Ah,finally I get the next chappy up...well, enjoy this chapter that took me FOREVER to write lol xD
Disclaimer!: I do NOT own the TMI series or concepts or anything like that. I do, however, own the characters I've created and the plot
Leda's hair rustled in the breeze as the soft air played hide-and-seek within the tendrils of her dark and light hair. The only audible sound was from the surrounding flowers and the symphony of the lapping pond water. As she sat on the soft grass, Leda had her crystal blue eyes hidden behind her pale lids while her hands hovered above the ground. Her head was tilted back slightly, reveling in the warmth of the sun as its rays danced along the pale contours of her skin. Within minutes, a small smile began tugging at the corners of Leda's lips when she heard a familiar sound emanate around her.
"Leda…" Adam's soft voice drifted tauntingly over the field in which she sat. In an instant, Leda's eyes snapped open, scanning the area around her. Tall and short vibrantly colored flowers spanned around her, swaying delicately as the breeze touched them. A little ways to the side was the pond, bright colors dancing along its surface as the sun casted kaleidoscope lights over it.
"Leda…" Adam's voice rang again, fading off quietly. Within seconds, Leda was on her feet, head whipping around, looking for Adam, to no avail.
"Adam, where are you?!" Leda shouted almost frantically, her usually impassive tone now worried and hectic.
"Leda! Leda help me, please!" Adam's fading voice was now loud, rising several octaves, fear and panic evident in his tone.
Leda bolted forward, chasing the direction in which Adam's voice protruded from, her thin scarred hands grasped the flimsy fabric that trailed the ground behind her, fully aware of the dressed she was in. Black fabric made up the top part of her dress, covering her chest wile flimsy, see-through material made the rest, the fabric longer at the back. Leda's mind was on full alert, her eyes roaming around and registering everything they saw. The sun began to set behind her, casting an eerie shadow before her eyes as the temperature commenced dropping.
"Adam?!" Leda shouted, "Adam answer me!"
"Were you looking for him?" A deep, rumbling voice said from behind her; she tensed. Lithely, Leda spun around, her eyes landing on a handsome man with dark colored wings. His eyes were a startling blue, his pink lips formed into a smirk around his chiseled features, and in one hand he held Adam by the back of his shirt, lifting him up, over the ground.
"Adam." Leda whispered, her eyes training on the frightened look on his face.
"Ah, so you were, indeed, looking for the boy." The man chuckled, the air around him rustling, his musky scent hitting Leda's nostrils.
"What do you want with him?" Leda all but shouted, her voice shaking with raw fury and her eyes burning with intensity.
"With him?" The winged man asked, amusement in his tone, "Why, his is my son."
"Wh-what?" Leda blanched, her eyes moving back to Adam.
"I take and control what is mine, Leda." He said, an undercurrent in his tone.
"Give him to me." Leda ordered, her tone firm. Adam released a whimper and Leda winced, "Now!" she growled while the man simply looked amused.
"I prefer for you to join me," His eyes penetrated into hers, "daughter…"
As his eyes bore into hers, pain shot up her spine; she screamed.
"Roze! Roze calm down!" Jen's voice shouted as Leda sat upright, a scream ringing in her ears.
"Who's screaming?" Leda asked, her voice groggy and confused.
"Erm, you were?" Jen stated which, in actuality, sounded more like a question, as if she doubted her own words.
"I don't scream." Leda pointed out stubbornly, looking around her room, taking in the disaster around her. Her clothes were torn and scattered around hectically, her bed was over turned, and her mirror was cracked, bits and pieces fallen out.
"You screamed now." Jen murmured, but Leda wasn't paying attention to her anymore, she was focused on the pool of blood she was in, her mind racing over the memories of what had happened.
"Where's Steve?" Leda asked abruptly, scattering to her feet, eyes focused on Jen. Jen opened her mouth to speak, but another voice beat her to it.
"Steve, is right here." Steve said, walking into the room, holding a cloth in his hand; Leda raised a brow.
"Were you planning to use that to wake me up?" Leda asked, plucking the cloth from his hand and wrinkling her nose as the aroma of alcohol lifted into her nostrils; Steve blushed.
"It was the only thing I could come up with," He admitted sheepishly, "I saw it in a movie."
"Movies, my dearest Steve, aren't always the best of help in these sorts of situations." Leda pointed out, her tone bemused.
"It works for them." Steve countered.
"Yes, but that's a movie, and alcohol isn't nearly strong enough to awaken someone from a deep coma-like sleep." Leda smirked and stood up, chuckling at the bashful look on Steve's face. She moved around the room, grinding her teeth together at the searing pain that shot throughout her body, every inch of her being pulsating with intense, hot, white pain. She continued to walk, the room vacant of any noise except for the sound of their breathing and her boots against the tile.
"What was that…thing?" Steve asked, breaking the silence.
Leda sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "You have to move out and never come back here," she paused, "ever." She looked at Jen, yanking the dried up blood that stuck to her hair stubbornly.
"You didn't answer my question, Roze." Steve muttered, frowning.
"And I-" Leda sighed, "I can't be around you anymore." She muttered.
"You can't what?!" Jen shouted loudly, quickly getting to her feet and moving towards Leda. Leda held her hands up to ward her off and Jen stopped moving reluctantly while Steve simply stared.
"I can't be around you anymore. Not ever again." Leda said, suppressing another sigh as she moved to her closet to retain a medium sized duffle bag. The duffle bag was, ironically, a dark, blood red with two side pockets and a black zipper. Inside were some spare clothes, shoes, energy bars, water bottles, and other essentials. She slunk the strap onto her shoulder after pulling on a pitch black, pull over hoodie. Leda adjusted her hair, pulled down her sweater, everything to avoid looking at Steve and Jen.
"You can't just leave." Jen whispered, her voice barely audible.
"I can." Leda said with a shrug, all emotion vacant from her expression as she raised her face to look at them, her eyes neutral, as though the entire situation wasn't tearing her apart inside, "And I will."
"Roze." Steve started, taking Jen's slim unscarred hand in his and running his empty hand through his tangled hair.
"I'm leaving now. You lot better be out in an hour." Leda threatened, lithely moving to the window and jumping onto the windowsill. She stared out into the rain that sprinkled over the city, it's lights still blaring brightly while people huddled over to keep the rain from drenching them too much. From where she was standing, Leda felt omniscient, looking over people and viewing their actions without their knowledge.
With a final sigh, and no look back, Leda stepped forward, free falling towards the ground and bending her legs to keep the impact of landing minimal. From above she heard the feint sobs of Jen and Steve's consolation, his tone notably trying to keep the sadness from it; her heart contracted.
Shaking her head, Leda sprinted down the street, running towards the nothingness that now enveloped her life. Without thinking, she wandered into the same park that she had been in with Damon before and she rolled her eyes, finding that she was thinking about him once again. Suddenly, Aaric also entered her mind and she internally growled. Annoyed, Leda threw her bag onto the floor, stepping away and moving towards a tree, leaping onto a high branch and perching on it.
The past events were filling her mind, rolling around in her head over and over without mercy. She saw Jen's face behind her eye lids when he told her that she couldn't be around them anymore. She saw the look in Steve's eyes when she avoided his questions. She saw the Iblis when it looked at her. She saw her reflection along the windows of the stores she passed and she felt her stomach flip.
With a frustrated shout, Leda's hands clenched around the bark of the branch she was on, the roughness biting into her skin and tearing it, small blood lines forming but she was too angry to care. Once again she felt a surge of energy course through her veins and she closed her eyes, more aware of
the area around her. As she inhaled slowly, she smelled the rising dew that decorated the grass around her, she could hear the sound of animals awaking as dawn approached, as the sun began to rise.
Leda blinked and raised a brow, not realizing that she had been there for so long. She stood upon the branch and leaped off, landing lithely on the grass, next to her bag and yanking it up, onto her shoulder in one swift movement. Without a second to think, Leda took off running.
Minutes after her take off, she stopped in wonder as she realized where her legs had dragged her to. In front of her stood an ornate cathedral with columns holding the roof above it and stain glass windows that formed different images of religious affiliations indicating that this was a Roman Catholic Church. Above the columns and roof was a small tower which contained a massive golden bell.
I'll need weapons. Leda thought to herself while her feet moved forward automatically and her head wiped from side to side, expecting the area around her.
Leda's boots smacked loudly against the pavement and she mentally cursed herself for not realizing before that her Silence runes had worn off. She stopped at the cathedral's doors and reached into her left boot for her stele. After quickly reapplying her Silence runes, Leda pushed the doors open and was instantly assaulted with the smell of thick incense. The entire place was lit with torch like lamps that clung securely to the walls while four fans hung on the ceiling in each sitting area. Leda noted that the benches were a new accommodation as she walked forward towards the middle and saw old scuff marks against the clean white tiles along with left over bolt places.
As Leda reached the front, she stared at the gigantic cross in front of her with Jesus Christ nailed to it, his face both angelic and painful; she sighed. Leda felt like an intruder having never committed herself to an actual religion and never having thought of God as an actual, realistic being. She thought of him as more of hope. Hope of the people that have roamed the earth for years in need of hope, in need of the thought that somewhere, far off in the distance and out of our reach, there is someone to take care and watch over everything and everyone.
Another sigh escaped Leda's lips as she shook her head and dropped her bag, heading for the alter. Her feet floated easily over the tile as she reached the center of the alter. With a quick glance around, Leda lifted the delicate red rug and knelt, sliding her hand over a wooden compartment all the while thinking of the words that will open it for her.
A loud crack echoed throughout the church as the wooden compartment slowly opened, the effort sounding agonized, but once it opened in its entirety, Leda smirked at the long-swords, seraph blades, daggers, throwing stars, and other weapons.
"Finally," Leda started, "my day is starting to look up."
Leda stood up and walked to her bag, picking it up and walking back to fill it with what she needed. Once back, she dropped her bag and flipped her long dark and silver hair over her shoulder when her something caught her eye. Leda's head snapped up and her eyes focused on a leather bound book, the edges torn from age and the embedded jewels dull from the years it carries.
Without thinking, Leda suddenly found herself standing in front of her book, her hand reaching to grab it but having no recollection of moving towards the book. Her pale hand drifted over the book and her skin began to crawl with an utter sense of wrongness. Leda yanked her hand back, or so she thought. Her hand was positioned in place as though it was a piece of metal and the book was a magnet. Her heart began to race and she felt a chill run down her spine.
No matter how hard she tried, she could not move from the book nor could she move her hand back; she was frozen.
What seemed like years passed before her body relaxed, and as it did, her hand touched the book. Leda felt a scream rise from her throat but she forced it down as gruesome images flashed before her eyes: A handsome man with pitch black wings caressing the bodies of multiple women. His glowing red eyes hungry and salvage as his hand tore at the women's skin, tearing them and scarring them, and his laugh echoing through the air, enjoying the sound of their pain. The next image had the same man, walking out of the small cabin like home, leaving mangled bodies behind as he licked his lips dangerously. As the man walked out, a swarm of men with torches and swords blocked his way, but all the man did was laugh and fly into the air, his boisterous laugh trailing behind and haunting the townspeople.
Leda shouted as the image changed, and suddenly, everything seemed more familiar as the era evolved into modern times. A group of people are huddled in a field, their voices barely audible, but the resolve on their faces clear. In the distance, two men dragged a young girl who looked to be about Leda's age, her dress cut off and revealing, her hair neatly done to accentuate her beauty, and her eyes covered with a black tie. The men threw her into the crowd and shouted, hands flying everywhere as money was passed around until the winged man appeared. He took the woman and killed the people but as he tore the tie from her eyes his expression changed. The girls' eyes held no fear, just raw fury. She kicked at the winged man and fought, knowing it was to no avail but needing to fight.
Just as another image played in her mind, the same woman, avidly caressing the man in passion, a shout brought her back into reality.
"Dios mio!" Suddenly, a pair of arms were around her, yanking her back and Leda stumbled, falling to the ground then jumping to her feet and drawing the last blade in her belt.
"Nina, que haces con ese libro?" A man asked, referring to the book she had been touching. Leda glanced at the man and realized he was the priest; she shook her head.
"Nada." She replied and swiftly moved to her bag, stuffing all of the weapons into the bag and running out.
"Espera!" The priest called after her, but Leda was already out of the door, running down the steps and bolting down the street.
After about twenty minutes of intense running, Leda made it to the apartment she was looking for. She glanced around to make sure no one was around before running into the alley way and jumping onto the fire escape. She climbed up and ended at a familiar window; she peered inside. The room was vacant except for the usual items: bed, carpet, desk, vanity table, lamps, the necessities. Leda pulled out her stele and unlocked the window, tossing her bag inside and looking down to make sure no one was looking; it was always better to be safe, and Leda was the kind of person that lived on security.
Her feet touched the floor soundlessly as she entered the room. Leda turned around, closed the window, locked it and sighed, slumping against the wall.
"Leda, you've really done it this time." She muttered to herself and sank to the floor, tangling her fingers into her hair and closing her eyes. Leda remained in that position for God knows how long before she heard the sound of footsteps approaching the room. With a soft curse under her breath, Leda picked up her bag and silently slid under the bed, slowing her breath as she saw the door open and small Vans shoes walk forward, closing the door behind them.
"Leda? Leda, is that you?" Adam's soft voice echoes softly around the room in a careful whisper; Leda smiled and moved out from under the bed and sat on it before Adam could even realize she had been under the bed.
"Hey kiddo." Leda smiled and opened her arms as Adam's face broke into a massive smile and he ran towards her, knocking her down against the bed.
"Leda! Leda! I missed you so much!" Adam exclaimed, "Where have you been?!" he asked, burying his face in her hair.
"Shush Adam, not too loud." Leda cautioned but hugged him closely to her.
"Oh, don't worry. The babysitter just left with her boyfriend and my dad is at work." Adam explained, his voice holding an undercurrent; Leda sat up and placed Adam on her lap.
"Had your dad been working a lot?" She asked.
Adam frowned, "Everyday! He never has time for me." He said sadly. Leda bit her lip and kissed the top of Adam's head, softly rubbing his back.
"Well, that's why I'm here." She smiled softly.
"Did you bring me anything this time?!" Adam asked excitedly while Leda chuckled.
"Yes, hold on." She stood up and placed him on the bed, reaching under it and pulling her bag out.
"Why is your bag filled with your clothes?" Adam asked, tilting his head to the side, "Are you moving again?"
"I don't know yet." Leda sighed and dug into her bag, pulling out a small box and then handing it to Adam. Adam took the box happily and pulled the ribbon off, opening it and pulling out a small object that appeared to be a phone but was actually a Sensor.
"Is this so I can talk to you?" Adam asked curiously.
"It's not a phone." Leda said and took it from him, opening it and showing him the inside, "It's a Sensor."
"What's a Sensor?"
"A sensor can tell you when there's monsters and bad creatures around. You have to keep this with you at all times, okay Adam?" Leda said, her voice serious.
"Can I show daddy?"
"No. You cannot show anyone, promise me you won't."
"I promise."
Leda smiled and hugged Adam, showing him how to work the Sensor and then answering the questions he had. An hour passed and Adam began to yawn, that's when Leda realized that it was still before eight in the morning.
"You wanna go back to sleep kid?" Leda asked, picking him up and walking out of the room.
"Will you stay with me?" Adam asked hopefully; Leda sighed and shook her head.
"I wish I could, but I have to go to work." She said softly, "I'll try coming by later to take you on that trip to the park that I promised, remember?"
"I-" Adam yawned, "-remember." He said softly, his eyes sliding closed. Leda smiled and brushed his hair back, stopping in front of his room and opening the door, walking inside and setting him on his bed, tucking him in and kissing his forehead. With a sigh, Leda walked out of the room, glancing back once and closing his door before rushing down stairs to the front door, making sure the house place was secure before back into the room where she came in from. She pulled her stele and drew a protection rune along the wall to keep Adam safe before picking up her bag and leaving the apartment.
Leda jumped down and landed on the pavement, temporarily placing her glamour on and walking out of the alley. She turned after a few streets and stopped in front of her hole-in-the-wall job; Leda sighed. Shaking her head, Leda walked into the place and headed for the counter.
"Leda! What are you doing here? It's not your day to work." Stacey asked, her tone both happy and confused.
Leda ran a hand through her hair and flashed Stacey a smile, "I can't get enough of this place." She
Stay rolled her eyes, "No, seriously, why're you here?"
"Well," Leda sighed, "I gotta resign and I kinda need my check for the past two weeks."
"A-are you serious?" Stacey asked, her eyes slightly widening; Leda nodded, "Why?"
"Things got…complicated and I have to leave for a while." Leda explained vaguely.
"Complicated?" Said a voice from behind Leda, a voice that Leda was starting to recognize too much for her liking, "Well, isn't that just horrible?" the voice snickered.
"I didn't get to tell you…" Stacey blushed; Leda raised a brow and ignored Damon.
"Tell me what?" Leda asked.
"He and the other boy have been here since the first time they came, looking for you." Stacey told Leda sheepishly; Leda growled and shook her head, turning to face Damon and Aaric.
Translations for the Spanish used in this Chapter
Dios mio - My God
Nina, que haces con ese libro? - Girl, what are you doing with that book?
Nada - Nothing
Espera - Wait