his shirt ripping off of him. Rissy screamed loudly and then spoke softly and gently “Oh Johann, I’m so sorry.” He just stopped and bowed his head. “Rissy, you had absolutely nothing to do with it.” Rissy began kissing the scars as though she were trying to heal them. Her tears ran down his back as she did so. She glued herself to him. “I never noticed them before. It must have been horrible for you.” She tapped into his memories and saw the whole thing unfold before her eyes driving her almost to her knees. She was able to see how the chains were cutting his flesh and the blood run down his back. It amazed her how the chains seemed to fall apart and crash to the ground like shattered glass. She could see the violence being done to the woman involved and it made her vomit. “You must have loved her a great deal and yet I have the feeling that I made you choose between the two of us at one point. If your love for her was that strong, I can see how much you love this girl. This wretched little girl here with you.” He spun around and stared at her. “I will hear no talk of you being wretched. You are my love and soon to be my wife. My choice was meant to be and it was mine alone. I could have walked away from you, but I wanted to be with you. You have never made me do anything.” “A girl meant no disrespect. She truly didn’t.” He softened. “Rissy I know you didn’t.”
They went into the house and ate. That night while lying in bed with him it dawned on her. “He never slept with me because of fear of losing someone he loved. That’s why with me, he has always been patient and waited. It must also be why I have gone against my desire so many times with him and yet in this life, I was able to give freely of myself, though it was not actually what I truly wanted.” All night she held him to her and lay naked against him. She was hoping that he would try to take her. She would have given herself freely to him, but he never tried. She would wake from time to time and kiss his scars hoping that she would be able to comfort him. He slept soundly for the first time in thousands of years. The next morning Johann woke early and found one of the servants and had them bring up coffee and breakfast rolls, and fruit. He then went to wake Rissy who did not want to get out of the bed. She had not slept much due to worrying about him and continuously dreaming of the pain he had gone through. She finally clambered out of the bed and joined Johann on the balcony. As Rissy was drinking her coffee and thinking about the previous day and then how she wanted to just spend all day in bed with him, Johann spoke. “Rissy, remember we are going for a ride.” She finally removed herself from the table after drinking at least six cups of coffee and went in and dressed. She decided to wear pants and a smart pink blouse. When she went to meet Johann outside, she gasped. There he was on a black stud and beside him was a stable boy with a dapple gray mare. There was an English hunt seat upon the back of the horse meant for her. She looked over at Johann who was riding bareback and told the stable boy to remove the saddle because she was riding bareback as well, something she regretted as soon as they started down the path., but she found herself enjoying the ride.
The Lake
Johann challenged her to a race and Rissy was unable to refuse. Rissy’s red tresses were blowing in the wind as she rode and Johann stopped just to do nothing more than watch her. She was purely beautiful and brave. He could not believe it when she flew over the old fence as though she had been riding like this since she was born. He had seen Risanne ride like that but never the Rissy side. If there were any doubt that he had made a mistake long ago it was gone completely at this point. He had noticed the night before how peaceful he felt when she cuddled close against his back. He could not stop thinking of her and how blessed he was for having found her again and how much she meant to him, but more than that, how much he truly loved her.
He must have known that night long ago when he said goodbye to the one he had been hand-fasted to. Alma had told him that she knew he would end up making that choice and though it hurt both deeply, she had outgrown him and was now very powerful in her own right. She had given him her blessing after everything had settled and they still spent time together though not as lovers, but as dear friends. She was the one who finally told him to quit denying himself and take Rissy as it was meant to be. The signs they had both seen so many years ago had been mixed and the two of them saw something that was only temporary, but neither wanted to admit that then. It was only after hundreds of years before they could look at each other. After they ran into each other on a trip that both were taking were they finally able to see that their love had only been a stepping stone to things much greater than either could have ever imagined. He could almost hear Alma whisper to him “Go to her Johann. Follow your heart as you always have and give her freely what you have always tried not to do for fear of not being able to let go. I knew it the moment you called me to destroy you that night when you had Risanne tied to the bed and were so distraught that I even thought of doing so. If she hadn’t told you that she needed help with the innocent side of her, I would have done it to keep you feeling a pain worse than you when you were beaten and watching me die in your arms. She loves you just as much my angel as you love her and cannot fathom a life without you in it. She would sell her soul to keep you if she thought she would lose you forever. Go now and never push her away again. I just wish that I could have said that so many years ago when I saw the pain you were in fighting to balance your love between the two of us. Me, I was a love of honor and redemption that you felt you needed and you were mine; Rissy was the chosen one and we let that cause strife between us and eventually tore us apart and you almost lost her as well in the process. Hurry now and catch her, and yes my angel, she is simply beautiful but never tell her I said so.” With that he took off after Rissy, his dark locks bouncing in the wind and with the strides of the steed that carried him. He and his horse seemed to float over the fence and were soon by her side, where Johann reached over and kissed her as they flew like the wind in a storm down the path.
Soon they came to a lake. One that Rissy felt very familiar with. She looked at Johann and smiled when she saw the picnic basket. “Do you ever forget anything, Johann?” He stopped dead. “There was a time when I forgot something so very important and since then I try not to ever forget again.” Rissy pushed for more but he told her that he would tell her when his story came to that point. She had already learned not to question his timing or at least there was that small voice again telling her to be patient and the rewards would be great. It seemed that this time it was Rissy rushing things; not like long ago when the more expressive and aggressive side of her pushed so hard that it almost destroyed this moment.
She had melded and each side was now the whole. If Johann could have read her thoughts at that moment he would have seen how much so. Rissy didn’t want to hear the story today, she wanted to do nothing but make love to him all day and if she felt like it all night here by the lake. Her nude body could feel the memories of when one part of her was here with him and how she took him before he knew what was happening. Rissy’s cheeks were flushed when she looked at him and as he placed the blanket on the ground laying upon it she leapt upon him grinding herself into him. The look in her hazel eyes was that of desire and to her surprise, it scared Johann. Johann was at a loss as to what to do. Anyone who knew of him when he and Rissy had last met would have wondered what had happened to him for he was never known to be surprised by a lady’s desire. Then passion overtook him and he began kissing her deeply, his hands running all up and down Rissy’s body. Rissy took off her blouse and bra then opened his shirt and pressed her breasts again his chest but found that there was still too much material between them, so she waved her hand and it was lying beside the blanket. “There, that’s better” she said. It wasn’t long though before both were tired of the restraints of clothing and soon it was all beside the blanket. Johann kissed down her neck and chest moving over to her right breast and then over to the left. Rissy had her own ideas. She straddled him and arranged things so she could slide back and forth as Johann sucked on her breast and when his fangs first sunk in she began grinding her hips on him and for a second almost positioned herself for entry, but something held her back from going that far and she fought with herself as to if she should or not until the orgasm hit her and she felt his between her folds. She collapsed onto him and would not let go. “Johann I love you so much, but a girl still couldn’t allow entry. I’m sorry Johann. Please forgive a girl for her teasing you over and over. I almost did Johann and a girl doesn’t understand why she couldn’t allow it to happen though she desires it more than you know.” He brushed a few copper tresses off her face and looked deeply into her eyes. “Rissy, it really doesn’t matter that much. When