RhondaAnn- Rath is definitely more human than Michael ever was in the series.
Maria would definitely freak out if she knew the truth. She's Maria after all.Erina- More kissing here!
Zan wants to tell her, he really does. VeronicB- Zan is fighting the 'wildness' in him. It will always be a struggle for him.
But his love for Liz is his saving grace.Okay, guys while I'm glad you all want to see Rath and Maria, this part is gonna focus only on Zan and Liz. It's a long part since I couldn't decide where to cut it off and then I just decided to leave it as one big part.
Okay, prepare yourselves, you are now gonna get your first glimpse of a bu'halla wahani... Now, on with the show...
Part 10
Liz closed the barn door and walked slowly into the interior, softly calling out, "Zan? Are you there?"
"I'm here, Liz." came his masculine voice from the direction of the hay stacks.
As Liz let her eyes adjust to the dim light, she watched as Zan came into view with a smile on his lips. She returned his smile and moved to greet him. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her before bending down to kiss her. Liz tilted her head back, eagerly welcoming his kiss. When he pulled away, he asked, "How are you doing?"
She smiled, "Better, now that you are here."
He chuckled and led her to the hay stacks where they made themselves comfortable. "So, Amy and William went to their meeting?"
"Yeah, they should be gone for a few hours. Maria will warn us if they come back earlier than we expect."
"Okay." he replied as he slid his hand into hers.
Liz looked up into Zan's eyes. "Maria wanted me to ask, and I want to know to," she paused before continuing, "how is Rath and his family?"
Inwardly Zan flinched before answering, "He's fine. He's handling things as best as he can under the circumstances."
"I see." she sighed, "Maria's really worried about him." She gave him a questioning look, "Do you think Maria could go and help him? I think she wants to ask, but she's afraid he'd get offended or something."
Zan shook his head. "No, she won't be able to do much, Rath knows what he is doing. He'll take care of everything. Tell Maria not to worry. He'll come see her as soon as he can." He watched as Liz bit her bottom lip and nodded. He hated lying to her. He knew she still thought Rath's father was sick and Rath was having to take care of the family. Technically it wasn't far from the truth. At least that was what he'd been trying to convince himself of ever since he'd told that to Maria and Liz the day before.
Once he'd returned home, he'd gone to Rath and told him what he'd told the girls. Rath had agreed with Zan. That was the best thing to tell the girls for now, until Rath could see Maria again. Still, Zan felt uneasy. He had asked Liz to trust him and to open up again. He knew he was not following his own example in telling her what he had.
Liz sighed, leaning back against a hay stack she said, "I just wish there was something Maria could do for him. All she's gonna do is worry about him until she sees him again."
Zan closed his eyes, "I know. But he'll be okay."
"What about his family? How are they handling his father's sickness?"
Again, Zan inwardly flinched. "They're fine. Rath is taking care of them."
Liz frowned, "Are they too young to do anything? What about his mother? Isn't she helping Rath?"
"His mother died when he was young." Zan whispered.
Liz's eyes went wide, "Oh! How sad, so Rath really is the only one?"
Zan just nodded, not wanting to add anything else. At least that wasn't a lie. Rath's mother had died when Rath was six. She'd died in childbirth, taking Rath's unborn sister with her.
Liz asked, "Isn't there anyone else to help Rath care for his family?"
"I help him. So do Lonnie, Charles, and Kyle." Again, that wasn't a lie.
When Zan had returned home the day before looking for Rath, he'd found him in the conference room of the castle along with Charles, Kyle, Kyle's father, and his own father King Phillip. Vilondra was only there because Charles was, but they allowed her to stay since she was the Princess. They were in the conference room going over several of the affairs Rath was going to deal with over the next few days and Zan had joined in since he was the Prince. Phillip was mostly there to oversee everything and to make sure Rath was handling his new position as Chief Advisor. Charles had been there to verify that all passwords, security measures, and other technical things had been transferred over from Rath's father to Rath. Everything had to match Rath's mental, physical, and biological makeup in order for Rath to have complete access. As Chief Advisor, he would be the only one besides the King to have complete access to the kingdom and the running of it. When everything else was done, Rath went with Kyle and his father, weapons instructor Kyle James(Jim) Valenti to the training building for a series of fighting instruction. Zan had joined Rath in the training session.
"Zan?"
Zan blinked as Liz's voice registered, breaking through his remembrance of the day before. "Yes?" he asked.
Liz gave him a puzzled look, "You okay? You seemed lost in thought for a moment."
He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, "I'm fine." He nuzzled his face in her hair, "Just thinking how lucky I am to be here with you."
Liz blushed as he settled her against his side again. She gave him a shy smile, "Before I forget, I wanted to tell you that Maria and I talked the other night. The night I told you about my family." At Zan's nod she continued, "She was a little hurt that I hadn't opened up to her since she was my best friend. But she understood that you were the best one to listen and help me." She sighed, "I apologized to her. I told her I was sorry for taking her for granted and that no matter what happens she'll always be my best friend and I'll always need her."
Zan smiled, "I'm glad you two talked."
Liz nodded, "Me too. I told her I'd always love her and I'd be there for her." She looked up into Zan's eyes, "I have you to thank for that. For helping me realize what was happening and how I was losing everyone I care about." She reached up, placing her palm against his cheek, "Thank you Zan. For making me live again."
He leaned his forehead against hers, "You're welcome."
She gave him a hesitant smile before leaning in and brushing her lips against his. When she was going to pull away, Zan captured her lips in his and deepened the kiss. Liz didn't protest, instead she allowed him to pull her closer until she was sitting in his lap. Her arms went around his shoulders, fingers tangling in his hair. She parted her lips, allowing him access to her mouth. He slid his tongue inside, teasing her tongue as he tasted her sweetness.
Zan could feel the wildness in him beginning to rise to the surface again. He realized he seemed to have little control of it especially when he was around Liz. What was it about her that brought out the inner beast? A low growl escaped his throat as she shifted in his lap, bringing her body closer to his. She let one hand trail down his shoulder, over his chest, to rest against his heartbeat. His hands roamed over her back, up into her hair, one hand cradling her head to his. He devoured her, letting his tongue lap up the sweetness of her mouth. She moaned softly as his lips left her mouth to trail down her cheek to her neck. Her fingers dug past the opening in the front of his shirt to brush against the warm skin of his chest. Her head fell back with another moan as his tongue took a long, leisurely lick along the pulsing vein in her neck. When she began to rock against him, he knew he was lost.
Liz could feel the heat beginning to spread through her. She burned from the inside out and her skin itched something fierce. She only seemed to feel relief where ever Zan touched her with his mouth, his hands, his body. She needed him. She needed him in a way that was instinctive, primal. A small, rational part of her knew what she was doing was dangerous, but she didn't want to listen to that voice. She wanted relief and she knew the only way to get it was to keep going. She picked up the pace, rocking herself against his hips, searching for a way to ease the heat inside of her.
Zan moaned against Liz's neck as he felt her rocking faster. He used his teeth to gently nip at the skin of her neck and shoulder, constantly teasing the pulse that rested just beneath her skin. He could feel it getting stronger, as if it were trying to break out of her skin to reach his mouth. Her hand remained clenched in his hair, keeping him locked to her neck as if encouraging him to devour her. He could hear the beating of her heart, feel the quick movements of her chest against his his own. She was panting hard, her breathing matching his own.
Liz used her free hand to tug his shirt up. The heat inside her was becoming unbearable, she needed more contact with his skin. Lifting his shirt up, she pushed him away from her long enough to tug it off of him before pressing her hands against his chest and lowering her mouth to his neck. Zan clenched his teeth as he felt Liz's tongue teasing the skin of his throat and her fingers exploring the length of his chest. He closed his eyes, tilting his head back to give her access to his flesh. She pressed soft kisses to his collarbone and worked her way down his chest, her hands smoothing over his ribs and the muscles of his abdomen. He curled one arm around her waist, pulling her closer and setting her heat against his hips. The other hand buried itself in the thick silkiness of her hair, holding her to him as her mouth wandered back up his chest. He gasped as her tongue swirled over the pulse in his neck before she began to gently suck the skin there.
His hand trembled in her hair at the way she nuzzled his neck. His instincts rushed to the surface, and the need to nurture and protect her overwhelmed him. He swallowed hard as he lost control to the wildness inside of him. Neither one of them noticed the way his canines began to lengthen or the way his eyes glowed completely white, no iris visible at all. He tightened his hold on her as he spoke huskily, "leijha'mi, dimo artia, idi agalo esu."
Liz stiffened an instant before she snapped her head up with a gasp and scrambled away from him. Zan quickly shut his eyes and turned away from her, hiding the truth until he could feel himself under control again. When he turned to look at her, he saw her wide eyes.
"What was that?" she asked.
"What was what?" he countered.
Her eyes narrowed at him, "Don't do that, Zan. I know I heard you. I heard you say something strange. What did you say?"
He sighed, not wanting to lie anymore he answered her, "It was my native language."
"Your native language?" At his nod she said, "I've never heard that language before, what's it called?"
He looked down at the floor, "You wouldn't have heard it before, it's what you would call a dead language."
Liz sat back and crossed her arms in front of her, her jaw raised, "A dead language, huh. So, why is it you can speak a dead language, Zan?"
He glanced up at her, noticing the look on her face. She looked determined to get the truth from him, she wasn't the least bit afraid of him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he knew it was now or never. "There's something you should know. I think you need to know the truth. About me." He looked into her eyes, pleading with her to understand, "I didn't tell you everything about me because there are some things that I didn't think you would like about me. I was afraid to scare you away. I don't want to hurt you."
She frowned, "How would you hurt me? What are you keeping from me?"
He sighed, "I'm not from around here."
She arched an eyebrow, then chuckled, "Yeah, I think I got that when you told me that was your native language. So, where are you from?"
"Another dimension."
She gave him a droll stare. "Another dimension? You can't be serious. Try another one Zan."
He just looked into her eyes steadily, "It's true."
She continued to look at him for a few silent moments before she sighed, "Okay, let's say that I believe you. How did you get here?"
"Through a portal."
She nodded, "Oooookay, where is this portal?"
"Here in the barn."
Her eyes went wide, "In this barn."
"Yes."
As her gaze swept around the place she asked, "Where?"
He got up and walked behind the hay stacks. She followed him and watched as he pushed the hay out of the way, exposing the trap door in the floor. "It's there," he said.
Liz stared at the door and swallowed. "That's the portal?" At his nod, she leaned a little closer. "What would I see if I opened it?"
"Nothing, pitch black."
She looked up at him. "So, you just jump in or?"
He nodded, "Yeah, we jump in and it takes us to a ladder that we climb down to get to our world." He shrugged, "That's really the best way I can explain it."
"I see." She frowned as something registered, "Wait, you said we. Does this mean Rath..."
"Is from where I am from, yes."
"Oh. Um. Wow." She looked up at him, "And Vilondra and the others?"
Zan nodded, "They all are." He looked at her before going on, "Everything Rath and I told you before, about our family and friends. It's all true. We didn't lie about that. There are some differences between our world and this one, but it's still similar."
She nodded, "So, tell me, what is it like?"
He followed her back to the hay stacks where they sat down again. She waited for him to put on his shirt before he began. "Our history tells us that we once came and went between our world and this one freely. That once we used to live peacefully with the humans of this dimension. But something happened. There are things we can do that humans can't. Our scientists and your scientists knew there was the possibility for humans to be like us, but they couldn't figure out how to make it possible. It was said that the capability was locked away in the human brain and all the scientists kept trying to find a way to unlock it. The human scientists got greedy. At least that's what our history says. Other versions say that the human scientists were influenced by political figures in this world." He shrugged, "I don't know if we'll ever know how it really started, but what happened is that our people began getting trapped by the humans. We were captured and experimented on."
Liz gasped, "The scientists, took them against their will!"
"Yes. When too many of our people began disappearing without a trace our military began looking into the disappearances. Everything began to be monitored. Were everyone was, the passing of people through the portal. They were trying to keep tabs on everyone. Eventually they were able to trace the disappearances to this world and found our people in the hands of the scientists. The scientists here decided the only way to discover how humans could be more like us was to experiment on our people, hoping they could find a way to trigger human brains."
Liz nodded, "And in the process, they tortured and killed your people without even caring that they were people too. All they cared about was that it was a means to an end."
"Yes." He paused before going on. "Once it was discovered and the human government refused to let our people go and apologize, a war started. Our government realized the only way out of this was to disappear from this world. So they used their gifts to wipe that dimension from the human's memories and the portal was closed. No one was allowed to go through the portal again for centuries."
"Yet, you and Rath came through."
Zan smiled, "The portal was forbidden for our people, but you can't really close it. It will still exist. Our people would use it from time to time, but they never let any of the humans see them. They knew the history. They knew if a human found out about them, they'd be captured and experimented on. Even if a human came into contact with one of us, they wouldn't know what we are. I look as human as the next person."
Liz looked at him and nodded her agreement. Then she giggled, "Well, until you give yourself away by sprouting that language."
He chuckled, "Hey, it's authentic."
She grinned, "So, translate, what did you say?"
The smile faded from Zan's face. Liz watched as he nervously swallowed before speaking, "I said, leijha'mi, dimo artia, idi agalo esu."
She nodded, awed by the way the words fell from his mouth, almost as if they flowed and whispered between them. She spoke softly, "What does that mean?"
He looked down at the floor between them as he spoke, "Beautiful, of my heart, I love you."
Liz's breath caught in her throat as the words Zan had just spoken registered in her mind. He loved her. Suddenly she found herself wishing she could hear him say those words again, in his language.
Silence lay between the two of them as Zan waited for Liz to continue. He couldn't look at her. He was afraid of what he would see. She now knew he wasn't human, there was no way she'd like what he'd said. Slowly he lifted his eyes to her face. She was looking at him, but it wasn't with fear or disgust. She was looking at him in wonder and with something else that shone from deep within her eyes. He was almost afraid to hope that it was what he thought it was. She graced him with a beautiful smile, one that took his breath away.
"That's really beautiful, Zan."
He gave her a small nod, but remained silent, unable to find his voice.
Liz cleared her throat, "So, besides the language? Is there any other way for me to know you aren't human?"
He nodded, "Yeah, we have another form, if you will."
Her eyes widened, "You mean you can shape shift?"
"Something like that yes."
Wow, can I... can you show me?"
His head snapped up at her question, "You want to see?" At her nod, he shook his head, "No, I don't think you should." He was terrified that his other form would be what would drive her away from him.
"Why not?"
"It's not really something that went over well with the humans the first time they saw it. I don't think you'd like it."
"What do you change into?"
"The humans called it a wild boy or girl, in our language that form is known as bu'halla wahani. There isn't really a direct translation of wahani, so it's associated with the word wild, I guess because it fits with the image."
"So, you look like something wild? Like a wild animal or something?"
Zan nodded, "I think that's what the humans said."
"Why do you even shape shift at all? Is there a reason?"
"Well, in that form, our powers are more accessible. In human form, we still can use our powers, but they are not as strong as they'd be in the bu'halla wahani shape."
"I see. What are your powers?"
"Well, even in human form, we can be extremely fast and our strength surpasses that of any human being. We can jump great distances and we are very agile. Um, we are capable of using mind speech and telekinesis, you know moving objects by thinking of it. We can also use our minds to create illusions or force a person's will, humans call it a mind warp. And when our emotions are heightened, we react instinctively, like animals do."
"Like animals do?"
"Yes, if we feel threatened or protective, we tend to growl like an animal. If we feel excited or happy, we can howl."
Liz grinned, "So, hence the reason humans call your people wild boys."
Zan returned her grin, "Yeah."
"Okay, so you have all these powers right now."
He nodded.
"And when you shape shift, it's easier to use them. You're more powerful then."
He nodded again.
"Show me."
Zan sighed, "Liz..."
"Zan, I want to see. Show me what you look like when you change shape. I can handle it. I know I can."
Zan looked into Liz's eyes. Again he saw the determination there. She showed no hint of fear. He couldn't smell any fear coming from her. Only curiousity and determination. He was amazed at her courage. Sighing, he finally gave in to her. He walked away from her, moving closer to the wall so as to give her room to run for the door if it became too much for her. Turning to face her, he began chanting, “bu’halla wahani…bu’halla wahani…bu’halla wahani…”
Liz watched as Zan slowly began to look less than human. His eyes changed into inky pools of black with hints of irridescent green swirling around, fading in and out. His clothes shifted into a soft form fitting dark material with leather strings running down the sides of his pant legs, holding them together like seams. His hair was full, thick, and looking windblown. Liz noticed the long wicked nails on his hands, giving him the appearance of having claws. She stared at him in facination as he turned his head towards her. He didn't move to her, just stood where he was letting her look at him.
"Can you understand me?" she asked.
"Yes." came the low, gravelly reply.
"You don't have any problem speaking like that do you?"
"No, our abilities in either form are essentially the same. They are just enhanced in this form."
Liz shivered as the sound of his voice sent chills down her spine. He didn't scare her, it was quite the opposite in fact. His voice was huskier, lower, and definitely more sexier sounding. She wanted to hear it again.
"Um, can I ask you to do something for me?"
"Sure."
"Say those words again. The ones you told me, in your language."
Liz watched him blink his eyes, she got the impression that he was puzzled about why she'd just asked him to do that. She simply sat there and waited until he complied, "Leijha'mi, dimo artia, idi agalo esu."
She closed her eyes as he spoke, relishing the way the chills spread down her spine and created goosebumps along her skin. She sat there for a few moments trying to keep her breathing under control.
"Liz? Are you okay?"
She swallowed, "I'm fine." Opening her eyes, she glanced at him. "Are your eyes always like that?"
"What do they look like now?"
"Black, with some green in them. The green seems to be fading in and out."
"Our eyes change colors depending on our emotions."
She smiled at that. "So, what does black mean?"
"It's our neutral color."
"Okay, so what colors do they change to and what emotion do they represent."
"Black is neutral, red is anger or hurt, orange is hunger, blue is sadness, yellow is happiness or excitement, green is nervousness, frightened, or jealousy, and white is love. They also glow brighter or duller depending on the depth of the emotion."
She raised an eyebrow, "What do you have to be jealous about? Or are you scared?"
He blinked, "What?"
She stood up and walked closer to him. Peering up into his eyes she said, "There's hints of green in your eyes, so that means you are nervous, frightened, or jealous."
He grinned at her keen observation. "Nervous and scared."
Standing so close to Zan now, Liz couldn't help but notice the sharpness of his teeth, especially his canines. They were longer, and slightly curved, like a cat's might be. Still, she wasn't afraid of him. Instead she chuckled, "I think I'm the one who should be scared, what with you sporting those wicked fangs and claws."
He laughed, "I can't believe this doesn't frighten you."
Liz caught the note of disbelief in his voice, suddenly she understood what he was afraid of. She reached up with one hand, cupping his cheek and turning him to face her. Looking into his eyes she said, "You were the one who helped me to open up again and helped me to trust people again. I trust you Zan. You haven't done anything at all to make me fear you or not trust you. I know you won't hurt me." With those words she leaned in to him and brushed her lips over his.
Zan closed his eyes at the touch of her lips, he stood there as her lips brushed his, then moved whisper soft over his cheek, his jaw, and finally back to his mouth. He lifted an arm and wrapped it around her waist, holding her to him as their kiss deepened.
Liz could feel the receding of his teeth as he kissed her, as if his body knew instinctively not to hurt her. Even the arms that held her didn't feel like there were wicked claws at the end of them. She allowed him to hold her, to kiss her tenderly as he let her know how much it meant to him that she accepted him as he was.
Slowly he pulled away from her to look into her eyes. She smiled as she saw that they were now completely white and glowing brightly. He sighed and placed his forehead against hers, "Thank you, Liz. For believing in me."
She hugged him close, "You're welcome." She held him for a few more moments before she spoke again. "So, Rath changes like you too?"
He nodded, "Yes, most of us can, but not everyone does. We mostly use it when we need it and some of us are better at it than others. It's kind of like riding a bike, the more you use it, the better at it you are."
She nodded, "That makes sense."
They walked back to the hay stack and Liz watched as Zan returned to the human form she knew so well. As he sat next to her, he took her hand in his, "There's one other thing I think you should know."
"Okay, what is it?"
"In my world, we have a form of government that's different than here. I know that there used to be a government similar to ours long ago, but it doesn't exist anymore."
"What kind of government?"
"A monarchy."
Her eyes widened, "You have a ruling family? Royalty? Like a king or queen?"
He nodded.
"Wow! That's really interesting! So the monarchy rules. Or are they just figureheads controlled by a council or something like that?"
"Our King is like the President here would be. He has a council that works with him and makes decisions, his right hand man is the Chief Advisor, but at the end of the day, the King has the final say." He sighed, "Rath's dad was Chief Advisor."
Liz blinked, "Was?"
He sighed, "His dad isn't sick. He was killed. That day when we came, he was killed. He was going to one of our borders with four guards and they were ambushed by some rebels. Only one guard survived. As the only son, Rath had to take up his father's position as Chief Advisor."
"Oh my! But he's so young."
"He's already been training for it. Since we were young, because he was first born. That's the way it works in our world. The first born is always the one to follow in their parent's footsteps. As first born, we are trained from a very early age for what we will become one day."
She nodded accepting what he said, "How is he taking it, really?"
"As well as he can. He can do his job, but he was upset with his father's death. I think it hit him really hard, and I was expecting him to come to me to grieve, but he's been pretty closed up about it, grieving alone. He's just thrown himself into working."
Liz closed her eyes, "Maria's gonna die when she hears about this. She's going to want to be there with him, I know she is."
Zan squeezed her hand. "I don't think you should tell Maria anything you've learned today Liz. I think you should let Rath be the one to tell Maria the truth."
Liz frowned, "I have to tell her about you, Zan. She's my best friend and I only just found her again. I don't like keeping secrets from her."
He nodded, "I understand that, but think about it Liz. Do you think she'll believe you when you tell her? You didn't believe me until I proved it to you. How are you going to prove it to her?"
Liz closed her eyes and thought about it for a while before finally nodding, "You're right. She'll just think I'm going insane since I can't really prove anything. And Rath really should be the one to tell her. I think she'll believe it best when it comes from him." She sighed and looked at Zan, "I don't like lying to her Zan. I just hope I can do it."
"You will. You're stronger than you think, dimo artia."
She blushed at his endearment. "Um, so Rath is Chief Advisor, huh? Second only to the King."
"Yes."
"Wow. That's a lot of responsibility."
"I'm confident he can do it. My father thinks he can too."
"Is your father on the council too?"
Zan gave her a sheepish grin, "Yes."
"Really? Is he like a nobleman or a senator or something?"
"He's the King."
Liz's eyes went wide. "You're father's the King?"
Zan nodded.
"Then that makes you..."
"A prince."
Liz stared at Zan in shock. No it couldn't be. She was not sitting here talking to a prince. She shut her eyes as she realized that wasn't all she had been doing. Her eyes flew open again as his words came back to her. That wasn't possible, he was a prince, he couldn't be in love with her. She inched away from him, shaking her head frantically. "No, no, this can't be happening."
Zan frowned and reached out for her, "Liz?"
She continued to move away from him, still shaking her head.
"Liz, what's wrong?" He caught her arms in his hands before she could run from him.
She turned teary, wide eyes to his face, "This can't be true. You can't be a prince."
"I am, Liz. My parents are King Phillip and Queen Diana Evans. I'm Prince Maxwell Zander Evans and my younger sister is Princess Isabel Vilondra Evans."
Liz closed her eyes, "Why didn't you tell me this before? Why are you doing this to me?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You're a prince, Zan."
"So?"
"You'll be King someday."
"Yes, I've known that since I was born."
She shook her head, "If you knew, then why all this? Why come here and be with me and pretend?"
He frowned, "I'm not pretending, Liz. Everything I've told you is the truth."
She glared up at him, "You can't love me! You wanted me to trust you, to be close to you! And now I find out you're just going to leave one day. You're just like the others! You're going to leave!" She shoved at his chest and ran for the door as sobs welled up in her throat.
Zan couldn't believe it. He'd thought Liz wouldn't accept that he wasn't human. He'd never dreamed that the one thing that would turn her away from him would be that one day he'd be King. He ran after her, catching her arm he swung her to face him, taking her face in his hands he brought her mouth to his. He kissed her hard, trying to let her know with his lips how much he loved her. That everything he'd ever said to her was the truth. That he wouldn't let her go without a fight. He could feel her struggling against him. Her sobs were swallowed by his lips as he tasted her tears.
Liz tried to struggle, but soon she gave up. His lips and the way he held on to her told her what words couldn't get through. Slowly, he lifted his lips from hers and looked into her eyes. "I love you. You have to know that's the truth. I'm right here and I'm not leaving you. I promise that I'm not leaving you."
She sniffed, "You're going to be King someday, Zan."
"I know. Trust me when I say that when that happens you'll still be a part of my life. I won't leave you Liz. Ever."
She closed her eyes as he hugged her to his chest. She wanted to believe him. Wanted to believe that even when he became a ruler that he'd still be a part of her life. But how could he? He would have to go to his world and rule a kingdom. Who was she in the grand scheme of things? How could he still be a part of her life then? He would have too many responsibilities to spend any time with her. She swallowed her tears and decided that she'd take what he could give her. She'd let him be a part of her life for now and deal with the other things as they came. It was all she could do. She would be strong like he'd said she was.
Zan held her close to him. He could smell her sadness. His heart broke at the way she'd cried. She didn't believe him. He knew she thought he'd leave her some day. But that wasn't true. He already knew she was the one. That was why he lost control around her, why the wildness inside of him was always so close to the surface when she was around. It knew that Liz was his soul mate. He knew he had to give her time. She needed to believe that he really loved her, that he wanted her. He would wait, wait until she was ready and he could tell her the last thing he kept from her. For now, he would keep the knowledge that in two months, on his twentieth birthday, he would be King. And when that time came, she would be his Queen.
TBC...
So, this is the part I came up with. I know many of you wanted to see a Maria/Rath reunion, but my muse wasn't ready to show that yet. LOL. Just so you know, I don't have Maria's eye opener happening any time soon. She'll be in the dark for a little while longer.
Love usually conquers all. Hmmm.....
Need more of an explanation, PM me okay?