Taming the Rogue King

Why?

Ira

It was the 2nd day of the new year. 2018! The year when she was going to turn thirty. It was strange how she was getting old but hadn't managed to meet anyone yet.

Her last substantial relationship outside her family had been with Bella and that too wasn't a romantic one. She floated through her Uni like a ghost avoiding any real relationships.

The pain of losing a best friend and the trauma of constant bullying due to her skin colour made her defend herself by retreating into a cocoon. Her defences were up.

She had some acquaintances that could be termed as friends but she kept her distance. She loved talking but couldn't trust any new human beings.

That afternoon Ira sat on a recliner on the porch of her house, reading up for her research and taking notes on her iPad. She had been given ten days off for holidays and today was the last day.

On New Year's Eve, 2 days back, she had enjoyed a quiet evening in the company of her books and a Rabbit Ranch Pinot Noir from Dan Murphy's.

Now she was finishing up her reading when a shrill cry of her iPhone startled her. It was James. He was coming over for a quick coffee.

She kept her book aside and inspected her backyard. The green lawn looked like it could do with more water. Her flowering plants grew around the perimeter of the backyard, close to the boundary wall.

It looked beautiful with the sunshine and soft summer breeze dancing on the violet blooms of petunia and reflecting from the bright orange carnations. She loved the bursts of colours. They mirrored her personality.

She sighed and got up. She loved her cosy home but she missed Bella.

Hers was a single floor house in a neighbourhood with similar-looking houses. It had a small green patch in the front and a backyard where she gardened in her free time. Since she didn’t have many people to talk to, she ended up talking to the trees and the plants most of the time.

The Werribee River was close by and she often went on a walk to Miller Reserve Playground. Life was peaceful. Nothing terribly exciting or scary. Sometimes on the verge of boring but she had had enough excitement during her days at The Royal Academy.

The house had 2 living rooms out of which she had converted one into a study with shelves and shelves of books and a small desktop in one corner of the room. Being a librarian her books were well catalogued and arranged according to their subjects.

Out of the two bedrooms, one was her own cosy cove while the second was done up for the guests. The second living room was attached to an open kitchen with an island where she had placed bar stools for people to settle down when she cooked.

The living room had a door that opened onto the porch. She had been contemplating getting a cat but somehow hadn’t managed to cross that bridge yet. With her books around, she rarely felt lonely.

She did not have many visitors, only her parents, Sarena and sometimes James.

James was two years younger than her yet looked older. Thanks to his tall frame with a well-built body. The boy loved his outdoor exercises! In comparison to him, Ira had remained short and delicate with her rather non defined muscles.

You could feel James' powers even if you were around him. His intense witch aura could sometimes be overpowering. If only Ira would have shown some flair in witchcraft, maybe Sarena could have trained her too but Ira had been a boring little human since childhood.

She was perceptive and did not age much which she was glad about but other than that, she was as plain a human as anyone could be.

There weren’t many people she could be herself with. At work, she had to control her talkative nature and project herself as a person with a grim and unfriendly personality.

Once she was back from work she would facetime her parents to chat up and sometimes talk to James. But that was it. There was so much to say and so few people she could share it with!

With no new company, she would end up reading more and more. She had started writing and journaling. That helped her sort out her thoughts.

Her opportunities to blow off steam were when she met her family on weekends and on holidays. This holiday was a little dull as her parents were out of Australia visiting India and their usual routine of meeting up in her parents' house was called off.

So obviously James' phone call perked her up. His visit meant a fun time with a lot of chatting and teasing.

Since he had decided to meet her at such short notice, it would mean something was up. She smiled to herself at her brother’s predictability.

She had just kept her books back in their place on the shelf when the doorbell rang.

James stood beaming at the door with a bunch of carnations and a bar of her favourite Monsieur Truffe. She loved their Australian plum.

She ushered him into the first living room which she had converted into a study.

James hugged her, “every time I come here you have more books than before!”

“These are all my lovers, brother. I turn my lovers into books so they remain interesting forever.” She winked and laughed as she pulled away to look into the green eyes of her cousin. “Come on in the kitchen. I have already kept your long black (Australian variation of an Americano Coffee) ready.”

His laughter boomed at her words and he followed her into the Kitchen. As he perched himself on the barstool next to the island she passed a mug of long black and some Tim Tams over to him. She had brewed a herbal green tea for herself that would help her sleep.

She was terrible with coffee and the next day she had an early start.

“What are you doing here? How was your new years’ eve?” She was surprised to see him so soon after the year had started.

“Hmm! It was alright. Just went for a drink with my students. Guess I am too old for partying.” He winked picking up a Tim Tam as he sipped his coffee.

“Hahaha… If you are old, I am a granny. I just spent time with my books. Tried calling Bella again. But no use.” She looked down at her tea to avoid James from seeing the sadness in her eyes.

“You know I could use my connections to get her details, right? The only reason I haven’t done that is coz you have been stopping me from it.”

“I know. But if she wanted to be in touch, she would have connected with me. There must be a good reason why she decided to vanish like this.”

“What about those other friends of yours? From Uni? What are they up to?”

“Oh, they are busy with their own stuff. Andrea has moved to Queensland with her American boyfriend and Kaya has gone to India to work with some orphanages. They are doing well. We stay in touch.”

"And Toby?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "Wasn't he interested in you?"

"Eyew yes! He is somewhere I don't know. We didn't stay in touch after he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said no." Ira took a bite of a Tim Tam. "Creepy fellow!"

“You should go out, Ira! You should visit clubs, make new friends! How will you find your love if you stay cooped up in your cosy cove? And leave this stupid job of yours. Your boss is pure evil. With the amount of work she makes you do, you should have had at least a 6-week vacation this time!”

“Look who's talking! What about your soulmate little brother? You are always surrounded by students. I have seen some women drooling over you, yet you are single! And remind me of the last time you had a vacation...” She smiled. "Plus we both know, I just look eighteen. I am your older sister for f**k's sake!"

He ran his hand through his silky dark blonde curls and gave a lopsided smile. “You got me there. I am happy with my work. And have you tried using that language in front of Aunt Myra?”

She rolled her eyes. "Thirty and still scared of her. I wonder when our parents will stop being parents!"

"Never!"

“I am happy with my work too.” She returned the smile. “Now tell me what brings you here?”

He sighed. “Nana visited me last night. She wants me to go on a mission. I will be camping in the forests of Myponga for a couple of weeks once my project gets sanctioned.”

“Ooooh! Wasn’t Eva’s mother from Myponga?”

“Yup!” He said, popping the ‘p’.

“So you think Sarena is up to something?”

“Could be!” He shrugged. “The old mentor can be all mysterious and cryptic. I am just told that I will need to be at Myponga. I wanted to meet you before leaving.”

“Aww! Thanks, bro. You take care. I have heard the forests are full of poisonous creatures.”

“As if they could harm me!”

That made both of them roar in laughter.

“It's always a pleasure to catch up with you!” Ira’s eyes twinkled with truthfulness.

That evening they dined together and James left after promising to update her of his plans. He had a lot to accomplish and Ira had an early start too.

*****

That night Ira dreamed about the burly silhouette again.

The dream felt so real. His warm breath was palpable on her face, his huge hands rough against her boobs, his thick finger hard against her soft womanhood. She had woken up riding an o****m.

Once in the shower, it took her a while to relax. The cold water from the shower helped block the tingling in her body.

Were these premonitions? If they were, she had no idea how she was to deal with these.

Should she tell her parents? She wasn't sure. What would she say? That she gets sleep orgasms sometimes?

Her therapist had been clear. These dreams were induced by trauma. But what trauma was still troubling her?

Jack and Alex were safely locked up in Jail. None of her High School classmates had cared enough to stay connected. Toby was out of touch.

So why these realistic dreams about an unknown person? Why did she feel that there was more to her dreams than a simple explanation given by a clinical psychologist?

*****