Quick Author's note.  Three of the poems in here belong to Shakespeare.  The one called Touched belongs to me.  DO NOT COPY IT AT ALL!!!!!!

Chapter Ten: Fiction

Zhane entered the room with a flourish. "I have the valentines! Now, if you all remember correctly, I shall hand them out, then you each must read yours out loud, then guess the sender. If you are correct," he stopped for a moment and smiled grandly. "Then I shall award you with a prize."

"And what might that prize be?" Tommy eyed him skeptically.

"Why, I cannot tell you just yet friend, it would ruin the surprise!"  Zhane smiled mischievously.

"Well, I suppose we had better start this then Zhane, hand out the valentines." Andros said in a dry voice.

"Of course." Zhane made a mock bow to Andros and began to walk around the room, handing out valentines as he passed.

As he came to Ashley, he presented hers with a smile. "My lady, your valentine."

"Oh dear." She laughed. "If you wrote this Zhane, I'm not quite sure if I want to read it!" A few who heard her comment laughed. Tori, standing beside her, began to laugh. "Oh good lord, Ashley, its Shakespeare!"

Quickly Ashley scanned hers, there, at the bottom of the parchment was written in fine handwriting, "A Winter's Tale, Act IV, iv".

"Mine as well. I wonder" She didn't get to complete the statement, however, for Zhane spoke once more.

"Kim, would you please begin this little game by reading yours?"

Kim smiled and shook her head. "I must laugh at this, for it is written by none other than William Shakespeare! How pleasing to know he is my valentine, and I needn't guess." A round of appreciative laughs encircled her as she began to read.

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

  So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

  So long lives this and this gives life to thee."

She smiled and surveyed the room. "How very sweet and what a perfect choice in the sonnets for myself. Now to guess who wrote it." She looked at her husband and smiled. "I would wish for odds that you wrote it, handsome, but I think it fate directed my name in a different direction."

With a slow turn she glanced at all the guests. "I shall guess Andros."

Andros smiled but shook his head. "I am deeply sorry, Kim, but it was not written by myself."

"Ah well then, it was a good guess."

Zhane turned to Billy. "Your turn Billy."

The evening progressed with laugher as guests read their valentines.  Only Trini guessed correctly, for Billy had written her valentine.

"So, Zhane, what do I win?"

"I will let you know after everyone has read their own valentine. You didn't think I would let the secret out before the end, did you?"

"Actually," Ashley mumbled, "I did." Louder, she spoke. "I think it is time for you to read your valentine, Zhane."

"Of course." He opened the paper and began to read, quite dramatically.

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! It is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken?

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

  If this be error and upon me proved,

  I never writ, nor no man ever loved."

With nearly no hesitation, he turned to Tori. "I guess you, my dear lady."

Tori laughed. "Indeed, it is not me."

"But." Zhane began to stammer, "I had thought."

Ashley laughed. "It seems, my dear Romeo, your plan has backfired."

Tori giggled. "I couldn't actually use the poem we picked together; it would immediately give me away!"

"Then who?" Zhane surveyed the room. Kim laughed.

"Tori let me on to her little game, and I decided to play along." She surveyed the laughing faces and smiled.

Zhane turned to Ashley and shook his head. "It's your turn minx, and don't think I don't know you had a hand in that." With a lurid wink he motioned for her to begin her reading. At that moment, she knew he wasn't the one who had written her valentine, he was trying to hard to make her believe he did. With a curious glance in his direction she

spoke.

"It seems, like many of you, I have also received a valentine from the Bard himself."

"Lack of originality, or simply the best way to express yourself?" Zhane mused.

Ashley smiled, knowing very well he used Shakespeare himself, and began to read.

"What you do

        Still betters what is done. When you speak, sweet.

        I'd have you do it ever: when you sing,

        I'd have you buy and sell so, so give alms,

        Pray so; and, for the ordering your affairs,

        To sing them too: when you do dance, I wish you

        A wave o' the sea, that you might ever do

        Nothing but that; move still, still so,

        And own no other function: each your doing,

        So singular in each particular,

        Crowns what you are doing in the present deed,

        That all your acts are queens."

Ashley read the passage slowly, emotion creeping into her voice as she read a particular line. "When you do dance, I wish you a wave o' the sea, that you might ever do nothing but that." She stole a glance at Andros, but his countenance bespoke of nothing but stone and his eyes were cold. Was it even possible? But no, not even Andros would know her that well. It was merely a coincidence, nothing more.

She hadn't noticed how quiet the room had become. Zhane walked over to her. "Your guess my lady?"

She looked once more at Andros, and noticed his own gaze had shifted slightly. As his own gaze met hers Ashley felt a jolt.  There was more life in his eyes now, more warmth than she had seen before. She was filled with a desire to know, she had to know. Perhaps this was her only chance, but did she dare take it?

Zhane spoke once more. "Well?"

Ashley pulled her gaze away from Andros and turned to his brother.  She knew it was an incorrect guess, but perhaps she was afraid to face what might be the truth. "I guess you, Zhane."

A single eyebrow raised, and he shook his head. "I am afraid not, Ashley, but I would wish to be the man who chooses a poem so true to yourself."

Ashley spoke softly. "You know me so well then?"

Speaking softly as to let no one else hear, Zhane's answer was simple.  "It seems I am not the only one who does." He looked back up and turned to his brother. "I believe that leaves you, Andros."

Andros looked up but stood silent for a moment. Then, as the room quieted, he began to read. Ashley closed her eyes as the words she had so carefully chosen floated through the air.

Touched

Touched by your eyes

Across the room

A smile that brightens my soul

Never has this weakness

Taken over me

It is like a butterfly

Drawn to a flickering flame

I would wither in ecstasy

In your presence

Rather than continue on

This path alone

I do not know what

Could make me happier

Never have I known

This pure joy

To revel in the

Beauty of your sites

Breathing your breath

Touching your hand

Your kisses so gentle

Driving straight to my soul

Wanting more

Yet I'm content.

Copyright

After he finished reading, Andros looked up directly at Ashley. She

held her breath, wondering what she would do if he said her name. What

could she do? Their eyes met and locked for what seemed like an

eternity. His ice blue eyes blazing with a fire she had never seen.

Then, as if making a decision, he turned from her, the fire disappeared,

and he addressed their completely silent, and watchful, audience.

"I'm afraid I can't make a guess on this poem."

"But you have to!" Zhane said.

"Do I?" Andros looked around at the guests. "Very well, I guess Trini.

"No, I am afraid not, Andros."

Andros smiled, and suddenly his face lightened. "Pity."

Laughter mingled once more, pushing away the heavy feeling that had descended on the room just a moment before. Tori spoke up.

"Zhane, what does Trini win?"

Zhane smiled. "Why, many years of happiness with Billy, of course."

Everyone laughed, and complimented both Zhane and Andros for a wonderful party. Ashley, her mind full, had to get outside, and stole through a doorway unnoticed.

Walking down the quiet halls of the castle she thought on what had happened just moments before. Had Andros written that valentine? Or was it merely wishful thinking that had her mind racing?

Coming to the end of a vast hallway, Ashley stepped out onto a grand balcony, overlooking the sea. The pounding of the surf was muted, but recognizable over the other sounds of the night. Looking up she saw the moon, its crystalline surface glowing bright and full.

When had she fallen in love with Andros? It seemed like only yesterday she had stood on this same balcony, crying that she would never find happiness here. Today, tears began to fall once more, but for a vastly different reason.

"I knew I could find you here." Andros stepped out onto the balcony, but stopped a few feet away from Ashley. "Zhane has an announcement to make; he wanted you to be present."

"An announcement?" Ashley wiped an eye discreetly, still with her back to him. "I will join you in a moment then." She fought hard to keep her voice steady.

"Ashley." He took a step forward, not willing to be dismissed.

Her eyes now dry, she turned to him. "Yes?"

"You wrote that poem, didn't you?"

Surprised he would ask her, she nodded. "I did. It reminded me of when you would play the piano." Before he could speak she rushed on.

He shook his head and smiled. "Just as you remind me of the sea. It seems the Bard had words for us both, as we can't seem to find the right ones ourselves."

Ashley smiled weakly. "Does he have words for this?"

His eyes darkened as he walked towards Ashley. "I don't think a moment like this needs words."

The ocean crashed in the distance, and the faint smell of salt filled the air. Ashley felt her heart leap just before his lips found hers.  The sense of belonging, of coming home filled her again, and she clung to him as if she was falling. When at last he pulled back, his

expression had softened, and though his eyes still blazed, they were misted over as well.

"You know I love you. I've just been a fool for too long to let you know."

She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Andros, the man she could never understand, was telling her that he loved her! It was almost too much to take. She knew she loved him, but it was unrequited until now.

"Andros, I... "

"You don't have to say anything now." He began to turn away from her, a look of regret schooling his features. "We have a great many years together, and I wouldn't want to make that stay miserable for you by breaking your trust."

"My trust?" She quietly asked.

"Yes, the trust I nearly broke that evening on the cliff. I knew you were in love with Zhane, and yet."

"Wait a minute, what did you say about Zhane?"

"I know you love him, but..."

"Andros, I love Zhane, but as one would love a brother. Nothing more."  She looked at him and realization dawned. "You thought"

"Yes. It seems I am a greater fool than I imagined." Andros smiled suddenly. "I suppose this means you will not be upset at his announcement."

"Which is?"

"His betrothal to Tori, of course."

Ashley grinned. "It's about time he asked her."

Andros shook his head. "Actually, I don't think he's asked her yet."

Laughing, the couple walked back into the castle, musing on how Tori would take this 'announcement' her intended planned.