Epiphany: Part III - The Past
Soft notes from a bard's lute filled the park which hosted Grand Revel. Juylina looked on with a slight smile as she took in the music before moving on to another group.
~*~
The next group was mostly composted of men who surrounded an incredibly beautiful woman. She was in her late twenties or early thirties with deep black hair tied up leaving only a few strands to drape over the sides of her face. She had a body that most women would kill for: perfectly smooth skin, which was slightly tanned; a shapely figure which more than adequately filled out the skimpy red outfit she wore; and legs that seemed to run on for miles. Really, she was the typical Sunite woman, without the red hair.
"Please!" one of the men pleaded with her. "I can pleasure you in ways you've never experienced before!"
"No!" another man called out. "I can do all that and more!"
"I don't know," the woman replied with a playful tone, "I like the idea of more." She covered her mouth to cover up a quiet giggle.
All the men in the group continued trying to 'one up' the other by offering more and more to this woman. Juylina smirked at the exchange as she moved on to the next group; she knew what that was about.
~*~
"And that how we met four years ago on this date," the man in the center of the group declared to end his story. He held his hand out to a woman who stood in the crowd.
She smile warmly to him and took his hand. "I love him just much now as I did four years ago." The two embrace and follow with a deep passionate kiss.
Juylina kept her pleasant smile but couldn't help feel a bit jealous.
"It's such a lovely story," a voice whispered from behind.
The voice sent a slight shiver of anticipation down her spine as she slid her gaze over her shoulder to meet a rather attractive man. He was in his late twenties, well dressed in a black and purple suit and a statuesque face. Juylina could feel immediate attraction to the man as a breath slipped away and her heart started to pound.
"I haven't seen you here before, my darling, which is surprising that I'd miss one as beautiful as you. Even among all these women, you stand out so much that all the men should need to compete for your attention." He lets out a wide smile across his defended face, "My name is Neithan. Would you do me the pleasure of allowing me to stand with you?"
"That would be wonderful! I've never been here this late, that's probably why you've never seen me before. My mother would always take me home before it gets too late. Oh! My manners! I'm Lady Juylina Fiirhallen," she beams a smile then starts to chew on her lip.
"The pleasure is all mine, Lady Juylina," he lightly took her hand, raised it to his lips and softly kissed the top. Quietly, he stared deeply into her eyes for a few moments, "Hmm, I should speak with the magistrate."
She frowned, "Why...did I do something wrong?"
He held his hands up in protest, "No, no, Lady Juylina. It just seems to me that is must be a crime to remove something so beautiful away from this party."
All Juylina could do was giggle though her smile. Although she was used to being complemented like this, his voice seemed to carry a lot of power and directness, which was something she couldn't resist.
"They're about to start again, would it be too forward of me to request we move somewhere quieter where we can continue our conversation?" He held out one arm towards a quiet closed off area of the park and his other hand towards her.
Words were not necessary; she just took his hand and followed.
~*~
They sat down on a patch of grass underneath the tree which was shielded from the party buy a number of flower bushes.
"I'm glad you decided to come with me, Lady Juylina. I'd like to get to know you better."
"I'm like an open book! What would you like to know?" She beamed a smile to him, looking down towards her feet a few seconds later as she started to chew on her lip.
"I’d like to know how a beautiful young woman like you managed to escape my eye for so long."
Juylina giggled as she looked back up to him while still biting on her lip.
He brushed a few stray strands of hair from her face and slid his hand down towards her neck to direct her face towards his. Without question, she followed his direction as their lips met under the shadow of tree. Neithan's other hand moved down towards her two tied bandanas and began to undo the knot.
Her eyes widened and her breathing sharpened as she pushed him off. "What are you doing?" she shrieked at him. Unfortunately, the noise from the party was far too loud for anyone to hear.
"Juylina," he said sharply, "I'm giving you what you want. You don't come to a Sunite party dressed like that and expect not to give yourself to me."
"What..." she scrambled to her feet, "What are you talking about..."
"Juylina," he said again sharply, "Come here."
"No..." she held back a whimper as she moved further away.
"I'm not kidding." Neithan bent down and took a knife from his finely crafted boot. "Come here...now!"
She frantically looked around the alcove then darted into the flower patch as Neithan took off in pursuit.