A. White
Chapter 4 The Honeymoon Begins
Chapter 4 The Honeymoon Begins.
To ensure she doesn’t accidentally meet an old lover he takes her to the Chateau de Briddoire. This is their first stop before moving on to Paris. The historic fifteenth Century private castle he bought in the 22nd century is one of Ashton Cargill’s favorite places. He had to think of a place he hasn’t taken a woman for a night, weekend or month tryst. It’s nestled in the heart of Monbazillac Vineyard in a very remote and preserved setting. He finds it very romantic here. Is why he brings Ana here on start of their yearlong honeymoon.
After arriving, the evening of their first day at the Chateau de Briddoire they dined in the grand ancient dining hall that evening with an army of white gloved attendants. She refused to call them servants and made him stop calling them that. It was either employees or attendants around her. Servants was such a derogatory term. Once alone for the evening. Now that Bea is much more comfortable being away from her side she doesn’t protest as much about being sent to bed. Sometime when I check on her she’s giving her nannies a hard time about wanting to stay up and watch the holograph screen. But I put that in check immediately by taking the remote controls and making her stay in bed. I won’t deny I hadn’t been reading up on things on how to please your man. I’m not stupid. I see other women watching him like a hungry she-wolf. I knew I didn’t know anything about sex or pleasing a man so I swallowed my ignorance and decided to learn. Hopefully I had the courage to do it. With the exotic instructions in my head I went into the bathroom and changed into a romantic evening gown. At least that’s what the book said; that this gown was romantic but to me it looked trashy. I brought a glass of hot water out and a bucket of ice. He looked curiously at me and smiled as one would a child’s finger paintings. I asked him to lie down, he did at my request. I handed him his after dinner drink. He sipped it without questions. I wondered did he already know what I was trying to do, gather the courage and quieten my frayed nerves to do? I sensed he did. The book said stimulate him but from the look of things I don’t think he needed anymore more stimulation. But I did it anyway and place the ice on his body and it literally evaporated. It was supposed to stay there until I could grab it and trace his form with it. I tried several more pieces. They went up in steam too. This must had been written for a mortal man because my man is so hot he is vaporizing the ice. Then I tried the strawberry and chocolate. He had no complaints. Then I tried breathing my hot breath on his skin. That worked better the ice, chocolate or strawberries. I glided my hands over his rock hard body getting to know him. I saw old battle scars, many of them. But didn’t ask where they come from. I figured the marriage is only two weeks old he had the rest of my life to tell me.
While lying on his stomach, I laid on top of him and breathed my hot breath into his ear. He smiled. Kissed him all over. But massaging his muscles was like trying to massage rocks.. I went to the night stand and drink the now luke-warm water. In my peripheral vision I saw him slightly frown. “NO,” he said rather firm. So firm that I looked perplexed up at him. I knew I was new at all this but I didn’t think I was so amateur it was pissing him off.
He soften his voice saying. “No, sweetheart...I can’t let you do. You mean too much to me to allow that. Your love is suffice enough for me. I don’t need all those things you’re trying to learn. All I need is your love.” “I don’t understand.” “You’re my wife not my paphian. Darling, I’m very ancient so there are some things about me aren’t going to ever change. I respect you far too much to allow you to do those things. The kisses, the ice cubes I kept vaporizing, the champagne was all beautiful. You could hand me a fist of dirt and it would be beautiful. That’s how much I love you. But there are two things I’ll never do with you. In my opinion any man who wants to do those things doesn’t respect the woman he is with.” I was astonished for Thad told me these same things on our wedding night. Back then I had no idea what he was talking about until he explained them the next day. Reverting their roles he touched her cheek gently.
She was quivering and her eyes were glittering with no place to rest them but on his face. This had been her first attempt to make love to him and he doesn’t want it. She felt like a failure. She wondered when his infatuation with her wears off he will stray. She told herself. Perhaps the whispers she heard at the party was right. Perhaps he did simply want her to give him heirs and had others for the other things he wanted. Reading her thought he realized tonight would have to be different, he told himself. He had to make her understand all those things were needed when sex was all the couples had to offer each other. Tonight had to be hard on love but soft on thrusting, tender but firm, strong but gentle. But above all, sweet but always loving. He had to make her see just how much he loved her. Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment and bashfulness suffused her body, making her delectably nervous. He was kissing away the nervousness. She tried to cover up. He gently removed the covers as quickly as she wrapped them around herself. Kissing every exposed part. She wished she hadn’t read that trashy ass book. She made a fool of herself following their bullshit of advice.
“Darling tell me how may I make love to you, something I do not know,” he asked seductively as his soft kisses all over caused her to open . “I can experience orgasms from just penetration, but sometime I can’t,” the words slipped from my lips against my will. He lowered himself, without penetration coming to rest on his forearms so his face was just above hers, their mouths marvelously close and kissed her. “Most men never learn how to make love. Anyone can have sex but it takes much more than penetration to make love. Penetration, my love is the encore of well orchestrated lovemaking,” he said gently.
So he finally admitted it, he enjoyed making her lose control, he enjoyed making her crazy. But she was too far gone to care.
She doesn’t tell him old places scares her. They’ve too much lingering history. She prays she doesn’t own the castle of the 15th century murderess who bathed in children’ blood to maintain her beauty. If they does. He’ll have to sell that place. It’s odd, the ghosts rarely comes out when he’s with her but the moment he leave they put on a cabaret. The days here would be romantic if the ghosts stopped cropping up and watching us. I knew enough from what the saints in the cave taught me that these were not human spirits but demons created by the evil deeds of the past occupants. One night while we made love he caught one and squashed it in his hands. He called them spirit flies, saying they wasn’t ghosts in the sense of the actual person’s spirit but the remains of ghosts. Whatever that was.
Ashton was gone into town so I went into inner courtyard of a castle, sometimes the employees called a "Basilica". Most of the place had been modernized so the putlog holes and palisades didn’t exist anymore. I exited a portcullis converted into a regular door and headed out to the stable with Bea running ahead for she was learning to horseback ride but I didn’t trust anyone to go with her other than myself. I didn’t care that her trainer was a woman who had won fifteen equestrian shows and holds the British equestrian high jump record. She wasn’t her mom. I am. This was my baby on-top an efficacious giant. So I was going to be there. I knew how to ride from growing up on a farm.
After venturing out on the trail a local male aristocrat decided to join us one day. Showing us the offbeaten paths through the winding terrains. They winded through the vineyard as Briddoire explained the operations. The elegant dressed man in horseback riding gear knew Bea’s teacher very well, said he competed against her and lost.
“Lord Briddoire, I had much more to lose than you, so I had to win.” Jane Baum said.
“Lord Briddoire?? Are you the guy who used to own this place?” I asked wondering could we be talking to him at all. The fortyish year old man of average height and statuesque was pleased I recognized the name.
“Yes, Mrs. Cargill,” he replied in heavily accented English. “Until the global crash of the 22nd century. Since then it’s been in your husband’s family. We still live here. The original Mr. Cargill whom your husband is splitting image of didn’t demand we move. The contact generously stated we could remind as long as we like. For he never moved in nor came back, occasionally his children or business associates came to visit to see the industry was doing. But other than that we have been left alone. That was a much more generous offer than many grand estate such as ours’ received. Some had to sublet the castle to outsiders to stay afloat and others lost everything.”
At the far end of vineyard they encountered a man sitting with his back to them. Briddoire explained this was a worker’s break area. But I immediately noticed he seemed to had something protruding out his forearm and whatever the greenish reddish things were; they quivered and moved. This was no man, if so, he was possessed or had merge willingly with a demon. I steered the stallion around to look at his face. After all, he was on my property. To my horrors, upon horrors___ he had pliers pulling those nasty, wiggly things out. He looked pitifully up into my face, I grasped. They were there too. On his face, alive and pulsating. Normally, I would have screamed like a banshee. But that would frighten Bea. I told the three accompanying me to stay back. This was a demonic manifestation. The damn things started moving more violently. I assume causing great pain for the man yelped. I whipped out my blade as it tried to morph and take over. Seeing the blade they retreated inward sending the man into a horrible violent convulsions. The man’s eye’s rolled back into his head as he fell headlong from the bench. Leaving his weather worn face void as the dead. A black form started bubbling at his mouth and seeping onto the hard-packed ground. This shit was freaking me out so I opened fired. Next I knew everything and everyone was screaming; the poor man was screaming, Briddoire was screaming, I was screaming, Bea was screaming, Jane wasn’t—she wasn’t entirely human, the harvesters were running screaming. Everything human out here was screaming.
Tongues of blue and red fire was shooting and ricocheting everywhere; through the vineyard down into the valley this man had traveled through to get here. I didn’t realized how loudly I was screaming until I felt strong arms pulled my head away from the horror in front of me and Bea’s knee nudging my shoulder.
“Hush my darlings, they can’t harm you,” he said soothingly, rocking one of us in each arm. Jane Baum was holding the four frighten horses while Lord Briddoire was passed out on the ground.
Ashton ordered the men to pick up the two unconscious men and take them to the lodge. When I finally peeked from under his arm I saw gray ashes surrounding the unconscious man whom I just lit up with holy fire. This was the second time I was embarrassed in less than 24 hours.
"A great way to start your honeymoon." I thinks to myself. "By embarrassing yourself all over the place."
I’m supposed to be a Nazarene Warrior Saint, a member of the greatest fighting force on earth and here I’m screaming like a banshee at the sight of a cluster of demons. Mother Harris would slap my face stupid for screaming like that! This was his first time teleporting me. He teleported us back to the castle and waved his hand over our faces as if putting us to sleep and the horror and fear was gone. It was like it was never there in my psyche at all. Bea stopped whimpering and demanded to be set down, citing she wasn’t a baby. I looked up at the maids watching us shortly before she went down on one knee.
“Oh mon Dieu, tu es comme la jeune fille de Orleans!" I didn’t understand fully what she said but I knew enough from her body language that if I accepted that admiration I could get in serious spiritual trouble.
“Ashton tell her to get up. Tell her I seriously doubt Joan de Arc would’ve screamed because of some nasty ass demons.” He chuckled but said, “Mademoiselle, Ma femme apprécie votre admiration , mais elle a peur de Dieu sera bouleversé . Donc, s’il vous plaît se lever et aller sur votre journée . Oui, elle est comme Jeanne d’Arc.”
I had no idea what he said but she rose, kissed my cheek and left. I saw the others still staring at me that’s when I looked down and saw I was still in my uniform. I dissolved it and they dissipated.
’What did you do to me and Bea?” I asked noticing the ghostly resumes were gone too. Not that I was complaining about their absence.
“Nothing harmful, I erased something someone already implanted in your psyches. That man was sent to scare the heck out of you. Most likely sent against his will but nonetheless he was sent,” he said placing me in his lap and hugging me.
“I had idea he could do anything like that. Like scramble or unscramble the mind.” I was learning if I left my thoughts open he could read them as clear as day.
“Of course, I can. I’m not as bad as you think,” he chuckled softly. “Most immortals can do that. Don’t worry. I won’t use it against you no matter how crazy you become.” He teased.
Now that we both was comfortable was the time to ask him his real name. I know if anyone like my sister Helena knew I didn’t know my own husband’s God-given name they probably would say something very negative__but so what. Hell wasn’t after her per se but after me.
“I promise you when we get to Paris...I’ll tell you my heavenly name. But I think you already know it but is afraid to admit it.”
"Honey, if I already knew. I wouldn’t ask.”
Now he too, felt they were comfortable enough he asked the one question that had been plaguing him since the day in Jasper. He could never get a complete or firm grasp on Breanna or Bea as his step-daughter preferred to be called, as to what she truly is but he kept sensing himself in the child. The DNA came back different from humans but yet human. Only an immortal can create such a diversified person. “Darling, I need to know—am I being father?”
“Of course not. Thad’s her father. Can’t you see she looks like him?” Ana quickly replied.
Seeing that getting the whole story out of her was going to be harder than he anticipated. He try again. “Yes, I see that. But I don’t have full memory of the past six to seven years. Bea is seven or six? I believe I’d already known you. I knew you from long ago and from the past seven years. I know this doesn’t make sense. But Bea asking about her pony was a clear indication I already knew you and you know me. That we had more than once lived together.”
She hated keeping secrets from him but there was parts she didn’t remember but she remembers fully well that night. She wish she could forget it. Her fear is what could he think if he learns she cheated on Thad with him...would he conclude she’ll cheat on him with a new lover? Their marriage was less than a month old and she didn’t want to paint negative image of herself. The buzzing of her mother’s advice rung in her ears. “Lies always have a way of coming to light.” She ignore the warning and lies anyway, “I don’t see why you’d think that.”
“Honey, I do not think as mortals. The ways and prejudices of mortals do not concern me. I’ve lived very long; long enough to know there isn’t always a clear line in life. Long enough to know that I know they are foolish. So If we previously made love as which I strongly suspect we have I’ve no judgment in my heart. All I ask of you is never lie with another man. I can not handle that.”
“Oh damn, he knows,” she thinks but quietly listens.
“I asked for I know I’d kill your lover and lose you. No, I wouldn’t kill you for I can’t. I love you too much but that’s a side of me....I hope you never sees.”
“I ain’t saying shit else,” she thinks.
He dropped the subject seeing she didn’t wish to talk about it but decided Bea was his daughter. Where else would she inherit such a horrible mouth and sometimes equally horrible attitude from?
Around 2 P.M. they were summoned for an mid afternoon lunch, the inflicted man wanted to see her but she surely didn’t want to see him. Supposed those pods or whatever had returned? The very thought of them made her skin crawl in ripples. But being a warrior she had to face her fears down or the darkside would use them again her again.
The man rushed pass the staff in an attempt to hug me and my reaction didn’t help Bea’s jiggly nerves upon seeing him again but his skin was normal, he was wearing a smile. Ashton stood up and came around to my life and blocked his way.
“Mme Cargill, je ne sais pas ce que vous avez fait, mais on me dit que vous m’a sauvé. Je vous remercie du fond de mon cœur. J’ai ouvert la porte à une fille hier soir, je pensais que l’aide nécessaire. Elle a jeté une poudre sur mon visage et voilà comment je me suis réveillé ce matin. Ces choses me conduit ici . Je sais pas leur raison . On me dit par les autres, vous êtes comme Jeanne d’Arc”
Again, I had to look to Ashton for translation, “Mrs. Cargill, I don’t know what you did but I’m told you saved me. I thank you from the depths of my heart. I opened the door to a girl last night I thought needed help. She threw a powder in my face and this is how I woke up this morning. Those things led me here. I know not their reason. I’m told by the others you are like Joan of Arc.”
Seeing that I didn’t understand French he converted to English saying, “I’m not offended by your reaction. My wide fainted this morning.” He smiled sheepishly.
“I imagine she did faint. B-but were there any one her?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see any. I ran to get away from her. Before anyone else saw me.”
I turned my big brown eyes and looked soulfully at Ashton, meaning I wanted him to go check on the woman. I was too terrified to go and knowing Hell as I knew them, the wife was infected because hell doesn’t stay contained. I sensed he really didn’t want to go but went because I asked him.
While the two walked toward Ashton’s sports hovercraft which he was using to zip around the valley, he grabbed the now-demon free man and teleported to his home. There was no way he was taking the time to drive there manually. They exited on the man’s front porch, the neighbors were inside. The anguish cries could be heard from the outside. This pissed Azazel off. These people were not his problem but demons caused them to bring their shit to his house interfering with his honeymoon. He teleports inside leaving the stunned man outside his own home, seeing who had arrived the demons went inward. This further infuriated him. He didn’t have time for their hide-n-peek shit. When he extracted and raised his blade everyone plead with him to spare the woman. They thought he was swinging, cutting the woman’s head off, including the demons thought that was his intention from the rage in his eyes. Being attached to her they would feel the pain too. They fled from the woman’s body in terror. He stopped a millimeter of an inch from her jugular. The massive blade drew drops of blood from her thin human skin. The demons attempted to seep between cerise of the planks of the floor of the country cottage but he was faster. The shrieks of their suddenly death was deafening in the small chateau.
The woman was hyperventilating so hard she could barely get enough air in to stay conscious. She staggered with relief realizing he had no intent of killing her but he scared the daylights out of her pestilences. The six people stared opened mouth at him. They all recognized him.
“None of you better not tell anyone what you saw or I’ll come for you.” He said retracting his blade as the witnesses nodded in unison they understood. By now the husband was indoors. He, too stared at Cargill. He had heard tales from his great-grandfather that Cargill wasn’t human but never quite believed them.
Ashton teleports back to the castle and begin ordering the staff to pack his family’s personal belongings—they were leaving. That meant boarding Bea’s ponies on a jet too. Everyone had better have their damn asses out of the Paris palace or it would more than hell to pay when he got there.
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The Cargills’ luxurious emissary left for Venice. By now they had left the Chateau de Briddoire two days ago. This was their first entire day in the supposedly the most romantic city in the world outside of Paris.
But Venice wasn’t as romantic as Ana expected. She couldn’t relax and enjoy herself. She was hoping her many phobias didn’t ruin things for Ashton and Bea. She wasn’t fond of the watery smell. To her the city was like many watery graves combined into one. But she gave Ashton a chance to show her around, the musician riding with them and the gondolier on the water road played a classic tune as they floated through the canals. Secretly she preferred the part of the city firmly on land. She didn’t like dark murky waters under the boat nor under the balcony of their rooms. She had duly instructed the nannies to keep the double Austrian doors leading to Bea’s room shut and not allow Bea outside on the marble structure. She was afraid she may fall in or something bump the balcony tipping her over into the dark, perilous waters.
"Mom, I wanna go to Paris this place is creepy." Bea shuddered. Ana agreed there was something here lurking under the surface. She felt something was in the depths of the water watching them as they floated down the canal in the gondola. While riding the gondola she swore she saw a huge fish-like body with ghastly white skin swim pass them just below the surface. She somehow knew the only reason it didn’t try to drown her this time was because Ashton was seated beside her. Had she been alone, she’s positive it would’ve tipped the boat over and pulled her under. And would’ve came through that balcony door had she and Bea been alone as usually. She strongly sensed its’ anger, that it missed another opportunity to kill her.
The lovely music started to get on her nerves, it was beautiful and would have romantic had not she been scared out of her wits. Frantically, she said, “Ashton, tell that man to steer this thing to the dock or whatever they call their docking pads." He spoke to the man in Italian.
Once on dry land again she painstakingly said,. "Ashton, baby get us outta here." He looked puzzled at her but asked no further question for Ana kept looking back at the waters. So he immediately ordered the entourage to head out, taking her and Bea and heading for the hoverjet. They headed for the castle located in the western Mediterranean region. She and Bea both relaxed once they on the jet of there. She told him why she panicked.
"What did you see, dear?" He asked watching them both slowly calm down. He had never seen her so afraid. Not even when she dealt with pod face. Bea had cowered under her mother’s arm.
"I saw a merperson. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female. I’ve encountered one once before and they are really mean and murderous. They aren’t nice and helpful the way they are portrayed in chip movies and love stories. At least the ones I’ve encountered wasn’t."
"Yeccaih" Bea shuddered and re-hid her face.
"You saw one too?" He asked her. Bea nods and said, "He had a big scaly fish head, fish eyes and fish teeth, he climbed on my balcony. I could see him through the lace curtains. He jumped back in the water when my nanny turned around."
Ashton felt flame coming to the surface. He suppressed it. But decides it time to have some fish and chips fight after he got them settled and comfortable. Nobody scares his family like that! He didn’t care where in the fuck they lived. He and Neptune or Poseidon or both are going to have a good long talk. He intend to firmly establish, if you’re in air, on land or the sea if you screws with his family there will be very serious consequences and repercussions. If he doesn’t establish his stance right now the jokers will be popping up in the freaking damn bathtubs and pools.
"Beloved, why didn’t you tell me? We didn’t have to go there."
I felt I had messed up the Venice trip, so I sheepishly replied. "It was I who wanted to see the city. I heard it was so romantic. I didn’t know one from as faraway as Georgia would be here."
"Baby, they’re half-fish. They’re everywhere there’s water," he said hugging me closer as Bea’s nanny brought Bea a watered down tonic of white wine to help her relax. Ashton encouraged me to drain a glass of red wine. I teased him was he trying to get me drunk.
“It wouldn’t hurt,” he teased back but was thinking, “Thanks God the Moroccan Castle wasn’t directly on the Mediterranean. They’ve been hounding our every step.”
They both had soon forgotten their fright as they stared out the jet’s window and marveled at the beauty of the azure blue sea. He has seen the same sea since time immemorable, but now saw it differently through their inquisitive eyes. It was like seeing the sea for the first time.
Ana looks out at the vast sea below them and wonders are they becoming soft? Turning into two little chickenhearts. Normally, she would’ve shot in the water at that thing or materialize her uniform and kicked it’s ass. Or found another way to kicked it’s ass had Bea cried out. But she snuggled back under his arm and reasoned; why fight when you’ve a big, handsome husband to fight for you? She was tired of fighting.