BLOODY LOVE'S
Episode 225's
It sounded like the rumbling of an avalanche.
Mary had just been sitting in the carriage seat when she heard the roar. His heart was beating like it was jumping from the chest. Her knees are cold hot. Neither Marco nor Jose caught up with him coming in. When he looked out through the open door of the train, the sky was filled with darkness from east Bjork.
"It's like we're not going to your house, Garnet," Marco said. There was tension in his voice. "You got your gun?"
Maria nodded. He patted his handbag. Marco turned around and called out to Finnian, telling him to go check what was going on in the east.
The sound of footsteps, the metal of cocked and prepared weapons, the cries of the workers, the grunts and the braying of horses, all of it was unpretentious in the courtyard, whirling like a storm.
"Mary?" Jose held back that the carriage door would not be swung shut. A cold wind blew fiercely at him, making his un-canched coat flutter wildly behind the body. "Go South. Just use this train. I'll have workers accompany you, Susan too. My mom will come there later. Your family will be contacted."
"You alone?" Maria had already jumped down, clutching tightly onto Jose's fingers. It's too sudden. He can't think. The eclipse is still tomorrow afternoon and Sir William has not yet reached Bjork. They should still have time. "You'll also be waiting in the South, right? The plan is so ..."
Jose wasn't looking at him. The man was talking to Clearwater and Marsh, shouting something that Maria could not hear. He could not hear anything, there was only the sound of wind roars and strange rumbling in the distance. It sounds like an earthquake, or a landslide, or a lightning roll. Maria stared at the surroundings, the Argent workers moving in a trained motion, but their faces were tense. When Mary raised her face to gaze into the distance, her eyes were fixed on a black scroll deep in the sky, far east of Bjork. It's not a cloud of cloud cover. The black color was so inhumane, it felt clearly not from the earth. Upon seeing her, Maria only realized that their opponent was not human. What can small arms and small humans do in the face of such horrors? Just before her entire courage fell, Mary's body swayed and she suddenly felt warm.
Jose hugged her tightly. He could hear the man's heartbeat pressing down on him, shaking his body in a constant tempo, relaxing him. Her hat fell when her waist was pulled just now, but Maria didn't care. He doesn't care about anything anymore.
"Calm down" Jose whispered, sounding as gentle and casual as ever, giving a reassuring cry to those who heard. "You'll make it."
Maria nodded in her arms. His forehead is resting on the side of Jose's neck. He returned the embrace tightly, disappointed when they finally had to separate.
"Wait." Maria held onto Jose's arm, suddenly remembering what she had been trying to say. "I was going to tell you what happened, right? You thought I was sick .. when we were going to the party. Then after hearing about the blood of the missing bodies, Susan thought my blood might be sucked, maybe I became some kind of vampire or creature like that. But it's wrong."
"Mary, relax. Speak slowly," said Jose who was too late to hear the series of stories.
Maria could not speak slowly, feeling that it was impossible to be calm with the commotion around her. He clasped Jose's arm tightly, afraid the man would leave without listening. "I became a sort of. I just want to sleep, but I can hear and feel things, even voices from far away. And the sun gives me a headache. I realized that the process I was going through was indeed a kind of cocoon, somehow he made me this way. So I thought .. maybe just as long as I don't sleep, maybe he won't make it. I mean Arabella might not show up. All I feel is the pain of the process of metamorphosis, like that."
Maria gasped as she finished explaining without pause. His breath vapor formed small white clouds. Surprisingly, Jose did not look astonished or surprised. The man's face was calm as if he already knew everything that was happening. "I understand," he said. "But you still have to rest. Sleeps. Don't force yourself to be on guard. Have Susan wake you as usual if you sleep on the road again. Yea?"
"Yes." Yeah." Maria explored Jose's face with a probing gaze, curious as to what extent the man actually knew.
The horses had already been prepared for Clearwater and Marsh, both of them calling out to Jose from near the main gate. Maria looked around for the last time, then on her tiptoes and touched her lips against Jose's. In a moment, he immediately let go. Feels hot. He didn't know human lips could be this hot. Mary looked down at her shoes, wondering for herself where this courage came from. Maybe because he saw how Lady Chantall and Marco kissed just now, maybe he just wanted to be like those who were so blatant and confident in expressing affection for each other. Or maybe he just wants to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling that is afflicting him, who continues to convince him that he will not see Jose again after this. The kiss just now was just some kind of amulet.
"You have to be safe" he said rather loudly to beat the sound of the wind and the sounds around them. He was still staring at the shoes. "Please promise we'll meet again in the South!"
Jose touched his finger under Maria's chin, lifting her up until they came face to face. "I promise" he said gently, then brought the face closer.
For a moment, all Maria could see were those dark-black eyes. He smelled the smell of whiskey. The world seems to stop. Mary closed her eyes when their lips met gently.
After expressing each other's feelings this morning, they had kissed once, albeit a little awkwardly. They were kissing just now, too.
But now Mary knew what was the difference between kiss and kiss. Everything he had experienced before was just a kiss. Now, as their lips met in a boiling tenderness, he knew what a real kiss was. Maria clutched onto Jose's coat, feeling as if it was entangled in a sticky spider thread. He felt like he wanted to fall down, but was also sure it would not happen. His skull was held from behind and his waist was firmly embraced. All the surrounding fanfare was suddenly silent, as if there were only the two of them in this world.
Jose took a soft sip of his lips, then brought together the tip of their tongue. It felt like there was a power flow hitting very hard. Fireworks exploded in Maria's head. Their bodies docked, stole each other's breath, quenched each other's thirst, then the rhythm softened again. Maria didn't want to stop, but Jose pulled away.
When their lips parted, Mary still felt as if her soul was being pulled out and left floating on the clouds. He opened his eyes, looking at Jose's smiling face. The voices reappear. He began to catch the sound of footsteps, exclamations, door leaves hitting the chariot in the wind, and the sound of a horse's grunt, but no one could take his eyes off Jose's black eyes.
"Jose," murmured Maria, slowly releasing her grip from the collar of Jose's coat. It pulls too tight until one of the top buttons comes off. Mary took a breath, trying to keep looking like a noble girl instead of a fish being removed from the pond. That would make him look ridiculous. His flickering blue eyes glanced slightly irritated. "How many girls did you date until you could kiss like that?"
Jose's laughter exploded.
***
"I can never sleep in this house, never!" rolan grumbled while washing his face in the kitchen. He received a towel from the hand of the servant who offered, then went to the second floor while calling Renata's name.
"Why are you relaxing like this? Didn't you hear that noise?" asked Rolan anxiously as he ran over.
"I heard. That's a lightning bolt, right?" ask Renata waswas.
"No. It doesn't look." Rolan grabbed his brother's arm, leading him to walk faster. "I suspect it had something to do with Sir William. Someone's gone to check. You better go south with Maria."
"Then his house?"
"This house doesn't matter!" Rolan snarl. He turned his head, noticing his screams startling Margie and Renata's two maids. He continued more gently, "Home can be rebuilt. But your life is not. Go shelter. Please. No time to get out of Bjork, but at least go south."
Renata nodded stiffly. "I'll be coming down in a minute, I have to make sure all the waiters are okay."
"Remote ..."
"They should take shelter in the cellar next to the wine cellar" he told Margie. "The place was like a bunker, and the food stock was there too."
"Renata, we don't have time!"
Renata brushed off Rolan's hand. "I have a responsibility here, Dik," he said firmly, restrained. The face did not look scared at all. "I'm the hostess. If I can, I don't want to leave them, but I know I have to go. That's why at least I have to make sure they're all safe!"
There is no safe word because we are dealing with the devil! Rolan looked at Renata's brown eyes, knowing that nothing would be able to shake the woman's decision. He nodded weakly. "I'm going down to see Marco."
***
As soon as she saw that strange black scroll, Lady Chantall's entire body gave a great goosebump like it had just crawled out of an ice pool. There comes a strong urge to go to one dark corner and curl up to hide there. She felt like she was thrown into the past when she saw her husband's head roll down from the beheading. His whole body shivered. Head's hot. Legs squeezing.
Lady Chantall turned around, looking for a grip, looking for strength. He finds Marco walking towards Gerald and gives a hint. Marco did not turn his head towards her at all, it made Lady Chantall somewhat disappointed, but only for a moment. He patted his own cheek hard to strengthen his heart, then forced his foot to step onto one of the cars that had been prepared for him. Says helped him up. Although the man's hand was cold with horror, he did not run away. That's commendable.
And I won't run away either, Lady Chantall thought. "Ke Daily Bjork," he said before the door closed. He saw that the sais was polite.
***
The black scroll rumbled from the east, clearly visible from between the lines of the Bjork building. Raymond Stuart had just split from Robert and was about to stop by the pub for lunch while arranging info with the whisperers.
He had thought that what he had heard was a gurgling sound, but when he saw the blackish clouds moving too fast, Stuart knew that form was not a natural phenomenon. That's definitely a bad sign. He heard the sound of children crying. The people around him were walking faster and the windows of the house were suddenly shut. Everyone feels the same discomfort. Their animal instincts take over.
Stuart looked around, wondering if he should come home and hide at home or continue his work. This is not his country. This isn't his town. He worked for Marco because he paid well and he also liked his leadership style. Stuart knew he didn't have to bet his life for gold or for someone else's land.
"I'm just an informant" he muttered desperately, but still turned the car towards the savannah. He has to confirm what is going on and tell Marco as soon as possible.
***
note: maria's nickname is now I'm changing to Mary, not Marry. But the revisions are gradual.