Come Love A Stranger

Twenty one

Mariah stood in her balcony, waiting, she had been waiting since she returned from the palace. She had lied to the king that she wasn’t feeling so well and would need to lie down, the king had called her father and they had agreed that in a fortnight, she would come to the palace so that she would be taught her duties as the queen to be. She is to stay in the palace till the wedding and after that, she would legally belong to the king and once her coronation took place, her fate would be sealed. This was something she had always wished for since she was a child but right now she can’t wait to be freed from it.
The night breeze was cold but she refused to go inside, Alador told her he was coming and she was prepared to wait for him, she just hopes he would come to her, he had been avoiding her for a reason she know not of. A furry touch on her legs made her look down to see Sheila, the beautiful fox looked up at her, her icy blue eyes shining brightly in the dead of the night.
Mariah sighed and squatted, she patted the animal and she whimpered and climbed into her arms, picking her up, Mariah hugged her, burying her face in her fur, “he sent you, that man said he did,” she looked at her face, “you can understand me right?” The animal nodded, “and he sent you?” she nodded again. “Your real name is Sheila, how come I was able to guess it right? Could it be you put it in my head?” The animal shook her head and placed a paw on her chest, “you put it in my heart?” Mariah frowned.
The animal nodded and she gasped, “how…how is that possible?”
Sheila jumped out of her arms and turned to look at her before going inside, Mariah ran after her, “Sheila, answer me,” she said but the fox climbed on the bed and looked at her. Understanding her silent order, Mariah shook her head, “no, Alador said he is coming, I am waiting for him.” Sheila shook her small head at her, “no, he told me he would, he wouldn’t lie to me,” she refused to believe that he won’t come; he promised her he would, why would he lie to her? She turned and went back to stand in the balcony, she shivered in the cold breeze and sniffled but she won’t leave until she sees him, no matter how cold the night gets.
As if hearing her internal decision, the night breeze got colder but Mariah refused to go in, she felt something pulling at her cloth and looked down to see Sheila, “no Sheila, I am not going inside until I see Alador.”
Sheila growled at her but she was unaffected by the anger of the animal, she looked ahead, wrapping her arms around herself, “I will keep waiting, no matter how cold it gets,” she said. With each passing second, the night was colder and soon, it was as cold as if in winter that Mariah searched around to know if she would see the snow falling. Sheila kept pulling at her dress to get her inside and growling at her but she wouldn’t listen. “I-I-I sa-said tha-that I won’t be go-going in no-no-no matter how co-cold it ge-gets,” she replied, her teeth was chattering and she was shivering really bad, her body was cold and she was almost numb due to the cold.
Sheila let go of her dress and whimpered and then as if afraid of something, she ran into the house and hid under the bed.
“Why are you so stubborn?” a voice yelled angrily and soon, Alador appeared in front of her, his hair was whiter than usual and his eyes were glowing like an untamed fire.
Mariah looked at him relieved, she knew that if he didn’t appear any time soon that she would have frozen, she had been asking herself how much longer could she take it and he heard her wish and appeared before her, though she could sense his anger, she smiled to him, “Alador,” she whispered, her voice was weak and he could hear the trembling in her voice. She took the last strength in her and walked closer to him, throwing herself into his arms.
Alador had been very angry but seeing her like that and the way she had smiled at him had pulled at his heartstring, feeling her body in his arms and how cold she was, he was glad he appeared the time he did, if not, would she had kept standing in the cold? He wrapped his arms around her and she shivered violently. He hated himself for making her like that, what made him think he could make her go in by making the night too cold for her to bear? How could he have forgotten how stubborn she could be? She had always have the power of getting what she wants from him, she owns the power to make him bend and he had been happy when she haven’t realized that she can do that to him but he guess she didn’t need to be told to know. “I am so sorry, I am so sorry, Mariah,” he closed his eyes and tightened his arms around her. His hair slowing returning to its slivery color and with that, the cold breeze went away and the night’s temperature returned to normal.
Sheila came out of her hiding place and Alador glared at her, she whimpered and ran back inside. Alador used his body to warm up Mariah and soon, she was breathing normal, he picked her up and carried her into the room. Placing her on the bed, he covered her with the blanket and sat down by her side. Her eyes were closed and he stared at her in worry. Her red lips had been icy when he arrived but it was slowly regaining its color, her black hair sprawled around the pillow and for one minute, he wondered what he would have done had anything happened to her, would he have ever forgiven himself?
His heart constricted in pain and she opened her eyes and looked at him, “don’t do that, you are making it painful here,” she slowly touched her chest.
Alador sighed and closed his eyes, trying to erase the pain in order to free her, opening them, he looked at her, “why? Why do you want to hurt me so?” he whispered.
“You promised you would come.”
“That does not mean you should stand in the cold, I could have hurt you, what is worse, you could have died, you could have frozen to death. Your heart would have stopped beating and I would have lost you again, and then I would have to bear the pain, knowing that I killed you.”
Mariah smiled and covered his hand lying on the bed with hers, “I know you would never hurt me.”
“How could you be so sure?”
“I can feel it, in here,” she touched her chest, “and I knew you were close, I could also feel it.”
Alador shut his eyes, the next thing he did surprised her, he placed his head on her chest like a child running to his mother, “do not ever test me like that again, I shall never forgive myself should anything happen to you. Please Mariah, you do not have any idea how I felt when you refused to go in. Do not do this again, please.”
Mariah placed her hand on his head, holding him to her chest, “then do not hide from me, anytime you do, I will do whatever it takes to get you out.”
Alador chuckled and closed his eyes, relaxing in her arms, it had been so long he felt her that close, so long that he had been with her like that and for just that moment, he wanted to ignore the consequences of his presence with her, just for this moment, let him feel her heartbeat without a worry in the world.