Fleeting Happiness

To say that something had changed between them was an understatement.

The past couple of weeks, the pair had spent most of their time in the nude. They were in somewhat of a honeymoon stage without having had a wedding. Basileus, having discovered the power of having a woman for himself, was passionate and enthusiastic.

Varya expected herself to get tired of his constant need to be around her, but she found herself having a lot of fun pushing his buttons in a new way. At times she would try to escape from him, but his power and speed were far beyond anything she could imagine. There were even moments when she would pretend to ignore him. Watching him beg for her attention made her feel like the most desirable woman in the universe.

The prince knew that he was acting like a hungry beast, but a new fire was lit inside of him that couldn't be extinguished so easily. No matter where he went, he knew exactly where she was. Unless he was trying to control himself in his training room, the thought of her skin against his would be too hard to ignore when she was within reach.

Occasionally, they would go on a walk to explore the palace, but their outings wouldn't last long. Basileus would see someone even glance at Varya and they would return to the room. She reassured him with her body and, underneath her spandex suits, marks littered her pale skin.

The first time Basileus had to leave the room and go off-planet for one day, the couple was distraught. It was a harmless mission, but Varya was having trouble at the thought of him going away considering what happened the last time he left the planet. There were hours of tender lovemaking the evening before his departure that helped settle her worries until he could return to her.

The day he was to return, Varya sat in a bath with bubbles up to her chest and her head resting on the gradual edge of the tub. She was enveloped in comforting heat and sank lower with a sigh. Thoughts of what the two of them had been up to never seemed to leave her head for long.

She thought back to a few days before when she was taking a shower and the prince soon appeared at the door in all of his naked glory. The sudden sight of him caused her to jump and nearly fall, but she was caught by his strong arms and they made love standing up in the shower. The way he bent her over and pressed her breasts against the wall was going to remain in her thoughts for a long time. At the thought, she lifted a bubble-covered hand over her mouth and giggled. He was turning her indecent.

There was something so appealing to her about the way he handled her with so much care one moment, yet so rough and passionate the next. As he experimented with her, he got better at knowing what she liked. Despite the circumstances they lived under, she felt lucky to enjoy herself often.

Varya could hear the front door alert that someone was entering and she assumed it was a servant setting up her next meal, but soon the prince came into the bathroom and she sat upright quickly. She didn't expect him to come back so early in the day.

Basileus's cold expression immediately warmed up at the sight of bubbles slowly rolling off of Varya's perfect breasts. The bathroom door had been unlocked and he didn't realize she was bathing.

Seeing his eyes so transfixed on her form, Varya felt butterflies rise in her stomach. They seemed to grow more intense as he started stripping off his armor and then spandex suit as he walked towards the bath, intent to capture his prey.

"Welcome back," she said and watched the handsome prince settle into the bath across from her.

She moved across the tub and immediately straddled his lap, leaning into his chest with hers and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"If this is the greeting I get every time I leave, I'm going to go away more often," he joked.

She kissed his chin in response and looked up at him with her ocean-blue eyes. It was unbelievable that she missed him this much when he was gone for barely a day.

They talked for a little while about what his mission entailed. He was sent in place of Emperor Kruos to inspect the army from a small planet just outside of Planet Ptoma's solar system. The emperor needed to know if there were warriors good enough for him to recruit to his own army in trade for better benefits and protection of the planet. She listened to his words with interest and washed his body with fresh-smelling soap.

Soon the conversation led to kissing and the pair found themselves tangled in the bed, their bodies warm from the bath and exhaustion setting in early after sharing another passionate day.

+++

Basileus woke up with Varya in his arms. The sun had already mostly risen and the urge to train struck him early. His body begged him to move and play with his fire aura. Sleeping for so long made him feel pent up.

In an effort not to disturb her, he gave her a small kiss on the top of her head and slowly slid away from her. He kneeled on the bed and appreciated her peacefulness for a moment. He then pulled the blankets to her shoulders and went to the training room's bathroom. After finding a pair of shorts to work out in, he shut the door so he wouldn't disturb her. He began stretching by pulling one of his muscular arms in front of him. His heart was already racing, excited about the workout ahead.

Basileus had been in the training room for about an hour when Varya heard a clapping noise from above her head. She sat up, startled, and the blankets fell down to her waist, her naked body exposed to the room.

Her heart was already racing, but the sight before her caused it to lurch in her chest. Standing in front of the bed was Emperor Kruos, a face she hadn't seen in person in a long time. She pulled the blankets up to her shoulders to hide her vulnerable form from him.

"What a sight for sore eyes," the emperor muttered.

There was something about Kruos that caused Varya to freeze up. She wanted to scream for the prince, but it felt like there was something in her throat, stopping her from making a sound.

There were high-class warriors on either side of him, guarding him. One walked to Varya and she tried to scream, but he instantly slapped his hand over her mouth, causing a red mark to appear on her face. The scream was muffled and sounded like a quiet sob. Tears sprang up in her eyes as she tried to resist.

The warrior lifted her and the blanket that covered her, his hand still over her mouth. She squirmed to try and get out of his grip, but his large muscles flexed and she knew all hope was lost. Her eyes traveled to the far corner of the room and she silently begged Basileus to come out.

Emperor Kruos noticed her gaze and nodded at another warrior to go to the door, but unlike the others, he carried a spear with a pronged top. A bolt of electricity lit up the tip of it, going from one prong to the other. Varya's eyes widened, certain she already knew the purpose of that weapon.

The training room door was thrown open and she heard a giant shock. She saw a large flash from the room. In a rush of anger and panic, she bit the guard's hand hard enough for him to let go and she started to scream.

+++

Meanwhile, the prince was cooling down, sitting on the floor in a meditative state. He was broken out of his focus when he heard the training room door slam open. A smile spread across his face at the thought of Varya seeking him out first, but it was quickly erased as one of Emperor Kruos's guards stalked into the room holding a spear.

Basileus quickly jumped away, but the room he was in was small and he was instantly cornered. The pronged spear was thrust into his neck and electricity overtook him, immediately causing his whole body to seize up. He tried to resist for so long but eventually succumbed. He fell over. The electrocution was relentless and all he could do was claw at the needle and wire sticking out of his neck, left over by the spear. It was no use.

With another pulse of electricity, he heard Varya screaming.

"Basileus, please! Basileus!"

He was reduced to a useless pile of flesh as the shock continued. It only stopped a couple of hours later when the device in his neck ran out of power.

The prince was on all fours, dragging himself to the door of his training room, exhausted from being so tensed up from the torture he had just undergone. His physical limits couldn't stop him from seeking out Varya.

He used the door frame to help him onto his feet and all he saw was an empty room. Stumbling on the way to the main door, he ran forward and tried to open it, but it was locked from the outside. He was completely trapped.

"Varya," he started, quietly.

As desperation set in, he started repeating her name over and over again until he was screaming. Each time her name left his lips, he slammed his fists into the locked door until blood was flying every time his flesh met the cold metal. It was useless.

He couldn't protect her as he promised.

He turned to the room where there were reminders of the woman who had only been there moments before. Every corner of the place was covered with her scent.

Anger rising, he started to see red and his fire aura erupted out of his skin. He began burning and tearing apart everything in sight. He was supposed to protect her, but he failed. Failed. Failed.

He tore apart furniture and walked towards Varya's closet, tearing the door off of its track. He started ripping clothing out and as his energy started to leave him, he fell to the floor with some of her clothes pressed against his face. He tried to find her scent, but the clothing had been washed.

For the first time in his life, tears escaped his eyes and soaked into the material gripped in his bloody hands.

Just as quickly as she came into his life, she was gone.