The Slumbering Underworld

There's something pressing against my core.

I shift, trying to get more comfortable but a deep groan sounds beneath me, pulling me further awake.

My core throbs as I realize I am in a man's arms.

"Please stop moving." He says.

One of my eyes flickers open, but all I see is what I assume to be the man's black clothes. All I can feel is the hardness of his body underneath mine. I have to admit it feels delicious but I can't help but to wonder why we are sitting and not lying down. If I fell asleep during sex, this would be a first.

"Penelope!" the man says, lightly shaking my waist.

My eyes open fully and I lean back, straddling this gorgeous man.

His dark brown hair curls messily across his forehead, like he's been sleeping too. I assess his features. His sharp jawline and crystal clear blue eyes cut into my gaze. He looks worried, the lines crinkling near his eyebrows, and his eyes are blown wide.

"Was the sex that bad? I can't remember a thing." I wonder.

But we were so cozy just now, I could feel every inch of him lined perfectly against my body. One of hands is still pressed against my waist, and the other supports my frame. I look down and see that I am fully clothed, in fact I'm wearing a beautiful pink flowing chiffon dress.

Slowly, his hand falls from my waist as he watches the confusion on my face.

"You don't know who I am." The man says.

His voice and body feel familiar, but he is right. I don't remember.

I slide off him and cross my arms, facing him. I see that we were on a large black throne together, which would make sense since my back hurts like hell. He is still sitting, looking up at me. The room we are in is vast and only lit by candle flame, so I cannot see much beyond the throne and some portraits along the walls of the room, dimly lit by the candlelight above us.

"Who are you?" I ask, wondering if I should be protecting myself with a weapon.

The man takes a deep breath, and something like a chuckle without the humor comes out of his mouth. His lips are dark pink and delectable, and any other day I would have been happy to wake up in arms like his, but now my head pounds in pain and I feel so strange and out of place, I'm trying so hard to remember.

"Penelope, I'm your husband."

I stumble back at the revelation, and my foot snags against the lush carpet. Many of the candles flicker out at the same instant.

I almost trip, but land into nothing but the man's arms.

"Clumsy as ever, my queen." He sighs, running his fingers through my long hair.

"Queen?" I ask.

"Fuck," He bites his lip as I ask him what he means.

"So you don't know who you are either." He states.

"I, I'm not sure. I remember my name, but I can't remember anything else, my head hurts." I say.

"Shh," he quiets me as he cradles my head in his hands.

The pain lessens and I stare at him in awe. I can see his long eyelashes fluttering as he focuses on something. I swallow as he works some kind of magic, my eyes are close to the column of his throat. He lets go of my face and I take another step back, making sure not to trip this time.

"Penelope, I am Abe, king of the underworld. You are the queen and my wife. We were put under a spell that forced us to sleep. I don't know how long we were gone, I only woke moments before you did. I am trying to remember some things too. But I think we're still in danger."

I think of reasons for why he could be lying or trying to trick me. Perhaps he needs or wants me for something, but I don't know how that would work especially if I can't remember a damn thing. At that moment, a vision pops into my head, and the pain comes back.

It's me and Abe, on a bed sleeping together with him spooning me. He holds my left hand which has a simple silver ring. There is a matching silver ring on his left hand.

The vision goes away as quickly as it came, and I look down to my hand, which has the same silver ring glinting in the darkness. I make a decision. Abe is someone I can trust.

"Alright. What do we do?" I ask, glancing around the room.

The door to the throne room is at the other end of the throne.

"Let's get out of here first." Abe says and we start walking.

I try to ignore the sparks I feel between us, trying to focus on the task at hand. But it's near to impossible, the way his proximity makes me feel so alert and causes my stomach to flip in anticipation. When I stumble again, he catches me by the waist to steady me.

"Oh, I'm not wearing any shoes." I say, looking to my feet.

"I can fix that," Abe's lips curl into a small smile.

He points a finger at my feet and after a tingly sensation I'm no longer barefoot but in a pair of black walking boots.

"Thank you," I breathe.

Abe says, "anything for my queen."

I blush, looking away and glad that we're shrouded in darkness so he can't see my face fully. But Abe stops walking suddenly, turning to me.

"You're beautiful when you blush." Abe says, almost as if entranced, touching my burning cheeks.

"How…?" I look up at him.

"Night vision," Abe winks at me.

I scowl, wishing I had the same night vision. His devilishly handsome face is hidden as I cannot see much save for his dark profile. His hand leaves my face and he takes my hand in his, tugging me along.

"It might be better this way, we can't have you falling over and injuring yourself," he explains.

I nod, and walk with him.

Inside, I am still feeling my stomach flip and do somersaults as he touches me, even a hand in mine causes the betrayal of my heart to thump for him. I feel like a schoolgirl, which is strange because it's been years since I was a young girl. But this man causes all sorts of feelings in me, my body feels like it knows him, or knew him intimately before, and yearns for him again.

We're almost there to the entrance and we walk in silence as Abe makes sure there's no trap or dangerous item on the floor or ahead of us. The walk took us a good half-minute, since the throne room is so long and large.

Just as we're steps away from the entrance, the doors burst open and light spills into the room.