Chapter Twenty-One:
Marium and Altaire’s Date
The
Priest and Priestess were awakened by the chirping of the birds and the bright
morning sun. Marium looked up and smiled at Altaire from the bottom of her
heart.
His
brown, unkempt bangs were out of his eyes, and he bent his head down to kiss
her lips tenderly. They sat there for awhile, just gazing into one another’s
eyes, as if they’d been searching for each other forever, and had finally been
reunited.
Altaire’s
bright, green eyes shone with a strange passion and love, and Marium’s reddish
brown eyes were open and trusting. Finally, they knew that the others would be
waking up very soon, and they had to separate.
Marium
saw that Faede was in a strict and serious mood as soon as he’d woken up. He
didn’t look her straight in the eye, and tended to avoid her all together. She
knew that was to be expected, she had really said some terrible things to him.
Cadillac
was in a serious mood too, but he wasn’t as gloomy as Faede. Jonah tried to
keep the mood from getting too grave, and Placid was completely falling apart
from nervousness. He checked his herb pouch every five minutes, making sure he
had plenty of cure potions and spells-in-a-bottle.
Marium
was as set for this whole death and decay scene as she would ever be. “Hey, my
goal is to go in as a team, and come out as a team.”
Faede
smirked, an old, evil Faede kind of smirk. Marium felt her real emotions for
him. It was a weird, alien type of feeling. She’d never felt it for anyone but
Faede, though. That was for sure.
Once
everyone was ready, Marium told Cadillac about her and Altaire’s plans. “Is
that alright? Or do you think we have more important things to do?”
The
squirrel mage shook his head. “No, you two go have fun. Try to be back before
it’s dark, though. We have to get to bed early tonight.”
“Got
it, Cad.” Marium smiled, and turned to leave. She collided instantly with a
familiar man. He was wearing a baggy, silky, white shirt, long sleeved and
loosely buttoned down the front. His pants were made from a material that
looked like denim, but it was red, and it clung to the man’s legs like it was
made especially for him.
The
man was tall, he had long legs, nice shoulders, and cute, little, pointy tipped
ears. His brown hair was short, and his bangs were pulled back behind his ears,
showing his bright, heavenly green eyes to the world…
“Altaire…?”
Marium’s voice caught in her throat. She was so used to the modest, heavily
cloaked Altaire, that he looked like an entirely different person dressed
normally.
“Is
it too much? I just wanted to look normal, so that no one would stop me and beg
me to place my blessing on them.” He fidgeted tugging at the sleeves of his
shirt. Marium smiled warmly, and wound an arm through one of his.
“You
look great. I didn’t even recognize you. You should really come out of your
cloak more often.” She giggled, and the walked out of the inn, arm in arm.
Cadillac smiled after them.
“That’s
the way it should be.”
Altaire
took Marium to the neighboring town of Gendith to just drift around the shops.
“I’ve met a guy that actually likes to shop. This is so perfect.”
They
went to a cookie shop, and Marium instantly thought of Cadillac. She bought a
dozen chocolate chips, which she had to tell them the exact recipe, and a cream
cheese pie, which went under a completely different name on Pallas.
He
took her to a charm shop, to look at the strange wards and talisman that the
people of Pallas created. Power emanated from each one, and Marium couldn’t
bring herself to even touch them.
The
most memorable moment was when they went to a jewelry shop and Marium saw a
beautiful red jeweled pendant, which she fell in love with instantly. “Oh look,
isn’t it divine?”
Altaire
glanced over her shoulder at the stone and nodded. “It’s beautiful. Do you want
it?”
Marium
blushed. “Aw, things like this I could never afford. Besides, I only have some
bits stored up, not even enough to buy this.”
The
laughter that shone in Altaire’s eyes sparkled and made Marium wonder what he
was planning.
Later,
Marium was searching a clothing store, and she suddenly lost track of Altaire.
She started to look around for him, and suddenly, he was right were he used to
be.
He
was carrying a small box, which made Marium wonder what was in it. “Where’d you
go? Why didn’t you take me with you?”
Altaire
just smiled at her, and put the box in his pocket. “You’ll see. There are some
things that must be kept private.”
“Oh,
I see.” Marium said, half heartedly. Altaire just nodded and led her into the
next shop.
By
the end of their excursion, Marium had purchased something for each one of her
friends. Content as she’d ever be, Marium began to walk back to the
Burmingham’s inn with Altaire.
“Hehe!
Look everyone! I got stuff for you!” she burst into the inn’s room, chipper and
bright. She handed Cadillac the bag of cookies, Jonah got some magic dust that
would enchant his smithy hammer with any elemental attribute he desired, and
Placid got a special talisman to make him calm and alert. Marium looked down at
the last two items she bore.
“This
is for Faede.” She put it in his hand. “I couldn’t help it, I saw it and knew
it was for you.”
Slowly,
Faede opened the box and peered into it. He closed it without showing anyone
else. “I see. Thank you, it will be very helpful to me.”
Marium
smiled her joyous smile, and held up her last box. “This is for Altaire, but
I’ll give it to him later.”
Placid
pulled the talisman necklace around his neck and took a deep breath. “Oh, this
is great, I don’t have to be so jumpy anymore. You’re a lifesaver, little one.”
“I
try!” she exclaimed, then looked outside. “It’s getting dark already. I wonder
if there’s anything I forgot to do.”
“I
think that I’ll go take LW for a walk.” Marium scooped up her furry friend from
his place on the ground. “Thank you so much for watching him, Placid. Hope he
didn’t bug you too much.”
“Nope,
he was an angel. But he wouldn’t eat anything, so he might be hungry.” The
bluish-green haired medic told her, snapping his medicine bag up. Marium eyed
the weasel creature.
“Okay.
I suppose I’ll feed him too, then.” Upon hearing the word ‘feed’, LW scurried
up her arm and climbed up to rest on her head. There he sat, like the king of
the world, from his throne on Marium’s head. “I guess I’ll be back in awhile.”
Altaire
followed her out, since he couldn’t possibly let her walk around Burmingham
alone this close to night.
The
walk was uneventful, but Marium was just happy to have Altaire nearby. At the
end of the journey, they paused outside the inn. “We’ve spent quite awhile in
this town.”
“Yes.”
Was Altaire’s verbal reply. “I don’t think
I’ll miss it, though. I liked the temple better. Marium… tomorrow, we might
not…”
“Sh,
I know.” Marium leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. She rested her
head comfortably on his chest, letting his strength flow into her.
Altaire
wasn’t going to be quieted so easily. “No, Marium, there’s some thing I have to
ask you now, because there might not be another chance.”
“Sounds
important. What is it, Altaire?” Marium’s eyes were wide and questioning.
Altaire gulped back his nervousness and continued.
“Marium, when we were apart, I had a
lot of time to think. And I thought, may be, the reason you stayed with Faede
wasn’t because of the tie. Maybe you really loved him, and wanted to stay with
him. And may be what you felt for me was just a natural attraction since we are
the embodiments of the gods.”
“I was worried that you didn’t love me
of your own free will. I was beginning to believe that I had dreamt the whole
thing up, and that you weren’t real. It was very unsettling.” Altaire reached into his pant pockets and withdrew the small box.
Marium was growing more and more mystified by the circumstances being laid
before her.
“When Jonah said that you have to
weigh out your choices, I don’t want you to have to chose between me and your
world. I want to be where ever you are. No matter what.” Altaire commented, then he opened the box, carefully. He stared,
mesmerized by the sparkling object that was held within.
“That’s
impossible, isn’t it?” Marium asked, taken aback. “You have people here that
need you…”
Altaire
gave her a helpless look. “No one ever
asks what I want. I’ve been giving myself to everyone else, without asking,
without thinking, of ever receiving anything back. When I’m with you, I don’t
feel obligated to give anything. We’re content with just having each other.”
The
priestess sighed, and closed her eyes, trying to understand what he was saying.
“I know, but we still end up giving each other everything we have.”
“You know what I’m talking about then?” Altaire seemed eased by this discovery. “On
Pallas, in one culture, my people’s culture, when two people love each other
enough, they aren’t afraid to share their entire selves. There’s nothing for
them to hide.”
“Sounds
a lot like us, only we didn’t really have a choice to begin with.”
Altaire
nodded. “Well, in that culture, they
didn’t have much choice either. I think, somehow, you are one of my people… or
have the blood of one of the people in my race.”
“Fascinating.”
“Yes, it is. And since you’re from another world, I
wonder how that’s possible. Maybe one of your ancestors came from Pallas, and
that’s how you were tied to this world.”
Altaire shook himself out of his thoughts. “But,
to us Anglicans, when the two that are naturally tied come of age, they pick a
stone to have made into pendants. To show they are united in soul.”
There
was a stillness in Marium’s heart, and a quiver in her voice. “How do they know
they are of age?”
The
priest smiled. “Well, let’s
see. My coming of age was when I was training with Cadillac… I’d bet he would
know. In any event, I think you’ve reached that age. But we are not completely
joined in souls. We can’t be, not until we revive the god and goddess.”
Marium
was slightly disturbed by this. “If we aren’t completely united in souls now,
then when we are, how close will we be? We can already tell what we’re
thinking. I don’t know what comes after that step.”
“It depends on the strength of will between those
two people. Marium, your will is stronger than anyone else’s on this planet by
itself. Mine is pretty big as well, since I am the priest of Yang. We will be
unimaginably close by the time we are fully tied.”
“I
get it.” She spoke, breaking the silence as soon as she could. Her voice had
continuously failed her since the being of their talk, and she had no idea why.
“Then, my asking this is only natural, since we are
both of age, and undoubtedly purely attached in spirit.” He took a deep breath and tried to summon up the strength he needed to
perform his task.
Right
in front of the inn, Altaire dropped to his knees before Marium. Even on his
knees, he was still quite tall compared to her, but she didn’t notice that. She
was too busy wondering what he was doing.
It
sort of resembled when a man proposed to a woman back on earth. Only, Altaire wasn’t on one knee. He was on
both, almost like he was about to receive her blessing. And he didn’t reach for
her hand, he opened the box instead.
“This
is to seal my oath to you, as your natural,” he put an obvious emphasize on the natural part, “soul mate. It is
to symbolize our bond and confirm our future. Together, as one soul separated
in two bodies.”
Marium’s
confusion melted away when she heard his little speech. It was a proposal,
plain and simple. This was the way Altaire’s kind… the Anglicans, proposed to
the girls they loved; their soul mates.
“I…
dunno what to say, exactly.” Marium wrung her hands together, timidly. “I
haven’t really had many proposals in my life, Altaire. And I’m not from your
land. I don’t know what to do.”
His
eyes, which were very visible as of the moment, glittered with hope, and
hesitation. “I’ll shut my
eyes, this way it will be easier for you to decide. If you accept, then… kneel
down right where you are, in front of me. If you cannot accept, then go into
the inn, and I won’t put you through this again.”
Marium
watched as he closed his eyes. Oh, dear
goddess, what should I do? I love him, oh I love him with all my heart and
soul, and he knows it, too. But will it
change my relationships with everyone else? And what about when I have to go
back to earth?
She
almost walked into the inn just to think it over, but then realized how stupid
she was being. Altaire was still kneeling in his place, and he had begun to
tremble from waiting and anxiety. Without another thought, Marium fell to her
knees in front of him.
He
obviously didn’t know she had chosen, and Marium couldn’t find her voice any
where. So she soothingly reached down and intertwined her hands with his.
“How’s that?”
Altaire’s
eyes snapped open. He truly hadn’t expected her to accept, since he knew
everything she was working for went against it. How would she go home with him
there to burden her? And what about her two friends, how would they react to
their friend suddenly appearing with a fiancée?
“You
don’t look entirely thrilled, Altaire.” She said, unsteadily. Altaire was
pulled out of his reverent amazement to find Marium gazing into his eyes, a
slightly uneasy expression plastered on her face.
“Marium,
my one and only love, there isn’t anything in Pallas that I wouldn’t do to stay
like this with you eternally.” Altaire took the two tear shaped, red
jeweled pendants out of the box and placed one in Marium’s hand.
“Am
I supposed to put this one on you?” she asked, unclasping the hinge. Altaire
smiled approvingly at his fiancée by free will. “Alright, I think I’m getting
the hang of this.”
Altaire
bent his head for her to place the pendant around his neck. As soon as he
managed to clasp the hinge on Marium’s necklace, he was caught off guard by the
force of another surprise. Marium threw her arms around his shoulders and
planted a kiss, firmly and overwhelmingly, on his lips.
Altaire caught on quickly, and slipped his two strong arms
around her waist to make the embrace complete.