Alex opened his eyes to the afternoon sun flooding through the window of his room. He sat up slowly, stretching his muscles. The events of the past few hours played through his mind as he washed and dressed in clothes out of the trunk that had appeared in his room - Mr. Parker must have sent their clothes immediately after he received their note this morning.

There hadn’t been many exciting days in Alex Parker’s life. He knew that most of the people who knew him considered him rather dull. Not that he had minded, he had always been fine with dull. Dull was safe. At the moment nothing in his life felt safe - and he liked it.

Somehow, all of the excitement that had been missing from his life for the last 22 years had caught up with him in the last 22 hours…and he’d loved every minute of it.

He’d learned to ride the adrenaline wave. He’d been struck speechless. He’d felt his fist connect with solid flesh. He’d been frozen in midair by superhuman powers. He’d nearly been killed. He’d nearly killed. He’d saved a life. He’d been terrified. He’d been exultant. He’d fallen in love…

Well, he wasn’t entirely sure about that last one, but he knew he had the symptoms. Sure, he’d only known her for a matter of hours, but she was amazing. Isabel was a walking contradiction. So strong, so vulnerable. Perfect.

There was a soft knock at his door.

“Come in.”

“Alex?”

“Hi. Did you get some sleep?”

Michael shut the door and walked over to the bed and sat down.

“Yeah. You?”

“Just woke up.”

“Me too.”

“Is everyone else up?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t get a chance to check. Max said he was going to stay awake and keep an eye on his sister, I think he’s really starting to worry. She’s still…” Michael’s voice trailed off.

“Catatonic?” Alex offered.

Michael gave him a condescending look, “She’s not catatonic. She’s just really frightened. Max says she’s never shaken by anything. He was wondering what happened in the hallway, you know, when the lamp broke.”

Alex was flabbergasted. Was Max accusing him of something? The girl had attacked him! And, he cared about her, really cared about her – it was ludicrous to think someone would accuse him of malice in attacking her – it had been self defense!

If his brother wanted an explanation, he could have one…

“Well, she used her ‘voodoo’ powers to throw you around like a rag doll, and I lunged at her before she could do the same to me. The lamp she was carrying fell on the floor and broke; the oil splashed on her dress and lit her skirt on fire. I dragged her away from the place on the floor that was burning and I smothered the flames on her skirt.”
Michael nodded, not picking up on Alex’s anger.

Alex decided to add healthy dose of sarcasm for his next few words, “Will there be further questions? Should I expect an alien trial for attempted murder?”

Michael shot him a disgusted look.

“Don’t be an ass. I’m just trying to help the girl. No one is accusing you of anything, so don’t get your knickers in a twist.”

“So, you’ve known them for one day and you’re completely loyal to your new alien family, huh?”

Michael jumped off the bed and took a step toward him. Alex prepared to defend himself. Then, suddenly, a strange look came over Michael’s face and he stepped backwards and sat down again on the bed.

Alex studied his brother carefully. He was a little surprised that Michael had calmed himself down. Usually when he flew into a rage there was no stopping him until he’d vented.

“Look,” Michael’s voice sounded a little weary, “you should know me better than that. You might be an idiot, but you’re my brother.”

Alex knew that was as close to an ‘I love you’ as Michael could get. Now he felt bad for taking offense.

“Is there anything I can do to help her?” Alex asked. He tried not to sound too eager. He couldn’t let Michael catch a whiff of his feelings for Isabel…Michael would tell Kyle, then Kyle would kill him for betraying Maria…Alex suddenly awoke to the impossibility of his feelings for Isabel.

“I don’t know. Apparently,” Michael cleared his throat looking uncomfortable, “uh, they can enter people’s dreams. And, Max was going to try that with her to see if he could find a way to calm her down.”

“Really? They can enter people’s dreams? Wait, can you do that too?”

Michael was staring at his hands, refusing to look Alex in the eye, “I think maybe I can. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me,” Alex said indignantly, “I don’t want anyone poking around in my head!”

Michael jumped to his feet and headed for the door.

“Don’t worry, no one will look at your dreams,” he mumbled and then called from the hallway, “Kyle left me a note saying they’d have a cold lunch left in the dining room for us, I’ve got to tell everyone else.”

Alex followed Michael into the hallway and came face to face with Isabel Evans, nearly knocking her over.

“Oh, excuse me, Miss Evans.”

“No, Isabel,” she looked calm and collected. He could hardly believe she was the same girl who’d been afraid of her shadow that morning – hadn’t Michael just been asking him how to help her? Now she was casually asking him to call her by her first name.

“Isabel,” he repeated.

She nodded. They stared at one another in silence. Alex didn’t know what to say to her. Should he apologize for yesterday? She should apologize to him, but if her normal personality was back he doubted there was much chance of that happening.

“Your brother told me there was food downstairs.”

“Yes, I was just going down myself,” he didn’t know what came over him, but he held his arm out to her, “Would you like to join me?”

No emotion crossed her face, she simply moved her head in ascent and reached for his arm.

Alex couldn’t believe it. Maybe some of Michael’s ‘lady charming’ ways had rubbed off on him. He could barely suppress a grin as he walked the beautiful blonde to the dining room. All thoughts of attacks, apologies, impossible feelings, and her previously catatonic state were washed away by the touch of her hand.

***

Maria heard voices coming from the dining room as soon as she stepped foot inside the front door after her ride.

They were awake!

She rushed into the room, wanting to be as close to Michael as possible.

All six of the new arrivals were seated at the table. Her jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw that Max, Isabel, and Tess were all eating with their hands. Where were these people from? Who didn’t use a knife and fork when they ate?

Maria knew Liz and Alex were too polite to say anything (they were pretending not to notice), and obviously Michael hadn’t even noticed anything strange (he was too busy with the pile of food he’d helped himself to). ‘I guess it’s up to me,’ she thought.

“Oh, Mr. Evans, no need to use your hands. We wouldn’t be offended at all if you used the eating utensils at the side of your plate,” Maria didn’t want them to feel embarrassed, she wondered if this tactic would work.

Max, Isabel, and Tess all looked up at her, as though they didn’t understand. Then Max looked across the table at Alex and Liz noticing the forks in each of their hands. He reddened slightly, and reached for the one next to his plate.

“Oh, thank you, Miss Valenti,” Max said sheepishly, motioning to Isabel and Tess to pick up their forks.

They all attempted to use the utensils and didn’t seem to have much luck. Max had speared a piece of meat and was trying to use his spoon to cut it. Tess was trying to scoop rice onto her fork and only seemed able to get a grain or two at a time. Isabel, however, after only a few tries, seemed to have the hang of it, eating carrots gracefully with her fork as if she’d never eaten any other way.

Maria was definitely going to question Kyle about the origins of the new guests. She sat at the head of the table and dropped her riding crop on the floor with a sharp thwack. That got Michael’s attention, he looked up at her.

“Sitting at the head of the table, are you? Mistress of the house?” Michael’s tone dared her to respond.

“Yes, I fill your position when you’re not here.”

He growled. A big smile broke out on her face, she loved to enrage him. He looked so handsome when he was angry - jaw clenched, eyes slightly narrowed.

She noticed that the women had found the clothes she laid out for them. The dress Tess was wearing fit fairly well, but Isabel’s was far too tight in the bust and Maria knew it had to be far too short.

“Miss Evans, Miss Harding. Would you allow me to contact my dressmaker for you? I know you must be anxious to rebuild your wardrobes after the fire,” Maria smiled.

Tess and Isabel looked at each other as though the thought had not occurred to them.

“Oh it will be so much fun,” Maria gushed, “I’ll send her a note this afternoon, I’m sure she’ll come first thing in the morning.”

Isabel smiled, Maria knew that the girl liked her, “Thank you. And, please call me Isabel.”

Tess decided to put a smile on her face as well, “And call me Tess,” she looked at Alex, Liz, and Michael, “Please, everyone, call me Tess.”

Liz and Alex smiled, Michael continued shoving food into his mouth.

“Maria?” Tess began, “Is it really fun to have clothes made? In the past, I-we…well, I’ve never picked my own clothes.”

“Oh, Tess, you don’t know what you’ve been missing,” Maria winked at her.

***

Kyle let out a low whistle as Michael finished the whole story.

“Wow, Michael.”

Michael had been able to give his friend a brief outline earlier, but they’d had to wait until everyone else was in bed before he could tell him everything. He glanced around to be sure that both study doors were still shut securely – they couldn’t afford to have another servant overhear something they shouldn’t.

“I’m glad that you finally know,” Kyle’s tone was sincere, “I know you’ve always been afraid that you were evil or something.”

Michael rolled his eyes at his friend.

Kyle shrugged, “Well, you know what I mean. I’m glad that you know. Too bad you’re the last of your kind.”

“That’s Max’s opinion, but apparently Serena and Nacedo think otherwise.”

Kyle was nodding, “So, is it Isabel? You know, your ‘destined mate’?”

Michael was surprised by the question. He hadn’t really thought about it, “I suppose she is. She and Max are siblings, so it must be Tess and him, Isabel and…me.”

“Are you gonna’ go along with that?”

“I don’t know. Max made it sound like it was pointless. I should probably have another talk with him.”

“At least she’s beautiful.”

Michael laughed at him. With everything he’d just told Kyle, this is what he was focused on – typical.

“Yeah. I don’t know, it doesn’t matter much to me. My marital prospects were never very good. Respectable people wouldn’t want anything to do with me.”

“Well my prospects aren’t much better,” Kyle said.

Michael shot him a ‘don’t be stupid’ look, “Your grandfather is a Duke!”

“On my mother’s side. You know my father’s father was an innkeeper. My grandfather didn’t disown my mother, but her brothers did – when he’s gone all ties to the family will be lost,” he smirked, “unless it’s true that my eldest uncle is having money problems – then I suppose there will be a tearful reconciliation.”

Michael laughed.

“You know, Michael, speaking of ‘destined’ mates…Now, don’t be offended…but my sister has been begging me for the last two years to get her out of her ‘arrangement’.”

Michael sat down hard in a leather chair across from Kyle and leaned close to him unable to keep a note of urgency out of his voice, “She doesn’t want to marry Alex?”

Kyle held his hands up, “Look, I said not to get offended, she thinks he's wonderful, just not...you know for a husband. She says he doesn’t want it either.”

Sitting back hard in the chair, Michael let out the breath he’d been holding in a gush. “Liz told me she suspected that, but I never thought… I mean, why wouldn’t he love Maria?”

Kyle shook his head, “I don’t know, but I think it’s true. I was watching him tonight – now don’t get mad, but I think he’s interested in Isabel.”

Michael was shocked. Could his brother really be interested in Isabel? For a moment he gave himself a little hope, maybe the engagement would be broken. No, it didn’t matter. Even if she was free, her father would never allow her to marry him. No, that didn’t even matter. She would probably throw herself into the sea before she’d marry him. Still…if he really was seeing into her dreams, well, in them she seemed very receptive…

“Michael?”

“What? Oh, no, I’m not angry. I’m just thinking…we should help them if they really don’t want to marry each other.” Michael tried not to look guilty. He always felt badly when he had ‘Maria thoughts’ in Kyle’s presence – it was such a horrible betrayal of his friendship.

“Well, I’ve tried - I’ve spoken to my father twice and I think Maria pesters him about it all of the time. He won’t budge because my mother made him promise, before she died. But…I did wonder if maybe your father talked to him-.”

“No, my father would never approach him about it. He’ll never try to break a promise he’s made.”

“All right, what if Alex talked to my father? If he knew that Alex didn’t want it, and he already knows that Maria doesn’t, he might relent.”

“Sounds like a good idea, but I think they should go together to speak to him.”

“I think Maria is too embarrassed to bring it up to Alex, and I’d feel a little awkward about it... Do you think you could?”

“Maria gets embarrassed?” Michael smirked.

“Come on, Michael, I’m being serious. I know that you and Maria don’t get along, but you want your brother to be happy don’t you?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll talk to him.”

“What if he wants your Isabel?”

“She’s not my Isabel. He can have her.”

***

Maria ran through the waving grass, as her eyes swept the horizon…

Where was he?

She plopped down hard on the grass, she hated it when she couldn’t find him.

Leaning her head back, she cupped her hands around her mouth and called for him again, “Michael!”

Silence.

This happened from time to time. She would be unable to find him and lay down on the grass to cry herself into oblivion. Their time was always limited, he was never around for long, something would always happen - they would be talking, laughing, and then…that strange look would cross his face, and before she knew it he would disappear.

She could feel tears stinging her eyes and hopped up to look for him one more time.

“Miiiicccchhhaaaeeelll!!!”

The she spotted him, some distance away. She started to run to him. His face broke into a smile, then it was overwhelmed with a look of fear and dread. Within seconds he was gone.

She threw herself down face first onto the grass. The tears fell like rain. He’d never disappeared so fast before, he always spoke to her first…

She buried her head in the grass, and then she was falling…falling…falling…

Maria awoke with a start in the middle of the night, and she could feel wet tears on her face. She had the dreams regularly, but she usually didn’t remember much about them in the morning.

This dream was alive in her head even though she was awake. It wasn’t bad enough that he couldn’t stand to be in the same room with her in the real world, now she had to lose him in her dreams as well?

She looked down at her bandaged hands, and wondered again at his reaction to them when he’d arrived. It had reminded her of something, she’d had a feeling of déjà vu…

Sighing, she laid back down and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. It was just this once, he’d be back tomorrow night…

***

Max was about to knock on Isabel’s door when he was startled by the sound of laughter inside. He was taken aback hearing both Tess and Isabel’s voices mingling in high pitched giggles. Composing himself, he tapped his knuckles against her door. He wanted to make sure that his sister was still holding up well, he’d been more than a little shocked at her sudden recovery the day before.

“Come in!” Isabel called sweetly from inside.

Max opened the door and walked in to see both Tess and Isabel wearing several scarves around their necks and each with a hat on their heads.

“What’s going on?” he asked lamely.

“Oh, Max, we had the best day,” Tess began. “The dressmaker was here and – oh, well you must know that, you were with her just now weren’t you? We ordered the most wonderful things, and Maria said her brother would pay for all of it! And, oh, Max – the colors, it was-.”

“-So amazing,” Isabel cut her off. “Liz and Maria helped us, did you know that you can wear colors to match your skin and hair? It was the most wonderful thing.”

Max stared at them speechless. They were spending time together. Giggling. Excited about garments of all things. For the first time he began to wonder if the humans were a good influence on them.

“Well,” Tess smiled, “where were you all day?”

“Michael took me riding,” Max said barely able get words out of his mouth – they both looked so happy.

“Riding?” Tess wrinkled her nose. “I don’t ever want to do that again. Ew. What kind of influence is Michael on you?”

“He’s-.”

“Yes, Max, you can’t allow the humans to pull you into all of their barbaric practices. I mean, of course I am enjoying many aspects of their society…” Isabel was saying in a lecturing tone.

“Look, Isabel, I’m just trying to blend in. Valenti said his sister was asking questions after the incident in the dining room yesterday. I would like for us to at least appear human.”

“Well,” Isabel looked at him out of the corner of her eye, “what do you think of Michael now that you’ve spent a little more time with him?”

Max cleared his throat, that was a difficult question to answer, “I like him. He’s a little rough, and not incredibly polite sometimes, but I like him. I think he’s a very good, honorable man.”

“Why do you ask Isabel?” Tess asked with an innocent look on her face.

“No particular reason, Tess,” Isabel snapped.

“Oh well,” Tess smiled falsely, “I was just thinking it would be natural for you to ask questions about the man who will be your mate.”

Max was almost relieved that they were fighting again. It was a little too strange to have them getting along so well. The familiar sound of Tess ridiculing Isabel for not wanting to embrace her ‘destiny’ was oddly comforting.

“I haven’t decided that he will be my mate. I don’t really like him, he doesn’t have any manners, or polish…and I don’t think he’s very intelligent either. I would blame it on Michael’s human father, but he seems to have done such a wonderful job with Alex…” Isabel trailed off as she blushed slightly. “Besides, I don’t really believe there’s any reason to follow our destiny. There is no planet to go home to and there aren’t enough of us to continue our species here. Obviously it doesn’t matter if we mate with humans.”

“You’re considering mating with a human?” Tess was looking at her curiously. She was no longer sarcastic or argumentative, she seemed genuinely interested as though the thought had never occurred to her before.

Max was watching the exchange in shock. He knew how Isabel felt about their destinies, secretly he felt the same way, but to actually state it openly…And, Tess, she’d been catty at first, but now she looked interested in the prospect. What would Nacedo say if he heard this conversation?

“Well,” Isabel said seriously, “we know that it’s possible. That is why we’re hybrids. Haven’t you ever considered it?”

Tess shook her head, “No, I really hadn’t, but now that you do…well, if we did integrate into this society…I don’t know, Max what do you think?”

“I think Nacedo would be incredibly angry if he heard us right now,” Max said sternly. “I’m going downstairs.”

Max turned and fled from the room. He’d always dreaded marrying Tess. They had grown up together, she was like a sister to him, not to mention that their personalities weren’t entirely compatible. Isabel had always felt the same although she rarely said it outright. Now Tess felt the same way. Maybe they could all rebel and just ‘say no’ to destiny.

With renewed hope, Max reached the drawing room door at the same moment as Maria.

“Max,” she smiled at him, he liked her a great deal, she was so friendly, “how was your visit with the tailor?”

He opened the door for her, “It went well, I’ve ordered some new clothes.”

“Oh, I hope she remembered to add a formal suit to the order. We have a ball to attend in five days,” Maria said as she entered the room.

“What ball?” Alex asked, peeking over the book he was reading in the window seat.

“Oh,” Liz exclaimed, “in all of the excitement I forgot to tell you! Mrs. Landon’s niece is visiting from London, she’s the only daughter of Lord Sheldon.”

“Aarrgh,” Kyle groaned, “I forgot about that awful thing.”

“Well,” Maria put her hands on her hips, “you’re going. We’re all going. I sent a note to Mrs. Landon today telling her we would have extra guests – I also told her that Alex would be attending. I thought you might not have included him in your RSVP, Liz, since you weren’t sure when they were arriving.”

“I’m not invited?” Michael asked Maria, from the corner where he was leaning casually against the wall.

“Yes,” Liz said quietly, “of course you were included on our invitation.”

Michael continued to stare challengingly at Maria.

She rose to the bait, “Well, I knew you had been invited, but you never attend social functions.”

A smile played across Michael’s lips, “I think I have a formal suit I could have father send out for me.”

“So,” Maria cocked her head at him and gave him a smirk, “just to spite me, you’re going to go?”

“No…,” there was an evil glint in Michael’s eyes, “I’d just like to have my chance to dance with Margaret Sheldon.”

“Ha!” Maria scoffed. “That’s Lady Margaret to you, and as if she would ever dance with you!” she glared at Alex who had begun to snicker, then turned back to Michael.

Michael laughed and shook his head slowly, “You’re right Maria,” sarcasm dripped from his voice, “I hope she doesn’t laugh in my face when I ask her.”

He raised his eyebrows at her, and then chuckled as he walked past her and out the door.

Max looked at Maria whose face was red, and scrunched into a surprisingly becoming scowl. Alex was now hooting with laughter.

Maria whirled on her fiancé, “And what are you laughing at?!?”

Alex stood and held his hand to his stomach, “I’m laughing at you Maria,” he stood and started toward the door.

“I can’t imagine why. If I were you, I’d be trying to figure out how to keep my brother from embarrassing me at the ball,” she snapped.

Alex paused in the doorway and turned back toward her, trying to keep a straight face, “I’m not worried about that,” he grinned at her.

She looked at him strangely and moved her mouth as if to speak, but Alex beat her to it.

“I was wondering…how do you like your crow, Maria? Baked or fried?”

With that he turned and left the small group in the drawing room to listen as his hysterical laughter drifted behind him down the hallway.

Max walked past a fuming (and apparently speechless) Maria to sit by Liz on the sofa. Liz had a puzzled look on her face.

“Liz?” Max asked quietly. “Are you all right?”

Liz smiled at him and nodded slowly, “Oh, yes. I was just wondering how Michael knew that the Lady’s first name was Margaret. No one said her first name.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” Max said softly, Liz was so intelligent, she always caught every detail.

“It’s probably nothing,” she broadened her smile. “I was about to take a walk, would you like to join me?”

“Absolutely,” he replied, unable to suppress a grin, as he rose and reached for her hand.

***

Three days after Kyle asked him to, Michael approached Alex.

“Got a minute?”

Alex jumped slightly at the sound of his brother’s voice.

“Uh, yeah, what do you need?”

Michael sat beside him on the top rail of the fence overlooking a pasture where several horses were grazing.

“Well, I’ve gotten so wrapped up with ‘everything’ I forgot that I told Kyle I’d talk to you about something,” Michael said, crossing his arms. Trying to decide how best to breach the subject. He knew he needed to do it, he’d put it off long enough, fearing that Alex would dash whatever shreds of hope he still held.

“What’s that?” Alex asked with a less than curious tone.

“The night we got here, Kyle mentioned that he and Maria have been discussing your betrothal quite a bit lately,” Michael glanced at Alex and then continued, “She is under the impression that you’re not thrilled with the arrangement.”

Michael could see that he now had Alex’s complete attention.

“I-I, uh, I’m not thrilled. Maria is a great friend, and I could think of worse people to be married to, but…I’ve just never felt, you know, that way about her. We’ve - sort of, almost - discussed it a couple of times…” Alex trailed off weakly.

Michael could have done cartwheels. Alex didn’t love her. Part of the heavy load of guilt he’d been carrying since he was 19 lifted from his chest. He felt like dancing.

“Don’t worry,” Michael reassured him, trying not to sound overjoyed, “there’s no question that she feels the same way. Kyle says she’s been begging the General to let her out of it. And, Kyle’s tried talking to him more than once. He won’t budge, he’s sticking to his promise to their mother.”

Alex let out a defeated sigh, “Oh.”

“It’s not as though all hope is lost. Kyle asked my opinion about it, he wondered if father would talk to him. I don’t think he would…so we came up with the idea of you talking to him…with Maria. If you confronted him together, and showed him how unhappy it would make you, well there is a chance…”

Michael watched Alex light up like a firecracker.

“Yes, that’s got to work! We’ll talk to him. I’ll go get a carriage, we can leave within the hour-.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Michael held his hands up to his brother, he hadn’t expected him to be this thrilled about getting out of the engagement, “I think you should spend some time strategizing first. You can talk to her after dinner, and decide on a time. The ball is in two days, maybe the next day you could take Maria and Liz back to town and speak to General Valenti.”

Alex looked a little disappointed, but nodded.

Michael couldn’t resist, he had to know…

“Alex? Do you – do you have…feelings…for Isabel?”

Alex paled, but looked at him steadily, “Yes. I’m sorry for not coming to you right away. I know she’s your ‘destined’ mate. If that is what you both want, you don’t have to worry about me, I wouldn’t interfere.”

Michael felt like slime. For the first time he realized that both he and Alex had been in the same position. Both were in love with the other’s future spouse, but Alex had the courage to face him head on – while he’d hidden his feelings from his brother for years.

Swallowing hard, Michael put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, “I have no interest in her at all. But, that’s beside the point. I want you to be happy. Max has told me she’s not interested in the ‘destiny’ thing and, if I know anything about women, I think she’s interested in you. If she makes you happy, don’t let her go.”

A look of relief broke out on Alex’s face. Michael couldn’t help himself and, for the first time in his life, he hugged his brother. He held him tightly and pounded him on the back a few times, then held him by the upper arms as he pulled back. Alex was smiling at him like an idiot, and Michael couldn’t help smiling back.

“Now, go,” Michael fought to keep his voice from cracking, “find her and tell her how you feel. You won’t regret it.”

Alex nodded and hopped off the fence, practically running back to the house.

Michael stared out at the pasture, feeling happy for his brother. He hoped, for Alex’s sake, that they would be able to find a way out of the engagement.

He watched the wind play with the grass. The memory of last night’s dream played through his mind. For the last three nights, he’d seen her in the field but had almost instantly awakened, horrible guilt forcing him away from her.

He’d never imagined the truth. It made him feel as though he was violating her in the worst way possible. He’d seen her bandaged hands, then Max had mentioned dream walking to him, and he’d become overwhelmed with questions. From what he’d learned, human dreams were not often logical, and didn’t necessarily relate to real life or real people - but rather played broadly on emotions using bizarre symbolism to express feelings. He’d briefly described his dream encounters to his new friend, not telling him whom the encounters were with. Max had told him it sounded different than normal dream walking, that what Michael described was more like two people meeting in a mutually created dream. The discussions had left Michael with even more questions.

One thing was certain, Maria was sharing his dreams.

At first he’d wondered if there was any chance that the dreams were a reflection of her true feelings, but after spending a few days with her he knew that they weren’t. Max had warned him that the actions in a dream could not always be taken at face value. Obviously her actions in the dreams meant nothing - she hated him as much as ever, if not more. Her insults of late were viciously personal, it made him wonder if she knew that it was his fault she was having the dreams.

Michael heard a voice shouting, and then heard loud laughter. He looked toward the house and at a distance he could see Kyle and Max on horseback in the stable yard. Kyle was bent double, pointing at Max’s horse, which was (to Max’s bewilderment) walking backwards.

He laughed out loud at the sight. There lots of things to distract him. With so many people around, he wasn’t forced to spend hours on end in Maria’s presence, feeling guilty. And, there was the ball to look forward to. That was one occasion when he’d have the upper hand – for once. She could be the one to feel awkward and embarrassed for a change. Imagining her face lit up by shock, disbelief, and anger was enough to make him feel a little giddy…an enraged Maria was a beautiful Maria.

One thing he could do, without feeling guilty, was get on her nerves.

***

The sun warmed Isabel as she walked through the garden. It was nice to be out in the fresh air. The past few days had been full of dancing and etiquette lessons, Maria had been frantically trying to prepare her guests for the ball.

Maria had insisted that she, Max, and Tess learn to dance. She’d enlisted the help of Liz, Kyle, and Alex. Isabel had learned quickly in Alex’s experienced arms, as had Max with Liz. Poor Tess had been left with Kyle, who was not much of a dancer. Maria had grown frustrated with Tess and Kyle continually collapsing in laughter as they stepped on each other’s feet and tripped around in circles. After about 30 minutes she’d dismissed Kyle and paired Tess with Max – according to Maria, Max was already a better dancer than her brother. Kyle had laughed good-naturedly and left the room.

After the dancing, Maria had worked with them each individually on greetings and introductions, polite conversation and table manners. Isabel thought Maria was wonderful, but she had been at her wit’s end when she escaped outdoors to do some reading this afternoon.

“Isabel?”

She turned to see Alex walking toward her, and she smiled at him.

“Hello, Alex.”

“Taking another stroll in the garden?”

She held up the book she was reading for him to see as he came to her side, “Reading.”

“Am I disturbing you?”

“No, no. Please, walk with me,” she grabbed his arm, hoping he would stay. She enjoyed their talks. They’d had so many over the past few days. He was so funny, and he listened to her as if everything she said was the most important thing he’d ever heard. Alex made her feel so wonderful. When she was with him she imagined leaving her ‘destiny’ behind for something completely different.

“You know, Isabel,” he looked over at her, and waved his hand toward her book, “there are many theories about why people enjoy one novel more than another.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Many people think that if you identify strongly with a particular character you’ll enjoy the book much more. Do you find that to be true?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” she glanced at him. He always had interesting questions for her.

“Well, which role in a story do you normally identify with?” he asked.

“I suppose it’s generally the heroine.”

“Oh. And, uh, other people? You know - say me, for instance. What role would you picture me playing in a story?”

This was going to be a fascinating conversation, she could tell.

“I would think of you as the amusing sidekick, Alex.”

She stopped walking and turned to face him, waiting for him to tell her what role he would see himself in. He looked as though he were disappointed. Had her answer been silly? She’d simply said the first thing that came to mind.

“That’s interesting,” he said softly, and began walking again.

Isabel moved with him. Maybe she should explain why she answered the way she did. She didn’t want him to think she was stupid, she could already feel the redness creeping up her cheeks – Alex made her feel so many new things, but embarrassment was her least favorite.

“Alex, you always make me laugh. You seem to sit back and watch a situation, never saying anything until you’ve come up with a witty observance. And it seems like you never make major mistakes like the lead in a story does, you’re always careful – you always show up in the nick of time to help…” she finished lamely, this was the first time she’d ever alluded to him saving her life.

“I see,” he said quietly, but his face still looked a little disappointed, maybe even sad.

She felt the redness climbing her cheeks faster, and although something inside of her cried out for her to stop, she finished her thought.

“I’ve always wondered why they don’t make the hero a little bit more like the amusing sidekick,” she finished quietly.

He stopped again. She turned toward him, his face was unreadable.

Alex’s voice was barely more than a whisper, and he searched her eyes as though he could find an answer to some question in them, “Isabel, you read a lot about romance. Have you ever felt like they do in the stories? Do you think you’ve ever been in love?”

She blushed - the embarrassment was in full swing. Isabel hoped that this question meant what she thought it did. Fighting the urge to run, she answered him directly.

“Not until recently.”

Isabel looked up at him, waiting for him to answer.

Silence. Was he unconvinced? Had she been wrong? Was he just making conversation?

Alex simply looked stunned. Suddenly the embarrassment overwhelmed her. He’d been making friendly conversation and she’d laid her heart at his feet. She dropped her eyes and turned to walk away from him, unbelievably embarrassed.

“Isabel,” his voice was husky and low as he grabbed her arm before she could take her first step.

Breathing in deeply, she found just enough courage to look into his eyes once more.

He looked like he was in awe.

She didn’t know who moved first, but suddenly their lips met. Her hands laced around his neck pulling him closer. One of his hands was in her hair, holding her to him – the other was thrown tightly around her waist.

She felt like she was going to burst. Every hair on her body was standing on end, and she felt as though electricity was running through her veins.

Isabel had read about first kisses, but she’d never read about anything like this - it was indescribable.

***