Elisa woke up to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She sat up and looked around. It was dark out.
Had she slept the whole day?
Yawning, she climbed out of bed and opened the door to find Goliath on the other side.
"Hey," she said sleepily. "I must have overslept. Give me a minute to—"
"Elisa…" Goliath said her name, and the way he said it, full of passion and longing, made her heart pound in her chest and her knees weak.
"Do you need something?" she asked, concerned.
"Just you," Goliath said, and he leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers.
Elisa was immensely startled for half a second, but then she moaned and eagerly kissed him back.
He got his hands beneath her and lifted her up against a wall, pressing her between it and his body as he kissed her. He kissed her lips, and then he kissed her jaw and neck. He kissed her everywhere he had access to, and when he wanted more, he began to tug at her clothing.
"Goliath, wait, we shouldn't," Elisa protested weakly as he began to pull her shirt up.
"I love you, Elisa. I have loved you for a very long time, and I want to show you how much I love you," he said.
"I love you, too," Elisa said, and she kissed him vigorously. She wanted this. She wanted him.
He quickly tore off her shirt, and then her pants and underwear. His hands wandered over her body, touching her everywhere she had ever longed for him to touch.
She got her hands on his loincloth, hardly believing this was happening as she undid his belt buckle and shoved his loincloth down.
He didn't waste anytime and he swiftly impaled her, taking her, pinned up against the wall.
"Oh, god, Goliath," Elisa moaned as he thrust into her.
"Elisa," Goliath moaned her name.
She was lost to the delirium of their union as he took her, and the sensation of their bodies moving together, of his hands touching her, caressing her as she quickly built towards climax.
"Goliath...Goliath...Goliath!" she screamed.
And woke herself up.
She sat up gasping, her heart racing.
Then she groaned and fell back against her bed.
It had just been a dream.
One that kept recurring.
The scenarios were always different, but it was always Goliath coming to her like that, proclaiming his love and desire, and then taking her willingly and passionately.
Since she could never have him in real life, her dreams tried to make up for it, apparently.
She dragged her hands through her hair in frustration.
She wasn't sure what time it was, but it was still light outside, and she decided to give up on sleep and get up.
She washed up as best she could with the wash basin in her room using the small bag of toiletry supplies she carried with her. She would have to ask Pema if there were any other options available to her, but she also resigned herself to this if that was all she had.
She'd been roughing it for several months now, she could put up with a lot at this point.
With her stomach growling, she walked to the dining hall to look for something to eat, and found Pema.
"Elisa, good afternoon," she said with a slight bow, her palms pressed together.
Elisa returned the gesture.
Pema was busy making some kind of noodle soup over a wood burning stove. It looked like a simple broth, but it smelled delicious.
"The soup is not quite ready, but I have some tea if you would like a cup?"
"Yes, please. The soup smells wonderful, by the way," Elisa replied.
"It's very simple. If you like it, I will teach you how to make it," Pema said as she poured a cup of tea for her.
"Thank you," Elisa said graciously and sipped it. "If you don't mind me asking...how long have you lived here with gargoyles?"
"Most of my life. I grew up not too far from here in a small village. I had grown up hearing rumors of a clan of gargoyles, or garuda as my people called them. No one had seen them, but they were used as stories to frighten children into behaving better," Pema replied.
"That seems to be a common theme, unfortunately," Elisa said morosely.
"Yes. It should not be so," Pema agreed.
"When I had just turned fifteen, there was an earthquake. It happened at night when everyone was home and asleep...I was the only survivor in my family…and my entire village," she said solemnly.
"I'm sorry," Elisa replied compassionately.
"It was a remote village, and I wandered for days looking for help. I was delirious from dehydration and half dead when I stumbled into Shambahla. Tenzin found me. I thought he was an angel or a god," she said dreamily. "The clan took care of me, and when I was well enough to leave, I had no desire to. That was 39 years ago."
"Do you ever miss other humans?" Elisa asked.
"Sometimes, but I have love and companionship at night, and peace and quiet during the day. I enjoy my life."
Elisa sat anxiously, a question burning on her tongue, but she didn't dare ask it.
"I can see you have a lot of questions," Pema said amused.
"Yes, but I don't think they're appropriate," Elisa said chagrined.
Pema laughed heartily.
"It's a good thing it's just us girls then," she said with a conspiratorial smile.
Given permission, Elisa asked one of her more pressing questions.
"So…you and Tenzin…"
Pema laughed lightly.
"How did we end up together?" she guessed.
"It seems like there would be a lot to overcome there."
"Not as much as you may think, but...it did take several years," Pema said with a smile. "We were very good friends who longed to be more than friends for a long time."
Boy, if Elisa couldn't relate to that.
"So, what made you take that step?"
"About thirty years ago, I got really sick, and I almost didn't make it, but Tenzin stayed by my bed the whole time and nursed me through it. Every night he begged and prayed for my recovery. I heard him through my feverish delirium proclaim his love for me. After that, I didn't want to waste any more time. So, when I was well again and had regained my strength, I told him I had heard him, and that I loved him as well, that I wanted to spend my life with him. We've been together ever since."
"Did you ever worry he might not accept your proposal?"
"Of course," Pema replied. "I knew he loved me, but...that was a big step and outside norms. I was so nervous I couldn't eat that entire day, but I had nothing to fear; he accepted me...rather vigorously, I might add," Pema finished with a smile. Her face had a dreamy, far off look as she reminisced.
And Elisa smiled enviously at her.
"How did the clan react to your relationship?" Elisa asked tentatively.
Pema gave it a moment of thought.
"Some saw it coming long before Tenzin and I did," she said with a laugh. "Most have kept their opinions to themselves, and some have been vocal about their disapproval. Thankfully, they are in the minority."
Elisa nodded.
"Now, please tell me about yourself, Elisa Maza. We have heard Goliath speak of your clan in Manhattan, but I want to know more about you. How did you come to be part of a gargoyle clan?" Pema asked curiously. She dished out a bowl of the noodle soup for her and for herself.
As they ate, Elisa told her of her job as a detective with the NYPD, of investigating a disturbance at the castle, and her first encounter with Goliath. Pema seemed to find the way they met particularly amusing. She spoke of the clan, and gave her a quick summary of the last few years. They were still busy chatting when evening fell, and the gargoyles awakened, and their tête-à-tête was interrupted by the needs of the clan and the bustle of a busy night.
...
...
"Broadway had been caught at sunrise, in midair, with a hundred feet between him and the concrete below," Goliath said, retelling the tale of Elisa's expert marksmanship to a crowd of enthralled gargoyles after the first meal of the night had concluded.
"A crate of rug imports was hanging from a crane, and Elisa quickly shot at a rope that kept it suspended. The rope snapped, and the crate broke open upon the ground, its contents spilling out. Broadway landed safely and didn't sustain a single scratch," he concluded.
"Wow!" a hatchling said in awe.
Elisa laughed.
"If I were a really good marksman, I would have got it on the first shot," Elisa said dismissively.
Goliath smiled at her.
"It was a thin rope, and you were acting quickly and under duress. You saved Broadway, like you have saved us so many times over the years. I honestly don't know what we would do without you...what I would do without you," Goliath responded, his tone reverent.
"Hey, you saved my life first," Elisa replied, and she smiled at him, and they looked at each other like they were the only two in the room.
Tenzin and Pema shared a knowing glance with each other.
Goliath tore his eyes away from Elisa and looked around as if he suddenly realized he was surrounded by others.
"Tenzin...should we get to it then?" he said.
Tenzin smiled and nodded.
"I'm ready if you are," he replied. He pressed his brow to Pema's, whispered something in her ear that made her release a short burst of laughter, and then he followed Goliath out of the dining hall and towards the monastery.
...
...
After Goliath left with Tenzin, Elisa left with Pema to help her with whatever tasks she had, leaving Angela and Bronx to fend for themselves.
"Well, Bronx, how shall we kill time?" she asked the loyal beast.
He woofed at her as if to say, he had no idea.
A pack of gargoyle beasts, all with the same appearance, white with turquoise manes, roamed through at that point. They barked excitedly at Bronx who barked excitedly in reply and loped off after them, leaving Angela by herself.
She sighed and wandered off on her own through the village and found herself in the monastery. She heard the laughter of hatchlings and followed the sound to the classroom where they were being taught by that same male gargoyle who had caught her eye yesterday in Tenzin's study.
Norbu, she eventually learned was his name, was one of the monks, an acolyte who was about to take his final vows. Angela had no idea what that entailed, but it was an esteemed position in the clan, and that impressed her.
As she watched him instruct a hatchling on his calligraphy, he kept glancing furtively at her, and afterwards, he asked her if she wanted to go for a glide.
Angela smiled and accepted his offer.