And Yet They Shine
Chapter 13: Comfort
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Isabella wept, quiet, almost silent tears. When she breathed in, the scent of her fabric softener on the pillow brought her comfort, but when she breathe out, it was lost, like her breath. She wanted to be held, to be shushed and told that everything would, somehow, work out.
She longed – for the first time – for Edward's arms around her; for the way he would tuck her into his side so that she could bury her face in his chest, like a small, protected bird. The way he would whisk her around, from one place to another. She wondered if he would ever want to be with her like that again.
Somewhere between wishing Edward would appear, and hating him for leaving her alone, Isabella became aware of someone else in the room. She sat up from the bed, startled, and found herself staring at a woman with taffy colored hair and beautiful, topaz eyes.
Isabella wanted to ask the obvious questions. Who was this woman? What did she want? Had Edward sent for her?
Instead, she stared and gaped, until the woman stepped forward. Isabella found herself holding out a hand, as if to stop the woman. When the woman halted, Isabella felt both comforted and surprised. Though she clung to everything she knew before she came to this strange place, she was bright enough to realize that everything she knew before, was wrong.
Mystical beings exist. Heaven and hell exist on the same plane. The gods and goddesses from her childhood mythology stories were…real. Real.
"Oh", you poor, frightened thing. It's okay, I won't hurt you."
When the woman spoke, Isabella's wandering mind came back to her in a sharp gust of reality.
"Who are you? How did you get here? What's…what's happening?"
"Shh." The woman stepped forward with her hands before her. She reached for Isabella and the moment their skin met, Isabella felt calmed.
"My domain is over women, and marriage. As you seem to be both a woman and married, I thought I should come and visit with you. I have many names, but you may call me Esme. Come, now."
Esme let Isabella to a settee, and the two women sat, holding hands.
Isabella's mind circled the woman's words, sounding them out in her head, trying to make sense of them. Most of them made sense to her. Most of them, if she remembered where she was, and the kind of people she was with, could be brought to some sort of logic. One, though, did not. "I'm not…I'm not married."
She stared at the lovely, motherly woman with confusion, which grew to panic as she saw Esme's own confusion rise.
"Isabella? Of course you are. You ate from his table…you and he are bound."
Bella looked down at her hands. They were small, too small, really, with clean nails and smooth skin that telegraphed her youth. She held her left hand out to Esme, showing her bare hand.
"I don't have a ring. We said no vows. I'm not married."
Esme took Bella's chin in her hand, and stared hard into the girl's eyes. She saw confusion there, swirling in the brown-flecked-with-gold irises. She saw hope and need, and a tender, lost look that made Esme's heart clench for the child that she had once borne, but lost.
She saw no fear.
Breathing deep, she began to speak. "It is…it is a custom, here, a…a law, that when one eats from the banquet for the dead, that one accepts their," she paused, swallowed, and then continued. "Their fate. Edward, he explained all of this to you. In my glass, I saw you linger at the banquet, making up your mind." Esme watched the girl's confusion grow and a terrible thought came to her. "He did explain it, right? The price you pay for eating at his table. Right?"
Isabella's face began to bunch and her eyes began to dampen. A single tear, a crystal yet fallen, clung to dark lashes at the corner of her left eye. Yet she held Esme's gaze.
Shedaren'tlookdown,lestatearactuallyfall, she thought, admiring the girl's resolve, her strength.
"I ate three seeds, of some ruby fruit, and now-"
Mine, you are mine.
Understand that you belong to me now….
You are mine now, and you will never leave.
"…And now I am his." She nodded her head and Esme watched as she tried to come to terms with her future, there in that dark place. The way the girl held herself, spine straight and shoulders tight, resolve inching through her flesh.
"A marriage of deceit is not a marriage at all. Come."
Esme took Bella's hand and held her close. In that embrace, Bella felt her mother's arms, her father's when she was small and hurt and afraid. She smelled her mother's perfume, and the stinky aftershave her father had worn, up until the day her mother left. She smelled her Gran, fruit and spices and there, in that embrace, she felt safe. She felt loved.
Pushing the girl away with a gentle hand, she bid the girl to open her eyes.
When she did, Isabella again felt awe. Pale marble and columns of gold lay before her eyes. The hall was immense, it seemed to go for miles and miles, yet there was a bank of thrones on either side, and Isabella did not have to ask to whom they belonged.
The older woman watched with a measure of indulgence and amusement. The halls of Olympus were grand, and yet living in them, day after day, Esme had grown indifferent to their opulence. Seeing it fresh, through Bella's eyes, made her appreciate anew the beauty that surrounded her life.
"It's beautiful," Bella said, turned to take in her surroundings. In one corner of the room a hearth stood, cold and pale. With a wave of her hand, Esme brought it to life and led Bella forward. In her wake, flowers and bloomed and vines grew, twisting up the golden columns, coming to life as she passed by.
She turned and caught Bella's wide eyes.
"I'm not as talented as some, in that regard, but I do enjoy bringing a little life to this old place. Welcome to Olympus, Isabella. Welcome to my home."
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AN:
Regarding updates: Tonight, I was feeling this story. I hope it continues so that I can finish this quickly. I make no promises, but I am sorry for those of you who have been waiting. I won't make excuses. Please know that I'm sorry to have let any of you down.
This chapter is written with thanks to kittyj, who asked for it in the nicest way possible. Thank you.