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Anguish – Part 3
October 31, 1997
Oblivion took over. What happened? Where am I? My vision is non-existent. How did I get here? My memories are blank. Why can't I remember how I was brought here? Where is Elisa? Wait…I protected her. I saved her…but from what or whom? It is still blurred…someone was threatening her, a gargoyle…Thailog! Of course, now I remember. He had set a bomb in her apartment, and I was unable to free her from her bindings. The bomb was about to go off when she urged me to leave. But I couldn't. I knew life without her would be empty, and I couldn't let her suffer like that, so at the last minute, I threw myself on top of her to protect her from the blast. I felt her lips kissing me, and then I heard the explosion. And now I am here. I have no idea where I am—unless of course I am dead. Is this what being dead is like? No feeling, no senses, only oblivion. It must be.
The being watched the burial of an honourable gargoyle with a sense of purpose. This must be rectified. Now, more than ever, the Jackal god knew what had to be done. But it necessitated acceptance. He instantly located Goliath's spirit and re-established his senses. He appeared before Goliath in a familiar form.
His senses and body restored, Goliath saw a dark figure before him. He squinted.
"Who—?"
"I am Anubis. I believe we have met before, gargoyle. In Egypt."
Goliath was given back his body, or at least a body that could hold his spirit while Anubis told him his story. He was then shown the being in charge of life and death. They had indeed met when Avalon had sent them to Egypt. A bereaved father named Amir tried to summon Anubis to force the god to bring his son back to him, and ended up joining with the god in his attempt. The being before him, however, looked like he had before the being was joined by magic with Amir. The human must have died in the collapse of the pyramid and was released from the magical bond. Goliath decided not to ask about Amir's fate; there were more pressing matters at hand.
"Yes, I remember. Where am I?"
"You are in the afterlife. The explosion that was meant to kill the human Elisa Maza killed you instead."
"I see," Goliath replied quietly. This news was still somewhat of a shock to him, though the sight of Anubis was helping it sink in. "So why have you summoned me to you? What is it that you wish of me?"
Anubis paused before replying, choosing his words wisely. "I have watched the events of the last 24 hours with special interest. Typically, I never meddle in these affairs, as death is the ultimate fairness, but I felt an imbalance in the universe soon after your death, and felt I needed to investigate"
Goliath was puzzled, but remained silent to allow him to speak. He had not been capable of seeing what had happened after his death. Anubis understood this and continued.
"I see that you are confused. Allow me to show you what I mean."
Goliath was suddenly presented with a vision of Elisa's apartment from the outside, and moments later, the explosion shattering the neighbouring building's windows and destroying Elisa's apartment. The vision then cut into the scene in what once was Elisa's bedroom, and Broadway and Hudson pulling Goliath's body off of Elisa, while Eosine and Tachia helped Elisa up from her bed. She was crying hysterically, trying to bat the gargoyles off of her. When the body was successfully extracted from the room, Elisa took one look at it and fainted into Eosine's arms. Before the vision faded into another, Angela was seen with her face in her hands, crying mournfully.
The next scene he was presented was in Elisa's medical ward room, after she was left alone. She was visited by David Xanatos.
"What I am offering to you, Detective, is a home here with your clan. There are plenty of extra rooms…"
To that, Elisa replied, "Xanatos, I don't think that's a good idea. I doubt the clan will want to see me around—"
David Xanatos interrupted her train of thought.
"Actually, Detective, I ran this by them before coming to see you. They agree that the best way all of you can heal from Goliath's death is by being close. In short, Elisa, I think I speak for the clan when I say that you are needed here."
"I don't know…"
"Well, please consider my proposal."
The scene faded and the next scene he was shown was set in a dark and silent room. Goliath was confused.
"Anubis, what is this?"
The Jackal god pointed to the scene. "Your earthly form, alone, and forgotten. Or is it…"
The eerie silence in the scene was disrupted by Owen Burnett escorting Elisa, visibly shaken, into the room. Goliath watched worriedly as Elisa, now left alone in the room, walked towards the body.
"You're so cold. Why did you do it, Goliath? Why did you save me? Your clan needed you a lot more than they need me. I don't think I could live without you here, now that we've found each other. I guess I'm ultimately selfish, but damn you, Goliath. You've killed me. With your death, I'm dead, too."
Goliath watched as Elisa cried again mournfully. He had never seen her cry in this manner—he had seen her cry when her brother was transformed into a mutate, but her cries over his death were earth shattering, torturous, cruel to him. He wished that he could somehow reach out to her and tell her not to cry, for he was safe, and would be able to watch over her, but he felt that somehow this would be impossible.
"My heart breaks for her," Goliath began, feeling incredibly emotional just then. "Why do you show me this?" His sadness for Elisa's pain turned to frustration towards the god before him.
"Patience, gargoyle. There is one more scene to be shown."
Suddenly, a casket atop a large wooden table was flashed for Goliath's viewing. He instantly recognized the ritualistic quick burial of clan leaders. One by one, the clan members each said their part about their leader, their friend. Finally, it was Elisa's turn. Out of all of them, she seemed to be taking his loss the hardest. Even Angela had kept some strength, possibly due to Broadway's constant support.
As Goliath heard her final words to him, he couldn't hold back his emotions any longer, and dropped to the ground, his face in his hands.
"My love," He said sadly. "I had to. You must understand. Without you, there would be no life for me…" He looked up at Anubis. "So, you wish me to suffer knowing she is dying inside? Is that it?"
Anubis shook its head.
"On the contrary. I have shown you these events of the last 24 hours in order to fix what has been broken. You see, your time has not yet come. Your time has been fated for many, many moons from now, when you are old and grey, with your mate and children surrounding you,"
Children? Goliath thought silently.
Anubis continued. "This imbalance has prevented your spirit from crossing to the other side. I noticed this inequity just a few moments ago, which is why I have shown you these things."
"I do not understand. I thought you could not bring those back who have died."
"True, the Jackal god cannot play favourites, but this is an imbalance that must be put right, lest all the inhabitants of Earth pass before their predestined time, and all of the realms of the afterlife be thrown into chaos."
"So if this is the case, take me back to—"
Anubis held up its hand. "It is not that simple, gargoyle. First, we must contact the being who you died protecting and ask if he or she agrees with the terms."
"Terms? What sort of terms do you mean?"
"I cannot disclose that to you. You must show yourself to her. Now is the perfect opportunity." Anubis pointed to the scene that swirled in front of Goliath; Elisa was sleeping in the Great Hall restlessly. Goliath nodded.
---
After the burial, and after her near breakdown before Goliath's grave, Elisa had been too tired to get to the medical ward room she had been in earlier, so she stayed in the Great Hall, and tried to take a nap on one of the leather couches David had recently purchased for the clan. The clan went without patrolling that night and spent the rest of the evening together in the Great Hall. Their main point of concern was Elisa's condition. They had never seen her so fragile, so emotional, so frail and it scared them terribly. She was always strong, and always kept her personal feelings from what she showed on the surface. This was definitely not the way she was handling things in this instance. It was one of the reasons why the clan hoped that Elisa would accept David Xanatos' offer of moving into the castle--partly because, besides Angela, Elisa was their final link to Goliath, and partly because they wanted to take care of her and ensure her condition didn't deteriorate further.
Tachia and Brooklyn stood towards the end of the sofa, watching worriedly as Elisa tried to sleep.
"What did she do out there?" Brooklyn asked his mate. Tachia had observed Elisa's speech to Goliath and, when she thought it was time to bring her in, did just that and walked with her into the castle.
"She told him how she felt. Uncensored, unrehearsed. Just raw emotion. I knew she would react like that. It is how I reacted when my brothers and sisters were massacred all those years ago." The green skinned female took her mate's hand.
"How do you think she'll fare in recovering?" Brooklyn asked, rubbing Tachia's hand in his.
"It will be hard, but not impossible. I speak from experience, my love."
Eosine walked slowly towards Elisa's tossing form upon the sofa and shook her head gently.
"Lord, give us strength to overcome this tragedy." The others were silent, watching Elisa trying to sleep peacefully, only to be given tormented sleep.
Elisa's mind was racing in her dreams.
She was five years old, seated on a swing in a park, being pushed by her grandmother. She pushed Elisa happily on the swing, and her granddaughter laughed joyfully all the way. Suddenly, the little girl was no longer being pushed.
"Grandma? Where are you?" She asked into the air. Her grandmother was gone, and Elisa was suddenly thrown into the present time, and standing over Goliath's casket. She began sobbing as she had before.
"Goliath, I love you so very much. Why did you have to die?"
Just then, as Elisa stared at the corpse's blank face, the eye lids opened and the corpse began moving. Elisa stepped back in terror, watching the dead-looking body raise itself.
"What the—"
Goliath sat up, and swiftly stepped out of the casket and approached Elisa.
"My love!" Goliath began, only to be shocked at Elisa's reaction. She backed away fast.
"Get out of my head! Stop tormenting me! I have to forget you! Goddamn it, I have to forget you, or I'll go crazy!" She yelled at the now living corpse. He continued to walk towards her.
"Elisa, please! I need to speak with you! Please, my angel, listen to me—" He tried to plead, but Elisa would have nothing of it. She shook her head violently and screamed.
"I know this is a dream! Wake up, Maza, wake up! GET OUT OF MY HEAD GOLIATH! YOU'RE DEAD! Leave me alone with my grief, please, for God's sake!"
Suddenly, the dream disappeared, and Elisa awoke with a start. The clan was surprised when they turned to her and saw that Elisa had bolted upright upon the sofa, in a cold sweat and sobbing. Brooklyn sat beside her and held her by the shoulders.
"Did you have a dream?"
She sighed through her tears. "More like a nightmare, Brook. Goliath appeared to me, but I was terrified of him. I told him to go away, but he said he had something to tell me," She looked down into her hands, ashamed of what she was going to say next. "God, I want to forget him."
"It would surely make our grief more bearable, lass, but we canna forget him even if we tried." Hudson said quietly, his tone helping to calm Elisa down. She closed her eyes and let the tears continue to fall.
"I just want to forget everything that's happened the last few days. I'm so tired…" She yawned again. Tachia walked over to Elisa and helped her up from the sofa.
"It's obvious that ya need a quiet place to sleep. David told me once about a few of the vacant rooms in the castle that you can use. Perhaps if you agree to it, one will be your chambers soon enough…" She smiled faintly as she helped Elisa up and began walking her to the hallway towards the rooms she spoke of.
"Thanks, Tachia. I think I need quiet…" Elisa replied in a hushed whisper as she walked out of the Great hall with Tachia, nearly leaning upon her. The others watched this sad scene and their worry doubled for their dear friend.
----
"Anubis! She would not listen to me! What am I to do?" Goliath cried to the Jackal god after the dream ended.
"You must have her agree to listen to you. Once that happens, I will appear and tell her the terms by which you can be re-born to the Earth."
Goliath nodded sadly.
----
"Now, Elisa, sleep peacefully." Tachia stated as she pulled the covers of the king sized bed over Elisa in the hopes of making her more comfortable. Elisa yawned again, and nodded her thanks before dozing off again.
"God be with you, dear Elisa. May He give you the peace you so desperately need." She said a small and silent prayer before exiting the room.
Elisa, once again, drifted off into sleep, only this time, she was presented with a different scene.
A boy Elisa estimated to be approximately 8 years old was sleeping in his bed. The boy had a tanned complexion, and blue-black hair. His nose was slightly pointed downwards. Before Elisa could name off more of his features, she knew that this was her son. She walked towards him and watched as he slept peacefully in his bed. She sat beside him on the bed and kissed his forehead, extra careful not to wake him. He did rouse, though. His eyes fluttered open, and adjusted to the sight of his mother. He smiled at her.
"Hi, sweetie," Elisa said, smoothing the disordered hair on his perfect head.
"Hi, mom. I just had a dream," He stated.
"Oh? What was it about, Adam?"
"Daddy. Where is he, mom?"
Elisa's pulse suddenly raced in terror at the thought of Tony Dracon. "I…" She couldn't bring herself to tell him that he was killed before Adam was even born. Adam then looked past his mother at the doorway.
"Daddy!" He jumped out of bed and ran towards the doorway before Elisa could even see who or what had been standing there.
"Hey, Sugar. You can't keep me out of your head, or out of our son's dreams. He is a Dracon, and will always be. It runs in his blood. You can't fight it, honey." Tony Dracon's evil voice was heard all around, and then one of his trademark laughs followed. Elisa shook her head.
"No! He's never going to be like you if I can help it!" She screamed, her eyes closing tightly. Suddenly the scene changed. She opened her eyes and saw that she was back in her apartment prior to the explosion that had killed Goliath. She walked slowly to the kitchen, surveyed the kitchen, the living room, and then walked to her bedroom. Everything was as she knew it had been. She sat upon her bed and looked around.
"Elisa," A familiar voice said from behind her. She turned around and saw Goliath standing by the bed. She instantly rose from the bed and backed away again.
"Elisa, you must listen to me."
"No! I'm dreaming! This is just part of the nightmare I just had with Tony Dracon!"
"No, my darling, I am real. Remember when we were in Egypt and we met Anubis, the god of life and death? He sent me here to speak with you. There is a way to bring me back to you. You must agree to it, but there is a way to end this suffering for both of us." He blurted before she had a chance to stop him. She processed the information quickly in her head before deciding to believe what he said. As she reached her decision, she walked towards him, stopping right in front of him. She studied his face, the lavender skin she hadn't seen in only 2 days, the giant arms that carried her time and again. Elisa threw all her doubts out the window, and embraced Goliath tearfully.
"God, I miss you so much. You have no idea."
He smiled through his own tears. "I believe I have some idea, my love. You have been in pain for too long. But you must agree to listen to Anubis."
She released him slightly so that she may look up at his face. "Ok, Goliath. I agree."
A flash blinded them both, and Anubis appeared behind them. They turned to regard him, but never let go of each other's hands.
"Elisa Maza, the imbalance in the universe has prevented Goliath's spirit from passing. His time was not fated for the night of October 31. There is a way of bringing him back to the world. However, a trade must be made. His spirit must be replaced with another's. Do you accept these terms?"
Goliath was shocked. "This was NOT part of the terms, Anubis! I do not accept this!"
Elisa silenced Goliath by placing a gentle hand over his mouth.
"Anubis, I accept." She stated. Goliath turned to her, holding her now by the shoulders.
"Elisa, I will gladly stay where I am rather than for you to take my place. Please, do not do this!" Elisa shook her head at his objection.
"Goliath, you are needed. The clan is a wreck without you. I was a wreck without you. This is better for everyone."
"Not for me!" Goliath cried.
"I love you. Never forget that," She turned to Anubis. "Ok, I accept the terms. Let's get this over with now." Anubis nodded once, and everything went black.
Elisa opened her eyes, and realized her hands were bound together above her head. She looked around ever so quickly and understood immediately that she was back in her apartment, minutes before the explosion that had killed Goliath. Anubis had given them all a second chance.
Elisa knew that struggling against her bindings would only result in more pain in her wrists. She looked up and saw Thailog's red eyes beaming down upon her from beside the bed. Just then, Goliath crashed through the window and tackled Thailog, throwing him against the wall as Elisa remembered from that ill-fated night. Brooklyn then came charging in along with Tachia.
Before they could even ask anything, Elisa looked over at her crying son, and screamed, "Brook! Tachia! Take my son out of here! NOW!"
Brooklyn and Tachia were surprised into silence, but did as they were told. Brooklyn crouched, picked up the terrified baby, and flew out the window with his mate. Her attention now focused upon Goliath and Thailog's battle, she turned her head to see Thailog slamming Goliath into the wall, and then dashing off through the window too. Suddenly, a thought came to her head. Before Goliath could get up, Elisa yelled at him to get up.
"Goliath!" She cried, stopping him from chasing after Thailog momentarily. "Get Thailog, and figure out a way to knock him unconscious. Once you do, bring him back here. I have an idea! Hurry!"
He looked at her briefly, with understanding, and dashed out the window in search of Thailog.
Goliath zoomed through the window and chased Thailog.
"Thailog!" Goliath screamed as the wind ripped against his wings, bringing him closer to his target. Thailog turned in mid air to see Goliath gaining on him.
"Goliath, you will never defeat me!" He turned away and continued to glide away from Goliath. He narrowed his wings and sped closer to his cloned son. He finally reached him, and threw some punches at him, with only a few making contact. Thailog laughed at Goliath and dipped lower in the air to avoid the punches. Goliath remembered what Elisa had told him just moments before, and suddenly disappeared from Thailog's sight.
Where did my father go? Thailog turned mid-air, looking at the city lights below, trying to see any sign of Goliath. Just then, a swooshing sound was heard, and Thailog felt a sharp pain to his head. Instantly, his eyes closed, and he began descending to the earth, unconscious. Goliath had hit him forcefully with a steel bar from a construction site across the back of his head, rendering him unconscious. Goliath held Thailog by the arm and struggled to bring him back to the apartment.
Elisa was slightly panicking, watching the small clock on the bomb near the window tick away. There were only three minutes left before Elisa would be killed by the bomb. Inside, she was screaming out, terrified of the end of her life, but she knew that this would have to happen if it was fated to happen. Anubis had made it clear that another's life was supposed to have been ended instead of Goliath's, but he had never actually specified whose life was supposed to take its place. Elisa's plan to bring Thailog back to the apartment just might work—if only Goliath would hurry up!
Just then, Elisa heard a grunt that was hinted with a deep baritone she was incredibly familiar with. She turned to see Goliath dropping Thailog's unconscious body on the floor beside Elisa's bed. She breathed a bit easier when she saw the body.
"Elisa, why did you want him here? I don't understand—"
"No time to explain, Goliath. Quick, there's only a minute left. Put him on top of me."
Goliath gave her a queer look, but shook it off instantly. He went to work, lifting Thailog's body and covering Elisa's small frame with the large gargoyle's body. Elisa turned her head so as not to look at the monster on top of her. She looked down at the bomb, and realized there were only a few seconds left before the bomb would explode.
"Goliath! Get out of here now!"
He stood silent for a moment before Elisa screamed again, "GO!"
He nodded and threw himself out of the window.
Elisa began counting down the seconds on the clock when she felt movement above her. Horrified, she turned her head slowly and saw the body on top of her was beginning to stir. Thailog's disturbing red eyes began to open, and once they did, they focused horridly upon Elisa.
She turned away from his burning eyes, panic-stricken, to count the seconds down on the clock.
5…Thailog looked from Elisa's face to the bomb. His instincts were still hazy, so he had to take some effort to put the picture before him into focus.
4…
3…
2…
1…
Thailog's eyes adjusted and he realized what he was looking at. His eyes widened. "Oh shit…"
The deafening sound of the bomb exploding was unlike anything Elisa had ever heard before. She knew that the sound would be etched into her memory for decades to come. It would forever give her chills just thinking about it—the shattering of glass, the sound of the debris flying through the air, Thailog's final grunts above her, and the boom from the tiny device that took Goliath's life before. This was a distinctive noise that would forever haunt her, she knew.
Everything went black after that. Not because Elisa passed out, but because she shut her eyes so tightly from the blast and from the sight of Thailog on top of her. Still with her eyes closed, she heard car alarms going off down upon the street below, and scared screams from her neighbours in the building. Before Elisa had a chance to realize she was still alive, she instead realized that a heavy gargoyle body was on top of her, and it was really, really heavy—it was dead weight. She moved her hands, as the bindings released as they had before, and she huffed and tried to push the body off of her to no avail. Not only was she exhausted from the blast and the worry that took over her throughout the entire night (not to mention the last 24 hours of her memory), but she was also overcome with terror that the strength left her hands. She pushed for a few moments until she heard swooshing sounds on the other side of the destroyed wall.
She felt hands pulling the dead body off of her and once it was off of her, Elisa opened her eyes and saw Broadway, Lexington and Goliath over her. Still shaken from the ordeal, and seeing Goliath safe after all she had gone through the last 24 hours, Elisa was again overcome by everything, but this time, she fainted back towards her pillow.
---
Elisa awoke in a familiar room. She immediately recognized the white walls and familiar smell of the medical room in the Eyrie Building. She turned her head to the left to see her mother sitting beside her, and seated next to her was Goliath with his wings draped over his shoulders, wearing a look of worry that rivaled Diane's. Elisa smiled at both of them, and those looks disappeared from both of their faces.
"Oh, honey! Thank goodness you're alright!" Diane said the exact same words that Elisa remembered she had said the first time around…
"How do you feel?" Goliath asked Elisa, reaching for her hand. Elisa let a tear fall down her cheek.
"I'm good. I'm wonderful, actually." She beamed, looking at her mother, and then letting her eyes rest upon her love. They remained there even while her mother spoke again. Whatever she had said went in one ear, and soared through the other. Elisa was focused upon the gargoyle she thought she'd never see alive again. When she realized she was being a bit rude to her mother for not listening to her, she looked at her and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, mom, um…"
Diane knew her daughter inside and out, and knew that she was quickly becoming the third wheel in the room. She nodded in understanding.
"Elisa, don't apologise. I'm just glad you're alright. I'll leave you two alone and go check on Adam."
Elisa smiled bashfully. "Thanks, mom." She always does know how to read my thoughts…
Diane rose from the chair, leaned over and kissed her daughter on the forehead. She smiled at Goliath before leaving.
Goliath held Elisa's hand gently, yet with a strength that wouldn't be relented for anything. He leaned towards Elisa ever closer until finally Elisa spoke.
"Goliath, there is so much I need to tell you…"
He shook his head knowingly. "No need, my love. I know it all. I remember…"
"You what? You remember?"
He smiled cryptically. "Yes, Elisa. I remember it all."
"Um…such as…?"
"I was shown your grief, the clan's pain," he closed his eyes momentarily when the memory hit him like the steel bar that hit Thailog over the head. Elisa stroked Goliath's hand. "Anubis made a deal with you…"
She was amazed that he remembered, but it was comforting to her that she didn't have to explain what happened to her the last days.
"Oh, Goliath. I don't know what to say. I thought I had lost you. I was a wreck…" She looked down at his hand in hers.
"I know. I was shown your worst moments after my…death. You must understand that I did what I had to. I had to save you from that most horrid fate. You are needed here. You are so important to so many."
Elisa sat up straighter. "And you aren't? Goliath, you are the leader of a whole clan. You have a daughter who looks up to you and needs your guidance, and a whole city to protect. Besides, without you, I was a mess. I know now that I couldn't be here without you." Elisa let another tear roll down.
"You will never have to worry about that again, my love." He took her into his massive arms and embraced her so passionately.
"I missed you more than you'll ever understand, Big Guy."
"I am sorry that you were in so much pain, my Elisa. Forgive me?"
She looked up at him and kissed him gently upon the lips. "Nothing to forgive, babe. Everything is right in the universe now that you and I are together again. And now that you know how much losing you would kill me."
"Yes, Elisa. I will never leave you again. And, come to think of it, I believe you were presented with an offer in this very room before…" He said, trailing off to give Elisa a chance to add to the thought. He was talking about David Xanatos' proposal for her to move into the castle, of course.
"You're right. I have been…"
"You were seriously contemplating it, weren't you?"
"I was. I think I still am, now that I think about it again."
"What were you leaning towards? Yes, or no?" Goliath hoped that it was a yes…
"Well, I mean, I don't have an apartment anymore. I guess I should move into the castle. Would that make you happy, babe?" She smiled coyly. He squeezed her hand in response.
"Greatly, my Elisa." He suddenly thought about what he had been planning for that night. It was still prepared on the highest turret of the castle. This would be the perfect opportunity to spring his surprise on her. He beamed at her and rose from his seat, still holding her hand. She looked at him confusedly.
"What? What's that look about?" She asked, eyebrow raised in suspicion.
"Are you well enough to get up? I want to show you something."
She looked down at herself, and the bed, and decided that she was decent enough to be seen by others, and strong enough to get out of bed.
"Um, sure, Goliath. What is this about? You look giddy…" She asked good-humouredly.
"Shh…just come with me."
---
They reached the turret that Goliath called his own nearly before sunrise, with the sun threatening to come up over the horizon. Goliath had his lavender hand over Elisa's eyes to keep the surprise going for as long as possible. When Goliath was satisfied to reveal his surprise, he released her hand and allowed her to see what was prepared for her. She gasped at the sight. Before her, there was a small circular table covered with a white tablecloth. Atop the table, there was a single red rose and a tiny square box. Elisa regarded Goliath, and then approached the table with curiosity. She stepped towards the table, and picked up the rose. She took it to her nose and inhaled its scent. Turning back to Goliath, she smiled.
"What is this, Goliath?" He folded his arms in front of him and smiled.
"Open the box."
She turned back to the table, released the rose, and picked up the box. Elisa drew her attention to the box and cautiously opened it. It was then that her jaw dropped. She saw a platinum engagement ring. She didn't know anything about diamonds, but she was sure it was at least two karats. The round cut diamond glistened in the rising sun. Stunned, she looked at Goliath, whose smile was so genuine and happy. But what was Elisa feeling?
"Elisa, as you may have already guessed, I ask that you be my mate, my wife. Marry me, my love." He asked quietly, yet with a voice full of love and hope. His smile froze when he saw the look Elisa was wearing—one of confusion.
"I…I…" She stammered, indecisively. Elisa turned to see the sun about to rise. She closed the box and struggled to bring any words together in a coherent sentence. Finally, she managed to piece together what she needed to say.
"I need to think about this."
As the words escaped her mouth, Goliath's saddened face was captured as the sun rose over the horizon. Regretfully, Elisa kissed her finger and placed it on Goliath's stone frozen lips before turning and walking back into the castle.
---