Thrown in the lion's den
Chapter 1 Wedding party and secret love
*Cling. Cling. Cling.*
The whole table turned silent. All looked up to see Will standing up, looking with a big smile over the whole table before her eyes settled on the two at the head of the table. Matt and Mandy grinned at her and Matt took Mandy's hand, on which she wore a beautiful diamond ring.
"Matt, after all this time and through all the hardships you went through, one of which was being in a relationship with me..."
This caused a round of chuckles from all those present. Caleb blushed a bit and Irma had to slap her hand for her mouth not to blurt something out as well.
"You finally found the courage to ask this lovely young lady's hand." Will continued, a mischievous twinkling in her eyes and a smile on her lips. "After the war and after a year of rehab, we sit here now to celebrate your engagement. Mandy never forgot you and never left your side and it all turned to this moment. I toast on your future together!"
She raised her glass and everyone at the table followed her example.
"To Matt and Mandy! May your future be happy and remember, we can babysit your seven kids if you need some time alone." Will said, her grin not wavering.
This caused everyone to look in shock at Will, before looking at Matt and Mandy. Both their faces expressed shock and slowly reddened while they looked at each other. Only when Will couldn't stop herself and let out a giggle, they realized it was a joke. The guests all broke down in laughter, while Matt threw his napkin at Will, who caught it and waved at him with it.
"That wasn't funny Silvermane!" Matt called through the rumour. "I actually had a heart attack!"
"You should know I can't look into the future, Mattie-boy!" Will said. "Only you can live it!"
She heaved her glass again and stuck her tongue out at the engaged couple.
"Live a long life, you two." She said, which was followed by a round of applause as well as multiple giggles from the other guests.
The couple let it slide and heaved their glasses as well, grinning and thanking the others for coming. Dinner started and soon groups were made around the table. The kids sat together, the girls telling Lillian, Chris, Terry, Kerry and Maqi about their latest mission, while the women grouped with Mandy and the men grouped with Matt.
"No way! She actually helped you?" Chris asked, his eyes widened.
Georgi nodded.
"Yeah. I was wounded and the others too tired to help me. So she actually let me ride on her back."
Lillian shook her head.
"I can't believe it, Hay Lin actually helped you."
Natasha shrugged.
"She did say we shouldn't think much of it, as well as that she only wanted to free the others."
"Why didn't she sing the tune?" Terry questioned.
The girls all looked at each other, wondering what they should say. Hay Lin did tell them that she would at least haunt them if they told it to anyone, but luckily for them, both Chris and Lillian started to snicker.
"Really now?" Lillian asked with a grin. "Hay Lin can't sing. It's horrible and off key."
This caught the others grinning as well and the girls smiling at Lillian, who'd winked at them.
"So...What happened afterwards?" Maqi asked.
"Well, we still didn't find the Horn of Hypnos but..." Natasha started.
At the other side, the women were talking happily with each other. And the first thing they did was, of course, check out Mandy's ring.
"It's beautiful!" Cornelia purred, looking at the ring. "Real diamond and not a small one either!"
Mandy blushed while the others praised her ring as well.
"Wow, you're really lucky." Alchemy said with a grin. "I mean, Matt really saved up for that one."
"I bet he's broke now." Irma said with a grin, which made Mandy punch her a little.
"But you can see he cares deeply for you." Samantha Vanders, wife of Sam Vanders, said with a grin.
"I know." Mandy said with a blush. "And I care for him just as much."
"You better, little missy!" Cornelia said with a grin. "That guy went through a lot and breaking his heart is not an option."
"I know. I know." Mandy said, her gaze falling on the ring on her finger. "I know."
A short silence fell in the group in which the girls looked at each other, not knowing what to say now. Luckily, Alchemy knew an option.
"Oh yeah, guys. Martin and I were thinking of handing the restaurant to Hay Lin in a couple of days." Alchemy said, hoping to get a new conversation started.
The effect was immediate. Samantha and Mandy smiled, though both were still a bit troubled by the idea of Hay Lin being in charge of anything. Will, Cornelia, Irma and Taranee looked surprised, but delighted, seeing that they were currently the only ones (save from their husbands) who spoke regularly with Hay Lin and returned to being friends. Leona Vanders, wife of Malcolm Vanders, didn't seem too pleased with it. Hay Lin had been the one to torture her husband and he still wore the mark on his eye. It had always been a painful reminder to her that she'd almost lost her husband. Sure, seeing that Hay Lin received enough trust to get her restaurant back did mean that she had perhaps already redeemed herself, so Leona just nodded and smiled. She would wait and see how things would go. No reason to judge now and to be fair, Hay Lin had suffered a lot as well.
"That's great!" Will said. "At least she gets to have some work as well! I can't stand it that she keeps grinning when I'm working."
"Will, you're running Simultech here in Heatherfield, it's your own fault. Besides, you've got my man pretty deep into it, along with the rest of his family." Cornelia said with a raised eyebrow.
"I'll say." Samantha said. "You've been calling Sam at the most unreasonable hours."
"Yeah, same with Angelo. You've got no idea how many times we got cosy before that god awful phone rang. Unplugging it is not an option, by the way." Cornelia said, glaring at Will who looked innocently.
"What?" She said, though her smirk betrayed her. "I would never do that. By accident."
This caused the others to laugh while both Samantha and Cornelia glared Will to death.
Meanwhile, the men were discussing a lot as well. Of course there had been the first round of congratulations and jokes on being married. Both Angelo and Caleb swore that they hadn't had a single calm night without their women asking or demanding something from them while Nigel and Martin had said they'd been suffering under their wives' demands during shopping, but Matt could easily see through them as either lies or blown up stories. After that they'd talked a bit about the war, which still lay heavy on both Matt as well as Malcolm. Leonas and Marcus had been trying to cheer them up and soon they started to talk about their jobs.
"Working at Simultech isn't that bad, right guys?" Malcolm said with a grin.
Angelo, Sam and Leonas nodded with a grin as well.
"If you don't mind having Will bossing you around." Leonas said with a grin.
"Or being called at the most untimely moments, although I think she does that on purpose." Angelo added, getting chuckles from the others.
"See it like this, you guys don't have to learn the ways of a complete planet to do your job." Marcus said while making a face. "Reading a clock with four hands is not just difficult, but impossible!"
Caleb grinned and patted him on the back while Phobos merely chuckled.
"Is the clock of Metamoor too much for our Consort?" He questioned, getting a glare from Marcus.
"Says the guy who screamed the whole neighbourhood together while watching your first movie in the cinema." Marcus retaliated, causing Phobos to blush momentarily before glaring at Marcus.
"Well.."
"Guys, guys!" Angelo said, stopping the two. "Remember, we're at a party, no fighting."
Marcus and Phobos both stopped their glare wars while crossing their arms and huffing. Both Caleb and Angelo gave Matt an apologetic look, who just grinned at them.
"Don't worry." He said with a grin. "It's good to see that the royal family of Metamoor is getting along."
This got him two dark glares from Phobos and Marcus, but he couldn't help but laugh. How childish could one be at this age?
The night continued with more joking and other activities. The women had joined their men somewhere in the night and Georgi played a song she'd studied for the occasion. Afterwards the men were, unwillingly, pulled into the early wedding plans of the women. They had no clue what to say but all of them sensed they could better nod. Well all of them except for Matt. He seemed to have an opinion about his own wedding and noticed the warnings of the other guys too late. The women attacked him like vultures and the others merely winced, remembering when they'd tried to voice their opinion when it came to their wedding.
During all the commotion, a single guest left the party. He'd said his goodbyes to Mandy and Matt, of which Matt merely nodded while still getting a preach to why roses should be placed in the bouquets at the wedding instead of tulips. Leonas smiled as he stepped outside into the evening. It was already 11 P.M. and he'd promised to visit her as well. Leonas stared back at the lively house behind him. He wondered if he'd ever have such a party and if people would come if they'd found out who his wife could be.
He shrugged it off, seeing that a wedding with him as groom was something which was pretty far away, and started walking, if not a voice had stopped him.
"Going so soon?"
Leonas turned around, surprised to find Angelo standing behind him.
"Yeah." He said, a blush creeping up and he was glad the impending darkness was hiding it. "I promised to come by tonight."
"You're going to see a 'certain' somebody, aren't you?" Angelo asked, his arms crossed.
"Are you going to stop me?" Leonas inquired.
"No." Angelo replied calmly. "Everyone deserves a second chance, but all I want to say is, come clean soon. Cause I've got the feeling things may go wrong if you don't."
Leonas made a face and shook his head.
"Angelo, there are not many people who actually appreciate her. You and I are perhaps the only ones of our family…"
"Taranee accepts her." Angelo interrupted.
"Blood family." Leonas remarked, getting a nod from his cousin. "I…I don't want her to feel rejection. Not again. I know pain also contributes to healing, but hasn't she suffered?"
Angelo looked with a pained expression and Leonas. Truth be told, he didn't mind Leonas's taste in women, but not many people were that lenient. And yes, she had suffered as well, perhaps more than Angelo knew.
"I don't know." He then answered. "But all I ask you is to keep my warning in mind. And tell her I said hi."
Leonas grinned and waved at his cousin.
"Thanks, I will." He said before stalking off.
Angelo watched how Leonas walked away. He couldn't help but feel slightly troubled. He hoped that his cousin would come clean soon before a rift in his family would appear.
"He's gone to a 'certain' friend?"
Angelo shouldn't have been surprised to find Will appearing from the shadows.
"How long have you been watching?"
"I watch always." She replied with a grin. "But I only saw him leave."
Angelo sighed a bit frustrated and went through his hair. He looked at Will who was standing in front of the door and waited for an answer.
"Yeah. Do you know how this will end?" Angelo asked.
Will sighed herself and looked to where Leonas had disappeared.
"As I told Matt and Mandy already, I cannot look into the future. Not the one that will follow our flow of time. We can only wait and hope Leonas takes your advice before it is too late." She replied, sounding frustrated herself.
"I hear you're optimistic tonight."
"Half a bottle of wine and a complete discussion on wedding gowns will do that to you."
The two laughed and returned to the house, while still thinking about Leonas.
Meanwhile Leonas had parked his car in front of the Silver Dragon. He straightened his clothing and closed the door of the car, before knocking on the door of the Silver Dragon. Within minutes the door opened, revealing a woman around the age of 24 with an Asian background. Her long black hair was gracefully tied into two buns and she wore a simple blue blouse with a white vest. A long yellow skirt with colourful beads hanging on the end of her rope belt and a pair of high-heeled shoes made him take a double look. She herself gave him an amused grin before she closed the door.
"Leonas, you're catching flies." She said, though he could hear she was pleased by his surprise.
"How couldn't I? You look gorgeous, Hay Lin."
Hay Lin blushed and he took her hand, brushing a kiss. She took his chin up and kissed him on the mouth, which made him grin. Hay Lin had always been impatient and he liked to tease her a bit.
"How was the party?" She asked as he opened the door for her.
"A bit of a drag." He lied.
Hay Lin stopped him from closing the door and gave him a demanding look. He could still see some of the coldness she'd harboured during the war, but it was nearly pushed away by her disbelieve as well as her humour. He liked her twinkling eyes more than her cold stare.
"Leonas…" She started and he sighed. Even without her powers, Hay Lin seemed to be good in seeing through lies.
"It was fun." He said and he could see Hay Lin smile. It was a sad smile and he could see guilt bubbling up in her eyes.
He crouched and looked right at her, placing a hand on her knee. She looked at him and he could see her struggle to control her emotions. It was a bit scary how well she could hide them, but he could let her be herself.
'Listen, in time you'll be there too. Both Matt and Mandy appreciated your gift." He said, getting a new smile on her face.
"Thanks… I hope I didn't damp the mood, even when I wasn't there." She said darkly.
"Don't worry. Matt made the mistake of having an opinion on how the wedding should be. It caused for an interesting argument between men and women." Leonas said.
Hay Lin had to laugh at that and Leonas smiled.
"Come on." He said before closing her door and getting into the car himself. "I've got something nice planned."
[A/N] End of chapter 1. Lexvan, I hope this goes according to your wishes! We now see that Leonas is in a relationship with Hay Lin. Wow! Well, let's see how that works out!
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