Part 1
Cody scanned the room again and took a drink from a passing waiter. She wasn't here. Cody cursed herself for letting into the desire that had brought her here. Katharine was all that she'd thought about for three weeks after her departure, and even now, four years later, Cody was missing the blonde as much as before.
More, now that she'd finally tracked Katharine down to Aigina.
A Greek man lurched past her and Cody downed her drink quickly. She reached for another, vowing to drown her sorrows tonight in this unknown hotel in Aigina town.
A letter in the newspaper last week had caught her attention. Even now, she could remember exactly what it said.
Dear Editor, As a fan of the in depth articles by K. Oscuro, I wonder if you could tell me why your paper no longer publishes these stories?
Response from Editor: As it is, Madam, K. Oscuro is currently in Aigina, Greece, researching for a future article, funded by this paper. Thank you for your letter.
So, like a lovestruck fool, Cody had left as soon as possible, arriving in Aigina only this morning and turning up at this party that Katharine was supposed to be at.
A sudden thought hit the woman. What is K. Oscuro was someone else? Kevin or Keith? Cody damned herself. Of course. There was no possible way that Katharine could have stayed in New Orleans, writing for a paper without Cody Sangria knowing about it.
A familiar laugh broke all her senses and Cody almost fell over with relief. There, not five feet away, stood a petite blonde, dressed in a shimmering silver dress, hair tumbling in curls down her back. Her hand rested on the arm of a man who gazed at her lovingly. Cody resisted the urge to pull out her gun. Look at me, she willed, as Katharine and the people with her laughed again. Look at me!
Katharine's head turned slightly, a breeze bringing with it a scent that Katharine hadn't smelt in years. That familiar musky fragrance with a slight hint of lemon. Cody was here. She was sure of it. And yet, how many times had she been sure that there were azure eyes following her down a street or across a crowded room.
Cody side-stepped a woman and gazed at Katharine's back. Look at me!?
Where are you? Katharine glanced back, trying not to be too suspicious. She slid her hand away from the man at her side at turned around fully.
Cody's breath caught in her throat. Katharine smiled. There, by the plant in the corner. Leaning gently against the wall, drink in hand, a crooked smile on her face. Like the cat who's got the mouse.
Cody stared at the younger woman, amazed at how much more confident she seemed. She moved forward as Katharine did, wanting to touch her to see if she was real, yet scared to. Katharine weaved gracefully through the few people seperating them, needing to know for sure that Cody was here. Needing to touch her. Katharine's arms spread to hug Cody and, without thinking, Cody stepped into the embrace, pulling Katharine closer, feeling her against her body. Katharine breathed in the scent of Cody. A solitary tear rolled down her cheek and into the dark hair. She felt Cody's lips brush against her cheek and pulled back to look in Cody's eyes.
Cody smiled down at the blonde. "I've missed you." She whispered, she looked the blonde over, as if searching for answers, the familiar smile, leading to the dress, strapless and firmly hugging Katharine's body, down to Katharine's feet and back up to meet Katharine's eyes.
The younger one smiled. "You're looking at me as if I was a horse!" Cody laughed, and Katharine took the oppurtunity to give Cody the once-over. Those eyes, down to a long black jacket over a loose white shirt, and down again to black leather pants and knee-high boots.
Cody grinned wolfishly. "Do you want to check my teeth?" Katharine giggled. "Or maybe you wanted to take me for a test ride."
"Don't give me ideas." The blonde replied, making Cody gasp. Although Katharine looked the same, it was obvious that she had changed inside.
"I?I?have a?a room not far from here, would you like to come around for a?.talk?" Cody finally managed.
Katharine shook her head. "I have an apartment, if you want to come. This party isn't that exciting." Cody nodded and followed the blonde out and into a cab led by a greying horse. It wasn't far to a handsome white building, where Katharine indicated for Cody to get out. Thy didn't talk as they climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Katharine opened the door and lead Cody into an empty room, with three doors leading off from it. "That's the bathroom, the bedroom, and I'm not quite sure what to call this room." Katharine said, throwing her coat over a chair. The room had a table with chairs against one wall, a bench with bread and other things along it and a sofa. Along the final wall was a desk with papers spread over it and an easel, on which was a half-finished picture of the building opposite.
Cody touched one of the papers, it was an article about Aigina being a capital of modern Greece. The ex-pirate laughed. "They've sent you over here to research holiday spots?" Katharine placed her finger over Cody's lips.
'Shh?.of course not." She smiled. "I've missed you."
Cody sat down on the sofa, " What have you been doing with yourself?"
"You mean, what was I thinking when I left you."
Cody shrugged. It seemed that Katharine was quickly gaining the upper hand in this conversation. A fact that was making her very uncomfortable. "Well Cody? Do you want to know or not?"
Cody looked up. "No doubt that you'll tell me anyway."
"I left because you didn't respect me."
"What? I respected you."
"No you didn't." Katharine started, brushing a stray golden lock back behind her ear. "If you did, you wouldn't have pushed me away when I told you, quite plainly, how much I wanted you that night. I understand now that you thought I wasn't quite good enough. After all, you're a famous pirate - "
"Ex-pirate"
"- and I was nothing. So you see, I had to leave."
"You're mad, you know that! I loved you?.so much I didn't want to hurt you."
"You couldn't say that then." Katharine taunted.
"I didn't think that I had to. I thought that you knew."
"So I left you."
"Would you please stop changing the conversation?" Cody sank back into the sofa.
Katharine carried on. "And then I went home for a few weeks before realising that I would have to become something in order for you to respect me. Then, I suddenly realised that I'm very talented at stories, so, I managed, even though they didn't want me, to get a job with the paper." Katharine grinned.
"I searched for you everywhere. Anna didn't know where you were - she thought that I'd murdered you!"
"Do you know what my first story was, Cody?"
Cody sighed. "No"
"It was about you. I'm surprised you didn't see it. Although, it wasn't very flattering on your behalf, I was still mad at you, after all. Then I moved to New York to write there."
"This is all very fascinating, but I suddenly have a headache." Cody went to stand, but Katharine gestured for her to stay sitting.
"Shhh?So, while I was there, in New York, I wrote a book, and when I came back to New Orleans last year, they hired me and sent me over here on an assignment." Cody groaned "You see, a lady had suddenly discovered that she had a very famous relic, which she brought down to the newspaper office. Of course, she didn't know how great it was, so the paper bought it from her for a small sum of money, and sent me here and my assignment is to find out all about it."
"That's wonderful Katharine, and I'm sorry to have interrupted your work by coming here." Cody stood to leave.
Katharine's smile faltered and faded. "You mean, you didn't want to help me with my research?" She fell into a chair at the table.
"I'm sorry, my dear, but I guess all I wanted was to finally finish things up properly with you."
Katharine's lower lip trembled. "But?but I've worked so hard for you to respect me. You don't seem to understand everything I'm telling you! You?you do respect me, don't you Cody?"
"Sure I do, hunny." Cody said as she kneeled in front of the writer.
"Then why don't you want me?" A tear trailed its way down her cheek. Cody reached out to brush it away. Katharine grasped her hand, pressing it to her cheek.
"Darlin' " Cody drawled, "You just ain't the same and neither am I. I dreamt about you every night and now?I guess you aren't the same as what I dreamt."
"People change Cody."
"Exactly, but we've changed into two very different people. I just don't think that we'd be able to be together anymore.
Katharine wiped another unshed tear from the corner of her eye, and smiled. "We can still be friends though, right Cody? I mean, different people can be friends."
"Sure we can, hunny."
"And you, you do still love me - as a friend, don't you?"
Cody hesitated. "Yeah, Darlin', I loved you then, and I love you now, more than anything. But we aren't right for each other anymore. We're too different." Katharine nodded. "Maybe we were never right."
"So?" Katharine giggled. "Will you help me with my assignment?"
"Maybe." Cody settled herself back into the sofa and began to roll herself a cigarette, a habit she had picked up two years earlier.
"Why aren't you a pirate anymore?" Katharine asked.
"Well, its not like I can explain it really. I mean, if you're a soldier, you're always a soldier, but I just got tired of doing the same things over and over. And I guess that I was lonely too."
"So you just stopped?"
"It's not like I needed the money. It just wasn't what I wanted to do anymore."
"What did you want to do?"
"At the time, I thought that my life would be complete if I could just be with you." Cody answered as she watched Katharine rise and cross the room to the desk. She lit her cigarette and took a deep breath in.
"Oh."
"So, an author huh?"
"Yeah, but not a very famous one. It's not like I outsold the bible or anything. Anyway, the publishers thought that I was a man. It wasn't that spectacular."
"Oh"
"There was a silence as Katharine sorted through some papers and then opened a drawer in the desk to retrieve a photograph. "This is the relic" She said, handing the picture to Cody."
"It's huge."
"It's a mask."
Cody took another pull on her cigarette and handed the picture back to Katharine. "So?"
"So, its believed by the man at the newspaper to be a mask belonging to an Amazon Queen."
Cody laughed loudly. "And how did a woman in New Orleans get it?"
"She could trace her family back hundreds of years, to a Greek woman who lived here in Aigina. Before that, she didn't know." Katharine shrugged. She placed the photograph gently back into the desk drawer.
"So you want me to help you to find out about a mask that may very well be something that that woman's mother bought on a trip to Africa?"
"Well, there is a chance that it isn't real, but what if it is? What if we've found a mask of an Amazon Queen? I read that there are no such things as Amazons, but what if there were, Cody?"
It was Cody's turn to shrug. "You really believe that this mask is real, don't you?" Katharine nodded firmly. "Ok, I'll help you for as long as I'm here. I needed a holiday anyway."
"Thank you, I knew that I could count on you." Katharine paused. "Would you like to stay here tonight?" She rushed on, "Then we could get an early start in the morning.
"Cody shook her head. I'm not quite sure that that is a good idea." She sighed and looked at Katharine. "I wouldn't want to confuse this relationship."
Katharine grinned. "Ohhh, we have a relationship do we?" she teased. Her shoulders straightened. "Please Cody. I just want you here tonight." Cody nodded and Katharine stood up. "I'll light the lamp in the bathroom for you."
The writer was in bed in her silk pajamas when the older, raven-tressed woman walked into the bedroom, dressed in only her white shirt which came to mid-thigh, her tanned legs exposed and her hair falling gently over her shoulders. She slid between the sheets quietly and tucked her arm around Katharine's waist, drawing the blonde back against her. Katharine groaned and turned to face Cody. Her covered leg slid over the bare one of the ex-pirate. "I did miss you." Cody grinned.
"I know."