If you were given the opportunity for a star-crossed lovers’ destiny, would you take it?
Maveric sat in his English class contemplating this exact question. Personally, he was miffed that the professor would even ask something so lame. Especially considering it was Valentine’s Day. If the prof’s goal was to make everyone throw up, he’d nearly succeeded.
With a sigh, Mav leaned back in his chair, consciously avoiding looking at the beautiful girl seated at the next desk over. If he were honest, he would recognize that thinking everyone wanted to hurl was, in fact, hyperbole.
The thought made him chuckle. If only his high school English teacher could see him now. Not even a full year into college, and he was finally learning something in English class.
Approximately three feet away, Priya turned and shot him a curious smile. When her head turned, the scent of roses wafted from her long, sleek, black hair.
She was saying something to him, but Mav was too entranced by the golden hue of her eyes and the way her smile shone against her honey-brown skin. He thought the dimples in her cheeks were perhaps the cutest thing he had ever seen.
Then the sweet little divots faded as her smile turned into a concerned frown. “Maveric?” she repeated. “You there?”
Shaking himself awake, he sat upright in his chair. “I, yeah, sorry. You were saying?”
The sweet smile returned as she shot him a funny look. “Did you not hear the prof’s instructions? ‘Turn to your neighbor and discuss: If you were given the opportunity for a star-crossed lovers’ destiny, would you take it?’ So… would you?”
Trying to play it cool, Maveric shrugged it off and crossed his arms. “Yeah, anything to get out of this class.”
“Anything?” The gold flecks in her brown eyes seemed to twinkle with mysterious light.
“Yes,” he said softly.
Jumping to her feet, Priya held out her hand, palm open. “Prove it.”
Mav cast a cursory glance around the classroom. No one reacted. To be fair, Priya was only five-foot-two, so their classmates were probably just too engrossed in their own discussions to notice that she’d stood.
As if she’d read his mind, Priya used her chair and stood on her desk, her palm still extended. “Prove it, Maveric! Prove to me that you would accept a star-crossed lovers’ destiny.” A coy smile tugged at her lips as she wiggled her fingers.
Without any further thoughts, Mav stood and grabbed her hand.
If he’d thought it through, Mav may have realized that the second their fingers touched, they were victims of the trope. Namely, jumping into a relationship without knowing each other well enough.
Like any star-crossed lover jumping the gun, that didn’t matter to him, and clearly it didn’t matter to Priya. There was something so incredibly right about the feel of her hand in his. Sparks flew, the world around them spun out of control, wind rushing through his tangled blond hair, ripping away his baseball cap. Mav’s eyes were forced shut. All he could focus on was Priya’s hand.
The same wind grew in strength, taking on its own aura, nefarious and cold. Mav couldn’t explain it, but it sent shivers down his spine. Cold twisted and turned to blazing heat, ripping Priya’s hand out of his grasp. He tried to shout, but no sound came out. As fast as it all happened, it stopped.
On his hands and knees, breathing heavily, Mav peeled open his eyes and saw the mosaic floor on which he was kneeling. He could make out a lion, all claws and teeth, racing towards the fallen figure of a man. The artwork was ancient, yet somehow appeared fresh.
“Rise, boy,” said a voice like thunder.
Scrambling to his feet, Mav idly noticed his trainers had been traded for leather sandals, his joggers for a short, brown toga. When he saw the face of the voice, Mav’s jaw dropped. He shuffled back. The living, breathing image before him was identical to classical Greek artwork depicting the thunder god himself: Zeus. At least nine feet tall and seated on a marble throne, Zeus held a sparking lightning bolt in his right hand. To Zeus’ left stood Priya, appearing especially tiny, her hair swept and curled back from her face. Flowing robes of pink fell from her shoulders, and her wrists were bound together with rope.
“You dare,” Zeus continued, the rumbling of his voice reverberating through Mav’s chest, “to take the hand of my beloved daughter? To rise above your station and court a demi-god?”
Stormy eyes peered down at Mav. He was sure he saw lightning flash in the irises. Now, Mav had read all the Percy Jackson books back in middle school. In high school, as more books were added to the series, he still read them, but secretly, so his jock friends wouldn’t think he was a nerd.
Clearing his throat, Mav tried to channel some of his hero’s sarcastic charm. “Big Guy—Do you mind if I call you Big Guy? I think we all know that you don’t actually care about your offspring. Do you even know her name?”
“Do you?”
“Yeah, it’s Priya.”
“Priya…?” Zeus prompted.
Drawing a blank, Mav looked to Priya. An amused grin tugged at her lips. Despite the rope around her wrists, she appeared to think this was all a game. Silently, she mouthed a word. Mav shook his head.
Patting her leg, Priya tried to give him a hint as she continued to wordlessly repeat what he could only guess was her last name.
“Uh, Pat… patty, patter… what? ‘L’, like for loser?”
Again, Priya repeated the movements. She patted her leg, then formed the letter ‘L’ with her right hand, all the while mouthing the word.
“Oh! Patel! It’s Priya Patel.”
Suddenly looking extremely bored, Zeus snapped his fingers, and the rope around Priya’s wrists burned in a flash. She started to run toward him, but she had only taken a few short strides before a massive yellow bolt of lightning struck the mosaic, cracking it down the middle.
The colorful bits shattered, crumbling away beneath them into a black abyss. Desperately, Mav jumped, reaching for Priya, only to have her slip through his fingers, as they tumbled into the inky darkness.
When Mav came to, he was keenly aware of two things: First, the blazing hot sun beating down on what felt like a metal cage wrapped around his body. It was like being cooked from the inside out. Even conditioning for football never felt this bulky and hot. The second was the steady up-and-down galloping of the horse beneath him. Mav tried to get his bearings, but twisting around in the weighty armor was nearly impossible and the visor slats did little to improve his vision.
Bugles blared. Dogs, horses, and men cried out. His horse careened to the left. Mav felt rather than saw a blast of heat. It was fiery hot and accompanied by a dreadful roar. Beneath it all came a sharp cry: “MAAAVVV! Save me!”
The horse whinnied and reared, sending Maveric flying. He landed with a hard crash and rolled onto his hands and feet. Priya’s voice sounded far away and terrified. Tearing off his gauntlets, Mav stumbled to his feet. He ripped off the tin can helmet and took in the full breadth of destruction wrecked by the beast.
The forest burned bright and hot. Smoke billowed into the sky. All around him, knights lay slain by the dragon. At the mouth of the cave, a slithering green dragon sat back on its haunches, shooting flames higher into the sky. In his claws, Priya was caught. With one free arm, she futilely plunged a short dagger into the dragon’s scales, but the blade glanced off without a scratch.
Without a thought for his own safety, Mav reached for the sword at his side. The golden blade gleamed, reflecting the fiery glow of the tinder box forest. Bellowing, Sir Mav ran towards the monstrous beast. He dodged a wall of fire, then ducked beneath the creature’s maw. Two hard swings sliced through the emerald scales, releasing Priya from the dragon’s claws. With one final stroke, he plunged the blade into the dragon’s heart, up to the hilt. Gallantly, Sir Mav spun around and swept Lady Priya into his arms.
Before he could kiss his lady love, the world spun out of control again.
And so it happened, over and over and over again.
Mav and Priya on a balcony in Rome, swearing eternal love, only for poison and miscommunication to tear them asunder.
Mav and Priya escaping the sickening thud of the French guillotine.
Mav and Priya tossed about on ice cold waves, struggling to stay afloat on the shipwrecked pieces.
More times than Mav could count, he rescued Priya Patel, only for her to be ripped away from him again.
Until finally…
“Rescue me,” Mav gasped, as his toes struggled for purchase on the rocky slope. Nearby, Priya also clung to the craggy mountainside.
“What do you mean?”
“Break the trope, Priya! Be the hero, not the damsel.”
“But the curse—”
A shout escaped Mav’s mouth as the rope that held him started to fray. “The Aztec curse doesn’t matter! None of the dangers have mattered. What matters is you and me. Don’t you see?” Priya looked back at him, her golden eyes wide. The initial fear began to fade, and Mav started to feel a peaceful serenity as he accepted his fate. “That’s the whole point. Not just me. You and me.”
Letting go of the rocks, Mav dangled for a moment with only his fraying rope fighting the effects of gravity. “You have to break the trope.”
And then he was falling.
But only for a moment.
Instantly, Priya pushed out from the rocks, swinging on her rope and whooping like a tiny Tarzan, as she crashed into Maveric. Their arms and legs wrapped around each other, clinging tightly, as together they laughed with a mixture of terror and relief.
Tilting her head back, Priya kissed Mav, and this time, the world didn’t spin away. No darkness consumed, no wind tore them apart.
Everything was exactly as it should be.
Holding her in his arms and kissing her soft lips, Mav was blissfully unaware of the rest of the world, until familiar sounds began to filter in.
Desk chairs scooting across linoleum floors. Backpack zippers. Snickering students. A professor clearing his throat.
Reluctantly, Mav and Priya pulled away and saw they were back in the classroom. Priya was still standing on the desk, but this time with her arms wrapped around Mav’s neck as his held her around her waist. Glancing over the professor’s shoulder, Mav saw the question on the board.
Ignoring the cheers and jeers of classmates and the exclamations from the professor, Mav swept Priya off her feet and carried her out of the classroom.
“Would you?” Priya asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
“Would I what?”
“Would you do it all again?”
Mav grinned, then bent his neck to kiss her. “Absolutely.” He stopped short. “Just maybe not right this second?”
With a laugh, Priya reached up and pulled him into a lingering kiss. “Absolutely.”
As an author, Alexandra Rexford enjoys writing stories with wit and romance, including a dash of danger. In a perfect world, she would spend all her time writing, reading, sipping hot cocoa, and snuggling with her dogs.
Featured image by Everton Vila on Unsplash.
