you're with me Moonchild?" Atreyu whispered, his breath still intoxicatedly hot in her ear. "How do you feel when we're like 'this'?"

"Like...like..." With the greatest effort, Moonchild forced the words from her clogged throat and out of her mouth. "Like I'm alive...," she breathed. "You make me feel alive... Alive and...and...and whole..."

"Mmhum...what else?"

She felt the lodged breath that had been trapped in front of her words before she had spoken them, escape. Her tense throat muscles relaxed and she found she could breathe normally again, although the rest of her body was as taunt as a bowstring as she strove to keep that forbiddon feeling of arousal at bay. "You make me feel wanted...and loved...so loved..."

"Go on..." He encouraged.

Moonchild's thoughts froze. Her throat tightened up.

How could she tell him he awakened things deep inside her whenever he touched her? Things that lit up her body from the inside out whenever she felt his lips or hands touch her skin? How could she speak of the way her body reacted when he caressed or kissed her in certain ways and places? How could she describe what was going on with both her body and emotions when they were two separate entities? Weren't they?

"Moonchild?..." Atreyu hesitatingly whispered her name, "Why are you holding your thoughts back? Why won't you open up to me? Why won't you tell me what they say when your body's spirits speak to you when we come together in this way?"

"I...I don't understand... What...what do you mean by 'my body's spirits speaking to me'? One's physical and emotional states are separate beings...aren't they?"

Atreyu lifted his lips from behind her ear to gaze into her eyes. He was astounded by the look of confusion she wore.

'Mitawa Tunkasilas...' he thought. 'What kind of society was she brought up in? How could she not know her body and emotions were interwoven? That they were one being and not separate parts? That each spoke and connected and blended into the other the way Father Sky and Maka are one with mitawa oyate? How could she not know that we are all in some way or another connected in this Great Circle of Life? That all spirits belonging to each part of the makoce, mahpiya, wahcaoju, wamakaskas na oyate are as one?'

At that moment Atreyu fully realized just HOW innocent The Empress of Fantasia TRULY was in both body and mind.

She had NEVER known a person had the ability to tune into the spirits of one's feelings or body. She never knew she could HEAR those spirits told her. The concept of each part of her body and emotions having its own spirit was totally foreign to her.

"You...you didn't know the spirits of your body and emotions are as one? You mean to tell me all this time you thought they were separate things and they had no spirits of their own? You mean to tell me all this time you had no idea they have the ability to speak to one another and to you?"

She shook her head, her eyes wide and doelike, full of confused wonderment. "No...I...I had no idea... Do...do they really have the ability to speak?"

"They do. But not in the way of you or I. Their language is wordless. But you can still understand what they say if you know how."

"Do you?"

"Hau, Ogliglewakan, I do."

"If these spirits speak to me in a wordless language, how am I to understand what they say if I cannot hear a word they are saying?"

"You CAN hear them Ogliglewakan, but not with you ears."

"With what then?"

"It's not with what mitawa cantkiya, it's HOW."

"How then? Please, Atreyu, explain it to me. I want to know."

His fingertips touched her cheek, "This is not something that can be spoken of mitawa Ogliglewakan. It is something that can only be shown."

Moonchild's pounding heart began to slow in its beats. Her intuition told her that if she allowed such a thing to happen, she was about to become a student to something very special, something very sacred. Something that would be hers alone and no one else's.

'But wait,' Her 'Cairon-trained', 'logical', part of her mind cried in protest, ' 'turning into the spirits of your body and emotions' would be allowing yourself to run the risk of acknowledging 'things' and emotions that are forbiddon to you... Are you truly willing to go against what you have been taught to ignore, deny, and separate yourself from all your life? Could there passably be a chance that what Cairon and Brijatte have taught you about ignoring 'certain things' and not succumbing to your own body, as well as 'forbiddon' thoughts and emotions be all wrong? Remember, If you do this, you could be giving into 'certain things' that are immoral, unnatural and wrong for a woman. Especially for a woman of your status. Could those 'things' known as arousal, desire and lust TRULY be as wicked and sinful as Cairon and Brijatte say they are? Are they REALLY things a woman of your stature should keep away, hidden, buried and unacknowledged? Or are they things that are beautifully wondrous and something which should be unburied, brought to the surface and fully embraced? If there TRULY is such a thing as the body and emotions having spirits and they can communicate and be linked with one another and yourself isn't that a good thing? Isn't it time to discover if there is ANY truth to what your Head Adviser/Servant and Head Handmaiden have been teaching you all these centuries? Don't you want to find out what you are capable of as a woman and not as 'an Empress' or as 'a future wife whose sole purpose is to be a breeder, an object to be used for mating and a showpiece to her husband'? Isn't this why Fate brought Atreyu to you a second time all those years ago? To teach you, to show you that there is more to your life then 'just being 'The Childlike Empress of Fantasia' and a future emotionless, puppet-like wife whose 'nobleman husband' pulls your strings'? If so, then go ahead, Let him, Let him teach you how to be connected to yourself, to the elements of his Father Sky and Maka...and possibly...to him... Go. Allow yourself to have SOME control over your life before it's too late... Before Cairon and Brijatte snatch it away by marrying you to a man who think and act like they do-only worse. Go on...go...be free...be free like Atreyu...like you've always wanted to... Go...'

Hardly daring to believe what she was about to do Moonchild opened her mouth, closed it, paused, and opened it again. "Show me." she whispered, her mind reeling at what she had just said. "Show me how I can be as 'one with myself''. Please, show me what you speak of mitawa Koi..."

"Are you positive this is something you want to learn Moonchild?" Atreyu asked, almost gravely, trailing his fingertips back and forth across her cheek. "Because there is MORE to 'being one with yourself' then simply 'tuning in' to the spirits of your own body and emotions. It is about 'tuning in' to the elements of Father Sky and Maka themselves. It is about letting yourself be one with the earth, the sky, the wamakaskas, the water, the trees. It's about becoming a part of Nature itself. When you are as 'one with yourself'' you are physically, emotionally and mentally turned in and connected with all that is around you in a deeper, more intimate way then you could possibly imagine. You will have the ability to connect with the ground below you, with the sky above you. You will have the ability to feel, hear and understand their spirits, and of the spirits that live in EACH and EVERY living creature and element Father Sky and Maka have created. Every natural thing, every plant, leaf and wamakaska has their own spirit Moonchild. Even the flames of fire, the wind, the rain along with the thunder and lighting that accompanies it when it chooses to become a storm, the water, the snow, the ground we stand and walk on...ALL of them have a spirit of their own just as you and I do. Are you certain you want to learn all this? For once you do, you will no longer be the same person inside as you are now. Yes, you will STILL be The Empress of Fantasia and of course, mitawa wastelakapi Ogliglewakan, that will NEVER change. But once you start connecting, feeling and communicating on an intimate level with the natural world, you will also become a daughter of Father Sky and Maka. As I am their son. So, I ask you again, mitawa wastelakapi Empress. Is this still something you want to learn?"

Moonchild thought long and hard about all Atreyu had said to her.

Deep in her heart, in her soul, she KNEW she had NEVER truly been comfortable with the life she had been brought up in. All her life, she'd known she was different from other elite Fantasians. For as long as she could remember, Moonchild had preferred being outdoors, among wildlife and nature whereas so many other females she knew and associated with enjoyed being indoors. She couldn't understand nor get over the way the females of High and Royal Fantasian society shyed away from wildlife, how they balked at spending time out in wilder fields and gardens, in the woods or other places where the natural elements could wreck havoc on their skin and dirty their pretty clothes.

But not her. Not The Empress.

Moonchild LOVED the feeling of the sun on her face, the wind in her hair, the feeling of the earth beneath her bare feet, the wet coolness of the water on her skin when she swam. [those times when she could get away with it] She enjoyed being able to run barefoot in the grassy fields, to roll or lie in piles of sweet-smelling hay stacked up in the Royal Stables and in the area sectioned off for the lionesses, panthers, pegasuses, wolves and cats. She didn't mind the fact the stench of manure could sometimes be found mixed in with the fresh scent of hay. To her it was all the same-good or bad. It was all part of nature, of Maka. While other elite females cowered and turned up their noses at the sight of animals. Moonchild reveled in spending hours on end with them. She delighted in the feeling of warm, soft or course hair beneath her hands. She was at her happiest whenever the wolves-as well as the cats, both big and small-nibbled or lightly chewed on her fingers as if they were a human chew toy. [especially the kittens, cubs and puppies] She couldn't get enough of the rough, wet tongues of the big and little cats OR of the smooth tongues of the wolves as they each in turn, covered her with kisses. The sounds of the whinnies, howls, barks, growls and purrs of the animals she encountered were better then any Fantasian-made instrument she'd heard.

So the decision to whether or not accept the lessons this simple, brave and compassionate hunter-warrior was offering to teach her, to show her was not a difficult one at all. Such a choice to make came as easily as her breathing the air Atreyu's Father Sky provided.

His hand fell away and he bent to whisper in her ear. "I want you to know that what you are about to be shown, what you are about to learn means you will also be able to become not only intuned to yourself, Father Sky and Maka, but to your mate as well. I want you to be aware of that factor before we go any further with this mitawa Ogliglewakan."

A ripple of excitement ran through Moonchild's veins, She was fully aware that this warrior-hunter she loved and who loved her was implying that he wanted to be her mate. And she loved such an implication. For it was Atreyu with whom she wanted to be joined. As sinful and as scandalous as it was, THIS is what she TRULY wanted. She WANTED to be a part of him, physically, mentally, and emotionally. ALREADY they had some sort of spiritual connection-what it exactly was she did not know, and neither did he. But for eight years they had been able to sense one anothers feelings, one anothers presence-whether they were actually physically nearby or not. It didn't matter if they were together or apart, there was ALWAYS a piece of the others soul they carried with them. And, though she couldn't be certain, as of late, Moonchild felt as if she could hear Atreyu's thoughts-not just sense them. But such a thing couldn't happen!? Was there REALLY such a thing as being SO spiritually connected to someone you could actually hear what they were thinking!? But then again, her handmaidens DID say she and Atreyu WERE soulmates... They DID say she and Atreyu were FATED to become life-mates to one another. And The Empress nor Atreyu did not doubt this prediction of the Gods and Goddesses would come to pass. [whether Cairon and Brijatte liked it or not] If Atreyu was implying WHAT she thought he was implying then his implication, coupled with the lessons of 'tuning into oneself,' would indefinitely start them on the path they were destined to follow.

It was Now or Never. The Empress of Fantasia had, at last, come to the crossroads of her life.

And there were only two choices:

Should she walk the path Cairon and Brijatte dictated and expected her to? Or should she go ahead and walk the path Fate had lain out before her?

For her, the choice was simple: It was either stay a delicate china doll, a saintlike, 'perfect 'little girl' '-pure, innocent, demurely submissive and unquestionably obedient to a man in every way. Or become a free-spirited woman-independent, passionate, firer-and-free-spirited, open-minded, literate, and willing to continue to learn new things-whether or not those things were unconventional and improper for a high-born female such as herself.

In those few seconds where Atreyu's question hung in the air between them, something in her heart went click And in that moment The Empress knew what her choice was going to be. She knew what path she wanted to take.

"Yes..." she breathed, "I am very much aware of what you have told me... And I still accept your offer Atreyu, I still want to go ahead and learn how to become one with myself, how to become one with your Father Sky and Maka...and...with...with you..."

That was it. With those two simple sentences her fate was sealed. The die had been cast. There was no going back. She was going to follow her destiny and walk the path her warrior was on.

No matter WHAT Cairon and Brijatte would say OR do to her. Moonchild was determined to walk the SAME path as her warrior. At his side. As his partner, as his friend, as his lover, as his life-mate, as his soulmate and, in time, as his wife. THIS was with whom she was meant to be with. THIS was the person she was meant to share the rest of her life with. And she was NOT arrogantly or stupidly foolish enough to go against Fate. Cairon and Brijatte might be [she wouldn't put it past them] but not her.

Despite all this, despite the revelation she had discovered this week, despite her willingness do whatever it took to allow herself to become 'more then an 'Empress', and despite her longing to bare her WHOLE soul to her lover, she still couldn't bring herself to do the latter-she just couldn't do it. In the eight years she had known him, The Empress had shared a great deal, a great many secrets, with her warrior, but still, even after all this time, Moonchild could NOT bring herself to share with her warrior, her very best friend, the MOST deepest, darkest part of her soul. For there, hidden deep down in her soul, The Empress of Fantasia held ugly secrets she knew must NEVER be revealed, Secrets she had been forbiddon to reveal. Dark, ugly secrets about her life that even Atreyu did not know of. And these were dark, ugly, shameful secrets that had NOTHING to do with the fact she was NOT as ALL-KNOWINGLY WISE as she was perceived to be to the rest of Fantasia. These were secrets concerning 'abominable things' she'd been having to deal with-'abominable things' she had been dealing with for a long, long, long time. These certain 'abominable things,' were 'things' she had had to face on her own-for reasons only SHE alone knew. What EXACTLY these 'abominable things' were, were a MAJOR part of the ugly secrets that The Empress of Fantasia simply WOULD NOT divulge to anyone-not even to HIM, the warrior who'd risked his life to bring Bastian to her, the man who loved her as if she were his wife. And she knew these 'abominable things', these ugly secrets, were simply too painful, too private, too dark for ANYONE but her to bear. And she would hold on to them, guard them, no matter what. Even if she became Atreyu's student and lover in whatever way the latter was to be OR if she became the property of some selfish, controlling High Society or Royal Fantasian man, The Empress would continue to hold onto this hidden, dark part of herself for the rest of her endless life.

Nevertheless, in spite of what she vowed to keep tightly sequestered at the very bottom of her soul, she STILL wanted to go ahead and allow herself to grow, to change, to allow herself to become 'more' then what she was. Even though what she was about to learn would go against every single one of those lessons and lectures Cairon and Brijatte had taught her about denying the fact that she was 'nothing more' then 'The Childlike Empress of Fantasia' and that she was to 'stay that way'-PURE AND INNOCENT-morally, emotionally, mentally and, until she was a wife to a 'proper, pious', man of royal or noble blood, physically for ALL eternity. Nevertheless, Moonchild was willing to deal with such conflicts on her own as they arose. If she had to privately do silent penances after such lessons with Atreyu for those weeks of every month her lover was not with her, she would do it. If that is what it took for her to be free for as long as she could, then it-these 'teachings from Atreyu'-would be worth it. She'd rather risk damming herself to the dark netherworld of hell being blissfully happy and free as the woman she knew she wanted to be and being part of the man she loved in any shape or form she could for a short span of time then spend the rest of eternity being a lonesome, illiterate, miserable childlike-ornamented 'doll' who would one day be chained to a 'nobleman husband' who did not love nor respect her for anything but 'her position' as 'The Childlike Empress.'

Once again she found herself being hypnotized by Atreyu's gaze. She hadn't realized he'd raised his head back up. Her pulse began to increase, her mouth felt dry as she felt one hand, then the other lay themselves on either side of her face, the tips of his fingers barely touching her cheeks. "Close your eyes Moonchild," He whispered. She started to speak, started to ask what he was going to do but the tips of one set of fingers were there, shushing her, gently closing her mouth before she barely had a chance to part her lips."Shhh...do not speak right now. Do not speak unless you are asked a question. Now, close your eyes Ogliglewakan. Close your eyes and concentrate."

Tense as she was, Moonchild did as her lover instructed.

"Now, I want you to focus on the sound of my voice, the touch of my hands. Try not to listen to anything but my voice and try not to feel anything but either my hands or my lips. Can you do that?"

"I...I think so..." She was fighting back the urge to let a new blush heat her cheeks.

"Good. Stay still, don't open your eyes. Keep them closed, concentrate and clear your mind. This will help you tune into the spirits of your body."

At his words, as she felt his fingertips move lightly over her closed lids then her forehead, Moonchild felt her mind relax. In the span of a few moments her mind had become empty-all her jumbled thoughts and words had been pushed aside.

"Is your mind clear?"

"Y-yes..."

"Good...good...that's very good..." She felt his lips replace those fingers that had been caressing her temple. " Now, canlwaste tell me what is on your mind, cantkiya. I don't want you to hold back on me like this. Canlwaste, honestly, tell me how you are feeling right at this very moment... Let me help you canteskuye. Let me take away those conflicting thoughts I can sense your heart and mind are struggling with...You do not have to tell me what these thoughts are, canteskuye, if you do not want to. Just let me help you... Don't be afraid, Ogliglewakan, just canlwaste, canlwaste, tell me. I KNOW you know you can feel your body talking to you. What is it saying mitawa cantkiya?"

A breathless gasp lodged itself in her throat and for a moment, she felt like she couldn't breathe. "It...its saying...it wants to be near you...closer then we are now..."

"Anything else?"

"It...it..." For a moment, she couldn't continue. She felt embarrassed, ashamed, almost, of revealing something so personal, so wickedly sinful it almost frightened her to go on. But somehow, she found herself going beyond her fear despite the 'logical' part of her, the 'Cairon-trained' part of her conscience telling her to deny such immoral thoughts and to NOT acknowledge her feelings, physical and otherwise-even to this man whom she'd known and loved for eight long years.

'Oh, Gods, surely I'm damming myself, my soul to hell by voicing aloud such sinfulness...'

"It...the spirits of my body is saying the time has come for us to cross 'another forbiddon line'... What line this is I cannot make out...All I can tell you is that it is saying enough time has passed and the time has come to take 'another step', to go a bit farther then where we have gone since our first full day in this Secret Garden..."

"Are you sure this is what you hear? Are you absolutely certain that this is what your body is honestly telling you?"

"I...I believe so, My Atreyu...I do not think my body can lie about such things..."

He smiled against the back of her ear, "Hiya, mitawa Ogliglewakan, it cannot."

"But surely, allowing ourselves to give into our bodies desires, what they want us to succumb to...it...it...could bring us to a line we cannot quite cross yet..."

"Do not fear cikala igmutaka, I will not allow ourselves to go any further then need be. If a part of me says 'stop, go no further' I will stop.'

'Unless a part of you decides to say 'otherwise' mitawa alluring Igmutaka:.' His mind teasingly, temptingly threw in.

Moonchild's head nodded in understandment, silently indicating he could go forth and continue with his 'teachings'

"Now, can you physically feel how your body is reacting on both the inside and outside as it speaks of this?"

"Y-yes..." She could feel her parted lips go drier as she spoke.

"What can you feel right now? On the outside I mean."

"Y-your lips...I...I feel your lips...on my skin..."

"How do they feel?"

"They...they feel soft, warm and soft..."

"Do they remind you of anything?"

"Yes...they...they do..."

"What do they remind you of?"

"Feathers, your lips remind me of feathers."

"What are they doing?"

"Brush-brushing across my skin-my forehead." She choked back a laugh, "It almost tickles."

She felt him smile then heard a quiet laugh of his own. "That's a cute picture you conjured up. Feathers tickling your skin." His lips trailed their way down and across her cheek as he ran the back of his fingers along one bare arm. "Can you feel this?" He asked, keeping his voice as soft as a nighttime breeze.

"Yes...they're the backs of your fingers on my arm...they...they feel smooth...with a hint of roughness in some places...I think the roughness are callouses...either callouses or your knuckles...and...and your lips are on my cheek...n-no...they just reached my ear..."

"How do you know?"

"I can feel them on the outer rim of my ear, and...your breath...I can feel it in my ear...it-its warm, like the boulder underneath my hands..."

"How does the boulder feel beneath your hands? Can you describe it to me?"

Moonchild drew in a breath, then released it as she brought up the picture of the boulder in her mind's eye.

"Like I said, it feels warm. So warm it is almost hot to the touch. It reminds me of when I am holding a hot mug between my hands. The surface of the boulder is smooth. Smooth like newly unrolled parchment that has yet to be used..."

"Now, with all you are physically feeling on the outside, what are you feeling physically on the inside?"

"I'm...I'm feeling...warm-no-hot inside. There's this hot, tingling sensation in my groin and my blood, too, feels hot. There's also these tremors flashing through my body, my veins, they...they come and...then they go..."

"What do these reactions remind you of?"

"It...it...they...oh, Gods..." Another shiver wracked her body as his teeth once more tugged gently at her skin behind her ear ['it seems to be a favorite place of his' she thought] followed a second later by his tongue soothing the stinging his nibbles had left there. "It feels like you're sending pieces of lightning though my arms and legs...these...these tremors...they...they...tingle..." She bit back a moan and arched her back. "Your...your hands...your...your mouth...they...they are turning my...my...bl-...blood to...to...fi-...fire..."

Moonchild's head spun. She felt lightheaded-almost dizzy-from the intensity of what she was feeling inside, of what her body was doing to her. This combination of fire, lightning and tremoring sensations spreading throughout her system made it nearly impossible to think let alone talk straight. She fought back a needy whimper as she rubbed her cheek against his hair, feeling her legs go weak as his mouth gave softly damp, heated kisses along the right column of her arched throat. Her arms shook. She could feel her resistance weakening as that forbiddingly sinful arousing feeling began to gain a stronger hold on her.

'Oh, Goddesses...I never knew it could feel like this...I never knew that something so simple as being caressed and kissed could make one's inner system feel as if it were being consumed by liquid fire from within...a liquid fire that sets one's body ablaze...and electrifying lightning that makes one's body feel as if it has a life of its own...and tremoring...tremoring sensations that makes one feel tingly and weak all over...But still...'

"I...shouldn't...I shouldn't be feeling this way..." she found her voice whispering-almost to herself-into his hair, her fingers digging harder into the rocky foundation beneath them as she fought to regain control of these sinful sensations and emotions that were taking over. "It's...it is forbiddon..." she inaudibility reminded herself."Forbidden...sinful... for a woman to feel arousal, desire and lust...it's wrong...such sensations and the emotions that accompany them are meant for only a man to feel...not a woman..."

"Who told you such a thing?" Apparently, Atreyu's keen hearing had picked up what she'd been saying.

Moonchild, feeling startled and embarrassed to realize her lover had heard her thinking aloud, did not answer.

"It was Cairon wasn't it?" he asked in a low voice, his warm breath in her ear was stoking the molten rivers of stimulating desire flowing through her even as he spoke the question.

She nodded, feeling vulnerable at unintentionally revealing such a private piece of her life. She was determined NOT to let ANYTHING ELSE slip after this. There was a chance she might have already said too much. "Both him...and...Brijatte told me-"

"They are wrong Moonchild." His voice, usually so gentle, momentarily held a hard edged note to it as he cut her words off even as his mouth continued to plant kisses along her lower jaw, making His Empress arch her upper body even more. "There is no reason why a woman should not have the same arousing emotions as a man. It's not sinful or forbiddon for a woman to experience arousal, lust or desire. Those things are supposed to happen. It is nature's way of a female showing her mate he is sensually pleasing her and lets him know she wants him for her own."

"But am I-?..." This time Moonchild could NOT keep from blushing. But she VERY much wanted to know if she was 'returning the favor.' "Am I 'please'-...'pleasing' you...in...in return?"

"Hau, very much...Go on, Moonchild, if you feel those things known as arousal, lust or desire go ahead, let it take over. You don't have to fight it... it's toka sni...you're not doing anything wrong. Belive me. Trust me."

"I believe...and trust you Atreyu...I trust you with my life...and...and with...with my body..."

'You KNOW your warrior speaks the truth.' Her mind told her. 'So go on, give in. It is all right to go ahead and do what this warrior of yours is encouraging you to do... As long as you ONLY recognize these forbiddon sensations and emotions for WHAT they are and use them STRICTLY for the SOLE purpose of bringing 'carnal pleasure' to your lover and NOTHING more. As long as you DO NOT claim such 'carnal pleasures' for your OWN personal gratifications, then there should be NO grievous carnal sin being commited in letting yourself submit to that carnally seductive part of yourself' that you have been forced to deny...'

And with this reassuring thought echoing in her mind, Moonchild allowed herself to succumb to EXACTLY the VERY things Cairon and Brijatte had forbade her to...

She NO longer had the will OR the strength to hold back the tidal wave of 'forbiddon' emotions she'd been holding back for the past two years. And if she was honest with herself, she no longer wanted to. For the first time in her life, she turned away from the teachings of her Head Adviser/Servant and Head Handmaiden. For the first time since she had fallen in love with Atreyu at the tender age of fourteen [for that was the year she had started becoming aware of the fact she was starting to feel something 'more then simple 'platonic' friendship' for him']-and especially since they'd openly admitted their love for one another during their first kiss in the Secret Garden on the evening of the Ball-she surrendered herself completely to both her body AND emotions instead of relying solely on 'natural instincts' as she had been doing so off and on since their afternoon in the Secret Garden five full days ago. For the first time since the night when Atreyu had held her in his lap on her windowseat, when his hands and mouth were covering her with comforting kisses and caresses she fully allowed herself to feel the arousal settling in her groin. She fully allowed herself to feel the heat of her blood as it turned into an even hotter series of molten streams running through her veins, further igniting her body from the inside out. She let out a nearly soundless moan as she felt the forbiddon arousing sensation in her groin seep its way down to her loins where it caused that 'most secret area' between her legs to come alive. Within sheer seconds of this 'sinful thing' called arousal creeping down into 'that place' between her thighs, Moonchild felt as if that 'most private womanly part of her' had been set on fire like a lit match scantly touching the cold wick of a candle.

"Atreyu..." She mouthed as she felt his lips hungrily capture hers for the first time since she'd seen him enter the water.

"Join me, Ogliglewakan." he whispered, his hands enfolding hers. "Come, come swim with me..."

She nodded and allowed him to lead her around the boulder and to the rocky edge of the water. Wordlessly she placed her hands on his shoulders, making sure she had a firm grip as his hands clasped themselves on either side of her waist.

"Hold on tight to me Ogliglewakan, keep a firm grip onto my shoulders..."

Without warning, Moonchild felt her reemerging nerves turn into a near-panicky fear of toppling over and cracking her head open on the bottom of the hot springs as her feet moved closer and closer to the edge of the dark, bubbling pool. "I feel like I'm going to fall in!"

"Shhh...take it easy, you KNOW I'm not going to let that happen...relax cantkiya...go slow...take your time...it's toka sni, I'm right here in front of you."

She was now standing at the very edge of the pool, her toes just barely hanging over the rim. "I know, I know...But WHY am I feeling this way Atreyu!? WHY am I on the verge of having a panic attack now when I've done this countless times in the past!?"

"Because your nerves are on edge right now canteskuye, it's toka sni though, I understand, you're dealing with a lot of physical feelings and emotions at the moment-some, if not all, you are not accustomed to experiencing. From the little you have told me a moment ago, I gather you have been told you MUST pretend they are not there, that these 'physical feelings and emotions' do not exist. Am I right?"

Not wanting to give away ANY MORE information on her 'most private secrets' Moonchild nodded, affirming what Atreyu guessed was correct.

"I'm sorry though! I didn't mean to break the 'connection' between myself and my body's spirit by allowing my nervousness get the better of me!"

"Shh...calm down, cantkiya, calm down. It's toka sni. We can start over. Shhh... it's toka sni...don't cry...don't cry..." He reached up with one hand and wiped away the tears brimming at the corners of her eyes.

"I feel SO ashamed right now! This was supposed to be our last full day and I'm ruining it by letting something as stupid as nerves get the better of me!" She nearly wailed as she managed to shakily sit down on the edge of the pool, tucking her legs beneath her.

"No you're not! No, you're not..." Atreyu steadfastly framed her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "Listen to me, canteskuye!, listen to me. You are not doing anything wrong! Do you hear me!? For you to have nerves like this is normal...normal! It's toka sni, I understand! I understand... Our day has BARELY started, as far as I'm concerned, and you have not done one thing to spoil it. Not ONE thing! Toka sni?"

A sob caught in her throat and she blinked back the remaining tears in the corners of her eyes. "All right," she whispered, "all right..."

"That's my girl." He kissed her forehead. "Now, let's start over..." His voice had dropped to a soothing whisper, his fingertips massaging her cheeks, then her forehead in an effort to help her calm down. After a few minutes, he could sense the calmness she had had beforehand returning. "That's my girl...that's my girl..." He softly repeated, placing comforting kisses to her forehead as he felt her body begin to relax. "Let your mind relax and clear itself again...that's it...close your eyes for me cantkiya..." He heard her emit a soft moan as her lids slid over her azure orbs.

"Atreyu..."

"Shhh...don't speak cantkiya, don't speak right now, just let yourself feel what's going on inside you and around you...let your body's spirits reconnect with you..."

"But I thought I was supposed to describe-"

"You have, you have, for now, you do not need to describe any further if you do not want to. You have done enough to where you've become emotionally aware and connected to your body and what it is doing to you right now...that is enough. Now you need to let yourself imagine with your mind what you feel inside, outside and all around you...Can you do this for me?"

"Yes..."

"Good. Now, what I want you to do is unfold your legs and put your feet in the water. Go slow though, don't rush. I want you to feel and tune into the elements of the water as you enter it."

"Is that what you were doing before you dove in? Tuning into the elements of the water?"

He opened his eyes and stepped away for a moment, his hands falling to his sides beneath the pool's surface. "Hau. I was asking permission then thanking the elemental spirits of the hot springs for letting us use her for our swim. It is important to show gratitude to the elemental spirits of nature when we decide to borrow or use anything from them-whether it be an wamakaska or vegetation for woyute, a woju for medicine or a place to rest or swim-it is ONLY FAIR we ask permission and give thanks to Maka for what we take from her."

"I see." Moonchild's eyes were also now open, as she listened to what her warrior was teaching her.

"As long as we do these things, Moonchild, as LONG as we respect her, Maka will ALWAYS be generous and loving. It is ONLY when we take MORE then what we NEED, when we DO NOT show the proper respect and gratitude towards her, does she stop being kind and loving. Those who choose to not respect her or Father find themselves at their wrath."

"What do you mean, 'at their wrath'? What would happen if someone disrespects Maka or Father Sky?"

"Then they will have to endure much suffering. Maka, with the help of Father Sky, will see to it that there will be no more wamakaskas left to hunt, no more wahcaoju or vegetation left to feed off of or get peœuta from, no more fresh mini to drink, bathe or swim in. Together they can cause either a severe drought or flood. Together they can bring blizzards or extreme heat waves and other forms of natural disasters to whole wicotis if they feel the inhabitants of those wicotis are taking Maka for granted. I've seen it happen."

"You have? Where? When?"

"Many omkas ago-about five or six I think-there was a wicoti deep in the mountains located on the farthest eastern side boarderlining the Plains. For many omkas the inhabitants of this wicoti would take, and take, and take without giving thanks or setting aside some kind of offering to Maka in return to show their gratitude for what she was providing for them. They would go for apetus, okowajis, wyawapis even without saying silent prayers of gratefulness for the yagmis they planted, for the wahcaoju and vegetation they gathered for woyute or peœuta, for the wamakaskas they hunted to sustain their livelihood. It had been known to my people that these inhabitants had long ago stopped thanking the spirits of the wamakaskas they hunted for their lives they gave so these people could eat, have shelter, wear hayapis and have the necessities needed to survive. Same with the spirits of the wahcaoju and vegetation they gathered-their spirits were not thanked for the 'wiconi' they gave up so these villagers could be healed when injured or sick as well as be nutritionally balanced with the talo that was consumed. There had been a few times where some of my people-myself included-traveled to this wicoti to try to talk some sense into them. We warned them that if they DID NOT STOP what they were doing, if they DID NOT start showing appreciation for what Maka was giving to them, then she would become VERY angry and turn against them. "

"How did they respond to your warnings?" Moonchild breathed.

"They LAUGHED at us. They said Maka would NEVER do such a thing. They boasted how plentiful the makohlokes, mnikaluses, bles na minkaoskopas were. They bragged that there were enough wamakaska na woju wiconi to provide for them forever!"

"My Gods what were they thinking!?"

Atreyu shook his head. "I do not know mitawa cantkiya. All I DO know is that they DID NOT believe us when we told them they would suffer in the near future if they DID NOT CEASE their actions immediately."

"And did they?"

"Hiya, they did not. Within six wyawapis of our journeying to their wicoti, their yagmis were eaten by a massive swarm of gnugnuskas, six wyawapis later the wakpaoykes and mnikaluses dried up, the mini in the minkaoskopa bles dwindled to almost nothing for there had been no magazuhihpaye since that wetu. And six wyawapis after THAT there were no more watoglawiconi to hunt, no more vegetation left to gather. What watoglawiconi there WAS left were thin, poor and already migrating out of the region due to starvation. So within eighteen wyawapis the inhabitants of this wicoti found themselves, starving and near death from the harsh waniyetu they were enduring. Already some had lost members of their tiwahes due to sickness and starvation. By the following wetu we had heard the inhabitants of this wicoti had migrated out of these mountains in search of a new home."

"Did they begin to respect Maka by then?" Moonchild couldn't begin to believe that after such suffering and hardship they'd ceased to turn their lives around.

"Oh, hau. Most definitely. The last I heard, they had reestablished themselves with a neighboring wicoti in a southern mountain range two wyawapis journey from the Plains. The group of tribespeople who had passed by our wicoti informed us that the villagers who had been forced to leave their eastern mountains planned to stay there for ten omkas, so their old mountain range would have time to replenish itself. When the tenth omka is up then they will begin to migrate their way back home."

"Have they learned to be respectful of Maka and be grateful to her?"

"Hau, we have been told they now hunt and gather only when necessary and they seek permission and give thanks to the wiconis of wamakaskas, wahcaoju, and other natural elements as well as lay out weekly offerings to Maka."

"That is good to hear. I am glad to see they have learned their lesson."

"They can't afford to make the same mistake again, Ogliglewakan. It would mean the end of their oyate if they do."

"Will you teach me how to seek permission from the springs here? I feel as if I should do this before I enter the water."

"Of course, I was about to teach you how to do that very thing before you inquired about why I had paused for a moment before diving into the pool."

"Forgive me, I did not mean to interrupt your teachings Atreyu."

He laughed and kissed her forehead. "You don't need to apologize, Moonchild. It's good to see that you are inquisitive and want to know more then 'just the basics' of your lessons. If at any time you are curious or do not fully understand something, feel free to go ahead and ask. I will gladly pause in whatever I am saying and clarify whatever you need me to so that you may have a better understanding of what you are learning."

"I think I do that as it is don't I?"

He grinned, "Hau, you do. I am just saying your curiosity applies to these lessons as well."

"Thank you My Atreyu. Thank you for being so patient and understanding. I'm glad to know you are NOTHING like Cairon or Brijatte when it comes to teaching. They're ALWAYS criticizing me for interrupting them. They say I ask too many questions and 'it is unbecoming for a 'respectable, proper lady' to be so curious and inquisitive'."

"You'll probably get a better education from me then from them anyways." he teased, his mouth brushing softly against hers.

"I believe I already do..." she murmured, allowing herself to deeply feel all the sensations of her warrior's kiss. She found his lips were reminding her of heated silk, they were so soft and warm, his equally warm breath brought forth images of being bundled up in a soft heated blanket, warming her from the outside in after being outdoors on a cold day. Her hands gripped the edge of the hot springs as she sought to keep her balance. "Atreyu...I thought you were going to teach me how-"

"I will, I will...we'll get to your lessons don't worry."

"Then why-" But her question was cut off by another kiss.

"Shhh...no talking remember? No talking unless you are asked a question. Just listen. Listen and feel, that's all you have to do right now."

'If him caressing and kissing you is going to be interwoven from time to time into these lessons about 'tuning into yourself', him, and the natural elements around you' then all the better.' Moonchild thought as she returned the slow kisses her lover gave her.

"Keep your eyes closed for me, Ogliglewakan." he gently reminded her, brushing his lips across her closed lids. "Remember to keep them closed and let your mind become empty and clear."

As it had happened before, it only took a few moments for Moonchild's mind to relax and clear itself. Once again, her mind was like a blank canvas.

"Is your mind clear again?"

"Yes."

"Good girl. Now, I want you to picture the hot springs in your mind. Can you see it with your mind's eye?"

There was silence for a few moments then, "Yes, I do see it. I can see it clearly."

"What do you see?"

"I...I see the waterfalls. I see the mist, I see the pool of water that make up the hot springs. I can feel the heat of the mist as it swirls around the edges of the waterfalls"

"Anything else, mitawa Ogliglewakan?"

"Yes. I...I can hear the falls, they're roaring like male lions. And I can feel and hear the steam as it bubbles and rises up from the hot springs around us."

Atreyu was surprised. He'd forgotten how quickly The Empress could catch onto things if she wanted to. It had been a long time since he'd given her a lesson of any kind about his culture. "Very good. Now, what I want you to do is take a moment to listen to the hot springs. Once you have done this, then you can silently seek their permission to be one with them."

"Do I have to do this when I want to 'become one with myself'' or with my mate?" she shyly asked.

"Hiya, you do not need to seek permission to become 'one with yourself'' or with your mate. Only with Maka, Father Sky or any elements of the natural world."

"I understand."

"Good. I'm going to be silent for a few moments so you can concentrate. When you have sought and been granted permission from the elemental spirits of the hot springs and have given them your thanks, let me know."

"I will."

Atreyu made no reply and Moonchild took his silence as her cue to tune into the water elements around her.

Keeping her eyes closed, The Empress focused her mind and body on the sounds of the watery elements before her. She could hear the roar of the waterfalls, the soft, gurgling of the springs itself as it frothed and bubbled here and there among the stillness of the hot, dark, water. Little by little she had the strange feeling of hearing another sound admist all these others. What she heard, what she was gradually making out, was a faint, watery chorus of voices, singing, chanting in a language she knew not of. But then she realized she didn't have to focus on whether she could hear the words or not. All she had to do was feel.

'Remember,' her mind reminded her. 'you do not have to actually hear with your ears to understand a wordless language. All you have to do is feel and you will know what is being spoken to you.'

And she did. By feeling with her mind, body and emotions alone, by allowing all three to merge as one being, she was able to interpret what this watery chorus of voices were telling her: They were asking her what she was doing there. If she was with the young man with whom she was accompanying and what she wanted. In response to their questions, she told them she was only here for a short time, that she and Atreyu were here visiting for the day, and yes, she was with the warrior who was swimming in their waters. After answering the first two questions, Moonchild silently, and politely, requested permission to join Atreyu in their waters. After a long silence on their part, the spirits of the hot springs granted her permission. Grinning from ear to ear, Moonchild silently thanked them, promising to do so again when she and Atreyu left the cave for the day.

"I have been given permission to join you My Atreyu." she softly spoke, opening her eyes as she did so.

"I was hoping they'd let you join me. If they had declined you, I would have had to take it upon myself to convince them."

The Empress shook her head. "You don't have to do that My Atreyu."

"Yes, I do. As your very best friend, as your-" he paused, turning away for the briefest moment, as he felt his own cheeks grow warm, He couldn't believe he was admitting this out loud-but then again, why shouldn't he? It was true. "As your mate. I feel it is my duty to speak to Maka or the elemental spirits on your behalf if need be."

Moonchild too, could feel her cheeks grow warm at this statement. "I am honored you see yourself as my mate Atreyu." She said quietly, "For I too, see you as MY mate.' Her voice grew quieter as she made this admission be known aloud.

Atreyu turned back to her, a look of near-astonishment on his face. "You...you do?" His mouth was almost hanging open.

"Of course. Why shouldn't I? After all we've shared together these past few days, after what we have learned from my handmaidens, it would only seem natural for us to view one another as each others mate. Aren't lovers and mates one and the same?"

He laid his palm on her cheek, his almond eyes staring into hers in a way they'd never had before. "Hau...they are one and the same..." His throat clogged up, his heart was so full he could not speak another word. All he could do was cradle her face in his hands and lower his mouth to hers.

Their lips met in a kiss like no other.

For it was in this kiss that they FULLY acknowledged and CLAIMED the other as their mate, as their lover, as their soulmate. And in that moment in time, something extraordinary happened: For as their lips met, melded and became one, the minds of The Empress and Atreyu somehow became completely linked with one another and evolved into virtually one mind. It would be a while yet before each became consciously aware of this phenomenon, but for now, they were blissfully unaware of this extraordinarily rare occurrence taking shape. They were too deeply intuned in the touch, taste and feel of each others kiss to notice anything other then each other at the moment.

Even the lessons Atreyu was planning to teach Moonchild had been momentarily forgotten.

All they could focus on was the touch, taste and smell of one another as they held the other in their arms.

Their mate.

All of Moonchild's senses were fully intuned to this extraordinary man she held in her embrace as she drank in the kisses she shared with him. She could feel the soft heat of his lips as they caressed hers, feel the satiny dampness of his tongue as it delved into her mouth, as it danced and entangled with her own. She could taste the sharp, natural male taste of him that was uniquely his. She could smell the cleanliness of the water, mixed with the faint scent of the earth itself, softly emanating from his wet skin. She began to feel hotter then ever-and NOT from the heat rising up from the hot springs either. This hotness that was making her feel as if she were still outside instead of inside in the relative coolness of the cave, was coming from WITHIN her own body. It was coming from the fiery stream that her blood had turned into. Tiny beads of perspiration started to form on her skin, on her face, arms, shoulders, forehead, throat, and as they did, both Atreyu's mouth and tongue was there to tenderly, gently suck and lap them away, as if he'd taken it upon himself to make sure she was comfortably cool and not overheated.

"Put your feet in the pool Moonchild..." Atreyu's voice was raspy with desire as he gave her these instructions, "Put them in one toe at a time. As you do so, remember to take in the elements of the waters and feel them. Let yourself become part of them..."

Gingerly, slowly, as if she were about to step on hot coals, Moonchild placed one toe, then another, into the darkly, misty, bubbling, heated liquid below the rocky edge she was sitting on. Her neck arched, her breath hitched as she let her toes then her feet submerge beneath the inky blackness, tinged with snowy-whiteness of the bubbling water that called to her. With her eyes still closed, she felt the satiny, silky dampness of her warrior's mouth leave her skin as he carefully, gently, guided the rest of her body as she slid into the heated darkness of the hot springs. Her breathing stilled before it could leave her lips as the half-silent, half -bubbling dark waters of the hot springs enveloped her slender, delicate frame in its heated cocoon. She needed no prodding, no reminders this time, as she surrendered herself to the watery elements of the hot springs. Without opening her eyes, Moonchild allowed her body to sink lower, lower, and lower still, until not even Atreyu could see the top of her head beneath the inky blackness and white frothy bubbliness of the waters in front of him.

Fully immersed in the waters of the hot springs Moonchild could sense Atreyu's presence as he patiently waited for her to reemerge. She could faintly feel the cloudy, gritty feeling of sand swirling around her as it was being stirred up from its place beneath Atreyu's feet as he moved back an inch or so in order to give her the space she needed to safely move upwards from her place on the bottom of the pool without scraping her exposed skin against the slight roughness of her side of the hot springs in the process. For a fleeting moment, sitting there on the bottom of the hot springs-while breathing in the way Atreyu had taught her to do whenever she was underwater years and years ago-surrounded by nothing but murky blackness, Moonchild began to feel as if she really WAS a part of the springs. As the seconds passed, she could feel the spirits of the water itself connect with her in a way that made her feel as if she'd always belonged. It was almost as if the watery spirits was welcoming her back, welcoming her home. Then, as if on cue, as if she'd been doing such a thing all her life, Moonchild slowly, slowly rose to the surface.

Atreyu watched with awed fascination as The Empress emerged from the depths of the waters below. He stood there, with his mouth partially open, as if he had trouble believing what he was seeing before him. It was as if what he was seeing was a water nymph, and NOT The Empress of Fantasia, that was slowly emerging from the depths of the hot springs. Atreyu blinked, and shook his head for a fraction of a second, while his brain tried to process this tantalizing, spellbinding image appearing, inch by inch, before his eyes: Her head was tilted back as streams of heated water ran down the now-even-darker mass of hair slicked back from her cherubic features. Droplets of water ran down both sides of her face, dripped off her closed eyelids, the corners of her barely parted lips, her nose, and earlobes, trickled down her delicate jawline, chin and gracefully arched throat. Thin rivers of once-darkened water were now transparent as they made their way smoothly down her partially bared shoulders, her naked arms, her graceful hands and fingers that were clasped behind her head. Atreyu's mouth finally managed to unhinge itself from its nearly slack-jawed position. He could feel a familiar heated sensation begin to take its place in the pit of his stomach, in his groin, and in the depths of his loins. He swallowed, unable to tear his gaze away from this stunning creature rising from the waters before him like some water goddess. She was so close he could almost touch her. And for a split second he thought that the spirit of a water nymph really HAD invaded the body of His Empress. Unable to resist, his hands reached out, his arms stretched, and in the next instant she was in his embrace. The millisecond his arms closed around her lithe form, Atreyu knew it was his Angelic Empress he was holding. His Angel, who for the time being had the gracefulness and look of a goddesslike water nymph.

And this pleased him greatly.

The Empress's breath evaporated as the arms of her warrior enfolded her body and drew her against him. Whatever nervousness she had left had ceased to exist the moment she went underneath the water. Whatever conflicting emotions she had about whether what she was doing, what she was feeling bodily and emotionally was 'a wickedly carnal sin or not' had fallen to the wayside as his tender hands cradled her head against the slick hardness of his chest. Her own arms found themselves sliding around his lean waist. She nuzzled the hot, wet skin beneath her cheek, deeply inhaling that purely male smell that belonged only to him and no one else.

She felt safe. Safe and secure in his arms as she NEVER had with anyone else. Even the pats, hugs and fleeting embraces she received from her Royal Staff from time to time seemed oddly distant and aloof compared to the pair of loving arms she was in now. Atreyu was the ONLY one in her life who WHOLLY made her feel as if nothing bad could reach her, nothing evil could touch her. His embrace, his touch spoke of a love that was unconditional, a love that was unwavering no matter what. His was a love that silently praised her, encouraged her, admired her-even her flaws. [of which she had few] Unlike Cairon or Brijatte, Atreyu didn't belittle her, humiliate her or make her feel less then worthy in his eyes if she wasn't 'perfect' in her actions, words or mannerism. He didn't speak down to her as if she were beneath him, he didn't make her feel as if she were a horrible person just because she said, did or wore something he didn't agree with or approve of. For eight years Atreyu had ALWAYS encouraged her to speak freely to him on whatever she wanted to without fear of being put down 'just because she was a 'high-born female'-or a female in general. In all the time she had known him, NOT ONCE had Atreyu disregarded her thoughts or opinions. He made it a point to remind her she was beautiful on the inside as well as on the outside as well as how good she was when it came to watching over their world or giving advice to a Fantasian in need. [something Cairon and Brijatte NEVER did] In short, Atreyu loved her for WHO she was not JUST WHAT she was. He didn't care if she was clean or dirty, he didn't care if she was totally unkempt, averagely neat, or 'perfectly put together', he didn't care if she was more outspoken then deemed 'proper' in the eyes of High Fantasian Society, then other 'high-born' women they encountered from time to time. In fact, the more forthright, the more unconventional, the more unroyal The Empress of Fantasia was, the more Atreyu loved her. For underneath that 'perfect facade', those delicate, frail looking doll-like features was her 'authentic self'. What other Fantasians-including The Empress's Head Adviser/Servant and Head Handmaiden-refused to see, what Atreyu saw, beneath the 'outer layer' of The Childlike Empress was NOT simply a 'wise, ethereal creature', but a woman. A 'child'-woman maybe, but, still, a woman nonetheless. A woman who was not only gentle, kind, compassionate and loving but who also happened to be open-minded, smart, resourceful, hard-working and plain-speaking. A woman who was willing to 'do whatever it took' to keep those she loved safe and protected. [even if 'it' meant 'silently keeping quiet about 'dark, ugly secrets' concerning 'abominable things' being done to her by two 'certain' intimidating people 'behind closed doors'.'] A woman who had MORE quiet strength and MORE courage then ALL the 'so-called', 'high-born' men in Fantasia. Even if she didn't believe it herself. It was this quiet strength, this calm bravery, that had carried the deathly-ill Empress through day by endless day during the Great Quest. Atreyu didn't know it-and Moonchild wouldn't believe such a thing was possible let alone that she was capable of such things even if her lover told her about it- that is, IF he knew what had happens-but it was the strength of The Empress Herself on which he had drawn on-through the Auryn-during THE MOST difficult, despairing and hopeless times of the Great Quest. Starting with the heartbreaking loss of his beloved Artax and ending with the faint hope that the Ivory Tower was still standing, hovering, somewhere in the blackest space that was once Fantasia.

She stiffened for the briefest moment when she felt him move away, with her tightly held in his arms, from where they stood near the edge of the pool.

"It's toka sni cantkiya, I've got you, I've got you." Atreyu kissed the top of her head reassuringly. "I'm not going to let go of you until you are ready."

This made The Empress feel ALL the MORE secure, and she was grateful for it. Although she could swim [It was Atreyu who had taught her when she was eleven] she had ALWAYS been a teensy bit wary of deep water when first entering it. Ever since she let it be known to Atreyu her fear of drowning, he had ALWAYS kept a secure hold on her whenever they were encountering deep water for the first time whenever they went swimming. And because of this fear,-even though it had lessened a bit over the seven years they'd been swimming together-he had ALWAYS made it a point to stay nearby 'just in case' she felt like she was going to lose her balance in the water and go under. Of course, it NEVER happened, but Atreyu wasn't 'leaving it to chance.' Only ONCE or TWICE in seven years had then been a close call when Moonchild's legs had gotten caught on an underwater plant that had been trailing in her path, or her foot had gotten stuck in between a pair of rocks and she'd gone under and couldn't free herself. At both times, did Atreyu follow within the second of the incident occurring and assisted The Empress in freeing herself. Both times he'd kept a firm hold of her as they swam to the surface. Both times he'd held her in his arms-first as a friend and then, a few years later, as a very best friend-and comforted her, soothing her with his hands and his voice as she sobbed hysterically in his embrace And NOT ONCE during EITHER of those incidences did he berate or scold her for 'being stupidly, foolishly careless.' Instead he praised her on how well she had swum alongside him, how calm she stayed WHILE they swam and how proud of her he was for not letting her hysterics overtake her till they broke the surface and he was holding her securely in both arms.

She raised her head to smile at him, her azure eyes thanking him for being SO understanding even after all these years.

'Of course, why wouldn't I be?'

For a moment, Moonchild could have sworn she'd HEARD his thought, not just SEEN it in his eyes like she always had in the past.

She only smiled again, hiding her startled confusion with this smile as she leaned up to kiss him softly on those lips she had come to love in the past few days. Her nervous laughter died on her lips as he returned her kiss, one hand gently cupping the back of her head to tilt it backwards, the tip of his tongue teasing her closed mouth. She let loose a discreet moan, her lips once again parting for him. The Empress sighed as she snuggled closer to her warrior in the water, revealing in the heated warmth of both the waters of the hot springs AND of his deepening kiss. She experimentally tugged on his lower lip, just as he had always done, wondering if she was doing it the right way. Apparently she was, for he returned the gesture with a grin that was smothered against her mouth. This grin was followed by a low groan of desire as her hands instinctively ran from his waist, along his abdomen and upwards over his chest. To her surprise, Moonchild found that she LOVED the feeling of his smooth, slick skin that reminded her of heated satin beneath her hands. In fact, it startled her to realize that she reveled in feeling the coarseness, the slight roughness of his male-nipples as they stiffened underneath her palms. What came as MORE of a shock then THAT was the fact that she thoroughly enjoyed feeling the quivering shudder that ran through her warrior directly afterwards in reaction to her brazen touch and most shockingly above all of this, she was pleasantly amazed to discover that she was deriving great pleasure from the sound Atreyu made as his moan turned into a deep, low, rumbling growl as his mouth possessed hers more fiercely then ever before. Such a primal sound reminded Moonchild once again of HOW panther-like her warrior could be.

And such a thing as having the ability to tame, to have control over 'this panther' enthralled her.

Sneakily, her hands found their way up his body, past his shoulders and around the nape of his neck where her fingers entwined themselves in his long, wet, dark hair.

'I'll do silent repentance for all this tomorrow night,' she promised herself, 'but for now, I'm going to let myself 'surrender to the sinfulness of the moment'. Atreyu's right. I SHOULD have the right to experience the same things he is. Carnal sin or not, for now, for this day, for this night, perhaps I should let such things as 'what's sinfully wicked or not' be dammed.'

"Tunkasilas, Ogliglewakan...what are you doing to me?..." Atreyu groaned into her mouth as he ended the kiss she had given him. Already he could feel the tempting fire of his own arousal starting to creep up on him. Already his head was arched to the sky, his eyes were closed and he had to clench his hands as he released several deep, shuddering breaths in his embattlement to keep 'himself under control' while he still could. His teeth sank down on his lower lip while fighting back another groan as beads of sweat broke out on his skin and trickled down his body.

"Just 'capturing' and 'taming' my panther that's all." she replied teasingly as she leaned up and rubbed her lips against his a second time."But if you want me to stop I will. I won't continue if my bold actions are making you uncomfortable-" She started to pull away.

"Oh, no you don't..." Before she could react, his mouth was pressed down on hers, nearly startling her with its roughness. His actions delightedly reminded The Empress of how her warrior had 'savagely seduced' her that the sun wasn't even up yet. [even if she did end up compellingly doing a silent, repenting prayer of contrition to the Goddesses for her yielding to such 'carnally sinful actions' after Atreyu had left her bedchamber to take a shower and she was alone in her washroom taking her own shower] "I only asked what you were doing to me...I didn't say I didn't like it..." His hand reached down to cup her little garment-covered arse as he pulled her fully against him.

"Meaning?" Moonchild was surprised at the realization of how bold she was becoming in the matter of a few short days. [despite the moments where she mentally wrestled with the conflicting questions of what she was doing, how she was behaving when 'she was like this' with Atreyu. Were such actions, such behaviors truly 'wickedly, sinfully, forbiddon and downright scandalous?' or were her actions and behaviors completely normal and natural?]

"Meaning mitawa cikala igmutaka, you have my permission to 'capture and tame me' anytime you like..."

"Will...will you turn around and 'capture and tame me' in return?" she asked breathlessly. She was starting to like the idea of this 'new game' of 'hunting, capturing and taming' each other...

"I'll 'hunt, capture AND tame' you in return mitawa igmutaka, mark my words on that, What's more, I'll succeed in doing it too." There was a wicked gleam in his eye as he finally broke their kiss. "Remember, I have seventeen years of experience tracking, hunting AND capturing my prey underneath my belt."

"Well..." The mischievous glint from five full days ago returned to The Empress's eyes "Let's see if you can live up to what you say then..." She teasingly challenged her warrior-hunter in a very soft tone, as she let him feel her lips, then the warmth of her breath scant inches from his ear.

With that, she reached down and tickled him under one arm. He yelped, jumped back, his arms splashing water as he regained his balance while Moonchild dived underneath the water and swam away.

"Hey!" Atreyu was laughing as he removed water from his face. "Where do you think you're going you little wildcat!?"

"If you want me back, you'll have to find and catch me!" Her voice called from the shadows.

'Oh, I want you toka sni...You just WAIT till I get my hands on you again mitawa igmutaka, for once I do, I'll 'tame' you SO well, you won't WANT to 'escape' from me a second time...'

Deciding to take a break from their 'tuning in to oneself'' lessons for a bit, Atreyu scanned the whole parameter of the hot springs, his keen eyes honing in on the dark shadows of the rocky boulders. He briefly saw her figure dart behind the farthest clump of rocks. But as he started to move towards them, she slipped underwater again, disappearing from his view.

'Clever cikala minx...' He thought as he watched her dart from one side of the hot springs to the other, always moving so fast and so quietly he hardly had a chance to keep up. Once in a while he even felt her brush by him under the water as she teasingly swam circles around his feet, tickling their bottoms with her fingers.

Finally he decided the only way to 'capture' her was to beat her at her own game.

Silently slipping under the water himself, Atreyu stayed perfectly still, so that she wouldn't notice he was there when AND if she swam past. It didn't take long for her graceful figure to glide past on his right-hand side as she aimed for the right side of the falls.

Quick as a flash, before she could react, his hands closed around her slender waist where they held her securely as he quickly swam upwards, ignoring her legs and arms as they kicked and pushed in an effort to break loose from his gentle grasp.

"At-Atreyu!" She sputtered as they broke the surface of the water. "How-how did you outsmart me like that!? I thought I was ahead of you!" Her laughter was broken by coughs as she spat water out of her mouth.

"I have my ways..." was his only reply, as he maneuvered her around to where her back was within inches of touching his chest.

"So-so I see..." she coughed. "So, now you've 'caught' your igmutaka. What...what do you intend to do with your 'captured prey'?" She murmured as she looked over her shoulder into dark, almond-shaped orbs that were slowly becoming darker with an emerging desire to posses her.

" 'Tame her.' " Her 'captor' breathed seductively, huskily in the space behind her earlobe.

"And...and how do you plan to do that?" Her heart was thumping in anticipation.

"I have my ways about that too." he said cryptically, gathering her closer to him from behind.

"Such as..."

"That is for me to know and you, mitawa cikala igmutaka, to find out..." His fingers wound themselves gently but firmly in her long tresses.

"Atreyu-" Her words were cut off as he drew her head back and captured her mouth with his. She felt her body relax, felt herself surrender to his mouth, his hands, as she arched her head back farther to meet his demanding kiss, one hand automatically coming up to lay its palm against the left side of his face as he gently drew her backwards against his frame. She sighed contentedly as he rubbed his lips against hers, just as she had done to his not so long ago. "Atreyu where are you-"

"Shhh...mitawa precious ihaktapidaa igmutaka," he whispered in her ear, " just trust me..."

Moonchild said no more. Despite whatever lingering nerves she had left, she trusted him.

She trusted him completely.

Author's Note: If anyone is needing it, here are the translations for Atreyu's native language.

niye toka sni?: are you all right?

mitawa ógle na uzogis: my shirt and pants

toka sni Ogliglewakan: it's all right Angel

mitawa hayapis: my clothes

haske maheluzoges: long shorts

makoce, mahpiya, wahcaoju, wamakaskas na oyate: earth, sky, animals and people

mitawa wastelakapi Ogliglewakan: my beloved Angel

woju: Plant

wicotis: villages

omkas: years

wyawapis: months

apetus: days

okowajis: weeks

wahcaoju: plants

woyute: Food

peœuta: medicine

'wiconi' 'Spirit'

talo: meat

makohlokes, mnikaluses, bles na minkaoskopas: Streams, vallies, lakes and valley lakes

wamakaska na woju wiconi: animal and plant life

yagmis: crops

gnugnuskas: grasshoppers

wakpaoykes: riverbeds

mini: water

magazuhihpaye: rainfall

wetu: spring

watoglawiconi: wildlife

waniyetu; winter

tiwahes: families

Hiya: No

mitawa precious ihaktapidaa igmutaka: my pet lioness
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Enchanted Night