The Golden Desires (21 page)

"Yes
please, Isabella!" the woman called back as she moved forward.
"Mushrooms today, please. Oh, and some thyme, if you please. It is time to
make some more lovely mushroom spread, I think," she said and Isabella
turned to look at Trent, both of them remembering the mushroom spread and the
way she'd had to feed it to him. It wasn't long ago, but it seemed an age ago.

"Mushrooms
and thyme. Yes, I shall go and get that for you now. Do you have a basket I can
use?"

The
cook handed her a basket and soon Trent and Isabella were both walking out of
the kitchen and heading for the garden. Partway down the path
Trent
stopped and turned to her. He moved forward and put his arms around her.

"I
hope you won't be distressed by Kat's words, Isabella."

Isabella
put the basket down on the ground and pulled him close to her, wrapping him in
her arms also, before kissing him.

"I
was surprised by them, Trent, but I shall move on with my day as if I did not
hear them, I think. But…"

"But
what?"

"Her
voice … her voice was so similar to the one I heard. But it cannot be so. Kat
does not have any powers, I do not think. And if she was the one I dreamed of,
she would have also had the dream, but I do not think she looked like she had shared
the dream."

Trent
looked at her and considered what she was saying.

"Perhaps
it would be best to stay away from her for the moment. Until we are sure she is
no threat to you."

Isabella
looked at him, not even knowing what the word meant.

"Threat?
What is that?"

He
leaned in and kissed her, remembering that these people did not know much of
the language that he was used to, simply because they did not have many of the
feelings that his population of humanity had experienced so freely.

"Just
do not think about her words. You have far more happy things to think
about."

"Oh?
And what happy things would they be?" she asked him, teasing him with a suggestive
smile on her face.

Trent
laughed at her and kissed her again before
pulling away from her and resuming their walk.

"You
know exactly what I mean," he said quietly and saw her blush softly,
making his heart melt and his mind forget Kat and Adrian entirely.

~~~~~

Isabella
sat quietly on the grass as
Trent
went away with Master Martin to the area where
the mushrooms were grown, so he could learn how to harvest them. Having
reassured the gardener that she was in no hurry at all and the two men could
take as long as they wished to, she took a moment to close her eyes and just
breathe in the air and enjoy the sunshine on her face.

"I'm
coming for you, Isabella. And you won't win," the woman's voice said in
her head all of a sudden, and immediately Isabella felt her body tense. This
time, however, she felt distress in her belly, and she put a protective hand
down onto it and felt the warmth there.

In
her head she ignored the voice and spoke through her thoughts to her unborn
child.

"All
is well. You are safe. Your father and I will not let anyone harm you,"
she soothed in her thoughts, and felt the warmth lessen and be at peace once
more.

But
while she was determined to not hear it, the voice did continue.

"Your
child will not be born. No child will ever be born from your body. I will not
allow it."

Now
Isabella felt her protective instinct come alive at a forceful strength, and
she contemplated whether to try talking to the voice in response, but for now
opted to not try it.

She
could finally hear the men coming closer, so she pushed her thoughts and memory
of the words from her mind as she stood up and smiled at them. She saw the
smile on
Trent
's face and vowed to herself to not mention this
latest hearing … not yet anyway.

"Here
you go, Miss Isabella," the gardener said to her as he handed her the
basket that had the thyme and mushrooms in it, and she smiled her thanks before
he walked way, leaving
Trent
with her for the moment.

"Mushrooms!
Have you seen where they grow, and
how
they grow?! I had no idea,"
he said with a look of incredulity on his face, making her laugh at him.
"Do you want me to walk you back?" he asked as he focused on her once
more, but she shook her head in response, smiling at him.

"No.
You enjoy the garden. I am going to take these back to Cook Mary and then I
might go into the pool to bathe," she said and immediately his attention
was caught by images of her in the pool previously, making her laugh at him.
"Garden!" she said and he refocused with a sheepish look on her face,
before kissing her and turning away from her, a large smile remaining.

~~~~~

After
walking into the kitchen to deliver the produce, Isabella went to the temple
again.

Feeling
her belly grow warm as she entered, she soon found she was approached by Elder
Scott.

"Isabella,
what brings you here?" he asked her, startling her as she had not seen him
for many years.

"I…
I don't know," she stammered, suddenly shy.

She
watched as he moved closer to her but noticed that there was no reaction to
him, as there had been to Elder Rhys whenever he moved closer to her since she
had become paired with
Trent
.

Elder
Scott walked right up to her, curious about the young woman before him. He had
watched her grow up, of course, as he had done with all of the children and
young people of the village.

"What
is bothering you? You seem very thoughtful."

"I
have been hearing a voice and I do not know where it is coming from," she
said, as she had said to Elder Rhys previously. "I thought it was only one
time, but today I have heard it again."

"Come
and sit down," he said to her, even more curious now. "What does the
voice say?"

"It
…
she
… keeps saying that she will make sure that I
will not give birth to my child - that I will not give birth to
any
child.
That she will make sure of it."

She
saw a look of alarm cross the elder's face and she wondered if she should be
talking to him. He was an elder, but she did not believe he was an ancient, so
his title was given to him because of the number of years he had lived, not
because he had any power of foresight or anything else.

"Elder
Scott, do you know of any women ancients?" she asked, just wanting to be
sure of what Elder Rhys had told her, but the man before her only shook his
head.

"I
do not, but you do know, Isabella, that
I
am not an ancient,
and they are a people who maintain privacy so even living here, I cannot be
certain who all of the ancients are. They keep themselves from everyone else,
even those of us elders residing here in the temple structure."

Isabella
nodded at him, feeling a sense of helplessness all of a sudden.

"What
about women elders?" she asked with a meekness in her voice.

"There
are several elders here who are women," he replied, nodding. "But I
do not think any of them would have the ability … the
power
… to talk to you through your mind. That would only be something that an
ancient could do, surely."

Now
feeling somewhat distraught, Isabella stood up.

"Thank
you, Elder Scott. I do not think there are any answers for me to find here
today, so I shall leave you. Thank you for your time though."

He
watched her stand and start to walk away. Inside of him was a slight
frustration that he was not an ancient, and could not offer her any insight
into something that was so obviously upsetting to her.

~~~~~

Isabella
waded into the pool and lowered her head under the water to massage her scalp
and hair before she came up and sat on the ledge of the outer side of the pool.
She fondly remembered the two times she had been in here with
Trent
- and the way it had felt when he had massaged her hair. She took a moment to
think about how she had never thought about what it would be like to be paired
with someone. She had always known it would be expected of her - as it was of
everyone in the village - but even just thinking about him now, she found
herself feeling happy and contented.

As
if the very thought flowed through her body, she closed her eyes and felt her
belly warm, and when she looked down she saw the now familiar glow start to
appear.

"Enjoy
the happiness while you can, Isabella, because it will not last. And keep away
from him. He is not yours. He is mine."

Isabella
opened her eyes sharply, the new words now taking on a more personal aspect to
them. Who was 'he', she wondered to herself.
Trent
? No, he hardly knew
anyone in the village - what woman would have made herself known enough to him
to believe that she was meant to be with him? No, not
Trent
,
she thought to herself, letting her mind cast back to that morning in the
dining area. Not Trent -
Adrian
!

She
slowly moved out of the pool and onto one of the large flat rocks nearby to let
her body, hair and clothing dry. As she lay there, letting the warmth of the
sun and the rocks do their magic, she waited in expectation of the voice to
return, but it did not. Her mind was busy, though. All of this had something to
do with Kat, she started to let herself believe. But how?

After
being completely dry, she walked down to the mill. As soon as she entered the
large building,
Adrian
saw her and walked over to her, a large smile on
his face.

"Isabella!
Who have you come to see?" he greeted and asked her, feeling his heart
full.

"
Adrian
.
I just wanted to see you, and make sure you are alright," she said simply
and saw the look of confusion on his face.

"Me?
Of course. Why would you think I might not be?"

He
looked at her and saw her face, and could only conclude that she was seriously
worried for him.

"I
don't know. I just had a feeling…"

At
that moment, almost as if she had approached with the stealth of a stalker, Kat
appeared and her voice was heard from behind
Adrian
.

"Hello
Isabella. What can we help you with?" the younger woman asked and Isabella
saw the same new look on
Adrian
's face that she had noticed earlier that morning.

"I
have come to talk to
Adrian
," Isabella replied and redirected her
attention back to her close friend. "Can you come with me for a short
time?" she asked him and immediately saw that she should not have, as
discomfort fell over him.

"We
are too busy today. He will not be able to leave until the evening meal,"
Kat continued, seeming to make sure that
Adrian
did not speak for himself.

Isabella
watched the two faces before her and truly believed now that it was definitely
Kat who had been speaking to her - but not this Kat, she thought to herself. It
was almost like the voice was an
older
version of Kat. And if that were
the case, this version of Kat might not even realise that her older self was
doing what she was doing to Isabella.

As
she watched both of their faces she found herself wondering at
Adrian
.
He was older than Kat, so was senior to her in the mill, and yet he was letting
her say what would - or would not - be happening. It was almost as if Kat had
some kind of power over him.

"I
see. Then I shall not keep you,
Adrian
. I will talk to you at the evening meal," Isabella
said and saw him look at her with a look of regret and sadness, but he said
nothing to either woman.

Isabella
turned and walked away quietly. Part of her wanted to run back to him and pull
him into her arms and remind him of who he was - her good friend and a good
person who would give anyone the time they needed from him. But another part of
her was worried that he was in a situation that was not good now, and would
only get worse as time passed. And that any input she tried to have into that
situation, would result in pain for him.

So
she walked away. For now, that was all she could do.

~~~~~

After
spending the day in the garden,
Trent
returned to their home and found her lying on
their bed, looking extremely contemplative.

"I
am going to go and bathe, so have come home to ask if you would like to join
me," he said as she finally seemed to focus on him.