A/N: Sorry if this seems to be moving so fast. Apparently, that's just the why I write. I've tried slowing down, but the way I think is more of like how TV shows are written; I think my writing style matches the fast pace of the Gargoyles TV series. When I was younger, I used to use "one idea per chapter" and I had so many things I wanted to get to later on in the story that I would rush my story. I've gotten better at that part. I know the general direction I want this story to go in, but now that I'm older and I've seen that the world isn't so black and white, it's easier for me to take my time and develop my characters and describe details (like the room they're in, etc.) And instead of using one idea per chapter, I'm using two, and plus making more up as I go along. And anything I make up as I write, I copy+paste it in another document (if it's something that looks like I can build on) and I label it and date it. I love Xee and so I'm going to try my best to keep this story going and finish it, unlike my previous stories. (And Xee is unlike any other character I've ever created, so this will definitely be interesting.) Hope you guys enjoy! :)
Life Used to be So Simple
Chapter 2: School Life and a Christmas Party
Xeenia stood on a ladder to clean a lamp high on the wall. Her school's rules were that if students weren't studying, eating, sleeping, or participating in classes, then they had to clean the school. Her school borrowed the idea that the Japanese schools had - instead if employing janitors, teach the students responsibility and work ethics at a young age. Xeenia had a suspicion that her school was really just being cheap and that the responsibility thing was just an excuse.
"Hey, Warrior Princess! Time for dinner!" A tall human girl with short black hair shouted, using one of the many nicknames she had given Xeenia, the most recent one inspired by the old TV series "Xena: Warrior Princess". Xeenia inspected her work before she looked down at her goofy friend and stuck her tongue at her.
Xeenia got an idea and grinned mischievously. Her friend, Lindsey, dropped her teasing expression; Xeenia was up to something. From almost the top of the eight foot ladder, Xeenia bent her knees and kicked off, plummeting to the floor. "Xeenia!" Lindsey screamed in horror as she ran to try to catch her crazy friend; but Xeenia used her magic to slow down her fall. She landed on both feet and raised up her arms and threw her head back; you could almost hear the "ta-da" trumpets playing as she did that.
"Xeenia, you're going to kill me yet! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Lindsey yelled as she play-punched Xeenia on the arm. She calmed down and folded her arms, "How did you slow down and land so perfectly, anyway?"
Xeenia giggled and said, "I'm just that good!"
"You'll never cease to amaze me…"
At dinner, All the students sat at one, long shiny oak table. Down the middle of the table was a long maroon tablerunner with gold thread embroidered at the edges. Four chandeliers hung from the ceiling, its light bulbs shaped like teardrops. While Xeenia grew up around fancy things, this felt a bit too much for her.
It was the same old routine. Every-single-day; and she was growing increasingly bored and tired of these stone-faced people. Xeenia caught Lindsey's eyes from across the table, who mouthed "what's wrong?" Xeenia exhaled deeply and mouthed back "I'm bored." Lindsey stifled a giggle; Xeenia was easily bored. She could swear her small friend had ADHD.
Xeenia had finished dinner first; making sure no one was looking, she disappeared. Lindsey looked up from her plate and nearly choked on the food sliding down her throat when she noticed Xeenia wasn't in her seat. "This isn't good." Lindsey thought as she looked over at the school's ugly, graying headmistress. Their headmistress was very strict; anything out of the ordinary was frowned upon, and anyone doing anything that didn't fit in with the school's policies was punished or expelled. Xeenia had gotten in trouble a few times already that year, and the school year was only almost halfway over. The headmistress had punished her each time, by making her do more chores; but today, she wasn't in a very good mood. She had just punished a freshman for spilling her drink.
Xeenia hid behind a statue of a lion and peeked around the corner. She grinned and raised her hands up, a few inches in front of her face, and put her two pointer fingers together and her two thumbs together to form a triangle; she looked at her headmistress, Ms. Grey, as if she were pretending to look through a camera lens. "This'll spice things up and give the place more color!" She said an incantation in broken Latin (it was a hard language to learn!) Ms. Grey suddenly poofed in white smoke, and once the smoke cleared, nothing about her had changed - except for her hair. She now had the colorful, afro-like hairstyle of a clown.
The other students stared in fear, "Alright now, what was that and who did it?! Why are you all staring at me like that?!" Ms. Grey spat.
The student closest to her, an uppity snob with long blonde hair, pointed over to the statue of the lion that Xeenia thought she was well-hidden behind, "Xeenia did it! She must have planted a smoke bomb on you! I watched her run and hide behind the statue and pretend she was using a camera, and then that happened! And look at your hair!" The girl, Rachel, pulled out a compact from her pocket and handed it to Ms. Grey, who opened it and stared in horror in the mirror at her new hairdo.
She snapped it shut and turned to the statue, where she could see a piece of the school uniform coming from behind it, "XEENIA! THIS IS THE LAST STRAW!" She slowly got up from her chair, bones crackling and popping as she did so, and wobbled over to the statue to find a guilty-looking Xeenia sitting on the floor behind it. "YOU'RE EXPELLED! I'm calling your parents NOW!"
Xeenia's face was now white as a ghost; she could only imagine what her mother would do to her. She hadn't meant for it to go like this; she just wanted to have some fun and brighten the place up! Ms. Grey grabbed Xeenia's arm and wrenched one of the big doors open and dragged Xeenia through it and all the way to her office.
Ms. Grey pushed Xeenia into one of the recliners in front of her desk before walking around it, putting her deskphone on speaker and pounding the keys to her father's personal cell number. "Hello?" Came the sound of her father's voice.
"Mr. Xanatos, I'm sorry for interrupting you, but there's been a mishap."
"What happened?" David's voice raised a bit, concerned.
"I have been having a problem with your daughter ever since she started school here, and she only seems to be getting worse. Now, I've been keeping quiet about this since you're such a renowned man and I didn't want to garnish your reputation, but it's becoming too much for me! Today, she threw a smoke bomb at me that permanently destroyed my hair! She is completely disrespectful and and she is always tormenting the other students! Now don't get me wrong, she's a fantastic student, but she finishes before anyone else and sits there for the rest of the class bored, and coming up with more schemes, no doubt!" Ms. Grey caught her breath before saying, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to expel her. She is too much of a bad influence to keep her here."
"She must have been holding that in since I started here!" Xeenia thought, amused. "But some of she said was so untrue...she CAN wash that color out of her hair!" Xeenia pulled her legs up into the chair, wrapped her arms around them, and put her chin on them as she boredly watched her headmistress dramatically talk to her father.
Over the speaker, in the background, Xeenia heard to other mean quite clearly, which meant her father had his cell on speaker too. One of the men, who she knew was Coyote, was laughing, and, even though she could barely hear him, she could hear Owen chuckling too. Her father's voice came back over the phone, "I'll be sending two of my employees to pick her up. They'll be there in an hour."
"Thank you, Mr. Xanatos." Ms. Grey pressed a button to turn off the speaker and turned to Xeenia, "You're lucky Christmas Vacation starts in a couple of days, so this won't hurt your schooling one bit. But you'll have to find another school before January. Now get upstairs and pack your things!"
Xeenia puffed out her cheeks in a pout before she vanished into thin air. Ms. Grey's eyes bugged out as she pulled off her glasses, cleaned them, and then put them back on her face, staring in disbelief at the recliner Xeenia was just sitting in.
Xeenia appeared in her room and snapped her fingers. All of her belongings zoomed around the room and neatly placed themselves in her suitcases and duffle bag. "I don't care what mom says, she's not here so she can't see me use my magic. I just want to hurry and get out of this hell-hole!"
True to her father's word, a long, black limo pulled up to the school an hour later. "Owen likes to be precise, doesn't he?" Xeenia thought as she watched Owen and Coyote, who refused to wear a suit, even though he worked for her father, walk up to the front door. A couple of minutes later, she heard her headmistress call her name out over the intercom. Sighing, and still fearing seeing her mother that night, Xeenia vanished, along with her belongings, and reappeared next to the headmistress at the front door, who jumped and yelled I'm surprise. "How did you come down so fast?!"
Xeenia stomped as hard as she could on Ms. Grey's right foot; she yelled in pain, "Why you…! I'm glad you'll never be coming back to this school!" She turned to Owen and Coyote, "Please send Mr. Xanatos my apologies. I'm afraid I just can't handle his wild child!"
Owen and Coyote each picked up her suitcases and duffle bag and Coyote turned to Ms. Grey, "I think she's a wonderful, free spirited kid; thanks for allowing her to come home early. We've missed her!" The door shut behind them as they headed to the limo, "Don't worry 'Wild Child', I've softened the blow for you; your mom is furious but she should be calmed down by the time you get home." Coyote smiled, causing a new feeling to jolt through Xeenia's body. She looked away, confused; but as she did so, she caught sight of Owen on the other side of her and for a second, he seemed transparent and she could see Puck in his place. A stronger jolt ran through her. Her face reddened and her heart sped up, "What is going on with me?!"
Owen held the door open and she climed into the limo. Coyote ran around the limo and got into the driver's seat, "Ha! I get to drive her!" He exclaimed in triumph.
Owen raised an eyebrow, "Then I'll be keeping Xeenia company." He climbed into the limo and sat across from Xeenia. Coyote growled low in his throat like the animal. Owen smirked at Coyote, but then focused on Xeenia with an amused spark in his eye. "You're becoming quite a prankster."
"Well, not really. I just wanted to liven the place up. Everything and everyone is so dull and boring there! It was getting depressing…"
Xeenia looked down at her hands in her lap.
"I know what you mean." Owen's expression became serious, "But you can't go around showing your magic in front of others. That can be very dangerous."
"How? It's not like they can hurt me. I can just teleport away from them or freeze them or something!"
"Take my word for it: it's dangerous! There are some humans, and non-humans, out there that hunt the Third Race. Not to mention it's against Oberon's law to not interfere with human affairs." His expression softened, "We just don't want you to get hurt."
Xeenia wanted to talk back, but she new he was right. Actually, just a year ago, a gang of masked humans had attacked her and Alex at a park in downtown Manhattan, calling themselves "Fairy Hunters". A battle ensued and Alex was shot with a dart full of some kind of gray liquid. It caused him great pain and Xeenia could smell flesh burning. She had been scared, frozen to the spot. But luckily, Puck, Coyote, and her father in his Gargoyle armor, showed up and took down the small gang. They hadn't heard or seen anything of that gang since that incident, so Xeenia figured they disbanded.
They arrived at the Eyrie Building and Coyote opened the limo door for Xeenia and Owen. They headed up to the top of the building - where their residence was. Xeenia's tummy was in knots; even though her mother couldn't use magic, she was still afraid of making her mad.
When the elevator doors opened, both of her parents were there waiting for them. "Mom…"
"Don't "mom" me! You were just kicked out of one of the most prestigious schools in Manhattan! Now I'll have to send you to a school farther away from home and hope that what happened at this one doesn't get around! Because then NO school will accept you!" She finished her rant with, "Why can't you just be a model student like your brother was?"
Tears came to her eyes and she teleported to her room. Owen turned to Fox, "That was a little too harsh, Mrs. Xanatos." Owen walked off, heading to Xeenia's room.
Coyote sighed before stating, "I have one more lesson to do with Alex before he's finished with them. If he wants to learn something else in the future, his Latin skills will come in handy." Coyote vanished, leaving the Xanatos parents alone.
"I think Owen's right, Fox. That was a little too harsh."
"David, I just want her to be the best she can be. I want her to leave a successful life, and she isn't going to do that if she's going to be kicked out of schools and goofing off!"
David sighed and put his arm around Fox's waist, "She's her own person. I've heard nothing but good things about her studies in school; we can't keep comparing her to Alex, or she'll start rebelling and looking for someone who will accept her for who she is."
"David, she's turning out to be so much like the tricksters…" The two walked into their warm family room. A fireplace lit up the room and created a comforting atmosphere; the two Xanatoses walked over to the sofa and cuddled up together on it.
"You know, I have a strange feeling that there's a reason for that."
A knock sounded on Xeenia's door, "I don't want to talk!" She yelled as she magically locked the door. The door unlocked and Owen stepped in. "Owen…" She said in surprise; he normally tried to stay out of family affairs. Xeenia brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them; more tears slid down her cheeks. "What's wrong with me? I know I'm a Fey and I'm the freak in the family...I don't even act normal. I try to be like everyone else, but I just get so bored. I just want to have a fun time and I want to make people laugh; I like to see people smile…" She rubbed her eye and sniffled as Owen sat on her bed next to her. "Even if I was human, I still wouldn't fit in…"
"What I like about you, Xee, is that you're not like everyone else. Instead of trying to be what others want you to be, just rebel; ignore them and be yourself. Out of a family of proper, fancy, rich people, you are one of a kind. You're fun, sweet, mischievous, and you always want to learn something new."
Xeenia's cheeks burned red and she looked up at Owen, realizing for the first time how good-looking he was. But she felt like it wasn't his appearance she was noticing, yet it was. She had a feeling that if Owen wasn't Puck then she wouldn't have thought him good looking. "Something about me is definitely changing."
A few days later, caterers and decorators ran throughout the huge dining room (it was big enough to hold hundreds of people); it was the day of the Christmas party Xeenia's parents liked to throw every year. She stood outside the room watching the decorators hang up mistletoe in the doorways and banners and reefs on the walls. The tall medieval style windows had fake frost on the inside and actual snow sitting on the ledges and sticking to the panes on the outside. Snow fell gently, blanketing the castle and the city below even more.
Xeenia loved this time of the year; it was just so peaceful and it seemed as if the snow deafened most of the noises of the city. Everyone had a joyous attitude and we're very pleasant to one another. Even though Xeenia didn't believe in God or Jesus (or any religion for that matter), she still believed this time of the year was miraculous; it seemed to have its own magic in the air.
"Granddaughter." A familiar voice said behind her.
Xeenia spun around and hugged her grandmother, Titania, who was currently disguised as Anastasia Renard, "Grandma! I haven't seen you in ages!" She pulled away as Coyote walked up.
"So Alex is finished with his lessons, can I go back to Avalon now? I'm sure Puck can handle Xeenia by himself."
"Actually, I need to speak to you and Puck. Alone." She turned to Xeenia, "And I'll be putting up spells so you can't listen in or sneak in. Just go help your parents get the party set up."
Xeenia puffed out her cheeks and groaned. "Alright…" She turned entered the room and began searching for her parents.
"She still has a little growing up to do, and this coming year is the year for it." Coyote looked at his queen quizzically. "Once we find Owen, I'll explain."
They found Owen in the kitchen, checking out the food to make sure it all looked perfect. Sensing someone watching him, he looked up to see Coyote and Anastasia in the doorway. Walking around the caterers, he stopped in front of them. "Did you need something, my Lady?"
"I need to speak to you both." They stepped away from the doorway where they couldn't be seen and Anastasia teleported them to one of the spare rooms in the castle. Anastasia turned into Titania and she placed a couple of spells throughout the room to make sure that a certain Xanatos didn't try to invisibly pop in.
Owen turned into a floating Puck, who laid back in the air with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed. "What's so important that you have to put up spells to keep people out?"
Titania smiled knowingly, held out her hands, palms facing upward, and summoned a foggy crystal ball into her hands and both trickster's eyes widened. "Is that a fate crystal?" Coyote asked, knowing full well it was, but he couldn't believe that she was showing it to them.
"Yes, this is Xeenia's." Both tricksters stayed quiet and impatiently waited; whenever Titania brought out a fate crystal, it usually meant someone was going to find out who their soul-mate was. "Xeenia is a rare case. While any other Fey meets one of their three potential soul-mates over time, Xeenia has two out of three of her potential soul-mates existing at the same time." She paused and looked at them seriously, "That would be you two. Both of you are only potential soul-mates; you two must fairly make her fall in love with you. Whoever she decides to be with will be her soul-mate. But," her tone became firmer, "Do not use magic or trickery to gain an advantage. That is how the two of you lost your first two chances." Both Puck and Coyote looked at one another guiltily, and then back to Titania.
Titania continued, "She is the last chance at a soul-mate for each of you. When she chooses one of you, the other will be alone for an eternity; except for the occasional ordinary relationship, but they will never last. Just remember, if both of you mess up this last chance, she will always have her third chance later on in life, but the two if you will be alone forever." After she finished her slightly grim message, Titania released the spells on the room and changed back into Anastasia. "Now, let's get back. The party will be starting soon."
The two nodded, but waited til she left the room. Coyote turned to Puck and pointed his thumb at himself, "She'll be mine, for sure. No one can resist this suave face!"
Puck glared at him, "We'll see about that. This is a fair game now. We each have a chance to be with her. Whoever screws it up ends up alone for the rest of their life. I'm just going to be myself; if she's truly my potential soul-mate, then that shouldn't bother her." Puck added in his head, "You, on the other hand, can't be honest if you tried!"
Coyote chuckled, "I'm going to go see her. Bye!" He waved his finger and the next thing Puck knew, his legs were stuck in a block of cement.
"You're already starting off on the wrong foot, Coyote!"
The party had already started by the time Coyote arrived; this time dressed in a tux. He spotted Xeenia across the room with her parents, who chatted with another couple who had their son with them. Their son seemed to be the same age as Xeenia; he had slicked back dirt blonde hair and brown eyes. He wore a tux like most of the men in the room.
Xeenia's hair was twisted up into an elegant ponytail, with strands of hair dangling from each side of her face. Her dress, picked out by her mother, was a festive red and green, with embroidered gold patterns of swirly lines on it. She looked positively bored. And the other couple's son talking to her only seemed to add to her boredom. Coyote grinned, "She sure is adorable! I should probably rescue her." As he walked over to the two families, he called out, "Hey, Wild Child! Do you mind helping me for a second?"
Xeenia brightened up to see her rescuer, "Sure!" She ran off faster than her mother could stop her for being so rude. "What is it?"
Coyote took her hand, "I want to show you something." He dragged her through the crowds of people and to the other side of the room; he stopped under the doorway to the room.
Confused, Xeenia asked, "What was you wanting to show me?"
Before Coyote could respond, Owen stopped behind Xeenia, glaring at Coyote. "Coyote, you won't get away with that…"
Coyote feigned innocence, "With what? Where have you been, anyway?"
Owen gave him a cold look, "You know what I mean…" He glared at Coyote, who glared back.
"Hey, Xeenia's been caught under her first mistletoe!" Someone from the crowd yelled.
All three suddenly remembered that there was a crowd of people in the room, but now everyone was watching them. Fox's face was white and David's expression was unreadable. Alex, who was with his very pregnant fiance a few feet away from his parents, raised his eyebrow. Alice, his fiance, smirked.
Xeenia's face burned; sure, she had been intimate with people before, but they were schoolmates - she didn't feel anything for them. On the other hand, these two men, on each side of her, meant something to her. They had been there for her, teaching her and even at times, guiding her, her entire life. She felt as if she was meant to be with them, and that they were meant to introduce a whole new world to her. She had an unidentifiable relationship with each of them that she hadn't had with anyone be caught under a mistletoe with both of them, and to be kissed by them...butterflies filled her tummy at the thought. This feeling was completely foreign to her.
But here she stood, in front of a crowd of people, underneath a mistletoe with Owen and Coyote. Coyote pulled her close, "Might as well get this over with. They aren't going to stop staring unless we keep the tradition." He pulled her closer and used his pointer finger and index finger to lift her chin up. His lips pressed against hers possessively. Her eyes widened at his boldness, but gave into the kiss. They pulled away and Coyote stated annoyingly, "And now it's his turn."
Owen seemed unsure, "How can we both be her potential soul-mate? There must be a mistake. I'm not in love with her; she seems more like an adopted niece than anything." He leaned down anyway, to keep tradition, and raised her chin up like Coyote did; he pressed his lips to hers firmly, but softly.
Xeenia felt a slight jolt course through her body; she was surprised by how warm and soft his lips were; she was sure they would be cold and coarse, to fit his personality as Owen. "What's going on with me?" She thought as he pulled away, her face pink.
"Ok, that's enough for tonight." Fox said as she and Anastasia walked up to them. "It's so late, I think it's time for you to go to bed. It's Christmas morning tomorrow."
Xeenia, who normally would have put on her pout face and demand that she stay up like everyone else, just nodded with a confused expression. "Yeah, I think I'm tired." Xeenia turned to head to her room, but not before glancing back at Owen and Coyote.
As she lay in bed that night, she couldn't help but think, "Something's going to happen, isn't it?"