Tempest

27 : Love gained, hope lost?

Tempest didn't know whether to be elated or feel worried after listening to Galan's declaration of love. He hadn't quite said the L-Word but it was there, implicit in every single syllable that he had said to her. The tone of his voice, the look in his eyes, the way he held her and touched her; everything conveyed the message very clearly.

His words had moved her in a way that nothing had in a long time. Her were loved him, had loved him from the start but she had hesitated. Over and over again she had taken the coward's way out and run from him. Over and over again she had done that, not only denying herself, but denying him as well. He had been more than patient with her and as her walls had started to crumble she had half heartedly cemented them back into place again.

She had created a patchwork of denial in her being, randomly blocking what she didn't want and trying to hide what she needed. The result was a heart that beat for him but which had been covered by her own self deceit and inability to see that she could no longer go on without him by her side. He had woven himself into the very fabric of her being just by being near her, providing her with his support and his love. Yet, at every turn she had either dismissed him or run from him.

Maybe it was time she stopped running.

Maybe she needed to turn to him instead of away from him.

"I promised to give you time," he

told her. "And I will. It won't be easy but I gave you my word and I will honor it."

She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Initially it had been what she had wanted. Now she wasn't so sure. She opened her mouth to tell him that. To let him know that she had been too swift in her endeavour to reject him, to not want to be a part of his life. To let him know that her head had finally caught up to her heart and they were now on the same cloud.

When she opened her mouth to tell him, to let him know that she wanted what he wanted, her thoughts were suddenly intercepted and the unexpectedness of it made her gasp and freeze.The voice that whispered in her head was one she had been waiting for so long to hear.

"Tempest?" she heard. Her mother's voice.

"Mother? How?" she asked through the link that had laid dormant for so long. For a split second she wondered if this was a trick from the Dark Druids and doubt surfaced within her.

"That's not important now. I don't have much time," her mother said. "Your father says their army is ready. They will attack before the next full moon."

"We are rallying our forces, mother. We will be ready," Tempest told her.

"Be safe, darling. We love you."

WIth those words the bond was broken and the three last words that her mother said to her sealed it. Those were the words she always said to her when they ended their conversations. Those were words that now broke her heart.

When she felt the link close she tried to hold onto it and the strain of it affected her so much it felt like a physical blow. She remembered falling and then everything went dark.

*

When she came to she was lying on her bed.

"You really need to stop doing that," Galan told her from where he sat next to her. A lamp was on in her room and the curtains were not drawn, allowing the moonlight in. Although his voice was light, his eyes were serious and searched hers for any injuries. "I can't keep carrying you to the bed every time you pass out. My old back can't take much more of it."

Tempest's lips curved up slightly and she sat up slowly. The door to her bedroom opened and two pairs of worried eyes peeked in.

"I'm fine," she told them. Marc and Leon came into the room and stood behind Galan. "My mother contacted me."

The men all looked at her but it was Leon who asked. "Are you sure it was her?"

She nodded. "She gave me a warning, She said Noah will attack before the next full moon. I suspect he may have finished his experiments."

"That gives us less than three weeks," Marc said, his eyes widening.

"Then it means we had better get going," Galan said. "We need to get a message to all our allies. We have been preparing for decades and three weeks is enough time to be ready."

"What are we going to be up against exactly, sis?" Marc asked.

Tempest sighed and shook her head. "I honestly don't know. All I know is that a lot of people are going to die at this madman's hands." She looked up at Galan, then Marc and Leon. "I don't think any of us will be ready for what he is bringing."

*

In the mountains, a tall figure with chestnut hair and brown eyes looked out over the barren land. The muscles of his bare chest rippled beneath his skin, as he stretched slowly.

He had been waiting so long for this. He needed the closure that this would bring to him and his family. He had a lot to atone for and then, maybe, he would find the peace that had eluded him for so long.

His wife, Amelia, came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She laid her head on his back and kissed him there. He felt her smile on his skin and his lips stretched as well.

"I have to go soon," he said to her. He felt her sigh and his smile disappeared. He didn't want to go. He needed to go.

"I know, love," Amelia said to him. "I just wish we had more time."

He turned around in the circle of her arms and wrapped her in his, his head resting on top of hers. He kissed her crown and hugged her close.

"We have an eternity, Amelia. I will come back to you and then we can have as much time as we want."

"Don't make me call you a liar, Damien," she whispered, tears in her eyes, in her voice. He felt his throat close up and he forced himself to let her go. He held her face up and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Have I ever lied to you, wife?" he asked in a teasing voice, his lips curled up in a smile. She chuckled and kissed him again.

"I will wait for you, until I cannot any more. And when that point comes, I will come for you. Do you hear me, Damien?" she whispered fiercely.

"Amelia --"

"No. As much as I know that you cannot lie to me, know that I am making a promise to you as well. I will only wait for so long."

Damien sighed, knowing that his wife was the most stubborn being he knew and that trying to deny that was as futile as taking a piss against the wind and expecting to stay dry.

He heard his children awakening in their home and knew that if he saw them his will would waiver. His throat bobbed up and down as he swallowed and Amelia gave him one more tight hug before she nodded, allowing him to leave. He pulled her back into his arms and gave her a tender kiss which quickly changed as he bruised her lips with his, reminding her of his promise.

Turning, he ran and jumped off the edge of the mountain. As his form changed, he took one last look at his wife as she stood looking after him, her tears flowing freely from her eyes.

He had to come back to her and his children.

He would go and redeem his soul and then he would return.

Turning back, he felt his transformation complete and he headed to the women who had summoned him to make right the wrongs he and the other Druids had committed to so long ago.

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12 November 2020

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