JUST ONE LAST TASTE PART 7



While Maya watched the little girl run out the door, the room started to turn into a blur and spin. When everything cleared she found herself in a large room that was covered with almost all things pink. It looked as if a bottle pepto bismo spilled and wasted all over the room. Maya looked in the corner of the room and saw the little girl sitting on her bed, holding the black knight in her hand playing with it. While Maya continued to watch the little girl she, saw the figure of the king slowly walking towards the little girl on the bed.

"Maya my princess.", said the King.

"Yes father.", said the little girl looking up at him.

"I know you were suppose to leave and visit Armand and General Terminar tomorrow, but there has been some change in plans."

"A change in plans father?... I promised Armand that I would return his knight to him."

"I know you did my child, but something has happened and you will not be able to do it now, but I promise one day you will be able to return the black knight to Armand."

The little girl dropped her face from the king and toyed with the knight in her fingers. She then looked up at her father and when she looked upon him, she had tears streaming down her cheeks.

The king looking very concerned sat down on the edge of the bed and told the little girl to come sit on his lap. The little girl left her side of the bed and crawled over to where the King was sitting and sat on his lap with her arms around his neck. The king hugged the little girl tightly and laid a kiss on her head and with a small sigh said to the little girl.

"Maya, life is very unpredictable, sometimes we make plans to do things and then they get interrupted suddenly and we can't do anything, but to adjust our lives accordingly.

"Yes, father." Whimpered the little girl.

"What I am trying to say my love, is that the reason why you cannot go visit Armand and the General is because a war has broken out with one of our settlements and it is my duty as the king to protect all those who are under my realm. Therefore, the General and his army, with the aid of the Shadows will be leaving today."

Maya lifted her head off the King's shoulders and looked at him and said.

"What are the Shadows? I have heard you talk of them before father, but I do not know what they are."

The king smiled down at the little girl and gently started stroking her hair with his hand.

"Child, by the way you talk to me, sometimes I forget that your only ten years old. You're mom would be upset with me for telling you this, but you do need to know.  The shadows are a group of men and women who will stop at nothing to protect you and the realm we live in. They are part of something special and one day when you're grown up enough to rule, I will tell you about them and all they have done to protect us"

"Why don't we see the shadows?", asked the little girl.

Laughing the king said," Well, then they wouldn't be true to their name would they?"

Laughing herself the little girl then asked.

"What is going to happen to Armand now that his father is away?"

"Armand has been sent to live with a distant relative until the General returns"

"Will I ever get to see him again Father?"

"I am sure you will my child.", said the King as he continued holding the little girl in his lap.

            As Maya looked upon the pair the room again started to change, this time splashes of colors started bursting everywhere around her and after they had burst they then dissolved into the air.

This time when Maya looked around the room, she saw that she was still in the little girl's room, but things had changed. The bed that was sitting in the corner of the room was no longer a child's bed, but a queen size bed and the room didn't look like it had been attacked by a pink monster. On the contrary, the room was decorated with dark wooden furniture and splashes of teal blue and chocolate brown covered the room. Across the room Maya saw a young girl staring at herself in the mirror. She had on a beautiful purple dress that was simply made. There were white flowers around the boarder of it. The length of her dress came just above her knee and the way it shimmered brought great contrast to her chocolate skin. Maya watched the young girl in the mirror fuss with her curly hair that hung loosely around her shoulders. On top of her head she wore a mini crown that was encrusted with diamonds and it shimmered bright in the light as the young girl continued to fuss with her hair. A few moments later, a small petite woman came in to the room.

"Your majesty, must you fuss with your hair so? You look beautiful and I am sure everyone there will think so too!", said the petite woman

"I know Alice!", said the young girl. "I am not worried about what everyone else thinks. I am just you know… nervous…"

"Nervous my lady?"

"Yeah Alice... I haven't seen Armand in over eight years and I wonder what he looks like now. I wonder if he will recognize me?"

"My Lady I am sure that even though it has been eight years and you're now a full grown woman of eighteen, I do believe that Armand well remember you."

"Thanks Alice, you always know how to cheer me up."

"You're welcome my lady. Anything for my future Queen."

As Maya continued to watch the pair in the mirror, an overwhelming feeling of joy spread through here.

I totally forgot that Alice has been with me all my life. No wonder she was nervous when she saw me in that dark room. I am going to have to apologize to her next time I see her.

The room started to change again and this time Maya was standing in the middle of a big throne room. There were party decorations all around the room and streamers of purple and gold were entwined with each other as they decorated the ceiling and walls. In the room there were a multitude of people. Men were shaking hands and discussing business  and about the world's trade. While women were politely greeting each other and admiring each other's dresses. There was a great band of musicians playing in the corner of the room, eloquently dressed, with hats that had feathers sticking out of them and black frocks with black pants. She continued looking about the room and suddenly saw a cascade of stairs that were covered in plush red velvet and lined with gold on the seams. Above the stairs on the platform sat three gold thrones, all three sat side by side each other, while the one in the middle was slightly ahead of the other two and was much larger. The one on the right was slightly smaller than the middle chair, but bigger than the one on the left.  The throne on the left was smaller, but equal to the other two in beauty.

In the middle chair sat the King, he was dressed in his purple cloak that was outlined with white fur and he wore black pants with a black shirt. He also was holding his golden scepter in his right and his head was adorned with his golden crown.  To the right of him sat the Queen, she was very pretty with long black hair that hung just above her shoulders. She had a kind face and a warm smile. She wore a black dress that went just below her knees and also had on a red cloak that was outlined in white fur and wore a golden crown on top of her head.
As soon as Maya looked upon the Queen,  tears started to leave her eyes. She realized how much she missed her mom and she wish that she could just go up there and put her arms around her.

To the left of the king sat the young girl and Maya watched the young as she seemed to be scanning the room anxiously.

"Be still my child said the King."You shall look upon your young friend soon enough"

"Yes, father," said the young girl sullenly,

Maya noticed that the crowd started to split in two, letting these two male figures walk through them to the thrones. Not wanting to miss who these people were, Maya ran through the crowd, up the steps and stood beside the young girl; just so that she could get a better look at the these two people that he crowd parted ways for.  As she watched them approach, she noticed that one of the men looked much older than the other, he had long grey hair and he wore a red shirt with black pants that had cuffs at the end of them. His face looked like it was sunken in and he eyes were beaded and small and his skin had a reddish tent to it, like he had been in the tanning bed to long. On top of his head he wore a crown that looked like it had been made of bones or something similar to bones. The other male beside him was younger and handsome. He had long golden hair with piercing blue eyes. He too wore a red shirt with black pants that were cuffed at the bottom of them. Confidence radiated from this man and you could see a hint of glimmer from his eyes.

They made their way to the top of the steps and kneeled down before the King and his family.

"Rise", said the King. "King Raymore, it is indeed a honor to have you here for my daughter's birthday"

Lord Raymore lifted himself up and said to the King," The honor is all ours mine your Kingship and may I present to you and your family my son, Prince Shagaar  the future ruler of the realm of Venior.

"It is our honor to greet you on this joyous occasion King Raymore. Please feel free to enjoy yourself. We have food, wine and great music. The festivities will take place soon."

"Thank you, your Kingship my son and I will be delighted! Also, my Lord we have heard many rumors of your daughters beauty, no doubt they come from her Queen. In token of that, we have bought Princess Maya a gift."

Prince Shagaar put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small box. He then went and stood in front of the young girl and kneeled before her, holding the box, he stretched out his arm with the small box in the palm of his hand. The young girl looked down at the Prince Shagaar and took the box. Shargaar lifted his head and gave her a wink with a sly smile and then dropped his head again.  The box was covered with red like foil and there was a pink ribbon on top. The young girl carefully untied the ribbon and unwrapped the foil. She then opened the box and saw a small red ruby bracelet that had diamonds nestled in between each stone.

Prince Shagaar then lifted himself up from his knees and took the bracelet from the box and gently fastened the bracelet around the young girl's arm. Prince Shagaar then took the young girl's hand and kissed it. Flabbergasted by the sudden gesture, the young girl just stood there and stared at Prince Shaggar for a few seconds.
Then she said in a shaky voice, " You do me honor Princess Shagaar with this beautiful gift."

"The honor is all mine Princess Maya. If you would permit me I would ask you a favor?"

"Such as?"

"I would be most honored if you would allow me to have the first dance with you tonight?
Maya still stunned by the gifted, looked at Prince Shagaar and said, "Yes… I mean it would be a pleasure to dance with you this evening."

Prince Shagaar bowed to Maya and went back to stand beside his father. King Raymore turned to the young girl and said, "Princes Maya, my heart swells with pride and I look forward to seeing you and Prince Shagaar dance later on this evening."

King Raymore then bowed to the royal family and turned around walked away. Prince Shaagar mimicked his father's movements and followed after him.

While Maya watched King Raymore and Prince Shagaar descend down the steps back to the throne room floor, she couldn't help but notice an older General Terminar come up after them. He was still very physically fit for a man of his age and you could see gray patches starting to form in his beard. Beside him was a younger man who was the same height as he, but he was skinnier, with long arms and legs. He had a strong chin with brown and eyes and short black hair that was cut in a low fade. As they approached the thrones, Maya noticed the excitement in the younger males' eyes as they were locked on the young girl. Maya looked between the two and realized that the young man beside General Terminar was Armand.  No sooner did they reach the throne's landing when the King got off his throne and walked up to General Termniar shook his hand and gave him a big hug.

"Aye, General Termniar! How good it is to see you! , "exclaimed the King."And this must be young Armand!"

Armand stood before the king and bowed to him. "It is a pleasure to see you again your Majesty", said Armand.

"The pleasure is all mine.", said the King "Let me introduce to you her royal highness and of course I know you remember Princess Maya."

Armand bowed before the Queen and she smiled and nodded at him, he then turned to face the young girl. When he looked upon her, Maya could see something striking in  Armand's eyes.  He walked boldly to the young girl's throne and kneeled before her.

"Princess Maya, It's been long, since I've last seen you, but please allow me to give you this token of our friendship for your birthday.", said Armand in a rich masculine voice.

Maya and the young girl watched as Armand pulled out of his pocket a small white box that had a purple ribbon tied around it. Armand got off his knees and handed the young girl the box and as he did so, he also grabbed her hand, bowed down and kissed it, then looked back up at the girl smiled and walked away.  Shaking nervously, the young girl opened the box and found a small silver necklace and on the necklace was silver rose pendent.

"Beautiful." Whispered the young girl.

She slowly stood up from her throne and walked over to Armand. As Maya watched her walk over him, she noticed how Armand's eyes would travel up and down her body. She could also see a slight shiver move through the young girl as she got closer to Armand. When they were face to face, the girl smiled at Armand and said,

"Armand my friend, I have longed to see you and keep my promise to you."
She then put her hand in a pocket on her dress and pulled out the miniature black knight. "I have kept this for you, these many years and now I am able to return it to its rightful owner."

Laughing Armand took the miniature knight in his hand and said, "Thank you for keeping this for me. It means a lot to me that you have kept my mother's gift, but I would ask that you would keep it a little while longer and allow me to return to you, to retrieve it another day."

Smiling the girl said, "I would be honored to continue holding on to your precious gift on one condition."

"And that is…", said Armand huskily

"That is if you will so kindly put this necklace around my next and dance with me at least once tonight."

"That my princess.", said Armand "I can most gladly do"

The young girl handed Armand back the box and he took out the necklace. The young girl then turned her back to him and waited for Armand to put the necklace around her neck.  Suddenly, she felt warm fingers trail down her shoulders to her neck and her collar bone. The cool sensation of the necklace mixed with the warmth of Armand's fingers, were almost intoxicating for the young girl.

When Armand had finished fastening the necklace upon the young girl's neck, Maya watched him as he whispered into the young girl's ear," How beautiful you are my Princess and thank you for wearing this." then he dropped his hands from her shoulders and walked away.

The girl turned around and faced him and said, "Thank you Armand and General Terminar for this lovely gift."

General Terminar said, "All thanks should go to Armand your highness. He had that specially made just for you."

The young girl turned back to Armand and said, "Armand, above all gifts, this is one I will cherish the most."

"Thank you, your highness, I am well pleased", said Armand.

Armand then left and went to stand beside his father once again.

Maya noticed that the King and General Terminar gave each other a sly nod and smile and then the King went and stood on the edge of the platform and said,

"Thank you all for coming out to celebrate Princess Maya's eighteenth birthday! I trust you will enjoy the food, music and games that we have to offer. Now, without any delay let the celebration dance begin!"



JUST ONE LAST TASTE PART 6



Armand carried Maya into the other room and laid her gently into a plush velvety red chair that was in the corner of the room.  Maya looked upon her surroundings and noticed that the room was  a fairly large one, that was well lit. To the left of her was Armand who was kneeling beside her, holding her hand gently and using his thumb to rub across her palm. The movement was soft and tender and it calmed all her nerves. Again, she didn’t know why Armand had such an effect on her, but she was determined to find out why.  To the front of her sat the Old Lady upon a stool.   Maya looked at the Old Lady curiously and tried to see her Grandmother in her.  She remembered the times that she spent in her grandmother’s arms, how they would spend countless nights in front of the fire talking about life and lessons learned and she remembered the love that her grandmother had shown her through all her life.  This woman in front of her looked like her grandmother, but she was different and Maya not sure of what to do, just sat there silently waiting for the Old Lady to speak.

“Maya.” Spoke the Old Lady. “I know that when you look upon me, that you are confused and maybe a little scared.  I didn’t mean to deceive you my child, but my main goal was your safety and I hope you understand we did what had to in order to protect you.”

Maya looked at the Old Lady and said, “Are you or are you not my grandmother?  If you are then what the hell are you doing here and if you’re not then where is she and what have you done with her?”

Lifting herself off the stool the Old Lady walked over to a table that  seemed to be sitting in the center of the room and lifted a tea pot and poured three cups. The liquid that came out was of a greenish color and she added  two table spoons of  what looked like honey and some crushed up purple flowers. She then brought the cups to Maya on a tray.

She looked at Maya and said, “ Take my child and Armand you take one too.”

Armand still holding on to Maya’s hand lifted himself up and took one of the cups. Maya  just looked at the tray  and said, “ I didn’t ask you those questions to get something to drink. I asked you, so I can find out the truth. I want to know why was I kidnapped and why did you two keep referring me as if I was a different person?”

Sighing, the Old Lady looked at Maya and said,

 “My child what is truth?  Within each and every one of us there is a form of truth that is based on what we will let ourselves believe. Armand and I can sit and tell you about yourself and let you know what is going on, but after we are finished would you believe us?  Would you believe that, you are the daughter of one the most powerful beings in the moonlight realm? Would you believe that we fight for not only the good of your people, but the people of this world to? That what is buried within is the power to control life and death? No, my child you would not believe, but merely say that we are lying to you and that we have done you wrong and a cruel injustice. So my child, I will tell you everything, but in order to do so, you must drink this and Armand and I will not just tell you who you are, but better yet, we will show you.”

 

Maya hesitantly looked at the cup. She could see the purple flowers slowly start to dissolve in the greenish liquid. She timidly picked up the cup and brought it towards her nose.  As she breathed in, she could smell the hint of fresh cut green grass, laced with the scent of lavender and sweetened by the dash of honey that was put into the mix.  The Old Lady picked up the third cup and sat back down upon the stool. She looked up at Maya and Armand and said,

“What you have in front of you is an elixir called belladoria, it is used to help transfer memories from one to another.  In most cases my children we would not need to use this, but since Maya power’s had to be bound in order to protect her, then this is what is needed.  Once we drink  this  I need you both to relax, Armand I will need you to open your mind to Maya and to me and Maya I will need you to not fight, but to trust me. I will guide you both through your memories and from there you will learn the truth.”

Maya turned from the Old Lady and looked at Armand. He looked at her, nodded his head and gulped down the contents in the cup.  Maya then turned back to the Old Lady and looked at her cup.

I need to know the truth. I need to know what is happening to me and why am I so drawn to a man that I only met a day ago. I need to know who is this woman who raised me as her granddaughter  and I need to know who and what I am.

Maya took the cup and gulped it down quickly. Instantly a warm feeling started to spread all over her. Her body became very hot and she could feel a tingling moving up her spine.  Before she knew it, she starting to panic, her breathing became very harsh and she started to shake all over.  Just as she thought she was about to die, she felt a cool presence upon her skin and heard a whispering in her ear.  She then realized that Armand was still holding her hand and his cool words were soothing her and calming down.

“Maya my love.” Whispered Armand, “Calm down, your defensives are up and I know you don’t know what I mean, but in order for me to help. I need you to trust me and let me in.”

“How do I do that?”, said Maya

“Just breathe in deeply and let the sound of my voice wash over you. Let it cool the burning inside of you, trust in it and know that I love you and would never hurt you.”

Maya started taking deep breaths and slowly let her body relax. As she did so she felt a sudden release of pressure that she had been holding on to. As soon as the pressure was gone and the warm feeling returned to her body, but this time it  was mixed with a hint of coolness. The sensation was new and exotic to her. The coolness of Armand’s presence and warmth of her seemed to intertwine within one another, they were different but equal in part. If was almost like they were made for one another. The feeling felt so right and so beautiful to Maya that she wanted stay in that state for as long as she could, but soon she heard voice of the Old Lady.

“Now my children listen I need you to think back. Think back to the time when all events started to take place, where life for you changed.”

Maya was suddenly caught up in a world wind for colors. Blue, gold, red and green start whizzing by her, swirling around and in gulfing her it’s pure essence. She felt like her body was weightless and that she was flying in the air and suddenly she landed.  When she finally got her bearings she looked around her and saw that she was standing in a large room with an enormous fire place against the wall. The room was elegantly furnished with chairs and cushions spread throughout the area.  As Maya continued to look she noticed that there was a skinny little boy sitting in the center of the floor playing with two miniature figurines.  The little boy had short black hair and he was dressed in a modest style of clothes. She noticed that one of the figures was of a wooden knight that was painted grey.  The knight was equipped with a blue shield in one hand and a yellow lance in the other, while he sat upon a white horse.  The second figure was of another wooden knight that was painted black. It too was equipped with a shield painted yellow and with a red lance in the other hand, while he also sat upon a brown horse.

“Bam, Bam, take that you coward! I will protect the king at all cost!  Bam, Bam!”, yelled the little boy.  Maya almost laughed as she watched the little boy play. He was so into what he was doing she was afraid that if she laughed out loud she would startle him. Even though she knew that this was a memory of some sort, she didn’t want to take the chance of alerting any attention to her. 

A few minutes went by as the little boy played when a figure came into the room. It was a little girl who was dressed ina pink dress that had mini little pink and white bows circling the dress.  The little girl’s hair was dark brown and it was pulled back into two small pigtails that were held together by white and pink ribbons.  The little girl was very cute and she looked shock to find a small boy playing on the floor in the room.  The little girl walked right up to the boy and said.
“Excuse me, but who are you and why are you in my father’s chambers?”  The little boy stopped playing looked up at the girl,  then he looked back down and returned to playing with his figurines.  The little girl was  clearly annoyed that this boy didn’t answer her question asked the boy again.

“Excuse me!”, she said loudly, “Who are you and what are you doing in my father’s the king’s chambers?”

While still play with his figurines, the little boy answered in a soft voice, “I am in your father’s chambers because my father is visiting your father.”  Thinking that was enough the little boy went silent again, but continued smashing his figurines into each other.  The little girl seemed to be taken back by the little boy’s response that she asked him, “Boy! What is your name and old are you?”.  The little boy replied, “My name is Armand and I am 10 years old.”

Armand! Oh my God! That can’t be Armand, look how small he was and frail.

“Yes, my child that is Armand.”, said the Old Lady in Maya’s head.  “Continue to watch, listen and learn then you will know and see the truth that there is.”

The little girl then asked the little boy, “Well, Armand where is my father? Which room is he in?  I would like to speak to him.”

The little boy responded, “They are in the king’s office. My father told me to say out here and keep out of trouble and that is what I am going to do.”

“What are they meeting about?", asked the little girl.

Armand didn’t respond to the little girl, but continued playing with his figurines.  Tired of trying to pry information out of Armand the little girl went over and sat down beside him and watched him play for a while.

“Those are some nice figurines.”, said the little girl.  “Where did you get them?”

As if those were the magic words, Armand stopped playing with his toys and looked up at her. He stared at her for a few seconds before he answered. “My mother gave these to me for my birthday last year, but she died three months after that.”

Shocked by his response, “Sorry.”, was all that the little girl could say.

Armand then picked up the black knight figurine and handed it to the little girl. “Here”, he said. “Let’s play and wait for our fathers to come out.”

The little girl took the figure from Armand and started playing with him.  Thirty minute had gone by before Maya saw two men walk into the room. One of the men was dressed in a purple cloak that was lined with white fur.  He stood about 5’9 in height and he adorned a gold necklace that had different colored gems set in it.

He wore two gold rings on one hand and he carried a golden staff that was in crusted with jewels in the other. The man looked to be middle age and slightly built. His skin was of the shade of light brown and his eyes were deep and black.  His short black hair that was peppered with grey streaks and he wore a golden crown on top of his head. Maya realized that this was the little girl’s father the king. She thought he was handsome and his eyes showed that he was a stern king, but kind.  The man beside the king was about 5’ 10 and wore black cotton pants, with a white cotton shirt that seemed a little too small for his muscular body. He was bald headed with dark brown eyes and with black facial hair that went from one ear to the other.  He was also a handsome man and you could see power behind his eyes. 

“Well,” said the king. “I believe we have an audience waiting for us.”

Laughing the other man said, “Yes your majesty, I believe we do. Come here my son and introduce yourself to his majesty the king.”

“Yes sir.”, stammered Armand  as he rose up from the floor and went and kneeled in front of the king.

“My name is Armand your Majesty. I am the eldest son of Teminar the General of your royal highnesses Moonlight army and of the shadow brigade.  I am honored that you have allowed me to kneel before you in your presence.”

Laughing the king said, “The honor is mine as well mine young Armand.  Teminiar, I see you have raised a fine son.”

“Thank you your majesty, absent his mother, I have done my best with the boy.  He is still on the small side, but he will grow into himself with time.”

“That he will”, said the king. “Armand, I see you have already been introduced to my daughter, Princess Maya of the Moonlight realm.  Maya, come here so that General Teminiar may have a better look at you.”

Stunned and shocked Maya watched in utter disbelief as the little girl got up from the floor and walked her way over to king.  She curtsied for the General and said, “I am honored to meet you General Terminar.”

“The honor is all mine.”, said the General as he bowed down took the little girl’s hand and kissed it.

“Armand.”, said the King. “I see that you were able to keep my little princess occupied while your father and I conversed on some important matters. Not an easy thing to do since I know that her highness can be very demanding and impatient at times.” , said the king laughing.

With a shock on her face the little girl said, “I am not impatient father.”

Smiling the King said, “Hush child. I was only playing with you.”

“Well, said the General “I guess its high time Armand and I get back to our home.”

“Where is home for you?” said the little girl.

“Home my sweet princess is east of the castle on the edge of star lake.”

“Wow!”, said the little girl. “You live there!  My nanny told me stories of the lake and how beautiful it was. She said at night could see the stars swimming in the water. Is that true General?”

Smiling the General said,” Yes, my princess it is true. Maybe one day with the King’s permission you can visit Armand and me and we can show you the lake and all it as to offer. Won’t we Armand?”

Armand looked up at his father and then he turned and looked at the princess. This time he looked at as if he was seeing her for the first time and stammered “Yes father.”

“Well that settles it, your majesty whenever the princess is ready, send word and I will escort her to my home.”

“Well do.”, said the King. “General Let me walk you to the door”

As the General and the King started walking towards the door, Armand walked towards the little girl and said, “Here I want you to have this.” Then Armand held out his hand and placed one of the wooden knight figurines in the little girl’s hand.

“I want you to have the grey one.”, said Armand. “When my mom was living she and I use to play together all the time. Her favorite was the grey one. I figured when you come to visit, you can bring it with you and we can play then.”  And before the little girl could say anything the General yelled out Armand’s name.

 “Coming father!” yelled Armand.

He then turned back towards the little girl grabbed her hand and kissed it. Then he stood back looked at her again and took off running towards the door.

Shocked the little girl and Maya just stood there for awhile. When they were gone the king walked back to the little girl and said, “Well my daughter your only ten years old, but you have already managed to obtain a suitor and a damn good one at that. Armand will grow up to be a fine good man.”

“I don’t know what you mean”, said the little girl

“Oh, you will in time my love. Now, go and tell your mom the Queen, that you will be leaving in two weeks to visit the General at star lake… okay?

“Yes, father.”, said the little girl happily.

And Maya watched as the little girl dashed out of the chamber’s door.

Please stay tuned for Part 6 of “Just One Last Taste”. I hope you all enjoyed it and feel free to leave comments and follow the blog.



JUST ONE LAST TASTE PART 3



As Maya stepped into Armand’s apartment, she felt like she was stepping into something familiar. There was a spice in the air that seemed to trigger all her senses. The warm scent of cinnamon and vanilla mixed with a hint of nutmeg enveloped her like a fitted glove clutching close to her skin, soothing any anxiety she might have felt earlier. As she continued looking around the living room, she noticed that the walls were nicely decorated with abstract paintings and few tribal masks that were a lined neatly against them. She also noticed that his furniture was strangely comforting and it was nothing like she would have pictured for a man like Armand. 

His brown plush couch and loveseat were fixed caddy cornered to each other with a flat screen TV adjacent to them on the wall.  On the other side of the room was a mahogany dining table that was big enough for two people to sit and eat at comfortably.  After her quick inspection of the room, Maya took a glance at Armand. He was dressed in washed out jeans and he too wore a red shirt with sleeves that were raised just about his arm so that every time he moved you could see his muscles slightly contract. She dared herself and took a glance into his eyes: there was hunger there, none that she has ever seen on a man before. Any person in their right mind would be bolting towards the door never to look back, but yet, she wasn’t afraid of him. What she saw behind his eyes didn’t scare her, but excited her; as if it was speaking to her, assuring that everything was going to be okay. They regarded each other for a few seconds and then Maya turned her head back to the living room, took a deep breath and said, “You have a lovely home.”

“Thank you. It’s not much but it serves it purpose for now … Please May I take your coat?", asked Armand in his heavily rich and accented voice that seem to have dropped a few octaves lower.

“Umm sure”, said Maya “

Laughing Armand took Maya’s coat in his arms and put it on the coat rack that was hanging beside the door.

“Well!”, said Armand “Please have a seat.  Would you like something to drink? I have red wine chilling or I have some coke if you prefer?”

Smiling Maya said, “Red Wine please.” 

“Great choice.”, said Armand

And with that he left Maya sitting on the couch as he went back to the kitchen area to get her a glass of wine. While she waited for Armand to return, she got up and started walking towards the paintings on the wall. There were six of them and each one was placed in a perfect line one beside the other.  The first one had swirls of blue and gold that looked almost like ribbons dancing with each other in perfect harmony. There was a sense of peace about this painting, a harmony that she felt she once knew a long time ago.  The second painting had colors of orange and green and as she stared at it, she could almost see a rich forest penetrating through it. Life seemed to radiate through the painting, it felt like it represented the beginning of all things. Again, she felt like she knew this painting and it was speaking to her spirit as much as the other one was.  As she continued looking at each painting, the feeling of familiarity became stronger with each one that she assessed.  

The last painting on the wall had the colors of black and red that were swirled and intertwined with one another.  As she stared at the painting something seemed to snap within her soul. Not only was this painting familiar, but she understood the meaning of its passion and of its sorrow, two emotions that were on separate sides of the spectrum, but worked together in a perfect  union. She took her finger and she slowly and gently started following the lines within the painting, stroking the curves of the red swirls and out lining the brush strokes of the black lines

Why do I know this painting? Why do they feel so real to me, like they are mine?

She was so entranced with the painting that she jumped when felt Armand's warm hand on her shoulder.

“Beautiful isn’t it?”, said Armand huskily. As she looked up at him she could see his gaze heavy upon her face and she watched his eyes as they lingered upon her lips.

Licking her lips Maya whispered, “Yes, it is… where did you get it?”

His hand slowly started to caress her shoulder, using his thumb to make circular movements on the back of her shoulder blade.  With his eyes still fixed on her lips Armand said, “I have had these paintings for many years.  A person very close to me painted them and when they had to leave, I kept them in hopes to one day to return it to them.”

“Where did the person go?”, said Maya.

Armand dropped his hand from Maya’s shoulder and handed her a glass filled with red wine.

“Here is your wine, please taste and let me know what you think of it. I doubt that you will find another like it.”

Maya took the glass in her hand and no sooner did she put the glass to her lips that the sweet aroma of the wine aroused her senses. As she tasted the wine an explosion of vibrant strawberries that had been laced with the hint of sun kissed kiwis tickled and played with her tongue.

“Wow!” exclaimed Maya. “This is good!”

Laughing Armand said, “I am glad you like, it was made from my personal vineyard.”

“Really?”, said Maya. “I didn’t know… I mean… you own a vineyard?”

“Yes, I own a vine yard and many other things that I would like to share with you in time.”

“What do you mean by that?”, said Maya.

With his hand stretched out he said, “Come let us dine together.”

“Okay…” stammered Maya as she took his hand. He led her across the room to the dining room table. As they got closer to the table she noticed that the table was eloquently set with a medium sized candelabra in center of the table. The candelabra was surrounded by red and white rose petals and the silver laced plates glistened under the candle light.  Armand pulled a chair out for Maya and beckoned her to sit down. He then disappeared into the kitchen. As Maya sat there she couldn’t shake the feeling that she has done this before.

Why do I feel like I know this man. I only met him today; I should not be having these kinds of feelings towards him.

Realizing that she hasn’t texted Andria yet, she pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed Andria’s number.

***ring**ring**

“Hello,” Andria said, “Maya is everything alright?”

Whispering Maya said, “Hey chica... Yeah everything is okay. I am calling to tell you that you don’t have to do the operation check on my best friend, the date is going great.”

“Hmmm… I don’t know Maya; I mean you just met him. I would feel comfortable if I at least text you in a hour or so just to see if your okay.”

“I am telling you girl I am going to be fine, but just to put your mind at ease, if I don’t contact you by twelve then feel free to blow up my phone as much as you want and if I don’t answer then call the police.”

“Okay….”, said Andria “Well you be safe and I want all the juicy and nasty details later.”

“HUH! I am telling you nothing is going to happen between us.”, exclaimed Maya

“Yeah, Yeah… bye chica”

“Bye girl!”, said Maya and as soon as she hung up the phone in came Armand with two platters in his hand.  One platter contained a mix green salad and the other held slices of pork tenderloin that was glazed with a sweet apricot sauce.

“Oh my goodness!”, “I mean I heard of men who can cook, but honey it looks like you really can cook.”

Laughing Armand prepared Maya’s plate and placed it in front of her and then he prepared his plate and sat in the chair adjacent from her.

“Please dig in.”, said Armand

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”, exclaimed Maya.  As Maya took a bite of the tenderloin she was overflowed with the salty and sweet mix as it tantalized her tasted buds. “Mmmmmmhhhh!”, moaned Maya. “ This is soooooo good! Wow! So now I know that you can cook like this, we might have to make this an everyday thing.”, said Maya flirtatiously.

“I am glad that you are enjoying it.  Maya tell me about yourself have you always lived in Cherrydale, South Carolina?”

“As long as I can remember I have.” said Maya sheepishly. “I grew up with my grandmother who is still living by the way. She owns a small second hand bookstore on the west side of town. I don’t really remember too much of my parents, but my grandmother told me that my mom died  long ago and as far as my dad is concerned I never met him and to my grandmother he was dead anyways.

“Really.”, said Armand surprised. “Why would she think that?”

“I don’t know.”, said Maya. “She would never talk about him and even if I tried to ask her questions like who was I most like my mom or my dad? She would get mad and tell me to never compare myself to him ever again. So, I just stopped asking.”

“Interesting”, said Armand.

“Yeah it is, but we got along fine and I moved out about three years ago and have been doing fine on my own ever since.”

“It looks like you have.”, said Armand as he slowly moved himself away from the table, he reached out his hand again and said, “Come dance with me.” Stunned by the sudden change of subject, Maya glanced longley at her pork tenderloin and said, “okay…but ummm we will come back to finish eating right?”

“Yes, Maya and many other things, but let’s dance.”

Maya took Armand’s hand and he led her to the center of the living room. He put his arm around her waist and slowly started dancing. Confused, Maya asked. “Ummmm…Armand…. What are we dancing to?”

“Well… music… do you not hear it?” and just as she was about to say no, she heard it. At first it seemed soft, but then it started to grow louder and as the volume continued to grow louder the closerArmand pulled Maya to him.

The sensual music was beautiful and it engulfed the room with its presence. As the beat crescendo, the faster Armand moved them and as the beat decrescendo the slower Armand moved. The music in itself had a life of its own; taking Maya on a world wind of emotions, twisting and turning her in its own pure essence of raw energy.

 As they danced, Maya allowed her body to relax against Armand, letting him take full charge of her movements. As her arms rested around his neck, Maya closed her eyes and breathed in deeply taking in his full scent of spice and musk that was truly male.  Heat swirled within her as Armand’s cheek rested gently against her cheek, she giggled softly as his face hair slightly tickled her. She was so taken by it all that she barely noticed when Armand started to kiss her gently against her neck. First, the kisses were small and soft and as they continued, they grew longer and more heated. Soon waves of hunger seemed to devour them both as Armand fervently kissed her neck giving a low growl each time she tried pull herself closer to him, tighting her arms around his neck.

Just as Maya thought she couldn’t take any more, Armand kissed her deeply on the lips igniting a fire that seemed to have been  buried so deep inside her, that her body was set ablaze instantly. Passionately, they continued to kiss, clawing against each other’s skin making low moans and growls. Just as if someone flashed on a light in a darken room Maya abruptly pulled out of Armand’s arms and backed away from him slowly panting.  She looked up at Armand and saw that his eyes were no longer black, but gold. Knowing that something must be wrong she closed her eyes shook her head and looked at him again. This time his eyes were back to their original color.

“Sorry…” said Armand breathlessly "Maya, I didn’t mean to… I mean I meant too, but not like this”

“Yeah I seem to be getting a lot of the "sorry" this week”, said Maya

“What do you mean?”, asked Armand who was still panting a little as he walked over to sit down on the couch.

“Well… I mean it’s just been one rough week. A few days ago my boyfriend of three years broke up with me stating that it wasn’t me it was him.”

Smirking Armand said, “Well his lost and hopefully my gain.”

Shaking off the sudden heat that rose to her cheeks Maya continued “And then I met you on the elevator on my way to the police….”

“Hold… What do you mean?  Why did you have to go to the police?”, asked Armand in steely voice. His body language was no longer relaxed and playful as it was earlier, but more taunt and alert.

“Well.”, said Maya nervously “I went to the police because I got a phone call from a man with a deep baritone voice stating that he has been looking all over for me and that he was coming to see me in 4 days. The call sort of freaked me out so I went to the police to see if there was anything I can do about it and since it was only one call it couldn’t be counted as a prank call so I am basically stuck.”

When Maya finished she noticed that the temperature in the room dropped and that Armand was un-naturally still with his head down and eyes closed.

“Damn!”, growled Armand “I thought I had more time…. No Fu*k^%$ way he found you before me. Shit! There must be a snitch within the ranks.”

“Huh?”, said Maya “I am confused what are you talking about?”

With his head still down, Armand  said in a stone voice, “Maya, I’m sorry, but you can’t go home now.”

“What do you mean I can’t go home?… what in the hell is going….”  Before Maya could finish her sentence Armand lifted his head and looked up at her  and she saw that his  eyes were no longer black, but blazing gold.

“Oh, Sh**!”, screamed Maya as she made a dash towards the front door. She was almost at the door when a blur went flying by her and before she knew it, she was slamming against Armand. “Let me the F***k out of here”, screamed Maya as she balled up her fist and started punching Armand in the chest. Just as she was about to give him one big punch in the face Armand swiftly grabbed Maya and slammed her up against the door. Disorientated by the sudden impact, it took her a few seconds to realize that she was slammed against the door and that her feet  were no longer touching the ground. On her neck she could feel Armand’s warm breath as he raggedly breathed and struggled for control. “Maya!”, growled Armand. “Again, you cannot leave.” He then let his lips slide gently across her neck and breathed in deeply like he was taking all of her in. He then pulled slightly away from her using one hand to  hold her against the wall,  she was relieved that he was no longer upon her, but was un-nerved  by the fact that one arm of his was strong enough to keep her from moving. “What the freak are you?”, screamed Maya.

Ignoring her, he then reached into his pocket pulled out his cell phone and speed dialed a number.  It rang a few times before Maya heard a male's voice on the other end. “We have been compromised.”, said Armand. “He knows she’s here… Yes, I damn well know the Old Lady is not going to like this, but I am bringing her in!” Then Armand hung up the phone and looked down at Maya. “Sorry Maya, but I have no choice… you must come with me.”

“No the hell I don’t!”, screamed Maya.

Laughing Armand said, “We will see about that.”

Please come back next Friday for Part 4 of Just One Last Taste… Until Next time Peace and Love Always-DPR.