Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
T he door creaked as I pushed it open. Maaier sat on a stool just outside the door frame. A book in one hand and an oil lamp in another.
“It is a bit late for a midnight rendezvous, is it not?” He said without taking his eyes from the page before him. I couldn't make out the words garnering his attention.
“I couldn’t sleep. I was hoping you would assist me to the greenhouse?”
“At this time? Absolutely not.” He cocked his chin, as if this were the final argument.
With a roll of my eyes, I stepped past him, heading down the hall. My name a hissed whisper behind me followed by a curse. Maaier trailed me down the stairs, silently fuming at the interruption of his night.
Stepping into the greenhouse was like a welcome home. The only place I felt peace. The place where I had learned to grow. To love.
“You are the death of me,” Maaier grunted as he followed me through. Lighting lanterns with his candle as he went.
“Not yet. But maybe someday.” I threw over my shoulder before ducking through the plant life growing around me. I weaved through the pots and benches until I came to the one Maaier had lifted me on what felt like years ago. A rose bush placed in the centre. My face twisted with confusion. This wasn’t here before. The last plant I had left here was a petunia seedling.
How very peculiar. Shaking off the strange altercation, I pushed the bush back to where it was supposed to be. A single petal falling from a bloom. I watched as it floated down ever so softly onto the bench.
“What do you plan to do?” Maaier drawled, coming up beside me to cock his hip against the bench.
“I just needed to find some normalcy.”
I worked in silence. Maaier watched as I darted around checking on my greenery, following my every step with his lantern.
“Have they any more evidence as to the attacks?” I asked over my shoulder. Maaier shook his head with a frown. Hope faded within me. We were already losing time. If only I could remember any small detail of who it was that fateful night in the halls lurking with death.
“So tell me. Why greenery?” Maaier broke the beat of silence.
I turned to face him with a slow hum. My bottom lip still caught between my teeth from my concentration on sheering. Maaier breathed out a laugh before continuing.
“Why greenery?” He said again.
“It reminds me of a simpler time,” I said with a sigh, memories of my father floating back through my mind. I kept my eyes on the bush as I continued “A time where I wasn’t just a cursed woman wandering around waiting for someone to attack her or her friends again. A time where I was just Vespera Florian. A girl who couldn’t see in colour but never wanted to. A girl who thought the love of her family was enough.”
The confession weighed down my chest as if a pile of stones had lodged themselves in its cavity.
“You never wanted to see in colour?” He said softly.
I shook my head. “I didn’t see the need to.”
“Colour is but the very beauty of life, Vespera. I thought you would want to experience that.”
“Colour is not everything. There is beauty in the darkness and shades of grey. Sometimes the most beautiful things in life come from the darkness. We shouldn’t hold faith in beauty and frivolous things. My sight may be one of grey, but that doesnt mean I have not lived the most beautiful existence or longed for anything more. I have learnt to be content with myself and that in itself is a beautiful thing.”
Maaier stepped toward me, pulling the sheers from my hands. Slowly, I faced him. My eyes met his as if seeing them up close for the very first time. The dark expanse glistened in the pale light, our breaths mingling as he leaned in closer. My heart fluttered like a bird in my chest.
“You are the most beautiful thing to walk this earth, my bloom. If not just from your being but from your soul.” His voice was low, eyes darting down to where my tongue darted out to wet my lips. He was inches away yet I craved him closer.
Maaier’s gloved hand reached up ever so slowly. Taking my cheek in his grasp, his thumb smoothed over my skin. Slowly my own hand reached up, sliding over where his pressed into my cheek. I tilted my head into his grasp, holding him close to me.
“You look like you have a million different questions.” He smiled.
“You know me too well.”
He pulled me slightly closer.“I know you better than anyone, Vespera. I think it is only fair that you come to know me.”
“I think that would be lovely.”
“You would love my home back north,” He breathed “endless fields of flowers and greenery. Space for you to grow and frolic as you please.” His eyes slid shut, his thoughts a million miles away.
“Would I be safe there?”
Maaier smiled once again. “You will always be safe with me. I can assure you of that.” He smiled, eyes meeting mine again.
“How can I trust you?” I said as his thumb swiped over my skin once more.
“I believe your soul knows mine, Vespera.” His words were barely above a whisper.
My heart thundered in my chest.
Maaier’s lips drew closer once more. This time dangerously close to mine.
“Perhaps mine knows yours too.”
Within an instant Maaier’s lips brushed mine. Slowly at first. Gentle and timid before growing more passionate. His hands cradling my face drifted to my neck, one slowly cupping the small of my back to press me closer to him. He tasted of heaven, of sweetness and warmth. His hands snaked their way over my back, pulling me as if I could somehow be closer to him. Our bodies pressed together. Hands in each other's hair. Learning the feel and sway of the other. The moment was bliss. Pure and utter bliss.
Maaier pulled back slowly, his breath strained. “Keep your eyes closed.” He managed through broken breaths. My chest heaved under my cloak.
I did as he asked, listening for what he planned next. All I wanted was his lips on mine once more. My fingers twitched at my sides, desperate for another feel of him against me. A fire inside me undimmed.
A slip of cloth fell over my face. I remained still as Maaier fastened it over my eyes.
“You must keep this on.” He ordered softly, I opened my mouth to protest only to have his lips on mine again. A small moan escaped me, my hands digging into his hard shoulders. He pulled back once more. Only to hoist me into his hold with one hand under my knee and the other under my back. The only sound made was his breaths as he extinguished each lantern.