He enters the room and closes the door silently.
He moves across the room having the grace of a King with the face of a Prince.
Yet his shy eyes tell the story of his soul.
He finds Esme lying on her stomach; her delicate frame lying on the soft carpet that was facing the warm fire. She was wearing a deep plum frock that was haphazardly sprawled on the floor. The dark colour complemented her pale skin endearingly as her hair hung freely; it's soft waves framing her face.
The room was quite dark, and the only light was illuminated from the hot hearth that glowed with a yellow flame.
Carlisle took a pause as he stood from afar. His eyes watching her fondly, his lips silent. His soul somehow desperate to be released from it's earthly prison.
The snow was beginning to fall again, as it falls lazily one by one from the starless black sky. Trickling its way to the earth before dying on the ground, melting with the season before being reborn again as it repeats it's footfalls back into the heavens.
This was it.
Love or an eternity filled with a deathless hollow echo.
He did not move for a long moment, but simply stood there in the dark, watching her. Secretly wondering. Secretly hoping she too would save him.
Save him from the black embrace of loneliness.
Save him from the centuries of hurt and pain he endured alone.
Save him from the dark that was waiting to consume him.
If he closed his eyes, he could still see clearly that cold cave he had once lived in. The moss that grew on the walls to the dusty smell of the earth on the floor. The sharp stones to the bats that shared his little hut; the life he knew then. The fear he had felt and wondering if it would ever end. There was no one he could tell. No soul to share his burden. The storms he endured for months on end.
He was lost in some perilous existential misery. His thoughts slowly turning against him as he stands there, barely breathing.
He stood there in the shadows; he was the image of perfection. His equilibrium completely unwavered. But secretly he felt as if he were hanging by some thin silver thread and below him laid the infinite ocean of despair and the unending circle of immortality, fearful he might drown and never resurface again.
The worst part is if he would actually survive it.
Death was a luxury, eternity alone was a sentence.
He steps closer and she glanced at him. Her eyes lighting with a gentle smile as she sees him walk towards her; the little dimple in her cheek that he so longed to kiss.
He noticed the curious object she had been sketching for the past few minutes and looked closely. It was his old chess board. The chess pieces standing there in the orange light, looking stoic and foreboding. Anticipating the mental war that might occur.
The fire cackled cheerfully in its hearth as Carlisle approached her; crouching low in front of her as he nodded to the chessboard.
"Do you play?" He asks, as a smile lightly touched his lips.
She glanced up from her sketchpad. Her dark lashes illuminating her golden eyes, as she smirked shyly and shook her head. "I used to, when I was a child. But I had somehow forgotten."
Carlisle nodded then said, "Its not a hard game to learn again, quite simple really."
She shook her head defensively, "It's not."
He chuckled softly at her, "I'll teach you, put those away first." He motioned her to tuck away her sketchpad and pencils.
"You'll win, I know you'll win. I haven't played in almost a decade." She said her lips pursing as her right brow rose lightly.
"How do you know?" He asks, a curious glint in his eyes.
"No doubt you've had time to practice." She mumbled under her breath.
He shook his head fondly at her, as he gave her a long and intense glance.
She stared at him for a moment, and could see clearly in his eyes that he is serious.
She watches as he rearranges the pieces accordingly as he sits himself on the carpet floor. His strong yet delicately sculpted fingers brushing over every single piece with exact precision and control.
She found a hidden smile on her lips as she continued to watch him.
His gentle features calm and resolute against the roaring flames before them; his skin glowing lightly beneath its warm fires.
She longed to be near to him but instead she kept her distance; there was something about tonight that seemed to be waiting, and it was something that hung in the night air like some black cloth hovering above them, hiding their secrets beneath its dark sheets.
The game started a few moments later. With Carlisle briefly explaining to Esme how the game should be played, but instead of listening to his words, she was completely distracted by his voice yet again.
Its soothingly mellifluous timbre that felt like melted sugar to her ears, coated by his foreign accent and deep undertones.
She had no way of winning this game.
But she was ready to begin.
Their mental games started coyly. Either of them observing the other for a sign of any weaknesses.
Esme was impulsive and daring; coquettishly innocent with her chess pieces yet when her trap was woven it was difficult for escape. She was subtle yet exact, which made Carlisle wonder whether or not she was teasing him before about her chess skills.
Carlisle on the other hand was incredibly strategic and meticulous. Every move had to be measured and calculated before he would proceed. He was well planned, neat and cunning.
But one could not help but be surprised at his insidious ways (in chess at least) of achieving victory with his angel of a face.
Carlisle sat there looking at her from across the chessboard. His eyes studying every inch of her beautiful face. Watching her little eccentric movements that filled him with a deep longing to know the mystic reasons behind them. Wondering what thoughts she were thinking of; wondering if they were good or bad and wondering what her thoughts of him were.
She was a sight to behold. A gentle thing of beauty.
The little flowery bats of her lashes as she decided mentally.
The subtle smirks in her lips when she would find the answer she sought.
The way her eyes looked at him. Staring at his bare soul with soft eyes; filled with the hidden promise of eternity.
There was a silent conversation happening between their fingers; deciding the fate of their inanimate soldiers. Deciding whether their lives would be spared or not. The brave little figurines stood there bright and tall, awaiting their Master's command.
Their game was starting to reach its peak; their scores closing in to a draw. Only one would emerge the victor.
There was the King on his side, and the Queen on hers. One final dance before the end.
One last hurrah for those who had fallen. A last offering of peace before the war would end.
Either of them was consumed by deep silence as the pondered on their motives in hushed secrecy.
But there was much more to this simple game of chess. Much more than words could say, and perhaps even more than his eyes could betray.
"Esme?" He spoke uttered softly. Gently cutting through the foggy silence between them.
His voice held the question, and she had the answer. There was no turning back now.
She looked up, somehow surprised by his sudden interruption from the intense concentration they had once been in.
"Yes?" She asked bemused.
"There's something I'd like to perhaps talk to you about." He finally says. His gaze falling on to the necklace around her neck.
Her brows furrowed, "What is it about?"
There was a stray lock of his blonde hair that was astray on his face as he spoke, "Are you happy?"
She felt the words from her mouth dissolve into her tongue. It certainly was not a question she expected to hear.
"Am. . .Am I happy?" She repeated.
He bowed his head infinitesimally and waited for her response.
"Carlisle, what do you mean?" Her eyes were now fixated on him, the burning question in her eyes.
A soft breath escaped his lips as he fumbled with a discarded chess piece. His eyes thoughtful, yet bated.
"Do you remember the night of your graduation?"
"My graduation? Carlisle what are you talking about?" Her voice was starting to falter. His questions were no longer making sense.
"Tell me if you remember, please." Carlisle asked, some hidden emotion in his voice.
Her face was confused but her eyes grew glossy as she wandered through time. The old memory played itself clearly into her mind.
A memory she had not recalled in the longest time, and the memory of a vague dream from her youth that was starting to recover itself.
"You're staying here and marry Charles." It was her mother's voice. Cold and final.
"But Mother I want to be a teacher, please." She was pleading, her eyes threatening to well up with her tears of frustration.
"The decision is made Esme; I know what's best for my daughter." Her mother snapped.
Her mind somehow skipped everything else and played a distantly familiar memory.
She had been sleeping for over an hour. Her body tired from her heavy sobs.
She could feel something.
A presence in the room.
She was half asleep but somehow managed to remain conscious of her surroundings.
She felt the pressure on the side of her bed give way to something.
Esme fought hard to open her eyes but she felt so tired. Suddenly she felt something cold brush past her cheek.
It was not the wind.
It was not a draft.
The touch was intentional, precise. Gentle.
She could hear a voice whisper in her ear, a voice so soft it could barely be described as human. And yet she could hear the words clearly.
"Loving thee, my heart is thine."
A faceless voice in the dark.
Her memory was interrupted before she could continue.
She stared down at her hand to find Carlisle holding it. He was sitting closely to her now, a secret message in his eyes that he so desperately wished to share.
He gently lifted her hands to his lips and chastely kissed them.
Her eyes looked at him in recognition, her voice barely above a whisper. "You were there."
"Yes."
She felt her chest constrict, "All this time. . .All this time you never told me. . .Why?"
His eyes were looking elsewhere, "Carlisle. . .Answer me. . ." She pleaded.
"The necklace. . .I left it for you. . ." He spoke, his voice suddenly deep.
"What?" She asked flabbergasted. Her fingers clutching the heart pendant.
Carlisle remained silent. A shadow casting itself across his perfected features.
Esme couldn't take it any longer. She pushed the chessboard away and knelt closer to him; placing a delicate hand on his shoulder.
"Why Carlisle? Speak to me please."
For the first time in his immortal life Carlisle felt weak under Esme's soft yet piercing gaze. He hadn't realized that he was backed up against a large hypothetical wall as her question lingered in the air above them.
"I swore that I would never return. But I did, twice. I had to see you again, your face haunted me. . .But I never found the courage to let you see me again. . ."
"Carlisle. . ." She softly whispered.
"The second time, I vowed that it would be the last time I would look upon you. Vowing that I would let you go and lead a life of your own. . .And I fulfilled that promise. . .for a time. . "
"Then that night I found you once more. After the storm. You were lying on a cold examining table, shrouded in a white cloth; barely breathing. And my heart went out to you; I stood there in that room and shared your pain. Until I came to a decision. . ."
"It was the only thing I could think of to save your life. . ." His voice was dark, impassioned.
"I thought it was the best that I could do. The best that I could give you, but I was afraid. Frightened of the life you would now live because of me."
"I couldn't have told you. . ."
"Tell me what?" She asked, nudging him lightly so he would look at her.
Time was stopping again. His lips were starting to part and everything seemed to move slowly.
This was the moment.
This, was their moment of truth.
For a long while she had been afraid of falling. Afraid of loving; fearing the consequences that awaited her if it all ended up in pieces. Crashing and burning; wondering if she could find strength to begin again. But she did and survived.
She never knew what love like this felt like, and wondered a thousand times what it would be like to love someone so exquisitely. So completely.
But this was a different fear. And a different kind of fall. She was afraid of taking that long plunge into that deep fall that had no end.
Her feelings were clear. The truth was waiting.
"I was afraid to tell you. . .Tell you I love you. . ." He whispered.
Her gaze met his.
It was not his handsome face she loved the most.
Not those tender lips she longed to kiss, nor those golden irises that resembled the setting sun at dusk.
But the strength of his heart.
Carlisle's face was tense, his eyes pained. Waiting for her reply that could either tear him apart or make him whole.
She looked at him and smiled, placing a hand to his cheek.
I love you
The words still echoing with life into her ears as her lips parted, ready to speak.
"I've loved you from the moment you walked through that door. When what you saw was merely a girl trembling with a broken leg, and I saw you walking towards me. I thought the pain would never end, until you spoke my name. And that night you kissed me before you left, I loved you then as I love you now Carlisle."
Carlisle took her in her arms and held her close the emotion inside of him threatening to burst apart.
"Darling, I love you. Even when we were apart, even through the pain I suffered, I called out your name. I carried you with me, your memory, your voice, your face. . ." She whispered into his ear as she held onto him.
"Esme. . .I. ."
She shushed him into silence as she pressed her soft mouth against his.
Their lips brushed timidly against each other at first. Carlisle's lips were shy and gentle, and Esme could no longer bear the frenzied emotions that were building inside of her.
She then slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a deeper kiss as she gave him quiet permission. Brushing her nose lightly against his; urging him with her delicate mouth for a response.
He gently devoured her lips in a hungry kiss in reply. His vehement passion boiling to the surface in a torrent as her honey-tongue softly mingled with his in sweet ecstasy.
No woman could stir such emotions in him as she has done; Awakening the life in him that he thought died a long time ago.
Bringing him back to life with her love.
He was utterly intoxicated, her taste drowning his senses like wine.
He had to break the kiss before he lost all control.
"Esme," He said breathily; leaning his forehead against hers.
"Yes?" she whispered, feeling his breath on her face. Her lips flushed.
"There is one more question I have to ask." He said, his strong arms still holding her affectionately by the waist.
"What is it?" She asked, her eyes glimmering for the answer.
He leaned close till his soft lips found her ear and whispered, "Marry me."
It was the happiest day of her immortal life.
A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! XD Thank you again for all your WONDERFUL reviews! I LOVE you all, my incredibly awesomely gorgeous readers! :) Sorry again for the brief delay :)
Stay tuned for chapter 27 ;) I wonder what happens next ;D
Keep Readin'
God Bless and Stay Awesome :)