by V L Friends
“I am wondering, Seb, why all this change of heart? I mean, you acted like you detested me and could barely tolerate my presence for weeks but suddenly you are willing to marry me?” I said, smiling and taking my glass of wine from his hand.
“I don’t know what is wrong with me; I may need my head examined,” he said with a chuckle.
“Are you actually smiling?” I teased.
We sat there smiling at each other for a minute and I even think I may have seen him blush. Oh my gosh! I think my heart just did a flip.
His face suddenly went serious.
“Do you really feel that way about me? You know what you said earlier… about me being a tyrant and the worst walker you have ever seen.” His eyes looked vulnerable. I will never forget the way he looked when he said this.
“I may have been a bit hard on you, Sebastian, and I am sorry. I was angry and… well, I have this temper, you see. I really don’t know you that well to say that about you. Please forgive me,” I said.
“Well, I am relieved to hear that.” He smiled and it reached his eyes. He really knew how to turn on the charm.
I blew out a long breath before I told him the next thing I was thinking.
“I don’t think I can marry you. I know you and Julian mean well, Sebastian. I thank you for wanting to make the sacrifice to help me, but I just don’t know you well and I know we are not on the same path in life. I don’t believe in unions like this without love and unity. I am sorry. I do also want you to know that I forgive you for trying to make me a walker.”
His eyes left me and looked at the ground as he considered my words thoughtfully. His shoulders seemed to sag a little as if in defeat. Then he looked back at me with a gentle expression.
“I just ask you to keep considering me,” he said.
“I will,” I said. I was surprised at his reaction. I thought for sure he would erupt in a tyrant of what an idiot human I was being and that this union was for one reason only.
“Well, part of my effort to get you to forgive me was to ask you if you would care for a tour. I know you are curious about the rest of this place and now that all the danger is gone, I want to offer you a personal tour,” he said, getting up and extending his hand to me. “I designed this place myself and I do have several collections, and I promise not a single one of them has to do with dead animals,” he said, winking at me.
I blushed at how much he knew about me. I had Julian to thank for that one.
Julian just had to tell Sebastian the part about me detesting Louis because of his dead animal “trophy room” collection.
Sebastian’s place was incredible. From the outside, it was a circular shape protruding from a mountain. The inside was somewhat circular as well and, in the center, it had an elevator that went two stories beneath, into the mountain. The cave walls up above had intricate carvings. The round part of the house, above, was three stories high, with over 20 rooms, with balconies outside each room that lead to two large circular staircases on opposite sides that brought you down to the main open center. This center is where Sebastian had many dinner parties. There was a large art gallery in a room off to the side of the center room. His collection contained many war relics, such as armor of historic value and weaponry. The entire place was so beautiful and well-lit for a cave. I had never seen such a place in all of my life. The fireplace in the center room gave it a romantic touch but I still could not help but feel like I had gone back in time hundreds of years.
“Your collection must have taken you hundreds of years to collect,” I said.
“Have you been listening to Dylan?” he prodded with a smile.
“Well, he did say that you used to be a king and that he is the only one who knows your true age,” I said.
“He did, did he?” He looked a little sad but thoughtful. “Well, that is not a time I like to talk about. I will tell you what, when you agree to marry me, I will tell you about it. I will tell you all my secrets, I promise,” he said, smiling warmly. His eyes lit up.
I was curious but I could see that it was not something he told people, so I would not pry where I did not belong. He was already being so kind and charming beyond what I ever would have expected from him. I just nodded and smiled.
“So, I guess we change the subject, then?” I laughed nervously.
Sebastian led me to the elevator to take me to his hospital facility.
“I am afraid you may find this place to be very dull in comparison to the rest of my place,” he said as the doors shut to take us down. “You may also want to hold on. For some reason, the elevator is a bit shaky,” he said.
Before he even got the words out the elevator jolted and I thrust forward into him.
I was so embarrassed by my reaction but he seemed fine with it. It was me who was nervous about this entire evening, not him. I spent a number of weeks in the same bed and never thought for a second that I might actually like this man, but now that I was seeing him in a new light, I was afraid I was falling for him. I kept telling myself that I had to keep my distance and remember that walkers had a way of charming us humans. They couldn’t help it. I was so inexperienced with men and dating. I never had time for it and I certainly didn’t have time for it now. Feeling that twinge of guilt for entertaining the thought of dating, I thought about Caleb and how he could be in trouble or worse. I felt a twinge of guilt and this caused me to make a decision. I had to leave this place. I needed to go look for Caleb and I could not be stopped by Julian and Sebastian.
Julian was nearly restored to full health. I remembered that my original plan was to get him to safety, make sure he was okay, and then I would depart. I loved him but knew that it was not good to be around him at this time. I knew that he would try very hard to make me stay with him until he could find a safe place for me, so I had to leave without him knowing. I also knew that this thing between Sebastian and I was getting to a point where I didn’t know if I could trust myself. I was drawn to him but I just could not love him. It just would not be right for me to fall in love with a walker. What would this mean? My head was spinning. I resolutely made a decision to leave the first chance I got. If I discussed it with them, they would do everything to stop me.
After the tour, Sebastian walked me to my own room and I said goodnight to him. I locked my door and began planning my departure. I could barely sleep and, in fact, paced the floor most of the night.
Chapter 13 - Friends with the Devil
I told the staff I was heading for the stables, so if anyone was looking for me they would think that I went horseback riding. I figured I had about two hours before anyone noticed me missing. Basking in the clean morning air, I set off on foot, hoping to make it into the village and find a taxi. I could have taken a horse but decided it was not mine to take, plus it would be easier to cover my tracks on foot. The woods lined a small river and I stumbled down the hill towards them, trying to hide. Thumping footsteps, from what I guessed came from a horse, sounded behind me. I was startled by how close it was to me without my knowing. When I turned to see, the very large black horse was menacing enough but the large cloaked figure on top of the black beast sent a cold chill down my spine.
“Hello,” I said with a shaky voice.
He was silent and appeared frozen, momentarily an impressive statue, too still, giving me that distinct knowledge that he could not be human.
He just seemed to be watching me with such intensity—it scared me. His gaze even seemed to lock me in some kind of trance and I could not move. I had the feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was in trouble, as I forced myself to look away, briefly, for an escape route, but it was too late. With one swift motion that I could barely register, he reached down from his horse and grabbed me up and I was positioned in front of him. This rider had such grip and strength and moved like no human being. His hood fell from his head and I found myself looking into the face of a man. I tried to read his intent behind those dark eyes and stone face. His handsome features with long
, thick, dark wavy hair and well-groomed short beard gave the appearance of someone who was not likely evil but I did not trust what was on the surface. I had been fooled by appearances before, plus it is known that Satan himself has manifested as an angel of light and beauty to fool his opponents.
He held me tight to him with a super grip so I knew he meant business. There was no wiggling away from him.
“Who are you? And where are you taking me?” I insisted.
He seemed uninterested in me, as if I was nothing more than a bulky package. I did not repeat myself but instead waited for what seemed like many minutes. He took a long breath and finally spoke.
“I am a tracker, and someone paid me good money to find you and take you to them. We have a long journey so you best just settle in.” His words were clear and his voice was deep and held no emotion, with a hint of an accent that I could not place.
It had only been a few hours. There was just no way Sebastian or Julian could have noticed I was gone so soon and sent someone after me.
“Whatever Sebastian or Julian are paying you to bring me to them, I can pay more, if you will let me go,” I said.
His face twitched. “I am not taking you to them.”
“Who then?” I knew that I could be making a mistake by being so demanding with this guy.
“A man named Caleb Alexander.”
My heart leapt. Caleb was alive! I sat quietly for a while and tears came to my eyes. Guilt began to creep up on me for helping Julian even after he nearly killed Caleb. Had I betrayed Caleb again? I dismissed the guilt for now, choosing to focus on the fact that I was going to see my uncle again and that is all that mattered right then.
“Where is he?” I finally asked.
“About four days away. Anyway, enough questions.” He didn’t seem very patient at all. How in the world was I going to survive this journey with this person? Something about him was quite intimidating, but his indifference bothered me the most.
He stopped and hopped off the horse to cross a river. I think he planned on having me stay on the horse as he led the beast across but, to his dismay, I hopped off too. One look up close to his six-foot four, pure muscular fierceness coming towards me made me regret my action. I was so startled by this that I fell backwards on the ground. My reaction only seemed to anger him more because he lurched forward with a sneer and roughly grabbed my arm, yanking me up and throwing me back on the horse with such force it knocked the wind out of me. The beast of a man didn’t even flinch at hurting me.
That is when I decided that I was not staying with him.
As soon as we were crossing the river I made a break for it. The river was flowing high but I realized this may be my only chance. I was a good swimmer. I could do this! I let myself drift down river about five miles before I swam to shore. The sun had gone down and I was freezing though. I guess I hadn't planned for the drop in temperature. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t really planned this at all. I would have to find a place to sleep for the night and somehow get warm without a fire. I didn’t know what he would do with me if he found me, but I had a feeling it would be painful and I was not up for that, so I figured I had only one way to move and that was forward.
Off the shore, I found a towering rock formation with some caves and I tried to settle there for the night but I found myself shivering so much I was afraid to fall asleep and never wake up. That fear drove me to keep walking, hoping I would gain some warmth from my active body as I walked on. As I walked, I caught sight of the only light from a flicker of a campfire in the distance. All I could think of was getting to that fire. I must have walked for at least an hour toward it, slamming into a lot of trees and tripping over roots, rocks, and God knows whatever else because I fell at least a hundred times. I was sure that I was bloodied up pretty good but it was to my advantage that I was so cold my limbs were numb. When I reached the campfire, much to my dismay, it was actually him looking like he made camp and he was leisurely waiting for me there. He had abandoned his cloak and was staring at the fire. He must have sensed me lurking in the woods nearby because he spoke to me with a sarcastic tone without giving even so much as a glance in my direction.
“So, you would rather die of hypothermia than keep company with the likes of me? Come… I’ve been expecting you… there is a change of clothes over there.” He pointed to some clothes on a stump nearby.
I limped over to them meekly. I guess this was better than dying, after all.
I must have been a pathetic sight even for him because when he glanced at me, he did a double-take and jumped to his feet.
“What the hell happened to you? Let me…” he said, moving to grab me as I stumbled forward.
I was so covered in blood and mud it took us both almost an hour to get me cleaned, bandaged, and clothed. He no longer was the rough indifferent kidnapper, but he was so gentle it confused me. He must have sensed my confusion because he said, “Sorry I was rough on you back there. It has been awhile since I have escorted a human, much less a delicate one.”
“I am not so delicate. I just do not trust you,” I stammered, as I was still shaky from the cold.
“Come here,” he demanded. He sat with his back against a log and patted the space directly in front of him. When I shook my head, he grabbed me gently and pulled me to him, taking a blanket and wrapping me with it in his arms. I gave in, leaning back against his chest. The salty smell of his skin along with burnt wood invaded my nostrils, lulling me to a silent surrender as I fell back against his chest. He had some sort of towel he was using to dry my hair and then began gently working my tangles and smoothing my hair with his fingers as he worked it into a loose braid. Then with the towel he began dipping it in water and washing the mud from my face, arms, legs, and hands, then while holding up the blanket to shield me from his eyes he told me to take off my top as he handed me a fresh long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants, which I quickly changed into before settling back down to sit again. He pulled me back to him and blew his hot breath on the areas of my skin that still were cold as he rubbed and then pulled me back into an embrace with his legs on either side of me, warming me even more. I was not comfortable with this kind of closeness with a stranger but at this point I had little choice. I was still weak with exhaustion and I started to pull away in protest but I only met with his gentle resistance as he rocked and pulled me close, whispering, “Shhh, shhhh” in my ear.
“You are quite a handful, missy,” he whispered against my ear as we settled back without another word spoken—just the crackle of the fire and sounds of the night as I began to breathe heavily and I drifted into sleep against this warm, doting stranger.
We rode into a small town the next day just before dark. I was still battered and scraped up from the night before when I had fallen several dozen times. He told me to get a hotel room while he went to conduct business and he would meet me downstairs in the restaurant. While I was waiting for a table in the restaurant I noticed waitresses looking at me and whispering among themselves. When “the giant” came in I noticed he had put on a leather jacket that matched his pants. He looked like a biker. Instead of waiting for a table, he marched in ahead to sit down and no one dared challenge him.
As I followed slowly behind him one of the waitresses pulled me aside and said, “You don’t have to take that from your boyfriend, ya know.” She nodded at my injuries.
I had not seen myself in a mirror. I must have looked horrifying. “I am afraid this is my own doing,” I said to her. My face turned red with embarrassment.
While scooting into a booth in the seat in front of the giant, I was suddenly very aware of all the eyes that were on us and what they must be thinking. “So, are you ever going to tell me your name or should I just refer to you as ‘the giant’?”
“Cute!” he sneered. “The name is Leland.”
He seemed to ignore everyone’s eyes. We ordered and ate in silence. I was not in a talking mood, as I was still in so much pain. During dinner, I excused myse
lf and went into the bathroom. That may have been a mistake. I was horrified! My pale skin enhanced my dark circles under my eyes. My elbows, knees, and nose were so scraped up and I had a big bump on my head that had scabbed over. My hair was tied back in a long braid. Leland was surprisingly very skilled with his hands last night and took it upon himself to comb and braid my hair. Smiling to myself, I imagined what that must have looked like.
Climbing the stairs to my room proved to be difficult, for I was so tired and stiff. Leland was stuck behind me and growing impatient.
“I never got you a room,” I said, wondering why he was following me. “Sorry, you didn’t tell me to and I forgot.”
“Well, I guess we will have to manage, won’t we?” he said, smirking and with one swoop swung me around and lifted me over his shoulder and carried me the rest of the way to my room, this time being more careful not to hurt me.
Inside the room he took off his jacket and sat down on the foot of the bed, pulling out a canister of some kind of ointment that smelled horrible like a very smelly moss.
“Ew! What the heck is that?” I grabbed my nose and turned away.
He reached for my arm and pulled me over as he laughed at my reaction. “Come over here and sit down. This will help your wounds heal faster.”
“You are not putting that stuff on me!” I was laughing while trying to lightly pull away.
“Come now,” he said with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes. I finally surrendered and let him apply the salve.
“So, what happened to your cloak?” I decided to inquire, trying to make conversation and make the awkwardness less awkward.
“I traded it for the leather jacket. It doesn’t go with my new horse,” he said, smiling. It was like this was a different person than who I met the first time. Even his eyes seemed to smile at me.