The brief seconds traversing the rift were the most vibrant and colorful moments of Nova’s life, only to have the array replaced with an elegant foyer. Marble statues flanked the entrance, the Ethereal oak door. She could tell from its hues of green, blue, purple and pink in the wood’s grain. 

What lay beyond the door? She felt intimidated by the magnitude of the home surrounding her, along with the door that would lead to the rest of her life.

When the dazzle of her new environment wore off, she realized she was still in a state of disaster. As she found herself ready to ask for a bath, Valen carried her somewhere. They departed the side of Ajax for a new location. Ajax spoke. “Freshen yourself up. You shall enjoy a warm meal once you’re comfortable. I will get you a wardrobe until you’ve found your own tastes.” She gave Ajax a nod and soon found herself in a bathroom lined with black marble, with a tub so large that three of Valen could fit in it.

Valen settled her on the counter as he ran the bath.” I’ve only had cold baths…” she mumbled to herself, wondering how the tub before her worked. She had always been the one carrying the water for the Prince’s baths and stoking flames. She pulled her braids loose to unleash the mass of dark blue curls and waves, getting lost in her thoughts as her fingers ran along the oily strands.

“Make bath warm. Promise. No more cold baths.” Valen said, offering her a gentle smile. The male before her was something she’d never encountered, compassionate for the sake of another.

She watched as the water that filled the tub shimmered like diamonds. Steam rose in an enticing, visible dance of wisps. A sense of warmth flared up in her belly alongside an inexplicable flutter. “Can I have a hot bath?” She asked, her voice trembling in anticipation.

“Yes. Soothe body.” Valen turned to face her before sitting on the edge of the tub.

She sucked back the tears that stung her eyes. She felt terrible that all he’d seen her do was erupt. With a deep sniffle, she met his gaze. “Thank you…” she whispered, looking into his amber eyes that matched her own. Their closeness allowed her to take in his scent of baked sweets and hearth fires.

“Take a bath now?” Valen asked, wiping away the tears sitting in the corner of her eyes. When she nodded, he stepped out of the bathroom. “Wait outside. Take time. Supper after.” He gave her that warm smile, which eased her. All the passing years of misery, and yet she was so blown away by how easily he aided her in finding comfort.

Alone in the bathroom, she stripped the furs off and looked at her body in the mirror. Markings she bore most of her life, gone. Even her scars had faded into dull, faintly noticeable imperfections across otherwise pale skin. The only magic within her was her own. She moved to the tub and settled into the waters, so blissfully hot she wished she could stay for eternity. She submerged herself under the water and curled up; the heat soothed her aching body. Pains, despite being healed that remained where Thazin had often been most cruel.

After well over an hour of her bath, half of it spent laying still in the floral scented waters, the other half scrubbing herself raw with all the different soaps until she discovered a scent that left her thinking of kitchens and baked goods, so savory yet sweet.

Nova emerged from the bathroom wrapped in plush towels, feeling clean for the first time in her life. The scented bar in hand. “Hey Valen…what is this scent?” he was a quiet male and nothing felt worse than disrupting his peace as she kept her voice lower than a mouse’s.

Valen was sitting on the floor playing with his kitten when he got to his feet and plopped the kitten on his shoulder. “Vanilla. Bath good?” He said, and she turned towards the bathroom and placed the bar back before returning to Valen.

Nova gave him a nod as she made a mental note of the vanilla, her pale skin reddening, as she sank her front teeth into her lower lip. “It was amazing… you are a kind master!” She let out with a beaming smile, only to find her heart sink at the sight of brief dismay across Valen’s face.

When his amber gaze flicked towards her, he shook his head, dismissing her. “Not Master. Nova free. Remember?” The massive male shifted from sitting with his legs splayed out to on his knees, near eye level with her. “Promise.” He gave her his gruff and charming smile through the thick brush of his untrimmed moustache.

What am I supposed to be if not a slave…a voice rose across her mind. One that saw only a path to her past.

She nodded and smiled back as his hand came to her cheek. She shut her eyes for a moment, basking in his intense warmth. His kind way of reminding her of her freedom made her feel blessed by the gods to have aligned her fate with his. She opened her eyes to lock with his, only to find herself shocked. That was when she noticed the harsh scar crossing from between his eyebrows to the right corner of his jaw, it even left its mark over his right eye, it made her heart sink for a moment to imagine someone would hurt him in such a way. She spun her Mother’s ring with her thumb; the sensation soothed her. “Thank you Valen. May you show me where my clothes are?”

Valen gestured for her to step back as he shifted to taking his normal titanic stature. She stared at his belly before craning her head up to look at him. “I have seen no one as tall as you! How did you get so big, Valen?” She inquired, cocking her head to the side.

He gave a shrug. “Parents maybe taller? Never knew.” He spoke in a near whisper as he led her towards another room.

She frowned, wishing she could have shared her Mother with him. Nova fell silent in contemplation, no response felt adequate. She gave his hand a tight squeeze.

“Dinner, three day Atlantean fish stew. Ready.” Valen replied with a sense of giddiness hidden beneath his calm tone. He opened the door for Nova before she could ponder the stew. 

The elegance of her room shocked her. “I live like a princess!” She shouted out, eyeing the plush bed with its dark cobalt blanket atop undyed linens that looked heavenly and a white cloudlike pillow. She’d even had a simple vanity, yet to her this was a thing of regality.

Is that the bed I get to sleep in? She wondered to herself, eyes running over what looked like the most luxurious place to lay her head.

“Not very fancy, good and comfy.” Valen replied, as he patted her back and grinned down at her.

Nova stepped toward the vanity and dropped her towel, beginning to look in the storage, and then the closet. She heard Valen turn to walk away. “You won’t tell me what to wear? Watch me dress?”

“No. Privacy is important. Wait next door. You pick.” Valen declared as he crossed the door’s threshold. Nova’s brow, lips, and nose contorted in confusion, but she let him keep going.

He is a most peculiar male; she mused to herself.

After blowing air between pursed lips and causing them to clap together, her eyes drifted to the mirror, tracing her finger over the singular remaining tattoo. Freedom was such a foreign concept to her, and she felt awful for messing it up. Determined to do better, she pulled her brush out and began running it through her hair.

Nova stepped out from the door of her new room, and she looked up and down the hall. A pair of comfortable yet conforming wool trousers and a dark red tunic that was baggy on her. Her dark blue hair freed in a thick wavy mass, and feet hugged by a pair of heavenly soft slippers. She spun her ring thrice before moving ahead; she felt a whole slew of emotions, but for the first time, she felt alive.

Taking off towards Valen’s door. Noticing it was ajar, she gave it a light knock to find herself greeted with him walking into her line of sight with only a towel around his hips. A thick brush of black curly hairs with faint splashes of white ran across Valen’s torso, but still held a physique akin to her imagination for the heroes of her mother’s spoken tales. His scars even matched that of the mythic males she loved as a child. “I’m sorry! I’ll wait for you!” She yelled out before turning with her back against the wall, holding her breath, a wave of fear crashing over her. With her eyes shut, the image of one scar came to mind, where his heart laid. There was a grave and deep mark. She tried to imagine what would bring someone to stab him in the chest. Or worse, carve a most tender heart free from it's home.

Her only sense of calm came when she spun the ring without even thinking about it. She walked up and down the hall, fidgeting, worried he’d punish her for disturbing his own bathing rituals. Lost in racing thoughts of uncertainty, she yelped in terror when Valen seemed to appear right behind her. His hand came to her shoulder, and he smiled. “No worry. Eat supper now?” Such a tender tone was mind-boggling coming from the male before her, who she was certain inspired fear in most because of his hardened visage.

Her pounding heart slowed to a steady beat, and she nodded. “Yes! Please?” She begged him, hoping this meant she wasn’t in any trouble. He gestured in the direction they’d be walking, and he began taking slower, shorter strides so she could keep up with him.

“Look nice. Hair beautiful. Nova vampire? Need blood? Can have mine.” Her face lit up with a bloom of searing heat at his words.

She took a moment to contemplate how to respond as emotions of embarrassment ran through her mind. She always needed blood, only ever getting it from an animal once every few months. “Yes… I have had none in many months. You sure? I feel bad biting you. Thank you for complimenting my hair. I’ve always loved it.” She replied in a rapid pace as she ran a hand through her thick blue waves, as a tremble racked through her body.

He shook his head and opened up the door to a dining room. A dark red oak table large enough to seat seven people took up a majority of space, the chairs so elegant in their lush design she imagined Ajax had created them himself. Goblets, bowls and cutlery of copper lined the table. While not lined with beauty to mask empty hearts, there was a more simple elegance to the dining room, one that she could imagine enjoying meals in daily.

“No, feel bad. Don’t mind. Nova need blood. Have lots. Promise!” His wide smile came to reassure her. She tucked herself against his side in an immediate response. It felt so natural to lean into his warmth. She noticed a low rumble from his chest, nothing like a growl or anything so sinister. A sated, content sound, one that left her thinking of when she’d see the animals brought from Terra to the zoo in the Seelie Court.

“Thank you…can I have it before we eat?” She pulled back from his hard core, staring upward, searching for something to read off his face. Any sign that stopping is the best call.

He gave her a nod and pulled out a chair and sat down. “Wrist? Neck?” he wondered aloud, tugging at his collar.

“Neck? I don’t know…I’ve never fed off of a person. Only animals before they were to be turned into meals…” She looked down, embarrassed by her admission.

“Neck fine, sit in lap.” He invited her, which she joyous to take him up on, pushing herself up to his neck where she nudged his dense beard aside only to find she noticed more scars. Her mother had similar ones. Those of forced feedings. Dread filled her once more at the thought of forcing him to endure being bitten when his neck bore such cruel marks.

This is wrong…. i can’t. her mind raced.

“Are you truly sure?” She asked again, needing his permission to go forward. Feeling her breath hitch in her chest.

“Yes. Scars ancient. Happy be Nova’s meal.” He uttered in a sincere yet playful tone, as his hand came to her back and offered her a slow rub that settled her frayed nerves.

She leaned forward and drew his scent in. It was a warm, delightful musk, a hint of sweetness to it that tickled her nose in the best way. “I’m sorry. I hate I have these needs.” She whispered against his throat, only to be shushed by him.

“Don’t apologize. All have needs. Want Nova’s met.” He said soft yet firm enough to give her confidence in that her barbaric needs were okay in this moment.

She sank her fangs as gentle as she could into his vein, when he showed no sign of pain or discomfort she sighed in relief against him. His blood better than any animal she’d had. Complex in its flavor, after several pulls, she felt sated but took a couple more before removing her lips and lapping at the marks with her tongue to seal them. She longed to identify the various flavors of his blood, but her limited exposure to nothing but gruel and scraps hindered her palate's refinement.

As she leaned back against him, Valen greeted her with a kerchief, dabbing the blood from her lips. “Feel better?” his question came with cheer countered with worry in his eyes.

She flattened her lips together and tried to read his face, unable to see anything other than a warm soul. She wished to know what left him so worried. “Much. Your blood is delicious…best I’ve ever had!” She let her feeling of content take her over and she molded herself to the male, basking in his endless heat once more. She loved the look of pride on his face, so happy to have been able to help her in any way he could. Never in her life had she imagined such a person to exist, nevermind that she would deserve his sweet nature.

After several long, and silent yet comforting moments in his embrace, she stood up and took his hand, pulling him to the scent of what she knew was the stew he made. “You must be hungry… Let’s eat!” she cheered out.

He was up and gesturing for her to take a seat where he sat. “I get. You relax,” he said with a firmness to his tone that left her compliant without a thought of resistance.

She gave a sharp exhale to banish her confusion before settling in the seat and having her chair pushed in by him. It only took a few seconds for a bowl made of the same material as her ring, filled with the most delicious smelling stew to be placed before her, and with Valen sitting across from her. His bowl looked akin to a small cauldron and his spoon a ladle. Once he started eating, she followed suit with squeals of joy erupting from her as the flavors of the stew were a rapturous journey. The chunks of meat were so tender they fell apart at the touch of the spoon. The spices lit small yet pleasant flames across her forked tongue.

One silent meal later, she leaned back in her seat, looking at the empty bowl. Her belly filled with his stew, and blood satisfying her cravings, she felt exhausted. Letting out a long yawn as she watched him rise and clean up. She wanted to help but felt immobile in her fullness. Her belly felt different from the typical hunger pangs. She felt a faint sense of being bloated, yet a comforting wave of fulfilled warmth swept across her. By the time he finished cleaning, she was asleep. She failed to process him lifting her up against his chest and burying her into his warmth at first as he left the now clean dining room, heading for her the hall their rooms were in. Her only instinct was to curl up as much as she could against him and let the comfort take her away. His beard tickled the back of her neck, drawing faint giggles from her. Without a thought, she speared her fingers into the rough mass of hair, thrilled by the coarse texture.

The last thing she recalled before slipping away into slumber's inky depths was being tucked into the silky sheets and blanket of the bed in her room.