Macha's Journey

When she opened the door, she saw Unai"s haggard face. She thought about how the poor boy probably did not get much sleep last night. It was understandable because she would not have been able to sleep too, but luckily for her, Tyr"s presence chased away any fears she had.

Macha gave him a friendly smiled and locked up the villa. The decision she wanted from Unai was not an easy choice and she needed to make him feel comfortable. "Come, let"s have breakfast in town. I wanted to talk to you about a business opportunity." The sun shone brightly as the two walked along the pier. Unai dragging his feet and kept his eyes on the ground while Macha tried to make light conversation.

Eventually, she led Unai to a coffee shop that was located nearby. The two sat down at a table and looked at the menu. When she was ready to order, she pressed on a small disk in the middle of the table. Using a little energy, she lit it up and a waiter came by. Macha ordered juice and a m.u.f.fin while Unai just asked for water. He had not spent much time looking at the menu, so she a.s.sumed he picked what he wanted already. When she heard that all he ordered was water, she quickly added, "Three more m.u.f.fins and some milk, please." It was important that Unai looked after his health. Even if the boy did not come with them, he needed to eat and keep up his strength.

The shop had open walls and the salty sea air blew gently into the cafe. The tables were decorated with colorful parasols that constantly blew cool air onto them, this made it so it never seemed too hot, despite the sun being so high in the sky. Macha picked this place, not because of the nearness to the villa, but because of the bright colors that would hopefully influence Unai"s disposition. She understood it was a difficult time for him because of his mother"s death, but she wanted to give him a little moment of peace.

After a little more small talk, she noticed his mood lighten up slightly. As they ate she inquired, "Do you have any plans now that your mother pa.s.sed away?" Macha understood this question seemed callous, but she needed to know if he had any dreams or obligations he needed to fulfill. If other responsibilities tied him down, she did not want to pressure him to come with them.

Unai shook his head and played with a napkin. "I dunno. I"ll probably just keep running the tavern." He did not know what else to do. The tavern was the only thing he knew how to do, it was his life. The worry of how he would survive as well as his mother"s death kept him up last night. Now he was all alone, and that realization made him feel scared.

Macha nodded her head. "Would you be willing to move to Ma.r.s.eille? I wanted you to open a pie shop there. Of course, you wouldn"t need to worry about the costs since I would open it with you. We could become partners and do a fifty-fifty split."

Unai looked at Macha as if she were crazy. He did not understand why this woman would be so nice to him. From the moment she met him, she had been a protective spirit who has been constantly helping. "Macha, I owe you my life. If you asked me to jump off a ship, I would. You don"t need to do fifty-fifty. I am nothing and only have my recipes to offer. I"m useless."

Macha stood up and pointed a finger at Unai. She reprimanded him, "Never say you"re useless. Everyone is important. It will be a fifty-fifty. Your pies are amazing and I want you to share them with the world. I only want you to do this if you want to. You don"t owe me anything. I"m asking if you will join me in this business."

Hearing that he was not useless made Unai smile. No one told him he was important since his father died. He thought Macha was the weirdest woman he ever met. The rich were not supposed to care about people like him. She did not have to save his life or give him a half-way split in this business. When he looked at her, she seemed to radiate confidence and it gave him hope for his future. "I want to. Thank you for your offer."

Macha smiled and shook his hand as she sat down. "Excellent! Unai, you"re going to make so many people happy. Oh, and while we wait for the shop to be built, I want you to go to school. I think it"s important for you to get a good education." She added this in at the end because she could tell that while he was a good kid, he did not have a real education. Reading the menu took him quite a while, and she suspected he asked for water because he did not learn how to read.

****

When Tyr got to the local police station, the guard he caught was being questioned. He grew annoyed as the hours pa.s.sed. They interrupted him this morning but did not need him until later that afternoon. They had him sit in a chair and wait for someone to finish the questioning. This whole process was inefficient. He found the local police to be lazy and unorganized.

Tyr found out the drug the gang was making was called Purple Rain. Purple Rain had been invented a few years ago and causes memories to become more intense and realistic. The side effect of an overdose resulted in death and the reanimated body hungered for warmth and felt no pain. They made this drug from some combination of fairies and demon bodies. The interaction between the two is what made the bodies come back with such ferociousness.

After Tyr added clarifications to his report, getting a write up on Purple Rain took another few hours. At this point, he truly believed the local police had a skill for making things take longer than necessary. There were only seven officers, but they needed to fill out many forms and found themselves neck high in bureaucracy. His request for an official report for Freyr needed to be handed between the seven officers ten times. Each time they would reread the request.

While Tyr sat on a chair, he fantasized about what he wanted to do to Macha when he got back. Tonight would be their last night in Jimbaran and he wanted to show Macha the depth of his love. He still worried that he would not please her, but this morning"s lovemaking helped to ease his nervousness.

Tyr loved hearing Macha call his name. Her accent usually made her words come out gentle, but when she said his name this morning, it had a rough urgency to it. He looked at the clock on the wall. It was well past dinnertime, and he wanted to go.

Half an hour later, the police gave him the write up on Purple Rain that he could bring back for Freyr. Tyr took the paper and rushed back to the villa. He did not want to waste any more of this short vacation.

Tyr entered the villa and the sound of Macha taking a shower could be heard from the living room. He considered entering the shower with her but wondered if it was too early for him to do that. He wanted her to get used to being intimate with him and comfortable with his body.

Tyr remembered how small Macha was, and a cold panic seized his heart. He worried that their size difference might affect their s.e.x. He remembered that he had not been able to please Fenrir, and they were a similar height. Macha being two heads smaller than he might make it even harder for them to enjoy intimacy. Tyr ran his fingers through his hair and paced the kitchen.

He looked out at the moonlit sea and reflected on how Macha was such a small woman, yet being with her terrified him. The sound of the water turning off drained away the rest of his courage. He second-guessed if he would be able to have s.e.x with her. If he performed poorly, she might not want to be with him. It was also possible Macha would hide how she really felt about him and cheat on him like Fenrir had. These anxieties stripped Tyr of his earlier confidence and he concluded their relationship would be better off as it was. He convinced himself that there were other ways to please Macha without having s.e.x with her.

Macha peeked her head out of the bedroom. When Tyr entered the villa, she expected him to come to join her in the shower, but he did not. All day she fantasized about finishing what they started this morning and believed showering together would be a good chance to start the night. "Tyr," Macha called, she felt shy having to ask him to join her. "Come, I can wash your back."

Tyr"s eyes widened. Seeing the wet drops of water on her shoulders made him want to kiss them away. "Oh, I can shower after. I didn"t eat anything all day and wanted to...," he looked around, "eat this fruit." He realized there was no way he could hold back if he took a shower with her.

Macha smiled and wrapped a towel around her. She walked into the kitchen. "I picked you up a chocolate pie from Unai"s place. I thought you might want to try it." As she pa.s.sed him, she trailed her hands along his back. She cut a slice for Tyr and put it on a plate.

Tyr was happy to receive a treat but grew concerned because Macha did not go to finish her shower. He accepted the plate from her and sat down. The pie was delicious and it amazed him that such a rundown tavern could produce food of this quality. As he ate his food, Macha"s arms wrapped around his neck and started to unb.u.t.ton his shirt. Tyr jumped out of his seat. "Could I have another slice?"

She did not expect Tyr to jump at her touch. Her pride felt slighted, but she a.s.sumed it was because the pie had been so delicious. Macha took his plate and served him another slice. "I wanted to bring Unai back with us and open a shop with him in the guild"s food district. Is that all right with you?" She handed him back the plate.

This time, Tyr ate standing up and looked out at the water. "That"s fine. You can put his shop wherever you want." This was the first time Macha scouted someone, and he had no qualms with the quality. His thoughts were on where the best place for the shop would be when Macha"s hands wrap around his waist and unbuckled his belt. He inhaled his pie and moved to put the plate in the kitchen.

Macha stood and watched Tyr move away from her. She tried to figure out what she did wrong. Her pride hurt and she turned to stare at the water. She did not want him to see her face.

Tyr washed the plate and called over to her, "Macha, why don"t you go finish your shower? I don"t want you to catch a cold." He noticed she was looking out at the water and thought they could have some rum outside after they cleaned up. When she turned, he saw a pained expression on her face as she made her way to the bedroom.

After she left the room, he hit his head against a cabinet. Tyr understood he upset Macha. He debated following her but hesitated. Instead, he flopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. He thought about how he wanted to make love to her. He wanted to do it over and over until she begged him to stop, but he continually found himself hesitating. Tyr did not want to admit that he, the Captain of the Obsidian Dragons, was scared of anything, but in his heart, he knew he was scared.