Chapter 4

All the employees knew her by sight. It was no problem strolling through the front door and going up to see her husband. She was stopped, however, by his secretary before she could go down the final hall.

"I'm sorry, he's currently in a meeting, but it should be over soon," the red headed man said with a pleasant smile.

"Alright, I'll simply wait then."

She wasn't unreasonable. She knew it was the middle of the day and that Regal would often be busy. She couldn't quite put it into words. She had to do it now before she lost the nerve. She couldn't do it at home. She couldn't bear to reveal her horrible secret there where so many of their precious memories took place.

"He'll be free for half an hour afterwards," the secretary added to the waiting woman.

Raine didn't have long to wait and she knew the meeting was over when she saw him walking towards her, Derrick. He was just as surprised as her to see her. When he reached her, they stood staring at each other. Then she shook her head and looked away from him. He placed an understanding a hand on her shoulder but she pulled away from him.

"I…tried to tell him," Derrick began. Raine looked up at him wide-eyed. Was she too late? "But I could not. I think it is better if you do it."

Raine nodded wordlessly. "How was he?" she asked in a small voice. "Is he…alright?"

"Yes, rather chipper, in fact."

Oh great. "Thanks…have a good afternoon," she said detachedly.

"I'll try," he replied.

Raine couldn't wait for the other to leave. She did not want to see her guilt reflected in his eyes. She walked now to Regal's grand office and she opened the double doors to the large room. Regal was sitting there composed and dignified sipping on what might have been water, but she could not tell for sure and there were a few sheets of paper in front of him that he'd been looking over. When she stepped in, however, his eyes came to her immediately—those soulful eyes that stayed her frantic mind.

"Ah, Raine, always a pleasure to see you."

Even coming as unexpected as she had, he seemed largely at ease. He was inviting, he was the perfect gentleman. How would he react once she told him?"

"You seem troubled, however, come have a seat. I'm free."

She took a seat wordlessly. She hadn't said anything to him and she knew she was giving him ample signs that there was indeed something bothering her.

"There's something I need to tell you. Why I ran out on you like that, why I've been so…distracted…"

"Distracted?" he asked. "I wouldn't use that word. You were truly happy. You smiled on that day I took you to that business function, but your eyes were aglow with a light I'd thought you'd lost when you laid eyes on Derrick."

Her heart stopped beating at that moment. "I'm sorry, I did something horrible…

"No—

"Just please let me say it."

"I already know," Regal said to the panicked Raine. Her eyes widened at this. "I already know," he repeated so that it would sink in.

"But how could you? I mean, why aren't you upset? I betrayed your trust…I belong to you and I…"

"Raine, I've never owned a person before especially not you. You have your own thoughts and motivations, likes and dislikes. I was glad that you saw something in me worth loving for so long, but it was never my intention to trap you or to force you to do something you don't want to out of habit. I haven't been able to bring you the kind of happiness you crave for a long time now…"

"I still love you," Raine argued.

"I know," he said stilling her argument. "But Derrick gave you something that I could not. I'm indebted to him. It takes a special person to do something like that for you. When I found that you'd began to glow again, that you were no longer perpetually sad, that gave me the greatest joy. There's no need to feel guilty."

Her eyes began to water a little. Only a fool wouldn't fall in love instantly with his personality alone. She'd imagined things going so differently yet Regal sat there as composed as always just as his name suggested. He was simply happy that she was happy and that was all that mattered to him, nothing more. He believed in their relationship so much that he had not bothered to even become concerned. He'd always felt her love even now, even when she was so bad at showing it.

She stood up from her chair and walked behind the desk. She sat down on the desk right in front of him and she had his full attention. She bent over and began kissing him with a sudden burst of passion. She felt his hands running lovingly through her hair and it spurned her on. She grabbed at his tie and pulled him forth. He was standing now, his presence over her and his hands placed on the desk as he returned the favor. She shivered joyously as she felt his lips begin to move down her skin. She was being pushed further onto the desk as items began to fall off. Neither one cared at this point. He was liable to rip her shirt off completely had they not heard a knock on the door. Then they paused.

Regal pulled her closer still with his arms wrapped securely around her and kissed her tenderly on the forehead.

"Sorry, I really need to take this," he said softly, "But we should continue this later."

"I understand…I barged in here like I owned the place…"

"Like I said before, it's always a pleasure to see you."

Raine was a little sad when he pulled away from her and began straightening himself up. On her part she picked up the few desk items that had fallen and placed them as neatly as she could back in place. She gave him one last look before turning to leave. She opened the door to see a young brunette woman who looked slightly confused when she saw her. Then her confusion turned to realization.

"Ah, Mrs. Bryant. What a pleasure to meet you."

Raine couldn't place her name, but she smiled just the same at her. "The pleasure is all mine. He's all yours now," she said before stepping around the woman.

She could hear Regal's gracious greeting before the woman closed the thick doors. She left the establishment with a chiefly grin on her face and she was in a good mood for the rest of the day in anticipation.

He took an eternity to come home even if he had managed to come back sooner than usual. She laid there on the couch when she heard the door open. He seemed to know where she was instinctively. He didn't bother going upstairs to drop his things. By the time he'd arrived in the living room, he didn't even have on his suit jacket.

She felt his warmth as he joined her there on the couch straddling her now. He was so gentle with her like she was his most prized possession and she smiled at his touch running down her face, but such gentility did not last as they became like beasts starving for a good feast. Regal had scarcely placed his lips on hers before they were desperately trying to unclothe one another. He'd managed to take off her blouse and slip down her pencil skirt (in which she later kicked it off her legs), but she'd only gotten past his waistcoat and partway down his button up shirt before he simply pulled it over her head—his pants would have to wait—they'd get to that sooner or later. And yet they still kissed each other fiercely unwilling to separate too long. When he disappeared to her nether regions, she felt his tongue slip across her clit and then dive in much deeper. She sighed with pleasure as waves of stirring passion passed over her causing her legs to clench upon him. It twisted and turned, teasing her body in all the right ways and places. She grabbed at his hair as if to hold onto something while on an especially thrilling ride. It stopped only for a moment as he pulled himself away to hastily pull down his pants and boxer briefs. She was quite ready for him by then looking up at him pleadingly and he slid into her as if it was second nature, no fumbling around, no checking to see if he had done it right—he knew that he was quite successful as he came upon her once again.

She moved with him slow and rhythmic, he started to kiss her again long and passionately. Then it came faster and faster, he released her lips so that she could breathe, so that she could cry out in satisfaction. She hadn't thought she'd reach a climax, but she did. He wouldn't let her off easy as he continued his thrusts. It was only when he began to slow that she risked trying to sit up—she wanted her time as well. She pressed a hand onto his broad chest and he allowed her to push him back until she was atop him.

They began kissing again both of them panting. She reached her hand down and began to massage his member. She bent down further into him and nibbled at his earlobe just as his shaft stood at attention once again awaiting her decent. Ironically, she did not come at him hard and fast—she knew what he liked. As she slowly and sensually moved her body, up and down, up and down so that he could feel every part of it, so that he could savor it. She liked it when his brow creased and his eyes closed in ultimate satisfaction, she knew that expression well, she knew when she was doing it just right. He was never the most vocal sex partner. When he began to moan, she knew it was equivalent to her cries. She felt his hands running down her back and stopping there upon the small of her back, rubbing it tenderly—it spurred her on until she could thrust no more and she fell upon him in a satisfied, panting heap.

Her legs were entwined with his and her head lay upon his chest where she could feel his heart pumping quickly and gradually begin to slow once again. His hand played with her hair, his other arm laid across her back.

Not a word was uttered as they listened to the sound of the other's breathing. Raine thought she could stay that way forever, listening to his slow, steady heart beats. She could tell the moment when he fell asleep as his heart pumped at near snail pace. She smiled to herself, but she was not long after him joining.

Raine found herself the first one awake as the living room was lit up by the morning sun. There was no clock around so there was no telling what time it was, but she did know that the sun was much too high. Neither one of them would make it to work on time even if they tried.

Instead of waking him up frantically, she sat up slowly moving his arms away from her. He was much too peaceful to disturb and she did not have the heart to do it. She climbed off of him nimbly and went upstairs in her nakedness to find a blanket and something for him to throw on later. She placed on him a relatively thin blanket and tucked him in as she would a child. Then she went to start her morning routine. She'd be a little late, but she found she didn't care at all.

It had been a while since she'd been in the kitchen on her own, but she felt she could manage it. She fried up some bologna and scrambled some eggs and called it a day. Though they both came out slightly burnt, they were edible and she was quite proud of herself.

She didn't even bother to tiptoe; she knew it was possible for Regal to sleep through entire thunderstorms without stirring.

"Goodbye, Regal, see you a little later," she said lightly before leaving to go to school.

Her co-workers trusted her, but Raine was afraid she might have breached that long-time trust when she came in late with little explanation. It was so unlike her that some thought something terrible had happened and she simply did not want to tell them. She reassured them that everything was fine until she wondered if it might have been better to feign tragedy to appease them. As soon as they could wrap their heads around the fact that Raine had simply been late for no serious reason at all, they were less than receptive. In fact for the first time, some of her older employees expressed disappointment. She told herself that she didn't care, but it had hurt a little. Time would mend fences as it usually did with minor disputes and she planned on making it up to them—maybe enlisting her husband to make some delicious dessert…

Her workday started out with a rough start but it did not gradually become better—it seemed to stay at the same level. Several kids were sent to her office that she was then expected to discipline and make decisions as to what their punishments would be. She even had to go so far as to expel one of them as he was a repeat offender and he refused to show her any semblance of respect. While making her rounds around the school, a fight broke out two halls down from her and during the last lunch a food fight commenced and some of the saucy spaghetti managed to get into her hair. Today simply wasn't her day.

She was less prepared today than she had been in a while expecting to have an easy day. There was no change of clothes for her. She simply decided to not wear her suit jacket which had the worst of the food debris. She also had to deal with her wet, drippy hair after washing out the food from her hair.

When the last of the kids were sent on their way, she laid back in her office chair and sighed deeply. It was then when she began to have a bad feeling. It made no logical sense to connect her relatively rough day with anything else in her life, but when she thought about seeing Regal once again to relieve her stress she felt her mood darken. Had something happened to him, her mind illogically asked itself.

She painstakingly went over her routine that morning, one that was different from before because she had neglected to wake Regal. He would not have come to harm simply because of that. She'd placed a blanket on him and he was alive and breathing. Nothing was out of the ordinary, nothing at all. Then why did she feel as if she was missing something? Despite all of her reasoning, she was tossing things into her purse, forgetting important documents she was supposed to look over, and making a mad dash to her Rheaird. What if he hadn't made it to work at all? Maybe she'd been right before, maybe he was hiding some fatal disease that had decided to take him on this day? That would mean that Regal would be an expert liar and beyond skillful at hiding his symptoms…but she did not think along those lines.

She was speeding through the skies as fast as she could and she was soon ramming her key into the door as if the world was ending—perhaps her world was. She ran into the living room. The first thing she noticed was that he was not there. Everything was neat and tidied up. The blanket was nowhere to be found. He must have put it away. The clothes she'd set out wasn't there as well. Slowly her mind began to function. She needed further proof of his wellness.

Upstairs in their bedroom, she could see the blanket now folded up neatly but forgotten on the bed and not exactly placed back into the closet—a minor oversight on Regal's part that he was completely capable of doing these days especially if it was outside of their routine. The clothes she left out for him was back in the drawers where she had found them. Everything was looking fine. Nothing was out of place in the bathroom.

She went downstairs to the kitchen now and saw that it had been left in more disarray than usual. The pan she had used must have been reused because there were no longer any burn marks in it. A spatula was left out. He must have been in a bit of a rush which was understandable. There was no telling when he had actually woke but it must have been hours after. He could have decided to stay home, but he must have done otherwise despite his glaring lateness. Something told her that his co-workers would not be as hard on him. Who could ever be upset with the good-natured old man? It would be a crime.

Still, she was not satisfied. The bad feeling had not left her, but her logical mind had more ammunition to throw at her silly emotions. She cranked the key into her Rheaird once again and flew off at a far slower pace to visit Regal's workplace. Everything looked fine on the outside of the looming building. The day was bright and sunny.

When she stepped in, however, it was a completely different story. The noise level was high and frantic men and women were coming out of the elevator running from something. Without further ado, she ran into the fray grabbing the first person she could find.

"What's happening here?" Raine asked shaking the woman a bit.

"Something…upstairs. I'm not sure. I was doing my work as usual and someone came down saying we have to get our things and evacuate."

"A fire?" Raine asked.

"He didn't say…I don't think so. Hey, where are you going?" the woman asked as Raine moved passed her.

Raine had to get upstairs. Regal was upstairs and she had not seen him here on this floor. She took the emergency stairs and ran up the steps without pause or complaints. She had to make sure he was okay—she had to make sure her worries were unfounded.

There were no authorities here, Raine noticed when she reached the top floor. In fact, it was eerily quiet. Maybe this floor had been evacuated already. It would make sense. The quietness calmed her a little and she began to walk briskly down the hall she'd traversed just yesterday passing by Derrick. She wanted to get this over with now. She felt as if her poor heart would give out any minute.

She yanked the door open and she beheld a scene that would not easily be erased from her memory. A brunette woman, one who looked vaguely familiar, laid down in a bloody heap upon who she immediately recognized as her husband. He was much too pale.

"No, no, no…" she kept repeating as her eyes continued to evaluate the scene.

The woman clutched a large knife in her hand almost hidden beneath the folds of her long skirt. She forced her eyes to look at Regal whose mouth was open and the sides of it stained with precious blood, copious amounts of it. His eyes transfixed upon the ceiling not as if in shock but as if he were imagining he was elsewhere, anywhere but here. His right hand was covered up by the brunette woman, but she could tell it was placed over his heart.

Raine felt detached from the entire thing. Her mind focused on one thing as she crumbled to her knees, her magic, her healing magic. She knew it was much too late, but that didn't stop her from trying. She could revive people who were knocked out or hanging on by a thread, she was not a necromancer, however. There was no life left within him for her to manipulate. He was gone. She only stopped when her vision became blurry and she could barely lift herself up. A sudden spurt of anger sparked through her as she grabbed at the unknown woman's shoulders and tore her away, tossing her aside as best she could. She was dead and stiffened already so there was little more Raine could do to punish her. Instead, she turned to her husband and pulled his stiffened form onto her lap. Gently, she closed his eyes. Then she cried and cried and cried, her tears falling onto his face. She rocked back and forth.

In that moment, she wished to join him. How was she possibly going to move on from this? What was left for her? Her eyes spied the knife that the woman grasped. Then the doors to the office sprung open and the guards streamed in.

They tried to gently pull her away but she immediately became combative and they had to stay her flailing arms before she could be dragged out of the room safely. She kicked and screamed the whole time until she was able to regain herself a little. She simply stood there in the hall with guards watching her gazing absently at the wall. Something had snapped within her and she wasn't sure she wanted to fix it. She was numb and she would never feel again. Gentle arms wrapped around her and she had no will to stop them. She hadn't known how much time had passed or even where she was.

"I'm sorry, Raine…I'm truly sorry," Derrick's soft voice said to her.

She looked up then and saw him, the dark haired young man who she had had relations with briefly. Why was he here? How had he been here?

"Why?" she croaked pulling away from him violently. Her mouth had become so unbelievably dry.

He seemed unfazed by her outburst and looked at her steadily. "You know…I spoke with him briefly today and he pulled me to the side. He made me promise that I would take care of you no matter what. I don't think he knew any of this was going to happen, he was just concerned about how you would take it once he died and left you behind. Said he was an old man and one could never tell when his time was up. Please…let me fulfill my promise."

"I don't need to be held."

"Then I won't do that," he acquiesced. "Let's just sit down together."

They were outside of the building where employers had gathered, but they made way as Derrick guided her through the ruckus and they walked and walked and walked until they came upon a park and simply sat down at the nearest bench. She felt some ounce of normalcy sitting beside a person albeit one that was extremely quiet, but one who did not make her feel uncomfortable. He simply sat as a statue would.

Raine looked up to the white cloudy skies, a beautiful day, her dull eyes processed. Briefly ever so briefly a smile formed on her lips as she thought she spied a Regal shaped cloud.

"May you find everlasting peace…and one day I will join you…" she murmured to herself as glassy eyes stared into the clouds.