Masked Love

by Samolu Pearl

“Who’s there?” He asked and they heard some giggles. They looked at the doorway to see some young ladies walk in with a couple of trays and cups filled with fruits and drinks. They looked at Rey and Venus (standing there wrapped in each other’s arms) with a smile and said something in their language. Rey chuckled and replied something back to them. Venus was just staring between them without really understanding anything. After a few more minutes, they walked out, but, Venus noticed one of the ladies whispering something to Rey with a wink and he was whispering something back to her with a… shy smile. ‘Now, why is it annoying her…?’ She thought and dropped her gaze in fury.

  “Well… What did they say…?” She asked staring at his face.

  Rey looked at her and smiled, a slow… heart melting smile. “First…” He started. “They apologized for… interrupting our private moment…”

  “Huh-what?”

  “This…” He slowly dropped his gaze knowing very well hers’ will soon follow and it did. They were still locked in each other’s arms. Venus drew in a breath and immediately pulled away from him earning another sigh from him. ‘She looks really pretty when her face is all pink like that…’ he thought. “Then… they said they brought us some fruits and drinks for our lunch… We can have it here and take some rest… In the evening, they’ve asked us to visit a stream nearby, it’s beautiful it seems…” he said staring at her.

  “Hmm… Hey, how do you know the language…? You don’t seem… er like being brought up in a forest…” she tried to mock.

  “My dad taught me…” He said and her eyes rose to meet his. “We used to go to the forests when I was really young and there was a similar tribe living there… They would’ve moved out now… The flood and famine was too much for them…” He stopped as he thought he was giving away too much.

  Venus nodded as she walked towards the trays of food. She took a ripe, bright red apple and wiped it before taking a bite from it. “Mmmm… This is really good…” She said with a mouth full. Even she couldn’t believe that she was enjoying all these… Well… it is for a few days anyway… before her freedom will be gone for good she planned on enjoying as much as possible. Suddenly something struck her mind.

  “Er… What did Ms. Forest say before she left…? I saw her… well… smiling at me…” She actually wanted to say, ‘winking at you!’

  “That was… nothing… just some information…”

  “Oh… like what?” she stressed.

  He stared at her with a smile. “She just reminded me about the best way to relieve a woman from her anger…”

  Venus just stopped what she was doing. The apple raised in her hand halfway to her mouth. She swallowed as she stared back at him, her eyes wide with shock and lips parted. ‘Now that’s the look that does things to him… things he’d very much like to let her know about… but couldn’t!’

  “Why the hell did you have to say that I'm your wife…?” She fumed trying her level best to control her blush. “Why couldn’t you say that I'm your sister or something…?”

  “Well…” he stood there as if thinking for a second, then again, the smile lit up his face. “Then it would be incest.”

  Venus didn’t know when the apple fell down from her hands and lay near her feet.

  Rey looked at her intently and walked towards her as she swallowed hard and backed a step. But then, she felt the wooden wall hit her back and stared at him. He looked at her face, struggling to put on her arrogant mask… trying to force out her inner strength… but nothing could hide the nervousness in the beautiful, dark eyes, which were… driving him crazy at the moment. He reached near her and stared at her eyes, tilting his head. Venus almost jumped as he stooped down suddenly.

  She stared at him, breathing hard as he straightened himself with the apple that she’d dropped. He wiped it clean and then stared at her eyes before taking a bite from it.

  “This is… delicious!” He whispered gazing at her again.

  Venus felt something really odd creeping up inside her…. An unfamiliar heat in her entire body… an unfamiliar rhythm to her heart beats…

  Chapter 6

  “Hey…” he snapped his fingers in front of her face and she blinked back. “You seem… really lost in thoughts…”

  “Er… No… I was just-“

  “Hmm… Come on… Eat up and then let’s take some rest…” He said pointing at the cot and again Venus stared at him in shock. “What…?” he asked as he stared back at the cot. “Oh… that… Don’t worry…” he smiled. “I’m planning on being a good guy… for now.”

  “Is that supposed to be reassuring…?” she mumbled, staring at the floor.

  “Go and take some rest… I’ll sleep here…” he said pointing at the floor.

  ‘That was odd…!’ thought Venus as she moved towards the cot.

  Rey was lying on the floor, thinking. ‘He could’ve said she was his sister… though he wouldn’t have wished to say that… But some of the looks of the men in the forest… they were staring at Venus and it still sent shivers through him trying to think what their thoughts were… He could protect her by keeping her close now… and that’s the only thing that matters right now…’ He looked at her sleeping peacefully and slowly closed his eyes.

  In the evening, Venus and Rey were walking through the forest towards the stream, the ladies have mentioned.

  Rey turned around hearing her gasp and she was staring ahead at the flowing stream which was the most beautiful sight ever. He smiled seeing her excited face. Venus hurried towards the stream and knelt down before putting her hand in the water and playing in it.

  Rey just stood there staring at her enjoying herself like a kid. She was still wearing the dark blue velvet cloth the villagers gave her. Suddenly, she stood up and stepped in the water.

  “Hey…” Rey called out and hurried towards her. “Don’t step in the water…”

  “I’m just going to wash my face…” she said.

  “It might be dangerous…” Rey warned as he moved closer. “It was raining heavily…”

  But she ignored him and bent down to take the water in her hands. “Hey… turn around…” she said as she noticed him stare at her.

  “Just… Just be careful… Don’t go any further…” he said as he turned around.

  Venus stuck her tongue out at him before releasing her hair from its confinement… Her hair fell around her shoulders… She stepped further in. It was great… The cold water was really refreshing… She washed her hands and then splashed the water on her face. Rey was standing there listening to every minute noises of joy she made.

  Suddenly, Venus noticed a strange fish swim near her feet and jump out of the water for once. She dipped her hands in the water and caught hold of it. She laughed as she felt it slithering, tickling her hands… Venus put both of her hands in the water and tried to grip it, but in her struggle to concentrate on catching the fish, her leg slipped and she fell backwards in the water. The force just dipped her into the water and her head bumped on a boulder making her lose her consciousness… Her vision was fading… She couldn’t manage to hold herself any longer as the water washed her away along with it.

  “Hey… Hurry up, will you?” asked Rey as he was hearing the splashes of water. “We have to start to my village before it’s too dark…” Rey looked at the sky. “Are you listening to me...?” he asked impatiently as she didn’t reply anything.

  He turned around in fury to shout at her but instead his eyes just widened in shock and terror as he saw her drift away in water, her eyes closed…

  “Venus…” he yelled as he ran through the bank towards her ripping his shirt away from his body. Rey dived in and swam hysterically to reach her, struggling against the force of the water. He felt himself being pulled away by the current. When she was just five feet away from him, Rey made a frantic try to grab her by her arm, feeling his fingers slipping away. But he doubled his grip as he pulled her towards him. She still had her eyes closed and that worried him t
o death as he swam back to the shore like he had never swum in his life before.

  Rey pulled her up on to the shore and he lay there for a minute fighting for his breath, then he looked at her, lying lifeless. She was unconscious and not breathing. Rey immediately straddled over her, rubbing her palms and cheeks, trying to warm her up… No use… She wasn’t responding. He rubbed her hands and fingers and suddenly felt something fall into his hands… He looked at it and noticed a shiny, round thing and threw it on the ground next to him… Then continued with his efforts to warm her up… He tried applying pressure to her lungs and a stream of water gushed out of her mouth. But still she wasn’t opening her eyes… and was not breathing…

  “Come on… Venus, please…” He tried applying more pressure. “Don’t die on me… Please…” Tears were streaming down his face as he rubbed his palms together and placed them over her cheeks. “Come on…” He tried once more, applying pressure and pumping against her chest. Still… She wasn’t breathing.

  Rey sat there staring at her pale face… Suddenly a thought occurred to him and he swallowed hard as he stared at her lips. He held her nose with one hand and held her chin with the other, trying to open her mouth. Then without wasting any minute stooped down taking her mouth in his… blowing air into her. He stopped to catch his breath and then continued, all the while feeling his heart beat frantically for her and tears gushing out of his eyes.

  “Please…” He whispered as he desperately tried the CPR again. She sucked in a sudden breath and coughed… squeezing her eyes shut. When she finally opened her eyes after a fit of coughs, it was to feel Rey’s strong arms around her, wrapping her close… whispering things to her… thanking God for giving her back.

  Venus slowly took in her surroundings and remembered what had happened and it sent shivers through her entire body. She held him close, feeling the terror run through her.

  But eventually Venus realized what she was doing and pulled away to stare at his face, which was staring at her with a concerned look. Venus was not aware of the cold that was making her shiver until she moved away from his tight grip. She looked down at her soaked clothes, sticking close to her, revealing every curves on her shivering body…

  She stared at him as she crossed her arms over her chest in alarm. Rey looked around for a moment and then stood up to walk away from her.

  A sudden loneliness took over her… And an unknown fear rose in her as she saw him walk away from her like that. She sat there staring at the green ground… feeling the tears prick at the back of her eyes. And, it was only when she felt something fall over her, did she look up to see Rey standing near her, wrapping his shirt around her.

  Venus pulled it close around her and stared at his face. “Are- are you alright…?” He asked and Venus noticed his voice shivering… with cold… or concern…?

  She nodded as she stood up. “I’m sorry…” She whispered knowing very well that it was the first time she’d ever apologized to someone…

  He nodded and looked at her. “You should at least try and listen when someone tries to warn you about something…” He said, his voice suddenly reflecting fury. “What if you had drowned…? What if I couldn’t grab you before it was too late…? You were unconscious and were not breathing when I pulled you back on the shore…” He said recalling his own fear when he saw her lay lifeless like that.

  “How-how did you revive me…?” She asked still shivering, and noticed Rey’s face tighten.

  “I had to warm you up and… give you CPR…”

  Venus stood there, feeling some strange feelings pass through her… She thought about it… his hands over her hands, and feet, rubbing her… against her stomach, pushing… applying pressure against her… breasts… Venus swallowed, feeling the inner heat warm her up… Her face flushed as she looked up at him again. Rey could really make out what her thoughts were at the moment as he was thinking about the same thing too… They were staring at each others’ lips… trying to remember how it felt against each others’…

  Rey was walking towards her, pulling her closer to him and a gasp escaped Venus’ throat as she felt his cold, bare skin against hers… Rey was staring at her dark eyes… his bright blue ones sparkling with pure… desire at the moment. He slowly stroked her hair back and tucked it behind her ear, taking in every inch of her blushing face.

  “Venus…” He hissed as he stooped down moving towards her lips… brushing against hers and Venus closed her eyes shut.

  But then, a drop of water from his soaked hair fell on her shoulder and Venus opened her eyes, staring at his closed ones.

  ‘What the heck are you doing, Venus…? Step away… Move away now…’ Her heart fumed at her. She pulled away and Rey opened his eyes staring at her and Venus noticed the hurt in them…

  Her fingers shivered and she suddenly felt it… Something was missing… She looked at her fingers and… the ring was not there… She nervously looked around, but it was not there… She walked towards the stream and looked into it… The water might have washed it away… ‘But why is she feeling relieved like that…?’ She looked at him and noticed him still stare at her. She dropped her eyes to the ground for a minute and then turned around walking ahead of him towards the village.

  “Venus-“ Rey tried to call her taking a few steps forward and something struck against his feet… He looked down to see a small rock and was about to ignore it when he noticed a shiny, round thing near it… Her engagement ring… He bent down and took it in his hand.

  Rey stood there for a minute staring at the ring. ‘She was looking for this…’ he thought, fighting his feelings and frustration… before slowly following her.

  They didn’t talk to each other much… But didn’t fight as before either… Just walked along each other like strangers.

  It was time for them to start to the village and Venus changed back to her own clothes and then walked out towards Rey. She thanked the villagers and Rey translated it to them.

  They walked through the forest towards Rey’s village, feeling the unbearable silence between them. Venus was thinking about it… She’d never felt like that before… When he tried to kiss her earlier… She wanted to let him… and it frightened her… knowing very well who he was and what his gang is all about… He was kidnapping her for heaven’s sake. She looked at him and felt something pass through her… a strange feeling which she had never ever felt before…. She couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was.

  ***

  After a few hours of walk, they reached a strange place with a small, but beautiful house in the middle of huge trees and plants.

  “I thought…” She started, breaking the silence for the first time. “We were going to a village…”

  Rey looked at her. “The village takes a few minutes’ walk from here…” he said, “This is where we live…”

  “Oh… Are you sure… I’m supposed to see all this…?” She asked nervously and he chuckled. This lightened the air between them.

  “I should’ve blindfolded you before I got you here… But I was really busy with some of my thoughts…” He said and Venus looked away, hiding her blushing face. “It’s ok… Come on… You’re the wrong target anyway…” he smiled.

  “I… I’m…”

  “Don’t worry… No one will hurt you here…” He said and walked ahead opening the door. She followed.

  “God… Rey, what took you so long…” Venus saw a girl hurrying towards her and she seemed like she was in her worst mood. “And, why haven’t you tied her up…?”

  “We were caught up…” Rey looked at Venus. “-in the rain…” He turned to look at Lilly. “Don’t worry she won’t-“

  But Lilly had already moved behind Venus and was tying her hands together with a rope.

  “Look… I won’t-” tried Venus but Lilly just nudged her hard to shut her up.

  “Hey…” Rey held Lilly’s hand. “You don’t have to-”

  “Don’t tell me you’re planning to go soft on her… T
hink about the village…” She snapped and Rey closed his mouth as he watched her tie a thick cloth around Venus’s eyes.

  “Lilly… I don’t think we have to do that…” Venus heard another girl’s voice that sounded really nervous.

  “Yeah… What are you planning to do anyway…?” asked another guy.

  “I’m planning to lock her up, Pete…” said Lilly.

  “But-” Again she heard the nervous woman’s voice.

  “What? Do you have any other idea, Mia?” asked Lilly as she dragged Venus by her hand and pushed her in to a room. Venus heard her lock the door from the outside. She sat in a corner without knowing what to do… without knowing what was happening to her… why Rey didn’t help her…

  “What…?” asked, Lilly perplexed. “But I-”

  “You made a mistake…” said Rey in fury. “She’s not the head of the village…”

  “But she is the heir of the previous head… and it’s still a benefit…” she said. “We can get the ransom from her family…”

  “She doesn’t have a family…” snapped Rey. He thought about her engagement, but then pushed the thought away from his mind.

  “What…?” asked Pete in disbelief.

  “Her parents died in the flood… She was a victim too… She lost everyone she had…” said Rey more to himself.

  “We’ve done a great mistake…” said Pete and stared at Lilly. “We need to let her go…”

  “No…” said Rey. “I mean… We can’t… What if the other group is after her…? They might try and harm her…”

  “Why does that worry you…?” asked Lilly, narrowing her eyes at him.

  “First, it was our – your fault that she is out of her village now… and second, now that I’m thinking that I’m responsible for this too… I feel like protecting her from the danger she is in…”

  “Rey is right…” said Mia. “We can hand her back if someone comes looking for her… if we found someone looking for her…” Mia corrected as there was no chance for anyone to find their hideout.