Golden Erotic Tales (volume one) (episodes 1, 2, 3, and 4) by M.A. Thomas

What does
that mean?”
Bloody hell!
He put his face in his hands and stood. “I
wanted to tell you.”
    “Why didn’t you? For bloody
hell, blessed Gods’ sake, you’re a prince, a real prince.” She picked up a stick
and threw it against a tree.
“I was going to tell you the night I came
to your room. But I just couldn’t do it. I was falling in love with
you. I was afraid if I told you who I was...”
“That I would throw you out, spit in your
face. Is that what you thought?”
“I needed to protect you,” he said.
Lela walked up to him and slapped him. “You
disgust me.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
    “Did you have anything to
do with my mother’s disappearance? Oh, Gods, did you drink from
her?” She burst into tears. Please tell me
you didn’t!
“I...was the one who made the pact with
your mother. She came to me and begged me to let you live. My kind
wanted to kill you from the moment they discovered that the golden
ball was following you.”
Coughing and gagging, Lela tried to keep
from fainting. He had broken her very soul.
“You evil, despicable creature! Get away
from me!
“Let me finish my words, please, Lela, you
have to let me tell you everything.”
“If I had a stake, I’d pierce your
heart.”
“I tried to keep my kind from trying to
hurt you. I swear it. They wouldn’t listen to me.”
“You’re their bloody prince!” She gagged
again.
    “And the golden ball is our
God. How could I ask them to ignore our God ? Vampires despise who they are.
We want to be human again. To fall in love. Have children. Walk in
the sun. And die from old age. The golden ball chose
you.”
“Oh, Gods, I can’t hear this.”
“Your mother visited me and asked me for my
help. I knew that if she offered herself to my kind, they would
leave you alone for a while. Her blood saved you.”
“I hate you.”
    “It was either her
or you . Do you
understand what I’m saying? There was nothing I could
do.”
“My poor mother.”
“She saved you,” he said.
“Did you drink from her?” she asked,
sobbing.
“No. I swear it. I swear it on the love I
have for you. I swear it on my life. May the sun come up now and
strike me down. I swear I did not drink from your mother. The night
she gave herself to us, I renounced my crown. I walked away from my
kind. I was ashamed.”
“I can’t be with you.”
“I turned from my kind. What they did was
wrong. I wish I could have prevented it,” he said.
“But you didn’t. You let it happen and then
because you were ashamed, you walked away from it all. Do you think
that makes you a hero?”
“My deed did not go unpunished. The same
night I abandoned my kind, a witch cursed me...turned me into a
frog.”
“And stupidly, I helped you break the curse
and then I actually fell in love with you. Oh, hell, did you know
who I was when you found me in the well?”
He raised his eyes to the moon.
“You did, didn’t you?”
“I lived in the forest, the same forest
which you visited often. How could I not know who you were? Bloody
hell, Lela, I was guilt-ridden. There were so many times I thought
about coming up to you and telling you everything. I was a frog!
What was I supposed to do? Hop over to you and start talking to
you? You would have run away screaming.”
“So you waited until I fell in the well.
How very sweet of you.”
“No! The golden ball decided to make itself
known to you that day. I knew that vampires were going to come
after you. They would not have hesitated to drain you. The ball led
you to the well. It wanted you to fall in.”
“Hold your tongue!”
“Listen to me. The ball wanted to keep you
trapped until sundown. It was holding you captive for
vampires.”
“Luckily, you were there to help get me
out,” she said.
“I don’t expect you to believe me. But I’m
telling you the truth. I couldn’t let what happened to your mother
happen to you,” he said.
“What about the witch’s curse?”
“It sounds absurd but it’s the truth.