She entered the Relic Room and closed the doors behind her, then took another few paces into the completely dark chamber. She was not surprised to hear a soft sound floating to her from the darkness. It drifted closer until he sang quietly behind her ear. His voice was clear and sweet but something in the tune of his chant was rather melancholy. She began to make out words she vaguely knew, words of an ancient elven tongue. Even if she could not glean the whole meaning of his song, the sound and mood of it touched her.

His hand touched her then too, brushing lightly at her neck. She knew to stand still and allow him to blindfold her, even in the dark room, before her eyes could fully adjust. She heard his chanting voice move around to face her. His fingers curled around her hands and squeezed gently then led her further into the room. He held onto her hands as he turned with her when they reached the Pentacle Frame.

Leaning in closer, he continued his lyrical chant in a whisper across her cheek. She shivered at his voice so close, so soft. His hands released hers and slid in from her hips to her waist, slowly loosening the sash of her long black satin robe. Warm fingers parted the robe and moved tentatively upward. His hands briefly cupped her breasts before proceeding to the crest of her shoulders. He pushed away her robe and let it pool onto the floor about her feet. His song drifted down as he knelt to gather the robe, brushing her ankles with the cool satin. He then rose to stand again and his voice turned away from her nude form to lay the robe aside.

When she felt his hand press gently across her bare stomach, she stepped back against the cold iron of the frame, causing her to take a sharp breath. It was then that she noticed the musky scent of herbs and oils and incense hanging in the air. It began to add to the mystical aura of his chanting, letting her slip away into the darkness, freeing her mind. She was only partially aware as he drew her wrists out to lock them to the frame. He knelt before her again to separate her feet and lock her ankles to the frame as well.

Upon rising, he leaned to brush his cheek against her own as he sang his cryptic words. She silently nodded against his cheek, a signal he knew as her consent to proceed.

The warmth of his body left her but his voice and the heavy scents swirled in the air to blanket her still. She felt her weight shifting backward as the Pentacle Frame creaked on its pivot. When her body was reclined, she heard the metal bolts sliding into place, locking the frame in position.

She heard the faint strike of steel on flint as he lit candles. She knew he could see her body now, naked and splayed on the ancient frame. She felt his nearness as he stooped beneath the iron ring then stood at her side, within the circle of the frame. His chanting never ceased, save for carefully phrased breathing. It was still a soft sweet tune mixing its melancholy mood with the fragrances.

Surprised when he touched her again, she flinched beneath his fingers. His hands began at her neck and lightly massaged in the oils she had been enjoying only by scent til now. Slowly the flat of his palms drew down across her chest, gently rubbing a light coating of the oils over her breasts. His hands cupped beneath her swells, thumbs coating and teasing at her nipples. His touch left her for a moment for more oil then proceeded over her ribs and across her stomach, which rose and fell in slightly quickened breathing. As his thumb softly caressed the circle of her navel, he curled over to kiss her there. She shivered against the iron frame and flexed her fingers. Within the complete darkness of her mask, she let the usual clutter of images sift away from her mind as well. Only vague shades of thought leisurely remained. She was lost to his voice, to the fragrances, to his touch. She felt his newly oiled hands move lower and slip lightly between her legs. His fingers' concern was mostly her thighs, but he let one hand linger over the softness of her. Once more she shivered as he drew a slow stroke along her moisture before his hands left her again. His chanting was smooth and even. The sound echoed in the chamber and circled back to her in rippled waves. Her mind was adrift, subject only to the whims of subconscious wandering... until suddenly her mind flashed with red anger! She felt the first drip of hot pain upon her neck. Her jaw clenched in a hiss. Besides the flash of pain, she felt rage at having been startled from the spell of his singing. Her fists only began to open as the heat of the wax dissipated. Each drip made her tug against her bindings, but the rage subsided.

As a drop of liquid wax splattered onto her tender breast, she jerked against the frame. Then came another hot drop and another. Had his tune gone more melancholy? Was it a dirge he was chanting now? Or was it only her sharp, if brief, pain that made it seem so? She bit her lip to keep from crying out. Her wrists pulled hard at the frame and her head shot up as a hot drop landed on her sensitive nipple. He allowed her a few quick breaths then wax tapped onto the other. These cries she could not stop, only stifle.

Still his song never wavered, no matter what she thought she heard. He continued his chant and their ceremony, dripping her with random splatters of black wax on her soft pale skin. She felt the application of hot drips moving downward, tapping across her stomach. A searing drop hit just above her navel. She felt it run into the crevice before cooling and beginning to harden on her skin. A small gasp escaped her. The burning wax droplets continued to sting her, seeming to travel across her hips and toward her thighs. His hand gently rubbed the inside of one thigh then she felt the sharp sting and jerked again as the wax adhered to this tender place. Her body shuddered as he applied the droplets, until finally she felt nothing but fading heat.

She took a long deep breath, willfully relaxing her tensed body onto the frame. He was surely finished. Her mind however was still running frantically through flashes of the short searing heat and other unbidden thoughts stirred by anger and the clarity of pain. She was victim of her own random memories, loathed visions and chained emotions. It was in fact part of the purpose of this ceremony, to let the sharpness of the pain bring to bear what ordinarily lay hidden, exorcising her personal demons. She turned her head aside, away from him, and swallowed around a lump in her throat. Slowly his song began to sound sweeter again. He leaned closer and whispered it against her ear. She shook her head slightly, lip quivering. She silently willed him to go away, to leave her with this until it ran its course, but he remained.

The blindfold served its purpose. Yes, it was to close off her sight and make emptying her mind that much easier. But it also served to hide her eyes from him. She could not see him and neither could he see her tears, though he surely knew. He curled over her, chanting as softly as a lullaby. Starting again at her neck, his gentle fingers began to peel the cooled wax from her skin, made an easier task by the coating of oils. He kissed the subtle rosy color left beneath each wax drop. One by one he freed her of the small remnants of pain and kissed his empathy and apology to her skin.

Her breathing was quite labored as he proceeded, more from her inner struggle than his actions but he was having an effect. His thumbs gently slid across her nipples to brush away the wax, then to each, a warm kiss and circling of his tongue, while he but hummed his tune. She felt his fingers working downward with a tingling as he peeled off the wax, and a deeper twinge as his warm lips pressed gentle kisses. She worked on the other aspect herself. Her hands flexed and relaxed and flexed again as she released her thoughts just as he released the hardened droplets. There was but one sobbing breath before she regained control of it. She made the transition from pain back to peace, without and within.

By the time his hands and mouth were soothing across her thighs and all the wax was removed, she could fully enjoy his attentions. She felt him move away from her side when he snaked beneath the frame again. His body brushed the insides of her thighs as he rose to stand between her legs. His chanting drifted up to her as she felt his hands spread across her stomach then one slid downward ever so slowly til his thumb could gently draw up between her soft lips. His massage continued, but with an entirely different purpose.

She swallowed and licked her lips as his thumb softly parted her. While one hand smoothly caressed her oiled stomach and hips, the other graced her with the barest touch to her nub. With her senses still heightened, it was enough to make her rattle against the frame again. His smooth oiled thumb flicked across her most tender spot then began to circle the small hardness slowly. Her body began to arch with the tension he built. Her breathing became panting. Her hands curled into fists and muscles strained against her bindings as her hips shifted with his tender motion between her thighs.

All the other thoughts were gone. Her mind was set adrift in the dark void and her body was consumed with his touch. His gentle motion grew sharper and struck her more deeply with each timeless moment. Her chest heaved with a gasp that caught in her throat. She whimpered to release it, only to feel him stroke at her again. He knew he was taking her to the brink then pausing to let her linger there. At last he let her crest, releasing her to rack against the frame, rattling the ancient iron pentacle on its pivot.

All the while, his singing continued softly, joined by her low growling moans and shuddered cry of release. She would not see his smile as his hands smoothed over her torso while she shivered with the last of her intense pleasure. He curled his body over her, letting his hands slide up to caress her silky skin. He would prompt one last lurch from her body beneath him as his voice paused, echoes fading into the recesses of the chamber, while he pressed a warm sucking kiss just above her mound.

The song resumed as he left her. She heard the metal bolts slide and felt her body shift upright with the frame. She had to remember to take her own weight as he undid her bindings, releasing her wrists and then her ankles. The chanting drifted to an end. His song and his task were completed. The silence of the chamber was profound as he went to snuff out all the candles, leaving them both in the dark once more. The pungent scent of smoke invaded the comforting fragrance of the oils.

His hands drew her from the frame and slipped her robe over her shoulders. He gently pressed her stomach as he closed the robe over itself and tied the sash neatly. He let his fingers brush across her breast beneath the satin before stepping around her. She felt his fingers untie the blindfold, letting it snake across her neck as he withdrew it. She stood breathlessly a moment, with him close behind her.

Very quietly and weakly, she said. "Thank you, aaron. I am well pleased." Her voice echoed in the chamber.

He curled to speak in warm breath across the nape of her neck. "Thank you, M'Lady. My pleasure to serve."

Her eyes were fully adjusted to the dark now so she could see her way to the doors. Without a look back, she whispered, "Someday I shall ask for a translation of your spell song."

Aaron's voice came from the dark behind her. "At your leisure, M'Lady."

Lady Arianda left him and made her way to her bedchamber. As always after this ceremony, she was drained and in need of sleep. At least this night, it would be restful and dreamless.

Relic Room

Other Relics

Ice and Fire
To Madame
Controlled Release

Bear1: Auction
Bear2: Marking