by C. Gockel
“That sucks, Drake, because I do. I want time. I want to...” I squeezed his arms that had gone slack around me, “savor you. Get to know you. I want something more than just a physical attraction. I don’t want you to miss me while we’re apart. I want your whole body to ache, to go through withdrawals for me. When we get to that, if we ever get there, that’s when we’ll know we’re right for each other.”
“If that’s your measure, my body aches right now, and it has since the first day I saw you at Bruce’s wedding.”
“Have you heard anything I’ve said? I don’t know anything about you. I’m all for running off with you and disappearing for a while, but I’m not ready to marry anyone. Unless I’m forced into it with Gage, it’s not going to happen.”
“Camille, we’ll find a way to get you out of this betrothal.” He waited a long minute before he continued, “I’ll go along with you. We’ll do things your way. But I don’t need years, or months, or weeks – if I could get you to see through my eyes, to feel through my heart, you’d understand why I think the process you just laid out is ludicrous. I know my heart. When you decide that I really am the one, trust me, I’ll never let you regret it. We’ll stay like this forever, fused as one.”
His words were like a drug, and I, an addict, desperately in need of a fix. I rolled over so that we faced each other; my hand swept his face. I studied him, worried that he, like everyone else in my life I cared about, would soon be taken away from me. I traced his lips with my finger, touched his face with my palm, and ran my fingers into his hair. Drake was beyond attractive: his ice blue eyes held me in a trance. I said nothing. I wanted to take him in, memorize everything about him.
I didn’t want to end our moment, but the self-preservation side of me took over. I knew if we kept this up, he was right: I would fall in love with him. It wouldn’t be a crush or blind lust; it would be the rip-out-your-heart, falling-off-a-cliff love that comes once in a lifetime. I would be devastated on my wedding night to Gage, a hollow shell of a person losing someone forever whom I could never have. “What are we doing?” My question caught him off guard.
Drake smiled at me as he whispered, “We’re acquainting ourselves with each other, Love.” His voice was happy, content, but it turned amused when he added, “Unless you have a better activity in mind for this evening.”
I could feel the hopelessness of the situation seeping in. Making plans to date was ridiculous when any hope for a future other than the one forced on us wasn’t possible. “I’m marrying Gage in a few weeks, and you’re marrying Bianca. There’s nothing either of us can do to stop it.”
“Break your engagement with Gage.”
“This stupid necklace would take my head completely off if I said that out loud.”
Quietly, he said, “Camille, we need help. There has to be some way to get it off.”
“How? We’re out of options, Drake. All we’re doing now is making the heartbreak worse — putting off our own goodbye.”
He turned my face to him so I was forced to look in his eyes, “I can’t give you up. Even if it’s just a few nights together, I want them.” I looked away, knowing his words cut clear through to my soul. “It’s better than a lifetime of regret for ignoring what little time together we were afforded. I’ll take what I can get, Camille.”
“So, this is it? I lie here with you, praying that we’ll have one more night tomorrow, and the next after that. We’re going to run out of tomorrows. We can’t wish the dawn away.”
“For now, live in the moment, Love.” This time his voice was heavy with the same desperation I was feeling. He tried to comfort me by pulling me closer, and I tried to be comforted by drawing him in. The feeling wouldn’t go away. Our nights were numbered, and our time together nearly over after it had just begun.
I wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince me or himself. “Gage is one of the most cunning men I know. He may have a plan he hasn’t shared with me yet. Don’t give up on us; we’ll find a way.” Drake drifted off to sleep before I did; he spoke to me while he was sleeping. I don’t know how many times I heard it before I drifted off with him, but I fell asleep to the sound of Drake’s whispers, their own soft lullaby: “Choose me, Love, choose me.”
The next morning was much the same as our first, with Gage knocking on my door. He didn’t come in, nor did he allow the guard entry to my room. I hid Drake in the closet, although I could hardly tear myself away from him. I would have welcomed an eternity in Zandra’s prison if it meant that I could spend every night with Drake. I stole one final kiss as I closed the closet door.
Gage and I were already seated for breakfast when Zandra joined us. I didn’t wait to be spoken to. My night with Drake gave me strength for another day with my captor, “Good morning, Grandmother. I hope you slept well.”
“I did, Camille. Thank you for asking.” She turned her attention to Gage, “Is there something you’d like to tell me, Gage?” It was such a strange sensation. She was warm to me, but when she spoke to Gage, her voice had turned to ice.
Gage realized something was wrong. His charm began to waiver as he shakily responded, “I can’t think of anything pressing to tell you. I spoke to father last night. He sends his best.”
“Hmmph,” was her reply. She was frustrated with something and announced, “I think we all need to go to the garden this morning.” She motioned for us to stand up; Gage and I did without hesitation. I desperately wanted to read his thoughts to find out what caused the change in Zandra, but I didn’t want to do it in front of her. I had only successfully done it once before, and I hadn’t seen Phineas since. I worried I had done it wrong, and maybe our conversation had been discovered by Zandra.
We took a seat on the bench together as Zandra pulled up a chair. “Have either of you heard the teaching of Aphrodite and her gift to Unice?”
I shook my head that I hadn’t and sat up straighter. I hadn’t taken a shock from the stupid necklace in a day and a half and wasn’t about to start today with one. I had a strange feeling that unlike the other stories she had told me, I needed to pay close attention to this one.
Chapter 32
(Camille Benning – Florida)
“Unice was a Centauride. She was exquisite: long flowing blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a kind smile and a soft heart. She roamed the pastures of Thessaly with the other Centaurs. Unice had the voice of an angel and often sang as she galloped along the countryside. Her voice would entice strangers, beckoning them forward in search of the angel on earth who sang to the heavens. One day a human, a man, happened upon her pasture. Her body was obscured by a large boulder, so he only saw the human half of her beauty and heard the magic of her voice. The man’s name was Winfield. He was so taken with her that he sat perfectly still, content to listen to the beautiful songs she sang.”
“Winfield came to the meadow for weeks. Anytime he tried to come closer than his perch, she would disappear behind the rocks. When the weeks turned into months, Winfield confessed that he was deeply in love with Unice. Unice was sure when he found out what she was, the lust he felt for her would disappear. She stepped out from behind the rocks she had hidden behind and showed her whole body to Winfield.”
Winfield cried out to her, begged her not to leave, and professed his love for her. The two spent their days and nights together, deeply in love but unable to be together. Unice wept one evening and Aphrodite saw her tears and felt her heartbreak. Aphrodite took pity on the couple that was so deeply in love and changed Unice to a human. Unice was the first Centaur to be changed from a Centauride to a human, years before Zeus gave his gift to the Centaurs.”
Zandra looked squarely at Gage, “Has your father ever shared that story with you?”
He nodded, “Yes, he has, many times.”
“Do you know why the story of Unice and Winfield is so important to your family?”
“It’s just a legend, Miss Zandra. It is a fable for lovers who think their challenges are insurmountable, that love can c
onquer all.”
“No!!” Zandra screamed. “It is not a fable. It is your heritage, Gage.”
Gage said nothing. Zandra was furious with him when she continued, “Imagine my elation when I find out my granddaughter, one of the few living Centaurides in Chiron’s bloodline is going to marry a Centaur in the Winfield bloodline?”
“That’s right, Miss Zandra. I believe my father is pleased with our betrothal for the same reason.”
I was interested in the story, partly because the story tied to a living breathing person. I directed my question to Zandra, rather than Gage, “So is Gage a pure-blooded Centaur?”
Gage looked embarrassed by my question. I’d meant no offense, but after all her lessons over the last six weeks; I didn’t know what to make of the story. Zandra answered, “Winfield was human. Aphrodite’s magic transformed Unice to a woman, but the bloodline remains Centaur, and it retains Aphrodite’s magic.”
I smiled at Gage, who I worried might have been offended with my question on his ancestors, and ribbed him good naturedly, “So you have love magic. Am I under your spell?”
Through clenched teeth, Gage answered, “As much as I am under yours, Darling.” He wasn’t offended. He was trying to maintain his composure, hiding the humor behind a stoic expression.
Zandra interrupted our private joke, “So, tell me, Gage. Why is it that this morning I saw a woman, other than my granddaughter, slip from your room when she believed no one was near?”
Alarm spread on Gage’s face; he stayed silent. Zandra turned her attention on me, “Did you know that Bianca spent the night with Gage?”
I should have denied it. I should have played dumb waiting for Gage to think of a reasonable excuse. I knew I needed to choose my words wisely, as I was acutely aware that the necklace was unforgiving. I kept my voice even and strong, “Grandmother, I was aware. They spent the night together with my blessing.” Gage’s expression moved from alarm to shock. I think he believed my honesty would enrage the necklace.
Zandra screeched, “What?! You allowed this?” I could feel the necklace pulsing with energy. It had to have reacted to her fury, but I didn’t receive a shock. I strained the muscles in my neck in anticipation of the electric charge, but nothing happened.
In a gentle tone, careful to be absent of any hostility, I answered, “Bianca is my dear friend. She tried to choose Gage, but her mother wouldn’t permit it. Gage has accepted your invitation to be my husband, but until we are bound by marriage, he has my blessing to see Bianca.”
She turned her rage on Gage, “It is you! You are the one who interferes with Camille’s destiny. I have put the necklace of obedience around my granddaughter’s neck, and it was you whose fate was fallible. It is your unwillingness to commit that leaves her destiny undecided!”
“Miss Zandra, I will honor my commitment to Camille. I am ashamed that you so easily read my desires for Bianca and misinterpreted them as intentions by Camille. Camille will make a good wife, and she does not deserve to wear this necklace of obedience you have put on her.”
Zandra eyed him suspiciously. “You mean to tell me, you have hoped for another woman while staying at my estate, then brought that woman here? That is why I keep seeing a man other than you in Camille’s future?” Gage was definitely braver than I was. I checked my mind’s brick wall – it was intact. There was nothing to contradict Gage’s confession or augment it with one of my own.
Zandra glared at both of us. She stomped out of the garden and slammed the door to the house. I asked tentatively, “Now what?”
“Now, we wait. Why would you tell her it was with your blessing?”
“It was the truth. The necklace didn’t zap me.”
“You knew we were getting together?”
“I assumed you and Bianca had the same arrangement as Drake and I did. You choreographed the perfect arrangement for both of us. Thanks, by the way.”
Gage chuckled at me, “Well, our midnight rendezvous may be over for a while.”
“Did you mean what you said to Zandra?”
“What part?”
“That you’ll honor your commitment to me. You’re still going through with it?”
“We don’t have recourse, do we?”
“Ten minutes ago I would have said that we didn’t, but given her reaction, I wonder if there isn’t a shred of decency in her.”
Gage looked surprised by my statement, “How do you mean?”
“She didn’t seem pleased about her decision to put this stupid necklace on me. If we can get her to take it off, I’ll leave. Not just the estate, I’ll leave the country if I have to.”
“Zandra would find you.”
“She never found my mother.” I wondered if Gage knew our parents had once been betrothed. “My mom ran away on her wedding night and was never found.”
“I knew that much, but I think that had more to do with my dad protecting your mom than anything else. He really loved her. He’s told me about Angela my whole life. Even my mom doesn’t mind him telling the stories.”
Chapter 33
(Camille Benning – Florida)
I felt my eye muscles flex, “No way!”
“Yeah. She told Dad her greatest wish was to be free of Centaurs. She said she wanted to be human. He thought her wish, left ungranted while it was within his power to honor it, could destroy Aphrodite’s magic. Dad set her free then put a protective spell over her. You should have seen him the night that he found out she’d had a child with another Centaur after he gave up his most powerful magic to protect her – he was pissed!”
“Was that the night of Bruce’s wedding, when I met him?”
“Yeah, I think so. You have to understand, he seriously loved your mom. But your mom was so freaked from growing up with Zandra that he couldn’t force her to marry him. It just wasn’t in him. The night of the wedding, he told her he’d protect her from Zandra — gave her a plane ticket, an apartment, cash, a new identity and sent her away.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“He wouldn’t have any reason to lie to me about it. It’s the only explanation for why Zandra never found her. Dad has Aphrodite’s magic. Protecting someone he loved with her magic was the only thing that ensured her safety.”
“So that story Zandra just told us is true?”
“My dad thinks it is. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I know he has powerful magic, but he wasn’t willing to use it against your mom. It seems like it would have been a lot easier on both of them if he had used it to make your mother fall in love with him. Whether it came from Aphrodite or the Wicked Witch of the West isn’t all that important. He knew where she was her whole life. You, on the other hand, were a real surprise. He didn’t know anything about you.”
“Why would he agree to let you marry me? You’d think it would open old wounds or something.”
“I think he thought I’d be more charming or something, who knows. Dad and Zandra do have one common goal; they definitely want us to marry. I don’t think there’s anything either of them wouldn’t do to make it happen.” He took a breath, then explained, “Zandra is by far the most powerful Centauride. Her power comes from her lineage. Dad is in the same boat. He loaned a chunk of his magic to your mother, but since your mother’s death...sorry, Aphrodite’s magic has returned to him. They have this crazy idea that if we marry, our children will be kind of a Centaur Super-Race. We have the only two ancestors who were touched directly by the gods.”
“So how do you feel about it?”
“About marrying you?” I nodded. “When Bianca chose Drake, I didn’t care about much of anything. But when word spread that you had come to your father’s house, I thought my dad might try to work something out with your dad. Let’s face it; it’s not hard to look at you.” Gage’s smile was shy. He had been so larger-than-life since I met him that it took me aback. “I thought maybe you and I could start out as friends and maybe grow into something more — eventually I’d get over Bianca. When I showed up
the other morning, and you were wearing the same stupid necklace Dad had told me about, that had been worn by Angela, I knew I couldn’t force you to marry me any more than he could your mother. I told my father about the necklace, and he wasn’t happy. I told him I thought if I could bring Bianca and Drake back with me – history wouldn’t repeat itself.”
“Does he know how you feel about Bianca?”
“Sure he does. But he knows engagements are almost never broken. The fact that we were both betrothed, it wouldn’t have occurred to him or anyone else.”
“I’m ready to disappear, deep, deep undercover and never see another Centaur for the rest of my life!”
“We aren’t all bad. In fact, I know one who would follow you to the end of the earth.”
“Drake?”
“Well, yeah. He’s been infatuated with you since the night of your brother’s wedding. When his engagement to Bianca was announced, he didn’t show even a hint of excitement. He spent like thirty seconds with you that night, and he was ready to sacrifice his bloodline.”
“You weren’t even there that night. How would you know?”
“Bianca told me, and I see it on Drake’s face. You should have seen him the other night when I told him how we were going to smuggle him into your room. You’d have thought he just won the lottery.”
“You could have clued me in a little ahead of time.”
“Right, the next time I try to sneak my fiancé’s lover into her bedroom, I’ll make sure to send word ahead of time.”
“So, what do you think Zandra’s going to do to us?”
“I don’t know, but knowing her, it’ll be something dramatic. She might send me away. Are you going to be okay here without me for a few weeks?”
“As long as I know I’m getting out of here, I’ll be fine.”
“Good, sorry Bianca got us busted. I told her to use her microwaves or whatever power she has to make sure the coast was clear.”
