The Golden Desires (12 page)

"We
will talk about this at a later time, but you have been chosen, Isabella. It is
a gift that will bring great responsibility in time, but not for many years.
For now you will have a great many years for the two of you to pair and begin
your family, to do your part in securing the ongoing population of our village."

Trent
and Isabella looked at each other and on each of their faces they could see a
complex array of feelings including surprise, disbelief, uncertainty … and
desire.

They
walked further until they came to an area with mats on the floor, where the
ancient signalled for them to sit with him. On doing so, they saw him look
closely at one of their faces, and then the other.

"It
is no simple thing that has been done today, and it is not something that you
should take lightly or talk about. We shall not tell people how
Trent
has come to be here or where he has come from. Especially
when
he
has come from."

Isabella
felt shock flow through her system and Elder Rhys saw it.

"Do
not worry about Adrian, Isabella. He has already forgotten that he ever saw
Trent
.
When he next sees him, it will be as if he is seeing him for the first
time."

"How…?"
she started to ask and he raised his hands as if to stop her from asking the
question.

"It
is done and all is well. You must not talk of this to him.
Trent
will be a traveller who is lost and we are welcoming to our community,"
Elder Rhys continued and then looked pointedly at
Trent
.
"He will have lost his memory as far as how he came to be inside the
walls," he said and
Trent
understood completely that he was to tell this
story if ever asked.

"Of
course," he said, confirming he understood.

"He
has arrived today and you have found him and brought him to me, Isabella,"
Elder Rhys said and saw her nod in acknowledgement. "I am therefore asking
you to now take him and show him around the village, as you would any
new
person."

Isabella
and Trent both inhaled deeply, understanding then that they would have to pretend
as if they had never met before.

"I
ask that you will wait for at least two weeks until you let people see you
together as potential pairings," he said and Isabella let out a small
groan at the thought of not being able to be near him as closely as she wanted.
"Do not worry, Isabella, I can see how much you wish to be together. I
will not stop you - there is a small room behind the temple that is discrete
and
Trent
can sleep in it and make it his own for now. When
he is known among our people we can work toward announcing your pairing."

The
words were said as a statement, not a question, so did not require any answer
from either Trent of Isabella.

"Now,
come with me and I will show you to the room that will be
Trent
's
until we find suitable more accommodation for him."

~~~~~

Once
in the small room that housed only a bed, the ancient nodded to Trent and
Isabella and removed himself, quietly closing the door behind him.

Instantly
Trent
walked to Isabella and put his arms around her, drawing her to him
and holding her close. His emotions were overloading, he realized, with all
that he had seen and been through, and when they looked at one another,
Isabella could see tears in his eyes.

"Are
you sad? Do you wish that you had not come into our time?" Isabella asked,
concerned this might be the case.

Trent
looked closely at her and kissed her lips softly
before taking her hand and leading her to sit with him on the edge of the bed.

"No,
not at all, Isabella. I am overwhelmed with so many things going through my
mind, and so many things to think about in this new life. But the one thing I
am certain of is that I have done the right thing."

"You
have not seen the village properly yet, or the people…"

"No,
and I will not today, if you do not mind. Today I need to adjust to …
this," he said, waving his hand around to indicate the building he was in.
"A short time ago all I could see here was rubble and now I am sitting in
it, as if it has been suddenly resurrected. I know that is not the case, but I
just need to adjust to one thing at a time."

Isabella
nodded at him, feeling an intensity in her emotion also. In the back of her
mind was a fear that once he was comfortable around people, she would not be
the one he chose to pair with at all. He had not seen any other women for so
long, would she really be his choice when she was not his
only
choice?

He
saw her face sadden as she seemed to shut down and go silent, and he raised her
chin so that he could look directly into her eyes. He wanted to ask her what
was on her mind but before he could she reached up and kissed him …
passionately.

Trent
was so hungry for her but maintained his
composure. It would only be a few weeks, Elder Rhys had indicated, before they
could be paired, and she was worth waiting for. For now, though, he indulged in
the feelings that she brought out in him, and he instinctively moved backward
along the length of the small bed, taking her with him.

Neither
were sure of how much time had passed when they broke apart, but
Trent
knew that he was well and truly under her spell. If he was in his time and he
had met her in his city, he would have already attempted to bed her without any
thought whatsoever. He would have acted on his natural impulses and not given
any consideration to that being a rash and unfeeling thing to do.

But
here, in this time, although he had yet to see the people of the village, or
the village itself in its lively state, he felt a sense of disrespect over the
ease with which he had bedded women in the past. They had each meant something
to him in the instant, but Isabella meant something
more
to
him. He wanted her to be the one final woman he made love to. He wanted her to
be the one he had children with, and grew old with. He didn't know about her
growing internal fear that once he saw other women she would not be his chosen
one at all. If he had, he would have reassured her however he had to, that he
had no desire to be with any other woman ever again.

"I
must not stay, I do not think. There are … feelings … inside of me that I am
new to," Isabella said with a slight blush and a very demure look on her
face, and
Trent
could not argue with her.

"I
have them too, Isabella," he said softly and saw her look at him sharply,
as if she had assumed it would be one-sided. "You are not the only one
feeling this way."

He
lifted his hand and stroked her cheek lightly, deep in thought about so many
things but trying desperately to
not
think about making love to her.

"You
are … experienced … in…" she started to say, looking down as if in deep
embarrassment. "
Loving
a woman?"

"Yes,"
he replied instantly, not wanting to lie to her.

"
Many
women?"

"Yes."

He
watched her facial expressions as she let the acknowledgement flow through her
mind, and eventually she seemed to
deflate
, right before his eyes.

"Isabella,
I come from a world where many people do not regard … such … pleasure … as
anything more than an activity that they partake in."

"It
is not for making children, in your time?"

"Yes,
but many people who do not want children still choose to enjoy it."

She
shook her head.

"I
do not understand. I do not need to understand…"

He
kissed her softly.

"I
cannot undo having been with women before you. I can assure you, however, that
I never felt anything for them. Not like I feel for you. Perhaps that makes the
idea of … pairing … seem not important to me, but the opposite is true. I
believe you and I are meant to be together, now and for the rest of our lives.
Nothing from my life before is as important as how I feel being here right now
… with
you
."

Isabella
felt confused but would be patient and accept whatever would happen with them.
For now it was a relief to be able to lie beside him and not worry about people
from her time seeing her outside, doing things such as kissing an invisible
person.

The
thought suddenly made her laugh at her own thinking and
Trent
was so happy to see her smiling again that he found himself laughing in
response.

"What
are you laughing at?" he asked her, curious at her change in mood.

"I
was thinking about how it might have looked to someone from my time …
this
time … before, if they saw me holding my arms around you and kissing you. I am
sure it would have seemed like a strange thing to see."

He
smiled at her and kissed her more, for the moment not caring how it would look
to anyone else.

~~~~~

Trent
held her in his arms and found himself quite at
peace. And how it felt to be in a bed after so long sleeping on the ground and
in his sleeping bag…

All
of a sudden he sat up, making Isabella jump.

"What
is it?"

"I
just realized that my gear will all be … in the future."

"Yes,
it will be lost to you now. Was there something that you needed?"

He
relaxed back and smiled.

"No,
nothing. It is just very odd to think that it is here but it isn't here
now
.
I may never quite understand how that can be."

~~~~~

After
lying together quietly for some time, Isabella heard his stomach rumble and she
smiled at him.

"I
will take you to the dining area, if you wish," she said and he found
himself salivating at the possible flavours soon to be made available to him.

"But
did Elder Rhys not say we have to pretend like I am new here? How shall we do
that?"

"Hmm,
yes. Let us go and see him, and ask him how he wants this day to go. I am sure
he will have already considered such things."

They
stood up and Isabella moved toward the door, but before she opened it she felt
him take her hand once more and pull her close, kissing her deeply, and
Isabella found herself wishing they could quickly move to the pairing part.

~~~~~

They
walked through the temple until they found Elder Rhys sitting in meditation.
Isabella looked at
Trent
, as if to stress they must not disturb the
ancient, but as always, he was already knowing of them being there.

"Do
not be concerned. I am finished," he said, standing up and greeting them.
"You have a question for me."

"Yes,"
Isabella said, as always, in awe of the ancient before her. "Shall I take
Trent
to the dining area for sustenance, or bring some here for him?"

"I
think it is time, Isabella," he replied, looking from one to the other.
"We can show him to the people - announce his arrival to all. If you are
both ready."

Trent
felt nervous. He had left the city to get away
from crowds of people and suddenly he wondered if he was about to feel
claustrophobic once more.

~~~~~

They
followed the ancient out of the temple and
Trent
felt himself in awe
once more of how the village looked now, compared to how it had looked to him
before his change. It was vibrant, alive and lush. It was beyond logic that
things could grow so easily as high up as he knew they were, but a thought
entered his head that intrigued him. Did they even
know
they
were on top of an icy mountain? The grey exterior walls were so high, even from
the inside of them, that there was no real way to see how much land and depth
of valleys there were outside of the walls. And it felt so warm and pleasant in
the village, he considered it quite possible - even likely -  that the
residents simply did not have any comprehension of where exactly they were on
the planet. In fact, perhaps they did not even comprehend that there was any
life at all beyond where they were.

~~~~~

As
they walked behind Elder Rhys,
Trent
started to see more and more people, but he felt
relaxed now. He could see the village and knew that the possible population of
it could in no way be anywhere near what he had grown up in and had grown to
hate.

Wherever
they walked, people stopped and stared but then came up and greeted Isabella
and the ancient, before coming forward to smile at
Trent
and nod their heads. They did not speak directly to him yet, seeming very shy
about him, and he was glad of that as he did not know if he could speak in that
moment either, given how overwhelmed he was about everything.