Forbidden Love

"Faith, are you okay?"

My eyes blinked furiously against the bright light. "I'm fine," I croaked, the dream haunting me. Evil? Stay away. "Nicholas, I met my father."

Nicholas's face drained of color, going white. "Your father? What do you mean, your father is at your house?" Speaking of which, I've got to take her home, I heard, his thoughts projecting into my head.

"Not him. Nicholas, my real father. He came to me, in my dreams. At first, he seemed like he was evil, but then he became nicer, as if he's bipolar or has a split personality." My eyes widened as I spoke, voice becoming more animated. "He told me to listen to you and that my stepfather is evil. My questions weren't able to be answered, however..."

"Faith, your father was right. Your stepfather, James, is very evil."

"Why?"

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that," he responded.

"Why can't anyone answer the questions I seek?" I shouted suddenly, startling both myself and Nicholas.

"It is something that will come, with time. As for right now, though, you need to get a shower and such."

I glanced down at my body, noticing then that I was in a robe. "Um, where are my clothes and why am I in a robe?" The thing was black and fuzzy, soft against my skin, tied with a sash around my waist.

"Your clothes are in the dryer. Do not worry," he said once he saw my incredulous look, "you still have undergarments on and I did not peek."

The sincerity in his tone had me nodding in response. "Okay, I'll be back then."


Steam followed in a large white cloud as I left the bathroom dressed in that same robe. My hair and body now smelled like cinnamon - a scent I'd noticed on Nicholas. It was nice, homely even.

Leaving the room, I found Nicholas playing Pacman on an old arcade game. "Wow," I said, "I had no idea that this game hadn't completely gone to shit."

"They did ruin it. Pacman isn't meant to walk- except for in the museum. He also shouldn't hump or defeat animals." He shook his head. "The gamers are all very disappointed."

I nodded in agreement. "No talking allowed. It's like what they did to Frogger. Have you seen it?"

"No," he responded, glancing at me for a moment, then turned back to his game. "What did they do?"

"There's... I can't explain; it's just horrible."

"I'll take your word for it."

"And then there's the movies and music." I grimaced, laughing when he only shook his head, dismissing the conversation. We stood in silence, my eyes following the movements of his guy. "Watch out!" I said when two of the ghosts cornered him.

"Damn," he muttered when the Game over sign flashed across the screen.

"Now what?"

"Now you need to get dressed so I can take you home."

"Home," I responded, the word foreign on my tongue. "A home is a place where someone feels safe, loved. A home is where the heart lies. Nicholas, that place of which I live is not a home. It is my own personal version of Hell."

Nicholas's face softened and he moved to comfort me, then stopped himself. "If I could take you away, believe me, I would. But I can't. My job is solely to protect you, but I am not allowed to take you from the danger."

"What danger?"

"The answers will come to you eventually. Now, I'll go get your clothes so you can get dressed and we can leave."

Inside my heart sank like the Titanic.


Something was telling me to lock myself back in the bedroom. Ignoring it, I walked back into the living room, noticing first that Nicholas had changed clothes too.

A loose, baggy white T-shirt rested over his chest. By the collar, blue letters spelled out Ford and underneath was an all black Mustang. Underneath the car in blue lettering was This pony has speed. Dark blue Jeans fit his body perfectly and on his feet were plain black Nikes.

Sexy, I thought to myself when I had stepped next to him. "I'm ready," I muttered with forced enthusiasm.

He barely looked at me, Instead he pulled open the door, waited until I stepped out and followed after. But then he was in front of my body, holding me in place. I peeked around his shoulder at seven men who stood in front of us.

One of them stepped forward, his hands interlocked in front of his body. Knuckles turned white as they clenched hard. Narrowed blue eyes locked onto mine, a distressed smile appearing. "Give us the girl, Nicholas. It will save you a lot of trouble."

His body tensed, jaw clenching tightly. Lips pulled back to reveal a fierce snarl. "I will never hand her over to the likes of you." To me, he whispered, mouth barely moving, "Wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around my waist. Whatever you do, do not let go, okay?"

I nodded, doing as he said.

The seven goons stepped forward, eyes all glowing red. The leader growled, saying, "In that case, we will have to use force." They all ran forward then.

I couldn't keep track of what happened. One minute we were standing there and the next we were jumping over the guys, Nicholas's wings spread wide, moving us into the sky.

The feeling of flight was amazing. It was unlike anything, the wind blowing my hair, my clothes, watching the houses become smaller. The feeling of Nicholas's muscles under my body. "Wow," I whispered, legs moving away from his waist, arms loosening from his neck. Either he didn't notice or he didn't bother to care.

A soft humming noise was heard, an arrow appearing. Nicholas swerved to miss it, sending me off balance. My scream echoed as I fell.

"Faith!"

There was no way I would live through this fall. I allowed it to sink in. My eyes shut, waiting, when arms wrapped around my body. The sense of deja vu hit. It was like the first time he'd saved me. The arms tightened, holding me.

Throughout the whole flight, he never let go. His face remained blank. No more arrows came, nothing that could have disturbed us.

The ground came fast, my tattered house coming into view. His feet landed and I was on the ground a moment later.

"Stay safe," he whispered, pressing a chaste kiss against my forehead. And then he was gone.