Come Love A Stranger

Thirty nine

Days passed in the blink of an eye and soon, it was two days to the royal wedding, Mariah had not set her eyes on Alador since that night he left her room. She have been bothered at some point but she wasn’t anymore, she has finally accepted within herself that this was her fate and that she would spend the rest of her life as king Lugar’s Queen. The decision had been difficult to make, especially when she started recalling the memories of her past lives and all she had to go through with Alador but there was no use holding to it, she knows the right thing to do and that is what she would do.
She had start forcing herself to be in support of all that was happening including the preparation for her wedding and coronation but even though she told herself she was doing the right thing, she still couldn’t stop herself from crying herself to sleep every night and wishing Alador would just appear to her, even if it’s just for the last time before she says her vows.
She was deep in sleep when she started hearing a faint whisper, she tossed and turned on the bed, disturbed in her sleep until she opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling in her room. The room was dark but she couldn’t get over this disturbing feeling that she wasn’t alone. The whisper came again and she glanced around in the darkness, so it wasn’t a dream? She thought, wondering what could be happening to her.
The whisper came again and she closed her eyes, trying as hard as she could to listen, something tells her that she could hear what the whisper was saying if she concentrates. She listened as hard as she could until she heard it, “Mariah” the whisper called and she snapped her eyes open immediately, “Alador,” she whispered, vividly remembering how he used to call out to her like that. She quickly climbed out of the bed and rushed to her balcony, she searched around but couldn’t see him but she heard again, “Mariah.”  “Alador,” she whisper-shouted but he didn’t come out, “I can hear you, where are you?”
“Oh my dear Mariah, you can hear me again, finally. I have waited so long for this,” he said in her thoughts.
“Where are you, Alador?” she whispered, searching around frantically.
“Here,” she heard and then felt a shadow loomed over her. She glanced up immediately and saw a dragon flying around, a smile graced her lips as she watched him and then he dived down but rather than appear beside her, he shape-shifted into a panther near the flowers. She giggled and ran inside her room, running straight to the doors. She didn’t bother to get a candle for she was afraid the light would attract attention to her. She had been walking around the palace since she got there and now she knows her away around like the back of her palm. Successfully getting out without waking the guards or the servants, she ran straight to the garden, trying her best to be as quiet as she could so that she won’t wake up the sleeping guards. As soon as she came to the garden, she saw him, he whimpered softly to her and she giggled softly and rushed to him, throwing her hands around his furry body. He licked her face and she laughed and then covered her mouth with her hand immediately and glanced at the sleeping guards but when they show no sign of waking up, she glared at him accusingly and he shrugged, rubbing his big cat head on his shoulder.
“Why are you like this?” she whispered.
“No Reason.”
“You chose to come to me like this?”
“Aye,” he licked her face, “Come with me,” he suddenly scooped her onto his back and she yelped before he started sprinting out of the garden.
“Where are we going?” She asked as he galloped with her on his back.
“You will see.” In the blink of an eye, they were on air and the next thing she knew, strong talons were wrapped around her as wings magically appeared by his sides and they were flying up in the air. Mariah grabbed tightly on his talons for the fear of falling off and the next thing she knew, she was flung up in the air and she screamed but soon landed on something. It took her a while to realize that she was now on his back and he turned his head and looked at her, “hold on,” she heard in her thoughts and immediately wrapped her hands round his neck as he started flying higher and higher in the sky.
“Open your eyes, Mariah,” she heard and open her eyes to see that she was surrounded by the clouds and the moon was like a big white circle in front of her.
“Wow, Alador, this is beautiful,” she smiled, reaching out to touch the clouds that were like smoke, dissipating slowly at the contact of her hands, “oh my God.”
“Do you like?”
“Yes, yes, so, so much,” she giggled, “I never thought this would be a possibility.”
“Do you not remember?”
“What?” She glanced at him.
“You asked this of me the night you told me about…about our child. I had wanted to grant it to you immediately but you started feeling unwell and I promised you I would bring up here once you are better. But unfortunately, the day you got better was…” his voice broke off.
As he spoke, Mariah remembered, she smiled and looked at the moon, trying not to think of the sorrow that comes with the lost of her child.
“I am sorry, Mariah, I could not protect…”
“It’s alright Alador, you couldn’t even if you tried,” she said.
Alador was quiet but after a while, he dived down and Mariah had to grab tightly onto him again. A while later, she felt his arms around her and looked up to gaze upon his beautiful face and the moonlight made him look much more beautiful that a woman would be ashamed to stand beside him. She glanced down then and he placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her face up, “what is it? You sound…unhappy,” he asked, using his mouth finally.
“We were talking about something sad, Alador,” she shifted away from his caress and turned her back to him. Seeing the big tree in front of her, she was surprised as it immediately brought back memories, “this is…”
“Aye,” Alador whispered behind her and then wrapped his arms around her, “the tree I saw you resting on the first time I met you. I have been keeping it alive all these years with the hope of bringing you here every single time you reincarnate.”
Mariah smiled but tears also welled up in her eyes and soon, they were trailing down her cheeks. Alador turned her around immediately and wiped them away, “do not cry, Mariah, everything would be alright soon.”
“How can you know?”
“I do, because I know that I would rather die than let any harm befall you this time. I did not come up with the perfect solution but I came up with a decision.”
“What is that?”
“All through the other times, the hackeries always attacked when I am not with you, but this time, I shall be with you every single time and when they come, I will do all I can to protect you.”
“What makes you think that would work?”
“Because I know I would die protecting you and I do not mind giving myself to them in other to protect you.”
“What is the benefit of that? You would die.”
“Aye, but you would live and I would wait for you in the eternal world. Mariah, the only way I can stand you being with another is if I am dead. I have tried to continue Ilayas deal by staying away but I cannot, I cannot endure you belonging to another even if t’s for a short human lifetime, I cannot endure seeing him have you when I cannot so I have come to the decision to be with you for as long as we would be allowed to and when the hackeries come, I would be the one to go, Ilayas would make the king still marry you and you would not be alone. And when you die naturally this time, I would be waiting for you,” he cupped her cheeks and looked into her eyes but she looked away from him, “I love you, Mariah, more than life itself, more than anything and I would forever belong to you.”
Mariah glanced at him sharply then just as she felt a sharp pain on her neck, she gasped and backed away from him, grabbing onto her neck immediately. Alador wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, “calm my love, t’s only the mating mark.”
“What? No!” she shouted so loudly that Alador was so shocked that he let her go, she backed away from him, staring at him in horror, “no, it cannot be, no, take it back, take it back Alador!”
Still in shock of what was happening, he replied, “I cannot, the mark comes on t’s own. I do not understand, Mariah, why are you angry? It would only bond us more and we can…”
“I do not want it,” she interrupted.
Alador felt a sharp pain in his heart immediately, “what do you mean?”
“I don’t want it Alador, I don’t want to be with you.”