Tristan's Loins (29 page)

"Did I not tell you that your Father would be
fine?"

"Yes, you did," she said and smiled. "I
worried for nothing, it seems."

Tristan's perfectly chiseled features
hardened. "Lord de Vigny has much to answer for when I return. Pray
do not interfere with my pleasure to kill the man, Selene."

"I was going to suggest the same," she
replied and shrugged. "Do what you have to do. It appears Lord
Severn was also in league with Stephen to have your father
eliminated. Do you know why? That is the most troubling thing. I
did not write any of this in the book."

"My father stood in their way when it came to
their original ties to France," he told her and grimaced. "He was
loyal to the English king until the day he died. No matter, for
John will hear it all from me when I seek his council."

"Tristan, do not trust King John. History
alone will tell you he talks out both sides of his mouth. You know
your history as well before you go back."

Tristan smiled grimly. "I’ll not forget it
either. He is not to be trusted, but he will not harbor traitors in
his midst. My uncle will be dealt with, if not by my hand. Justice
will be done."

"How is the arm?"

Tristan winced and flexed it. It would have
had to be his sword arm effected. "It pains me greatly. I hope once
I pass through the portal, the condition ends."

"How do you wish to do this?" she asked and
appeared morose. "When do you wish to leave me?"

Tristan stood up and grabbed her hand,
pulling her up. His blue eyes were intent. "I would say goodbye to
you in our bed, Selene. I do not eat and run now."

She chuckled at his use of words. "I was
hoping you had an exit planned."

The evening was glorious and Selene held him,
gripping him tightly as passion overwhelmed them. Knowing he would
leave made them desperate to prolong it. She sat up in bed as she
watched him change back into his medieval garb. He adjusted his
belt and touched the ring, closing his eyes. Within minutes the
portal opened in her bedroom wall, light filtering around it.

"I know I said I would not cry, but I can't
help it," she cried and sobbed with her head in her hands, shaking
from her grief. "I do not want you to leave me!"

Tristan stood at the foot of the bed, his
expression filled with pain. "I’ll never leave you, Selene. A part
of me will always be with you."

She nodded, thinking of the child. "Go then,
and live happily ever after, Tristan. I’ll never forget you, my
love."

He took her hands in his and kissed them
both. "Do not forget your promise to me, Selene. You must write our
story. Do not let it end here."

Her heart was in her throat and her eyes as
he opened the doorway between their worlds. Light blinded her and
she looked away, shielding her eyes. His shape moved into the light
and then the door shut and disappeared, leaving her sitting in the
dark, trembling as tears slid down her face.

Tristan stopped within the hallway,
retrieving his sword where it lay. He gritted his teeth as he
picked up the blade. He closed his eyes tightly and muttered a
prayer before he severed his ring finger, gasping in agony as the
lopped off finger fell at his feet, the ruby gleaming up at him. He
plucked the ring from his severed digit, blood running down his
hand. He knew where to find it when the time came. He left it there
under the door he had just passed through, hopeful the ring would
keep the passage open so he could return one day.

The horrible burning pain in his hand
reminded him of his love for the woman beyond the door. He walked
down the corridor back to his chamber, a look of resolve on his
handsome face. He stepped into the stone room with his sword drawn,
not surprised to see the finger was back as if by magic. He
grinned, knowing he had outsmarted the ring at last. He waited for
Selene to give him the tools needed for his escape.

Selene typed frantically, knowing any moment
Lord de Vigny's men could discover Tristan had returned to his
chamber. She gave him rope and weapons that would see him to
Raven's Keep. She wrote in his horse, still stabled there in wait.
When she hit save and returned to the screen, the castle room was
gone. A cry escaped her lips to see her former desktop wallpaper
there. He was gone. She had no idea how long she sat there, just
staring at the screen. Finally, she opened up her manuscript, her
anguished eyes arriving to where she left off. Her fingers poised
above the keys, and suddenly they came down, flying over the
keyboard. whatever block she had before was gone.

She ignored the pain in her own heart as the
hours past, writing of his and Rhiannon's discovery of one another.
Her heroine became more of a woman as she developed her further. It
was dawn when she finally stopped, having written five chapters
since Tristan left. She had only seven to go. She reasoned twenty
chapters was more than adequate, staying within moderate word
counts.

Selene stood on the deck as the sun came up
that next morning, watching Daisy in the backyard, a coffee cup in
her hand. The pain in her broken heart ached to know Tristan was
gone from her world, but if anything, knowing him had improved her
writing of him. The book was flowing from a source that was closer
to her heart now.

Today she would continue, and tomorrow, until
she finished it. The future did not look as bleak as she reentered
her new house. She went to bed, smelling his pillow. She vowed
never to wash the smell of him from it. A smile crossed her face as
she thought of the piece of him she would have forever.

Selene grimaced as she made her way back to
her classroom after the pep rally. The children were running
chaotically through the halls and her temper was sorely strained as
she opened her classroom door.

She leaned against the doorframe and sighed,
looking down at her burgeoning abdomen as the cause of her moods.
The child grew by leaps and bounds. Any worry she had was
alleviated every time she saw her obstetrician. The baby was normal
and healthy. She had every sonogram posted upon her refrigerator to
remind her daily.

Her book was edited and reedited and finally
ready to be presented for publishing. She was not surprised when
every query letter she sent to agents and publishers was replied
with a form letter rejection. She got to look forward to rejection,
at least it was something. Some did not even bother to respond.

She itched to be published and finally went
the self-publishing route online. It was frustrating formatting her
own book and cover. Seeing 'A Warrior's Heart' in the EBook sites
was priceless. Selene could see the book was doing well, even by
her own exalted standards. Tristan and Rhiannon had their happy
ending.

Writing the ending of that book took
everything out of her. She recalled crying at the end when Tristan
rescued his fair damsel from his evil uncle and dispatched Stephen
to hell where he belonged. Tristan took up his rightful birthright
with Rhiannon as his Countess, and they lived happily ever after.
He was forever immortalized now in her first novel. She would miss
him and would reread the book to remind her of him.

Her father came home with a new determination
in life now he knew he was to be a grandfather at last. His health
improved, if anything. Willing himself to die had not worked.
Living proved a better option now.

Darcy and Sal married through the justice of
the peace. The reception was at The Boat Bar. Axel was his best man
and Selene stood up for her friend. Darcy and Sal were gone to a
Bike Week rally in Florida for their honeymoon. She chuckled as she
recalled the pair taking off on the bike at the courthouse, shaking
her head to see the cans tied to the back of it and the small just
married sign on the backrest of his Harley.

Axel moved in with Maggie finally. They had a
volatile relationship and bickered constantly, but it seemed to
make them thrive. His daughter's learned to defer to the tigress in
their father's life. Maggie ruled the roost and Axel had done an
about face dealing with his possessive children. The pair were
happy just living together for now and in no hurry to get
married.

Selene rubbed her abdomen. Today was her last
day at work. A party in the teacher's lounge after work had been
planned. She was not coming back after the baby was born. Mr.
Pritchard seemed to take it the worst, regarding Selene as one of
his best teachers. He surprised her by buying a copy of her book on
Kindle. He maintained it was not his genre, but he was proud of her
accomplishment.

Selene waddled over to her desk and found a
slew of homemade cards from her students. They certainly did not
make her leaving easy. She read each one, growing misty-eyed. This
was the best thing when it came to teaching, knowing you were cared
for by your students.

Tomorrow she would start her book about her
and Tristan as she had promised him. She needed no research to
write this book. Everything was in her head and in her heart. The
task had seemed to be something she dreaded before he left. Now it
consoled her in her loneliest moments.

The party was more like a baby shower. Selene
was grateful as Maggie, Darcy and Axel helped her carry her gifts
to her car. She knew they were saddened she was not coming back
after the baby was born, but this was what she wanted. The fact she
did not have to worry about money made it possible and she would
not squander it.

When she entered her house and Daisy ran to
her, she bent and scratched her dog behind the ears. Daisy had
moped for months after Tristan left. They had commiserated many
nights in her huge bed over his absence. Finally she seemed to snap
out of it.

Selene leafed through her mail and retired to
her den. She smiled as she sat behind the mahogany desk that was
once her father's. He insisted she take it and whatever else she
wanted from the estate. Her huge house was now filled with the
pieces he insisted were hers. This was her favorite of all. She had
coveted this desk since she was in the tenth grade. She felt
empowered sitting behind it. She opened her email first, grimacing
from more rejection letters found there. A Warrior's Heart might
not have won the hearts of literary agents and the like, but it was
doing well as an eBook. It gave her the incentive to turn on the
Word program and begin anew.

Tristan's image came to mind. A smile curved
her lips as she started the first sentence. Soon, her fingers were
blazing across the key board. Hours later, she had three very
finely crafted chapters done. She smiled as she reread them. Truth
was indeed stranger than fiction.

She frowned as she saved the document and
heard Daisy barking excitedly upstairs. The racket was coming from
her bedroom. When she arrived in her room, she spoke sternly to the
dog that stood at the bare wall Tristan had passed through months
before. Daisy sometimes lay there too, as if waiting for him.

Selene reached for her collar, another
warning dying upon her lips as the portal formed in the wall. Eyes
grew wide with shock as the doorway she believed shut forever was
once more illuminated. She shielded her eyes as the room lit up.
The door opened and Tristan stepped through it. He shut it, gazing
at her with a grin of delight to see her large with his child.

Selene was too stunned to react as he stepped
towards her. Her heart beat frantically as he grew near.

"How...how is this possible?" she began and
shook her head. "How is it you have returned?"

"Say hello first, my love," he mocked her
gently as he strode forward, pulling her into his arms, his strong
chest a comfort after so many months without him.

"But how is it possible you have come
back?"

"It was not our story the first time," he
admitted with a grin. "That is why the ring would not allow me to
stay. I left the ring at the doorway hoping you would write our
story so I could return."

"But you had your happy ending already," she
argued, looking mystified at his words. "I have you living with
Rhiannon back at your ancestral home, Tristan. Don't tell me you
have left her?"

"Oh, that guy is still there. He is so happy
he cannot believe his good fortune," Tristan informed her with a
grin, his blue eyes filled with mischief. "Rhiannon is not alone
there, Selene. You writing the book about us created a way for
there to be two Tristan's. It was as I thought. I can stay in this
story forever, my love, because it is about us."

Golden eyes widened at his words. "You can
stay? You’re very sure of it?"

"I learned much about the ring, Selene.
Because your tale was about Rhiannon and her Tristan, I could not
stay in your world. That is why I made you promise to write this
one. I used the ring's power to wish to return when you began
writing, "

Selene looked as he held up his hand, his
forefinger missing, severed at the base. The ruby adorned his other
finger now, and did not burn him as it had before. Her eyes widened
to know he had cut off his finger in order to keep the doorway to
his return open. Her warrior had waited for her to write their
story.

"Do I finish it?" she asked as he covered her
belly with his huge hand, a smile of pleasure on his face to feel
their child move. "How does this work?"

"Our story goes on for a lifetime, Selene,
whatever we wish," he explained tenderly and his lips lowered to
brush against hers. "Even if I have to become Samuel Forrest to
manage it."

"You saw the papers?" she asked in surprise.
"I did not show them to you because I did not want to hurt you when
we had to send you back."

Tristan held her to his chest tightly. "It
told me what you intended all along for us, Selene. It is why I cut
my finger off. It was worth it to return to you in your world."