Apotheosis of the Immortal (25 page)

Sara

1186—1190

“Do you want to kiss me?”

Chapter 49

E
lijah and Sara
had been the best of friends for as long as he could remember. Their mothers had both been servants of Lord Jeffrey and would often bring the children along to Rothber Castle so they could keep an eye on them while they cooked and cleaned. He and Sara had always been overjoyed to play out their fantasies of knights and wizards, dragons and princesses in a real castle.

Many times Elijah had to fight his way through hordes of evil knights, powerful wizards, and all sorts of magical creatures to save Sara, the beautiful princess who was trapped in the castle’s tower. The kitchen, where they were often confined, had served as an excellent tower. Once Elijah broke into the tower and reached the princess, the danger would grow by leaps and bounds; alarms would sound all over the dark kingdom as every wretched soul therein learned of the hero’s plight.

The beautiful Sara was a princess first, a real lady through and through, but when surrounded by danger, throngs of evil creatures too vast for Elijah alone to destroy, she would rise to the occasion and fight bravely beside her prince. He always enjoyed playing the game, but as he grew older, it was the deserving kiss the brave prince was bestowed by the rescued princess he most looked forward to. To Elijah, Sara truly was a beautiful princess. He imagined one day she would really kiss him, Elijah the peasant, rather than Elijah the prince.

Solomon was only a few years older than they were, but was always very mature for his age. He saw them as children and treated them as such. He never joined in their games. When he wasn’t helping his father in the field, he spent his time reading, and occasionally taking walks deep into the forest, where he found solace at a small shrine and in the nature that surrounded it.

By Sara’s sixteenth birthday, she and Elijah had grown out of playing games in the castle. Still, when they weren’t doing chores and helping their families with the rigors of a peasant’s daily life, they spent nearly every moment together. They would walk through the forest and by the river. They talked about everything; they held no secrets from each other. Sara spent a lot of time complaining, but Elijah didn’t mind, he just enjoyed listening to her voice. That day she had been telling him about how her father had recently begun pressuring her to be more of a lady.

“What does that even mean?” she had demanded, extending both arms to keep her balance as she walked across a fallen tree. Elijah took her by the hand to help her down when she reached the end of the rotting log. As she jumped, her foot caught on a limb, and she stumbled into Elijah, causing him to also lose his balance.

As he fell backwards, he had no idea what perils might be beneath them, but he could see Sara’s genuine fear as she shrieked in alarm. Jerking her hard by the hand, he pulled her to his chest and wrapped both arms tightly around her, holding her in place as best he could as he fell backwards. Luckily they landed on a small bush that softened the fall. Lying on the ground, wrapped intimately around each other, neither of them rushed to get up.

“Thank you Elijah!” She kissed him on the cheek and then, placing her hands on his chest, pushed herself up. “I guess you will always be my prince.” She was still on top of him, pressing on his chest and looking down into his eyes as she spoke. Elijah could feel himself blushing and turned his head to hide it as he sat up. Lifting her by the waist, he gently slid her onto her knees beside him.

He could feel her staring at him intently, but he kept his eyes on the ground in embarrassment.

“Elijah, look at me.” Hearing her plea, he quickly glanced up and then back down at the ground.

“Elijah, look at me, please.” She laughed as she spoke. “Don’t be embarrassed.” Her tone was as comforting as her soft hands against his face when she gently forced him to look up at her.

When he met her gaze, the entire world melted away, along with his embarrassment. In this moment there was only Sara.

“Do you want to kiss me?” Her soft voice echoed in his mind. Yes, he wanted to shout, but for a second his lips wouldn’t move. In that moment of silence he could see her begin to blush. She was nervous.

It seemed as if he had been awaiting this moment for his entire life; he had never been more excited, or more nervous. He cleared his throat and shifted his body into a more comfortable position as he gathered his wits to speak.

“Of cour —”

“Elijah, Sara, there you are; I heard a scream. Are you okay?” Solomon grabbed Sara by the hand and lifted her to her feet as he spoke. “Come on, let’s get you home.” He continued to hold her hand as he led her away. Elijah watched from his place on the ground while she gazed back at him over her shoulder.

In that moment, he was once again a child playing a game, but he was no longer the hero. This time he had been bested, and he watched in defeat while his princess was spirited away. He didn’t know until later that evening how eerily, accurately symbolic that moment had been.

Knowing the pain it would cause Elijah, his entire family gathered to inform him of his father’s plan, how he had negotiated for Solomon to court and eventually to marry Sara.

More than three years had passed since that day and though she was never far from his thoughts, he had only seen her once. He had promised to meet her again the next day, but he couldn’t bear it.

Chapter 50

A
fter dinner, Elijah
took Malaki upstairs to get ready for bed. After a few minutes spent convincing Malaki to get into his bed clothes, Elijah helped his little brother settle in.

When he finally walked out into the corridor to wait at the top of the stairs for his older brother, he heard anxious whispers going back and forth between his mother and Solomon. Creeping forward to learn why they were so upset, Elijah heard his mother bring the conversation to a close.

“You have put this off for long enough. You know it’s going to happen, and so does he, so you might as well get it over with. Elijah will understand.” He couldn’t see her, but his mother’s voice was adamant.

“I just don’t want to do this to him, Mother. I can’t face him with this; it’s going to tear him apart.” His brother moved in and out of view, pacing the floor as he spoke.

“Of course it will hurt him, but he will get over it. You have tried your best for your brother, but your father already made arrangements with Sara’s. There is nothing you can do now but tell him. Besides, he hasn’t seen the girl in years; he’s probably over it by now.” Her tone had shifted as she tried to comfort Solomon.

“He hasn’t, Mother; I promise you that. I see it in his face every time he looks at me. He still loves her as much as he ever did, and I’m about to crush him all over again. I can’t shake the feeling that this is wrong, that I’m betraying my own brother. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be, Mother. I can see it in her eyes as well. She has grown to care for me in a way, I think, but she still longs for Elijah.” Solomon’s voice sharpened with his anxiety.

Elijah turned to walk back to his room, wishing now he hadn’t been so suspicious, or so anxious to know what his brother seemed nervous about at the dinner table. He knew this day would come, but had tried not to think about it. Solomon was right, Elijah hadn’t seen Sara in years, but loved her just as intensely as he ever had.

His pull towards her was stronger than gravity; it had been a struggle for him every day…
not to cause a fuss, not to leave in the middle of the night and escape with her, to just grit his teeth, lower his head, and bear the weight of it all.

“Elijah,” his brother had seen him and was calling from below. “Elijah, come down here; I need to talk to you, Brother.” His voice was shaky; Elijah just stood there silently for a moment with his back turned and his eyes shut. For a moment he thought he might lose control, but finally took a deep breath, gathered himself, and then turned around.

Elijah looked into his brother’s eyes and saw a desperate longing for acceptance. He took pity on him for a moment; he hated what was happening, but loved his brother with all his heart. Elijah closed his eyes and clenched his teeth as he gently rubbed his fingers across his eyelids. He knew what his brother wanted, but didn’t know if he could give it.

“Elijah, you know I don’t want to do this to you, but I also can’t do this without you; I can’t do this without your blessing, Brother. I need you to tell me it’s okay.” Elijah could see tears welling in Solomon’s eyes as he, too, struggled to fight them back. Elijah once again closed his eyes, trying to calm himself enough to speak. After a long moment of silence, he took a breath and finally began.

“Brother, I love you more than life. I would gladly take up any hardship to keep it from your shoulders. Neither time nor space, nor any happening, could dull the love that I have for you; it will always be there, no matter what you do. But I am afraid that is the most I can give you, because Sara is my heart, and it is against all the laws of heaven and nature for a man tear out his own heart and end his life. I cannot do it, Brother, but I will let you do it for me. I will lie on this table and hand you the knife to cut the heart from my chest, and I will hold you blameless. That is the best I can do.” A single tear rolled down his face as he spoke.

Solomon looked at him teary-eyed for a few moments and then nodded in acceptance.

“I do love her also, Brother; I want you to know that,” he said softly, then turned and went out the door. In all of Elijah’s life, there was never a more hollow or more deadening sound than the door slamming behind Solomon as he walked out of the castle that night.

Upstairs, Malaki had been waiting for his brothers, and when he heard the door slam below, he decided to investigate.

“Where is Sol going?” Malaki asked his mother as he peered down from the top of the stairs. “Don’t worry little one, he’ll be back. He’s gone to see Sara.” Esmeralda tried to comfort her youngest son. She knew how jealous Malaki could be when he had to share his brothers’ attention, especially Solomon’s. It didn’t help; he was upset.

“Why didn’t he tell me?” Malaki pouted; Solomon should have at least told him he was going to leave. He had been waiting patiently for his elder brother to come to bed, certain he could convince Solomon to tell him at least one grand tale of dragons and danger before Malaki had to go to sleep.

His hopes shattered, young Malaki ran across the bedroom and plopped down on the bed next to where Elijah was now lying, the boy’s arms crossed over his chest and tucked in defiance. A fierce frown pursed his lips and flared his nostrils.

“What’s wrong, little brother?” Elijah asked dully. The look on Malaki’s face would have at any other time made Elijah smile, but at this moment it was hard to even pretend interest.

“I’m never going to fall in love, Elijah, and you shouldn’t either!” Malaki grumbled jealously. The look on the child’s face was now serious, and his tone was grave as he warned Elijah of the perils of love.

“You are right little brother; I promise to try my best.” Elijah forced a smile and then kissed Malaki on the forehead. “Don’t worry, I will never love anyone more than you little brother, and neither will Solomon. Don’t be so hard on him.” Elijah said, trying to comfort the boy. Malaki looked at Elijah for a minute, as if considering his suggestion, but as he scrunched his nose once again Elijah knew his advice would be ignored.

Waiting for Solomon’s return, Elijah listened to his younger brother’s chatter a long while. He could sense Malaki’s voice losing its fervor as he drifted off to sleep lying next to him on the small bed. Tired from his own labors, the soft bed beneath him and the fresh smell of soap rising up from the sheets around him made Elijah’s eyes grow heavy and, though he tried to fight it, he, too, fell asleep.