I finally have decent internet for chapter 3! So this is the chapter I've been the most worried about posting. It's the one I've rewritten so many times. I've tweaked so many things in it that I'm still hesitant to finally publish this one. But here we go! I hope you guys enjoy it! Unfortunately the next chapter is really short, but that means it'll hopefully be posted up a lot sooner than this one! Also, please please review! I'd love to hear back from anyone who is either enjoying this story or is even on the fence between it.
I've also been considering getting a Beta. I've never had one nor really know how it all works at all. If anyone is interested, or would like to explain the whole process me, please message me! I figured four eyes are better than two :). I hate having silly mistakes so any help would be appreciated! And just in case you've forgotten who everyone was, here is the list again!
Skylar Toles=Usagi Tsukino/Serena
Marcellino "Marcel" Galli=Mamoru Chiba/Darien
Rosalia "Rose" Galli=Rei Hino/Raye
Jerrard Carter=Jadeite/Jedite
Madilon Carter=Minako Aino/Mina
Ketill Valdimarr=Kunzite/Malachite
Madalena "Lena" Lobo=Makoto Kino/Lita
Nicolás "Nico" Torres=Nephrite/Nephlite
Anya Moskvina=Ami Mizuno/Amy
Till Kafka=Zoicite/Zoycite
Chapter 3
Outside the party, a young woman who had just arrived via the Gate kept consciously tugging at her dress. She ignored the outstretched hand of the lone man who manned the Gate, and walked down the steps by herself. The young man who had been waiting at the bottom of the steps chuckled as he noticed how uncomfortable she was. She growled at him before stomping towards the palace, ignoring him. He laughed, chasing after her.
"Lena, calm down!" He had grabbed both her shoulders to stop her. "You have nothing to worry about. You look stunning."
He smiled reassuringly at her before turning towards the impressive palace, missing the heat that rose to her cheeks. The couple made quit the pair. He was a daunting man: extremely tall and massively built with curly chestnut hair falling a bit past his shoulders. He had on a simple black tux, with a hunter green vest and tie. He glanced down at his date. Any other female would have been dwarfed next to him, but Lena wasn't any other female. She was modelesque in stature, which made her self-conscious about her height. She hated wearing heels because of that. She tugged again at her dress; an emerald ball gown with a sweetheart bodice and a mermaid style bottom with a front slit that went up mid-thigh, showing off long, tan legs. Her dress matched her emerald eyes to a tee. Her dark, curly auburn hair was styled in a messy bun.
The two began the long walk towards the palace doors. They passed beautiful green shrubs that lined the cobbled walkway, all trimmed perfectly. Amidst the green grass were rose bushes; the red rose being the most prominent of colors. Lena's sharp nose picked up the subtle, but distinct smells of the different roses. Her favorite was the pink rose for it had the sweetest smell of them all. Mid-way from the wrought iron gates they had come from was a massive stone fountain. It was at least 30 feet tall, with the High Sorceress Selene depicted at the top. Carved into the stone leading down the fountain was the story of the races, and at the bottom four corners were statues representing each race. They continued their walk, Lena unconsciously biting the inside of her cheek.
"I don't know how you talked me into this Nico," Lena said with an exasperated sigh.
"You are representing your clan tonight for your grandfather. Don't shoot the messenger." He gave her a lopsided smile. They climbed up the steps of the tetrastyled portico and walked through its pronaos, her heals making a click-clack sound on the limestone floor. They reached the green, metallic doors, which opened as though by themselves when they got near. They waited in a small line to be let into the actual party. Lena peered around the immense entrance, glancing upwards at the mosaics as she did. She saw the Galli crest depicted; a huge red rose with thorns on the stem and a phoenix in the background. She was still glancing around the room absentmindedly when she felt Nicolás tug her gently towards him. Upon arriving in the front, they were greeted by a young man and woman. Nicolás easily towered over the greeters, who both smiled widely in welcome. The young woman was petite, with navy blue eyes, alabaster skin, and what appeared to be dark, blue hair. Shapeshifters have very interesting choices in…fashion, she thought.
"Hello, Nicolás. You must be Madalena Lobo."
Lena looked surprised at her, but recovered quickly. "Lena, please."
"Dully noted. I'm Anya and this is Till. He'll be checking you guys in as I have a prior engagement. It was nice to finally meet you, Lena. Hope you enjoy the party."
"If you'll extend your pointer finger for me, please." Nicolás extended his first to Till, who pulled out an apparatus that he put against the side of Nicolás's pointer finger.
"You'll feel a little prick, then a slight numbness around that area for a bit. That's just the magic at work. The needle's infused with ice so as to slow down your bleeding in that area for a bit. Just enough for my machine to make sure it's really you." He smiled, his eyes flashing. Lena got the feeling that he enjoyed his work a little too much. The machine Till held made a little beep, signifying the results.
"Ah, Nicolás Torres, of the lycanthrope family." Till looked expectantly at her, waiting for her to extend her finger for him. She complied and felt the cool metal of the machine touch her finger. She barely felt the small prick of the needle, but the cold chill of the ice spell numbed that part of her finger instantaneously. A few seconds later, the machine beeped again.
"Madalena Lobo, also of the lycanthrope family." Till typed a few things on a small handheld tablet that looked razor thin.
"A few ground rules," Till began, "as you'll notice, there are humans here at the party. The ones with a red bracelet are reserved for the vampires. The ones with the blue are for the warlocks. Both bracelets will turn gold to signify they have reached the potential of what you can take from them. But you shouldn't worry about that since that doesn't apply to you. We do have some wonderful, fresh meat for you guys. Nico, I did manage to procure your favorite, the Kodiak bear. Just ask for it, I've hidden them in the back especially for you." The strawberry blonde smiled. He was wearing a dark gray tux, his long, curly hair held in a loose ponytail. His leaf green colored eyes was scrutinizing, and Lena shifted her weight, uncomfortable from his piercing stare.
"Thanks, Till. I know how difficult it can be to hunt them down." He smiled back at the blonde, then gently placed a guiding hand on Lena's back to nudge the young woman, who seemed paralyzed in place. She shot him a dirty look, but followed him. They made their way through the crowd, Nicolás greeting people he knew while Lena tried not to gawk at the place and it's guests. Her sensitive nose had already picked up on all the distinctive smells and odors people were giving off.
"That was Till Kafka an-"
"And Anya Moskvina, yes I know. Father once told me about them. They're very impressive people aren't they? They did, after all, make my beloved halberd. Father said they were impressive shifters as well, easily able to mask their scent or even falsify it, but I seemed to have picked up on both of theirs."
"And that's why you're our best tracker." Nicolás went to tap her nose, but Lena swatted his finger away.
"Don't you dare do that here!" She hissed, throwing a furtive look around to make sure no one was staring at them.
"Alright, alright!" He put both his hands up defensively. Nicolás signaled for a waiter, and after telling him about his secret meat stash turned to Lena quizzically.
"Um, do you have any jaguar meat?"
"Yes, mam. I'll be back with your orders." The waiter left in a hurry after handing them both flutes with champagne.
Lena looked around the room they were in. Her eyes went up to the ceiling, admiring the artwork that it held. This one in particular seemed to be a mosaic of sorts, with different colors splashed around, the most prominent being a lovely, dark blue. Her eyes landed on the floor next, the marble creating a beautiful silver pattern. She'd never been to such an old, but well kept, palace in Italy before. She didn't really keep up with her grandfather's affairs. She glanced at the throngs of people chatting to one another and her eyes fell upon two blondes, one she thought she recognized. Lena's eyes got wider as she took in the young woman's attire. The golden dress practically covered the basics, and what was covered seemed to accent her already perfect looking body. Nicolás followed her gaze and smiled when they landed on what she was blushing about.
"Ah, yes, the Carter siblings. Jerrard and Madilon. They practically look like twins don't they?" He mused out loud. "Madilon looks gorgeous, like always."
Lena glanced sideways at him, wondering if that were the types of women he preferred. All at once she became self-conscious of her dress, her hair, her stupid shoes, and her height. She had grown up with Nicolás around. His family's clan were nomads, given that they went where the ruling family lived. They were sworn to protect whatever family ruled at the time. His family had come to live in their region when it was her grandfather's turn to rule. They had gotten close in those years. He had always helped her train and they would spar often when he was off duty. She, in turn, would help him track since she had a knack for it even before she got recruited.
She had never looked at him other than just platonic friends. But then one day that changed. Maybe she had changed? She wasn't certain what had happened, but an easy friendship had turned to such painfully awkward moments for her. She hadn't seen him in awhile since after her grandfather's 200 years were up, they moved on to the other ruling family. He had come back a year or two ago, for one of his rare vacations. Her breath had hitched in her throat when she had finally seen him after all those years, butterflies in her stomach making her uncomfortable. She had initially chalked it up to just nerves after so many years, but it had only gotten worse during the time he had spent there. He had smiled beautifully at her when he glanced her way, his chocolate eyes lighting up. He had barreled towards her then, giving her the biggest bear hug she'd received in her life. With her whole body smashed against his, her brain went haywire. She could feel the taut muscles lining his back when she hugged him back. Her sensitive nose picked up his distinct smell: eucalyptus and juniper berry. She never realized how much she enjoyed those scents together until then. He had grown larger in his absence, and it would seem it was purely muscle. She had choked out a hello before he had finally set her down, mussing her hair quickly with a goofy grin. She had massaged her chest after he had squished it against his. One thing that couldn't be denied was that in that particular area, she was more endowed than other females. He had grinned wolfishly when he noticed her rubbing that area and mumbling death threats his way. The scowl on her face quickly fell away to a flushed face.
Even thinking of that now made her face hot, so she quickly downed her champagne and grabbed another one from a waiter walking by, depositing her empty one on his tray. "Yes, she does," Lena managed to say evenly.
"You've worked with her before, haven't you?" He asked obliviously.
"Mmm," was all Lena responded, switching her gaze to look at Madilon's brother. He was just as handsome as Madilon was gorgeous. They both shared the same blonde hair, but his fell in waves over his forehead. Even from here, she could see his cerulean eyes. He had on a white with black edges tuxedo jacket and black shirt, vest, tie and trousers. It suites him nicely, she thought. His gaze shifted from his sister to lock eyes with Lena. Surprised emerald eyes looked into cerulean ones. He smirked, raising his glass towards her. Lena glanced down nervously, blushing. At this moment, she was very glad she was tan enough to hide most of the red from her cheeks. She vaguely noticed Nicolás stiffen.
"Don't forget he can read minds."
"I'll remember to keep my thoughts cleaner for next time," she said, sarcasm lacing her words. She had never met a mind reader in person, even though she knew a few existed. The most famous mind readers came from the Guerra family, whose telepathic abilities had most people scared of them. Scared to the point that some clans made it obligatory for offspring's to learn how to close their minds to a mind reader. She had never made that particular lesson a priority and wondered if she'd regret it now.
"Whatever you are thinking, you have amused Jerrard." Nicolás voice brought Lena out of her reverie. Lena frowned; she definitely needed a refresher lesson on mind blocks. As she was taking a sip of her champagne she heard what was unquestionably a male's voice laugh in her head. Lena believed herself to be a reasonable person, and as any other reasonable person would have done, Lena unceremoniously spat out her champagne in shock.
These two are def my second favorite couple to write about! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Don't forget to review :D Any guesses who will be coming up next?