Emotions
POV: Lucien
As I had Alexandra in my arms, her words were echoing in my ear and we floated there in the silence. The only noise was the water lapping against the rocky shore of the cave. I held her tighter and hoarsely said, “How is this possible?” She spoke softly, “I don’t know but I can feel this flutter in my stomach and you can feel the heavy beating of my heart. I’m sure of it.” I buried my head into the crook of her neck, “I think I’m in love with you too, Alexandra.” She pulled away slightly from me and smiled, “I know, I think I’ve known for a little while. I’m sorry I couldn’t reciprocate until now.” I shook my head and stroked her cheek, “I know it isn’t your fault and you should never apologize for something beyond your control. I swear to you, Alexandra, that I will do whatever I can to help lift this curse so you can be free.” She laughed, “Perhaps bringing me here lifted the curse.” I sighed sadly, “Grand Pretre said there was something that was supposed to happen here but it would only be temporary. I can only guess this is what she meant.” She started to stroke my back, “I guess we should enjoy each other’s company while we still can. Let’s make some memories here, Lucien.” I smiled and nodded at her, “I agree, we don’t know when we will get to have this type of time in each other’s company.” She pushed away from me and started to splash me again and we played around in the cove.
I finally figured it was very late at night after hours of splashing and kissing, I turned to Alexandra with a serious expression. We had gotten out of the cove to rest for a little while and we sat side by side, holding hands. She had been smiling up to that point, “What is it, Lucien?” I sighed, “I think we should head back soon.” She shook her head with urgency, “Can’t we stay until sunrise? I can nap when I get back to Blackwood. I don’t want to lose this feeling.” Seeing the expression on her face broke my heart and I nodded, “I don’t want to let you go yet either. Let’s stay for a while longer. She smiled and kissed me again, “Thank you for indulging me, Lucien, as always. You’ve always been so thoughtful and mindful of me.” I shook my head, “I would move heaven and earth to make you smile, Alexandra.” She placed her head on my chest, “Can you call me Xan? I think you’re too formal with me sometimes.” I chuckled, “Whatever you wish of me, my lady and it shall be done.” She laughed, “No but seriously enough with the formalities.” I sighed, knowing that someday very soon I would have to address her with her honorifics, “Noted but you realize I cannot play favorites by calling you that in other company. It’s fine here at the retreat or when we’re alone.” She nodded, “I understand that but for now…” I stroked her damp hair, “Of course, Xan.” She pulled her head away from my chest and smiled.
POV: Jess
I was in awe of the sight in front of me, Derek had set up strings of lights around the trees around the one place in the world that I wanted to come to. I used to tell Derek when we were kids that I had always wanted to come up here to wish in the pool at the bottom of the Lycan Falls. When I saw the sight and realized where we were, I couldn’t believe that he had remembered that conversation a long time ago. He told me, “Jess, when I’m all grown up into a big strong man, I will take you there so you can get your wish.” The memory refreshed in my mind, he had made me a throne of firewood at Chalshin Manor and declared me the queen of the land of Derek. I giggled at the memory which prompted Derek to look down, “What are you thinking?” I looked up at him and smiled, “I was remembering when I was crowned a queen when I was little.” Derek blushed and looked away, obviously embarrassed by the actions of a much smaller version of himself. It was amazing to me that I could see the sight. He had always come off as a cool and confident man that nothing could unhinge him. I had wondered if I was the first woman that he took on a date to see it. He led me over to the picnic blanket spread out under a tree that had a heart carved into it like you would see in those old-time movies back in Terre. I didn’t think this was a tradition that had made it here in Vellum. As I looked closer, I could see it was empty and frowned. Derek looked at the expression on my face, “What’s wrong?” I was staring at the heart, “Someone went through the trouble of carving that heart but never finished their expression of love. It’s kind of sad.” He shrugged, “Perhaps whoever did that isn’t done yet. Perhaps he or she will come back up here someday and finish it with his or her love.”
I felt some weird sort of feelings emanating from him that I couldn’t quite place. I shrugged it off for now and would store it in my memory to analyze later. He pulled out some pasta for us and a salad. He also had them pack some lycan punch. Lycan punch was very much like rum punch in Terre, it was a mixture of a fruity beverage and a hard liquor. If a human had consumed some it would make them drunk quickly but lycans, due to their physical prowess and metabolism, it was a buzz drink. We drank some as we sat and enjoyed a nice dinner and pleasant conversation. This was the most time that I was able to sit with Derek and enjoy a conversation alone since we were kids. I had been taken from Vellum when I was just turning thirteen to go live in Terre because the King had mandated my father to go live amongst the humans for a time before he was able to get close enough to the government figures to make Vellum known. I had resented the humans at that time but living amongst them, I was able to appreciate how fragile and unique they were. The time with them helped me to develop the empath skills that had laid dormant until then. I thought I just wasn’t blessed enough to inherit that skill from my mother, it was so easy to develop those skills around humans as they really felt their emotions. I was grateful that I developed them so that I could feel the absolute adoration that Derek was feeling at that time.
We finished our meal and Derek sprung to his feet, “Okay, time for you to make your wish.” I widened my eyes, “What?” He smiled and held out the specific coin that would work to make the wish in the pool, “I even brought the coin, I remember you said you had a specific wish in mind. Let’s take you over.” He pulled me to my feet and he escorted me to the pool then handed me the coin. I closed my eyes and said, “Great lycan, please make my wish come true.” I flicked the coin into the pool and it glowed a beautiful bluish shimmer. Lycan Falls were blessed by the Great Witch as a gift to lycans for saving her life from the wilderness. She stated that when she blessed this pool that those who come here with a pure wish in their heart will have it come true. I had hoped beyond all hope that it would someday come true. I looked up at Derek, “Thank you for bringing me here.” He smiled down at me, “A promise is a promise and I wanted this to be special. So what did you wish for?” I giggled, “You know I can’t tell you.” I honestly didn’t want to tell him that one day he would decide that I was the only one in his heart. The sad truth was that he was also in love with Alexandra and he couldn’t be with me if he wasn’t sure. With her not knowing her own feelings due to the curse, who knew if she would fall in love with him. We needed to solve her curse not only for herself but for everyone in love with her. We were all left in the fray of not knowing, she was the catalyst for almost everyone in our circle but Meldon and Alesha. We spent a little while longer dancing to the lovely music that he had arranged then decided to go home. I looked over my shoulder at the sight of the falls knowing that this place would always hold a special place in my heart and I smiled.
POV: Lucien
Alexandra and I lay on the rocky shore of the cove having conversations about her life in Terre, my growing up as royalty here in Vellum. I had learned that she was sappy for old things, like old books, old music, and something called movies. I looked at her with furrowed brows at the word, “What’s a movie?” She thought for a little while, “Do you have theater and plays here?” I nodded, “Of course, it is one of my favorite forms of entertainment. I will let you in on a small secret, one of the events coming up will involve the theater.” Her face lit up when I mentioned that, “I love that! Anyhow, movies are basically like a play but it isn’t live. They have these things in Terre called cameras that freeze the actions of the actors and rapidly move them to create something that you can watch over and over again rather than just once like a play.” I found this contraption that she was describing to be fascinating and had silently wondered if that was one of the things we could import from Terre when we finally negotiated a trade with their leaders. She continued, “One of my favorite old movies is one called The Prince and The Showgirl. It stars Terre’s iconic actress Marilyn Monroe. I think she was so often misunderstood and she tragically died by her own hand.” I looked at her confused, “Why would she do that?” She shrugged, “No one knows if it was intentional or on accident.” Up until this point, her face was so jovial when she spoke about the old things that she loved but this particular human-made her sad. I grabbed her hand, “What is it that has made you so sad, Xan?” She looked up at me, “Oh I was thinking about how she had many men in her life but I wondered if she truly loved anyone before she left the world. It makes me wonder how many poor souls leave their bodies without having ever truly loved in their lives. I feel like we, you and I, are so fortunate that we have found each other to feel the way we do.”
With that, the sun started to peek over the horizon which made her wince. She looked me in the eyes, I could see the tears welling up in her eyes as she realized it was time to go back to the retreat so we could pack up to go home. She threw her arms around me and buried her head in my chest, “I don’t want to leave, Lucien. I can’t leave you to feel the way you do alone. It hurts to know that once we leave her, the joy that I have found in my heart will leave me.” I leaned my head on top of hers, “I will keep love in my heart for the both of us until we find out who it is that thinks he can steal it from you.” She squeezed tighter, “Be careful though Lucien. Knowing he has warned you before, I don’t want you to be in danger.” She pulled away from me and I wiped the tears from her cheeks, “I will try for you, Xan.” She nodded and helped me to gather the blanket and picnic items that we had left on the ground. We placed it within the boat and loaded ourselves up into the boat. She tried to suppress a quiet sob as we pulled away from the cove and I knew she was trying to maintain a brave face. Once we had gotten clear from the cove, her tears stopped and she wiped them away from her cheeks and smiled at me. I knew then that her curse had come back.
