Birthday Celebration
Emmett punched Marek in his arm, pulling him out of his thoughts. Marek's eyes turned dark as he looked at his opponent. “Back off, Guardian. I am not a threat to your princess.”
“No?” he asked. “You just called her a slut. What the hell were you thinking?”
Marek let out a humorous laugh and scrubbed his hands down his face. “Fuck. I wasn't thinking. All common sense left my brain when I saw her.”
“Yeah, it went south,” Gavin said behind him, chuckling. Again, Marek had to close his eyes and force himself to count to ten. He couldn't wait to put the kid in his place.
“At least I know she still has spunk,” he said, trying to make light of the situation, but Emmett wasn't willing to budge. “Look. I screwed up. Okay? I wasn't expecting you guys to come until tomorrow, and I didn't want her seeing me like this. It's going to be hard enough to explain this to her. I guess I was hoping I could piss her off, and she'd stay inside tonight. Tomorrow, I will be me again, and we can start fresh.” He was in a staring contest with her Guardian, and Marek wondered if the man had crossed the line at some point and fallen in love. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened, nor the last, but he didn't want to make an enemy out of a potential ally. Marek could feel Emmett in his mind, rooting around to make sure what the man said was true. He pulled back when he saw Marek truly was being an ass to conceal his change, and nothing else.
“Fine. Let her blow off her steam. I'll try to keep her inside. Show us where we will be staying so I can get the queen to relax.”
“Queen?” Marek asked, feeling his stomach drop.
“Yeah, queen,” Emmett answered. “Grandfather crowned her when we arrived at her castle. You may want to rethink your strategy with her.”
Marek felt worse now than he did before. He didn’t even know if he could make up to Tatyanna for the way he treated her. But he did know he needed to stay on her friends’ good sides in order to have any hope.
“Fine. I screwed up. Do what you can, and tomorrow, I’ll try to repair the mess I made,” Marek said, noticing they were missing someone in their group, and saw one of his men had turned around to follow his queen. He felt a fire grow in his belly. He didn't want any other man near his mate. He had to push the jealous feelings aside. He screwed up once. He didn't want to screw up and piss her friends off, and inadvertently pissing her off as well. He would play nice...for now.
“Come, I'll show you to the guest cabins. Lilly will stay with the...princess.” Marek glanced back once toward the way Tatyanna had stomped off and smiled. He was pleased she had spirit. She would need it in the days ahead.
“How dare he! How dare he call me a slut?” Tatyanna shouted, her voice laced with malice. “I want to hit something. I want to throw something. ARGH!” She felt her hands heat up, and saw they were an angry glowing blue. This was a sign, telling her she was about to lose control. She tried to tamp down her anger, but the harder she tried the more it continued to grow. She knew Marek was someone important to her, but she couldn't understand why.
He was an old man, old enough to be her grandfather, yet when she saw his eyes, she couldn't help feeling drawn to them, feeling like there was more beneath the surface. She realized she had had those same feelings toward Cale. She couldn't possibly have feelings for Marek. One, because he was a jerk, and two, because he was at least four times her age. She drew up a picture in her mind of kissing the older man, and laughed out loud at the absurdity of it all, letting the anger drain out of her.
“Hey.” Tatyanna turned to see Cale walking toward her, but she didn't feel the butterflies like she normally did when she was in close proximity to him. “Are you okay?” he asked her, concern written all over his tired face.
“Yeah, I just needed to get away,” she said, walking toward the water, feeling the breeze off the lake sweep over her, as if it were cleansing her mind.
“I can't believe that jerk had the right to call you a whore!” Cale said angrily. “Couldn't he see you are anything but?” He reached out to grasp her hand.
Tatyanna gasped softly, as she felt heat radiating off him. The more Cale spewed about the audacity of the man, Tatyanna started to grow angry. Cale was the fuel to her fire. She thought she had moved past the anger, but here she was, seeing that Cale was right. How dare someone insult her? What right did they have? And why didn't he bow down to her, and show her the respect she deserved?
Tatyanna listened to Cale's words. He was right about it all. Her hands glowed blue. She couldn’t rid herself of the emotion. She lifted them up to her face, still holding Cale's hand and then pushed out toward the lake. She watched as water came pouring out of her hands, and rained down from the sky over the village. It wasn't a few droplets of rain, but a downpour of her rage. She knew she could keep this up and completely flood the camp, and she was content enough to do just that, especially with Cale besides her cheering her on.
But then, something changed. Her necklace grew warm, and she saw Marek's startling blue eyes in her mind. What she was doing was wrong. She wasn't a killer. She immediately dropped her hands, and let go of Cale's hand, taking a few steps away from him. When she did, she once again felt at peace.
“Why did you stop? You have every right to seek your revenge,” Cale said, pointing to where, just moments ago, it had been a downpour.
“This isn't me, Cale. I don't hurt people for the sheer pleasure of it, no matter how much they angered me.”
“How do you know who you are? You've always hid your true self?” Cale said, walking closer to her and closing the gap between them. He reached out with his hand to grasp her face, and leaned it and gently kissed her. There was heat in their kiss, and she was surprised by how warm his lips were, almost too hot to stay connected to. When the heat started to build, she broke it off, touching her lips, unsure of what to do.
Something changed in her, and she didn't know when it happened, or why. But Tatyanna knew she wasn't as attracted to Cale as she once was, and was starting to see him for who he really was. She didn't want to see him as a fraud, and so she brushed her thoughts away. After all, Grandfather had chosen him to be on this mission. There must be a reason why he was here, and he must be trustworthy.
Cale stalked toward her, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her again, but this time with more force, more determination, as if the kiss spoke the words he could not voice. Tatyanna didn't do anything at first, surprised by the act, then she felt Cale's warmth sweep over her, and she didn't fight the kiss, but instead leaned into him, begging for more.
It was Cale who broke away from the kiss this time when he saw the lake water swirl up into a vortex. As it calmed, it took on the shape of a woman.
‘Come here, child,’ she said, speaking into Tatyanna's mind. ‘These words are for you alone. You must come to me.’
In a trance, Tatyanna walked away from Cale, and as soon as they stopped touching, she felt a loss of power in her. The water lady reached her hands out to Tatyanna, and she grasped them in both of hers. Tatyanna experienced a cooling sensation, her body cleansed of all emotion.
‘You will be tempted, because you are still weak. This world is not what you know. You need to build walls around your mind, as well as your heart, or you will be taken advantage of. When you are lost, come to me, and I will give you clarity. Trust in yourself.’ The Water Lady backed away as she said these words, all while Tatyanna held her hands. As their fingertips barely touched, the woman drifted back into the water, leaving only a ripple behind.
Tatyanna was at a loss for words. For a second there, she felt pulled to Cale, but now she felt at peace and had no desire to return to his arms. She was confused by the emotions she was feeling, or thought she was feeling, and wished she had sister there to turn to. Before she could make some excuse to Cale, out of the corner of her eye she saw Emmett walking toward her. She was excited to see him, because it took the heat off her and what had happened between her and Cale.
“Impressive water show. Wasn't sure how long it was going to last,” Emmett said when he was within a few feet of her.
Tatyanna lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I needed to let off some steam. It came out more forcefully than I had planned. Are the others okay?” she asked, referring to the people who lived at the camp.
“Yeah, they put two and two together, and realized their lord pissed you off. Now they are giving him hell for it. Nothing he can't handle,” he said with laughter in his eyes.
Tatyanna was tempted to ask how the Lord was doing, but then she purposely envisioned kissing a man such as himself, and was able to keep the question from coming off her lips.
Emmett grinned, as if he knew what she was just thinking, but instead, tilted his head toward the way they came. “Come on. I'll show you where you will be staying. There is a celebration starting soon.”
“Celebration for what?” she asked curious.
“Marek's birthday.”
“His birthday?” she asked surprised. “How old is he? He already looks to be almost a hundred, if not older.”
Emmett laughed her question off and started to walk away, with Tatyanna running to catch up to him so that she could badger him with questions. They didn't notice Cale behind, who was staring at the water. He was surprised to see the Water Lady rise up from the lake, this time with no fanfare. The two stared at each other, waiting for the other one to break. He refused to look away, knowing that it would be a sign of weakness.
The woman spoke, her voice deep and with no emotion. “You will stay away from Tatyanna, or suffer the consequences.”
“Ha,” Cale said. “You can't hurt me.” He pledged his allegiance to Larik, and the prince had blessed him with powers that had no equal.
“You are a stupid human. You have no real power.” The woman raised her hands and splashed water at him. At first, he thought she was playing a juvenile prank on him, but when the water landed on him, he screamed out in pain, because it felt like the water was burning his flesh. “No burning,” the lady told him. “Cleansing the evil out of you. Come near Tatyanna again, and you will see just what I am capable of.” She disappeared deep into the world under the lake.
Cale didn't take her threat seriously, knowing his lord would save him from any harm. Nothing could harm him.
It was several hours later, and the day had turned dark. Tatyanna spent the evening avoiding Marek, who still walked around wearing a hooded jacket to cover his face. She had no idea why he still wore it, considering the sun had gone down hours ago. She was waited on hand and foot, and rarely did she have a spare second alone. She wished she didn't take her peaceful days for granted, wishing once she could eat in silence and enjoy the meal, instead of being pestered if she liked the food, if she would change anything, what could make it better, and the list went on and on. She turned, looking for Terran, and saw him making himself comfortable in a tree, holding a plate of food. He smirked at her when he saw her looking at him, and she glanced down at her beautiful dress, denying her the chance to climb the tree.
Despite the cool air, and the cut of the dress, Tatyanna wasn't cold. Every time she thought she was going to shiver, she felt warm, and it reminded her of swimming in the lake earlier. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see Marek walk up to her until she saw a hand in her face. Startled, she yelped in surprise, and did a second take when she realized who it was.
“Walk with me, m'lady,” he said softly, not demanding, but she knew he wouldn't take no for an answer. She gently placed her hand in his and was fascinated by how huge his hand was, and how it engulfed her own nicely.
They walked in silence, and she thanked her lucky stars she finally found peace and quiet, even if it was in the presence of the bastard.
“I'm sorry,” he said mutely. Tatyanna turned her head sharply at his words. She could tell he wasn't one to apologize often, but when he was in the wrong, he would admit to it.
“I know I screwed up, but when I saw you, all thought and reason flew out of my head. I instantly knew who you were. I always carried a picture of what I thought you'd look like in my mind, but actually seeing you there, right in front of me. You blew me away. When I'm nervous, I say stupid things, I do stupid things, and I am sorry.”
Tatyanna didn't say anything at first, but she could tell that he meant his words and she nodded her head. “Then, I'm sorry, too. I let my anger get the better of me.”
“Are you sorry for slapping me?”
“No, I'm sorry for trying to drown your town.”
Marek laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand. “Yeah, I've been getting grief about that all afternoon. It wasn't one of my best moments, and it's not something my people will just forget about.”
They came to a giant structure that had a ladder attached to it. “Are you game?” Marek asked, pointing to it. “It's the best seat in the house.”
Tatyanna strained her neck to see how high the platform went, and saw it wasn't very wide. She looked behind her at the people milling about, and grabbed onto the ladder quite eager to get away from it all.
She paced herself, and finally made it to the top in a few minutes. Tatyanna waited for Marek, and was surprised they were overlooking a giant camp fire. The tips of the fire were almost as high up as they were and she was surprised.
“What is this?”
Marek didn't answer her, because he could see his men and people forming a circle around the campfire, chanting his name. He lifted the hood off his face, and Tatyanna saw he was younger than when they first met. Gone was the pasty skin and wrinkles, and in its place was a face that could easily pass for at least sixty.
“What is happening to you?” she asked. “How is it possible you are getting younger?”
Marek grasped both her hands into his. “Do you trust me?”
“I...I...I...” she stammered. “I don't know. I hardly know you.”
“I am sorry. It is hard to explain, and easier if you just watched.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked confused.
Marek leaned forward, and kissed her on the mouth. Two men in one day, this was a record for her. But, the kiss was different from Cale's. This one was more intense, like there were fireworks going off in her mouth. His lips were just as warm, but with a determined purpose behind them.
“Forgive me,” he whispered to her, letting go of her hands to take a running start, then leaping off the platform, and into the fire.