Chapter Thirty-Seven: Forever For a Night

...The music, loud and festive, had become a part of the atmosphere. Without it, everything would have seemed empty. Smoke from the fire burning in the center of the camp rose up into the sky, swirling into amorphous shapes and filling their nostrils with the husky, familiar scent. There was not a single face that was not smiling, not a single girl or boy sitting alone, not a single stomach grumbling in hunger or loneliness. It was, after all, a special occasion. In every family, a member's birthday was always an important event.

Link and Damita were hand in hand, leaping clumsily around the fire, doing their best to avoid bumping into the more graceful pairs surrounding them. Neither of them were ever the best dancers, but they didn't care. Their laughs were heard above the laughter of the others, their smiles were the broadest, and their leaps were the highest. Link didn't really know the steps of the dance, and neither did Damita. But they were content with simply jumping around to the steady pulse of the dream, holding each other and spinning wildly.

"You're a horrible dancer!" she screamed over the din.

"What?"

"I said, you're a horrible dancer!"

"Huh?"

"I said—"

"Oh, you too!" he winked.

Damita threw her head back and let her magical laugh ring out into the night. It was more melodious than the music. He stretched out his arm, and Damita spun outwards, tripping over her own feet. As he pulled her back towards him, he whispered low in her ear, "Had a little too much to drink tonight, love?"

"Mm...maybe?"

Damita exaggerated her slurred speech, and crossed her eyes. With even broader grins, they continued their dancing, hopping around like drunken bunnies. The other couples were doing the same, although admittedly more gracefully. Whenever Link and Damita would get too close to the fire, she would let out a yelp, as if she had been burned, and they would rush back to the outer circle of the fiery mountain. But he loved when they got close, because he could see her face more clearly. She was absolutely dazzling; she was wearing her favorite red silk robe, with the flowery black and yellow designs. Her silvery hair was pinned up into two buns on the sides of her head, with stray tendrils hanging down around her sweating and glowing face. Her cheeks were bright red, but her smile never faded. When he glanced down, her feet were bare; she had long ago abandoned the cumbersome sandals.

"So, tell me," he said as he began to slow down, "how does it feel to be eighteen years old?"

"Eh, it kind of feels the same," she shrugged. "Although it's nice to be reminded that I'm still older than you."

"Why is that so special?" he glowered.

She laughed again, and his stomach turned in a mixture of abused alcohol and endless jumping. He couldn't help but smile. She was so breathtaking.

"I don't know. It's one thing I can say I have over you, I guess."

At that moment, the beating of the drums ended. Everybody who had been dancing (essentially, every Loyalist at camp) halted and began clapping enthusiastically, letting their hollers take the place of the music in the hollow air. Link and Damita simply stood, staring into each other's eyes. He could've stood in that position for the rest of his life and never gotten bored. Her pale cheeks were still bright red. Their chests rose and fell rhythmically with their steady panting.

"Do you have a present for me?" she finally asked. Link stared at her vacantly for a few moments.

"What were you expecting?" he raised an eyebrow. Damita sighed, and then narrowed her eyes. She took on a pensive look, as if she were deciding on what she wanted from him and she knew she was going to get it.

"I had a couple of ideas," she breathed quietly. "Follow me."

"The party's not over!"

"Trust me, you won't miss it where we're going."

There was a certain edge in her voice that made Link's doubts simmer away. Without another moment of hesitation, he followed her sneakily away from the fire that was celebrating her birthday. "Since you won't get a present for me on your own, I guess I'll have to lead you. Can't you do anything on your own?"

"Shut up," he teased. He lurched forward to grab her hand, but just as his fingers grazed hers, she whipped it out of reach.

"Nope."

In her bounds, she glanced back with a mischievous expression. He pursed his lips, and curiosity began to permeate his thoughts. It was so dark, and his brain was so disoriented and consumed with her image, that he could not even process where they were going. Finally, they emerged into an opening, far from the fire, where the only sound was the chirping of the crickets and the crinkling of the distant stars.

"Why are we here?" he asked, looking up at the decrepit tree house.

"Because I want to be here," she replied haughtily. "It's my birthday, so we'll do whatever the hell I want. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am."

With the hint of a smirk on his face, he followed her up the ladder. He would not have gone any other way; if Damita had been walking into the mouth of a volcano at that moment, he would've followed with just as much conviction. More strands fell from her loosening buns.

"I love this place," she breathed. "It's so quiet. I can come here when I just want to think."

"I don't know. Something about this place creeps me out," Link argued, wrinkling his nose.

As he stepped into the old house, the queasy feeling in his stomach—the one he always got when nearing this home—returned, and he tried as hard as he could to ignore it and do what Damita wanted.

She didn't answer. She simply walked throughout the house, guided by the light of the lantern that Link instinctively lit. She was completely mesmerized, staring with wide eyes at the pictures and relics along the walls.

"Have you ever looked at these pictures?" she asked suddenly. Link scratched the back of his neck.

"No."

"Liar."

"I try to forget what they look like."

"Why?"

"I...I don't really know why."

Damita turned and looked at him. He avoided eye contact, and she could see him acting uneasy. Knowing that she was still clearly in his vision, she slowly lifted her hand and took the ties from her hair, letting the silvery waves cascade like waterfalls over her shoulders and down her back. Link got chills. She smiled, and turned back to the pictures. He knew exactly what she was doing.

"Are you having a good birthday so far?" he asked a bit sheepishly. He didn't know why he was acting this way; perhaps it was the uncertainty of this atmosphere, the feeling that this house gave him, or the way that Damita had been looking at him...

"Yeah. It's pretty good, but I'm sure it could be better." There was an odd twinge in her voice, almost an invitation.

"I'll do whatever I can to make it better," he blurted. Damita snickered without looking back at him.

"I know. These pictures are really weird."

"Why?" He knew what she was going to say.

"The boy here...he looks exactly like you. Not a vague resemblance. It's like...you could be twins. It's chilling, really." She bent down and put her hands on her knees, staring at the picture, her back still to Link. He breathed in anxiously.

Slowly and steadily, she straightened up. The moonlight from the window beside her flowed in like a spotlight, and fell upon her like sparkles. Link forced himself to look at her, regardless of the chills. The light mood of the night slipped away.

"He's beautiful." Then, very deliberately, she lifted her arms. "You know, I'm eighteen now. Do you really want to know what I want for my birthday...?" Her voice was suddenly low and sultry.

Link sucked in a sharp breath as she shrugged off the collar of the blood red robe, and let it slide down to her ankles. When she turned around and began her slow trek towards him, with a seductive glare in her eyes, Link was convinced that this was the epitome of beauty, the perfection for which every man longed. Man would spend all of his life searching for this image, this shadow, and here she was right in front of him. In this pure form, she was perfection. And she was his.

"Isn't there something you want to say to me?" Her voice was still low; almost a whisper, and the floor creaked with every footstep she took towards him. As if being led by an invisible force, Link stepped closer as well.

"...Happy birthday?"

"Come on, Link," she chuckled. Link cringed at the sensual sound. She was now right in front of him, her body only inches from his. "You can do better than that."

Desire gripped him like a serpent, and he could feel his fingers tingling. He took one more step...and they were touching. He leaned down, until his mouth was right by her ear.

"I love you."

"That's more like it."

She bit her lip, and in one movement, lifted his tunic over his head. She put her hands on his chest and leaned her forehead against his collarbone, breathing in his scent. Her skin against his felt absolutely surreal; he wasn't sure if he was still alive, or if he had transcended into an alternate reality, where perfection could fall into the hands of the ignorant. His fingers managed to find their way onto her bare waist.

"Please, Link," she sighed. "Do I really have to spell it out for you? Can you just kiss me already?"

He obeyed with no further delay. There was no initial gentleness, no hint of softness, no tenderness. Just fiery, unadulterated passion. They were both victim to a type of hunger they had never imagined, one that consumed them and controlled them like puppets. But they loved it. As soon as they had the taste of one another on their lips, any restraint became impossible. As they held each other more tightly, pressed their mouths more harshly, touched skin more passionately, Link slowly began inching forward. Damita, forced backwards, did not allow a single inch of space between them. Almost before they could realize it, Link had led her onto the old, rickety bed, and he was thirstily moving forward. Her hair in between his fingers felt like silk, and her sweet breath in his mouth was invigorating.

All five of his senses were heightened to an inhuman level. When he opened his eyes, and saw the dusty moonlight flowing in from the window and onto the face of his angel, he truly believed for a moment that he was in heaven. He saw her face, her porcelain skin, her blood red lips more clearly than he had ever seen them before. When he breathed in, her body moving with his, he could smell her familiar aroma filling his nostrils. It was intoxicating to the point that he began to question his own sanity. When he moved his fingers against her skin, along her shoulders and down to the small of her back, there was a desire within him that threatened to explode. She was so smooth, and fit so perfectly with his own body, as if they were panting as one.

When he paused for a split second to listen, he heard with such clarity the sounds around him, and vowed to himself that he would never forget that moment. He heard the chirping of the lonely crickets outside, the creaking of the bed beneath him, Damita's heavy and hungry breathing, and his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. When his lips fell to her temples, her neck, her jawbone, and he could taste the salt on her skin, he worried that he would never again be able to enjoy any other taste. He wanted her, and only her, for eternity.

Time had become insignificant for that night. But when Link's eyes opened, he found himself squinting into the sunlight pouring in through the window. Damita was curled up against him, her head on his chest and her hair spread out like the wings of the most beautiful bird. His arms were wrapped around her protectively, and as soon as he was aware of his situation, he put his lips on her head and breathed in the scent of her silver hair.

"You're awake?" she whispered.

"Mm."

"I couldn't sleep." Her lips touched his chest lightly.

"Why not?"

She moved her face to look up at him, and there were tears in her eyes. He kissed her wet eyelashes.

"I don't know," she sighed. "Hey, Link?"

"Mm?"

"...I really do love you."

She sounded as if she were desperately trying to convince him of that fact. He chuckled softly and began running his fingers through the tangles in her locks.

"I know you do," he swallowed. "But I really do love you more."

"Forever?"

He hesitated, staring into her trembling green eyes. Then, with a smile as sure as the sunrise, Link nodded.

"Forever."