NICHOLAI
Finally, after ten hours in the air, we are landing in Greece. Night has fallen so Nic and I can travel by car to the castle where Natasha is. He’s had his brother make a purchase of a grappling hook and rope so I can climb up the castle wall to get her.
I’ve never done that type of climbing before but he’s told me it’s easy. I hope he’s right. I have to come back down that rope with Natasha and I don’t want us both to fall to our death or get hurt badly.
“Thank goodness the darkness will cover us, huh Nicholai?” he asks as we wait in line to exit the plane.
I have on black clothing to help me stay hidden in the darkness and the stewardess looks me over as I walk up to the exit. “You look like a man on a mission,” she says.
Not knowing exactly what to say, I find Nic answering for me. “He’s into that goth crap. I tell him always he is a fool.”
She eyes me and nods. “You look like a man who would look more at home in expensive business suits.”
I shake my head and smile as she is more than right in both ways and I find that amusing. “See you on the trip back home, gentlemen,” she says as we leave the plane.
Neither of us will be getting back on any commercial airline. Nic will stay in Greece, of course. I will be in hiding with Natasha until my jet comes for us. From there we will decide where to go while things cool down. I’m not about to take her back to New York just to have her father steal her away from me again. We must plan and perhaps negotiate with the man to get him to see we will be together, come hell or high water.
Climbing into a cab, we head to Nic’s home. Even in the dark of night, I can tell the scenery around us is beautiful. The homes we pass are brilliantly lit up and one family is having a gathering on their front lawn.
“Everyone seems so happy here,” I say as I look around.
“Generally, yes,” Nic agrees.
“My family will welcome you with open arms. Many sisters I have, so expect to get a pinch on the ass or two,” he tells me with a laugh.
“I think I can handle them, Nic. Thank you again for what you’re doing. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you doing all of this. Before I leave here, I will make sure your bank account looks nothing like it does now.” I pat him on his leg and he smiles.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about that. Nicholai, I want no reward from you. What’s happened to her is a crime. I merely want to see her leave with you, safely and happily. That will be payment enough.” He pats my leg. “Think of it as my gift.”
I nod but I will give the man a reward for his help. Maybe he won’t know about it until he checks his bank account and I am long gone. But I will reward him.
We pull to a stop on a hillside and get out in front of a modest home. “This house holds how many?” I ask as I look it over and grab my one bag from the truck.
“Fifteen. We are to the roof in this place. Do not worry. We reserve a private room for our guests,” he leads me to the door where we are met by three other young men.
“Nic! Where have you been?” one calls out as they hold the door open. “Many have been coming to look for you.”
“Damn,” he says under his breath. “That is no good.”
“Why is that?” I ask as he takes me inside.
He shakes his head and introduces me. “This is Nicholai. Remember I told you to get that rope and hook?” He looks at one of the men who shrugs. “Don’t tell me you don’t have it!”
“I don’t have it,” the guy says, sending me into a worried and tense state.
“Where is it you would be using such a thing, Nic?” a woman, obviously, his mother, asks as she comes into the room. She stops when she sees me and wipes her hands on her apron. “And your friend?”
“This is Nicholai, Momma.” He looks at me. “My Mamma.”
Her arms go wide and I move in to hug her. “Nice to meet you.”
“You call me, Momma. Everyone does. Come and eat. Food is on the table,” she says as she pulls me along with her to another room.
We go through it and I find several children sitting and talking over a board game. All eyes come to me. Nic shouts, “He is my friend. You call him Nicholai.” He looks at me. “These are some of my nieces and nephews.”
We go out of a door and are outside at the back of the home. The yard is lit up. Every tree has white lights wrapped around it, illuminating the large yard. Three of the trees are olive trees and the smell is amazing.
“This is lovely,” I say, bringing a smile to his mother’s lips.
“You are single, yes?” she asks as she looks at my left hand.
“He is currently unwed, Mamma,” Nic tells her. “But he is not single. He is quite taken.”
She looks me over. “I happen to have some lovely daughters who are single. If you’d like to do a little window shopping before you make a wifely purchase, you are welcome to.”
“Mamma!” Nic chastises her as I grin.
“What?” she shouts as she throws her hands in the air. “A man should shop around before he makes a choice that big. Marriage is forever you know. Go tell your sisters a gentleman is here.” She sends off another guy and I find myself laughing as he runs with his mother’s words.
“Thank you, Mamma,” I tell her as I take the seat she’s offered me. “I have done a bit more than dabble with other women. The one I’m picking up here is the one for me. It’s been over a year since we’ve seen each other or even talked. And my heart pines for her. No one can even come close to taking my attention. Sorry.”
She pats my back as she begins placing food on a plate then she places it in front of me. “Tell me what has you two lovebirds apart for so long.”
“Her father. He’s against our union,” I tell her as she pours a large glass of wine.
I haven’t touched a drop of liquor since that morning she was taken away from me. I thought it unfair to drown my sorrows when she was God knows where. But seeing as there seems to be nothing else to drink and this is the beginning of what I hope will be a fantastic night, I indulge in the sweet liquid that tingles in my mouth.
She watches me as I take the first sip. “Delicious,” I say, making her clap her hands and laugh.
“Yes! My family has made their own wine for generations. We have tried, quite unsuccessfully, to get our own company. We are not a family of business people. Food and drink we are great at. Business, no.” She points to a grape leaf which is expertly wrapped around something. “You taste that. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever tasted, I promise you.”
Picking it up, I take a bite and find the meat inside melts in my mouth. “Ummm.”
She nods. “Good, right?”
“Great!” I say, then take another bite. “You wouldn’t want to come back to America with me and be my cook, would you?”
She laughs and claps her hands as I hear the sound of women coming out to join us. “And who have we here?” one of the tall, slender brunettes ask as three of them come out.
I stand up. “I am Nicholai Grimm.” I make a bow and they giggle a little.
Then I find them moving into the seats around me as Nic tries to shoo them away. “He’s unavailable.”
“I see no ring,” one of them says as she takes my left hand.
I pull it up and kiss the top of hers, making her flush with most likely an unexpected heat between her legs. “But I can assure you that I am very much taken. You will meet the woman I am hopelessly in love with soon, I hope.”
Her eyes move to Nic’s. “Who is she?”
“She’s from America,” he answers.
“Yes!” his mother shouts. “You were going to tell us your story, Nicholai.”
Suddenly everyone is sitting around the enormous table and staring at me. “My story is boring,” I say as I look at each and every one of them as they seem to be waiting with baited breath.
Nic makes an attempt to save me. “I assure you, the story he has to tell is X-rated. I’ve heard it. It’s not for the faint of heart.”
One of his sister’s hands moves over my leg and I quickly take it and shake my head at her. “Naughty, naughty.”
She wrinkles her nose and says, “Come on, tell us your story, Nicholai. We love a good X-rated story.”
I give Nic a wink. “I’ll church it up a bit.”
He nods. “You do that, Nicholai. My mother is a widow. She has to go to bed alone tonight. No need to heat her up.”
His mother rubs her hands together. “Oh good. Tell us what has you in our town and our country for that matter.”
So, I sit back with my glass of wine and start the tale that is the story of me and Natasha and how fate is against us. Eyes go wide and some have to wipe away tears but in the end, I see compassion on every face.
“I tell you what, Nicholai,” Nic’s mother says. “You and she should stay in this town. We are a close-knit bunch of people. No one will be able to do a thing to either of you.”
Nic’s eyes go big as he adds, “You could buy the enormous home that is on the hill just on the outskirts of town. My momma could be your cook then.”
“We can keep the house for you and your beloved,” one of his sisters says.
I can see them all so happy to help. It fills me with energy and I wonder if Natasha would like a life here in Greece. I have no doubts I could get a business going with their wine and food.
“I will speak with my princess about it.” Then I think about her being held captive here and wonder if that would sour the place for her. “But her reasons for being here may have her wanting to leave this beautiful place. Her happiness is all that matters to me.”
I receive awws from all and find that endearing. “You are a prize, Nicholai,” another one of his sisters tells me as she wipes away a tear.
“I am not. But my Natasha is. And maybe you all could help me go get her from that castle I told you about,” I say.
Cheers ring out and everyone jumps up and runs to the house. Nic grabs my arm. “Come on, Nicholai. We are going to storm the castle to rescue your princess!”
My heart is pounding as it seems his whole family is with me. We walk down the street in a horde of people and I find others asking what we are doing and when they’re told of the rescue mission, they join in. Before I know it, there is the equivalent of a small army and we are all on our way to the end of the road where the castle awaits us in complete darkness.
Nic is at my side as I say, “There are no lights on.”
“They have none,” he says as we continue to walk.
I’m furious she’s been kept in such a state yet her father sees me as unfit to be with her. The man takes the cake and I will not allow Natasha to stop me from lashing out at him.
He will end his tyranny over her. I will see to that. My princess will never be hidden away again. Or her father will have more to deal with than he ever saw coming!