Fates: Chapter Forty-Four

Margaret

The next thing I knew, we were standing in an alley.

A dark, dirty alley.

There were crates and metal bars but other than that, I could not figure out how this place could hold any special memory for me.

"What are we doing in this place?"

Seirra simply glanced at me and then back at the alley. His smile, however, was so mysterious that my heart started pounding with a mix of excitement and nervousness. What could possibly have happened here?

"I had not realized it until we were a few steps out of Books and Covers." He left my side and looked at the entire alley as if seeing it with different eyes. "I knew I had to bring you here."

He suddenly turned back towards me and his next words were probably the most meaningful things I have heard from him.

"This was where I started falling in love with you."

The way his green eyes sparkled was so mesmerizing as he gazed at me. My heart thundered against my chest, my breath caught and in that moment, I felt time freeze.

I watched him start walking towards me and when he took my hands, everything melted with the fire that started from the simple spark of his touch.

It really was like...magic.

"Wha-What exactly do you mean?" I asked.

He raised both of my hands and kissed them before answering.

"This was where my father's soldiers came after you for the second time. The first time they attacked you, you were alone and they almost killed you."

His mood got darker as he recalled the incidents and I found myself shaking.

His grip tightened before he continued, "When I found you covered in blood that first time, I swore that it would never happen again. So when they showed up here, my first thoughts were to make sure you got away safely.

"And you did. I was so relieved when you managed to run away that I never felt pain from the wounds and bruises that I got from the fight. But not more than two minutes passed and I saw you again, shooting at the enemies with a gun in your hand."

My eyes widened. "You mean I went back? And with a gun? But where did I get it? How could I possibly have gotten something like that?" Seriously, what was I thinking at that time?

He smiled briefly at my confusion. "Yes, you were there with a gun and I assume the Key of Saol gave it to you. But to be honest, when you showed up again, I didn't know whether to thank you for your help or shout at you for putting yourself back in danger."

"I seriously don't know why I did what I did. Sorry," I said automatically. Well, what else could I say? "So...I suppose you won the fight?"

That's when he grinned at me like a boy showing off his most expensive toys.

"Of course. I'm not the Celari leader for nothing."

He looked extra charming at that moment that I knew I had to indulge him.

"Oh, really? So you're saying you beat your enemies because of your superior skills?"

"Yeah," he replied with a hint of sarcasm. And then just like that, he sobered. "But I wouldn't have won the fight without you. Thinking about it, that gunshot distracted the enemies, which was enough for me to catch them off guard. And I really thank you for that."

When he used too much sincerity in his words, it was difficult not to feel a hundred emotions in response, enough to make me feel as if my heart would burst.

"I...Well, you saved both of our lives so helping you out a little should have been nothing much, really."

And then I remembered that this place was more than just the dangerous place he talked about. "So...you were saying something about this alley?"

I had no idea why it felt awkward to ask about it but really, these things take getting used to. I could understand why I could have been attracted to him, though. After all, he was someone any girl could fall easily in love with.

I sighed inwardly. Maybe I should not have dreamed of him. If not for the confusion, it would be so easy for me to imagine falling for him in an instant.

Seirra began to elaborate, and my attention went back to why we were here.

"My father's soldiers were some of the best Celaris and the fight had exhausted me. Before I knew it, I passed out."

Whoa. His confidence earlier had practically made me think that he was an invincible soldier.

"Luckily, you were there to catch me," he told me with a wink. Which predictably made me blush.

And darn if he did not see it.

He smiled but then went on as if nothing happened. "When I came to, you were crying and pleading for me to be alive. I had not expected you to care so much about me--"

"Wait," I interrupted, mostly to stop thinking about his wink. "I may have cried and all but I think it was mostly because I was scared that someone had died on me. I-I don't think it's because I cared about you." Could it?

He smirked at me in reply. "You can say what you want to say. But I know what I saw that time. You wouldn't react like that if you didn't care at all."

My jaw just dropped. Well, it's not as if I remembered anything that could help me defend myself. Slowly, I was starting to think that maybe his words had merit. Seeing as I seemed to be finding it way too easy to like--and love--him even if it had only been less than a week, I may--emphasis on may--have cared about him at that time.

"To tell the truth, your concern then had been quite comforting. I had not realized that I have been living such a hardened life as a soldier, and so I found myself pretending that I was still wounded just to remember what it was like to have someone worry about me."

Before thinking about it, the question just rolled out of my mouth.

"How about your dad? Did he not care about you?"

He gave me a sad smile. Kalus' death was still fresh in both of our minds but sometimes, my mouth really did move faster than my brain. I gave him an apologetic look and he simply took a deep breath.

"My father was a soldier himself. He has his ways of showing me that he was worried but never quite as explicit as what you did here in this alley. If I would be blunt, I'd say I started falling for you because I felt that for the first time, someone would be taking care of me instead of the other way around."

He shrugged. "Of course I had not known this when the enemies almost killed me here but thinking about it now, I know that that was how it was."

He was looking intently at me and all I could do was stare back at him. For a moment, he seemed like a total stranger. Then for another, it felt as if I knew him so well.

Unconsciously, I felt my hand twitch and start reaching out to him. But then he probably decided that we already spent too much time in the alley because he took my hand and started pulling me away.

"I think it's time for us to eat," he declared.

"But it's only ten-thirty in the morning."

"Let's have brunch, then."

Our next destination was Marly's Pasta. Somehow, all the memories of last Sunday came rushing back to me--the first time we met again in my current condition of selective memory loss.

The cemetery, this restaurant.

He chose a table near the windows. As soon as the waiter left with our orders, I took Seirra's attention.

"Didn't we agree to relive my lost memories? I can still remember what happened last Sunday," I told him matter-of-factly.

"Our meeting here last Sunday wasn't our only memory of this place," he replied. "This was where we had our first date."

"What?" I exclaimed.

He laughed at my expense before explaining, "Don't worry. You probably won't see it as a date but I thought we can call it that since the first time we went here together was also the first time we actually ate at a restaurant. You humans describe a date that way, don't you?"

"Well...Somehow, yes. A usual date does entail dinner at a fancy restaurant."

"Exactly. We went searching for Marina after your class and I decided to go here for dinner. At that time it was because this was the closest to where we were but now I'm quite grateful of my choice. At least I can say that we had our first date here."

I snorted at his way of thinking but I somehow got what he wanted to tell me. He was showing me a different perspective of the memories I lost--a perspective that would actually make me appreciate them instead of fear them.

"So, what exactly did we do on our 'first date'?" I asked.

"Nothing much. We ordered the same food we ordered today--"

"We did?"

"Yes. Apparently, you like their chicken parmiggiana."

"Well, who am I to dislike good food?" I replied in my defense.

"I couldn't agree more," he said and then continued, "I remember teasing you about Marina, comparing you to her." His eyes began to glaze with recollection. "I told you she will easily trump your physical beauty and despite all your efforts to hide it, I knew you were disappointed that I didn't praise you all that much."

As a matter of fact, I was starting to feel that way again. If that was a date, shouldn't he have been complimenting me?

"But I also told you that you were very charming."

Now that was more like it.

"I told you that even though you look normal, you have some sort of unexplainable charm that makes you so beautiful, unlike any other woman--human and mermaids alike."

No guy has ever described me that way. I was sure that I looked so pleased and a little bit embarrassed but I could not escape his gaze. This person seemed to be really trying to absorb me.

"And it's still true. You shine, Margaret. Just like a princess in our folklores."

That sounded a little far-fetched already that I had to react.

"Stop exaggerating. You're making me seem unreal."

"Funny how I feel as if you really are just a product of my imagination."

He was starting to sound like a hopeless romantic in a movie and I felt the need to keep things real. "Well, I can assure you that I am flesh and blood, and as real as I can be."

"I sure hope so," he said just as soon as our food arrived.

He blinked several times as if he just woke up from a dream that I had to fight the urge to pinch myself just to make sure I was not dreaming either.

Our brunch was filled with more stories about his twenty-nine days on land. I enjoyed listening to him as he tried to describe every detail of every memory he can muster for me and soon, my imagination started to conjure images of what each memory would have been like. It may seem as if I was creating false memories but slowly, my mind started to accept the fact that no matter what happened, my lost past was a part of me and if they were not coming back, then I might as well remember something that I could fill into those gaps in my mind.

We stayed at Marly's Pasta until around two o'clock in the afternoon, the two of us simply talking. I had not even realized that some of our discussions no longer had anything to do with our past. I found out that he liked the color blue and that he really liked to read. He told me about Princess Marina, his father, Aquania, their King Tideus, a mermaid named Doris, and his best friend Erwann. He told me about how he used to escape the Palace grounds and explore the outskirts of Aquania by himself. He told me about the first time he went on land and ended up in the social welfare department as a juvenile delinquent because his first companion, a thirteen-year-old girl was seen with him while he was there, naked.

It was almost unbelievable that he would share all of these stories with me--even the most embarrassing ones--and I felt the last shreds of my doubt melt away.

This man will be worth it.

Today was the most lighthearted I had been this week. He brought me to the Fountain of Venus after our brunch and there, he told me that the area was where we first found Marina.

He then showed me Marina's old apartment, which was where he was currently staying. It was old and was practically empty if not for the sparse furniture but it was clean.

"So, you clean on your spare time?"

"It's a good way to relax my mind and get ideas on how I was going to convince you to come with me," he answered with a laugh. Although, I could sense a bit of truth from it. "Although sometimes, I do read."

And that's when I remembered Harry Potter.

"I still can't believe that you finished those seven Harry Potter books so fast," I commented.

"You would if you knew there was magic involved," he answered. "But then, I only used it minimally. Just to make it easy for me to read and do something else. Like using air to flip the pages or raise the book while I use my hands to eat or do chores. Things like that."

I still looked doubtful but I still said, "Okay, whatever you say."

He just laughed as he took one of the books lying around on the dining table. That's when he showed me exactly how he used air to do as he said. The book followed where his eyes were, and I would assume that the fact that he was a soldier allowed him to find it easy to look at his surroundings even if the book was blocking some of his view. That was how fast his eyes were.

I was still amazed when the air suddenly closed the book and those green eyes of his focused on me.

"Now you know that I am never letting my eyes off you. Never again."

His words struck me to the core and I could not reply. He was going to keep me safe from his enemies and from myself. I knew it for sure.

After that, he did not let me stay for long and soon, we were on our way back to the beach.

It was almost sunset and for some reason, I started to feel a sense of deja vú.

It was as if I had once been on my way to the beach with Seirra but it did not seem to be a happy moment. Heavy feelings began to engulf me and I felt my chest tighten. For some reason, my mind was telling me that there was something about the beach, the sunset and Seirra, which my heart did not like.

The sea was still calm when we arrived. Through an unspoken agreement, Seirra and I silently watched the sky gradually turn into a darker shade of blue, the orange horizon slowly disappearing to the unknown.

The sun had almost touched the water when Seirra began to pull a chain out of his neck.

I turned to him curiously.

He held his necklace's pendant and then he said, "I will forever be grateful the day the Crystal Key of Saol chose you to be my human companion. It had taken me so long to find my Fate but it was worth every single year of waiting."

When he raised his head and looked at me, I was struck by the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"The last time we were here together, we were saying our goodbyes. I had just admitted to myself how much I love you and how I didn't want to leave you." He took my hands again and I realized that I had started shaking.

"But I could not abandon my duty. Not when I had almost accomplished it." He shook his head, taking on a look of determination. "But I also swore to myself that if life did not make a way for us to be together, I will. I had no idea how, but I knew then that I would not let you go."

A laugh escaped from his lips. "I am just so happy that life finally decided to make things a little easier for me by making you one of the Fates."

He kissed my hands before releasing them. Then he took off the chain around his neck. That was when I realized that there was something else in the chain besides the Crystal Key of Saol. He wore his necklace again and then my breath caught.

Because in his hand was a ring.

"In my world, there was no reason for me to offer a jewel to a person you love. But I know that this is important to you. And I hope that when we come to Aquania, this ring will remind you of who you are. And who you are to me."

With a smile, Seirra's knees began to bend as he genuflected in front of me.

"Marge, will you be my Fate forever?"

"Seirra, I--" I paused. This was a very important moment and I had to make sure he understood what I really wanted to tell him. "I don't know how you managed to become such a huge part of me in so little time. But right now, I can only interpret all these emotions swirling in my head-my heart-as feelings for you that are so deep that I feel as if I'm drowning in them."

I did not think that I was making any sense but this was the best I could come up with.

"I'm drowning and yet, I'm not scared. Because for some reason, I know for certain that you would come and save me."

And then without any warning, my shaking stopped. My heartbeat began to slow down and suddenly, everything seemed to have settled. As if finally, things had come to their rightful place.

And the time was right. I had to tell him now.

"Seirra, I'm not sure how or why or when but I want to tell you that..." I took a deep breath and feeling as if my soul was rushing out of me, the words flew out of my mouth, "that I love you and I--"

He never got to hear the rest of my muddled thoughts because he stood up, pulled me closer and with my entire body pressed to him, I felt his lips on mine.

Sudden kiss. It had to be a sudden kiss.

I found myself thinking of all the books and movies where the guy suddenly kissed the girl but they were nothing compared to this.

For me, it was glorious.

And to top it off, the Key of Saol began to burst with a bright red light, making the entire moment seem even more surreal. Somewhere in my mind I recalled that a kiss between the Fates was what would save Aquania and I was sincerely happy to help but this kiss was more than that.

This will be the reason that I will be strong enough to face my fears of insanity. This kiss will be a memory I will never lose. With this kiss, I knew that I was more than ready to go to Aquania.

More and more seconds passed until finally, Seirra's lips moved towards my ear and he whispered, "May it be on land or under the sea, I love you, Margaret. I always will."