1 Sins on Skin

Ni Ren felt fingers slither between the strands of her hair, nails grazing through her scalp as they twist through tresses of silky brunets, and eventually pull back with a frightening strength that garnered a cry to abandon her mouth. Her back arched off her mattress, and she keened towards heat that was nowhere to be found. She whimpered at the emptiness that cloaked her body, at the brisk chilliness that traveled through her veins despite the layers of fabric that cover her figure, and at the loss of heat her body was conditioned to remember every wake of the day.

'See puppet, you're fruitless without me.'

A voice echoed in her head, the words knocking against her temple, pounding and scratching for an exit that does not exist. When the voice mimics back, it returns stronger--diamond-cladded and all.

Ni Ren let out a piercing scream as she awoke from her slumber, sweat dripping down her forehead as nausea crawled up her throat. Her eyes, honeyed and slick, stared out the wide expanse of a window that offered a great view of a field; of the sunrise peeking out from the horizon, and the shadows in the form of trees stretching towards the center of the terrain. Sunlight spilled through the curtains of Ni Ren's windows, and she watch it land on her lap, as if the world was offering itself to her on a platter.

She picked her arm out from under the duvet and extended it across her lap, warmth seeped into her veins and she enjoyed the heat that graced her, even if it was for a single--

"Morning, Jeneva."

Ni Ren turned her head towards the voice, towards a face she recognized as similar to her own, minus the diamond-jeweled eyes that was the object of two men's infatuation. Her sister smiled, and entered the room, closing the door behind her before she closed the distance between them and sank on the edge of the mattress. Her fingers, dainty and soft, reached out and gripped Ni Ren's wrist in a gentle grip and brought it into the palms of her hands, as a mother would to comfort its child.

"How was your night?"

Ni Ren parted her lips, wanting to share her nightmare; of the claws that caress through her body; of shadows that swallowed her whole; and especially of the voice that speaks only of dark promises. But instead, Ni Ren smeared a calm smile across her lips, and succumbed to dishonesty. "It was fine."

And of course, her sister did not believe her. Babylona's eyebrows joined together in a crease, doubting and disappointed all in one breath, as she stretched her fingers towards the hair sticking to Ni Ren's cheeks. "Eva," Babylona sighed, peeking through her thick lowered lashes, and cupping Ni Ren's jaw between her palms and forcing her to meet two icy blue hues. "The reason you are terrible at lying is because we've never given you a reason to lie."

She then tucked away the stray pieces of Ni Ren's hair away from her face, a lone finger casting burns across cold, pale cheekbones all the way to her temple. Finally, Babylona sighed and dropped her wrist to her lap, retreating from her initial intention to interrogate her sister. "But I can see you are not yet comfortable with the idea of sharing your story, therefore we will await for when that moment arises. You can trust us, Eva, is our bond that insignificant that you refuse to tell us what happened?"

Ni Ren shook her head. "Of course I trust you guys," was all she said as she threw the cover off her lap and slipped to the edge of the mattress. "But my predicament lies elsewhere. Thank you for worrying about me, but I can manage." The smile on Ni Ren's mouth was compelling, but the sleek in her amber eyes answered otherwise; she couldn't manage, not when that existence is in the corner of her eyes, wrapped in a golden dawn.

Babylona knew her sister wouldn't share anymore then she already did, thus she smiled helplessly and made movements to leave the room. Before disappearing between the door frames, she halted and threw a look over her bare shoulder, curtains of brown locks framed her profile, revealing the boldness of her cheekbones and the domineering outline of her nose. Pale blue eyes glimmered beneath thick arrays of curled lashes, and cherry lips open into a small circle.

"Perhaps you will be inclined to accept my offer of having breakfast in the garden? I feel our last meal before we depart ought to be surrounded by beauty with company."

Ni Ren carelessly nods her head at the invitation.

"Then we will await your presence, take your precious time preparing." With that, Babylona's figure disappeared and the large wooden door slammed shut.

Left with only her thoughts, the first thing Ni Ren does is scan her bedroom, her red eyes searching for the owner of that shadow that lurks the innermost region of her consciousness, that daunting figure that always demands her utmost attention and ownership. He was inseparable from her, her mind calling out to him every second of the day that she does not indulge in him.

Once she could not find him in her room, Ni Ren releases a sigh, her shoulders hunched over as she slide her leg over the bed. But then she blinked her eyes, and that person appeared before her; one knee on the carpet and the other arched, he was between her legs now, fingers pelting across silky thighs and slipping beneath satin fabrics. His breath was a ghost of a whisper as he smirked against his jaw, and cradled his head on Ni Ren's lap.

'Look at you, my little puppet. Hopeless without her master, aren't you?'

Ni Ren wanted to ignore him, to ignore the teasing, familiar touches that fluttered across her flesh, but she couldn't bear to, not when it was this touch that satiated her ache. Even after her enlightenment, she still couldn't dare to reject his advances. Her heart stuttered when her consciousness absorbed his familiar features, a desperate need warming her body when he kneeled before her and kissed up her leg, from her toes to the insides of her fiery thighs.

And she merely watch him, fascinated with the vivid memory of her possessor.

"You're not real," Ni Ren chanted in a broken voice, an itch suddenly crawling up her spine as the person rise, a knee sliding between her legs and another sinking on the mattress beside her. His chin dipped and Ni Ren swallowed as she fell back, her shoulders melting into the duvet and her dark hair sprawled around her like blossoms. The man followed her, a grin across his full lips as he preyed on Ni Ren's throat.

'Why is that? You can feel me, can you not, my little puppet?'

She could, but she knew she was not sane if she did.

"N-no."

He chuckled against her jaw then. 'What a terrible liar you are,' his finger tapped against her lips, almost punishing as he scraped it with his nail and tugged on it between his thumb. 'Remember to take your pills.'