Time of Ages
( Chapter 8 ) .: Rescue :.
*~ Part 2 ~*
She felt
weightless.
Like she was flying. Freely falling in front of the cascading
waterfall. Her arms hung at her sides as she fell, hands still bound, the water
and wind mixing in her hair. She did not open her eyes. Her face and chest were
the only things not carried by the falls, they were open to the air and mist
around. In some ways she wished that it were a shorter waterfall, that she may
meet her end without so much suspense. She judged she must be reaching the end.
The sun was nearly gone, throwing the sky into vivid colors of gold, deep
purple, red and pink. A wind stirred in the forest, bringing cries of animals
to her ears, along with the crashing of the water all around.
The immediate halt in her fall jerked her back into reality.
She opened her eyes as she entered into the waterfall itself and
landed on a cool, rocky surface. Coughing and sputtering, she laid there and
gasped for air. When she could sit up, she did. She took in her new
surroundings carefully. She laid in a small, rocky cove. The entrance she had
come through was completely covered by the waterfall, and the slowly rising
moon cast iridescent lights through the water that created blue and purple
lights all around, dancing off the smooth walls. Behind her was another
entrance in the rock, with a crude spiral staircase carved into the rock.
He sat there, on the ground, near her.
He was soaking wet, though with her mind at its current state, she
couldn't figure out why. All she thought about was how he looked, sitting
there, with the lights playing off his face and hair; peaceful. She had never
seen him look peaceful. He didn't look at her, but she stared at him.
"Why are you staring so?" he asked. It was not his usual
tone, he spoke softly.
"What happened?" she asked. He turned to look at her and
all at once lost his sense of speech. She looked absolutely amazing. Her hair
had come out and hung in loose ringlets, framing her face. Her outfit was
dripping and clung to her, outlining her perfectly. Her eyes... they shone with
a brilliance, like the sea when the sun rises on a morning when everything is
just so right. He was mesmerized, trapped, lost in her eyes.
"You... you were falling," he said at last. He forced
himself to turn away and his voice became rough once again. "I pulled you
in here." She was absolutely shocked. He had... saved her?
"...why?" she asked quietly.
"Why?" he repeated, still not allowing himself to look at
her. He stood and faced the rocky wall. "Why?" she asked
again. Using what strength she had, she rose. She had not realized that her
hands and feet were still bound, and she fell back over abruptly with a small
cry. He turned at once to see that she was all right and, summoning his
willpower, walked over to her. He helped her sit up and began to unbind her
feet. He made no move to speak and did not look at her eyes.
"You haven't answered my question," Sally mentioned once,
maneuvering her head to try and look at his face. He avoided her. Once her feet
were unbound, she sat on her heels as he worked on her hands.
"Because I was here," he stated.
"But why! Why were you here? How did you know? And why
bother?" she exploded with a small laugh of disbelief.
"Because!" he shouted. "Because I knew something was
wrong. I followed that evil man and heard of his plans. Because I knew
something might happen. Because I don't trust Duo to take care of everything.
Because I had to be here to save you!" He had stopped his work on
her hands when he began to talk, and afterward he picked it back up again with
fervor. She was silent for a moment.
"You had to save me?" she repeated.
"...yes," he said. She thought she heard him sigh. She
could smell him, the scent of a man, and a particular odor that she identified
with elves. It was terribly addictive, but she was afraid. She was afraid she
would fall in love. Or that she had already fallen.
Live for me. Live and LOVE.
"Thank you, Anthony," she said almost inaudibly.
He looked up at her once, questioningly. She caught his eyes and
saw fear.
"Are you afraid, Wufei?" she asked him.
"I was," he answered. Now that he had looked again he
couldn't tear himself away.
"Of what?"
".......of losing another woman I loved."
Her hands were unbound. He held them between his own and looked
into her eyes pleadingly. Seeing no resistance, he brought his face nearer to
hers slowly. He could feel her breathing, virtually taste her sweet breath on
his mouth and he lost his willpower and self-control.
In a second his mouth was pressed against hers, his lips tasting
hers. It was the most passionate kiss she had ever had in her life, and she
loved it. Every second it got better and better, and she never wanted it to
stop. She pressed her mouth against his harder, causing slight sounds to come
from both of them. When her lips left his reluctantly, she stared into his
deep, dark eyes.
"I thought, Sally Po," he said. "Before I came here,
I thought. Thought of you. I thought about hunting. I thought about what I
would do if I really had to kill someone that I knew hadn't done anything
wrong. I knew I couldn't kill the other girls. If I did, I would be no better
than that horrible man was. My... my Merian told me to live honestly, justly,
and rightly." He looked deep into her eyes. "I believe that is what
I'm doing now."
"And what are you doing now, Wufei Chang?" she asked. He
brought his face close to hers once again and closed his eyes.
"Falling in love with you." He kissed her again, holding
her head in his hands, stroking her damp hair with his strong fingers. She
brought her own arms up so her hands cradled his head, undoing the tie that
held his silky hair back, burying her fingers in the dark strands. She pulled
away for a moment, murmuring.
"I love you... Wufei Chang," she said with eyes still
closed.
"And I you, Sally Po," he said, lips finding and claiming
hers again.
From the doorway, a
smiling figure watched with an enormous smile. He hurried back up the
staircase.
"Well??" Hilde asked impatiently.
"They're fine, just as Quatre thought," Duo said, still
smiling. "I think they might need a decent amount of time alone though;
it's very private down there and, unless I am not an elf, there is a fair
amount of passion buiding in that small cove!" Quatre blushed and Hiiro
laughed.
"Shall we then?" Trowa asked.
"Of course, Adriel and Mytrica await!" Zechs replied with
a low bow to Lucretia. Sweeping their girls off their feet, they headed off to
dragons and unicorns.
The moon shone down
on the forest, where peace echoed and fantasy reigned again. The sound of water
cascading over rocks mingled with the whistling breeze, and the beautiful
melody of lyre and pipes wafted through the forest, filling the hearts of all
creatures who heard.
:. *~*~* .:
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stay tuned for the Epilogue!!! ^.^ Domo arigatou gozaimasu!