Sacrifice Ch. 06

Lot was ready for her and held out an arm, inviting her back into the envelope of darkness.

Before she knew what was what, a drum beat had started up and Penelope was reemerging. There was a pleased murmur and another round of applause as she emerged. She smiled a little as she wondered if they thought it had been her the whole time. That would certainly be ideal, she considered.

Calliope sighed in relief now that her part was over, and vowed that this was most definitely the last of it.

She reached up to adjust the veil over her face and realized she was trembling a little. She started as an arm came down around her and pulled her back against Lot's chest. The other arm remained raised in order to obscure her hidden frame.

She began to pull away but he tutted at her as if she were some skittish lamb. She was going to tell him to keep his condescension to himself, but his voice was surprisingly gentle. "It's ok." He whispered. "I felt you shaking. You can lean against me so your legs don't give out."

She considered declining, but realized he might be right, and the last thing she needed to was to ruin everything at the last minute out of sheer stubbornness. Besides he was behaving himself. So with a shrug she relaxed into the loose embrace.

Eventually the music came to a crescendo and abruptly ended. She imagined Penelope striking some dramatic pose and panting from exertion and glowing triumphantly. At least she hoped she was. The loud applause which followed most definitely indicated that this was the case. She sighed again, content that her having been thrown off kilter hadn't affected Penelope's reception.

Lot scooped her up again without much warning, but she was well past the point of complaint at that point. When he put her down and let her out they seemed to be in a storage room of some sort.

Penelope was right behind them. She took the cloak from Lot and handed it to Calliope. "Here, you go do what you need to and we'll catch up later." She caught Calliope in a quick hug then motioned for her to wrap herself up in the cloak. It was massive, but it did the trick.

To her shock when she looked up from adjusting the oversize cloak, Lot had loosened his pants and was drawing out a semi-hard cock. While Calliope gaped, Penelope merely knelt obligingly and quickly stroked it to its full length, popping the head into her mouth without ado.

Calliope looked up and caught him grinning sideways at her. "See anything you like?"

She glanced down again...it was...alright. Considering how tall he was, she thought it should be larger...not that it wasn't fine. "It's smaller than I imagined." She muttered absently. Penelope made a choking sound and pulled her mouth away, she was sputtering and trying not to laugh.

"Oh! I mean...since your so large...not that...and...you know..." the look on his face said he did not know. Not at all. "It's very nice." She ended lamely.

"Go, get out of here," Penelope laughed, "you're making my job harder."

Calliope glanced at his member again as she passed by them to get to the door. "Or softer." She noted with a smirk of her own.

"Damn it, woman!" He growled half annoyed and half despondent.

"Go!" Penelope ordered, still laughing. "And take a left, that'll bring you out the way we came."

She nodded and took one last curious peek as his length disappeared between Penelope's lips. She grinned mawkishly to herself as she closed the door softly behind her.

%%%

She slipped into their rooms quietly. She knew there wasn't likely to be anyone around, but there was always a chance, and she wanted to make absolutely sure that she was the first to tell him.

She had it all worked out. Step one was going to be getting naked...maybe on the couch...or the bed...she hadn't decided yet. Step two was to seduce him then try to wear him out without doing herself in as well...which would be tricky. Not the seducing part, her own arousal was already ratcheted up to unprecedented levels, so much so she was more worried about jumping him prematurely rather than getting shy about it. No, staying conscious long enough to tell him everything...that would be the problem.

She felt a shudder of anticipation as she closed the door to the sitting room, pausing long enough to catch her breath before carrying on. She would tell him about the dance first, and explain to him why she did it. That might get sticky as she couldn't say how he would respond.

She was hoping that he would only be irritated and that a half-joking offer to apologize 'on her knees' might smooth any ruffled feathers. Once he seemed relaxed enough and willing to hear her reasoning, she'd explain that he was meant to suspect it was her, and that it was her way of preparing him for what she needed to tell him.

In truth she expected him to be angry, at least a little. But the symbolism of the dance might strike a cord...at least offering an 'in' into the news about the baby. She was still afraid, but she had to admit that Thelios was a relatively understanding man, and that he wouldn't be too irritated.

Certainly she planned to explain that the inconvenience to him would be minimal, and that she could take measures to prevent any future pregnancy. She wasn't going to mention the other option. In fact, it wasn't an option. It just wasn't. Not even if he was livid. As much as she wanted him to be happy with her...she wanted to protect her child more. Infinitely more.

She paused once more at the second door, running a protective hand over the slightly curved plane of her stomach. It seemed hardly possible that a child, right then, was growing inside of her. What a strange thought that was.

Finally shaking off the revery, she reminded herself that there wasn't much time to prepare before he'd return. She was still electric from the nerves and the excitement so she would have to recover herself quickly.

She opened the door to the inner chamber only to find that there was, in fact, no time at all.

Thelios was sitting on a couch and he raised his head as she entered. Her breath caught in her throat and lodged itself there along with a panicked squeak which never quite made it past her lips. The sensation might have passed if his own lips weren't set so tightly and thinly...or his eyes narrowed so very sharply.

He had something in his hand, and he tossed it toward her. She reached for it instinctively and caught it against her stomach with an awkward fumble. She tore her eyes from his long enough to look down and see the pomegranate cradled in her fingers.

"Care to explain?" He ground out in a growl she felt all the way to the bottoms of her feet.

He didn't bother waiting for her to speak, but rose and strode toward her, his expression dark. In that second all her well laid plans went up in smoke, burnt up in his fiery gaze, until they were nothing more than dry ash on her tongue. She could practically taste it.

He loomed over her, filling her vision.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"I..." she hesitated, unsure now of what to say, and more than a little frightened by his tone.

"Well?"

"I was going to tell you..." She finally managed in a low, hoarse whisper.

"Really? Going to. When?"

"Tonight."

"Tonight...conveniently after the fact, don't you think?"

She flushed and averted her eyes, ashamed. "Yes. You're right." Her voice was soft enough that it was possible he didn't hear her. He gave no indication one way or another.

"Why would you do this without telling me?"

"B-because you...you asked me not to." she admitted, still looking at the floor.

"So instead of asking me...or telling me...you decided to lie to me?"

If she could have shrunk down into nothing she would have. She certainly felt like she was half way there already.

"I'm sorry. I know it was wrong. I..." she winced, "I played for the same girl the other night as well. But I wore a veil so no one would know," she looked up hopefully, "so I couldn't embarrass you and so the others wouldn't know."

His face twisted into an expression she didn't recognize. It wasn't all anger. He shook his head as if to clear it, looking away.

"That doesn't change the fact that you lied." He turned back at her, his expression a strange mixture of sternness and questioning...almost imploring. "How am I to trust you if your first instinct is to keep things from me?"

The cold knot of fear in her throat turned suddenly warm and rushed upward until her eyes were burning with it. She had to swallow it back down to keep the sudden tears from spilling.

What could she say to that? She looked shamefaced back to the floor. "I don't know."

"Nothing? No idea?" He hadn't really raised his voice, but it was tight and harsh, and she cringed.

She opened her mouth, then shut it and shook her head.

"Calliope...what would possess you to do this in the first place? After I'd said not to? You never...this isn't like you."

"I know...it...it was sudden. Impulsive. I didn't think it through. By the time I finally did, it was too late and...I was afraid."

"Afraid?"

She nodded at the floor.

"Of what?"

She opened her mouth to speak again, but changed her mind. Still swallowing her tears, she tipped her head up until her eyes met his and shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

"What kind of bullshit answer is that?"

She started, but only for a moment, pulling herself back up to her full height and setting her jaw in as determined a tilt as possible.

"It doesn't matter what reasons I have, or excuses. What I did was wrong. I know you didn't want me to do it...and I did it any way..."

He let out a frustrated sigh and turned away, walking several steps and stopping in the middle of the room, his hands clenched at his sides. "I don't care about that." He looked over his shoulder at her. "Did it even cross your mind, even once that you should tell me first?"

She didn't want to answer that. But she did, and her heart broke as the words left her mouth. "No. It hadn't."

He sighed and looked away.

"I...I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am...it was foolish and impulsive...and I should have told you."

"But you didn't."

"No. I can't change that. But I promise, it won't happen again."

He snorted. "And do I believe that?"

She frowned at that. She felt awful...but had it been so terrible a thing she'd done? "My Lord, I should have told you, and I swear I was going to tell you tonight, everything."

He looked back over his shoulder again, turning to face her. "Is there more to add? What else have you decided to keep from me?" His tone was short with frustration and irritation, and as small and guilty as she felt, it made her bristle slightly in response...but she restrained herself. Partially because it wouldn't do any good to become emotional, and partially because she knew she had little right to be frustrated just then.

"Nothing that I have done amiss....just what has been troubling me and that I needed time to think about. I promised to tell you, remember? I was hoping to make good on that tonight."

"Fine." He turned to face her fully. "Tell me then."

She hesitated. This wasn't the time to tell him, not when he was so angry and dismissive. And she didn't want him to think she was looking for some way out....no, they would deal with this first.

"That can wait."

His eyes darkened but she pushed on before he could argue. "I won't make my excuses, not yet, and I won't distract us from the issue until it's settled." His frown deepened.

"Settled?"

"Yes. I'll hear my punishment now...or have it. Then I will explain myself and tell you...my other news."

He smirked, but it was utterly humorless.

"And what punishment does one met out for betrayal?"

She winced at that. "That's up to you my lord..." she swallowed her ire...but in the end couldn't hold it all back, "but really, was what I did so bad? Wrong, yes. Am I sorry and ashamed? Yes...but betrayal? You have to know that I would never have done something I thought could warrant a word like that. Never to you."

His smirk dimmed. "I trusted you. Completely." He sighed heavily, exasperatedly. "That's been broken now, hasn't it."

She felt the bottom drop out of her stomach for the umpteenth time. "The-" she stopped herself, "My lord, if I thought for a moment that it was so important...that it was a matter of completely losing your trust, I never would have done it. I honestly thought it would be, at worst, a mild annoyance, and forgotten once it was certain no one but we two knew about it."

She paused, considering as another thought occurred to her, her voice taking on a tinge of annoyance, "You know, if you trusted me so completely, why haven't you told me anything about why we're here, about what's going on...or anything about yourself for that matter. Everything you have told me I have practically had to tear from you, and even then it's usually vague."

"What's to tell? It's nothing you need to know, and why take the chance that you'll say something in passing to the wrong person without realizing it?" He also sounded annoyed...but less so. "Besides, I don't enjoy talking about myself." He grumbled.

"Still..."

"Still, nothing." He interrupted sharply.

She bristled. "No...it's not nothing. I know I shouldn't have done it, and that I should have told you...I'm not arguing that...but you never made it clear to me how important it was to you. If I had better understood your desires or your reasoning... I would have known. But you're always so damned vague. How was I to know where I stand?"

"That may be. But this is not something I ever expected from you. Not something I thought to plan for."

She sighed and bit the inside of her cheek, nodding in agreement and furrowing her brow. "I must admit...I haven't been myself these last weeks...but we can talk of that later...I will accept whatever you deem appropriate as my punishment."

He snorted derisively. "Punishment?"

She squelched the heat of embarrassment clawing up her throat. "I don't mean it like that. I'm serious."

He surprised her by rolling his eyes and turning away to pace. "You're not a child Calliope, I'm not going to put you over my knee because you've been 'bad'. There are no punishments...just consequences."

Her jaw tightened again. "Fine, then I accept the consequences of my actions."

He continued to pace but said nothing.

"I...I don't suppose you know what they'll be?"

"How the hell do I know?" He growled.

He sat down on the couch again, this time with his back to her. She couldn't say how long she stood there staring at his back, but it felt like an eternity. Two eternities even.

Eventually she could stand it no longer and went to him, pausing at his shoulder. She couldn't see his face, but she could see his arms resting on his knees. He was rubbing one fist with his other hand in a rather unnerving way, but she reached for him anyway, cringing inwardly when she felt him flinch at her touch. She didn't pull her hand from his shoulder, but she did have to swallow another hot wave of emotion before she could continue.

He didn't give her the chance. She was almost grateful for it. "Did you think I wouldn't know it was you? That I wouldn't recognize you?" He rumbled lowly, still facing away from her.

"I..." she paused to consider it carefully, wanted to make sure she was completely honest...even if it was difficult to say, "I wasn't sure...but I thought you might. I...half I hoped you would. I hoped that, well, in some way you'd be pleased."

He did turn to look at her then, and her hand fell from his shoulder. She met his eye and waited and he scrutinized her face. "Pleased?"

"Yes. I understood you might be upset," she amended, "but I think once I'd agreed to it, well, like I said, I sort of hoped you'd enjoy it...that I could..." She froze up a little under his glare and her words caught in her throat. She took another shaky breath and tore her eyes away. "I want you to like me, to be proud of me, to want me...I didn't want you to send me away..." her voice shook slightly and she was forced to stop in order to steady it.

He made an odd sound which made her look up. His expression was more confused than angry, though it remained dark. "Why would you think that I would? That makes absolutely no sense."

"I know...I know, it isn't rational...I'm not rational, I haven't been since..." she felt herself choking up again and pinched the bridge of her nose in order to push back the burning tingle that had begun to mount there. She could feel her eyes beginning to water.

"Since what?"

She expelled her breath in a hard rush and gave in.

"Since I discovered..." she raised her eyes to his, praying he'd respond sympathetically to the pleading she knew was there, "that I'm pregnant."

She couldn't bare to do so much as breathe.

He stared at her.

Her pulse was loud in her ears and the way her heart pounded in her chest, she thought it might explode inside of her. The silence was so long...devastatingly long.

"How long have you known?" His voice was slow and steady...almost too steady she thought, fighting the panic which was roiling around inside of her, fighting to get free and overwhelm her.

"Ah, well, I've been fairly certain...maybe two weeks...at the most. Not long before I arrived here." He said nothing and his expression was still unreadable. "I've been working up the nerve to tell you," she offered after an uncomfortable moment. "I was afraid you see, it was silly, I know...but I think maybe it's being pregnant, perhaps. My sister would cry for no reason, or rail at anyone in earshot for the smallest things...so it can have a strange effect on some women...please don't be angry..."

Still nothing. She was wringing her hands together. She wanted to stop them, but felt if she did she might just burst into tears. Why wouldn't he say anything?

"Please say something." She finally whispered, desperate to hear anything, anything at all.

His eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly. If she hadn't already been staring so attentively into them, she might have missed it. "What are you so afraid of?"

She felt a wetness on her cheek and realized she was crying. She wiped it away with the heel of her hand, pointlessly since it was replaced immediately by more, and steeled herself as best she could. Though apparently it was not enough to keep her from rambling incoherently.

"That you'd be angry, or...I won't...you can't...I mean, I was afraid you would take him...or her, away. Or send me away. If..." she paused to push away more errant, traitorous tears, "if you want...that is, I have a way to prevent it in the future now, but I didn't know how before. I was inexperienced in these things. And I was afraid because I couldn't know if you'd be unhappy, so I didn't know what to do...but it's done and I won't part with it...I won't. I just can't. Please...I won't be a problem I swear. Or, I'll try my best...just don't—"

"Woman.." he interrupted shortly, "have you gone insane?" He was looking at her incredulously. She stared back uncertainly.

"No?"

"Then why are you babbling like that? Here," He reached out and took her hand and wrist with a firm grip, pulling it from her stomach where it had instinctively flown as she'd turned into an incoherent mess. He pulled her around the side of the couch until she was facing him properly and took both her wrists in his hands and held her dark, watery eyes with his own fiery ones. "Let's try that again. What is it you're afraid of?"

She watched his face for a moment, but he didn't seem angry...just stern. He was merely...waiting.

Calliope took a deep, shaky breath and tried again as he suggested. "I was concerned that you'd be upset or angry with the news. Most women," she took another settling breath as her voice hitched and continued, "most women in my position would know how to prevent it, but I didn't. I didn't even think about it. And now that it's done...well, I...you won't take the child from me, will you?" She continued to watch him for an answer or response. He let out a long sigh, suddenly looking tired.