by Brindi Quinn
“It would be unwise. I will go on ahead so that if danger is waiting, it will not take you.”
Danger? That was the thing I least wanted to hear right now.
Ardette threw out a lazy hand of proposition. “Do not fear, my angel. Should you get lonely, I’ll be here to keep you company. I’ll be going down last, you see.”
“Great. See, Nyte? See what you’re leaving me with?”
In response, Ardette toyed with, and ultimately undid, his top button. Nyte didn’t get mad, though. He only chuckled.
“It is fine, Aura. Do not worry. I will see you on the other side.”
Sword readied, Nyte placed a foot on the edge of the well and hoisted himself up. With one off-sending push, he jumped into the well.
“Nyte!” I ran to the edge and peered in.
There was no sign of him. No sound of him. No anything. He’d just disappeared.
“I will go next,” said Rend. “If there is danger, my cousin and I will ward it off to prepare for your coming.”
Again, not what I wanted to hear. She readied herself on the side of the well, but before she jumped in, she barked one more command over her tense shoulder, “Do not dawdle!”
And then she was gone. This time, I was able to witness the entirety of the disappearance first hand. It was like it was with the scale. One moment she was there. The next, she wasn’t. Simple as that. My eyes couldn’t keep up with the quick change in being.
“Darchy, next, I suppose. Then my pit.”
But Darch appeared reluctant for some reason. “Ardetto . . .”
Ardette put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Quit worrying, would you? It’s fine.” He lowered his voice, but I could still pick it up. “I need you to go on ahead of me in case I have a bad reaction. You know what you have to do.”
A bad reaction?
Darch nodded, but it was filled with begrudge. “Okay. But are you sure? What if . . .” But he didn’t finish his protest because Ardette shook his head.
That was weird. But it was way less frustrating if I pretended not to notice their blatant secrecy.
As was to be expected, Darch had a harder time than the Elves at getting a foothold on the well’s side, but in the end, he managed.
“See you there!”
For some reason, he plugged his nose before dropping in. And then he too disappeared.
“Okay.” I took a breath of anticipation. “Me next, right?”
I put my hands on the edge and started to move my foot up the side, but Ardette grabbed my arm, stopping me before I could get very far.
“What are you-”
“Not so fast,” he interrupted. “You and I need to have a chat.”
“Right now? The others are waiting. You aren’t going to try to seduce me or anything, are you? Because now’s really no the time for games like that.”
But at my own mention of the word ‘seduce’, something happened. Another unwanted image popped into my mind. This time it was of Ardette crawling toward me in the moonlit tent, shirtless and tempting.
Kyaaaah! What’s with this?!
Stomach dropping, I wrenched my arm from his dangerous clutch.
“Don’t worry,” he said, collected. “They won’t think I’ve stolen you away or anything. Darch already knows we’re going to be a moment or two late.”
Darch knew? So that meant that this was a plan or something!? Why was I getting so nervous? Just because of one dumb memory. Why did I have to have such a vivid imagination?! I tried not to let it get to me, but it was no use. The more I came to terms with the fact that we were alone, the more strongly the dream’s happenings invaded my head.
“W-what?” I stammered, throat closing. “Late? Are you going to-?”
I was really scared too. It wasn’t just a game. None of this was. That dream had me all confused. It had felt too real, and I was afraid. I was really afraid of what he’d try!
“Why, my pit, how delightfully surprising. Is that what you’d like?” Joking, Ardette opened his arms wide and took a step closer to me. He was only teasing, and I knew that, but my reaction was anything but understanding.
“N-no!” I pushed against him. “Get back!”
“My, my, what’s this?” He dropped his arms and frowned. “You’re . . . you’re afraid of me? Don’t tell me you think I would actually . . . ?!” But he didn’t finish. He only deepened his frown, and a new pinch of confusion became visible in the creases of his forehead. His eyes were downcast.
Just like that, he’d changed from flirtatious and forward to staid and hurt. Incredibly hurt. Had I ever really offended him before? The small something rammed itself against my chest, angry at me and trying to exact revenge.
“I . . . no,” I muttered. “I don’t know, Ardette. I’m sorry.”
“I would never force you. Aura, you know that.”
“I know. In my head I know that. It’s just . . .” I caught the last bit of it with my tongue and swallowed it before it could leave my mouth. This was mortifying. Honestly, what was I supposed to say? That I envisioned him half-naked? That I envisioned him kissing me? That I was having those kinds of thoughts about him all of a sudden? No way. That would be the worst thing I could do. Baiting the wolf would be the worst possible thing.
“What is it, my pit?” Ardette was now less hurt, but he was still very much puzzled. “Tell me.”
No, I couldn’t say any of that, so I merely said, “Things are different than they used to be.”
Yes, they were different, and I missed how they’d been. I missed the comfort I’d felt in knowing that I wasn’t affected by his charms. That I was safe with him. That we were close friends.
“You don’t feel comfortable around me? How peculiar. I suppose it was always my goal to make you nervous, but this is more . . . You’re afraid. The majority of your body wants to run from me. Like you think of me as some attacker. But then again, I can sense . . . There’s something else, isn’t there?”
He was right. I wanted to run. I was shivering. But I was excited too. I was trapped alone with him, and some deep, dark part of me wanted that dream to come true.
What is WITH me?!
“Calm down, my angel.”
Why was I turning into such a mess? This was Ardette.
“Listen, Aura.” He reached out and put a hand on my cheek. “It’s all right. I promise. This isn’t anything more than that I just needed to talk to you without the Elves around for a moment.”
But his hand’s touch on my cheek was way, way too much. I needed Nyte. I needed somewhere to run. I didn’t want to do anything I’d regret! Why couldn’t I control myself?!
My hand traveled to Ardette’s and fell into place atop his.
“O-oh?” His cherry eyes widened in surprise. “Making a move, are we? Ah.” He breathed in through his teeth, attempting restraint. “Oh, I should take my hand away. Really, I should.”
But I didn’t want him to. But I did. But I didn’t. I was shaking and nervous and feeling utterly evil. The dream was taking over.
“Stay with me . . . , Dragon,” I whispered.
His surprise immediately transformed into concern. “Oh? It’s affecting you too? That’s something unforeseen. I see why you’re so scared now. You aren’t scared of me. You’re scared of you.”
He was right. I hated it, but he was right. In intentional acknowledgement, I brought my eyes to his, and upon connection, all of his concern fell and was replaced by dangerous comprehension. His pupils started to expand.
“Really, though,” he said, demeanor changing, “you should be scared of me. You should be very, very wary because for so long, I’ve been craving you . . . and it’s currently affecting me too . . . , Angel.”
He brought his other hand around my waist and pulled me in seductively.
“That’s why . . . you . . . should . . . be . . . afraid . . .” His mouth was nearing mine. “. . . of . . .” His teeth scraped against his lower lip at the word ‘of’. I didn’t wa
nt to run anymore. I wanted to let him do whatever he wanted.
Go ahead, Dragon. Why are you slowing?
But instead of kissing me, he rested his forehead against mine. “I can’t.” He was panting.
I said nothing, just waited there, shaking and mouth inches from his.
“If this doesn’t prove my love for you,” he whispered, “I don’t know what will . . . . Now GO!”
Gulping, Ardette released me and pushed me away from himself. The spell was broken . . . sort of.
Free from him, I wobbled down to my knees, breaths huffed. I’d almost just-!
“Ardette, I have to get out of here! Please let me go! I love Nyte! That’s why this is so terrible! And so confusing!”
“Just – just sit over there! By that well! You stay there, and I’ll stay here!” Ardette was doubled over, rubbing his face out of torment.
That was a good idea. We had to separate ourselves. Frantic, I backed myself into the well’s solid side.
Ardette remained safely out of reach. He looked like he’d just come out of battle. With his hands on his knees, he glanced up at me.
“Why, my cherry pit, usually this sort of behavior would fulfill my desires. However, since I’ve made a promise to a certain self-righteous Magir, I’ll have to refrain from indulgence at this time. None of this really counts in your current state. Understand, though, that once you’re back to normal, you’re fair game. Deal?”
“No! What sort of a deal is that? I’m NEVER fair game for you!”
Already things were beginning to get back to normal. That was good. That was more than good. It was relieving. For a moment there, everything within me had wanted Ardette. He was so handsome, and his eyes were so intense. Even now they were staring at me . . . wanting me . . .
Crap! It’s happening again!
“Deal!” I cried out of desperation. “Deal! What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing.” He slouched to the ground and rested his elbows on his knees. “Nothing’s wrong with you. It’s because we’re nearing Célesteen.”
“Because we’re nearing the angels’ realm? Ardette, I am so confused. And you know that I’ve heard things, so please . . .” How could I phrase this? “What are you? What’s with you and your brother? How are we connected?”
“The reason, my pit, that I wanted to speak with you is because of what you’re probably wrongly assuming. And also because I had to warn you.”
“Warn me?”
“Yes, the more time spent outside of the physical world, the more our inner selves will eat away at us. I was going to warn you to watch out for me once we enter Célesteen. Simply put, I might not be able to resist you anymore. Little did I know, you were undergoing the same problem.”
“But why? That doesn’t make any sense at all!”
“Shhh.” He put up a hand. “There’s something I need to know before we go any further. Tell me, what was your dream about? And please do be sure to include any lewd details.”
He smiled so dirtily that I had to look away.
Lewd!? Why does he assume-? Well, I suppose there was some lewdness . . . but I can’t tell him that!
“My dream?” I feigned ignorance because there was no way I could say it out loud. How embarrassing would it be if he knew!? And it would only fuel all of this, wouldn’t it?
“That’s right. Your DREAM. When I pulled you out of his soul, you mentioned you’d had a dream.”
“. . .” Shoot.
“I’m waiting,” he said.
“Uh . . .”
“Come now, cherry. It’ll do us no good if you won’t be honest with me. Actually, if you tell me, I might even be able to find a solution for our little ‘predicament’.”
“Fine.” I’d suck it up in the hopes of finding a solution to all of this. “It was about you and me. And I called you ‘my dragon’ . . . kind of like how I did just now, and like I did that other time without meaning to . . . and you called me ‘Angel’. And I was looking for your heart like in that old story of Grotts’. You know, from the fan in Crystair?”
Ardette shrugged. “I vaguely remember.”
“Ever since then, I keep seeing little flashes of it, and it’s making me feel weird around you, and sometimes I kind of lose myself like I used to with the pendant, and I don’t know what to do.” The pendant? That made me realize something. Another one of those dots I was so bad at connecting. “Wait, you don’t have a pendant, do you?! I mean, that whistle isn’t-”
“No, it’s something entirely different. I assure you.” He was serious, but before delivering his next line, he started to smirk toyingly. “Well, maybe you’ve simply fallen for me.”
“No.”
“Ouch. You’ve truly broken my heart this time.”
I rolled my eyes, and things were fine, but just when it was all getting kind of normal –
“And next time,” I said, completely serious. “I’ll take it.”
What?!
Where the heck had that come from?! I immediately clasped my mouth, afraid of what more might escape on its own. “Mfee?!” The question was muffled by my own hand. “I mean, ‘see’? What’s with that? Why did I just-”
“Listen, pit, I know you’re confused, but I can’t tell you what I am. I’ll tell you this, though. We are who we are now. No matter what we’ve been or what we will become. You and I are how we’ve always known ourselves to be. You’re Aura, an innocent, uptight, insecure songstress. And I’m Ardette, the insolent bastard who’s in love with you. Okay? If you begin to feel ‘different’, just remember that. Let’s practice, shall we?”
“Practice?! Uh, no. And anyways, ‘uptight’? What’s that supposed to- Whoa! Wait!”
Despite my declination, he’d started to crawl toward me, just like he had in the dream, full-intent made clear by the look on his face. The image of me returning his embrace seeped into my mind, and my shaking started up once more. I pushed myself back against the well.
“No! Ardette, stop! Come on!”
“Aura,” he said. “You’re Aura.”
He was getting closer.
“I’m Aura.” I didn’t believe it, but I said it again, regardless. “I’m Aura. I’m Aura!”
I was Aura, and all of a sudden, Ardette wasn’t some desirable moonlit visitor. He wasn’t the ‘dragon’ I couldn’t resist. He was him.
“Well, pit?” He stopped just out of reach and fell backward onto his hands. “What say you? Shall we have a go?”
The only thing to react was the small something, which was easy to ignore.
“Not a chance,” I said smartly.
“Ah. There’s that cold rejection. Gained control of yourself, have you?”
I had. Just like that, I’d reverted to normalcy.
He raised a brow –“See?” – and beamed, but I detected that he was secretly sad. Or maybe just disappointed. Yeah, there was some level of disappointment there over the fact that we’d regained ourselves even though it had only been by his doing. If I thought about it, though, it might bring about guilt. And guilt was sure to bring about those feelings, so instead I went in another direction.
“Yes, I get it,” I said. “And now that I have . . . ?”
“What?”
“Don’t you have something to add?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re ref-”
“How about, WHAT THE HELL’S GOING ON?!”
My outburst only served to amuse him. “Hm.” He stood and extended a hand to help me up, but I ignored it and stood on my own.
“For starters,” I said, “your brother-”
“Yes, yes, my brother and I have a long and complicated past, but we’ve no time for it now. Your boy’s waiting, after all.”
“ARDETTE!”
“Don’t you have other things to concern yourself with?” He threw a cocky and ‘coy’ glance at me. “For instance, try to resist me, would you, while we’re at Célesteen? It would be a messy situation to deal with in front o
f your Elf, wouldn’t it? If you become lost, just remember that you’re my cherry pit and no one else.”
“Ardette.”
I rooted myself, but he started prodding me toward the well. I had to take a stumbling step or I would’ve fallen forward.
“Ugh! So, according to Amano,” I said, trying to pry something – anything – out of him before it was too late, “you’re an ‘ancient one’ . . . sort of? What’s an ‘ancient one’ and how are you sort of one? You aren’t really a drag-”
“In you go.”
He was shoving me over the side of the well now.
“Ardette! Wait! Is that aler’gim thing real?! Does that dream mean anything? Are we under some kind of spell or something?!”
“There you are. Now all you need’s a little push.”
But I held fast to his cloak and wouldn’t let go. “At least give me something.”
“Hm. Something? Let’s see . . . . How’s this?” He leaned forward and kissed my hair.
I’m Aura. I’m Aura. I’m Aura.
“That’s not what I meant, you perv!”
“Fine.” He lowered his voice and brought his mouth to my ear. It was touching delicately. One of the shivers returned and went traveling down my neck.
I am Aura.
“That ‘small something’ of yours wasn’t something grown,” he whispered softly. “It was something you were born with. Something you were destined with. Your current destiny might be with him, but in the vast scope of eternity, a person can have many destinies.”
Then, without hesitation, he gave me a hard push, and I toppled down into nothingness.
~
I landed on something soft and gray.
“AURA!” Nyte was over me in an instant. “What did that lecher do to you?! Are you harmed?!”
“Nyte . . .”
But I was looking beyond him at a very suspicious Darch, who was very interested in his sleeve.
“You,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “You trait-”
“Look out!” Seeing that I was about to serve as padding for Ardette’s fall, Darch ran forward, but he was too late. Luckily, Nyte wasn’t. He yanked me to safety just in time.
Ardette stood and dusted himself off.
