Celtic Rose (11 page)

As she looked around, she noticed several hooded figures among the revelers in the small bar. One in particular kept her attention. He sat in a corner, like her, away from everyone. She wondered if he was a like soul running from something as well. Her thoughts were interrupted as two more hooded figures came through the door. Their faces were masked by the shadows of the cloaks, but the one in the back had the hood pulled back just enough to allow her a glimpse of his face. Kallisto saw a strong defined nose, sharp cheek bones, and a defined chin. There were wisps of shiny, black hair on his forehead and along his cheeks. Finally she looked to the eyes; the blue-green eyes shined like stars in that beautiful face–it was Talus.

Kallisto’s hood was pulled to hide her face, but Talus seemed to sniff the room as he scanned. At first she thought he just smelled the stench that had caught her attention when she first walked in, but then his eyes were on her. There was a glint in those beautiful eyes that stopped her heart momentarily. His lips tilted up in that half-grin that made her heart race and her breath come faster. He knew it was her, but she didn’t know how. He started to walk toward her. Her heart was pounding so fast she thought it would burst from her chest.

She had wanted to see Talus again, but she was supposed to find him, not the other way around. She thought there were too many questions to his being here. Was he just in the region for…what? A day trip? Did he come for her? Did he come to kidnap her and use her for a ransom from the Irish? Did he come to kill her? Or did he come because he truly shared her feelings and wanted to be with her? Or did his being there have nothing to do with her at all? If not for Kallisto, then why was he swaying those luscious hips over to her table, smiling like a cat that ate the canary? And why on God’s holy name did she feel like that canary about to be eaten? Her instincts were usually right about these things, thanks to Gabriel’s vigorous training, so he had to be there for her, but how did he find her?

She couldn’t get the answers she needed in the crowded pub. She thought if she ran then she could find him later, alone, and possibly get the answers that way. But she needed a way out. He was coming ever so much closer, and her time would be up to decide. Luckily the hooded figure in the corner that she had watched before Talus came in kicked the chair of a man at the table closest to him hard enough to knock it over. The man jumped up, screaming, and a fight broke out between them and ended up right between Talus and Kallisto, giving her a chance to escape. She took it quickly and ran toward the window across from her. She launched herself through the opening into the cool starry night and did a tuck and roll, getting to her feet quickly as a cat and bolting. There was no way she could make it into the stables and back out in time to get away, so she ran straight into the cover of the forest. She would trail back and get Reverend as soon as she was sure she had lost Talus.

Kallisto was fairly good at finding her way around strange places, Gabriel had taken her and Kalan into different forests around the castle and left them to find their way back. At first they would get lost and Gabriel would find them and bring them back. When he felt they were ready he taught them all the tricks to finding a way through unfamiliar territory; all she had to do was pay close attention to her surroundings as she ran, and remember which directions she turned. In the distance, she heard the sound of waves crashing against land–if she stayed close to that she could find her way back easily. She looked back and caught a fleeting glimpse of Talus running after her. Kallisto twisted and turned in hopes that she might confuse him enough to be able to back track and stay close to the sound of the water. If she got too far out she might get lost herself. She thought he must’ve been a hunter. He seemed to track her even when she was careful not to disturb her surroundings too much. Gabriel’s training was very extensive in that area, because he always feared that she’d be lost and alone, and he wanted her trained to be able to survive on her own.

Kallisto finally found a nook inside a giant tree; she hid inside quietly watching. After only a few seconds, she saw Talus pass. He ran so gracefully she was stunned for a moment after he went by. She crept out slowly and quietly, looking as she went. Talus was gone, so she started back the way she’d come, careful not to make much noise. She jogged along at a steady pace, retracing her steps.

As she jogged past another great tree, an arm shot out from behind it and grabbed her around the waist. Talus pulled Kallisto to him and locked both arms around her, holding her tight against his chest. He leaned down and put his lips to her ear.

“
Hello Princess,” he chuckled.

“
Hello my prince.” Kallisto slammed her elbow into his stomach. He lurched with a huff of air and released her. She drew her sword as she spun to face him. He stepped back with a smug grin and raised his arms to show that they were empty. He didn’t seem to believe she’d hurt him. She didn’t want to, but she could see his sword at his side and was worried that he might draw it anyway. She took a step forward, raising her sword toward his throat.

“
Now now, Princess, I am unarmed.” He took another step back as Kallisto advanced.

“
Draw your sword then!” she said angrily and lunged. Talus drew his sword quickly to block the swipe of her sword. They fought, and matched each other
perfectly. Every swipe he made she deflected, and every swipe she made he deflected. It seemed funny that she could think how perfect they were together while they were fighting. She ducked under one of his lunges and swiped her leg around, knocking him off his feet. She jumped up quickly and put her sword to his throat.

“
Do you yield?” She hoped he would. She really didn’t want to hurt him.

“
Never.” He grinned mischievously. She couldn’t help but smile back.

Out of nowhere a hooded figure flipped out of the trees and landed in front of her, sword drawn. The hood flew back and there stood Ramina. She wore a look of sheer hatred and danger on her face. Kallisto took a step back and dropped the tip of her sword, but that wasn’t enough to stave off Ramina. She came at Kallisto hard and fast. Kallisto brought her sword up to block the blows as quickly as she could, but she could barely keep up with Ramina. She was more dangerous than Kallisto ever could have pictured her outside of this dream world. Kallisto thought it was extremely frightening to watch Ramina come at her like that. She thought she should have been jolted awake by the pounding of her heart; in nightmares that was how she always woke up, but for some reason the rules didn’t apply to these dreams. Eventually Kallisto couldn’t take any more of Ramina’s blows and she dropped, breathing heavily. Kallisto dropped her head and closed her eyes, preparing for the death blow, but it never came. She opened her eyes to see why. Ramina had stopped with her sword in midair, staring up into the trees.

Kallisto heard a loud scream of rage as she watched her brother drop from the branches of the tree above. He had dropped right next to Ramina with his sword drawn and started fighting her. Kallisto was too tired to even think about moving. She just sat leaning against the tree trying to catch her breath. Talus made his way slowly to her side.

“
Princess, are you all right?” He grabbed her shoulder. She shrugged him off and struggled to stand.

“
No thanks to you.” She picked up her sword and it wobbled in her weak grip, but she made the greatest effort she could. He ran behind her and grabbed her arms, shaking the sword from her hand, and pinning them to her chest. This placed his arms around her again.

“
Why are you still fighting me?” Talus said angrily.

“
You gave your word,” Kallisto said struggling to get free. “I should have known better than to trust some filthy Scottish pig!”

“
Calm princess, I gave you my word that I would not take you anywhere that you did not wish to go, and I will not. I just wanted to see you again, that’s all.” His soft, soothing voice made the fear edge away, and despite their warring nations, she knew his words held truth. She relaxed and he loosened the tension in his arms, but he didn’t release her. “There now, is that not better?” He looked around at her and his face held that half-grin that made her heart stutter; she blushed at that look and averted her eyes with a smile.

“
You can let go of me now; I am not going to run, or fight.” She relaxed her body into his, leaning her head on his shoulder to show she was telling the truth. He laid his cheek against hers and thought for a moment.

“
Will you give me your word?”he whispered.

Kallisto put her lips to his ear. “I give you my word,” she whispered. He released, but stayed close. They turned together toward Ramina and Kalan.

“
Kalan, stop!” Kallisto yelled. It distracted both of them enough for them to notice the close proximity between Talus and Kallisto. They stopped; Kalan stared, showing no emotion, but Ramina stared in shock. Talus put his hand on Kallisto’s shoulder, which made Ramina’s mouth drop. Kallisto reached up and placed her hand on Talus’; it was exactly what she’d wanted, to have a chance with Talus. Maybe she could live like this.

“
What are you doing, Talus?” Ramina started toward them, but Kalan raised his sword and held it as a barrier between her and the others. She glared into Kalan’s eyes with rage, but then she seemed to really see him for the first time. Her features softened, as did Kalan’s. Ramina pulled her foot back, making her stand tall. Kalan was taller than her but not by very much. They looked as they did in reality, only with slight differences to their appearances, like longer hair and different clothes. They turned to Talus and Kallisto in unison.

“
I believe we have a great deal to talk about,” Kallisto stated, bringing her face up to look at Talus. He nodded.

“
Come, let us sit by the water and rest. We can get better acquainted,” he said, walking toward the water, bringing Kallisto with him. Ramina and Kalan followed together. Talus sat, leaning against a tree, while Kallisto sat beside him, resting against his chest, his arm around her. She felt happier than she had in a long time. Kalan stood facing away from them, staring into the trees. Gabriel had taught Kalan and Kallisto to always be on guard, and Kalan was doing just that, watching for danger. Ramina stood leaning against a tree. Kallisto would catch her staring at Kalan every once in a while, and she’d avert her eyes quickly when she caught Kallisto looking, but Kallisto never said anything.

As the sun started to rise higher in the sky, it began to get very warm. Kallisto hadn’t realized the morning had passed by so quickly. Dawn hadn’t even begun to break when she left the tavern, and now the sun was high in the sky. They were near the water and it looked so refreshing. she thought a swim would be great.

“
Who wants to go for a swim?” Kallisto jumped up and threw off her cloak. Talus’ eyes widened when he saw her riding outfit. The soft, tan leather clung close to her form. She’d pulled her black hair back and twisted it in a leather strap. “Wow!” Talus said with a gleam in his eyes as they trailed up and down her body. She giggled and began taking her sword and boots off. Talus jumped up and did the same.

Ramina and Kalan seemed to let down their guard at the promise of fun in the cool water. They both readied themselves as well and ran for the water. The grass just ended and the water began, so they expected there to be a slope so they could run into the water, but Kalan made it first and when he stepped into the water he just dropped. They all stopped.

He came up sputtering but laughing. “There’s a drop-off, but it’s not too deep. Jump on in, the water’s great.”

Talus ran on ahead of Ramina and Kallisto and they watched as he did a back flip into the water. Ramina and Kallisto laughed together as he came back up and tried to splash water on them. They ran and jumped up grabbing their knees, landing in the water in unison. The double splash was more like one single giant splash. The cool, refreshing water invigorated them. They swam and played for hours.

Ramina and Kallisto saw two fins in the water between the cliffs coming toward them from the ocean on the other side. The sound of the splashing seemed to call the creatures to them. Kallisto did have the small wound on her arm from the fight with the soldiers and it could be seeping, which would explain it. Ramina and Kallisto looked at each other.

“
Sharks!” they screamed in unison. The guys followed their gaze as they looked back toward the opening and saw the fins, and started swimming to shore. Ramina and Kallisto only swam with them for a second, long enough to get the guys going, then they stopped. They looked at each other and smiled, then watched the guys climb on shore. They tried for looks of fear and it seemed that they succeeded, because after the guys climbed up on shore and turned to help the girls, they noticed they weren’t there. They found them not far from the shore and turned pale when they saw Kallisto and Ramina’s faces.

“
What are you doing?” Talus yelled, starting back into the water.

“
Direach cum a’dol a’snamhadh!” Kalan screamed, coming forward also. Kallisto could see the fear in his eyes; it seemed to be strong enough to make him speak in their native tongue. He had said ‘just keep swimming.’ The fins were close now, so close that Ramina and Kallisto both grabbed a fin as they swam by, and laughed as the creatures pulled them through the water. Talus and Kalan stared in shock at first and then realization hit. They both sighed with relief and laughed when they realized the girls had tricked them. They were riding on dolphins.

“
Come back into the water,” Kallisto yelled. As she let go of the dolphin, it swam in a circle around her, and she ran her fingers along its side. Talus and Kalan finally came back into the water, laughing when the dolphins swam to get them. They grabbed their fins and the dolphins brought them out to Ramina and Kallisto. The funny thing was, it was like the dolphins knew who belonged to whom; they brought Talus to Kallisto and took Kalan to Ramina. Kalan and Talus let go when they got to the girls and embraced them tightly.