Chapter 41
June 15th - Grythen
Kismette
Even though the flash of lightning had already warned her, the ferocity of the thunder still made Kismette jump. She left the window. The sky was dark and ominous.
In small, dainty steps, she made her way to Chairon at his leather couch. Her eyes could not stop stealing glances at everything, recording her first venture in his bedroom. It was pure luck that Annie was out for afternoon tea with her friends when she came over. It seemed his mother kept a close eye on everything he did.
“My mum has scheduled your appointment to be in two weeks’ time. I’ll tell Iko to remind you again when the time comes,” Chairon mumbled from behind his newspaper and turned the page harshly as she sat down. He seemed a little tense today.
Kismette’s gaze travelled out of the window again. “Must I?”
“It’s just a Viken tradition. Everybody had the full check-up, even my parents. You know, so that nothing surprising pops up after the wedding. And for buying life insurance too. You’ll be covered for in everything and won’t have to worry about anything anymore the moment we get married,” he coaxed gently, folding his paper and tossing it on the floor.
She gave him a weak smile and he wrapped his arms around her. “Come on, what are you afraid of?”
“I don’t know… I just don’t like going to the doctors,” Kismette shrugged. “But I’ll go, don’t worry.”
Chairon smiled and pressed his nose against hers before closing in to kiss her. He had never progressed so slowly with a girl before, but it was a little embarrassing to have to teach her everything. His hands rubbed warmly against her back before sliding downwards.
Kismette reacted with a shove against his chest, more shocked than angered. “What are you doing?”
“Oh please, we’re engaged, for heaven’s sake. Sometimes, I wonder if you’re really that innocent or just trying to push me off.”
“I told you I don’t like doing this… sort of thing,” she rejoined, turning slightly pink. She scuttled off the couch. “I’m not ready yet, Chairon.”
The Wesarsh stood up too. He tightened the muscles in his jaw to prevent himself from shouting. “Not ready for what? Getting intimate or getting married?”
Kismette glared in disbelief. “Do you know what you’re saying?”
“You love me, right? You said you love me. If you love me, you wouldn’t be pushing me away now and running off to meet another man in the middle of the night, doing who knows what that cannot be done in broad daylight,” he countered.
“I what? You’re ridiculous!”
“I’m ridiculous?” He kicked the newspaper on the floor and pointed at it with his thumb in a taunting manner. “See for yourself what you’ve got to say and apologise to me later,” he snapped and left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Kismette crawled towards the paper on her hands and knees and starting flipping through the pages, finally stopping at a page that was crumpled at the edges. Someone had followed her to the park last night and shot a picture of Zaelem holding her by the shoulders. The caption wrote: Rendezvous: Bride-to-be, healer Kismette Larazest, and social recluse, Zaelem Dragonoir, meeting secretly in the middle of the night.
June 17th - Grythen
Zaelem
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the forest canopy, but the leaves kept the wooden hut shaded and cool. Zaelem pushed his tongue against his cheek and reached for his mobile phone on the metal barrel. He had to end this waiting. It had been three long days already. This was becoming excruciating.
His thumb ran over the numbers he knew by heart. He sat himself down on his mouldy couch and shook his legs, trying to fidget the excess energy away as he waited for her to pick up. Would it be alright if he asked to meet up? Chat over a relaxing cup of coffee or whatever she drinks? Would it make things awkward instead?
He tilted his head to stretch a cramping shoulder muscle and raised his eyebrows to loosen the knot between them. He wriggled his lower jaw and then wriggled his toes. He closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe in and out, slowly, deeply. Even this was becoming such a long wait.
The line clicked. He shot out of his couch. His breathing pattern was disrupted and he choked. All the words he had planned to say disappeared from his mind in that instant and he began stammering, “H- hello? Uh, it’s me-”
“We’re sorry but the number you have dialled is not responding. Please leave a voicemail after-”
Zaelem sighed and cut the automated message off. Kismette did not pick her phone up. He should probably stop here or it would seem like he was pushing her for an answer. What answer was he expecting to get anyway? Wouldn’t it be absurd if she really left her fiancé for him? Why would she even consider that? What assurance did he give her?
At least this would leave her a missed call notification. Hopefully, she wasn’t trying to avoid him.
June 19th - Grythen
Kismette
“Do you think I’ve done the wrong thing?”
Gwen set her porcelain cup down. She tucked her silver hair behind her ears and scanned the forlorn girl’s face. “In agreeing to marry Chairon?”
“I… I… yes,” Kismette stuttered for a while before sighing and slouching even deeper into her armchair. Gwen had called her out for coffee. Intrigued by the name ‘Espresso’, she rolled it off her tongue at the counter, only to regret its bitterness the moment she took her first mouthful.
The older girl did not seem to be having a problem with the same drink, though. “I think you already knew what you want to hear, girl,” she replied. “I can’t make that decision for you. Nobody can. You need to know what you want. And you better make it fast because life won’t give you so many chances. If this is what you want, be happy. If this isn’t what you wanted, make it right.”
Kismette chewed her lip. “How about ‘I don’t have a choice’?”
Gwen raised her eyebrows and folded her arms across her chest. “Are you sure you don’t have a choice?”
“Okay… How about ‘I’m not ready to make a choice now’? I mean, how would I know if this is love? I thought love was supposed to be like… like…”
“Like in the movies?”
Kismette did not answer. She looked down at her bare nails, feeling ashamed.
The dancetress took a long sip of her hot, savoury drink. She rarely ordered cold food. “The media does have the effect of romanticising love, doesn’t it?” Her face was sullen. “Lust at first sight, maybe. But love? How deep can your eyes see at first sight? Love goes beyond the depths of your skin. You don’t decide that you love somebody based on first impressions. To love somebody is to love all his quirks and moments of utter idiocy, and to still want to hug him to sleep after a big fight instead of thinking about how to stab a knife through his heart and get away with it.”
June 22nd - Grythen
Jeremy
Jeremy let his breath out in a long, soundless sigh. It was proving difficult not to become frustrated, especially under the sweltering heat. This is impossible. Nobody ever loses their range.
They had been trying to recreate the circumstances which led to her superbly long range, but it had already been days without success.
He turned to hide his frown from Kismette. What went wrong? What was the missing vital element?
June 24th - Grythen
Kismette
Kismette chewed on her lip as she ambled along the long corridor, her head down. The thought of going through the dining hall’s quirky rotating door usually cheered her up, but not today. It had been another failed session with Jeremy and he said maybe they should try something else instead. Was he giving up on her already?
What was it that made her energy rushed out of her palm that day? Did the energy have a mind of its own? Did it know that the recipient was on the brink of death too? It had felt really strange; she was not the one who pushed her energy forward. She would never have thought it was possible to send it out so quickly, like a beam of laser-
“Oh!” A tiny squeak left her mouth and she looked up, her string of thoughts broken. She had bumped into someone who looked just as surprise as she was. Straight away, she stepped backwards, taking many small steps until her back hit the wall.
Zaelem searched her eyes and she looked away. She didn’t want to see the pained expression contorting his face. They stood like that for a few seconds before he finally asked, “Are you afraid of me?”
She didn’t reply. He had somehow managed to look more dashing than usual. It was perhaps due to his arresting Wesarsh uniform-jet black with crisp white lines along the edges, freshly-ironed and buttoned up at the collar, unlike the previous messy, tie-loosened version she saw him in.
“I wasn’t trying to find you. I was just leaving the dining hall after my dinner.” He paused again, waiting. Still waiting.
Her head dipped even lower in response. What was she supposed to say? Why was her heart racing? Where did this strange… feeling come from? She did not even know how to describe what she felt for him. With Chairon, she knew exactly how she felt: adoration and being adored; excitement and thrill, like a whirlwind. With Zaelem, she simply felt… safe. Like an anchor, a harbour.
Zaelem drew in a deep breath. “Are you going to pretend that I’m invisible? Or are you just going to pretend that nothing happened? I wasn’t joking, you know. I meant every single thing I said.” His voice was soft, but a little angry.
Kismette licked her lips and swallowed. Her throat felt dry and she could still feel his eyes on her. He sounded just like that fateful day in the forest when they were hiding from Jaelon and his team, when he said she must escape without him-when he told her to get out of her comfort zone.
And try as she might, she could never forget how she felt that night he confessed. There were so many things she wanted to say now, but she was afraid of being heard. The walls have ears, they say.
Probably eyes too, she suddenly thought. Standing here becomes riskier by the second. Alarmed, she started to scuffle towards the exit.
“Please don’t avoid me,” he tried again, almost whispering. The misery in his words stung her heart.
She looked up at him. Now that his hair no longer covered his eyes, she could see more clearly that they were silent yet assuring. Was that why he could command an army of fighters? But how would I know that I want to be with you? I’ve had strong feelings for Chairon and I thought I love him, but I’m not so sure anymore. How do I tell if what I’m feeling now is the real thing?
Instead, she replied, “I can’t.” She blinked her tears away as the news caption flashed in her mind.
He took a brave step forward. And she had to keep the distance.
Panicking, she ran.
Ning: First up, HELLO EVERYBODY!!! :D My holidays are finally here! WooOooOoo~! And I can't believe I forgot about CS's 2nd birthday! O_O (My semester was horribly weighed down by just one nasty physics module. *sigh*)
Also, I haven't given my thanks to the people who voted for me for Boolprop's The Golden Plumbob Awards under the Favorite Sims 2 Non-Legacy/Challenge Story (active) category. This is the first time I ever won a story award, so you can bet I was grinning like a Cheshire cat the whole day. Hehe. THANK YOU SO MUCH, GUYS! :D
Anyway, some *cough* interesting piccys for ya guys, haha:
When shooting the scene where Zaelem was calling Kismette, I really made him call her. And this was what they talked about:
Whut? I hope you aren't asking Kismette to do something sinful, you sneaky boy. XD
Then, after they hung up:
You are moving too fast, Zae!
He does have a fear for Kismette's death, though. *tum dee tum...*
lol, okay, I got to go now. See you guys around! :)
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Next: Chapter 42