Marquette swallowed and blushed. No guy had ever seen her naked before. Not that there had been a lot of guys in her life; the only guys she had been close with were Aidrian and Asheru, and she had failed them both. She fumbled to turn off the water, open the sliding door, and wrap a towel around herself without tripping and hurting herself, which would cause Berto to help her. While she was still naked.
Berto coughed and looked away, embarrassed as well. He hadn't thought she would be in the shower. Her cheeks were crimson as she stepped out, lunging for the towel.
"Clothes?" She asked, straining to raise her voice. I need some clothes, you perv, she thought annoyingly.
He eased his way out of the bathroom, annoyed. He couldn't help it if she was naked, or that she had gotten up to take a shower on her own. Maybe there was a reason he stayed away from relationships with girls around here.
xXxXxXxXxXx
Obie opened the door, bags in his hands, followed by Kyle and Samuel, and walked into the kitchen. They were surprised to see Marquette sitting there, her hair damp as she ran a brush through it, trying to restore it to an almost passable fashion. She was having with some trouble with knots, though.
"You're wearing my clothes," Samuel stated. She looked at him, her face contorted in frustration.
"Berto said that…you were the…smallest," she said. She went back to brushing her hair, furiously trying to get the brush through the tangled mess.
"We got your food." Kyle placed a bag in front of her.
The smell wafted up to her nose, the fragrance of cheese and meat and oil intensified by her senses. She dropped the brush with a hungry growl and ripped the bag open, tearing off the wrapper and attacking the double bacon cheeseburger with animal vigor. She scarfed down the fries, barely pausing to chew as she finished both cartons off in under two minutes.
Obie laughed. "And I'm the barbarian..."
She moaned with pleasure as she started on the milkshake, hugging the cup to her as if she were afraid they would confiscate it. She closed her eyes, savoring the taste and texture. "You have no idea how much I've missed food…"
"Didn't you eat when you were…" Samuel started to ask, but trailed off when she looked at him sharply.
She laughed huskily, and the four looked at her. "Haven't you heard about the food in the Underworld? If you eat it, you're trapped there. I would have ended up like Persephone!"
Berto sat down. "Persephone?"
"You know, the spring goddess, daughter of Zues and Demeter?" Kyle was the only one who didn't shake his head. "You see, Hades had come up from his kingdom to investigate. He was spotted by Aphrodite and her son, Eros. Aphrodite told her son to shoot Hades with his love arrows so that the next woman he saw would be the woman he would fall in love with.
"Well, Persephone was out in a field picking flowers when Hades came by…" She coughed and felt her throat tighten. Her eyes stung with tears. She knew she wasn't completely healed, but she was just way too stubborn to admit it.
"You can finish when you feel better, Marquette," Samuel told her. She nodded and tried not to smile, but as soon a sher throat cleared up, she finished the rest of the story, explaining to them how Hades would have kept her forever in the Underworld had she ever accepted his bribe of food.
Kyle reached into a bag and pulled out a tube of chapstick, passing it to her. She popped off the cap and spread it across her cracked lips with a joy only seen on Christmas Day, and you finally got that bike you've been dreaming of all year. He then passed her another bag. She looked inside, seeing clothes. She felt giddy with excitment.
"Thanks," she whispered. "But, can I get some more food?"
At that moment, her stomach growled loud enough to make them all chuckle.
Obie placed a plate in front of her, and Marquette nodded her thanks. Kyle grimaced.
"What is that?" He knew that somebody has actually cooked it.
"It's food. Who cares?" Marquette stuffed a forkful of the stuff into her mouth. If she could have inhaled, she would have.
"See. She appreciates good cooking," Samuel bragged, puffing out his chest.
"Besides, Kyle, it's not your favorite," Obie teased.
"Although I would love to see Kyle's face when we tell him what Samuel made with his stew," Berto added, a broad grin on his face.
"What animal did you kill this time?" Kyle asked angrily.
Marquette blinked. "It's rat. And it's not bad. No diseases either, if you're worried about that." She shoveled another forkful down.
Kyle gave her a disgusted look. "Aren't you from this time period?"
"Unfortunately. But you have to remember, I'm also a shapeshifter. Don't you think that at one point that I would have eaten some strange object?"
Berto snickered. Kyle frowned and walked out of the kitchen. Marquette raised an eyebrow in question. Had she caused Kyle to leave?
"Don't worry about him," Obie reassured. "Kyle does that often."
"I never asked. Why am I here and not with the other Daughters?" She picked up her moon amulet, calming under its soothing weight.
The guys exchanged looks with each other. When they didn't immediately answer her, she began to worry. She didn't like that they weren't answering her. What had Aestroth told them?
"Please, tell me."
"Tomorrow," Berto informed. "You should finish eating, and then some sleep."
She frowned and slitted her eyes in a glare at the three. She finished the rat stew quickly and pushed out form the table. She picked up the bags and walked to the room she had been in.
xXxXxXxXx
She curled up under the blanket, pulling it tightly around her. She wanted to go home so bad, but she was still too weak. And she had a strong feeling that the four, the script, her being here, and Asheru all had something in common. If she wanted to get Ash back form Serene, she would stay. And they would help.
Her stomach growled hungrily at her again. She groaned inwardly. She figured she would never be satisfied food wise.
Her eyelids grew heavy as sleep neared. She had a sudden fear. Her nightmares might return. She didn't want to hear Serene's laugh, or see Ash's horrified expression. She tried to open her eyes again, but she lost this battle and drifted off.
xXxXxXxXx
"Must you come and torture me further than you did earlier?" Marquette questioned, looking hard into Berto's dark eyes.
"I didn't even see anything," he stated, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Liar."
"It was only a peek," he revealed. She gave him a hard look, still doubting his confession. "You know, it's not like you don't have a nice body."
"A nice body! Look at me!" She exclaimed. "My skin is the color of milk, and I used to be as dark as you. I liked looking Egyptian. It made me feel good. Oh, and my hair? Pure white. It used to be the color of honey!"
"So, you are one of those girls who only cares about her looks?"
"No. Never. Give me baggy jeans and a beater, and I'm a very content girl. I just… I haven't been able to complain in a long time."
"You can't tell me you aren't obsessive over looks. Al women are conceited."
"Do I like looking like the goddess I am when I go dancing? Of course. But do girls normally have muscles like this?" She flexed her left arm, showing off her bicep.
His eyebrows lifted and he nodded his head in admiration. "Not bad. May I?"
She nodded. His fingers pressed firmly against the muscle on her arm. They made her arm break out in goose bumps and her body shiver. No, this is just a dream and he is just dream walking me, she yelled at herself.
