Mias and Elle - Chapter 15

Maybe he isn't too bad after all…

Elle's teeth pinched at her bottom lip as Mias' lips trailed hot kisses all across the exposed flesh of her neck and chest, all of which felt incredibly hot. She felt so flustered, and the words were not even able to form inside of her head, let alone out loud. One of her hands was squeezing his shoulder; the other was pressing the open skirt between her legs against the seat of the bench, denying Mias any entry he may have been planning. Of course it was all very lovely – there was no denying it- and incredibly distracting, but there was something across the way that her curious mind could not help but notice. Squinting her eyes accordingly, she realised that there was a small wooden door, almost entirely overgrown with the sweet pea and ivy – only the outline and rusted metal handle were visible at first glance.

"Mias…" Oh my god, was that my voice?

"Mm?" His reply hummed through his lips and against her throat.

"Mias."

With an exasperated sigh, Mias propped himself up on an elbow and looked her in the eye with lazy interest, obviously irritated by the interruption. "What?"

"That door over there…"

Mias' brow fell and he looked as though he was about to blow a gasket in his frustration. Really? All this effort and she suddenly wants to know about a rusty old door? He groaned and sat up, giving up on her – for the moment, anyways. "What of it?"

"Well," She had thought her pointing it out was sufficient enough for him to give an answer, so she had to give some thought as to how to word the question. "Where does it go?"

"Outside." He twirled the cut blue rose by the stem between his thumb and forefinger, completely uninterested.

"Outside," She echoed in a whisper.

The interest and awe in her voice caught Mias' attention. He had not given it much thought, but assumed that since it did not seem to matter to him so very much, that should be able to trust Elle. After all, he was quite sure that she now understood that there was nowhere that she could go that he could not follow.

"To the courtyard, yes." He gestured the rose to her, "If you wish I shall unlock it for you, so that if you should ever wish to take a stroll… So long as you promise not to run away again."

Elle blushed at the curt accusation, then realised –with a fair amount of surprise- that the thought of running away had not even crossed her mind. He had been so kind and fun that she had been thoroughly enjoying herself all day, completely distracted from any thoughts of leaving. The realisation was almost disturbing, but she could not help but smile at Mias as he twirled the rose under her nose, smiling right back at her. She took the rose, her fingers lingering slightly over his as they came in contact; it was electrifying, in its own terrifying way.

"Wouldn't dream of it." There was a hint of sarcasm, but it couldn't be helped.

"Good." His hands illuminated for a brief moment and the door creaked ajar, "It is done."

Touching his hand gently, she smiled sweetly at him, ignoring the crinkled expression of confusion on his face from the strange contact. "Thank you."

They shared a brief moment of just staring at each other with awkward smiles before Mias found himself bored with it all. He had things that he wished to deal with, and Elle seemed happy enough that he felt comfortable leaving her to her own devices so that he could get to his own.

"I shall put this in some water for you then?"

Elle passed him the rose gingerly, "Y-yes, thanks…"

"Enjoy it," He kissed her forehead and traced her jaw with his right hand. "I will fetch you when dinner is ready."

"Mm," She closed her eyes until the warmth of his hand was gone.

She watched his every step as he left until the door closing behind him made it impossible for her gaze to follow him any longer. It was hard to admit, but it felt so strange when he was gone; she wanted to just sit with him in the sun for the rest of the day.

When she looked at the door, she felt no urge to run for it then never stop, though the small portion of her logical brain that was not being smothered told her that it was what she should do. She had even approached the door, but her hand wavered on the handle, and when she opened it to reveal the vast green fields that she had raced across just days ago, she felt no urge to do so again.

Just before turning back in to the garden, Elle swore that she heard something out of the ordinary coming from just beyond the door. She looked up and could faintly make out the balcony of her bedroom, thinking that perhaps Mias was calling out to her from there, but it was empty. So she took two steps out of the door and looked in the same direction, and that is when she saw something she was not at all expecting.

"Abernos?"

"Miss Elle!" He came running at an incredible speed, nearly crashing in to her, "Miss Elle!"

"Abernos!" She lowered her voice to a harsh whisper, "What the hell are you doing here?"

The stag smiled sweetly and raised his head nobly, "I came to rescue you!"

Elle cocked her head to the side and tried not to laugh by covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers, trying not to offend him. By the look he gave her and the light blush on his cheeks, he seemed to know just as well as her how foolish his actions were. There was certainly something to say about his child-like charm.

"That's very sweet of you, but…" She was not quite sure how to say it.

"You do not need rescuing." Abernos took her hand eagerly and pulled her another step away from the door, "You have found your own way out. Come, we must go quickly!"

Elle pulled her hand away from his grasp and backed up into the threshold, touching the door with a shaking hand. The way that Abernos was staring at her only made the things that she was feeling all the more terrifying. His adorable ears fell back and he cocked his head to one side, the urge to squeal like a five year old at a new puppy was a hard one to fight, but she managed.

"You don't understand."

"Apparently not," He laughed nervously and scratched at his neck. "It's Mathias! I mean…"

"I get it… But you don't – he opened the door for me, he gave me all of this- you don't know him like I do."

"No one does, then." He frowned, "It doesn't seem right. You should go, while you can!"

"Where?!" She practically screamed at him, and then lowered her gaze and her voice, "Where…?"

There was nothing for her out in that world - hell, there was nothing for her back home. It was something that she had not given much thought to; was she really happy here with Mias, or did she just want to go home where everything was normal? Things were certainly different – from the way they were only several days ago and certainly from things at home. Abernos was looking at her with wide, confused eyes, his hoof-like feet digging at the grass beneath him anxiously. She wanted to give him an answer, but she couldn't even come up with one for herself.

"You could go home."

That only made it worse. "I… I can't…" She pressed her forehead against the door and sighed. "Even if I could, I'm not so sure that I would want to."

"You're joking. It's Mias!"

"Yes," She snarled. "You've said that! But you just don't know…"

Abernos sighed, "If you are happy…"

"I will figure things out on my own. For now, I'm fine. Thank you…"

Abernos did not look convinced or at the very least incredibly uncomfortable with what he was hearing, but for the first time Elle felt as though she could stand by her words and her feelings since all of this had begun; it was strange. She could not help but wondering what Mias would have to say if he could hear her defending him and laughed a little, internally of course. The smug bastard would probably gloat right in the stag's face then try and whisk her off to try and get inside of her pants, thinking he would have a clear shot. She tried not to blush, as Abernos was looking directly at her.

"It is nice to see you again, Miss Elle."

"Just Elle, and the very same to you."

Elle invited Abernos in to the garden so they may sit and talk, but he respectfully declined. The thought of being on Mias' land was disconcerting enough, but stepping hoof on his actual property was a terrifying notion. There was no way that he would risk the magician's wrath, especially when he was sure to already be on his list. So they sat casually on the grass, to his surprise, to make small talk and get to know one another. Still weary of Mias' presence from within the building, he kept his ears alert for any sounds that would give him an advantage on the man's approach.

"So he gave you the garden. That was… different of him."

"Why do you hate him so much?"

"Not just him; all of them. The Decivus family are all vile people, if one can even call them that… He is certainly not the worst, but-"

Elle waved a dismissive hand, "I understand. He certainly takes some… warming up to."

"And what exactly kind of warming up have the two of you been up to for you mind to have changed so quickly?"

Elle's expression went blank and her cheeks burned a bright red, and even when Abernos laughed at what he had meant only as a joke, she could not shake the embarrassment. It only got worse when he noticed her shaken façade and gave her a questioning glare. But it did not last long, and he shrugged it off so that he could prattle on and give her some advice on what she could do to help maintain and primp up her newly acquired garden.

She listened as best she could, but at the back of her mind that nagging voice was asking how she was letting things go so fast, how she was choosing a fantasy over what should be reality; the line between the two had become very misconstrued. In the past several days she had witnessed so much on this word should not be possible, should not exist – yet it did, and there was proof of it sitting less than three feet away from her.

It was hard for her to decide what exactly to make of Abernos, half man and half deer; it was so very strange. It was even harder to sink her teeth into than what Mias had pulled off earlier by making her levitate, after all illusionists from where she came from had done it many times before. Abnormally hairy arms and legs were one thing – it was his dark fingers, hoofed feet and antlers that really threw her off. The ears and fluffy tail usually took until second glance to notice, especially when between said ears was such an adorable face.

"- I could help you, if you like."

Perhaps she was not listening as closely as she seemed to think she was. "That's very sweet of you, but I don't think that Mias would approve."

Abernos made a frightened face. "I suppose I did get ahead of myself."

"That's alright. Besides, it will be nice to have something to keep myself busy." She smiled nervously at the stag, thinking of a means to change the conversation. "I never did get to thank you, or your brother, properly for helping me when you did."

"Help? We did nothing…"

He looked so ashamed of himself, and Elle touched his strange hand carefully with a smile. "You helped more than you think. Thank you…"

"Bu-" He knew that there was no winning this battle and lowered his eyes to her hand on his, "Y-you're welcome… I suppose."

"Elle?" Mias' voice called from within the garden. "Elle!"

In the blink of an eye, Abernos was on his feet and Elle could only stare up at him from the ground. He looked utterly terrified and fidgeted extensively, his mouth barely forming audible words, let alone whole sentences. She could tell simply by his body language that he was far more afraid of confronting Mias on Decivus land, and it stood within reason.

"You should go."

Abernos stumbled, "But what about you?"

Mias called out her name again, sounding a little more urgent and several times louder.

She gave him a look that she could only hope conveyed that she did not need saving, but he certainly would if he stuck around much longer. "Now!"

Elle had never seen anyone move so fast in her life, though it was more than likely due to the obvious difference between whatever he was and humans. In moments he was gone, and she was only staring off at the treeline on the horizon, untainted by any movement at all. Just in time, as she heard Mias' heavy footfalls approaching until he was directly behind her.

"What are you doing out here?"

She stretched out her bare feet across the grass and smiled up at him like a happy child. "Enjoying the sun."

Mias could not help but smile right back at her; it was disgustingly adorable, and incredibly thought provoking. He could not help but stare at the bare skin of her exposed legs, and when she leaned back on to her elbows to point her face to the clouds his mind raced in a torrent of thoughts both sweet and licentious. Without a second thought, he hurriedly plopped himself down behind her with spread legs and balanced on one arm, so that her elbows brushed his inner thighs and her head hung over his groin. The grin on his face pulled at the muscles in his face until they ached when she opened her eyes to see him hanging over her.

"Couldn't help yourself could you." Oh, I just said that out loud, didn't I?

He chuckled, more amused than anything, and brushed a few stray strands of hair out of her face. He always enjoyed the way her eyelashes fluttered whenever he touched her face, and doubted that he would ever grow tired of it.

"It is… good to see you so happy." He looked away, avoiding eye contact as best he could at such a close proximity. "I prefer your smile over that nasty indignant look you are so fond – oh, and there it is again."

"Is it so hard for you to just leave it at a compliment?"

"You are far too scrupulous."

Elle let her head fall back as far as it would go and stuck out her tongue at him, "And you are incorrigible."

"Ah, but you seem so fond of it."

"Now you're being presumptuous!" She laughed until their eyes met, and then all she could do was stare and blush. He may have me there…

Mias absently stroked at Elle's hair, eyeing every inch of her face that she had craned back so that he was a full view. Her eyes were gently closed and her breathing was slow and relaxed, it was captivating. But as much as he enjoyed the view, he could not ignore the loud grumble that emanated from his gut.

"Hungry so soon?"

"Unfortunately…"

Elle smiled.