"Somehow I know I will find a way to a brighter day in the sun. Somewhere I know that he waits for me. Someday soon he'll see I'm the one. I won't give up on this feeling and nothing could keep me away. 'Cause I still believe in destiny. That you and I were meant to be. I still wish on the stars as they fall from above. 'Cause I still believe, believe in love."
-Hayden Panettiere, I Still Believe
Disclaimer: I don't own House of Anubis
Author's Note: Hi. Well, I felt like I owed you a story. I also owe myself a story. I needed my last story on here to be complete. Sort of a closure thing, something I need to do. Anyway, I haven't seen S3, because without Nina and Amber, I didn't seem worth it. But I read that if there were an S4, Nina would return. Then I'd watch it. I know some of what happened in S3, but I stand by my choice couples. New characters not included.
She was a mistake. Someone not worth living. Part of some stupid fantasy, something that was never meant to last. Something that was never meant to exist.
Frederick Mercer wasn't supposed to fall in love with the maid his wife hired. She wasn't supposed to be his soulmate. The plans that his wife had made for him… well… mortal Alexandria Martin wasn't a part of those plans.
His wife, Vera Devenish never found out that her own husband was the father. She only knew that her stupid, foolish housemaid was dumb enough to get herself knocked up. Alexandria wouldn't let Frederick tell Vera that the unborn child was his. Especially not with his other child on the way. She knew the fate of adulterers. Public beheading. For both of them.
About seven months into both Vera and Alexandria's pregnancies, Frederick fell ill. Deathly ill. There was nothing that could save him. The fairy's powers forbade them to stop death in its tracks. For Sir Frederick Mercer, it was game over.
He never got to see the birth of either of his daughters, both born on July seventh, each at seven o'clock. The first in the morning, the second at night. Nina Martin, named by her mother after her great grandmother, was born at exactly seven in the morning. Joy Mercer, named by her mother after the feeling brought on by seeing that her daughter inherited her father's eyes, was born at exactly seven at night.
Alexandria Martin died shortly after giving birth. Vera Devenish survived and decided that eventually, Nina would make the perfect servant. She would hire another servant to raise and train Nina as she grew.
But no one knew that the unconditional bond between Nina and her half-sister would soon be the only factor that could save someone's life.
"Trudy! Aunt Trudy, wake up!"
Nina grew up to be naturally beautiful. Her light skin and naturally highlighted hair were both inherited from her mother, but Trudy says she got her bright blue eyes from her father.
Vera hired Trudy to raise and train Nina, who had always considered Trudy family. After all, she raised her. And taught her. And had been there for her forever.
Today, just weeks from her twenty-first birthday, she sat up on her knees and shook awake her caretaker with a smile. "Come on, Trudy!"
"I'm up! I'm up!" her "aunt" sat up in her bed and turned to Nina, who she considered her daughter.
"Well," Nina said with a sigh and a smile, "I'm getting ready to head over to the market, to gather what we need for the week, plus some fabrics to make dresses for Joy and Vera for an upcoming ball. You on the other hand, need to make the Queen and the Princess breakfast-in-bed."
Trudy, though a friend of Alexandria's and she knew the truth of Nina's father, chose not to tell her. A final wish of Alexandria's. She didn't want her to know until she was old enough to understand what had happened. Twenty-one, Alexandria had said. Trudy had told her sixteen would be better, but she protested, saying that she became pregnant at twenty-one, therefore that was the age she would find out.
"Of course, Nina, sweetie. But can you just bring them each a glass of orange juice before breakfast?"
Nina nodded, pouring each of them a glass and making her way to the master bedroom first, placing the glass on Vera's nightstand and slipping out before she woke up.
Nina smiled as she walked into Joy's room, who was already awake and reading a book. Joy smiled when she saw Nina and set her book face down on the sheets. "Hey!"
"Hi!"
"How'd you sleep?"
Nina sighed, "Okay. You probably slept better."
Joy shrugged, "You know what I've told you. Being on top isn't that much fun. So many expectations and requirements. Mum's even hosting a dinner tomorrow night for the Prince's to come over, in hopes that one of them will want to be with me."
"Well, I wouldn't mind a guy pining over me," Nina sighed as she sat on the edge of Joy's bed, "I mean, all my friends are either… not into me that way and I'm not into them that way or are married."
"I'm holding out for my soulmate," Joy said with a smile, "And you should be too."
Nina nodded, "I would love to stay but I've got to go to the market and get everything for… that dinner and fabric for your gown… any requests?"
"Purple, anything purple!"
Nina smiled, knowing of their shared favorite color, "That's what I thought."
Nina waved frantically at her best friend and fairy, Amber Millington. She'd met Amber when she was a child on one of the breaks Trudy gave her. They'd gotten close and she'd introduced her to her friends. Fairy ("I prefer Goth Pixie") Patricia Williamson. She also met Vampire Slayer, Eddie Miller-Sweet, werewolf Alfie Lewis and mortal (like her) Mick Campbell.
"Where is everybody?"
"They were just… here…"
Nina's eyebrows turned inward, then she felt something squeeze her sides and she squealed and turned, seeing nothing.
"Amber…?"
"Oh right! I was practicing invisibility on them!" Amber snapped her fingers and instantly, she saw Eddie appear behind her wearing a smile. His girlfriend, Patricia, stood next to him, smirking. Nina sent a friendly glare their way, hugging each of her friends.
"So, how's it going guys?" Nina smiled as she collected what she needed from the outdoor market, her friends by her sides.
"Well, working is hard, especially now that vampire season is over." Eddie sighed, his arm around his girlfriend. Vampire season was in the winter months, when the darkness came earlier and therefore gave the vampires more time to hunt. Now, in the summer, the dark came late, giving the vampires no choice but to find food elsewhere.
"Well, good news is, work is picking up for me and Amber." Patricia and Amber had joined forces in working in remedies and healing. They use their combined powers and Amber's ability to make potions to heal the sick and injured.
"My hunting business is doing well. I just wish I had more buyers." Alfie sighed. He was a proud owner of a meat store. He used his werewolf skills to hunt to meat and then brought them back to his store, skinned and ready to roast.
"Well I don't have to tell you that being a servant sucks." Mick sighed, "I'm just lucky to have hours instead of being stuck in that house." Mick puts an arm around Nina, who he always considered a sister. His wife, Amber, smiled and nodded her head.
Nina gave a light smile, reaching for some bananas and turning quickly toward the blueberries and stumbling into someone who was also going for the blueberries. Their collision, along with someone pushing past Nina, sent her on top of him. She shook her head, which had just collided with the other person's and opened her eyes, meeting the bright turquoise ones of the person beneath her.
She was speechless; she'd never seen something so… different. As her eyes drilled deeper into the eyes that resembled the sea, she saw something she'd only ever heard in the stories that Trudy told her. She saw a future, a future for them. There was a moment, reflected in those eyes. There were so many people around, and then when the Nina and the man she was currently on top of kissed, they were gone. They were lost in each other. Nina felt her lips tingle as if it was actually happening. Her stomach turned and tossed in such a way that she wanted to feel that way forever. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced.
And then he spoke to her, "Hi."
Nina couldn't help but smile, feeling the soft fabric of his tattered shirt beneath her fingers. Her voice shook as she spoke, the smile growing wider, "H-Hi."
He let out a small chuckle, his fingers ghosting over hers, making her stomach turn faster. "Did I hurt you?"
Nina found it hard to speak again as she shook her head, "N-No. I'm fine. Are you okay?"
He, sounding just a breathless as she did, spoke back, his eyes never leaving hers, "I'm f-fine."
Nina, realizing that she was still on top of him, carefully got off of him and extended him a hand. He gladly took it and Nina felt the sparks travel quickly through her. She smiled, suddenly shy when she saw just how handsome he was. She puts her head down and tucks a loose piece of hair behind her ear, "I'm Nina."
He picks up her gaze with his hand, "Fabian."
Nina looks at her friends, seeing Eddie biting down on his lip to fight the smirk on his face. She widens her eyes and raises her brows, urging them to leave her to get to know this guy. She couldn't wait to tell Joy about this.
Amber, quickly catching on, ushered them all away, leaving Nina alone with the man Amber was positive she would marry.
Fabian looks at her once their gone, noticing her gaze has once again gone to the ground, "Shy?"
"Huh?"
"You're feeling shy? You keep looking toward the ground…"
"No! No, no… nope." Nina tells him firmly, then laughs, "Okay, maybe I'm a little shy."
Fabian smiles at her and steps closer, "Why don't I walk with you while you finish your shopping?"
"So what do you do?" Nina and Fabian had gotten past the awkward stages of meeting someone for the first time and now both conversed like old friends.
"I'm a… farmer." He says, looking down at the ground for a moment. Nina thought she saw disappointment in his eyes, but then he sighed and looked toward her, "You?"
"I guess you can call me a servant… maid… slave."
He laughs for a moment as she grabs some more food and pays the man behind the counter. She's done shopping, but chooses to take some time to keep speaking to Fabian. He smiles at her, "You don't look like a slave."
"Well, my mother was a maid in the house I work at before me. I stay there because the maid they hired when she died giving birth to me basically brought me up. I couldn't leave her alone there. Also, it's the only job I could get. The daughter of the house is nice to me though."
"And the father?"
"Non-existent. He died, so the mother gives me commands and… whatever."
"You deserve better than being commanded."
"Well, poverty is at its peak, job availability is minimal and living on the streets isn't a good idea, so I'm stuck where I am." Nina sighs, and then looks to the man next to her, his dark hair failing his eyes and he takes in what she said. "So… a farm boy?"
He nods, "Yeah. It's nothing like being a slave, mostly because I'm working for my family… Enough about work. Tell me more about you."
Nina smiles, "What do you want to know?"
"Well, I already know about your mum, the limited information you have about your dad. I know about your work and you hobbies. Tell me a secret."
"A secret?"
"Yes."
Nina smirks, "I don't know. If I told you, then I'd have to kill you."
"You can trust me. Who am I going to tell?"
Nina pretends to ponder this, and then rolls her eyes, "Fine. I'll tell you. But you'll have to trust me."
"I do."
Nina beams at this, grabbing his hand and pulling him from the town square and into a deep wood. They sprint hand in hand until they reach a small clearing, where she sits him down on the grass. She smiles at his questioning glance.
"I come out here whenever I need an escape. Mostly at night though, when the Lady has gone to sleep. I watch the stars and every time I see a falling star or if it's early enough the first star in the sky, I—"
Nina bit her lip, suddenly shy again. Fabian beams, because he thinks the action is adorable. He rubs a thumb over her knuckles, her hand still firmly in his from when she'd grabbed it. She looks up, a blush on her face. He sends her a friendly glare, with a half-smile on his face, "You don't have to be shy."
"I can't help it, okay! I've never told anyone this before."
"How about this? You tell me and I tell you a secret too."
Nina smiles, "Well, I can't pass up an opportunity to hear a secret from you… you've got a deal."
"Good. Now tell me."
Nina takes a deep breath, "So whenever I see one of those stars…I wish."
"You wish?"
"Trudy, who's the maid who raised me, she told me the story of how my mom went out here the night she met the man of her dreams, my father, and she wished that she'd find true love. Then she met him. So I wish that I could find love too."
"I know that your dad was your mom's soulmate but, what happened to him?"
Nina's hand slipped from his, landing with her other in her lap. She stared at her lap and shrugged, "I don't know. Trudy said my mother didn't want me to know."
He sighs and moves closer to her, grabbing her hand in his again. "You know, I'm not going to say that I know how it feels. Because I don't. I have no idea what it feels like to not know who your parents are. But, I can imagine you feel… left out almost. Like there's a whole part of your life that you'll never know anything about."
Nina closes her eyes for a second, wondering if this was all a dream. It had to be, because there was no way he'd be able to read her mind like that. But when she opened her eyes again, her hand was still firmly clasped in his. She though back to the sparks she felt whenever he touched her, knowing that she wouldn't feel that in a dream.
After what seemed like forever, Nina responded, "That's exactly how it feels. My dad… even my mom… they're just a total mystery to me." She then turns toward the man before her, looking directly into his bright turquoise eyes, "But you? I don't even know you, but I… feel like I do. Does that make sense?"
"Trust me it makes total sense, since it's exactly how I feel."
"Good," Nina nodded firmly, "That's good because, then I don't have to worry about you not kissing back."
Fabian took that as a command, her way of saying, "kiss me." He didn't come on too strong, keeping the kiss sweet, but clearly Nina didn't need sweet, she wanted strong. Her hands gripped his shoulders, while his hugged her waist closer to him. He kissed her hungrily, knowing that she was strong and wanted this to be strong too. Nina felt his tongue graze her bottom lip and she granted him entrance. She smiled against his lips as he lightly pushed her by the shoulder to the grass. Seconds later they came up for air, Fabian's face hanging just centimeters from her.
"Hey," he smiled.
Nina used the hand she had on his neck to pull his face closer to hers, until their foreheads were touching, "Hi."
"You okay?"
"Fine."
"Just fine? I'm not that bad."
"Amazing," Nina smirks, "Perfectly, amazingly wonderful."
"That's more like it," Fabian smiles, leaning back into her lips. She lets her hands run roughly through her hair as Fabian kisses his way down her jawline. "I'm going to try something," he claims, his breath hitting her neck.
Nina nods, unable to speak, waiting for his lips to be on her neck. But instead, she feels him tickle her sides and she giggles beneath him, her eyes snapping open. She smirks, pushing him off her and glaring, "Tease."
"Let's what they tell me," he smiles, cupping her cheek in his hand and kissing her softly. Nina turns it fiery again, coming on stop of him, her legs straddling his waist. Just like him, when her lips grazed the skin of his neck, she spoke, "Well look who's on top now."
"Well, how times have changed," Fabian comments, his hands finding their way to her waist. "How's the weather up there?"
"Fabulous," Nina breathes; making sure her voice was breathy enough to tickle his neck. Judging by the way he stuttered out his next word, she thinks she achieved her goal.
"N-Nina—"
Deciding that she's had enough of teasing him, she kissed his neck, making a path to his pulse point. Okay, maybe part of her decision to stop teasing was because he was so damn irresistible, but she went with the first part of her theory.
"Joy, it was amazing."
"Well I want to hear it all so, start at the beginning!"
Trudy and Vera were both out, the latter saying that she wanted to try on shoes. Trudy was tending to the animals, which gave Nina enough time to tell Joy all the about the boy she met without fear of Trudy hearing too much.
Nina was making a ball gown for Joy, telling the story as she tried carefully not to pin Joy to the dress permanently. "Oh God, Joy. When I first looked into his eyes it was like… suddenly everything made sense. I saw my future pass before me in his eyes… our future." Nina described. "And when he said his name—"
"Which is?" Joy asked, noting that Nina left out that small detail.
"Fabian."
"Oh, that's so cute! Fabian and Nina… Nina and Fabian. I like it."
Nina proceeded to tell the rest of the story and about how they'd instantly connected. She blushed when she told her about the kisses they'd shared in the woods and blushed further when Joy asked if he was a good kisser.
"Well I guess," Nina mumbled, "It was the most amazing moment of my life, but I have no one else to compare him to."
"Nina, that was your first kiss!"
"Oh my god, what if he thinks I wasn't any good?"
"Nina, from what you've told me, he definitely enjoyed it." Joy winked. Nina blushed and asked Joy what she thought of her dress.
One thing was certain, Fabian made Nina promise to meet there the same time the next day. And she wasn't going to break that promise.
"Nina, come here would you?"
Nina entered Vera's room the next day, putting her hand on the doorframe, but not entering fully. "Yes?"
"Why so brusque, Nina? Somewhere to be?"
"No," Nina shook her head, "Just the market, picking up a few extra things for tonight."
"Very good, while your there could you get a new table cloth? Our nicest one is blue and blue is such a winter color. Try and find something in a nice peach to light pink color with a pretty design, would you?"
"Yes of course, Vera. Is that all?"
"Yes," Vera was quick to slam her door, but Nina's hand remained in the doorframe, getting slammed between the two. Nina screamed and Vera stood in the doorway, faking shock. "Oh Nina, maybe your luck wouldn't be so bad, if you hadn't been so brusque before."
Nina bit her lip from the pain and the feeling that she was going tell Vera to go fuck herself any second. She walked back down the corridor and out the backdoor, making haste to the town square.
"Nina, are you alright? What happened?"
Nina had gotten over her anger by the time she got to the clearing in the woods, but the feeling of worthlessness had begun to sink in while she was buying the "peach to light pink" tablecloth. When she saw Fabian, she set her basket down and wrapped her arms around him and letting the tears fall onto his shirt.
Seconds later Fabian whispered, "What's the matter? Tell me."
Nina sat on the ground, her tears subsiding. Fabian sat next to her and Nina held her hand out. Her swollen, bruised hand. Fabian gasped when he saw it, careful not to touch anything near it, fearing he'd hurt her.
"She slammed a door on my hand." Nina muttered. Fabian knew she meant the Lady and that she didn't want to speak her name. "She does stuff like this all the time. It just kind of reminds me that I'm worthless, but I usually get over it in a few hours."
"Nina," Fabian shook his head, "You're not worthless."
"How do you know?"
Fabian kissed her softly, his hand instinctively coming to her cheek. When he breaks away from her lips, he waits for her eyes to open before he speaks again, "Because, just that kiss, is priceless. You? There isn't a number high enough for all of you."
"Fabian, numbers go on—"
"Don't argue with me," he chastises with a smile.
Nina groans playfully and pulls him to the high grass, his arms around her. They lay together in the grass, wrapped up in each other. Fabian's playing with Nina's fingers when she speaks again, "There is one thing I don't know about you."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"Are you mortal?"
"I actually have an ability," Fabian answers. Abilities are singular powers or gifts that people are born with. Not to be confused with the literal gifts given to royal babies or babies of high class. "I can make people feel anything I want them to. Emotions or literal feelings."
"Do you use your gift a lot?"
"Not really. When I was little I would use it on my cousin when she was bothering me. I would make her feel ticklish until she left me alone."
"That's mean!" Nina laughed, whacking his shoulder.
"If you hit me again, I'll be threatened to do the same thing to you," Fabian joked, tightening his grip on her.
"Okay, I won't hit you." Nina surrendered, looking away from his face, "I don't have any powers. I'm nothing special."
Fabian adjusts their position, forcing Nina's face toward his, "Would you stop? You're amazing."
Nina doesn't respond and looks away from him again, so Fabian changes the subject, "There is one thing I don't know about you."
"Yeah?"
"Why do you have an accent?"
Nina shrugged, "I actually can't answer that. My mom was American, and Trudy likes to say that I wanted to be like her so much that I inherited the accent. I guess I used to fake one as a kid and it stuck."
When Nina was silent again, Fabian changed the subject once more. "You know, if you did hit me again, I wouldn't use my gift on you. I'd rather do it myself."
Nina giggled as Fabian's hands made way to her stomach, squealing as she made an effort to push his hands away from her. Nina used to hate being tickled, but when it led to kissing Fabian, she couldn't care less.
"You were with him again weren't you?" Joy whispered as she stood in the dining room with Nina while she set the table. Joy had on her nicest dress, but not gown. It was a simple purple dress that fell to the floor, embroidered with gems at the top. The dress had tight long sleeves, which made the shape of a V from her wrist to the start of her fingers. The tips of the V had a single gem on them. Around her head was a gold band, making her look extra beautiful. Where the band met the center of her forehead, there were three diamonds, the biggest one in the middle.
Nina sent a smile toward Joy in response, feeling only slightly jealous of Joy's dress. Her own was what Vera had reserved for when she was to serve people of importance. It fell just to the middle of her shins. The dress was grey and had no straps, but the tight black corset that went over it was haltered and helped the dress stay in place. Nina's hair was tied with a black ribbon in the back, two tendrils hanging loosely down her face, which wouldn't stay tied back no matter how hard Nina tried. Joy gave the ribbon to Nina one day, when Vera gave Nina shit for getting a hair on her pasta.
Joy inwardly squealed as she heard her mum descending the stairs shouting, "They're here! They're here!" she entered the kitchen in a dark blue dress, glancing at the table, "Nina, that's a horrible color. You should have gotten something blue. Now get in the kitchen and start to bring out the drinks."
Nina scampered into the kitchen, muttering something about the tablecloth under her breath. Joy walked to the door as she heard a knock and smiled at the three kind faces before her. The first she saw was a girl about her age with dark curly hair and dark eyes, she offered a bright smile. The second was tall and probably at least three years older that she was with dirty blonde hair and wickedly bright blue eyes. The third was tall, with dark hair that fell into his turquoise eyes and he had a great smile. Joy guessed he was between all their ages, but still older that Joy.
The dirty blonde stuck his hand out, "Good evening, you must be Joy. I'm Jerome Clarke and this," he indicates to the dark haired girl, "Is my fiancée Mara Jaffray."
Mara smiles, "It's a pleasure."
"And I'm Fabian Rutter." When the third says his name it strikes Joy. He matched Nina's description completely… it couldn't be…
Fabian shook Joy's hand, who looked a bit frazzled. He didn't plan on telling her that he had no intention of marrying her, not with Nina in the picture.
Joy snapped out of her thoughts and smiled politely, "Yeah, I am Joy. It's great to meet you. Right this way." Joy led them to the set dining room table, with the peachy tablecloth, which Joy didn't think looked bad at all.
As Vera greeted the three guests, there was a crash. All six heads turned to the doorway to the kitchen, where Nina was crouched over some broken teacups.
"Nina! What's the matter with you?" Vera scolded.
"Sorry, sorry!" Nina mumbled, looking past Vera at Fabian, who stared at her with wide eyes. She was great at controlling her anger, since she continued to pick up the broken glass, without a word.
Joy assumed that she'd dropped the teacups when she saw Fabian, confirming her suspicions. Joy sent a glare toward Fabian, pissed off at him for lying to her friend.
Fabian looked away from Joy as she glared at him, clearly knowing about him and Nina. Crap. He really screwed up.
Nina came back a minute later with a new plate of teacups, plus the tea itself, which she placed on the table first. She gave everyone a teacup, before pouring everyone a glass and heading back toward the kitchen.
"So," Vera says, breaking the silence, "You're all cousins, correct?"
"Well, Mara will be my cousin-in-law soon." Fabian answered, watching the kitchen door for Nina. Dinner continued that night, but nothing interesting happened (besides the glares Nina sent Fabian the whole night) until when Nina walked everyone to the carriages.
After Jerome and Mara had gone in theirs, Fabian turned to Nina. "Look, Nina—"
"Save it, your majesty."
"Nina, don't please. It's too late to talk, but I want to tell you why I did what I did. Meet me tomorrow at dawn at the usual place and I'll explain everything."
"Is that by royal command?"
"Nina, don't be like this, please. Let me explain."
"What if I don't want to hear it, Fabian? Excuse me, Prince Fabian."
Fabian looked at the ground, "Look I get it, if you're mad, but…" he grabs her hand and Nina still feels the electricity flowing through her at his touch, "If you still feel something, meet me."
Fabian leaves in his carriage and Nina sighs, pulling the ribbon from her hair. Nina goes back into the house, where Vera and Joy have turned in. Nina makes her way to the cellar, where her room is. Joy's there already, waiting on her bed with a sympathetic smile.
"He's the prince, huh?"
Nina nodded.
"Well he's very cute, Neens."
Nina smiled, sitting down next to Joy, "He wants to meet me. To explain."
"Go, Nina! You don't want to miss your only chance at true love, do you?"
"You came."
Nina glared at him in response, "Where's your crown, your majesty?"
"Nina, please don't act like this." Fabian approached her, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Don't touch me."
"Everything I told you was true, except for my job." Fabian pleaded, watching as the tears welled in Nina's eyes. "Nina, please don't cry, you'll break my heart."
"You know what, I will cry," Nina shouted, "Because it hurts, Fabian! I told you everything and you lied to me!"
"I know and I'm so sorry about that—"
"And you know what else! I made a complete fool out of myself, falling for you! A prince! I'm not on your level! Why would you want me anyway?"
Fabian watches from a distance away as Nina buries her face her hands and her shoulders begin to shake. "Is that what this is about? You think that I'm not good enough for you?" He approached her from behind and placed his hand on her shoulders. It was all it took for her to turn into his chest and cry it out.
"Nina, I promise, I didn't choose to fall in love with you. And now I did so, there's no getting out. Because I don't want to be out of love with you. You're it for me."
Nina looked up at him and wiped her eyes, "You're in love with me?"
"Completely," Fabian whispers, wiping away more tears with his thumb.
Nina sniffed, her face changing into a soft glare, "Now tell me, your majesty, why you were dressed as a peasant."
"I do it a lot," Fabian admits, just to get away from everything and everyone at the palace. Away from… the expectations. If I go into town dresses formally everyone will start asking questions about the lack of jobs and the poverty and to be honest, I don't have the answers. So it's my escape."
Nina sighs in his arms, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"Don't apologize, I deserved it."
They're silent for a minute again, when Nina smirks, "I wanna try it."
Fabian breaks away from her, "What?"
"I want to see how your ability works." Nina says, "Show me."
"Are you sure?"
Nina nodded. Fabian shrugged and gazed into her eyes, his face set in a serious expression. Suddenly, the feeling took over her from the inside and she fell to the ground in laughter.
"F-Fabian, s-stop!" the feeling ended instantaneously and Nina takes the hand Fabian offered her, "That was so weird."
"I wouldn't know," Fabian smirked. He saw Nina smile wickedly and he backed away, "Nina, no!"
They spent the early hours of the morning like that, with smiles and laughs and secrets that no one will know.
As the weeks past the ball was planned and Nina was given an invitation, plus some for all her friends. Joy and Nina each picked out a fabric for dresses and Nina made them (with a little help from Amber and her powers.)
It was a week from the ball (which fell on Nina and Joy's birthday) when Nina was caught.
Vera had been looking out her window late one night when she saw Nina's hastily retreating figure. She got out as fast as she could and followed her, watching as she met up with Fabian, the man who Vera had intended Joy to marry.
She watched as the two kissed and laughed and talked. But one line stuck out.
"I'm so excited to see you all dressed up for the ball."
Vera seethed. Nina? At the ball?
Not if she had anything to do with it.
Vera sprinted back home, waiting for Nina in her bedroom. When she came down, as she'd expected, the girl was startled.
"Vera! You scared me, I was just out tending to the horses—"
"A liar and a sneak, are we?" Vera stood, grabbing Nina by the hair and pulling her down, "Tell me the truth!"
"I was meeting a friend," Nina muttered, from the ground, "I'm sorry."
"Right, the prince. How sweet, you think you can get a happily ever after." Vera smirked, "Come with me, unless you want to say goodbye to your life."
Nina stood and followed Vera who took her into the back of the house, they trekked through some woods until they reached a hidden door. Vera opened it and pointed, "In."
"What?"
"I said get in!"
Nina stepped into the door and down a flight of stairs. Vera tossed her a candle and some matches, before closing the hatch and locking it.
She was satisfied by Nina's screams to be released as she walked away.
"I have some terrible news."
Joy looked up from her book and Trudy looked up from dusting when Vera walked into their sitting room. She was frowning, but worse than usual. Joy's eyebrows curled in, "What's the matter, mum?"
"It's Nina… she's died."
Joy froze and Trudy dropped the duster in her hand. The silence that took over the room was uncanny. It was like they were completely silenced by some unseen force. Joy was the first to stutter out a response, "W-What? How?"
"She was hit by a carriage and the driver knocked her off a cliff. The body was so mangled and the driver he… he recognized her as our servant." Vera let some fake tears slip as she told the false tale. "I couldn't believe my ears."
"Oh my god, no. No, no!" Joy dashed out the door. No, she wasn't dead. And the reason she wasn't home was because she was at the clearing with Fabian, where she always was at this time. The driver must have been mistaken.
Joy found Fabian sitting on the grass in the clearing. He stood when Joy arrived, looking confused, "Joy? Where's Nina?"
"She's not here?"
"No, I'm starting to get worried."
Joy broke down, "Fabian, she's dead."
Fabian's face got a thousand times paler, "What?"
"She was hit by a carriage." Joy cried, "She's gone."
They both enveloped in each other's arms, heavily sobbing and completely destroyed. If anyone saw the sight they would have been able to describe it in one word; heartbreaking.
Joy delivered the message to all Nina's friends. Eddie's house was the last one. It took awhile for Joy to recover, so he didn't know until the day of the ball.
"When did it happen?" Eddie muttered, his head in his hands.
"Early morning exactly a week ago. I didn't see her at all that day, I was out."
"Exactly? Like, today of last week?"
"Yes."
Eddie stood up, thinking back hard. His mind whirled back to a week before, trying hard not to loose the memory.
Night was coming soon and Eddie needed to find a place to hide out, hoping to catch some vampires going after the deer in the woods. Out of nowhere, in the distance, a figure (a human like figure) walked.
Vampire.
"Freeze, or I'll stake you!"
"Good Lord, Eddie, you scared the crap out of me!"
"Nina?"
Nina came over to him, wearing a smile. "Hunting?"
"Trying."
"I'm heading over to meet someone. I don't want to be late so, I'll see you later."
Exactly a week ago. It was night.
She couldn't be dead. It was a lie.
"Joy, come with me. We need Amber and Patricia."
"Why?"
"Because I think Nina's alive."
Nina jumped as the latch opened. Vera walked in, wearing a sinister smile. Nina backed up, hoping she didn't have her whip again. She came close to getting whipped on the back the other day when she tried to escape.
"Hello Nina."
"Hi."
"How's your day been?"
"Fabulous."
"Mine too," Vera beamed, "Do you want to know why?"
"I'm sure you're gonna tell me."
"Joy is becoming a queen! Isn't it great?"
Nina's mind went in a million different directions. Jerome was getting married, the only available prince was… "No. You're lying."
"Am I?" Vera said, pulling something from her pocket, "This is her engagement ring."
Nina stared at the ring, remembering once when Fabian had described his mother's ring to her. It was exactly like that.
Nina's heart broke. She felt it break into a thousand pieces. She clutched her chest as her body was rocked with sobs. She couldn't get out the words to express how badly she was hurting. Fabian was her soulmate. And now she was in a ditch and he was getting married.
Vera smiled, walking up the steps, hearing her loud sobs coming from beneath the door.
"Are you sure this is where you saw her, Amber?"
"They crystal ball never lies and it told me to come here. Now shut up, Eddie."
"I can't believe she might really be alive!" Joy said, her smile growing wider at the thought.
"Shh!" Eddie silenced them, "I hear something."
It sounded like… crying?
Amber spied the door she saw in the crystal ball. Smiling she ran over to it, noticing a lock.
"Eddie, use your ability!"
Eddie pounded on the door, "Nina you in there?"
"Eddie?" he heard through the door, "Eddie, finally! Someone found me!"
"Nina move as far away from the door as you can! Is there enough space in there?"
"Yeah. I'm away from the door."
Eddie backed up, "Watch it guys." He made a fireball in his hands and threw it at the lock. Busting a hole in the door and giving way to open it. Eddie threw it open and Nina ran out, throwing her arms around him.
"Thank you," she muttered, "Thank you so much."
"We thought you were dead." Joy said, from behind him, "That's what my mum said."
Nina stared at her, sending a glare her way. "Joy, hold up your left hand."
Joy knit her eyebrows together but did as she was told, "Why?"
"Are you getting married?"
"No…?"
Nina sighed, "Vera told me you and Fabian were together. You don't know how much my heart broke down there."
"Nina, I would never!"
"I know that, I think it just freaked me out."
"Guys!" Amber shouted, "The ball! We need to get ready for the ball!"
"Amber there's no time! It's already starting."
"Joy, just watch." Amber smiled. With a snap of her fingers, everyone was in ball attire. Amber's ball gown was pink and slightly sparkled, with a corseted top and long pink gloves. Joy's dress was dark purple and silky, falling in a graceful way around from the waist down. The top was simple, with a deep thin V-neck making a valley between her breasts, with diamonds running along the V and sweetheart neckline. She had dark purple gloves to match. Patricia wore a dark blue ball gown covered in sparkles, which made her look like the night sky. Her gloves were dark blue.
Nina's dress was remarkable. Amber had done wonders with her soot-laden hair and dry, dirty skin. Her inner beauty came out when the dress came on. The long, ball gown style baby blue dress matched her eyes perfectly. The skirt of the dress was fringed, with small circular diamonds on the tips of the fringes. The top of the dress was corseted in the back, with a silky bow that tied it all together. The bow was a slightly dark blue than the rest of the dress. The sweetheart neckline was outlined with a ribbon of the same silky fashion and color of the bow on the corset, with one larger diamond situated in the middle of her breasts, with smaller ones going around the neckline. The dress made Nina show a decent amount of cleavage, which caught Eddie's attention.
"Jesus Nina, Fabian is going to pass out when he sees that."
That comment earned him a slap on the arm from Patricia. Nina looked at him, "You know?"
"Joy told us on the way." Patricia said with a smile, "Nice going Nina."
Nina blushed. Her hair fell gracefully in perfectly loose curls, accenting the light make-up on her face. Amber's hair was straight, like Patricia's, while Joy's was in a fancy up-do.
"Well," Eddie smiled in his tux, "Let's go to a ball."
The ball was already beginning when the five of them arrived. So Vera wouldn't recognize Nina, her dress came complete with a mask. Joy strolled in first, feeling content with herself as the heels clicked beneath the ground. She spied her mum in the corner of the room, flirting with Fabian's godfather, Jasper. He seemed as unconvinced as Joy was. She glared at her mum and walked in the direction of Fabian, who sat in his throne in the front of the room, looking as bad as he did a week ago.
Sadly, Joy couldn't get to Fabian, since he was surrounded by girls trying to get him to fall for them.
Sighing, she turned back to toward the door, when she suddenly bumped into somebody, making her fall to the floor.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry," she took the hand extended to her and finally met the face of the man she'd hit. He was handsome, with a bright smile and deep brown eyes. She felt what Nina had described, when she looked into his eyes, she saw their future together.
"It's okay," she smiled, unable to keep the grin off her face, "I'm Joy."
"Ashton."
Joy felt a hand on her shoulder and Nina smiled at her, "I'm gonna go find him."
Joy nodded at her and turned back to Ashton, who was smiling, "I'm Jasper's youngest brother. I just turned twenty-three."
"I just turned twenty-one. Today is my birthday."
Nina waded her way through the crowd of girls surrounding the thrown, grabbing her boyfriend's hand and pulling him from his seat. She knew he would know it was her, just by the sparks she felt.
He looked up, seeing her eyes behind her mask. He threw her arms around her, whispering in her ear that she couldn't be real.
"I'm not dead." She told him, "It's okay, I'm alive."
He backed away, taking her face in his hands, "What happened, they told me you were dead."
"Vera locked me in some… hidden hatch. I was down there the entire week. I… I thought you'd moved on…"
"What?"
"She… she told me you were getting married and my heart was literally sitting on the floor of that hatch in a thousand pieces at the thought." Nina mumbled, his hands gripping her arms. "And it made me realize something."
"What's that?"
"I love you."
Nina's confidence took her by surprise. It took him by surprise as well. He just smiled and said, "You think I didn't already know that I love you?"
Nina threw her arms around him all over again, holding him tightly. Her nails dug into his suit jacket, trying as hard as she could to hold onto him. Fabian pulled away, grabbing her hand and smiling, "Come with me."
"Where are we going?"
"I trusted you the day I met you, you're just going to have to trust me."
Nina smiled, "Let's go."
Fabian pulled Nina into his bedroom, where as soon as the door was shut, his lips were on hers. He kissed her hungrily, her fingers racing through his hair. His lips were all over her neck, leaving not a single spot untouched. They backtracked onto his bed, Nina's had gripping the silky covers.
"Fabian." Nina mumbled.
"Hmm?"
"Fabian," Nina said again, "Fabian, stop."
Fabian pushed himself up, holding himself up with his arms. "I'm sorry…"
"No, it's okay." Nina sighed, "I love you, I really love you. But I'm not ready."
Fabian cupped her cheek in his hands and let his thumb rub her cheeks as she bit her lip, "Hey it's alright. If you're not ready, then we don't go any further than kissing."
Nina smiled, "Thank you."
He pulled her up and the two walked back to the ball hand in hand. Nina spotted Vera across the room, who saw her and glared. Nina's hand flew to her face, which was bare. "Oh no."
"What?"
"My mask." Nina fretted, "You-You took it off and Vera saw me!"
"Hey, hey," Fabian calmed her instantly when he touched her face, "She can't do anything to you as long as your with me."
"What about when I get home?"
"You're going to stay here."
"But Trudy—"
"I've arranged for Trudy to stay here as well." Fabian smiled, "Don't worry, you'll never have to see Vera again. Now come with me, there's one more place I want to take you."
Nina followed him to a garden, where they sat on a stone bench, Nina's hand intertwined with Fabian's. "Have I told you that you look amazing tonight?"
Nina blushed and looked at the ground, "I don't know about that…"
"Hey," Fabian said, gripping her chin and pulling her towards him, "I thought that we don't get embarrassed anymore."
"Fabian…"
"Nina, you look amazing tonight," he pulls her waist until she's sitting on his lap, her feet dangling in the air, her head on his shoulder.
"Thanks," Nina mumbled, "I was actually pretty scared of you seeing me. I've always been in rags and now a ball gown? I didn't think I met the expectations of usual princesses."
"You're right, you don't meet my expectations," Fabian told her, "You exceeded them."
Nina smiled, "No one's ever made me smile quite as much as you have."
"I guess I'm just lucky," Fabian sighed, "… Nina. Can I ask you something?"
Nina nodded and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a box, "Will you marry me?"
Nina slides from his lap in shock, "Are you serious?"
"Yes, Nina. I love you and I'm not wasting any time."
Nina beamed, "Yes! Yes, Fabian I will marry—"
Nina was silenced when she gripped her chest. Another bout of pain hit her and she screamed, falling to the ground. Fabian got down above her, trying to figure out what was wrong. She was out cold for a minute, before her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him.
"Who are you?"
"Nina, Nina it's Fabian." He said. He'd already lost her once; he wasn't about to do it again.
"She won't remember you." Fabian looked to the entrance to the garden where Vera stood, wearing a smirk, "And even if she does she won't have any feelings for you. I've ripped out all the emotion in her heart. She can't feel anymore. For anyone."
"You witch!" Fabian shouted.
"Yes, exactly." Vera muttered, "I am a witch. And I needed her away from Joy until this night was over and she got out."
"Why?" Fabian shouted, "What does Joy have to do with this?"
"Ha," Vera said, "Like I'd tell you. There's no chance for her now. She's cursed now."
Vera was gone with a flash and Fabian was left with a very confused Nina in his lap. She looked at him with knit eyebrows, "Where am I?"
"Nina, listen, I know you don't remember me." Fabian muttered, "But you have to trust me. We're going to go get help, okay?"
Nina nodded, "I don't even know you. But I know that I trust you," she stood up, "With my life."
Fabian smiled, grabbing her hand and pulling her back to the party.
A single one of her shoes was left behind in the garden.
"Are you sure that's the only way?" Fabian asked Patricia and Amber.
"We need the lightening to power a spell like that," Patricia explained, "We're dealing with a cast by a witch. We're just fairies, it's gonna take a lot."
"Fine, whatever it takes," Fabian agreed, "Let's get everyone."
Amber and Patricia said that they needed the lightening to power the spell they needed to break the curse. They got Eddie, Mick and Alfie then managed to pull Joy away from the guy she was flirting with, making their way up a hill.
Amber and Patricia joined hands and muttered some words and lightening began to fill the sky.
"Alright let's do it now!" Amber shouted.
"Not quite yet."
All eight heads turned to the source of the voice, where Vera stood. Joy marched to the front of the group, anger bubbling inside her, "Why do you care? What makes you want Nina and me apart so much? And why fake kill her?"
"Because I don't want you to over power me!" Vera shouted, "Not that it will matter, since you'll both be dead by the end of the night."
"What are you talking about? We're mortals!"
"No, you're not." Amber spoke. Amber had used her power to read Vera's mind, "You're all powerful. But only when you're together."
"What do you mean?"
"You're father Joy," Amber said, "Frederick Mercer was the most powerful being in existence. But the thing is, he was Nina's father too."
"You mean we're…?"
"Sisters." Amber nodded, "And Vera found out about it because of her gift to read minds. Only when the Frederick's blood is whole can his power be divided to his daughters."
Eddie chose this moment to give assistance. He grabbed Joy's wrist and slit her palm, doing the same to her other hand. He did the same thing to Nina.
"Join hands," he said.
"No!" Vera shouted. But it was too late and she knew it. The gold light had taken over both of them, giving them the power they were destined to have since birth. It broke the curse on Nina and Joy felt more whole that she had ever.
The happiness of the group was short lived, since Vera threw bolts of lightening from the sky at Nina and her daughter.
"Do you see?" Vera said to the group, "It's always me who will win."
Eddie ran up to her, his face practically red with anger, "Shut. Up." And with that, he stabbed her in the heart with his knife.
"No," Fabian muttered, tears spilling onto his fiancée's face. "You can't do this. Not yet." He held her limp body close to his trying hard not to break her. He set her back on the ground, knowing what he needed. Just one last kiss.
Suddenly, the idea of last kisses faded from his mind when her hand came up and ran through his hair. He pulled from her lips, seeing her with open eyes beneath him. "How…?"
Nina smiled, opening her hands and showing the dead lightening bolt. "Turns out I've got some serious power. The impact may have knocked me out, but it never hit me."
Fabian wiped his tears, pulling her close to him. Nina broke away, seeing Joy's dead body behind him. She pushed her friends away, gripping Joy's still bloody palm. She bowed her head, tears falling from her eyes.
"Oh my god, Nina." Mick muttered. "You're tears… they're golden."
"She's a healer." Alfie agreed.
Nina wiped her eyes, seeing gold leaking from her finger. She opened her sister's mouth and let a drop fall. The color instantly came back to her face and she took in a deep breath.
"Nina?"
"Yeah, Joy it's me." Nina smiled.
"What happened?"
"Stupid heroics, that's what happened." Patricia joked.
Joy laughed, as did the rest of the group as they made their way down the hill and back to the ball. Joy let her hair down, letting the curls loose and went to find Ashton. In one glass slipper, Nina looked at Fabian.
"Where's my ring?"
Fabian shook his head, pulling the ring from his pocket, "You almost died a countless number of times tonight and all you can think of is the ring?"
"It symbolizes you as my husband, what can I say?"
"How about that you love me?"
"Maybe I do, what are you going to do about it?"
Fabian shook his head, "Love you until the day I die and hope you love me half as much as I do you."
"You don't have to worry, I love you more."
Nina leaned in and they met in the middle for a soft kiss, one that was felt by everyone in the room as the love radiated from the couple in the middle of the room. It wasn't that they looked perfect together, but it was just that they showed so much love for each other that everyone knew they would be happy and together forever. They would live happily ever after.
As the years passed along and new generations rose, witches and people with abilities began to disappear, until they were nothing but extinct and reduced to a fairytale.
Stories of Nina and Fabian's love were told over and over again until they were warped into the story you know today, of a girl with no power and two evil stepsisters, plus a wicked stepmother, a fairy godmother (seriously, who came up with that?) and a prince who doesn't have a real voice in the story.
Today, in a world were the only magic is in a phone that speaks to you, a young girl named Nina Martin walked down the streets of London to a small café where she was to meet her best friends.
"Yeah," she mumbled into the phone, "I'll be there soon Joy."
As she hung up, her phone slipped from her hand and to the pavement. She cursed under her breath and picked it up, hoping to God it wasn't cracked. Thank God for the Otterbox. As she stood she rammed into someone, taking her by surprise, sending them both backwards.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I'm such an idiot!"
"No, no it was my fault, did my coffee spill on you?"
"No, I'm fine," Nina finally looked at the man she'd collided with, seeing bright turquoise eyes. For once in her life, she'd felt like she'd known the man behind those eyes.
He saw the same thing she did and smiled, grabbing the black shoe that landed next to him, "I believe this is yours Cinderella."
"It's Nina and thanks," she smiled, feeling sparks shooting through her when his fingers grazed hers.
"I'm Fabian." He said, "Nice to meet you." As he began to walk away, he stopped turning back, looking at the girl who he's rammed into. She was standing behind him with a smile on her face, clutching her bag in one hand and his phone in the other.
"Is this yours? Or did you take mine purposely because you like the case better?"
"Hey, my case is cool," Fabian argued, "You've got the overprotective person case."
"I was about to go get coffee with my friends," Nina smiled, "Why don't I tell them to take a rain check since I clearly owe you a coffee." They both glance at the spilled caffeinated drink on the pavement.
"How about I take you to dinner tonight instead," he says, "I think I can handle one day without caffeine."
Nina laughed, "You've got yourself a deal. But can I ask why you're so confident?"
Fabian pondered this, "Because I think this could be something. Maybe fate, destiny. Who knows? Maybe we'll even live happily ever after."
The End.