I am on the home stretch with the corrections and I wanted to share a little more with you guys as a thank you. In chapter two you are introduced to Maeve and Tanis, the brother and sister from Greece. Maeve is matched with our young Aiya and Tanis, well, Tanis is going to find himself little closer to god than he ever expected!
~ TWO ~
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Tanis
was pacing on the dock, anxious for everyone and everything to be unloaded so
he could head back to Greece when he saw a flash of color that stopped him in
his tracks. On the other side of the clearing a tall man with broad shoulders
was loading their crates onto a makeshift trailer. His hair was just as black
as the clothes he wore, but what caught Tanis’s attention were the random
streaks of purple that ran through that thick, unruly hair. He barely
registered Maeve now standing beside him, until she moved her thumb across the
side of his mouth. “Hold still, there is a little drool right.. ah there, all
better!” He swatted her hand away and harrumphed. “I don’t know what you’re
talking about.” “Yeah, right. Is that..
is his hair, purple?” Turning back to face Tanis, she immediately recognized
the look in his eyes. “Oh no!” she barked, “Oh yes!” he responded as he started
walking toward the other side of the clearing.
She grabbed his arm and spun him
around to face her. “Listen, you don’t have to stay here, I do. Do not make
another goddamn mess that I have to clean up!” Tanis jerked his arm out of his
sister’s grip and growled at her. “Oh, I think Hector can handle things for a
few days, don’t you?” Again, it was a statement more than a question. Tanis was
the captain of the armies of Greece and Hector was his second in command.
Maeve followed behind him mumbling
curses in their wake, remembering the night before they left their home to
travel here. She’d gone for a walk on the beach and was returning to her room
when she rounded the corner and there they were, Tanis and some nameless,
faceless guard. Tanis had him bent over the railing and was pounding him
relentlessly, the poor man had such a tight grip on the banister his knuckles
had gone white. Tanis was anything but prudish, he would screw who he wanted
where and when he wanted. He didn’t care who knew or their thoughts on his
indiscretions, much like his Fathers. It was almost comical and she had to
stifle her laughter. Her brother wasn't big, barely missing six feet, but the
man Tanis was screwing this time around had to be 6’4 with dark hair. She
caught a flash of that dark hair as Tanis fisted a handful, jerking the
man's head back for total dominance. Her brother's blond hair and blue eyes
flashed in beautiful contrast to his "date's" dark features. Tanis's
all too familiar tattoo rippled as flesh tightened in his passion. He and Maeve
both carried an identical tattoo on their neck, the Greek symbols of Alpha and
Omega, but Tanis’s arms and chest were covered in ink as well.
Maeve was brought back from her
memories as Tanis brushed past her, moving toward the man. Ignoring her
protests, Tanis slowly made his way toward him, politely shaking hands as
introductions were endured. When the two men took each other’s hands there was
an instant jolt. The man, Raven, actually gasped then quickly recovered,
smiling and introducing himself before excusing himself. Tanis stared after him
as he made his way back to his horse, mounted, and left with a small group of
people. He had no idea what had just happened, but he intended to stay right
there until he found out, and Maeve be damned if she disagreed. Maeve doubled
over with laughter as soon as Raven was out of earshot. “So what, he’s a
Priest.” Tanis stammered. “Oh no brother, he’s not just any priest, he’s THE
priest.” Maeve was still laughing hysterically as she mounted her horse and
followed after Raven.
Tanis
quickly caught up with her and as they made their way to the palace Maeve took
in her surroundings. The clearing itself was very small and secluded consisting
of a small one room guard house, the cottage and the dock. A mixture of
sunflowers, emerald green grass, red clay dirt and gravel made up the small but
quant area of the clearing which was surrounded by a forest of dense trees. House
Gaeland was set atop a self-contained island, being secluded from any other
patch of land, only connected to the clearing by a mile long bridge that had
been built for travel and separated the two areas.
As
they touched ground on the other side of the bridge she eyed the different
sizes and shapes of the buildings they first came to. There were homes for
families, a library, a school and a tavern. “First drinks on me sis.” Tanis
joked from his horse directly behind her, she ignored him and continued moving
forward. They were on a well-worn path that wove left then right at an incline
toward the center, top of the island. Tanis could see Raven just up ahead of
them, he held up his hand and looked at the palm then the top, then wiggled his
fingers. What was that?! He thought
to himself, remembering the jolt when he shook his hand. He’d felt it as well,
Tanis saw the shock register in those beautiful blue eyes, as blue as the ocean
back home in Greece. He was larger than Tanis just by an inch or two, and those
huge strong hands, oh where he wanted… “Dammit! Tanis, watch where you’re
going!” Maeve barked at him, bringing him back from his reverie. Lost in
thought his horse had veered right and pushed Maeve’s off the trail. “Sorry
Sis, the sun.” she cut him off. “The Priest.” He glared back over his shoulder
at her, they made the rest of the trip up in relative silence.
Finally
arriving at the palace gates she turned to admire the view. The palace was
located directly at the top of the island, surrounded by beautiful homes and
buildings all the way back down toward the bridge. There were different types
of trees scattered throughout the grounds as well. She admitted to herself that
she would be kept in an exquisite cage, still feeling raw inside about being
betrothed to someone she’s never met. She dismounted and their group was
approached by a tall, scary skinny older man with graying hair and a beard. “I
trust you had a safe journey. I am William, the stable hand, I’ll take the
horses now and see that they are fed and watered.” The workers were coming out
of the stable to unload the horse’s, she patted her brother’s arm and motioned
him to follow. “How tall do you think the wall is?” Tanis placed his hand over
his eyes as he had to look almost directly into the sun to see the top. “I’d
say 12-15 feet high and probably 4 feet wide. And the doors we came through
look to be made of some type of steel or iron, very thick.” He spun in a circle
and noticed that the wall completely surrounded the palace. Their mother, Theresa, motioned for them to
follow “Maeve, Tanis, come.”
Maeve
made her way over beside the one that introduced himself as Kaden. “You’re
awfully quiet, everything okay?” She asked. “It’s just all so overwhelming, I’m
trying not to throw up. Aren’t you the least bit nervous, anxious to meet your
future wife? I must admit, I’m a wreck!” He laughed nervously which made her
laugh in turn. Tanis as well had made his way over to the pair and began a
conversation with Sawyer, she thought his name was. He’d travelled with Kaden and his family
across the ocean with them, Kaden had introduced him as his brother but she
knew that was impossible. First off he
was clearly not Indian by birth with his wheat colored hair and emerald green
eyes. He stood a good two inches taller than Kaden, much closer to her Father’s
height she surmised. He was thin but not
lanky with defined Arms and a uniquely defined facial structure that was
somewhere between angular and squared.
Everything about him screamed Outkast, but she would not dare offend by
asking the history there. Kaden offered her his arm bringing her back to
reality and she twined hers in it as they walked on together. As they rounded
the corner of the stables and the palace came into view they both came to an
abrupt halt.
Maeve
stood next to Kaden, eyes wide. The
scenery coming in was not exquisite, THIS was exquisite! The building was only
one floor high but you could see the guard tower high above the palace at the
back. There were four pillars right at the entry way with a statue of some type
of creature in between them “They are totems, I believe” Kaden whispered to
her, then pointed each one out as he named them. “Bear, dragon, snake, monkey,
eagle and a raven, I think.” The last animal made her laugh out loud, and Kaden
eyed her with a mild curiosity.
The
entryway of the palace consisted of high vaulted ceilings shaped like an
archway, a dozen of them one behind the other leading them into the palace. As
they walked the main hall every ten feet or so there were symbols made up of
different colored stones embedded into the walls. Among them were various versions of crosses,
stars, spirals and triskels.
They
were lead further into the palace and down a long hallway by the twin’s parents
that had met them at the docks, Cirian and Mia. The twins themselves, as well
as their other parents had yet to make an appearance. Walking under an archway
carved from a darker wood the hall was now partially covered and partially open
to the outside. Maeve let out an audible gasp as the beautiful garden opened up
before her. “My god, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed. “Indeed.” Kaden stated
quietly as he pulled her off the concrete flooring and onto the grass. The
group stood open mouthed, gaping at the beauty that surrounded them when Rian
and Amaya, the other father and mother, finally joined them. Kaden politely
shook hands when they greeted him, he was confused already. He’d met too many people today and he was certain
he wouldn’t remember half of them. The one person he was most anxious to meet
still eluded him.
Well, what do you think? Please feel free to comment, I want some feedback!
No comments:
Post a Comment