Black Rose (5 page)

“How
old are you, child?”

The
boy held up four bronzed fingers. 

“What
are you doing out here on the beach?”

“Mommy
told me to come here,” the boy told her.

Mara
forced a soft smile upon her full lips. “And who is your mommy?” she asked,
knowing the answer.

“Sophia.
Please, can you help me? Mommy is really scared. She sent me here.” There were
tears running down the child’s rosy, wind-blown cheeks.

Mara
held out her arms to the young boy, who trustingly came into her embrace. “What
is your name?”

“Dorian,”
the child answered quietly.

“Well,
Prince Dorian, there is nothing to be scared of anymore. I will take you to
your mother.”

“You
can?”

She
pulled back slightly. “Yes, child. In fact, I have a secret to tell you. Do you
think you can keep a secret?”

The
child stopped crying and nodded his head. “This, my Prince, is just a bad
dream, that’s all.” She fought to maintain her smile. “Just a bad dream, and
dreams are nothing to be afraid of.”

He
looked at her quizzically for a moment before returning her smile. “Can I wake
up now?” Mara’s heart lurched in her chest as she stared into his trusting blue
eyes.

“Yes,
child. I am going to make the bad dream end. All you have to do is close your
eyes. Do you think you can do that for me, little prince?”

The
young boy nodded happily as Mara placed a hand upon the hilt of her long,
silver blade. Then the child closed what Mara knew, would be the last eyes to
ever hold the sea.

Mara
awoke to find Garreth sitting beside her. A former Sub-Captain of the Black
Rose, Garreth had spent a lifetime attempting to avoid any position of command
within the courts he had devoted his life to. He sat beside Mara dressed in a
dark pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt.  His blond hair was shaggy
with bangs that were just beginning to obstruct the view to his pale green
eyes. “You need a haircut,” Mara said groggily, a persistent pounding against
her left temple.

“Hello,
Mara,” he said to his former Captain. “I would say that I was surprised to see
you here. However, after seeing Edward, I would honestly expect to find you
nowhere else.”

“Go
away,” Mara told him. “Or at least kill the lights.”

Garreth
glanced toward the desk at the empty bottle, and then he glanced back towards
her. “Are you drunk?”

Mara
gave a deep groan. “Not anymore.”

“Mara?
You don’t drink alcohol.”

“No,”
she replied. “The Captain of the Black Rose does not drink alcohol. I, on the
other hand, drink just fine.”

He
sat in silence for several moments and then said, “Mara, are you okay?”

“Aren’t
I always?”

Garreth
shook his head. “I spoke with Nolan when I arrived. Glorified assassins?”

Mara
closed her eyes as the previous night slowly returned. “Please go away.”

“Destroyers,
not protectors?”

“Well,
aren’t we? You should know, you were one of us.”

Garreth
shook his head, his long blond bangs swishing along his brow. “I haven’t seen
you like this since the night Phillip died.”

“A
lot of people died that night.”

“But
you only cared about one. I came as soon as I heard. It must have been hard for
you to see—”

“Him
that way,” she finished for him.

“Mara,
are you okay?”

Her
head continued to pound insistently and anger slipped into her usually calm
tone. “Stop asking me questions to which you already know the answer! Do you
think standing over me like this helps anything? Do you think I want to see you
any more than him?”

“Mara!”
he cut in. “Stop it!  It was six-hundred years ago. It was—”

“She
was wearing a blue gown of silk. She was dancing in his arms where she
belonged. He spun her around once, twice, thrice.”

“Mara.”
This time his voice was gentle. “That was a long time ago. She died a long time
ago.”

“I
know.” Her voice decreased in volume. “I know she died…except when I look in
his eyes, watch him breathe, listen to the beat of his heart. Then she lives. I
can see her dancing in his eyes.”

“You
have to stop punishing yourself for what happened.  It was—”

“If
you say it was not my fault,” Mara interrupted, “then I swear to the Gods I
will slit your throat where you stand.”

Silence
followed her threat. Garreth’s eyes shifted around the room as he considered
his words. “Have you ever considered that perhaps your forgiveness lies in his
arms?”

She
shook her head slowly, the anger vanishing from her now hushed tone. “In his
arms,” she echoed his words. “In his arms, listening to the sound of his heart,
is the only place I have ever known peace.  And the one place…the only
place that I can never be—is with him.” She searched Garreth’s pale eyes. “I am
not worthy of his forgiveness, Garreth. I will never be worthy.”

Edward
awoke in considerably less pain than when he had first arrived back in his
chambers. The expert healers had gone to work on his injuries. Between their
careful ministrations and powerful salves, he was beginning to feel more like
himself. He opened his eyes to find Garreth sitting in a large chair that had
been pulled beside the bed. “Hello, Captain.”

“Garreth,”
Edward said to his longtime friend. “You need a haircut.”

Garreth
gave a soft chuckle. “Mara said the same thing.”

“So,
she is why you are here.”

“I
am here because someone tried to kill you, Captain.”

Edward
met Garreth’s light green eyes. “Is she okay?”

Garreth
shook his head and sighed. “Why the hell do you two fight each other? You
should go into that room, throw her down on the bed and let go of the past once
and for all.”

“Garreth!
Be serious.”

“I
am being serious! Do you think this is what
she
wanted? She would kick
both your asses if she could see this.”

Edward
shook his head. “You don’t understand.”

“Of
course I understand,” Garreth replied, frustration filtering through his voice.
“She was my sister, Edward. And she would not have wanted the two of you, who
she loved most, to suffer in this way.”

“I
should have been there. I should have stopped it.”

“There
is only one person to blame for the fact that both you and Mara were not there
that night. It wasn’t you and it wasn’t Mara. If you still must insist on
blame, after all of these years, then at least place it where it rightfully
belongs.”

“If
I had done my job, instead of letting everything else get in the way.”

“You
mean instead of following your heart? Please, for the love of all the Gods,
Edward, my friend. Please, let this go. Forgive yourself and forgive her, too.
She is self-destructing and from where I am seated, you don’t seem far behind
her.”

“Mara
does not self-destruct. Haven’t you heard? She is the cold-hearted, fearless,
merciless Black Rose.”

“Edward!”
he said sharply.

Silence
followed as the Captain stared down at the blankets in sudden shame. “I’m
sorry, Garreth. It’s just, seeing her again, it’s just not…”

“I
know,” Garreth replied sadly. “I know what the two of you do to each other. I
know all too well.” He ran his fingers through his shaggy blond hair. “But you
need to understand, she feels the same way.”

Edward
shook his head. “She should have left me there. She should have…”

“She
wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she had.”

Edward
raised his gaze. “I know.”

Mara
left the court without saying goodbye to the Captain whose life she had saved.
Instead, she had turned to Jake, instructing simply, “If you need me, do not
hesitate to call.” She had offered the Sub-Captain a slight bow and then turned
and walked quickly from the room, exiting the long, grey hallways of stone. Two
hours later, she was seated on a private jet on her way back to the house of
the Black Rose.

The
Black Rose Guard lived in an ancient castle nestled in the Lethia Mountains. It
was an isolated, dreary place known for spectacular thunderstorms and a fog
that put even the Scottish moors to shame. The drive to this desolate and
remote castle was a slow one in which vehicles needed to carefully tread the
grey, steep roads on the mountains. Once long ago, this hidden land had been
the heart of all the immortal realm, and the ancient keep a glorious, hidden
castle. But as the years passed, the courts had moved on to warmer, less remote
locations until all that remained were the members of the revered Black Rose.

Mara
had been picked up by a driver at the Lethia airport and began the four hour
journey into the heart of the Black Rose. She attempted to sleep throughout the
ride, but found herself unable to quiet her mind long enough for sleep to come.
She shifted again, fighting her rising memories.

“Liza.”
She closed her eyes against her will and saw the young girl sitting beside her.
With pale cheeks, ruby lips, luxurious black hair, high cheek bones and violet
eyes. Liza had been a beauty among beauties with a heart of profound innocence.
It was no surprise that Edward had lost his heart to her. Liza had stolen all
of their hearts in one way or another, even Mara’s.

“We
have arrived, my Lady,” the driver said, pulling her mind back to the present.

“Thank
you,” Mara replied, and then waited while he came around and opened the door.
She stepped out into the damp air. The sky was a cloudless grey over the
ancient stone towers which constituted the keep of the Black Rose. She walked
across a narrow, wooden bridge that stretched over a stream of grey water and
walked toward the tall stone doors. They opened far before she reached them,
and she stepped slowly over the bridge.

Two
men stood on either side of the door, both in black from head to toe, a silver
rose embroidered into their black shirts. They had matching, shoulder-length
brown hair and golden eyes. “Captain Mara,” they both said and bowed their
heads slightly as they opened the door for their Captain. 

“Hello,
Brian. Aiden.”

“Sub-Captain
Brendan is awaiting you, Captain.”

“Yes,
thank you.”

She
walked past the guardsmen and into the old castle. The vaulted ceiling rose
nearly twenty feet high and was made of grey stone. Large rugs had been placed
upon the stone, in deep, crimson reds that were beginning to fade. Narrow
spiral staircases stood on either side of the walls leading to the levels
above. Mara took the stairs on the left and began the slow, careful walk
towards the upper levels of the ancient castle. When she reached the top level,
she walked towards her chambers. However, before reaching the stone doors, Mara
turned left and walked down the opposite hallway toward the chambers of
Brendan, her second in command.

She
knocked on the tall stone door and entered without waiting for an invitation.
Brendan sat at his desk, leaning over several sets of papers. His dark brown
hair was cut short against his skull, his skin pale from the lack of sunlight
associated with the area. He looked up, turning his ice blue gaze upon Mara. He
stood from the chair and offered a low bow to his Captain, bending at the waist
and remaining perfectly still for several seconds.

“Rise,”
Mara instructed him.

“I
am glad to see your safe return, Captain.”

“Thank
you,” Mara replied. “The guards downstairs said you wished to see me.”

“Yes,
my Lady. I just wanted to report that all has been quiet while you were away.”

“Has
Sean returned from his protection detail?”

“He
returned two days ago, after seeing the Prime Minster safely through his South
Ciar tour.”

Mara
nodded. “Is that all?”

Brendan
stared at her for several moments in silence, unspoken questions burning in his
eyes. “Captain Edward is alive and back in the Ciar Court,” she said in a dry
tone, answering his unspoken question.

“Thank
the Gods for that, my Lady.”

“It
was a necessity,” Mara replied. “If Edward had died, that would leave Jake in
charge of the Ciar court guard.”

Brendan
cringed slightly. “No one wants that.”

“No,”
Mara said in a voice that withheld even the slightest ounce of humor. “No one
wants that.”

Other
questions burned brightly through Brendan’s eyes, but Mara was his Captain, so
instead he offered a low bow and said, “Is there anything else, Captain?”

“No.
That will be all for now.” She gave Brendan a curt nod and turned and walked
back towards her own chambers.

Mara’s
chambers were made of the same granite that formed the rest of the castle. The
floor was covered by a thin black rug. A large bed stood by the left wall and a
large writing desk sat in the right corner of the room near one of two small
windows. A large fireplace was situated along the wall closet to the door, but
no fire was currently lit.