The Voyage of Galilea

As the evening unfolded, I was given to try a few more delicacies, aphrodisiacs all of them. I sipped liquors that left me drunk with ecstasy. I closed my eyes, as I laid on the cushion, bare breasted…I woke up and I lay in my room, the moon still fragrant and bright in the skies…My skin bathed with moonlight…I slowly got up…My robe, it was gone. I was naked. I walked to the window and I saw the cliff…The leftovers of the bridge looked like silver beams. I thought to myself how opulent this fortress once was! I imagined carriages stopping by the main entrance, visitors from every corner of the globe, from any century, any millennium…A fortress which was made of fragile ice and yet it remained untouchable and strong for eternity.

I touched my face. My tongue still was sweet and intoxicated. I let my hands roam to the places I had received most pleasure on…I closed my eyes and let my fingers go down to my nipples…I felt like a woman, so total, so subdued to my own wantonness. The Count did not touch me, and yet I felt his caress all over my body…He watched me…us…without shame…begging for more with his eyes…playing tricks with my mind…

I slowly turned around and I was startled to find Aleera hanging upside down from the ceiling of my room. Her eyes were closed and her arms were folded on her chest.

She then looked at me and laughed…Her feet, one more time on the ground.

-“Did I scare you?”

-“Hardly anything scares me anymore…”

I chuckled.

I walked slowly back to my bed, Aleera followed me like a shadow. Her hands slowly caressing the skin of my arms. For once, her touch was innocent and she watched me getting under my covers. With a swift move, she flew above my bed canopy and landed right next to me…Her hand resting on her cheek, watching me vigilantly, like a mother to her child…

-“You don’t cease to amaze me, Galilea…Getting to know you has been challenging for me, and yet, it is as if my life would not be complete without you…”

Looking at her next to me, she seemed vulnerable. I touched her hand…

-“There are a few questions I need to ask you, Aleera…”

She smiled and sighed.

-“And now for the inevitable inquisition…Go ahead, my dear…what do wish to know?”

I sat down on the bed and put the covers around my shoulders.

I asked my questions.

-“Do you love him, Aleera…?.”

-“Darling…We don’t conceive love the way you do…You have these romantic notion about love and courtship…For us…For us is more instinctive…For us is more the need to procreate….You are the first woman I hold in my arms since my sisters died.”

-“You have not answered my question, Aleera…”

-“He owns me, Galilea…I am whatever he wants me to be…But yes, there is a very strange kind of affection. I am possessive. I guess I am extremely frightened about the possibility of him abandoning me…What about you…?

It took me a moment to answer that question.

-“I am fascinated by him…You see…I’ve heard about him since I was a child….I am not the first to travel through time…My grandfather was an inventor too, my mother’s father…Enrico. He knew about the Count. He had heard so much about him. He, too, build a secret device to travel from century to century at will…much less sophisticated, of course…I was the only person he could tell these things to. He knew I believed him. I studied with him. When he passed away, I started to build my own vehicle…”

-“interesting….tell me…what is it you find so fascinating about him?…In more ways than one, he is just a man…You’ve idealized him a bit, don’t you think?”

Aleera came closer to me and removed the covers from my body. She sat behind me and she let me put my head between her breasts. Her fingers were playing with my hair…

-“I don’t know how to answer that question just yet…It’s just so many things I guess…Aleera…how did you meet him?”

-“…..I am not accustomed to answer questions about my past….There is not much to tell…”

I looked at her with pleading eyes. She smiled.

-“Don’t give me that look, child…It’s fine…I shall tell you….My family were originally gypsies, you know? My family and the Valerious family were close. Princess Anna and I were playmates when we were children…My father died. Mother remarried a noble man. We lived in his castle. I hated that place. I had nobody. My mother spent most of her time traveling or hosting glittering parties. I grew up a very solitary child, being educated by tutors at home. I missed so much my life as a gypsy, wandering free…One night, my father hosted a party like no other in Europe. Everybody who was somebody was to attend. I was 17 years old. My dress was handcrafted by artisans from China. I was adorned with Austrian crystal. I was excited for I would be meeting the toast of Europe and I would taste my first champagne. When I came down the stairs, everybody looked upon me, impressed with my graciousness and my beauty…I danced like never before and, for the first time in a long time, I was happy.

I left the party to go to our garden for some fresh air and to contemplate the moon which shone full and proud in the skies, like a lovely queen. ‘Pardon the interruption, my lady…’ When I looked up to the stranger, my eyes were locked in his blue gaze. His dark hair waving softly in the wind. Never had I imagined there would be a man with such eyes and such beauty. He needed not say too many words. He took my hand. He walked with me to a more secluded area of the garden. I didn’t stop his kiss. My first. My thoughts got lost in Shangri-La. I couldn’t breath. I belonged to him. He tilted my head to the back, exposing my neck…He removed my jewelry. I stayed in his arms.

When I woke up, I was in this castle. A tall woman with beautiful dark hair was sitting next to me. A younger woman brought some new clothing for me. They simply said, ‘We are sisters now…We shall teach you how to feed…Soon you will be hungry, child…’”

Sad story indeed, I thought to myself.

-“Do you miss them, Aleera…Your family?”

-“No. I don’t know what that means anymore. My master is my family.”

She took a deep breath.

-“You do not choose to be Lord Dracula’s concubine, you know? He chooses you. He picks you from all the women in the world. He chose me. It was not easy at first. I was the youngest. The master already had two other brides. I had to fight for my place in his life. Soon I knew that my primary duty was to conceive children. The Queen and Marishka had already bore him children. I was too young. It took me well over 100 years to get pregnant for the first time. My first children died soon after conception. The Queen didn’t speak to me. She said it was my fault. The master blamed me too. I got pregnant again and this time my young survived the whole time. I would nurse my offspring day and night. I would visit them almost every hour. I knew the master was going to give them life. I trusted him. He would let them live.”

-“Aleera…For what I’ve heard…Count Dracula planned on destroying the world by using his progeny. Have you ever given this fact any thought? Have you no conscience at all?”

-“I guess I would be a little sorry for the mortal children. I don’t expect you to understand, Galilea. You have come to our territory at will. We have our laws, just like you have yours. Vampires spend all eternity struggling for survival. We hide. We are feared. You are the first human that has come to us without a care in the world. I applaud that. I respect that. However, don’t judge us.

Her voice got mellow again.

-“You must rest now…I shall see you in the morning….”

She tucked me in bed. Her fingers touched my face very softly. My arms swung to the back of my head. I was content. Aleera softly uncovered my body and leaned over my breasts to lick gently the leftovers of the chocolate sauce. I moaned softly. I moved my body towards her and she grasped my waist. She continued licking my nipples, biting them softly, her hands roaming freely around my thighs, between my legs. Then she stopped herself and said softly in my ear.

-“I have a better idea, my darling…Sweet dreams…..”

She kissed my forehead and disappeared.

I tossed in bed, fighting my own desires. I touched myself. I closed my eyelids. Aleera had left a strange scent in my chamber as she left. It was not her perfume. It was an elixir which I breathed and made me hallucinate. I couldn’t fight the effects of the drug. My windows swung open and I saw a figure entering my room. My eyes were deceiving me. I was dreaming.

My head buried itself in the soft pillow adding to my pleasure. I heard the Count’s voice, but I could not see his face. I saw colors. Shapes. I felt a strong hand, clasping mine. Male hands. Female hands. I heard Aleera’s voice. A finger slid down my face. Stopped on my lips. I parted my lips. I licked the finger. A male finger. I licked with pleasure. I moaned. My tongue swirled over the skin of that finger. The finger was wet and it went down the skin of my neck. A female hand, clasped my breast. Shadows. Shapes. That elixir still strong. I breathed and it got into my soul. My nostrils were absorbing and yet they were absorbed. I moaned. A male hand played with my nipples. Cooping my breasts. I felt my mouth been kissed. Fully. I opened my mouth. My tongue found a tongue. My hands touched hair. My hands clung to a fist of hair. I moaned. I moved towards this head. My breasts were being held among fingers. Male fingers. Female fingernails. I breathed so hard. Hands parted my legs. I opened them wide. My hips moved upward. My arms were held. Then loose. Fingers slid across my thighs. Fingers came up and down my navel. I was teased. I wanted. I desired. I was dripping. Fuck me. I pleaded. Shapes up in the ceiling. Shadows. Fuck me. I felt fingers inside my body. I screamed with pleasure. One. Two. Three. Again. Again. Again.

I exploded. I screamed. I convulsed. Again. Again.

I opened my eyes. I gasped for air.

The room was quiet. Empty. The moon slowly waltzing away. Humming a song.

Soon it would be morning.