Devouring love

by Serafina Daniel

  “Is everything okay?” I heard Merdian's voice behind me.

  I stood up and turned to face him. His face was frowned, telling me that he didn't like to see me alone in this huge room.

  “Everything is okay,” I assured him. “I was just drawing,” I sat back. He soon took a seat next to me and snaked his arms around my waist.

  “A cat?” he asked seeing my drawing.

  “Yes,” I nodded and put my head on his shoulder. I was really happy seeing him with me. Those two hours while he had to do something, was a real torture to me.

  “I like it,” he kissed my forehead.

  “And I like you,” I kissed him at the lips. “Where have you been?”

  “With my father,” his tone changed. Merdian didn't want to talk with me about what he had to do with his father and that only made me curious. I wanted to know everything.

  “Please,” I asked, touching his face with my fingers.

  He smiled and let himself enjoy my soft and warm fingers against his skin.

  “We talked about the oaths,” he said finally. “I want us to say them as quickly as possible, but my father wants me to wait until you would be fully recovered. He is afraid that after oaths something could happen to you.”

  I dropped my eyes to the ground. I wanted to say oaths as soon as possible too. I wanted to be Merdian's wife, his children mother and the princess of the angels, but I knew that we should not hurry the events. Yes, I was still weak, although my nature helped me to get my strength back than a human could. But still, I needed some time until my body would be fully recovered.

  “He is right,” I said reluctantly. “He is afraid that something bad could happen to me and if it does, you would be devastated. He doesn't want to see his son sad.”

  Merdian nodded.

  “I agree. Those two years were a true hell for me and he saw that. I was alive only with that fain hope that you will wake up. I would had died if I hadn't had it. You are my world, Melody.”

  “And you are mine,” our lips joined once again. This time this kiss was demanding. He wanted to prove me how special I was to him. He loved me. I was his world. The only thing which mattered to him.

  While I was with him, I was at home and safe. Merdian was meant to be mine and I his. No one could steal our happiness. I wasn't going that to let happen.

  “My father wants to hold a ball next week,” he said when we broke our kiss because we needed to fill our lungs with air.

  I narrowed immediately. I had never liked balls and now, after what had happened during the last one, I hated them.

  Merdian noticed my reaction.

  “I told him that you would react like this,” he didn't hide his irritation,” but my mother wants to celebrate that you are with us again. Also, she wants that we could do what we didn't have a chance the last time.”

  A proposal, I said in my mind. That night he had to announce that he wanted to see me next to him for all his life.

  I didn't know what I could say to him. I was a bit lost at that minute.

  “Do you want that ball?” he asked carefully.

  I shrugged. If it be my decision, I would say no, but only because I didn't like ball anymore, but I knew deep inside me that one way or another the ball would be held in which Merdian would introduce me to our society as their future princes who would become a queen later. This was my destiny, my world.

  “I want to be with you,” I said openly.

  He kissed my hair one more time. I could feel a smile on his face. He was really happy hearing me saying those words. I felt joy inside me too. I liked to say how special he was to me and how much I wanted to be with him.

  But there was one little thing which I just couldn't throw out off my mind; my doctor. I tried to find the answer why I could feel his touch when others' I couldn't. Why was he special? I needed to talk with him I find that out. But how could I approach to him?

  Well, the ball seemed a good chance to have a little chat with him.

  “Will Mr. Offman be in the ball?” I dared to ask.

  Merdian narrowed his eyes. He didn't understand why I was asking.

  “Yes, he will be. After all, he brought you back to me and plus, my father wants him to meet his friends.”

  “I would like to thank him myself,” I said pulling myself away from him and taking a pencil back to my hand. “You know, I haven't said how grateful I am for his help. Everything happened so quickly,” I confessed.

  Of course, Merdian believed that he was the first person with whom I spoke. Plus, the only person with whom I spoke. He didn't have a clue that I had talked with Mr. Offman before I had opened my mouth in Merdian's presence. But he didn't need to know that.

  “Yes, it really happened quite quickly,” he agreed with me. I could hear in his voice annoyance, because he had an idea what I should say next.

  “Please, could you let me invite him to the ball?”

  He frowned and shook his head.

  “No,“ he said. “We haven't found that intruder and while he is free, I don't want you to leave the building. It isn't safe for you.”

  I pouted. Yes, he was right that while Marcus was free, I wasn't safe. No, I wasn't safe in this house. Marcus managed once to get into the building. He could do that and the second time if he wanted.

  “I will take as many guards as you want,” I tried again.

  This time he took several minutes to ponder over my offer. I begged in my mind that he could let me.

  “You are not strong enough.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “I am strong enough to walk from one corner to other. Please, let me visit him and say thanks that he let me come back to you. Right now I feel like I am an animal in a golden cage. I want to see the city, visit parks and watch how some ducks eat bread.”

  “You can do that and here. There is a pond with duck and swans.”

  “Please,” I tried again.

  This time he didn't say no, but also he didn't say yes. Merdian just kissed me and took me into his arms. I knew that I was heavy, but only to a human. To an angel like Merdian, I was like a feather.

  “You know that I can walk,” I said in a teasing tone.

  “Yes, but I like to have you in my arms,” he grinned. I liked seeing him happy, because only then I was happy too.

  Caspar

  Two days later I decided that it was enough for me to be in my home and do nothing. I needed some kind of activity and that was why I came back to the hospital. Nick had already done his practice in the hospital and was at the university again.

  My mother caught the flue and was at home. She asked me to visit her today and tell her what she should do.

  So, I needed to finish my work as quickly as possible. But I doubted if that was even possible. On my desk I saw a huge pill of files, just waiting for me to take them and read. Many rich people wanted me be their doctor. All of them offered me a huge sum of money.

  I sighed and took the first file into my hands. At least this time I could choose who could be my patients, not other way around.

  My relationship with Chelsea had improved during that one evening when we ate Chinese food. There was a real chance that we could be more than just friends and I hoped that it would happen soon.

  I grinned only by thinking that maybe soon I would start a family. It was really high time for me to do that.

  But my smile vanished from my face when someone knocked on the door. I put the file on the table and turned by face at the door, wondering who that might be. Was it Chelsea? For some reason I doubted. It was breakfast time. All nurses should be working, giving food to the rich folks.

  “Come in,” I said.

  The door opened and two mountains burst into the room. I jumped and hit the table with one of my legs. The pain screwed my face.

  Those two men quickly scanned the area. Their eyes were searching for something. Danger maybe. I didn't understand why they were here and why they were doing that. Was it some kind of pr
actice? But I doubted. After all, no one warned me about them.

  “Is it really necessary?” I heard a familiar voice. “Look, you scared him,” she burst in laugh and I felt like the stupidest person in this world.

  “Mr. Spring order us to make sure you are safe, Miss Watts.”

  “Yea, yea,” she walked around them and stood in front of me. “Please, wait for me in the corridor. I would like to speak with Mr. Offman alone.”

  The men wanted to argue, but severe eyes warned them to do what they were told to. So, they only nodded and left us alone.

  Melody seemed...alive. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress and black shoes. Her silver hair was spruced up with a red ribbon.

  “My apologies. I didn't want to scare you or anything. Merdian just wants to make sure that the person, who killed his father's men, wouldn't have a chance to touch me,” without even asking, she took a seat in front of me.

  I was really shocked seeing her like this; recovered. It almost seemed that those two years in the bed had never happened. It was impossible. No one could really recover so quickly. But maybe if you have money? Then it could be another tale.

  “Yes,” I said confused. “I understand.”

  She smiled.

  “It is really nice to see you again, Mr. Offman. Could I call you by your name? I really don't like to use last names. For some reason I feel then like between me and that person is some kind of wall.”

  “Yes, of course. You can call me Caspar.”

  “Thank you, Caspar. You can call me Melody,” I really liked hearing my name from her lips. I wanted her to repeat it over and over again.

  I slammed myself in my mind. I shouldn't want things like that. No. I really shouldn't.

  “Why are you here?”

  She didn't answer. She even ignored my question and let herself look around the room. A few times her eyes stopped at the books, files and the bared walls. I decided not to repeat my question. So, I just patiently waited for her to start the conversation.

  “This room is cold,” she said finally. “Why aren't here any paintings or pictures of your family?” she was curious.

  “Well...I don't know really...”

  “I will paint you a painting or just take one from Merdian. He has many of my paintings. He really won't miss one,” she sounded happy.

  “I didn't know you paint,” I said politely.

  “Yes, I paint. I like to have a brush or a pencil in my hands. And to answer to your question, I am here because I want to say thank you from helping me and invite you to the ball which will be...for my honer,” the last words she said with pain. “I hope to see you there and to know you better.”

  I nodded.

  “Yes, of course I will be there,” and I accepted the invitation not because I knew that I had to, but because I wanted to. Melody wanted to talk with me about something and understood that here, while mountains would be behind the door, she won't have enough time or so needed privacy.

  Her body relaxed. I didn't even notice that she was tense. She thought that maybe I would say no. Well, that thought wasn't even in my head.

  “You can bring your brother with you, by the way. I would like to meet him and tell how sick he is for wanting to rape me while I couldn't move,” even though she said that with a smile, I could hear that she was angry. She hated my brother, although she knew that she shouldn't. After all, he was one of those you helped her to open her eyes.

  “I doubt if he comes,” I said honestly.

  “Well, tell him that I said thank you for helping you. But really, what he had in mind when he said those words? I am really surprised that Merdian didn't kill him.”

  I smirked.

  “Maybe because we were just acting.”

  She shrugged.

  “Lucky is your brother then.”

  “How do you feel?” I asked her in a serious tone.

  She frowned. Melody didn't want to talk about her health, but I was inquisitive. I wanted to know how she managed so quickly to recover.

  “Fine, I guess. Merdian does everything that I would be the same Melody.”

  “But that is impossible?”

  She started playing with he hair.

  “I didn't tell him that I could hear everything when I was in the bed. Also, I didn't mention him what people told me while I was in the bed. And most importance, I didn't want him to tell what really happened to me.”

  I was a bit confused hearing her words. Why was she telling that to me, to a person who was a total strange to her? Of course, I was happy that she trusted me, but still, why was she doing that?

  I wanted to ask that question so much, but I couldn't find enough strength in me to actually open my mouth and say the words. I didn't want to insult her or anything. I really like hearing her voice and see her in front of me.

  The silence dropped on us. Neither I nor she said anything for some minutes. To be honest, I didn't know what I could tell her, and how I could see, she didn't know about what we could talk either. We both were from different worlds, societies.

  “Is intruded captured?” I decided to bring that night's event when The Spring family took Melody away from me.

  She shook her head.

  “And I doubt if he ever be. I don't have many friends. To tell the truth, I don't have any: neither in the house nor beyond its territory. I have never had them. There was always I, my sister and Merdian. Although there was a person who I thought was my best friend, but she betrayed me. So, I would like you to be my friend. Could I trust you?”

  We talked about one thing and then she suddenly changed the topic. I really didn't expect to hear her confession about her friends when I asked her about that intruder. But I was happy inside that she wanted me to be her friend.

  “Of course, you can trust me, Melody.”

  She smiled and nodded to herself.

  “Thank you. That means a lot to me. Now at least I would have a reason to leave my home. You can't even imagine how bored I am in that building. I almost feel like I would be still in the bed, doing nothing.”

  “Why do you say that the intruder won't be captured?” I tried to come back to our previous topic.

  “Because he won't,” she replied simply. “I don't know him very well, but I am sure that he won't be that stupid and get himself killed, because Merdian would do exactly that.”

  She said those words so casually that they didn't mean anything to her, but not that caught my attention. She said she knew the person who killed those men.

  “How do you know him?” I asked alarmed.

  But she didn't answer, because someone knocked on the door and without waiting for permission to come in, just opened the door. It was one of the mountains.

  “Miss. Watts, we need to bring you back home. Could you come with us?” the men asked politely, although I could understand that it wasn't a request. It was an order.

  Melody sighed and nodded reluctantly. She stood up and looked at me. Sadness was in her eyes. She didn't want to go and I didn't want her to let, but it wasn't my place to tell those mountains that I wanted that Melody could stay here with me.

  “It was really nice to see you again,” she said and extended her hand to me.

  I nodded and touched it. I felt how electricity touched my skin and spread through my body like it would be a warm tea.

  Melody gasped and pulled her hand away from me quickly. In her eyes now I could see astonishment mixed with pleasure. She had felt the electricity too. What was going on?

  “See you in the ball,” she said quickly and made a bolt for the door. She really felt the same electricity between us and she was scared of it. I was too. Why did we share it?

  “Good day, Mr. Offman,” I heard the mountain saying. I nodded, because I knew that he was waiting from me some kind of sign that I understood what was happening around me.

  The man seemed pleased with my head nod and walked out from the room. I was left alone unbalanced and eager to find out some things; wh
at was going on.

  I really didn't want to believe my eyes that Melody, the same Melody who had was in bed two months ago, was a healthy person now. I believed in miracles, but not like this one.

  I brushed my hair with my fingers. I was really confused, and because of that I didn't know what I could do, what I should think. There was only one thing clear to me: I needed to attend to that ball and have a chat with Melody.

  Yes, I would be her friend not because she asked me to be one, but because I wanted to have her as my friend. One way or another we had quite similar lives; we didn't have many friends.

  Melody

  I felt it again and I could see in his eyes that it wasn't only me whose body was acting strange when we touch each other. What was happening? Why was my body having that funny feeling when he touches me?

  I leaned back in the car. My bodyguards were sitting in the front. Their eagle eyes were studying every person, every building, every corner, every thing... They had strict orders from Merdian. He wasn't joking when it was related with my safety. He threatened to kill them himself if something happens to me.

  And if not the meeting with important angels, he would have come with me. I was glad that he couldn't come this time. I really wanted to meet Caspar alone and talk with him a little.

  That desire to be his friend wasn't just an act. I really hoped that he could be my friend. He didn't seem to be a very old person. Plus, he looked like he was a smart guy who could teach me a lot of interesting things.

  I put my hands on my lap and stared at them for some minutes. Then, I turned my eyes at the window. I could see a lot of people walking down the street, minding only about their own things which sooner or later be not important to them.

  I wanted to ask the angels to stop the car and let me wonder around the city, but I knew their answer. NO. They had heard about the accident in the hospital, although it was tried to hide. At least it worked with people. They didn't know anything about that night there. But with angels...that was another story.

  The car turned left and soon we were leaving the city and coming closer to the Spring family's home. But before the building could spring in front of us, we needed to drive through the forest in which I used to spend a lot of time with Merdian.