"I… " He released my arm as I stared down at his hand. That had hurt slightly. It was very unexpected from his expression as well. His eyes bored into mine. "Celeste." He whispered my name and reached out to put his arms around me.
My body stood stiff, reacting to the fact that he really had never been very comforting or loving towards me. I allowed him to surround me with his arms and my head was filled with the scent of the woods around him. He smelled of bark, pine cones and a masculine cologne I couldn't place. He actually smelled pretty amazing. My eyes fluttered down as he held me close. A sigh escaped me as he proceeded to run his hands up and down my back, supposedly soothing me in his way.
"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry about the demon. I should have been with you but I was discussing the tournament with the coordinators." He shook his head, rubbing his lips across the top of my head as he did so. "Thank heaven you had someone near to protect you." He pushed me away to look at my eyes, trying to read them. "You need a guard
now
—You need protection constantly—you are too valuable to be alone at any time."
There was silence. My mind raced. I could see the past leading up to the present.
"I will be her guard." A voice approached us from down the hallway. Von's body tensed as he whipped around to Solomon's approach.
"You?" Von sounded disturbed, "Not likely." He shook as he crossed his arms against his broad chest.
Solomon chuckled under his breath. He was obviously not put out by Von's display in the least.
Looking back and forth between the men my anger began to swell again, "That's it!" My voice was firm and composed, "Enough with the pissing contest, men. I am sick of it especially since it will get us nowhere."
Shaking my head I walked between the two of them and laid a hand on both of their chests. They were much closer to each other than I had originally assessed. My perspective had been off, it seemed.
Both men's chests heaved with stress and anger. Even though Solomon didn't have to breathe, his breathing was heaving and his body was tense. My eyes flicked from one to the other, Von and then Solomon. Two sides of the same coin it seemed. How could I ever choose between the two? My heart swelled for both of them.
Von shook his head and looked down at me as if he could read my thoughts, "What?!" He looked back at Solomon, "What have you done to her?" He stared back at me again as if I had been broken.
He surged forward towards Solomon again as he almost swallowed the words under his raspy breath, "What did you
do
to her EYES?!" He searched my face with a wild look of panic.
What the hell did my eyes have to do with anything? I shook my head. I scanned my memories of what had been said and done. My eyes were supposed to be lavender from what Solomon had told me. Everyone was just so worked up about eyes. What the heck?!
A pang of anger and guilt rang through me at the same time. I wasn't supposed to be here—not now. I was reliving the past but I didn't have these memories at all. The whole situation just made me angry. Angry beyond belief and frustrated, I didn't have control over this and the last thing that I liked was not having control.
My anger began to shake me, turning my body into a conduit for energy and power. I was going to pop if I didn't show more self-control. Power surged through me as my breathing swelled.
"My eyes are brown, aren't they?" My voice shook, revealing my loss of control.
Von's head nodded.
Taking a cleansing breath, I closed my eyes and then opened them again. I saw a flicker of lavender over my field of vision, "Is that better?" I questioned. I didn't know how I did it but I just knew that my eyes had changed color. Relief and confusion washed over Von's face. I didn't get it either but I had to use my time judiciously because I didn't know how long I had.
"Solomon will be my personal guard."
Von's head snapped back to Solomon's and Solomon's eyes flicked over to rest on my face. His expression was apprehensive. He didn't know what to think.
"Personal guard to the queen?!" Von's voice raised in volume, "You need a female guard for that!" His body shook slightly. Was it violence? Anger? Frustration? I wasn't sure.
I shook my head sharply, "No, it will be Solomon."
Solomon's body stiffened and then he bowed deeply, becoming very formal. His voice seemed to finally accept my words as truth, "As you wish, your majesty."
Von shook his head and eyed me suspiciously, "This is highly irregular, Celeste." His tone was as if he were explaining something complicated to a child. But I was no child and he had no right to treat me as such.
"Yes, but it is how it shall
be
. It was destined to be so." My mind acknowledged the truth and I finally accepted it wholeheartedly.
This was meant to be.
But what it would mean for the future was beyond me. Either way, both men were supposed to be in my life.
Solomon stood up from his bow and eyed me suspiciously.
"He will NOT be allowed in your chambers." Von seemed like he enjoyed twisting the knife on my future personal guard.
Smiling to myself I knew the answer automatically, "He will be allowed in my chambers. He will be my personal guard and will be allowed everywhere I go that I approve of." My eyes involuntarily whipped over to Solomon. Well, he couldn't go
everywhere
I went.
Solomon chuckled softly as Von bowed up—his shoulders pushed back, his back stiff. "There is absolutely no way that I would approve of this."
That did it! I walked up to Von so abruptly that I was in his face in an instant. Compared to him I looked like a child but my body was rigid and my anger was evident. He seemed to back down slightly as I stood so close to him, boiling with power. "You have no
say
," I spoke through clenched teeth.
Power surged through me and I knew that my time was limited. My head began to spin and I fought to keep a foothold on the present. Well, at least where I was at the time.
"Solomon will be my personal guard if he so chooses. It is
his
choice and his choice only. The only person that would ever be able to tell him to leave will be me. He answers to me only and
no one else
." My voice echoed off of the walls. I sounded powerful even to myself, regal.
My eyes bored into Von as he continued to stand firm. "Do you understand?" My voice was not kind.
Von shivered slightly as he looked down at me, discouraged by my obvious willingness to stand up to him. He nodded slowly, obviously defeated. He looked at Solomon menacingly. There was obviously going to be no love lost there.
My eyes turned to Solomon. He was still staring at me unabashed, trying to dissect me with his intense eyes. I wished him luck.
"Solomon Ryker, do you accept the charge as my personal guard? You have commitments of your own, a life of your own. Would you accept the position and never leave my side? Would you swear yourself to be bound to the protection of the crown for the safety of the kingdom?" These were words that I knew— it was like a script that I had memorized. It felt like an old song that I had sung before.
Solomon didn't even pause, "Yes." His voice was strong, and convincing. He bowed deeply again, "Long live the queen."
Von huffed as he stared at me, "Celeste, I fear you will live to regret this." He turned and walked away down the hallway, leaving Solomon and me alone once again with the body of the demon.
Solomon tilted his head to the side as he eyed me. My shoulders relaxed and I walked over to the wall to lean against it. He eyed me up and down as I crossed my arms again underneath my breasts.
"I know you have commitments, Solomon. I thank you for taking the position as my guard. I don't know what I would have done if you had said no." I shook my head.
"You are nothing like I would have expected," Solomon took a step closer to me as he spoke. He was trying to get a grip on what I really was.
"Yes, yes, I know." I waved him off. Who knew what he really expected. "I am a girl of many facets. Let's see… I love chocolate cake but not chocolate, I love hydrangeas but not roses, I dislike the sun but love sunsets and sunrises. I'm complex." I shrugged.
Solomon chuckled as he walked around the hallway in a large arch around me. "Why did you ask me to be your guard? You don't know me."
"But I do." I shrugged again, "And you save my life many times over in the future." I looked at him sadly, "I owe you a great debt of gratitude."
"For things I have yet to do."
"Yes."
He looked at me like I was a mad woman, a bit upset and worried.
"Don't worry, Solomon. It will all make sense in the future." I smiled at him.
He nodded slowly at me as my vision began to haze over with a slight purple glow.
"What is happening?" He took a step towards me and reached his hands out as if to grasp my arms. I put my hands out and stared at the palms, watching as the waves of energy rippled underneath my skin.
I snorted, "It looks like I'm done in this time." My hands glowed the same ominous purple glow that had transported me back from New York. Quickly I looked up at Solomon's concerned face, my eyes searching his for support that he wasn't aware he would normally offer.
"I doubt I will remember this conversation, Solomon. I doubt that I will remember how you became my personal guard. Do not let me forget that you are my protector. Do not give up on me." I didn't know what I meant at the end there, but panic was welling up inside me.
Solomon nodded as if he understood his orders. The entire experience had been more than strange but he was going to roll with it and that made me like him even more than I normally did.
My vision suddenly burst into a purple flare and then everything was dark.
Solomon
For a woman that had never fainted more than once in the past fifty years, Celeste was seemingly becoming a basketcase with fainting spells and near death experiences.
Would that make any difference to you if she fainted everywhere she went?
Heck, she
was
fainting everywhere she went, it seemed.
But does it make a
difference
?
No.
The voice in the back of my head was getting awfully chatty these days since I had found Celeste behind the Starlight Diner, getting ready to die at the hands of a full-blooded demon. Damned demons. They should have been wiped out a long time ago but, like me, they seemed to be a necessary evil. We culled the
bad
genes out of the world, allowing the rest of humanity to live their precious little lives in complete ignorant bliss. We were doing humanity a favor just by existing. We were their dirty little secret—the trash men of the tainted soul. My mind shuddered as I looked down at my arms and thought about what I was doing. I was carrying Celeste, in my arms. My heart thumped wildly. Geesh, I felt like a romantic idiot looking down at her as I walked.
Carrying Celeste bride-style was a physical memory that was going to be burned into my gray matter for the rest of my life. A small, inconsequential moment when I finally got to hold her and carry her around like… I closed my eyes as I considered all of the lost opportunities that could have happened if I were only human, if she were not the queen, if I weren't a viscous killing machine… But I wasn't human. Actually, if I
had
been human I would have never met her in the first place. I was well into my six hundredth year of existence when I had first laid eyes on her.
Was it worth the wait?
Yes.
No wife, no children? Are you saying that you would still do everything the same?
No. I would have found her sooner.
I finally opened my eyes as I held her limp body close to mine, shielding her from the mist that was climbing over the hydrangea bushes and rushing towards my feet. Shrugging, I tugged my foot away as the tendrils seemed to stretch out to physically touch me. There was something ominous about that mist. Or maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me since I was here technically alone, trying to protect the unconscious love of my life.
Is she the love of your life?
Yes, stupid voice in my head, yes.
I walked determinedly to the back of the beach house and kicked the door open with my boot. There was nothing I could do except get Celeste inside and comfortable. Closing the door behind me with my foot yet again, I looked around the room for the most comfortable spot for her to rest.
Let's see… the bed?
No, too much that could go wrong in there and then I would have to leave because I wouldn't be able to keep my mind on the important matters… like saving her life.
The love seat?
Too short for me to be near her.
The couch?
I eyed the couch and nodded firmly. Yes, the couch.
Walking around the furniture quickly, I gently laid her down across the couch. Her rich brown, wavy hair drifted to the sides of her face, framing the absolute beauty of her stunning complexion. Laying her hands across her stomach, I patted her long fingers underneath my own as I considered what I was going to do next. My eyes drifted to her closed eyelids, noticing the soft eyelashes laying against her cheek, looking like velvet. My fingers twitched at the thought of touching her creamy skin.
You know you want to touch her. It's killing you… you've waited too long…
Shut up, stupid voice! I snapped to attention as my mind raced to find something to keep busy from continuing this insane dialogue I was having with myself. Sometimes my inner voice was a trouble maker.
Looking around I spotted the 56" flat-screen TV and the stack of DVD's that I had purchased because I knew that Celeste was a huge fan of romantic comedies.
Maybe hearing one of her favorite movies will bring her back
.
I walked over to the stack of thirty DVD's and scanned the titles. Deciding on one that I thought would work the best, I pushed a panel on the side of the TV to release a built-in DVD player. Placing the DVD in place, I walked back to the couch and lifted Celeste's torso and tucked myself underneath so that she was laying in my lap. Looking down at her as the FBI warning flashed on the screen, I grabbed a throw pillow and gently propped it underneath her head.
It's good to be at an inclined position for certain situations. This was a good move
.