Chapter 39 - Alone

In my whole existence, I was torn up about two things. One, I have always wanted to find my forever, kind of what I've watched in Disney movies. In my mind, a beautiful girl would come, and she would sweep me off my feet as we rode on her white horse, lesbian style. Then, we'd live happily ever after while tending to our gazillion adopted kids. The end.

Then, I'd think about all those nice ladies with sultry lips, wide hips, and big bonbons that I could be making out with, and my dreams about the ever after would vanish into thin air. Just like that. And so I became what you might call a flirt. Yes ladies and gentleman, the great Vanessa was the biggest flirt in history since Taylor Swift. Just kidding. We all know she didn't have THAT much boyfriends.

But women loved it. Whenever I had a prospect in mind, I would simply unleash my killer smile to get what I wanted. A hundred percent of the time, it worked like a gem. I have never ever failed to impress a girl. So why then, I thought as I felt Brooke slap me on my back, was this particular girl able to resist me? And why, for the love of God, was I so attracted to her? Was she my ever after?

"You've been carrying me on your back for 20 minutes Van," she grumbled. "Put me down. I can walk on my own." I continued carrying her, being careful not to slip on roots and mossy rocks as we made our way somewhere in the forest. I felt her pinch my ass, hard.

"Ow!" I complained, as I finally placed her on her feet, wincing at the pain. "Why did you do that? My ass is insured for a lot of money. If anything happens to it I'm going to be very unhappy."

She smirked. "You should have put me down earlier. What?" she taunted. "You enjoy carrying me that much?"

I eyed her from head to foot. She was wearing tight jeans and a white v-neck. Ooh-lala! "Let me carry you all the way to the church where we will say our vows Brookey."

She stuck her nose in the air, looking like the snobbish rich girl she was. "You wish."

I rubbed my hand over my chin. "How are you able to do it?"

"Do what?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Resist me. Most girls I knew didn't stand a chance. What made you so special?"

Brooke crossed her arms over her chest. "You're not my type," she said, running her eyes on me this time. "You're blonde. I like dark hair. You always have that silly smile on your face, and I like the brooding type more. Plus I'm sensing something in you."

"What? Superstar qualities?" I teased.

"No. Psychopathic tendencies," she said with a straight face. Ouch! That would have burned big time if it wasn't true. Brooke placed her hands on her waist. "Anyway, why are we here? You could have easily talked to me back there."

I walked next to a tree and examined its brown bark before answering her. It had endless loops and patterns. The bark was as complicated and beautiful as the dark haired girl standing before me. I straightened my back before glancing at her. All the answer I've been seeking would be revealed today. It had to.

"Why did you want to kill her majesty Cybele?" I watched in silence as Brooke's stance became rigid. Her jaw also clenched, indicating that she was defensive about it. "Well? Aren't you going to answer the question?" I prodded.

"I decline."

"Then we have no choice but to stay here."

She rolled her eyes. "As if you can force me to do that Van." Brooke started to head back to the path that we took earlier. Using my fast reflexes, I was blocking her way at once. Her eyes rose to meet mine. She couldn't believe that I moved so quickly. "Excuse me, but what are you doing? Let me pass." Her eyebrows twitched, hinting her annoyance.

I edged closer to her, giving her a lopsided smile. "Sorry, but I can't. Not until you tell me the exact reason why you wanted to harm my queen." Winking at her I added, "You know Brooke, in every relationship there are ups and downs. In order to stay happy, you need constant communication. And how can we communicate if you keep running away? That's not how relationship works. You know that."

Brooke glared at me, as if she wanted to spear me with her stare. She speared me alright. In the heart. And it's hot as hell. "We both know that we're not in a relationship," she said in a low deadly voice, the kind of tone that women used when they were about to slap you, or scratch you, or take your ice cream away. But I wasn't scared at all. I was enjoying it.

"Now let me pass," she said before trying to side-step me. I moved her way and refused to budge. She gritted her teeth in anger. "What do you want?!"

My eyes gleamed. "You know the answer to that."

"I should really knock some sense in you," she seethed.

Brooke inched closer. I was ready for her fist before she even moved it. That was why I was able to catch her hand, do my shakalaka crazy move that I learned from before, and flipped her on her back before she even knew what was happening. Sometimes being an angsty teenager who got into a lot of fights has its merits. I wasn't trained like her and Cybele, but the brawl fights I've been to in high school more than compensated for it.

"Fuck you!" Brooke shouted from the ground, staring at me in disgust.

"Yes please." I kneeled next to her. "Now tell me why you wanted her dead so we can solve your problem and continue with our lives."

"I hate you with a passion Vanessa," she said venomously.

"Tell me more about that passion," I joked. "Or you know, showing it by kissing me sounds nice too." She was getting angrier by the second and there I was egging her on. I must really have psychopathic tendencies.

A piercing scream jerked us out of our bicker session. As if sensing danger, a group of birds flew in different directions. Goosebumps instantly marked my skin. In front of me, I could tell that Brooke was alarmed too.

"Do you think it has something to do with her majesty?" I whispered.

Brooke shook her head. "No. They could have easily spotted the guards a mile away because of the location of the house. Knowing Iris, she'd take Talia somewhere safe and wouldn't get caught. I think this is something different."

I stood up with a grunt and offered a hand to her, which she took to hoist herself to her feet. "If it doesn't concern Cybele and the princess, then we should get going. We have enough problems as it is."

Brooke eyed me in dismay. "Aren't we going to help them?"

"Why should we? If we stick our noses where it doesn't belong, the guards may find us and kill us. Or worse, we could lead them back to Cybele and Talia. Do you want that to happen?"

Brooke shifted her weight, suddenly looking uncomfortable. Her brows bumped together forming a scowl, as if she was worried about something. I touched her arm. She was cold as ice. "What's the problem Brooke?"

Her mouth opened and closed. "I. . ." She avoided my gaze. "If you want to go back to the others, go ahead. I'd like to see what the problem is."

"What? Why?"

The muscles on her face tightened. "Just because. Look," she said, staring at me. "You can leave okay? I'm not forcing you to do anything. Just tell Iris that I'm going home late." Brooke pivoted and started to jog away, to the direction where the birds came from.

I caught up with her. "Another relationship tip," I murmured. "Never let your girlfriend think that she's alone."

"You're not my girlfriend. When will that sink in?"

"That's what you think," I said as we quickened our pace.

Finding the place where the scream came from wasn't difficult. All we had to do was to stop talking and listen. We were careful to lighten our footsteps so that nobody would hear us as we approached. Brooke and I ended in the thicker part of the forest where the trees were bigger, the foothold more slippery, and basically everything was dangerous compared to the entrance.

Brooke motioned for me to hide behind a huge boulder beside her. I ducked low, making sure not to step on any twigs that would give away our position. Brooke placed a finger to her lips, signaling that I shouldn't speak, then pointed to the near distance. Both of us peeked from behind the boulder. Two guys were there, sitting crossed legged. They were currently bickering.

"I told you that we shouldn't have stolen from the store. What if the owner had a camera and caught us on tape? He could easily turn us to the police," said the first guy wearing a hat.

His companion, a short and stocky guy spit on the ground. "Shut your mouth you filthy baboon! Nobody would know that we were the ones who stole from them. And by the time they realized it, we would be long gone. Don't be a sourpuss."

"Aye," said the one with a hat. "But what about the owner's daughter? What should we do with her?" He pointed his thumb on his right. Only then did I notice a person, a girl about our age tied and gagged there. Her eyes indicated that she was not only unhappy, but scared about the whole thing. Brooke and I quickly exchanged glances. So that was where the screaming came from.

The stocky guy laughed menacingly. It sounded like he was choking on a pair of scissors. "What do you think? She saw our faces already. The only option we have is to kill her." The one with the hat nodded, albeit with hesitation in his eyes. "But such beauty should not go to waste. I think we should taste her first."

"Aye."

Both of them turned to the poor girl whose eyes began to widen in palpable fear. Who wouldn't? She just heard how they were going to kill and rape her. The two began to scramble to their feet and move closer to the girl. The stocky guy opened his zipper. A knot formed in my stomach. Such evil people shouldn't be allowed to exist in this world. I glanced at Brooke to ask her how we should proceed about this, but she was not in sight.

That was when I realized that she was already running full speed towards the two men. Oh God. Brooke let her favorite dagger fly in the air. It honed on its target, which was the back of the head of the stocky man who was closest to the girl. He fell down, dead. Because of her move, the other guy was alerted by our presence. He tackled her to the ground.

I was about to help her when someone punched me on the face hard. For a moment, the impact and surprise made me see nothing but black and white. I shook my head to get a hold of my bearings, but I was dizzy as hell. Something slammed on my stomach, making me double over in pain. But if that isn't worse, a kick landed on my back, then another.

Shit! Brooke was fighting a battle of her own and there I was being beaten to the ground. Not only did it hurt, I was looking more and more uncool in front of her. And I wanted to impress her so badly. Damn it Van, get your head in the game.

I rolled to the side to avoid another onslaught from my attacker. This time I was able to crouch, and eventually stand up. I was fighting against a huge guy who had a bandana on his head. He taunted me with his hand. I didn't want to be that kind of person who rushed in blindly, so I waited for him to attack.

When he did, I was surprised to see him charge like a bull. We fell on the ground once again, with him on top of me. I kicked him in the nuts. I was expecting for him to scream or jerk away in pain, but he merely winced and elbowed my stomach hard.

"What the hell man are you even human?!" I managed to shout, even while I was in tremendous pain.

"I am a woman!" she snarled.

I stared at her quickly. "Damn you look like a troll," I sneered. "Maybe this will hurt you more." I grabbed her in the place where I knew it mattered, on her nippies, and twisted it hard. Her shriek was proof of how much it hurt. I pushed her away from me.

"Serves you right troll. I'm not discriminating or anything, but girl you don't look fine. You're ugleh! And perha-"

The smile was wiped from my face as the troll of a girl yanked my feet harshly, making me slip back to the ground. You and your loud mouth Van. To my horror, troll girl grabbed a big rock the size of my head. She raised it high, kind of what the monkey from Lion King did on the rock when he held Bambi. Or was that a whole new film altogether? I was getting it screwed up in my head.

Troll girl smiled widely. She was missing a few teeth. Yuck. "Goodbye dyke!"

"Hey I'm a unicorn! No labels please!"

The rock came crushing down and I was sure that I was about to die. Only I didn't. Troll girl's eyes rolled in a very weird fashion before she slumped dead. Brooke stepped from behind her, retrieving her bloody dagger. I scrambled to my feet, wincing slightly at the cuts and bruises I sustained.

"Hey Brookey," I said as I moved closer to her. "Thanks for rescu-" The slap she gave me was harder than any punch or kick I received that day. "What was that for?!"

I was taken aback to see that she was seething mad. She was always irritated with me but the expression on her face this time was pure anger. Brooke lowered her hand, forming it into a fist. "You. Are. One. If. Not. The. Most. Stupid. Reckless. Inconsiderate. Person. I. Have. Ever. Encountered. In. My. Life." She spat the words one by one, adding as much venom as she could put into it.

"Why. Are. You. Speaking. Like. That?" I said back, sounding robotic. "Did. You. Damage. Your. Brain?"

She literally looked like she wanted to bite my head off. Brooke thought better of it and marched away, to the girl we just rescued. She removed the rope that held the girl, together with the gag.

The victim looked like she was trying hard not to cry. "T-thank you s-so much," she stuttered, standing up shakily. "I didn't know what to do. How can I ever thank you?"

"You can start by giving me your number beautiful," I said solemnly. Brooke glared murderously at me. "Just kidding. Go forth my friend the victim. Thou shall live thy life happily."

The girl nodded, but still looked like she was too traumatized by the whole experience. "A-are you s-sure? My father owns a big store. We can give you everything you need."

"To be honest," Brooke said. "We really need food and a couple more things. Can you give us that?" The girl nodded meekly. "But. . ." Brooke said carefully. "We are not exactly free to roam right now. The palace guards are hunting us." The victim's eyes widened.

I stepped in. "Hey, we're good guys okay," I consoled. "Don't be scared. We just had a minor altercation with the law, but aside from that, we're not really bad people. We also need help. Can you do that for us without telling anyone about it?"

The girl didn't need to be told twice. "Yes," she nodded. "You did save my life and I owe you big time. Tell me what you need and I'll deliver it to you here by tonight."

After informing the girl everything we wanted, she went on her merry way. I was scared that she'd get in trouble again by leaving the forest alone, but she told us that she used to play here as a kid, so she knew some shortcuts that would keep her away from harm. Once again, Brooke and I were left alone, and I knew she wasn't happy at me. I watched her back as she walked silently away.

Night has fallen. If it weren't for the makeshift torch that we were able to make, I wouldn't be able to see a thing. I could barely make out Brooke who was in front of me.

"Where are we going?"

She pretended not to hear me as she continued to walk. A few minutes later, I heard the sound of water. As we drew nearer to it, I began to see the outline of a spring, and from the looks of it, a hot spring. We were in luck. Brooke crouched low and placed the torch carefully between two rocks. It made the water glow from where I was standing.

I was completely surprised when she started to peel away her clothes. "Woah!" I squeaked. "Why are you going nakey?!" I broke into a cold sweat.

She glanced over her shoulder to me. "I feel filthy. I want to take a bath." Brooke continued removing her clothes until all I could see was her feminine silhouette, plus her long ebony hair almost touching her buttocks. My heartbeat rose as she went to the water and dipped her foot to try out the temperature. Then, she slowly sloshed in the water, until it was chest high.

I was left standing awkwardly by my lonesome. "Uhm. . . Is the water nice?" I said as an attempt to start conversation.

"Mmmmm."

"Can I take a bath with you? I smell like mushrooms. I mean I like mushrooms and all, but I don't know, I just want to wash myself too."

Brooke didn't answer which I took as a good sign. Hey, if she didn't want to, she could always tell me no right? Before she changed her mind, I was already stripping my clothes and going to the water, placing myself one or two meters away from her.

"Ahhh. . . It feels amazing." I turned to her. "We're like those Japanese girls sharing a bath. But my body is sore. Maybe you should massage me. Or better yet, I should massage you."

"Will you just shut up?!"

It took a moment before I could respond. "Why are you so mad anyway? Did I do something wrong, aside from the obvious?"

"I said shut the hell up," she repeated, looking like the way she did after we rescued the girl.

I moved closer to her, uncaring if I sloshed and rippled the warm water. I ended up just in front of Brooke. She was breathing heavily, as if she wanted to hurt me for reasons unknown.

"Why are you so unfair to me Brooke? I know I'll never amount to Cybele, but at least give me a chance."

Brooke didn't answer. I touched her face despite telling myself not to. She was one of the most gorgeous girls I have encountered in my life, and her skin was soft as the clouds. I felt my hands tremble, and deep inside, I was losing the usual confidence I possessed.

"Brooke," I said gently. "Please. . . I really like you. I don't like pushing myself to girls, but this is getting ridiculous." I ran my fingers on her back. Her body stiffened. I have almost forgotten that we were both naked on a hot spring. It was a huge turn on. But I shouldn't think about that. Right now, the only thing I should be thinking of was how to make peace with her.

"Don't be mad," I murmured as my head inched closer to hers, allowing me to smell her Jasmine scent. "I just want to. . . Kiss you. . ."

She slapped me before our lips touched, her eyes flashing dangerously. I kind of expected her to do that. Brooke wouldn't be Brooke if she didn't. What I didn't expect however was her grabbing the back of my head and pushing my lips to hers right after. I was in total shock that I forgot how to breathe.

When she attacked me with very wet, very passionate kisses that involved tongue and all that, it was the only time I realized that we were indeed kissing. My knees turned to pudding as I let her guide me, allowing me to taste her minty mouth. God, my heart was about to explode. It felt like the first time all over again.

She broke free momentarily. "You're such an idiot," she gasped, running her hands all over my back. Brooke's eyes were clouded with something I have never seen before, lust, and it was driving me insane.

I managed a quick smile as I pressed her front to me. The action made me feel things. Naughty things. "Me?! Why me?" I nibbled on her lower lip, to which she responded with a low moan. Holy Guacamole! I thought I'd never hear that from her.

Brooke grabbed my hair, pulling me away from her. She was panting like she just ran the marathon. "Do not ever make yourself vulnerable like that again. Ever."

I nodded, grabbing the chance to pinch her butt. "I thought you hated me?"

She blushed profusely, lowering her gaze. "I do."

I let go of her. "Then why this? You just want a one night stand?"

I couldn't paint the expression on her face. It looked like she was battling an internal conflict. "I'm just fucking weird ok?" she countered with a frown. "I blame you. If you weren't such a weirdo then I wouldn't have-"

I kissed her to stop her from saying anything more. At the moment, I didn't care what she wanted from me. All I was concerned about was how I felt her heart beating through her skin and how her passionate kisses was making me feel. I knew that I should ask her about Cybele. I knew I should ask her if she was interested in me. But at the moment, I just didn't care. We were only the two people in this world. And I'd show her how much I loved her, even if she was or wasn't my ever after.