Bella Vita (30 page)

“Did yah have a nice
chat?” She smiled at me, and my face fell a little.

“Always the greatest when
your fiancé hangs up on you.” I halfheartedly chuckled.

“Aw, there now. Yah sit
right down and have a nice cuppa tea.” Moira disappeared into the
kitchen and returned with a dainty porcelain cup. “ Here, drink
this, it'll help.”

“Thank you.” I sat down
and took the cup.

I breathed in the fine steam coming off the
hot fluid. The first thing I noticed was that the smell was off.
There was blood in it, but there was something else... something
that burned. I took a small sip and I knew there was whiskey in it.
The fluid burned slightly going down, but it was instantly calmed
by the blood. I took another sip.

“Better?” Moira's face was
calm, her eyes smiled at me.

“Yes. Thank you, Moira.
You're such a gem.” I hugged the pregnant woman.

“Some days, others I'm
hellfire.” She laughed and her belly bounced merrily along with
her.

We ate lunch together. Our conversations
were consumed by business talk for the inn. We started to hammer
out the details for the new clientele they'd be serving.
Afterwards, I helped with the dishes.

I spent the rest of the day in my room
waiting to hear from Mike. Every time I thought about the fasting-
as I decided I wanted to call it- my heart would pound and I'd get
butterflies. It was strange to experience something so human
again.

By sunset, my anxiety was
starting to get the best of me. Mike hadn't called or
anything.
What if he has decided not to?
What if Acacia found out?
My nerves
switched to concern.

I went downstairs. Moira
was napping on the couch, her feet were on Patrick's lap. I felt my
heart ping with jealousy.
I'll never have
that.
I watched them silently for a
minutes- until I sensed a person outside. I went outside through
the front door and found Mike.

He wore only black. His auburn hair was
slicked back. When he saw me, his face was awash in happiness.

“I was afraid you wouldn't
sense me or had decided not to come out.” He gestured for me to
come to him.

“You could have called.
I've been worried- you know my overactive imagination.” I slowly
walked to him.

“I'm sorry. I've been
making arrangements and trying hard to avoid Acacia. I found that
to be the hardest part.” He sighed as he wrapped his arms around
me.

“If you told her the
truth, you wouldn't have to hide anything.” I chided
him.

“And I will, only after it
happens. I don't want anything to ruin this night.” He smiled and
kissed the top of my head.

“Do you promise? I know if
you give me your word, I can proceed with everything. But I won't
be a secret, Michael. I've spent too much time wandering this world
alone.” I looked him straight in the eye.

“You have my word. After
tonight, I won't be able to hide anything from you.” He smiled at
me and I noticed that his canines had lengthened ever so
slightly.

“Good. Then let's get this
going.” I grabbed his hand and pulled us away from the cozy
inn.

We walked to the town that we'd picked up
the car in before. There were children playing ball in the street.
As we approached, they stopped and stared at us- like they knew
what we were.

“Aye. Don't mind them. The
young sense us. They don't know
what
we are, but they can sense that
something is different about us.” He pulled me along as we passed
the kids.

I wanted to stop and observe how they would
fully react to us, if we engaged them.

“Emma, we're on a tight
schedule. If you have time before you leave, then we can come back
and you can study the local youth, okay?” Mike's eyes were luminous
as he spoke.

“Okay.” I let him lead me
along.

The black car was waiting
for us again. Mike opened the door for me, and I climbed in. He
walked around and jumped in behind the wheel. Our drive was silent.
I was curious about where we were going, but I was more busy
thinking about my decisions.
Is this the
right choice?
Somewhere inside I knew I
was following the right path, Mike looked like he was brooding on
our actions as well.

We drove for about an hour and when we
stopped, the area was almost deserted. There was a small cottage
with a large red barn. The house was dark, but the barn was lit up
like the Fourth of July. The two small windows were bright with a
golden light- as was the hayloft. Mike pulled the car up to the
side of the structure.

Mike's profile was shadowed by the blaze
next to him- he looked otherworldly.

“So... this is it?” I
asked when he didn't say anything or move to get out of the
car.

“Yes. But we wait here
until they come for us.” He turned and looked at me.

“Come for us? Who?” I felt
nervous.

“The Brotherhood of the
Fast. Things have to be in the correct place and they know we're
here. They will come for you first. Think of this as a form of
wedding, Emma. Everything has its order.” His words were
solemn.

I knew the importance for this- but when
Mike threw the word 'marriage' out there, I felt very anxious.

I nodded my head and fell into a dark
silence.

A short while later, two black robed figures
came out carrying a white robe or gown-like thing. My heart sped up
as they approached the car. My body stiffened and my fangs slid
down into place- a natural response to my sudden fear. The robed
figures stood silently outside the car. I took a deep breath and
opened the door. I could feel my legs tremble ever so slightly as I
clambered out of the car.

The robed couple moved to me and placed the
white robe around me. Afterwards, they turned and silently walked
back to the barn. I followed reluctantly. As I entered the
structure, I saw two more robed figures holding a red robe. As I
was led into a separate room, I watched the two with the red robe
leave the barn. The door was closed behind me as I stepped fully
into the room.

The room I was in looked as if it was in a
different building. The walls were painted a nice cream color. The
furniture was plush and welcoming. There was a large mirror with a
sewing mannequin in front of it. The model wore a typical wedding
dress, but it looked very old. There was elegant beading all over
the bodice.

The two robed figures took their hoods down
and revealed two beautifully aged women. I didn't know if they were
vampires, werewolves, human, or something else- but they were
clearly involved with both worlds.

The women smiled warmly at me.

My smile was small and timid.

“Come. Now, we get you
ready.” The woman with skin like obsidian said.

I nodded and stood where I was. I had no
clue as to what was expected of me.

The other woman, a creamy pale color, moved
a screen to reveal an old school claw-footed bathtub. She said
nothing, merely turned to give me a brief moment of privacy to
undress.

I pulled my dress off quickly, slipped out
of my shoes, and rid myself of my undergarments. I stepped into the
bath, and the smell of lavender washed over me. I took a deep
breath.

“'Tis to help wash away
your nerves, dear.” The pale woman said.

“Is there something
special I should call you?” I eyed the two women as they approached
the tub with brushes in each hand, I gulped silently.

“I'm Quinn, and this is
Duffy.” Quinn said as she began to scrub at me- the bubbles
disappearing on her pale skin.

“It's a pleasure to meet
you both.” I smiled at the two women as they rubbed my skin to a
bright pink.

“No, the pleasure is ours.
You, Miss Emma Hutchinson, you're destined to fix things... to
create a balance as it were. This is merely the first step on the
path to your destiny.” Duffy explained as she brushed my, now
knotted, hair.

“If you don't mind me
asking, how do you know about my destiny and the role this plays in
it?” I was suddenly very curious as to who these women
were.

I watched as Quinn and Duffy seemed to have
a mental debate- I was tempted to probe their minds to find out for
myself, but I figured that would be rude. Duffy nodded briefly and
Quinn moved quickly- more quickly than most humans could move- to a
door in the wall. She opened it and called out in a language I was
not familiar with. A few moments later, the most serene looking
woman walked into the room. Her skin was the perfect balance
between Quinn's and Duffy's- a rich tan color.

“My name is Sheehan, and
it has been agreed that you should know of the people that are
handling you. In this room, the three of us are what have been
considered the Fates. They say we know all- although I'm not too
sure about that these days. But we do know the past, present, and
future. We know your path very well, Emma. There are three men in
the room with your mate, Michael, they're our balance- the male
form of us. They are called Hogan, Murray, and Ryan. Should Michael
inquire about them, they too will reveal themselves to him.
Otherwise, he will not know that he came into contact with the
Fates.” Her silver eyes burned into my mind.

I nodded.

“This is your path, Emma.
This is the first choice you're making in order to save your
people, his people, and create a future for the two to exist as
one. But this path will not be an easy one, nor will there not be
loss. You'll lose more than anyone. The pain will feel
overwhelming, but know this- you can overcome it. Nothing is lost,
merely changed. The path to tomorrow can't be rearranged. This is
set, as the things to come were long before you were born, today
you step forward into your destiny.” Her voice echoed around me in
a whirlwind of sound and wind.

I knew instantly that her words were true.
It was as though she had briefly raised the veil of my future that
I, myself, couldn't see.

I stared at the women before me and realized
that none of the women were what they appeared to be. Rather,
everything I saw was a manifestation of their making.

“Now, Emma, you have been
purified for your future. The past has been washed from you. Rise
out of the water and begin the path to your destiny.” Sheehan spoke
to me as the gown I had seen on the mannequin seemed to drift
towards me.

I knew I was awake, but I could easily hear
the logical side of me screaming to wake the devil up. I stepped
out of the antique bath and the room temperature felt pleasant
against my skin. I had a feeling that this was part of the women's
doing. Standing nude before these powerful women, made me blush
with modesty.

“Aw, Child, don't be
ashamed in front of us, we've seen much, and although these bodies
are mere manifestations- we, too, have all had moments much like
this one.” Quinn said as she pulled a 19
^th
century whale boned crème
corset around my middle.

“Is this necessary?” I
asked as my bottom ribs felt like they were going to be broken and
the wind crushed from my lungs.

“Yes. Now deep breath, and
exhale.” She pulled hard through my exhale. “Good. Let me lace you
up, and then on with the dress.”

I turned to see my
reflection- my waist seems to be that of a Barbie doll.
Hmm. I'm not too sure about this.

Duffy took the white garment and slid it
over my head, even with the corset on, the dress was snug- but it
fit. The small beads on the bodice shimmered in the warm light. My
body was covered from high neck down to the floor.

A chair was pushed up against the backs of
my legs.

“Sit.” Duffy said with her
hand on a brush.

I bent carefully to make sure I didn't tear
the delicate fabric. The chair looked to be hard, but as soon as I
sat upon it, I realized it was quite comfortable.

The bristles of the brush stroked my hair in
smooth patterns across my back. Duffy and Quinn stood behind me,
Sheehan in front- conducting the affair from there. I felt my hair
being braided and pulled tight. Pins were stuck in and the braids
were piled on my head.

The room filled with the
smell of flowers.
Daisies?
I wasn't sure what they were doing or why there
was the sudden aroma of flora. I closed my eyes and tried not to
worry about everything that was about to happen.

“Child, I need you to keep
still now.” Quinn's cool voice was like a soothing balm to my
nerves.

I felt the gentle brushstrokes as eye shadow
and blush was applied to my face. A slick brush moved across my
lips. Then there was a sudden wetness as delicate brushstrokes were
applied all over my face. I wanted to open my eyes to see what was
going on, but I couldn't.

“Aw. Quite perfect, Quinn.
She is the loveliest one we've had the pleasure of doing, yet.”
Sheehan's voice penetrated the darkness of my mind.

“You can now open your
eyes, Emma.” Duffy's words were like gentle laughter on the spring
wind.

I cracked open one eye. A hand mirror was
being held out for me to take. I took it, inhaled deeply, and
brought it in front of me.

I gasped.
Oh my God, it's so beautiful.
I touched the reflection.