Thank you Mink & Jink! And thank you so much to everyone who wrote me saying they enjoyed this fiction, it meant a lot to me to know that anyone liked it at all! And to Alexis and Tenshi who drew the beautiful fan art, I have really cannot express how touched I was to see that anything I wrote inspired such wonderful artists to bother! To imagine that you saw exactly what I envisioned means more to me than I can possibly say. Was that all terribly sappy? Well this is the end of my very first real fan fiction so I am allowed! =p =)-Evan-
The Grand One
part 5
By Evan
-- One look in your eyes
And my world came tumbling down
I swallowed all my pride
I paid for you in tears
Beautiful Stranger--
Madonna
The garden was deserted because of the party and
the light rain that had begun to fall. Cold
raindrops chased the few that roamed the paths and lingered at the fountains
back into the
warm light of the Masquerade.
Rowan followed the slow moving figure before him
silently. It seemed ludicrous out here in
the night to start some great explanation of his shock. Of all things that
much was evident and he almost laughed out loud at the turn of events, so
quick he wasn't even quite sure if he should believe it.
Sai paused at the base of a statue, white marble in the day, a gray shadow at night. It was of an ancient Goddess, watching over them in silence and not offended by the weather. "Look at it." Sai was looking over Rowan's shoulder.
Rowan turned to look, willing at the moment to do
anything Sai wished. The Palace was sitting in all of its grace, the tall
broad windows lit with the glimpses of the chandeliers and the colourful
sweep of the dancers as they moved in time to the music neither one of them
could hear. It seemed as if they stood alone in quiet space looking into
another world. The familiar garden was suddenly bizarre.
Rowan felt a raindrop land in a cold drop on the back of his neck. The moon
came out from
between the clouds and then once more with a slight breath of wind.
Rowan saw in the dim wavering light that the raindrops had caught in Sai's
eyelashes, glittering there like jewels.
"Will you come with me?"
Sai asked softly. "Away from all of this?"
Rowan looked back to the windows and saw himself back
amongst the dancers, laughing when he was supposed to and sipping wine that
cost more than some made in their entire lives. He saw his fine clothes and
his fine friends, both of which were bought with expensive coin and tremendous
wealth.
Rowan saw each year of his life as they had been and he saw his unhappiness.
"Yes of course." He simply said. The Lord could not
keep his casual nature from taking such heavy words and making them sound
as if he agreed to an invitation to the ball room floor. His world was changing
so swiftly, would he ever be able to speak his mind without hiding it with
a mask? He knew just by looking into Sai’s face that he would learn
to. “I will.”
“Will you kiss me again?” Sai asked sadly.
“Our first two have been awful.”
Rowan tasted the cold rain on Sai’s warm mouth. It
was the closest to perfection Rowan had ever felt. He wanted to crush Sai
into himself but it was impossible to get any closer. The arms that went
around him and the feel of it made Rowan want time to look the other way
and let them live in a moment. With just this distance and with just this
privacy it was selfish, Rowan knew as he saw a brand new jealously blossom
that he didn’t know he could feel. He would covet this more than any
title or favourable word from the Queen herself.
“That was much better.” Sai mumbled breathlessly
into Rowan’s mouth. “Where will we go?”
Rowan felt his mind race as he considered. England? A
cold country. Colder and more rigid than his home. Would he miss the nights
of endless wine and rowdy company? Could he endure its rugged agrarian peace?
The filth and noise of London might not be so bad. But he would card all
the wool on the bleak island and chase all the rats out of Windsor to spend
one more day with him. Or maybe the foreign New World, that sat so far across
the ocean awaiting the legions of explorers and the hopeful. There were virgin
woods he had heard, the quiet mountains and unclaimed rivers. It seemed fitting,
to start all over again on the opposite side of the earth. "Let us
go very far." Rowan told him and took his hand. "Tonight."
Sai smiled warmly up at him.
* *
*
Seiji stood at his window, one hand resting
on the gilded pane. The Exotic lay sleeping in a twisted tangle of white
linen behind him, exhausted by last night’s compensation for their loss.
The carriage stood waiting out on the cobble stoned drive below. A few servants
were busy packing the surprisingly few belongings that sat out in the shallow
slate coloured light of dawn.
So few things. With only those small trifles, a lot would
be left behind.
*
* *
Rowan paused before he slipped into the chill interior
of the carriage, the dull sound of the horse's on the cobble stones distracted
him as they shifted about in the cold.
"What is it Rowan?" Sai asked already seated and shivering in his heavy coat.
Rowan looked up to the far window and saw a figure
looking down at him. It raised a hand. The gesture returned, Rowan smiled
softly. "Just saying farewell."
The carriage took them away down the lane and through
the rows of trees before the sun had
proper time to compete with the grey clouds.
The End!
--Dedicated with much love to my very own Grand One. Your ideas and mind are invaluable to me and I couldn't have written a thing without your support and criticism.--
-Evan-