The Bride of the Immortal (50 page)

Mairin’s gentle nod helped him to push forward. This time he intentionally swept Vivian’s wife off her feet, lifting her up by putting one hand under her legs and the other behind her back. It offered him relief to feel Mairin’s arms around his neck. It wasn’t her weight that was such a burden on him, but the fear that he had misunderstood the gesture or that his courage wouldn’t last.

Not unlike watching himself in a dream he carried Mairin towards the bed. She did nothing to object, but the mere sight of what had been prepared for the wedding pair caused Adrijan to change his mind. He turned and directed his steps towards the spacious balcony, realising that for now it was the farthest he could get away from what was rekindling this disturbing feeling of jealousy.

As he carefully moved through the narrow door, Mairin drew her legs closer to the body and held on tight to support him, performing another gesture that helped him to keep up his spirits.

The same starry sky that illuminated the bedroom also extended out on the balcony, yet Adrijan’s steps no longer triggered the extravagant ripple effect on the floor. Nervously he proceeded towards his destination, continuously fighting his uneasiness.

Despite his efforts he could neither forget about Mairin’s almost complete bareness nor the unfathomable nature of his own intentions. He lowered himself onto the sway and inhaled deeply, still expecting Mairin to resist. Gently and very cautiously he put her down on his lap and was delighted to notice that the only change resulting from his actions was a faint rosy shine that had appeared on her cheeks.

Considering her feelings he was wondering if he should offer her to stop but Mairin shyly snuggled against him and rested her head on his shoulder, once again keeping him from suggesting something he would have surely regretted.

Adrijan was tense and for the hundredth time tried to ascertain Mairin’s well-being. He noticed her faint shivering and drew a blanket that he discovered on the swing over her. Only then, when he thought she felt more comfortable, covered and warmed by the duvet, he turned his face towards hers, set on finally going for the kiss he had denied himself for that long.

Mairin slightly raised her head to look at him, her eyes big with anticipation and sparkling like the artificial stars of Vivian’s bedroom creation.

Slowly Adrijan lessened the distance between them, fighting to quench the lingering fear of rejection. The moment he thought there was nothing to come between them anymore, Mairin raised her hand and put the tips of her elegant pale fingers on his lips.

“I really do love you,” she whispered. “Being this near to you feels like a dream. You wanting me near… it’s a miracle.”

He thought to understand her feelings, his being not much different. Like a withering plant water, he absorbed the words he had longed to hear. However pleasant her words were, he was unable to welcome the interruption.

“I-“

“Adrijan,” she cut him off. “It’s not for ‘some weird reason’ like I said. I’ve come to love your kindness and your strength but also the insecurities you prefer to hide. They help me feel at ease – to make me think I’m not the only one having them.

Don’t worry though, I do realise that you’re much older than me… You’ve seen a lot more, experienced a lot more… You’re capable of a lot more.”

“But-“ Adrijan wanted to hear what she had to say, but couldn’t it wait a moment longer?

Mairin shook her head.

“Please let me say this as long as I have the courage to do so.”

Adrijan gave up and Mairin took a deep breath.

“I was enthralled by your voice when I heard you sing in the Sanctuary. Perhaps I was even earlier. I remember how it soothed me back at the bungalow…”

She smiled, reminiscing.

“When we were running away from Sunflower Garden I was disappointed, thinking that you were not my Prince Charming. I’ve been wrong, I’ve realised that, long before I committed myself to marrying Vivian. He may be the master of
Mondstein
castle, but you are the one who rules over my heart.”

Mairin paused, giving Adrijan enough time and opportunity to feel embarrassed and also increasingly bad for his impatience.

“And here I am, compared to you not much more than a child, who can’t do anything else than making the wrong decisions when it’s important.” A sad smile crossed her face. “Please, if you do this out of kindness, then…”

Finally he realised that he wasn’t the only one having doubts that had to be silenced. Adrijan grasped Mairin’s hand that was still separating them. He threaded his fingers through hers, gently touched them with his lips, kissed her knuckles, the back of her hand, the lower side of her slender wrist and eventually put her hand on his shoulder.

Then he gently pulled her close to wipe away every trace of Vivian’s kiss.

Vivian sank back. The blue glow had subsided and had taken a portion of his energy with it.

Engelin jumped up from the chair, rejoicing in the results of the hour glass’s magic.

“It worked! It really worked!” she kept repeating, dancing around the room.

Exhausted the master of
Mondstein
castle rose from the ground. After the incidents of the day he felt he had all the right in the world to be tired.

“I will take you back to your room then, queen dance-a-lot.”

The girl slowed down her spinning immediately, completing the rotation once she had turned towards him. The look on her face bestowed upon her the aura of an abandoned kitten in a water puddle and could by no means be ignored.

“Oh, what is it now for God’s sake?” he asked her peevishly.

“Can’t I stay with you a little longer?”

“No,” Vivian replied sternly and gently pushed the girl forward, out of the infirmary.

If he had been this bothersome 700 years ago it was no longer a mystery, why his father had avoided him.

“Pleaaaase,” she begged him folding her hands in front of her body in a praying gesture. “I’ll be good!” Engelin threw another heart-breaking glance at him. For some reason he could not resist the girl.

“Alright,” he sighed. “How about some cake?” Perhaps a considerable portion of sugar was the answer to all his problems.

Mairin was overwhelmed by a sweet feeling of relief as their lips met. Adrijan’s kiss was tender yet carrying a convincing passion. After a short moment – and clearly too soon – he released her and forced her out of her dreamlike state. Shyly Mairin glanced at him, trying to find out why he had stopped. Instead of a reason she discovered a sheepish smile playing about Adrijan’s face.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly and Mairin hurried to shake her head.

“Did you know that your lips taste like happiness?”

His sweet and silly words conjured a smile on her face. Adrijan raised his hand and softly caressed her hair. Mairin felt drawn to his touch and nuzzled her head against his palm, just like Therry had often done to her. Excitement set the pace for the rhythm of her heartbeat and she found herself appreciably struggling to stay moderately calm.

“It’s for you that I held back, because I was certain that this old man could never make you happy. It’s for you that I denied myself this promise of a safe haven I had thought never even to discover. I can resist no longer, but I do wonder if I’ll make you very unhappy.”

She longed for him, wanted him to continue to talk with his irresistible voice. The only unhappiness she could think of was having to be without him.

“Adrijan…”

There was a better way to tell him than with words. Mairin looked into Adrijan’s eyes. He silently returned her gaze as she moved closer to him to convey her feelings with a kiss. Their eyes remained open, affixed to each other’s, even after their lips touched. This time Adrijan kept her near and eventually she lowered her eyelids to allow herself to indulge in what he had called the taste of happiness.

“Another?” Vivian frowned. “You’re absolutely certain you want to eat another piece of cake?”

Engelin nodded, still chewing on the last bite of sweet delight.

How could a young girl possibly eat that much?

“Alright, little queen.”

Vivian sighed, cutting another piece for her. His own had remained on the plate in front of him almost untouched.

“I hope you won’t be sick,” he grumbled.

Engelin shook her head, showing him a big grin. He still couldn’t understand why he was putting up with her.

“Perhaps you’re not such a bad person after all,” she said with a full mouth.

The master of
Mondstein
castle took a sip of coffee.

“I am a bad person,” he mumbled. “I even killed the only person I’ve ever loved.”

The girl poked around in her food before replying to his thoughtless comment.

“Who was
he
?”

Vivian cursed himself for his loose tongue.

“Eat up and I’ll show you to
her
.”

“How can you do that if she’s-“

“She’s at a secret place almost nobody knows.”

Sometimes a little ghost story was all it took to scare a child into silence.

Engelin looked at him with apparent doubt in her eyes but asked no further questions until her plate was cleared. Satisfied Vivian got up and walked to the adjacent pantry to put away the cake. When he exited the small room, Engelin had already put the dishes into the sink and was waiting for him, standing straight like a soldier in front of their commanding officer, diminishing his hopes that she had forgotten about his invitation.

“Let’s go then, my queen,” he said.

Adrijan hoped the night would last forever. As long as Mairin was this near he could lock out his worries. Their breath was heavy, exchanged words never more than a whisper. Kisses were given as if they were their very essence of life. He wanted to continue but he also wanted to proceed.

Suddenly Mairin gently pushed herself away from him. There was something she wanted to say but the words didn’t seem to leave her mouth without difficulty.

“Aren’t you… warm?” she asked.

“Warm?”

Warm
didn’t nearly describe the heat he was bearing with. He was still dressed and even without Mairin’s blanket her presence alone would have been enough to make him feel like a meteor right after its impact.