Like Rapunzel, but Not Really ✔

Chapter 23

I had always imagined kisses to be warm and toasty - much like hot chocolate with a dash of cinnamon on a cold winter's night.

But instead it tasted of bitter coffee and smelled like a lazy afternoon breeze. My senses were heightened in some ways - his aftershave, his callous hands placed gently behind my head, his lips - on mine - which felt like forever against the ticking of my erratic heart. 

In reality, Tristan pulled away after a few seconds. My eyes registered him again after a daze. I could not bring myself to say anything as I stared back at his closed eyes.

"... Sorry about that," Tristan breathed out.

I frowned slightly at the apology. "What?" I asked back in confusion.

 A hesitant look passed across his features as he opened his eyes into mine. "Sorry for kissing you suddenly like that."

"Oh." I pulled away from him, suddenly aware of the hurt that began to simmer in me, but the hand behind my back prevented me from placing any distance between us. 

"Wait. Let me explain," he stared right into my eyes. "We need him to see us right now."

"... What?" I asked incredulously. I was about to push him away with whatever feelings I had already had in me -

"Honey and flies," he smirked. "We are laying him a trap to come get us. And then we get him."

***

We sat in the car in the silence as the breeze from the opened windows gently lulled us into our own thoughts. 

We had rented a car from the city and drove south for two hours until I saw the sea. The sun had not been shy today yet surprisingly, as the car finally parked atop the white cliffs, I saw no other soul around us. It was just Tristan, me, and the dramatic landscape ahead of us.

I hummed a little as I watched the sun making it's way down the horizon, it's orange and purple hue bursting into the sky. It was approaching sunset.

I looked at Tristan who was staring intently across the white cliff we were perched on, a pensive look on his face. 

"So..." I broke the silence. "What exactly is our plan when he comes?" The question had been hanging at the edge of my tongue the whole two hours we were driving down here. But it was not till we were where we were that I got myself to ask him, for some reason. Maybe I needed a dramatic landscape or the 'right' mood to accompany that question - A flair for the dramatics is something that ran in the family after all.

Obsidian eyes turned to me. "We're going to talk to him."

A few seconds passed between us before I burst out laughing. "Very funny, Tristan. Seriously, what's the plan. I think I'd feel better if I know how this is going to play out later."

But for some reason, Tristan's serious gaze did not waiver. "We're going to talk to him," he repeated.

I stared at him.

"Talk to him?" I asked back calmly. He nodded once in affirmation.

"Talk to him?" I contained the annoyance threatening to spillover. "Your whole plan of kissing me and driving out two hours out of the city was for us to talk to him?" I was pretty sure a few stray spit had flew around unhinged but looks be damned. I unlatched the door on my side and stormed out of the passenger seat.

I heard the other door opening, following mine. 

"Talk to him," I muttered out loud as I stalked off towards the edge of the cliff. "What were you thinking?" I asked myself, not believing that I allowed myself to be whisked away to a different county only to walk right into the enemies' arms.

I felt a shadow falling in step behind me. "It's that or Plan B."

I spun around so fast my vision blurred slightly. "And what's Plan B?" I asked sarcastically. "I make him dinner and offer to go with him voluntary?" I tried to keep the sarcasm at bay. I really did.

Tristan only looked at me silently. "You know what's Plan B." The coldness in his voice as he said it immediately triggered warning bells at the back of my head and I immediately zeroed in on the slight bulge at the side of his hip.

My eyes dashed back to his face where he was studying my face intently. The hairs on my body prickled as I saw him reach the side of his pocket, pulling out what I was praying it would not be.

"Tristan..." My wide eyes gaze were trained to the black, metallic item in his hand. 

He pointed the gun in my direction.

And then he swiftly flipped it so he was holding the barrel, leaving the hilt to my direction. "Take it."

My mouth, already so dry, struggled to swallow back anything that I could. "The gun?" I stared at it stupidly.

He walked towards me, stopping just a few short steps away from me. "I know you don't want to use it but take it. Just in case."

When I made no indication of taking it from him, he took my hand in his and put the gun in my hand. "You know how to use it, right?"

I nodded my head quietly. My parents had always wanted me to err on the side of safety so I had gone for shooting lessons once upon a time. But that did not mean I had any plans on utilizing that knowledge.

"You know I can't. The moment he dies, my parents..." I trailed off. I felt sick again. 

Tristan gently cradled the sides of my head and gave a small smile. "Arianna, my priority is to get keep you safe, no matter the consequence - Of course, we'll try to avoid that," he cut me off before I could protest. "But you're in a battle now. And I need you to do what you need to survive if things go South," he searched my eyes for something - what, I did not know - "Okay?"

I bit my lip, still  not convinced.

"When - If," he corrected himself. "- the time comes you are at a crossroad about this, I need you to remember that you are also an option - You can choose yourself, too. Just as your parents have been doing every time they chose themselves this past 17 years."

The pit in my stomach seemed to go deeper and deeper and if Tristan was going to add anything further to his statement, I was not going to know what it was because immediately after that his eyes went past above my head. I watched his face contort into a frown. He placed his arm on my shoulder, and pushed me aside so I'd stand behind him.

I felt my heart race a million beats per second.

Turning around, I saw lights illuminating the dusk surrounding us.

And I knew.

He was here.