To Have and To Hold (Mias/Elle) Part 7

Elle smiled as she watched Eris nudged a foal to stand on its own for the first time. The other foal was already nursing. That's why the birth had been so difficult. It was rare for horses to have twins…

Mias led Ares in and tied him to the gate of Eris' stall. He snorted as if to say how pleased he was.

Mias took Elle's hand and led her away saying, "Let's give them some privacy… Besides," he made a face, "I need a bath."

Elle giggled and asked, "Don't you feel anything else? Satisfaction of a good job? Pride your horse produced twins? Or just dirty?"

"Actually," he said looking at her, "I'm curious."

"About?" Elle asked.

"How did you know what to do?" He questioned taking off his shirt. They had made it back into the Manor and were undressing. They hopped into the shower and rinsed off. They scrubbed each other's backs. Mias washed the blood Elle had wiped onto her forehead off.

"Woman's intuition." Elle answered.

Mias spanked an exposed cheek, "More than that love."

Elle rubbed her bottom and waited for him to turn around. When he did, she went to pop him on the same cheek with her towel. However, Mias caught her towel, turned around, and used it to yank Elle into his arms. He leaned in for a kiss and Elle turned at the last second so he kissed her cheek.

"Don't you remember?" she asked.

"Remember what?" he released her and they went to change clothes.

"I helped your mother deliver your youngest brother. I also helped a couple of the other 'Unfortunates' when they went into labor."

"Actually, I remember my youngest brother's birth for a different reason…" Mias said quietly.

Elle also grew quiet. The only reason she had been asked to help was because she had helped the other 'Unfortunates' so many times. Most of them due to Lord Dormaeus' violent, adulterous nature. She was lucky he never chose to lay with her…

The doctor wasn't going to make it in time. When he finally DID arrive, Elle was wrapping the babe in a towel and Lady Dormaeus, Mias' mother, was dying from blood loss… She never got to hold her new son or see a new day…

"Do you know why my father never took to you?" Mias asked. He knew Elle was thinking about it because any time she thought of Lord Dormaeus or Elias' assaults, she would bite her lower lip to fight back the screams. Elias' voice echoed in her mind, 'Silent this year like all the others…'

Mias touched her lips and pulled her from the darkness and the torment. She kissed his fingers, "Why?"

"Because I picked you." Elle froze and looked up at him. His eyes were soft, but extremely possessive. "I picked you. I paid for you out of my own pocket. From the beginning you were mine." Mias said and cupped her cheek.

She jerked away, "Then why did you leave me?" Tears brimmed her eyes as she stepped back. She cried, "Why did you let Elias have me!?"

"Elle…" Mias said softly and reached for her.

She stepped back, "You knew what Elias was doing to me! Why did you let him have me if I was YOURS!?" She held herself, shaking, and screamed out of pure rage and anger. She could hear Elias' laughter in her mind. Why did they have to talk about this? Why couldn't she just forget Elias and Lord Dormaeus...forget everything!?

Mias grabbed her and she dropped like a dead weight in his arms. She wouldn't respond to him, she wouldn't look at him, she…

He struck her.

She touched her burning cheek and looked up at him. He was angry.

"Listen to me Mirelle!" he yelled. His fists shook at his side. Then, they stopped and he dropped down to his knees beside her, "Listen to me…"

Her eyes were wide, her cheek was starting to swell. She listened.

"I left so that I could keep you." He said and saw the confusion in her eyes. He continued, "I couldn't do anything about Elias. If I did, Father would have questioned my intentions with you. Why wasn't I doing the same as Elias? That's why I began to sleep with other women; to throw Elias off, make him think I had no interest in you and didn't care. It worked…but not the way I hoped.
      It angered Elias that he wasn't getting to me, even though he was. So, he began talking to Father about getting rid of you. He made claims that you were stealing, but I always proved your innocence. Then, I knew what I had to do…"

He put his palm to her face and healed the swelling, "I left. I told Father that I was leaving to continue my studies in quiet and solitude. When I told him I wanted to take you to serve at my Manor, he did exactly what I wanted him to.
      He knew that if he kept you, I would come back one day to get you. Without you, I probably wouldn't have. So, after telling him I wanted to take you with me, he made you become part of the bargain for my freedom. Knowing that you were still going to be within my grasp and not sold off, never to be seen again, was the best I could do… Guaranteeing that one day you WOULD be mine has sustained me all this time…and now I DO have you…but I don't know if you are mine…"

He helped her up from the floor and dusted her off. "I'm sorry I slapped you Elle…and I'm even more sorry that I can't force you to be mine. But that's why I've encouraged you to do as you wish and speak your mind…that way you could make that choice on your own."

He took her hand, brushed a soft kiss over the top of it, and walked away to leave her with her thoughts.

~*~*~*~

'He left me to keep me…' she thought looking out of the window of her old bedroom. 'I know that he's the magical genius of our time, but to think how he planned everything out just so I could be here with him now…'

His voice ran through her mind, 'Guaranteeing that one day you WOULD be mine has sustained me all this time...' His eyes had been hard and pleading for her to understand.

She couldn't change her past and all the bad things, she knew that. But she couldn't just forget them either...that was like running away. She had been strong, made into who she was through everything she experienced in Mias' absence. Then, it hit her.

Mias… He hadn't been able to help her past, but he was trying to change her future! He wanted to give her a new life! One where she could do what she wanted just because she could; one where she didn't have to sit and take anything from anyone! One where she was known throughout the land, not as a servant but as a Lady. One, where he had provided a home for her and someone she could talk to and depend on and…she could be with him without any trouble…

"I love him…" she whispered.

To be so smart, she felt completely moronic not to notice it before. Mias loved her too! He always had! From the very beginning, he had chosen her, defended her, secured her home at Dormaeus Manor just so he could be forced away from it…it had been his home once too... and he gave it all up FOR HER!

"MIAS!"

~*~*~*~

Mias jumped hearing Elle shout his name. The three books his magic held up so he could compare them dropped to the ground as he tore from the downstairs study to the source of her voice.

"Elle!?" he called reaching the foyer just as she ran past it upstairs. He saw her catch glimpse of him, whirl around, and jump from the second floor. He used his magic to steady her and she floated to him. He took in the sight of her:

Her golden hair floated around her like a halo, her eyes sparked with intense emotion. Her arms were stretched out toward him as if she couldn't reach him soon enough. Her white and blue dress flew behind her like wings… She was an angel…

Mias caught her and as soon as her feet touched the ground she was holding him as tightly as she could. She had started blubbering like an idiot but she didn't care as she felt him holding her just as tightly.

"You chose me." She whimpered and pulled back to see his face, "And I choose you right back."

She captured his lips and felt him smirk.

"Don't be so smug about it." She said against his mouth.

He pulled away laughing loudly and freely. She smiled as he whisked her up into his arms. He seized her lips and carried her up the stairs to their bedroom.