Eternal Kingdom

I approached the door to Lysander's home with high hopes and even higher nerves.

I had never been here before, despite being his neighbor for months already. He just always chose to come to my house.

The exterior of the home was a two story colonial with beautiful shrubs and flowers expertly arranged on the front lawn. Despite being over a hundred and fifty years old, it appeared brand new, with clean white siding and black shutters straddling each window. There were pillars that held up a balcony on the top floor and tall and angled roof.

It wasn't particularly huge, but looked a little bit smaller than ours. That made sense since he had mentioned nobody besides Luna had ever visited him here before. Yet another honor I was pleased to accept.

I climbed the grand stone steps to the front door, nervously straightening my turquoise cotton sundress with the palms of my hands. I had spent all morning trying to decide what I would wear. To be honest, I didn't want to just wear jeans or shorts again. I hardly ever left the house and I missed dressing up.

It wasn't like I was wearing heels or anything, though. I had on a pair of gray Toms and had my hair tied up in a high ponytail since we would be cooking.

Naturally, Lysander opened the door before I got to knock. I had gotten used to this when dealing with fellow supernaturals. They always knew when someone was approaching.

He, of course, looked as flawless as usual. He was dressed in a black v-neck t-shirt and dark jeans. He didn't usually dress in such gloomy colors, but I sort of liked it. It made him look more like a bad boy rather than preppy like he normally did. He wiped his hands on a caramel colored dish towel before slinging it over his shoulder and dazzling me with a smile.

"Hey there, pretty lady. Looks like you're just on time. Please." He stepped aside, gesturing for me to enter with a slight bow.

The home itself was stunning. I felt as if I had stepped back in time. Every element of its design, save the electronic devices, was reminiscent of the era it was built. Even the wallpaper was one you would have found back then.

The craftsmanship of the ornate wooden furniture told me that it must've also been from that time period.

Except everything was in flawless, like-new condition, preserved through the decades.

Not to mention it was clean and orderly. Even the books on the built-in shelves appeared to be delicately arranged and organized. I had never met a more cleanly man, except maybe Rory. No, I wouldn't think of Rory. Not today.

"So, what do you think?" He asked, his arms snaking around my waist from behind.

"I think that you were right. It's stunningly simple." I said in awe, trying to take every little detail. "Where did you get all of the antiques to furnish it?" He chuckled, placing a kiss into my hair.

"I bought them. Most of my furniture was custom made by a famous craftsman of that era." My mouth dropped open.

"Wait, so you bought these new? When did you move into this house?"

He turned me, searching my face for a reaction, before saying, "I helped build it."

If my jaw wasn't on the floor before, it certainly was now. I always seemed to forget how old Lysander really was. He had lived through so many eras, so many lifetimes. These items probably didn't even seem that old to him. "Oh. Right. Of course you did." He grinned, apparently pleased with my surprise.

"Would you like to see the kitchen?" He asked excitedly, pulling me in by my hips. He looked like an eager child, desperate for my approval. I nodded, smiling back.

"Is it a real kitchen, though? Or will I be learning on a furnace? Because I'm not very good at chopping wood." He snorted at my remark, shaking his head.

"You're trouble, dear. That mouth of yours will get you in all sorts of terrible situations."

"Oh yea?"

"Yes, sweetheart." He confirmed, leaning forward slowly to capture my lips. Was this trouble? I didn't think so. I loved having his mouth on mine. He was tender and loving, yet there was also an element of control and possessiveness. He was a man with power, and he showed it in the confident way he touched me.

"Okay, you've proven your point." I whispered against his lips. "Now teach me to cook, before we get too distracted, old man." He leaned back, narrowing his eyes.

"Old man, eh?" I bit my lip, my eyes alight with mischief.

"Am I wrong?" I teased. He raised a brow.

"Yes, actually. Physically I'm only twenty seven. That's quite young."

Twenty seven? That's a random age. Hundreds of questions flooded my mind. If he's a deity, why does he have a physical age? Could he change his body to look older or younger? Was he ever a child?

Before I could ask anything, he pulled me behind him towards the back room. We passed through a gorgeous dining room, set with fine dishes and cutlery, before entering one of the most awe-inspiring kitchens I had ever seen in my life. The place was massive and truly looked like a chef's kitchen.

I didn't even care that it threw off the aesthetic of the rest of the house, because it was perfect. I ran my hand along the butcher block island, my eyes flitting to the various pots and pans suspended from a steel rack above my head. "So where do you keep the furnace?"

"Keep it up." He threatened playfully, crossing to a cupboard to retrieve two aprons. I had never used an apron and I eyed it hesitantly. "I don't want you to get your beautiful dress dirty." I blushed lightly, taking it from him and draping it over my neck. He crossed behind me to tie it and gave my neck a quick peck before donning his own.

"What are we making today?"

"It's a dish called coq au vin. It's simple and delicious."

"French?” He nodded, stretching above his head to pull down the needed pots and pans. He looked glorious, the muscles on his arms flexing beneath his ivory skin.

Once he gathered supplies, he began gathering ingredients. He crossed to a small wine fridge beneath one of the counter tops and selected a vintage bottle of red wine.

"We'll only need part of it. We can drink the rest with dinner." He spoke aloud, but I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or himself. He seemed so calm and in his element. Everything was second nature for him and the grace he possessed to even cross from one side of the room to the other was making me envious.

He removed some mushrooms, onions, and garlic, setting them on the steel prep station along with a wooden cutting board.

"Ready to begin?" He finally turned to me, a beaming white smile on his face.

He wasn't lying about the dish being simple, though the remainder of the wine didn't last until we were finished, seeing as we both kept sneaking sips as we cooked. I helped him chop vegetables and prepare, but the chicken was already marinated when we started. Overall, that part of the night had been a success, and I only almost accidentally cut off my finger once.

I finished setting the plates on the dining table while Lysander grabbed another bottle of wine, white wine this time, for us to eat with our meal. I was thankful for the change, since his gorgeous table cloth was white and I just knew I would've spilled red wine on it.

I moaned with my first bite, unable to suppress my pleasure with the way the meat was melting on my tongue. It was hands-down the best food I had ever tasted. And it was easy to make!

Lysander's chuckle focused my attention on him. He was chewing his own food slowly, a smirk playing at his lips as he looked down at his plate.

"Don't laugh at me." I scolded, fighting my smile. His bright eyes flitted to mine, showing his joy.

"I'm not. I'm laughing because I never imagined we would be doing this. Cooking together, eating together, just being together. It's amazing to me that something so simple could make me so happy."

His words warmed my heart. How could a man like him even exist? He was perfect, despite his attitude sometimes. Romantic, kind, incredibly talented and selfless.

Though I hadn't said it since that night on the beach, I still meant it.

"I love you." His fork clattered back to his plate, making both of us jump.

"Shit, sorry." He fumbled, removing his cloth napkin from the table to clean up the sauce that splattered due to the impact.

"No, it's my fault. I caught you off guard. I'm sorry." Why was I so awkward?

"No!" He nearly shouted, his hand darting for mine. "I mean, don't be sorry for saying that. I'm really glad you did. I just wasn't expecting it, but damn... I love you, too, Aria." His cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink, and I could tell he wanted to kiss me based on the way his eyes kept dancing between my lips and my eyes.

"Before we, um, get too distracted. Could I possibly hear your story?" He gulped, pulling his gaze from mine and looking down at his plate again.

"Yea. Of course. Right." He paused, biting at his bottom lip as if in deep thought, before clasping his hands together in his lap. "Now, before I begin, I want you to know that very few people know this story. Also, it would be easier for me if you kept your questions for the end. I have a lot to cover. Is that okay?"

I nodded, finishing off my glass of wine. I had a feeling I would need it.

"Okay. I guess I'll just start at the beginning. I'm not actually a god."

As you reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.org is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread the word. The next chapter is just a visit away!

*WHAT.*

"I was born human about twenty five hundred years ago. I was a farmer in a small village just outside of modern day Rome with my small family. My mom passed when I was five due to disease, so my father raised my sister and I. Of course, this was long before he was like he is now. He was a good father and made sure that my sister and I wanted for nothing.

Well, one day my sister and I decided to go meet some of our friends by the creak at sundown. We liked going for night swims sometimes. Granted, it was dumb to do, especially at our age, but it was our way of escaping our responsibilities for a bit.

There was a full moon that night and we were feeling a little wild, so we started stripping down to skinny dip instead. Everything was going fine, until we heard someone walking through the woods towards us. Obviously, swimming naked with mixed genders was a huge offence back then, so we panicked, trying to hide behind some rocks. Then, my father's voice called out for us.

We were all terrified, but suddenly, a bright beam of light came down and blinded us. We didn't know what the hell was going on and started to panic. I swam torwards what I thought was the shore only to bang my head on a rock and black out.

By the time I came to, I was surrounded by my friends and dad. Except, only my dad looked remotely human. The rest of them looked like beasts of various kinds. And thus, the six 'firsts' were born."

He stopped, presumably to give me time to comprehend what he was saying. So, he wasn't a god, but rather a human turned into some monster by a bright light in the woods? "What was the bright light?"

"We aren't sure. Most of us started out believing that it was the moon that changed us, which is why it's such a common symbol in our history, but we can't know for certain." "We?"

"Yea, all the firsts. Well, the five of us, excluding my father." I shook my head, my eyes widening.

"Wait, so they're all still alive? And are they also werewolves and vampires?" He chuckled at some hidden joke, taking a sip of his wine and pouring me some more.

"Yes, they are alive. Just in hiding at the moment. And no, they are much different from us. That was a benefit of my sister and I's transformation. At least we could blend into the human population." *Wait, so the other firsts don't look human*? I immediately began picturing alien lifeforms, slime and ten eyes, making me shudder.

"Can you tell me about them?" I finally asked, preferring the truth over my outlandish fantasies. He leaned forward on the table, eyeing me with curiosity.

"Sure. What do you want to know?"

"What are their names?"

"Genedier, Coree, and Sicily." He said the last name with a wince.

"Oh. And, um, what kind of creatures are they?" I held my breath, my heart beating through the roof.

He smiled.

"You don't need to be so nervous. You've probably already heard of them all before. There are a few tales of their species that have survived throughout the years. Some humans have even spotted them." Now my curiosity was really piqued.

"Genedier is kind of a leader of sorts. She's always been that way. She is what humans call a mermaid."

"Holy shit, what? Like Ariel?" He laughed, shaking his head.

"No clam shell bikinis. Also, mermaids have the ability to morph their tales into legs. They just get a lot weaker out of water, and they also have scales beside their eyes. Hence why they would stand out in a crowd up here." "That's so cool! How about the others?"

"Ah, Coree is a Yeti. Big and furry, but one of the kindest guys you'd ever meet. He was always the more shy and timid one in our group. And Sicily is a pixie."

"That's it? Just a pixie?" He shrugged, but I could see in his eyes that he didn't care for this Sicily person. "What is a pixie? What's she like?" I prompted and he reluctantly sighed.

"Pixies have the ability to grow and shrink at will. They could be the size of a mosquito up to a normal human. They have obnoxiously loud hair, strange colored eyes, and always carry around an overly sweet scent with their dust. As for Sicily, she is absolutely the most annoying woman you would ever meet. She's clingy, whiny, and purposefully provokes me constantly."

As you reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.org is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread the word. The next chapter is just a visit away!

His eyes were already red by the time he finished his description, and I had to stifle my laughter. My muffled giggles confused him, though, and he cocked his head at me.

"I'm sorry, it's just... It sounds like she just likes you." He grimaced at my deduction.

"I know she likes me. I just don't like her and she can't take a damn hint."

I could already feel my jealously surfacing, so I decided to change the topic.

"Okay, so were they considered the 'gods' of their people, too?" He seemed relieved that we were moving on.

"Yea. Well, rulers more than gods. All firsts have special abilities beyond their descendants. Obviously, I have teleportation and telekinesis. Luna has the ability to read minds and control dreams. Genedier can basically hypnotize people into doing what she wants. Coree can liquefy or harden non living creatures, essentially changing the physical properties of said thing. And Sicily can read and change people's moods. She's the other passion deity."

He was right, this was a lot of information to take in. I was starting to understand why he was so hesitant to tell me at first.

"So you aren't actually a god. You're just a vampire." I clarified.

"Disappointed?" He asked, his eyes searching my face.

"It still doesn't explain how you're able to answer when I pray to you or how you could make sure I had Rory's child. And how about mates and royals! How can you do that?"

"Well, as firsts we were granted a certain level of power when it comes to our people. Manipulating people to love one another is a relatively easy thing to do. And we can choose to interfere with things like conception, though we don't actively control each pregnancy. That would be far too time consuming. I've said this before, but the mating and royal bonds were created by my sister and I to ensure the preservation of the species. We lost over ninety percent of our population in the Great War and we needed to get it back up and stable. It may sound impersonal, but it was necessary."

Holy hell. The bonds were just made to make people reproduce? There was no real love involved?

"Now, we do try to choose bonds based on peoples personalities most of the time, so it's not like we stick random people together. It doesn't always work out perfectly, but we aren't perfect. We just wanted our people to be happy." I nodded in understanding, even though I could feel myself getting emotional already.

"Okay. So what is the great war? And why did you lose so many vampires?"

"My dad didn't bother creating descendants for his species right away. He wanted to be unique, the only one of his kind. That was until he realized that he wouldn't be able to rule anyone. So he decided to pose as a regular human and managed to convince the humans to go to war with supernaturals. We didn't want to fight, but they didn't give a shit. They massacred us by the thousands. The war itself only lasted a month, but within that time, three species were near extinction and my sister and I fled to America to hide amongst humans along with our people.

Then my dad's real reign started. He finally decided to create descendants, but they were all corrupted by his hatred and darkness. Those are his dark angels, and they're twisted bastards. He trained them to kill.

Not long later, the hunts started. We knew that we couldn't run forever, so we asked for help from a shaman in present day Vegas. He gave us a spell that could bind the King, keeping him imprisoned with the same dark magic he had grown fond of.

All five of the other firsts gave their blood for the spell, and it wasn't supposed to be able to be undone without blood from each species, but something changed. My dad was somehow fighting it from the inside for the last few thousand years, chipping away at its strength. It took the Sire only wolf and vampire blood to complete the ritual to release him fully.

Since this was all before the time of present day record-keeping, the story was lost in history. Human's nowadays don't even recognize our existence except in fictional novels. We didn't mind, since we knew that they would go back to hunting us if they found out."

"Like the hunters."

"Exactly." He took an exaggerated breath, meeting my eyes and placing both of his palms on the table. "So, how bored are you with me, now?"

I couldn't help but giggle at his assumption. Sure, it was shocking, but I was far from disappointed.

"Ly, I'm not disappointed at all. I'm actually relieved." He raised a brow in confusion. I stood, crossing to his side of the table in graceful strides. He turned his chair to face me and I straddled his lap, placing my arms over his shoulders, looking him in his glowing blue orbs. His hands rested on my hips for support and I could see his blush all over again.

"But I'm not a god. Just an immortal freak."

"Lysander, you may not be a god, but you are an incredible man. I don't care if you are all-powerful or not. You're still amazing and unique and yes, sometimes pretty strange, but I love that about you."

He pulled me further up his lap so that my chest was against his, then traced his lips against my neck.

"You're blood sounds amazing." He whispered sensually against my ear, making me shiver in delight.

Was he asking if he could drink from me? My insecurity skyrocketed along with my want. Would his venom work from his bite, still, or was I only immune to his saliva? "Drink." I rasped, my breathing shallow against his shoulder.