Finding Monsters (10 page)

“Thank you, Elyen,” Missy said. She closed her eyes and slid deeper into the water. Her muscles lo
o
sened as the minerals worked their magic. After an hour, Missy felt like herself again. Reluctantly, she left the soothing waters behind and went in search of di
n
ner attire. Elyen was back with Sophie laying out a cream dress made of linen. The thin straps worked a crisscross design around the bodice and down the back.

“What’s with the flirty little dress, girls?” Missy wanted to know.

“You’ll see,” they replied in unison. Knowing that was all she would get from them, Missy obediently dressed in the short little number. She pulled her hair up in an elegant pony tail while the two women picked out a light wrap for the outfit. Thirty minutes later, they stepped from the room. Missy caught her breath as she stared in awe at Charlie arranged in semi-formal attire. His hair looked silky about his face and he wore a tunic and leggings of elegant blacks and grays. He flourished a regal bow then took Missy’s hand, leading her away from his mother and the Doe.

After walking in silence down several hallways, Missy had to ask. “Ok, so what’s the occasion and where are we going, Charlie?”

“The occasion is a private dinner for two and we are g
o
ing to the courtyard. I don’t think you’ve been there before. It is a most wonderful place,” Charlie told her.

“I don’t think I’m dressed for dinner outside,” she said.

“Trust me, you’re perfect.”

He guided her down several stone hallways, far past the cooking fires. Co
m
menting on sections of the dwelling where interesting stories could be told, he continued the tour for a
l
most an hour. As they turned the corner an arched doorway lay before them looking out onto a green me
a
dow with plush grass, manicured flower gardens, paths, and a large lake creating the perfect scene.

“It’s beautiful,” Missy whispered as she took in the view.

Charlie led her through the opening and onto the path. Missy instinctively pulled her wrap close about her to ward off the chill of the air only to find the air warm and spring like. She looked up and noticed birds coming two and fro from the meadow. No ceiling, yet warm air blew here, not unlike the fri
g
id temperatures elsewhere.

“How is this possible?” she asked, then gasped as Charlie’s bull like features melted away to reveal the human boy she r
e
me
m
bered from her world. She ran her fingers through his hair, touching his cheeks and lips. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She felt his strong arms encircle her waist posse
s
sively. When she finally pulled back Charlie smiled, kissed her, and continued their tour.

“This place is two square miles and is always warm.”

“I’m surprised no one else is here,” Missy said.

“Most of us are adapted to the cold. It doesn’t bother us nearly as much as the heat. I’m an exce
p
tion; I prefer the warm weather to the cold. Tonight, we have the courtyard to ou
r
selves. Come.”

He led her through the vast meadow, stopping by the lake to watch the geese for a moment as they di
p
ped their heads below the surface of the waters in search of food. Moving on, they made their way to a gazebo surrounded by fragrant flo
w
ers. Missy gawked at the size of these blossoms, many larger than she. They didn’t look like any flower she had ever seen b
e
fore, with their cylindrical appearance. She leaned in and i
n
haled their scent, sweet and airy. As she walked near another bed of oddly shaped white flowers that reminded her of jellyfish, they seemed to lean in and take in her scent as well. Their long tendrils lightly brushed her skin, face, and hair.

“They’re friendly. They have no scent of their own, so they borrow what they can smell and change colors to match the scent,” Charlie said.

Sure enough, the flowers nearest to her turned a rich golden color. She looked at the ones near Charlie and saw them change into a midnight blue.

“They are so beautiful, Charlie, so magical.”

A birdsong floated down to them from above. Missy glanced up to see a magnificent yellow bird perched high in a treetop. He had the appearance of a finch but with the size of an eagle. Missy whistled to him and laughed as he responded in a melody of tweets and chirps. Charlie coaxed Missy toward the gazebo.

“There’s so much more to see, but first, dinner.” Charlie seated her at the table set for two and then took his own seat. He smiled widely as he laid his hands on each side of the table. The blue light shot up quickly and when it faded it revealed a table filled with a gourmet meal of roasted game, fresh veget
a
bles, a creamy bisque, and fresh bread with homespun butter. Their goblets were filled with a delicate sweet drink. It remin
d
ed Missy of the nectar they’d drank as butte
r
flies.

She chattered away about her upcoming quest and all she’d learned from Sir Alastaire and Vrag, e
a
ger to get started on the next assignment. Charlie listened and laughed at the st
o
ries she related from Sir Alastaire. When their cups were empty, a large butte
r
cup like flower wrapped around the top of the gazebo, bent low and refilled their drinks. Missy thanked the enormous plant and laughed in amazement at the wonder of the place. Charlie loved the sound of her laugh. He took her hands in his and leaned in, kissing her mouth. He lingered there for several minutes, licking the sweet nectar from her lips then kissing her deeper.

“Dessert?” he whispered.

“Maybe later,” she told him, her eyes closed, leaning into his kisses.

“Come with me, my love,” Charlie said, finally disengaging his lips from hers. He pulled her chair back and held his hand out to her. The giant golden finch appeared again perched now on the railing of the gazebo. He tweeted and sang to them. Missy caught a whispered request.

“I think he is looking for food,” Missy said as she turned back and pulled the bread from its basket. She tied the napkin around the pieces, knotting the top.

“What are you doing?” Charlie asked.

“Can’t you hear him? He is looking for food for his fam
i
ly.” She moved away from the table. “Here you go, take it.”

Singing with joy, the finch scooped down and snatched up the bread with its claws and with a final song, soared through the invisible ceiling towards home.

“We’ll have to explore this gift of yours. No one in our clan has the ability to communicate with animals,” Charlie commented, still in awe.

“I can’t explain it. I felt a little freaked about it at first, but now, it’s kinda cool” she said with a shrug.

“Very cool,” Charlie agreed. He led them from the gazebo and toward an ivy covered path. The large silky leaves wove themselves to create a natural canopy above them. The grass beneath their feet felt so thick and lush, it reminded Missy of carpet. She removed her shoes and let her toes wi
g
gle into the luxurious grass.

“It’s so soft, not like grass at all,” she commented. Charlie removed his soft skin boots as well and they walked along bar
e
foot. When they came to a spot where the canopy opened brie
f
ly to show the starlight, they stopped, and sat beneath the stars gazing he
a
venward. Charlie let his gaze fall to watch Missy. She sat smiling and inhaling deeply the scents around her. Charlie stared at the way a stray lock of hair fell over her almost bare shoulders, curling around her face. He reached over and tucked it behind her ear. She leaned into him resting her head on his shoulder. Another sigh escaped her.

“Missy, I love you, so much. Nothing will ever change that. Even if you weren’t becoming a monster, my feelings for you would never change. I want you to be mine forever. Would you do something for me b
e
fore your next quest?” he asked.

“Anything,” Missy said.

“Join with me.”

Missy sat up to face him. “Joining is like marriage?” she asked.

“Yes, to join is the joining of two souls, mated for life. It is a simple ceremony,” Charlie said.

“Aren’t we too young to  …  join?” Missy asked. Panic showed in Charlie’s face. He swallowed hard and wiped his palms on his leggings.

Without making eye contact he asked, “Do you love me?”

“Yes! Of course I do Charlie,” Missy a
s
sured him.

“Will your feelings for me change during the course of time?”

“No, I’ll always love you, you know that. It’s just that, I’m not sure I’m ready to, um, well  …  I’m soon to be sixteen Cha
r
lie, I’ve only just started to live and experience life.” She trailed off not sure how to put it delicately. “I’m not sure I’m ready to  …  well, you know.”

“Oh, you are not ready to  …  mate. Is that it?” Charlie asked.

“Yes, I don’t know if I am ready for that.” She hoped she didn’t hurt his fee
l
ings.

“Joining is not the same as mating. We join as a symbol of our devotion to each other. We can decide to mate later. I’m only seventeen by your years. If you want to wait until you fi
n
ish your quests that would be alright with me.”

“Really? Oh, Charlie that would be wonderful! Yes, yes, let’s join,” Missy said as she flung herself into Charlie’s arms. He fell backwards and rolled Missy to her back planting another kiss on her. Missy wrapped her arms around his neck holding him tight. The kiss blurred into several more and b
e
fore long the moon’s position indicated they had been there for hours. Charlie looked up to check the time.

“It’s well past midnight, close to the third hour.”

“How long can we stay here?” Missy asked.

“All night, but I think your trainers will object to skipping tomorrow’s session.

Missy moaned. He was right. Charlie reached down and pulled her to her feet.

“Besides, you have a joining to arrange,” he ad
d
ed.

Walking back through the gardens, Missy sampled the scents of the flowers around her. They d
e
toured once to let the sniffing flowers smell them again. This time they both turned the flowers blush pink.

“Ah, they know our secret,” Charlie said. Missy laughed and stroked the large petals before leaving them to fade to white again. Strolling through the empty halls, they spoke in hushed tones about the a
r
rangements. Atian and Sophie would find them an apartment inside the dwelling. The head bull at the cooking fires would arrange the food if Missy provided a menu. Missy thought back to the fabrics Sophie had presented earlier, her mind already formulating a dress pattern. They would have the ceremony in the courtyard; it was the most e
x
quisite site. They reached Missy’s quarters all too soon. Charlie gathered her into his arms one last time for the night. He toyed with her hair as his lips teased hers before kissing her. He pulled away as he felt his appea
r
ance changing. Before she shut her door, Charlie looked like his true self again.

Missy turned from the door and started. “I didn’t expect you to be here? she said.

“How was your night, dear one?” Elyen asked.

“Wonderful, Elyen, perfect. He asked me to join with him. I said yes of course,” Missy said as she started to undress with Elyen’s help.

“You will be a beautiful bride for the ceremony. I suggest we have it a few days before you leave on your quest. That will give you time to get used to living t
o
gether and to mate,” Elyen said.

“We’ve decided to wait until after I finish my quests to mate. We are still young, Elyen.”

“Yes, you are quite young for the ceremony but everyone can see you are in love.” Elyen helped Missy into her sleeping gown then sat behind her to brush the curls down from her blond locks enough to braid them. “Waiting will not be as easy for him as it will be for you. Remember that if he seems restless or impatient at times. When will you reach your sixteenth year?”

“In a few months actually, that would be three moons c
y
cles I think,” Missy said.

Elyen smiled and continued the long French braid. When she finished she stood and put the brush away.

“I will tell Vrag to start your training later. Rest as long as you like,” Elyen said as she made her way to the door.

“Elyen, wait,” Missy said.

“Yes, dear one?” Elyen asked turning to her.

“I may need your help preparing for the cerem
o
ny,” Missy started.

“Yes, of course, I will help you,” Elyen offered.