Strangers to Love

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Darian had Duchess's small hand in his palm, gazing at the ring that winked back at him; the promise of a man to love and protect her for the rest of her life. He gently ran his thumb over her fingers, lightly pushing on the diamond that adorned her ring finger, before he lifted his gaze to her face. She was staring at him head on, waiting for him to say something.

"...I was coming back for you," he stated, the villagers all crowding around to listen.

"Yes...you said that," she replied steadily, "But so did the others and they've been gone a long time...just like you. My fiance is the only one who vowed his love for me and never left."

Darian's eyes grew a fraction at her words, hurt stinging his chest, but he knew Duchess, knew her very well, and simply smiled and chuckled in defeat. Her heart was no longer free to be captured and he had lost his chance. She belonged to another and soon would always belong to them through marriage. He had hoped she would wait for him, but Duchess waited for no one that didn't prove themselves. He brought her hand up to his lips and laid a kiss to the back gently, a sign of his understanding.

"Then I applaud the man who did what none of us could," he stated with a cheeky grin, seeing her smile in relief, "He must truly be something else."

Duchess smiled so gently and lovingly, Darian felt his heartbeat skip; "He is," she answered truthfully as she thought about her fiance, "He's everything I want and then some. He's around here somewhere, doing some work for Mr. Coltan. I would love to introduce the two of you."

"That sounds like a splendid idea!"
 
Clu's heart dropped and worked it's way up to his throat and he let out a light cough of releif, "Oh boy, he wants to meet me. Thanks Duchess.." he said to himself while his heart pounding in his chest. Clu came out of his hiding spot and walked over to them with a smile, "Hey Duchess, just thought I'd come down and check on you and Anna and see how she and the baby is doing.." he paused and turned and looked up, "..and wow..your extremely tall and huge." he stopped and realized what he said, "I mean...wow excuse my rudeness, sir. Hi I'm Clu. Please don't break me for insulting you." Clu said with nervous laugh.

He turned to Duchess and leaned in for a hug and a kiss, "Babe, he looks like he is going to tear me in half. Why try and give me a heart attack." he chuckled and kissed her.

He thought in his mind "Please don't kill me, Please don't. I don't feel like having a fight." and as soon as he said that the man started to open his mouth and started to raise his hand "Oh boy.." he said silently to himself getting ready for what's about to happen.
 
Darian stared at the little man before him, lifting his hand, inwardly laughing when he flinched, and then poked him in the chest, watching him stumble back a litle bit; "So you're the fiance? Hmm...bit of a scraggly little thing isn't he?" he asked the ebony woman, furrowing his brow lightly.

Duchess smacked his arm daringly, the only person who could do that without suffering any consequences, and glared playfully, "Hey! He's my scraggly thing! Don't pick on him!"

Darian chuckled and nodded before offering his hand to Clu, "Clu, was it? My name is Darian! It's a pleasure to meet you...I suppose! I am a friend of Duchess and one of her strays that she took in a few years ago." He looked down at the small woman, the both of them laughing lightly as if at some inside joke. "I do realize that I am rather large, but please don't let that frighten you. It certainly didn't frighten her."

"He's just a big teddy bear," Duchess said as she lightly tapped his firm stomach to prove her point.

"So you have no worries about being physically injured by me. As long as you don't break Duchess's heart, I won't break your body."

Darian laughed at his words, meaning to play it off as a joke, but the flash in his eyes told a different story, one that revealed how serious he was about his statement.
 
Clu's eyes turned black when he poked his chest, which startled him, his body tensed up and then loosened when he started laughing, "Nice to meet you too, Darian. And you wouldn't have too worry about having to break my body, plus I wouldn't let you because I wouldn't ever break her heart, she's the woman I love." he said with laughter and jokingly, knowing that he was playful and serious at the same time.

Clu's eyes turned back to normal, and shook the mans hand and asked Darian, "Hey, I think you would be perfect for the wedding, be my best man and the body gaurd." he asked hoping he would accept his offer. He looked back at Duchess and smiled and mouthed "I love you" to Duchess, letting her know that he will always no matter how many times she tries to give him a heart attack like today.
 
Darian blinked before he threw his head back and laughed vivaciously, his deep voice rumbling in the pit of his stomach. When he had calmed down enough, he looked at Duchess and wiped a tear from his eye; "An eager one, isn't he?" he asked her, getting a small nod of agreement and a giggle, "We've only just met and he's already asking me to be his best man, though I'm sure he just threw that one in there to cover up the body guard part."

He looked down at Clu, his brow quirked knowingly and his hands on his hips, "Let's slow down there, sir. I don't even know if I'll be here for the wedding. It'll break my heart as well. When is the wedding going to take place, Duchess?"

"We don't have a date set yet. We're taking it slow for now, no real rush," the ebony woman answered as she went to wrap her arms around her lover's waist, smiling up at him as she stole a kiss, "I like just being in love first. Anyway, Darian, I'm guessing you need a place to stay?"

"You would guess right, my dear!" Darian beamed.

"Then come on, I'll escort you back to the shelter," she said, releasing Clu from her embrace after giving him a gentle kiss of farewell, "I'll see you when you finish your work at the Book Borrow, okay?"

There was a certain devious flash in her eyes, but she covered it up quickly and caressed his cheek with her hand. Then, she turned to Anna and gave the woman a hug of gratitude for having her over before turning to the blond man before, a man who had been in love with her, but never won her heart, and left with him back to the shelter.
 
His mind wondered alot after they left, a sudden jolt in his head to his memory, Darian a man that wanted Duchess heart. He was worried on what he might do or try to make her change her mind or maybe force her too. He climbed the ladder to the roof and started working on it, his mind still racing, his stomach wasn't feeling right, he had a bad feeling about Darian being alone with her, especially the way he felt about her, "I really don't trust him around her. The way he looked at me, his eyes seemd like hatred." he said to himself, Clu knew that look he has seen it many times before.
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He was almost done with the roof, and looked down at the old man and yelled "Mr. Coltan! What do you think so far?" he said with a smile hoping he will like it so he could go and check up on Duchess and Darian. 'Please let it be the way he needs it too be..' he said with worry '..I need to be with Duchess, something to doesn't seem right.' he continued and jumped down to meet Mr. Coltan and smiled "So what do you think?" Clu lifted his arms out and pointed, his hands dirty and bleeding on some parts, because of the wood he carried and plus he was clumbsy, his shoulder scratched up as well, "If you need me to fix anything more on that roof, feel free to tell me" he said hoping it was perfect for him.
 
Mr. Coltan came out of the Book Borrow at hearing his name being called, meeting Clu as he was sliding down the ladder to the ground. Something seemed different about him...as if he were anxious; probably wanted to get home to his fiancee for the night. The old man chuckled at the thought and nodded his head before looking up at the finished roof.

"That should do it, Clu," he said, giving the man a small pouch of money, "For your troubles, today. I'll pay you the rest when you finish my bookcases. For now, why don't you just head home? I'm sure Duchess misses you, heheh."
 
"Oh sir, I don't want to take you hard earned money." Clu said but knowing the people in this village they wouldn't let him go until he took it. "Thank you and I'll come back to finish the book cases." he said while going back up the ladder to finish it. He hurried to finish and hit his hand pretty hard and sliced his hand opened but that didn't bother him.

The roof was finished and he jumped down from the roof landing on his feet perfectly and dashed to the house, "Please let her be ok." he said to himself, worrying about Duchess, as soon as he got a couple of yards he slowed down. It was quiet, not a sound was coming from the inside the house, he was getting even more nervous and worried. He stepped up the stairs slowly, trying to listen to any sound or anything of struggle but heard nothing, his stomach knotted up and it was hurting.

"Please be ok.." he said while walking to the door and turned the knob and opening it, and no one was in the Kitchen and it was still silent. "Duchess! Honey, I'm home!" he said out loud hoping he would get a response but heard nothing.
 
At the sound of Clu's voice shouting through the house, Duchess's head shot up and she blinked curiously. She was currently in Darian's room with him, looking at all the new artifacts he had gathered during his adventures, while the man was laying on the bed and resting. They looked at each other before the woman got up and made her way towards the door, her brow furrowed by the panicky sound in her lover's voice.

"I'm going to go see if he's alright," she told the blond man before making her way downstairs.

"Clu?" she called back, coming around the corner, "Babe, what's-your hand!!"

She stopped when she saw his bloodied, injured hand, her eyes wide with shock; "Clu, what happened?!" she questioned, taking his wrist to study the wound, "This is bad, love. Come on, let's get it cleaned up."
 
He saw her coming down stairs and he sighed in releif "Oh thank god! I was so worried, I didn't know what was going to happen if I left you alone with him. I know it sounds bad but the way he looks at me I know he wants to rip my head off and take you away, and I was so afraid that he was going to force you into being with him and everything." he said while not stoppinf and taking a breathe and continued "My stomach was starting to knot up and I was trying to fix the roof and I got it a hurry and I hit my and with the hammer and it hit the saw and....oh wow I sliced my hand open..haha wow that's deep. I'm so sorry for this you must think I'm retard and not trusting because if this but I do trust you it's just that..I don't know." he said and stopped and looked down in disappointment, he felt stupid very stupid. "I just don't want to lose you, Duchess." he said staring into her eyes with worry and concern.
 
Duchess had gone through the motions of cleaning the injury on his hand, listening to him go off on a rant. She honestly thought it was ridiculous that he would be suspicious of them like that, but then again, she could understand why. Although she had no feelings for him whatsoever, Darian had very strong feelings for her at one point and that was why he returned. Still, she had already promised herself to Clu and Clu himself should have more faith in her. When he was done, she looked up at him and stared deep into his eyes before lifting his hand up.

"Okay, you see this?" she started, making sure she had his full attention, "Don't let this happen again. I know you're clumsy, but try to pay a little more attention when you're doing physical labor. I can't stand the thought of you being hurt like this or worse."

She kissed his hand tenderly and smiled, "And as for Darian and...the look he was giving you, I think you're just being a little paranoid because another man that loves me has come back, so you got scared. But I already told you, Clu, I love you and only you; no one is going to change that."

Duchess leaned close and gave him a soft, reassuring kiss, "No one from the past...no one in the present...and no one in the future. I'm all yours." She said this in between multiple kisses, taking her time and going slow with each one, "So have more faith in me, Clu. Have faith that I love you with all my heart and that I can hold my own. I know you're going to be my husband one day, but just because you're going to be the man of my house doesn't mean I'm suddenly a weak, fragile little thing. I can and will hold my own if I have to. I've been doing that for years."

She grinned proudly and looked down at his open wound again, sighing at how deep it looked, "Now then, let's get this closed up shall we."

Her eyes began to glow a bright white, her hair floating about her head. She held her fingers open over the wound, the injury itself beginning to glow. The laceration began to close up and within a few minutes, it was as good as new. Duchess's eyes went back to normal and her hair fell back into place, but she felt dizzy and lightheaded again from using her powers after going so long without practicing. Clu was the only one she would do that for and she hoped that was enough to prove to him how committed she was to their relationship. She studied him through hazy eyes for a moment before smiling lovingly and moving to sit in his lap. Her lips took hold of his again and she made sure to kiss him until he was breathless.

"What do I have to do to get you to believe me?" she asked against his lips, peppering his cheek and forehead in gentle kisses.
 
He knew after she fixed his hand with her powers and sat on his lap that she was dizzy and lightheaded, "Nothing babe, you don't have to prove anything, it's just my past is getting to my head and I need to not let it." he said while holding her into his arms, he looked at her in her dizzy eyes and chuckled, "You really need to start practicing more often on your powers, hun" he looked at her and kissed her soft lips, "I believe you, and it'll never happen again, I promise. I love you so very much." he said in between kisses.

He put her into his arms and carried her up to their room, and layed her softly on the bed and layed their next to her, looking at her, staring at how beautiful she looked in her outfit, anything she wore she was beautiful in it. "Your so beautiful. Do you want to just lay here in this bed and not come out for the rest of the day?" he asked.
 
Duchess smiled tiredly and sighed contently once the soft mattress hit her back, "I just need...to rest a little bit. That's all..."

She turned towards him and places her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes to allow herself some rest.

"Did you get the work done for Mr. Coltan?" she asked him quietly, lacing her fingers with his.
 
"I got the roof and the door done, but not the book cases yet, I'll do those tomorrow." he said while running his fingers against hers, "He payed me and I didn't want to take the money but knowing everyone in this village, they don't take rejection lightly." he chuckled, and pulled then money out of is pocket, "I believe he payed me too much." he put the money on the table, and wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her stomach and doing patterens on it as well. "I'm sorry for how I acted and it won't happen again." he said while closing his eyes. She smelt so beautiful, and her skin so soft. He knew deep down that he wasn't going to lose her no matter what is going to happen, they'll always going to be together.

He layed their silently and was thinking about what their wedding would look like in the future but Jen pooped up in his head and ruined the whole moment he had. He was scared that she was going to show up one day and destroy everything. "I'm not going to let you mess this up or hurt my woman, I'll die to kep her safe if I have to.." said to himself, hoping that Duchess was asleep. "I will protect you Duchess no matter what the cost may be." he said again and squeezed alittle to shape his form against her, to keep her safe and secured.
 
Duchess, now fully asleep, smiled contently at his softly spoken words before falling into dreamland. There, she saw herself wearing a beautiful white dress as she made her way down a long aisle lined with everyone from the village. Clu was at the end of that aisle, smiling warmly at her. The minister married them under the witness of God and their friends before he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her as her husband. She was happy, her heart light and filled with joy as se was embraced by the man she loved. She looked over her friends and loved ones...then she saw a cloaked figure. It was lithe and small, the figure of a woman. Duchess felt that something was wrong about that woman and fear struck her cheat when the beautiful weather suddenly became dark and stormy.

Her eyes darting about her, she was shocked to see the villagers were all scattered along the ground, injured and bleeding. Turning behind her, she screamed when she saw Clu lying on the ground, a hole in his chest and blood pouring from his mouth. A cold aura covered her back and whipping about, she was face to face with the strange woman.

"I won't let you have him!!" the woman yelled at Duchess, grabbing her hair, "You don't deserve him! He's mine!"

She raised a knife over her head, prepared to strike, "If I can't have him, NO ONE CAN!!"

She plunged the knife down and Duchess screamed, shooting up in bed covered in a cold sweat and panting from loss of breath.
 
Clu was startled at the sound of Duchess scream she let out and flew out of the bed "Whoa...babe! You ok?" he said getting off from the bed, he ran toward her and got on his knees and grabbed her hands, "What happened? Was it a bad dream?" he asked. She was sweating and panting hard, she looked like she seen a ghost or that she saw someone close to her died right before her eyes. "Baby, talk to me what happen?" he asked again.
 
She struggled to find her breath, never feeling such fear as the one coursing through her veins. Clu's voice reached her ears and she lifted her gaze to his face, her chest heavy with relief.

"Clu?" she questioned, taking his face in her hands, the lack of blood there easing her worries little by little, "Clu..."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close, her body trembling from the scare she received. Clu was alright...he was alive and safe. What was that dream? Who was that woman? She wanted Clu.
 
Something was wrong when Duchess woke up the way she did and he knew it, they way she grabbed him, scared him and she has never done anything like that since she has been with him. "Babe, what's wrong?" he asked holding on to her, "What happened? Baby your scaring me." he said. Feeling her body tremble the way it was doing when she grabbed him, something scared her in her sleep or something but he didn't know what it could be. "Babe?" he asked.
 
"You're scared? I'm scared," Duchess retorted with a forced laugh, pulling back from him to stare into his eyes, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to scare you. I just had a nightmare."

She placed her hand on his cheek, smiling shakily as she caressed his skin with her thumb. He did indeed look scared and she understood why, but she was so glad he was there and healthy...and alive. She kissed him deeply to feel his warm lips on hers, doing whatever she could to get the nightmare out of her head.
 
Clu looked very confused at what was happening but he kinda got a since of what it was, "Babe what was the nightmare?" he said gently, but it seemed like she was holding back from telling him because she was scared enough not to. He kissed her back deeply, and passonately, "What ever it was, I'm fine and OK, nothing is going to happen, it was just a dream..I promise." he said while holding her tight in his arms to stop her from trembling.

"Babe, calm down. I'm here..shhh...I'm right here." he said to her, 'What the hell happened in her dream?' he thought to himself. He was suprised that Darian didn't come running in to see what was going on but he must seem pretty tired when he came to the Village.

"Hey come on, come lay back on the bed." Clu said while picking her up into his arms, and layed her down gently while layeing next to her still holding her to let her know that he was still their next to her, "Come here. Squeeze me if you need too know that I'm still here." he said, and rubbed his hand up and down her back, "I love you Duchess." he said once more.
 
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