Prince Charming

Note: Sorry I\'m updating this a bit late (at night that is, it was still Thursday when I first posted...now it\'s after midnight but that\'s beside the point...). Anyway, I hope it came out all right. I decided at the last minute that there was something I didn\'t like about it have spent the last hour or so trying to fix it. Already had the chapter written but...the changing took a bit of work. Really hope it\'s alright. ^^ Next update planned for sometime this weekend...Monday at the latest. Thanks to all my readers for your patience and lovely comments!

Chapter Nine

Shivering, Teige cursed, teeth chattering and arms aching as they hung, useless as dead weights, in the shackles confining them. Still blind and long ago abandoned by his guards, he had little to no idea of the time that had passed, though he felt sure, regardless of how long it felt, that not much could have. He still felt his fingers, the strain on his wrists not yet having robbed them of blood flow, and though fatigue pulled at him mildly, he knew by instinct that dawn had not yet risen. That knowledge alone gave him a sort of airy confidence in itself that he couldn’t quite explain. When the telltale clank of metal bars signified the return of at least someone to his cold prison, he lifted his head. With a blindfold still on, it did little to improve his situation.

“Ah-ah.” He heard an obviously female voice criticize in front of him, somewhere in the vicinity of his prison door from what he could tell. Not in an entirely good mood after hanging from a prison wall for hours, he prepared to demand freedom when the woman spoke again. “I told you, no keys until you kiss him.”

Confused, it took him a moment mulling over what he could possibly reply to this when another voice answered, and it became apparent she hadn’t been talking to him at all, but, in fact, Davinoff. “That wasn’t part of the deal!” Even without his sight, Teige could imagine the other’s expression just off his tone, his rough features turned menacing with the shouted objection.

“My prison, my rules.” The woman sounded not the least bit bothered by his harshness, even, perhaps, the slightest bit amused, and Teige could almost hear Davinoff’s teeth gritting in loathing.

“I did what you wanted, elf…now let me go, or-“

“Or what? You’ll use your big strong muscles to break a poor harmless lady in half, then break your pretty lover out of his chains, defeat the entire Kalekai army, and walk off unscathed? If slave traders let their prizes free for kisses, they’d be long out of business. Now hurry it up, I grow weary of your cowardly stalling.”

A few moments passed of perfect silence, Drake likely summing up his options as Teige tried to piece together what the elfin queen had just said. Though it made no sense, it sounded like she wanted Drake to- The sound of heavy footfalls advancing on him came forward, obviously Davinoff’s, and he could only assume he had come to some sort of silent agreement with the woman. Opening his mouth, he started to pose a question when a single ghost of heated breath passed his lips, and he tensed as a hand went to each side of his face, boxing him in.

“Don’t say a word.”

“Drake-“ Without his sight, he didn’t know exactly what to expect, but when the larger man’s lips pressed to the corner of his mouth, two hands finding their way behind his neck, he felt his heart jump to a hummingbird’s flutter, breath catching in his throat and cheeks feeling as if they’d caught fire. Quietly enough so that only he and his current captor could hear, he eventually hissed quietly as the binding loosened from over his eyes. “Had to make it a stage kiss?” He felt the man’s guttural response, something between a snort and a growl as his lips trailed from the corner of his mouth, along his cheek and to his ear.

“I told you to keep your pretty mouth shut.” With a yank, the blindfold came free, their bodies tight pressed and faces with less than an inch between them. “I’m just getting us out of here…be glad I didn’t leave you behind.” A moment later, the larger man turned in the opposite direction, leaving Teige in stunned silence as he questioned the elven queen with gruff lack of remorse. “Satisfied?”

“Oh, that’s all?” She said it with a pout, her stance poised and lower lip out---the spoiled child who hadn’t gotten her way. When Drake rounded on her, for once, all the gall in her stance faded, and he snatched the keys from her lax grip. “Could have said please…” She muttered glumly as a last resort.

Ignoring her, he turned wordlessly back to Teige, and the smaller man diverted his gaze as he pressed close again, struggling avidly to ignore his body’s tingling reminder of every place they touched. As soon as both cuffs dropped, he thankfully pulled away, still unable to meet the other’s gaze.

“Let’s go.” Drake mumbled gruffly, gripping the man’s forearm and tugging him in the direction of the exit. “I got tired of this place a long time ago…” Sulkily, if elven queens could sulk, their deflated captor followed after, directing Drake through the winding dungeon halls toward the exit. As they neared freedom, however, she dipped back, coming up to walk beside Teige, out of the other’s hearing range, and letting Drake take the lead. After a moment, she spoke quietly, her tone not even mildly reminiscent of the sulky, childish blabber used before.

“He deserves better you know.”

Teige blinked, frowning as he glanced her way. “Who, Drake?”

“I see the way he looks at you…how his eyes don’t see anything else as soon as you’re in sight…” The smaller man’s brow furrowed at the malice and contempt she hadn’t even bothered to hide, her tone harsh and, if he could get his mind around it, jealous. “…but squirmy little mages like you don’t last long…as soon as your spell wears off-“

“Spell?! You think I c-“

“Cursed him. Yes.”

“I was going to say cast a spell on, but-“

She didn’t wait for him to finish. “I know how your filthy magic works…preying on the weaker minded to re-enact your deranged fantasies, manipulating good men into following after disgusting wastes of flesh such as yourself, but he’s better than that…and no sick human like you is going to take from me what I want.”

Ever considered he might not want a bitchy, spoiled elf? Teige silently seethed, but he couldn’t ignore her appearance: perfect sun-gold hair, exaggerated feminine curves, and generous chest size that he most definitely lacked. Regardless of his internal comments, he knew, in the end, she had everything Drake wanted…and he had nothing. A snappish retort, no matter how witty, or foolish for that matter, would not tilt the facts any more in his favor than jumping up and down and screaming about it would. In fact, it likely wouldn’t do anything of great significance at all, except perhaps get both he and Drake thrown back in cold cells. At the thought of cold cells, he frowned, a sudden remembrance causing him a disturbing amount of distress.

‘Deliver the male to my bedchamber.’

He almost asked her what she’d done with Davinoff while he’d remained caged in a clammy cell, but then decided against it and shut his mouth with a frown, several unwanted images of the elven queen in far too little clothing popping up unbidden in his mind. Worst of all however, was the thought of her in that position…with Drake. He had, of course, no right to feel as he did, and he told himself this repeatedly, but all in all, it made no difference. Any thought of her even close to Drake sent his blood boiling, and he decided he had a very strong dislike for elves.

“What’s your name?” He questioned suddenly, summing her up and hating the fact that she stood over him.

“Arachne.” The name came out haughty and proud as she tilted her chin up a notch, emerald eyes turning away purposefully to ignore him. Satisfied with the answer, and not all that interested in continuing a conversation with her, Teige left it at that until they arrived at a stopping point by two huge, intricately carved wooden doors, an armed guard at the ready on each side.

With one flick of her finger, he found himself in the dark again, another blindfold wrapped firmly over his eyes, apparently to assure they never knew the exact location of the elfin castle. By the time the guards had lead them a sufficient distance away, however, it also, unfortunately, left him with no idea where they were period. Seconds after the blinds came off for the second time, he found himself alone, disoriented, and confused, next to a far less perplexed looking Drake. Before he could question the man on how they could possibly find their camp and horse now though, Davinoff strode off into the forest, and it took him a moment to catch on and scramble after him.

“Wait, Drake! Do you have any idea where you’re going? They just dumped us off in the middle of the forest blindfolded…and we don’t even know if they let us out in the same place they took us in! What if-“

“Trust me.” Teige blinked, the darkness hardly a hindrance as he pressed back a gathering of scraggly, low growing branches to follow after the other, but his mind worked on the significance of Davinoff’s statement. Trust him. How could he not trust him? He’d saved his life more than once, given him a chance when he probably in all honesty didn’t deserve it, and never once lead him astray, no matter how often he’d caused problems. Still, as Davinoff proceeded without hesitation deeper and deeper into the woods, was it wrong of him to wonder?

Distracted by these thoughts, it took Teige a considerable amount of time longer than it should have to notice an irregularity in the other’s walking pattern. At first, he didn’t notice it at all, his mind on other things and his eyes mostly concentrated on removing plant life from his direct path. When it first came to his attention, he passed it off as a mild fluke and looked away, but after a few minutes, he discerned a definite limp, however slight, in Drake’s step. Frowning, he sped up, pushing forward to come up closer to the other.

“Drake-“

“I told you not to worry, I know where I’m going.”

“I believe you.” Davinoff glanced down at that. “…but that’s not what I was going to say. Drake…you’re limping.”

The other frowned, then snorted and shook his head, reminding Teige briefly of a mildly agitated bull, shaking off a fly. “I’m fine.” Ignoring his dismissal, the smaller man continued, making the effort to keep pace with the other as he spoke.

“When the salcidae hit you…when you hit the tree…did you hurt your leg?”

“No.” Davinoff shoved back at the nearest piece of brush in their way, having a bit more trouble navigating, at least sight wise, than Teige in the dark, and it didn’t get past his notice when a brief flicker of pain crossed his features at an ill stumble. Though he covered it immediately, it only heightened the smaller man’s concern.

“What about the venom, did any of it make it on your skin?” Drake frowned. “Did it?”

“I’m fine.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does! One drop of that stuff, if not properly treated, could-“

“And suddenly you know everything about medicine. So, aside from being a midget, half normal body weight, and useless with a weapon…you learned the healing arts? Did the village healer teach you along with all the other little girls in your town?”

Teige frowned. After a moment, he grumbled mildly. “That’s beside the point…” Drake quirked an eyebrow.

“Oh?” Pushing back a last tangle of branches, they came into a clearing, and Teige stared, agape, at their campsite.

“How did you find it??”

“Trader’s secret.”

“Ugh. Look, yes, it’s beside the point because…” They stepped into the clearing together, and, for the most part, it looked exactly as they’d left it. “…the point is that I do know something about medicine…and if you get sick and die off on me…who’s gonna save my ass next time a ten-foot forest beetle comes after me, huh? Or a snake, or griffin or…turkey. Just…come on, get in the tent and at least let me look at it…”

“It’s probably almost dawn…” Davinoff grumbled half-heartedly, holding back the tent flap as Teige entered and following him in. “Besides, how do you plan on seeing anything? I don’t have lamps…”

“Don’t need them.” Teige said confidently as he began shuffling through several of the packs laid out in the tent. “I can see perfectly well without them……do you have a medicine belt?”

Obviously dissatisfied, Drake’s brow furrowed, but in the end he nodded, moving his hands to his waist and unlacing several strings to remove a wide string of leather, arrayed with numerous packs of odd sizes. Looking up to see it, Teige muttered a quick, ‘oh’, of surprise, then nodded.

“Alright…I didn’t exactly mean that in a literal sense, but this’ll work…you carry this everywhere?” The other nodded as he took it from him, and Teige began a quick inspection of the packages and their contents. “You had this all along…and you didn’t do anything before?”

“It wasn’t exactly idle time!” Davinoff argued, displeased at the other’s accusations and folding his arms across his chest. “You try keeping that damn woman happy…it was hell.” Teige’s gaze lifted at that, a mixture of flickering emotions in his eyes before he quickly diverted his gaze. When he spoke again, however, his sour tone betrayed the distaste he’d tried to hide in looking away.

“Was it? It must not have been for her…in fact, from what she told me, she seemed to have grown quite a fondness for you.” If Teige had had his eyes on the other instead of the medicine pack before him, he might have seen Drake shudder. As it was, he continued, unenlightened of the other man’s feelings on the matter. “Seemed she had a difficult time comprehending why on Earth you’d want to kiss me-“

“It wasn\'t a kiss! And besides...she told me to do that...”

“You do everything she says?”

“You seemed to like it well enough.” Davinoff muttered coldly and Teige’s gaze snapped up. For a moment their eyes locked, fighting some unseen battle before the larger man eventually grumbled shaking his head. “I mean…no. I don’t. That’s not…”

“What?” Davinoff scowled, and Teige moved forward across the bedding in the tent towards the other’s side. As he came to the man’s leg, a deep, rumbling clap of thunder crashed outside, and he lifted the other’s pant leg enough to find the injury as he spoke. “Take your boots off…this tent is waterproof, is it not?”


Mumbling something that sounded vaguely similar to the angry thunder outside, Drake nodded, pulling his leg in to begin working open the laces. “Yes, or at least water resistant. It should hold through anything but a flood…”

“Good.” As soon as the other finished removing his boots, Teige moved forward, pushing back the cloth of his leggings once again in an effort to sum up the amount of damage done. When Drake shifted uneasily under his inspection, reprimanded quietly without looking up, “Stop moving, it makes it harder to see.”

“If it’s that minor, I don’t see why you’re even bothering.” Teige felt the other tense as he first pressed his fingers to the small flesh incision, the cool salve spread across his digits causing the larger man to shudder slightly, though he tried to hide it. “How can you possibly see the thing…I can barely see my hand in front of my face.”

“Well…” The smaller man ran his fingers along the length of the cut, shallow, but almost six inches long, spanning a good length of his calf from ankle on up. “…there are two possible explanations for your dilemma. One…” Dipping his fingers back into the small container he’d gotten the salve from in the first place, he took another small dab. “…you aren’t holding your hand in front of your face, so you couldn’t possibly see it there. Or two…” He pressed his fingers to the man’s leg and searched for a clean strip of cloth, ignoring the other’s rather animalistic growl of warning. “…you’re blind.” Satisfied with his find, he pulled out a thin strip of lightly woven black cloth material from one of the other packs in the tent and moved bandage his work. Drake objected.

“Wait! Why do we need that? It’s a baby scratch goddammit, I don’t need any of this and-“

“It’s a six inch incision of lethal spider venom in your left leg…the salve should null the effects for now, but it’ll need a touch up later. If you leave it uncovered, the medication will rub off, the treatment will be useless, and you can kiss your leg goodbye now…but by all means, if you don’t want me to continue-“

“Just cover it! God, how do I get myself into this…” Silently, he sat back, first trying to keep his hand over his eyes so as not to distract himself, but in the end giving in and watching as Teige went to work. The smaller man probably thought he tensed and shuddered because of the injury and the strange, cold treatment, but in truth, he suppose he had someone to thank up above for that kind of cover. Every time the young man’s smooth fingers slid across his skin, or his silky black hair, hanging down as he worked, happened to brush against his leg, he felt a very unwanted, and very strong reaction.

Now, he found himself staring, his eyes wandering over the beautiful pale features before him: impossibly long lashes covering the ocean blue gaze that remained trained on his work, loose raven tresses that hung about his face in odd lengths, just begging to be caught and crushed in his grip, and lastly, those graceful, delicate fingers that continued incessantly to tease him, flickering only every now and then over his skin as they moved dexterously to put the dark bindings in place. When Teige finally looked up, Davinoff felt his gut clench, feeling sure that somehow he knew, knew every one of his abominable thoughts regardless of how damn innocent he looked.

“There, see? Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

He wanted to swear, punish those cruel, teasing lips that lay out there, open for the taking before him, but he managed a gruff nod, swallowing the sudden tension in his throat as Teige pulled his pant leg back down over the binding and simply praying that the man’s night vision wasn’t as good as he said. For, surely, if he could see anything at all he would have noticed the obvious, shameful reaction his body had made to every one of those touches? If he did notice, however, he gave no sign, simply sitting back and giving the faintest smile, almost nervous looking, as he shoved a loose lock of obsidian behind his ear and glanced away.

“Well, anyway…I might have to touch it up in the morning but…it should hold for now.” The rain, which had erupted to a full downpour somewhere along the line, had died again to a mere agitated sprinkle, the sound like scattered wedding rice on pavement, except overhead on the tent canvas. “I guess…we should rest…you were probably right…dawn is almost here…” He dropped his hands to remove his shirt in preparation for sleep, but stopped when a firm grip caught his wrist and glanced up, startled. “Drake-“

“If you undress now…neither of us will get much sleep tonight.” The words came out tense---thick with something Teige couldn’t quite place as his confused eyes searched the other’s face for answers.

“Wh…at? Why-…” Drake tugged him forward, bringing the smaller man off balance and bluntly forcing the hand in his grip directly to the source of the problem, choosing action over words any day. It didn’t take long for Teige to realize exactly what his hand had come in contact with, and a bright heat rose instantly in his cheeks, his words coming out a tad more shaky than he would have hoped. “Oh…yes, I suppose that would be…mm…” He squirmed slightly, suddenly very uncomfortable with his hand at another man’s groin. “A-are you sure-…”

“Do you want to sleep tonight or not, woman?” The larger man spoke harshly in his ear, the words sending a heated shiver down his spine, and Teige shuddered, catching his lower lip tight between his teeth and trying desperately with little success to ignore the hard heat directly beneath his fingers. “Either move away now…or become the solution.”


Review Replies

MakaiKitty: Wow, that last line was a little harsh. Poor Queen, I almost feel sorry for her *LOL*

xD She was trying to steal away Drake! Something had to be done...bwhahaha. Anyway...thanks for the comment!

Rin-chan: Oh ho! He imagined, regretably forced to as he kissed the queen, that little pansy princess who can\'t do anything on his own? XD I love this chapter, the story, everything! You put so much gorgeous emotion into everything, the way you describe something just has me reading over every chapter again, catching things I missed. I admire you and your talent very much, Mr. Moonstar!

In fact, I even made you some fanart, I hope you don\'t mind... ^^; I, tried to get the details right. I couldn\'t find what kind of clothes Cyprien wears, and I tried to get Teige\'s pale skin, lashes even! If you look really closely, you can see a bit of dark navy, close to the blanket of night, color. That\'s his dress, his collarbone is exposed, as it was a dress. It was hard to make it appear that Teige-Chan is wearing a dress, but ah well... And Cyprien, actually, I don\'t think you mentioned his hair bound, but it was convient.

Actually, this was originally based on a drawing for my \"Carved by Angels\" Story for the next chapter, some new characters. One of them, the younger, Teige character in the picture, is being chased by another angel who\'s appearance is older, about 24 while the angel - Teige character - was 18. Anyways, yush, the younger angel, Haziel, was friends with the older-looking one, Darquiel, but wished for nothing more. While the other looks older, he\'s essentially 14, but in his creation, he requested his age and appearance to change. He wanted to protect Haziel from anything and with his half-developed body, could not so he skipped years and filled out. XD The other angels call him \"cheater\" here and there, some in play, some in spite. Right, the point - Haziel couldn\'t make Darquiel understand so he kept quiet and simply lets Quiel tug him close sometimes, cuddle and hold hands while he looks off to the side, a rather sad expression on his face. Like he wants to say something against it, but knowing the other won\'t listen, doesn\'t bother. In a situation he doesn\'t want but lets it fold out.

And well, I don\'t think the above idea will work out, it\'s too complicated and even I had trouble making it up ^^; Most hardly ever make sense, my apologies! Anyways, the expression on my angel drawing face was perfect, I thought, for your Teige character. Darquiel was going to have silver hair, bound in a ponytail and was pretty much ready somehow, to be altered a bit, the whole drawing, and ready for this story. Figure that one out, ne? O.o

Sorry about the stupid white line on Cyprien\'s vest and pants, heck, sorry if the clothes don\'t match up with what you had in mind. I\'ve always been a little worried in fan art, truly, my first fanart was for Miss Falcon and her Sugar Hearts ^^; But I don\'t want to step on your plan that you have in your mind, how you see the characters in your mind. I\'ve always had trouble putting them into words, and I kinda felt hesitant about doing this little gift for you, to make a picture using your already beautifully described words and possibly screwing it up.

But ah well! Just the Rin Rin way to say thank you for a great story! ^_^ I\'ll see you around!

Omigosh, after all that talk, here is the link!

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/9178/princecharming16jt.png - I hope you like it!

Wow...thank you! I think you most definitely have the record for longest review ever given. I\'m glad you appreciated Drake\'s imagination, it\'s so much fun to play tricks with gullible minds...*nyuahahaha, evil laughter* *cough* Not that I\'d EVER take advantage of poor Drakey here...*smirk* ANYway...it really is an awesome compliment to hear...especially from another talented author. ^^

The fan art was beautiful, you got them perfectly, and since I never did mention what Cyprien wore (never really thought about it much to tell you the truth), what you picked was absolutely fine. Most of the time, his hair is free about his shoulders, but I\'m sure there was some point in time where he had it bound, so no big deal. xD Thanks loads for the piccy anyways.

Your story ideas sound awesome and I can\'t wait to read more of \'Carved by Angels\' (assuming you write more, pretty please? ^^). Thanks again! For both the review and the story! ^^

Corenn: KYAH ! TWO NEW CHAPTER WHILE I WAS AWAY !! Mwahahaha... I\'m sooo clever and machiavelic and... And trisomic o_O And there\'s Cyprien in these... #Cyprien, Cyprien, Cyprien# *hug her Cyprien\'s doll* ^___^ Poor Drake... Kissing a woman... You\'re really too cruel T__T XD

XD Terribly clever, yes indeed. Machiavelic? Trisomic? I\'m gonna have to look those up...and if they\'re actually words...I\'ll give you a cookie. Yes, more Cyprien! Cyprien get his bigger, more important role sooooon....not sure how soon...but soon. Sometime. xD Yes, yes...must be cruel enough to Drake so he can get his head on straight and start admitting some things to himself. o_O xD ^^ Thanks for continuing with your enthusiastic reviews!

rukia82: It\'s always great to find a excelent fic and it\'s a bonus if the author updates regularly! I\'m so glad to have stumbled on this story. You have a very descriptive way of writing which is very engaging and your characters are immediately endearing. Just one question, in chapter 5 it sort of seemed like Teige (love that name by the way) was / is being turned? I kind of hope that\'s not the case, but hey it\'s your story ^_~ I can\'t wait for the next update!

^^ I know how I get when I\'m hooked on a story and then the author either doesn\'t udate/completely abandons it altogether...I had that in mind when I began my first story on here and still have it going today. I try to only post when I plan on going completely through with a story and, even though I do, naturally, get occasionally unispired...it\'s reviews like yours and others that often get me back on track. It\'s always nice to hear that my reliability is appreciated, because I\'m always trying to make sure that I keep up at least a decent schedule (though I do, occasionally, fall behind). Thank you for the compliment. ^^

As for Teige (glad you like his name xD), I don\'t want to reveal too, too much...but I\'m bad at keeping secrets soooo...since you asked...no, he hasn\'t been turned but yes, he is being turned, yet still no, I do not plan on making him end up as a full blood vampire...that make sense? xD Cyprien will likely end up explaining a good deal more, if not with his conversations with Raspel, then when he finally catches up with Teige buuut...you must know that, in order for Teige and Drake to ride off into the sunset...I can\'t very well have our fair maiden allergic to sunlight. xP So yeah. Hope you enjoy the update! xD

Falcon Bertille: Another appearance by Cyprien! I enjoyed his reaction to having his emotions described as \"puppy love\". The examples of human \"puppy love\" that he gave were really evocative. I do wonder what he\'s up to, trailing around after Teige. Waiting for Teige to turn, perhaps?

Poor Drake. He really is so very, VERY gay. And so very, VERY deeply in denial. I love him for it, the poor bastard. You really made us feel bad for him when he was forced to kiss the elven queen. I\'m sure he\'d have been happier if she\'d just made him fight a dozen giant spiders instead.

I loved the line about the silk shirt fitting Drake like tissue paper on a rock. And this line totally cracked me up: \"If she had told him to wear a pink tiara and impersonate a flamingo...\" Such a wonderfully absurd image! You really have a very deft touch when it comes to humor.

Can\'t wait for more!

Love,
Falcon

Yay! I\'m so glad you mentioned your appreciation for the puppy love section...I spent special attention to the human examples on that one, and it was one of the parts of the chapter that I liked best. That\'s pretty much it...more will be explained in VERY near chapters...and then a lot more in more distant chapters...but in the end I have a feeling he\'s going to intervene before things start going his way.

xD You\'re probably right...I can totally see him taking spiders over breasts any day...but then again, it\'s facing our fears that make us stronger, right? xP ^^ Glad the similes/metaphors are appreciated...I must say that you\'ve had a great deal to do with inspiring me on that...and I\'ve been trying to experiment with odd comparisons...glad that one didn\'t turn out bad. ^^

Thanks as always for the absolutely lovely feedback! Your comments are always so detailed and encouraging. Something to look forward to after posting each new chapter. ^^

almne: Really enjoying the story so far. Teige\'s sense of humor is great, and I sympathize with his whole \"Stockholm Syndrome\" issue. Loved the last line in this chapter.

xD Glad the last line was appreciated. I seem to have a tendency to put most of the humorous nature in my more submissive character...and I\'ve thought, occasionally, about trying to turn it around for once, but I suppose I also have a thing for the \'strong silent type\' as Teige would put it. o_O Nice to know people enjoy his humor. ^^

RecklessMist (not logged in): I have read through all eight chapters in one sitting, and I must say; this story friggin\' rox my sox! :)

I can\'t wait for more!

Whoot! You\'ve no idea how much I absolutely love comments like that. Such a terrific boost to my ego, it has me grinning from ear to ear. xD Sorry...I sound so concieted...ANYway! Really though, it\'s wonderful to hear that my story was interesting enough to engage you for a full eight chapters in one sitting. It really says something and means a lot to know. ^^ Hope you continue to read and enjoy!

Jukebox: Great chapter! I especially loved the line about looking at Arachna makes the growing problem in his pants all better. LOLOL That was a fantastic zing. It\'s good that he\'s finally beginning to realize his feelings for the boy. And the vampire being obsessed but refusing to believe it\'s love promises to bring a clash of titans in future chapters. Looking forward to the next update.

The growing problem...makes it sound like a weed disease...I\'ll have to remember that! xD Anyway...*cough* The last line was mentioned by several and it makes me happy to hear. Realize his feelings? Well...maybe he\'s beginning to notice sexual feelings he can\'t ignore...but I have a feeling he\'s far from admitting any emotional attachment. I almost said he\'s far from having any...but I think he had more than he knew the first time he laid eyes on him so...*shrug* ^^ Can\'t wait to start poking and prodding them together...oh so much fun to mess with big tough guys in denial...whahahaha! *ahem*

Clash of titans! I plan for that very thing, actually. How soon, I don\'t know...but somewhere near the end there will most definitely have to be some sort of final come together. o_O Glad to see you reviewing! ^^