Ana, Tiberius, Eugen
Ana
The building we were looking at was situated near the Dumbrava Forest. A one-storey masonry house with a hipped roof, plastered with lime-sand mortar, the earthy colour bringing out its authenticity.
The border of its windows was painted white and blue. The porch’s wooden boards were coloured with the same shade as the frames.
“The Mirror did not show me this,” I stated, my eyes roaming over the name written on the house. It was a tradition to mark on the front of the building the founders and the year of construction.
“That is the name of the former owners. Let me fix it,” he said, one of his hands stretching in the air.
Instead of the old name, mine, his and Eugen’s appeared.
Ana, Tiberius, Eugen
“What is that?” I breathed, my pulse travelling faster in my body.
“I couldn’t arrive sooner at your baptism, because I was acquiring this house. For quite some time, I thought about adding you to the deed, which is already done. Eugen will inherit this after our passing. I cannot add Andrei on the deed, him being…already dead.”
My mouth opened and closed several times as his words registered. If I had had a heart, then it would have shattered.
Not wanting to have the wrong understanding, I asked, “Why did you add us?”
“Ana, after these months, I am certain I do not want to spend my humanity in solitude. And not only that, but I also want to spend it with you. And about Eugen, I am not sure if we could have children together. I don’t know what will happen when we reverse our forms. And…I care about him.”
I wanted to die and come back, just to make his dreams come true. I wrapped my arms around his neck, closing my eyes, feeling as though every part of me was ignited.
“I cannot put into words the feelings that overwhelm me, Tiberius. I cannot thank you enough for making my life a little bit more colourful.”
Tiberius pushed me lightly off him, his eyes burning into mine.
“I’ve wronged you so many times, treated you beneath my level.
I don’t know if you will ever forgive me entirely.
Alas, my feelings, even without a heart, changed.
I denied them for many reasons, but I want my heart, when it finds its place back into my chest, to beat again for you.
And in this house, to create the family you always wanted. ”
With those words out of his lips, his strong arms hugged my waist, pulling me close to him. “Do you wish to step into my dream?” His voice was shaking, like he was uncertain about what to do or say. I nodded and kissed his cold cheeks.
I took his hand and pushed the large wooden gate, noticing some chipped paint which I would gladly redo.
The yard was enough for me to grow flowers and vegetables. My soul warmed at the future we could have here. I swirled to him, his words replaying in my mind. “You want to have children?”
“I would like to have as many as you want, because they are a bigger challenge than taking souls,” he said, opening the main door to the house.
Laughter filled the air. “I sure hope our children will give you white locks.”
“If I could age, I would probably be covered in white-grey hair already,” he mumbled. As we entered the house, round, large candles ignited from thin air.
No furniture adorned the floors and walls, but I could already picture the bedroom, Eugen’s room and the kitchen.
In every chamber, there was a terracotta fireplace and candles. The walls were still grey, not being painted, but I would take care of that. My steps were faltering; the hairs on my body raised as I stepped further into the house.
It was a dream come true.
Tiberius stared into my eyes, which were beginning to be watery. He took my face in his palms, kissing my forehead. “I promise you, Ana! I will get you out of the hole I’ve dug you.” His whispers caressed my skin, torching my chest with feelings unknown to me.
“And how will you do that?” I sighed on his lips, the want in me growing.
I took his coat off his shoulders with my trembling fingers, sounding deafening as it fell to the floor.
“One more soul to take, Ana, and perhaps we can be free,” he murmured as he kissed my ear, sending shivers through my body.
“How?” I breathed, shaking my coat off. My mind was not immersed in the discussion, but on his hands, mouth and skin.
His fingers touched my waist lightly, drawing circles on my sensitive skin.
“Do you think my brother would just let me free of the skull?” He kissed my nose, then my mouth briefly, leaving me with the desire.
“No, he would cross both of us. I believe I have found a way of destroying him.” His eyes roamed over my figure, his cheeks getting redder. “I need to consult with you first.”
“But…” I started, the burning of his touch on my lower back fogging my brain.
He kissed my lips, pulling a moan from me. Tiberius grabbed me by my waist and placed me on the floor, the cold seeping through my clothes, forgetting all about our discussion.
I turned, straddling his hips, his arm breaking the contact with my skin to rip the ie. With one hand, he held my body, the other touching my breast.
His mouth covered my sensitive skin from my chest, my head leaning back in pleasure. My hips moved of their own accord, his lips trailing kisses on my neck, leaving me breathless. I pressed my fingers on his shoulders, the desire growing and growing.
I bit the skin of his neck, and he pulled me towards him, hard. He then turned me on my back, making me his.
The feelings multiplied by the second; the blood ran through my veins faster. The desire to hold me, to touch me, to make love to me was granted in our future house, under the rainy sky of Brumar.
If I had a heart, it would be his.
The abyss which contained us was exploding around us.
Held in his embrace, I did not feel the cold from our world. Thunder rolled in the sky, sending a shard of light from time to time. His hands tightened around my waist, his lips touching my shoulders lightly.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his deep voice making me want more. More of him, more time with him, a life with him.
“Yes,” I whispered, my eyes tracking the droplets of rain on the window.
“Surely?” He sounded worried.
I turned my head upwards, kissing his lips as hard as I could, to assure him that he did not wreck my body. His fingers intertwined with mine, a feeling of safety enveloping me.
We watched together as the rain poured outside, the sound filling the space between us.
“You were saying something about your brother,” I said, remembering the dark cloud over our happiness. “You needed to talk to me about something?” My brows knitted as I placed his hand over my stomach.
“Yes, that,” he grunted as he supported his back on the pile of our clothes. “His desire is to turn himself human, but only after he kills me.”
I squeezed his hand. “That won’t happen,” I said, my eyes hard on the dark sky.
If the Elk were to kill him, the master would become the sole heir. Only if the Elk were still alive.
“You’re so sure of that, inim?,” he chuckled, his fingers twirling my hair. “Why is that?”
“We can kill him before the last soul.”
It was so silent in the room that I could hear the wheels of his mind working. I snuggled closer to his body to feel his chest against mine. The droplets of water hit the window, resembling tears, but as soon as they hit the edge of the frame, they turned into ice.
“I knew you were smart,” he mumbled into my hair, after he planted a kiss on top of my head.
“Maybe now, but not at the beginning.”
“You will hold my selfish self against me every day for the rest of our lives, right?”
“Yes,” I admitted. But I couldn’t hide my smile. Not when my soul was filled. I thanked God for that feeling which was lost for me.
“Let’s plot our next move in the morning. I want this night to be ours,” he said, standing and offering his hand to me. “I have something to give you.”
“You have already given me a life beyond death, Tiberius.” I linked my fingers with his and rose to full height, raising my eyebrows.
He tugged my fingers, walking towards the place where we left our cloaks, draping them over our shoulders as we walked. He took a small dark box from his pocket, then, turning to me, he held it open.
I didn’t know if the house was shaking or his hands were the ones who continued to shudder. All of a sudden, the candles flickered harder.
“The jeweller told me that whoever wears this ring will have to wear it forever.” His sentence was more of a question than a proposition.
A ring. With a black diamond in which flames' reflection bobbed. The sophisticated rose carving was holding the diamond gracefully.
“Ana,” Tiberius said, taking a step towards me, my mind reeling, “with this ring, I mark my promise to get both of us out of this eternity. If you accept it, we will thrive in life and death. Because without you and your pure soul, even in the afterlife, I would not breathe.”
I stretched my hand to him, nodding once, words escaping me. He pushed slowly the ring on my finger, the immense feelings I had for the man in front of me, overwhelming me.
My eyes filled with tears, the newfound happiness setting heavy on my chest.
“I…if I hadn’t offered my soul to you, I wouldn’t have found the love I feel every day, every second.
Yes, you dug my hole, but you jumped in it too.
And somehow, my dear Tiberius, we will crawl back to the sun and air, and we will live the life we wrote with blood, screams and death.
” I stepped closer to him, my eyes watching his own tears falling.
His hands captured my face, hunger crossing his eyes, his lips whispering on my lips, undying words. “I love you, Ana, my strong, beautiful woman.”
And the night was ours.
Where no one touched us with scythes or resentful words. Where there were no families, no skulls or masks.
It was only us.
The peasant and the Goat Man.
The Stag Woman and Eternity.
Ana and Tiberius.