by Amy Reece
“We were at a club, so there was no chance to talk. Why are you cyber-stalking me, anyway? Is your social life so pathetic that you have to live vicariously through mine?” Geneviève flashed him an arch look.
“He’s probably just jealous because he’s spent the past six months babysitting teenagers in Albuquerque,” I offered with a laugh. “Go easy on him. American teens are brutal.”
“Mais, non. I loved my American friends and will miss them now that I am back in France,” he replied gallantly.
“Especially Veronica, huh?” I said, hoping Geneviève would zero in and want details. She didn’t disappoint me.
“Veronica? My cousin found a girlfriend in America? Tell me everything,” she demanded as we took our seats. Rémy rolled his eyes and took his place at the opposite side of the table.
I filled her in on how I had tried for weeks to ferret out the information about who Rémy was crushing on, while a bevy of waiters began placing bowls of soup before each diner. I looked down into my bowl and was dismayed to see some sort of seafood bisque. I glanced across the table at Rémy, but he was too busy digging into his soup to notice my issue. He had apparently not called ahead to notify his family that I was a vegetarian. A room full of psychics and not one of them could figure out that I didn’t eat meat? Seriously? Oh, well. It’s not like I’ve never faced this dilemma before. It’s just that I could usually count on raiding my own refrigerator later in the evening. On the bright side, I probably wouldn’t be gaining a bunch of weight while I was here. I didn’t want to make Rémy’s family feel bad about not knowing I was a vegetarian, so I picked up my spoon and stirred my soup, hoping to disguise the fact that I wasn’t actually eating it. Once Geneviève had exhausted the topic of Veronica, she began quizzing me about my own love life, which gave me an excuse to talk rather than eat. When the main course arrived, I picked around the chicken and ate the potatoes and vegetables. I practically wolfed down my fruit tart, relieved that the French love their desserts.
“Ally,” Kate addressed me from the head of the table. “Would you care to walk with me in the garden after lunch?” Although I had no intention of refusing her, I got the message it was more of a command than a request.
“Of course. I’d be happy to,” I said as she rose and motioned for me to follow her into the garden, a wonderland of flowers and greenery with a winding path covered in bits of stone.
“This garden is my pride and joy.” She leaned her head back, enjoying the sun on her face. “Well, one of them. Rémy is the other. You got to know him over the past few months, no?”
I quickly glanced at her, noting the too-innocent look on her face. I rolled my eyes and said, “Yes. We became good friends while he was in the U.S.” I made sure to emphasize the ‘friends’ part. “He helped me through a rough time this last semester.”
“Why don’t you tell me about it while we walk off that delicious lunch that you ate so little of? I will make sure the kitchen knows of your dietary preferences before dinner.” She winked at me with the last statement.
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” While we strolled through the gorgeous gardens, I told her about how Rémy had helped me deal with my breakup with Jack. I wondered if she was bored hearing about my teen drama, yet I felt it was important to mention that I currently had a boyfriend and that Rémy and I would never be anything more than friends. I knew she and the rest of the Conseil had chosen to interpret the prophecy in a way that meant Rémy and I should be together.
“So, you are in love with this Jack?” I nodded. “There is no chance for you and my grandson to…” She left the question dangling.
“No. None at all. Sorry.” I replied firmly.
“Oh, don’t apologize, my dear. I am the last person on earth to tell someone whom they should love or what they should do with their life. I left my family to be with the man I love, you know?” I nodded, but said nothing. “I don’t understand what the prophecy referred to any more than you, Ally. I saw a vision of you and where to find you, and then I had the prophecy. You and my grandson are connected, important in some way, but we don’t know how. You may be the next Oracle, or you may not. That is why Rémy brought you here, so we can find out. Now, I know you can’t stay too long on this visit, but I hope we can begin to build a relationship. I do realize we will have to share you with the Irish Council, but I must impress on you the importance of spending time here with us. I understand you just graduated from high school. How would you feel about attending the university here in Rouen? I could arrange it easily.”
I was sure she could. I began to realize this group could arrange a great many things. “Thanks, but no, Kate. I don’t mind splitting summer vacation and possibly Christmas breaks between here and Galway, but my life is in Albuquerque. I don’t want to leave my grandmother. And I need to be there when my new little brother or sister arrives. Plus, I absolutely insist on being home by the time Jack gets back from basic training.”
“Ah, he has joined the military? That is very noble. What branch did he join?”
Before I could answer, Rémy appeared around the corner. “Here you are. I have brought you a peace offering so you don’t hold it against me that I forgot to tell Grand-mère that you are a vegetarian.” He handed me something wrapped in a cloth napkin. I opened it to find a sandwich made with a delicious-looking piece of baguette. I lifted the top piece and saw lettuce, tomato, and something creamy. I raised my eyebrows questioningly at him.
“It’s cheese. Proper French cheese—none of that disgusting orange ‘cheese product’ you Americans are so fond of. Now eat. You must be starving. We can’t have you fainting in the garden from weakness.”
I took a bite and wasn’t surprised to find it delicious. I’m a huge cheese fan and the French certainly have a way with it. “Thanks, Rémy,” I said with my mouth full.
“Ally was just telling me that her young man has joined the military. I think that is very noble.” Kate put her arm through Rémy’s and pulled him along with us deeper into the garden.
“Oh, yes. Jack is all that is noble and good,” Rémy said, dripping sarcasm. “He is so good that we mere mortals must bask in his virtuosity. Oww.” He rubbed the arm I punched.
“Now, children. You mustn’t fight. Don’t make me send you to your rooms,” Kate teased. “We must make good use of Ally’s limited time here to try and figure out what you two have to do with the prophecy. It would be so much easier and make more sense if you were destined to fall in love with each other,” she sighed.
I swallowed another bite of sandwich. “I really don’t think prophecies should go around telling people who to fall in love with. That’s not right. I didn’t choose to fall in love with Jack; my heart chose him and I had to go along with it.” They both stopped in the path and stared at me. “What?” I asked.
“That was very beautiful, Ally. And very profound. I can see I would be wise not to underestimate you, my dear. Now,” she said as she led us briskly down the path, “why have you two been brought together, if not to unite the clans through a marriage alliance?”
The mere thought of marriage to Rémy made me cringe. I mean, he was gorgeous, but we would kill each other in about an hour. “You don’t think we can bring the clans together any other way than marriage? That’s really limiting, you know? Not to mention medieval.”
Rémy snickered and Kate gave him a dirty look. “Ally is correct. And far, far in the future, when I begin to look for a wife, I will require someone a good bit more biddable than Ally,” he said.
“Yes,” I sneered. “You’ll need someone who adores you nearly as much as you adore yourself.”
“Remind me why I went to the trouble of bringing you a sandwich?”
“Children,” Kate warned.
“Sorry,” we both murmured.
“Now, we must use what little time we have for Ally’s visit to try and figure out what in the world is going on with you two. We will have to run various tests…”
Her v
oice faded away in my mind as Rémy sent me his thoughts. Please be patient with her, Ally. She has been very concerned ever since she received the prophecy. I worry for her. Please, just go along with all this?
Of course, Rémy. She’s wonderful. I would never want to upset her. I do realize we need to figure this out. But I don’t have to marry you to do that.
Kate stopped and stared between the two of us. “Amazing. Simply amazing. I have never seen such communication possible between two Seers. This is quite remarkable.”
“Grand-mère, could you hear us?” Rémy asked.
“No, nothing specific. I’m not that powerful. I could only feel the energy flowing between you. You are both much more powerful than I realized. This will take much thought. You must excuse me. I need to be alone. Rémy, you will see that Ally finds her way back to the house?” At Rémy’s bemused nod, she scurried away down the path.
He sighed and led me to sit on a nearby bench in the shade. “Well, that was apparently a mistake. I’m sorry, chérie. I didn’t think.” He dropped his head into his hands and sighed again.
“Yeah, I didn’t especially like the gleam in her eyes, either. She’s not going to let the couple thing go, is she?”
He shook his head. “No, probably not.”
***
Over the course of the next week, Kate managed to throw Rémy and me together more often than not, ostensibly so she could observe the connection we had, but I knew it was merely an excuse to force us to spend time together. Rémy and I were both frustrated with her casual treatment of our personal wishes in the matter, but he feared upsetting his grandmother so he went along with it, on the surface at least. The rest of the Conseil skirted around us for the most part, letting Kate have her way. The bright spot in the whole situation was the surprising friendship developing between Geneviève and myself; we hit it off and enjoyed spending my limited free time together. The evenings frequently found the two of us, joined by Rémy and Arnaud, enjoying the nightlife Rouen had to offer.
On Thursday evening of my second week in France, we sat in a club waiting for the guys to return with drinks. “So, what’s between you and Arnaud? I’m sensing some romance there.” I leaned toward her to be heard over the music.
“I wish! I have been in love with him forever, but he thinks he’s too old for me,” she said with a sigh.
“How old is he?” I had figured 30-something when we were first introduced.
“He is 28 and I’m 19. Do you think that is too old?” She looked adorably unsure as she pushed her golden-brown hair behind her ears.
It was a big age gap, but who was I to judge? “My grandfather was ten years older than my grandmother and they had a great marriage from what I’ve always heard. How does Arnaud feel? Do you have any idea if he reciprocates?”
“I don’t know! Sometimes I think he does, but he never acts on it. Never. I’ve tried flirting. I’ve tried making him jealous. What should I do?” Geneviève grasped my hand desperately.
I placed my other hand on top of hers and squeezed lightly. She was beautiful and one of the sweetest girls I had ever met, so I wanted her to get the guy she was in love with. “First of all, calm down, okay? Don’t freak out. My boyfriend is older than me and I had to pretty much stalk him until I wore him down. Although in my case, it was Jack’s legal troubles more than the two-year age difference. Maybe you just need to be persistent.”
“Maybe. Thanks.” She smiled. “Tell me more about Jack. What is this legal trouble? It sounds intriguing.”
I told her about Jack’s troubled youth, his time spent in jail and juvenile detention, and his years on probation. “I finally bullied my way into going to his final probation hearing and he kissed me afterward.”
“That’s so romantic!” She sighed. “He sounds dark and dangerous.”
“Not at all,” I said, laughing. “He’s the sweetest guy ever. I miss him so much.” I sighed and looked away.
“I hope to meet him someday. You must love him very much. You should see your face when you talk about him, Ally. It’s really sweet. It certainly doesn’t look like that when you talk about my cousin. I think my grandmother is destined to be disappointed, no?”
“Definitely! Thanks for understanding, Geneviève. Listen, I will help you with Arnaud if you help me with your grandmother. Deal?”
“Deal.” The guys returned at that moment with drinks for everyone.
“Why don’t you two go dance?” I suggested. “Rémy and I will guard the table.” He smirked at me, obviously seeing through my suggestion.
“Good luck with that.” He gestured toward his cousin and Arnaud, who were just taking to the dance floor. “He thinks he’s too old for her.”
“What do you think?”
He shrugged his signature shrug. “I don’t think an age difference should keep anyone apart. If two people love each other, nothing should keep them apart.”
“Wow, Rémy, you are such a romantic! Who would have thought? Why don’t we try to get them together?”
“Because I am not a matchmaker, chérie. Arnaud is a grown man and can manage his own love life. He still thinks of my cousin as a child and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Now, let us not waste this opportunity to dance.” He stood up and held his hand out to me expectantly. I stared at him for a moment and then sighed and accepted his offer. We danced several fast songs and then he pulled me close when a slow song came on.
“Shh,” he said when I balked. “Just go with it. It’s what everyone wants. Why don’t we give it a chance?”
I shook my head, but allowed him to slide his arm around me. I held myself rigidly away from him for a few moments, but then put my head against his chest, tired of it all suddenly. What if it was our destiny? What if the prophecy did mean we were supposed to be together? I was so tired of fighting and Jack seemed so far away. And Rémy smelled better than anyone had a right to. He must have sensed my acquiescence, because he raised his head from where it rested atop mine, lifted my chin with his finger and lowered his lips to mine. “Rémy, no. I don’t—” I whispered.
“Everyone expects it, Ally. Just try, please,” he whispered back and closed the distance between us. His kiss was soft and slow, allowing me to get used to him.
I was so torn. Part of me felt that he was right: everyone in the Seer world interpreted the prophecy to mean that Rémy and I should be together. But I loved Jack. We were meant to be together, weren’t we? I was so confused. I just finished telling Geneviève how much I loved Jack and that there was no attraction to Rémy. What was wrong with me? I couldn’t sort my thoughts out. So I allowed him to kiss me. Thoroughly. And then I kissed him back. It was nothing like kissing Jack, but I knew enough to recognize that Rémy was quite an accomplished kisser. His lips were soft, yet firm and I allowed him to open my mouth and slide his tongue against mine. I answered in kind, analyzing his taste and texture, hoping my technique was not as sloppy as I feared. Then I realized that I was actually analyzing his kiss rather than enjoying it or being swept away with desire. When Jack kissed me, I never had a chance to analyze anything; I could only hold on and go with the flow. Kissing Rémy was nothing like kissing Jack. At least I knew. I pulled away and frowned at him.
“Well,” he sighed, leaning his forehead against mine, “we did try. No offense, chérie, but kissing you is like kissing my sister.”
“Yeah, same here. I mean, you’re a good kisser, but it just doesn’t do anything for me. God, Rémy! I feel so guilty! What am I going to tell Jack? I cheated on him! What kind of person does that?”
“Why on earth would you tell him? You didn’t cheat on Jack, although I wouldn’t blame you if you did. Shh,” he said as he wiped away the tears that started to slide down my cheeks. “You are making too much of this. I kissed you. So what? We just needed to see if the Conseil was right about us. Now we know. We are not meant to be together as a couple. The prophecy means something else. There is no need for Jack to know anything. It was just a
kiss.”
“Why do I feel so guilty?” I leaned my head against his chest and sniffled.
He pulled me close and chuckled. “Perhaps because you are only seventeen years old and you’ve been thrown into some situations that a much older person wouldn’t handle as well? You deserve to react like a teenager to some things in your life.”
I laughed slightly. “Thanks, old man. Way to compliment me and call me a child all in one statement.”
“Ally, listen to me. You are very beautiful. Who can blame me for wanting to kiss you? Jack certainly wouldn’t, although he would probably punch my face. Now that we know, we can stand firm against my grandmother and the rest of the Conseil as we try to figure out what the prophecy truly means. You are very special to me, but not in a romantic way. I swear I will protect you.”
“So, you are assuming that you are the ‘protector, the strength of many’ that the prophecy refers to?” I asked.
“Well, yes. I guess I do. You don’t?” he asked.
“God, Rémy. I don’t know what to think.” All I knew was how horrible and guilty I felt for having doubted my relationship with Jack and kissed Rémy. I must be a terrible person, that’s all. Why was I having second thoughts about my love for Jack? That wasn’t supposed to happen, was it?
CHAPTER TWO
“Go bring the rabble,
O’er whom I give thee power, here to this place:
Incite them to quick motion; for I must
Bestow upon the eyes of this young couple
Some vanity of mine art: it is my promise,
And they expect it from me.”
—Shakespeare, The Tempest, 4.1
I cried myself to sleep later that night, obsessing over what Jack would do when he found out I kissed Rémy. He had been livid when Rémy had kissed me once before but had quickly calmed down when I reassured him that it was not a romantic kiss—simply Rémy’s way of telling me he was a Seer. But this was different. It was a romantic kiss, even though it had convinced us both that romance was not part of our future, and I had willingly and knowingly participated. I tossed and turned for hours, creating dozens of scenarios in my head about how the conversation with Jack would go, alternating between happy and awful endings. Rémy didn’t think it was worth telling Jack—it was nothing, after all. Oh, to have such a casual view of what, in my mind, amounted to dirty, rotten cheating! Of course I would confess to Jack. I couldn’t keep something like this from him. I desperately hoped he could find a way to forgive me.