We had camped by a river so I made my way downstream until I was safely out of sight, then undressed. The water was cool, but refreshing. It felt so good to be clean that I could not bear to put my dirty clothes back on so I made them vanish and put a towel around my waist before returning to the campsite. I could have created fresh clothes for myself, but I didn’t feel like it.
The sun was still low in the sky and there was no sign of Rob when I returned. Rachel was standing by the remains of last night’s fire and I hoped she wasn’t thinking about making breakfast.
I felt her eyes on me as I entered the tent and was surprised when I heard her follow me in.
“Can I have some privacy while I get dressed?”
“No,” she replied.
“No?”
“No, you can’t have any privacy and no, you can’t get dressed. At least not yet.” I stood there, unable to move, as she walked up to me. I offered no resistance as she pushed me backward onto the bedding and I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she undressed. My mouth went dry and I found it hard to breathe. Then she straddled me, pushed my arms above my head with her hands and kissed me. Was I dreaming? I freed my arms and began to stroke her naked back, making her moan in pleasure. I sat us both up and she wrapped her legs around my torso. She must have felt my body responding to her as I leaned her back slightly, supporting her back with my arm, and began to tease her nipple with my tongue. My free hand began to work its way down her body when the reality of what we were doing suddenly hit me and I stopped and pulled away.
“I don’t think I can do this.”
“Why not?” She sounded hurt.
I had to be honest with her. “I have dreamed about this moment every night from the day I met you, well almost. What happens if reality doesn’t live up to the fantasy?”
She smiled at me and leaned forward, forcing me down onto my back once more. “Then we try again tonight, and tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that,” she told me, kissing me on the lips before each ‘and’.
A feeling of absolute joy almost overwhelmed me. “I like the sound of that.” I grabbed hold of her and turned us both over so I was pinning her to the ground. “I hope you realise that I am falling in love with you,” I said softly.
“I certainly hope so,” she said. “I don’t go to bed with every guy I get the hots for you know.”
Unable to control myself I kissed her deeply and she responded by wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me closer. She wanted this as much as I did, but there was no way I was going to rush things. I pulled away and started to kiss, lick, suckle and caress every inch of her body. I got her so turned on she begged me to make love to her. Of course I obliged.
Was it the best sex I have ever had? No, of course it wasn’t, but it is only going to get better and better.
Rob was up, dressed and sitting by a newly lit fire when we eventually emerged from our tent once more.
“What the hell have you two been up to?” he asked. “I have been up for ages.” Rachel blushed bright red and I could not stop myself from grinning. “Oh,” he continued. “On second thoughts, don’t tell me.”
“How long till we reach Death?” Rachel asked, artfully changing the subject.
I was feeling so good I decided to tease them both a little. “A while yet. We have to see the Fates first.”
“Fates?” Rachel asked. “I’ve heard of them, but I can’t remember why.”
“In Norse mythology they are known as the Norns and are said to have woven the web of life.” She stared at me blankly so I continued. “Their Greek names are Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos.”
“Hang on,” Rob said. “Aren’t they the ones that control the thread of human life? You remember watching Hercules, Rachel. They try to kill him by cutting his thread but it turns gold when he becomes a god.”
“Vaguely,” she said.
“Yes, you’re right,” I said. “The Romans call them Nona, Decuma and Morta. Want to know how long your life lines are?”
“No,” Rachel replied. “That would be like finding out when I was destined to die. I would spend the rest of my life worrying about it.”
“Stay down here and you’ll live forever.” I winked at her.
“So why exactly do we have to meet these old women?” Rob asked. “And can they really kill us just by cutting our threads on a whim?”
I grinned. “You guys don’t really believe they exist do you?”
“Why not?” Rachel asked. “If you had asked me a month ago if any of the Greek or Roman legends were real I would have laughed at you. The same applies for every tale or fairy story from any other country or people. That includes parts of the bible. Since then I have met the god of the underworld and his mother, I have spoken to 3 out of 4 horsemen of the apocalypse, I have ridden a dragon and a hydra, had my life threatened by a woman with snakes for hair and I have fallen in love with a man who never ages and who seems to be able to do anything he wants just by thinking about it. So you tell me, is my life being controlled by three old ladies with a pair of scissors really so farfetched?”
She had a good point. “When you put it like that I guess not.”
“So they don’t really exist?” Rob asked, a little confused.
“No, they don’t.”
“Thank god for that,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief. “For some reason the thought of meeting them gave me the creeps.”
Rachel stared at him as though she could not believe what he had just said. “You are on your way to meet Death and you think meeting three little old ladies is creepy?”
Rob shrugged. “It’s all down to preparation I guess. I have known for a while that I would have to meet Death and am prepared to do so. Meeting someone who can kill me just by cutting a piece of string is different.”
She shook her head. “You really are insane.”
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. It was nice walking through fields and woods, over streams and around lakes with the sun beating down on us. Rachel’s hand never left mine while we walked and I began to wonder if I could actually get to spend the rest of my life with her down here.
All too soon the sun began to set and it was time to set up camp.
“So what do you feel like eating tonight?”
“Tandoori chicken, pillau rice, naan bread, poppadoms and mint yogurt, all washed down with bottles of Heineken,” Rachel requested, her tone of voice indicating that she wasn’t serious.
“No problem.” I intended to do all I could to make her happy and proceeded to remove the dishes from my bag.
It had not been a tiring day, so we all stayed up for a while, talking.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Rachel said as we cuddled together around the fire. “Why did you volunteer to be our guide?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Boredom, I guess. Death asked Ankou to do it but Ankou, as you can probably image, decided he had other places to be. Probably had a date with some young lady up there in your world. I had nothing better to do so offered my services.”
“And why did all of your family get involved?”
“That part I am not really sure about. All I know is that Death said that someone was coming to see him to take back his girlfriend and he wanted to put a few obstacles in his way to make sure he was really worthy of reclaiming her. Maybe everyone else was bored as well.”
“The first few days of our journey there were times when you were rather ratty and short tempered with us,” Rachel continued. “I assumed that was because you didn’t want to be our guide, but it appears that isn’t the case.”
I decided to be honest. “You both irritated me. At first your attitude was very annoying. Then I began to get angry with myself for being so stupid as to fall for a mortal and took my bad mood out on your guys a little. Sorry.”
“There is nothing to apologise for,” she said then kissed me. I desperately wanted more of her and I began to wish Rob would retire for the night.
“If you two are going to keep that up all evening I’m going to bed,” Rob said. Had he been reading my mind or was I just becoming that easy to read?
“Sorry,” Rachel said and started to pull away. “I promise we’ll behave.”
“Speak for yourself,” I said as I pulled her back onto my lap.
Rob sighed dramatically and made a big deal of stomping over to his tent. Personally I think he was over-acting.
“He’s not going to be coming out of there again until the morning,” Rachel said as she turned around and wrapped her legs around me.
“Your point being?” I tried to ignore the fact that she was unbuttoning my shirt, but it was very distracting.
“We’re all alone out here and will be for some time.” She started kissing my neck and worked her way down my chest between words. Did she realise how much she was turning me on?
“Get to the point.” It was becoming hard to keep my voice even.
She lifted her head and the look on her face told me all I needed to know. “I’ve never made love in front of a real fire.” She started to undo my belt as she spoke.
She didn’t need to say anything more. I slipped my arms around her neck and pulled her close enough to kiss her. “You, young lady, are a bad influence on me.” I lay back and let her continue to undress me.
I don’t think I have ever had a better evening in my life and afterward we stayed up, watching the flames light up the night.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked, kissing her neck once more. I couldn’t seem to get enough of her.
“All the little things that made me fall in love with you, though I didn’t know it at the time.”
“Like what?”
“Like the massage you gave me to get rid of my headache. Having your hands on me felt so good, but I thought it was just because my head hurt. Now I know different.”
I smiled and tightened my hold on her. I guess the massage had worked after all. “I’m happy to have my hands on you whenever you like. Keeping them off you is going to be a problem though. What else?”
“When we comforted each other after going through the ghost fields. It just felt so natural, so right. I was tempted not to go to Robert when his screams disturbed us. When you saved me after Fee pushed me over the cliff,” she continued. “I didn’t want you to let me go once we were on solid ground, not that I would have admitted that at the time. Not even to myself.”
“Anything else?”
“Can you remember all those days ago when we were talking by the fire about Bill?” I nodded. Of course I remembered. I remembered every second I had spent with her. “I was filled with an overwhelming desire to kiss you. At the time I assumed it was because I was missing Bill. Now I know better.”
“It’s a pity you didn’t realise sooner. Think how much more enjoyable this journey would have been if we had gotten together earlier. Meeting my family would have been a completely different experience.”
“That reminds me of something else,” she said. “When you came into my room and asked about how your sisters had treated me. I don’t know if you remember, but I said they asked about what I thought of Ankou. You wanted to know what I told them. You asked so casually, but something about your manner told me you really wanted to know the answer. I thought it was because you didn’t want to hear about yet another woman falling for him and I worded my answer carefully as I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“It sounds like there have been so many signs along the way that we wanted each other you would have thought that one of us would have noticed.”
She pulled out of my embrace, turned around so that she was facing me and slipped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.
“What about you?” she asked. “When did you know you wanted me?”
“That’s easy. I wanted you the moment I met you. You are, after all, a truly beautiful woman.”
Rachel laughed and kissed me, again. I don’t think I am ever going to tire of her doing that. “I think, in this case, your opinion may be slightly biased.”
“Maybe a little,” I said. “But if you mean when did I know that I wanted more than just your body, that happened the moment you saw Ankou. I was watching your face and the way it lit up told me how much you wanted him. You lusted after him as soon as you set eyes on him and I was gripped with a jealousy so strong it took all of my self-control not to react.”
“Is that why you said ‘shit’ when you heard he was staying with your aunt?”
I nodded. “I didn’t realise you had heard that. I predicted what your reaction would be and was not happy to be proven right.”
“You got the girl in the end though.”
“I did, didn’t I.” We remained quiet for a while, both enjoying the feeling of just being together. Then an overwhelming need to tell her everything took hold of me. “Can I confess something to you?”
“That depends. Are you about to tell me you are actually married and have twin boys and a girl?”
I smiled. I loved her sense of humour. “I’m not that stupid. If that was the case I would keep quiet about it until I have had a lot more fun with you.”
“So what have you done?” she asked.
“Created a storm.” She just looked at me for a moment, trying to work out what I was talking about. It did not take her very long.
“The storm that had us trapped in the tent?”
I nodded, wondering how she was going to react. “I went to see Hades the night before, while you and Rob were sleeping, and obtained his permission.”
“But why?” At least she didn’t sound angry.
“Think about it. Stuck under canvas with you for 48 hours. If Rob hadn’t been there it would have been paradise.”
“You are a lot more conniving than I gave you credit for.” It was not a rebuke; her voice was filled with admiration. “Anything else I should know about?”
“The detour to see Pegasus was a lot bigger than I let on, we didn’t really need to jump down the waterfall or climb down then up all those steps; there was a much easier route. Want me to continue?”
She shook her head. “Why on Earth did you do that? My legs were killing me the next day.”
“That was kind of the idea. I was hoping you would ask for another massage.”
“You had better not let Robert know about any of this,” she said, not that I needed the warning. My confessions were for her ears alone.
She closed her eyes and relaxed in my arms. The heat from the fire warmed our naked bodies and it felt good to feel her skin against mine.
“I’m glad I had the opportunity to take you to see my family. I couldn’t wait for them to meet you and you them. I know that you weren’t mine then and deep down I didn’t think you ever would be, but it still meant a lot to me. I thought it went well. Until they almost got you killed that is.”
“It was an accident,” she murmured drowsily.
“I never felt comfortable with their plan and warned them that something was going to go wrong. I didn’t react very well when I found out what had happened. I’m just glad you were unconscious so you didn’t see or hear it.”
“You told me to shut up,” she said, as though suddenly remembering.
“That’s nothing compared to what I said to my sisters and to my parents for allowing them to go ahead with their idea. I think I have a lot of apologising to do next time I go home. Rob and I both got very drunk that night. We were not a pretty sight the next morning. I’m glad you slept through it so we didn’t have to face you. I haven’t been that hung over since college.”
“Why did you get drunk may I ask?”
I shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. We were both very upset that you nearly died and wanted to drown our sorrows. We emptied one whisky bottle then Rob made the mistake of commenting that it was empty. I refilled it, so we carried on.”
Rachel winced, though I’m not sure why. Maybe she was imagining how bad the hangovers were.
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“Rob was barely able to walk when my mother and sister came looking for us. Spatha had to help him back to his room. My mother took away the bottle, announcing that I had had enough. She wasn’t too impressed when I made the glass fill itself instead. The more I drank, the more I thought, which in turn made me want to drink more. I wanted desperately to just hold you in my arms and never let go, but at the time I believed that you could never be mine. I managed to convince myself that you would throw yourself at Ankou the next time you saw him. I remember throwing the glass at the wall in frustration. It was at that point that my mother called for my father and I was unceremoniously carried to my room. I was too far gone to offer any resistance.”
She remained silent, so I continued. “My mother came to see me the next morning and suggested I let Spatha take over as your guide, but the thought of never seeing you again caused me so much pain I almost forgot my pounding head. Then she suggested that I extend the journey as much as possible and give you every opportunity to get to know the real me.”
“That advice seems to have worked.”
“You can say that again.” I kissed the top of her head, then continued talking. I spoke about my plans for the future, but I don’t think she really heard any of them as she drifted in and out of sleep.
I know I should have let her get her rest, but my body had other ideas, so I carried her to the tent and gently woke her. She didn’t complain when I found a way to keep her awake for a while longer. When we eventually closed our eyes once more we both went straight to sleep.
Betrayal
The days passed far too quickly. I spent every waking moment getting to know Rachel better. We talked for hours on end about anything and everything and at night I had to sound proof our tent. I am keeping the pace as slow as possible and taking the longer routes whenever I can, but Death’s abode is getting closer and closer.
I haven’t been to see him, or any of my family, since Rachel and I became an item and I am surprised not to have received any visitors enquiring where I have gotten to.
Rob became quiet and kept to himself a lot. Rachel started to worry about him, but he refused to tell her what was wrong. It was probably just that he didn’t like me and Rachel being together, but we wouldn’t let that come between us.
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