Yesterday's Son:Part Three

Renee quickly finished her business at the Crimson Rose. She grabbed her cloak, pulled it around her, fastened the rose brooch at the neck, and then pulled up the hood to cover her red tresses, and to hide her anxious look. She tore out the door, leaving it open for Clarissa, who was rushing madly to catch up with her mistress.

Renee untied Black Rose from the hitching post where he stood pawing at the ground. He sensed her anxiousness and was eager to go. That first night when she felt the overwhelming surge of pain the brought her to her knees, she knew that Toland was in danger. That feeling remained with her up until a few nights ago. Something told her that he was safe. She had asked many different patrons of Venice about him and yet none had seen or heard from him. As she nears Eternal Rose, she stops her stallion. She senses that Toland is near. With a click of her tongue, Black Rose starts moving again, but at a much faster pace.

"He's near," she breathes out, her voice barely above a whisper.

Clarissa nods, knowing what Renee means and follows her. Renee starts to slow as she nears the stables. She dismounts her steed, leading him into the stable, Clarissa right behind her. Upon entering, she saw Tatiana within her once empty stall. Walking towards her, she rubs her hand along the mare's forehead, whispering to her, "Welcome back Tatiana."

Renee notices the small cuts on the mare that have healed and turns to Clarissa who already has turned the mare she was riding into its stall. Clarissa reaches for the reins of Black Rose.

"Go to him M’Lady."

Renee smiles to her companion and runs out of the stables towards the house. Her velvet cloak flows behind her, the hood has fallen and her silken red hair bounces with each step. Placing her hand on the cold doorknob, she enters and stops in her tracks; his scent fills her nostrils. She rushes down the hall and through her small gallery to the spiral staircase. She ascends the staircase quickly, almost slipping in her haste, but catches herself, continuing up to the third level.

The stairs open up into their bedroom. Here she stops, smiles brightly, seeing him sleeping peacefully on the bed. She raises her hand to unfasten the rose brooch; and with a twist of her hand, the cloak twirls to lie upon the divan. She moves to him quietly, observes that he has read her letter. Standing over him, her eyes scan his inert body, a heavy sigh of relief passes over her lips and , her heart is light once again.

She leans down to kiss his forehead; silently mouthing the words “I love you”. Renee straightens up to stand there, watching him for quite a while. She looks up from him to the stairs as she hears Clarissa climbing them. Renee met her at the top landing spoke with her for a few moments before she dismissed Clarissa. She returns to Toland's side and gently runs her fingers through his hair before moving to the other side of the bed.

Slipping her boots off and then undressing, she slips into a purple satin nightgown. She walks to the balcony, locking the double glass doors. She finally returns to the bed and slips under the blankets, putting her back against him, snuggling up close to him. She smiles softly as he slips his arm around her, pulling her even closer to him. This night there shall be no tears spilled upon her pillow. Her eyes close slowly and before she knows it, she is sleeping soundly for the first time since he has been gone.

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Toland awoke with a start when Renee rolled over, throwing an arm across his chest, trying to snuggle her head in the space between his shoulder and neck. He was surprised that she was there, but glad that she was. He wraps his arms about her, running his hand gently up and down the smooth skin of her arm.

Turning his head to the side, he lightly kisses her cheek. She stirs in his embrace, drawing her legs up into a fetal position, her knees grinding painfully into his side.
Brushing her red hair back from her ear, he lightly blows into it. She lets out a disturbed whine that brings a chuckle from him as she curls more into a ball. Now her toenails graze his hip.

"Renee," he whispers, "wake up my lovely mate."

She whines again, not wanting to pull out of her comfortable position. He places a hand on her shoulder shaking her gently. "Wake up, my Prince. We need to talk," he says a little louder.

Renee's eyelids flutter, and then slowly open, the green eyes blurry with sleep. Yawning and stretching, she mercifully removes her toes and knees from him. She gets up from the bed, still stretching as she pads over to the doors opening them out to the balcony and steps out onto it. It is a cold night and snow is just starting to fall again. She stands looking up to the sky, her hair billows about her head with the wind, it glistens with snowflakes scattered through it. Her mind wanders on all that has happened over the past few nights, mostly she wonders about what had kept Toland away. She cannot quell the fear that has been plaguing her mind concerning him. Pushing the thoughts aside, she loses herself to the beauty of the night.

Throwing back the covers, Toland sits up, turning to hang his legs over the edge of the bed. His left leg aches in a dull throb. As he looks closely at the wound, he is relieved to find that it is healing well, though slowly. He takes his thin linen nightshirt from the bedpost, pulling it over his head. As he stands, it drops to just below his knees. Steadily, he walks across the room to join Renee out on the balcony. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, feigning a yawn, he stretches out his arms, lowering them around her shoulders.

She jumps slightly with his action, smiling as he nuzzles her neck, breathing in her sweet fragrance. He gazes over her shoulder down into the now barren garden, a look of sadness passes fleetingly across his face. A few of the rose bushes have dried blossoms hanging from them. One would never know their original color for they are now black with their winter death.

"The garden looks so different in the throes of winter," he sighs in her ear, sliding his arms down to encircle her waist, clasping his hands in front of her taunt belly.
Renee nods slightly, resting her arms atop his, her hands clasping over his, she speaks somberly, "The roses and lilies are gone, and they have been replaced with a beautiful blanket of pure white snow. It is a shame that to gain the beauty of one, you must lose the beauty of another."

He lowers his head until his chin rests lightly on her shoulder. Together they stand there, watching nature shroud the sadness of seasonal death with a layer of pristine snow. They need not speak, needing only the moment to hold each other in the serenity of the night.

"I have missed you greatly, Toland," she says, breaking the silence.

He squeezes her lightly, speaking apologetically, "Darling, I am so sorry that I was gone for so long. Do forgive me."

She tips her head back to look at him, "May I ask what happened? I felt the pain you were in as though it were my own."

He closes his eyes as memory of what had occurred that night floods back to him. He opens his eyes and speaks through clenched teeth, "I was attacked by lupines." Releasing her, he steps back a pace to lift his nightshirt, exposing his left thigh and the nicely healing wound. "I hope I left a bad taste in that bloody mongrel's mouth before he died at my hands."

Renee turns quickly at his remark. Seeing his leg, she claps a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp of horror. He quickly drops the nightshirt, letting it recover him, gathering her into his arms, "It is all right, Darling." he says reassuringly, feeling that it may not be enough, "it looks much better than it did that night."

The pain in her eyes and the crimson tears streaming down her pale face tore at his heart. "That explains why I felt that great pain as I did. If only I had been there!"

Taking her face into his large hands, he rubs away at the tears with the pads of his thumbs, his voice stern, "No, I am glad you were not there."

Renee's eyes were large with fright, "Toland, they could have killed you!"

"They almost did. It was fortuitous that Tatiana was able to get me as far as she did."

She smiles as she remembers how the mare looked with her own healing wounds in her stall and was grateful to the horse, "I spoke to her as I was putting Black Rose up. She is a wonderful horse, Toland. I am just glad that you have returned safely. I could not bear to lose you and it was torture not knowing what had happened to you." She suddenly moves closer to him, slipping her arms about him, hugging him tightly.

Toland smiles widely, running his hands up and down her back, feeling her tremble beneath them. "Come, Renee. Let us go back inside. I see Clarissa has stoked the fire. We need to talk."

Hand in hand, they return to the room. Renee releases his hand to place her hands upon the rose handles of the glass doors, pulling them close and flipping the latch to lock them. She turns to face into the room, "Would you like to sit on the divan or by the fire?"

He glances back at her from the fireplace as he takes the poker from its stand, stirring the fire up higher. "I would rather sit here by the fire. The warmth feels good to me right now."

She nods slightly in agreement, moving closer to him and the fire, holding out her hands to warm them before the flames. "Indeed, it does feel good."

Content that the fire is stoked, Toland returns the poker to the stand. He moves to the deep piled wool rug, set safely back from the hearth from flame, embers and ash, dropping down unto it. He pats a spot next to him for her to join him. As she makes her comfortable, he thinks of how to begin. How does he tell her that he will be leaving her again so soon? Licking his dry lips, he decides to tell her of Chadwick first.

"Renee, you have an old hermit to thank for saving my un-life."

With a puzzlement on her lovely pale face, "An old hermit?"

Nodding, he goes on to tell her of the time he spent with Chadwick, of the old man's efforts to heal him and of some of the things they talked about in the ensuing nights. He saves for last, the story of his father.

"Renee, Chadwick knew my father, my real father, and he thinks he knows where I may find him," his eyes are brightly ecstatic, "I wish to seek him out."

She sits there, staring at him, her face an array of emotions, "That's wonderful, Toland, but, when one is embraced, they are to leave their old life behind. That life matters no more. To seek it out can be difficult, because of what we are."

"I know that we have just gotten back together, but this is something I feel I must do. I grew up in that damn church thinking I was an orphan. That I was not loved by anyone but God and even He had forsaken me." he quickly amends the statement, "Well, now I have you. But, my father, Renee! If all I ever get to do is lay eyes on the man that gave me life..." he stops, overwhelmed by the possibilities.

Seeing the anguish in his face, she places a hand over his, now, un-beating heart, "Toland, I can only tell you to do what you feel in here." Her hand slides from his chest, her eyes turning to the fire, "To actually meet him would, in a sense, make your whole life worth while." She blinks away the tears that threaten to spill before facing him. "Toland, if you wish to find him, I shall not stop you."

Toland's face fills with excitement once more, "Chadwick at least gave me a starting place to begin my search. I need to find a small village in Spain called Bilboa. From what he said, my father married a woman there and had a son. To think, Renee, I may have siblings, albeit only half siblings."

Renee nods slightly, her mood not matching his. She gets to her feet and makes her way to her desk, her tears finally spilling down her pale face. When she reaches it, she pulls to her a vase holding two roses. One red, the other white, both perfect full blooms. Turning back to him, she has them cradled carefully within her hands, "Toland, you know that I love you more than I can ever say or show you." She kneels down beside him once more, holding the blossoms out to him. "These two roses shall never perish; there is nothing nature can do to them. They shall forever stay as they are since the day they were plucked. The red one, was the one you picked on the night of your embrace, the one that so enthralled you with the new beauty you saw within it. I touched it with my blood that night, telling it that it shall live as long as you are in your un-life."

Toland's eyes glaze over with the strong memory of that wondrous night. The sights, smells, sounds and feelings returned in a flood. It was as close as he would ever get to losing his virginity. With a voice husky with emotion, he speaks, "Aye, I remember that night well. It is permanently etched in my memory."

"As it is in mine," she intones.

He reaches out a tentative finger to lightly brush a petal of the white rose, "And the white one?”

Smiling now of her own memory, holding the white rose out to him, “The white rose was picked over 500 years ago, upon the night of my own embrace. Like you, it was the first beauty I became lost in, and my Sire, and my husband, did to it as I did the red rose. It shall live as long as my un-life."

Toland’s eyebrows arch. He is surprised at the age of the white rose and its relevancy. There is a new understanding as to why she is telling him this. "You wish for me to take the white rose with me on my journey, I gather?"

"That I do," she replies and goes on, "and I wish for us to renew our Blood Bond before you leave. I that way, we shall know if something were to befall the other, much as I knew of your injury the night you were attacked.”

A lusty look appears in Toland's face, "I can abide with both of those desires." He leans towards her, taking the roses from her hands, placing them aside, pushing her back onto the woolen rug.