A Forbidden Act

Part 6 - Pain

It had been a few weeks since Sharon and Tarja had confessed their love to one another. Since then, they had spent most of their time together, hiding from judging and dangerous eyes. Sharon had also managed to avoid Timo as much as possible. It was rare that her father saw her at all, except at dinner. He was starting to get worried, but each time he saw her, she seemed happy so that was what counted for him. And her marriage. Jan had learnt about Sharon's answer some time ago; Timo had told him, much to Sharon's disgust. The date was getting closer, in just a few weeks, she would be united with him. The brother of the woman she loved. She didn't know what to do, but she knew she couldn't turn back. Preperations were being made already. Her dress was being sewn with the highest quality fabric and by the best seamstress in the country; all the servants were busy decorating, and invitations were being sent out everywhere.

All of this movement and activity tired Sharon more than anything else. She usually kept to her room, drawing or reading. As she was doing so, she heard a knock on her door. Glancing in the mirror to check she was neat enough, she welcomed the guest in.

"Goodmorning, My Lady." Timo smiled warmly as he closed the door behind him.

"Goodmorning My Lord." the brunette answered with as much conviction as she could gather.

"You seem troubled... As usual, really. (he smirked.) Oh, please don't be offended, it is simply an observation."

Sharon couldn't say or do anything. She stood there, impatiently waiting for this man to leave. But apparently he wasn't planning on leaving just yet. He opened the door and peaked through, checking if there were people around. Seeing he was safe, he closed the door again and in a matter of seconds, he was holding Sharon's chin between his fingers. She clenched her teeth, resisting from hitting Timo.

"Now dear, why aren't you enjoying this...? After all, you'll have to get used to it if we want... A heritage." He whispered those last words in her ear.

Before she could push him away, they were both distracted by another knock on the door
Timo slowly took a step back, still staring right into Sharon's eyes. It took a few seconds for Sharon to register that someone was waiting outside the door. She cleared her throat.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly and Tarja took a few steps in the room. Seeing her face, Sharon's face instantly flushed, as she thought of Timo's actions. However, in a few seconds, the young man was gripping Tarja by the wrist and yelling at her.

"How DARE you disturb us?!"

Sharon didn't know what to say, or do. Her heart started beating faster.

"Brother, I'm sorry, I didn't--"

Timo's blow landed right on Tarja's cheekbone, projecting her backwards onto the ground. Sharon didn't think. She took Timo by the shoulders and hurriedly pressed her lips against his.

"Timo, my love, please stop... She is my friend."

The man seemed surprised for a moment. He looked down at a shocked Tarja, then back at Sharon, who was trying to keep her composure. He then nodded, but before leaving, whispered into her ear.

"I know what you're doing."

The door then closed behind him as he walked out. After she was sure he wasn't coming back, Sharon bent over and vomited. For the first time, she had been the one to kiss Timo. Only to distract him, but... Ah. The floor was a mess. When she had regained her calm, she remembered Tarja behind her. Slowly, as to not be sick once more, she turned to face her. The woman was just staring at her, emotionless. Sharon thought about approaching her but seeing as her dress was ruined and full of sick, it wasn't such a good idea. She decided to not do anything for a while. Instead, she rang a bell so that Sophie would come and clean the room. She turned to walk towards her bathroom.

"I'm going to clean myself. You might not want to stay here unless you wish for Sophie, my maid, to see you in this state."

Sharon's voice broke as she spoke the last words, but she didn't turn to see if Tarja was reacting. She simply  went into her bathroom and left Tarja there. 

The past events were tormenting Sharon. She felt so miserable as she sat on "their" bench. Firstly, Timo had tried to seduce her, of course to no avail. Then Tarja, the woman she loved, had walked in on them. Sharon had no way of knowing if Tarja had seen anything, but it still worried her. After that, Sharon witnessed her being violently hit and had to kiss him. On top of that, she had been sick right in front of Tarja. She was almost sure Tarja wouldn't want to see her for some time, at least.

"Are you better?" 

Sharon jumped as she heard Tarja's voice. But she didn't have the courage to face her, as the brunette sat down besides her.

"Yes, thank you." She answered quickly.

"Sharon, look at me..." Sharon turned her head. "What's wrong, dear? Are you thinking about what happened this morning?" She smiled. "I don't quite care about it."

Sharon got up and walked a few paces. 

"You don't understand, Tarja." 

"Now Sharon, what are you--"

"No. Don't say a word, just listen. You don't understand. You don't understand how wrong what we are doing is. I'm marrying your brother in two weeks. Your own brother, Tarja. No, I don't love him. Oh, how I loathe him. Especially for hurting you. I know he does, I've seen it. And it makes me so mad. Seeing you suffer makes me mad, because I love you Tarja. You know that. But I can't, I am not allowed to." By now her heart was beating incredibly fast. "This --all of this-- is just wrong. Timo kisses me, then I do the same to you? No, Tarja, this can't carry on. I'm sorry."

On these words, she turned around and left Tarja alone, for the second time in a day. What hurt most was that these words had been pronounced in the exact same place they first kissed. And she missed it already.