Title: The Beauty of Pain
Genre: Dark Fantasy
Inspiration: The tale of Beauty & the Beast with a grown-up, slightly erotic twist.

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“I hear your daughter will be of age soon, Kiiro,” a dark voice hissed.

Kiiro kept deep bow, despite the aching in his back. “Y..y..yes your highness,” he stammered.

“Tell me,” the voice said, “what need does a baron have with a daughter when he has two healthy sons?”

“P..p..please your highness,” Kiiro whispered, as sweat began to bead upon his brow. “Akemi is dear to me.”

“As she will be to me, baron,” the prince replied from the shadows. “I will erase your debt, allow you to keep your lands and the title of baron. You eldest son will inherit your title and your youngest will be granted a position in my guard. But in return, Kiiro…”

The prince paused, watching as the baron trembled in fear.

“…your daughter is mine,” he finished.

The baron let out a small cry and fell to his knees, hiding his face in hands. He could not bear the thought of losing his daughter. The only reason he had come to the dark prince’s palace to beg for mercy was because of his daughter. His sons could make their own fortune, the land was kinder to men than it was to women. To secure his daughter’s comfort in life, he needed to give her a baron’s dowry.

“You’re price is too high, my prince,” Kiiro protested.

“You asked to remain wealthy so that your children would be taken care of,” the prince hissed angrily. “Does not my generous offer care for each?”

The prince did not wait for Baron Kiiro to answer.

The demon prince lashed out from the shadows and grasped the baron’s hand, turning it palm up. Kiiro struggled weakly, but his spirit had accepted the inevitable. The deal was being made. The demon prince sliced open the baron’s palm with an iron blade. Within the shadows, the prince’s fiery eyes widened as he watched the scarlet blood pool into Kiiro’s palm. The demon prince leaned forward, careful to remain hidden in the shadows, and licked the blood from the baron’s palm. The wound closed a mere moment later, leaving a tender, puckered black scar. A forever reminder of the baron’s deal.

“I expect your daughter here before the moon wakes on her seventeenth birthday,” the prince said.

The prince ignored Kiiro’s cries and  retreated down a corridor, allowing his silent servants to show the baron out. The baron was too cowardly and too greedy to disobey the demon prince.

Three years later, as the moon hung fat and bloated in the night sky, Akemi, the baron’s daughter, shuffled quietly down the dark corridor of  palace. The trailing silk of her beautifully painted white and red kimono whispered across the marble floors. Akemi pressed against the wall and bowed deeply as a servant passed by. She kept silent as the servant murmured an insult and spat in her direction. Though she was the only daughter of a wealthy baron, within the palace walls her status was lower than even the lowliest of servants.

In this realm, she was no one’s daughter.

Once the servant had disappeared around the corner, Akemi continued down the hall until she came upon the black double doors. She dared a glance upward, disgusted by the sight of grotesque golden dragon heads protruding from each door. Akemi knocked quietly and knelt in front of the prince’s bedroom doors. The doors slowly opened, and an icy wind wrapped around Akemi, pulling her to her feet.  She gasped in shock before quickly regaining her composure bowing her head.

“What do you know of me?” a dark voice called.

“You are Akuma, the demon prince,” Akemi said softly. “You have named me as your price for keeping my father and brother’s wealthy.”

“Does that displease you?” Akuma asked curiously.

“It is not my place to be displeased,” Akemi answered,” merely to obey.”

From no where, a hand reached out and grasped Akemi’s slender throat, tilting her head so that she had little choice but to look up. Another shocked breath escaped her painted ruby lips as she saw the demon prince for the first time.

He was terrifyingly handsome. His eyes flickered, small flames dancing within them as he smiled sardonically at Akemi. Her breath came soft, yet labored as his hand tightened slightly around her throat. Drawing her eyes away from his face, Akemi noticed that Prince Akuma was not wearing any clothing and was fully aroused. Heat flushed in her cheeks as she felt ashamed for admiring the demon prince’s naked form.

“So innocent,” he crooned as he let go of her throat and pulled her tightly against him and ran his tongue around her lips delicately, “but infinitely curious.”

Akemi surrendered in his arms, panting softly as she felt his tongue caress her lips. With a devious smile, Akuma brought the beautiful payment of his bargain to  a large bed in the center of the room. Distantly, Akemi was aware of the thudding sound of the large black doors closing, but she could not tear her gaze from the demon prince. The fire blazing in the demon prince’s eyes burned through Akemi, and she felt the heat begin to rise beneath her skin.

The demon prince plucked the ribbons that kept Akemi’s kimono wrapped around her until it slithered off her skin and pooled around her feet. The prince ran his hands across her bare flesh, savoring how smooth and cool it felt beneath his palms. He cupped her small breasts in his hands and pinched her nipples harshly, causing her to cry out and loose her balance. Akuma was prepared and caught her, lowering her onto his bed.

Akuma’s hands moved deftly over her body, massaging her breasts and teasing her between her thighs. He kissed her roughly, teeth tugging at her lower lip as he flicked the sensitive nub of flesh between her legs.  Akemi cried out in pain, but arched her back, pushing herself against her demon prince.

Akuma grinned and whispered against her ear, “Soon, my pet. Soon.”

He stroked Akemi with his fingers, alternating between gentle, slow thrusts and quick, rough ones. He brought the heat that simmered beneath her skin to a boil until she exploded with a soft cry, gasping for air as she wriggled beneath his hand.

“Yes..” he whispered hungrily.

Before Akemi could regain herself, Akuma thrust himself into her, rejoicing in her painful cry. His thrusts were harsh and his nails bit into her soft skin. Akemi’s flesh was washed in the fire she saw raging in the demon prince’s scarlet eyes. Akuma slowed his rhythm, keeping Akemi off balance. He pulled himself out completely, teasing the flesh between her legs with his tip.

He loved watching her body tremble beneath him, afraid of his touch, yet aching for it.

“Please,” she whimpered as he continued to tease her.

“Tell me what it is you want, my beauty,” the demon prince goaded.

Akemi answered with a quivering whisper full of fear and desire, “…you.”

The demon prince grinned wolfishly and thrust himself into her, sheathing himself completely within her warm folds. As she cried out and writhed in the pleasurable pain that washed across her body, the demon prince spent himself inside her. After, they lay intertwined for long moments, breathing heavily. Akuma pulled himself from his beauty and picked her up, carrying her into another bedroom where a bath had been drawn by one of the unseen servants of the palace.

He put her into the bath, slipping in behind her. Where he had not been gentle in the bedroom, he was in here. Akemi sighed contentedly and leaned against the demon prince as he washed her hair and scrubbed her body clean. When the bath was done, he dried her and rubbed scented oils over her skin. He brushed her hair and kissed her neck and shoulders tenderly before dressing her in a fine silk night gown.

“You are mine now,” Akuma said to her as he carried her back to the bedroom. “Do you understand this?”

“Of course, my love,” Akemi answered quietly.

Akuma blinked down at his beauty, “How is it you call me your love?”

“You are a demon prince,” Akemi explained. “The dark desires of your heart mirror the dark desires in mine.”

At this Akuma laughed and leaned over her, “What dark desires could you have, Akemi?”

“As your pleasure is derived from causing pain, so is mine born of taking it,” Akemi answered, gazing up into the warmth of his eyes.

“What sort of creature are you?” the demon prince asked, bewildered by her statement.

“Why, my demon prince,” she answered, pulling him down to her lips, “I am your creature, and yours alone.”

The warm embers of the demon prince’s eyes ignited, and Akemi spread her legs prepared to take the prince within her once again.

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I’m pretty happy with this first draft of this story. Some parts don’t read as cleanly as I want them to, but over all, I’m pleased with it. There’s definitely a bigger story in there, but I feel this could also stand alone as a short story if I chose to leave it alone (which, for the time being, I am).

Thoughts?