Chapter 213 - Touch like heaven (2/2)
Arei chuckled, ”Not my best look, I know. But I couldn't find anything that would fit, and I figured this was better than nothing, and it won't get in the way of what I was going to show you so...”
Her eyes moved back up to his. ”Show? Oh! Yes... what was it you wanted to show me?”
Arei sent her a crooked smile. ”Well, you said you wanted to get to know the real me. The me that no one ever sees so I thought this would be a good place to start.”
She tilted her head curiously. ”How so? I would have thought your father's palace would have been.”
Arei shook his head as he took the book and placed it on the mantle before taking her hands and leading her to the narrow hallway separating the bedrooms. He pulled on a string hanging from the ceiling, and to Jos's surprise, a ladder lowered. He turned back to face her, ”You see most of the deep, darker secrets I never wanted to share with anyone... other than maybe Ry every now and then... are here.” He guided her hand to the ladder. ”You may want to go up first. I'm sure my half-assed toga is not going to hide much from below.”
Jos laughed, ”I mean as old as you are, I would have figured you'd be better at it!”
He smiled up at her as she made her way up the ladder. He held it for added support as she neared the top. ”Then you also should know how long ago it's been since the last time I had to tie one!” He watched as she moved over to one side making room for him. ”There should be a wooden crate full of journals over on the left side. Do you see it?” He asked. When she nodded, he added. ”If you could hand it down...” He stepped onto the ladder, taking the crate from her so she wouldn't have to maneuver the stairs with it. He stepped down and waited for her, pushing the ladder back into the ceiling once she was off. ”Ry found a healthy release baking, I found mine in writing.” He led her over to the sectional. ”There isn't much left to know about me that isn't right here in this box. I don't expect you to read them all today or any other day really, but I thought I'd at least offer them.”
Jos nodded quietly, her focus fully on the crate now. ”I am interested in them... in you...” She leaned toward the box. ”Is there any particular would you'd rather I start at?” She asked.
Arei shook his head. ”Not really. It depends mostly on what you want to know. Whether there is any particular thing you are seeking or whether it's just an overall picture you're trying to create.”
She lifted the one with the most warn cover. Her eyes met his before opening it. ”Is this one ok?”
He nodded. ”Start anywhere you'd like.” He set back against the sofa as he watched her curious eyes traveled across the first several pages before finally coming to a stop about a quarter of the way through it.
”Wow, did you draw this?” She asked staring at a sketch of outstretched feathers.
He leaned closer to get a better look. ”Um, huh.” He leaned to the side, letting a wing extend. ”It was one of my first. I used my own wing as a reference.” He let the wing retract as he watched her features as she studied the image.
”It's amazing detail for a first attempt. How old were you.” She asked still staring at it.
”Probably about your age now, give or take a century.” He leaned over and searched through the pile of books before finally selecting one with a worn teal leather cover. ”This one was always my favorite.” He handed it to her.
Jos set the journal she'd been flipping through to the side, still open to the beautiful wings as she took the other. Her breath caught as she flipped it open to the first page. It was her own likeness. The page was tattered around the edges and had stains across it, the charcoal smudged in places from frequent traffic. He had drawn her in the exact outfit she'd been wearing the last day they'd seen each other all those years ago. Her gaze stared pensively down into her open hands where a heart rested, overfilling both small palms.
”You've held my heart in your hands from nearly the first time we met. Any question you may have about the authenticity of my feelings for you are there in that book... about how devastating our separation was for me... It's all there.” He nodded toward the box. ”I may not be great at expressing myself verbally, but I seem to have a knack for expressing them by pen. You'll even find letters written to you if you ever care to read them.” He shrugged, ”Though I have to admit, some would be a bit embarrassing for me to sit this close to you as you read them.”
Her brows furrowed as she moved her gaze from his sketch to his gleaming eyes. ”Why show them to me now?”
Arei studied her for several long minutes before finally answering, ”Most of your memories have come back now. I want you to have the full picture... the full truth of the situation. I'll admit, I should have found a way sooner... but I believe if you read these, you'll understand why I held back and more importantly how much you mean to me... then and now.”
Jos could feel tears begin to build in her eyes as she forced them away from the radiant hazel orbs burning into her very soul. She focused as best as she could on the book as she flipped through it finding page after page of sweet words and her own mirrored likeness. When her eyes had blurred past the point of seeing the pages any longer, she finally set the book on top of the other and flung herself at the statue of a man sitting beside her. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she buried her face against the bare skin of his neck and shoulder.
He slowly and gently wrapped his arms around her, stroking the length of her ponytail soothingly. ”I'm sorry my cowardice caused us both so many years of undue suffering. I can't make of that lost time for either of us, but I can beg for it to be ended now. I can't rightfully ask you to be mine, but I can beg to be yours. No matter how the verdict goes at tomorrow's final hearing, let me stay by your side... let me be all the things you need, you deserve... and hopefully eventually grow to want.”
Jos let out a muffled sob as she pushed away from his neck to look him in the eyes. ”You are already what I want... I've just been too afraid of the pain that admittance would bring to myself and others around me... but I can't deny it any longer and I'm pretty sure you already realize as much... Arei... I think I'm still very much in love with you.” She pressed her lips against his, the salty taste of her own tears merging with the sweet taste of his full lips.
Arei carefully pulled back meeting her gaze. ”And I've waited a half a millennia to hear you say that.” He slid his hand tenderly across the smooth skin of her neck, teasing the sensitive flesh at the base of her scalp with his index finger. ”And to freely do this.” He leaned forward as he applied gentle pressure to the back neck bringing the lips together again in a long kiss, deep kiss.