Shadows

31| Promises and Unions

'Is there another life?

Shall I awake and find all this a dream?

There must be,

we cannot be created for this sort of suffering'

-John Keats.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

My brain begins to work overtime, reassessing his words. The heaviness of his eyes echoes into my chest, birthing pools of uncertainty that drip uncomfort into my limbs.

But he is 800.

So is he..

"You're already married?" I ask my lack of comfort echoes into my words. I doubt my word choice is correct yet is the closest I can achieve under such environments.

I watch as Klaus' face contorts to display a sea of confusion. His irises darken as a pigmented substance smokes into his eyes.

He shakes his head.

The pressure over my body doesn't lighten, if anything I feel it grow with his silence. Lowering further in my stomach threatening to drop me from the counter.

"I met you the day I turned 800" His words sound lighter, drowning the emerging darkness into his gratitude-filled sigh.

And his words erase the heaviness.

Ease lifts the pressure from my body, allowing my muscles to rest and my mind to relax.

Fate really tested him.

I send a prayer to the world, blessing the stars and the moon for allowing him what he dreamed of.

For him or you?

"I was frustrated" He looks into the cooked vegetables, tossing them around.

"So I left and went for a run through the forest."

I drop my head to the side wondering where his words might go.

"But then I went to you" He looks up at me threatening to end my heart's journey.

And they made up for it I guess.

With the newfound stillness, I find the fear from our first encounter buried under the mess that still remains.

He rests the pan on the side diverting half his attention to the cooking food.

"I rather you hear it from me than someone else" He speaks to the boiling water yet I hear it anyway.

The butterflies flutter in admiration, eating up the mess of feelings that drip from the walls of my stomach.

A sigh of relief serves as my answer. I might not want to get too close physically yet that doesn't mean he can b-.

Shivering, I throw the thoughts away. Hiding my impressed features at my own words with my hair.

But 800 years is a long time to wait for a Queen. If the people weren't fed up I'm not sure what else they should be.

Yet in Klaus' case, it seems as hope was his fuel and words were his energy. I find myself further admiring his strength to keep hoping.

I'm only 25 and there are days where I certainly want to give up over a stiff jar let alone spend time waiting for my soulmate.