Come Love A Stranger

Twenty

“Mariah,” Alador whispered, his voice couldn’t hide his surprise and also worry, “how…”
“Meet me outside, Alador, we need to talk,” she said.
“Aye, but…”
“Alador, if you are keeping away from me because you don’t want me to know who you are or what you are exactly, I will like you to know that you don’t have to. Whatever or whoever you are do not matter to me, so please, stop running from me, I beg you.”
Alador closed his eyes once more, it was hard continuing to dance with the things she was saying to him and so he decided to end the dance. Mariah looked at him with worry as he bowed to her, hoping he would listen to her and meet her outside. He took her hand and avoided looking at her as he walked back to the king. “I thank you, your highness, for allowing me to have this dance,” he bowed to Lugar, “and now I shall take my leave.” He turned to Mariah and bowed to her as well, “you are a wonderful dancer and I appreciate having the honor of dancing with you, my lady.”
Mariah stared at him, deep in her heart, she could feel that he was trying to run away from her again but she wasn’t going to let him. She held her head high and said, “and I you, my Lord.”
Alador smiled sadly and with a sigh, he turned and left the hall with all eyes on him. Shortly after he was gone, Mariah turned to Lugar, “can I excuse myself, your highness, I really need to attend to myself.”
Lugar looked at her, silent for a while but then nodded, “sure, I shall have Jacob escort you.”
“That wouldn’t be necessary, my king, I only but want to take a walk in the garden, all these dances and crowded room is making it hard to breath,” she commented.
Lugar wanted to object but after a while, he let her go but he secretly ordered the guards to follow her. Mariah left the hall, she often visits the palace when she was younger and so she knows her way around, but what she didn’t know was that she was being followed and not just by the king’s guards but also Ilayas who made himself invisible and silently followed her. Not wanting anything to be seen by the guards or returned to the king, he knocked out the guards and had them locked in a room before going out to the garden to see Mariah searching and softly calling for Alador.
He stood in the shadows, waiting to know what next would happen and hoping for Alador’s sake that he won’t do something stupid but his hope wasn’t granted for Alador materialized in front of her. The fact that he was not hiding his abilities in front of her infuriated him but still, he held in his anger to know what next would happen.
“I thought you left,” Mariah cried, running straight into his arms.
Alador put his arms around her, he looked straight at the shadows and Ilayas knew that he knows he was there, well, he wasn’t surprised; it was always hard to sneak upon their kinds. Their senses are extra sharp and they hear the littlest of noise, including a shallow breathing, so Alador knowing about his presence wasn’t a surprise to him. “I did leave but I heard you calling,” he replied, releasing her from the hug to look at her, “you should not be out here, Mariah.”
“But I need to see you, I couldn’t really express myself in there and it was so hard to pretend not to know each other.”
“But that is how it should be, Mariah, you see…”
“Alador,” she interrupted, “I’m having dreams or should I call it nightmares.”
“What happened in those dreams?” he asked, his worry clearly noted in his voice.
“I die,” she didn’t look away from him, “over and over again. Killed by the same method, the same way and you are always there, Alador, you are always there.”
“Oh no,” Alador whispered, he cupped her cheeks in his arms, “it should not be.”
“Of course it should, what were you expecting?” Ilayas said, walking out of the shadows.
Mariah was shocked when she saw him and she hid behind Alador, the man always scares the hell out of her and his tendency of appearing out of nowhere wasn’t easing the effect.
Ilayas didn’t bother to respond to her thoughts; he just walked up to Alador, “I warned you, did I not? I told you to stay away from her least history repeat itself but you do not listen. And when you did listen, you sent Shelia to be with her, and you knew with her presence, you would always be connected to her.”
“Sheila?” Mariah said, “What do you mean by sent Sheila to be with her?”
“Oh please, Mariah, you do not think that such a beautiful unearthly fox would show up in your garden wounded?”
“It’s possible, right?” She looked at Alador.
“Please, Ilayas, leave her out of this,” Alador said.
“How can I when you have included her in it?” He asked.
Alador closed his eyes and turned to Mariah, “Mariah, go back home, I shall find a way to get rid of your nightmares.”
“Are they really nightmares? I can’t help but feel like they are memories.”
“Nay, they are not, they are nightmares,” he lied.
“But…”
“Please, Mariah, listen to me,” he sighed, closing his eyes for a brief second, “I shall come find you when I have a solution but now, you do not have to be here. Go, I shall protect you, no matter what it takes.”
“Alador,” she reached out and caressed his face, “you will tell me everything, won’t you?” he closed his eyes and said nothing and Mariah sighed, “fine then, I shall be waiting for you, please do not keep me waiting,” she pleaded and surprised them all by reaching forward and placing her lips on his, taking him by surprise. Alador wanted to push her away, he knew he should because if they share any intimate contact, it would be sealing her fate more. The fact that he was going close to her was what brought about her nightmares and anymore intimate contact between them would strengthen the bond, making it hard to escape from whatever fate awaits her. But it has been so long he had felt her lips on his and his dead heart was slowing reviving, the beating so loud that he could hear it like a thousand drums in his ears.
Mariah pulled away from him, she was shy but she could feel in her heart that it wasn’t the first time she had kissed him but in her memory, it was the first time she was kissing a man. He opened his eyes to look at her and she could see longing as well as pain in them and for a brief moment, she felt his pain like she did that day in the forest. She placed her hand on her chest and scrunched her face in pain, not able to take her eyes away from him.
Alador needn’t be told what was happening to her, the more contact they shared with each other, the stronger their bond and the more she could feel his pain. “Please go, Mariah,” he whispered and she nodded, a tear trailing down her cheeks, she looked at Ilayas and then back at Alador before running into the palace.
“You do not listen. If I do not know better I would say that it seems you enjoy seeing her die over and over. Right now, you and I know that there is only one way to end the bond, are you ready to take the risk, dear nephew?” Ilayas asked.