Secrets of Sealgaire, Chapter 11 part C
As Niall and Heather finally shut the door to their bedroom, they fully intended to fulfill every promise they made to each other about what to expect that night. They began to kiss, but were interrupted by a quiet knock on the door.
Niall growled, but Heather shushed him. “No one would knock at this time of night if it weren’t important.” They answered the door and found a disheveled Shioban, tears in her eyes, and ready to bolt.
“I’m s-sorry. I-I shouldn’t have bothered you. F-forgive me.” Shioban stammered, and tried to turn on her heel and leave.
Niall grabbed her arm and stopped her. “Shioban, what’s happened?” They guided her inside and closed the door.
“I…it’s…Well, it’s Jackie. I can’t bear the thought of him going through this world for God knows how much longer, all by himself. He’s so alone. He’s alone, and I don’t know how to help him. My King…I…I think I’m in love with Jack Balin!”
Heather and Niall’s eyes connected over Shioban’s bent head for just a moment, sharing the same thought; the pendant. Then Shioban started sobbing. Loudly. Niall looked helplessly at Heather, who steered Shioban into their bathroom, closing the door behind them.
“Come here.” Heather said, gathering Shioban in her arms and letting her cry. When Shioban had calmed down a bit, Heather sat her down.
“Have you been drinking?” Heather had noticed the heavy scent of alcohol when she held Shioban.
“Yes, with Jackie. We’ve been drinking all day, trying to outdo each other. We laugh and joke and drink, pretending we both don’t feel anything. I just don’t think I can do it anymore, Ma’am.”
Heather didn’t want to bring up the subject of the pendant while Shioban was in such a state, but wanted to offer her some comfort. “Shioban, Niall and I are worried about him, too. We plan to find the Gypsies when we get home to Sealgaire and see what can be done.”
Heather saw hope dawn on Shioban’s face and realized her misstep. She tried to amend the statement. “From what we’ve been told so far, it looks like this might be a permanent thing for him. The best I think we can hope for is to find a way to make a companion for him that’s also immortal.” There. She’d planted the seed.
Now, she planned to get Shioban calmed down and up to Balin’s room for the night. The odds were good he wouldn’t be coming back this evening. Let her sleep on it and they’d see what happened in the morning.
Niall almost didn’t hear the knock that came at the bedroom door, because of all the wailing going on in the bathroom. He opened the door, expecting someone to make sure he wasn’t beating poor Heather, but instead found a very drunk Balin.
“I’m a fool, Niall!” Balin slurred, as he swayed into the room. “A blazin’ fool!”
“I can see that.” Niall said, guiding him inside before he woke the whole house.
“I did it. I was never supposed to do it, but I went and did it.”
“What did you do, Balin?”
“Why, I fell in love, ye great fool!! Ain’t choo been listening?”
“I thought you were the fool.”
“Aye, that’s right. See? Ye ARE listening.”
Niall had his hands full. He could hear the hysterical sobbing had quieted in the bathroom, but Balin never even noticed it.
Niall knew it was hopeless to talk to him tonight, but he had to do something. “Balin, you need to tell her.”
“That I’m a fool?”
“No, I’m fairly sure she already knows that. I mean that you love her.”
“I do love ‘er.” Balin smiled a silly grin. “Sheesh swonderful. Ye know what I call ‘er; in my head, I mean? She-bonnie, my bonnie lass.”
“Yes, bonnie she is.” Niall agreed. “You need to tell her that you love her, so you two can decide what to do about it.”
“What to do about it? What can we do about it? I can’t tell ‘er. We can’t be in love. I’ll break ‘er heart.” Balin’s grin suddenly turned sad as he remembered why he planned to never fall in love. “She’ll be old and think I won’t love her any more. I’ll watch our kids get old and die. Can I even have kids? Besides, how could she ever love a monster like me?”
“First, you’re a fool, not a monster. Second, I don’t know. We can find out. These are all things you should be asking her, not me. If she knew how you felt about her, it might change everything.”
“Really? Do ye think so? Do ye think she could love me, even with me being…whatever I am?”
Niall walked to the bathroom door and opened it. Heather heard everything that was said in the bedroom, and was ready. As the door opened, she stepped aside, so Shioban and Balin had a clear view of each other.
“Could you ever love me, Bonnie?” Balin blurted out.
“Of course, Jackie. I love you like crazy.” Shioban sniffed.
“That’s good. That’s really good. Do ye know why? I’ll be telling ye why. Because I love ye like crazy, too. That’s why.”
“Well, then I think you should kiss me, Jackie.”
“Ye be right, lass. I should be kissing ye right now.”
Niall walked up behind Balin and pushed him towards Shioban, while Heather did the same for Shioban, pushing her towards Balin. “”For the love of God, Balin! Kiss the lass, already!”
Finally, they kissed. And kissed. And kissed.
Niall guided Heather around the two kissing drunks, and together, they left the room. Niall closed the door, and they stood outside listening to make sure no one passed out on the floor before they made it to the bed.
The sound of moaning and bedsprings told them they had to listen no more.
“Now what?” Heather asked.
“Now, we head to Balin’s room and finish what we started. It’s not likely he’ll be headed upstairs tonight. It’s not likely he could even find the stairs, let alone climb them.”
“That’s a great plan, except for one thing.”
“I’m not seeing a flaw in my plan. What is it?” Niall asked with a raised eyebrow.
“The bags from the mall. They’re still in our bedroom.”
Niall’s face fell as understanding dawned on him. He turned back to their door and reached for the handle. Heather kept herself between him and the door, until he finally gave in. She guided a very sad Niall up the stairs.
“Niall, did we do the right thing?” Heather asked, once they were settled into Balin’s bed.
“No. Absolutely not. It would’ve only taken a second to get the bags. They wouldn’t have even noticed I was in there.” Niall pouted.
“You know that’s not what I meant. The bags will have to wait until we get home to Sealgaire.” Heather giggled at the sullen Niall. “I meant about making them confess their feelings.”
“They clearly love each other. They need to address that. Once they’re honest about what they feel, they can make some decisions.”
“You are a wise king, indeed.” Heather said, snuggling into him. In her best Irish accent, she added, “I think ye should be kissing me now, Niall Sealgaire.”
That managed to coax a smile from him. “Aye,” Niall answered. “That’s what I should be doing, all right.” And he made no move to do so.
Finally, the two of them broke into an easy laughter, and their playful mood melted into an enchanted night of love. They questioned and explored, learned and laughed in between kisses and caresses. When they finally fell asleep, it was with their hands entwined, and contented smiles on their faces.
That's it for Ch.11...See you soon for Chapter 12, and there will still be an epilogue showing Ireland. Thanks for reading!