Isabella felt tears come to her eyes as she nodded and kissed him passionately, in that moment completely oblivious to the ancient in their presence.
Trent turned back to Elder Rhys and nodded.
"I am ready."
"Very well. Step forward, Trent, and place your hands here."
Trent stepped up to the large golden rock before him and raised his hands, stopping short of touching the rock for a moment before he firmly placed both of his palms against it.
Isabella watched as light emanated from the rock and Trent's body all at once, like for that moment he was joined to it - as one with it. His head moved backwards and to her he looked … no, she did not know what that look was. It was so indefinable.
As Trent touched the rock he felt its immense power flow through him. It was the same feeling he'd had when he had touched the ground with both of his hands - the touch of both hands working like a complete circuit of power.
That had been nothing compared to this though. This was making him feel complete in a way that he had never felt before, but it scared him also, and he was conscious enough to know that after this time, he would never want to feel this level of power ever again. Many men would - they would thrive on power like this and do anything to have access to it - but he knew it was too much for him.
For the moment he could not turn away - he was attached to the rock, as if a part of it. As if in that moment he and the giant golden stone were one. He wanted to get away from it but at the same time he couldn't.
Elder Rhys watched the exchange. He had seen it once before, and knew it would be several minutes before it had worked. If it worked. It had worked last time, but he did not know for certain it worked every time.
All three of them stood as if frozen in time until finally the glow of the rock eased off and as if in slow motion, Trent's hands seemed to fall off the rock wall before he slumped to the ground.
Isabella ran forward.
"Be careful!" Elder Rhys called out to her, stopping her from touching him immediately. "Wait."
Isabella watched the man on the ground before her. He seemed lifeless, and after a few minutes even Elder Rhys seemed concerned.
They turned Trent over and there was no life in him, but Isabella knew what to do. Without consulting the ancient at all, she reached forward and placed her hand over the centre of Trent's chest. All of a sudden an intense golden glow came from him and he moved as he took a deep breath of air.
Elder Rhys looked at Isabella.
"The touch, Isabella! You have the touch!" he whispered to her but she could not think of anything he was saying right now. All she could focus on was Trent.
Trent felt like he was waking from a dream. He had been touching the wall and felt its power, and then … nothing … until now, as he came around and sat up slowly.
He felt warmth and looking down at his chest he could see it glowing yellow. He touched it and felt the heat coming from it, before it slowly faded away, leaving him feeling simply invigorated and so alive.
"Isabella," he whispered as his eyes locked with hers.
"I'm here, Trent. You are alright now."
He started to stand up but quickly stopped himself, feeling dizzy.
"Wait a few minutes, traveller. Your body has undergone a change and you must give it a chance to adjust," he heard Elder Rhys say quietly.
"Has it worked? How do we know?" Trent asked and the ancient before him nodded and smiled.
"I believe it has worked, but you will know as soon as we leave the cave and step outside."
Isabella moved closer to Trent and he accepted her arms around him. When he felt stronger, he tried to move again and this time felt able to stand.
When all three were upright on their feet, Trent pulled her into his arms and kissed her, a large aura of bright golden light instantly coming off both of them. Elder Rhys stepped back in surprise. This was not something he had ever seen before.
At first he was alarmed. But he could see them in their embrace. While he would normally not consider it polite to watch two in such an embrace, the glow emanating from them was intriguing to him and he couldn't look away.
Finally they broke apart and smiled broadly at each other, both having felt the increased power of their desire in that moment.
They turned to the ancient and saw the shock on his face.
"What?" Isabella asked him in concern but he only smiled softly and knowingly, and said nothing about what he had seen.
"Come. Now we return to our village, and our time - all of us. Before we leave I will stress to you both once again how important it is that no-one knows about this place. No-one at all - even Adrian, Isabella. Not even your parents. Do you understand the importance of this?"
Isabella felt the aura of importance coming off him and nodded.
"Yes."
He then led them through the parted waterfall once again, and over the pool. When they looked behind them everything was as it should be - water flowing completely over its usual run line, and the pond as it always was.
Trent looked around him and almost felt like he could faint. Everything was green. He had seen this immediate area before, for short periods of time, but now he could stand and look at it for as long as he liked. It was lush - the trees, the bushes and the flowers. The roses creeping all over the high grey exterior walls.
Further over he could see more trees … and buildings. And in the distance he could hear a light chatter of people. Only a few but more than he had heard till now.
"The village is awakening. Let us go to the temple before we are seen. I wish to talk to both of you alone before we are around people," Elder Rhys said and Isabella and Trent nodded in response, eager to follow him and learn whatever they could about what had just happened.
Trent was in awe as he walked through the village now. Buildings, grass, trees, houses, a water fountain - all of this was destroyed in his time, and he was determined to do whatever he could to make sure that future timeline did not happen.
He recognised the markings on the front of the temple - even in its broken state the markings had been visible and obvious to him, and now he entered the structure in its entirety, amazed at the sheer size of it as he walked into it.
Once within the initial interior, he stopped and looked up to see a most amazing painted ceiling with graphical images.
"These were done by our ancestors and tell stories of our heritage. It is important these are kept intact," the ancient said, looking pointedly at Trent, who understood fully since he had seen what one action of the village letting a stranger into their midst had done to destroy all that he was presently looking at. Trent nodded at the ancient, assuring him of his dedication to not letting that happen.
Isabella and Trent were led through another large wooden door to a depth of the temple Isabella had never seen before.
"This is the meditation room of the ancients. You will not come here again until it is your time to serve as an ancient, Isabella."
She looked at him sharply, not knowing what he was talking about.
"I do not understand, Elder Rhys. What do you mean?"
"You are a chosen one, Isabella. That is why you could see the traveller when others cannot. But more than that, you have the gift of life. That is how you brought Trent back to life in the cave," he said and instantly saw Trent look at her in surprise, not having been aware that when in the cave he had … died. Elder Rhys continued to speak.
"We will talk about this at a later time, but you have been chosen, Isabella. It is a gift that will bring great responsibility in time, but not for many years. For now you will have a great many years for the two of you to pair and begin your family, to do your part in securing the ongoing population of our village."
Trent and Isabella looked at each other and on each of their faces they could see a complex array of feelings including surprise, disbelief, uncertainty … and desire.
They walked further until they came to an area with mats
on the floor, where the ancient signalled for them to sit with him. On doing so, they saw him look closely at one of their faces, and then the other.
"It is no simple thing that has been done today, and it is not something that you should take lightly or talk about. We shall not tell people how Trent has come to be here or where he has come from. Especially when he has come from."
Isabella felt shock flow through her system and Elder Rhys saw it.
"Do not worry about Adrian, Isabella. He has already forgotten that he ever saw Trent. When he next sees him, it will be as if he is seeing him for the first time."
"How…?" she started to ask and he raised his hands as if to stop her from asking the question.
"It is done and all is well. You must not talk of this to him. Trent will be a traveller who is lost and we are welcoming to our community," Elder Rhys continued and then looked pointedly at Trent. "He will have lost his memory as far as how he came to be inside the walls," he said and Trent understood completely that he was to tell this story if ever asked.
"Of course," he said, confirming he understood.
"He has arrived today and you have found him and brought him to me, Isabella," Elder Rhys said and saw her nod in acknowledgement. "I am therefore asking you to now take him and show him around the village, as you would any new person."
Isabella and Trent both inhaled deeply, understanding then that they would have to pretend as if they had never met before.
"I ask that you will wait for at least two weeks until you let people see you together as potential pairings," he said and Isabella let out a small groan at the thought of not being able to be near him as closely as she wanted. "Do not worry, Isabella, I can see how much you wish to be together. I will not stop you - there is a small room behind the temple that is discrete and Trent can sleep in it and make it his own for now. When he is known among our people we can work toward announcing your pairing."
The words were said as a statement, not a question, so did not require any answer from either Trent of Isabella.
"Now, come with me and I will show you to the room that will be Trent's until we find suitable more accommodation for him."
~~~~~
Once in the small room that housed only a bed, the ancient nodded to Trent and Isabella and removed himself, quietly closing the door behind him.
Instantly Trent walked to Isabella and put his arms around her, drawing her to him and holding her close. His emotions were overloading, he realized, with all that he had seen and been through, and when they looked at one another, Isabella could see tears in his eyes.
"Are you sad? Do you wish that you had not come into our time?" Isabella asked, concerned this might be the case.
Trent looked closely at her and kissed her lips softly before taking her hand and leading her to sit with him on the edge of the bed.
"No, not at all, Isabella. I am overwhelmed with so many things going through my mind, and so many things to think about in this new life. But the one thing I am certain of is that I have done the right thing."
"You have not seen the village properly yet, or the people…"
"No, and I will not today, if you do not mind. Today I need to adjust to … this," he said, waving his hand around to indicate the building he was in. "A short time ago all I could see here was rubble and now I am sitting in it, as if it has been suddenly resurrected. I know that is not the case, but I just need to adjust to one thing at a time."
Isabella nodded at him, feeling an intensity in her emotion also. In the back of her mind was a fear that once he was comfortable around people, she would not be the one he chose to pair with at all. He had not seen any other women for so long, would she really be his choice when she was not his only choice?
He saw her face sadden as she seemed to shut down and go silent, and he raised her chin so that he could look directly into her eyes. He wanted to ask her what was on her mind but before he could she reached up and kissed him … passionately.
Trent was so hungry for her but maintained his composure. It would only be a few weeks, Elder Rhys had indicated, before they could be paired, and she was worth waiting for. For now, though, he indulged in the feelings that she brought out in him, and he instinctively moved backward along the length of the small bed, taking her with him.
Neither were sure of how much time had passed when they broke apart, but Trent knew that he was well and truly under her spell. If he was in his time and he had met her in his city, he would have already attempted to bed her without any thought whatsoever. He would have acted on his natural impulses and not given any consideration to that being a rash and unfeeling thing to do.
But here, in this time, although he had yet to see the people of the village, or the village itself in its lively state, he felt a sense of disrespect over the ease with which he had bedded women in the past. They had each meant something to him in the instant, but Isabella meant something more to him. He wanted her to be the one final woman he made love to. He wanted her to be the one he had children with, and grew old with. He didn't know about her growing internal fear that once he saw other women she would not be his chosen one at all. If he had, he would have reassured her however he had to, that he had no desire to be with any other woman ever again.
"I must not stay, I do not think. There are … feelings … inside of me that I am new to," Isabella said with a slight blush and a very demure look on her face, and Trent could not argue with her.
"I have them too, Isabella," he said softly and saw her look at him sharply, as if she had assumed it would be one-sided. "You are not the only one feeling this way."
He lifted his hand and stroked her cheek lightly, deep in thought about so many things but trying desperately to not think about making love to her.
"You are … experienced … in…" she started to say, looking down as if in deep embarrassment. "Loving a woman?"
"Yes," he replied instantly, not wanting to lie to her.
"Many women?"
"Yes."
He watched her facial expressions as she let the acknowledgement flow through her mind, and eventually she seemed to deflate, right before his eyes.
"Isabella, I come from a world where many people do not regard … such … pleasure … as anything more than an activity that they partake in."
"It is not for making children, in your time?"
"Yes, but many people who do not want children still choose to enjoy it."
She shook her head.
"I do not understand. I do not need to understand…"
He kissed her softly.
"I cannot undo having been with women before you. I can assure you, however, that I never felt anything for them. Not like I feel for you. Perhaps that makes the idea of … pairing … seem not important to me, but the opposite is true. I believe you and I are meant to be together, now and for the rest of our lives. Nothing from my life before is as important as how I feel being here right now … with you."
Isabella felt confused but would be patient and accept whatever would happen with them. For now it was a relief to be able to lie beside him and not worry about people from her time seeing her outside, doing things such as kissing an invisible person.
The thought suddenly made her laugh at her own thinking and Trent was so happy to see her smiling again that he found himself laughing in response.
"What are you laughing at?" he asked her, curious at her change in mood.
"I was thinking about how it might have looked to someone from my time … this time … before, if they saw me holding my arms around you and kissing you. I am sure it would have seemed like a strange thing to see."
He smiled at her and kissed her more, for the moment not caring how it would look to anyone else.
~~~~~
Trent held her in his arms and found himself quite at peace. And how it felt to be in a bed after so long sleeping on the ground and in his sleeping bag…
All of a sudden he sat up, making Isabella jump.
"What is it?"
"I just realized that my gear will all be … in the future."
"Yes, it will be lost to you now. Was there something that you needed?"
He relaxed back and smiled.
"No, nothing. It is just very odd to think that it is here but it isn't here now. I may never quite understand how that can be."
~~~~~
After lying together quietly for some time, Isabella heard his stomach rumble and she smiled at him.
"I will take you to the dining area, if you wish," she said and he found himself salivating at the possible flavours soon to be made available to him.
"But did Elder Rhys not say we have to pretend like I am new here? How shall we do that?"
"Hmm, yes. Let us go and see him, and ask him how he wants this day to go. I am sure he will have already considered such things."
They stood up and Isabella moved toward the door, but before she opened it she felt him take her hand once more and pull her close, kissing her deeply, and Isabella found herself wishing they could quickly move to the pairing part.
~~~~~
They walked through the temple until they found Elder Rhys sitting in meditation. Isabella looked at Trent, as if to stress they must not disturb the ancient, but as always, he was already knowing of them being there.
"Do not be concerned. I am finished," he said, standing up and greeting them. "You have a question for me."
"Yes," Isabella said, as always, in awe of the ancient before her. "Shall I take Trent to the dining area for sustenance, or bring some here for him?"
"I think it is time, Isabella," he replied, looking from one to the other. "We can show him to the people - announce his arrival to all. If you are both ready."
Trent felt nervous. He had left the city to get away from crowds of people and suddenly he wondered if he was about to feel claustrophobic once more.
~~~~~
They followed the ancient out of the temple and Trent felt himself in awe once more of how the village looked now, compared to how it had looked to him before his change. It was vibrant, alive and lush. It was beyond logic that things could grow so easily as high up as he knew they were, but a thought entered his head that intrigued him. Did they even know they were on top of an icy mountain? The grey exterior walls were so high, even from the inside of them, that there was no real way to see how much land and depth of valleys there were outside of the walls. And it felt so warm and pleasant in the village, he considered it quite possible - even likely - that the residents simply did not have any comprehension of where exactly they were on the planet. In fact, perhaps they did not even comprehend that there was any life at all beyond where they were.
The Golden Desires Page 10