Chapter Four

The princess was nervous, as she waited impatiently for her father to return. Even though he had declared war on the gargoyles, because their king had forced himself upon her, she couldn't help but feel remorseful . Should an entire species pay for the evil done by it's king? If her father had performed such a heinous act, would his people deserve to suffer? At that moment, the door to her bedchamber swung open, as there her father stood. He was a bloodied, beaten, and a broken man.

"Father!" She cried as he dropped to the floor, "W-what happened?" Quickly she went to him, as he laid there suffering. He looked weak, as he seemed to be moaning in agony. She knelt down, and cradled his head in her lap. As she looked down at him, her tears began to rain upon his battle weathered face.

"M-my daughter." He cried in obvious pain. "I-I have avenged your honor. The beast-the beast is dead."

"All of them father?" She asked. "Why, when only one hurt me? Why did they all have to suffer? Especially, after what they had done to protect our kingdom?"

He struggled to talk, but before he even had a chance, the angry beast came through her window. The princess screamed in terror, as the monster roared. The gargoyle king stood before them, with burning rage in his eyes!

"You!" Exclaimed the king. "H-how?"

"It seems that in your murderous rampage to slay my brothers, and me." He began "You forgot to make sure your that your mission was actually completed! One gargoyle is still alive! One angry, vengeful, gargoyle!"

As Gabriel called his sister, he was feeling elated. The songbird was his, and with her uncle's life in the balance, he knew she would be cooperative. Not only had he found the woman of his dreams, but he would be able to shape her into the perfect wife and mother. And in time, she would soon grow to love him.

"Hello?" His sister answered.

"Rosalina!" Gabriel exclaimed. "It's your favorite brother."

"Um, you're my only brother." She replied.

"Well yes, I know that I am your only brother." He said.

"Oh, please." She scoffed. "That one is older than time itself."

"Okay, I admit that is a lame cliche." He replied. "I suppose I cannot help but act a little giddy at this moment."

"Well somebody woke up on the annoying side of the bed this morning." she laughed.

"Guess what sister dear?" He replied. Ignoring her smart ass quip.

"Oh do pray tell, what?" She asked being obviously both playful, yet patronizing.

"Your prayers have finally been answered." He told her. "Your older brother is finally settling down. I'm getting married!"

"You're what?" She exclaimed. "When, how? I didn't even know you were dating anyone!"

"Perhaps there's more to me than you know." He responded. He looked over at his songbird, who had a shocked look upon her face. He gave her a quick wink and smiled at her. Anton on the other hand had his usual stoic expression. Nothing seemed to ever get a rise out of him, which is why he was perfect at what he did.

"Well, who-who is she, were's she from?" Rosalina asked, sounding extremely confused.

"Well, she's from New York, and her name is Calliope Russo." He told her, "But everyone calls her Cali for short. I on the other hand, call her my songbird, because she has the voice of an angel. And I don't know how much you know about Greek mythology, but Calliope was—"

"I know." Interrupted Rosalina. "She was the muse of singing, or something. How did you meet a girl from New York?"

"We can discuss this when you come over for lunch tomorrow." He replied. "I can't wait for the two of you to meet. She needs an entirely new wardrobe. I thought you could take her shopping tomorrow. You can help her find clothes befitting a woman like her, money of course will be no object. And you of course can buy some things for yourself, all on me and my credit card."

"Well I guess I would be a fool to pass up that offer." She said. "Anything else?"

"I was thinking you could help with the wedding preparations." He replied. "I know it's something you’ve always wanted to do. Oh, and we both like red, so you can help plan the wedding around that. I'll let the two of you handle all the details. It'll give you guys the chance to get to know one another. I'm sure you two will become the best of friends."

"I'm sure we will." She responded. "I look forward to tomorrow, and meeting my future sister-in-law."

"Excellent." Said Gabriel. "Then we'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow then." She told him. "Good-bye Gabe."

"Good-bye Rosy." He answered. He hung up the phone, as he couldn't help but smile. Everything seemed to be falling into place. As he looked at his songbird, he couldn't help but notice the wide eyed look upon her face.

"Is everything alright, Songbird?" He asked.

"D-did you just?" She began to asked. "Did you just tell her that we were getting m-married?"

"Yes." He replied. God she looks so cute when she's nervous.

"But why would you tell her that?" She asked.

"Because we are." He told her.

"But we don't even know each other." She replied. "We just met this afternoon."

"Would you rather I keep you as a mistress, or a common whore?" He asked. "From the moment I laid my eyes upon you, and heard your siren song, I couldn't stop thinking about you. Both your inner, and outer beauty enchanted me as well. But you're loyalty to your uncle, that was what made me realize that you were the one. Any woman who is that loyal to her family, will make a good wife and mother. I just turned thirty not too long ago. I need to find a good mother for my children."

"Ch-children?" She asked. A look of terror appeared upon her beautiful face, as her eyes became as big as saucers. All of a sudden her entire body began to tremble, as she started to turn pale.

"Songbird, are you alright?" He asked, as he started to feel concerned. Her eyes started to flutter, as the news had apparently been too much for her, because she had completely lost consciousness right before his very eyes.

"Songbird!" He exclaimed, as he unbuckled her seatbelt. He then gently took her unconscious body in his arms, and placed her on his lap. As he held her close to him, he looked upon his sleeping beauty and smiled. He then placed a kiss upon her forehead.

"Is she alright, sir?" Asked Anton.

“She'll be fine." Gabriel replied. "I think today has just been a little bit too much for her. She just needs some rest."

Cradling her in his arms, he lightly ran his fingers against her cheek. Her delicate skin, was soft and warm. While the scent from her hair was a combination of floral, and strawberries. As he continued to look at her, he was filled with feelings of unbridled euphoria. He had never felt this way about anyone before, and no matter what, he knew he could never let go of her.

He then bent down, and whispered in her ear. "I will always protect you."

Cali started to wake up, but she was feeling rather warm. That's when she realized, that she was wrapped in some strange man's tight embrace.

What the hell? She wondered. It wasn't even a loving embrace, more like a possessive one. Then it all came back to her, the mob boss, her uncle, the deal, marriage, children.

As he had continued to hold her tight, she noticed two things. One, all he had on was a pair of boxer shorts. And two, all she had on was some sort of a t-shirt. But it wasn't even her t-shirt. Who even changed her? Was it him? Had he actually removed her clothes while she was unconscious? Well at least she was still wearing her underwear.

I seriously have to go to the bathroom. She thought. Slowly she maneuvered herself, as she slipped her way out of his grasp. She wanted to be as careful as possible, and not wake him. Who knows what would happen if she accidentally woke the beast? He grumbled in his sleep a little bit, but she was able to successfully wiggle her way out of his hold.

There was some moonlight coming through the window, so at least she was able to see a little bit. If he had blackout curtains, she might have wet the bed. Quietly she found the master bathroom, closed the door, and turned on the lights. She couldn't believe it, the bathroom itself was amazing. Where were they, Buckingham Palace?

She proceeded to do her business, and then washed her hands in one of four sinks.

Why does one man need so many sinks? She wondered. As she looked in the mirror, she was surprised at how pale she looked. Then again, on top of the jet lag, it had been an earth shattering day.

"Cali!" She all of a sudden heard Gabriel cry outside the bathroom door. Just then, he burst through the door, making her jump.

"What the fuck!" He cried, with a crazed look in his eyes. "I had no idea where you were!"

"I-I'm sorry!" She replied in terror. Her body began to shake uncontrollably, as tears ran down her cheeks. "I had to go to the bathroom! Pl-please don't hurt my uncle!"

With the same look in his eyes, he stepped towards her. Feeling terrified she screamed, "No!", as she flinched because she thought he was going to hit her.

But instead, he threw his arms around her, and held her. He held her in a tight, and extremely possessive, embrace. His hand gently held the back of her head, as he placed his lips next to her ear. She could feel his hot breath against her skin, as she could also hear the heavy breathing in her ear. It was obvious that he was upset.

"I'm sorry if I overreacted." He whispered as his voice quivered. "It's just that a powerful man like me, has many enemies. And they would do whatever they had to, to hurt me. When I saw you were gone it scared me. I need you Songbird, I can't live without you. And any man, who would dare try and take you away from me, would feel my wrath. They would be begging for the fires of hell, by the time I would be done with them. Neither man, nor beast will ever take my beloved songbird away from me."

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