Traveler (17 page)

She opened her eyes and swallowed, looking him square in the eyes.  “Thank you,” she murmured, looking at him curiously.  “Are you...okay?” she frowned.  “You look like there’s something wrong.”  She was about ready to get up and check to see if he had a fever.

“I’m fine...don’t worry.” He replied hurriedly, giving her a reassuring smile while mentally reminding himself that she was his roommate and charge.  He took a bite of his pancakes, taking his time to chew and swallow before finally speaking again.  “We need to handle everything with school for you...but before we do that, you said that you had some questions for me.”
                Aislin took another bite of her pancakes, nodding. She had forgotten for a moment that he was gay.  His meat comment he had made last night, his uncomfortableness with her in something less than fully clothed...that had to be the answer.  “I’ve decided I want to do the online thing,” she answered him.  “It will be easier.  As far as the questions...why did it matter that he called me Traveler? What does it mean?  And what was with the keyring you gave me last night?” She looked at him honestly, her green eyes never leaving his face.

“Well, that is easily handled...even if you accidentally jump, you won’t have to worry about explaining your absences to teachers.”  He replied between bites of pancakes before picking up a slice of bacon.  “The keyring has your copies of the house keys on them, as well as a spare key for the car.”  

Taking a bite of bacon, she nodded.  “Oh....thank you for that.  I didn’t think you’d get the keys so quickly.”  She smiled a little.  “But I won’t use the car often, I promise,” she winked.  

“I had them made while you took your nap yesterday.” He replied with a laugh, idly gesturing towards her with a piece of bacon.  “As for calling you Traveler...that is a long story.  First...remember I told you that we do not use true names there...because names have power.  However, we cannot just walk around calling each other ‘you’.  It would be far too confusing.  So...everyone has a...nickname that is known to everyone.”

“What’s your nickname?” she asked curiously, interrupting him, finishing up the pancakes on her plate.  “And then I’m called Traveler...because I go between the worlds, is that it?  But what significance is there?  The Captain told me that there was a legend about me...should I be concerned?”  She made designs on her plate with the syrup left there, making patterns with the tines of her fork.

“I am known as Ghost...though I won’t go into the reasons why.” Alexander answered with a laugh, sitting back in his chair with the glass of juice in his hand.  He took a sip from the glass before continuing.  “The legend says...that since Silvertongue is from another world, the only one who can truly defeat him is another person from another world.  A seer had Told this prophecy with her dying breath, and this is a loose interpretation of it all.  It said that it was a young woman, with flaming red hair and bright green eyes, whose first name is Aislin.  She will be known as the Traveler.  The Traveler, in embracing her name, can jump between the worlds as she wills it...and in that ability to jump, she knows Silvertongue’s weakness, and can defeat him.”  

Aislin frowned.  “I...I see.  I will find out why you are called Ghost.”  It was more of a promise than a threat.  “But thank you...for telling me the legend.  Maybe we should learn how to jump whenever I want to now, instead of letting it suck me in...that way I don’t have a surprise waiting for me every time I go in there.  I can’t get anything done in these little jumps where I keep getting kicked out.”

“Yes...I agree that you need to learn how to control the jumps.  Thankfully, it is not an issue while you are in this house.  But before we start that, I really think that we need to figure out exactly what we are doing.  We need to take care of your school...otherwise they will be looking for you.”  He paused for a moment, thinking.  “Even if I begin to teach you right this very moment, it isn’t something that can be rushed or learned quickly.  It will take weeks, maybe months.  Perhaps...I can give you something to help me figure out where you are if...no, when you jump again.”

“I already said we’d do it online,” she answered. “So it’s taken care of...isn’t it?  Besides...I don’t plan on staying in this world for long enough to finish school.”  She didn’t pursue that comment any further.  “And what do you mean, give me something to help you figure out where I am?” she asked curiously.

“You need to be withdrawn from your other school first.  That is easily done.”  Serious blue eyes met her gaze as he leaned forward, setting his empty glass down on the table. “I do understand wanting to go somewhere new and have adventures, I truly do.  However...I think you should at least try to finish high school, especially when you are so close.  I think that your mother would want you to do that.  No one says that you have to finish school when everyone else does.  If you’re doing it online, you could finish as early as you want.”  What he didn’t point out was that he had made her attending classes of some sort part of her requirements for living in his home.

Aislin rolled her eyes.  “Fine...I’ll get them done quickly, then, so I never have to do them again.  This doesn’t feel like my world, Alexander...it never has.  I feel like I belong in a world with magic, and knights and ladies...chivalry and pirates, sorcerers and prophecies.”  She shrugged her shoulders.  “I’ll do what you ask,but only because you asked it.”

“Good...if you want to leave this world, you should do it with no regrets.”  Alexander replied calmly, rising to his feet.  He picked up the empty dishes and placed them in the sink before returning to the table.  “Now then...back to your other question...the reason I would need to give you something in order to help me find you is because all that is traceable right now is the faint energy signature of the gateway after you’ve stepped through.  It is not very precise though...because obviously one does not usually stay in the exact same place for several hours at a time.  That is why it took me so long to find you the first time you jumped.”

She nodded.  “So what is it that you think you should give me, then?” she asked, cocking her head to the side and looking at him curiously.  “I’m open to the idea of having something for you to track me...but I just don’t know what you’d use.”  She picked up the plates that still had a few pancakes on them, and no bacon left, and helped him to put the rest of it away.  “Maybe...a pendant of some sort?  Or a bracelet, maybe?”

Alexander glanced over at her and smiled, putting the butter and syrup back in the fridge.  “Hm...yes, a pendant would work just fine.  I’m sure that I have something that will not look out of place here or in the other world.  It’ll take until...perhaps tomorrow for it to be ready.  Some things you cannot rush.”

She smiled at him and cleaned the glasses they had drank from.  “That would be wonderful.  I’ll try not to have anything happen between now and then.  The only place I’ll be going is that party tonight, so it should be okay.  And I won’t be back terribly late,” she promised.

He nodded, picking up a dish towel to dry the dishes she had cleaned. “That’s fine.  Just take your phone with you and call if you need a ride.  I’ll be here all day working on your pendant.”  It took very little time to put the dishes away where they belonged, his thoughts lingering on his plans for the day.

Aislin took the towel that was hanging off the stove, a wicked glint in her eye.  Her mother and she had played a game when they were younger....she spun the towel in the air and drew back to flick it at him, aiming for the butt that was hidden in his jeans.  This was going to sting.  She turned back and snapped it with the flick of her wrist, watching with satisfaction as the edge landed squarely on his left buttcheek.  She wanted to be comfortable enough with this man to play, to fool around, to laugh with each other.  She turned away, looking innocent out into the living room.

Deep in his thoughts, he had been paying very little attention to Aislin while he was putting things away.  He flinched at the feel of something hitting him, losing his train of thought.  Frowning slightly, he turned to look at her, not believing the innocent look at all.  His eyes narrowed slightly before he silently stalked over to where she was, making certain that he was blocking her only way to escape.  Towering over her, he stared down at her.  “Do you know what happens to cheeky girls in this house?”

Oh shit
.  That was the only thought that could go through Aislin’s head as he stalked towards her, looking everything like death, his eyes icy.  She tried to back up, her hips bumping into the counter.  
Oh shit
.  “Uhm....they get sent to their rooms?  And that’s exactly where I’m going to go.  Right now.  So excuse me.”  She moved to go duck under his arm to try to get away, leaving the towel on the counter.

“Oh, I don’t think so.”  He chuckled lowly, moving his arm slightly to block her from leaving.  Mischief filled his blue eyes as he stared down at her.  “Being sent to your room is a punishment fit for a small child...and I’m fairly certain that you are not a small child.  Besides...I have a much better punishment in mind for you.”  And with that, he grabbed her and began tickling her mercilessly.

Aislin’s breath blew out in a whoosh as he began to tickle her, trying to curl up into a fetal position to protect all her vulnerable spots.  She was extremely ticklish; she was laughing hysterically, trying to grab his forearms to get him to stop.  There were tears coming from her eyes and her chest was heaving with fast breaths as she tried to crumple to the ground.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her from falling onto the floor as she laughed.  Alexander grinned at her reaction, stopping long enough for her to catch her breath.  “Have you had enough yet, munchkin, or shall I start tickling you again?”

She wouldn’t admit the arm felt nice around her waist, but it did, even if she was about to pass out from being unable to breathe.  “Never...I will never surrender,” she gasped, her green eyes bright and glinting.

“Oh really? Game on, munchkin.”  Grinning mischievously, he easily lifted her off her feet, holding her securely.  His fingers danced wildly over her side as he carried her out of the kitchen on his shoulder.  He couldn’t help but to notice how short her skirt was with her up on his shoulder...but he wasn’t about to stop, not until she begged for it.

Aislin let out a squeal as he began to tickle her again, squirming against his shoulder and trying to wriggle away from him, her breath quickly becoming short as he tickled her.  She tried to reach around to grab his forearms to stop him, unable to do anything and feeling powerless.  But she wouldn’t give up.  Even as she died laughing, she would fight until the the end.

“If you keep squirming, I might drop you.”  He commented teasingly, easily keeping her steady on his shoulder.  Fingers still dancing against her sides, he couldn’t resist adding another teasing comment. “Hm...red silk...good choice.  I like it.”

Instead, Aislin’s fingers dug into his sides, trying to grab them to stabilize herself.  “Fine, I’ll stop squirming,” she gasped between laughs.  “And don’t you be looking at my underwear, you pervert!” she gasped, trying to maneuver her fingers to adjust the skirt with no avail.  “Put me down!!” she begged, still laughing hysterically.

“It’s not my fault that you keep showing me your underwear...I’m beginning to wonder if you have a fetish for showing your cute little butt to older men, even if it’s not much older.” He teased, trying not to laugh at her reaction.  He stopped tickling her for a moment, letting her catch her breath.  “Are you going to surrender?”

Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head at her comment.  “No, I do not!” she said vehemently.  Her breath came in gasps, becoming a little easier the longer he didn’t tickle her.  “And I told you...I don’t surrender.”  She tried to wriggle off his shoulder again, attempting to do another escape.  “Besides....you’re gay, so why would it matter?”

His arm tightened around her legs, making certain she was trapped securely.  Alexander didn’t know whether to laugh or to just be offended by her words.“Gay? You think I’m gay?”   His voice was deathly calm as he carried her out of the kitchen and down the hallway.  Walking into his bedroom, he tickled her sides a bit more, deciding that since she refused to surrender that she needed to be taught a lesson about challenging a predator.  And that is what he was...even if he had taken on the guise of a mild-mannered librarian.  

Blue eyes glittered with determination as he dropped her onto the bed, not giving her a moment to even catch her breath or think of a way to escape before he had her pinned down and was tickling her again.  His breath was hot against her ear as his fingers danced over her abdomen now.  “You should know by now that not everything is what it seems, munchkin.  Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to play with fire?”

Aislin’s eyes widened as he began to tickle her abdomen, trying to buck her hips to get him off, trying to use the bed below her as purchase to move herself, to try to slide away.  Her abdomen was extremely ticklish, and there were tears running down her cheeks as she lay beneath him.  “Fire...?  I’m playing with...fire...now?” she asked, her voice coming out in gasps.  “What do you mean by not everything is what it seems?”  She needed to escape him.

“If you keep moving against me like that, you’ll find just how far from gay I am.” He replied bluntly, pressing her down harder into the bed.  A finger trailed slowly over her stomach as he stared down at her.  She was pushing him entirely too much...and he was going to end up going too far.  But at the moment, he really didn’t care.

“O-oh,” she whispered, immediately stilling underneath him.  A soft shiver ran through her as his finger trailed over her stomach, and she couldn’t help catching his gaze with hers, her green eyes darkening a few shades as she looked at him.  He had pressed her hips down harder into the bed, ensuring she couldn’t move.  What it also ensured, though...was that she could feel every inch of him through his jeans.  What was she getting herself into...?

Alexander found himself staring into her eyes, losing himself in the vibrant green depths.  His free hand lifted up from the bed, his fingers slowly tracing the contours of her jaw.  He leaned down, the scent of her lilac body wash entrancing him.  He moved closer and closer until his lips were barely a millimeter from hers.  Suddenly he froze, his blue eyes widening in shock at the realization of what he was about to do.