With his hand on her shoulder she relaxed, although the rumbling noises worried her, not because they were so loud, but because she did not think it was the mountain they were situated in that was doing it but something else entirely. She could sense he was lying. She sighed, sat upright and finished feeding their son who was very upset to have been interrupted. Her fingertips light upon his little brow, she spoke softly, ?Shhh...there, there...Marius...it's all over now.?
She looked to her husband for a moment, ?Are you hungry? I suppose I could fix something for you. Is there a fireplace in here??
Talomar watched as his son fed on his mother, enjoying the site and trying not to think about what just happened. Tara's offer to cook reminded him of the last time she cooked some poor animal that turned into a volcano of hot, disgusting, internal juices. "I'm not very hungry at the moment, love. I think that once Marius is asleep I would just like to be with you. You are my nourishment, my angel."
All she can think about is pleading with him not to leave the cave, even though she knew he wanted to know who came into the castle, as did she. The thought of it worried her and now with the rumbling noises which sounded more like they were farther away than above them, if they were supposed to come from the mountain, she was all the more concerned. She knew there was much he wasn't telling her.
?I'm putting him to sleep now.? But where? She didn't see a crib. ?Talomar...where should I lay him down? He can't be in the bed with us.?
He got up off the bed and went to several trunks and pulled out blankets and pillows that were just being stored. He set them out on the floor at the bottom of the bed. "Here, love. He'll be fine here, and if he awakes, we can always bring him into bed with us." Talomar usually tried to avoid that. He was worried that he could roll over on Marius and smother his son. Talomar reached out and took Marius from her arms. "Here, let me put him to bed."
?Okay but I want to kiss him goodnight.? She handed him over, smiling. ?You think it will be alright if he's on the floor? What if there are more rumbling noises? What if the ceiling caves in? Maybe we should put him closer to us, on the side of the bed??
Talomar nodded and moved the bedding to her side of the bed, then took their son and set him on a bed of pillows and blankets and tucked him in. He then stood in front of the bed and began to slowly remove his clothes.
He stopped for a moment and thought. He had so many memories wrapped up in that castle. He thought of Dominique's spirit, and of the servants, those in the dungeon, his horses, all their wedding presents and valuables, and even their bed. He knew it was all gone. He looked at Tara and smiled, for the most important of his treasures had escaped - his wife and son. Talomar continued to get undressed.
Tara knelt down next to the bed and looked at their son. ?Daddy an' Mommy love you very much and won't let anything happen to you,? she said softly as she him on his forehead. ?Sleep well, my son.?
She then got to her feet and finished taking off her dress, the majority of the buttons already undone because of Marius and looked over her shoulder at her husband. ?Where are our clothes?? Her voice was soft, tired sounding.
He went out through the drapery and opened the luggage that Tara had packed. "Um...here they are, love. Just what you packed."
'Whatever the hell that is,' he thought as he looked at the assemblage of clothing that didn't make much sense at all. "You did a good job, dear." 'If we're going to change our occupations to clowns', he again thought. He just shook his head. Everything she did was so endearing. "What would you like to wear?"
Tara inched forward, hanging by the drapery to watch him. She was a nervous wreck. She didn't know where anything was, didn't actually know where they were, she had not packed much of anything because she had not been thinking clearly and so when he started looking through it and she saw the look on his face which did not match his words, she frowned. ?I don't need to wear anything for right now. I will unpack our things tomorrow, okay?? She went to turn the bed down, lost in the horrible thoughts of their desperate situation.
Talomar dropped the clothes back into the suitcases. "Good idea. Things will seem brighter when the sun goes down."
He walked up to his wife. He could see and sense that she was really quite upset, bordering upon frantic. Talomar took her into his arms, feeling her body against his. His voice was a whisper, "All that I need in my life is right in this little cave. I mean that, Tara. You believe me?"
She was fine up until he held her against him, which was when she started to cry again and cling to him so tightly thinking if she didn't let him go she wouldn't have to worry about him leaving because he would be unable to. ?Yes, I believe you, but I know that you aren't telling me something. Why do you keep things from me? Is it that you think I am young an' cannot handle it??
He didn't say anything at first. He just continued to hold her as he thought about what she had said. She was right. She deserved to know. She was not a child. His voice was soft and yet filled with a confident consolation. "Tara, I'm sorry. You are quite right. I didn't want to worry you but you'll find out soon enough anyway. Something terrible has happened, and it was only with the greatest of good fortune that we are still alive. Do you remember those two vampire lords you met in the Inn?"
Her eyes darkened and she nodded, ?Yes, I will never forget them.?
"They have turned against me, Tara. They want us dead and they want to take over S.E.C.T.O.R., and we have been betrayed from the inside. That explosion that you heard was a plasma blast that came from space. I am very certain that our home no longer exists. They tried to kill us, but we have beaten them, and now it's my turn to show them what we do to traitors." He kissed her forehead. "And don't worry about where we will live. We shall purchase another castle. It will be a better one that is just ours. There will be no chapel and no Dominique. All will be okay."
?Noooo.? Her voice was forlorn. Everything he had ever owned and collected in his long existence was decimated in one fell swoop. She fell back on the bed and put her face in her hands. It was bad enough for mortals when they lost their possessions in, say, a fire, because that was devastating but to a vampire, who lived for centuries, it was unthinkable. All the treasures...the memories...no longer there.
She felt ill. ?I did not mind Dominique so much, Talomar. She spoke to me when you were not there, you know. This is...? she looked up at him, ?unbelievable. I am so sorry. This is my fault. I know it! If you had not married me they would have never....oh God.? She shook and then hung her head.
"No, no, my angel. Do say such a thing. I don't care about anything in that castle except for our bed and your coffin, and they can both be replaced."
She wasn't upset about it but said it anyway. ?That was my father's coffin; and I care, Talomar. I care.? You have worked hard, this I know, whereas I have been pampered and lived a spoiled life.? She balled her fists and then went to crawl under the covers, wanting to vomit even though there was nothing in her stomach to regurgitate. ?Everything I have is because someone died an' willed it to me.?
He felt so badly but there was nothing he could do. "Tara, I care too, but I care more about you and Marius than all the possessions in this universe. Everything can be easily replaced. It will give me something to spend my fortune on. Anyway you have castles and lands and possessions. We'll be fine, my angel." He crawled under the blankets with her and put his arm around her to comfort her.
?What is mine is yers,? she said softly. ?They are our castles...our lands...our possessions, Talomar Longden, ours.? She snuggled close to him and sighed, ?I am jus' so grateful that I have you an' our son. I know that material things shouldn't matter an' they don't but in a way. I feel sorry because some things cannot be replaced, antiques that is. An',? she forced a smile, ?that Raging Bull statue of mine. It was one-of-a-kind.?
Talomar had to stop himself from shouting out, 'YES'. He acted sad and disappointed, "You're right, love. I will surely miss that statue. And it was indeed a one of a kind." He was so happy about that. Maybe losing all their possessions wasn't so bad after all.
She giggled and swatted him, ?Yer lying. You hated that statue from the second you laid eyes on it an' told me so!?