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“What is it, my darling?”
Though soft-spoken, her voice vibrated through her chest, where your head laid. Minutes ago you were telling her one of the Greek myths, in which she took an interest after you had accidentally mentioned Demeter and her influencing seasons. For now, the myth about Ariadne was Scylla’s favourite. Turned out, Astraea had other gods.
Now, you lay silent, distracted by a sudden thought, eyeing her hands, which were wrapped so comfily around you. She was caressing your skin with a thumb, and, with her hands free of numerous rings, you felt how calloused they actually were.
Scylla wasn’t joking when saying that she was skilled with her hands – although you haven’t checked them out in that sense she was originally joking about. You saw her picking locks with hairpins, cracking bottles with knives, patching your clothes with a needle and thread – but there always were her hands skillfully guiding the tools. Gone was the stereotype about a pampered noble; Scylla definitely was a woman able to keep you company on the deserted island.
You stirred in her arms a little, wishing to rise on your elbows – though accidentally you pressed on one of her breasts, and a hiss followed. You mumbled an apology, uneasily watching Scylla rubbing the hurt spot. She ignored the idea of wearing a bra, and slept without any shirt as well, just wearing her high-cut briefs of deep chocolate colour.
Not that you minded, though. Scylla was so beauteous, and she knew that it made your breath fasten.
“Just be careful next time you think my chest is a better pillow than the one at the headboard, precious,” she grinned mischievously. “So what is it?”
Oh, how sensual her lips were, but you had another place of interest at that moment.
“Your tattoos,” you replied moments later. “Peonies, a serpent, a sun compass, the Sun. Do they have a meaning?”
Scylla made a short, delighted laugh.
“You thought I covered both my sleeves in permanent ink just like that? Of course, they do have a meaning.”
She rose a little, half-sitting, leaning on the pillow beside headboard, and watched you lying down on her abdomen once again. The movements of her body were mesmerizing; in public, she always moved with powerful grace - elegant, but strong, somewhat boyish, rebellious and attention-getting. At that moment, when she was keeping you in her arms, letting you trace the outlines of the ink paintings with your fingers, she was relaxed, something domestic and carefree in her posture.
“Maybe you can tell me the stories behind each drawing? The peonies, for example. You do not seem to be keen on flowers,” you implied. In fact, peonies filled the space between the bigger drawings, but they couldn’t be simply emitted from the whole picture. “Is it because of their meaning? Romance and happy marriage?”
Scylla snorted loudly, and suddenly it got through to you. The number of broken engagements Scylla had exceeded five and she must have definitely thought that it was a very, very offensive joke.
“Oh goddess, Scylla I’m- “
“Well, actually, good guess,” she replied a bit hesitantly, as if not sure if she should share something so…personal. Vulnerable. “But they were the last tattoos I got. Just to fill in the blanks, frankly speaking.”
Oh, so you were right. “What was the first one, then?”
Scylla glanced at her arms apprehensively, which you were holding so gently, but then her gaze drifted back to your face, lying atop her abdomen. Her habit of looking people directly in the eyes frightened you at first and made you stiffen; it turned out it was her way of giving you her full attention.
“The serpent. I have just turned eighteen when I got it. Escell and Florian…weren’t divorced then,” for a single moment, Scylla’s voice faltered. You gave her time to clear her throat. “We all lived together then, but Escell had already favoured Felix over me. I had constantly told myself, that I am no worse than anyone, being the only person in the family who can’t do magic, but, well, um- ”
She made a strained, short laugh, and you felt that she tried to get rid of a lump in her throat.
Scylla wasn’t always that sensitive; usually, she would shoo any mentions of her family away, duck the questions and keep talking about herself. But you’ve noticed it anyway, during the first family dinner, when you and Felix tried to escape Escell’s trap.
She was probably the only member of Escell-Anguis family who wanted for the family not to fall apart. During that dinner, Scylla reminded you of that meme with a man, keeping two naughty children on leashes, trying to deal with them; except this time instead of kids there were Escell and Felix at each other’s throats, and maybe there was Florian as well, while Scylla tried to at least not let them kill each other.
They didn’t treat her well enough, you thought. She sent gifts to Escell – and he re-gifted them. She tried to save Felix’s ass – and she called her names. They both laughed at her failed engagements, and you just couldn’t understand, why Scylla hadn’t at least screamed at them both yet.
Or maybe she did and you just hadn’t caught her doing so.
“Well, it hurt me,” Scylla continued. “And then I got across some song, and there was something about a serpent, bowing to a king, keeping the water still, just waiting for the right moment, and for some reason I thought “That’s what I need. I will be patient now, and show my true power later” – and then they divorced, but the tattoo was already on my arm.”
“And then?”
“And then they decided to be the responsible adults they are and thought that division of property and children was a good idea. You know, Felix was taken by Escell, and so the only kid available was me, so they gave me to Florian”.
And she scoffed again. You thought of telling her something comforting, but Scylla went on, maybe avoiding stressing too much on her feelings.
“Everything changed quickly. I managed to adapt quickly as well, but deep inside I didn’t know what life would throw into me now. My life and my childish revenge plans on Escell were messed up”.
“So what’s when you thought about compasses guiding you,” you guessed.
“Well, not exactly me. It was Florian. To my shame, one day I broke up and gave away my innermost thoughts and fears. He listened to me and told me all the kind words he learnt from the books he is so fond of, but alas, we both didn’t know what to do, and there was our whole family killed by mysterious circumstances. You would never guess what Florian suggested doing”.
“I have always thought that he is prudent. Is he not?” you asked, tilting your head, watching Scylla making the first sincere laugh for this whole talk.
“He suggested asking the tarot cards,” Scylla smirked. “And it was so rebellious, darling. I have never thought he had it in him”.
You genuinely didn’t understand what was so rebellious in tarot cards, which were such a common symbolic trope in each fandom. Noticing confusion on your face, Scylla explained:
“Just as Felix, Escell considered fortune-telling to be a pointless waste of time. And Florian decided to let some piece of carton decide our fate. Escell and Felix will lose their heads if they hear about it, so I ask you to keep it secret”.
“You can trust me. So what did the tarot say?”
“I do not quite remember, my darling,” Scylla said with a smile, which you deciphered as “I do remember, but I won’t tell you”. You decided not to press it.
“But I remember Florian telling me that my patron arcana must be The Sun because just like me, it can totally change its meaning in an instant. If it is upright, it means success and positivity, but if it’s reversed, the meanings are completely opposite – no success and depression. And if you have a sun compass, the sun helps you find your way. So, that’s how I got the Sun and the compasses”.
There was one piece of the puzzle left.
“What about the peonies and happy marriage?”
“Why are you all so concerned with me wishing to be happy in marriage? Escell, Felix, now you. Don’t I deserve it? To marry a woman I love and be happy till death do us part?” Scylla made a mock whimper and pouted.
You couldn’t hold back a giggle. You pressed a kiss to her lips and felt how under your kiss a pout turned into a smug smile. She manipulated you, and you gave in eagerly, because how could you miss a chance to kiss Scylla? No way, not a single kiss was to be lost.
“Surely you deserve a happy marriage, Scylla,” you mumbled into her lips and pulled away just as Scylla tried to deepen the kiss. The rejection made a childish pout reappear, but there were some important issues for you to discuss.
“And you also deserve to know an answer to one riddle.”
“Which riddle?”
“Guess how much I love you.”
You saw a rush of emotions flicking on her face, and you could bet you saw Scylla blush a little – it didn't prevent her mouth from quirking in a cheshire grin, though.
“And how much is that, my darling?”
Oh, how tempting her lips were, and you were a simple creature, falling for the temptation. You kissed her once again, and in an instant, Scylla put a hand on your navel, buried her fingers into your hair and deepened the kiss. Her lips were warm and soft, and so was her skin; definitely Florian was right.
“To the Sun and back”.