It Will Be So

"You don't think it's too...I don't know...trashy? asked Gretchen as she pulled her low cut top up.

Tessa walked over to her then pulled the neckline back down and said, "Show them girls off, Gretchen. Trust me. You look fantastic." It's always autumn in the North Woods, so Gretchen wore a low cut knit white sweater and skinny jeans with knee high boots.

Jacob came through the front door and said, "Are we ready to go? The kids went ahead and left us."

"We're good to go," said Tessa as she put her arm around Gretchen.

As the four of them walked down the cobblestone path to the outdoor dining hall, Gretchen looked up at the cliffs and woods that surrounded the city as the autumn leaves fell around them. She could smell the food being prepared from across the city and her stomach grumbled.

"Those waterfalls are just beautiful. This place is like a dream," said Gretchen.

"You haven't even seen the half of it, Gretch," said Jacob. "You have to go down to the harbor and see the boats come and go. It's so relaxing."

"Here let me give you a hand, sweetheart," Logan said as he took Tessa's hand when they got to the stairs.

"Thank you, baby," she said as he walked beside Tessa and put his hand on her back to steady her.

When they entered the dining hall, they went to a table with the other adults in their family and friends while the children sat with their friends at the smaller tables.

"Well, for those of you who don't know, this is my twin brother's daughter, Gretchen," said Tessa as Logan helped her sit down beside Jacob.

Gretchen sat beside her cousin Erik and looked to the others at the table then said, "It's nice to meet you all." When she looked towards the other end of the table she saw Damien sit down beside Nicholas and her heart began to pound. Damien looked up at her and she turned away quickly.

His eyes traveled all over Gretchen. Damien hadn't seen her dressed like that before and it was pretty shocking. Not that he didn't like what he saw, but he didn't like that everyone else saw it too. Damien realized things were different on Earth, but he didn't like this at all.

Feeling his eyes on her, Gretchen pushed her hair off her shoulders and fanned her face as her cheeks began to flush. "So, tell me what is there to do around here? " said Gretchen as she tried to take her mind off of Damien.

"Oh, you should check out the library," said Erik. "It's filled with murals and statues. And out in the woods there are a bunch of neat old ruins and waterfalls."

"Huh! Not super exciting then?" she asked.

Tessa laughed and said, "No, you kind of have to make your own adventures here, Gretch."

"You know, I think I'm all adventured up for a while," said Gretchen before she drank a sip of wine from her cup.

Logan looked down the table to Damien and gave him a nod then looked back to Gretchen and said, "Oh, I don't know. I'm sure there's something for you to get into."


After dinner, Gretchen headed towards the library so she could avoid Damien. As she inched around the room, she looked over the murals and tapestries that lined the walls then stopped at one of a man in armor striking down a dark monster.

"That's King Asnamar," said Damien as he walked across the floor slowly towards Gretchen.

Gretchen sighed and closed her eyes. She had hoped to avoid him, but deep down, her body was buzzing with electricity from the sound of his voice.

"Oh yeah? And who is this big ugly fella he's fighting?" she asked without turning to look at Damien.

"That..that is the Great Evil," he said as he came to her side with his hands clasped behind his back.

Gretchen inhaled deeply and the scent of lemon and sage filled her nose. "That's a really terrible name," she joked.

"We don't say it's name," he said. "Speaking the evil's name gives it power again. Some things are better left unsaid."

"Hmm," she said as she studied the monsters face. "I suppose you're right."

Damien looked Gretchen over and his eyes settled on the deep curve of her cleavage then he said, "Is that how every woman dresses on Earth?"

She crossed her arms and looked down over herself and said, "What's wrong with it?I think I look pretty goddamn good."

Damien said, "I didn't say I didn't like it. It's just...I guess I'll never get used to the way you Earth borns behave."

"Ouch," she said. "Do you try to make every word that comes out of your mouth sound terribly rude, or does it come naturally?"

"I'm afraid I get it quite honestly, Gretchen," he answered.

"Why are you even still here anyway? Didn't you have enough fun torturing me over the past few days? Or did you decide to stay and make a full week out of it?" she asked as she turned to face him.

"Nicholas is my grandfather, I'm visiting him," said Damien.

"Right," she said. "You and I have zero reason to even speak to each other anymore, Damien. You can just leave any time now."

"Is that what you really want?" he asked as he stepped closer and looked down in her face. For a moment Gretchen got lost in his dark brown eyes, but then her gaze fell back to the mark he wore on his neck and she quickly broke from the trance she had found herself under.

Gretchen licked her lips as the pain of envy tore across her chest then she said, "Yes, Damien, nothing would make me happier than you disappearing from my life forever," before she turned away from him and walked to the balcony that overlooked the city.

"Why?" he asked as he followed behind her.

"Come on, Damien," she groaned.

Damien stepped closer to Gretchen and said, "The things you saw, they were wrong Gretchen, I'd never do anything to hurt you. You and I, we're..."

"You and I are nothing," said Gretchen as she interrupted him. "Damien, all you've done since I met you is do things to hurt me. Just...please, leave me alone. Just go back to your stupid castle and stay away from me."

Damien blinked away to the floor and licked his lips then said, "As you wish." Then, he turned and walked towards the stairs, but paused at the threshold of the room. "I'm sorry Gretchen, forgive me," he said before he walked away.

Gretchen blew out through her mouth as a sick feeling overwhelmed her and her eyes filled with tears. She could feel Damien's disappointment and hurt and she wished that the words hadn't left her mouth. But, that mark on Damien's neck made Gretchen realize that whatever she was feeling for him couldn't be. That mark binds two souls forever and she wouldn't be caught in some love triangle she had no hope of winning.

As Damien walked down the staircase he looked back at Gretchen and he clenched his jaw tightly while he tried to push away the sting from her words. When he got to the narrow path past the city gates, Damien misted back to his castle and walked through the front doors then quickly strode to his room.

After he slammed the doors shut behind him, Damien grabbed the heavy mirror from the back of his dresser and threw it to the floor sending glass everywhere. Then, he walked to his other dresser and sent all the things on top of it crashing to the floor.

Hearing the commotion and already being informed about the things that happened, Damien's mother, Rosemary, gently knocked then entered his room. Damien sat against the wall with his hands cupping his head as he breathed heavily. Rosemary knelt beside him and said, "I'm so sorry,my darling."

"She hates me," he said.

Rosemary grabbed Damien's hands away from his face and said, "You need to give her time."

"I just...I don't understand why this is so difficult. I thought once we met everything would fall in place, but it's like she doesn't feel anything for me at all," he said.

"Your father and I didn't have an instant love connection, either, but then one day, I realized that he was the most perfect man in the world for me. Someday, Gretchen will realize that too," said Rosemary. "The Fates have made this, it will be so."