Living in the Past: Chapter 4A
Her response was followed by a light giggle coming from the woman to her left and her head quickly shot up from its home in the pillow. It took her a few seconds to take in her surroundings and remember where she was, but the cool blue eyes staring back at her were a welcome sight. One corner of her mouth perked up and she was about to issue her bedmate a soft good morning, but another knock on the door ensued and this time it was followed by a familiar male voice.
“Sarah, they’re about to start serving breakfast. You need to hurry if you don’t want to miss it.” Anthony called from the other side of the door.
“I’ll meet you over there shortly, Anthony. Thanks for the heads up.” She yelled back and let her head fall into the soft pillow one last time.
She burrowed into it for a few seconds as she tried to ease the mild hangover she knew she deserved from her exploits last night.
“How’s the head?” Khepri asked with a slight tinge of entertainment.
Sarah pulled her head back up and looked sleepily at the other woman. “I’ve had worse. Did you sleep ok?”
She was answered with another chuckle as Khepri looked down and spoke. “You snore.”
“Ah, so I’ve been told.” Sarah said as she turned over onto her back and wiped the sleep from her eyes. “I’m really sorry.” She looked back to Khepri. “Did you get any sleep at all?”
“I’ll be just fine.” The warrior said as she smiled back at her. “How many times?” She asked
“Huh?” Sarah asked, confused.
“How many times have you been told that you snore?” Khepri elaborated then joked. “Do you often just allow strangers into your bed?”
“Oh!” Sarah sat up, a bit embarrassed. “Um, no. I’ve just had to bunk up with a lot of people. You know, because I travel and all. It’s just a lot more economically efficient to get one room instead of two. I’m not like this huge slut bomb or anything.”
Khepri laughed at her hurried explanation and Sarah’s eyes narrowed as she caught on.
“And you’re giving me a hard time.” She said, before raising up to grab her pillow and softly smacked her with it.
A small pillow fight ensued before the two women decided that they’d better hurry if they wanted to make it in time for breakfast. They dressed quickly and moved toward the dining room. All Sarah could think about was the cup of coffee she so desperately needed and could not have. Khepri however had plenty on her mind.
She knows how to kill the vampires. How could she possibly know how to kill them? No one has figured it out yet, they keep coming after them with those ridiculous dryad bones, yet she knows. Where did she find out about the wood? And how much more does she know? Khepri thought as she took a quick look at the girl while they walked to breakfast. She seems so young and foolish. Surely she won’t pose too much of a threat.
“You ok?” Sarah asked, noticing how quiet she was being.
“Yeah.” Khepri said, withdrawing from her reverie. “Just a little worried about those things from last night. When I walked up and saw you fighting them I noticed that they can’t be killed by normal means. How did you know what to do?”
“It’s a long story.” Sarah said, still not quite sure what kind of story she was going to make up. “I’m gonna hold a meeting later and explain everything.”
“Ok.” Khepri said, disappointment tinting her tone. It didn’t go unnoticed by Sarah, who took it to be fear.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.” She said, touching her back. “I’m a lot more resilient than I look.”
Khepri forced a smile. “I trust you.”
What was ironic was that she meant it. She did feel that she could trust Sarah, and she needed to make sure that the feeling was mutual.
“We’ll watch each other’s backs.” She told the girl before opening the door to the dining hall.
Once they’d secured a plate of lack luster food they moved toward the hail they were receiving from Zoe’s group. Sarah took a seat on the bench next to Anthony, and Khepri sat across from her. The time traveler greeted everyone then immediately started to inhale her food just like most of the table’s occupants. Rah and Khepri were the only ones not eating. The Amazon was simply staring at her plate trying to work up the courage to take a bite and not throw up. The newcomer was simply pushing her food around her plate.
“Not hungry, Rah?” Sarah asked, looking up from her plate.
Her only answer was tightly clenched jaw that shook from side to side.
“I’ll take your food if you don’t want it.” Anthony said with a mouthful.
Rah simply stared on at the plate and tried to keep her stomach in check, so Meg grabbed the plate and passed it after taking the small slice of bread off of it. She handed the plate to Anthony and put the bread in front of Rah.
“Work on building up the courage for that.” She said. “It may be a little less intimidating.”
“Speaking of intimidating,” Zoe said. “What the hell are we gonna do about those things in the woods?”
Everyone’s head whipped over to Sarah, whose mouth was stuffed. She looked up and chewed quickly before swallowing.
“Um…” She shifted her eyes from the plate to different people in the group. “Well, I need to talk to Varia about that first, but I guess a good starting point would be to get the tribe to start fashioning some wooden stakes. It’s a sure fire way to kill them, and everyone should probably start carrying one around.”
Before the last word even exited her mouth the entire table, minus Khepri, brandished said stakes.
“Ooookaaay.” Sarah said, wide eyed. “Guess you guys have that covered. So now, I just need to talk to Varia about a possible plan of attack. I still can’t believe all this ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ bullshit.”
Khepri had to suppress a growl as Sarah spoke. The situation was even more dire than she’d thought, but she masked her concerns with a renewed interest in pushing her food around.
“Speaking of which, where are Varia and Eve?” Sarah asked.
Anthony chuckled then answered. “I’m pretty sure they decided to skip breakfast this morning.”
Sun started to shine through the windows of the Queen’s hut and landed first on the face of the naked Messenger who was half resting on the Amazon’s dozing form. Eve’s eyes fluttered open and as consciousness started to wash over her so did memories of the night before. She slowly propped herself up on her elbow, being careful not to wake the sleeping form at her side.
As she took in the strong features on Varia’s face she couldn’t help but smile softly at the Queen’s beauty. How many times had she wondered what it would be like to wake up exactly like this? And how would Varia feel when she awoke as well?
Last night was one of the most beautiful nights of my life. She thought, forcing herself not to lean down and kiss the object of her affection. I don’t want to give this up. Eli, please just let me have this. I never knew I was capable of giving and receiving such love. I don’t want to lose it.
She didn’t even realize that her hand had made its way up to stroke a strong cheekbone until sleepy brown eyes were revealed to her, then softened with the smile that followed. Varia reached up to pull Eve’s lips closer to her own. The messenger obliged eagerly and issued a soft, lazy series of kisses upon the Queen; who, in turn, buried both of her hands in dark locks and raised a knee against the legs that were already wrapped around it. Eve pulled away slightly and gasped before resting her forehead against that of her lover.
“Good morning.” Varia said sweetly as she nipped at the lips above her one more time.
“It certainly is.” Eve replied as she looked deeply into eyes she wanted to get lost in for days. “I can’t believe I’m waking up in your arms.”
“I feel the same way.” Varia said, stroking her back. “Is that a good thing?” She said, referring to the arrangement.
Please say it’s a good thing. She thought. Don’t get spooked now, Eve. I don’t want to lose this.
Eve softly stroked her face and let a smile take over her face. “I don’t think I can care anymore about whether being with you is good or bad. I want it so badly that it just seems like there’s no going back… For me at least.”
The last line gave away her insecurities, but they were quickly discarded and she was rolled on her back and covered by the object of her affection.
“I’m not going anywhere, Eve.” Varia said, as she mimicked Eve’s actions and stroked the soft skin of her face. “I don’t have any regrets at all about last night. I want to be with you for as long as you’ll let me.”
Eve’s heart was nearly bursting with happiness. She’d never felt anything so overwhelmingly wonderful in her life.
“I love you.” She said, before guiding Varia’s lips back to her own.
As she raised her own leg it was the Queen’s turn to gasp before establishing a rhythm she’d learned quite well the night before. She reached down to grasp at the outside of a silky thigh before dropping her lips to the woman’s neck. Eve was more than willing to raise her head back to provide better access, but as she started to moan softly in pleasure, a knock at the door halted the Queen’s actions.
“Who is it?” Varia asked with obvious annoyance coloring her tone.
“I’ve brought you and your guest breakfast, my Queen.” Said the Amazon on the other side of the door.
“Leave it.” Varia answered, looking back to Eve. “I don’t know about you, but food is a little low on my ‘to do’ list right now.”
“Oh yeah?” Eve said with a smile. “And what is taking priority right now?”
“Well there’s this...” The Queen answered before leaning in to suckle and nip at an earlobe.
“And then there’s this...” She said, moving down to lick the hollow of her throat.
“And we certainly can’t forget about this…” She then made a torturous trek down to her breast as Eve’s head slammed back into the pillow with a sharp intake of air.
She didn’t know exactly how much Varia planned to get done before they ventured off the bed for breakfast, but she knew that the food would also have to wait till they finished with the Messenger’s newly made list of things to do.
Once the meal was over in the dining hall the group split up to take on their tasks for the day. Anthony decided to go ahead with his research without Eve’s help and the girls had a party to clean up after, which left Sarah and Khepri up to their own devices. They walked around the camp and talked to pass the time.
“So are you going to be staying here for a while, or do you have to get back to your home soon?” Sarah asked.
“Well, I was thinking that I would probably stay here if they allow me to.” Khepri answered. “The woods don’t seem very safe right now, and I would be happy to help out the Amazon’s with any kind of defense they decide to mount.”
“I’m sure they’d welcome the help.” Sarah said, partially excited that she wanted to stay. “But if you wanted to leave I could escort you. It’ll be safe to travel in the day.”
So she does know more. Khepri thought.
“How can you be so sure?” She asked, trying to get more information.
“Well, if I’m right, the bad guys shouldn’t be able to come out in the day time.” Sarah answered.
“What are they?” The warrior asked.
“In the stories I’ve heard they’re called vampires.” The time traveler answered.
“What stories? Where did you hear them?” Khepri asked.
“I travel a lot.” Sarah said, trying to remain vague. “Somewhere along the way I heard some legends about what I thought were mythical creatures. I was obviously wrong about the mythical part.”
“What else do you know about them?”
How is it possible that she’s heard stories about vampires? Khepri thought. They had been very careful to keep their pack small and secret.
“I’m not sure how much is true, but there should be at least three ways to kill them: Sunlight, beheading, and a wooden stake through the heart. We know the last method works, now we just have to figure out the truth behind the rest of the possibilities.”
“How can you be sure that there are more of them?” Khepri asked.
“I’m not.” Sarah said. “But I’d rather be safe than sorry. Otherwise the Amazons will always be confined to the camp at night, and that’s not a good thing.”
“No, it’s not.” Was the tense reply.
“Sarah!”
Both women turned their heads to see Zoe calling them over.
“Eve and the Queen have come out of hiding for a bit.” She said once they arrived. “I think we should probably let them in on what’s going on.”
“Right.” Sarah said as they headed to Queen’s hut.
“Sarah, they’re about to start serving breakfast. You need to hurry if you don’t want to miss it.” Anthony called from the other side of the door.
“I’ll meet you over there shortly, Anthony. Thanks for the heads up.” She yelled back and let her head fall into the soft pillow one last time.
She burrowed into it for a few seconds as she tried to ease the mild hangover she knew she deserved from her exploits last night.
“How’s the head?” Khepri asked with a slight tinge of entertainment.
Sarah pulled her head back up and looked sleepily at the other woman. “I’ve had worse. Did you sleep ok?”
She was answered with another chuckle as Khepri looked down and spoke. “You snore.”
“Ah, so I’ve been told.” Sarah said as she turned over onto her back and wiped the sleep from her eyes. “I’m really sorry.” She looked back to Khepri. “Did you get any sleep at all?”
“I’ll be just fine.” The warrior said as she smiled back at her. “How many times?” She asked
“Huh?” Sarah asked, confused.
“How many times have you been told that you snore?” Khepri elaborated then joked. “Do you often just allow strangers into your bed?”
“Oh!” Sarah sat up, a bit embarrassed. “Um, no. I’ve just had to bunk up with a lot of people. You know, because I travel and all. It’s just a lot more economically efficient to get one room instead of two. I’m not like this huge slut bomb or anything.”
Khepri laughed at her hurried explanation and Sarah’s eyes narrowed as she caught on.
“And you’re giving me a hard time.” She said, before raising up to grab her pillow and softly smacked her with it.
A small pillow fight ensued before the two women decided that they’d better hurry if they wanted to make it in time for breakfast. They dressed quickly and moved toward the dining room. All Sarah could think about was the cup of coffee she so desperately needed and could not have. Khepri however had plenty on her mind.
She knows how to kill the vampires. How could she possibly know how to kill them? No one has figured it out yet, they keep coming after them with those ridiculous dryad bones, yet she knows. Where did she find out about the wood? And how much more does she know? Khepri thought as she took a quick look at the girl while they walked to breakfast. She seems so young and foolish. Surely she won’t pose too much of a threat.
“You ok?” Sarah asked, noticing how quiet she was being.
“Yeah.” Khepri said, withdrawing from her reverie. “Just a little worried about those things from last night. When I walked up and saw you fighting them I noticed that they can’t be killed by normal means. How did you know what to do?”
“It’s a long story.” Sarah said, still not quite sure what kind of story she was going to make up. “I’m gonna hold a meeting later and explain everything.”
“Ok.” Khepri said, disappointment tinting her tone. It didn’t go unnoticed by Sarah, who took it to be fear.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.” She said, touching her back. “I’m a lot more resilient than I look.”
Khepri forced a smile. “I trust you.”
What was ironic was that she meant it. She did feel that she could trust Sarah, and she needed to make sure that the feeling was mutual.
“We’ll watch each other’s backs.” She told the girl before opening the door to the dining hall.
Once they’d secured a plate of lack luster food they moved toward the hail they were receiving from Zoe’s group. Sarah took a seat on the bench next to Anthony, and Khepri sat across from her. The time traveler greeted everyone then immediately started to inhale her food just like most of the table’s occupants. Rah and Khepri were the only ones not eating. The Amazon was simply staring at her plate trying to work up the courage to take a bite and not throw up. The newcomer was simply pushing her food around her plate.
“Not hungry, Rah?” Sarah asked, looking up from her plate.
Her only answer was tightly clenched jaw that shook from side to side.
“I’ll take your food if you don’t want it.” Anthony said with a mouthful.
Rah simply stared on at the plate and tried to keep her stomach in check, so Meg grabbed the plate and passed it after taking the small slice of bread off of it. She handed the plate to Anthony and put the bread in front of Rah.
“Work on building up the courage for that.” She said. “It may be a little less intimidating.”
“Speaking of intimidating,” Zoe said. “What the hell are we gonna do about those things in the woods?”
Everyone’s head whipped over to Sarah, whose mouth was stuffed. She looked up and chewed quickly before swallowing.
“Um…” She shifted her eyes from the plate to different people in the group. “Well, I need to talk to Varia about that first, but I guess a good starting point would be to get the tribe to start fashioning some wooden stakes. It’s a sure fire way to kill them, and everyone should probably start carrying one around.”
Before the last word even exited her mouth the entire table, minus Khepri, brandished said stakes.
“Ooookaaay.” Sarah said, wide eyed. “Guess you guys have that covered. So now, I just need to talk to Varia about a possible plan of attack. I still can’t believe all this ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ bullshit.”
Khepri had to suppress a growl as Sarah spoke. The situation was even more dire than she’d thought, but she masked her concerns with a renewed interest in pushing her food around.
“Speaking of which, where are Varia and Eve?” Sarah asked.
Anthony chuckled then answered. “I’m pretty sure they decided to skip breakfast this morning.”
Sun started to shine through the windows of the Queen’s hut and landed first on the face of the naked Messenger who was half resting on the Amazon’s dozing form. Eve’s eyes fluttered open and as consciousness started to wash over her so did memories of the night before. She slowly propped herself up on her elbow, being careful not to wake the sleeping form at her side.
As she took in the strong features on Varia’s face she couldn’t help but smile softly at the Queen’s beauty. How many times had she wondered what it would be like to wake up exactly like this? And how would Varia feel when she awoke as well?
Last night was one of the most beautiful nights of my life. She thought, forcing herself not to lean down and kiss the object of her affection. I don’t want to give this up. Eli, please just let me have this. I never knew I was capable of giving and receiving such love. I don’t want to lose it.
She didn’t even realize that her hand had made its way up to stroke a strong cheekbone until sleepy brown eyes were revealed to her, then softened with the smile that followed. Varia reached up to pull Eve’s lips closer to her own. The messenger obliged eagerly and issued a soft, lazy series of kisses upon the Queen; who, in turn, buried both of her hands in dark locks and raised a knee against the legs that were already wrapped around it. Eve pulled away slightly and gasped before resting her forehead against that of her lover.
“Good morning.” Varia said sweetly as she nipped at the lips above her one more time.
“It certainly is.” Eve replied as she looked deeply into eyes she wanted to get lost in for days. “I can’t believe I’m waking up in your arms.”
“I feel the same way.” Varia said, stroking her back. “Is that a good thing?” She said, referring to the arrangement.
Please say it’s a good thing. She thought. Don’t get spooked now, Eve. I don’t want to lose this.
Eve softly stroked her face and let a smile take over her face. “I don’t think I can care anymore about whether being with you is good or bad. I want it so badly that it just seems like there’s no going back… For me at least.”
The last line gave away her insecurities, but they were quickly discarded and she was rolled on her back and covered by the object of her affection.
“I’m not going anywhere, Eve.” Varia said, as she mimicked Eve’s actions and stroked the soft skin of her face. “I don’t have any regrets at all about last night. I want to be with you for as long as you’ll let me.”
Eve’s heart was nearly bursting with happiness. She’d never felt anything so overwhelmingly wonderful in her life.
“I love you.” She said, before guiding Varia’s lips back to her own.
As she raised her own leg it was the Queen’s turn to gasp before establishing a rhythm she’d learned quite well the night before. She reached down to grasp at the outside of a silky thigh before dropping her lips to the woman’s neck. Eve was more than willing to raise her head back to provide better access, but as she started to moan softly in pleasure, a knock at the door halted the Queen’s actions.
“Who is it?” Varia asked with obvious annoyance coloring her tone.
“I’ve brought you and your guest breakfast, my Queen.” Said the Amazon on the other side of the door.
“Leave it.” Varia answered, looking back to Eve. “I don’t know about you, but food is a little low on my ‘to do’ list right now.”
“Oh yeah?” Eve said with a smile. “And what is taking priority right now?”
“Well there’s this...” The Queen answered before leaning in to suckle and nip at an earlobe.
“And then there’s this...” She said, moving down to lick the hollow of her throat.
“And we certainly can’t forget about this…” She then made a torturous trek down to her breast as Eve’s head slammed back into the pillow with a sharp intake of air.
She didn’t know exactly how much Varia planned to get done before they ventured off the bed for breakfast, but she knew that the food would also have to wait till they finished with the Messenger’s newly made list of things to do.
Once the meal was over in the dining hall the group split up to take on their tasks for the day. Anthony decided to go ahead with his research without Eve’s help and the girls had a party to clean up after, which left Sarah and Khepri up to their own devices. They walked around the camp and talked to pass the time.
“So are you going to be staying here for a while, or do you have to get back to your home soon?” Sarah asked.
“Well, I was thinking that I would probably stay here if they allow me to.” Khepri answered. “The woods don’t seem very safe right now, and I would be happy to help out the Amazon’s with any kind of defense they decide to mount.”
“I’m sure they’d welcome the help.” Sarah said, partially excited that she wanted to stay. “But if you wanted to leave I could escort you. It’ll be safe to travel in the day.”
So she does know more. Khepri thought.
“How can you be so sure?” She asked, trying to get more information.
“Well, if I’m right, the bad guys shouldn’t be able to come out in the day time.” Sarah answered.
“What are they?” The warrior asked.
“In the stories I’ve heard they’re called vampires.” The time traveler answered.
“What stories? Where did you hear them?” Khepri asked.
“I travel a lot.” Sarah said, trying to remain vague. “Somewhere along the way I heard some legends about what I thought were mythical creatures. I was obviously wrong about the mythical part.”
“What else do you know about them?”
How is it possible that she’s heard stories about vampires? Khepri thought. They had been very careful to keep their pack small and secret.
“I’m not sure how much is true, but there should be at least three ways to kill them: Sunlight, beheading, and a wooden stake through the heart. We know the last method works, now we just have to figure out the truth behind the rest of the possibilities.”
“How can you be sure that there are more of them?” Khepri asked.
“I’m not.” Sarah said. “But I’d rather be safe than sorry. Otherwise the Amazons will always be confined to the camp at night, and that’s not a good thing.”
“No, it’s not.” Was the tense reply.
“Sarah!”
Both women turned their heads to see Zoe calling them over.
“Eve and the Queen have come out of hiding for a bit.” She said once they arrived. “I think we should probably let them in on what’s going on.”
“Right.” Sarah said as they headed to Queen’s hut.