Chapter 7 Fun and Games
"Come on love, let's bike into Zurich and see if we can find some wonderful Swiss Chocolate to send home to our friends. Then we can take a cruise on Lake Zurich to Rapperswil, a quaint little city at the end of the lake that has a castle, an old town, a huge Rose Garden, great restaurants, and shopping. It's known as the City of Roses. Although it's fairly compact, if we want we can rent electric bikes to tool around the town. It's adorable, I know you will love it." Trent said excitedly. "I think we should take a chance and just go by ourselves without any other security. We can use mundane disguises like hats and glasses and maybe a false mustache. I think you'd look adorable with a mustache!"
Rachel punched Trent in the arm, and said, "I do need some serious relaxation. Let's put off our trip to St Moritz until tomorrow and just do local touristy stuff today. Rapperswil sounds perfect, and the cruise on the lake, too. It's a beautiful afternoon for a float on a lake. And I'd love it to just be us. We haven't seen anyone following us, probably cause we're moving around so much. It's a good thing, but it's exhausting! I'm guessing you have a place where we can stay tonight? A little chalet somewhere? Or did you buy a town near here so we wouldn't be disturbed?"
Trent gave her a sidelong glance, and then said teasingly, "I hadn't thought of that. Let me make a call.."
Rachel wrestled the phone from him and put it in her jeans pocket. "Now you'll have to steal it from me before you can make any calls! You are now under my control."
"Looking forward to it later, love." Trent said in a husky voice. And Rachel blushed. She felt a fleeting stab of unease as she realized Kisten had always called her 'Love.' Did Trent realize he was channeling Kisten?
They spent the afternoon on the lake and then walked around Rapperswil. It was a quaint town, and they walked all over the castle walls, through the Rose gardens, though they were just starting to bloom, looked in numerous shops, bought postcards and wrote on them and then mailed them home from the local post office,(Trent had never sent a post card before!), and sat at a table in a little cafe and drank coffee and ate pastries. They stayed until the evening was fading into full night. Then they returned to Zurich on the train and walked around the Old Town, stopping to eat in the late evening at a restaurant they found just walking though the town. It looked like a very posh restaurant, and Rachel would never have been able to get a table on such short notice, but Trent managed it, of course. But then he was Trent Kalamack.
No one paid any attention to them all day, as the mundane disguises seemed to work. It was a wonderful, relaxing, innocent day! They did everything on the spur of the moment, and everything seemed to workout just as they wanted! They acted like two children let lose for one day to do whatever they wished! It was magical. And after they checked into their chalet, which was on the outskirts of Zurich on a large hill, really a mountain to Cincinnati natives, they made love with laughter, innocence, passion and love, all night long.
So the next day when Trent seemed more tired than either of them expected, they both thought it was the result of a day full of outdoor activity and a night just as full of indoor activity and no sleep. Rachel was tired, too. So they ended up sleeping until mid afternoon. When Trent seemed even more tired after sleeping the day away, Rachel knew in her gut something was wrong. She found the number of the director of Trent's clinic, and over Trent's protests, arranged for a car to pick them up immediately. As they had never fully unpacked, it was just a matter of throwing a few loose items into their bags, and they were ready.
Instead of a car, they were picked up within 15 minutes by a medical helicopter. It was equipped with all kinds of small machines and medicines, and was crewed by a team of four very professional and she thought senior medical doctors. They spoke in a mixture of Swiss German and English. They seemed to be able to go back and forth in each language with no effort at all, speaking English to her to let her know what was happening, and Swiss German to each other. They immediately started an IV drip and put Trent on oxygen. Precautionary only, they said. The oldest of the medical attendants introduced himself as Dr. Hoerst and gave her a very brief run down of his experience. He was a surgeon and a leading expert on Elven diseases. It was all lost on her as she couldn't focus on anything he was saying. She knew that Trent only hired the best, and she trusted his judgment. She used Trent's phone to call Quen, as she felt very alone and she wanted to make sure she was doing the best thing for Trent. Because while Trent was still conscious, he seemed to be going in and out of coherency. She was terrified. She had never known him to be sick and it shook her to her core.
After she explained the situation to Quen, he ordered her to give the phone to Dr Hoerst. It sounded like Quen was calmly giving out orders to the doctor and then when she got back on the phone he explained what the doctor had suggested as a course of treatment. He was to be isolated as soon as they touched down in case it was an infectious disease. In the back of her mind she wondered if they were isolating her from him in case her demon taint was infecting him. It couldn't be, could it? Then they were going to rerun the same tests as the day before, plus about 20 more.
After Quen hung up, she knew she was only going to have one chance to try to contact Trent through the promise rings, as when they landed he was going to be whisked away from her, and she might not be able to see him for a long while. It could be too late by the time they got their bigoted elf heads out of their asses for her to help him. It had to be now. So clasping her hands in front if her as if she were praying, she reached out with her mind to touch his. It was different this time, because she could actually feel some kind of connection between her and Trent through the rings. It was very faint, but she thought she could hear him trying to get her attention. It was like a whisper in the back of her head. As she concentrated he seemed to be speaking louder and in words she almost understood. She knew they wouldn't let her kiss him; dirty, infectious demon that they saw her as, but she thought she could sneak a touch. He was covered by a blanket, to reduce the chance of shock, the Dr said. She reached for his hand under the blanket and squeezed it tight when she found it.
It didn't seem to be doing anything, but she held on anyway. She decided she wasn't going to let go until they dragged her away from him, fighting. Tears started to fall, and the medical team did show some compassion by telling her everything was going to be OK. But she knew better, everything didn't always turn out OK. She thought about Ceri and Kisten and Pierce. And then she was crying big heart wrenching sobs, drowning in a deep emotion as she thought about losing Trent just like the others. Just as she had found him. She couldn't let that happen, never. And as her emotions became more intense she thought she heard his voice louder and clearer, telling Her everything would be fine. The emotion continued to build until a blinding pain hit her left arm and she cried out, holding her arm and then she passed out.
Rachel awoke in an extremely comfortable sleep number bed with Egyptian cotton sheets and a handmade duvet. Her arm hurt, but it was not bandaged, so whatever the pain had been it did not seem to leave a physical sign. She jumped out of bed and saw she was dressed in a silk nightshirt which reached to her knees. No hospital gowns were in sight. And a doctor rushed in, as if she had been waiting for Rachel to wake. Then Rachel remembered Trent.
"How is Trent, ah, Mr Kalamack, is he ok? Is he awake? Can I see him? " She wasn't sure what these people knew about her relationship to Trent, but she wasn't going to mention the marriage as it was supposed to be a secret.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Kalamack, he is going to be fine." Well, that ship had apparently already sailed. She hoped the clinic staff could be discreet.
"Is he awake? Can I see him or are you still worried I will contaminate him?" At the doctor's flinch she knew that her guess had been right, they did think she'd inflected him with her demon sludge somehow. God these people were ignorant. "Can. I. See. Him?" She said, starting to get angry.
"Of course, he requested you be brought into his suite as soon as you woke."
Rachel practically pushed the woman along to get her to move faster to Trent's bedside. And then a door opened and she saw him, sitting up in bed, on the phone, with a folder of papers in front of him. She felt relief flood into her so fast and so heavy that she almost passed out, again. But she caught her balance and walked over to him. She felt afraid to touch him, as she was now afraid herself that she might infect him in some way. But when he dropped everything and reached his arms out to her, she unashamedly rushed into them. She felt the tears start to slip from her eyes. She didn't want to cry, but she was a weepy person, there just wasn't any way to hide it. Trent pulled her onto the bed and crushed her to him, kissing her softly on her head, and forehead and then gently on her mouth. "People are going to start believing the great Rachel Morgan isn't so tough after all if you keep this up." Trent teased.
"I'm not, when it comes to you. Don't do this again! Or I may have to hurt you! Are you ok? You are still in bed, are you still lightheaded or faint? What did they say is wrong with you?"
"You passed out too, Rachel, in the helicopter, clutching your left arm. They thought you were having a heart attack or we'd both been poisoned. You were rushed into the trama suite right next to me and they worked on you until they realized you were not having a heart attack and had not been poisoned. They believe it was stress induced, but I doubt it. All your tests were rerun and they still show you as an extremely healthy woman, demon, witch. Luckily I was with you in Trama, or I would have totally lost it. I woke up right after you passed out, and I insisted they take me right in next to you. I am still in bed because they are still running tests that require me to be prone. Shh! I'm cheating a little, sitting up. Get under the sheets with me and let me warm you up. You feel cold!" Trent leaned closer and pulled her right into his lap. The doctor discretely left and closed the door.
"I am not cold! What are you doing?" Are you allowed to, umm, exercise while you are undergoing these tests?" Rachel tried to squirm away.
But Trent held on tight, saying into her ear, "I am still on my honeymoon, no one can stop me!"
"But..." Rachel was stopped from further conversation by Trent's mouth on hers.
The door opened after a brief knock, and Dr. Hoerst entered to give them the news that all the tests came back perfect for both of them. However they wanted Trent to stay in the clinic for a few days for observation. But Trent refused. After much back and forth between Rachel, Trent and the doctor they compromised by agreeing to stay in one of the patient houses for another 24 hours. But Trent insisted on total privacy. The houses were set up with all kinds of emergency call buttons, and the clinic was two blocks away. Even a brief phone call with Quen would not change his mind. So at a little after midnight they were taken by car over to the same little house as before, to spend the next 24 hours.
Rachel took charge then, fixing him tea, settling him in bed, taking his tablet away. "Trent, we need to talk." God, now she was the one with the cryptic innuendos. "No, I mean, we should talk about the promise rings, and demons and elves, and other peoples expectations, and our expectations." Rachel looked away as her eyes started to leak. She was overwhelmed by the events of the past week: their precipitous marriage, the overwhelming and terrifying love she was developing for Trent, Trent's illness, the doctors' prejudice against her, Ivy's reaction. She needed Ivy and Jenks. But she wanted them to share in her joy, not question her decision.
Trent's eye twitched, showing his agitation at her words. "Come sit here next to me, so I can hold you while we talk. I need to hold you. You're right, we should talk about how our love will strengthen us, but at the same time challenge other people's view of the world. Did something happen earlier today at the clinic?" He said, his anger showing. He was upset that one of his employees had upset Rachel, and upset his plans for her. Damn people, why couldn't they just leave them alone. He needed to talk to Quen. There were obviously going to be more adverse reactions to their marriage than he had anticipated, if the reaction of his own employees was any indication, and he feared it was. And he still had to tell Rachel about Cormel's ultimatum. But not yet. He needed a little more time.
"Maybe I should have expected it, but I didn't. They were afraid my demon taint would effect you. Oh, they didn't say it in those words, but even before I passed out, they were planning to isolate you from me, and even Quen went along with it." And as the pain at Quen's betrayal swam up, Rachel realized that hurt worse than anything. She had thought Quen accepted her, even loved her a little. Maybe this would not work.
Trent was shocked to hear about Quen. "I know you are mistaken about Quen, he loves you. He has encouraged me to follow my heart, to pursue you, ever since Ceri died. It just took me a while to get up my nerve." he said earnestly.
"But he loves you more." Rachel said in a small voice, sitting next to him on the bed. She needed his reassurance as much as he needed hers.
"I think you are mistaken about why they separated us." Trent said thoughtfully. "This clinic has the most sophisticated staff in the world on all medical issues, including demon and elf pairings. And demons and elves have been pairing off for the last 5000 years. There's nothing in any of the histories that indicates a physical problem with the pairings. I'm very certain there were plenty of consensual pairings before the war. Maybe even marriages and offspring before they twisted the damn fertility curses against each other."
Could it be that simple, Trent mused, fix the genetic damage, as both he and Rachel had already been fixed, and then conception could occur naturally? Could Rachel be pregnant even now? No with all the tests at the clinic, they would have been able to tell. But could it happen now?
"Our two species worked very closely together before the war, they were allies and friends. Remember Al indicated he used to work with elves. You can't bring two passionate groups together without sparks developing. Look at us! The spark has been there since we met again as adults, you can't deny it. We just didn't understand what we were feeling! I am still overwhelmed by my feelings for you, my beautiful demoness!" His usual scents of cinnamon and wine were heavy and were swamping her.
Rachel snuggled into his arms, almost forgetting why she had been so upset. "But the rings, do you think it could hurt you to be connected by them to a demon?"
Trent looked at her incredulously. "I think they saved my life twice! It's you who got hurt both times. When you had the pain in your arm, were you trying to reach me?"
"Yes, and I thought I heard you calling me. It was a deeper, maybe clearer connection than last time, but still not strong like the slaver rings. And then I felt the pain and passed out, I guess. Did it effect you?"
"I thought I heard you calling to me, saying, 'Wake up you silly elf. We have things to do!" I felt like I was struggling through sticky silk, and I guess I came back to myself right after you passed out. Just after you had your attack. I remember thinking before they took me out of the copter, 'I'm right here, you annoying demon. What's wrong now?'"
Rachel shoved him, just a little, and then climbed into bed next to him. "Just hold me, you silly elf."
"Until the end of time, my annoying demon!"
They fell asleep in each other's arms, happy just to be together.