Love Magic

Chapter Ten: All bets are off

Kaze

I stayed at Steven's for about a week. Marco came and yelled at me quite a bit for risking myself but then he chilled and asked what my plans were. I wasn't sure. I couldn't stay at Lhite... it would be just matter of time before Melnick found me. I assured myself that my friends would be alright and left their home. Marco had told me that Chris didn't seem to mind my sudden disappearance from his guard so I figured I would be back, if only for a short time, to gather my bearings and find out what I would do.

I had endangered Christopher already, by loving him like I did.

I rode to Cloud City, I wanted to see it again but I also dreaded the second it appeared on sight. When I made it to the palace, Carla was the first person I ran into. She looked funny...

"Is Chris," She said, "He has been acting real weird since you left. He seems... I don't know, preoccupied."

Preoccupied?

Preoccupied didn't tell me much. I half hoped that he would be angry at me. Things would be so easy then, he would forget about Cass and that would be the end of it. I told Carla that Chris was going to ask Cass to marry him the day I left. I told her that my plan was to leave it as it was, for Chris to figure out that Cass wasn't right for him.

Carla shook her head sadly, "No. You can't leave it like this," she said, "He is really worried about Cass- I mean, you. If you are going to over it, do it right. Chris will deal if you tell him you don't want him – he is not the kind of man who would impose himself to a woman – but wonder will kill him. Chris will wonder whathe did wrong that made you leave like that... and that wonder won't let him be happy with anyone else."

I had never heard Carla speak that way about Chris – as if she really cared for her cousin. I let her convince me to go and 'End things right' between Chris and I. As usual I borrowed Carla's clothes, this time I we chose this simple skirt and white shirt that I thought made me look like a governess with very little sense of style, I let my hair down – usually it would have just curled down at the ends, but the summer in the Windam Palace was a humid one and my hair was all a frizzy mess.

It was beyond unappealing...

I walked to the maze where I had first meet him – Carla had told me he spent hours there – and found him seating by the fountain like that night under the stars. Chris was alone, the sun was seating and the world seemed to quiet down a bit.

Chris heard me approach and looked up. Then, with three quick strides, he was right in front of me. Chris let out a heavy breath and he reached out, pulling me to him, relief written in his features. "I was so worried about you," he confessed. "I thought that something bad might have happened to you."

"Worried?" I asked in a whisper.

Chris drew back a little, his hands going up my arms to my throat. He kissed me and then straightened up again, leaving his hands at my throat, his thumbs caressing my jaw line. "Yes, worried. I thought that you might have had an accident or fell ill or something..."

It was the real worry in those dark eyes of his, what that made me answer somewhat truthfully, "No. I'm fine. It was just a family emergency. I came to apologise for not coming as I said I would" though I hadn't actually said it. "I thought I might find you here,"

"I've been coming every day. In case you came," Chris admitted smiling down at me – he's about three or four inches taller than me – and I smiled back, my words lost.

Before the silence settled between us it started to purl down hard. Chris reached for my hand and started to run out of the rain, pulling me along with him.

-

Chris

I ran with Cass' hand in mine, our fingers intertwined, out of the rain and into the Palace. Without thinking I took her to my room, all the way up to the fifth floor. Luckily we didn't run into anyone... I knew my friends were at the armoury hall and most of the servants got very busy with the rain – running around closing windows and stuff.

I closed the door behind Cass. My room was warm, though it was summer, a merry fire cracked in my fireplace – the Windam Palace was a rather cold place. I glanced at Cass, standing near the fire, and I realized she didn't look out of place there in my room. As a general rule, I never brought women to my room because I always considered my room as my sanctuary, my safe place. Whenever I felt like having sex I would just go to the woman's in turn bedroom and then bolt out as soon as I could.

But having Cass in my room seemed okay somehow. I looked at her, all wet and shivering, so I went to my bathroom and grabbed some towels. I walked back to her side and wrapped a big fluffy towel around her shoulders, she smiled, said "Thank you." For all answer I took another towel and started to dry her long coffee-coloured hair. Cass deep blue eyes lit with amusement and, for a second, it occurred to me that I had seen eyes like those before but I couldn't remember where. So I kept my drying duty, being careful not to yank her hair so much; I had been around enough women in my life as to know that they don't like it when you pull at their hair. I wondered since when did I care about such things.

I stopped wondering a moment later when I ran the towel to Cass ears and she giggled. "Ticklish." She said still giggling as I did it again.

I had never felt like I was feeling right then.

I leaned down to kiss that innocent smile of hers.

The kiss started innocent enough but it soon became more intimate; I let go of the towel all together and pulled Cass close, so close that I could feel her breasts against my chest, and I let one of my hands tangle with the hair at the base of her neck while my other hand was at her waist.

And I knew it right then and there. I wanted it. Her, I wanted her.

All of her...

...Forever.

-

Kaze

I don't know what I expected when I let Chris pull me into his room but, sure as hell, I expected to keep all my clothes on. One moment he was kissing me and then, next thing I knew, we were both naked and in his bed. Is not like he forced me or sweet-talked me out of my clothes or anything like that. He was very gentle and went slowly, kissing every part of me and caressing me and he even said that it was okay if I was afraid... which made me be not afraid.

He didn't hurt me - but what I had heard from Emily's friends it was supposed to hurt a hell of a lot but it didn't; when I had heard Emily's friends I had actually, really concidered becoming a nun... they made it sound THAT bad.

When I woke up it wasn't dawn yet. The bed was all comfy and I had Chris' warm, healthy, masculine weight against me – we were cuddled up together: my back to his front- one of his arms was under my head serving as a pillow and the other was oh so casually tossed around my waist.

Chris had done it. Like back at the river not long ago when he had first kissed me: Chris made me forget everything else that wasn't him. As I lay there, I managed to forget how messed up I was with the whole Oath thing and the whole Kyle/Cass/Kaze situation and Melnick and everything. For a moment it all went away, easily overshadowed by how good it feel to lay there in Chris' arms.

But soon enough the panicky feeling got a hold of my heart, besides wondering why the stupid oath hadn't start to act against me – I wasn't sure what it would do but I was sure it would be very bad – I came to realize that Chris wouldn't forgive my lies. I started to think what would happen when he woke up and if I let it slip and tell him the truth and he hated me for lying to him. I didn't have the guts to wait so I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to steady myself, and I concentrated for a second in remembering everything: from the feeling of safety I had in his arms to the scent of his skin and the way he looked when he was asleep.

Then I bolted.

Quickly, carefully and quietly I slid out of his embrace and got out of the bed. I looked at Carla's clothes laid out in the floor and I went for Chris clothes... some people might be awake already and I didn't want to run into anyone in the hallway dressed as a girl. Once I was dressed I dug the skirt's pocket for Jadzia's pendant and I went out of the door, closing it as quietly as I could.

-

Chris

I started to stir at the sudden cold that surrounded me. I reached out for Cass to pull her closer, she wasn't there and I started to feel around for her and all I got for my efforts was a fistful of my sheets. I was waking up very quickly and what snapped me out of my slumber was the sound of my door closing.

I looked around, Cass was gone. So were my clothes, hers were still where I had tossed them the night before. I pulled on my underpants and covered myself with my night robe. In the hallway I was distracted by crying sounds, a woman's cry. I walked and I discovered to source, the sounds were coming from Kyle's bedroom.

My name being mentioned caught my attention and I peeked thought the half opened door, one voice I recognized immediately, it belonged to Jadzia the Unicorn from the great forest.

"I have the gift of foresight, I knew what Adam would do to you... and I knew what you would try to do by swearing out of love. That's why I never told you all that you needed to make an oath valid."

"What do you mean?" A second voice sobbed... I sounded so familiar.

"To make an oath valid you have to swear in front of someone whose magic power is bigger than yours, so this person binds your magic to hold it to your oaths. You never did such thing, that's why your magic hasn't turned against you or Christopher."

This sounded like an interesting conversation.

"So, he is safe?"

"Yes, of course."

"Good." The second voice said and just then I caught a glimpse of the owner.

"Kyle?" I whispered, but I blinked and my vision cleared, it was Cass. What the hell was going on? Saying I was confused what the understatement of the century.

"I need to go then," Cass said. "I can't stay."

"What? I've just told you that you can go on and be happy with the man you love and you say you have to go?"

"Jadzia, Chris would never forgive me for my lies." Cass said sounding solemn. What lies was she talking about? Had she faked it last night? No. At least I didn't think so.

"I thought you said that he told you... I mean, 'Kyle' that he wanted to marry you."

What the hell?

"He doesn't want to marry me." Said Cass and I was about to break in and say that yes, I wanted to marry her but I was sure that if I stepped inside I would fall even deeper into the bizarre world. "He wants to marry Cass. She doesn't exist. All that is left of her is me, Kaze Lhite, and no one has ever wanted Kaze Lhite for herself. You know it Jadz."

Ok, ok, ok. Go back and stop!

Did she say Kaze Lhite? Kaze Lhite, the spoiled brat extraordinaire?

What the fuck is going on?

I was distracted from my confusion by the sight of Cass... Kaze... whatever her name is, crying. Just four hours ago she had been smiling in my arms and now she was crying in such a way that made my heart collide with my ribs and ache.

I wanted a few explanations. But somehow I didn't think I would be able to concentrate if she kept crying so I conjured a little spell and called into her mind a simple word: "Sleep."

Almost instantly she was unconscious, I can come up with a few good tricks when I set my mind to it. I caught her before she fell to the ground.

"Christopher, finally you decide to use some of your magic," Jadzia's cool, polished voice greeted me as I put Cass in Kyle's bed.

"You can save the sarcasm," I said without humour. "I would like some explanations if you fee like wasting a bit of spit."

"Explanations about what?"

"Her." Jadzia knew what I meant and launched into a long detailed explanation about Kaze Lhite/ Cass/ Kyle Lostry.

Slowly a lot of things started to make sense. I knew where I had seen eyes like Cass's before: in both Kyle and Kaze; I understood why Cass had seemed familiar and why- that morning that I went to apologise to Kyle for throwing him into the river – I saw a girl in his bed and then it was him again. I listened to Jadzia as she explained who was Adam Circe and how bad had he hurt Kaze, and how scared she had been with the perspective of having to marry Lord Melnick.

I had heard the whole story but it didn't make me feel a whole lot better. Kyle...no, Cass... no Kaze had lied to me. She had been lying all this time. I was plenty angry and I knew good and well that I had all the right in the world to my anger. At the same time though, the memory of Kaze crying just seconds ago was too much to bear. I might be right, but right was lonely. I could let my temper and my anger get the best of me and walk out pretending not to care one single bit about her.

I could go back to my old ways – sneaking in an out of beautiful women's bedrooms just to return to my own bedroom... alone with no more company that the memory of the only girl I had ever brought to my bed, the only one I had ever wanted to wake up next to: Kaze Lhite – and get bitter and cold and old and gray. Or I could let go of my anger and understand that Kaze had just been very scared and afraid. I could find the truth in my own heart and know that she hadn't been lying when she had been resting in my arms saying she loved me. That her name was meaningless compared to what she made me feel. That I loved her and wanted nothing more than make her happy.

And, by making her happy I would be happy

"What are you going to do now that you know the truth, Christopher?" Jadzia asked.

I thought of Kaze – that was her name – in all the times she had made me laugh, in the trusting look in her eyes as I lowered her to my bed and covered her body with mine, in how she made me feel when I kissed her and in the way she had said she loved me.

And I knew what I was going to do.

I told her that I loved her and I had meant it, I still did.

Red would always be red even if I tried to call it Blue.

I told Jadzia what I planed to do and, I must say, her reaction was a lot better than Landon's and Wes' when I told them over lunch.

"You're going to what?" both of them hollered.

"I'm getting married." I replied easily stuffing some food into my mouth. "In two weeks," I added pass the half chewed meat in my mouth.

"You're going to what?" Kyle asked.

-

End of Chapter Ten

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Notes:

Bunch of homework to do. I'll promise to answer the reviews next time!

TTYL

HAVE A HAPPY JESSE DAY! (Sexy Rancher)

Please read a review.

Love y'all.

Clavel.