Chapter 16
Previous Episode: Zalli discovers that maybe her reality was not what she originally thought it to be. Now: Will Zalli be able to solve the riddle her Tia Xilo left her?
“Tooo seeee the liiiight, yoou ne-ne-ne-need t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-to se-see the daaaaark.”
With each word Tia Xilo croaked out, her head would twitch at a sharp angle. On the stuttering, her spasms would get out of control.
Zalli turned her head away and shut her eyes tight, hoping the action would save her. Her hands clenched as she dug her fingertips into the concrete behind her, leaving behind imprints.
What felt like minutes going by were actually seconds before Zalli opened her eyes again. She found the woman before her staring with a blank expression and her jaw hinged open. Then Tia Xilo turned around and sat back down on the couch.
Zalli stared at nothing in front of her with her chest heaving from her deep breaths. Huizi brought her head up and bumped into Zalli’s thigh. It caused her to remove her hands from the wall. It left one free hand for Huizi to scoot her head into the curvature of Zalli’s palm.
So. That didn’t really answer anything, Zalli thought to herself as she rubbed her dog’s head for comfort. Realizing there was nothing holding her hostage, she zipped upstairs to escape the creepy atmosphere her Tia Xilo left behind. She ran straight to her room.
Arriving at her door, the maiden stared at her doorknob with trepidation, but then shoved herself inside her room. Her door closed with a resolving click. Zalli stood in a stiff posture with arms by her side and her legs at a hip’s distance. It was like she was stuck in a weird limbo and could not even make sense of what she had just experienced.
Not being able to figure out what she should do to solve her problem, Zalli acted on impulse and spun in a circle twice. When no inspiration could reach her, she discovered long ago moving her body with no intention helped her to generate the gears that moved in her brain. After her final spin, her strategy worked, and a spark appeared in the front of her mind.
Zalli concluded that perhaps what her tía was saying was actually a riddle. Figuring out whatever the “light” was would be the answer she needed to know about her makeshift reality. But in order to reach the answer, she would need to overcome whatever the “dark” was.
So, her first task was to see the dark. Which was not physically possible, but maybe it was something not to take too literal.
Zalli took a step towards her bed with the plan to see the dark by closing her eyes. It was not true darkness, but it was a start for Zalli. As she neared her bed, she noticed the late afternoon light streaming in through the open curtains. She walked to her window and grabbed hold of the fabric before looking at her mirror.
Zalli took a moment of curiosity, then stepped to her mirror and tapped it as she did earlier in the day. She proved the claim she knew to be right—that the mirror would display the same behavior as it did before she left her room, much to her behest.
The maiden released a sigh, then pulled the curtains close with a rough tug. She hopped onto her cushioned bed, making a soft plop sound. Zalli closed her eyes and submerged herself in her rudimentary darkness. She slowed down her breathing and tried to think of nothing.
The way she thought was through images, and if she let her thoughts run wild, pictures would appear instead of the black canvas she was aiming for. It was a struggle for her to desist from her natural tendencies.
She pushed out a frustrated sigh before she fell back to lie in the comfy embrace that was her bed. Huizi had joined her some time ago, already sleeping at the end of the bed. Before Zalli knew it, she joined her companion in the slumber.
. . •⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ . .
Zalli slipped an arm around her dance partner’s neck. She felt him bring his body close from behind as they swayed to the beat of the drums. He removed one of his hands from her hips to move her hair away from her neck. The moment she felt his hot breath on her exposed skin, Zalli knew what he was asking permission for.
The maiden tilted her head away from him to grant him better access. On the first kiss he placed on her shoulder, she let out a soft sigh. As he continued his kisses up her neck, Zalli bit her bottom lip and ran her fingers through the hair on the man’s nape.
Zalli didn’t care she did not know the identity of the man currently leaving a love bite atop her shoulder. It was a surprise to her as it went against her typical protocol of community administration.
Knowing the people in her designated district is expected of her from her job, but she surpassed that by familiarizing herself with most of the townspeople.
The council woman was even aware of the many strangers who passed through her town, either for the tourism or for visiting family. But as she snuck a peek at her dance partner, Zalli knew this was the first time she was seeing him tonight. Sure, she had seen glimpses of him as she danced by herself, but she did not see him earlier in the day during all the festival activities.
Yet, her drink from earlier made her think it didn’t really matter this man suddenly appeared from nowhere. If anything, she felt an exciting thrill run through her body.
Zalli turned around and wrapped both her arms around the man’s neck. She could get a better view of his face and concluded he was very handsome, with a dashing smile.
She brought her lips close to his, as if to go in for a kiss, but then stopped to rub the tip of her nose against his. The man released an attractive chuckle and Zalli saw he held mirth in his sapphire blue eyes.
He didn’t move his head forward to complete the expected kiss; he only continued their swaying and waited to see what she would do next.
Zalli hesitated. She was about to think against the idea. But when she glanced at his eyes again, she saw what look like pleading, which spurred her to move in. She crashed her lips against his.
They molded their lips to each other and got lost in a tight embrace. The man ran the tip of his tongue along the outline of Zalli’s lips, seeking entrance, which she gladly gave.
In an instant, she pulled away. The maiden remembered how she was a known community figure surrounded by her constituents. Usually at these social functions, behavior like what she displayed at this hour was not frowned upon, but Zalli still felt too self-aware.
She brought her lips to the man’s ear, ignoring his furrowed brows.
“My place is nearby. Do you want to come over?”
Once she finished whispering in his ear, the confusion he held in his expression left and transformed into excitement. He nodded, then pulled her in for a last kiss before she grabbed his hand and led him to her home.
The walk to her house was not too far away.
Yet, every so often, the man would pull Zalli into him for a longing kiss. She would giggle or smile after each time they intertwined. When they pushed themselves out of the crowd, Zalli increased her pace in the open space. She had a growing inability to wait.
Her breathing became harder to manage from their kisses.
Some time passed before they could reach Zalli’s street. She pulled her lover along to reach her door faster. She made sure not to pull with too much force, though. If she was not careful, she could hurt his arm.
The maiden pulled her keys out of her bag as they arrived at her home. She placed her hand on the door before she inserted her key into its designated hole. To the man, it looked like she was bracing herself for balance. But Zalli had to subdue the hidden security she placed on the door before she left for the fería earlier in the day.
As she turned the handle, Zalli felt a strong heat behind her. It caused her to halt her movements and look over her shoulder with a marginal glance.
Cal stood close to her and looked down. He had a hand up to touch her, but he only hovered around her arm. It triggered the hairs on her arms to tingle from the slight tickle.
Not wanting to stay like a deer caught in headlights, the maiden pushed the door open and stepped into the foyer. Her lover followed behind her and gave her time to lock the door properly before seizing her into his arms.
He raked one hand up her hair to latch it at her crown, while the other arm cocooned around her waist. He took her bottom lip between his teeth before suckling it. It left Zalli feeling like her body was sizzling in the anticipation.
The man flipped her around and walked her backwards until her back hit a wall. He took his lips away from hers to kiss down her throat. As Zalli’s hands moved up to squeeze his biceps, he rasped out to her a question.
“Where’s your room?”
Zalli fluttered her eyelids open. She spoke in a heated voice.
“Oh, it’s here to the right.” She pressed him backwards and indicated with her head where they should go. “Let me just check the lock over here.”
Zalli moved in the opposite direction and walked over to a set of double doors. When she placed one hand on a handle and the other hovering in front of the wooden door, she heard him speak from where she left him.
“What’s in there?”
She pressed on the door and felt the energy remained strong, just as she left it. Then she turned around and responded in a cheeky tone.
“A, uh showroom.”
She softened her gaze and smiled in his direction.
“For what?”
Zalli strutted to stand in front of the man and placed her palms to rest on his solid chest.
“Just a relic. It’s really just an old rock.”
“You into rocks?”
A giggle escaped Zalli before she got on her tiptoes and grabbed a hold of his face to kiss him with a delicate press.
“The only rock I’m into right now is you.”
The man furrowed his brow and had his mouth ajar.
“I’m ... a rock?”
A blush crept onto Zalli’s as she realized what she said was nonsensical. She brought her gaze down, but raised her hands to grip his arms and shoulders as she spoke.
“Well, yeah. Your body is like rock hard.”
He brought the corner of his lips up. Then he grabbed her chin between his index finger and thumb. The kiss he gave her was tender and sweet. It differed from the other ones he had given her so far. It left her with butterflies in her stomach.
When he pulled away, Zalli grabbed his hand and brought him into a narrow hallway where they left their shoes. She led him to the end of the hall, to where her bedroom was. Before she knew it, they were laying on her bed with him on top of her.
He placed his hands on either side of her head and kissed her with a stronger fervor. Her lover brought his elbows down to get into a more comfortable position and prodded Zalli’s lips with the tip of his tongue.
Zalli opened her mouth and swirled her tongue with his. She brought her hands down to pull his tucked shirt out of his pleated pants. Then, she caressed his exposed skin before grabbing the ends and lifted the polo shirt up his body.
The handsome man stood on his knees and crossed his arms to finish taking off his shirt. As he threw the garment to a random corner of the room, a thought entered Zalli’s head, which she blurted out.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
Though his figure was thin, the man bore an athletic frame. Zalli, distracted by his toned abs, placed her hands on his stomach while she waited for his reply.
“I go by Cal.”
“Mmm, Cal.”
Warmth spread across Zalli’s chest. She sat up and moved to take off her strapless blouse, but Cal stopped her to continue the action.
“My name is—”
“Aurozalli.”
He spoke in a calm tone. It threw Zalli off.
“How-how do you know that?”
He threw her blouse in the same direction as his shirt and then began working on unzipping her floral skirt.
“You’re the famous council member that calls all the shots around here.”
He threw the long skirt away without a care. Cal then brought his lips to the side of Zalli’s neck. Which each kiss he left there, he appeased her to lie back down.
“Oh, I don’t know about that.”
“Really? That’s what one of your esteemed peers had said. Although ... he seemed disgruntled when saying that.”
He bit into Zalli’s flesh to leave a love bite. Cal stayed there for a while, interchanging from sucking to kissing the same spot.
“Hah. Let me guess. You spoke to Council Member Ozoma.”
“Don’t know. Didn’t really care to know what he was saying other than he was talking about you.”
(If interested, please read full NSFW scene on my patreon - Patreon.com/RenRogue)
“It must have been him. Which is funny, considering everything.”
“Mmm.”
“By the way. You can call me Zalli.”
He got back on the bed and moved her up to lay her on the pillows.
“Zalli. Your name sounds as pretty as you smell.”
Zalli fell completely backwards. Her blonde hair splayed around her like a veil.
“And what do I smell like to you?”
When she detected no further movement, Zalli adjusted herself to find he was waiting for her to make direct eye contact with him for his response.
“Like a rose.”
So he had noticed her perfume, as that was her preferred floral scent.
Cal smiled at Zalli and moved in to kiss her. When he pulled back to look at her, Zalli saw adoration in his eyes and a blush appeared on her cheeks. His hand moved to pet her hair.
The moment Zalli turned her gaze away to follow his arm, darkness appeared, and she was left feeling like she was floating in space.
Michelle Alva
