Chapter 14 – Oceans of Time
Melanie seemed to oversleep that next morning. It was a Saturday, and she looked over at the clock to see it was 10:30am. She got up from her bed, uncovered and still in the same clothing from the night before, taking them off and running a shower. As she washed, she thought of everything she and Elijah shared the night before, even how his lips touched hers in a sweet, chaste manner before increasing with passion the second time. She got out, and put on a new outfit consisting of an A-line style black dress with a sweetheart neckline that hung off the shoulders with just straps holding it up. On the ends of the long sleeves were pleated lace inserts over wide slits. She accessorized with a black lace choker with a faceted crystal dangling down, and on her ears, she put simple diamond earrings. She dried the ends of her golden waves and put on hose that went just above the knee before sliding on her designer loafers.
As she walked out of her and Misty's shared room, she heard a crisp, theatrical male voice singing from downstairs. She followed it, using transmutation to get herself to the landing of the grand staircase fast enough. As she walked down the stairs, she heard it coming from the ancestry room, an antiquated verse from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I:
"All the night my sleeps are full of dreams,
My eyes are full of streams.
My heart takes no delight
To see the fruits and joys that some do find
And mark the storms are me assign'd…"
He sings beautifully, Melanie thought as she leaned against the archway of the ancestry room, seeing Elijah in all black, but in a dark gray buttoned vest over a black dress shirt and pants. His shoes were leather, and across the vest he wore his double-chained brooches like he did the night before. Present were Coco, Mallory, Zoe, Misty and Cordelia, along with John Henry, Ariel, Baldwin and Behold. The projection of his voice was impeccable, perfect delivery as he began to sing the next verse, looking over at Melanie as though he were serenading her:
"Out alas, my faith is ever true,
Yet will she never rue
Nor yield me any grace,
Her eyes of fire, her heart of flint is made,
Whom tears nor truth may once invade…"
He used transmutation suddenly to go closer to Melanie, taking her by the hands and spinning her, holding her hands out as though he were behind her, repeating the last two lines of the verse:
Her eyes of fire, her heart of flint is made,
Whom tears nor truth may once invade…"
Then, Elijah took her arm in his and smiled, singing the last verse of the song softly but crisply. Coco and Mallory smiled at the scene, while Zoe and Cordelia could sense their chemistry. Misty on the other hand, was enchanted by the romantic gesture Elijah was offering to her new friend:
"Gentle Love, draw forth thy wounding dart,
Thou canst not pierce her heart,
For I, that do approve
By sighs and tears more hot than are thy shafts
Did tempt while she for triumph laughs…"
The witches and warlocks present all clapped loudly for Elijah's little performance. Ariel rose from his seat and approached his Alpha with enough praises for an entire cast of thespians.
"Bravo! Bravo! Our Alpha can sing, too," he grinned.
"I had a whole semester dedicated to Elizabethan music in Nottingham," Elijah revealed, Melanie still on his arm. "I sang that for my final performance, as I did a voice course that semester."
"It sure paid off! That was great," Coco smiled. "Thank you."
Elijah nodded as if to say, 'my pleasure', and before they all knew it, Madison and John entered the room. She was dressed in a matching skirt and crop top with a disco ball pattern, black stockings that went over the knee, and spiked ankle booties. John was in a white dress shirt, but Melanie could tell he had just gotten dressed because he was still adjusting the cuffs on his shirt. Curiously, she read their souls and nearly laughed at what she heard.
I saw him shirtless, he's pretty hot even though he's a fucking show-off. My interest in the whole package is still there though, Madison thought as she took a cigarette from the cylindrical holder on the side table of the sofa. Melanie saw her wipe the corner of her mouth before putting the cigarette in it, lighting it with her pyrokinesis. She turned to John, and knew exactly what happened.
That was the best suck I've ever had in my life, he thought, I want to bend her over and claim my territory.
Melanie looked up at Elijah: "let's… go to the greenhouse, shall we?"
"Wherever you go, I will follow," he said.
As they left the room, John looked at Madison and chuckled as she blew her smoke from the drag she took into the air. He approached her, and looked back at the warlocks and Cordelia along with Coco, Mallory, Misty, Zoe and Queenie, who went off to prepare breakfast with Kyle, the butler. He looked back at Madison.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"You are something else," he said, biting his lip.
"Hey, you're a snack, don't get me wrong, but you're a fucking show-off," Madison said, taking a drag. "Doesn't change my opinion on you."
"Baby, you don't know what 'show-off' means," John said with a chuckle.
"So, what? I sucked your dick. Want a fucking trophy?"
"What I want is to bend you over and have an early breakfast," he purred, pulling her close to him.
"Uh, let go of me," she said, pushing him back off her.
She walked out of the room, putting out her cigarette on an ash tray sitting on the coffee table before doing so. John, feeling pent up from that morning's encounter with the movie star-turned-ward of Robicheaux's, turned his hand over to the fireplace and made a fire blaze from it, causing a sufficient blowback from behind the cinder guard that was lined up against it.
That evening, by his invitation, Melanie accompanied Elijah to the French Quarter of New Orleans once again to dinner at Galatoire's, one of the most famous and oldest restaurants in all of New Orleans known for its French cuisine. It also was quite fancy, enough so that Melanie wondered if Elijah was well-enough off to take her out like this. To her surprise, it was not that expensive, the prices listed next to the menu items.
"Please, Miss DeLongpre, don't worry about quantities. Get anything you desire," he said, looking at her from across the candle-lit table.
"Elijah… I call you by your first name," she began. "Please, call me Melanie."
He sighed and smiled: "as you wish, Melanie."
The two simply had glasses of sauvignon-blanc when she ordered a pork chop with a bacon and onion garnish and a side of Portobello mushrooms, while he ordered something rather unusual; a veal liver with hollandaise and a side of lyonnaise potatoes. They talked about different things as they dined together; Elijah spoke about his family back in England, parents included as they moved back around the time he went to college in Nottingham. Melanie talked about various experiences she had, especially in preparing to be a debutante and experiences she had at Harvard. He was impressed that she was able to study at such an institution, and he was intrigued by her interest in history, and how it led to her being a museum curator before coming to the school in New Orleans.
"You are a gifted witch," Elijah praised. "I just am coming into my own, but it is refreshing to see such potential."
"Thank you, but I'm not exactly the next Supreme," Melanie said, halfway done with her plate and sipping her wine.
Elijah nodded, listening and probing her for an answer: "why is that?"
"Because I don't have all Seven Wonders. Mallory does. She is my friend. She is going to replace Cordelia one day," Melanie explained, staring off into space for a moment, "not that I am wishing for that any time soon. I do like Cordelia. She is very knowledgeable and kind."
"She is, indeed," he said. "I love a woman in power. Surely, women are the fairer sex, but they are the superior sex. Truth be told," he took a sip of his wine, "if I had it my way, I would not want to be Alpha."
"Why? You've accepted it with honor," Melanie asked, somewhat in shock.
"Because there should only be a Supreme. The only reason there is an Alpha with the warlocks is to one day try and usurp the reigning Supreme, which I think is preposterous," he revealed. "Men have done enough to women over the centuries. It's time for it to end."
Melanie smiled grandly at him and raised her wine glass: "amen to that."
They finished eating, and made a point to share raspberry sorbet for dessert. The next thing that came out shocked Melanie the most – absinthe. She could not believe it. There was a bottle of Greune Fee along with strainers and sugar cubes to drink it the traditional French way. Elijah smiled at her, pouring her glass first but waiting until they toasted before sipping.
"I thought this stuff was…" Melanie looked around before whispering, "illegal?"
"Not here, come to find out," he smirked. "I used to enjoy this in England. Haven't had it since. How is it?"
"Strong," she said, slightly fanning her face, feeling the heavy anise taste trickling down her throat.
"Now you've been introduced to quite the luxury," he said. "It is the aphrodisiac of the self, the nectar of gods. The green fairy who resides in it wants your soul, but… with me around, you are safe."
"It's starting to work if you're saying that stuff," Melanie blushed. "Tell me… about those dreams… what else would you see? What was it like?"
"It was a place and time after a damage far too great to repair," Elijah explained, feeling the effects of the absinthe as he began to speak. Images formulated in his mind, but he described what it was in a roundabout way. "It existed as merely a bubble, the outside world too toxic to safely breathe and sustain oneself in."
Then, in his euphoric state, he was shocked at what Melanie said: "like… an apocalypse?"
"Yes, something like that," Elijah answered, pouring himself more absinthe and taking a sip.
"Millions upon millions had died…" Melanie continued, her brain going fuzzy as she continued to imbibe the absinthe. "A beast with ten horns and seven heads rose from the sea, and all who survived… worshipped him. He was king… and their god. The sun became as black…and the moon became as blood… the stars fell from heaven, and the days of wrath had arrived to reign…"
Elijah looked at her and shook his head, calmly speaking with his lulling English accent: "go on, love. I wish to hear more." He poured her some more absinthe, of which she took a sip and continued.
"I have…nothing else…" she answered.
"I had seen the Queen make do with…what was available… I had seen orchards and farmable fields… there was a Princess… who then became a Queen. A mighty Queen, the one I had seen in my dreams…" He turned his eyes, pupils dilated, to her: "she is before me as I speak."
"What happened to her?" Melanie questioned, taking more absinthe in.
"She is here," he said.
"No… something happened to her…" the woman answered. "Something horrible."
"The Dark Lord… killed her… and her lover and subject… revived her… seized his head…and he himself became King by her side… her… humble servant," he said.
"Two children… a princess and prince…" Melanie said, "came from the union."
"Yes… and… the princess was pure… a treasure," Elijah smiled, taking more absinthe. "I have seen them… the prince was an ironic masculine beauty…"
"Such strange wording…" Melanie pointed out, sipping her absinthe and having Elijah pour her a third glass. "How can… one be an ironic masculine beauty?"
"Under his façade… was pure evil… an untamed beast… like he was descended from," the Alpha warlock said in a euphoric, near-drunken state of consciousness. "His lust and hunger…for power destroyed the kingdom…"
"He… wanted a master race of his kind… to take the Earth over," Melanie said, the sentence coming to mind flawlessly. "To kill off, enslave… and… feed on humanity…"
"Like a bloody cannibal," Elijah added. "The King… called upon helpers… messengers from the beyond…"
"To help stop him…" Melanie completed his thought.
"But they failed…" Elijah said. "The poor King's heart broke… when his Queen and princess died."
"How?"
"Incineration… their souls… ceased to exist…" the Alpha warlock said. "The prince killed them."
"What about the King?"
"Drowned… in a pool of black water…"
"How did the kingdom have a downfall?" Melanie asked, finishing her last sip of absinthe. She held her hand up when he tried to pour more, so he knew it meant that was enough for her.
"The prince fell from a window…high from a building… his physical form died… but his true form peeled from his corpse… and flew around… wreaking havoc at every turn…"
"I see fire…" Melanie said in a daze. "I see fire…"
"More and more died… if not from fire… he consumed them… blood was… all over," Elijah described.
"Armageddon," Melanie said.
"All over again," Elijah said.
Suddenly, one of the staff members at Galatoire's had come to the table, and at that moment, they noticed that everyone else was gone. The entire restaurant was empty except for Elijah and Melanie, who sat there, coming down from their daze. A Southern accent from a woman could be heard.
"Excuse me, we are closin' now. It's 10pm," she said.
Melanie's eyes widened: "I'm sorry, I-"
"We're ready," Elijah smirked, taking his card from his wallet and handing it to her.
"Do you need us to call you a cab or somethin'? You don't seem-"
Melanie stood up and held her palm toward the server: "no, I'm able to walk. It's fine."
"Excuse us," he said to the waitress.
"Maybe… we do need an Uber," the woman offered. "I'm… dizzy."
"Whatever you wish. I can take care of it," he said.
"No, you got dinner. I got this," she said, taking her phone out and getting on the Uber app to order a ride.
During the entire Uber ride home, Elijah held Melanie in his arms tightly, feeling her soft blonde waves resting against where his chest met his shoulder. She had never felt so safe, and she closed her eyes to smell his clean, musky scent. It did not take long to reach the manor, and once Elijah got out, he extended his hand to Melanie and pulled her out. He sensed that her lightheadedness had gone away, and they went up into the stairs and straight into the ancestry room. He had her sit on the sofa, and he used pyrokinesis to ignite a fire in the hearth, illuminating the dark room. It awakened her senses, and she felt herself coming back into a normal state of consciousness from her euphoria as a result of the absinthe.
"Is that better?"
"Yes," Melanie replied calmly, resting her head against his shoulder on the couch. He kissed her forehead, and her blue eyes looked up at him.
"Elijah?"
"Yes, love?" he asked, taking her hand and putting it to his shoulder, holding it there.
"Did all of that really happen?" she asked. "What we talked about?"
He sighed, and shook his head, staring ahead into the fire: "I don't know."
"It seemed so real," Melanie remarked calmly. "Maybe it was the absinthe…"
"I do know one thing, Melanie…" he said, looking down at her and making her look up into his piercing light blue eyes. "I feel like I have swum through oceans of time to find you."
She felt her heart fluttering at his romanticism. "R-Really?"
"Yes… also something else," he continued.
"What?" she asked, a serious look on her face, still gazing into his eyes.
She could not believe what she was hearing next from Elijah as he sat up with her, and held her hands in both of his after reaching into his pocket to pull something out. Melanie could feel it was metal, and the sensation distracted her until he spoke.
"Melanie DeLongpre, I have waited for you my entire life. The moment you walked into this room two mornings ago, I knew I dreamed you into life. You are the Queen from my slumbers, and I wish for you to be mine… forever."
She felt tears streaming slowly down her face as she looked away into the fire. He continued.
"My dear love, don't cry," he said, bringing her visage over to face him, his finger on her chin. "My love for you is unwavering and unstoppable. Nothing can soothe my passions more. Say that… you'll marry me?"
Her blue eyes widened, looking down at the ring that was wedged between their palms. It looked to be very old, perhaps by a century or close to it, and saw it was a plain gold band with three diamonds set into it. She looked at Elijah, and then down at the ring.
"It's old," she noticed.
"Indeed," he said proudly. "This was the same ring my granddad married my nana with, and it was his mother's before that. I've carried it around with me since my nana gave it to me. She was on her deathbed, and in her will, she instructed this ring be given to me. I was 23 then. Seven straight years, I have carried it with me, hoping that by chance, I would meet the woman who was my destiny. Alas, it is you. Run away with me, love."
Melanie stood up and walked toward the fire, looking down at their dance in the stage of the hearth. She had just found her place in the world being a student at Miss Robicheaux's Academy, and made good friends with some of the veteran members of the coven. How could she just leave it all behind and start life anew with Elijah, a man she had grown fond of, and in turn fell madly in love with her? She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked back.
"What is the matter?"
"Elijah… I can't just leave. I can't disappoint my new friends, and certainly not Cordelia," Melanie said, looking up at him and noticing the expression in his eyes. "They'd be devastated."
"My dear," he began in a whisper. "I could wait for you until my dying breath, but I don't want to die before I unite with you."
"And what about your coven, the warlocks?" she asked, graver than her previous statement. "You're Alpha. You have an obligation. You accepted that."
"I have, but I frankly don't care. I now know that my fate was leading me to you," he said, impassioned in a low tone. "I love you, with all my heart, and all my soul… and with every breath left in my body. I would bleed for you if it meant that you could have even a second more to live."
"And you also have to go back to California with the rest of them," Melanie pointed out.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said persistently. "They can find another Alpha fit for the job. I told you. I wouldn't want to be an Alpha. It is dumb because Miss Goode is already Supreme, and it should stay that way."
"Won't they worry?"
"Again, I don't give a damn," he said, going down on his knees and holding her hands. "Please… marry me. I will worship you and the ground you walk on until the day I die, and I will give you anything your heart desires no matter how bonkers or outlandish…" He paused, and Melanie sensed the sincere emotion in his firelit gaze and emotion. "Do you feel the same for me? Do you accept my offer of love and endless devotion?"
After a tumultuously-good turn of events in her life during those two fateful months, Melanie was at a standstill. Yes, she felt the same for her Alpha, but she was still so hesitant to leave behind all of the amazing friends she had made at Miss Robicheaux's – Misty, Coco, Mallory, Madison… even Cordelia. She even considered Zoe and Queenie despite them being mere acquaintances. In that moment, her choice was more than clear – a solid yes, to run off into the night with this man she had grown an attachment to, but little did she know, their souls had been attached and star-crossed the entire time.
A/N:
This is the end of the actual story, but there will be an EPILOGUE! I'm playing with the format a bit in the epilogue, so stay tuned.
If you've enjoyed this, please leave a Review, and to keep updated with when the epilogue is to be posted, Favorite and Follow!