Last Night

Valentine sat on his bed in his own room at the order, it was the last night before he was sent out on an assignment on his own for the first time and he had to confess to feeling a bit nervous. He had been playing his violin but had laid it carefully next to him, unable to concentrate properly. The usually soothing music did nothing to dispel his anxieties. He glanced around his room and still found it hard to believe he had managed to pass all of his tests and was now a fully fledged Rose. It also meant that he now had his own room away from the training dorms on the other side of the complex.

The walls were still the familiar alchemical-paint white and the floor was still covered with the same rush mats, but now he had a large double bed all to himself and a small sitting room attached to the bedroom in case he received guests. He arose and drew the curtains against the encroaching evening. The air was now thankfully cooler than it had been at midday, although he was now more used the the hot summers of Quillia, he still found the head of the day a touch stifling. A cool breeze rustled the light curtains and he was thankful for the draft. He crossed the room again and poured a glass of water from his pitcher. He sipped it and considered getting a book to read. He rejected the idea, knowing he would not be able to settle properly. Valentine checked his pack again for the hundredth time, knowing that everything he needed was inside, except the swords they had made for him. He would be able to collect those in the morning before he left.

There was a tap at the door and he walked over to it, he opened it a fraction and saw Alicia standing there. "Good Evening." he smiled opening the door and letting her in.

"Hi," she smiled. She strode into the room carrying a small bag with her, her red curls bobbing as she walked as always. She cast a fine figure as she walked, if somewhat short, wearing the same loose fitting black trousers and white tunic that he wore however, her womanly curves were obvious to Valentine as she moved past him. She appeared unarmed, but he suspected other wise, she usually always carried a dagger of some sort with her.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I'm OK. I thought you would want some company. Take your mind off tomorrow." she said.

"Yeah thanks." he nodded, "Drink of water?"

"I have better than that." she smiled, producing a bottle of wine. "I swiped it from the kitchens earlier." she explained as Valentine fetched two glasses.

"Nice one!" he replied, "Thomas not about tonight?"

"He's with Archi at the moment, they're working together on their first mission." she replied.

"Just you and me then." he shrugged pouring out the cheap white wine. They sat opposite each other in Valentine's sitting room and sipped their wine. "Cards?" he asked

"Not tonight Valentine," she said, "I am all out of enthusiasm for cards at the moment."

"OK." he shrugged.

"Hows the tattoo?" she asked.

"Not as bad as it was." he replied, feeling the glow of the wine hitting his cheeks.

"Stings doesn't it." she grinned.

"Yes."

"Will you play for me?" she asked

"Of course I will." he replied, she has long since given up learning to play the violin and let him have the instrument she had but she still liked to listen to him play. He entered the bedroom and fetched the instrument. He applied the bow to the strings and drew a note, "Anything specific?" he asked.

"Not really." she replied, content just to listen.

"Very well, I shall play you the one my father taught me just before I left." he replied. He drew the bow across the string and slipped into an easy rhythm. The notes reverberated around his small room and he let the music flow from the violin. He let the tone of the music drop, sparking emotions of sadness and parting. He hardly needed to focus on what he was playing and let the music soothe his anxieties away, as it usually did. He caught the look of sadness on Alicia's face as he was playing and picked up the pace slightly.

He opened his mouth and for the first time since he had left home he lifted his voice in song. He sang the foreign words in his rich baritone, causing his companion to look up in amazement. The song seemed appropriate as it told of parting friends, originally it should have been a duet and he only sang the male part however it had the desired effect on Alicia, she was soon smiling. He let the song end and he smiled at her.

"All these years, you never told me you could sing as well." she said, "you're very good at it too." she added

"Thank you." he replied.

"Let me guess, your mother was a singer?"

"No. I had formal lessons from the age of five until I left them."

"Formal lessons?" she frowned. "Rather expensive for a street urchin."

"Not a street urchin." he retorted, applying the bow to the strings again and playing a more up beat ditty he had recently heard in the streets of Quillia. She clapped along with her hands as he played and he was genuinely pleased to see his friend smiling. He let the tune finish before letting the violin slip to his side and taking a generous slurp of wine.

"What else are you hiding under that cool exterior of yours Valentine Ungart?" she asked.

"Oh not much." he shrugged.

"I don't believe one word of that." she replied, "Will you tell me the truth one day?" she asked

"One day." he nodded sitting down again.

"So there is something under there." she smiled.

"Of course, we all have our secrets don't we."

"Oh tell me."

"I have never told anyone." Valentine replied, "You have to swear on your honour as a member of the Roses not to tell anyone." he said."If you pass this information on, it could get us both killed."

"Killed?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes, do you promise?"

"I do." she said, "I swear on the honour of a Rose that what you say will not pass these walls."

"OK." he said, taking a deep breath. "My name is not Valentine Ungart, It is Louis Kazaril. I am the son of Duke Wilhelm Kazaril of Karana. The eldest son. I ran away just before my fifteenth birthday." he explained.

"Really?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I didn't want my life to be dictated to me, they had everything planned for me, from what I was going to do for the rest of my life to who I was going to marry," he explained, "I wanted to choose my own path and so I did. I had heard of the Roses of Quillia so made a promise to myself to join them. I arrived after a long walk and the rest you know. I chose my name when I entered the order and have not told anyone about my origins."

"Truly not a street rat then?"

"Not at all."

"Louis." she smiled. He grinned at her and shrugged. "Why Valentine?"

"I had just finished reading Rameries's Knights in Red." he admitted, slightly embarrassed.

"That's awful." she smirked.

"I know. Still, I got used to it."

"Explains the singing and the violin though."

"I know, I didn't want to give up everything I learnt, I was so pleased when you left the violin on the bed those years ago." he said.

"I can't believe your singing voice either, why have you never sung before?" she asked.

"Case never arose I guess." he shrugged.

"I am glad you shared it tonight."she said, refilling their empty glasses.

"I shall be drunk." he laughed.

"I will miss you while you are away." she said suddenly.

"You too." he responded. There was a sudden silence and Valentine found himself fidgeting as she gazed at him. "What's that look for?" he asked to fill the silence.

"What?" she asked, breaking her gaze away from him. She had never looked at him that way and it filled him with nervousness. She arose with a smile. "I've had a bit to drink is all, I should probably get going, you have an early start tomorrow morning." she explained.

Valentine arose as well and noticed that he too was filled with a glow from the wine, "If you think that would be best." he stammered.

"Don't you want to get a good night's sleep?" she asked walking to the door.

"You don't have to go." he said, following her. She turned to face him and saw some of the anguish in his eyes. She moved towards him and he caught her in an embrace. He felt her put her arms around his slender waist and he held her close. She leaned against him and he appreciated feeling her warmth.

"Valentine," she whispered. He nuzzled his face into her sweet smelling hair and kissed the back of her head. "What are you doing?"

"Something I have been too scared to do for far too long." he explained. He pulled away from her and placed his hand underneath her chin. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her soft lips. A look of surprise crossed her face and he backed away "I forget myself." he said shakily.

"No no, it's not that at all." she whispered reaching up and kissing him back. Her lips tasted sweet, like cherries, mingled with the wine they had been drinking, they were moist against his dry ones and he willingly responded to her all too brief kiss. She flicked her eyes to the door and he followed her gaze. "You should lock that." she explained, "We don't want any interruptions."

"Interruptions?" He swallowed nervously but nodded in agreement, he released her and crossed the room. Once at the door he locked it and turned back to face Alicia. "All this time I thought you weren't interested." she said returning to his embrace.

"What made you think that?" he asked, stroking her soft cheek.

"I tried flirting with you but you never gave a response." she shrugged, reaching out and touching his soft brown hair.

"I always thought you liked Thomas so kept my distance." he replied.

"Now we only have tonight." As she spoke, Valentine crashed his lips against hers in an urgent kiss to which she eagerly yielded. He felt her tongue flick against his lips and he parted them, allowing her to explore the inside of his mouth with her tongue while he probed at hers. Their saliva collided together and mingled, creating a heady liquid. He felt her hand snake down his back and into his breeches. He flinched as she touched the still healing tattoo on his left side and she murmured an apology. He felt her small fingers squeeze his backside as he kissed her with increasing intensity. She broke the kiss and grinned, "God's you're a skinny runt." she whispered as pushed her hands up his tunic and along his ribcage, "have you grown at all while you have been here?"

"About an inch." he shrugged. She laughed before kissing him again and he returned to exploring her own figure with his hands. He rested his deft fingers on her breast and gave it a tentative squeeze. He heard her moan and decided that he was doing a good thing so continued to kneed the mound as he kissed her. He felt her hand move from his ass to his hip and he shivered with pleasure mingled with uncertainty. He probed her tongue with his and he felt one of her hands push through his thick hair. Her fingertips brushed his ear and he felt a wave of electric passion shoot through him. He pulled her closer against him and held her as she nibbled on his ear. "God's Alicia," he whispered.

"I know Valentine," she replied in his ear. He bent down and picked up the small woman and crossed the room, she opened the door to his bedroom and he walked over to the bed. He placed her down with care on the soft mattress and leaned over her, he kissed her full on the lips again and she stroked his long soft hair. He felt her hands exploring his slight frame once more and was almost embarrassed when she found the distorted bulge in the front of his breeches. Instead of being intimidated by his reaction to her, she slipped her hand tentatively down the front of his breeches and took his member in her hand. She looked at him for reassurance and he smiled at her. She began running her hand up and down the length of his shaft stroking the length with her soft skin. He moaned as he felt his cock surge under her touch and he eased himself down next to her. He felt his balls tighten and he closed his eyes as she continued to touch him.

He distracted himself by using his hands to explore the contours of her body, he ran his fingers along her ribs and down onto her soft belly, he pushed a hand up her shirt and gave one of her breasts a squeeze but she shrugged him off and released his cock. She moved to undo his breeches and as she did so, his cock sprang free from its confines. The next thing he felt was her warm moist mouth surrounding his end, her lips pushed his skin back gently and her tongue flicked the delicate end. She pushed his cock to the roof of her mouth and began rubbing the underside with her tongue. He felt himself harden further as she continued to mouth him and did his best not to fill her mouth with come. She brushed his balls with her nails and returned her focus on his end, sending him over the edge. Valentine let out a deep moan and he pulled her off his cock as he felt his release, he pulsed a jet of white onto his stomach as he came. The waves of pleasure shot through him as he squeezed out another jet of semen. Moments later he gave Alicia an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that." he whispered slightly embarrassed, "I got a bit carried away." She returned his smile and scooted up the bed to kiss him on the cheek.

"That's all right." she grinned. Valentine arose and removed his dirty shirt. Alicia watched his movements, as graceful as a Thorian dancer and a lustful grin passed over her features. Valentine rejoined her after pulling up his breeches and put his arm over her. He kissed her awaiting lips and ran his hand down her body. He pushed his nimble fingers down the front of her breeches and into her wetness. She sighed as he brushed her clit and slipped a finger into her quivering pussy. He pushed his thumb against her sensitive nub and felt her tense as he did so. He pressed harder and began moving his hand in a circular motion and she moaned as he did so. "Val..." she muttered as he drove another of his fingers inside her. He felt her muscles grip his fingers as he touched her and was surprised when she moved to grab hold of his softening cock. He felt himself begin to harden again as her grip tightened and she began pumping the shaft once more. He reapplied pressure to her nub and buffed at it with his fingertip as she moved her hand faster. She tensed and he felt her leg curl up as he touched her. She began to shudder underneath him and she squeezed his cock ever tighter. She stopped moving her hand as her orgasm hit her, she let out a scream and he stopped moving his hand. He just let his fingers brush the edge of her clit and let her buck against him for a moment or two.

The next thing he became aware of was her straddling him, naked from the waist down. Alicia had his cock in her hand and she was guiding him into her. He moaned as she slid down his fully engorged length and she gave a smile. He could feel the muscles inside her twang against him as the last of her orgasm left her. She let herself settle before rocking forward on her hips. Her movement sent a wave of pleasure shooting through his crotch and he lifted his hips up the next time she rocked forward. She let out a gasp as he moved and she dropped down to plant a kiss on his cheek. She moved herself up and down his length, using her weight each time to drive him further into her. He felt himself surge forward and let a moan out in an attempt to keep himself from coming again.

She clenched around him and he felt her grip the blanket beside her as she increased the rate at which she moved. He heard her groan and his breath came in gasps as she moved faster. He placed his hands on either side of her hips and began pushing his cock upwards as she moved down onto him. He moved one of his fingers so he was rubbing her nub as she fucked him and he felt her tighten further. He watched her throw her head back and let out a long moan, she bounced a few more times before she began to shudder, it was too much for him to watch, he felt himself jerk forward and moaned in time with her. At that moment, everything vanished, the only thing he could feel was her heat gripping his cock and the gathering shaking sensation spreading through his body. He felt himself about to explode so hastily withdrew his cock and released onto her stomach instead. He groaned as he felt his body tense and release repeatedly. She shuddered against him and sighed, flopping down next to him. Valentine gradually became aware of his surroundings again and he leaned over and kissed her, she returned the kiss and smiled in a daft manner.

"Worth waiting for." she said.

"Yes." he nodded agreeing with her fully. She nuzzled into his arm and he curled it around her shoulder. "We should get under the blanket, before we get too cold." he whispered.

"I shouldn't stay." she replied

"Just for a little while?" he asked. "I don't know when I will see you again after tonight."

"All right. I can always sneak off early." He smiled at her and arose to blow out the lights. He watched her duck under the blankets before he did so and then rejoined her under the sheets. He let her snuggle into his arm again and embraced her as sleep gradually came for him.