Authors: Chelsea Fine
In fact, it was several moments before he kissed her back at all. And even then, it felt…careful.
Scarlet drew back. “What’s wrong?”
Tristan licked his lips and took a deep breath. Hesitation clouded his face as he paused. “I’m not Tristan.” He looked at her apologetically. “I’m his twin brother, Gabriel.”
Scarlet’s heart stopped.
***************
“You lied.” Ana stormed into the dining hall and walked up to Cornelius. She paid no mind to the dozen attendants waiting beside the table.
Smiling at his servants, Cornelius said, “Please allow us a moment to ourselves.”
Ana waited until every servant had left the room before ranting. “You promised me a marriage between Tristan and Scarlet. That boy,” Ana pointed to the door she had just walked through, “is not Tristan. I will not have it. Scarlet will marry no one but Tristan, or you will not gain possession of the map.”
Cornelius sighed. “You tire me with your threats, Ana. Scarlet will marry Tristan’s brother, Gabriel, and you will give me the map. That is how it will work.”
“No. You promised me Tristan—”
“I promised you a son!” Cornelius pounded a fist on the table. “I offer to marry your dirty, penniless daughter to my noble son and you dare to threaten me? Your daughter will marry Gabriel.”
“She will not.” Ana held her chin high, furious with herself for trusting a man.
Cornelius brought his face close to Ana’s, his wine-saturated breath drifting across her cheeks. “Very well. Scarlet does not need to marry Gabriel. She may go back to poverty with you. But Tristan will not return to her.”
Ana slanted her eyes to him. “What do you mean?”
“Tristan is now in the service of the king. He left this morning, not to return until the king says. Which is likely years.” Cornelius shrugged. “So, go on. Embarrass yourself and your family by denouncing a noble marriage. But your daughter will not be with Tristan. Not ever.”
Ana thought for a moment.
What a mess she had made. Tristan was gone and Ana would surely die soon, leaving Scarlet with no one to care for her.
What a horrible mess.
Scarlet was going to lose everything she loved. But she might still have a chance at a noble life.
Ana bowed her head respectfully, hoping to stroke the earl’s great pride and gain a bit of mercy. “Scarlet will happily marry Gabriel. And I will give you the map upon their vows.”
Cornelius smiled again. “You are no good at being submissive, Ana. But I appreciate your effort.” He clapped his hands and the servants came back in. “We shall have a proper engagement dinner and pretend this whole thing never happened.”
Ana nodded and excused herself. She needed to find Scarlet.
Immediately.
38
Gabriel slowly made his way to the front door of the cabin, trying to avoid the sick feeling in his stomach.Scarlet was here to “talk.” Which didn’t sound good.
Opening the door, he started to say hello when Scarlet interrupted him.
“Why are you dating me?” Her voice was soft and her eyes big.
“Uh…” Wrong answer, wrong answer. “Because I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said quickly. “But why are you dating me?” Scarlet’s face wasn’t angry or sour, she was simply…curious.
“Because you’re a piece of my life.” And you distract me from the cold emptiness that sucks away my hope.
“Yes, but I’m also a piece of your curse.” Scarlet paced the porch for a few seconds, the wooden planks beneath her feet creaking.
Were they really having this conversation on his porch?
Scarlet shook her head with a groan. “What are we doing, Gabriel?” She stopped pacing and looked at him with defeated eyes. “This is crazy.”
“What’s crazy?”
She gestured back and forth between them. “This. Us. We’re crazy.”
Gabriel stepped outside and shut the door behind him since, apparently, they were having this conversation on the porch.
Scarlet continued, “We can’t be together just because of some stupid curse, Gabriel. That’s dumb. I mean,” she ran a hand through her hair, “I keep dying because of a curse, and Tristan is probably shaking in pain somewhere right now because of a curse, and you…” She looked up at him sadly, “you aren’t free to love whoever you want because of a curse.”
She blinked. “We shouldn’t be dating, Gabriel. We should be breaking the curse.”
Gabriel was silent. Mostly because he couldn’t argue with anything Scarlet had said. But also, because the hole in his chest was growing wider and taking over his lungs.
He was losing Scarlet. He was losing hope.
But was it fair for him to hold on to her? To ask her to stay with him just so his soul wouldn’t ache?
No.
She was better off free. And she always had been.
Scarlet took a step forward and looked into Gabriel’s eyes, her face small and genuine. She softened her voice. “If we end up together, it needs to be because….” She searched his face. “Because we can’t live without each other. Not because we have no choice.” Her eyes skated across his face. “Don’t you think?”
The hole continued to expand and he could do nothing to stop it. Because Scarlet was right.
He slowly nodded. “Yes.” Pressing his lips together, he said, “If we’re meant to be together it shouldn’t belike this.”
It hurt to say that aloud. To admit it.
Scarlet’s face looked relieved and worried and hopeful all at the same time. “Do you really mean that?”
He nodded. “Yes, I do.”
And the truth broke him in half. It left him incomplete and brought him right back to the pit of emptiness.
Home, sweet home.
39
After confessing to her that he was not Tristan, Gabriel watched tears gather in Scarlet’s eyes.
“Please don’t cry.” He looked up and down the hallway, nervous that someone would see and lowered his voice. “You can’t cry, Scarlet. We have to pretend that everything is fine. You have to smile and nod while we have dinner with my father so that he won’t revoke the arrangement.”
Scarlet stared at the floor with her mouth open. “Tristan was sent to the king’s army? What if he gets injured? What if he dies?”
“He won’t die,” Gabriel said confidently. “He is a great archer and a cunning fighter. Even if everyone else falls, Tristan will stand. I know it.”
“Why did Tristan not tell me?”
“My father imprisoned him last night so he could not go to you.”
Scarlet blinked and a tear fell to the stone floor of the hallway. “I do not understand.”
“Neither do I.” Gabriel rubbed the side of his face, cursing the predicament he was in. “My father is a greedy and selfish man. He has destroyed many hearts with this deception and I will never forgive him for what he has done to Tristan. But,” Gabriel placed a gentle hand on Scarlet’s arm and waited for her to look up at him. “Tristan asked me to care for you, to marry you and keep you safe, and I promised him I would.”
Scarlet shook her head. “I do not need to be taken care of. I can provide for myself.”
Gabriel was quiet a moment. “I…I’m sure you can but—”
“I have no doubt you are an honorable man and a great brother to Tristan, but I will not marry you just so I may live an easy life. I will not. I have managed to take care of myself for many years and nothing will change that.”
Gabriel swallowed, unsure of what Tristan would want him to do.
“I apologize if I have hurt your pride.” Scarlet looked at him. “Thank you for your willingness to marry me.But I must decline. I will wait until Tristan returns.”
“But that could be decades.”
“So be it.” Scarlet straightened her shoulders.
Gabriel stood speechless. He was confused, relieved and upset. All at the same time.
Tristan would not be happy about this.
Well, then he should not have fallen in love with such a stubborn girl.
“Scarlet,” came a whisper down the hallway.
Gabriel turned to see Scarlet’s mother swiftly approaching.
“Mama,” Scarlet said, walking toward her. “We have been deceived and—”
“I know, child.” Ana covered Scarlet’s mouth. “Listen to me closely. You must marry this boy.” She looked at Gabriel.
Through her mother’s cupped hand, Scarlet said, “What?”
“You must do as I say.” Ana removed her hand and looked deep into Scarlet’s eyes. “You must take Gabriel’s hand in marriage with a happy heart and be kind to the earl, do you understand?”
With her mouth open, Scarlet started shaking her head. “But why?”
Ana placed her hands on Scarlet’s shoulders. “Because I am dying and Tristan is gone.”
Scarlet’s face fell into fear and disbelief. “Y-you’re dying?”
Ana nodded. “I am ill and will not live long.” She swallowed. “So I need you to do this for me.”
“No, mama. I can take care of you. I can make you better—”
“Hush!” Ana’s eyes hardened, but quickly went soft. “I need you to promise me that you will accept this noble union. I need to die knowing that you will always be safe and cared for.”
“But, mama—”
“Promise me,” Ana repeated.
Scarlet looked as though her whole world had crumbled. She glanced back at Gabriel, horror and hopelessness in her eyes, before looking at her mother.
“Promise me,” Ana said again.
Scarlet swallowed and whispered, “I promise,” as a tear fell down her cheek.
Ana kissed the top of Scarlet’s head. “Now, you will compose yourself and march into that dining hall with a smile for the earl.”
Scarlet nodded as she stared at the floor.
Not knowing what else to do, Gabriel gently took Scarlet’s arm in his as Ana began shuffling them toward the dining hall doors.
When they entered the dining room, Gabriel forced yet another smile upon his tense face.
40
Laura had another “late meeting,” so the Baxter family had invited Scarlet over to spend the night.
Scarlet and Heather stood in the kitchen, scooping bowls of chocolate ice cream for themselves.
“So, you just, like, broke up with Gabriel?” Heather put two scoops of ice cream into her bowl and handed the scooper to Scarlet.
“Yep.” Scarlet shoveleda scoop of ice cream into her own bowl.
“Did you cry?”
“No.” Scarlet added another scoop to the first.
“Did he cry?”
Scarlet glared at Heather. “No.”
Heather shook her head. “You’re insane.”
Three scoops. Scarlet lifted a brow. “For not crying?”
“No. For dumping a hot, immortal boy.” Heather eyed Scarlet’s tower of ice cream.
Scarlet sank the ice cream scooper into the tub of frozen goodness before her again.
“You were right.” Scarlet dropped a fourth scoop into her bowl and put the ice cream scooper down. “My relationship with Gabriel couldn’t be real with the curse hanging over us and I don’t want to date someone whose heart isn’t completely their own.” Scarlet shrugged. “So Gabriel and I aren’t dating. We’re going to be friends. It will be better this way.”
Heather picked the scooper back up and removed two scoops from Scarlet’s bowl, plopping them back into the ice cream tub.
“What are you doing?” Scarlet asked.
Heather licked ice cream off her finger. “If you keep eating ice cream by the quart, you’re going to die of heart failure unrelated to any curse.”
Keeping her eyes on Heather, Scarlet found the ice cream scooper again and re-scooped the cold deliciousness back into her bowl.
Heather raised a brow before grabbing a spoon and sinking into her treat. “I still think you’re crazy for breaking up with him. Now, every girl at school is going to be all over him and you’re going to be super jealous.”
Scarlet put the ice cream away and thought about other girls hitting on Gabriel. Kristy Stevens came to mind.
“No. I’m going to be mature about this whole thing,” Scarlet said. “I’m going to be Gabriel’s mature and not-jealous ex-girlfriend.”
“Right.” Heather nodded sarcastically.
Scarlet could be mature about her breakup with Gabriel.
She would be mature.
***************
Sunday morning Gabriel waited as everyone met at the cabin per Nate’s instructions. Scarlet and Heather stood by the couch in silence, while Gabriel stood by the fireplace waiting for Nate.
Heather was tapping her nails on the back of the couch and Scarlet was keeping her eyes fixed on the floor.
Breakups were awkward.
Gabriel could feel the tension in the room and he hated it. He didn’t want Scarlet to feel uncomfortable around him, but he didn’t want to walk over and give her a makeup hug, either.
Nate finally came down stairs, holding the map in his hand. He was wearing earmuffs.The replacement window still had not come, and Gabriel was starting to think it never would.
Carefully setting the map on the living room coffee table, Nate said, “We have a problem.”
Everyone stared at the map.
Gabriel asked, “What’s wrong?”
Nate ran both hands through his hair. “We have no starting point. I’ve studied this thing for days and I still can’t figure out where the map begins.” He tugged on the Superman sweatshirt he wore. “It could be that we’re missing a piece of the map.” He pointed to the ripped edge of the drawing. “Or maybe not. I don’t know. But without a starting place, the map is useless.”
Gabriel stared at the map on the coffee table, looking for something that could tell them where to begin.
Maybe an ‘X’. Or a door. Or an arrow with the words START HERE on it.
But no such luck.
Nate said, “It would help if we had a really old map of Avalon and the outer forest. Maybe an old hiking map or a map of the first city plans. We need something that we can compare to the geographical clues on Scarlet’s map.” He paused and looked at Heather. “I think we should go back to Mr. Brooks’ cellar.”
Heather nodded. “Okay. I’ll talk to Mr. Brooks and see when we can come back. If at all.” She glared at Scarlet and whispered, “Thief.”
Scarlet rolled her eyes.
And her eyes accidentally landed on Gabriel.