Adam's Story
~Chapter 3~
I stood in front of the tall building, its menacing black castle doors rising above my head. I couldn't believe what I was doing. I was asking for the hand of the most beautiful girl in the land, Medallion Omega! Would her father accept me? My family had enough money. We were one of the most prominent folks in the land. However, we weren't truly accepted. We hadn't been for 60 generations, but I had set out to change all that.
The doors opened, and I felt fear growing inside of me. Could I do this? Would I do this?
Lord Leon de Antwonette Omega will see you now." A piercingly painful sounding voice interrupted the sweet silence. I nodded and walked smoothly inside. Now my fear had been overcome by all of my confidence. I knew I could do this. I knew I would do this.
I arrived in the Lord's chambers, ready as anyone could ever be. On the long and winding staircase, I had prepared a rather lengthy speech, but all was forgotten when Miss Medallion Omega's sweet, serene face came into view. She was seated next to her father, hands on her lap calmly.
"Sir, how do you think marrying my daughter will help her?" The Lord got right down to the point.
"Well, I think she would be content living next to the University, as there are many things to keep her mind occupied, and my family is rather prosperous, so a junction between out two families will be thoughtful." I said, surprised that such words rose out of my mind without thought.
"What about love, sir?" He asked, staring me straight in the eye.
"Lord, would I be here if it were not partly in the case of love?" I asked him right back, and he grinned.
"My darling Medallion, what do you think?" He turned to his daughter, who was smiling at me, her bright face filled with more sunshine than normal.
"Oh, yes! Oh, thank you father, for approving!" She leapt into my awaiting arms, and I stumbled backwards a few paces, but I still was smiling.
"The wedding shall be in a month. Tell all who will listen!" Lord Leon announced to his servants. They all rushed out the doors, eager to spread the news.
The next few days were bustling with activity. I hadn't even gone home yet to tell the news to my parents! However, it was no hassle, as my parents would have just rejected anyway. I sent Portly, one of the servants to tell them. He came back with startling news. Apparently, they had been lying in their bedroom, poisoned, for quite some time now. I immediately went to look at them, with a doctor, of course.
When I told Medallion that my parents were dead, she moped for them for two entire weeks, until our wedding rolled around. By then, she was so happy that nothing could burst the protective bubble that had formed around her to protect her from sadness and heartbreak.
Our wedding day, I straightened my tie. Portly stood behind me, straightening my black locks from curling into its usually unruly state. Thoughts rolled through my head, like how Medallion was doing or what everything would be like if my parents were still alive. Would they be surprised by the way sweet and innocent Medallion had thrown herself into my arms, or the way I had impressed Lord Leon so? No, I decided, they would only gripe and say I could have done better, that a bubbly and bouncy girl such as Medallion would only faint at my dark and cruel world.
But I will not let that happen, will I? I am going to accustom Medallion to my world each day, slowly. She will eventually come to love it. I know she will.
I found my heart pounding heavily as Medallion entered the large chapel, as the room quieted down all at once. I felt a pang of regret creep throughout my entire body and I found myself wondering why I was here, about to be married at 16 years old. But then, as quick as the feeling had come, it had gone, and my mind was a blank as I stared at Medallion, who had now reached her destination, who was now listening quietly as the preacher said the vows.
"I do." She said, looking directly into my eyes. She was trying to read me, trying to guess how I was feeling. I looked away and saw her almost frown.
The preacher finished saying the vows for me.
"I do." I said, and sensed the shakiness in my feeble voice. I thought about the warm summer days at home, about the pink lemonade my grandma and I would make together, and those days when I would fight with the neighbor boy because he had taken one of my toys. I realized that this was the end of my childhood, that I was a man now. That I had a wife to care for, and probably soon, a family to raise.
"You may now kiss the bride." The preacher said, shattering my thoughts. As soon as my lips met those of the petite girl who stood in front of me, I had second thoughts.
Can I do all this? Can I actually care for someone? Can I…come to love her?
Thunderous clapping erupted in my ears, striking me to reality. Medallion pulled on my arm, and I followed her out to the limo, catching the smiling face of Lord Leon, whom seemed to be unable to talk as press were swarming around him with sphere cameras and the like.
Medallion and I sat in the expansive limousine, quieter than we should have been.
"You seemed like you had second thoughts about this." Medallion commented.
"I thought everyone does." I commented.
"Well, you can rest assured that I have no second thoughts. I know you're the only one for me."
"How can you be so sure without experiencing the whole world?"
"It's just…something you know. Let's leave it at that."
How can she be so sure about something like that? I would never tell her, but the feeling she speaks of…I can't feel it…
We arrived at Seagull Port right on time. Medallion had decided we would spend our honeymoon on the sea, where she had been born. She had obviously not spared any expense on the rather large ship, which was one of the new models. It held enough room for over 2000 people, and Medallion and I had it all to ourselves. I was rather pleased about that, since my parents had once told me they spent their honeymoon over the sea, but my father had forgotten to rent the ship for themselves only, and they ended up with a crew full of older folks whom occupied the young couple's time with their honeymoon stories or how good their husbands used to be in bed. Mother said when an old woman once told her that, she threw up and got so sick she had to spend the rest of the trip in the bed, but without my father.
Back then we were all so
happy…nothing like we are now. They're
dead and I'm married. I never thought
it would turn out like this. I once
thought my parents and I would live forever, that I would be a child for
eternity and that we would never fight.
My life was so simple then…
"Adam?" Medallion gazed at me, her brown eyes full with excitement. "Aren't you coming?"
"Well," I said, stepping onto the boat. "You couldn't very well go on a honeymoon alone, now could you?"
"No, I guess not." She giggled, a factor of what I knew was going through her head right now.
"You can't make love to yourself, can you?" I could hear her saying. "Although, if you could, I'm sure you would."
I laughed too, but I didn't know why.
Maybe I'm just a little giddy, getting caught up in the excitement. What would Father think?
My father was one of the most influential figures in my life, mostly because I liked the way he thought. He was strict and down to the point, and he was very stiff. He hardly ever kissed my mother unless I had mentioned it a week or two before, when I was old enough to understand, but it was only to prove me wrong. He and I had many competitions, and he almost always let me win, until I got older and began to think for myself. Whenever something dirty or inappropriate ran through my head, a asked myself what my father would think if I would have told him. Of course, the answer was that I should stop dreaming and get back on course, to do my duty to the human race and continue to work. I lost out on a lot of fun things when that kind of thing ran my life. It was one of the reasons I was still a virgin, and only had dated on other girl besides Medallion. I knew that Medallion knew of these 'fun taker thoughts,' but she never tried to help. She understood she couldn't help, that it was something that helped me stay out of trouble.
The boat was fun. All through the day, Medallion and I held races, looked at the ocean, and made out, just like we would have were we children. But each of us, somewhere, was storing some energy for the night, some energy to keep us up and active.
The night was fun, too. I would never, ever admit it, but I enjoyed myself immensely. I never told Medallion about my virginity, but I knew it from her eyes that she suspected such a thing, from my awkward posture to my heavy breathing five minutes into it all.
For the next week, that's all we did. Played all night, played all day. It was, in essence, one of the best honeymoons ever, at least in my opinion. Never had I met a girl quite as fun loving, as energetic, or as serene as my darling Medallion. During our private time, all my 'what would Father think?' thoughts were gone, banished for the time being. Then, one night, it hit. A startling wave of raw emotion that just washed over me, basked me in the quiet glow of pure sadness. I didn't know where it all came from. I was sitting, working on some files, when it hit. I thought, at first, that it might be a heart attack But this was just…too real, too sad. It wasn't my life that flashed before my eyes. It was Medallion's.
When I told my wife about the daydream, she frowned, not laughed as I expected her to.
"Adam, I'm not going to die." She said, staring me straight in the eye so intensely that I had to look away.
"But…it was so…real." I scowled at her disbelief in me. Just because I was two years younger than her didn't mean she knew everything and I knew nothing!
I began to feel a rush of anger, and I heard voices, whispering to me in the depths of my mind.
"Adam…she's going to leave you. Save yourself the heartbreak and split up with her first…" A ghostly voice whispered.
"She hates you and she's going to leave you for someone else. Someone else, a very close friend. Someone else…"
"You're going to die alone, Adam…"
"She's going to be killed right in front of your eyes…"
"You're going to hate yourself…"
"Adam…"
"No!" I sat up, squinting my eyes at my surroundings. Medallion was leaning next to me, her face etched deeply with concern.
"Adam, are you okay?" She frowned at me, disapproval written all over.
"Yes." I said, getting up and brushing myself off. "I'm fine." After what had happened in the dream, I couldn't face her for a while.
That night, she rolled over to me. It was the last day of the honeymoon, and I knew she would remind me sometime. In a few seconds, her hands were wrapped around my chest and embracing me. I pushed it away, tired.
"Darling?" She frowned at me, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"I'm too tired." I said, hoping she would buy my excuse.
"O…okay." She seemed disappointed too, but I sensed the weariness in her voice as well.
"We have the rest of our life to love. Let's use this one for rest and live like normal people." I whispered, though the reason for my refusal was far from the truth.