Sacrifice

Chapter 33 - The Other Kiss

The sight of tears streaming down Kalli's cheeks forced Bhirdan to swallow the revolt he felt for her father and set plans for revenge aside. He shrugged off his tunic and handed it to Kalli.

"Put this on, and come with me. I know a little-used path to the palace. We can get you inside and a fresh set of clothes before anyone sees you."

Kalli pulled on the tunic, trying to guard what dignity she could while her shoulders shook with sobs.

Their walk to the palace was quick, and as Bhirdan had predicted, they went unseen. Once inside, Bhirdan overrode the lock on a linen room door and let Kalli in so that she could help herself to spare clothes that belonged to the palace servants. When Kalli stepped out, her face was pale and she was dressed in the simple white-and-blue dress of a palace maid.

"I'll make sure he pays dearly for this," Bhirdan promised viciously, but Kalli was already shaking her head.

"No, no, I just want to forget, both of us to forget, what happened." Kalli was shaking, and a single tear slipped free from her control. "Promise me," she begged. "Promise me that you'll act like this never happened."

Bhirdan finally gave a curt nod.

"Thank you," was all Kalli could say before she turned and hurried down the hall, intent on getting as far away as she could as quickly as possible.

Bhirdan watched her go, knowing that he would make her father pay. Not right away and not to Kalli's knowledge. But Bhirdan promised himself that when he took his pound of flesh, Lord dir Liran would know exactly what he was paying for.

# # #

Once Kalli had left the palace grounds, she slowed to a walk. As much as she wanted to get away from the palace and the memories of what had happened, she was in no hurry to head home. Instead she dawdled down the back paths and stopped to watch the small ember ceremonies that were taking place in every portion of the city. Every time she saw a couple make the jump, she was reminded of her own jump and the kiss that had followed.

By the time she got home, it was late, and most of the embers were dying down. Instead of going inside, she went out to the back garden where the servants had left their embers to cool. Adir rose from one of the benches as she came in.

Kalli couldn't help but smile at the welcome face. "I thought you were on duty all night."

Adir shrugged. "My platoon mutinied and hid the paperwork I was planning on doing."

Kalli suddenly realized that he must have seen the Imperial ceremony on one of the news channels, and she felt the blood rush to her face. "Did you see – "

"I'd rather talk about the two of us tonight," he said softly. "And forget about the rest of the world."

His eyes dropped to her dress, and Kalli realized that, having taken off her jewellery for the walk home, she looked like a simple servant.

"My dress got ruined," she explained, toying with the plain cotton sleeve. "You should have seen it though, it was pretty spectacular."

Adir shook his head. "You look beautiful," he told her, when he saw that she was about to protest he continued. "Dressed like a queen or a servant you're beautiful, and right now you look like something from my dreams."

There was a warm light in Adir's eye that Kalli wasn't sure she wanted to explore, so she said nothing.

"Will you do something for me?" he asked.

"Of course," Kalli agreed, thankful that they were moving away from such a strange topic of discussion.

"I want to jump over the embers with you."

"You must have done that already," Kalli protested.

Adir shook his head. "I've yet to cross over the embers with a sweetheart."

Kalli's stomach fluttered. "You must have, you're twenty."

Adir shook his head slowly. "There's only one girl I want to cross the embers with. I'll do it with her or not at all."

Kalli watched her long-time friend and recognized the patient but determined look on his face. He meant every word that he spoke.

Finally, she nodded and offered him her hand. He took it and led her to the edge of the embers, which had now almost burnt out.

Adir looked her in the eye and softly counted down. "Three, two, one, jump."

They jumped.

This time there was no applause or flashes. The night air was dark and silent adding intimacy to the jump.

Adir turned to her. "There's one more thing I have to do tonight."

Cupping her face in his hands he gently kissed her lips. It was warm and steady, just like the man who kissed her.

When he pulled back, Kalli was breathless, and her eyes were locked on his.

"I love you Kalli," he told her.

Kalli opened her mouth to protest, but Adir silenced her by sliding a finger over her lips.

"I know you're not ready to hear this, but I need to say it at least once. I love you. You're too young to be thinking of love and marriage and that's ok. I'll wait as long as is needed for you to finish growing up. I just want you to know that once you're ready, I'll be the first man to go down on my knee and ask for your hand in marriage."