A Place Beyond All Kingdoms

Sinking To His Level

Chapter 23

Fay:

The light shines through the trees. Gleaming down on me, Nick sits not too far away on a rock. Staring in at the ground, his big red eyes. If his hair was black he'd live in the Kingdom of Darkness.

Hios bulcky shoulder pushed back, his broad chest pushed forward. A muscular waist holds together his upper and lower body. Long legs stretched out in front of.

Toes pointed towards the sky. His tan skin shimmers along with his hair in the sun light. His full pink lips in a tight grimance. Those full pink lips...

No wonder she loved you so much.

"Excuse me?" His eyes flicker to me.

"What? I didn't say anything."

"Yeah you did, you said 'no wonder she loved you so much'."

Busted.

"Busted for what?"

"How did you know-" but I already knew the answer, I was saying it all out loud.

"Oh. Sorry, I was just-"

"Thinking out loud?"

"Yeah. Exactly that."

Who needs Jared when I can have Nick?

No! He belongs to Jasmine. Actually, not if Jasmine's dead... then-

I can't steal a dead girls boyfriend! But wait. She's dead. She doesn't need him and if I want him...

"Thank you, for that, by the way."

"For what?" I ask.

"For defending me against Dew and them. They've never really liked me."

"Yeah, the don't seem to like me very much either."

"They don't seem to like anyone very much. Even Jasmine, but I love her- I mean loved her. Well, actually I still do, but she's gone..." he catches his breath. "Because of me!" He throws his head in his hands and begins sobbing.

I begin to rub his back trying to comfort him, but he pushes me away. "Don't touch me! I don't wanna be touched by anyone... except- except-" he cries harder.

"I'm sorry." He continues crying.

I stand up and walk toward the others.

One day Nick, you will be mine.

  ~                                                   ~                                                   ~

It's now dark outside. Nick has fully recovered from his breakdown. I hate myself for those thoughts I had... he belongs to Jasmine in life and death.

I'm only lonely from mine and Jared's breakup. But soon Jared and I will see eye to eye, and we'll slowly be ready again...

I hope.

I never apologized to Jared but, I'm not the only one who should apologize. I feel so selfish, thinking of myself when one of my friends had just died, but, it's that very selfishness that makes me human.

Everyone else is ignoring Nick and I, Nick because he's Nick, me because no defended him.

To be honest, though, I really don't like Nick. I just think he's attractive and I potty him. Not like I want to marry him. I probably won't marry anyone, actually, I'll probably die alone, all alone, by myself...

I look up Nick's stareing at me. With the same look of sadness on his face, that I must have too. I stare back at him, gloom growing larger inside me. 

Slowly our faces move close, both turned to the side. One once our lips touch, I can almost taste the sadness on his lips. His lips nare soft, but cold.

A shadow flickers in front of my face. My eyes open, to see a silhouette. I almost pull us apart, put his fingers massage my scalp. And I don't want to.

It takes me a second to realize who it is, but slowly I put the pieces together from her appearance.

The hour glass figure, olive skin, the emerald dress, with a slit showing off a toned leg. The curves of the waist, the large hips.

The muscular arms. A high heel that matches the dress perfectly, her perfectly formed neck, a blemish free face. I never realized before how perfect she is. But I never noticed, the glowing of her skin and emerald eyes.

Once stone cold with death, now almost as if the color is moving inside the scull, bursting with life. She's even more pretty. Her lips still full and a light red.

Her sheek bones barely showing through slightly chubby cheeks, but still beautiful. Her dark brown hair now cut short, almost like a boys, just a little more spiky.

In one of her hands a single violet rose, it's long and beautiful and though the color could never be on the rose, the rose looks real.

I brake apart from Nick. "How are you alive?"

"I was brought back, by Flame," she says through clenched teeth.

Her teeth are whiter than before and more strait. Nick turns around. "What about-"

He stares at her. "What are you- how did you-"

"I'm an enchantress now. And guess who brought me back? Flame did, not you! And now, seeing this, I know there's more than one trader."

"No, it's not what it looks like-"

"Classic, you know, I always imagined you two would betray me, and here's proof. Both of you guys say you want something and once you get it, you want something that doesn't belong to you. Right Fay? One day you're crying about Jared, the next you have your lips pressed against something that doesn't belong to you."

I feel almost as if she's gonna kill us, and the look that she has in her eyes says nothing else. She walks toward me, looking even more powerful than Rosemary did.

I close my eyes and wait for death, because death is the only outcome to come for me. My eyes closed, I back away from Nick, and sit on a log. Waiting to fall to the ground, as dead as Jasmine once was.

I open an eye. To see she moved on, toward the rest of the group, leaving Nick and I behind.  She stands, explains how she came back to life.

And then says what she just saw us doing. No one looks surprised.

"They are traders, I will give your choice now, come with me or with them."

"Wait!" I get up and run to them. "You can't split up the group! We're together with this!" I wait for one of them to protest. No one does. Except for Nick.

"Jasmine? Please don't leave me behind! I love you! I wanna marry you, not her it just happened. It was an accident."

"Aren't we? Aren't we in this together?"

"No. We can't go together. I single handedly picked two of the worst people to escape wit. And you don't wanna marry me. Marriage is in life and death. You couldn't even last life without betraying me. Now to the rest of you, make your choice, because I don't wanna be around them any longer."