I Chose Love

From the Journal of Alexander Lakeland

It happened as all memorable moments do, the spur of the moment more or less. Not that I hadn’t been planning on it for a while now. I think subconsciously I’d started dreaming of it the moment those beautiful tiger eyes of my Huntress met mine in that dusty, murky warehouse where we first met.

First? Or second? Both? Neither? Perhaps it doesn’t matter. The fact remains that was the night I felt hope again after a long, painful, lonely draught. I never thought to have that again, to have her. To love even more than I did in her first incarnation, if that’s even possible.

I have lived far too long to be afraid of anything, or so I’m fond of saying. However the truth of it remains that there is one creature who holds dominion over my senses, my heart and my soul.

Sabrina.

She is both my strength and my weakness. My saving grace and the only weapon that could ever bring me lasting harm.

Mere weeks have passed since she closed the Veil between Worlds. Weeks in which the others have begun to acclimate to this new, modern age with a proclivity that astounds me when it really shouldn’t! Our individual mental faculties are above and beyond that of the humans we once were. Merlyn’s blood changed many things in our bodies; the ability to assimilate and process information with hardly any “lag time” as he calls it.

But I digress.

I found her on the roof earlier, sitting cross legged on the northern rampart and staring up into the inky night, the stars shining like diamonds. Even their iridescence paled in comparison to the pure light gleaming within my Huntress. Long, loose strands of her cinnamon colored hair stirred in the slight late autumn breeze. Mine. This magnificent woman was mine, this ethereal, lovely female had been made for me. I could have spared the next few hours to simply stay frozen right here, watching her. 

Dawn was nearing however, and while she didn’t succumb to the need for that state of peculiar catatonia our kind was famous for, I did. And I wanted her in my arms as I slept. Not a night had passed since I’d claimed her again that she didn’t curl up into me with her warmth, her lips on my flesh as I drifted off, the words “I love you, Alex” following me into the darkness. A song that brought me endless joy.

“And what has you so fascinated, my Lady?” I perched a hip next to her, marveling again at the sheen of her almond toned skin, the lower puff of her sweet lips as she spoke.

“I was just thinking, so many worlds up there. I mean, it’s pretty arrogant to think we’re the only form of intelligent life running amok. There has to be more than these cheese ball Sci Fi movies. More than a cock fingered, sugar addicted alien trying to phone home. I can ... I can feel life out there.”

I chuckled. “Looking for a mad man in a blue box, love?”

She laughed, the husky sound stirring me as it always did. That was part of her magic, the ability to make my simmering desire for her blaze into full flame with the simplest sounds, the scent of her skin or the lightest of touches. “Why would I want that when I have a mad man in a friggin’ football stadium?”

She turned my way then, eyes deep and wise, full of love and vitality, passion and playfulness. “Is that a sonic screwdriver in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

Waggling my brows, I leaned a bit closer. “Why don’t you give us a kiss and find out?”

“Mmmm. Challenge accepted.”

Her small hands palmed along my trench coat as she reached out and pulled me closer, lifting her head as I lowered mine to capture her lips in a slow, sweet kiss. She tasted of spice and sultry promise, my body turning to pure stone with just this one kiss. She made a small sound, half moan, half sigh as her fingers dropped to roll over my stomach, sliding left to dip into my jacket pocket.

I smiled as she pulled out the small blue rectangular box I’d been carrying on me for a few weeks now.  Tearing her mouth from mine, she held it up between us, nose wrinkled up.

“This is not a sonic screwdriver.”

I laughed. “No, it’s not.” Why was I so nervous suddenly? My heart picked up, slamming wildly as I took it from her and moved off the ledge to take a knee before her. I swear her eyes went wider than saucers as I carefully opened the box, showing her the ring I’d had specially made. Just for her. Emerald and amber, merged together. She and I, for all time.

“Your father asked me, long ago, if I could live forever, what would I choose to live for? And I said love. I’d choose love.” Quickly, I removed the ring, taking her tiny, shaking hand and slid the ring over her third finger as I gazed up into her beautiful eyes, eyes I wanted to live in forever. “My heart, my hand, my soul...all yours. Be mine again. Be my wife, Sabrina. Marry me?”

I haven't seen the sun in over a thousand years but I swear, in that moment, nothing could ever, would ever, shine brighter than my Sabrina as she nodded, eyes misty and so full of love. For me! I never wanted to be without that or her again. I swept her up in my arms, spinning her around and finding her mouth with mine once more.

She sleeps now, tucked up next to me as I write this. She snores, this weird hitching hiccup sound, followed by a snort. It's not pretty.

Yes, she snores. She curses. She’s reckless, irrational at times and has burnt out four clutches on several of my cars. She can’t carry a tune in a bucket and she has this nasty habit of biting her nails. She’s loud, overbearing and yes, at times, can be childish. Even a bit bratty. She has a severe chocolate habit that would worry me to no end if she were human.

She also is the sweetest soul I've ever met and would give any and all of herself for those she loves. She is at ease with herself, the world around her and never seeks anything for herself, only others. 

I love her. She is mine and I will never lose her again.

This is my Sabrina. I wouldn’t change one single thing about her.

Except her last name.