WG2E All-For-Indies Anthologies: Viva La Valentine Edition (19 page)

“Let’s hear from the Guardian in question
then” Cupid responded. “Gabriel, what do you say regarding the
matter? Do you want to be cured?”

“What he says is irrelevant,” Dara
interjected before he could respond. “He’s not competent to make
that decision while under the influence of the love potion.”

“You presume much, my dear,” Cupid warned. “I
wish to hear Gabriel’s response.”

• • •

Gabriel found all eyes on him and was
surprisingly nervous. Taking a deep breath he began, “I know
Cherubs and Guardians do not always see eye to eye, but I speak to
you today with the utmost respect. Dara may not believe me, but my
attraction started long before Cupid’s arrow struck.”

His remark drew chuckles from the crowd.

“In fact, I’m so certain of my affection for
Dara that I made her a friendly wager. If, after the antidote is
administered I’m still in love with her, she’s agreed to marry me
and is even now wearing my ring. She swore it on Venus’ Orb.”

The room erupted with cheers and Cupid gave a
pointed glance at his Granddaughter’s left ring finger.

“So you wish for the antidote as well,
Gabriel, certain it won’t change your feelings and that you’ll be
marrying Darling either way?” Cupid confirmed before adding
“millions of mortals have fallen in love and lived happily ever
after thanks to us. You and Darling could do likewise”

“I’m certain my feelings are real” Gabe
responded, “and we’ll have our happily ever after. However, I do
have one request. I wish for Dara to be the one to administer the
antidote.”

Cupid reached into his drawer and took out a
small syringe, offering it to Dara. “My dear, I for one hope you’ll
be announcing your engagement momentarily.”

Gabe stood in the center of the room waiting.
Dara walked over, but at the last moment hesitated. This gave Gabe
the opportunity to pull her in for another kiss, generating a fresh
round of catcalls which quickly turned to shouts of “
don’t do it
Darling”
and “
marry him
.”

With an almost silent whisper of “I love you”
in his ear, she plunged he syringe into his arm.

Before he had time to react he promptly
collapsed.

Seven.

“You’ve killed him!” came an accusing cry
from the crowd.

Dara dropped to her knees and pulled him onto
her lap, shaking him gently in an attempt to rouse him. Seeing no
response, she leaned in to make sure he was still breathing, panic
rising in her throat. She just couldn’t picture her life without
Gabe in it.

“C’mon Gabe, wake up!” she urged.

“Try a kiss,” suggested Cupid wryly.

In desperation, Dara took his advice and
leaned in to place her lips softly to his. Gabe immediately came to
life, kissing her back and slipping his tongue into her mouth to
the delight of the crowd.

Pulling back from the kiss, Dara didn’t know
whether to laugh or cry. “But you’re not supposed to like me
anymore” she argued.

“Sorry, Darling but you’re stuck with me. I
still choose you so I guess that makes our engagement
official.”

The room erupted in cheers, but Dara had the
feeling something wasn’t quite right.

Pulling back, Dara turned to her Grandfather
and argued, “There has to be a mistake! The antidote must not have
worked.”

Cupid thought for a moment and responded,
“The only reason the antidote would fail would be if it was
administered too late. When did you say the shot was delivered?”
“Early this morning, but I can’t say exactly when because I was
still asleep” Dara answered.

“I’d worn her out, Sir,” Gabe added with a
mischievous grin and the crowd went wild.

“So you obviously felt something for Dara
before you were shot,” Cupid confirmed. “Are you two certain it
wasn’t a bug bite all along?”

“He was shot” Dara insisted “I saw the mark
myself. It was probably the rogue Cherub you sent Gabe to warn me
about,” Dara added and the crowd fell totally silent.

“What rogue Cherub?” Cupid asked.

Gabe’s face grew panicked and Dara’s world
came crashing down around her. If there was no rogue Cherub, Gabe
had lied and she was being made a fool because of it. Everything
had been a charade she thought bitterly and her eyes began to fill
with tears.

Aware all eyes were still on her, she
couldn’t handle it anymore. Using the last of her control she
managed to turn and walk from the room, her head held high, before
bursting into a sprint.

• • •

Gabe’s heart broke watching Dara run from the
room. This wasn’t the way things were supposed happen. He was
supposed to declare his love for Dara, she was supposed to joyfully
reciprocate, and they were supposed to live happily ever after.
Instead, she’d publicly learned that he’d lied to her. The hurt had
been evident in her eyes.

He wanted to run after her and confess
everything but instead found himself being summoned along with
Elias to Cupid’s private office. As he followed Cupid down a long
hallway, he wondered if he was walking to his doom.

By all accounts, Cupid was a devoted
patriarch who would protect his family at all costs and it was well
known that Dara was a favorite grandchild. This was evidenced by
him letting her pursue her own career outside of the family
business.

Cupid’s office was at the end of the hallway,
affording views of the Strip on three sides. Cupid took his seat
behind a large antique desk and motioned for Gabe and Elias to take
seats as well. Pouring himself a drink from a crystal decanter, he
gazed at Gabe with ice blue eyes that seemed to bore into his
soul.

After a few moments of silence he began to
speak. “Gabriel, you have an outstanding record as a Guardian.
Please explain to me what has happened here today because your
actions don’t speak well for you.”

Gabe didn’t know where to begin and opted for
an explanation. “What I’m going to tell you won’t sound great sir,
but my intentions were sincere. I fell for your granddaughter a
long time ago but couldn’t get her to look past the Guardian
uniform. So I formulated a simple plan to give her a chance to get
to know me and to prove to her that I genuinely care for her. My
friend Elias played just a small role as a favor for a friend.”

Gabe then gave a brief summary of the
previous 24 hours, beginning with him shooting her boyfriend Steve
and creating the rogue Cherub story. He ended with receiving the
antidote and his plan unraveling.

At several points in the story, including
intentionally running the car out of gas and proposing at the truck
stop, Gabe got the impression that Cupid was trying not to laugh.
When he mentioned the bet he’d cooked up to get her to accept his
proposal, he thought he caught a brief moment of admiration pass
over Cupid’s face.

Elias confirmed that the guns had not been
stolen from Cherubs, which satisfied Cupid.

What Elias said next surprised Cupid and even
shocked Gabe. Thankfully, it also gave Gabe an idea on how to
finally prove the truth of his feelings to Dara. That is, if Cupid
actually let them go free.

Taking a sip of the deep amber liquid in his
glass, Cupid shook his head before speaking.

“Did you ever consider flowers and chocolate
or were kidnapping and subterfuge the most romantic things you
could come up with?”He waited a few moments before continuing,
“that being said I realize that Darling is an unusual case – she
confounds us all sometimes – and your intentions were true.”

Making up his mind, he reached into his desk
and pulled out a small silver ring with an opalescent white stone.
“Take this and try the wedding chapel in the Venus Garden. If I
were you, I’d have Elias speak with her first as his revelation
changes things, including the reason behind your actions since this
morning.”

“With all due respect Sir, I’ve already given
her a ring” Gabe interjected when Cupid tried to hand him the
ring.

“With all due respect, Gabriel,” Cupid
countered, his voice taking on an icy quality, “this is no ordinary
ring. My mother, the Goddess Venus, created an orb with one
purpose: to test the truth of one’s affection because many in my
long life would profess their love to me. She fashioned it into a
ring. Put it on in her presence and it may convince her of your
feelings, although she may still deny it if her analytical side
wins out. Take it with my blessing on your union, but be sure to
bring it back or I will kill you myself.”

Gabe raced from the office, feeling like he
was carrying a bomb rather than a ring. He couldn’t believe Cupid
had just handed him Venus’ Orb - the standard by which all in their
world swore truth. He’d thought it a myth. What if he lost it?

Racing back through the gallery with Elias on
his heels, he tried to remember where the Venus Garden was located.
There were at least five wedding chapels within the resort and he
hadn’t been to any of them.

Perhaps the Lady Venus was on his side
because a resort map revealed it was not far from the family wing.
He and Elias stopped just out of view at the edge of the garden. He
spotted Dara sitting on a white stone bench bathed in white
moonlight.

With her hair down she could have easily
passed for Venus in her temple. He wanted to rush down the aisle to
her, but heeding Cupid’s words he motioned for Elias to go
first.

• • •

The wedding chapel in the Venus Garden was
her favorite spot in the hotel. As long as it wasn’t hosting a
wedding, she had it to herself. It had become a sort of a refuge
from nosy family members for her.

Dara looked up at the sound of footsteps and
wondered who had come to find her. Part of her hoped it was Gabe
and another part of her never wanted to see the lying cad again.
She was surprised to find Elias approaching and quickly wiped her
eyes.

“Elias,” she stated simply, giving no
additional greeting and trying to adopt the cool demeanor of her
grandfather.

She was pleased to see that he looked
genuinely nervous in her presence now.

Finally, he got up the courage to speak. “I
wanted you to know that I was the one who shot Gabe using a
Cherub’s gun while you were sleeping. I’ll leave the rest of his
plan for him to explain, but there was one thing that not even Gabe
was aware of until we were in Cupid’s office just now.”

Elias seemed to relax somewhat as he
continued, “It wasn’t real love potion. It was a blank shot. As his
best friend, I could tell he was head over heels for you and didn’t
need the help of a silly potion. I also knew that if something
backfired, the fact that all of his actions were undertaken because
he had genuine feelings for you might mean something. Everything he
did was because he wanted to be with you, even if things did end
poorly. If you’ll speak to him now, he also has something from your
grandfather to show you.”

Dara watched as Elias turned and walked back
up the path, nodding his head at a figure in the shadows that she
realized must be Gabe. She didn’t know what to make of Elias’
revelation. She was still terribly angry and hurt at being lied to.
However, knowing that everything Gabe had done today, including his
attempts to woo her and his proposal at the truck stop, were not
due to love potion did start to make up for it.

Even the feelings he expressed after
receiving the antidote were genuine. Yes, it had all been one big
plan, but it was crafted because he really might love her. Seeing
something clutched tightly in Gabe’s hand, she wondered what was
her Grandfather had sent with him?

Gabe slowly walked down the aisle towards
her, looking distressed but otherwise unharmed. Even though she was
still angry, her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. Soon
they were standing face to face in the moonlight, neither one of
them speaking.

Gabe began with “I’m sorry.”

At the exact same moment, Dara blurted out
“why?”

Running his hand through his hair, which was
loose from its tie and slightly disheveled, he decided to try the
truth. “I’ve loved you from afar ever since I stopped your cousin
Dario from ruining that royal wedding. You refused to give me the
time of day when you lived here in Las Vegas and then you left
leaving me with no more opportunities to let you know. I’d heard
you were in Portland so I went there hoping to see you. I saw you
and your old boyfriend Steve and was so jealous. I knew you
deserved more and I came up with what I thought was a surefire plan
that would give you a chance to get to know me. It also allowed me
to show you how much I cared.”

Gabe watched a myriad of emotions play across
Dara’s face as he confessed for the second time that day to
creating the rogue Cherub story, intentionally running the car out
of gas in an area he’d scouted out to camp, asking Elias to shoot
him prior to rescuing them, and getting her to agree to marry him
if his feelings proved real.

“So you see,” he concluded “I did it all out
of love. If I hadn’t cared for you so damned much, none of this
would have happened. I also never meant for you to be embarrassed
in front of your family and friends. I’d hoped if you ever learned
about my plan it would be far in the future after years of
happiness together. What I feel for you is genuine.”

Dara really wanted to forgive him and she
acknowledged that not only was she attracted to him, but that she
probably loved him as well. She shouldn’t love him after only
spending one deceit-filled day with him, but she did. She just
couldn’t get the cobwebs of doubts swept clear from her mind enough
to trust him.

Gabe seemed prepared for this. He picked up
the story where he left off in Cupid’s office. “After I told my
story to your grandfather, he told me I’d have a hard time
convincing you my feelings were real. So he sent me with this.”