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Groaning, he writhed in the sheets, his chestnut chin-length hair lying tousled on the pillows.
"Give me five more minutes," he grumbled, pulling the blanket over his shoulders. What this gesture meant, I knew all too well. Five minutes would turn into fifteen, then thirty, then forty-five. The sun was coming up soon, and he had to climb out the window while it was still dark. Otherwise, someone might spot him, which would be far too dangerous. Our staff had their eyes everywhere, and we all knew at least one of them had been planted with us as a spy. They kept a close eye on everyone who had power in this country.
"Alex," I hissed as I shook him vigorously. But that didn't help either. Then, I had only one thing left: to use my feminine charm.
Like a cat, I crawled onto the bed and paused for a moment directly above him. His face was like that of an angel. So soft, kind, and young. He was much younger than he actually was, in his mid-twenties, the same age as me.
Grinning, I leaned down to him until my nose almost touched his cheek. Then I put my lips on his skin and kissed him from the ear to the neck until I had to push the bedspread a bit to the side to continue my way over his trained upper body.
Alex’s next moan was of a different nature, and the accompanying lolling ignited in me the lust we had already satisfied a few times that night. Unfortunately, I was all too aware today, as in all nights before, we had to separate longing for each other.
However,only for a short time. The wedding was planned for late summer. There were a few months until then, but we would still make it.We have to make it!An uneasy feeling rose in me, which I quickly shook off by returning to my kisses and Alex's skin. I anchored my whole attention on it.
"Rina, what are you doing?" The man below me whispered in a throaty voice. A giggle escaped me. Already, Alex had grabbed me and carried me onto my back while he was now lying on top of me, wide awake, immersing himself in my green with a fiery look in his brown eyes. His right hand slid under my dress to purposefully slide his fingers up my thighs, following each of my feminine curves.
He wouldn't leave this room until well after sunrise if I didn't stop this now. So I grinned challengingly at him, pressed my thighs together, and brought my arms between our torsos. Then, I struck as quickly and effectively as I had learned in years of self-defense training. I braced one hand against his larynx, threw my hips to the side, and pushed him away from me with one knee. Deftly, I rolled out from under him and stood beside the bed two seconds later. Alex stared at me, aghast.
Annoyed, he pressed his face into the pillows. “You can't be serious!”
"Alex, it's going to get light outside any minute! We don't have time for this. You have to leave right now!" I urged him, gathering up his clothes scattered all over the room. One day, we would be caught only because the cleaner found one of his boxers in my room, which we had overlooked in our rush in the morning.
Hastily, I looked for the socks and pulled the shoes out from under the bed. Then I threw the clothes next to Alex on the mattress. He had already turned back to me and looked at me hungrily. “You’re not wearing any underwear,” he laughed triumphantly.
“No,” I said dryly, without even batting an eye. I had never been a prude. “You’ve recognized that well, and now finally get dressed.”
Worried, I peeked between the curtains outside into the garden. Was I already seeing the first dawn? Behind me, I heard Alex putting on his pants. Then, two protective arms wrapped around my waist, and I leaned against him. His chin rested on the crown of my head, and he pulled me closer to him once again. Here, in his arms, I could stay all day. Forget all my worries and problems. Leave them behind and dream of a new, better future. Together.
"I know I have to go, Rina, but I'm finding it harder and harder. I love you and want to spend every moment with you. Not in a few months, but now. I wish we could get married sooner. Do you think …” I felt him swallow. “Do you think the Knights of the Seals are behind this, that we didn’t get permission to marry until late summer?”
Startled,I wheeled around and put my finger on his lips. Just mentioning the name of this covenant could get you into big trouble.
Gently, he took my hand in his and kissed me lightly on the mouth. "Don't worry, I won't do anything that could be dangerous to either of us because I have plans for our future together. And they certainly don't include prison or a stake."
Lovingly, he smiled at me. Then he hurriedly walked to the bed, slipped on his shoes, and grabbed his shirt and jacket, only to be standing next to me at the window again the next moment.
"Are you coming back tonight?" I asked hopefully. "We could pick up where we left off," I whispered to him with a lustful look. His eyes caught fire right away. With a stormy kiss, he answered my question. He would break into our garden again that night in defiance of all dangers and enter through my window.
“Then will you also bring me a book from the university library?” I hastily pushed after.
"Of course, I'll borrow one for you, little Einstein," he grinned at me with amusement as I punched him indignantly.
"I should go now," he suddenly said seriously. "Take care of yourself, Rina."
Gently, he took my face in both hands and, this time, kissed me very softly on my lips. Then he turned around, peered cautiously between the curtains out into the night, and finally, when he could not discover anyone, climbed out of my window to disappear into the darkness of our garden.
I stood there like that for a long time, staring after him through the blackness, even though I couldn’t see him. Slowly, the sun moved over the roofs of the houses and bathed everything in a sparse light, making the shadows in which spies could hide all the more creepy.
Hastily, I closed the window and the curtains. Then I ran to the mirror one last time, smoothed the skirt of my dress, fixed my hairstyle, and put on the mask I had to wear every day. This time, I did not avoid my gaze—quite the opposite. Intensely, I looked into the green that was so familiar to me. Even if it hadbecome duller lately, it was less radiant than a few years ago. I wondered when it would change to a dull gray.No, you mustn’t think like that!I tried to remind myself again that I mustn’t give up. If I did, the Knights of the Seals would have won, and I could bear the thought even less than this golden cage.
I wanted so much to rebel against this dictatorship, to oppose them, to fight for my rights and my freedom. But, hopelessly, I slumped inside myself … I could not. For the love of my family, for the love of Alex.
Soon! Everything would undoubtedly get better soon. As soon as I married Alex, my life would go on again.
I wasn’t going to let it get me down that easily. Determined, I straightened my shoulders, took the last few steps to my bedroom door, unlocked it, and stepped out into the hallway.
There, as every morning, was already a hustle and bustle. The maids were cleaning the vases and paintings, and the sounds from the kitchen, where breakfast was being prepared, were coming up from the lower floors.
Silently, I nodded to one of the girls. She quickly looked away and hurried to the next vase, which was not on my way to the stairs. I felt terribly sorry for these maids. Where upper and middle-class women were no longer allowed to work, lower-class females had been condemned to do the jobs no man wanted to do. In addition to cleaning, these were, for the most part, physically very strenuous or dangerous jobs, such as underground mining, which the Knights of the Seals had revived. No one knew why because they could not search for raw materials that were hardly available anymore, exhausted by humankind in the last centuries. That much was certain.
