Two chapters to make up for my absence. There is some more into Melody and Trace's fight in this chapter. Some explanation behind each of them. Tell me what ya'll think. Things are about to get serious up in here.
The elevator opened to a walkway attached to the cliff walls. The small circular buildings that made up the various rooms of Atrus and Catherine's home was a welcome sight. Tay was wonderful and she had many friends there, but she really missed the rugged beauty of Tomahna. Maybe now that the big secret was out Atrus and Catherine would let her move back in. That would teach Trace.
It wasn't that he was mean to her. It was that they had fallen into a pattern. She would try to spend time with him, he would ignore her, they would have a fight, she would leave, he would follow and apologize and she would go back with him.
It was getting old. They both felt the strain, but Melody was the only one who wanted to talk about it.
Memories of the previous day came back to her :
"It's so easy for you to block me out. I'm not your toy Trace. I can't be pulled out and then put away when you get tired of me."
"I don't think of you as a toy."
"Then what do you think of me as?"
"…"
"I thought so. You don't even know."
"You are too emotional."
"You are a jerk."
"You are disagreeable."
"You are a moron."
"You are infuriating."
"You have stupid hair!"
"Woman, there are times when you make absolutely no sense!"
"Maybe because you never listen!"
"I will start listening when you have intelligent things to say."
"If that's how you feel then I'll leave!"
"If you are trying to force me into doing what you want…"
"I'm not trying to force you into anything! That's not what I want!"
"Then what do you want?!"
"Let me know when you figure it out! I'm not coming back until you do!"
Melody shook her head as she walked toward the first of the two small greenhouses. She had put six years of her life into that man. It was up to him to make the next move. She loved him, but she was not going to be the first to admit it.
"Hey Melody!" Yeesha called from the doorway of the other greenhouse. "Come here! You've got to see this!"
Moving along the walkway, Melody entered the second greenhouse only to be shushed by Yeesha.
"Look!" she whispered, pointing at the railing.
A bright green lizard with black spots rested in the glow of the afternoon sun. Yeesha watched it in fascination until it scurried away seconds later.
"Don't worry," the girl told her. "He'll come back. It's his favorite sleeping spot."
Melody smiled. "You've seen him here before?"
"No, my necklace showed me."
"Your necklace… shows you things…?" Melody asked uneasily.
"I got it two weeks Ago on an Age called Serenia. It shows me all kinds of stuff," she moved to follow the lizard, then looked back at Melody. "Do you think it's strange that my necklace shows me things?"
"Well, a little," Melody answered truthfully.
"Dad does too," Yeesha said with a sigh. "He says that a lot of the things I've seen on Serenia aren't real."
Melody nodded. That sounded like Atrus. Always the scientist, he needed more scientific proof of things before he believed them.
"My brothers believe me though."
Melody looked at her sharply and Yeesha smiled. "Yeah Dad told me he was going to tell you about them. Sorry I didn't tell you, but Mom and Dad said it was a secret."
"It's alright Yeesha," Melody assured her. "Do you visit your brothers a lot?"
"At first not very much, but in the past few months I've been going there a lot with Mom and Dad. Can you keep a secret?" Yeesha asked and looked around to make sure they were alone. She leaned forward and whispered. "Sometimes I went to visit them without Mom and Dad."
"Yeesha," Melody said seriously. "That is very dangerous."
Yeesha looked confused. "That's what Dad said when I ask if I can go by myself. Why is it dangerous? They are my brothers."
Melody opened her mouth, then shut it. Obviously Atrus and Catherine had not told Yeesha why her brothers were confined. She wondered what exactly they had told her. Finally she said, "Just promise me you won't do it again and I won't tell your parents."
Yeesha sighed the sigh of a child who was being forced to do something they didn't want to. "Alright, I promise," she said, then went to follow the lizard.
Despite herself, Melody had to smile. Yeesha was adorable and way too smart for her own good. A lethal combination. She would have to keep a close eye on her or there was no telling what she'd get into.
Figuring Yeesha was fine chasing lizards, Melody left the greenhouse and followed the walkway til it split. She took the right path which led back through an opening in the canyon wall to a large open area with a waterfall that flowed through a waterwheel and generator. At least it usually did. Now the wheel had stopped moving. After pushing the reset button Melody realized she'd have to reset the circuit breakers too, which was back up in Atrus' study and locked. Maybe Yeesha would know where the key was.
Melody found her inside Catherine's study, watching a bunch of beetles inside a glass box very intently.
"Whatcha doin?" Melody asked her.
"My beetles are making a nest," Yeesha told her. "I can't wait to show Dad when he gets back. He loves stuff like this."
"Do you have the key to the breaker box?"
Yeesha looked up with a grin. "Dad blew the power again, didn't he?" she asked, then giggled. "He does that a lot. Mom made him install an extra power box in here just in case… Oh no!" she exclaimed and rushed to the box that was built onto the wall. "That light is supposed to be green," she said, pointing to a blinking red light a top the box. She opened the box and looked inside. "Not enough rows are lit up. I've seen Dad move them before…" she paused then shut the box. "Better not. Mom doesn't like me messing with electrical stuff."
Seeing how Atrus was around things electrical, Melody understood Catherine's worry completely. "Tell you what, you watch the beetles and I'll fix the box."
"I can't right now," Yeesha said, putting a cover over the beetle box. "I have a lot of things I need to do today. I'm very busy."
Melody smiled at how grown-up she sounded. "Okay, but stay out of trouble. I'll be right here if you need me."
As Yeesha left, Melody turned to the breaker box. There were several rows of lights the needed to be lit, but only one row had the lights lit up. Whatever it was was getting too much power, for the upper lights were red. Using the buttons below, Melody tried different combinations to fill up all of the green rows evenly. It took a while, because some things required more power than others and nothing would work if it got too much power, which was probably what caused the surge in the first place.
When she finally finished, Melody closed the box and left the study. She heard the sound of an ocarina. Following it, she entered the first greenhouse and went down the ladder to the chamber underneath. It was also full of plants and several benches. Sitting on one of the benches was Yeesha, playing an ocarina haltingly.
"Having trouble?" Melody asked.
"I'm trying to remember a song I heard on Serenia, but it's really hard," Yeesha told her, frustrated. She tried a few more notes, which went sour. "I've got to get it perfect because I promised my brother I would play it for him the next time I saw him."
Once more Melody had to bite her tongue. This wasn't the time or the place to rant about Yeesha's brothers. She wondered briefly which brother Yeesha was referring to, but the little girl looked so intent on what she was doing that Melody didn't want to distract her.
Instead, she went back to the water wheel and pressed the button. Now that power was flowing to the wheel, the wheel powered the generator that powered everything else. Returning to the walkway, Melody was in the middle of deciding whether or not she wanted to deal with the antenna right away or sneak something to eat from the kitchen when she heard Yeesha calling to her. Looking up, she saw her across the way at the entrance of the second greenhouse.
"I think I got it! Come listen!"
Melody was halfway across the bridge when it happened. A rumbling began and the bridge shook. At first she thought it was an earthquake, but then from underneath one of the buildings, that was Atrus and Catherine's bedroom, a green light flashed as the rock wall collapsed.
Melody heard Yeesha scream as the bridge collapsed and everything went dark.
Catherine was trying her best not to laugh. Her mouth remained serious while her eyes shined with humor. They always did when a grown man acted like a child.
Trace was pacing. Not a good sign.
And he was frowning. A worse sign.
His face was so comically like a child that was not getting his way that Catherine couldn't stop a small chuckle.
He whirled on her. "What is it that you find so funny about this?"
"You and Melody are priceless. I have no doubt she is doing the exact same thing right now in Tomahna."
Trace snorted. "She is such a stubborn, insufferable, unrelenting, infuriating…"
By that time Catherine was laughing. "I don't doubt she is saying some rather colorful things about you as well. What did you do to make her so mad this time?"
"Me? I did nothing. It's her! It's always her! Women are so sensitive it is a wonder that men do not take a vow of silence after childhood."
"What did you say?"
"A lot of things. I don't remember them all. I believe this whole mess started when she burst in on me when I was in the middle of something important. She was rattling off about something or other that she had discovered in a new Age Atrus had written. My work with the crystals from Delidae is not going well, so I wasn't in the mood."
"How did you respond?"
"I told her that I didn't have the time. Then she tried to crowd in on my work and 'help' me. I told her I didn't need her help and that her help would be better served in the kitchens."
Catherine shook her head. Foolish, foolish boy.
"She started bellowing about how I ignore her and only want to be around her when I feel like it, that I keep my emotions in a box and try to do the same with hers. I'm not sure what happened after that, but I do recall there was a lot of yelling."
Catherine could imagine. "Trace, I am married to a man who is constantly working so I can understand your frustration. But there were better ways for you to have handled it."
"What she said was completely ridiculous. I do not ignore her. How can you ignore someone who won't get out of your mind no matter what you're doing?"
It began to dawn on Catherine what this was really about. A slow smile spread over her lips as he continued to rant.
"I just don't understand how one person can be so infuriating. And when she finally leaves and I get some peace, I find myself getting more frustrated until I go after her and bring her home. I don't enjoy feeling like a dog playing fetch."
"So you have been pushing her away."
"I don't know," he admitted, dragging a hand through his hair. "All I know is that she drives me crazy when she's here and she drives me insane when she's gone. There is no way to win unless I get her out of my life for good. All I need is time. I'll get over this ridiculous madness and we'll both be better off."
"Are you trying to convince me or you?"
Trace didn't respond.
"Trace, you have known Melody for as long as I have. You know how she is. You know her nature is to give to others, even at great cost to herself. Did you consider the fact that she was excited for a special reason?"
Silence.
"You are so used to seeing her that way that it didn't cross your mind did it?"
"She is the most enthusiastic person I have ever met. It's annoying."
"Which by that I know you mean endearing. She merely has an appreciation and a fascination with the world around her."
"Just like a child."
To his surprise, Catherine stood and frowned at him. He felt an overwhelming urge to look down like a little boy being corrected.
"That is quite enough Trace," she said firmly. "You imply that Melody is a child, well what do you call sulking and name calling? I'm not finished," she said when he opened his mouth. "It is high time you and Melody both grew up and admitted that you love each other. And I know you do because otherwise you would not be so scared."
"Scared?" Trace asked doubtfully.
"You are terrified," Catherine informed him. "And your response to it is to push her away. I don't know if you are afraid of Melody hurting you or just of falling in love."
"She is not capable of hurting anyone," Trace said.
Catherine studied him. "You are afraid of hurting her."
"I'm not a gentle man," Trace admitted viciously. "Kindness and empathy do not come easily to me. I have hurt her many times and been powerless to stop myself. She's never even demanded an apology when I come to get her back. She just comes with me like it's what she's supposed to do."
"Because she knows without you having to say it," Catherine told him. "She understands you just as well as you understand her. Which is why you can and have hurt her more than anyone else. She loves you Trace."
"How should she know?" he asked. "She was teenager when I met her and she has been infatuated with me ever since."
"Goodness what an ego you have," Catherine said crossly. "I think you underestimate her and overestimate yourself. Maybe it is better for Melody to be with someone else after all. Is that what you want?"
His eyes flashed angrily. "Of course not."
"Then make up your mind and quickly. I think you are taking for granted that she will always be there. You never know when someone else may come along and steal her away."
He turned away from her. Her expression gentled and she crossed the room to lay a hand on his shoulder. "Love is rare. You will regret passing it by."
"That's easy for you to say," Trace told her. "You and Atrus are a perfect match."
"We didn't start out that way. We have had many arguments over the years, especially after I learned the Art and began writing linking books. I tend to do things with my heart while Atrus uses his head. We have clashed on more than one occasion. Love isn't easy and neither is a strong marriage. You have to work at it. But the rewards are worth more than anything else you could accomplish."
Trace turned and smiled. "You are very wise."
"That also has come from years of work. When are you going after her?"
"How soon can we leave?"
Catherine laughed as a young girl raced into the room. "Lady Catherine! Myra has gone into labor, but something is wrong!"
"I'll be right there," Catherine said and looked at Trace.
"Stay," he said. "Myra needs you. I'll be back as soon as I get Melody, even if I have to carry her."
That's the end of chapter. Interesting no? Those of you who have played the game know what's going on in Tomahna but as far as the Trace/Melody thing I'm hoping to keep all of you entertained and guessing. I have got lots planned for those two. MUHAHAHAHA!