by Paige Watson
“And you protected her from him and she fell in love with you?”
“Yeah,” he smiled. “She did.”
Caroline let out a deep yawn. “I am so tired,” she said.
“Why don’t we all go get some sleep? There is still a lot more to tell you, but I think it can wait till tomorrow,” Conrad added, stretching out his arms.
I cleared the dishes from the table and washed them in the sink before following Caroline up the stairs.
“I’m sorry to drag you into all of this,” I said, hugging her.
“You’re my sister; I would do anything for you. I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt.” She stepped back from me and headed to her room. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No, I just need some time to let everything sink in. I don’t think I have any tears left to cry.”
“Hey, you still got me. I’m your family too.”
“I know you are,” I smiled slightly.
She closed the door behind her, and I could hear her footsteps as she crossed the creaky wooden floors of her room. I looked down to Conrad’s room and saw the light was on. Steam billowed from under the bathroom door. He was taking a shower. I couldn’t fight the urge to be near him so I tip toed over to his room. It was painted a dark olive green. A dresser and a small chair sat in the left corner of the room and the mahogany four poster bed was pushed against the far wall. I wrapped my cardigan around me, and went to sit on the edge of his bed while I waited for him to get out of the shower. I stared at my feet as they hung off the edge.
“Were you waiting for me?” I jumped at the sound of his voice coming from the doorway.
I looked up at him and felt my jaw drop. He was standing in front of me with a white towel wrapped around his waist. Beads of water dripped down his skin, gliding over the muscles of his abdomen. There were six of them. In that moment it seemed necessary for me to count them and count them I did. It took me a minute to regain my composure before I was able to answer him.
“Yes. I hope that’s ok. I just had a few more things I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Yeah it’s fine,” he said, walking over to the dresser and pulling out a pair of gym shorts. I stared at him as he laid the shorts out on the bed. He looked at me and saw that my eyes were fixed on him.
“How’s your arm?
“It still hurts, but it feels a little better since I showered.”
“Let me see it,” he said, taking my arm in his hands. The blisters that formed on my skin had popped, releasing clear liquid all over my arm. “It will start to look better in a few days. Burns from souls are painful but they fade faster than real burns, and luckily, they don’t scar.” He walked over to the closet and grabbed a first aid kit. For the first time, I noticed the small tattoo on the back of his left shoulder. It was a picture of a beautiful tree, no bigger than the size of my fist.
“You have a tattoo?” I could hear the surprise in my voice as I asked my question. The black lines of the tree trunk spiraled up into a delicate pattern of woven strokes that made up the branches of the tree.
“Oh, yeah. All secundae have one; we call it the sacramentum secundae, or oath of the secundae.”
“You do? Why is that?” I found myself unable to stop staring at his shoulder. Bundles of leaves dotted the limbs of the tree. As the limbs curled upward, the roots intertwined, forming a maze beneath it.
“We are each marked with this tree as a reminder of our duty to the primums and the Concilium,” he answered. “You see, when you are made into a secundae, you take an oath to protect the primum or consiliarius that you are in the service of. The tree is just a symbol for the oath we took and we are all bonded together by our service to God.”
“I never noticed one on my mother or father, but they had one too, right?”
“Yes. Since they had to hide their true nature from you for so long, they became very skilled at concealing a great many things.” I stood and walked over to where he was standing. My hand shook as I extended it toward his shoulder, touching the tree. There was something about the tree that seemed oddly familiar.
“This is the tree from the Garden of Eden, isn’t it?”
“It is,” he said, turning back to me.
“I’m sorry you had to be marked in order to become one of my secundae.”
“Don’t be. I wanted to be one of your secundae more than anything and I like it,” he said with a smile. “It reminds me of you.”
“So when did you get the mark?”
“When I was reborn into a secundae; I woke up and it was there. It’s been on my shoulder ever since.”
“Do the members of the Concilium have a mark too?”
“Yes, but theirs isn’t a tree. Only secundae have a tree.”
“Oh,” I replied. “What do they have?”
“They have a handprint over their heart.” He motioned for me to sit back down on the bed as he set the first aid kit upon it. “Since the members of the Concilium were chosen by God to act as his voice on Earth, they are marked with his handprint.”
“I’m still kind of confused as to what secundae and a consiliarius are.”
“I’ll explain everything better tomorrow,” he said, picking up my arm.
“Ok,” I answered.
His free hand opened the lid of the kit and pulled out a roll of cotton gauze. Then he spread some aloe on my arm and wrapped it in the cotton, fastening it with a piece of tape.
“How is that?”
“It feels a lot better, thanks.” He took the kit back to the closet and returned to his shorts on the bed.
“I’m going to change now. You don’t have to look away, I just thought I’d give you a heads up before the towel came off,” he grinned.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I turned my head away from him and covered my eyes with my hands. “I just wanted to talk to you about my mother.”
“It’s safe now. You can open your eyes.”
“Ok,” I said, pulling my hands from my eyes. I looked over to the dresser, but he wasn’t there. Then I turned around and saw that he was climbing in bed. He slid under the covers and laid his head against the white pillow.
“Can you turn off the light?”
“We won’t be able to see anything,” I answered.
“Here, I’ll turn on the lamp beside the bed.” He reached over and pulled the chain on a small stained glass lamp. The bright yellow flowers lit up as light shone through the glass. I got up off the foot of the bed and turned the lights off. The small lamp emitted a hazy glow over the room, reminding me of candle light. “You can come lay down if you want to,” he informed me in a casual tone.
I walked over to the other side of the bed and pulled the covers back. Then I slid underneath them, lying beside Conrad. The sheets were cold to the touch and I shivered all over. I could feel the warmth from his body and I scooted closer to him in the bed. He rolled on his side to face me, resting his head against his hand.
“Do you think Aden will really kill my mom?” I asked, my teeth chattering from the cold.
“You’re freezing.” He reached out, pulling me to him. His arms circled around me instantly warming my body. I rested my hands against his bare chest and looked up into his face. “Is that better?” I nodded my head slightly. “To answer your question, it’s really hard to say one way or another. Aden is certainly unpredictable. If he believes that she can be useful to him, then he will keep her alive.”
I bit my lip hard, trying not to cry. “That’s what my dad said too.”
“Unfortunately, your dad was right.”
“So did they all know about us?”
“I’m not sure that I know what you mean,” he flirted.
“Did my parents, Mickey, and Kit all know that we were—well you know what I’m trying to say.”
“That we were lovers?”
“Yeah.”
“They knew. They actually helped us hide our relationship from Aden.”
My hands glided dow
n the length of his chest, acting of their own volition. His eyes widened at my touch. “Sorry,” I said, withdrawing my hands from his body.
“No, by all means continue. It’s nothing you haven’t done before.” I returned my hands to him, running them along his muscles. His fingers moved to my lips, gently touching them. “Evey, it’s been so long,” he whispered. I slid my hand up to the back of his neck.
“Then kiss me.” My heart leapt at the feel of his lips against mine. He rolled over on top of me and began to kiss me more fervently. Everything about his body seemed familiar to me. My hands shot to his face and became entangled in his hair, while his were rediscovering the feel of my body beneath them. My arms wrapped around him, pulling him even deeper into the kiss. As if acting out of memory, my body curved up towards his, allowing his hands to rest in the middle of my back. His lips parted from mine and he looked at me. I ripped my cardigan off and threw it on the floor revealing my thin gray nightgown. I sat up and joined our mouths again. His hand found the strap of my nightgown and pulled it down, revealing my lacey pink bra underneath. I slid the other strap off, letting my nightgown fall to my waist. He looked down, noticing the pink bra, and flashed his most devilish grin. I ran my hands along his back as his lips trailed down my neck and chest.
“Ok, ok,” he said, sitting back on his heels.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just knew that if we kept on; I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.”
“Oh,” I blushed.
“I just keep thinking about everything we’ve shared in the past and it’s hard for me to keep everything under control.” He fell back down on the bed and pulled my nightgown back up to my shoulders. “I think I need a cold shower now,” he laughed.
“Conrad?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I stay in here with you tonight?”
“You can do whatever you want to with me, My Lady.” I rolled over in the bed and rested my head against the pillow. Conrad pulled me to him so that he was pressed against my back. He kissed my shoulder softly, causing my body to tingle all over.
“My Lady,” I said the words out loud. “My Lady. That’s what you always used to call me when we first met, when I was your queen.”
“You remember that?”
“Yeah. I just did. When you said it like that it just clicked in my head and I remembered.”
“It’s good that you’re starting to remember.”
“You said I could do whatever I wanted with you. Is that something you used to let me do?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he laughed.
“Yes,” I thought to myself. I would. The last thought I had was his hands rubbing the chain of the necklace that hung around my neck before I drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, I awoke to the sun pouring over my face from a window directly across from me. I rolled over, expecting to see Conrad, but the bed was empty. I pushed myself off the mattress and made my way to my room. I brushed through my wavy hair, clipping half of it back from my face. Then I took a pair of jeans out of my bag, along with a maroon camisole. I rummaged through the bag, examining the clothes Conrad had packed for me. Inside, there were plenty of jeans, tank tops, and a few cardigans. I also saw a few skirts and a couple of dresses as well. I was impressed at how much stuff he was able to fit in the bag. Well, at least I was prepared for any fashion situation that fell upon us.
I heard Conrad and Caroline’s voices wafting up from the kitchen. I took off for the stairs, taking the last few on the tips of my toes. I moved quietly, hoping that I could eavesdrop on their conversation.
“Ok, so there’s something I kept wondering after we all went to sleep last night,” Caroline said.
“What’s that?”
“Does everyone that is reborn or reincarnated always look the same?”
“Yes. Every time we are reincarnated it is as if we are born again. We have the exact same body as we did in our previous life.”
“But wouldn’t people notice that? Like you said, Evey and this Adam guy are prominent kings and queens throughout history. Wouldn’t they look the same in all of the paintings of them?”
“Paintings can be deceiving.”
“How is that?”
“Well, you remember the paining of Isabella I of Castile in our history book? That is a picture of Evey.”
“But that doesn’t even look anything like Evey.”
“Exactly. Evey was a queen. She paid artists to depict her image differently throughout the years so no one would notice her later on. Adam of course, did the same.”
“That seems like it would be more difficult with photographs, and things like that though.”
“Well, by the time the camera was invented, Evey was put into hiding. She wasn’t reborn as a queen anymore. Instead, she was born into a normal family with Guy and Marie as her parents. The Concilium did so because of Adam or really Aden.”
“Why does he go by Aden now?” I asked, walking into the kitchen.
“Eavesdropping from the stairs?” Conrad asked from the table.
“How did you know?”
“I heard you come down the steps,” he said with a shrug.
“Geez. You don’t miss a thing, do you?”
“No, not really,” he answered with a devious smirk.
I took up a seat at the table as Conrad slid me a plate with more pancakes on it.
“Thanks,” I said, digging into my breakfast. “So what happened when Adam discovered I had feelings for you?”
“Adam started to go mad when he discovered our relationship. In the beginning, the Concilium overlooked it, attributing his behavior to jealousy, but what they didn’t realize was he had changed completely. He was never the same man he was before, especially when he started engaging in evil acts against other people.”
“Like torturing people during the Inquisition?”
“Yup,” he said, taking a drink of steaming coffee. “The Concilium however, wasn’t aware all of this had taken place. So when the two of you had lived out your lives as Isabella and Frederic; you were reborn again. Only this time he was reborn as Henry IV of France and you were Gabrielle d’Estrees.”
“Who are they?” Caroline blew on her coffee before taking a sip.
“Henry IV was king of Navarre and France in the late 1500s. He was actually well loved because he cared greatly for the welfare of his subjects and he was very tolerant of all religions practiced by his people.”
“That actually sounds good, I mean, it’s a change from inciting the Spanish Inquisition,” I said.
“Yes, he was a very model king at first. I think he was trying to win back your favor Evey, but when he realized you still didn’t love him, he changed back into a monster.” I tried to hold his gaze, but his attention fell to the table. “None of us ever imagined he was going to poison you.”
“Oh my God. He had her killed?” Caroline’s eyes were wide with shock.
“He did,” he said, turning his eyes to her. A look of sadness quickly washed over his face and just as fast as it appeared, it was gone. “Now, history books tell us that Henry IV was saddened by the loss of his future queen, and she died in childbirth. However, that wasn’t the whole truth.”
“I don’t think he killed me just because I wasn’t in love with him anymore. Something else pushed him over the edge. So what made him poison me?” I forced a bite of pancakes down my throat with a stiff swallow.
“Well, in order to tell you that, I have to explain the role of the secundae.”
“That’s what you are, right?” Caroline asked.
“Yes. Secundae really means secondary, because that’s what we are. We are the secondary rebirths. Evey and Adam are the primums, meaning first or original rebirths. They were reborn first to help influence humanity. Then the secundae were formed so that we could protect the primums. Evey and
Adam each had their own secundae to protect them. Evey’s secu
ndae were Guy, Marie, Kit, Mickey, and I was added later.”
“That’s why he killed me,” I said.
“What do you mean?” Caroline tilted her head so that she could get a better look at me.
“He saw that Conrad had been reborn into one of my secundae.”
“You are starting to remember,” he smiled. “Adam was furious about it. He thought when I died, he would have you all to himself again, but he was wrong.”
“Why were you turned into a secundae?”
“The Concilium saw how much I loved her, and they knew I would do everything within my power to protect her.”
“You still haven’t said how Adam became Aden,” Caroline said.
“Oh yeah, well after Adam killed Evey, the Concilium decided letting Adam live was too much of a liability. So they had him assassinated.”
“Assassinated?” The question rolled out of my mouth as I stared at him in disbelief. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“There was one consiliarius that took pity on Adam. They thought he had been judged unfairly by the rest of the Concilium. For the most part, all of the Concilium and secundae have favored you over Adam, even before he started to turn evil, but there were a select few that always remained loyal to him.”
“So the consiliarius brought Adam back to life?”
“Yes.”
“And then what happened?”
“Well, Adam was enraged that the Concilium had killed him so he in turn murdered the consiliarius that brought him back. He killed her by ripping out her heart and consuming it.” He twisted his coffee mug in his hands as he spoke. “By consuming her heart, he absorbed her powers.”
“So now the Concilium only has six members?” I asked.
“Yes. After that, Adam was pretty much immortal like the rest of the Concilium and he also obtained their powers of reincarnation. He denounced God, refusing to abide by his or the Concilium’s laws. He changed his name to Aden and seeks to undo all the good he and Evey did throughout time, especially since what they did, they did in the service of God.”
“So Aden can make himself live forever and reincarnate his secundae?”