"Revelation II: Brand New Day"
Now that he had finally reached his destination, he wasn't sure what to do. Coming here had been his only thought after he got on his horse to get away from the hacienda. Taking a cautious step forward, he peeked over the edge to see the jagged boulders down below. They glow dull silver as the moon shone its slanted light across the region.
\Whoa! What a long way to go.\
"Come on, Marcus! What else have you got to lose?" he declared loudly to himself.
\Her.\
Tessa Alvarado was the embodiment of the perfect life he could've had. To Marcus, she was perfect in every way. She was the perfect girl for him.
"Is she really?" he wondered as thoughts of the Queen of Swords brought him back to the moments they shared during Huntley's invasion. The Queen had been his guilty pleasure, but he never really thought about her seriously before. Now his thoughts were taking him toward two different women.
"If you put Tessa and the Queen of Swords together you could give me the perfect woman. Hahaha......in your dreams, Marcus." ~/~
While Marcus continued to talk to himself, Tessa reached the cliffs. Seeing his charger, she went up to it. "Hey, there. Where's your handsome master?" Taking her eyes away from the animal, she saw her Marcus dangerously close to the edge. His back was towards her while his eyes were gazing intently at the bottom of the cliffs.
Breaking into a run, she reached him in no time. The sound of her gasps reached his ears. Slowly he turned around to see the masked woman before him.
"What do you want?" The question came out harsher than he intended. But he was quite annoyed that his solitude was disturbed by her appearance. "If you came here to kill me, today is your lucky day, 'cause I don't care anymore. Do whatever you want."
Without hesitating she started. "When my father died of unknown circumstances, I was devastated. I couldn't rest until justice was done. In my dreams, I saw a lone woman dressed in all black riding on the beach. I later found out it was my destiny to become the Queen of Swords and avenge the wrongs done to the people I serve as well as finding the true culprits of my father's murder. This is the person I've become, to secretly undo the corruption that plagues Santa Helena. Since you stood on Montoya's side, you had become my adversary as well. But since you no longer work for him, I don't see any good in me killing you. I already forgave you, remember?"
"What the hell are you talking about?! Either kill me and get it over with or leave me in peace!" he shouted angrily at her. Her voice was deceptively familiar, like he heard it just a few minutes ago. He stared at her in fury. Even the Queen of Swords was playing with him tonight.
Exhaling a huge sigh, she told him. "I'm talking about this." At those words, she took off her lace mask and let the gentle breeze take the mask into his shaking hands. Sparks blazed through them as her chocolate eyes met his cerulean ones directly. Finally feeling the soft lace between his fingers, he let it drop soundlessly to the ground. There were no more secrets, no more barriers to fight through anymore. She had let him in on her biggest secret and there was no turning back.
It had been inevitable. Marcus had thought about suicide, but the idea was forgotten as memories flooded through him against his will. He remembered why he had struggled to become a better person. True love had always evaded him. He had always wanted what he couldn't have. Now an amazing woman was willing to give herself to him and he had left her in fear. He had always told himself that if love came his way, he would have taken it gladly, but he had lied to himself. He had run away. Tessa knew the risks of revealing her secret, but she did it because she loved and trusted him. It had been so long since someone had really, truly, fully trusted him. He wanted to be trusted, wanted to be able to be counted on to be someone and something good. He couldn't turn away from her now. He couldn't refuse her if he wanted to. He had fallen in love with both women, only to find out that they were the one and the same.
His hands eagerly reached forward to touch her bare face. His body pressed urgently against hers to feel her warmth. Her hair whipped gently against his shoulders. Wide-eyed, she saw a smile forming on his face. Drowning himself in the sensation of touching her, Marcus was able to convince himself that he wasn't dreaming. At last, he remembered how to speak and found the strength to say, "I love you, Tessa. I think I've always known you're the one for me. I was just too stupid to do anything about it."
She grinned a little at his admission, and said with gentle teasing voice, "Better late than never." He chuckled in return. "Oh! I almost forgot. This belongs to you." She took out the white handkerchief that seemed to have started it all. "It's only proper that I return this to you while we're here."
Staring at the piece of cloth in her hands, he wrapped his large hands around hers. "No, it's yours. As long as you have it, you have my heart." Ending his avowal, he leaned down to kiss her.
Since the night had ended on a tragic note, it was only proper that a new beginning was celebrated by the coming of the sun. As dawn reached the horizon, a yellow-orange glow filtered through the mountains and cast its light on the couple. They were bathed in the shimmering radiance as the sun slowly crept upwards to meet the violet sky. As the ethereal heavens look on, they introduced their love to the world.
*===(~)(~)+++(~)(~)===*
One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life:
that word is love.
- Sophocles -
A/N: Here it is the last chapter. Thanks to smiley for being the first to review and periodically reviewing this story. And of course all of you guys have prodded, made suggestions, and threatened me to finish this story. I took everything sincerely and I appreciated your help. You guys should be proud that you all contributed to this story. I might not write for a while, but I hope you all enjoyed this. It has been a labor of love and there are just not enough Tessa/Marcus stories out there. My wish is that I could influence others to write more "Martess" stories. My guilty pleasure is to read stories by other authors as well! And last but not least, hugs to Kali for all her help. It was her story that influenced me to write Searching for a Meaning. The ending should provide a bright future for Martess fans. I give my heartfelt thanks to: Lallie, missy, star of hope, Angel452, svata2004, Baloo, Crystal, TuesdayGirl, L, JaSSerS, lia, Chilli BB, Sophie, Carina, Saskia, happyface01, #1FAN, sveta, Vanilla, Crysta, kich, Mysterious Raven, fan, White Stranger, Holly, and shelia. (Yup, I take the time to put all the readers' name here; terribly sorry if I miss anyone.)
Now that he had finally reached his destination, he wasn't sure what to do. Coming here had been his only thought after he got on his horse to get away from the hacienda. Taking a cautious step forward, he peeked over the edge to see the jagged boulders down below. They glow dull silver as the moon shone its slanted light across the region.
\Whoa! What a long way to go.\
"Come on, Marcus! What else have you got to lose?" he declared loudly to himself.
\Her.\
Tessa Alvarado was the embodiment of the perfect life he could've had. To Marcus, she was perfect in every way. She was the perfect girl for him.
"Is she really?" he wondered as thoughts of the Queen of Swords brought him back to the moments they shared during Huntley's invasion. The Queen had been his guilty pleasure, but he never really thought about her seriously before. Now his thoughts were taking him toward two different women.
"If you put Tessa and the Queen of Swords together you could give me the perfect woman. Hahaha......in your dreams, Marcus." ~/~
While Marcus continued to talk to himself, Tessa reached the cliffs. Seeing his charger, she went up to it. "Hey, there. Where's your handsome master?" Taking her eyes away from the animal, she saw her Marcus dangerously close to the edge. His back was towards her while his eyes were gazing intently at the bottom of the cliffs.
Breaking into a run, she reached him in no time. The sound of her gasps reached his ears. Slowly he turned around to see the masked woman before him.
"What do you want?" The question came out harsher than he intended. But he was quite annoyed that his solitude was disturbed by her appearance. "If you came here to kill me, today is your lucky day, 'cause I don't care anymore. Do whatever you want."
Without hesitating she started. "When my father died of unknown circumstances, I was devastated. I couldn't rest until justice was done. In my dreams, I saw a lone woman dressed in all black riding on the beach. I later found out it was my destiny to become the Queen of Swords and avenge the wrongs done to the people I serve as well as finding the true culprits of my father's murder. This is the person I've become, to secretly undo the corruption that plagues Santa Helena. Since you stood on Montoya's side, you had become my adversary as well. But since you no longer work for him, I don't see any good in me killing you. I already forgave you, remember?"
"What the hell are you talking about?! Either kill me and get it over with or leave me in peace!" he shouted angrily at her. Her voice was deceptively familiar, like he heard it just a few minutes ago. He stared at her in fury. Even the Queen of Swords was playing with him tonight.
Exhaling a huge sigh, she told him. "I'm talking about this." At those words, she took off her lace mask and let the gentle breeze take the mask into his shaking hands. Sparks blazed through them as her chocolate eyes met his cerulean ones directly. Finally feeling the soft lace between his fingers, he let it drop soundlessly to the ground. There were no more secrets, no more barriers to fight through anymore. She had let him in on her biggest secret and there was no turning back.
It had been inevitable. Marcus had thought about suicide, but the idea was forgotten as memories flooded through him against his will. He remembered why he had struggled to become a better person. True love had always evaded him. He had always wanted what he couldn't have. Now an amazing woman was willing to give herself to him and he had left her in fear. He had always told himself that if love came his way, he would have taken it gladly, but he had lied to himself. He had run away. Tessa knew the risks of revealing her secret, but she did it because she loved and trusted him. It had been so long since someone had really, truly, fully trusted him. He wanted to be trusted, wanted to be able to be counted on to be someone and something good. He couldn't turn away from her now. He couldn't refuse her if he wanted to. He had fallen in love with both women, only to find out that they were the one and the same.
His hands eagerly reached forward to touch her bare face. His body pressed urgently against hers to feel her warmth. Her hair whipped gently against his shoulders. Wide-eyed, she saw a smile forming on his face. Drowning himself in the sensation of touching her, Marcus was able to convince himself that he wasn't dreaming. At last, he remembered how to speak and found the strength to say, "I love you, Tessa. I think I've always known you're the one for me. I was just too stupid to do anything about it."
She grinned a little at his admission, and said with gentle teasing voice, "Better late than never." He chuckled in return. "Oh! I almost forgot. This belongs to you." She took out the white handkerchief that seemed to have started it all. "It's only proper that I return this to you while we're here."
Staring at the piece of cloth in her hands, he wrapped his large hands around hers. "No, it's yours. As long as you have it, you have my heart." Ending his avowal, he leaned down to kiss her.
Since the night had ended on a tragic note, it was only proper that a new beginning was celebrated by the coming of the sun. As dawn reached the horizon, a yellow-orange glow filtered through the mountains and cast its light on the couple. They were bathed in the shimmering radiance as the sun slowly crept upwards to meet the violet sky. As the ethereal heavens look on, they introduced their love to the world.
*===(~)(~)+++(~)(~)===*
One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life:
that word is love.
- Sophocles -
A/N: Here it is the last chapter. Thanks to smiley for being the first to review and periodically reviewing this story. And of course all of you guys have prodded, made suggestions, and threatened me to finish this story. I took everything sincerely and I appreciated your help. You guys should be proud that you all contributed to this story. I might not write for a while, but I hope you all enjoyed this. It has been a labor of love and there are just not enough Tessa/Marcus stories out there. My wish is that I could influence others to write more "Martess" stories. My guilty pleasure is to read stories by other authors as well! And last but not least, hugs to Kali for all her help. It was her story that influenced me to write Searching for a Meaning. The ending should provide a bright future for Martess fans. I give my heartfelt thanks to: Lallie, missy, star of hope, Angel452, svata2004, Baloo, Crystal, TuesdayGirl, L, JaSSerS, lia, Chilli BB, Sophie, Carina, Saskia, happyface01, #1FAN, sveta, Vanilla, Crysta, kich, Mysterious Raven, fan, White Stranger, Holly, and shelia. (Yup, I take the time to put all the readers' name here; terribly sorry if I miss anyone.)