Author's note:
Heeyy, guys! Now comes the fourth chapter! As always, I try to follow the advice of you all, so that the next chapters will be easier to read, and the whole story more enjoyable. Thanks for the nice reviews! They give me courage and let me go on!
Enjoy yourselves and have fun reading :)
- Lady Athena of Olymp
Disclaimer: I do not own Huntik: Secrets and Seekers nor the characters. But I own my OC's and the plot.
Chapter four: Old friends?
National Library of France, Paris
Something around 11:00 AM
Everyone turned their heads towards Den, who had a shocked and irritated expression on his face. He stared at the girl, who managed to safe them just in time, before the fight with these 'hunters' would've gotten really ugly.
She had long dark blonde hair, that reached her taille. It was straight and there were a few strands, that fell into her face. She was around the same height as Sophie. She had green eyes, with a hint of blue, what made her eyes look like an emerald under water. The green of her eyes, had a dark shade, that way, they perfectly fitted her hair. She had a pale skin, like porcelain, and strawberry coloured lips. She wore dark blue jeans with a purple shirt and pink sneakers. All in all, she looked like a normal 16 year old teenager.
Finally she spoke up. "Hi Den. It has been quite some time, hasn't it?"
Her green eyes shined with friendliness, as she observed the team. Especially Den.
"So...this is the place you've gone to." She asked, though it was rather a statement, than a question. Her voice was soft, but the sharp undertone, could be heard easily.
Den just stared at her, not knowing what to say. Of all the people, he could've met, he never would've expected her.
"You two seem to know each other." Dante remarked, as he watched the two. "May we get to know your name?"
The girl quickly turned around and said "Ah, how rude of me! My name is Alexandria Casterwill. Den and I know each other, because we were in the same orphanage. Well, we didn't see us for nearly a year, because suddenly he disappeared."
Everyone's eyes grew wide as she said her last name. She was seeker and a Casterwill, what should that mean?
"Um, what was your last name?" Sophie inquired.
"Casterwill. Why?" Alexandria asked. "Oh wait, I know why! Casterwill is the name of a big clan, rumoured to exist since ancient times. But they're just a rich family and I'm part of them. That's probably why you all were so surprised. But I'm not that kind of girl, who has a rich family and shows off with it."
"Well, I'm Sophie Casterwill. That's why I asked." Sophie replied. The disappointment she felt, was lacing her voice. Alexandria seemingly didn't know about the Casterwill clan's secrets. It would've been nice to meet someone, who maybe knew, what she didn't.
"Really?! How interesting! I've never met members of the same family before!"
"I did a couple of times, but no one was the same age as me." Sophie explained and turned her head away.
Alexandria then looked around to face the other team members.
"Ah, we got distracted. I'm really rude! What are your names?"
"I'm Dante Vale." He said. "These are Lok Lambert and Zhalia Moon." He pointed to the two people, standing next to him.
"Nice to meet you all!"
"Hi!" Lok said and greeted her.
"Hello" Zhalia mumbled. This girl was way to girly!
"Since you lent us a hand, why don't you accompany us?" Dante offered.
"That's very nice of you! Thanks!" She replied and gave them all a friendly smile.
But before they could even take one step, a loud grumble was heard from the ceiling. It cracked. Suddenly there were stones falling down.
The whole library seemed to get shaken up by an earthquake. Even the floor got cracks.
"We need to get out of here!" Zhalia shouted.
She jumped left to avoid a stone falling on her.
"Lok!" Dante screamed. "Get the book!"
Lok turned to see where the book was, but at first sight, he could't see it. But finally he spotted it.
It was buried under a shelf, that crash down durning the fight.
He quickly used hyperstride and jumped to the book. But he couldn't free it. It was stuck, so he needed to put the other books away first.
"Lok, hurry!" Den shouted.
Lok didn't need to be told twice. After some agonising seconds, he eventually managed to get the book and ran out, before the whole library fell on him.
"Is everyone here?" Dante asked, looking around.
As he saw every familiar face, plus Alexandria, he sighed in relief.
"Let's get out of here! This place it strange." Lok announced.
Everyone nodded their heads and made their way through the hallway and to the stairs.
"Thank you, for taking me with you!" Alexandria said.
"No problem!" Sophie replied and smiled at her. Little did she know, that the both Casterwill's will become good friends.
"Oh and Den?" Alexandria said and turned to him.
"Yes?" Said male answered.
"You're not allowed to call me Ellie ever again!" She sharply declared.
Her eyes were full of disappointment and sadness. And she knew, that Den knew why.
Lok shot his teammate a questioning look, but Den merely shrugged his head.
"That's a long story..."
On a park bench, Paris, France
12:00 PM
"So, Alexandria, tell us something about you." Lok said, as they were all seated on two benches; around ten minutes away from the library.
"Mhm...Well, I was born in England and lived there until my parent's divorce. My mother moved with me to Rotterdam, but she died when I was twelve, so I was transferred into the same orphanage as Den was in. I was pretty quiet and shy. The death of my mother affected me hard and my dad was nowhere. But then I got to know Den and we became good friends. He and his brother helped me a lot, but suddenly both disappeared. I didn't now why, or where they had gone to, so I was left there alone. Soon after they left, my father appeared all of a sudden and took me with him. We moved to Venice and there I go to the 'Venice Art and Music Academy'. I'm here in Paris for holidays, but I can't really relax. My dad's very strict and he's business man, so actually I'm here because of his work..." She explained and looked down.
"I'm sorry...I lost my parents too!" Sophie said as she laid a comforting hand on Alexandria's shoulder.
"And my dad disappeared too!" Lok agreed.
"That's sad. You too had tough lives, huh?" The girl said. She looked to Dante and Zhalia, who just silently watched the conversation.
"What about you Zhalia? I don't know much about you either. Did you also had a parent who left you?" Alexandria inquired.
Zhalia immediately tensed and narrowed her eyes.
"There's nothing more to know." Zhalia quickly dismissed this topic and made Alexandria understand, that this was dangerous terrain, she was about to go on.
"Oh..." Alexandria understood quickly and thought it was the best, to let the matter rest.
Dante mentally face palmed himself. What a good start. "But you could tell us, how you come being a seeker?" Dante asked, lifting the mood, that had fallen down.
"Ah, well, my mother was one too. I am a seeker since I was ten. I know there's a Huntik foundation, but I'm not a member yet. I'd like to, though. I'm not a beginner, but nothing near experienced either." She explained and sighed.
"Maybe, there's a way to make you a member!" Sophie exclaimed. "We all are seekers and members of the foundation!"
"Really? Wait, a sec. Your names...Lambert, Vale, Moon, Casterwill and Fears. Oh my goodness, aren't you those top seekers, everyone's talking about?!" She questioned surprised.
"Finally you found out! I thought, you've never heard the name Vale before..." Den countered and was given an annoyed glare from her.
"I'm sorry, that I'm not omniscient, Den!" She shot back.
Zhalia just rolled her eyes. Can't they just get to the point? I'd like to leave Paris...I'm just not in the mood for hanging around...Not know! She thought.
"When do you return to Venice?" Lok asked.
"Uhm...ah, tomorrow!" She answered and lightly tilted her head.
"Sophie, maybe she could come to your mansion? We could tell her more about seekers and the foundation." He said and turned to Sophie.
"Sure, why not. Is that okay for you, Alexandria?" Sophie replied.
"Aww, that would be so nice of you!"
"Then it's settled! Let's all meet at Sophie's tomorrow at 2:00 PM, okay?" Lok exclaimed and got nods from everyone. Nearly everyone. A certain woman wasn't too fond of hanging around with a teen more.
"Well, then team, it's time for us to go." Dante said and got up.
"Bye guys, I'll see you tomorrow!" Alexandria said and waved at them. She turned around and ran to a cab, that just stopped at the street.
Shortly after Alexandria left, the Huntik went to the airport and flew to Venice.
Airport
Venice, Italy
After two agonising hours of silence, they reached Venice. Den decided to stay at Sophie's mansion, because it made little sense for him to go home, just to come back the next day.
The teens said goodbye to Dante and Zhalia, what made them stand alone.
"I guess, I take my leave as well." Zhalia was about to turn away, when Dante stopped her.
"Wait a moment...I'd like to talk to you." He said, looking her in the eyes.
She already guessed what he was thinking about, therefore let her displeasure display in her eyes. She sighed.
"Please...Come to my house, yes?" Dante replied, his eyes showing warmth and concern.
"Fine...!" The moment she said that, she cursed herself, but in the end, she followed him.
They walked in a uncomfortable silence, until they reached Dante's house. He opened the door, switched on the light and walked into the kitchen. Zhalia slumped onto the couch and crossed her arms and legs.
"So, what is there you want to talk about?" She muttered.
Her voice was laced with slight coldness. She never liked it when Dante got near her walls. He not only dared to break them, he completely broke through them, got to her heart and dared to see, what no one was supposed to discover. Her past. Her mistakes. The pain, she suffered from. And the feelings, she tried to keep hidden.
He always managed to take her off guard. To surprise her. And secretly, she was afraid of him knowing her. Afraid of him seeing past her mask. But she wouldn't let him know. Not now.
He must've seen her being deep in thought. Because he brought to cups filled with hot tea and placed one in from of Zhalia. He just sat there, silently watching her. And as she turned around to face him, he let all the emotions, he currently felt, show in his eyes. Concern, worry and kindness.
"What's bothering you, Zhalia?" He calmly asked, locking her eyes with his.
"I can't get out of this anyway, so let's get it over with. Everything's bothering me! We have a new enemy to face, suddenly a Casterwill girl appears out of nowhere, that, on top of all, has a past with Den and..." she hesitated.
"And then there's the man, I once called 'father'. Imprisoned in some huntik foundation prison, where he wouldn't be able to use bad powers ever again."
So, it is Klaus after all...Dante thought to himself as he saw her averting her eyes.
"Zhalia..." He started, but was quickly interrupted by her.
"No Dante. Please, I don't want to talk about it." She said and looked down.
"I respect that, but please listen to me. Just listen to what I have to say." He replied and fixed her with his eyes.
"Zhalia, you don't need to hide, that the topic about Klaus still hurts you. I know you good enough. And I absolutely understand, that you don't want to talk about it. I can only imagine, how hard it must affect you. But Zhalia, you're one of the strongest person I've ever seen. Not only your powers, but also how you managed to get your life back together. You're my friend! And as your friend, I'll help you. If this topic isn't eaten for you, then we'll go at it right now! But I don't want to see you all gloomy and sad!"
She wasn't sure, how long she just sat there and looked at him. Unable to say a single word.
He was right, in every point he hit the nail, and only now, she realised, that she didn't need to hide anything from him. He knew her. He could see through her. He was there. Why didn't she realised sooner, that he never left her side? He was always there. To ensure she was alright. when he wasn't able to prevent her from falling, then he made sure to catch her.
She wouldn't call him a savour. Or a knight in a shining armour and a white horse. Dante was no such man.
But he was a man, who stood by her side, no matter what.
That was when she lifted her head, to meet his eyes and for one time, to give in.
"Thank you, Dante. If it's not too much to ask, I'd like to go to Vienna after we told Alexandria more about the seeker's world." She said.
"I already guessed that." He smiled. "Sure you can go. Just stay on alert." Quickly he got serious again.
"I know. I will." She assured him and stood up.
She gave him a quick wave of her hand, before she walked to the door. Before she left the house, she gave him a last look, that showed more that a simple 'thank you'.
And that was it!
I'm so, so sorry if this chapter turned out bad! :(
It also isn't as long as the previous ones. I had some bad days, that's why I had trouble writing this chapter. But I hope you like it nonetheless! I found it was full of unnecessary stuff...Well, hopefully you liked the short Zhante moment. I'll try/promise to make the next chapter better.
Please, please review! :) I need that!
Until next chapter and have nice days. *waves hands*