Forbidden Love - Chapter 1
Chapter One.
Amarantha was in the first year of her schooling, but Darehl's classes got out after she did, so he'd enrolled her in the after school program that their parents had originally planned for her. This way, he could get home, then his middle sister, Caiytlynn would get home, and then the two of them would pick Amarantha up from school, this day was to be no different.
Darehl had gotten home from school, his ears twitching as he looked around their home, small as it was. Their parents hadn't felt the need for anything larger, just a modest three bedroom house. The two girls shared one room, Darehl had his own room, and their parents had a room. In the last couple months since their parents had died, Darehl and Caiytlynn had started cleaning out things from their parents room, letting Darehl move into it, while Caiytlynn was moving into his old room.
Shortly after he got home, with an hour left before Caiytlynn arrived from her own school, a knock echoed through the house.
The young dog fox sighed as he came out of the bedroom. He always checked the house thoroughly before either of his sister's came home. Once a group of gang-bangers had broken in and were setting up to trap and rape them as they arrived home. Darehl always kept a laser pistol with a full charge in a hiding spot just inside the front door, and had killed or driven them away. After that he wouldn't let his sister's in the house until he was sure it was safe. It wasn't often that they got visitors that were welcome, especially now that their parents were dead. They were considered little higher than commoners now, even if they were of full royal blood. He glanced into the other rooms as he passed; then approached their front door. The pistol was in its customary position, in a quick-access safe behind a painting.
His tail twitched and his ears listened for any distinctive signs of danger penetrating the solid timber of the portal. He had always been able to instinctively sense danger, and react well to it before it struck. He could only guess that it was his blood that led him to be able to do this. A quick peek through the peephole of the door showed an aged fox dressed in white robes standing quietly on their doorstep, his arms loose by his sides, and his hands free for the and observer to see. Darehl stepped to the side and pulled the door open about a third of the way. He didn't know this fellow, and wasn't going to take a risk that he was some sort of assassin. "Hello... Who are you and what do you need?"
The older fox smiled as he looked at the younger fox. "Hello, Darehl. My name is Azazel, and I'm here to tell you why you have those unusual markings in your pelt, and to guide you and your siblings to your true places in life. You were never meant to live as peasants. You are a true Mascul royals. Have you never wondered about your markings, or that you seem different than other foxes; faster, smarter, and more cunning than them?"
The older fox shifted slightly on the stoop, the hilt of his sword flashing from under his robes as he reached up and pushed the cowl back, revealing his red and white fur. His golden eyes shone with years of wisdom. "May I come in? I have things to tell you that are best not spoken of out in public."
Darehl had worked hard to help his family keep a low profile after his parent's deaths, and yet here comes this older fox, and calls him by his name. For a long moment, only Darehl's ears and tail twitched as he mulled over just who this fellow claimed to be. He said he could help him, guide him, and answer questions he had struggled with since he was old enough to contemplate such things.
He appeared to be sincere, and for some reason his voice held a quality that Darehl had heard in his own father from time to time, something wise and compelling. Darehl glanced at his own arms, bare to the sleeves of his t-shirt, where his fur was patterned with mysterious tribal markings that he had since birth. "Very well, you may come in," he said slowly, deciding that he could at least hear his unexpected guest's story.
The older fox inclined his head slightly, entering the small house. "Thank you, Darehl." As he moved, the robes parted some, and Azazel took off the sword belt, leaving it by the door, to show Darehl that he meant no harm to the younger fox. Of course, he still had his pistol on him in case anyone else tried to follow him in. One thing he would not allow to happen is injury of any sort to Darehl.
"I'll start at the beginning, Darehl. You see, a millennia ago, there were three main factions of foxes. Two kingdoms, the Mascul and Femalia, and a small group called the Combine. The Mascul and Femalia lived in peace together, neither side paying much attention to the Combine, which lead to our downfall."
He slid his robes from his shoulders, baring his muscular arms, his markings clearly visible on them to the younger male. "Only pure royals have the markings of either line. Yours say you are of the Mascul line, and your sisters should have some markings showing them as pure Femalia. Anyway, back to the story. The Combine rose up against the Mascul and Femalia, killing every purebred they could, before many of us escaped. After many years, the foxes made their way here, to what you now call New Mascul."
He looked at the younger fox, saying, "The old ways have been all but forgotten since the foxes arrived here, and it's time to bring them back. You have to make your sisters your slaves. It was the way of your ancestors as it kept the bloodlines pure."
Darehl had let the elder fox enter the house and then closed the door behind him, not locking it because Caity would soon be home. He folded his arms and leaned against the door, watching and listening to Azazel as he began to talk. He had, of course, learned history in school, but nothing he had ever learned told him of the ancient days of the foxes, or would explain why he had these strange marks on his body, or why his sister's had theirs. In fact, their history only went back so far as to tell how they came into the valley and some vague references as to some war in the past. Therefore, his ears perked up when Azazel began to talk to him of the far past, and the factions. He realized that Azazel had the same markings that he himself did, which startled him, and yet he also found it reassuring, because only his father had ever had the same marks.
He inclined his head in reference to his sisters. The last time he had seen them undressed was when they were much younger, but he remembered clearly the marks they had on their hips, and he often saw the ones on their upper arms. He continued to listen without interruption, fascinated about the tale of war and the extermination of his ancestors. He stayed silent at least, until Azazel spoke his last sentences, at which point his mouth dropped open. "What are you saying!?" he demanded, anger flowing through his veins. "Slaves! You think I will give up all I have built with my sisters since my parents died? You think I will make them into my pets!? Explain yourself before I throw you out!" He said the last with a defiance and strength that bespoke a deep heritage and air of command.
The older fox held up his paw, a smile on his muzzle at the younger fox's commanding words. Indeed, the young Darehl was showing his true mettle as a royal fox. "Indeed, young Darehl, if things had gone the way they should have millennia ago, it would have been expected of you. My own parents were siblings, and yours would have been had you been living in old Mascul and Femalia. The way we ensured the purity of the royal lines was intermarrying between the two kingdoms with cousins, but at least one mate on each side was a sibling to the ruler. It is one of the old laws, Darehl. The foxes are in danger of losing their heritage altogether unless you bring back the old ways. You must mate with your sisters. It is the only way to bring Mascul and Femalia back to the power they once enjoyed."
Darehl couldn't believe his ears; he simply stared at Azazel incredulously, then shook his head and ran one hand through his longer hair on his head. This elder was telling him that he had to mate with his sisters, the girls he had protected and cared for in the past years. "You realize, don't you, that if I were to do this, they would hate me for the rest of their lives," his voice had lost the fire it had held before. He stepped away from the door finally and around Azazel . He had to sit and think, and to that end he entered their small living room and collapsed in his father's favorite chair. "It would destroy the trust we have built, they would never understand." He shook his head again. If only Azazel didn't sound so damned convincing, Darehl realized he wasn't thinking clearly either. "What proof do you have that this is how it used to be? Where do you even come from that you know all this?"
"You can explain to your older sister after you take her, she is not a stupid fox, she will understand. Maybe not right away, but I doubt she will hate you if you explain afterwards, but you cannot tell her beforehand what you are doing. You must take, as your ancestors did. As for where I come from, Darehl, it's a long story, but suffices to say, I come from the past to save the future. As I said earlier, I am from the same lineage you are, just back from before the fight with the Combine. They are my enemy, as you are my friend. They destroyed almost all of my family. Only one of my children made it out of Mascul alive to carry on the bloodline. You are a direct descendant of my line, Darehl, you and your sisters."
Darehl sighed deeply and fell silent, thinking through everything he had heard, puzzling and thinking what he should ask next. He wanted to know more before he would take such a drastic step, he had to think about this rationally, and yet found it hard to. Part of him, a part buried so deeply that it was only now coming to life, told him that what Azazel said was truth. Another part of him wanted to accept for a completely carnal reason, his older sister was entering her first heat, probably within the month. He could already detect it oncoming whenever he was close to her, and it drove him crazy. He sometimes had to fight himself to keep from doing anything that he would regret, but now here was this fox telling him to, more or less, give in to his feral instincts.
"I'm inclined to believe what you have said," he began, haltingly. "Your own markings tell me, as does a truth in your voice that I cannot shake. Other things are happening around here, things that bade me to give into what you say. Caity is entering her first heat soon, and already my body bids me to take her." He shook his head, "I must ask you first though, two things: Firstly, will you stay around. If I do as you say, I have the feeling I'll need help with whatever it is I have to do to claim my birth right. This leads to the second question: What exactly does this mean for me and for my family in general? So I take my sisters. What then? That changes nothing of my situation except perhaps making me despised by those around me that find out about it."
Azazel sat down, his ears twitching as he listened to Darehl's concerns. "Well, if Caity is entering her first heat, this is a perfect time. When you take her, you must tie with her and fill her with your seed. That act will bind your sister to you in a mystical way. She will only ever want you inside her. Who else could protect your sister the way you do, Darehl? Do you think there is anyone out there that is good enough for your sister? Even your baby sister?"
Darehl rubbed his temples and shook his head. "No, there is no one that can protect them as well as me," he sighed. "I must keep her safe. Sometimes I feel as if the danger grows each day that something will happen to have them taken from me, and so I do my utmost. You are right I am afraid. "He blinked a few times, pondering what Azazel had said about taking her and tying with her. It was the most feral and intimate of acts that could be undertaken by a male and female. He knew enough to know that Azazel was right, once a male tied with his first female; they were attached to each other.
Azazel reached out slowly, taking the younger fox's paws in his own. "I will stay, and I have a gift for you." He took one paw from Darehl's and pulled a small device from his pocket. "This is Metal-Phantasm Sha'Tashah. Sha'Tashah is an Artificial Intelligence. As such, Sha'Tashah has no true gender, but will take on what is aesthetically pleasing to the controller. Sha'Tashah tends to take on a feminine gender and her line has been at the side of the Mascul rulers for generations. There is an equal counterpart for the Femalia rulers who tends to take on a masculine gender, but I do not have access to that AI, just the Mascul AI."
Darehl did not pull away from Azazel's hands when they took his own; he looked down at them, feeling like he was talking again with his father again. Relief flooded over him as he told that he would be there. Darehl didn't know why, but he felt that he was stepping off into a dark place, and he would need all the help he could.
He handed the device over to Darehl. "Attach this to your wrist computer, and she will be with you at all times, but as for what this means for you and your siblings, it depends on how things work out. After you claim Caity as yours, I can put it into the works to get your family moved into a better home, one more appropriate to your stations. The other foxes from Mascul and Femalia will instinctively recognize the old ways, even if they don't remember them. You'll have no worries of what they will think. It will be the others from this valley that might raise issues with you being mated to your sister, so before they find out, we'll have to find a way to move everyone back to Mascul and Femalia."
Darehl was brought from his thoughts, looking up when Azazel held out the small computer chip, and took it with his free hand. "An Artificial Intelligence? I have read of them, but never dreamed I might see one, let alone own one." He pocketed the chip gently then returned his attention to the elder fox as he continued speaking. He was also relieved when Azazel told him that the other foxes would not look down on him, and he was sure he could keep it a secret from the 'others'.
"So then, I agree to do this. You have convinced me that it is the best thing... for all of us. More or less what you are saying is that we are royalty... and to fulfill my birth right, I must what? Claim the throne back again?" He shook his head, "Never mind... we'll discuss that later. For now, Caity will be home soon. I feel myself getting excited by even the prospect of taking her, as much as it will confuse her I know," he gave his shoulders a shake of excitement and nodded, convinced that he was doing the right thing. He could see that this was right, that he needed to do this to protect his sisters; that, and he wanted to do this for more than that as well. He was giving in to his carnal desires and satisfying his own basic need.
Azazel nodded. "The custom used to be for the claiming to take place in front of everyone, but since times are different, as is the area where the foxes live. I must, at least, witness your claiming of your sister though. I'm not sure where you plan on taking her, so you'll have to show me where I can watch. Believe me, if I could let you do this without an observer, I would."
Darehl was about to protest this new aspect to the claiming, but realized that it was also part of the ancient ritual of claiming his sister. He sighed. "The first place that comes to mind is the bathroom. It's big enough that if we do it in the shower you can watch from outside and we'll leave the doors open." He stood and beckoned for him to follow. "You don't have to watch every time do you?" He asked over his shoulder as he went down the short hall and pushed the bathroom door open to show him the size of it. "That is, if I'm allowed to take her more than once."
Azazel followed Darehl and nodded at the size of the bathroom. "This will work well, and after the first time you claim her, no one has to watch. She will be yours, and you can take her as often as you want to, but kings in the past loved to flaunt their sister-slave-mates in front of others, often taking them on the throne, letting members of the population watch. However until we get you on the actual throne, you will have privacy for when you claim her, after the first time."
Darehl turned to Azazel after he had said it would work, and nodded, smiling slightly, quite relieved and feeling much better once he knew that there wouldn't always have to be witnesses. He was relying on what Azazel said, since, after all, he knew nothing of the ancient ways or traditions. "I must say that what you have said is a relief. I only hope now that she does understand, as you say. I would be devastated if she didn't." He sighed and motioned for them to move back into the hall, holding him-self straighter now, his body giving off slight traces of pheromones, attesting to his excitement at the situation. He moved with surety and confidence, even if he didn't feel as sure as he looked.
Azazel gave the younger fox a slight smile. "I know how you feel, Darehl. I felt the same way when I claimed my own sister, but in my day, the custom was well known, and the females wouldn't dream of saying no, before or after. If your sister loves you the way I can sense you love her, then she won't refuse you, and she will understand."
"What would happen in the old days, if the sister didn't love her brother?" he asked as they re-entered the living room to wait for Caity. She should be home any moment, it was getting about the time she usually got there, an hour after he did. They didn't have to pick up Amarantha for another hour after that, and he hoped that would be enough time.
Azazel shook his head. "The first time, if she tried to fight back, then she was forced to all fours and chained down while her brother took her from behind. If it was after that first time, she didn't have a choice. Her body would crave her brother's, since he was the first one to tie and fill her, but as I said, the females knew their place, and would submit to their brother's. It was usually when a Mascul claimed a Femalia that there were fights, but since they were a different kingdom, they were raised differently, and we would usually court them beforehand. The firstborn in the Femalia line usually was mated to the second born Mascul and remained there to continue the line there, while the firstborn Mascul was mated to the second born Femalia."
Darehl gave an involuntary shudder at the thought of either of his sisters having to be tied down so he could take them. He never wanted that to happen. "I see," was all he said to that, but perked up again at the rest of the statement. He wondered then how his father and mother had come to be together. Probably through a courtship process, as Azazel had said was the old custom. He wondered why his father never told him of all this, but then, he realized his father may have not known himself. He sighed and was about to sit down when he glanced out the window and saw Caity come along the sidewalk and toward the door. He took a moment to close his eyes and calm himself, then sighed, "She's here. I think I'm ready." And even if his mind wasn't, his body was.
Azazel nodded, whispering, "I'm still here, but she won't see me, not until after you claim her. But I will be here where she can't see me." As he stood there, his form shimmered and he vanished from sight.