So I decided to get interested in again. And I got hyper one night after reading on Libba Bray's blog that they're starting to edit the third book already. So I made this one-shot, because I was thinking, what if things had gone a leeetle bit differently that night of their first kiss?
GxK. Read and REVIEW, please.
"I demand to see Mother Elena," Felicity says, cool and sure. I'm the only one who can see how truly scared she is, and her fear frightens me more than the situation at hand.
How did we get into this mess? And how do we get out?
"What's going on?" Kartik strolls into the thick of things in his borrowed Gypsy disguise, his makeshift cricket bat in one hand. His eyes go wide when he sees me.
"Please, we need to see Mother Elena," I say, hoping I don't sound as terrified as I feel.
Ithal hold his hands up, exposing the thick calluses that crisscross his palms, a memento of a harsh life lived out-of-doors. "Ah… this gadje is yours. I apologize, friend."
Kartik scoffs. "She's not…" He stops himself. "Yes, she is mine." He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the circle. A chorus of whistles and cheers follow us.
Then another hand snakes out, clamps strong fingers tight around my other wrist. "Not so fast," a boy says. He looks young, maybe only fifteen, but there is casual dominance and his and the others' faces, the kind of confidence that only comes from a rough life on your own.
"Let me go," I hiss. The boy laughs, spittle spraying from the space of two missing teeth.
"What's wrong?" he says. "I only want to play a game." He nods over to Felicity and Ann, and I notice that the circle of men is quickly closing around them. "You're young, you like games."
"I…" I glance at Kartik and see that his face is irritated and impatient. That makes me mad. He is probably thinking of what a pain I am, how I keep poking my nose into other people's business…
I close my eyes briefly, and then open them to meet Kartik's angry gaze. "I'll play," I say, hoping it sounds confident. A few murmurs rise from the rest of the Gypsy camp.
Kartik tugs on my hand. "Now is not the time," he says through tightly clenched teeth.
Feigning contempt, I look sternly at both of the boys and pull my hands away from them. Felicity and Ann are staring, but I glance at them, trying to explain that if I'd said no things might have gotten worse.
Then Ann steps forward to come closer to me. Fee does too. We huddle together just as the boy and a few other men sit down in a tighter circle, grinning and nudging each other. They gesture to me.
"Wait," I say. "What is this game?"
"We'll tell you when you join," someone calls. I take a deep breath and step towards the circle, but I don't sit down. Not with them.
The boy with the missing teeth turns around and nods to Kartik. "Don't you want to play?" he asks. "She is yours, after all, no?"
Kartik stiffens, and then nods back and comes to stand beside me. I can feel his tension.
"Right," the boy says, as if we were all friends at a Saturday dinner party. "Let's get started then." He holds out his hand toward Kartik.
Kartik stares back at him.
"May I borrow your bat?"
"Oh." Kartik hands over his cricket bat, but not before I see how tightly his fingers are clenched onto it.
"Perfect, perfect," the boy says, running his hands over it. Then he shoves it towards me.
"Go on," he says. "Give it a spin."
Oh, no.
My hands trembling, I take the cricket bat and rest it on the blanket of leaves on the ground. What if it points to someone other than Kartik? What happens then?
What if it does point to Kartik?
I take a deep breath again and, with both hands, spin the bat as hard as I can. It skids over the soil and leaves, sweeping a blank space on the ground, completing only one full circle before friction takes over and it rests immobile, pointing undoubtedly straight to Kartik.
The men erupt in hoots and cheers, some of them even clapping him on the back. I am aware of my face suddenly flaming red, and the boy frowning disappointedly. But before I can say anything, Kartik suddenly stands and pulls me up with him.
"What—"
"We have to go. Now."
The boy stands slowly, and I see the rest of the camp tense, all eyes on us. Felicity and Ann have gone back to the shadows of the trees, but the men don't want them; they want me, and whatever this game means.
Kartik shakes his head.
"Nobody likes a sore loser," the boy tells him.
Kartik's face tightens. "Not in front of everyone, then."
The boy steps aside and mocks us with a curtsy, gesturing towards the trees at the back of the camp—away from where we have to go. "I wouldn't dream of it."
Kartik looks around, and then suddenly takes my hand again and leads me to those trees. Felicity and Ann are gone. I know they wouldn't leave me here, but they are probably hiding somewhere where the rest of the men cannot find them.
"Kartik—"
"Quiet." He marches straight into the trees and after a few steps we are behind a thick trunk. There he drops my hand and grabs my shoulders, shaking me once.
"What do you think you are doing here?"
I'm so relieved to be away from the men that I don't shrink away from him. "Having my fortune told," I say.
He leans against the tree. "Gemma. You can't—The Rakshana would—"
In an instant he falls silent, raising his head, eyes alert as he looks behind me into the depths of the woods. Then he steps forward, and puts one hand on my shoulder, and the other around my waist.
Shivers race up my spine. "Kartik, what are you—"
His breath is warm as he whispers in my ear. "They're watching, to make sure."
I laugh and try to step away, a little hysterical now with panic. "Kartik, you don't have to do anything because of that bloody dare game—"
"I do." He positions himself so it's as if he is staring straight into my eyes, but I see them dart from side to side, paying attention to what's around us. And I realize that I'm keeping my voice down too, murmuring quietly.
"No, you don't—"
A stick cracks sharply. Purposefully. Like a warning.
I hear Kartik's sharp intake of breath, and then he kisses me and presses me to him. My arms are folded up to my chest, and they grasp folds of his shirt, just to hold on to, because when his lips meet mine my legs want to crumple under me. He shifts his body, hiding himself between me and the tree, and I realize that his eyes are open. Still alert. Still scouting.
But he's still kissing me.
And my mind and senses throb with a desire so intense that when he finally pulls away I feel lost. A flash of black cloth flaps out from the grey shadows of the trees.
Kartik turns away from me. "I think they'll let you go now," he mutters, and I think he's trying to hide the fact that he's embarrassed.
"I…"
He turns toward me, all trace of nervousness gone from his face. "Go. Take your friends and go. I think I can try to make sure no one goes after you, but you should hurry just the same—" He stomps off abruptly, leading me around the Gypsy camp without going too close, and then points.
"That's the way back," he says. "Go."
"Kartik—"
"What?"
My cheeks burn. "Nothing." I turn and go.
It was a kiss.
A real kiss, dark and intense and… prolonged…
But not real, because he only did it to satisfy their little Gypsy game.
I didn't care.
I didn't care if it was real or not, because what I'd felt was real enough. And as I looked back at him watching me go, I remembered the emotion, the desire.
And I wanted more.
But that was only the beginning.
Bleh, I'm sorry for posting this half-edited thing. Reviews. Please.