Rose guided Casspien out of the docks to a small forested hill just by the castle. From there they overlooked the harbor below getting a good sight of the commonfolk and the nightly activities of the people. A large blanket had been laid out as well as several bottles of wine and an assortment of fruits. The soft grass acted as a cushy sitting area bathed in the moon light. It was a pristine image that reminded the Lord Regent of the early days of his youth when his siblings would gather together and play. He turned to Rose with a raised eyebrow.

"I thought we were supposed to duel?"

She flared her nostrils and turned her head away, "This was for after I won." Rose took off her boots and stepped onto the blanket. "It was supposed to be my celebration."

"What ruined it?" Casspien followed her lead.

"My opponent forgot his sword." She pulled her knees together while she sat.

On her patrols she had come across this secluded corner by the castle and thought it a quiet place where she could have a moment by herself. It was from here she could see much of the harbor and the many ships that would come and go through the day. This was her first time in Longshore, and it did not disappoint. Night time proved to be even more special and she was glad she had chosen to make this the spot she would spend with him. She could remain here forever with him.

"Forgive me," he searched and plucked a peach from the basket. "Though I think I would find it troublesome to duel my wife."

Rose blushed and furrowed her brow, "It was the only thing I could think of." She grumbled, "You were scaring him with your Stygian aura." she wiggled her fingers in his direction.

Casspien laid back smirking, "I am not complaining." He then furrowed his brow, "I do not have a 'Stygian aura.'"

"Yes you do, you all do." She studied his handsome face, "Now tell me why Nephilim ships bother you so much."

Casspien leaned on his arm and his mood hardened a bit. He did not have an answer for her, he was unsure why it made him uneasy. Just like that beggar, nothing about the ships were unique or worthy of comment but his instincts forced all attention towards them. He thought of what Guinevere had said about Enrieta and Antares as well. From the first time he saw her, she unnerved him. The malice that clung to her was powerful, a kind of anger he had never felt before. Not even Xenon held such hatred when he was annoyed. The Lord Regent wanted to excuse caution from his own rare clash with the Nephilim some few years ago. That the battle was enough to leave a lasting impact on him. However Casspien was just unsure, he was not above blaming his worries on being in the south.

He turned his gaze to the warrior next to him, her right eye a captivating and rich amber, while her left eye was a jeweled diamond blue. The birthmark just below the corner of her lips looked inviting. The Lord Regent did not want to worry her, he reminded himself that she was in Longshore for work and not as a personal adventure. His concerns were for him alone and to share with Antares. He would not add to the stress she must have been under making sure many nobles and royals alike were safe.

"Do not do that," she kissed him.

"What might that be?" he smiled.

"Wear it all on your shoulders, you are not king. I thank the Gods for that." She held his hand. "That is the responsibility of your king, if he ever decides to take his duty seriously and not cause war." She helped herself to his peach.

The early morning was quite pleasant for Rose, the day ahead looked to be calm and uneventful. It was just what she hoped, it would mean just accompanying royals around the castle and soon enough she would see Casspien. However it was until the afternoon when word had spread that King Antares had demanded for the grimoires that the castle came alive. Gossip exploded like wild fire throughout the castle and the nearby noble homes and gathering areas. The monarchs were the topic of conversation and remained so for the rest of the day. That was until further news was exposed about King Antares and Princess Reza's outing. Rose Valentine had never met the king, but from what she had gathered from rumor and what she saw today. She was sure he was the most reckless man in all of Aurum, and her Casspien was his Lord Regent. She failed to see the God's amusement in it all.

Casspien chuckled to himself, Rose never quite hid her dislike of Antares. "Truly it is nothing. I think the meeting with the monarchs and then with the lord regents may have drained me."

Rose could tell he did not want to worry her, so she allowed him to move the conversation along. "Perhaps I may be of assistance?"

"What do you have in mind?"

She responded with a kiss and another and several more before their lips were firmly locked. Previously they kissed with burning passion and desire, it was akin to a spontaneous burst of lust. But now, it was slower, more loving, rhythmic. Casspien moved her onto her back and kissed his way down her neck, claiming every inch of her skin for his own. Rose undid her blouse, praying that she would not wear it again until the next day.

She guided Casspien's head towards her left breast, he kissed around it softly nuzzling his head into her chest breathing in her scent. The warrioress pulled her blouse away and exposed her nipple to him. He accepted the offering and devoured her with care. His tongue across her teat filled her with growing desire, pleasure shot through her body in waves. He also delivered the same level of care and loving to her right breast before taking off her top completely.

The moon's light revealed battle scars across her chest and arms. The dress she had worn to the celebrations the night before had sleeves that hid these markings. Casspien was aware how proud Rose was of her scars, but showing them while wearing armor was one thing. In a dress was something completely different. He did not care, he loved them. Each one told him of a time she vanquished an enemy, proving that she was the greater warrior. That she was worthy of the title of Sword Saint and one of the most feared. Her battle prowess and strength were extraordinary. He drew across her scars with his tongue, watching her expression to see where the most pleasure was. The Stygian lord enjoyed his little tease, but soon enough his lover had grown wrestles with anticipation, it only took one look from her beautiful pleading eyes, begging him to go lower. What else could he do but oblige?

He took off her pants with her assistance and lowered himself towards her garden of delight and indulged in the sweetest of fruits across the nine realms.

"Oh Casspien," she gasped.

Rose felt her body quiver as pleasure reached the deepest corners of her mind. Each movement he made with his mouth elicited a different reaction out of her, one she had no control over. Each time they were together his skills had continued to improve. She was unsure how, and secretly thought he practiced on another. Somehow in the moment she did not care, for whatever it was that allowed him to offer her this kind of exhilaration was worth it. The longer he continued the more she raised her hips in response, she did not want him to stop, she felt it coming, a wave of pleasure unlike anything she had experienced before. He was pulling something deep from within her and before long it arrived with the force of the entire heavens behind it. She announced his name to the stars as tidal wave after tidal wave coursed through her body. She gripped him tightly with her thighs, not willing to release him, until she could stop. As the last tingles of delight left her, she slowly released him and relaxed. Her hands over her face, this was a battle she had thoroughly lost and enjoyed quite a bit.

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"How are you so good at that?" Rose giggled uncontrollably. She could not bring herself to look at him.

Casspien raised his head, lips stained with the nectar of his goddess. "It helps being able to feel and see every single pore on your body."

"Oh yes of course," Rose smiled, calling for him to embrace her.

He did and kissed her, the mixture of their saliva and her sweet ambrosia acted as an aphrodisiac awaking the primal urge within him. She helped take off his clothes, granted it was better said that Rose tore them off. But the Lord Regent did not care, he would not deny her what she wanted. When they were both naked they explored each other's bodies. It had been a year since they last shared a moment like this and would make up for lost time. They made love countless times, lost in the passion of it all. They moved past words and now solely focused on a connection that was deeper than that.

She rode him, he faced her on her stomach. She bent over for him, he plunged to meet her. They devoured each other in every way they could imagine, marking their bodies. They did not know when next the opportunity would permit them this tender moment so they did all they could to revel in it. Here they were not Sword Saints or any worthless titles, they were two lovers connected in body and soul. It was all they ever needed and for now desired. They continued like this for much of the night, the first to plead for mercy was Rose.

Casspien lay back and Rose crawled on top of him.

"That was…pleasurable." She laughed and nuzzled into his chest.

"We really do need to start seeing each other more often," Casspien caressed her shoulder.

"I know, I'm sorry. Many of my contracts keep me in the south." She pouted.

"Well you know," the Lord Regent cleared his throat. "With King Antares marrying Princess Reza, Iliad will start to open up again. There will be an influx of nobles and royals willing to pay top coin for the services of a Sword Saint."

"Is that so?" she smiled before kissing his chest.

"If you come to Akkad, I could personally introduce you to worthy clients keeping you in Iliad for some time. There is good money to be made."

Rose wished he would find the courage to ask her to come to Iliad with him directly because she did not have the strength to ask him if she could herself. She laughed at her childish behavior, startling him slightly.

"Have I said something wrong?" the smallest traces of concern accompanied his words.

She shook her head, "Not at all, it does sound nice." She yawned, "Though I do not know about spending those long winter months in Iliad alone."

Casspien pulled her in closer, "I believe I can assist with that."

They shared a bottle of wine and a laugh at the remark. Rose leaned against him wanting him to hold her. A thought crossing her mind.

"What is it?" Casspien moved her hair to the side, he always enjoyed looking into her multi-colored eyes.

"Is King Antares really going to marry Princess Reza?"

The Lord Regent played around with her words in his head. He truly did not know what Antares answer would be. Today had not helped matters in the slightest, the meeting of the monarchs had proven to be tenuous at best and dangerous at worst. King Satori's intervention proved the deciding matter in saving potential disaster. If anything the meeting served as an example why this union should not take place. Casspien saw very little tangible benefit for Reza becoming Queen of the Stygians. A witch atop the Stygian throne was only inviting danger to their doorstep from both within and without. They were already putting out fires across the kingdom and now they were on the verge of lighting the biggest one. Yet for all of Casspien's trepidations on the matter.

"Do you disapprove?" he asked her in turn.

Rose slowly shook her head, "At first perhaps I did. I thought it a fairytale, but the more I think about it and what it could mean for Aurum." She turned to him with a half smile, "I mean a witch, a human witch, the Queen of the Stygians? The fact it is even a possibility shows how far the nine realms have come."

And there it was, Casspien thought. The reason why he and many who were opposed could not completely dismiss it. For all the many things that could go wrong, although not enough, the good that could come from it was still enticing. He had no issue with witches, he understood the danger they possessed and the danger they possessed to those around them if their powers was left unchecked. He took no issue with his people's handling of them through the millennia. However if something could be done, to change things, perhaps another avenue of violence could cease to exist completely. An Aurum where if the persecution of witches can stop, then perhaps the constant fear the humans and the other species held in their eyes for Stygians would also one day disappear for good. And maybe finally along with the need for the Lords of War. Call it stubbornness or obduracy–Casspien would call it realism–the Lord Regent refused to believe such a future could exist, as much as he desperately wanted it so. Yet he would not allow himself desire it, an image of his father flashed in his mind.

"Everything you say is right," Casspien caressed her cheek. "The boons that will come from this union could lay the foundations to reshape Aurum's future..."

"...Or destroy it once and for all." She added, knowing his concerns, "What do the Elders say?"

He scoffed in slight anger at the mention of them. "I cannot even begin to make sense of it, they speak exclusively to Antares."

"And this concerns you because?" she kissed him on the cheek and then the jaw and neck.

"I know the ancestors influence them and in turn they influence Antares." Casspien made no attempt to hide his worry, "Only twice in the last hundred thousand years have the ancestors entertained the idea of a witch being the Queen of the Stygians, that I know of at least. The last time being Tereza Altieri, mother of Reza Altieri."

Rose's eyes widened at the revelation that a Black Witch was meant to sit atop a Stygian throne. A hundred questions ran through her head, she felt as though she had been made aware of a secret she had no business knowing. It was well known that the former Queen of Lunaelia had been raised in Iliad and had even helped bring an end to the Stygian Civil War. However Rose did not know that her efforts were that great that such a reward was on the table for her. The Sword Saint's thoughts grew with countless reasons why the Black Witch was not named queen and she felt as though she had answered her own question. She turned to Casspien expecting him to reveal more but was met with subdued silence. That was all he knew of the matter.

Rose climbed on top of him, "And I thought the royals in the south were complicated." She lay back exposing her breasts and bathing in the night's glow.

"There are more mysteries and secrets about the Stygian royal family and the Elders than there are stars in the sky." Casspien declared, cupping her right breast.

"I hope your king chooses correctly," she felt him enter her.

"Me too," Casspien confessed, allowing himself to hope like a human. The warmth of their connection stirred him into action.

Once again they started making love, for a brief time Casspien allowed his thoughts to carry him to the event Antares and the others were attending right now. The emperor had personally prepared it as a gift to his king and he was curious what it could be. Before he had the opportunity to feel guilty for missing the occasion, Rose had pulled him back into the throes of pleasure, one that looked to keep him occupied all night long. It would only be for one night, Casspien thought, Antares would be fine without him.

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