The Forgotten Prophecy

Chapter 29

Matthew walked to the closest balcony, his eyes darting to and fro with worry, and he let out a breath of relief when he saw her. She was sitting on the railing, gazing ahead with a relaxed expression, her legs tangling in the air. Her golden hair had grown longer during the last couple of months and reached just above her chin.

Matthew stared at the beautiful sight before him. He couldn't take his eyes off her delicate face, her strong figure. He had missed her. He knew it was only a day since they had last seen each other, but he couldn't overlook the feeling of emptiness that had vanished once he laid eyes on her. Matthew shook his head in confusion. He hadn't experienced such feelings before for someone else and he didn't know what to make out of it.

Matthew swallowed hard, his fingers playing with his belt. It's just my concern for a friend, nothing more, he tried to convince himself. He set aside those weird thoughts and slowly approached her.

'Hey,' he said softly.

Peter immediately turned around and looked at him, her eyes blinking in surprise. She came down the railing with a graceful thump, still not saying anything, and took tentative steps towards him. Right then, Matthew surrendered to his heart. With two long strides he closed the gap between them and enveloped her in a bone-crashing hug. He felt Peter freeze under his arms, but then her body melted into his, and he sighed in relief.

It felt good to hold her like that, to feel her arms around his waist, and he shut his eyes, resting his chin on her head. He finally felt at peace. They stayed that way for a few minutes, relishing that rare moment of calmness. Although he didn't want to let go, he loosened his hold on her and glanced at her flushed face.

'Couldn't wait to get rid of me, huh?' he gave her lopsided grin.

'Matthew. It's not like that,' she said in a chiding tone.

'I know, I know. Why are you here?'

She sat on the railing again, and Matthew followed after her. A few seconds passed until she spoke. 'I wanted to clear up my mind. And be alone for a bit.'

'Do you want me to leave?'

'No! Of course not,' she gave him a small smile.

'Do you want to share anything with me?'

Peter let out a deep breath, and Matthew stayed silent to give her all the time she needed before answering. He had learned that it was difficult for her to trust people, so he was grateful for her effort to make an exception for him.

'You know, before this day we could be honest with each other. But now...' she trailed off.

'Now it is still the same.'

'Even if I am different from you?' she glanced at him with a frown.

'In what way?' Matthew held his breath, he wasn't sure how this was going to play out.

'I...uhmm...' Peter stared down at her hands, her expression tense.

Matthew grabbed her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. He wanted to take down all her barriers, to show her he would never let her down again. 'Peter, you know you can tell me.'

'The old man gave me some information about my parents.'

Matthew looked at her expectedly, urging her to go on with her story.

'He told me that my mother...was an elf, and my father was a human.'

He hummed in understanding, his hand stroking his beard. 'Quite a blow,' he remarked.

'Yeah. I was very shocked to hear that. I felt like my...like I was robbed of a part of myself, of my past.'

'I am sorry,' he said, his voice laced with regret, 'but at the same time I'm not. You can be so much more than just a human. You can be better than all of us.'

Matthew had plenty of time to think during his journey and he had decided that he wouldn't judge her based on a past she had no control of. It was beneath him. He would be better than the rest and give her strength when she needed somebody to lean on. He would be the still meadow she could let the tornado of her pain slow down, a safe place to shelter her from the storm. Matthew turned his gaze to her, and the warm smile that had formed on her lips took him by surprise. He had anticipated a whole different outcome. 'What?'

'I didn't expect that kind of reaction.'

'What did you expect?' he raised a brow.

'I feared that you would take it much worse, or not accept the other part of me.'

Her words pulled at his heart. That woman before him had got so used to being pushed away and mistreated that she couldn't imagine anything better. He took her hand within his own and held it tight.

'For me, you will always be Peter,' he said softly, his eyes glinting with affection.

Peter stared at their entwined hands and let out a sigh of relief. Her features relaxed, like a burden had been lifted off her shoulders. Matthew didn't even want to fathom what dark thoughts had occupied her mind until then.

'Also,' he went on, 'that old elf mentally prepared me for this.'

Her head immediately whipped towards him. 'What? He didn't!'

'Yeas, he did.'

'I will kill him!' Peter jumped up and started pacing back and forth, making Matthew laugh at her angry outburst. She looked at him with annoyance, but her mouth twitched in merriment.

'Anything else?' he asked her when she had calmed down. He saw her falter, and she averted her eyes, staring at her feet.

'No, that's all.' Matthew didn't want to pressure her. He knew she would tell him when she felt ready.

'Alright.'

He stared at the view ahead. The village was a speck of light in the darkness that fell rapidly, and the sea a blanket of waves. Though the land was a shiver of white, and the stars felt more distant in the coldness of winter, the sunset brought warmth to his eyes. Matthew jumped off the railing and took out the blankets the elves had given him. It was too late to travel back to the city, so it was better to stay there for the night. He threw one to Peter who looked at him in puzzlement.

'Unless you wanna freeze here, I recommend we go inside,' Matthew said.

Peter kept staring at him with a gaping jaw.

'What? You expected me to leave you all alone and unprotected in this dangerous place?' He told her smugly and moved to go inside. He passed by her and stopped just beside her ear. 'You know you can't survive without me,' he whispered to her.

'Matthew!' she groaned, and went to attack him, but he had already run away laughing.

He loved driving her mad, bringing her feisty nature to the surface. As they chased each other around the temple with a smile on their faces, Matthew felt content. There may be hard days waiting ahead, but if he had nights like this, it was all worth it.

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A/N: Ahhh who doesn't like a little bit of romance? Tell me what you thought about this chapter in the comments. TBC...

Phrase of chapter: ἡ μεν ἐμπειρία τέχνην ἐποίησεν, ἡ δ' ἀπειρία τύχην / experience created art, and inexperience created luck - Aristotle