Amelia Merlin and the Game for Okamila

Part 58: Young Lovers (South and North)

He was still getting his strength back but under Callie's care, he felt much better. They spent most of the day creating the mosaic across the kitchen wall. While they worked they talked. Oliver told her about how Amelia was his best friend, about their time at Hogwarts, about the magic and the classes.

"When I was younger," he said. "I didn't have any friends. I didn't fit in anywhere. I was so weird and no one wanted to hang out with me. And then I boarded that train and I met her. She was so lovely, Callie. She came right up to me, I still remember it, and she told me how excited she was to get to know me. She told me that we were all special and that we were going to the place where we belonged."

When Oliver had finished Callie started to tell him her life. Her mousy hair was tied back in a pony tail and her skin was tanned into a caramel colour from the sun. She wore a white dress and no shoes. She made lunch while she spoke. "I was raised in High Valley. When I was about twelve I started spending time with these two boys, brothers in fact. We were all the best of friends and we used to go on adventures together. But as we started to grow, Axel and I became much closer and Brice hated that. Brice told me he loved me, and Axel did too and I had to choose between them. I was like you, you see, no friends, weirdo, all alone except for these two boys. Axel was like Amelia to me. But then I told Brice I didn't love him and I didn't love Axel like he loved me and that was it. Brice told the lizards where I was and I'd been on the run for years since."

"Is that how you ended up here?" he watched her spreading butter over bread she somehow managed to make. Her hair was streaked with blonde and it fell in her eyes as she worked. Her small elvish face was sad while she spoke.

"That's just part one of how I got here."

Oliver stood up and walked over to her, he couldn't help himself. She was so beautiful, he was enraptured by her. Taking her hand, he said, "I'm sorry they did that."

"It's not your doing." she smiled and looked at him. Their eyes used each others pupils as gateways to the heart.

"I know. But it makes me sad to hear that you went through that." he said honestly. He ran his thumb across her fingers which made her heart pound louder than she had previously believed possible.

"That's - that's really nice of you to say." she blinked several times but couldn't take her eyes off his.

They went back to working and talking. The mosaic turned out horrible because neither of them could properly pay attention. Especially when Oliver 'accidentally' smeared clay on Callie which then turned into an all out brawl. Before long they were both covered in mud and screaming in laughter. When night fell, they sat on the roof of the house and watched the stars.

"Oliver?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?" they both turned away from the sky above and looked at each other. "Would you stay with me? On the island?"

"I can't." he whispered. "I have to get back to Amelia. She's my friend and she-"

"Just for a few more days." Callie's voice shook. "Please?"

"Okay." he smiled and took her hand, sending vibrations thundering through each of them.

"Thank you. You're the best person I've ever met." she admitted. He squeezed her hand gently and pointed to the sky.

"Did you know there used to be two moons?"

"What?" she laughed, a high clear sound that filled the air around them.

"It's true. But one of them wandered too close to the sun and cracked into a thousand thousand pieced from the heat, because - you see, the moon loved the sun. More than anything in the whole universe and even if it meant that the moon would die, it didn't matter. So the moon died, but from the rocks that flew into the world we live in now and created the first magic anyone had ever seen." he smiled down at her.

"How do you know this story?" Callie's green eyes were spectacular in the moonlight.

Oliver shrugged. "It's something I think Amelia told me once. When it's late at night and she's almost asleep, she tells these little stories. I don't even know if she can remember them to be honest."

"That's lovely."

"Yeah, she is." Oliver grinned. "You know what they call her? The girl with golden hair and ocean eyes. She is magic."

Callie didn't say anything. She found, for the first time in her life, rather than the wrong man falling in love with her, she was falling in love with the wrong man.

...........................

She looked so beautiful, sitting there by the window with her hair cascading down her back in waves of liquid moonlight. Against the black stone walls she was even more radiant. But beyond all that was the sheer wonder of the child in her arms. Their son had her hair, her eyes, gods could only hope he had her spirit as well. Blaxton felt transformed just looking at them, the flowers he had picked in the courtyard seemed feeble next to the beauty of the two creatures he was so blessed to call his family but he presented them to Rose anyways.

"Darling!" she beamed up at him. "How kind of you."

"Anything for you. And how's little Silvio?" he kissed her on the cheek and leaned down to look at his son.

"He is perfect." Rose said proudly. "How was your day, my dear?"

Blaxton shook his head. "I don't want to talk about work. Not now. Not when I'm with you." he took the baby from Rose and pulled her to her feet. "Right now I think I'll just dance."

He started swaying back and forth slowly while humming to Silvio. Rose laughed, "You are the most ridiculous man!"

"Please, my lady, let the dancers have their moment." he teased while he spun around gently. "Unless you would like to join in?"

She gave a small curtsy and took one of Silvio's pudgy hands in her delicate one and swayed with her husband. Blaxton gave a deep booming laugh and she looked at him questioningly.

"I'm happy, my love. I'm so fantastically happy." he confessed and Rose stopped swaying. She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him.

"So am I."

The two young lovers and their son waltzed the night away in the grand chamber of Castle Rock. In the city below them, a man who was really more of a boy, with dark hair and green eyes, sharpened his sword that had not seen blood in a very long time.