The View of Paris and Beyond

The balloon stood tall and majestic against the blue sky, swaying lightly in the gentle wind that played with the grass and flowers of the aero field. Katherine darted forward towards it, almost dragging Ezekiel behind her. "Oh, it's beautiful," she cried, dropping his hand to clap. She turned her head to smile brightly at him as she checked the pins in her hair to make certain that her hat was firmly in place. Hat checked, she then turned fully to face Ezekiel, her eyes alight. "You are going to have to hold my hand the whole time," she demanded cheerfully. "I'm quite terrified of heights."

Ezekiel smiled as he looked at her, the sunlight behind her creating a halo effect around her face. "Dearest Katherine, if I had my way, I would never let it go." She was good for him, he thought. He had gotten far too serious - sometimes, the playful days of childhood seemed a lifetime away. The overly serious nature of his brothers that he had not understood as a child had overtaken him as an adult. But Katherine swept all of that away in a single smile or in that delighted look she so often wore. His heart had known well before his head in this case. No wonder he had attended all of her dinner parties, when he often chose to skip those hosted by others.

Cane gripped firmly in the middle by his right hand, he took hold of Katherine's hand and walked alongside her until they approached the balloon basket. A thick rope tied to the basket kept the balloon from ascending out of the reach of the riders. A tall, slim gentleman dressed in a white shirt with a long brown coat stood by the entrance. He wore a brown bowler, which he tipped to them as they approached. A Sir to Ezekiel and Madam to Katherine before turning to Ezekiel and asking, "You'll have your tickets then, sir?"

From his inner pocket, Ezekiel pulled out the two tickets that Monsieur Beignet had given them. So concerned with appearances Beignet was, yet he had generously given them this balloon ride unsupervised, save for the balloon attendant. A complex man, that Neece of Katherine's.

He handed the tickets to the attendant, who after giving them a quick inspection, tucked them away and opened the door to the balloon basket.

Her breath caught for a moment as Katherine hesitated. But her chin came up and with determination; she stepped into the basket and looked back at Ezekiel. Biting her bottom lip lightly, she smiled gently. "Do get in quickly, my love," she asked ruefully, "before I lose my courage."

Ezekiel stepped into the basket right after her. As he did, he put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly through the forest green day dress she wore. While he was not afraid of heights, he had never been in a balloon before. So he understood a little of what she must be feeling. She already had shown him the side that would keep him from being too serious. And now she demonstrated the bravery that made her special.

The balloon attendant stepped in and closed the door. He then gave a questioning look to Ezekiel, who nodded back and said, "When you are ready, sir." There was a lurch as the balloonist cast off and Katherine gasped and then dissolved into giggles as they began to rise. Twisting, she settled her back against Ezekiel's front, and snuggled in gently as the landscape began to widen and spread before them. "Oh," was all she could say as the French countryside and the city laid itself out for their inspection.

The city sprawled out underneath them, and Ezekiel marveled at the colors and textures that had been hidden from their view on the ground. But it was her presence up against him which enthralled him more than any city could. Ezekiel leaned his head in over her shoulder, looking at the scenery with her as she saw it. "Beautiful," he said, as he pressed his cheek up against hers. "And so is the view."

The warmth of his cheek elicited a sigh from deep within her, a soft release of tension throughout her body. She took his arms and wrapped them around her like a protective cloak and settled her own arms on his. "I won't fall now," she said with relief and a bit of a nervous laugh. "You've got us." Looking around, she began to absorb the view, watching keenly as the wind began to take them towards the city. "I wonder if this is how the birds feel," she whispered to Ezekiel and the air around her. It was giddy and electric, watching as the world ran beneath them, so far away and yet so close, the horizon so far and so large. It seemed as if they could float into the stars in the dreamy silence of the air as the birds called below them for them to return to earth. She stayed perfectly still for a while before pulling a little free of his grasp, her courage finally steeled enough for what she wanted to do. She glanced back at him, her eyes a little wide. "I want to look down over the edge. Can you hold my hand?"

"Of course I will," he said firmly. He took hold of her hand with both of his, his cane having been placed on the floor of the basket after entering. With her hand in his and no sound but that of the wind blowing through the basket, he felt truly at peace. No wonder that the angels looked down on mortals with pity. They experience in every moment peace that most of humankind never got to feel.

Katherine craned her head over the edge timidly and then, her lips parting in a muted exclamation, she pulled at his hand to come stand beside her. "Come and look! Oh, the ground is going by so quickly, Ezekiel! We are flying!"

Ezekiel stepped up beside her and looked over the edge. It was magnificent. Everything moved by at a steady pace, not so fast as to make the stomach turn, but more than fast enough to ensure a sensation of detachment from the world below. "Thank you for sharing this with me, Katherine," he said with a smile. "We will have to remember to thank the giver of the gift as well. Uncommonly generous."

She grinned. "He is more romantic than he reveals. Quite a complex man. He likes you very much, no matter how much he fusses." She leaned in closer to him. "I like you very much, too," she whispered in his ear, her lips brushing the skin softly. "Would you consider me improper and forward if I asked for a kiss? We shall have to start doing our surveillance work once we are over Paris and it will be a bit difficult to see the city if all I can see is you."

"Whether it is forward or not, the idea is now set in my mind and going without it would cause me harm." Ezekiel took off his glasses and slid them in a pocket. He could see her beauty without them.

With Katherine already close in, he did not have to go far for the promised kiss. As his lips met hers, he could taste her sweetness on hers, and feel the warm softness that quickly radiated to heat throughout his body. He no longer needed the balloon to feel like he was flying.

"Could not bear to cause you harm," she whispered, her lips moving against his before she fell completely into the kiss. She sent a quick prayer to the Host to bless Neecy a thousand times over and reached to stroke timid fingers through his hair and down his neck. The taste and scent of his was overwhelming, calling forth again an aching need that she had only felt with him, one that she only vaguely knew how to name. A soft, contented moan escaped her as she pressed against him, seeking the contact that instinctively her body craved. Her world was simultaneously full of warmth and contentment, flavored by the giddy feeling of floating above the world in a love that only immortals could understand. Katherine knew that the Host had blessed her with Ezekiel; she felt invincible in his arms and knew truly his mother had named him well.

The kiss seemed to both stretch on forever and last not nearly long enough. When his lips finally left hers and he stared into her eyes, it was clear she felt the same way he did, overwhelmed by the sheer power of what they were feeling. He paused for a moment in silence just to take in her face, memorizing everything about it, then said, "You are my wings, Katherine, and you call me to fly again." And he leaned in for another kiss. Host help him to give him willpower until they were married.

She licked her lips lightly, wanting to have the taste of him, pausing a moment as the delighted smile played over her lips. "My strength and my anchor," she murmured before yielding again to the desire that she did not want to fight. Her eyes lit with a deeper fire after the eternal moments of the next kiss; something inside her emitted a playful growl and she bit lightly and then sucked gently at his lower lip before pulling away. Surprised, she could only stare at him as she looked in his eyes, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "Do forgive me, darling. I shall not do that again," she whispered, bowing her head.

Her biting of his lip had sent shivers of pleasure down Ezekiel's spine not quite like anything he had experienced before. He put his finger under his chin and lifter her head to look at him. "I would be disappointed if you did not do that again, Katherine. It felt very nice." He smiled at her. "Just because we must be sedate in public (and I have my own ideas about that), that does not mean we must be sedate with each other. Be who you are when you are with me, not what everyone says you must be."

She reached up to take his finger from her chin to kiss it as she closed her eyes. "I love you," she stated, opening her eyes to his. "I cannot understand how I have survived so far without you." She then kissed each finger in turn before enfolding his hand in hers. "Suspended above this beautiful earth, I am quite assured now that there is heaven." She spun around so that she wrapped herself again in his arm and lay back against him. "We must stop before I faint," she stated with a firmness that she didn't feel. "I am but a creature of weak flesh. Paris is coming for us and I suppose we must do the spying commission that sponsored this balloon ride."

She gave a deep sigh and cursed the bustle that lay protectively between them, blessing it at the same time. The feel of him through her Rosetti gown in their previous embrace had nearly driven her mad and with each kiss, she knew it was getting harder and harder to refuse the hunger that he invoked inside her. Leaning her head back against his shoulder, she craned her neck to kiss the underside of his chin. "I suppose patience is a virtue, but O, how very maddening it is," she said in a whisper as she stroked the lean muscles of his arm possessively and then began to giggle at herself. She, Katherine, surely wasn't the only woman in love in the approaching city and yet she felt like sulking like child denied her treat.

"I was told once by a good friend," Ezekiel remarked, "that patience and duty were the foundations upon which the spiraling towers of our joy are built." He smiled in return at Katherine. "I have been patient all my life and will have to be patient for the rest of it. But I admit that I wish, in this moment, to be able to sail our balloon directly to the top of the tower and reach the life of joy I have waiting for me with you."

He held her tightly against him as the buildings of Paris approached below, the crowded structures and streets a reminder that duty was an impatient mistress.

Katherine stole another quick kiss from the underside of his chin. "A very wise friend indeed," she answered, still grinning from her amusement. "But I cannot promise not to sulk about having to build the foundations of that tower. I feel as if the foundations are already built." She inhaled deeply as a feeling of peace and satisfaction flowed through her as if from above and closed her eyes. I hear, Lord she answered in her head, and I am blessed and grateful. The future lay ahead, uncertain and fraught with potential dangers. But they would be able to navigate them together, her and Ezekiel. A caress of wind tickled her cheek and she began to laugh again, happiness bubbling forth like a fountain.

It was a beautiful day and at this moment, sailing through the sky with Ezekiel holding her, she could do nothing but ironically wish the Madame Rembecki the most sincere of blessings for ruining her party.

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