novelxo Chapter The Boy's First Kiss
Leradien thought about whether she wanted to be kissed or not.
“That depends,” she said. “If it was you that kissed me, I think I might like it. But, if it was anybody else–no.”
The boy considered that.
“I could come over there,” he offered a bit awkwardly. “I could sit in the sun and you in the dark and we could talk.”
“I’d like that.”
So he ambled over to her and sat down close to her, and dangled his legs off of her rock entrance.
“I got me a new knife,” he remembered.
“I saw that,” she said.
“Want to see it?”
“That would be fine.”
So the boy took it out, only to see her suddenly recoil away from it. He blinked in surprise and confusion at her sudden response.
“Take it away!” she said, turning her head sharply away from him. “It’s too bright!”
The boy hadn’t thought about how bright and shiny the blade would be to her. He regretfully put it back. He had hoped to impress her with it.
Only after it was back in its sheath, would she turn back to him. She seemed relieved and yet still a little cautious.
“Do you know what that knife is for?” she asked him.
“Cutting, carving, and fishing I suppose.”
“No,” she told him apprehensively. “It’s for killing drow.”
“What do you mean? For killing drow?” he asked, his mouth open in surprise. “How can you tell?”
“I can feel it. I felt it the moment I saw it. It is my enemy. How did you obtain it?”
“I got it as a gift.”
“A gift from whom?” Leradien asked, warily.
“Old Graybeard.”
“Graybeard? The Light Elves keeper?” she responded in wonder. “Why would a keeper give you a knife for killing drow?”
“He thinks I may be in danger.”
“What? From drow?” she wanted to know.
The boy nodded.
Leradien looked uneasy.
“He didn’t say it was me you’re in danger from, did he?” she asked fearfully.
“No.”
“Did you tell him about me?”
The boy nodded.
“And what did he say about me?”
“Nothing,” he said.
“He didn’t tell you to stay away from me?”
“No.”
“Very strange,” Leradien noted. “He’s either very wise or very foolish. I am half-drow.”
Leradien had a drow’s red eyes and silver white hair, yet did not have their dark skin. They say her mother was a Light Elf. No one ever said anything about the father, but he had to be a drow.
“You’re not just half-drow. You’re a half-drow made a drider,” he told her. “There’s a difference.”
Lolth had cursed her with a spider demon as punishment for rebelling against her.
Leradien ignored that, as the difference hardly seemed in the boy's favor. But then she brightened in sudden realization. Maybe it was.
“As a drider, I can protect you from drow,” she offered.
“I kind of figured you could if you wanted,” the boy admitted. “I just didn’t know if you’d want to.”
“I’d want to.”
They were silent for a while. Finally, the boy spoke. “I’m sorry I took my knife out. I guess I sort of ruined the moment, didn’t I?”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“Really?” he asked. “I didn’t spoil your mood?”
“No. You could never do that.”
The boy decided to take his chances then and kiss her. He slid over closer, leaned slowly forward towards her waiting lips, and then gently touched his to hers.
Her lips were as cool as clear spring water. He could have drunk from them forever.
The boy ended the kiss abruptly. He hadn’t expected this. Her lips tasted like the sweetest strawberries ever, so soft and supple, as if inviting him to stay. And that taste was still there. He felt–well–suddenly somehow changed. He had a hot, flustered sensation that was new to him.
“That was different,” he said, pulling back.
“Yes,” she agreed, gazing deeply at him. “It was.”
“You know,” he realized, “you have beautiful eyes.”
He didn’t know why he said that. It just sort of came blurting out.
Now she was the one taken aback. Leradien didn’t know what to say, but she did react. She smiled in deep pleasure.
“And you say you don’t know magic.”
Drow all have scary, crazy red eyes and Leradien’s, though as bright and polished as the finest rubies, were mad as a bat’s. About the last thing she expected to be complimented on was her eyes, so he caught her by surprise then, almost as much as he caught himself by surprise by saying it.
“They’re so deep I think I could drown in them,” he impulsively added.
And he could, too.
“Go on,” said his drider. “For you are casting your first spell. So are you lying to me?”
“Oh, no!” he gasped. “Can’t you tell? I just know your eyes could see right through me if I did, and they’d know!”
“Well! They do see through you all right; but all they see is bad,” she said. “But that’s okay. That’s what I like about you. So tell me more about my eyes?”
“I could look into them forever.”
“Well! Maybe,” she offered, warming to him, “if you’re lucky, you’ll get that chance.”
He remembered again she was dangerous and might capture him. In fact, she probably would have, but she seemed to have forgotten to do it now. Instead, she seemed to be in a sort of trance–almost as if she was warming up inside. The boy moved away before she changed her mind and remembered what driders do to young boys.
“Well, I guess I should be going before you change your mind and decide to capture me.”
She smiled darkly and laughed, tossing her lovely hair.
“You should wish to be so lucky!”
“I’m almost wishing you had.”
“I’m almost wishing I had too,” Leradien said. “But you’ll come back. After all, I’m the perfect woman for you.”
“Yeah! You are. Why is that anyway?”
“No work,” she replied.