Okay, my editor called me a machine the other day and I'm beginning to wonder if she was right. Another chapter done. I'm surprised my poor computer is still working. Enjoy!
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Chapter Three
Sabra stared at her plate, finding it hard to look up and look at Ben, even when she could feel his gaze on her. He was too important, too necessary for her happiness to give him just an unconcerned glance. She didn't trust herself not to let her feelings show in her eyes where her parents would see everything and then throw one or both of them out.
"You're not eating?"
Sabra glanced at her mom and she pushed another small pile of peas from one side of the plate to the other. "I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought."
Kimber reached out, laying the palm of her hand against Sabra's forehead. "You feel a bit warm. Do you feel all right baby?"
"I'm fine." She picked up her fork and scooped the peas she'd been playing with into her mouth, chewing them and then looking over at her mother. "Happy now?"
At her mother's nod, she went back to pushing her food around her plate, listening as her parents talked to Ben.
"So I think you have us all in a state of suspense, Benjamin. Tell us, what is this big news?"
Ben sighed and wiped his mouth with his napkin before he pushed his plate away. He leaned back against his chair and smiled. "The council has decided. I am to marry."
Sabra felt her heart leap into her throat and then fall to the pit of her stomach. "M-Marry?"
Her stuttered question was pretty much ignored as her parents happy exclamations drowned her out. She sank back against her chair letting her fork fall into her plate. Eating was now impossible and she felt as if what's she'd managed to swallow now became a huge ball of iron in her stomach. She barely blinked back the tears that wanted to fall and only looked up when her mother said her name once more.
"Sabra? Are you not happy for your brother? He will have a wife and hopefully babies soon."
She glanced up at Benjamin, seeing a strange look in his eyes as he stared at her. "Congratulations," she managed to choke out. "I guess I feel worse than I thought." She excused herself and hurried from the room before anyone could say a word. Taking the stairs two at a time, she threw herself upon her bed, letting loose the scream of pain that was tearing apart her soul.
He'd come to her, kissed her, and then tore her heart from her chest all in the space of an hour. How could he look so happy? How could he marry another when he claimed that she was the one he loved?
Tears streamed down her cheeks, sobs tore at her chest until she thought she'd be sick. She almost didn't hear the sly scratching upon her door. Rubbing at her cheeks, she sat up on the bed, trying desperately to scrub away the signs of her pain. "Y-yeah?"
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Ben opened the door, seeing the signs of her tears and felt his heart break. She'd left before he'd told her the big news, the news that was destined to change those tears to happiness and bring a smile to her face. He'd barely believed the Council of Twelve when they'd told him the truth of her paternity and their wishes. They were giving him the only thing he'd ever prayed for, the only thing he'd ever dreamed of.
Sabra wasn't his sister, she wasn't a Kozilinski. She'd been given to his parents when he was a little boy, his mother hiding away and pretending to have her to keep her hidden. She was the promised child, the one foretold so many millennia ago that would save his people from the scourge that had searched for her since before her birth.
And she was to be his bride. He'd been chosen because of his devotion to the craft and to the Council and...to her. They'd somehow seen the love that he and Sabra had fought so desperately to hide, first from each other and then from the world. The Council knew that he'd give his life if it was necessary to keep Sabra safe. He'd gladly vowed to hold her before him for the rest of his life.
Now she sat upon the bed, her eyes red, sobs still clogging her throat. And it hurt him worse than anything had ever hurt him before.
"You didn't wait," he said, rushing to the bed and pulling her into his arms. She was small, curvy and sweet, smelling of strawberries and something spicy that he'd never been able to figure out.
"I-I couldn't. C-c-congratulations." She tried to pull away from him, ever vigilant even when he seemed to not notice the door he'd left open.
But he refused. He turned her face up to his, his hand on her chin and then he took her mouth, allowing all the passion and desire he'd kept bottled inside of him since the first time he realized how he felt about her.
"B-Ben, no..." she tried to say but he didn't let her, his tongue slipping between her parted lips, his hand holding the back of her head to keep her still. But soon it wasn't necessary and she was meeting his demands with some of her own, her hands moving over his chest and shoulders, digging into his hair.
The sound of his father's voice had her fighting to get away from him and she stared at Ben in fright. "D-dad..."
"I see you told her," Caleb Kozilinski said, clapping his hands together.
"T-told m-me?" she asked, trapped in Ben's dark eyes. "T-told me what?"
"I haven't had a chance Dad. But if you give us a few, I'll remedy that."
Sabra felt her jaw drop open as her father nodded and then took the door knob and closed the door behind him. It hung open as she stared back up at Ben.
He chuckled, too happy and eager to tell her of the wondrous news. He reached out and lifted her chin, closing her mouth for her before he turned toward the bed, making himself comfortable as he'd always done in Sabra's small room. Patting the spot he'd left next to him, he wiggled his fingers. "Come here and I'll tell you the rest of our good news."