The Golden Sun and the Darker Star
This is a story of two heavenly bodies. One could not help but to be drawn into either of their orbits. I was no exception.
“Babe, make sure to set some time for us to check out the caterer,” admonished my beautiful fiancée, Apollonia.
“Honey, can’t we wait until Saturday, I have an important meeting to prepare for on Friday,” I had replied.
“No,” she shook her head reprovingly, as her lovely golden hair waved and glistened in the morning sunlight that shown through the kitchen window.
“OK, sweetheart,” I said mesmerized by her tresses. She laughed and walked out to her car.
As she left, I somewhat snapped out of my daze. “Polly” had this way of dominating me I could never understand. I started dating her my at the end of my senior year of high school. She had been the younger sister of my ex-girlfriend, Cassiopeia.
“Cassie” was nothing like my sweet Polly. To my thinking, she had been a manipulative bitch who broke up my relationship with my first girlfriend, Melody. Polly had warned me about her older sister’s machinations and soon, I had fallen in love with Polly. Both Polly and I had never forgiven her sister for what she had done to me. After Cassie and I graduated, she went to college out West and I had not seen her since. A year later, after Polly graduated, she went to my college and graduated the following year after me. I had since gotten a job at a financial services company and was working on my MBA part time.
Now, we were engaged, and as always, my bride-to-be was keeping me in line as we planned our wedding. She had this sweet laugh which always seemed to put me at ease, as her smile came over her gorgeous countenance. “Get used to it, son,” my dad had joked with me. I had gotten used to Polly’s sweet domineering ways. I happily prepared to live with them until death did us part; at least until Cassie returned.
“Hello, Cassie,” I intoned, somewhat shocked to see her standing at my door.
“Hello Dane. I had to see you before it’s too late,” she said with a sad smile.
I knew that look. Cassie’s smile was different from Polly’s, but it seemed to have the same effect over me as her younger sister’s. “What are you getting at?” I replied tersely, trying to cover the smile’s effect.
“You need to know the truth.”
“While I don’t believe a word, why would you tell me any of this now?” I asked, more shocked now than at simply seeing her.
“Because you are about to make a huge mistake. You think Polly is sweet and perfect but that’s just the way she’s making you see her.”
“No. That’s just the way she is,” I defended.
Cassie sighed. “Look Dane. Do you remember before you and Polly started dating? I had been sleeping with Chip Saunders on the football team…”
“Don’t remind me,” I choked, as he felt Cassies’s effect come over me.
“She had done the same thing with Bill Rogers. In fact, I discovered when I got back, she still is.”
“That’s crazy. Polly and Bill are just really close friends…” I paused before beginning to question my own remark. Cassie’s sad smile didn’t help refute my growing discomfort.
“Dane, I could have just kept you,” she murmured, as I was beginning to believe her.
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Because I cared about you and my sister promised that she had real feelings for you. Now I know she was cheating on you the way I did.”
“You cared about me?”
“I did. I still do,” her smile seemed to brighten.
“How can I believe you?”
“Because you don’t have a choice. I’m making you believe me. It just so happens that because what I’m saying is true; it’s easier to accept.”
“Your witchcraft?” I asked
“Yes,” she murmured.
“And Polly…”
“Is a witch like I am.”
“How can I trust you?”
“Because I’m not doing this for me. I’m doing this for you and Melody.”
“What does Melody have to do with any of this?”
“What I did to you two was wrong. I was an immature little bitch. I’d like to think I’ve outgrown that. My sister hasn’t. Judging by her attitude, I don’t think she ever will. I know Melody still cares for you. She and I talked and she thinks that maybe the two of you should too.”
“Well, I’ve always cared for Mel. I felt terrible about breaking up with her when I fell for you, but I didn’t have a choice.” I said, before another idea struck me. “Do you still have feelings for me?”
“I… uh…” stammered Cassie.
“Cass?”
“That’s not important!” she blurted. “This is about you and Melody,” she paused before tearing up. “I’ve got to go!” and she ran to the door.
“No wait! Cassie!” I had cried, but to no avail. She was gone and I was left with more questions than answers.
“Honey. I saw your sister today.”
“Well, I knew it was only a matter of time,” my fiancée brightly smiled.
“She says that you’re manipulating me with magic and that you’re sleeping with Bill”
“So?” she laughed, not making an effort to deny any bit of my accusation.
“This has to stop!” I had exclaimed, only to be met with derisive laughter.
“Why?” her smile began to pierce my resolve. I was left speechless. “Look, honey. You’re a lovely man. You’re a sweet and tender lover. You’re great in bed. You’ll be a great provider. You serve all of my emotional needs. But I have other needs too. Bill helps me with those, the same way that Tim helped me with those when we were in college.
“Tim?! My roommate Tim?!”
“Do you know any other Tim’s” she grinned. “Honey, you’re too tender in bed. You make me feel really good, but sometimes I like it rough. Tim did that for me. So did Bill.”
“And Bill still does.”
“At least two or three times a week.”
“You’re evil?!”
“I know, but what’cha gonna do about it?” she smirked.
“Go to your sister!” I exclaimed, fighting the onslaught of Polly’s control.
“She won’t help you?”
“Why?”
“She can’t.”
Again I asked, feeling dread begin to creep in to my stomach. “Why?”
“Because you’re spoken for. You’re mine, so she can’t take you. It is against our code.”
“You took me.” I stated, hoping to find a loophole in their witch’s code.
“No I didn’t. The fool renounced you after I convinced her that I had feelings for you, which I still have, by the way, Baby” she gave me what I perceived to be a tender smile.
“But you won’t stop the affair?”
“Nope. Sorry honey, you’re just stuck with me,” she gave me that magical grin. Soon we were in the bedroom and she was using her body to reinforce that fact that I really had no choice in the matter. At least that was what I thought at the time.
“I’ve done a lot of soul searching and I’ve come to a decision. I’m going to help you,” said Cassie, wearing her trademark sad smile.
“But Polly said…”
“I know. Polly threw the whole ‘against the code’ thing at you. What she fails to understand is that the code doesn’t apply to what I have in mind,” she said, my confidence grew as her smile brightened. “I may not be able to take you from her, but there is no reason that you can’t give yourself to another woman.”
“Melody?”
“Yes. Your problem right now is that Polly’s control is stopping you from talking to her. Since I knew that Polly won’t let you speak with her, I did.”
I thought about what Cassie was saying. I had never thought about it before, but she was right. I knew that I was unable to talk to Melody. “You’re right, but why can I still talk to you?”
“Because Polly doesn’t see me as a threat because of the code. She also knows it would be no good. She couldn’t stop me from allowing you to talk to me.”
“And now you can make it so I can talk to Melody?”
“Yes,” she smiled and then so did I.
Then a thought occurred to me. “Even if Melody and I talk, can’t Polly just coerce my affections back to her?”
“Not if I give you this,” she said before giving me a small amulet, with a black stone on a silver chain.
“What is it?
“It’s a charm. It has been in our family for centuries. So long as you wear it, or have worn it for a period exceeding twenty-four hours, you’ll be immune to the effects of Polly’s magic.
“What about your magic?”
“My magic too,” she intoned, as she lowered her head. “You’ll be immune from the effects of all control magic. You can never be controlled again. Polly should have given you this when she knew that you were the person she wanted to marry, as my mother had done for my father. Polly quite selfishly decided to keep her control, to force you to accept her actions with other men.”
What she said sounded like it was out of a fairy tale but after everything I had felt and witnessed, I was hopeful as I put the chain around my neck.
“OK, you should be fine to talk to Melody now. The charm should counteract the restriction to talk to her,” she said not lifting her head.
“Oh, Thank you, Cassie!” I exclaimed, as I pulled her into a hug. I felt her stiffen, before relaxing. We stayed like that for a minute. Then she broke it I looked at Cassie’s face and saw a tear roll down her cheek.
“Don’t thank me. It was all my fault that this happened to you in the first place.”
“Well, you’ve certainly made up for that,” I smiled as I wiped away her tear and kissed her on her cheek. As she left, I looked at her sad, yet lovely face.”
After a week of introspection, I went and visited Cassie.
“You look so happy,” she smiled.
“I am,” I grinned.
“I take it that you and Polly are no more.”
“I broke our engagement the night you gave me the amulet.”
“So, by your smile, things went well with Melody?”
“We had a good talk.”
“I’m so happy for you both!” she exclaimed.
“I am too. We decided that we weren’t right for each other.”
Cassie’s expression darkened. “I’m so sorry!” she cried.
“Don’t be. There just wasn’t any sexual chemistry between us anymore. We agreed to be friends and are both happy that we are back in each other’s lives again.”
“But it’s all my fault!”
“No, Cassie. You may have hastened our break up, but what Melody and I had was a teen romance. Looking back on it now, I can see that we didn’t really have all that much in common. We would have eventually grown apart.” I smiled, as I lifted Cassie’s chin and looked into her tearstained eyes. “Cassie, honey, there’s only one girl I want,” I said, as I leaned in and kissed her sweetly on her lips, tasting her tears.
When I broke the kiss, she seemed like she was in shock. “I… I didn’t mean for this to happen!” she stuttered.
“I know. Neither did I. After my breakup with Polly and the chat with Melody, I started to realize that I still had feelings for you. I remembered everything we’d done together and how we just clicked. Those were the best times of my life!”
“I’m sure it was my control.”
“I thought so at first. Then I realized that I was free of Polly’s control. I could objectively compare our relationship with mine with Polly. What I saw surprised me.”
“What did you see?” she said, as her tears slowed.
“You never made any attempt to dominate my life. I always felt that you treated me as an equal. Yes, I was hurt when I found out about you and Chip, but now knowing what I know and everything that’s happened, I still have feelings for you and you have them for me too. After what you were willing to do for me with Melody, it confirmed what I was thinking.
“I do. I’ve always had feelings for you; even back then. I was a stupid and childish little girl, but I loved you. I never wanted to hurt you,” she said with a sad smile that broke my heart and only made me love her more.
“You may have been those things, but I sensed by your actions now, you aren’t any of those things anymore.”
“I guess. Still, you think your feelings are real?”
“I spent the last week sorting out to my feelings to make sure.”
“Are they?”
“I wouldn’t be here if they weren’t, you dope,” I laughed, calling her by the teasing name I called her in high school, “I love you!”
“I love you too, I’ve always loved you,” she beamed, before we kissed some more.
After she broke the kiss, she looked at me with a huge smile on her face. There was a big question on my mind.
“If you loved me so much, why did you let me go?”
“I had remembered you on Prom night. You were so handsome and sweet. You told me I was ‘beautiful through and through’ and that you loved me. When I got home, I looked at myself in the mirror and didn’t think I was beautiful. In fact I could see the ugliness in my eyes. As I had been cheating on you, I knew that I wasn’t worthy of your love. I wasn’t ready. I needed to do the right thing and let you go. Of course I didn’t believe that my sister was as bad as I was.”
“Worse. She cheated on me with my college roommate,” I laughed.
“Ouch! I figured that she hadn’t been faithful to you, but that’s pretty low,” she laughed back. “Anyway, I always thought that she was the good sister and I was the bad one. That’s why I was happy when she said that she wanted you.”
“What you did with me was wrong, but why did you think that you were the bad sister?”
“My father always called Polly the ‘Golden Sun’ and me the ‘Darker Star’. I had always assumed that it meant that Polly was sweet and that I had “darker” urges. After I discovered what Polly was doing, I asked my dad about what those nicknames really meant. Polly’s nickname had nothing to do with goodness. He called her ‘Golden Sun’ because of her hair color and her extroverted personality. He called me “Darker Star” because of my dark hair and that I was more moody and introverted; not because he thought I was evil.”
“I remember that,” I smiled, as my memory drifted back to high school study sessions at her house.
“Anyway, when I told him what I had thought, he laughed and hugged me and whispered. ‘Apollonia is the sun. She burns with unforgiving heat. You, my dearest Cassiopeia, are a cool light that glows in the evening sky. Your light soothes and eases pain’.”
“Well, you certainly eased mine,” I smiled. “Now it’s time to let me ease yours.” I pulled her into my arms and into a deep kiss. While Cassie may have been a cool light, my body burned for her. “I want you!” I groaned into her mouth.
“I don’t deserve you!”
“Yes, you do! Your unselfish love saved me! I love you and I know you love me! That’s all that matters!”
“I do!” she swore, as I could see the need in her eyes too.
I picked up her lithe form and carried her into her bedroom. We quickly tore our clothes off of each other and in moments I was on top of her driving my engorged length in and out of her hot, liquid core. I had never felt this kind of passion for any woman. We made love all afternoon, breaking for dinner before going back at it until the wee small hours of the morning. We woke up the next day at noon to go visit her parents.
Epilogue.
Polly moped for a while, initially accusing Cassie of circumventing the rule of not stealing her man. Her parents were completely on Cassie’s side and were disgusted that Apollonia had been using her natural charms to cheat on me.
“Those abilities were to be used to find the right man for yourself. Not to cheat on him once you found him,” admonished her mother.
“You got what you deserved,” agreed her dad.
Six months later, Cassie and I were married. As Polly had already booked the reception hall, we used it and made the changes that Cassie had wanted, so it could truly be her wedding.
In the end, Polly wound up marrying my ex-roommate, Tim. Like me, he was a young, successful man and could be the provider she was looking for (and I assume was still helping her with her other needs). To this day, neither of them can look me in the eye (which is just fine with me); though I had forgiven them. I realized that without their actions, I would have never gotten to be with my beautiful Cassie; who was now my loving wife and my ‘Darker Star’.