Caesar73 wrote: ↑2 months ago
wolfman wrote: ↑2 months ago
As for the future, who knows what may come?
That is a good question

Definitely Nikita deserves any moment of happiness she can get. Repeating myself here but you created a wonderful character - with so much potential.
I am working on paying back all the hardships she has faced and all the good she has done. Hopefully you will like what i have planned.
In the mean time, here is the next installment.
Nikita slips her shoes off and flexes her toes, reclining in the sumptuous arm chair. Halpron enters the room and beams a smile at Nikita. “Well done. That was a full on day.” He says, before pouring two glasses of a deep, dark red wine.
“Pillars meeting, two schools, a hospital and a war veteran’s home.” Nikita recounts, rubbing the back of her neck, “Plus, the orphanage.” She gazes up at him, “Thank you for that, I know it wasn’t on tour schedule.”
“My pleasure and thank you for suggesting it. The children have been looked after by the state, but in many ways forgotten by the people of Atlantis. It was nice to showcase them and their stories.” He says, handing her a glass of wine and setting his down on the table in front of her, before moving behind the chair. “That said, I think the orphans, got a lot out of it too. They hung on to your every word.”
Nikita sighs, feeling Halpron’s large, strong hands on her shoulders, with his thumbs kneading the muscles of her neck, “Damn, you have magic hands.” She purrs letting him work the kinks out of her neck, “I think, that the young ladies only had eyes for their ruggedly handsome king.”
“I may have had their eyes, but their ears were definitely yours. Both the boys and girls, were entranced when you spoke.” He pauses, just changing the position of his hands slightly, “Can’t say I blame them. You looked amazing.” With the middle and forefinger of his right hand he begins a pressure point massage of each of the meridians of her neck, “Mind you, you always look amazing to me.”
In Nikita’s mind, it feels as if Halpron is turning a series of keys, unlocking the knots in her neck and shoulders, “You have no idea how good that feels.” She confesses.
“It is my thank you for staying with me today. It meant a lot to have you with me.” Halpron says, gently. “I am still learning how to be a King, having you with me gives me strength.” He shifts from her neck and shoulders, guiding her back to rest her head on the chairs back. “Who am I kidding? I just love being near you.”
Nikita frowns for a moment, feeling his fingers on the top of her head, until she feels him massaging her scalp with powerful, yet tender motions, stretching and pulling the skin of her scalp enough to begin releasing its tension.
“You are amazing and you make me a better man, with every moment we share.” He says, gently feeling the tension release from her scalp.
Nikita almost feels the tension from her body, rise up to be taken away through her scalp, “Ever since we met, you have made me feel worthy. You talk to me and treat me with respect. Even in your position, you never talk down to me or seek to belittle me and you treat me as an equal.” She pauses, her words catching in her throat, “Even this massage, which is amazing by the way, make me feel worth something.” She struggles to find the right words, “Ever since I came here, I have fell better about myself. I think that maybe, just maybe I am not a monster.”
Halpron leans over the back of the chair and gently lifts her chin with a finger. “You were never a monster.” He says, softly before leaning down and tenderly kissing her lips.
Nikita pulls away and leans forward in the chair. She closes her eyes and speaks slowly and deliberately, “I have done terrible things.”
Halpron moves from behind the chair and sits on the edge of the coffee table, before her. He cups her face in his hands and softly kisses her lips, “The woman I have seen is not capable of terrible things.”
Nikita cannot stop herself from confessing, “Kim had been kidnapped and I found those that did it and slaughtered them. I took the lives of over three hundred people at Lund’s facility, I mean yes I brought them back, but I still did it. Worst of all, I killed the woman who pretended to be my brother’s girlfriend in a horrific way.”
Halpron smiles gently, “To be fair, I knew about what happened in Central Africa and even though you killed those people you brought them back. As for the people who kidnapped Kim.” He shrugs, “You killed a group of child kidnappers, it may not be a legally sound way of doing it, but at the end of the day I would have done the same. With Ivy, I don’t know the circumstances.”
“That witch killed Natalie. A wonderful, sweet girl who Jim loved and gave Sasha’s newborn son the flu, which could have killed him.” She confirms.
“You attack a child, your life is over as far as I am concerned.” Halpron says, solemnly.
“I turned her into a shoal of fish, on dry land and watched as seagulls devoured her.” Nikita confesses, fearing the worst.
“Dark, but I get it. The truth is, you want to see yourself as a monster. You have abilities which allow you to do terrible things.” He pauses, “But you have a good heart and even if you do something questionable, you do it for the right reasons.”
“Why didn’t my Mirrored Self confront me about her death?” Nikita asks, with a stark realisation.
“I don’t know for sure. But maybe sometimes, it is not enough to find the truth yourself, you have to hear it from someone else.” He offers, “Maybe a part of you, wants to believe that with all of your abilities, you must be some kind of monster.” He leans forward and hugs her tenderly, “But nothing, I have seen from you, says that is true.”
Nikita returns his embrace, wondering if there may be something in what he says. “You may have a point, the first thing I ever manifested were fangs like a vampire.” She pauses, nervously before asking, “Why are you so good to me?”
“You came to us with no reason to help us and over and over, you have given freely of yourself and changed the course of this nation. More than that, you have helped me to be a King, a warrior and a man. You light a fire in me and I feel myself falling for you.” Halpron confesses, with a peck on her cheek.
“You talk of what I have given. What about what you have given to me?” Nikita whispers, “You have believed in me, given me your trust and listened when I spoke. The ritual gave me my life back and the people of Atlantis have welcomed me without question.”
“I have to ask at this stage, what will you do once the dust settles?” He asks nervous of the answer.
She shakes her head subtly and sighs, “I have no idea. I think about going home, but I am not sure I want to go back to that life. I think about staying and wondering if I could make a life here.”
“You have a life here, that is yours for the taking. However, that doesn’t mean turning your back on your family.” He takes a deep breath, “I am here for you.”
Nikita’s breath catches in her throat, “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, just give me a chance. That’s all I ask.” Halpron says, earnestly.
Halpron wakes slowly, looking around confused. The room is dark, only illuminated by the moon hanging low in the sky.
He smiles, feeling Nikita’s body pressed against him, dressed only in a long t-shirt. Tenderly, he kisses the crown of her head, before rolling her off of him. He rises quietly to his feet and then gently scoops her up in his arms and carries her from the sofa to his bed.
Nikita murmurs softly, when he lays her down in the bed. He takes a moment to brush a stray hair from her face, then strokes her cheek with the back of his hand.
She rolls onto her side facing towards the window, as if waiting to greet the day upon her awakening. Halpron lays down behind her and wraps an arm around her, covering them both with a blanket, pulling himself close to her.
He smiles remembering the conversation on the sofa which led to the dozing in each others arms. “We have shared our hopes and dreams. Our fears and every thing in between. Talking to her is so easy. I can tell her anything without fear of judgement.” He thinks, before closing his eyes.
Softly he whispers, “I lay with you in my bed and will see you soon in my dreams.”
Sleep claims him soon after and he smiles in his bed, as he dances on a beach, with Nikita.
Nikita slowly let’s in the day, feeling the warm kiss of the sun on her face and Halpron’s warmth against her back. She snuggles into the crook of his arm and sighs to herself, “This feels so good, I want to wake every day like this.” She thinks warmly, leaning her head back on to his shoulder.
She softly kisses his arm and stretches a little, “I wonder what today will bring.” She kisses Halpron’s arm and smiles, “Whatever it is, if we are together it will be amazing.”