Cassie stared into the mirror that hung on Roxanne's bedroom wall, She had just woken from the first night of straight sleep in years but she still felt as if she could sleep for a few years more. Roxanne slept on the couch, the spare quilt wrapped tightly around her, the night had been a cold and windy one and even now at 9am the clouds covered the sky in false night as the rain bucketed down.
Cassie looked back at herself, her once long blond hair looked frazzled and knotted and her face showed its many scars. But the one thing that Cassie looked at and felt sudden heart ache was the two tattoos that ran down the left side of her neck starting from the base of her ear and working their way the the base of her neck.
She knew what the markings meant and she knew that if anyone saw them then they would know what it meant, and to anyone else but one man, those two significant tattoos were a death sentance. She ran her hand over the long line of egyptian writing that finish with a singal hebrew symbal and a tear ran down her cheek.
Roxanne stirred behind her, Cassie spun around and saw that she had woken up and was now yawning. Her hair was perfectly combed back into two long plats and she wore pink flannel pajamas. She gazed at Cassie for a moment, as if trying to figure out why she was there, and then she remembered.
"God, Cassie," Roxanne gasped, standing up and rushing over to Cassie. "You look like crap!"
"Oh, thank you," Cassie exclaimed, but she knew it was true.
"Here, I know what to do," Roxanne said suddenly smiling, Cassie smiled back uncertainly. "I'll call in sick today and I'll take you out shopping for some," she looked down at Cassie's tattered dress. "Some new clothes and some make up... definetly some make up!"
"Oh thanks, but its not really safe for me to go out today..." Cassie tried to explain but Roxanne held up her hand.
"You need new clothes or your going to be miserable until we can find you safe passage back to Azazeal," Roxanne exclaimed. Cassie let a smile break out across her face, she never knew Roxanne noticed so much. Roxanne's eyes suddenly fell on Cassie's neck, she instictvly tried to hide it but Roxanne was too quick for her.
"What's that," she asked, brushing the blond strands Cassie had moved to hide the tattoo away to reveal the long black brand.
"Its like title of ownership," Cassie replied, her voice shaky. "This long line of egyption symbols means i am Azazeal's and no one else's, any man who touches me with that intent will pay for it. The second one means Malachi, its hebrew for Watcher but its also what Azazeal named our son. This shows that I am priceless to the Nephilim, Azazeal's warriors, and they will protect me at all costs."
"Well that's good, that mean people will be afraid to come near you!" Roxanne said, but the look on Cassie's face made her rethink what she just said. "Right..."
"Can I borrow you're concealer?" Cassie asked and Roxanne nodded. She turned to go get it from her dressing table but Cassie knew a quicker way to get it. She pointed to the pale concealer and flicked her forefinger, it shot across the room and into Cassie's hand. She began to dab it on to the tattoo's covering them up. Roxanne just satred dumbfounded at Cassie. "Usually these tattoo's would be a good thing, but right now they are just shouting for someone to kill more or kidnap me, and I'm in no mood for either."
Roxanne walked over to her phone and dialed a few numbers, after a short while she began to talk to David, probably the only trustworthy teacher left in Medneham.
"Hey David," she said sweetly. "I'm feeling a sick today (she added a few coughs for dramtics and carried on in a whispy voice), I don't think i'll be attending classes today... No, don't come here! I'm fine, I think its just a cold... David, I'm fine, but thank you for being so concerned... Ok, bye!"
When Roxanne hung up the phone she looked over at Cassie to cath her smiling knowingly at the raven haired girl. She stood up and gave Cassie a 'don't you judge me' look before she gathered up a few clothes and walked into her walk in wardrobe to change.
"I didn't think taht was David's style, sleeping with a student," Cassie said casually, a pair of loose jeans and a baggy ACDC top flew from the closet and hit her in the face.
"We aren't sleeping together, you git," Roxanne yelled from inside the wardrobe. Cassie slipped off her old dress that fell in tatters to the floor as Roxanne continued to talk. "And so what if we have a little thing for each other, need I remind you Cassie that you slept with a demon lord and gave birth to the devil's son!"
Cassie just ignored Roxanne as she slipped on the baggy clothes that hid her figure, she walked up to Roxanne's dressing table and slipped her long back hair into a hair tie low on her head. Roxanne stpped out of her closet wearing a short purple skirt, black leggings and a long sleeved black tutle neck wrapped in a double buttoned fitted jacket.
"How do you manage to look like you sauntered out of Vogue each day," Cassie asked skeptically, looking somewhat like a man in her baggy attire.
"Pure talent," Roxanne replied quickly, throwing Cassie a baggy jumper that had the words NEW YORK written across the chest. Roxanne hid a snigger at Cassie as they left the room as descreetly as possible.
"Remember," Cassie hissed in Roxanne's ear as they dashed across the parking lot to Roxanne's sleek black car in the pouring rain. "No one is to be trusted!"
They drove down the winding path, Cassie looked in the mirror and watched Medneham Hall fade into a rainy haze of fog and trees. Finally the dense forest cleared and small cafe's and little shops began to appear. Roxanne parked infront of a small upper class clothing shop and hopped out of the car over to Cassie's side and held up her umbrella to sheild her from the rain as they ran into the little shop.
"You'll love it here," Roxanne promised as they shook the water off their clothes and Roxanne closed her dripping umbrella. "They can handle disasters like you." At first Cassie felt a tinge of hurt being referred to as a disaster, it reminded her of the fact that her and Roxanne didn't really like each other, but then Roxanne smiled appolegetically, "Well, you know what I mean..."
A tall woman with short ruby red hair was a tight black skirt and a plunging green shirt stood with arms crossed as she took a long hard look at Cassie. Obviously wondering whay a girl who looked like a hobo was stainding in her lovely shop, luckily, Roxanne was quick thinking.
"My friend here just returned from a peace keeping protest in Iraq, and well, obviously needs some touch ups." Roxanne smiled proudly as the woman's snooty demeanor dropped.
"Yes, yes, some major touch ups," teh woman said, grabbing Cassie's hand and draging her to a black leather salon chair.
"Oh, don't touch the left side of my neck, it's soar from sleeping the wrong way on the boat back," Cassie added quickly as she was now laying horizontal, her hair being vigorously washed by the red haired woman.
An hour later the red head, whose name was Georgia, was applying teh final touches of makeup as her assitant ran around the shop picking out a few choice outfits. Roxanne sat in the chair next to her, legs crossed as she casually popped gum and read a fasion magazine she had pulled out of her leather purse.
"You almost done, Candice," Georgia called out.
"Finished," Candice called back. Georgia stepped back and veiwed Cassie's face and hair, after smiling approvingly she scooted her off towards teh changing room, not giving her a chance to look in a mirror. But Roxanne fluttered after her, clapping her hands like an entertained five year old.
"Youre going to look gorgeous!" She chirped, Cassie glanced at the expensive clothing and felt the heavy weight of dread.
"Roxanne, are you sure you want to egt all these for me.. they look awfully expensive." Cassie muttered.
"Oh shush, its compliments of my father," Roanne replied from the otehrside of the change room door. "Pay back for forgetting my birthday!"
Cassie slipped on some tight blue jeans and a dark pink siglet with light pink hearts, she topped it off with a tight knitted sweater that went down to her thighs and some light pink high heels. She came out and Roxanne clappped happily. Cassie then went back in and slipped on a green dress that hugged her waist but flowed easily waround her knees and teamed that with a light brown jacket and knee high brown leather boots. When she walked out that outfit got an even bigger applause. The next outfit was some some waht loose stover pipe black jeans teamed with a long sleeved top that had a circular neck line and on her feet she wore some cream coverse high tops and as a jacket she wore a cream one button fitted jacket.
She walked out and Roxanne just stared at her speechless. "How do I look?" Cassie asked with a awooried expression.
Roxanne turned her aroudn to face the mirror and Cassie couldn't contain her gasp, staring abck at her was her old self, maybe a little thinner but still looking very healthy, her had been cut so that it appeared bouncy and light, and her face had been clean and the scars hidden by flawless cover make up. She looked like she had when she had Azazeal in her arms, but not possessed.
Roxanne paid for the clothes and styling and they left the shop and hopped into the car. They sat in silence, Roxanne stared shamelessly at Cassie as she stared down the rainy street, her eyes filling with water as she threatened to cry.
"What's wrong, Cassie?" she cooed. "You can tell me..."
"I love him," Cassie choked. "I love Azazeal and I don't even know if he made an effort to bring me back last night. I mean we're going to all this trouble to make me baeutiful for a man I don't even know wants me."
"Well," Roxanne began timidly. "When I was in the forest I ran into two faries, and they said that Azazeal's men were prowling the forest looking for you!"
Cassie looked over hopefully at Roxanne and she nodded trythfully. Cassie sat back with a smile as Roxanne started up the car and they began to drive back to Medneham.
"What's your last happy memory of Azazeal," Roxanne asked lightly.
Cassie looked out the window as her mind travelled back two years in the past to the day before she died, and she smied. "I was lying in his bed, he had his arms wrapped around my waist. He promised me the world at my feet if I stayed in that bed with him until he woke up..."
"Did you," Roxanne asked and Cassie's face dropped, fear suddenly tearing at her.
"No, I left and took Malachi with me..." Cassie replied, maybe Azazela was looking to kill her for abandoning her, for breaking his heart as soon as he trusted her with it.
"But that's a good thing, you should have survived and the devil's son should have died." Roxanne said.
"He was my son too, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. We were at the churcgh and Ella was about to stab my son when Azazeal showed up, swore that he never lied to me, and that he did love me, and that he loved our son, I then dived and hovered over him and the blade, intended for Malachi, dove deep into my own flesh." Cassie explained. "Then my body and sould were sent to the darkness where i live a thousand painful deaths..." she broke off, her voice shaking uncontrollably. "Until one day, the light engolfs me, and I am lying on the same church floor as the one I died in, and your next to me, saying I had returned to earth."
"That's amazing," Roxanne breathed. "Like a fairy tale!"
"I just hope I have a happy ending too," Cassie replied and Roxanne let out a laugh.
"I'm sure you will, we just have to make sure you get to Prince Charming," she laughed as they pulled into the parking lot infort of Medneham Hall.
(A/N) i know this was a little short and mainly fluff but i had to establish how
Cassie is getting bsck on her feet. In the next chapter Ella and Leon learn of their and others failure