The first thing that flashed through Christian's mind when he woke up was.' Where's Ana?'
He sat up, gasping for air and looked around startled. Where was he? What happened? What the…?
He tried to remember how he ended up here, but his memory was failing him. While closing his eyes again, Christian tried to get up. Leaning on a pillow, he observed the room. It looked very familiar, but he just couldn't seem to place it.
His head felt like it was about to explode! So with all the energy he had left, he brought his hands to his temples. Rubbing them with his fingers, made his head ache go away very slowly. Christian was just about to get on his feet, when he saw Galya walk in.
Galya! Yes, that's where he was. At Galya's… When he was younger, he often used to come here with his grandma and his cousin.
"Aaah… Mr. Christian, you are awake." The older woman said, and smiled kindly at him.
Christian did his best to reciprocate."Galya, where is Miss Ana? Is she okay? Can you show me where she is?" he asked, not wasting any time, as he fired all the questions at her, while gripping unintentionally at the sheets.
Just the thought of not knowing where Ana was, made his stomach tie into knots.
The older woman smiled."She is in the garden, don't worry. I have treated her well, sir." She promised.
"Okay." He said and noticed that he didn't feel any pain in his knee anymore.
"What? How? But…?" he asked and saw the older woman smile, her eyes twinkling.
"I have made some homemade medicine from the roots of a plant from my garden. It doesn't work like painkillers, but it will make sure that your knee will heal completely in no time. I have given Miss Ana a bottle so you can use it, when you're home. Apply it on your knee, while massaging the skin." Galya advised, while she placed a hand on his knee.
It was then, when Christian realized that his pants were cut with a scissor.
"Yeah, I asked Miss Ana to cut it, cause it was in the way." She said.
Christian was very thankful."Thank you, Galya. But what happened? I remember that we were in that cave and the rest is blank…" he said.
Galya took a seat in a chair."Well, luckily one of the mine workers was walking on that side of the mountain and heard Miss Ana call for help. They immediately helped the both of you. At that point, you had lost consciousness, so they wanted to bring you as soon as possible to a doctor. But the nearest doctor was too far away, so one of the men had an idea to bring you here to me. So here you are now…" she explained.
As a sigh escaped his lips, Christian uttered." Thank you so much, Galya. I really need to see her though. Bring me to her, please?"
He wanted to be sure that Ana was indeed OK. In that moment, Christian realized that the whirlwind in the garden, (Ana), had completely stolen his heart…
Galya had a pair of crutches in her closet, so she handed them over to him. While Christian walked behind Galya, his heart rammed against his rib cage. Ana. Sweet, beautiful Ana. Why had fate brought her to him? Was it on purpose or was it accidental?
They were about to walk out the door, when Galya turned around to say something to Christian.
"Sir, I think it would be for the best if you told her everything about the curse." She said.
At that, Christian shook his head, while he held onto the older woman."No, Galya. She doesn't need to know it all, okay?" he replied.
The older woman grabbed his hand and led him to the couch."You have to tell her about what you can become, sir. She has the right to know." She demanded.
"Galya… no! That is out of the question! She cares about me… for who I am. She doesn't need to know what I can become, okay? And besides, I haven't turned since the last time I fought with Giorgos. And you do know that I can control it! No, I don't wanna scare her. And I am afraid that…" his voice failed him at the end, while he turned his face away from hers.
At that, Galya moved so she was able to look him straight in the eyes." Sir, you don't have to be afraid. She is the one, I can feel and sense it. My whole being tells me that she will break the curse. But how will she be able to do that, if she doesn't know everything about it? Don't worry, sir. She really cares about you. Of course in the beginning she will be afraid, but I know she will accept that side of you too. If you don't let her, if you don't give it a try, you will always stay this way. Do you want to be part man and part monster till the day you die?" she asked, her voice a mere whisper at the end.
Christian looked at the older woman."I can't lose her now, Galya. I have fallen in love with her. I need her with me, like I need air to breathe. If she sees that part of me, she will surely run. I can't take that risk. My heart won't be able to survive without her; it will die, Galya!" He stated and got up from the couch, walking out the front door with the crutches for support.
At that, the older woman stared into the fireplace."But she has to fall in love with the man side of you and also the animal/ inhuman side of you." Galya whispered, knowing that the two young people in her garden had a very bumpy road ahead of them…
((()))
As Christian walked towards Ana, he watched how she was enjoying the beautiful garden. The second she saw him, Ana ran towards him and wrapped her arms around him. She brought her lips to his ear.
"God, Christian! You scared the hell outta me! Don't you ever do that again, OK? My heart won't survive it." She said with such intensity, making his heart melt.
A delicious shiver went through his spine, knowing that she cared so much about him- feeling that she probably felt as strongly for him as he did for her. As his eyes fell shut, Christian attempted to convince himself that he was right. Ana cared about him, for him. She didn't need to know the inhuman side of him. It was unnecessary and that would be so cruel… no! She should be spared from that knowledge.
Of course he knew that you had to be honest in a relationship, but he wanted to spare her the fear. It was unnecessary to force one more fear into her life. Ana had enough demons to face and overcome; he wasn't gonna add 1 more to the list…
After a few moments, she pulled away from their warm embrace to take a good look at him. Slowly she brought her hand to his cheek, and began tracing it. Christian felt his heart rate kick up a notch, while a wonderful shiver went through his whole body.
She smiled and said."Wanna get out of here?"
He nodded, too overwhelmed by her loving look and the feel of her warm fingers on his cheek.
"Let's see where Galya is, shall we?" Ana said and grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers.
Ana still hadn't forgotten how she reacted when Christian had grazed his thumb over her scar; she was still very afraid. But… her need to be close to him…to feel his warm skin on her fingertips was stronger than her fear. So even though she was still afraid, she boldly held onto the strong, but gentle grip of his hand…
As they entered the small cottage, Christian's phone rang.
"Hello." he said.
Ana was watching him and as he spoke to the person on the other line, she noticed by the sound of his voice that he was hearing not so great news.
"Xylia! Xylia, please try to calm down. Everything will be okay. Just stay put, I will be at your place as soon as possible, alright?" he said, avoiding Ana's gaze and letting go of her hand in the process.
At that moment, Ana felt a sharp pain in her chest. As she observed him, she felt her stomach turn painfully. Xylia? Who is this Xylia person? And why did he let go of her hand, the second he spoke to the woman?
Ana watched silently, as Christian nervously ran a hand through his hair. She observed him closely, while the wheels in her head were turning. Ana hated this look on his face. His face was expressionless, like he wasn't able to have any feelings. Why did a call from this Xylia person, cause him to act all emotionless? Was he hiding something from her? Was Christian keeping secrets from her? Was he?
((()))
As Ana wandered through the halls of Christian's villa, she couldn't help but feel the emptiness in her heart. The last 5 days, she had been spending a lot of time with Kate, her dad, Elena and even Calinico. But Christian was nowhere to be found. She hadn't seen him much lately and that was slowly driving her mad. She missed him so…
After they arrived from Galya that late afternoon, he told her that he had to take care of some business and hadn't spoken to her properly. She had a feeling that Elena and Calinico knew what was going on with Christian. Elena would talk in a corner with the butler, but the second they saw her, they would go their separate ways.
Kate and her dad advised Ana to just ask Christian what was up, but she hadn't been able to get in touch with him properly. Of course he texted and called her, but he always sounded like he was in a hurry to end the conversation. One time she even asked who Xylia was, but Christian answered her vaguely, saying that she was a family friend.
"Family friend, really? FAMILY FRIEND?" She mumbled, very annoyed by Christian's very odd behavior.
At one point, she even barged into his bedroom around midnight to ask him what the hell was going on… but he wasn't in his room. So where was he? Or… with whom was he with?
That was 2 days ago. And now… now she and Kate had just received an invitation. One of Christian's business associates has organized a ball. And not just any ball, but a masked ball. Wow. Well that's a first for her. Kate was bouncing up and down and ran to her bedroom to look for the perfect dress.
Ana massaged her temples with her fingers, as her eyes closed. Does she want to go to this ball? Or shouldn't she and just stay at the villa? Will Christian be there? She mentally slapped herself and decided to go shopping. No, no. No man was going to ruin her first masked ball experience.
At that, Ana walked towards her friend's bedroom and saw her diving in her closet.
"Kate, you wanna go on a shopping spree?" Ana asked, a wide smile gracing her gorgeous face.
As those words reached her ears, Kate turned around and smiled."Oh definitely!" she replied.
((()))
Kate had picked out a gorgeous red dress with matching shoes and earrings. She was on cloud 9 and twirled around.
"You look amazing, Kate." Ana complimented.
"Thank you. So now it's your turn. I'm gonna get out of this and we will find you your perfect dress, okay?" Kate replied and walked back to change.
As Ana browsed through the dresses, she heard her phone buzz. She pulled her phone out of her bag and read the text from Christian.
C: See you at the ball tonight.
Ana huffed at that and texted back.
A: What ball?
C: The one we received an invitation of.
A: I am not going.
C: I know that I have been busy lately, but I will make it up to you at the ball. Promise.
A: I am not going.
C: Please? I left a present for you in your room. Wear it to the ball. Please, Ana?
Ana rolled her eyes at that and ended the text conversation with.
A: I will think about it.
She looked up from her phone and saw Kate smiling at her.
"Trouble in paradise over?" she asked.
"Nope. Not in the least." Ana replied coldly.
Her voice sounded so cold it would put the coldest winter to shame.
XXX XX XXX
At one point, Kate and Ana were so tired. They had been walking through town, trying to find Ana's perfect dress but with no success. There always seem to be something wrong with the dress Ana picked: then it was too small or too big or she hated the color. With every dress, there seem to be a problem. So Ana decided to give up and was able to convince Kate that she had a nice dress in her closet to wear to the ball- that was a big, fat lie though.
As they entered the villa, Kate immediately went upstairs to take a shower. Ana was thirsty, so she walked into the kitchen to grab something to drink. She was just about to call out to Calinico, when she heard him talk on the phone. Ana wanted to let the butler know of her presence there, but when she heard him say a certain name, she kept quiet instead.
Ana didn't usually eavesdropped on other peoples phone conversations, but she was frozen at the spot at hearing Xylia's name.
"Sir, I know miss Xylia needs you to be there. I understand. But what about miss Ana? I can see that your behavior is stressing her out, sir. I thought that you wanted her to have a stress free vacation. You haven't spent much time with her lately. Don't exclude her, sir. I think it would be best to tell her …" he began, but it seemed that Christian had cut him off.
"Okay, sir. Yes, sir. Understood." The butler said and ended the phone conversation.
At that moment, Ana grabbed her chance and ran towards the stairs, through the halls and into her bedroom. She closed and locked the door, leaning onto it with her back, as her eyes fell shut. Her breathing was shallow, her heart pounding erratically. She sank to the floor and shook her head, her eyes still closed.
She didn't know what to think anymore. At this point, all she wanted was to ask Christian in his face who this Xylia person was! And he better tell her the whole truth! God, she hated to feel insecure. Did he like this Xylia? Was she an old flame?
At that very moment, an uncomfortable feeling arose inside of her- yes, the infamous green monster was gnawing at her heart… Ana was jealous! She didn't want to go to the ball anymore, but knowing that he'd be there was a good reason to go. Oh, she was so gonna interrogate him about his whereabouts and about that Xylia woman! Ana felt very possessive over Christian. She cared so much about him and… to describe her feelings in 6 words: He was hers, and only hers…
As she had calmed down a bit, Ana slowly opened her eyes. It was then, when her eyes caught something on her bed. It was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen in her life.
Ana immediately got on her feet and walked towards it. What she saw was damn beautiful.
A/N: Thank you for reading. :)
And thank you for the feedback.
Next up: The masked ball... Yay! So excited about it!
Can you leave me your thoughts of this chap?
Thank you in advance. ;)
J.
