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Chapter Ten: What Could Never Be
Strolling through the grassy plains, exiting the now seemingly empty marketplace, Benjamin, Malinda, and Gabriel continued on their way back to Gwen's cottage. Dragging behind, Gabriel walked at a substancially slower rate than his companions, holding a huge jug of oil in one hand, and a equally large container of milk in the other. Ahead of him, Malinda and Benjamin paced side by side, apparently imersed is an interesting conversation, laughter and smiles emitting from them every minute or so.
"So, Benjamin, you never did answer my question earlier today," said Malinda, still holding back some laughter from her brother's previous statements.
"Could be you please stop with that already. Why do you care so much?"
"It's not that I care, it's just... I haven't seen you this happy since we left Manhattan. I just want to know what's making you so happy, that's all." Startled by the innocence of her remark, Benjamin reluctantly gave in to his sister's question.
"Look, it's nothing. I just met someone recently and... I don't know, I think I'm falling for her." The instant Benjamin finished, Malinda's eyes lite up, and smile gradually forming on her face.
"I knew it! I knew it was a girl! But wait, when did you have time to meet someone? We just got here, and already your hunting for a girlfriend?"
"No, it's not like that. Look, I met her for like a minute."
"That must've been some minute to get you all giddy for the rest of day. What's she look like, or can you remember that far back?" asked Malinda, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"She was... she was just beautiful. She had golden shades in her hair - even in the darkness their glow could be seen. She had such pristine skin, in such a pure color. And her voice... it was so soft and calm. She was so well spoken and elegant and-- well, um, like I said we only met for like a minute," said Bejamin, managing to bring himself back.
"Whatever you say, Romeo."
x
The sun began to set. As they approached the cottage, Benjamin took on a more serious look, wanting to seem more presentable to his host. Reaching the door, Benjamin placed his bags on his forearms, and opened the door slowly, Gabriel and Malinda close behind him.
"Ms. Gwen, we're back! Sorry it took so long, we just--" Lifting his eyes, Benjamin was startled by what he saw. Sitting beside Gwen in the living room was Kate, smiling at Benjamin's arrival. "Kate? What... what're you--"
"Oh, so you know my daughter? Well isn't that nice. When did you meet?" asked Gwen, abnoramlly glad over the situation. Glancing over at Kate, Benjamin could see the worry in her eyes, who obviously wanted the truth to be hidden from her estatic mother. Still, he couldn't assemble an explanation.
"Um, well, we met at the marketplace," said Kate, noticing Benjamin's bags and supplies.
"You went to the marketplace? Why didn't you get anything, Kate?"
"Because... so Benjamin, what do you think of our little town?" Gently placing his bags on the floor, Benjamin joined Gwen and Kate's conversation, feeling a lot more comfortable. As for Malinda and Gabriel, they were left on the sidelines. Malinda, growing aggitated, quickly made her way to the kitchen, Gabriel following close behind. Dropping the bags, Malinda leaned against the counter in a notable huff. Feeling around, Gabriel found the counter and simple stood by Malinda's side.
"Look at them in there. It's like he was engaged to her or something," said Malinda, peeking into the living room. She took careful notice of Kate, the girl who stole her brother's heart. Aside from Benjamin's poetic exaggerations, Kate fit his discriptions. She had a classical beauty to her, and seemed very poised and reserved from the ways he spoke and sat next to her mother. "Well, she's not that pretty. I've seen him with better," continued Malinda, a slight jealousy in her tone. "What'd you think of her?"
Surprised by her interest in his opinion, Gabriel was caught off guard. Although not blind, her most definately couldn't see Kate clearly. He could barely see Malinda, who was right in front of him. "Well, she's alright I guess," responded Gabriel, trying to make his statement as general as possible.
"Whatever. Could you help me organize the groceries?"
"Um, well, I'm actually rather tired. And it's not like you really need my help."
"Tired of what? Oh I see. You're 'tired'. Couldn't possibly be that you're just lazy. No, you're tired. Fine. But do me a favor - next time you wanna make excuses, you could at least make up a better one than ' I'm tired '," said Malinda, angrily picking a up one of the bags from the kitchen floor.
"Malinda, please believe me when I say I am honestly tired." Looking over at Malinda as she proceeded to put away the milk, he could see that she was fed up. "Just because you're in a bad mood doesn't mean you have to take it out on me. It's not my fault you're jealous of Kate." Pausing, Malinda slowly arose from the floor upon placing the last of the milk on the bottom shelf, all the while staring at Gabriel with widened eyes.
"Don't do that. It's bad enough that I have to do everything where ever I go. So don't go blaming my anger on something else besides the fact that I'm stuck dealing with a love sick brother and a prince who can't even muster the strength to assist me in even the most menial of tasks. Now I suggest you leave before I get really pissed, " said Malinda in a disturbingly composed manner.
Making his way out of the kitchen, Gabriel slowly paced towards the living room, joining the others as Malinda continued to arrange the groceries. Gabriel deeply regretted having to act so ungentlemanly, but he knew that he wouldn't have been of much help because of his dulled vision.
"Oh, Gabriel, so good to join us.You've met my daughter Kate."
"Yes, I remember. But I haven't seen her in years. She appears to have grown so much," said Gabriel, making another assumption. "How have you been, Kate?"
"Very well. I just returned from school. And seeing how I'm not going to be busy all summer, I decided to come back to town to visit mother. So what brings you here to Pine Town? I thought you'd be getting ready for that big birthday celebration I've heard so much about."
"Well, um, my companions and I ran into some trouble on my way back home, and since Gwen had been so good to me in the past, I decided to return. But not to worry. I'm won't be staying long."
"So I assume Benjamin is one of your companions, then?"
"Yes, he is."
"And where's the other one? You did mention that there was more than one person traveling with you."
"I think I saw her going into the kitchen. Malinda! Could you come here for just a moment?" shouted Gwen, instantly grabbing Malinda's attention. Gradually pacing from the kitchen, Malinda walked into the living room. "Kate, this is Malinda."
"Pleasure to meet you, Malinda," said Kate, a wide grin upon her face, contrasting Malinda's expression of annoyance.
"Yeah, pleasure. I'm almost done putting away everything, Gwen. I should be done soon."
"You finished already? I would have helped you, Malinda," said Benjamin with a profound lack of sincerity in his voice as he remained exceedingly close to Kate.
"I'm sure you would have. But time flies when you're busy sucking up to your girlfriends mother," responded Malinda somewhat under her breath. "I'll just go back to work. Feel free to assist me at any time." Turning away, sensing the conversation was utterly phony and going nowhere, Malinda went back into the kitchen, completeing the task that she alone had started.
As Malinda walked away, something clicked in her mind. Looking over at Kate, who was smothered with attention, Malinda sensed a familiarity about her. Where do I know that girl from? After much thought, Malinda finally discovered who Kate was - she was the girl that Malinda had seen kissing the green just outside the marketplace.
Startled by her own revelation, Malinda suddenly took pity on her brother. Obviously infatuated with Kate, little did he know that her affections belonged to another. However, Malinda's sadness rapidly transformed into anger. How could she lead him on like this? She's practically on top of him in there, meanwhile she's with someone else. How dare she! Calling upon from her previous experience with confrontations back at the village in the 1st Kingdom, Malinda slowly formulated a way of approaching the devious Kate.
xxxxxxx
Deep within the woods of Pine Town, Thomas rested upon a tall free, aimlessly looking towards the dimming sky above. As he gazed into the stars, Thomas found himself wishing that he could step into the plains and treeless land of the town where he could see the stars without long branches and numerous leaves blocking his view. The only thing stopping him was who he was - a goblin.
Since the war with the Ice Queen, goblins had been considered to be outcasts all around the 9 Kingdoms. Forced to aid the Ice Queen, they were seen as the most terrible of traitors, never to be accepted by anyone. Thomas experienced this intense racism since childhood, right in Pine Town. Kate had been the only one who saw past his appearence and a lineage, and treated him as a normal person. Now he was forced to live secretly in the forests, awaiting Kate's visits and hoping that he may one day be able to step out of the darkness.
xxxxxxx
As evening came upon them, Benjamin and Kate had volunteered to organize the barn and feed the many animals that resided there. As Kate tended to the animals, Benjamin would gather the hay and arrange the tools, watchful not to repeat what happened the last time he attempted to perform the same task. Even while at opposite ends of the barn, Benjamin would glance over to the beautiful Kate, catching her wanders eyes on several occasions.
"Hey, Benny, could you hand that brush right there," asked Kate as she prepared to groom the horses. Benjamin had never been called "Benny" before in his life, and found the sound of it to be rather ridiculous. Still, anything Kate spoke was like to music to hears.
Slowly pacing towards Kate, he gently placed the brush in Kate's slender hands, completely silent. "Thank you," she replied, her eyes still locked onto Benjamin's. She knew how much he cared for her - he didn't even need to say it. His actions and expression spoke louder than any words ever could. Still, she belonged to someone else, and was bent on remaining faithful. "Do you have any water? My throat is so dry," said Kate, suspending the moment.
"Sorry, I don't. But if you need that badly, I could go back inside and get some."
"Yes, thank you. And could you also get me something to eat. I'm starving." Nodding his head, Benjamin turned around and strolled towards the exit. Upon leaving the barn, Malinda swiftly entered, completely avoiding Benjamin's sight. Malinda wanted to speak to Kate alone, without interruption.
"Beautiful horse you got there. What's its name?" said Malinda, startling Kate. As she Malinda came closer to her, Kate could see Malinda's discontent expression and quickly realized she wanted to discuss something of great imoportance. "Her name is Ruby... but you're not here to talk about my horses, are you?"
"Uh, ya caught me. Benjamin was right, you are a bright girl."
"Please, Malinda, could you get to the point?"
"Alright. My brother. How do you feel about him?" Kate paused for a moment, careful of how to answer the question. Unaware of where Malinda was going, Kate found that the only safe way to answer was with the truth.
"Benjamin is a fine man. He's kind and helpful. He's a great friend."
"That's it - he's just a friend? 'Cause he seems to want more from you than just friendship."
"I can't help it if he has those kinds of feelings for me, Malinda. So if you want to take the childish approach and yell at me for not liking back, then I think you're wasting your time," responded Kate, breaking away from Malinda to fetch some more tools.
"Don't walk away from me," said Malinda, following Kate. "It's one thing to not like him in return, but it's another thing to make him believe that you do.You're deceiving him, Kate. You're acting as if you're into him, always flirting and cuddling up to him."
"You're exasgerating. We've only just met! And who knows, maybe I will end up falling for him. But no, you just assume that what you see now will never change."
"But it won't change. Not as long as you're still seeing someone else." Kate suddenly turned stiff. She couldn't possibly being referring to what I think she is, could she? thought Kate, frantically trying to figure out how Malinda could have ever found about her and Thomas. "Speechless, huh? I saw you with a man by the trees just bordering the town. It was obvious you were an item, so don't try to play it off as me misinterpretting what I saw. And what's worse is that Benjamin doesn't even know about it! You're leading him on, Kate, and that what's gets me so upset."
"You know, you and the prince are getting awfully close. Don't think I haven't noticed. He is charming, isn't he?"
"If by charming you mean irritating, then yes, he is the most charming person I know. Look, don't change the subject, Kate."
"You're always arguing like some old married couple," continued Kate, "Not so long ago you were getting angry with him about where he was going to sleep tonight. But deep down, I bet you have feelings for him. You two looked so adorable all snuggled up next to one another the other night." Malinda was at a loss for words. There was no way anyone could have seen them together, unless...
"Hey, what's going on?" said Benjamin, curious as to what Malinda and Kate were discussing. "Malinda, when did you come in here?"
"Malinda was just asking me about my horse, Ruby," said Kate, taking on last look at the silenced Malinda, Kate made her way towards Benjamin as he gave her the food and drink she had requested.
"Well, I guess I'll just go back inside. It was nice talking to you, Kate. And please remember what we talked about. I think I might want to discuss your horses again with you sometime. Good night."
"Good night, Malinda," said Benjamin, escorting Kate back to the pen as they proceeded to continue their work.
x
Resting by the fireplace, her blankets and sheets all set up, Malinda lay down on the hard floor as she did the night before. However, Malinda's recurring thoughts kept from noticing the uncomfortable ground. Malinda was consumed with figuring out how Kate could have seen her and Gabriel the previous night. "There's something wrong with this picture. If she just came back this afternoon, she wouldn't have been here to see us," whispered Malinda to herself. Recalling all that she had been told about Kate and her whereabouts, Malinda finally pieced everything together.
The noise Malinda heard upstairs while she tried to sleep the night prior. Benjamin's delightful mood early in the morning. Benjamin's unusual infatuation with Kate after supposedly meeting her for a minute. Benjamin's lie about meeting her in the marketplace. Kate witnessing her and the prince sleeping close together. "I have it! Kate was here last night! She came here early, and she doesn't want anyone to know about it. And Benjamin's keeping this secret for her. Kate thinks she can keep a secret from me, does she. I notice everything. You can't hide anything from me!" Proclaiming her discovery in a low, but enthusiastic tone, Malinda felt overjoyed inside, a wide smile on her face and arms raised in triumph.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, Benjamin, hey. You finished working outside?"
"Yeah, Kate said she woudl finish off."
"That's good. Well it looks like you're sleeping with me tonight. Gabriel stole the spare bed. It'll be so nice to have some quality time for ourselves, even if it is for just a little while. So, what do you wanna talk about?"
"Kate."
"Kate. We finally get to have some valuable time with one another, and you wanna talk about Kate? Typical."
"What did you say to her?"
"We just talked about horses, Benjamin."
"I think you're lying. She seemed pretty shaken after you left. Look, I'm starting to think that you don't like her very much. I'm not sure why that is, but I'm willing to accept it. But I need to know what you said to her, Malinda, so I can straighten things out."
"What makes you think that it was something I said that make her get all freaked out."
"Because I heard you two practically screaming from the barn. I didn't catch what you were talking about, but I know it wasn't about horses. Now what did you say to her?"
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I was 'shaken' after what she might have said to me, Benjamin, or is Kate the only one that matters?"
"Well are you shaken?"
"No, but that's beside the point. You're picking sides, Benjamin. You're picking sides, and you sure as hell aren't picking mine. Why is it that whenever something bad occurs, and I just so happen to be involved, it's always my fault?"
"Malinda, let's not do this. Why can't you just answer the question?"
"Why can't you ask someone else? You don't you ask your precious Kate what happened. I'm sure she'll be just as stubborn as I am. Wanna know why? 'Cause we were discussing something that I found about her, and she put on some scared facade and made it seem like she was the victim in all this."
"What was the secret?"
"You tell me the secret that you're keeping for her, and I'll tell you mine."
"Malinda, don't be like that."
"I'm tired, Benjamin. If you still wanna continue this conversation in the morning, you're more than welcome to. Good night, bro." Turning her back against Benjamin, Malinda drifted off into her forced sleep. She had hoped to talk with Benjamin calmly and enjoyably, like the way they use to back in Manhattan. But tonight wouldn't be that night, as the tension between them grew as the evening went on.