“I’m just assuming that you’re a good cook, because you’re good at everything! Besides that, it smells awesome, and the omelets Xavier made this morning were delicious. I figure it’s just one more talent you guys have.”
“I don’t know if I would say I have a talent but I have been around long enough to see, smell, and taste a lot of food. I think I’ve just picked a few things up.”
“So what would you say is the best food you’ve ever tasted?” Emily asked.
“That’s easy, pizza,” Alexander quickly responded.
“Pizza! You’re kidding. Out of all the things you’ve tasted throughout the centuries, you think pizza is the best?” Emily giggled.
“Why are you so surprised? Pizza is an amazing food. It has been around forever; it just keeps getting re-invented and given a new name. I suppose that is why I like it. The concept is so versatile; one can never get bored with it. There are endless combinations of toppings and doughs,” Alexander defended himself.
“So you all sat around eating pizza during the reign of Caesar Augustus?” Emily teased.
“No. I did not come across pizza until about one hundred years later. And it wasn’t called pizza, but compared to current versions, it is the closest thing in likeness.”
Emily could not contain her laughter. She was taken back with this new revelation concerning Alexander. Here was her Guardian, the man she loved, who has been around for thousands of years, has experienced things she could only imagine and the guy’s favorite food was pizza. It just didn’t seem to fit his sophisticated personality.
“One of these days I will make you some pizza and you won’t be laughing, you’ll be begging me for more. I guarantee it will become your favorite food.” Alexander playfully poked her.
“It’s a date then,” Emily retorted.
Alexander went back to cooking dinner and Emily watched in awe as he worked the knife like a master chef. His motions were quick and crisp as he chopped each of the vegetables and chicken and then placed them together in a large pan. It wasn’t long before he had the steaming food plated and ready to eat.
Alexander carried their plates over to the table, placing them next to each other. It was easy for Emily to spot where she was supposed to sit. One of the plates was piled high with food, while on the other lay an amount that would barely feed a small child.
“This is so good,” Emily continually said as she devoured the contents on her plate. Alexander really was a good cook, and now she could say that with certainty.
Emily had stuffed herself and felt a bit sluggish after she finished. Alexander had enjoyed watching her eat his creation. As usual, she felt a little embarrassed.
“What was it that you had to get from Carl this morning?” Emily tried to take the attention away from her empty plate.
“Funny you should ask. I was planning on showing you after dinner.” Alexander rubbed his hands together as an excited smile spread across his face.
He led Emily over to the living room where a large leather satchel lay against the stone hearth. He sat Emily on the piano bench while he fetched the mysterious bag. She had seen the object when they were loading the car, but had only caught a quick glimpse before Alexander had placed it in the trunk.
Now, as the bag lay before her, she examined it more carefully. The leather was old and worn, streaked with marks and deep scratches. It was shaped in a wide crescent with a flap that hung over to close the bag. There was a thick strap that was obviously supposed to be positioned across the chest and shoulder of whoever wore it. The item reminded her of something she would see Indiana Jones carrying.
Alexander sat down in front of her on the ottoman he pulled over. With the leather bag on his lap he carefully opened the flap and reached in to remove a small wooden box.
The beauty of what lay in his hands struck Emily. It was only about six inches long and no more than two inches wide, but the small box was covered in intricate carvings. The box was made from a very solid and dense wood, but had somehow been crafted into a tiny masterpiece. Small balls of gold were strategically placed in the center of several sets of carved flowers. As far as Emily could tell, not one of the gold balls was lost. The treasure was well taken care of, much like her precious violin.
“Carl has been keeping this for me for a very long time,” Alexander said as he looked down at his hands. “I have kept this safe for centuries, hoping that one day I would find a purpose for it…When we met; I knew this was meant for you.”
“Alexander, it’s so beautiful,” Emily replied, not knowing how to accept such a gorgeous gift.
His smile broadened showing his amusement. “It’s what is inside the box,” he said as he slowly lifted the lid.
Emily couldn’t help but gasp as she saw what he revealed.
Lying within the box was an emerald necklace. The size of the stone was only slightly larger than an almond, but it was magnificent. The brilliant green of the gem was an exact match to Alexander’s eyes. The jewel was worked into a flattened teardrop, held by an intricate web of thin gold prongs. They decorated the emerald, crisscrossing over and over, running almost the complete length of what they held so solidly in place. The thin strings of gold delicately wove into the rope-like chain that the jewel hung from. It was obvious that the pendant was never meant to be detached from the chain; it was to remain as one unified piece.
Emily was speechless as Alexander carefully removed the necklace from the box. The emerald glistened in the firelight. The clarity of the jewel was like nothing Emily had ever seen. She was scared to ask how old it was. Without words, he slowly lifted the chain up and over Emily’s head. There wasn’t much slack to get it around her ears, but it went on smoothly nonetheless. Shivering as the cold chain came to rest against the back of her neck, Emily reached up to touch the emerald that now lay just above the center of her chest.
“This necklace belonged to a Chinese princess. It is said that the stone was cut from a giant royal emerald that stood in the halls of the palace. During the Chinese dynasties, Emperors often sent their daughters to be married to form alliances between other countries and China. Legend has it that one Emperor had sixteen daughters. Each time he sent one off to be married, he had a piece of the royal emerald cut and made into a necklace for each of them before they departed. The giant emerald was said to have powers and was thought to protect anyone who remained near it. That was why the Emperor gave a piece to each of his daughters with a strict charge to wear it always.”
Emily made no effort to close her jaw as she examined the jewel. She was in complete shock. “I can’t keep this, Alexander, it’s way too valuable,” Emily stuttered as she began to delicately remove the necklace.
Alexander caught her hands and gently guided them back down. “You are more valuable than the most precious jewel. I want you to have it. I have been waiting my entire existence to find someone worthy of this treasure and that someone is you.”
Her eyes filled with tears. She wondered why on earth she deserved Alexander. She was just a simple human girl, one of the billions.
“What makes me so special in his eyes? I don’t get it.”
“Alexander, I just don’t know, this necklace is ancient. How did you get it?”
“Well,” he began, “I know you have heard of Alexander the Great…”
Emily interrupted. “You’re not going to tell me you were Alexander the Great’s Guardian. That is too crazy.”
He shook his head. “No, I was not his Guardian; I was Guardian to one of his head generals,” Alexander continued. “As you know, Alexander was one of the most successful military commanders of all time and he was well known for gathering treasures as he dominated the countries of the world. An interesting visit came to us just after Alexander conquered Egypt. One night as he and my Traveler surveyed the streets together, an old Chinese woman approached them, claiming she had a very valuable treasure for Alexander’s safekeeping. He brushed the old woman off, assuming she was crazy an
d continued on. But Marcus, his general, who was my Traveler, was intrigued by the old woman and wanted to hear what she had to say.
“She told him that she had once been a Chinese princess who was sent to wed a prince of India. She had fled to Egypt to escape the arranged marriage. Soon after arriving in the foreign land, she fell in love and married an Egyptian. She claimed that she was one hundred and twenty years old, but she did not look a day over fifty.
“Once she had Marcus convinced, she removed this necklace from around her neck and gave it to him. Her husband had long since passed away, and she wanted to join him in the afterlife, but had not been permitted to, because of the necklace’s power. She claimed it was the protective powers of the necklace that had spared her life for so long. She instructed that the necklace was to be given to the green-eyed gods for safekeeping until it was needed again.
“Marcus accepted the necklace and never saw or heard from the woman again. He wore it for a long time. He didn’t necessarily believe in the woman’s tale, but he liked the story and so wore it for sentimental reasons.”
“Did he ever take it off?” Emily asked, completely captivated by the tale.
“Yes, he did, when he was ninety-five years old. He had outlived his wife and four children, and had become a lonely old man. He removed the necklace and placed it in this box. One week later he died.”
“Do you really think this necklace was the reason the old Chinese princess and Marcus lived so long?” Emily asked, feeling even more intimidated by the gem that hung around her neck.
“It’s hard to say, but I think there is something to it.”
“You must have been the green-eyed god the old woman was talking about,” Emily offered.
“Yes, I think so. That is why after Marcus died, and he had no one to pass the necklace on to, I took it for safekeeping.”
Emily examined the necklace again in complete awe. She secretly hoped that the powers the old woman claimed it had were real. Emily hadn’t given much thought to how she and Alexander were going to overcome the problem that she aged and he didn’t. If the legend was true, then this necklace could be a possible solution. Looking at it from that perspective, she was no longer intimidated by the jewel. Instead she felt comforted wearing it.
Emily tucked the necklace beneath her shirt and then leaned into Alexander.
“Thank you,” she whispered, and then gently kissed his soft lips.
“Let’s hope it works,” Emily added when she pulled away.
“It won’t have to work, not while I’m around. I will never let anything happen to you,” Alexander replied as he stroked his fingers through her hair. “I will protect you through all of this, so there is no need to worry.”
Alexander kissed her forehead. For the first time since the chaos had begun, she felt reassured that everything was really going to be okay.
Chapter 15
* * *
Tension
Almost two weeks had passed since Emily and Alexander had arrived at the vacation home in Cooperstown. Her father and Xavier had shown up just a day after them, and so far had only made one short trip back to the city. The first few days felt like a wonderful vacation, as they all enjoyed good food, card games and a little time out around the town.
However, things had changed in the last week, as Alexander and Xavier began scouting the property and making improvements to better fortify the home.
James enjoyed helping the guys with some of the preparations, and had jumped at any chance the two Guardians gave him to join in their scouting excursions.
Emily, on the other hand, felt left out and just plain bored. She knew what Alexander was doing was vitally important, but a part of her was quite jealous. Her father seemed to be spending more time with the man she loved than she was.
The uncertainty of all of them surviving the pending attack drove her desire to spend any spare moment she could with Alexander and her father. She wasn’t convinced that her pessimistic approach was completely wrong. She would always be prepared for the worst, and therefore would never be surprised by an outcome again.
Alexander remained a pillar of strength, showing no signs of worry or panic. He had visited the Guardian Realm twice since taking up residence in Cooperstown. He needed to counsel with the Governing Five and discuss the aide they would require from other Guardians.
Even though his trips were short, Emily dreaded the time he spent away from her. She found herself clinging to the emerald necklace he had given her each time he was more than a quarter mile from the home. Not only did she want the legend of its protective powers to be true, the necklace reminded her of Alexander. The green of the emerald was like looking into green of Alexander’s mesmerizing eyes.
Tomorrow would be exactly two weeks since Alexander had learned of the Opposition’s plans. They all knew that the attack would happen any day now. Everyone was doing their best to keep tension and anxiety down by acting as normally as possible, but it was becoming evident that they were each on guard and more alert than ever.
It was a sunny and surprisingly warm day as Alexander and Xavier worked at securing additional sheet metal to some of the exterior windows. Emily enjoyed the opportunity to lounge on the deck and soak in some of the warmth and light. Because of the renovations the house now had very little natural light peeking through the barriers that were erected. The home was beginning to feel like a cave and she did not like it at all.
She offered to help with some of the outside work on numerous occasions but each time she was told she needn’t bother. So she had grown accustomed to just watching them do their thing, which in reality was something Emily couldn’t complain about. Witnessing Alexander challenge his muscles and exert his Herculean strength was something she could do for the rest of her life. She loved seeing how strong and skilled he was, and it often sent thrills through her entire body to see him lift something too heavy for a normal human being. And though her reaction seemed typical for a girl her age she was surprised to discover a hint of jealousy in her feelings as well. She wondered what it must be like to be extraordinary like him. To be extremely confident in yourself and know that the talents and abilities you possessed were rare and desirable. She longed to feel that way about herself. It was the first time in her life she was not content to be normal, it was the first time she wanted to be more than average.
“Hey, you missed a spot,” Emily called out from her lounge chair trying to distract herself from thoughts she knew would surely lead to self pity.
Alexander and Xavier both turned to face her, confused at the declaration.
“Where?” Xavier examined the windows that now had multiple sheets of metal plating across them.
“Right there,” Emily said pointing toward the window to their left. She was having a hard time sounding serious.
“Where? I see nothing out of place,” Alexander replied.
“Right there, where that one metal sheet is slightly bent. There is a crack big enough for a caterpillar to get through and we wouldn’t want that.” Emily released her bubbly laughter.
“Ha ha, you’re so funny.” Xavier turned around and continued screwing the metal sheet into the siding.
Alexander gave her a warm smile. He knew she was trying her best to stay positive and he loved her for it.
“I do have to agree with her though; your work is quite sloppy Xavier.” Alexander winked at Emily.
Xavier didn’t respond verbally. Instead he lunged at Alexander trying to catch him off guard. It didn’t work. In one fluid motion, Alexander sidestepped and used his arms to guide Xavier past him.
“Ha, Toro!” Alexander shouted, “Come now, little bull, you must be able to do better than that.”
Xavier gave a menacing laugh. “Oh, you know I can Brother. The question is, are you ready for it?” With that Xavier launched himself through the air at Alexander, coming down hard around his shoulders. An all out wrestling match had officially begun and Emily scooted her chair back to allo
w them more room on the deck to maneuver.
“At it again, huh?” James walked out the back door and over to a chair by Emily.
“Yeah, they seem to be doing this more frequently,” she giggled.
After watching the two Guardians wrestle the first few times, Emily realized that it was their way of relieving anxiety and tension. The matches only lasted a few minutes and always ended with Alexander on top of Xavier in some sort of submission hold. She had loved to see Alexander in action when she knew that he was in no real danger, it was fun and unexpectedly gripping.
As though it was some sporting event on television, Emily and her father made bets with one another. Of course, they always wagered on their own Guardian to win, but deep down they both knew it would always be Alexander.
Xavier struggled to regain his footing as Alexander threw him to the ground and placed a knee into his back. It seemed as though Alexander had the match wrapped up, but then his face went as still as stone.
Son of Eden, a Paranormal Romance (Tales of the Guardian) Page 24