„It´s the first Friday of the month."
„And the 13th as well."
„Are you hungry?"
„Wanna join me?" he asked suggestively.
„No thanks, sugah."
„Well then, more for me." he grinned and stepped closer to the brim of the observation tower.
The over tree hundred feet underneath them didin´t seem to scare them a little. They might weren´t aware how far it would be all the way down or they didn´t care if they fell or not. It was like their natural place to be there tonight.
He took the last little step over the edge.
"You know Anna, you can´t fight it forever... You can´t fight what you are." he stood in a 90 degree angle to the brim, the contours of his body melting together with the fogy darkness of the night.
She moved closer to the massive stone pillar to prop herself up on it. The light strokes of moonlight fell on her worried face.
"I can still try."
He gave her a wry smile and the pushed his feet slightly off of the stony brim and vanished in the darkness.
x X x
The ballroom was gorgeous. It was covered in red and gold. Full of people wearing masks and beautiful costumes and dancing and laughing. There were circus artists dancing through the air on golden ropes, acrobats flying and dancers performing on stage and in between the celebrating people on smaller tables.
The crowd started to dance as the orchestra began to play for the waltz. The womens long colorful ball gowns slide smoothly over the dance floor shortly followed by the mens black suits. All of them wore masks to cover their faces that gave the celebrations a little thing of a mystery.
New guests came inside in pairs through 15 feet tall massive ceder doors and faced a mirror in a golden frame of the same size as the doors. On both sides of the mirror were little steps that leaded to the dance floor.
Those mirrors seem to be everywhere, she thought as she looked around herself . There really were mirrors everywhere on the walls, decent so they wouldn´t hit in the eye but still enough to betray her.
The hall was now full and everyone was chatting and dancing. She didn´t came through the main doors, too risky. She slid in through the employee back entrance behind the stage.
Her dress was a long black gown, elegant but simple, that covered her fully but letting her shoulders bare. The bottom part was wide with a silver border, flowing right into a corseted chest with a lacy back that made her look even more feminine. Spiderweb gloves hugged her delicate fingers and a chocker of black silk with a silver spider clang to her neck, three strands of pearls hanging down of it on her snowy white chest. A little white-black spiderweb cloth hang down from her hair flowing lightly over her face. Her long dark brown hair was decorated with little silver spiders and her white streaks were bound together with a beautiful cross shaped clip with black pearls so that her streaked formed a ´halo´ around her head.
She lifted up her silver mask with black feathers and stepped from behind the stage making her way slowly to the others like she was one of them. Passing by the patriarch´s table, she noticed that one chair was empty but she didn´t really care.
Some of the eyes fell on her as she walked by and it made her rather nervous but the gaze lasted only for seconds and they turned away. She sighed in releave. She tried to keep herself in the middle of the hall so that none of the mirrors would catch her and half way to the dance floor, the orchestra and singing stopped. Everyone turned around and looked at the patriarch.
He coughed before he lifted himself from the chair, his face full of distress and anxiousness and spoke up.
"Dear monde, it is mon pleasure to see that so many of you came to célébrer Walpurgis nuit with us!" he grinned smugly "Lets burn some chipie!"
The whole hall erupted in cheerful laughter and applause. And simultaneously to Jean-Luc´s call dancing red and yellow flames showed behind the windows. The bonfires outside must have been enormous since the flames reached up to the windows on the second floor.
And in one second, it was silence again.
"Aaah, it has been a bon year yet. The Werewolves clan has grown in territory and new membres de la famille. We enjoyed success on beating the sangsue and keeping them in line and we hope you all célébrer the future suprématie over The Vampire clan." more applause followed.
"Those absurde hommes think they´ll scare us if they make some petite fires! But we don´t take more then we need for living, do we? Some cattle, some human..." he asked cockily and the people laughed again.
"Now, lets forget of the problémes of vie and lets enjoy the party!" whit this last word of his the babbling filled the room again.
The orchestra started to play and more and more people joined the dancing ones. Rogue found herself dancing with a masculine looking partner whose face, like the face of everyone around was masked. The melody became faster and a change of partners followed.
"Bonsoir mademoiselle." he took her gloved hand gently and kissed it.
"Bonsoir." she said a little taken aback.
He just smiled at her and swung her around the floor. This one was definitely younger and was a better dancer then the one before. His eyes were hazel brown like the ones before as she noticed.
And another partner change followed. Before she even notice that that boy has let go of her hands, a pair of another strong hands griped them firmly. He leaned forward a little, took her hand and raised it up to his lips for a kiss. His lips very soft and hot as she could fell through her gloves. A cold shiver run down her naturally cold body. She coughed his eyes and she couldn´t stop staring at them. Blood red irises that screamed ´Danger!´ on deep black scleras that hypnotized her and called for her. He noticed and immediately looked away.
The fast music stopped and a slower melody followed. He gave her a questioning look and offered a hand to her. She then finally looked away of his eyes and on his hand not sure if she should take the offer.
She took a deep breath and locked their hands. Hes free hand instantly came to her waist as he pulled her closer with a cocky smile. She could only roll her eyes about him and put her free had on his strong shoulder.
"Bonsoir petite."he said shyly, hes voice low and seductive.
"Bonsoir." she felt like blushing and then immediately shot him a glare as the warm feeling in her cheeks grew stronger.
He was playing with her. He wasn´t that type of a shy boy. She just knew it. Darn, he wasn´t even a boy anymore, she thought.
"Oh, are we playing the shy boy?" she asked smugly.
He just grinned in mischief at her and didn´t say a word.
Oh no he wouldn´t play with her. If he thought that she would fall for him and be one of his ´women´ then he was going to learn a lesson tonight.
"Aww cherie, how did you see?"
"You could call it female instinct sugah. It blinks in red alarm when danger is near." said and sticked her tongue out at him.
"Oh, you hurt this ol´ cajun, cherie."
"Hell of course Ah did, Swamp Rat."
"Swamp rat? Got pet name fo´ me ´ready? Neve´ got a femme t´ fall fo´ moi that fast... well, mebbe un or duex." he made a very thoughtful face.
"Cajuns come fromm the swamps and you are just a rat that tries to lure as many women to sleep with him as possible. So a swamp rat." she spit the last words at him.
"Aww such a belle femme and such a bad tongue. But Remy think he could fix dat." he licked his lips.
She could just roll her eyes.
"And jus´ so yo´ know, the femmes come t´ Remy an´ Remy can´ say non to dem. He be just too irrésistible."
"Tell yo´self what you need, Swamp Rat."
"Remy wouldn´t be so rude on a festivité of mon famille if he wasn´t invited t´ it." he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
".... How.... What?" she gasped in pure horror.
How did he knew? Ah´m sure I checked that nobody saw meh! Or didin´ Ah? How did he knew?!
"No need to panic cherie. Remy won´t tell anybody."
"But how do you know?"
"Oh did ya´ think dat such a belle femme as yo´ would stay unnoticed fo´ lon´? An´ even mo´e when shes dressed so …. danger´sly?" he´s hand moved slowly up her laced back to her hair.
His fingers traced it slowly, carefully avoiding the touch of the silver spider decor in her hair. He followed a brown streak of hair that run down around her bare shoulder and then traced her silky choker. She pulled away a little and his finger touched the silver spider on the choker lightly.
"Ouch!" his finger flew up to his mouth and he licked it in pain. It was like pure acid had burned him.
She froze in shock, looking at his fingers....at his mouth...at his lips...at the pained expression on his face....at the pure passion in his demonic eyes...
What? No, stop looking at him! She cursed at herself.
"Uhm, sorry" she turned on her heel as the music stopped and stormed out of his sight as fast as she could.
It was time for her to go now or she risks being caught in-flagranti and that would be deadly. As she was just a couple of steps away from the patriarchs table, a strong hands closed his grip around her wrist and turned her around. It was him again.
"Wher´ are ya´ runnin´, cherie?" hes look was full of concern.
"I just ...just have to-"she tried to explain but he put his hand on her mouth to silence her.
"Merde!"
She froze in the pure shock and horror of the touch and he, ignoring her scared expression, dragged her swiftly behind the stage and pinned her to the wall still with his hand on her mouth.
The cloth. The cloth! The spider-web cloth! she kept telling herself to calm her mind down that was raising with the speed of sound showing her what all could have happened without that cloth. When she came to her calm self again, she saw his eyes closed, listening intensely.
"... gone. We can´t find him nowhere, monsieur LeBeau."
"Go and look again! Un homme can´t just disappear like this, mon Diou. Can´t be possible that mon dauphin ain´t appearing on his futur clans festivité!"
He put his hand down when he couldn´t hear them talking anymore. He looked at Rogue who glared at him.
"So whats yo´ full name ´gain?" she crossed her arms on her chest.
"Monsieur Remy LeBeau, the prince and future patriarch of the Werewolves Clan. Here to serve you cherie." he took her hand and kissed it with a grin.
"Well..." he leaned in closer to her as she was still being pinned to the wall with one of his hands.
"Well what?" she shifted uncomfortably and tried to wiggle out of his grip.
"Well, usually when femmes find out who Remy is, it accélérer les mouvements du coeur...." he came in closer and took in a deep breath of her scent through his nose "but yours... its like-" he couldn´t finish his words as it was her this time to put her hand on his mouth to silence him and push him away slightly.
"Lets see here too, oui?" the guards came closer.
Now, it was Rogue who didin´t hesitate and pulled him away through the back door behind the stage, the one she came in through.
x X x
"Merci... chére" he took a deep breath and propped himself up on the tree.
They were running to escape the guards. In the darkness of the woods they both were like ghosts completely drowning in theirs surrounding.
She didin´t know why she was helping him escape. It was his families celebration anyway so why was he running?! Why did they search for him? She shouldn´t be around him. He´s the son of the patriarch. If he finds out....he can´t.
She stepped out of the woods making her way to the other side passing by some of those great bonfires.
Damn, where am Ah?! She looked around confused. The garden was huge. It was pitch black and just the light of the bonfires and their singing gave away the siluetes of people dancing around them. She saw the woods but they were everywhere. Which way is the palace? Which way were they running before? The tall trees were hiding the palace behind her back.
"Lost something cherie?" he appeared behind her without making even the quietest of sounds.
"Ah don´t see how thats yo´r business, Swamp Rat."
She was rather impressed by the way he recovered so fast but she wouldn´t admit it. They were running a lot and she was still out of breath but his voice was even as if nothing happened.
"Oh, still so mean to moi, chére?" he pretended to pout.
"Which way is the palace Swamp Rat." she turned around to look at him.
"Ask nicely and Remy might tell ya´"
"....which way is the palace... Remy..."
"Remy tells for a kiss from chére" he grinned in mischief with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Hmph"she turned on her heel and started in the other direction to get away from him.
She didn´t know where to go but she had to get lost from there. She staid to the forest in need of making a quick escape if necessary. Her eyes moved over the bonfires as she passed by them. Oh hell no, she toke a look ahead and the long almost unending line of fires made her sigh. She toke a look back and the same scenario behind her.
She tired so hard to ignore him but Remy followed her step by step, looking her up and down suspiciously.
"So...does that actually work on women?" she gave up her attempt and spoke up as he appeared on her side.
"Why cherie, did it work on you?"
"Hmmm, being followed by guards and having an annoying cajun on my heel, great pick up line." she joked sarcastically.
He chuckled.
"Say, why did ya´help me?" he ask seriously.
She kept quiet.
He didn´t want to push her so he just walked by her side and admired her. When the light of the fire lightly touched the pale skin of her chest, it shone like the full moon. He could feel that she wasn´t like the others. She wasn´t like all the other women he had met and seduced in his life time. Her eyes were pure and watery, the green shinning like emeralds and her full cherry red lips were calling him like sirens the desperate seamen into their and his end.
He couldn´t resist the urge anymore. He grabbed her wrist and forced her to turn around and face him. He looked deep in her eyes. His eyes were like sharp blades that penetrated her fully leaving a pleasant pain behind. He hold her icy hand tightly and his free hand went up to her face, lifting the spider-web cloth that was hiding her face. He took the mask off with both hand, very slowly and carefully still looking deeply into her eyes.
She couldn´t stop him. She wasn´t even sure if she wanted to stop him. She was lost in his eyes. The fire burning in them was melting her core. He lifted the cloth, he took her mask, she was necked and defenseless ...but she wasn´t scared. Her gloved hands moved up to his face, resting on the frame of his mask not sure if she should take it off. Her mind screamed no, her heart whispered yes.
"Hi." he smiled at her, the rough contours of his face making him look like a god.
"Hi." she answered shyly.
He leaned in closer to her, closing the distance between them. He was just and inch away when stopped and looked at her, then took a deep breath absorbing her unusual scent. She closed her eyes and leaned in closer.
"Miss Rogue!" a deep husky voice from the woods interrupted them.
"Wolvestein?"
"Miss Rogue, we have to go. Now!" he didn´t step out of the shadow.
"Miss! The Master is calling. You have to come back!" the voice in the shadows insisted more as she hesitated.
"Will I see you again?" was all he could say as she was about to disappear in the shadows. He didn´t want to lose her.
She was just a step away from disappearing out of his life like a wonderful nightmare, half of her body melting with the shadows. She turned around.
"No..."