CHAPTER SEVEN
Pulling his t-shirt over his head, which had dried by now, Tala rushed into the forested area behind him. Footprints on the ground indicated she hadn't been eaten like he had originally thought. The trail faded as the ground became less muddy and more solid, making him pick a direction blindly.
"Em –" He paused, spotting her backside, the leopard printed top and bottom unmistakeable along with the cinching of her small flaunted waist, a single bead of sweat rolling down the slope of her spine. The scene, however erotic it may have been for another man, appeared to do nothing for the redhead as he marched towards her in uncontrolled rage.
She was grabbed by the shoulder and forced to turn around, seeming frightened at first thinking it was a wild animal. But she was rather content to see him, a massive grin plastered on her lips, "Hi Tala!"
"Where the fuck did you go?"
"I was right here," Emma nodded to something behind him, "Look,"
He glanced over his shoulders, eyes narrowing at the fairly large tent situated in a very small clearing, "Whose is that?"
"Ours'!" She beamed with a wave of the wand in indication, "Took me a few tries," And with that statement, Tala was quick to note various objects strewn within the vicinity including string, a flower pot, and even a spare tire, "Do you like it? Let me show you inside!" Suddenly, the hand that had grabbed her was being used to pull him.
"Hey," He yanked her back, "Don't go running off again, it's not safe. I need you to stay where I can see you, understand?"
"Okay!" Emma nodded enthusiastically before tugging at him again, "Can I show you the tent now? You'll love it! It has pillows and blankets and silk sheets and a dream catcher and a mosquito repeller and a small light and..."
x x x
Mariah Wong popped her sunglasses further down the bridge of her nose, "I see Hilary and Kai,"
"And there's the midget," Bryan added from his seat behind the wheel of his Range Rover. Hilary, Kai, and Ian all strolled out of the airport, the former two returning from their honeymoon, and the latter travelling from Boston, Massachusetts. Bryan and Mariah had road-tripped it from Chicago, agreeing to pick up the remainder of travellers at Miami's airport.
They were here for the next annual BBA tournament!
Hi's, hello's, and hn's were exchanged, along with emphatic hugs courtesy of the two girls. The group had gotten incredibly close over the years; it was safe to say they were practically like family now.
"So," The White Tiger looked at the three passengers in the backseat through the rear view mirror as Bryan continued the drive to Tala's house where they would also meet Spencer, "How was Turkey, lovebirds?"
"It was beautiful!" Hilary exclaimed and proceeded to share details of their trip, "I have so many pictures,"
"No shit," Bryan rolled his eyes. After all, Mariah was constantly on her phone on Instagram, showing him the numerous pictures Hilary kept uploading, "Yo midget, how's the doctorate going?"
"Not too bad. I'm writing a paper on star clusters,"
"Sounds..." Mariah looked repulsed, "...interesting. Anyway, did any of you hear from Tala? I texted him and Spence to let them know Bryan and I got here, like, hours ago. Only Spence replied,"
"Weird," Ian piped in, "Tala hasn't been picking up my calls since the day before yesterday either. His voicemail just kicks in,"
"Probably just busy,"
Finally, Bryan pulled into the glorious estate, leaving the car in the roundabout. They all stood by the entrance, Kai doing the honours or ringing the bell. Soon, the door swung open, one of Tala's security personnel standing before them resembling something out of Men in Black.
"Hi," Hilary greeted, "Tala invited us over for lunch today?"
"Mr. Ivanov is out of town,"
"Out of town?" Ian raised a brow, "That's impossible. He knew we'd be coming today,"
"Mr. Ivanov did mention your arrival several weeks in advance, however, he is out of town,"
"Well where the hell did he go?"
"He did not say. He left two days ago,"
Hilary crossed her arms over her chest in irritation while Mariah made a noise of frustration, "What a dick!"
"Well," Spencer popped out of nowhere behind the group, "Looks like I'll be hosting lunch then. Let's go, idiots, I'm starving."
Unbeknownst to them, Professor Marlon was among the group as well. Under the invisibility spell, of course! After calling Emma several times on her phone with no response, he had decided to investigate. But after hearing that Tala was suddenly away as well, he pulled out his phone and checked the Fairy Network app. Once the location of Emma's wand was tracked, he creased his brows, "The Amazon Rainforest? Hmm, maybe that was what he wished for..."
Content with the both of their whereabouts, the instructor walked right into Tala Ivanov's kitchen to fix a cup of coffee for himself, his spell shielding him from the staff members of the household that walked right by him.
x x x
Emma was right. The tent had been pleasant, coalescing nature and the comforts of modern life. It was large and she had made it rather luxurious, the floor made of thick padding and then covered in a sheet of silk. Tala couldn't even count the number of pillows that had been materialized.
He lay on one comfortably, his hands tucked behind his head. She had gone to sleep the minute they entered the makeshift housing, evidently worn out from nearly being eaten by a jaguar, feasted on by leeches, and other arbitrary adventures that came with the Amazon.
Blue eyes shifted to the right, some amount of space having been left between them. Her limbs were spread out like a starfish, her choice in position for slumber as chaotic as her fairy skills. Her heels had been discarded somewhere close to the entrance of the tent and the wand had been loosely held in one of her hands. Curious, the redhead reached over and pulled it out of her unsecure grasp and examined it with the aid of the small solar powered light that hung from the ceiling. It was just a stick. A not too long, thin, and very plain golden metal stick. It wasn't very heavy either, weighing less than his cell phone. A few minor dents were spotted from wear and tear. How could something so basic be so powerful?
Tala leaned over to situate the wand under her pillow, in the process noticing a yellowish greenish smudge of some sort on her shoulders. Probably dirt, he concluded as his thumb grazed over the area just above her collarbone in an attempt to clean it off. But it didn't come off and instead she recoiled at his touch, like it caused discomfort. The fresh bruise had been his doing, its formation occurring when he had roughly clutched at her after she left him.
An older contusion on her arm caused him to purse his lips together as he realized he had left marks on her in more than one place. None of them were deliberate, but even so, he found himself staring at the palm of his hand with a frown.
There was abrupt movement next to him and he looked over to find that she had changed positions, now flopping to her front and in another strange position where her arms stretched off the pillows and one leg nearly kicked him. Tala rolled his eyes and switched off the small light, calling it a night and falling asleep himself.
Well, there you have it! The others have finally made an appearance! Drop me a line in your review! Also, rating has now been changed.
Thankyou to...
Guest – Thank you for your concern, however, it was noted in the summary that the rating would be changed during the next chapter (this chapter). The rating has now been changed.
Miley Agrawal – I almost fainted from just picturing the leeches on them! So gross! Lmao! I'm terrified of bugs!
Tryptamine – Where do I begin? You are definitely an extremely faithful and loyal reader, I am so, so, so grateful. I read all of your reviews for Exiled and you have no idea how happy it made me! Thank you so much! I don't get reviews like yours' anymore (long ones where you guys engaged with me, talk to me about your life, tell me your fave parts in the stories, etc). It was a taste of something I hadn't experienced in a LONG time, something FFNET has lost. No one leaves reviews like that anymore! It was such a pleasure to read! This story is loosely based off a movie called "A Simple Wish"! Have you ever heard of it? In terms of Russian cuisine, I researched and have tried (and cooked!) a few meals! I actually made blinchiki after I wrote about it haha it was really good! Kind of like a Russian version of the Indian samosa. And yes, there will be no filters! Well, maybe some haha!
