Chapter 4

 

 

 

Chapter Four

I sat there, elbows on the table, head in my hands for a long time, just staring at my empty plate while Thomas ate. I could not believe what he said. I almost wanted to cry, I could feel the tightness in my chest, my eyes hot as if tears were coming, but they didn’t. I shook my head slightly in disbelief, looking up at Thomas, “You know she means to make an example of me?” I blurted out before I even really thought about what I was saying. “Never in the history of our grotto has a runaway been allowed to come back.” I was straining to keep my voice hushed. It wasn’t exactly something I wanted to announce to the world, but all of a sudden if seemed as though my volume button was broken, as an edge of excited anger found its way into my voice.

Thomas quickly sucked the mussel down out off the shell he was holding, “No she doesn’t, she’s your grandmother, she loves you, she just wants you to come home, she’s giving you the chance to do just that. “ A strained smile crossed his lips, “Besides, if you come home with me, then we can break off my engagement to your sister, who I don’t love, my heart belongs to you it always has.”

“It’s because she’s my grandmother she can do this, who better to make an example of than your own granddaughter, who by the way she was never that fond of anyway.” I sighed heavily shaking my head, “And, you know as well as I do there are only two ways to break off your engagement.” I looked up at him sideways “One of which will never work because I’m a bit young for my first fertility cycle, and the other won’t work because I haven’t got the power or heart to go up against my sister to challenge her for your hand in marriage.”

Thomas stopped eating, looking up from his plate, studying me for several long moments before he spoke. “I know you’re too young for your first fertility cycle, about sixteen years too young if I remember my math correctly.” He put his elbows up on the table, clasping his hands, thoughtfully resting his perfect chin on his thumbs as he looked at me, “What do you mean you don’t have the heart or the power to challenge her?” His eyes tightened, and his jaw tensed slightly “Do you not love me anymore, would you rather I be with your sister?” He dropped his hands to the table, and started to fidget slightly with his fork, his eyes lowered, “ You were so quick to leave at seventeen, to leave the grotto and me behind, come here to start a ’new life’, you didn’t even say good bye to me, or anything.” He sighed and looked up at me, the anger and hurt in his eyes were unmistakable, “Is it that you don’t love me Amy, or is it something else?”

“I do love you, I have loved you since before I even knew what love was, since the day I was barely able to walk, we have always been together,” I felt the saltiness of the tears starting to sting my eyes, I tried to blink away the tears unsuccessfully, “Remember, you left me first, I was alone. My sister had already left to study at the grotto to become a priestess, then you left to join the royal guard, I was alone, with a baby brother who was barely able to swim, let alone walk, I wasn’t going to stick around and be my mother’s built in babysitter.” the tears busted through my attempts to hold them back, small trails were forming on my face as they ran down my cheeks though my mascara. “I thought you left without so much as a goodbye because you didn’t love me.” I said accusingly. “There was no place for me at the grotto, I wasn’t in line to be ‘trained’ for Siren,, I had no healing skills, no magic other than my own personal illusion, I couldn’t even make my tail appear if you remember, I can’t challenge her, my grandmother knows this, for me to do so would be certain death. You will end up wed to my sister anyway, and I will be made an example of.” I picked up my napkin and started daubing at my eyes, though saving the make up was beyond me at this point.

The barmaid came toddling back to our table, carrying a tray with what appeared to be two large baskets lined with cloth napkins. We each moved our plates from the mussels, she sat one down in front of each of us, with a fresh setting of silverware and two bottles, one of malt vinegar, the other seemed to be a squeeze bottle of tartar sauce. “Is there anything’ else I can get for ya?”

I looked up at her, trying to smile through the tears, “No thank you, I think I’m good for now.” Thomas shook his head; she wandered off back towards the kitchen, bar area.

I looked down at my basket, then back up at Thomas, reaching for my purse I got up from the table, tears still streaming down my cheeks. I threw my napkin down on the table, turned, starting for the restroom, Thomas got up starting to follow, but stopped in his tracks when I picked up the pace. I didn’t want to be near him right now, I need a few moments to regain my composure, to wipe my eyes, and try to regain my dignity. How could he not realize he just offered me the one thing in the world I had wanted since I was old enough to remember, yet it was still out of reach for me?

My sister was fifteen years my senior, she was about to come into her first fertility cycle, father wanted her married to My Thomas. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t breath, all I could do is cry, I stumbled into the ladies room, there were a couple of women standing at the mirror talking about something, they took one look at me, they cleared the room, guess I just looked that upset like I wanted to be alone at the moment.

I stood at the mirror, and looked at myself, to see how puffy and red my eyes were getting, I washed my face, and redid my make as best I could, then I just stood there, taking some deep breaths, and trying to think, trying to comprehend why my grandmother would do this, allow this to happen. I knew I’d never been her favorite, probably part of the reason I left in the first place. But to think she was going to “let” me come back home, it was beyond reasoning, was she starting to show her two-hundred years this quickly by going off the deep end. On the other hand, was this just a ploy to set me up as an example and literally kill two birds, or fish if you will, with one stone? On the other hand, in my sister’s case an arsenal of spells and combat training I had no hope of surviving.

I locked the outer door to the ladies room, and slipped out of my skirt, thigh highs, and panties, concentrating as hard as I could, I tried, I tried to make my tail form. If I couldn’t even make my tail form, I had no hope of confronting my sister. The pain came, it burned, and it felt as if the lower half of my body were melting away in hot lava. My back arched as I withered in pain, I wanted to scream, and it hurt so badly. I lay there on the floor naked from the waist down, my legs trying to meld together into my tail, all of a sudden, the pain was gone, and it was over. I sat there, drawing my knees to my chest bawling my eyes out, I had no tail, no beautiful, lavender scaled tail. The small band of scales that formed at my waist, when I came into puberty were still there, they told me my tail was to be lavender -silver, but I had never seen my tail, I had never been able to form my tail, and thus I’d never been to the high court of the grotto.

I managed to pull myself together; got redressed fixing my make-up yet again, my eyes even more red and puffy now, when there came a knock at the door. It was Thomas’ deep masculine voice; there was great concern in it. “Are you ok Princess?” came franticly from behind the door, as he tried to push it open only to find it locked. “Yes, I’m fine,” I managed through the choked back sobs, with that I unlocked the door, stepping back out into the barroom.

Thomas reached to comfort me, and I let him. It is just something that I’ve always let him do is comfort me; I both loved him and hated him for it at the moment though. “Are you up for finishing lunch or would you rather leave, maybe go someplace else?” he asked, the edge of concern still in his voice.

“I think I’d rather just go home, would you like to come to my apartment?” I asked quietly, still holding back even more tears that wanted to fall.

Thomas looked at me seriously, softly touching my face, turning it up to his own. “Would you like me to come see your apartment, or would you rather be alone” came painfully from his lips “I don’t want to intrude, I didn’t mean to cause this, I had no idea you were going to take it this hard Amy, I am truly sorry.”

I looked up at him straining to try to smile, “You came all this way to tell me you love me, that you want me to be your mate, now you ask if I want you to come to my apartment?” I half-heartedly laughed, “I think we’re a little beyond that point now.”

He wrapped his strong arms around me, “I am so truly sorry Amy, I just love you so much, and I don’t want to spend my life without you.”

We headed towards the door, when it hit me; we hadn’t paid the bill “Wait! What about the check?”

“Already taken care of my dear.” he reached down, slipping his hand into mine, escorting me out the door, being sure to hold it open for me to exit first. He hailed a cab, “Where are we headed Amy, I’ve never been to your apartment.”

“Parker Towne House,” I said, off we went.