The Guardians Ch. 05

The Powder Mills was a breathtaking country house hotel and was originally used as a site to make gunpowder during the Napoleonic Wars. Ella had chosen this hotel particularly for its historical significance and natural surroundings. She had been feeling particularly melancholic these days and wanted a place that would cheer her up. Ella had also carefully chosen the Powder Mills because they housed on of the most beautiful libraries with books dating from the 18^th Century. Nothing comforted her more than the endless pages of a book held close on her lap.

When the cab entered the gates of the hotel, Ben's face immediately lit up with wonder. Ella knew that a professor of history such as himself would surely recognize this place and if anything would indulge her a little in some history lessons, without making it look like she was desperate for information.

"This... this is the famous Gunpowder Works site isn't it? I didn't know they converted it into a hotel..." said Ben in amazement. Ella smiled. Looking out the window herself, she saw the beautiful woodland trails on their left a small lake on their right.

"Yes sir, it is. In fact, this hotel also adjoins the famous Battlefield of 1066," said the cab driver as he caught the couple's gaze in the rear view mirror.

"Ah, yes I am aware... the Battle of Hastings when William of Normandy conquered the Saxon King Harold to gain the throne of England in 1066."

"You would visit them sometime soon will you Sir?" the driver replied, smiling, pleased that his American guests were not as ignorant as he thought they would be. Ben smiled back as he placed his palm on top of Ella's. Perhaps that urgent leave that he took was worth it after all....

****

Ben watched Ella from a distance as she stood at the front desk waiting for the key to their room. Somehow, she did not look at all out of place amidst the Georgian setting, even though she was wearing jeans and a simple chiffon blouse. He didn't think that anyone could fall in love with another person over and over again each day, but he did. When Ella turned to face him, he caught sight of the dimple at the side of her face as she smiled and gestured him to follow her. He was such a sucker for her; there was no way he will accept 'no' for an answer to his proposal.

When she opened the door to their room, Ella simply stood still, her palms over her chest.

"Ella! What is it my love..." Ben panicked.

"It's... so beautiful..." she whispered. Ben put their bags down and walked towards the door. There was a four poster bed, complete with floral bed covers that were clearly Victorian in style. The plush cushion and coffee table were placed beside the window that overlooked a beautiful lake behind the hotel. He felt warmth and comfort just looking at their room. In fact, his eyes lit up when he saw their four poster bed. Didn't Ella mention something about making love once they reached the hotel?

Glancing at him, Ella caught the gleam in his eyes and narrowed hers almost to a squint.

"What?!" he asked, shamelessly.

"I know what you're thinking, you old pervert. Get those bags in and don't even think of getting me out of these clothes until I've grown tired of sitting down by the window," she snapped. Ben made a sulky face at her and went back to carry their bags in. She was extremely irritable since he proposed to her.

He watched her sitting at the sofa, her eyes capturing every single detail of the view offered by the full length window.

"Would you like me to order something for us to eat Ella?" Ben asked gently. She turned to look at him, smiled and nodded her head.

Ben dallied over the menu. He was still getting used to having an appetite of a human again. Giving up, he asked the receptionist on the line to recommend to him what was best to feed a famished couple.

When their food came, Ella, who had been staring silently since they've arrived, turned her head; sniffing at the wonderful smells wafting in the room. Her eyes widened at the various amounts of food presented before them.

"Are you sure that we can eat all these Ben?" she asked.

"It was supposedly a set meal for two..."

There was an excellent game pie that had generous slices of duck, pigeon and other fowls, pressure cooked and served alongside home made red plum chutney. It looked about enough to feed four people instead of two! As their entrée, there was a serving of pork rillette; where the meat was cured and cooked slowly in fat until it became tender enough to be shredded easily. There was also a serving of tomato and mozzarella salad topped with pesto dressing and parmesan shavings and saffron infused mashed potatoes as a side.

"This is wonderful Ben! My goodness! I've never eaten anything that tastes like this... It simply melts in your mouth!"

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself my love... perhaps we can go for a walk after this... We can take a look at some of the places that we can explore tomorrow. I suppose there's a reason you want us to come here right, Ella?"

Ella simply smiled.

****

Ella was up early the next morning, looking at the map given by the receptionist. She needed to find that Roman Bath house that her father mentioned. There was only mention of the Battle Museum that housed a replica of it but Ella knew she had to find the actual bath house itself.

Nevertheless, she decided she must give it a try.

"Ben... wake up... it's almost 9 in the morning now... I want to take a walk. The weather looks so nice today," Ella said as she nudged him to wake up.

"Mmmmm...." Ben moaned as he covered his face with the pillow. He started moaning something about jet lag. Rolling her eyes, she got on the bed to try and pull the covers off him.

"Come on!"

To her surprise, Ben pulled her down on top of him and locked her with his legs around her waist.

"I'm coming on right now..." he teased.

"Professor Abben Martin! Get off me this instance! I am already dressed!" she yelled as she struggled to free herself.

"I'm not letting you go until you say yes."

"What?"

"Marry me?"

"Why you little...." was all she could say as Ben covered her lips with his. Feeling trapped, Ella did the only thing she could- she kneed his groin.

"Owww... Ella... oh man..." he moaned. Leaving him to settle with his pain, Ella got her pouch bag and headed out the door. Is sex and marriage everything that that man thinks about?

Grumbling to herself, she headed towards the lobby to see if the receptionist could help her with the directions to the Battle Museum. She was told that it wasn't very far on foot but after storming out of the room earlier on, she figured it was best to take a cab.

Ella didn't want Ben to catch up with her too soon so she decided to hail a cab. Giving the destination to the cab driver, she simply sat back and thought about what exactly she would need to do once she discovered the location of the bath house.

"We're here ma'am," the chirpy cab driver said. He held out his hand as Ella fumbled with the Euros. Getting off, she simply stood staring at the cottage in front of her. Did she get the right address? This is Battle High Street... but there wasn't anything but this run down looking cottage with its simple gable rooftop and cobbled walkway. It also looked too quiet to be a museum; nothing like the ones Ella was used to or had seen. Even in Florence when they had gone the last time, the museums there looked at least 20 times bigger than this one.

Gathering up her courage, Ella walked slowly to the entrance and pushed the door open.

"Yes?" came the booming voice of a burly looking man behind the counter. "Here for a tour?"

"Uh... umm... is this the Battle Museum sir?" Ella asked, meekly. The man stared at her intently.

"Whadda ya foreign folks always ask tis stupid questin'. O'course tis the 'attle Museum!"

"Ah, I see... thank you sir. I, I suppose I'll just have a look around then..."

"That's one pound for ya," he said.

"Huh... a pound of... oh... yes, yes sir..." Ella blushed as she fished in her pouch for the money to pay him.

Nodding as she placed the money on the desk in front of him, he continued to read the newspaper that he was reading before being interrupted by her.

Not wanting to disturb the man anymore, Ella walked herself through the museum. The first section consisted of a panel of exhibition of The Bayeux Tapestry. It was made by Charles Stothard, an appointed historical draughtsman to the Society of Antiquaries of London. It was a beautiful piece of embroidered linen that showed pictures of merchant boats as well as the life of the people in the 1800. On the bottom of the first tapestry was a picture that looked at odds with the rest. It was a building that looked greek-like with its columns and open aired roofs; nothing at all like the houses commonly found in England.

"Could this be...?" Ella wondered. Continuing past the last panel, she saw it... the model of The Bath House. It said on the notice beside it that works are under way to make the actual site a public display but it is still in progress. There was a phone number left there for anyone who wished for further information.

Scribbling down the number, Ella smiled, satisfied with herself.

Finding her way back to the main entrance, she smiled meekly at the burly man and started walking towards the main road. The bath house site was somewhere at Beauport Park which was roughly 3km away from where she was.

While sitting in the cab, Ella wondered about Ben. Was he still sleeping or had he got up in a rage, looking for her? She smiled thinking about the latter. The Professor Martin she knew never got angry at anything. He was cool and confident and spoke only when necessary. She wondered how it was that they came to be so deeply involved with each other until...

Ella closed her eyes; her palm resting on her stomach.

****

"That pouty- mouthed, anger snapping little... ARGH!!!!" yelled Ben as he paced up and down in his room.

"Calm down Abben... seriously... she's not a child anymore. She'll be alright," said Aqurico.

"Ever since... ever since I've become this... human, I can't read her mind anymore! I feel so powerless! Argh! I feel so goddamn fucking human! I can't stand it!" he continued to yell.

"Are you regretting it?" Adrian replied calmly. He looked so serene, leaning against the wall, staring at his brother pacing about angrily.

"You know he's such a sucker for her..." Aqurico added.

"Shut up!" roared Ben.

"Abben... has being a human taken away your memory of your duty? To have simply let her walk away like that without a guardian..." Adrian sighed. As predicted, Ben's eyes widened, first in shock and then, horror.

He started to panic and scrambled for his bag. With a nod of his head, Adrian made Leukós stand in front of his master, adamant not to let him budge.

"Aurora is with her. You will be of no use to Ella at this moment, seeing that you are powerless and lack the mobility you used to possess. Plus... there's something I need to talk to you," said Adrian. Aqurico had already placed their brother onto the sofa in front of him.

"Wait till you land yourself in this position... oh brothers... what have I become...?" Ben muttered as he covered his face with his hands.

"A father."

"You mean I will... wait a minute... WHAT?!" he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet, only to be shoved back down by Aqurico.

"Sit," was the command.

"What... why... how... oh my god... I must go... now..." he muttered, half dazed.

Sighing, Adrian continued to watch his brother's state of mind, willing it to stabilize before saying anything else.

Aqurico patted Ben's shoulders; synchronizing their emotions to calm his brother down.

"How long have you guys known?" he asked, gaining back his composure.

"Longer than you have, obviously. But it doesn't matter. What matters more is that she shouldn't be in any stressful situations... and that..."

"Includes you," said Aqurico, finishing the sentence.

"What? What have I done?" exclaimed Abben, getting agitated again.

"Just that! Look at yourself Abben! You've become emotional and your health is clearly not at its best. You forget mealtimes and forget sleep. You are clearly forgetting your responsibilities!" chided Adrian. He couldn't believe he was speaking to his elder brother, as if reprimanding a child.

"But I'm a father now... wow..." said Ben, grinning to himself.

"Yes, but a Guardian first."

Closing his eyes for a moment, Ben tried to gather his thoughts and focused.

"Alright. Let's go and find my wife," he said, once he opened his eyes.

***

Beaufort Park looked like an enchanted forest to Ella. As she wandered around, she wondered if she was ever going to find the location of the ruins. She didn't have a phone with her and there were no public phones in sight. Furthermore, the park seemed too quiet, even for a weekday.

Wandering further in, she noticed some men, wearing overalls walking past some bushes. Following them, she figured she could ask them for some help. They were walking incredibly fast and Ella had some difficulty catching up. Her ankles were aching; looking down; she noticed that they were a little swollen. Cursing to herself, Ella continued walking, not wanting to lose sight of the men.

Stopping to catch her breath, it was then that Ella saw what looked like a construction site. There were wheelbarrows filled with sand and soil, left at the entrance that was made out of make- shift metal scaffoldings. Men in overalls were going in and out from that entrance. Ella wondered if this was the excavation site of the bath house.

It did not look like anything she had seen or read before about the Roman Bath houses.

"You there!" someone shouted at her direction.

Clearly startled, Ella simply kept quiet, even when the man approached her.

"Who are you?"

"Umm..."

"Are you deaf?"

"Ah, no... I mean... I am lost," she replied meekly.

The man looked at her enquiringly.

"You here to see the goods?" he whispered. Ella's eyes widened in shock. Did she accidentally walk into some drug den? Panicking, she tried to inch away from him, only to have her hands grabbed by his strong ones.

"You're in luck Missy. Mr Flavius's already here today. You can make your bid to him," he said gruffly as he let go of her wrist and walked off.

"Wa... wait! What bid?" Ella dared herself to ask. But the man did not turn back to reply her. Following behind him, Ella walked past the entrance and found herself in a dimly litted tunnel of sorts.

Emerging at the end of the tunnel, Ella's mouth hung wide with amazement. There it was...

The cold, warm and hot rooms, plunge baths, heating chambers and changing rooms, fully preserved, greeting her with their ancient grime.

"Oh, are you here for the bid too?" a feminine voice said from behind. "I must have startled you. Hey... you look familiar!"

Ella turned and frowned. The lady staring at her looked familiar...

"Oh! You're the one who helped me at the airport! Remember?" Ella chirped, almost jumping in joy at the fact that she was no longer alone. She didn't think her heart could contain the happiness at finding the bath house anymore. She must share it with someone.

"This is something isn't it?" the lady exclaimed.

"Why yes! I've been hoping to see it for such a long time!"

It was then that a tall man appeared from a side door to greet them.

"Ladies... how fortunate of me to see you today. Please, please don't be shy. Mr Flavius at your service..."

Ella noticed that the lady beside her started to tense when he appeared. Perhaps she was nervous, Ella thought. She was simply too ecstatic to think of anything else. She wanted to know all about the bath house and if possible, to tour it.

"You see, this bath house was an accidental find by one of my friends. He's the headmaster at one of the nearby schools here. He's really an amateur archaeologist but a brilliant one. He was the one that explained to me how the landslide preserved this place almost perfectly."

Seeing that his guests were silent, he continued.

"You see, I recently bought this site. It would be a shame to let such a national treasure be closed off from the public. I have already transferred some of the artefacts here to my museum at Battle High Street. If you have the time, do take a look. I kept them in a private room on the second level. Just mention my name to the security guard there and he will let you in."

"Earlier on, the man that brought me in said that there was some sort of bid?" Ella asked.

"Ah, yes... you see, although I am the owner of this ruin, alas, I still need to raise some funds to create a permanent building to house this site. It is a pity of course to have to part with some of the artefacts to private collectors such as yourself. But, there will always be a price to pay for everything, isn't that so?" he replied, his gaze fixed upon the woman accompanying Ella.

"Right. I'm sorry for taking up your time Mr Flavius... but I really must get going. Let's go," she said tugging gently at Ella's arm.

Ella looked at her watch and realised that she had been out for almost the whole day. Ben must be really worried.

"He gives me the creeps!"

"Oh? I thought he was really nice, bringing us around and explaining things to us," said Ella.

"How will you be going back?" the lady asked her.

"By cab, I suppose. I'm not a native here so I'm afraid of getting lost," replied Ella.

"You must make your husband worry... Well, I'll be off then?"

Aurora gazed at Ella from a distance. Closing her eyes, she changed her form to follow behind Ella, unseen. Aurora knew that she had made a mistake by transforming into her human form. She had sensed the fear in Ella and didn't want either mother or child to be alone in that eerie ruin. It was reckless of her to have changed into her human form, but she never thought that she would have to come face to face with him. He recognized her of course and she knew that she had just put Ella in danger.

Ella, unaware of what had happened, was lost in bliss. She wanted to get back to the hotel to tell Ben everything and maybe make a call to her father. She was closer to discovering about her ancestors.

When she reached her room, she realised that she had stormed out earlier without taking the room key. Hoping that Ben was still inside, Ella knocked. She really hoped that he had not gone out to look for her, taking the key with him.

After 10 minutes of knocking, Ella decided it would be better to get some dinner instead. She wouldn't want to wait for Ben outside their door. Turning to walk towards the stairs, she bumped into Ben.

"Ella..." he croaked. His eyes betrayed his cool demeanour, glistening with tears. "Don't... don't ever do that again," he said, hugging her tight.

Opening their door, he held her hand and led her into the darkness of their room. Closing the door behind them, he eased her back towards the door and pressed his palm on the door beside her face.

"Don't ever, make me worried like that ever again," he said as he kissed her forehead.

"Don't' ever make me think of losing you," he said, kissing the bridge of her nose.

"And... don't ever think of making me stop loving you," he whispered as he pressed his lips over hers. He heard her sigh softly in response. Gently placing his hands on her shoulders, he eased the jacket off from her body. His hands went under her blouse, reaching to her back to unclasp her bra. To please her, he cupped her breast, slowly, gently tweaking at her nipples, seducing them to hard peaks.

Ella moaned under his kiss and tried to undress him but Ben merely took both her wrists and held them with one hand above her head. He wanted to punish her for making him worried, making him look for her like a raving lunatic all over Battle.