The Holly and the Ivy - 1. Reunion

The Holly and the Ivy

Chapter 1 - Reunion

Someone was shaking me by my shoulder. I could hear he was talking to me, only the words didn’t register. My eyelids were so heavy; it felt as if they'd been glued shut. I finally managed to pry them open, and looked directly into a smiling face. The crinkles around the eyes deepened when the man saw I was becoming awake. “You have to get out young man, this is your stop. The driver’s waiting with your luggage. He already called for you two times.”

I felt as if I was moving through jelly. Falling asleep in the cramped space of a bus seat had been a bad idea. Everything hurt when I slowly unfolded my measly 5 foot 10. I rolled my head and my shoulders a few times to work the kinks out of my frozen muscles, and only then remembered the nice old guy. “Sorry man, I think I was pretty much out of it, huh? Haven’t been sleeping well recently.”

“No problem…” He patted me on the back when I sluggishly moved to the open door. Almost there, I heard him calling after me, “Hey, don’t forget this!”

When I turned around, he was holding my backpack in his outstretched hand. Rolling my eyes, I walked back to retrieve it. “Thanks again sir, for saving my a… um… me twice tonight.”

He grinned. “My grandson is just the same after waking up … now you go before the driver gets even more impatient.” He made shooing gestures with his hands.

As soon as I got off the bus, the driver lifted his head. “About time; we don’t have all night boy.” He handed me my bags, then his face got somewhat friendlier. “Is anybody picking you up boy? This is a very remote place and it’s already late…”

I looked around for the first time. He was right: a bench under some kind of rickety roof, a lonely lantern with a flickering light, and no house or town or anything, just forest. Once again, I asked myself if this really had been such a great idea. Not that I could change it anymore. I would spend Thanksgiving with my colleague Landyn and some of his friends, instead of with my family. Thinking of my parents and brothers made me think of my grandma. She wouldn’t be around this year for the holidays, seeing her empty chair would have hurt too much. So, this better be good damn it.

The bus driver was still waiting for my answer. “Yeah, my friend is picking me up; he should be here any minute now. Thank you for asking though.”

He nodded. “Good luck then. I hope your friend will be here soon. I wouldn’t want to wait around here in the middle of the night any longer than I had to.”

I watched him climb back into his bus. Then the vehicle pulled off the curb and disappeared into the night. I began to feel a bit uneasy. The air was chilly, a sign of coming winter, but that wasn’t the reason I shivered. Something felt off; it was too silent, as if someone had muted every sound. That was until suddenly warm breath wafted over my face and someone hissed into my ear, “Look Lord Dracula, fresh blood arrived on the dot for our midnight dinner...”

I jumped a mile, whirled around, and with my heart in my throat and my hands balled into fists, I was ready to punch the lights out of everyone who was behind me, only to look into the grinning face of my friend Landyn.

"Gotcha!"

“Landyn, you ass! What the heck, you scared the shit outta me, asshole! Don’t tell me you waited around until the bus drove off so you could give me the scares! Fucker!”

Only then did I notice the tall, blond guy standing beside my smug grinning friend, glaring at me with cold eyes.

Whoa. Somebody is majorly pissed. I looked at Landyn. “And this is…?”

“Oh um... yes, uh…" He cleared his throat. "Noël, this is Simon, my ma… err… friend. Simon, meet Noël my colleague and fellow sufferer at Paolo’s Pizza Place. He’ll be with us over the holidays this year. Um… yeah, you already knew that of course. What about going to the car now? It’s getting pretty cold…” He took my bag and walked down the road, leaving me to follow behind with his creepy friend. His beat up Jeep was parked around the next bend of the road. “You deliberately left it here. So I couldn't see it from the bus stop. Right?

“Yup…” he grinned. “And it worked just fine, if I do say so myself.” He threw my stuff in the back and then got behind the wheel. Simon took shotgun, which left me to the backseat and I was fine with it, better than constantly feeling the guy's eyes on my back.

"How long until we reach the cabin?"

Landyn briefly caught my eyes in the rear view mirror. "We have to drive about ten miles.

"So, how come you own a cabin?" I had wanted to ask him this since he told me about it.

He laughed out loud. "What me? Hardly. It belongs to my um...," he quickly glanced at Simon, who merely shrugged, "boss."

"Your boss? You mean Paolo?" I'd never have thought the exuberant Italian would own a cabin in a remote place like this. Way too far away to drop by the restaurant every minute to harass his employees when he felt like it. Which was quite often.

This brought another laugh. "Not Paolo, my uh, other boss."

His other boss? "You work two jobs besides going to school?"

The question seemed to fluster him. "Yeah, something like that."

"Wow. I barely manage one job with school." He must really need the money.

The car slowed down and we turned onto a narrow track leading further into the forest. It was well maintained for a mere path in the woods.

The constant humming of the Jeep’s engine made me doze off again but I woke up when we stopped and I saw we had arrived. When Landyn had mentioned a cabin in the woods, I hadn’t expected this. The whole building was made of cedar wood and glass. The upper floors had expansive windows. Their yellow lights radiated warmth and I felt oddly welcomed.

Simon took my bags and we entered the house through a small glass door, which led directly into the entry hall. Landyn turned to me. “I bet you’re starving. What do you want? We’ve got plenty of food… sandwiches, pasta, maybe some hot soup?”

“No, thanks… really. I’m not hungry. But can I have some water?” I felt utterly exhausted.

He wrinkled his eyebrows and looked at me disapprovingly. I felt strongly reminded of my mom. “You’re sure? A sandwich wouldn’t take long to make or maybe some−”

“No, no it’s fine mom, just some bottled water and a bed is all I need right now.” I was almost falling asleep right on my feet by that point.

Landyn looked up the stairs warily, but then he shrugged. “Okay, suit yourself. But if you happen to wake up, craving a sandwich in the middle of the night, just go upstairs and get something from the kitchen. Don’t be shy.” He turned to Simon, who hadn’t said a single word. Could you show Noël to his room? I’ll get him the water, ‘k?” Without waiting for an answer, he disappeared up the stairs and I was left alone with the ice man.

Watching Landyn disappear, I almost missed that Simon was already on his way to a narrow hallway on the left side, apparently expecting me to follow him. He stopped in front of one of three sliding doors, pushed it open, dropped my bags and gestured in the general direction of a half open door on the right side “Bathroom,” before turning around and walking away without another word. What an idiot. I had done nothing to him that deserved such behavior. So what is your fucking problem with me, Blondie? I mean, I didn’t even know the guy.

After seeing the narrow hallway, I'd never expected to find a spacey bedroom with a large built-in-wardrobe and even an en suite bathroom behind those sliding doors. I let my backpack fall onto the floor beside the duffel bag and sank down on the large king-sized bed with a sigh. I was bone tired, but also yearned for a shower to wash away the sweat and the grime from traveling. Two days crammed in an overheated bus does that to you. So I finally opened the bag by my feet and after some rummaging around found my toilet bag.

The bathroom was amazing. It had a huge bathtub deep enough to submerge myself up to the nose, and a shower stall separated from the rest of the room by a floor-to-ceiling glass wall. This wasn’t the simple cabin in the forest I had anticipated.

I was just about to enter the shower when someone knocked on the outer door; then I heard Landyn's voice. “Noël? Can I come in?”

“Bathroom!”

“Oh, okay, I put the water and a glass on your nightstand. Sleep well. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah and thank you! Good night!” I called back.

I can’t remember how I got into the bed after the shower, nor my head hitting the pillow.

***

The next morning I woke early and immediately got up. I had given up lingering in bed, because too often my thoughts went back to Nana. She used to wake me up with a cup of green tea every morning.

Skipping my shower, I brushed my teeth, splashed some cold water onto my face, and pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt out from my duffle bag. I was ready to explore the house.

From the look of it, the other two doors in the hallway led to bedrooms as well, maybe Landyn and Simon’s. Curiosity made me wander to the opposite hallway, where I found a utility room and a mudroom. Guessing that the living area and the kitchen had to be upstairs, I climbed the wooden stairs and was even more impressed.

The rooms were flooded with early morning sunlight, coming through large floor-to-ceiling windows. Like the facade, the interiors had lots of natural wood on floors, walls and ceilings, and the view was simply breathtaking.

On the north side, three identical glass sliding doors led to a continuous deck running the entire length of the house, overlooking endless forest. It practically called out to me. I had to find the lever and go outside.

I stood on the wooden deck, and let the cool morning breeze wash over my naked torso. Inhaling the fresh, tangy forest air, I let my mind drift away, feeling at peace for the first time in weeks.

All too soon, Landyn’s voice pulled me back to reality. I had left the door slightly ajar and he didn’t realize I could hear every word he was saying. “Do you see the marks?”

“Yeah, but I still don’t think it’s him.” I recognized Simon's gruff voice immediately.

“Believe me it’s him; the marks are unique. See the red one; it’s the blood drops, and the one beneath it? It’s formed like an ivy leaf,” Landyn whispered excitedly.

“But it’s not on his shoulder. Tristan’s was on his right shoulder blade…” Simon replied, irritation in his voice.

Listening to their bickering it dawned on me they were talking about my birthmarks. What the hell? Nah, that can’t be…

“Simon, it’s him, believe me. It’s never been at the same place twice, you know that. Your brother’s was on his shoulder, yes, and Luis had his on his chest right over his heart. He’s the one we’re waiting for. Ronan will be here any minute and then you'll see I'm right. I’m positive he’ll agree and then Noël can meet Sire. It’s about time, don’t you think? You know the king doesn’t have much more time left…” Landyn was suddenly very serious.

But obviously Simon couldn't give it a rest. “Yeah I know, it’s just…”

“Simon. Tristan died a long time ago, he knew it would happen eventually and he was okay with it. He loved Sire with all his heart,” Landyn said comfortingly.

“I just wish he could have been the strongest, the last one to complete the cycle, not an immature brat like him. When will he become eighteen again?”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Sire? King? Immature brat?

“On Christmas Day. Si. He’s named Noël for a reason, you know?”

Looking over my shoulder, I saw them standing side-by-side, throwing glances at me sometimes. When they noticed I was watching them back, Landyn smiled and opened the door wider. “Hey Noël, come on, get inside. What are you doing there anyway, standing outside in the cold with your shirt off?” He grabbed my hand and dragged me into the warmth of the kitchen. Gesturing at the table, he said, “Sit down. Sit down. What do you want for breakfast? Pancakes, waffles, omelet, French toast?”

Briefly distracted by the wide range of food, I murmured, “I’d like an omelet and coffee.”

“Sure no problem, but tomorrow it’s your turn. You’re going to make those famous cinnamon buns of yours. I already told the others.” He looked at me expectantly, daring me to say no.

Who was I to disappoint? “Says who?”

“Says me.” He bustled around the kitchen, getting out the ingredients for the omelet. “What were you doing outside in the cold anyway?”

“Meditating.”

“Wow. Didn’t know you meditate. Let's see... I’m gonna make pancakes." He turned to his brooding friend. "Simon are you making the omelets?”, and then back to me, “His omelets are to die for, let me tell you… How do you want yours?"

"With green pepper, onions, and dried tomatoes if that's okay."

Then I remembered what they had been talking about earlier, but three loud knocks on the front door interrupted me again.

Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs, and when I looked upI found myself confronted by the tallest man I'd ever seen in my life. He was at least six foot five. His short red hair was buzz cut, he had broad shoulders, straining his blue denim jacket, long legs in form fitting leather pants, and he wore black military boots. I suddenly wanted him on my side.

He looked around the room until he found me, his cold blue eyes fixed me on the spot. “Is that him?”

Huh?

My friend sighed. “Yes Ronan, this is Noël. Noël meet Ronan the-”

The guy stepped in front of me, obviously unfamiliar with the concept of personal space, and barked, “Okay boy, show me your marks.”

I couldn't believe the man's audacity. “What marks? Landyn, who is this nut?”

“Sorry Noël.” And to the Commander-Shepard-wanna-be, “Really Ronan, you can’t just come in and tell someone to show you his marks. At least let me explain—”

I had had enough. “What the hell does that mean? What's going on here?” I turned to Landyn. “I heard you talking about my birthmarks earlier, and now he comes here and demands to see them. Either you explain what’s going on, or I’m outta here.” An idle threat, seeing I was out in the woods with no car.

“Noël, please…” Landyn threw angry glances at Ronan, but the guy wasn't impressed.

“I don’t have time for this… come here boy.” He tried to grab my arm.

I sidestepped him, furious by now. “What the fuck Landyn?”

“Maybe I can explain the situation to you. Good morning, Noël.”

The deep voice was strangely familiar. Whirling around, my gaze fell on a tall man with chestnut brown hair and midnight blue eyes, who leaned heavily on the dark haired woman by his side.

Diarmad? Diarmad Guerin? What's he doing here? He was one of Nana's acquaintances from church. We only saw him once every year at Christmas Mass and Nana insisted every time I'd go and chat with him for a while.

Suddenly Diarmad swayed; his legs gave out from under him. The woman tried to get him to the next chair, but it was already too late, he slipped out of her grip. Without a second thought, I jumped up to catch him before he hit the floor, but was stopped abruptly by a massive body stepping in my way. I felt a stabbing pain in my chest and then I flew backwards, crashing into the very chair I’d just gotten up from. The light, sophisticated Scandinavian wood construction crumbled under the impact of my body, but still couldn’t keep me from skidding further down the floor. Hot, searing pain was the last thing I felt when my head hit the wall.

I'd like to thank Lisa, Zombie and Valkyrie for coming along the ride and make the story shine.
I'm going to open a discussion thread after the story is published. All right, here is the discussion thread. Are you ready to throwing around wild theories?