Masked Love Page 3

  He noticed her wrap herself against the cold and slowly stood up, removing his over shirt. Venus stared at him, her eyes wide with shock and fear as he walked towards her pulling the shirt off his shoulders, revealing an undershirt. He had reached near her, his eyes boring into hers and Venus’ grip unknowingly tightened around her.

  “What are you-?” she started crawling back from him. But he held out his shirt to her. Venus stared at his hand then at the shirt, confused. He waited for a few more seconds and then threw the shirt over her shoulders before moving back to occupy his previous place.

  Venus was still staring at him, her eyes wide. She wanted to throw the shirt back at him… and she would’ve if it wasn’t too cold. She sat there pulling the shirt closer around her.

  Rey gazed at her and sighed as she was still shivering from the cold. “There is another way to put the cold off…” he started and she looked at him, a bit hopefully. “Er… Come closer- and let me hold you…” he said staring at her face. She narrowed her eyes at him and then her face reflected pure rage and disgust. “Well… it’s a survival measure…” he tried.

  “If that’s the only thing that might keep me alive…” she took deep breathes in her fury. “Then I prefer dying…”

  Rey’s mind filled with fury and his fists clenched. ‘She’s such a-’ But suddenly, he noticed a slash on her leg. It was bleeding. He immediately moved towards her and took her leg in his hands.

  “Let go…” said Venus and pushed him back. She stood up and moved towards a corner. “Stay away from me… or I’ll…” but he had moved towards her and held her hands, pinning them above her head and backing her up on the cave’s wall. He leant closer, his body covering hers.

  “Listen…” he growled in her ear. “I had enough of your arrogance… I had to kidnap you for a reason… and you’ll have to put up with me until we reach our village even if you don’t want to.” Venus was staring at his face which was really closer now and Rey was feeling her warm breathe over his face.

  “Don’t make this harder for the both of us…” he said and Venus sensed some threat in his words. He let go of her and pulled her to sit down before taking his place near her. “Now… let me take care of your wounds… You cannot walk with that injury.” He said and she snorted. “You won’t have to put up with me much longer if we reach the village soon…”

  ‘Now there’s a point!’ she thought and stayed quiet as he examined her wounds. Rey gently cleaned her wounds with rain water and then tore the cloth with which he’d masked his face earlier and tied it around her wounds.

  “Rey.” He said and she frowned at him confused.

  “I’m Rey. You’re Venus, right?” She rolled her eyes.

  ‘Right time to play introductions…’ she thought as he finished dressing her wounds.

  “Just count your days down…” she said staring at him and he raised his head to look at her. “You’re going to pay…”

  Chapter 5

  Rey couldn’t help the chuckle that rumbled through him. He can’t believe that a beautiful yet fragile young lady like her would have so much inner strength and it attracted him to her more than ever. He sat there staring at her, mumbling her threats, and couldn’t help but smile.

  “Wait till uncle and Jellal finds you… They’ll put an end to your story…” She was saying and Rey snapped back to reality.

  “What?” he asked. “Uncle? Your God father or something?” He smiled and Venus gave out another annoyed sound.

  “Yes… and the head of the village.” She completed.

  Rey’s eyes widened with shock. “What? Head of the village…?” he asked confused. “Your uncle is the head of your village…?”

  “Yes…” she said staring back at him.

  “Who’s Jellal then…?”

  She stared at him for a minute. “He’s Uncle’s son…” She said and Rey sat there confused.

  ‘Lilly was wrong then… Oh… I should’ve made sure that she’d gathered proper information… What a blunder…!’ he thought. ‘Wait a minute… she said, the other group was also after Venus… Now, why is that…?’

  “Isn’t your father the head of the village…?” he asked suddenly and Venus stared at him.

  “He was… but he’s no more now… My parents passed away in the flood that happened years back.” She said eyeing the shock in his eyes. “Uncle is the rightful substitute with all the rights and power…”

  Rey gave out a sigh. ‘What a blunder!’

  “Wait… Why are you asking all these?” She asked and he shook his head in defeat. “Unless you were trying to kidnap the heir of the village head to get ransom…” She said more to herself and the next minute she was laughing sarcastically. “I’d heard that the bandits were really clever… Some brains you’ve got!” She laughed and Rey scowled at her. “You thought I was the new Head?” She laughed again.

  “I was wondering about the same thing…” said Rey with a mocking smile. “How could any village allow an arrogant, self-centered lady to be the head?”

  Venus stopped herself immediately and gave him a stare.

  “I’m not arrogant… or self-centered.” She stressed. “Any way, the head’s son – Jellal is really efficient… He’ll find you and give you what you really deserve.”

  “And why would he do that for you…?” He asked with another mocking smile.

  “He’s my fiancé.” She said and Rey’s smile just vanished. “We’re supposed to be married next week…”

  Rey sat there, feeling something heavy creep up his chest. ‘She’s engaged?’

  “Yes I’m…” said she and Rey realized that he had thought out loud. He looked at her fingers and saw the ring there… He couldn’t see the beauty of it either… He felt it as a barrier that kept him away from the only thing he ever desired in his life… She noticed him stare at her fingers…

  “Oh… Too bad…” he said and Venus stared at him. “-for him…” he sighed with a mock smile and Venus frowned at him.

  “Whatever…! Just stay away from me!” She said in fury and Rey felt something really depressing cross through his heart.

  They sat there for about two hours. Venus was staring out watching the rain as it poured as if there was no tomorrow. Rey was staring too but at her. ‘Why does he feel this way…? She’s engaged, so what…? He wasn’t really going to be with her or anything… He liked her, yes, he was really attracted to her and it had been really hard even trying to keep his eyes and hands off her… this was the first time he’d felt this much desperate around a young lady… Well… if she’s someone else’s… then… let her be… He’ll just take her to the village and talk to his friends to consider letting her go… She saved his life once… and he must return the favor… He can get plenty of other young, more beautiful girls…’ He looked at her shivering lips and swallowed hard. ‘Who is he kidding…? He knew he’d take advantage of the first situation he gets to seduce her and make her his… he might even forget that she’s someone else’s…’ he sighed.

  Venus was watching the rain drops falling down like sharp silver needles on the ground. ‘Supposed to be married next week…’ she thought. ‘Well… I can at least put that off for a few days…’ She turned to look at Rey, who was now staring at the rain. ‘Well… he’s a jerk and a bit dangerous… but he seems pretty hung up to the engagement thing… All I have to do is keep up with the engagement to Jellal theory… and if possible I should even make up some stories so he’d believe my story…’ A small smile curved her lips. ‘-and I think, I’ll be pretty safe with him.’

  She had not noticed Rey walk towards her as she was busy with her own thoughts. But he startled her when he stooped down to look at her face. “Hey…” he called and she snapped out of her thoughts, staring back at him. “It’s not raining anymore…” he said. “We should move now…”

  She nodded and tried to stand up, but the wound in her leg sent shivers of pain through her entire body. Rey held her arm and supported her a
s she straightened herself, but then he immediately withdrew his hand. ‘Yup… that might really work!’ thought Venus with satisfaction.

  Rey walked slowly, turning around to check on her often. He helped her when she couldn’t climb up the rocks or logs to pass through the way, but his touches didn’t linger longer as before and Venus was glad at that.

  Venus was really starving but she didn’t want to let him know about it. She wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

  They walked for a few more minutes and noticed that they’ve reached a strange place. It seemed like it was inhabited. They looked around. It seemed like a small village but there was no one around at the moment.

  “Where are we?” asked Venus.

  “Don’t know… This seems like a village…” replied Rey, staring around him.

  “You don’t know…? What do you mean, you don’t know…? You’re leading the way… You’re a bandit… You should know the places at least before planning something like this…” she fumed.

  “Well… our plan didn’t involve the captive running off a few miles into the dense forest…” he snapped.

  “You-“ She moved closer, staring at his eyes with wrath, but suddenly there was some noise behind them and they turned around to see a few people dressed in colorful clothes and feathers, and strange jewelry made of peculiar stones and animal bones and teeth stand around them. They had very sharp weapons made out of stones and bones in their hands. There were two children and three men. They were howling and shouting something and Venus slowly moved closer to Rey, unknowingly.

  In a few minutes, the place was filled with some 20 to 25 people- including women and kids – all dressed in the same way and with feathers adoring their necks and hair.

  After a few more minutes of ear piercing howls and coos, the older man said something to them in their language. As for Venus, it was just hisses and snorts she could hear from them. And it almost frighteningly surprised her when Rey replied to them in their language. She stared back at the older man as he nodded.

  “You can understand them…?” She asked him in surprise.

  He nodded.

  “Well… What did they say…?” She asked eyeing the people who were staring at them intently.

  “They asked who we are… and I said we are travelers who lost our way…” He whispered to her.

  “Liar!” She seethed.

  “Be my guest… Tell them the truth…” He challenged.

  “You know very well I can’t talk Jungle Book!” She fumed and he chuckled.

  The older man asked something again and Rey replied something back. And, again Venus could hear only hisses and snorts. But a bad omen passed through her mind as Rey looked at her with a smile as he said something to the older man.

  He smiled and then said something again. And, Venus noticed Rey bite his lip nervously.

  “What’s wrong…? What’s he saying…?” asked Venus and Rey looked at her sheepishly.

  “Well… He asked me how we are related… and…” Venus stared at him in shock.

  “And…?”

  “And I told them that you are my wife.” He smirked.

  “What the-?”

  “Well… I didn’t know I would have to tell you about it…” He smiled again and Venus felt anger bubble within her.

  “So… Why-did you tell me then?” She asked as she felt there was more coming.

  “Well… er… He wants me to prove it.”

  “Huh? What? How?” Her voice was almost a whisper with nervousness.

  “By kissing you…” He licked his lips staring at her blood red ones, with a smirk.

  ***

  “H-What-? No way…” Venus stared back at the older man. “We’re not married… He’s lying…” she tried to say, but the older man and the others were just nodding and smiling happily. “Great!”

  The older man hissed something again and Rey looked at Venus with his tongue-in-cheek smile.

  Venus slowly backed away from him her eyes widened with shock.

  “We must do it…” he said. “Or they will kill us for lying…”

  “I wasn’t the one who lied…” she fumed.

  “But we’re in this together… Come here.” He whispered as he pulled her by her hand. Venus wasn’t expecting that and she fell against his chest, her whole front leaning against his.

  The people around them howled and clapped. Rey gently pulled a strand of hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. Venus was staring at him, eyes wide with shock. His touches were slow and deliberate. “They’d really kill us if we mess this up…” he whispered and Venus turned her head to notice the weapons in their hands.

  Rey slowly cupped her face and pulled her close, making her look at him, staring at her shivering lips. He licked over his own lips for a second as he sensed the smoothness of them. Venus was still staring at his sparkling blue eyes which were nearing her dark ones and she noticed something excitingly strange burn in the depths of them. She didn’t know why but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Rey’s hand slowly stroked her hair, taking in her face as if seeing her for the first time. He pulled her close as the people cheered and cooed and Venus suddenly waked to her senses.

  “I-I’m already engaged… remember?” asked Venus as it suddenly dawned on her.

  Rey closed his eyes for a second and Venus felt mixed feelings about him changing his mind.

  “Well…Yes…” he said and Venus felt herself sighing. “But-” He smiled at her. “I think our lives are much more important than morals right now…” he said and Venus gasped.

  “No…” She breathed as she felt him pull her close. Venus was feeling him breathe over her lips now. She looked at his face and noticed that he had his eyes closed. But for some strange reason, she couldn’t pull away… She couldn’t fight him. ‘Why?’ She closed her eyes as she felt Rey’s lips near her. Venus shivered as she felt his lips on her.

  But she opened her eyes in shock. He was not kissing her lips but was kissing the skin right below them. She was standing with her back to the people and they couldn’t see what was really going on. They cheered and cooed happily as Rey took her hand and faced them again.

  Venus was staring at him. ‘Why the heck was she feeling… disappointment…?’

  The older man smiled at them again and then looked at Venus with confusion, then hissed something to Rey who looked at her for a second and then hissed something in reply.

  “What did he say?” she asked.

  “He asked why you don’t look happy…” Venus stared into his eyes which were boring into hers. She withdrew hers back immediately and stared at his chest. “I told him we had a small argument as we lost the way… and you’re still mad at me…” She looked at him and he smiled. Venus’ eyes lingered on his lips before moving back to the people.

  The old man hissed something again and a young, beautiful, dark girl walked towards her and held her shoulder, smiling down at her. She hissed something to Venus and she looked back at Rey.

  “She wants you to go with her.” said Rey and Venus moved closer to him, shaking her head slowly. “It’s fine… they won’t hurt us…” He whispered again and Venus swallowed as she moved away with the girl without noticing Rey’s gaze follow her admiringly.

  Rey was lying on a small cot, in the small but neat and cozy wooden hut provided to him by the people. He was thinking… He’d have really kissed her earlier… For some reason, he had a feeling that she wanted it too… But then, she mentioned her engagement and the weight heaped on his heart again… But he was sure of one thing… He’d really want to kiss her… If only he could… If only she wasn’t someone else’s… Rey sighed. He looked at the palm of his hand. Her skin… It was the smoothest thing he’d ever sensed… Like pure satin…

  Suddenly, he heard some giggling noise and turned towards the doorway to see the ladies from the village push Venus into the hut with laughter.

  “I don’t get anything they say…” said Venus irritabl
y as she turned around to face him. The ladies had gone.

  “Just ignore…” He started as he looked at her. “-them…” Rey almost swallowed his own tongue. Venus was dressed in dark blue velvet like cloth that set her color high. It barley reached her knees… and her hair was tied up with a beautiful feather to adore it. Her shoulders and lower neck was bare and he could almost sense the beauty beneath. The thoughts that ran through his mind at the moment made him drop his gaze to the floor for a moment…

  “They just took off my clothes and dressed me in this… Must be something traditional…” she said. “Hey… Are you listening to me?” She asked as she noticed him stare at her.

  ‘Why did she have to be someone else’s? Wasn’t there any other woman, this Jellal guy could’ve taken? Why did it have to be her?’ he mumbled.

  “If you have something to say…” She folded her hands on her chest. “Say it to my face… I hate mumbling…”

  “I said…” He looked at her, his eyes burning with- something. “Why did you have to be engaged…?” She looked at him shocked. “Are you the only woman in your village…? Why did he have to choose you?” Venus’ eyes widened again and Rey groaned. “Jellal… Why did you have to pick her out of all the women…?”

  Venus stared at him for a few more minutes, but she had to drop her gaze back to the floor as he turned to look at her with a sigh.

  She slowly moved towards the corner of the room and sat on a wooden chair, staring around her.

  Suddenly, she closed her eyes shut hearing some noise behind her, near the window and the next thing Venus knew when she opened her eyes was that she was in Rey’s hands, wrapping her around. He had pulled her to him in an instant sensing something around them. She looked at his face in shock, but he was staring at the window in alarm, still holding her close.