Legend of the Forbidden

by J. F. Jenkins

  “Tyson loves you.”

  “Not like that,” she said.

  Glancing over at her, Ethan shook his head. “What makes you think you have to change who you are to get him to?”

  “I notice things, is all. And I also noticed he wasn't into a lot of what I proposed. So I decided on red because it's a color I like and that symbolizes my people. And I chose gold because it's a symbol of his. In the end, those two things are more important than personal preference.”

  “Probably true. What would personal preference have chosen?” Ethan asked.

  Dani thought for a moment. “Probably purple with a red accent of some kind.”

  “Interesting choice.”

  They'd be our colors, she thought. “I don't think they'd have gone over well. This seemed politically safe and included everything I wanted.”

  “So what kind of flowers do you want?” Ethan asked. “You can't make this all about politics, Dani, remember? We're supposed to be enjoying the moment and making it fun!” There was a forced enthusiasm in his tone, and he jumped and clicked his heels together to try and emphasize the point. All it did was make him look silly.

  It got a laugh out of her all the same. “To be honest? The only flowers I like are roses.”

  “Then use those.”

  “Would that be too simple?” she asked.

  Ethan walked her over to the rose display in the shop and picked one. He cut the stem carefully with one of his claws. They were trimmed, but still sharp. He then put the flower in her hair. “Sometimes simple is best, you know. Don't try so hard; it's not like you. Being yourself is more than enough.”

  I'm not so sure. But she smiled and nodded, acting as if she agreed with him. Dani touched the flower he'd given her; their hands briefly made contact. “I'll try to keep that in mind, but when the whole world is watching, it's a little hard. People will expect something big and bold.”

  “Forget about that. Although I do need to say, you look wonderful today. Talk about unexpected.” Ethan moved his gaze over her briefly, and she noticed the slight scent of cinnamon coming from him. Her cheeks went warm at the realization that he wanted her. Even if it was only for those few seconds.

  “Thank you.” That was about all she could manage to say. Anything else might have opened up a can of worms she'd rather not deal with.

  He nodded, then gave her a pointed look. “Roses.”

  “Okay, I'll get roses.”

  “And you can use gold ribbon.”

  “Your big designer connections are paying off,” Dani teased, nudging him in the side.

  Ethan nudged her back. “What can I say? My aunt taught me well. But she's gotta pass it on to someone, right? None of her kids are too into it. I can't help what fascinates me. Color is one of those things.”

  “I know, and I think it's sweet,” she said. “Whatever you do in life, you're going to be a big success, Ethan, and you're sweet. You'll make whoever your future bride is very happy. And I'll get to tell her how good you are at this. Most guys aren't.”

  “Tell me about it. But that's assuming I get married. How's Tyson doing anyway?”

  “This isn't his thing at all.” She shook her head. “I can tell he's bored. I kind of am too, but it's more interesting with him gone. Most of the problem is, I don't think he cares enough to make a decision. It's obvious he doesn't like all of my ideas, but he just goes with it.”

  Ethan winked. “I'll go knock some sense into him.”

  She shook her head. “I'd rather not bother him too much about it. If he's not interested, then he's not.”

  “You can't do it by yourself.”

  “I won't be.” Dani pointed to her mother.

  Ethan tapped his chest. “You're right. ‘Cause you'll have me.”

  Gazing up at him, she got caught up in his small smile and blue eyes. Having you is what makes this worthwhile.

  Chapter Fourteen

  After her lunch with Tyson, Maya fell back asleep. She didn't wake again until several hours later, and it embarrassed her. All she wanted to do was prove she could handle being about on her own, and she seemed to struggle with it. For the most part, her body felt fine. Outside of weak and tired, she didn't have any pain or nausea. It would probably help matters if she hadn't purposefully fainted in the kitchen earlier. But she couldn't stand watching everyone fawn over Dani. Tyson was the only one allowed to do such a thing. Not her Ethan.

  Feeling awake and full of energy, Maya went downstairs to see if anyone was awake still. It was dark outside, but she wasn't quite sure what the time was since there was no clock in her room. The most she could tell was the younger children were in bed, because she could no longer hear them running or yelling from somewhere in the house, but it wasn’t late enough to put Ethan and the others to bed. She could hear them in the living room. Maya peeked around the corner to see what they were doing.

  “I must have a million things on my checklist to get done,” Dani said as she fixed her hair. She sat on the couch, sandwiching herself between Tyson and Ethan.

  “It won't be as bad as you think,” Ethan pointed out. “All of those things are small. You'll get them done quickly, time to spare, piece of cake.”

  “Speaking of cake…”

  Tyson rolled his eyes. “Can we not talk about this right now?”

  Dani scowled at him. “Will you ever want to talk about it?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Then buck up, because this is happening regardless of what either of us thinks about it!”

  “I am bucked up just fine. That doesn't mean I want to talk about it twenty-four-seven!” Tyson glared at her. This was the first time Maya had ever seen him angry. She got the impression it didn't happen often. The way Dani recoiled toward Ethan, as if she'd been slapped, further supported Maya's views.

  Ethan hesitated and put a hand on Dani's shoulder, though firmly. Almost as if he didn't want to touch her. “This is good. You two fighting, I mean. Get these emotions out of the way. It's like you already fight as though you are married.”

  “Ugh!” Tyson then let out a low growl, stood up, and stormed into the kitchen.

  Dani watched him leave, and Maya could almost see her heart crumbling on the spot. The girl's eyes were downcast and pooled with tears, her skin paler than usual, and Maya was pretty sure she saw Dani begin to shake a little.

  At that point, Ethan didn't look as if he knew what to do. He kept glancing back and forth between his two friends. Maya, personally, thought he should go after Tyson into the kitchen. What Dani needed wasn't a boy to comfort her; she needed someone who could relate to her. Plus the selfish side of Maya just didn't like him spending more time with Dani.

  He didn't follow Tyson, however. Instead, he put an arm around his friend and cuddled her close. “Just let him deal with this in his own way.”

  “I can't do this on my own,” Dani choked out.

  That was when Tyson re-entered the room. With a heavy sigh, he also put an arm around Dani to comfort her. Ethan released his grip, letting Tyson bring her over to him and lay her head on his lap so he could stroke her hair. Maya watched as Dani's feet tucked in next to Ethan, and he put his hand close to them.

  Is there anything these guys won't do for her? Maya started to feel queasy.

  “I'm trying to not let this bother me so much,” Tyson whispered. “I'll cooperate more. I'm sorry.”

  Dani let out a slow breath. “If it's not something you're interested in, you don't have to. I just didn't want you to get upset with how things turned out since it's supposed to be about the both of us.”

  Tyson shook his head. “If I think about what I want, then I'm going to think about everything I want. Like how unfair and ridiculous this whole thing is. So maybe it's better if I don't have any input. Besides, most of this stuff isn't anything I care too much about. And I trust your judgment.”

  “Okay,” Dani whispered, but the defeated frown she wore made it clear that she didn't think this was 'o
kay'.

  “You've still got me,” Ethan pointed out. “It's not like I haven't known Tyson since diapers or anything. Pretty sure if you're going to do something he'll absolutely hate, I'll know. Okay? You're not alone.”

  “I don't want you to feel like you have to do it alone either,” Tyson said. “I'm fine with—”

  Dani shook her head and looked up at Tyson from his lap. “Maybe after you've dealt with… everything. It's clear you're kind of freaking out.”

  Ethan nodded, obviously agreeing.

  Scowling, Tyson rested his chin in his free hand. “Not as badly as you think I am, but I'll take a break. It's all so… girlie… anyway.”

  “I think it's fascinating,” Ethan said.

  “Of course you would.”

  Ethan raised an eyebrow. “And what's that supposed to mean?”

  “That I know all of this is new to you, so of course it's interesting. We all know you're probably never going to get the chance to do it,” Tyson said quietly.

  “You have a point,” Ethan said, and shrugged.

  Maya watched him, trying to get a read on how he felt exactly. Did he want a wedding? Did he not want one? She could tell that Tyson's comments upset Ethan more than he let on. But why?

  She couldn't watch anymore. Quietly, she made her way back up the stairs to her room. Sleeping was the last thing she felt like doing. Instead, she gazed out the window at the beach, daydreaming. If Ethan wanted a beautiful wedding, he was more than welcome to have one with her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  While he sat and sampled food with Dani, Ethan couldn't stop thinking about what Tyson had said the night before. The words still resonated with him, and they made Ethan angry. Not because what Tyson said was untrue, but because Ethan couldn't understand how ungrateful Tyson was being. Maybe in Terran, getting married wasn't as big of a thing, or it was normal for the man to not be included in the process. But in Ethan's eyes, his friend should have been glad he got the chance to have so much freedom with planning the event.

  Even if Ethan did woo a girl through time and getting to know her, he would still have to follow a lot of the customs of his people when it came to a marriage ceremony. There were rituals, rules, and only certain places considered holy enough to enter into such a covenant. Most of his family would not be present. The hypothetical what-if of doing a rededication ceremony was always possible, and those were slightly more elaborate. But it wasn't the same.

  “You're not eating,” Dani observed as she put a new plate in front of him.

  “I'm trying to pace myself,” he said.

  “You're making your grumpy face.”

  He shrugged. “I always look grumpy when I think.”

  “Not always, but most of the time. So you only look grumpy? Because if you're going to be a crabby pants—”

  “Just a little annoyed that Tyson didn't come,” he said honestly. He's being stupid.

  Dani took a bite of ravioli filled with cheese, the next item on the menu, and rolled her eyes at him. There was so much good food they'd already tried. Ethan didn't know how they would make any kind of a decision at this rate.

  “It doesn't annoy me, so I don't know why it should you,” she said. “Besides, wasn't it you who told me that in Terran the wedding is all about the bride? It's the only kind of attitude he knows.”

  “If it were me and you—”

  “It's not me and you.”

  Ethan glared at her briefly, unhappy about the interruption. “If it were me and you, I'd personally be jumping up and down at the opportunity to plan how we'd be beginning the rest of our lives together. That's all.”

  “You Oceina are really sappy, did you know that?” she teased.

  “So I'm told, but I don't know how much weight you want to put in stereotypes. Tell me, are you a passionate vixen like they say about Inero?” He took a bite and sighed happily at the cheese melting on his tongue. “Put this on the maybe list.”

  “Everything is on the maybe list,” she mumbled, and he noticed her cheeks were pink. “I guess I wouldn't know anything about being a passionate vixen. I didn't even know that's what they said about Inero.”

  Ethan set his fork down. “Yeah, they do. And I know that when my people are called sappy, it's usually not a good thing. It's another way of saying soft or weak. Unrespectable and unmanly.”

  “For what it's worth, I like it. It's nice to have someone to talk to who understands. My family likes to pretend to be strong. Tyson kind of does the yes-man thing. At least you're honest.”

  For the most part. He nodded and decided to change topics. “So I think we need to stop trying new things and start narrowing down.”

  “Tyson doesn't like beef, so that's out,” she said. “And I'm going to be so nervous, eating something complicated probably isn't a good idea. And nothing messy.”

  He pointed at the ravioli in front of them. “Then this is your winner.”

  She hugged him. “Thanks, you are a life saver.”

  “Now we have to figure out your cake.”

  “I get to have cake?”

  “It's on your list.” He pointed to the paper with all the things that still needed to be done written on it. Some of it her parents were in charge of, others Lord Bolton was apparently taking care of. The cake was not one of those things, however. Ethan helped Dani stand from her chair. “Let's take a break for now. Walk it off. Go and tell them we've… you've… made a decision.”

  She beamed from ear to ear and then left to find the restaurant manager. Ethan couldn't help but watch her every move as she left.

  What is my problem today? He couldn't help but wonder, because he'd been staring a lot today, and making small slip-ups as if she were his bride and not Tyson's. But he couldn't help it. Sometimes that's how it felt.

  I gotta get with it, and fast.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “So why didn't you go food-tasting with everyone today?” Maya asked Tyson as she joined him in the living room.

  The house was empty, which was weird for Dani's home. Usually someone was around, but the offer of free food must have been too much to resist for the number of growing boys who lived there. Tyson liked the quiet. He was used to it.

  Tyson glanced over at Maya, and a small smile formed on his lips. “Wasn't feeling hungry. Needed some ‘me’ time.”

  “Not into the planning, huh?” She sat with him on the couch and crossed slender legs that were displayed from under her knee-length black skirt. He quickly looked away, not wanting to be rude and stare at her. Maya noticed because she made eye contact with him and smirked.

  He shifted where he sat and tried to look anywhere but her. Which was easier said than done, because his eyes kept gravitating back. “It's part of why I need the break. I still need more time to absorb the whole thing.”

  “Throw yourself a pity party basically?”

  “I'm not having a pity party.” He shook his head. “Have you ever been told something would happen to you? And you've known about it your whole life? But it's been a long time. It doesn't feel like it's ever going to come to pass. Now it is. We're grownups. There's a lot to accept.”

  “You're thinking about it too hard,” she said, and when he opened his mouth to speak she placed an index finger over his lips and shook her head. “I know exactly what you're talking about, Tyson, because my entire life I've been told that someday I'm going to die. It'll probably happen soon, blah, blah, blah. Seventeen dragon years later, and I'm still around. Dragon years. Not human ones. Which means I've lived for a total of sixty-eight years on this planet. If I decided to have the same attitude you do right now and try to adjust to the news and accept the facts, I'd miss out on a lot of things. My parents have forced me to miss out on a lot already. But I'm not going to do it to myself. You shouldn't either.”

  Tyson watched her as she spoke, taking in everything she said. Sometimes it was hard to remember she was dying. The smell only lingered faintly, almost as if the island healed her.
She acted so normal and healthy, but she may have been good at faking it.

  Finally, he let out a deep breath. “Point taken. What do you think I'm missing out on, though? Honestly, wedding planning is not my kind of thing. I don't get what the big deal is. The whole thing is to show her off. At the end of the day, I'd rather just have something fast and simple.”

  “Eager to get it out of the way and onto other things?” Maya teased with a wink.

  Tyson waved his hands in front of him. “No, no, no. I don't like being in the spotlight is all. Attention makes me nervous.” He hadn't even thought about making love to Dani, not much beyond knowing it would happen—someday. He wondered if that was a bad thing. Someday was fast approaching. Shouldn't he be excited? Especially after all of the wonderful things he'd heard about the act.

  “Imagine everyone in their underwear then?” Maya offered.

  He laughed. “Not so simple. I don't want to picture all of those important diplomats in their underwear. Then I'll be more nervous.”

  “Then a select few?”

  He met her gaze with his own and swallowed. “Even then…”

  “You are hilarious.” She leaned in toward him. Maya grazed his forearm with a hand, and the touch made him tingle. “Back to your question though, what you're missing out on. You're missing out on your opportunities. All the time you spend worrying and feeling sad over the loss of your childhood, is a moment you're spending missing out on being spontaneous.”

  “And how do you recommend I do—”

  But before he could finish the question, Maya touched her lips to his. Definitely not what he had expected, and not something he'd thought she wanted. How did he react? The want to kiss her back was there, but he knew it wouldn't be right. He was promised to Dani. Still, the softness of Maya's lips was inviting, and in those two seconds it took for him to work up his courage and reciprocate the action—if only out of curiosity because he wanted to know what a kiss was like—Maya pulled away.